FINAL S37 STATS

Total This Week: $124,173

Total for the Season: $8,753,674

BR Win Record: 61-106 (.365)

BR Car Wins: 21

• 2 Ford Edges
• 1 Chevy Blazer
• 1 Mercedes-Benz GLA
• 1 Ford Mustang Convertible
• 1 maZDa CX-5
• 1 MINI Cooper Convertible
• 1 GMC Terrain
• 1 Volkswagen Golf GTI
• 1 Volkswagen Tiguan
• 1 pair of MINI Hardtops
• 1 Jeep Compass
• 1 Jeep Wrangler
• 1 Ford Escape
• 3 Toyota 4RUNNERs
• 1 BMW X2
• 2 Mercedes-Benz GLB
• 1 maZDa MX-5 Miata

Prize Wedge Wins: 38

Gift Tag Wins: 39

Mystery Wedge Wins: 12

Mystery was Flipped-Declined: 69-16

MW Flip was $10K-Bankrupt: 37-32

$10K MW was next to LaT: 40

$10K MW was next to $650: 40

Express was Played-Passed: 35-8

-Successes: 16

-Crashes: 19

Wild Card Usages

-Maingame: 9 (2 on $2,500, 4 on $3,500, 1 on $600, 2 on $700)

-BR: 16

FP Vowels/Consonants: 91/44

5-Round Games: 20 (2 went to R6 on March 9 and April 8)

$6K FINAL SPINS: 6

Gooseegg Victims: 17

Tossup Triple Stumpers: 3

Red Winners: 49

Yellow Winners: 63

Blue Winners: 55

This Week’s Bankrupt Trash: $3,750

Total Bankrupt Trash for the Season: $859,218 + 2 prizes of unknown value

Biggest Bankrupt: $21,712 (March 2)

Top Winning Totals: $113,055 (April 8), $93,831 (April 6), $82,050 (April 24)

Bottom-Winning Totals: $12,280 (Mar. 20), $12,108 (April 7), $10,250 (Oct. 1)

Season-High Week: $375,557 (America’s Game IV)

Season-Low Week: $173,800 (Weekend Getaways)

Bonus Round Stats

Perfect BR Weeks: 0
BR Shutouts: 3
MDBRs: 12

 

PERSON (or PEOPLE): 7/26; 1-6

PLACE(S): 10/29; 4-6

THING(S): 16/160; 6-10

PHRASE: 51/117; 21-30

EVENT: 8/19; 6-2

OCCUPATION: 1/1; 0-1

SHOW BIZ: 1/2; 0-1

AROUND THE HOUSE: 3/9; 1-2

ON THE MAP: 1/1; 1-0

FOOD & DRINK: 13/25; 4-9

FUN & GAMES: 9/16; 2-7

IN THE KITCHEN: NEVER OFFERED

LIVING THING(S): 15/48; 5-10

WHAT ARE YOU DOING?: 26/36; 6-20

WHAT ARE YOU WEARING?: 6/12; 4-2

 

$37K: 34/99

$45K: 4/12

$50K: 2/6

$100K (or $1M): 0/3

CAR: 21/47

My personal BEST/WORST MOMENTS of the season to come soon…

WoF Recap: September 10, 2020 — UNINTENDED SEASON 37 FINALE

EPISODE #7209: AMERICA’S GAME V

We’re closing out the Harry Friedman era on the set of “Surfin’ Safari”.

$1K Toss-Up: ON THE MAP

_ _ G E _ E
_ _ E _ O N

Rosario pinpoints the West Coast city of EUGENE, OREGON. Our final players of S37 are…

Rosario Wright: pharmacy supervisor w/ a son named Jackson from Manteca, CA

Emily Shapiro: beauty publicist who loves traveling and has a 100-yr.-old grandma named Carmela from Manalapan, NJ

Fitzhugh Christopher: software engineer who has a girlfriend named Tiffany and two sons and a roller coaster junkie from Owings Mills, MD

$2K Toss-Up: TITLE

T H E / _ A L L
_ _ / T H _ / W I _ D

Rosario’s two for two w/ the Jack London novel “THE CALL OF THE WILD” (a Disney film of this was released back in February this year).

FEATURED $7K SS: care.com
$ Gift Tag: Krispy Krunchy Chicken

Round 1: WAYD?

She rattles off an N for that MDW, a $650 G, two E’s, an $800 T, a $5K pair of S’s, two A’s, three R’s for the SS, and a C for that WC, followed by an O buy, a $1K H pair, three FP I’s, a $2,700 Y trio, and an F for the KKC gift tag. Board…

R E S E A R C H I N G
_ Y / F A _ I _ Y
H I S T O R Y

She solves RESEARCHING MY FAMILY HISTORY for a total of $19,900 cash & spree and $22,900 so far — quite an intense PR.

Mystery/Crossword Round: CHICKEN _________

Emily & Fitzhugh strike out right away w/ R and T, respectively. Going to Rosario already who says a $500 S, but then L for loss. Emily takes a $1K N pair, but then the sole dud vowel of E for end of turn. Fitzhugh lights up a $500 D, a single A, a $1,100 C pair, a $550 H, two I’s, a $600 W, and buys of three O’s and U. Grid…

•            S A N D W I C H
•            O            I
•            U           N
• C O O _            _

COOP, SOUP and WING are all the four-letter words for $1,750.

DUDS: R (Emily), T (Fitzhugh), L (Rosario), E (Emily)

Emily: ZIP/Fitzhugh: $1,750/Rosario: $22,900 cash & SS WC MDW

Classic Bonus Puzzle (1999): PHRASE

YGMI gave this lady two I’s (the contestant window showed her and Pat)…

I / _ N E _
I T

I KNEW IT, but she didn’t.

---

PP/Express Round: THINGS

Fitzhugh first uncovers two T’s for $1,300, but the E is the sole dud vowel for the second round in a row. Second, Rosario finds two S’s for $1,300, but the BANKRUPT near $650 wipes out her money and both of her valuable extras. Third, Emily lights up four N’s for $2,600, two I’s, a $650 G, three O’s, two FP A’s, the last vowel of U, and a $1K M pair. We have…

S T U N N I N G
A _ _ O M M O _ A T I O N S

She wins her first $3,500 and there will be STUNNING ACCOMMODATIONS awaiting her at the Ladera Resort in ST. LUCIA worth $10,220.

SOLE DUD: E (Fitzhugh)
SOLE BANKRUPT: Rosario

Emily: $13,720 cash & St. Lucia/Fitzhugh: $1,750/Rosario: $22,900

---

Triple Toss-Up: PHRASE

1.

G _ E A T / T O
_ _ E / Y O _ !

All of these are ways in meeting someone. And hey, Emily, GREAT TO SEE YOU!

2.

L O _ _ / T I M E
N O / S E E

Fitzhugh, I don’t hear anybody saying “LOVE TIME NO SEE”.

L O N _  / T I M E
N O / S E E

LONG TIME NO SEE, Emily.

3.

W H A T ‘ S
_ _ _ _ E _ _ N G ?

Fitzhugh, WHAT’S HAPPENING? You’re starting the next round.

Speed-Up: FOOD & DRINK

The last Final Spin of the season is set at $1,650.

Fitzhugh: three T’s
Rosario: two S’s
Emily: R — DUD
Fitzhugh: P
Rosario: D — DUD
Emily: two W’s

S W _ _ T / P _ T _ T _
W _ _ _ _ _ S

Emily blows it w/ SWEET POTATO WALNUTS, not counting her T’s carefully. Fitzhugh then says two W’s…

S W _ _ T / P _ T _ T _
W _ F F _ _ S

Here’s a $9,900 order of SWEET POTATO WAFFLES for him.

DUDS: R (Emily), D (Rosario)
SOLE DQ: Emily’s blown solve

FINAL SCORES
Emily: $17,720 cash & trip/Fitzhugh: $13,650/Rosario: $22,900 cash & SS

GT: $54,270
BANKRUPT TRASH (minus both extras): $1,300

Rosario’s possible topics…

• THING
• PLACE
• EVENT

She’s going for EVENT.

---

$100K Bonus Round

After we see Jackson the son standing offstage, the BW stops on the R in AMERICA’S (and as in Rosario). For the last time this season, Vanna, light up some RSTLNE…

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

PMCO’s a pretty good combo…

M O _ _ N _ / T O
T _ E / C _ T _

…and she will likely be MOVING TO THE CITY in the 2020 maZDa MX-5 Miata RF Club worth $33,990, giving her a final total of $56,890 cash & prizes.

Well, that’s the good news. The bad news is S37 IS NOW OFFICIALLY THE SECOND-EVER SEASON IN SHOW HISTORY TO NOT PRODUCE A GRAND PRIZE WINNER (THE FIRST IS S21).

MY RATING: 8

WoF Retro Recap: May 3, 2002

This was their first ever Teen Best Friends week in S19. And there was a classic moment right off the bat.

EPISODE #3685: TEEN BEST FRIENDS

$1K Toss-Up: THINGS

C _ _ C O L _ T _ / _ H _ P
_ O _ _ _ E _

This is the moment I’m referring to — Christina said CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE, and her partner Shayna added the necessary S, so their solve was accepted. Info on everybody from left to right…

Shayna Sumner & Christina Pack (both from Saugus, CA): Shayna’s a sophomore at Saugus HS who sang in the school choir; Christina’s also a sophomore at that same HS and wanted to play volleyball professionally

Patrick Costello & Michael Moyer (both from Escondido, CA): Patrick’s a junior at San Pasqual High School who liked arts and music; Michael’s also a junior and part of the school’s wrestling team 

Marcie Rogo & Jessica Furie (both from L.A.): Marcie’s a junior at Harvard Westlake who played for their softball team and in the orchestra; Jessica’s also a junior at the same HS who played softball and field hockey and enjoyed photography 

$2K Toss-Up: PERSON

A / _ _ S _
L _ _ R N _ R

Marcie looked like she was A FAST LEARNER.

Gift Tag: NOVICA

Round 1: STRAR & ROLE

M & J BANKRUPTed out instantaneously. Second, S & C called up a $400 T, three S’s for $900 more, five E’s, a $1,600 H pair, and two I’s, but they BANKRUPTed out of $2,400. Third, the boys took two R’s for $700, a $1K pair of M’s, and an $1,800 K pair. We had…

M I K E / M _ E R S
_ S / T H E / _ _ I _ E
_ _ / S H R E K

They didn’t remember the category and blew the $3,500 solve by one letter w/ MIKE MYERS IS THE VOICE OF SHREK. M & J goofed w/ N. S & C picked a $300 V, an A buy, a $900 Y, and a $700 C.

M I K E / M Y E R S
A S / T H E / V _ I C E
_ _ / S H R E K

They IDed MIKE MYERS AS THE VOICE OF SHREK for $1,650 and $2,650 so far.

SOLE DUD: N (M & J)
BANKRUPTS: 2 (both female teams)
SOLE DQ: missolve from the boys

FEATURED PRIZE: pair of Melard Sidearm Technologies computers worth $5,720 (COMPUTER)

Jackpot Round: HEADLINE

S & C were off and running w/ two T’s for $900, four S’s for $3,200 more, four E’s, an $1,800 N pair, and three A’s, after which came two R’s for the computers, an $1,800 H trio, a $900 K, a single U, a $1,200 G pair, and a W for the gift tag. Board…

T E E N / S K A T E R
S A R A H / H U G H E S
W _ N S
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ / G _ _ _

They solved “TEEN SKATER SARAH HUGHES WINS OLYMPIC GOLD” for $9,050 plus both those prizes totaling $15,770 in that PR.

UNCLAIMED JACKPOT: $9,250

S & C: $18,420 cash & prizes/Boys: NIL/M & J: $2K

---

FEATURED PRIZE #2: trips to Atlantis Paradise Island in the Bahamas worth a whopping $15,580 (ATLANTIS)

Round 3: PLACE

The boys LaTed out from the get-go. M & J got up there two T’s for $1,600, three H’s for the ATLANTIS trips, three E’s, but then R for rats. S & C lit up nothing w/ M for mistake. The boys picked a $300 M, an $800 D, an $1,800 L trio, a single A, and a $600 S before they tried to redeem themselves…

T H E
S H A L L _ _ / E N D
_ _ / T H E / _ _ _ L

They did w/ THE SHALLOW END OF THE POOL for $3,250.

DUDS: R (M & J), M (S & C)
QUICK LaT: boys

S & C: $18,420 cash & prizes/Boys: $3,250/M & J: $2K

---

$3K Toss-Up: EVENT

_ _ T _ _ _ G
S T _ _ I G _ T / A ‘ S

S & C knew there were GETTING STRAIGHT A’S, so they were up to $21,420.

Round 4: THING

But they said an automatic dud of T. Second in the boys’ favor were a $300 S, but the R tripped them up. M & J lit up a $500 N and a $400 D, but time’s running out…

_ / D _ N _ _
_ _ S _ _ _ _ _ / _ _ _

…and the remaining consonants were worth $1,800 each.

M & J: C
S & C: G (DUD)
Boys: H (DUD)
M & J: 2 L’s
S & C: M
Boys: P
M & J: 2 B’s (NMC)

_ / D _ N _ M
B _ S _ B _ L L / C _ P

Fitting under WAYW? nowadays, M & J got $9,900 from A DENIM BASEBALL CAP.

DUDS: T (S & C), R (boys), G (S & C), H (boys)

FINAL SCORES
S & C: $21,420 cash & prizes/Boys: $3,250/M & J: $11,900

GT: $36,570
BANKRUPT TRASH: $2,400

---

Bonus Round

The two pairs of cars on stage were Volkswagen Beetles and Jeep Liberties. They landed on the comma.

Category: THING

Just the vowel to start this one-liner…

_ / _ _ _ E _

CMDA gave them…

A / M _ _ E D

Neither of them owned A MOPED (they went way off course w/ A MOUND or A MILD), so they lost $25K.

The next week after this one was their first of three weeks in Chicago.

MY RATING: 6

WoF Retro Recap: January 9, 1998 — Friday Finals

EPISODE #2820: WHEEL INTO 1998

Susan Puhala: attorney who won $33,050 (all cash) from Frederick, MD

Linda Brown: won $34,240 (including the Chrysler Sebring) from Gans, OK

Noel Bankhead: won $7,640 the previous night from Charlotte, NC (and he is the distant cousin of the late actress Tallulah Bankhead)

Round 1: SAME NAME

Susan made quick work here: two T’s for $1,800, two S’s for $1,600 more, three H’s for another $1,800 and five E’s.

T E _ E _ _ S _ _ _
T H E / E _ _ _ _ S H
_ H _ _ _ E _

She nailed TELEVISION & THE ENGLISH CHANNEL for $4,950 — PR.

FEATURED PRIZE: trip to the Westin Regina Hotels & Resorts in Los Cabos, Mexico via Mexicana Airlines worth $4,350

Round 2: WHO SAID IT?

Linda led off w/ N for negative. Second, Noel called up a $500 R, a $250 S (not quite to TD), a $5K T pair, a $1,200 H pair, and five E’s and two O’s. After a $600 C…

H E R E / _ / C O _ E
T O / S _ _ E
T H E / _ _ _

He “sang” the line of “HERE I COME TO SAVE THE DAY” for $7,050 and got the $2K bonus answer of Mighty Mouse.

INSTA-DUD: N (Linda)

Susan: $4,950/Linda: NIL/Noel: $9,050

FEATURED PRIZE #2: white water rafting trip through Hells Canyon from Idaho Afloat worth $7,300

---

Jackpot Round: THINGS

Noel’s first w/ two S’s for $500, a $900 R, a $1,650 T trio, and E and three A’s, but next was N for negative. Susan lit up three H’s for $750, an $1,800 C pair, a $900 L pair, and a $1,200 P pair. Board…

H _ T / C _ C _ A
T _ P P E _ / _ _ T H
_ A R S H _ A L L _ _ S

She solved HOT COCOA TOPPED WITH MARSHMALLOWS for $4,650.

SOLE DUD: N (Noel)
UNCLAIMED JACKPOT: $14,500

Susan: $9,600/Linda: NADA/Noel: $9,050

---

Round 4: PEOPLE

A $500 T got Susan started, but the BANKRUPT near purple $500 stopped her cold. Linda got a $5K S, five E’s, but no more w/ R. Noel tried a $400 M, an A buy, two N’s for the Mexico trip, and a $900 W pair. We had…

W E E _ E N _
N E W S / T E A M

The WEEKEND NEWS TEAM in his area would be happy to report that he won another $1,050 and the Mexico trip.

SOLE DUD: R (Linda)
SOLE BANKRUPT: Susan

Susan: $9,600/Linda: BUPKIS/Noel: $14,450 cash & Mexico

Round 5: CLASSIC TV

Linda opened w/ a $600 N, a $900 T, a single E, but then LaT. Noel then said two S’s for $600…

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

…and solved “LOST IN SPACE”.

SOLE LaT: Linda

Susan: $9,600/Linda: NO LUCK/Noel: $15,050 cash & Mexico

Speed-Up: PLACE

Good news for Linda — consonants were worth $5K apiece!

Noel: R
Susan: S
Linda: N (DUD)
Noel: two T’s
Susan: L (DUD)
Linda: B (DUD)
Noel: C (DUD)
Susan: two H’s
Linda: D
Noel: A
Susan: I
Linda: two P’s

P H _ T _ _ R A P H _
S T _ D I _

Linda finally earned $15K in this game w/ PHOTOGRAPHY STUDIO! Too bad she still lost by $50, however.

DUDS: N (Linda), L (Susan), B (Linda), C (Noel)

FINAL SCORES
Susan: $9,600 (out w/ $42,650)/Linda: $15K (out w/ $49,240)/Noel: $15,050 cash & Mexico ($22,690 so far)

GT: $39,650
BANKRUPT TRASH: $500

---

Bonus Round

Noel picked the W from W-EE-.

Category: THING

This is a sewing-related item…

T _ _ _ _ L E

CHDA only added…

T H _ _ _ L E

…but he got THIMBLE no problem and won the pair of Triumph Thunderbird Sport motorcycles worth $18,390, giving him a final 2-day total of $41,080 cash & prizes.

At the end, the hosts inhaled helium from a couple of balloons on the set. This made it in onto their clip shows.

MY RATING: 7

WoF Retro Recap: January 6, 1998

EPISODE #2817: WHEEL INTO 1998

Tara Vice: senior at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs (her father inspired her to go there since he previously served in the A.F.) where she was one of the fighters of Cadet Squadron 4 from Cincinnati, OH (she was scheduled to be playing on their Denver road trip, but she was buried in the snow)

Bob Schwartz: retired part-time bank worker married for almost 45 yrs. w/ three grandkids, three granddogs, and three grandcats to L.A.

Bob Meek: truck driver in the food services co. married 7 yrs. w/ daughter Ashley and a big fan of the 49ers from Petaluma, CA

Round 1: LANDMARK

Tara instantly LaTed out. Second, Schwartz called up a $600 T, a $500 R pair, a $600 H pair, a $550 C, two E’s, and a $900 B. We had…

T H E
C H R _ _ _ E R
B _ _ _ _ _ _ _

He solved THE CHRYSLER BUILDING for $2,900.

INSTA-LaT: Tara

FEATURED PRIZE: Amtrak train trip aboard The Coast Starlight (incl. a visit to Seattle’s The Bacon Mansion) worth $3,920

Round 2: PHRASE

Schwartz LaTed out right away just like Tara from the last round. Meek secondly said an automatic dud of R while on the train trip. Tara thirdly took two T’s for $1,200, a $550 S, but then H for hush. Schwartz lit up two N’s for $500, two L’s to double up, a $500 W pair (a possible null happened before that call), but then B for bad. Meek then said five D’s for $1,250…

_ N _ T _ D
W _ / S T _ N D
D _ _ _ D _ D
W _ / _ _ L L

…and solved UNITED WE STAND, DIVIDED WE FALL.

AIRED DUDS: R (Meek), H (Tara), B (Schwartz)
AIRED LaT: Schwartz

Tara: NIL/Schwartz: $2,900/Meek: $1,250

---

Jackpot Round: THING

Meek led off w/ a $3,500 T, a $600 R, four L’s for $2,400 more, O and four E’s, but the BANKRUPT near green $500 wiped him out of $6K. Moving on to Tara who said three N’s for $1,200, a $1K S pair, a $600 F (so close to Jackpot), and a $550 G. Board…

L O N G – S L E E _ E
F L _ N N E L
S _ _ R T

She donned a LONG-SLEEVE FLANNEL SHIRT for $3,350.

SOLE BANKRUPT: Meek
UNCLAIMED JACKPOT: $11,750

Tara: $3,350/Schwartz: $2,900/Meek: $1,250

---

Round 4: BEFORE & AFTER

Tara opened w/ a $5K N, a $900 S, a single E, an $800 C, but then after another null cycle, she got the BANKRUPT near purple $500 to give up $6,450. Schwartz lit up a $700 H, but no more w/ G. Meek got up there a $250 W, but the BANKRUPT near green $500 nailed him. Tara followed w/ a $250 K and a $500 Y to clean out the consonants.

K E Y
C H _ _ N
S _ W

She got herself out of this strange round w/ a KEY CHAIN SAW for $750.

AIRED DUD: G (Schwartz)
AIRED BANKRUPTS: 2 (everybody else)

Tara: $4,100/Schwartz: $2,900/Meek: $1,250

Round 5: PERSON

Schwartz LaTed out from the get-go. Meek got the train trip this time w/ R, but said M for mistake. Tara also whiffed w/ N. Schwartz chose a $900 P, but the BANKRUPT near purple $500 stopped him cold. Meek got in a spin just as the Final Spin bells rang and picked up the SURPRISE w/ two K’s.

P _ _ _ _
K _ _ K _ R

After Pat’s BANKRUPT near the purple $500, consonants were worth $700 each.

Meek: G (DUD)
Tara: D (DUD)
Schwartz: L (wha?!)

P L _ _ _
K _ _ K _ R

Schwartz solved the football position of PLACE KICKER for the Final Spin amount. If he had said the C’s instead, he would’ve won by $200.

DUDS: M (Meek), N (Tara), G (Meek), D (Tara)
INSTA-LaT: Schwartz
SOLE BANKRUPT: Schwartz

FINAL SCORES
Tara: $4,100/Schwartz: $3,600/Meek: $1,250

GT: $8,950
BANKRUPT TRASH: $13,600

---

Bonus Round

The non-$25K prizes that week were…

• Chrysler Sebring ($27K+)
• pair of Triumph Thunderbird motorcycles ($18K+)
• Acura SLX ($36K+)
• Winnebago Rialta ($54K+)

With the H gone (that had the cash the previous night), Tara chose the first E from W-EEL.

Category: THING

This six-letter answer started as…

_ R E _ _ _

She CMDAed out of the game and wasn’t even close w/ CREEPY. It was the vocabulary term PREFIX and she lost the Sebring. With a final total of $4,100, she had NO CHANCE of making in to the Friday Finals.

MY RATING: 2