‘Wheel of Fortune’ Fans Demand Change After ‘Crazy’ Bonus Puzzle Pattern
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Ryan Seacrest’s era of Wheel of Fortune is spinning along just fine, aside from the occasional speed bump. However, last week brought an unfortunate occurrence that fans argued should never happen, host aside. Four of the five bonus rounds resulted in losses, leaving fans shocked and wondering if the producers should step in.
On Tuesday, November 26’s episode, the contestant who proceeded to the coveted 10-second final puzzle was Katheryn. Her three-word “Food & Drink” puzzle read as, “‘_RO_EN’ ‘ORN_E_’ ‘_ _ _CE.'” She could not solve it as “FROZEN ORANGE JUICE,” losing out on an extra $40,000. On Wednesday, the dry spell continued for Adam, unable to figure out the “What Are You Wearing” puzzle, which read as “‘M_’ ‘F_N_ _’ ‘_LOTHE_’ was “MY FANCY CLOTHES.” He got stuck on the middle word, thinking it was “Funky,” which cost him an extra $40,000.
On Thursday, November 28, Jade missed her one-word “What Are You Doing?” puzzle which read as “_H_S_ER_N_”. The right answer was “Whispering,” and she also lost out on $40,000. To finish out the week, Erwin (all below) missed his “Thing” puzzle, which was seeking “A Booming Voice.” Having not selected a crucial “O” as his vowel, he couldn’t crack the middle word, fumbling $50,000. This meant the only bonus puzzle win was on Monday, November 25, for the whole week.
The game show shared the last miss on YouTube, culminating in a 1/5 bonus round week, the least successful for Seacrest as host so far. In the comments, some blamed the “tough” puzzles while others urged the producers to pick stronger contestants (admitting pressure plays a part).
“Here we go again! Yet another bad week of Wheel of Fortune,” one fan wrote under the clip of Friday’s miss.
“What is wrong with the contestant pool this week? 4 blown Bonus Rounds in a row on easy puzzles for the minimum!” wrote a second.
“Erwin, big mistake picking THING. That was the toughest puzzle this week,” wrote third.
Additional fans agreed that future players should more carefully choose their additional letters and avoid vague categories like “Thing.”
“Why ‘Thing’ is the worst category to pick,” agreed a fourth. “Because there are a lot of potential possibilities with that category.”
“This is crazy that these puzzles are not being solved,” a fifth wrote.
Meanwhile, Seacrest had huge shoes to fill replacing the legendary Pat Sajak alongside the iconic Vanna White after four decades for Season 42. His debut month was the strongest ratings month for WoF in the past three years, and viewers were already treated to a viral moment (via a round of sausage). That said, there have been some questionable hosting moments according to fans.
In September, Seacrest suffered what fans dubbed his “first blooper”, involving a prolonged reaction to rewarding a bonus round. Fans also called out the host for ruling against another player before the timer was up. Most controversially, last month, fans called out the host for not reminding a player to pick a letter, leading to him losing the game in a misunderstanding and by a mere $147.
What do you think? Are the contestants to blame or does Wheel of Fortune need to make its bonus round easier? Let us know in the comments below!
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