WoF Retro Recap: May 9, 1990

EPISODE #1338

$149K+ up for grabs.

Melissa Cummings: 1-day champ w/ $35K cash and boat

Tommy Gallatin: sales manager for a major car dealership married to Wendy w/ a 23-month-old son Chase from Grand Prairie, TX

Jackie Riggs: vocal coach who enjoys playing squash from New York

Round 1: THING

Melissa: $200 T, R for rats 

Tommy: $900 S, F for flunk 

Jackie: L for loss of turn 

Melissa: N for negative 

Tommy: M for mistake 

Jackie: $800 P pair, one I and two E’s, not-so-victorious V call

Melissa: D for dud

Tommy: BANKRUPT (lost $900)

Jackie: same fate and lost $300

Melissa: $200 H…

E _ H _ _ S T
P I P E

…but she FLUNKED OUT thinking the last remaining consonant was C — really, girl? -__-

Tommy: K (HUH?!)

Jackie: W (WHA?!)

Melissa: G (UGH!)

Tommy: B (GAH!)

Jackie: Y (UGH!!!)

Melissa: buy of A…and $400 X (NMC) (thank you!)

E X H A _ S T
P I P E

She mercifully solved EXHAUST PIPE for $550.

FEATURED PRIZE: satellite TV system from General Instrument +  Colortyme deluxe home entertainment center including 19” color TV and VCR worth $3,494 (VIDEO)

Round 2: HUSBAND & WIFE

Tommy: $600 N pair, $2,700 D trio, three A’s, T for turnover 

Jackie: R was no good again

Melissa: $400 S pair, Free SPIN hiding $500 and two M’s, B was bad again 

Tommy: one I and two O’s, $250 Y, VIDEO hiding $150 and one J, two E’s, $600 L pair (complete board)

J A M E S / A N D
D O L L E Y
M A D I S O N

He read this former president and his wife for $3,300 and the video package.

Melissa: $550 FS/Tommy: $6,794 cash & video/Jackie: NIL

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Round 3: BEFORE & AFTER

Jackie: $3,500 N, $2,700 S trio, $1K T pair, buys of one A, three E’s and two I’s, LaT ($6,450 at risk)

Melissa: $400 P pair, BANKRUPT near red $500

Tommy: $900 M pair, $1,200 R trio, two U’s, $400 G pair, $900 W pair, solve…

W R I G _ E _ ‘ S
S P E A R M I N T
G U M / U P
T _ E / W _ R _ S

…but he painfully missed the solve by one letter w/ WRIGLEY’S SPEARMINT GUM UP THE WORDS, so $3,150 went down the drain for him and Jackie capitalized w/WRIGLEY’S SPEARMINT GUM UP THE WORKS for $6,450.

Melissa: $550 FS/Tommy: $6,794 cash & video/Jackie: $6,450

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FEATURED PRIZE #2: Van Cleef & Arpels 18-karat gold bangle w/ two carats of diamonds worth $7,500 (GOLD)

Round 4: PHRASE 

Melissa: insta-dud of S and used FS, $1K T pair, $250 H

SPEED-UP

_ _ _ _ H T / _ _
_ / T _ _ _

Consonants were worth $500 apiece.

Melissa: N 
Tommy: R (missed w/ CAUGHT IN A TREE)
Jackie: P

_ _ _ _ H T / _ N
_ / T R _ P

Jackie wasn’t CAUGHT IN A TRAP that time and won $500 and the victory.

PENALTY BOX	DUDS	LaTs	BANKRUPTS	DQs
ROUND 1	R, N, D, C & G (Melissa) F, M, K & B (Tommy) L, V, W & Y (Jackie)		2 (Tommy, Jackie)
ROUND 2	T (Tommy), R (Jackie), B (Melissa)
ROUND 3		Jackie	Melissa	Tommy’s one-letter missolve
ROUND 4				Tommy’s missolve

FINAL SCORES 
Melissa: $550 (out w/ $35,550)/Tommy: $6,794 cash & video/Jackie: $6,950

GT: $14,294
BANKRUPT TRASH: $1,600

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Bonus Round

The remaining non-$25K prizes this week…

• $35K Time Value annuity
• $21K+ Swiss Alps
• Tioga motorhome ($33K+)

Jackie wanted the first E from WHE-L even though Pat tried to get it for her first.

Category: PHRASE

Here’s almost half the puzzle…

_ E _ _
_ E _ T

FCDA filled in all but one letter…

D E A D
_ E A T

It’s extremely rare these days when two players finish in a DEAD HEAT match, and after she initially had MEAT and BEAT, she got the right answer for $25K, giving her a 1-day total of $31,950.

MY RATING: 5 (originally a 6)

Jackie’s next game

WoF Retro Recap: May 8, 1990

First Episode of Week 34

EPISODE #1337

Over $179K waiting to be won.

Melissa Cummings: owner and operator of her aquarium design business from Chula Vista, CA

Kamee Upton-Kinney: 1-day champ w/ $3,850

James Brown Jr.: real estate appraiser who’s engaged from Bladensburg, MD (orig. from Philadelphia)

Round 1: PERSON 

Melissa: insta-dud of T on $1K

Kamee: $150 N, B for bad

James: $700 R, S for sorry 

Melissa: C for crud

Kamee: BANKRUPT (lost $150)

James: $400 D pair, solve…

D _ N
_ _ _ R _ _ D

He solved Canadian actor/comedian DAN AYKROYD for $1,100.

FEATURED PRIZE: pair of white flower coral ear clips w/ 1.21 carats of diamonds from Van Cleef & Arpels worth $4,600 (FLOWERS)

Round 2: BEFORE & AFTER

Kamee: $400 N, $250 D, two A’s, $800 S, Free SPIN covering $400 and three R’s, T for turnover 

James: $300 Y, P for phooey 

Melissa: H for halt

Kamee: $1,350 L trio, four E’s, solve…

_ E R R Y / L E E
L E _ _ S
A N D / _ L A R _

She solved the mismatched pair of explorers named JERRY LEE LEWIS AND CLARK for $3,500.

Melissa: ZIP/Kamee: $3,500 FS/James: $1,100

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Round 3: PHRASE

James: $700 R, $750 T trio, five E’s, LaT 

Melissa: $1,800 H pair, $1,100 N pair, $500 D, A for awful 

Kamee: $500 P, $450 G, $600 K, solve…

K E E P / _ _ T H
_ E E T / _ N
T H E / G R _ _ N D

Kamee, since you’re able to KEEP BOTH FEET ON THE GROUND, you’ve won $1,550; she now had $5,050 to this point.

FEATURED PRIZE #2: Epirotiki 15d South American cruise on the Pegasus worth $5,740 (CRUISE)

Round 4: PHRASE

Melissa: $7K T pair, $400 R pair, triple A’s and four E’s, $1,400 H pair, $500 S pair, $200 N, $400 L, solve…

T H E S E / _ A L L S
A R E
_ A _ E R – T H _ N

She blew the $9,400 solve w/ “THESE WALLS ARE LAYER-THIN”, not counting her L’s carefully.

Kamee: $800 P pair, $250 W (NMC), solve…

T H E S E / W A L L S
A R E
P A P E R – T H _ N

She solved “THESE WALLS ARE PAPER-THIN” for $1,050.

Melissa: ZILCH/Kamee: $6,100 FS/James: $1,100

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Round 5: SAME NAME

Kamee: insta-dud of N

James: also missed w/ R

Melissa: BANKRUPT near red $500

Kamee: $200 T, $700 S pair, C failed a lady again 

James: P tripped him up again

Melissa: D for dud

SPEED-UP

S _ _ _ / &
_ _ _ _ _ T / _ _
S _ _ _

Consonants were worth $5K apiece!

Kamee: W (DUD)
James: 2 F’s
Melissa: 3 L’s

S _ _ _ / &
F _ L L _ T / _ _
S _ _ _

Melissa went from worst to first by solving SHOE & FILLET OF SOLE for $15K!

PENALTY BOX	DUDS	LaTs	BANKRUPTS	DQs
ROUND 1	T (Melissa), B (Kamee), S (James), C (Melissa)		Kamee
ROUND 2	T (Kamee), P (James), H (Melissa)
ROUND 3	A (Melissa)	James
ROUND 4				Melissa’s blown solve
ROUND 5	N (Kamee), R (James), C (Kamee), P (James), D (Melissa), W (Kamee)

FINAL SCORES 
Melissa: $15K/Kamee: $6,100 (out w/ $9,950)/James: $1,100

GT: $22,200
BANKRUPT TRASH: $150

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Bonus Round

Melissa picked the second E.

Category: THING

This is the term that describes the stock market is going down…

_ E _ R
_ _ R _ E T

DCMA gave her..,

_ E A R
M A R _ E T

YEAR MARKET was incorrect, but BEAR MARKET was right for a $20K Marlin Boat, giving her a 1-day total of $35K cash & boat. She was greeted by her father-in-law.

MY RATING: 7

WoF Retro Recap: May 3, 1990

EPISODE #1334

Over $121K given away to date this week.

Merge Gupta (female): capital investment analyst for a major oil/gas co. who does aerobics three times a week and also crossword puzzles from Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Doug Carey: full-time student as Grossmont College and part-time newspaper reporter for an east county newspaper from San Diego

Dale Rosso: clients service officer for a major trust co. who’s engaged and also from Calgary

Round 1: EVENT

Merge: insta-BANKRUPT

Doug: $300 T pair, S for sorry

Dale: $800 R pair, two E’s, $2,700 N trio, A for awful

Merge: $900 G, two I’s, D for dud

Doug: $800 B pair, $1,400 C pair, solve…

R I B B _ N –
C _ T T I N G 
C E R E _ _ N _

He solved RIBBON-CUTTING CEREMONY for $2,500.

FEATURED PRIZE: New Home Memory Craft 7000 sewing machine worth $2K (SEW)

Round 2: BEFORE & AFTER

Doug: $2,400 T trio, $200 H, two E’s, $400 N, one O and three I’s (NMV), $900 P, $900 L pair, Free SPIN covering $500 and one S, bad R call and used FS, SEW prize covering $150 but CRITICAL DUD of B (he thought the next-to-last word was BEST)

Dale: $7,500 trio of W’s, solve…

T H E
W I L _ / W I L _
W E S T
P O I N T

There’s no academy called THE WILD WILD WEST POINT, but Dale solved for the $7,500. 

Merge: ZIP/Doug: $2,500/Dale: $7,500

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Round 3: PLACE

Dale: insta-BANKRUPT near red $500

Merge: four N’s for $800, five T’s for $2,500, five E’s, $900 H, BANKRUPT near pink $500 (lost $3,950)

Doug: $10,500 R trio, two I’s, $1,800 S trio, $900 L pair, four A’s, $250 D, solve…

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

He IDed THE CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL IN ATLANTA for $12,950!

Merge: ZILCH/Doug: $15,450/Dale: $7,500

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FEATURED PRIZE #2: 7n/8d trip to the Hayman Island Resort in Queensland, Australia + Konica Z-Up 80 camera worth $8,739 (TRIP)

Round 4: THINGS

Merge: $400 S pair, two E’s, TRIP covering $300 but no R

Doug: $200 N, L for loss of turn 

Dale: didn’t quite make it out of the BANKRUPT near $1,500

Merge: $700 T pair

SPEED-UP

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

Consonants were worth $300 apiece.

Merge: Y (HUH?)
Doug: F (DUD)
Dale: M (DUD)
Merge: D
Doug: P

P _ _ _ _ E D
E _ _ S
_ N / T _ _ S T

He solved the Food & Drink item of POACHED EGGS ON TOAST for $500.

PENALTY BOX	DUDS	LaTs	BANKRUPTS	DQs
ROUND 1	S (Doug), A (Dale), D (Merge)		Merge
ROUND 2	R, B (Doug)
ROUND 3			2 (Dale, Merge)
ROUND 4	R (Merge), L (Doug), Y (Merge), F (Doug), M (Dale)		Dale

FINAL SCORES 
Merge: PARTING GIFTS/Doug: $15,950/Dale: $7,500

GT: $23,450
BANKRUPT TRASH: $3,950

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Bonus Round

The his/her Chevys and the gold watch were available in either the W and the second E. Doug chose the W.

Category: THING

Some people may experience this if you’re on the show…

_ N _ _ E T _

The CAMP strategy (CMPA) gave him…

A N _ _ E T _

ANKLETS and ANGELIC were off the mark. He would feel ANXIETY on not winning the Chevys.

MY RATING: 6

Doug’s other game

WoF Retro Recap: May 1, 1990

EPISODE #1332

Over $159K waiting to be won.

Julie Roeder: motorcycle dealership worker married w/ one daughter  from Monroeville, OH

Denise Allen: personnel manager for a law firm who’s recently engaged from Bladensburg, MD

Vince Tolliver: 1-day champ w/ $31,392 cash & prizes 

Round 1: PERSON

Julie: $1,200 N trio, T for turnover 

Denise: R for rats

Vince: LaT 

Julie: $400 S, two E’s, $600 L pair, one O and two A’s (NMV), $350 D, $400 M (complete board)

N E L S O N
M A N D E L A

She IDed the name of this South African leader for $2,200.

FEATURED PRIZE: 36” porcelain vase, hand-painted coromandel screen, and handcrafted tansu chest worth $4,405 (ORIENT)

Round 2: PERSON again

Denise: LaT right away 

Vince: $300 N pair, $300 W (surprise me), $1,500 S pair, two A’s and five E’s, ORIENT covering $150 and three T’s, four O’s, $200 H, $300 R, one U, $300 C, solve…

A / S O U R C E
W H O / A S _ E _
N O T / T O / _ E
_ _ E N T _ _ _ E _

He solved A SOURCE WHO ASKED NOT TO BE IDENTIFIED for $2,350 and the orient prize.

Julie: $2,200/Denise: ZIP/Vince: $6,755 cash & orient

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Round 3: THINGS

Vince: $1K S pair, $150 D, $900 N, two A’s, $600 C trio, two E’s and I, solve…

C A _ _ _ _
A N D / C _ E _ E _ _
S _ I C _ S

He ate some CARROT AND CELERY STICKS for a PR of $1,900 and a new total of $8,655.

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FEATURED PRIZE #2: Hi-Lo travel trailer worth $11,750 (CAMPER)

Round 4: PLACE

Julie: three T’s for $600, BANKRUPT near red $500

Denise: $200 H, $500 N pair, $400 G, $400 S pair, two E’s, LaT 

Vince: $5K R, two O’s and A’s, $3K M pair, solve…

T H E / G R E A T
S M O _ _
M O _ N T A _ N S

…but he blew the $7,500 solve by one letter w/ THE GREAT SMOKE MOUNTAINS.

Julie: $400 K, $500 Y (NMC), solve…

T H E / G R E A T
S M O K Y
M O _ N T A _ N S

She located THE GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS for $900.

Julie: $3,100/Denise: ZILCH/Vince: $8,655 cash & orient

Speed-Up: THING

Consonants were worth $500 apiece.

Denise: N
Vince: T (DUD)
Julie: 3 S’s
Denise: T (DUPE)
Vince: M (DUD)
Julie: H (DUD)
Denise: R (DUD)
Vince: P (DUD)
Julie: D (DUD)
Denise: C (DUD)
Vince: W (DUD)
Julie: 2 L’s
Denise: F (DUD)
Vince: 2 B’s

B _ S _ B _ L L
S _ _ S _ N

We’re in BASEBALL SEASON right now, and Vince solved for a grand.

PENALTY BOX	DUDS	LaTs	BANKRUPTS	DQs
ROUND 1	T (Julie), R (Denise)	Vince
ROUND 2		Denise
ROUND 3	PERFECT ROUND
ROUND 4		Denise	Julie	Vince‘s blown solve
ROUND 5	T, M, P, W (Vince) H, D (Julie) R, C, F (Denise)			Denise’s T repeat

FINAL SCORES 
Julie: $3,100/Denise: PARTING GIFTS/Vince: $9,655 cash & orient ($41,047 so far)

GT: $12,755
BANKRUPT TRASH: $600

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Bonus Round

From W-EEL, Vince picked the first E.

Category: PERSON

A couple to start…

_ _ S _ N _ _ _

After initially picking L, he chose CPGA and was in a great shape w/ this new layout…

C A S A N _ _ A

He IDed Italian adventurer Giacometti CASANOVA for the cash and a new total of $66,047 cash & prizes. Friends Ty and Brian greeted him.

MY RATING: 7

Vince’s last game

2022 Daytime Emmy Winners in the Game Show World

Hi folks, here I am relaxing in my aunt’s condominium in Toronto for the next two weeks. As I said before, most of my time will be with family, but let’s see how it goes.

Anyway, WHEEL was shut out in winning any Emmys this year. Here’s the actual winners from last Friday…

Best Game Show: JEOPARDY! (not surprising)

Best Game Show Host: Steve Harvey

It’s pretty much due to the controversies Pat has caused.

Best Lighting Direction: “The Kelly Clarkson Show”