WoF Retro Recap: December 28, 1989

EPISODE #1254: CHRISTMAS FAMILY WEEK

$154,359 has been given away so far this week and these next three families could’ve done more damage to the budget…

Gwenda Chambers & Tressia Sanders (mother/daughter): from San Diego; Tressia’s a homemaker and mom/grandma who enjoys fishing, needlepoint and helping out w/ the homeless while Gwenda’s an accountant w/ two daughters who loves mystery novels

Larry & Karen Kiser (married for 18 yrs.): from Greenville, SC and have 6 kids; he’s an administrator of single adults at a large church while she directs a mother’s day out program in her church and was pregnant w/ their 7th

David & Michael Jaffe (twin bros.): David’s the older brother by 5 minutes and was an insurance agent for a major insurance co. while Michael’s a supervisor for a major shipping service who proposed to his girlfriend Melissa on TV

Round 1: THING

Sanderses: insta-dud of T

Kisers: $500 F, $300 S pair, one O, N for negative

Jaffes: $300 R, $800 L pair, two E’s, $500 B, $150 M (NMC), solve…

S E _ / O F
_ M B R E L L _ S

Michael solved SEA OF UMBRELLAS for $1,500.

FEATURED PRIZE: Colortyme home entertainment center (25″ color TV, VCR, remote control and stereo) + 50 VHSes from Video Treasures worth $2,199 (VIDEO)

Round 2: BEFORE & AFTER

Kisers: Free SPIN covering $700 and one T, $1,400 R pair, two E’s, LaT

Jaffes: $2,500 S, LaT

Sanderses: L for loss of turn

Kisers: $1,500 N pair, two A’s, $200 H, $5K M pair, solve…

M A R _
M A R T _ N
S H E E N

Karen IDed the fake celeb named MARY MARTIN SHEEN for $8,400.

Sanderses: ZIP/Kisers: $8,400 FS/Jaffes: $1,500

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Round 3: EVENT

Jaffes: $600 N, $1,800 D pair, three A’s, $2,800 T quartet, four O’s, $200 S, two E’s, $450 H, CRITICAL DUD of L ($5,100 at risk)

Sanderses: $2K R pair, $800 B, $150 G, solve…

A / T O A S T / T O
T H E / B R _ D E
A N D / G R O O _

I hope Melissa’s not too embarrassed about Michael missing this one considering his proposal at the start of this episode as Gwenda solved A TOAST TO THE BRIDE AND GROOM for $2,950. BTW, Tressia’s married to Leroy.

Sanderses: $2,950/Kisers: $8,400 FS/Jaffes: $1,500

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FEATURED PRIZE #2: 6n trip for four to the Kona Hilton Beach & Tennis Resort on Hawaii’s Big Island + 2 days on a charter boat from Kona Sunrise Charter worth $11,410 (TRIP)

Round 4: THINGS

Sanderses: insta-dud of R

Kaisers: $500 T, $900 S, two E’s and A, no N and used FS, TRIP covering $300 and two L’s

SPEED-UP

_ _ _ _ _ L A T E
S _ _ _ _ L E

Consonants were worth $350 a pop.

Kisers: H
Jaffes: 2 C’s

C H _ C _ L A T E
S _ _ _ _ L E

Michael ate some CHOCOLATE SOUFFLE for $700.

PENALTY BOX	DUDS	LOSE A TURNS	BANKRUPTS	DQs
ROUND 1	T (Sanderses), N (Kisers)
ROUND 2	L (Sanderses)	2 (other teams)
ROUND 3	L (Jaffes)
ROUND 4	N (Kisers)

FINAL SCORES
Sanderses: $2,950/Kisers: $8,400/Jaffes: $2,200

GT: $13,550
NO BANKRUPTS AGAIN!

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Bonus Round

Should the Kisers win, they’ll be guaranteed a spot in the Friday Finals. Larry chose the H.

Category: PHRASE

Lead-offs…

_ _ T _ _
_ _ _ R
_ R E _ T _

CDMA seems reasonable…

C A T C _
_ _ _ R
_ R E A T _

CATCH YOUR BREATH and solve, you two…but they blew the bottom word w/ TREATS, so they lost the room addition and no Friday Finals for them.

MY RATING: 5

Friday Finals

All 1989 episodes from this season have been covered. Tomorrow, I look into the remaining episodes of 1990.

WoF Retro Recap: December 27, 1989

EPISODE #1253: CHRISTMAS FAMILY WEEK

Over $134K waiting to be won by these midweek teams…

Dave & Carol Abraham (married): runners of their own agency and have two sons from Johnstown, PA

Olga & Margie Pasaje (sp?) (mother/daughter): Olga from Yonkers, NY worked for the municipal housing authority married to John w/ three daughters while Margie from Elmhust Queens was an attorney in NYC who had a dog named Bundash

Brenda Millsaps & Tami Davis (mom/daughter): from Arkansas; Brenda the mom was married to Glen w/ 2 kids and 4 grandkids while Tami’s an engineering firm worker who had a 3-yr.-old daughter named Brittany

Round 1: FICTIONAL CHARACTERS

Abrahams: Free SPIN covering $800 and two N’s, LaT

Pasajes: three S’s for $750, T for turnover

B & T: $500 R, $900 D trio, three A’s, $1K L pair, $450 M, two O’s and five E’s, five P’s for $2,250 more, LaT

Abrahams: P repeat and used FS, five Y’s for $2K, $700 G, $1,600 H pair, two U’s (NMV), $250 B, solve…

S N E E _ Y / D O _
B A S H _ U L / H A P P Y
G R U M P Y / S L E E P Y
A N D / D O P E Y

Carol solved the seven dwarves of SNEEZY, DOC, BASHFUL, HAPPY, GRUMPY, SLEEPY, AND DOPEY for $5,900.

FEATURED PRIZE: SHARP 25″ color TV + VCR + Merillat’s artique modular shelving system worth $2,562 (MEDIA)

Round 2: THING

Pasajes: $250 R, $350 N, $300 G, $600 T pair, one I, $450 S, L for loss of turn

B & T: D for dud

Abrahams: LaT

Pasajes: P for phooey

B & T: $300 K, $1K F pair, solve…

T _ R K _ _
S T _ F F I N G

Here’s a food that you can eat at Christmas in addition to Thanksgiving and the B &T solved TURKEY STUFFING for $1,300.

Abrahams: $5,900/Pasajes: ZIP/B &T: $1,300

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Round 3: FICTIONAL CHARACTER

B & T: four T’s for $1,600, LaT

Abrahams: $750 H trio, one E, N for no

Pasajes: $200 F, $3,600 S quartet, two O’s, $400 G, solve…

T H E / G H O S T
O F
_ H _ _ S T _ _ S
_ _ S T

Margie wasn’t spooked by THE GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PAST, so her team’s on the board w/ $3,950.

Abrahams: $5,900/Pasajes: $3,950/B & T: $1,300

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Speed-Up: THINGS

Consonants were worth $1,500 apiece.

Abrahams: T (DUD)
Pasajes: 3 S’s
B & T: N
Abrahams: L (DUD)
Pasajes: 2 R’s (they mumbled some things)
B & T: 2 D’s

R _ D
S _ S _ _ N D _ R S

Tami solved RED SUSPENDERS for $4,500…only to fall $100 short of a tie.

PENALTY BOX	DUDS	LaTs	BANKRUPTS	DQs
ROUND 1	T (Pasajes)	2 (Abrahams, B & T)		Abrahams‘ P repeat
ROUND 2	L (Pasajes), D (B & T), P (Pasajes)	Abrahams
ROUND 3	N (Abrahams)	B & T
ROUND 4	T, L (both by Abrahams)

FINAL SCORES
Abrahams: $5,900/Pasajes: $3,950/B & T: $5,800

GT: $15,650
NO BANKRUPTS

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Bonus Round

From -HEE-, Pat got the first E per Carol’s request.

Category: PLACE

You see this on a farm…

_ _ R N _ _ R _

BDGA filled in all but one blank…

B A R N _ A R D

They easily solved BARNYARD and won the pair of Volkswagens (Cabrio and Corrado 2dr) worth $37,655, giving them $43,555 and a spot in the Friday Finals. Greeting the two were Dave’s mom and cousin Regina from Scottsdale.

MY RATING: 7

WoF Retro Recap: December 26, 1989

Opening of Christmas Family Week 1989

EPISODE #1252: CHRISTMAS FAMILY WEEK

Over $161K waiting to be won.

Rich & Mike Cullinan (father/son): from Roanoke, VA; Rich’s a CPA in general contract married to Linda w/ three sons (they nicknamed them Larry, Moe, and Curly) while Mike’s a junior at Cave Springs HS

Brian & Ruth Winfrey (newlyweds for less than 2 months): from Southfield, MI; he worked for an auto parts manufacturer while she’s a sales representative for a food manufacturer

Gus & Lee Erickson (brothers): Gus from Carlotta, CA was a logger who has a 21-yr.-old son while the brother from Temple City, CA was married w/ two kids and was a cable splicer for a telephone co.

Round 1: PHRASE

Cullinans: Free SPIN covering $400 and one R, S for sorry

Winfreys: four T’s for $3K, $900 L pair, $500 B, three I’s and three E’s, $750 V, solve…

_ / L I T T L E
B I T / _ _
E V E R _ T _ I _ _

This show has a A LITTLE BIT OF EVERYTHING and the Winfreys made $4,650.

FEATURED PRIZE: RCA 46″ big screen stereo TV worth $2,399 (marked TV)

Round 2: QUOTATION

Winfreys: $2,500 H, $400 T, $300 N, $600 R quartet, BANKRUPT (lost $3,800)

Ericksons: TV hiding $150 and one S, P for phooey

Cullinans: BANKRUPT and used FS, $500 B pair, $800 Y quartet, $5K M pair, solve…

M _ Y / Y _ _ R
_ _ Y S / B _
M _ R R Y / _ N _
B R _ _ H T

Coming from “White Christmas”, the Cullinans recited “MAY YOUR DAYS BE MERRY AND BRIGHT” for $6,300.

Cullinans: $6,300/Winfreys: $4,650/Ericksons: ZIP

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Round 3: PLACE

Ericksons: BANKRUPT near red $500

Cullinans: R for rats

Winfreys: same BANKRUPT

Ericksons: four T’s for $2K, $1,800 N trio, two E’s, $500 H, G for goof

Cullinans: $1K K pair, $1,650 L pair, solve…

_ N T E L L E _ T _ _ L
T H _ N K / T _ N K

The Cullinans solved INTELLECTUAL THINK TANK for $2,650.

Cullinans: $8,950/Winfreys: $4,650/Ericksons: ZILCH

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FEATURED PRIZE #2: 1 wk. trip for four people to the Mountain Lake Resort (made famous by the film “Dirty Dancing”) in Mountain Lake, VA worth $6,704 (TRIP)

Round 4: THING

Cullinans: LaT

Winfreys: $250 S, T for turnover

Ericksons: TRIP hiding $300 but no N

Cullinans: $350 R, $3K D pair, A for awful

Winfreys: same BANKRUPT (lost $250)

Ericksons: SPEED-UP bells rang as they spun, but no M anyway

_ _ _ S _ _ _ _ D
_ _ R D

Consonants were worth $700 apiece.

Cullinans: W
Winfreys: P (DUD)
Ericksons: 2 H’s

H _ _ S _ H _ _ D
W _ R D

Gus & Lee solved HOUSEHOLD WORD for $1,400 plus the VA trip totaling $8,104 that round. 

PENALTY BOX	DUDS	LOSE A TURNS	BANKRUPTS	DQs
ROUND 1	S (Cullinans)
ROUND 2	P (Ericksons)		Winfreys
ROUND 3	R (Cullinans), G (Ericksons)		2 (Ericksons, Winfreys)
ROUND 4	T (Winfreys), N (Ericksons), A (Cullinans), M (Ericksons), P (Winfreys)	Cullinans	Winfreys

FINAL SCORES
Cullinans: $8,950/Winfreys: $4,650/Ericksons: $8,104 cash & VA

GT: $21,704
BANKRUPT TRASH: $4,050

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Bonus Round

The cash was already won the previous night, but these four remained…

• pair of Volkswagens ($37K+)
• $40K Time Bonus annuity
• greenhouse plus indoor/outdoor furniture plus $5K for redecorating ($46K+)
• GMC van ($28,500)

They chose the W from WHEE-.

Category: PERSON

Does this puzzle sound redundant to you…

_ _ _ _ N
_ E _ N _

CDMA added two more on top…

_ _ M A N
_ E _ N _

These HUMAN BEING(s) won the luxury van (the Glaval Richfield on GMC chassis) worth $28,500, giving them $37,450 and a spot in the Friday Finals.

MY RATING: 6 (shaky R4)