WoF Retro Recap: April 4, 2012

EPISODE #5603: BACK TO THE BEACH

$1K Tossup: PERSON

_ _ _ E _ D L Y
_ _ _ E _ _ _ R D

This Andy solves FRIENDLY LIFEGUARD. Time to meet him and the female opposition…

Andy Frankart: project manager for an I.T. services company who’s a huge Washington Nationals fan and has two kids from Bristow, VA

Temi Ademuwagun: 3rd year student at the Mt. Sinai School of Medicine in the City from Jamaica, NY (orig. from Nigeria)

Ashley Worth: 9th/10th Grade English teacher at Santana HS in Santee and is married w/ a 14 month daughter named Michaela from El Cajon, CA

$2K Tossup: THINGS

_ A _ U L O U S
_ _ I _ E S

Temi can’t get the second word, allowing Ashley to solve FABULOUS PRIZES.

FEATURED BEACH TRIP: Holualoa Inn in Hawaii from BedandBreakfast.com worth $6,590

Jackpot Round: WAYD?

Here goes Ashley w/ the calling of two N’s for a grand, five E’s, a $300 G, a $1,600 pair of P’s and two I’s, then come five T’s for $12,500, a $400 K at the start, a FP A, and two H’s for that green 1/2 KIA. She spins once more for two $500 S’s…

K E E P I N G / _ P
_ I T H / T H E
_ A T E S T / T _ E N _ S

…and she’s KEEPING UP WITH THE LATEST TRENDS for $17,300 — PR!

UNCLAIMED JACKPOT: 11 grand

Mystery Round: SAME LETTER

A $7K pair of T’s get Andy started, followed by two $1K R’s via the MW near LaT (that’s the BANKRUPT one), three E’s, an A, a $300 N, and an L while on the other MW. After he buys two O’s…

_ E R _ O N A L
_ E T
_ R O _ E _ T

…he completes this PERSONAL PET PROJECT for a $9,550 payoff (although it could’ve been $18,550 if he had the guts).

PR #2

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PP Round: FUN & GAMES

Now finally getting a chance to spin, Temi picks up the other 1/2 KIA w/ a T, two S’s for $1,600 more, three E’s and two A’s, then come a $1,200 pair of R’s, a $1,500 H trio and the rest of the vowel shop. But after an $800 N is C for CRITICAL DUD, allowing Ashley to solve this…

R O _ A _ / _ _ U S H
_ U _ _ / H O U S E
T H R E E / O _
A / _ I N _

…she gets ROYAL FLUSH, FULL HOUSE, THREE OF A KIND for a $5K trip to Mandalay Bay from Vegas.com and Hotwire.com

SOLE DUD: C (Temi)

Ashley: $24,300 cash & Vegas/Andy: $10,550/Temi: BUPKIS

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$3K Tossup: RHYME TIME

Y _ _ / S N O O _ E
_ _ U / _ _ _ _

Andy says “YOU SNOOZE, YOU LOSE” to go to $13,550.

Round 4: PHRASE

He says an automatic dud of T while on TD (the audience had a reason not to cheer for that spin). Second for Temi are two $900 N’s, four S’s for $2K extra, three I’s, a $400 G and a B pairing (start of both lines) for $1,600 more…

B _ S I N _ S S / I S
B _ _ _ I N G

BUSINESS IS (finally) BOOMING for her — she’s won $5,550.

SOLE DUD: T (Andy)

Ashley: $24,300 cash & Vegas/Andy: $13,550/Temi: $5,550

Round 5: EVENT

After Temi’s $300 T, we move into S-U Mode…

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ / T _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ / _ _ _ _

…and the consonants each pay off at $1,500. Ashley later calls a trio of N’s…

_ R _ S S _ N _ / T H _
_ _ N _ S H / L _ N _

…she’s CROSSING THE FINISH LINE for $9K!

FINAL SCORES
Ashley: $33,300 cash & Vegas/Andy: $13,550/Temi: $5,550

GT: $52,400
NO BANKRUPTS THIS GAME!

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$100K Bonus Round

Ashley gets the * envelope.

Category: PHRASE
Another good RSTLNE head start…

_ N / T _ E / S _ _ E
_ _ _ E

PHMO are all up there (the H is a waste, though)…

O N / T H E / S _ M E
P _ _ E

…and she’s ON THE SAME PAGE as us, so she’s won $40K for a final total of $73,300 cash and trip, making her the biggest winner of 2012!

MY EP. RATING: 9

WoF Retro Recap: April 3, 2012

EPISODE #5602: BACK TO THE BEACH

$1K Tossup: FUN & GAMES

_ U _ P I _ _ / _ N
T _ E / W _ V _ _

Wendy’s JUMPING IN THE WAVES to score first among this group…

Wendy Woodard: 2nd/3rd Grade teacher for college-bound students at Sunset Hills ES who has a five yr. old daughter named Sophia from San Diego

Nathan Hadley: Army project leader married to Lesley for seven yrs. whose first son’s on the way in the near future from Fairfax, VA

Aysha Azimuddin: bank teller who’s planning to attend graduate & medical school and has six parakeets from Mt. Prospect, IL  

$2K Tossup: PLACE

B _ E _ K _ A S T
_ _ _ K

Wendy’s got a tripler from a BREAKFAST NOOK.

FEATURED BEACH TRIP: Sandals La Toc Golf Resort & Spa in St. Lucia from Hotwire worth $6,700
Tuesday/Thursday Gift Tag: Beach Bikes

Jackpot Round: FICTIONAL CHARACTERS

She wastes a spin on the MDW’s left side. Second, Nathan calls up three R’s for $1,200, four E’s, a $1,200 N triplet, an A, and an O, followed by a couple of T’s, an I, three B’s, and two F’s; as it turns out, he’s spun that yellow $400 space every time in this round. The board now…

F R E _
F _ I N T _ T O N E / &
B A R N E _ / R _ B B _ E

… well Yabba Dabba Doo — he solves FRED FLINTSTONE & BARNEY RUBBLE for $3,200.

SOLE BANKRUPT: Wendy
UNCLAIMED JACKPOT: seven grand

Mystery Round: SAME NAME

The man’s off to a nice $10,500 start w/ three N’s, then he buys five E’s and two O’s before BANKRUPTING near TD to forfeit 10 grand. Second, Aysha puts up two $400 L’s, but her first buy of A is no good. Third, Wendy strikes out w/ S while on the MW near LaT. Nathan’s next chance at better luck begins w/ an $800 R and a T while on that same MW. He doesn’t waste much time in going for it…but he’s BANKRUPTED again. Aysha next BANKRUPTS the same way he did the first time to lose the leftover $550. Wendy next says two C’s for the blue 1/2 KIA, a $1,600 P pair, a $300 H, two I’s to wipe out the vowels, and a pair of FP D’s. Let’s see the board…

_ E D D I N _ / &
C E L L / P H O N E
R E C E P T I O N

…she solves WEDDING & CELL PHONE RECEPTION for $3,650.

DUDS: A (Aysha), S (Wendy)
BANKRUPTS: 3 (Nathan 2x, Aysha)

Aysha: ZERO/Wendy: $6,650 1/2 KIA/Nathan: $4,200

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PP Round: EVENT

The scoreless Aysha begins w/ two N’s for $1,800, two O’s, a $900 trio of D’s, and the A at the end of the first line, followed by a G while on the same 1/2 KIA, the rest of the vowel shop, and a $7K R pair. We now have…

R I D I N G / O N / A
D O U _ _ E / D E _ _ E R
_ U _

…she’s won her first $8,950 and will be RIDING ON A DOUBLE DECKER BUS during her stay in LONDON; this is a  $7,500 trip sponsored by the 3-D version of “Titanic”.

PR

Aysha: $16,450 cash & trip/Wendy: $6,650/Nathan: $4,200

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$3K Tossup: RHYME TIME

_ _ R T Y
H E _ _ _ Y

Nathan’s a PARTY HEARTY guy, so he’s up to $7,200.

Round 4: PHRASE

He BANKRUPTS near TD right out of the gate; that’s his third one this game. Aysha secondly sees in her future two H’s for $1,600, two E’s, four T’s for $3,200, and an O. But after a $900 F is a dud vowel of I. Wendy next plugs in a $450 N and an $800 R, buys the U and FPs D for dud, then she realizes her goof and puts up the $600 M’s to complete the board…

T H E / M O M E N T
O F / T R U T H

…she solves THE MOMENT OF TRUTH for $2,200 extra.

DUDS: I (Aysha), D (Wendy)
SOLE BANKRUPT: Nathan

Aysha: $16,450 cash & trip/Wendy: $8,850/Nathan: $7,200

Speed-Up: FOOD & DRINK

Consonants are worth $1,300 apiece. After Nathan chooses the M at the start of the bottom word…

_ _ N _ _ _ _ _
M _ L _ N

…he eats up a HONEYDEW MELON for that amount.

DUDS: T (Aysha), R (Nathan), S (Aysha)

FINAL SCORES
Aysha: $16,450 cash & trip/Wendy: $8,850/Nathan: $8,500

GT: $33,800
BANKRUPT TRASH: $11,350

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$100K Bonus Round

Aysha lands on the E of GAME.

Category: PHRASE
Decent RSTLNE start…

_ T / _ _ L L / _ R _ _
_ N / _ _ _

CPMA adds nothing more, and IT WILL GROW ON YOU in a negative way that she only gets the first two words and loses the Mustang.

(END NOTE: This was not her final bonus puzzle; her original one was EXACTLY ALIKE and Pat mistakenly ruled her correct when she said EXACTLY ALIVE.)

MY EP. RATING: 6

WoF Retro Recap: April 2, 2012

We’re going “Back to the Beach” to start April 2012.

EPISODE #5601: BACK TO THE BEACH

$1K Tossup: PHRASE

_ H E / W A _ E R
I S / _ E _ _ E C T

Tina says “THE WATER IS PERFECT”. Monday’s gang…

Tina Mangio: education coordinator for an early childhood program who was born on Feb. 29 from Cambridge, MA

Jennifer Lambertus: English tutor for middle & high school students at an SAT preparation place who once jumped out of a plane to try to overcome her fear of heights (and it didn’t work) from Burbank (orig. from Littleton, CO)

Tim Ketavongsa: logistics manager for a ready-made concrete company who also brews his own beer & has skydived twice from Blue Bell, PA

$2K Tossup: SHOW BIZ

_ P E _ I N G
A _ T

Tina knows that she’s in the OPENING ACT of this episode to triple up.

FEATURED BEACH TRIP: Treasure Island Resort in Fiji from Hotwire worth $8,300
Monday/Wednesday/Friday Gift Tag: Maui Jim

Jackpot Round: BEFORE & AFTER (yellow convertible sports car wipe)

The first letters are a $500 N, two S’s for the WC, three A’s and an O, an $800 T at the end, and two E’s before she duds out on $2,500 w/ the R. Jennifer secondly takes two L’s for $1,800, two B’s for $600 to complete the first word of BASEBALL, but then the sole dud vowel of U. Third, Tim’s lit up nothing w/ a P request. Tina next says a $2,500 M and declines to use her WC, then she buys the last vowel of two I’s…

B A S E B A L L
D I A M O N D
_ E I S T

…and pulls off a BASEBALL DIAMOND HEIST for another $2,800.

DUDS: R (Tina), U (Jennifer), P (Tim)
UNCLAIMED JACKPOT: $12,950

Mystery Round: SONG/ARTIST 

Jennifer instantly gets the MDW w/ five R’s (BIG waste there), then she puts up three T’s for $1,500, seven E’s, two A’s and an O, but the M ends her turn while she’s on the MW near LaT. Second, Tim gets the Fiji wedge w/ three S’s, three $300 B’s, and an I to clean out the vowels, but he’s cleaned out himself by the BANKRUPT near TD, costing him $8,950 cash & trip. Tina’s third in line w/ a $500 D and two F’s for that blue 1/2 KIA to triple up. Following a $1,600 L pairing…

S T R A _ B E R R _
F I E L D S
F O R E V E R / B Y
T H E / B E A T L E S

…she solves “STRAWBERRY FIELDS FOREVER” BY THE BEATLES for $3,100.

SOLE DUD: M (Jennifer)
SOLE BANKRUPT: Tim

Tina: $8,900 1/2 KIA WC/Others: $0 each

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PP Round: PLACE 

Tim takes command w/ $1K pairs of S’s and T’s, an A and two E’s, then come three $500 R’s but then the sole dud vowel of I. Tina secondly gets the Maui Jim gift tag w/ an N, and uses the WC to call up L and D singles at $3,500 a pop. Next up are a $600 B pair and the purchase of two U’s to finish off the vowels before we look at…

_ O R L D / _ A _ O U S
B O U R B O N / S T R E E T

…she wins another $8,350 cash & GT and will visit the WORLD FAMOUS BOURBON STREET in NEW ORLEANS during her stay at the Hotel Monteleone worth $5K.

SOLE DUD: I (Tim)

Tina: $22,250 cash & prizes/Others: NOTHING each

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$3K Tossup: FOOD & DRINK

S T _ F F E _
G R _ P _ / _ E A V _ S

Jennifer eats some STUFFED GRAPE LEAVES to end Tina’s bid for sweeping the maingame.

Speed-Up: WAYD?

Consonants are worth $1,300 each. Two W’s are said by Jennifer…

W _ _ T _ N G / _ N
T _ _ / W _ N G S

…an extra $6,500 is WAITING IN THE WINGS for her.

DUDS: R (Jennifer), L (Tina)

FINAL SCORES
Tina: $22,250 cash & prizes/Jennifer: $9,500/Tim: $1K GOOSEEGG

GT: $32,750
BANKRUPT TRASH: $8,950 cash & trip

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$100K Bonus Round

This week’s vehicle is perfect for going out to the beach — a Ford Mustang Convertible. Tina’s envelope is the M of AMERICA’S.

Category: FUN & GAMES
Let’s start this one-wordy…

L E _ _ _ R _ _

DCHO only adds the vowel…

L E _ _ _ R O _

…and she can’t do a LEAPFROG to the tune of $35K.

MY EP. RATING: 7