WoF Retro Recap: October 22, 1999

EPISODE #3155: ORIENT ESCAPE WEEK

Preview Puzzle: PHRASE

_ N U G G _ _ / U _

A: SNUGGLE UP

Greg Mirow: member of the Lions Club married w/ two daughters who collects lighters and even tries radio contests from Bloomville, OH

Kim Garrison: P.E. teacher and mom of two kids who has a jump rope team called Jazzy Jumpers at Alamance Elementary and enjoys playing golf even though she’s bad at the sport from Brown Summit, NC

Dave Saunders: food critic and DJ married to Sue w/ a 1-yr.-old daughter (Hattie) from Playa Del Rey, CA

Round 1: ON THE MAP (PUZZLER)

Greg: insta-BANKRUPT

Kim: $300 R, $550 L, one E and A, $600 T, one I, $700 S, $1K N pair, one O, solve…

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

Kim located EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND for $2,150. Now for THINGS…

_ A G _ I _ E S

RAGLIES and MAGAZINE were way off; they were BAGPIPES.

FEATURED PRIZE: $2,500 Nike Sports activewear (SPORTS)

Round 2: HEADLINE

Kim: four R’s for $1,200, four E’s and two A’s, $900 T, $3,200 N quartet, two I’s, one W for $10K, one O, $1,800 S pair, $700 C, last vowel of U (they edited out this for some reason and it popped up after the C appeared), $1,100 H pair, $600 L, $300 M (complete board), solve…

O S C A R / W I N N E R
H E L E N / H U N T
M A R R I E S

She read the answer for $18,550 — BIG PR!

Kim: $20,700/Men: $0 each

---

FEATURED PRIZE #2: Sanibel Harbor Resort & Spa in Florida worth $5,173 (FLORIDA)

Jackpot Round: PHRASE

Dave: $1,200 N pair, $3,500 S, five O’s, R for rats

Greg: C for crud

Kim: $600 T pair, three E’s, $300 L, $300 M, $900 B, $2,400 H trio, solve…

N O / H O M E
S H O _ L _ / B E
_ _ T H O _ T / O N E

She solved “NO HOME SHOULD BE WITHOUT ONE” for $4,250 more.

UNCLAIMED JACKPOT: $13K

Kim: $24,950 (mistakenly shown as $22,800)/Men: ZERO a head

---

Round 4: AROUND THE HOUSE

Greg: $300 N, no R on FLORIDA

Kim: $300 C, one A, $900 D, no G on SPORTS

Dave: M for mistake

Greg: one P for SPORTS, no H

Jim: $900 Y, LaT

Dave: LaT

Greg: $800 B (NMC)

C A N _ P Y
B _ D

He solved CANOPY BED for $1,100 and the Nike prize.

Greg: $3,600 cash & sports/Kim: $24,950/Dave: NOTHING

Speed-Up: OCCUPATION

Consonants were worth $1,600 apiece.

Kim: R
Dave: S
Greg: 3 N’s
Kim: L (DUD)
Dave: M (DUD)
Greg: P
Kim: C (DUD)
Dave: 2 T’s

S _ P _ R _ N T _ N _ _ N T

Dave solved SUPERINTENDENT to also avoid the parting gifts and took home $4,800.

PENALTY BOX	DUDS	LaTs	BANKRUPTS	DQs
Round 1			Greg
Round 2	BIG PERFECT ROUND!
Round 3	R (Dave), C (Greg)
Round 4	R, H (Greg) G (Kim) M (Dave)	2 (Kim, Dave)
Round 5	L, C (Kim) M (Dave)

FINAL SCORES
Greg: $3,600 cash & sports/Kim: $24,950/Dave: $4,800

GT: $33,350
NO BANKRUPT TRASH

---

Bonus Round

Kim wanted that H from WH-EL, because she wanted to take the prize home.

Category: THINGS

These are nuts…

_ _ S T _ _ _ _ _ S

CDMA gave her two more…

_ _ S T A C _ _ _ S

She munched on the PISTACHIOS and won the Orient Cruise from Beijing to Hong Kong worth $17,996, giving her a final total of $42,946 cash & cruise. She was greeted by her mom.

MY RATING: 8

WoF Retro Recap: October 21, 1999

EPISODE #3154: ORIENT ESCAPE WEEK

Preview Puzzle: THING

P O D _ U _

A: PODIUM (Pat pronounced it as “pod-eye-um”)

Jan Sherman: photographer married to Mike w/ one daughter and has a cat named Cosmo from Charlotte, NC

Sharlyn Cohen-Lax: a lady who practiced law for 15 years and stay-at-home mom two two kids for 7 yrs. who used be a belly dancer and even earned her college and law school tuition that way from Wynnewood, PA

J.J. Smith: team coordinator for a major telecommunications firm and father of two teenage sons who did over 25 years of broadcast and also does some character voiceovers from Bay Point, CA

Round 1: PLACE (PUZZLER)

Jan: $350 R, S for sorry

Sharlyn: $350 N, T for turnover

J.J.: $1,800 L pair, $400 M, three A’s and two I’s (NMV), LaT

Jan: $300 W, $550 D, F for fail (she was definitely thinking FARM)

Sharlyn: $500 P, solve…

W I L D / A N I M A L
P A R _

Sharlyn solved WILD ANIMAL PARK for $850. Now for PHRASE…

_ _ A M / F _ E E

After saying HOME FREE, she got ROAM FREE after the buzzer went off.

FEATURED PRIZE: $2,500 TravelSmith travel clothing (TRAVEL)

Round 2: WHO IS IT?

Sharlyn: $500 S, BANKRUPT near $600

J.J.: LaT

Jan: $2,100 R trio, T’s no good again

Sharlyn: four N’s for TRAVEL, $800 G, two E’s and four I’s, $1,200 P pair, two O’s, $5K L pair, solve…

_ _ _ R L I E
_ R O _ N ‘ S
P I _ N O – P L _ _ I N G
_ R I E N _

She solved for $8,750 cash & travel, but did she know who’s CHARLIE BROWN’S PIANO-PLAYING FRIEND? Not w/ Beethoven or Linus; it’s Schroeder.

Sharlyn: $9,600 cash & travel/The J’s: $0 each

---

FEATURED PRIZE #2: Kawasaki 1100 ZXI worth $7,499 (JET SKI)

Jackpot Round: BEFORE & AFTER

J.J.: $800 N pair, $900 R, $1,500 T trio, four E’s, $600 L pair, three I’s, BANKRUPT near $600 (lost $3,300)

Jan: $800 D, $600 F, A for awful

Sharlyn: three C’s for JET SKI, solve…

_ E N T _ C _ _
F R I E D / C _ I C _ E N
L I T T L E

She imagined a tasty character called KENTUCKY FRIED CHICKEN LITTLE for another prize.

UNCLAIMED JACKPOT: $8,500

Sharlyn: $17,099 cash & prizes/The J’s: ZERO a head

---

Round 4: PROPER NAME

Jan: $1,500 R trio, same BANKRUPT

Sharlyn: $600 D, $300 C, $300 H, buys of I, A and two E’s (NMV), $300 G (complete board)

R I C H A R D
G E R E

She read the name of this actor for $750 and the maingame sweep!

PENALTY BOX	DUDS	LaTs	BANKRUPTS	DQs
Round 1	S, F (Jan) T (Sharlyn)	J.J.
Round 2	T (Jan)	J.J.	Sharlyn
Round 3	A (Jan)		J.J.
Round 4			Jan

FINAL SCORES
Sharlyn: $17,849 cash & prizes/The J’s: PARTING GIFTS EACH

BANKRUPT TRASH: $5,300

---

Bonus Round

Sharlyn wanted that L from “luck to Lax”.

Category: ON THE MAP

It’s a city in both Maine and Georgia (the former is its capital)…

_ _ _ _ S T _

DMCA gave her her two A’s…

A _ _ _ S T A

…but she didn’t pinpoint AUGUSTA (she quietly had AVISTA, AMASTA and ALASKA) so no TOTAL CLEAN SWEEP and no Shanghai/Acura package for her (that’s the prize she really wanted).

MY RATING: 6

WoF Retro Recap: October 19, 1999

EPISODE #3152: ORIENT ESCAPE WEEK

Preview Puzzle: THINGS

_ I C C _ P _

A: HICCUPS

Dave Demeter: mobile tool salesman married w/ four daughters from North Royalton, OH

Adina Rolfe: optician and mom of two teenage girls who likes making jewelry and gifts for friends and family from San Diego

Stephanie Winters: MBA student specializing in marketing at Pepperdine who transferred from New York to California 3.5 yrs. ago from Marina del Ray, CA

Round 1: EVENT (PUZZLER)

Dave: insta-dud of S

Adina: $1,600 N pair, D for dud

Stephanie: $300 T, H for halt

Dave: $700 L, one A, E for end of turn (they didn’t take away the $250 from this purchase)

Adina: M for mistake

Stephanie: $700 B, C for crud

Dave: $900 R, three O’s, baffling Y call

Adina: $1K G pair (NMC), solve…

G O _ N G / _ N T O
L A B O R

She solved GOING INTO LABOR for $2,600. Now for PHRASE…

_ T ‘ _ / A / B _ _

She rightly said “IT’S A BOY” even though she didn’t have one.

FEATURED PRIZE: trip to Las Vegas’ Stratosphere Tower worth $2,700 (LAS VEGAS)

Round 2: FILL IN THE NUMBER

Adina: $10K’s left side

Stephanie: three T’s for $1,200, $2,500 H, $3,600 R quartet, $800 P, five E’s, four S’s for $10K, one I, CRITICAL DUD OF F FOR FLUNK ($17,600 in jeopardy)

Dave: $300 M, $600 N pair, three A’s, $1K L pair, solve…

T H E R E / A R E
# / P L A N E T S
I N / _ _ R
S _ L A R / S _ S T E M

He solved THERE ARE # PLANETS IN OUR SOLAR SYSTEM for $1,650 and correctly filled in 9 for the blanks (but today, there is no Pluto, so right now we have 8).

Dave: $4,650/Adina: $5,600/Stephanie: ZIP

---

FEATURED PRIZE #2: $7K Broyhill gift certificate (SHOPPING)

Jackpot Round: TITLE

Stephanie: one T for SHOPPING, $300 H, no R

Dave: LaT

Adina: $1,100 N pair, LaT

Stephanie: one S on JACKPOT, BANKRUPT near $600 (lost $7,300 cash & SS)

Dave: LaT again

Adina: D for dud

Stephanie: $800 G, triple E’s, one F on JACKPOT, one U, $900 Q, one O…

T H E / _ _ N G
O F / Q U E E N S

…but she BOMBED OUT w/ a FOOLISH DUD OF J — really, girl?! -__- And she nearly got buzzed out, too. Dave then said K on JACKPOT…

T H E / K _ N G
O F / Q U E E N S

She IDed the old sitcom “THE KING OF QUEENS” for a $9,300 pot.

Dave: $13,950/Adina: $5,600/Stephanie: BAD SHAPE

---

Round 4: RHYME TIME

Whole panel: missed w/ T, S, and N, respectively

Consonants in SPEED-UP were worth $1,500.

Dave: F (DUD)
Adina: 2 R’s
Stephanie: M
Dave: P (DUD)
Adina: 2 K’s

M _ K _ / _ R
_ R _ _ K

This round along w/ the Bonus Round are examples of MAKE OR BREAK moments, and Adina solved for $6K.

PENALTY BOX	DUDS	LaTs	BANKRUPTS	DQs
Round 1	S, E, Y (Dave) D, M (Adina) H, C (Stephanie)
Round 2	F (Stephanie)		Adina
Round 3	R, J (Stephanie) D (Adina)	3 (Dave 2x, Adina)	Stephanie
Round 4	T, F, P (Dave) S (Adina) N (Stephanie)

FINAL SCORES
Dave: $13,950/Adina: $11,600/Stephanie: DESERVING PARTING GIFTS

Stephanie just never recovered after that critical dud in R2.

GT: $25,550
BANKRUPT TRASH: $7,300 cash & SS

---

Bonus Round

Dave wanted that W for win.

Category: ON THE MAP

Here’s a couple…

_ _ N _ T _ _ _

BDGA gave him some good help and the answer to this is a Canadian province…

_ A N _ T _ B A

…but he still didn’t pinpoint MANITOBA and lost the cash — sigh. -___-

MY RATING: 5

Wednesday episode that week

WoF Retro Recap: October 18, 1999

EPISODE #3151: ORIENT ESCAPE WEEK

Preview Puzzle: PROPER NAME

C _ _ D _
C _ A W _ O _ D

A: CINDY CRAWFORD (Pat’s way off w/ CANDY CRAWDAD)

Sonya Whitfield: worker for the department of human resources married to Darrin w/ three kids from Oklahoma City (orig. from Hollis, OK)

Mary Sanchez: student at Cal Poly SLO majoring in kinesiology hoping to be a physical therapist and was in her third year on the cheerleading team from Tulare, CA

Rick Lasky: operations manager for a major tour bus company in San Diego married to Susan (they have adopted four cats and a Pomeranian) from Santee, CA

Round 1: EVENT (PUZZLER)

Sonya: two T’s for $1,200, L for lost turn

Mary: S for strikeout

Rick: $1K R pair, $500 Y, LaT

Sonya: $700 C pair, two O’s and two E’s, $300 M, $2,700 N trio, sole dud vowel of A

Mary & Rick: missed w/ D and F, respectively

Sonya: two I’s, solve…

R I _ _ O N –
C _ T T I N _
C E R E M O N Y

She solved RIBBON-CUTTING CEREMONY for $3,900. To turn the 3 into 6, here’s OCCUPATION…

_ A _ O R

She knew that’s a MAYOR.

FEATURED PRIZE: SONY home entertainment system + webtv worth $2,899 (webtv)

Round 2: THE 60’s

Mary: $500 S, $1,200 R pair, T for turnover

Rick: $1,800 L pair, B for bad

Sonya: three N’s for webtv, $300 K, G for goof

Mary: $600 D pair, three E’s, $1K P pair, $300 F, solve…

R _ _ N D R _ P S
K E E P / F _ L L _ N ‘
_ N / _ _ / _ E _ D

She solved the B.J. Thomas tune “RAINDROPS KEEP FALLIN’ ON MY HEAD” for $3,350. Now she’s asked a surprise question on what movie featured this song…but she blanked on “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid”.

Sonya: $6,900/Mary: $3,350/Rick: ZIP

---

FEATURED PRIZE #2: spa trip to The Hilton at Short Hills worth $4,706 (SPA)

Jackpot Round: BEFORE & AFTER

Rick: $300 R, $800 T, $300 S, $600 D, four E’s and three A’s, $400 H, BANKRUPT near $600 (lost $1,900)

Sonya: $1,200 B pair, solve…

B A S E B A _ _
_ _ T _ H E R / _ _
_ E _ _ _ A D E

You’d wish there would be a BASEBALL PITCHER OF LEMONADE, but she solved for $1,200.

UNCLAIMED JACKPOT: $8K

Sonya: $8,100/Mary: $3,350/Rick: ZILCH

---

Round 4: SHOW BIZ

Sonya: $300 T, $800 L, three E’s, $1K S pair, D for dud

Mary: DQed for saying O as a consonant after spinning $600

Rick: $500 P, $1,800 C pair, $1,800 F pair, solve…

S P E C _ _ L
E F F E C T S

Rick realized the show’s using SPECIAL EFFECTS for $4,100. But the game’s over, however.

PENALTY BOX	DUDS	LaTs	BANKRUPTS	DQs
Round 1	L, A (Sonya) S, D (Mary) F (Rick)	Rick
Round 2	T (Mary), B (Rick), G (Sonya)
Round 3			Rick for $1,900
Round 4	D (Sonya)			Mary‘s O call as consonant

FINAL SCORES
Sonya: $8,100/Mary: $3,350/Rick: $4,100

GT: $15,550
BANKRUPT TRASH: $1,900

---

Bonus Round

This week’s non-$25K prizes…

• trip to China + 1999 Acura 3.0 CL ($30K+)
• trip to Bali ($16K+)
• trip to Hong Kong + Honda Prelude ($31K+)
• cruise of Beijing and Hong Kong ($17K+)

Sonya chose the second E.

Category: PHRASE

Lead-offs…

_ _ N ‘ T / _ E
S _ _

DMYA added two more…

D _ N ‘ T / _ E
S _ Y

DON’T BE SHY and solve, ma’am…but she painfully missed w/ DON’T WE SAY and DON’T BE SAY, costing her the Orient Cruise.

MY RATING: 4

An Update on Dollar Value Formatting

We are now adding bold to all dollar value landings $1K and up. For example…

$1K $1,500 $2,500 $3,500 $5K $10K

I actually had this idea in mind ever since Nickskapower got the idea of coloring all dollar values instead of just the large dollar values back in mid-January 2021 (back then I was only a reader of this site and didn’t contribute here until near the end of S39), and I wanted to make the larger dollar values more noticeable in some way. I first demonstrated my idea in my test recap which you can read here and also applied it in all my retro recaps so far. When updating some of the recaps on this site, not only did I fix the typos in them, but I also added bold for all dollar values listed above. And even though the $10K wedge is actually a prize wedge instead of a cash wedge, it is still technically a dollar value.

Update: By the request of Adam, we’re also adding bold to MDW landings since it’s basically the successor to the $10K wedge.

WoF Retro Recap: October 15, 1999

EPISODE #3150: EUROPEAN VACATION 

Preview Puzzle: PLACE

D O O _ W _ _

A: DOORWAY (not DOODWIN, Pat)

Sandra Taylor: worker for the Postal Service for 26 years who has one daughter, a son-in-law and a grandson who’s good at finding four-leaf clovers from Woodruff, SC

Scott Walsh: traffic manager for a steel pipe distributor recently married to Melissa from Northglenn, CO

Veronica Gallegos: clinical social worker who’s also a newlywed and has one daughter (Alexis) from Pasadena, CA

Round 1: PEOPLE (PUZZLER)

Sandra: insta-dud of R

Scott: $1,650 S trio, L for loss of turn

Veronica: T for turnover on $1K

Sandra: $1,100 N pair, $300 M, solve…

_ _ S _ N _ S S M _ N

Sandra forgot the plural form of the category and incorrectly said BUSINESSMAN.

Scott: $1K B (NMC), solve…

B _ S _ N _ S S M _ N

Scott capitalized w/ BUSINESSMEN for $2,650. Here’s THING…

B R _ E _ _ _ S E

BRIEFCASE is right for the three grand.

FEATURED PRIZE: SONY home entertainment system + WebTV worth $2,899 (WebTV)

Round 2: PHRASE

Scott: $600 S, $10K’s left side

Veronica: five T’s for $2K, $2,500 H, two A’s and six O’s, $2,700 N trio, $1,600 D pair, two U’s, other bad side of $10K (lost $8,050)

Sandra: $1,800 F pair, one R for webtv, solve…

T H A T ‘ S / F O R
_ _ / T O / _ N O _
A N D / _ O U / T O
F _ N D / O U T

She solved the puzzle…except she added one too many FORs (she had “THAT’S FOR ME TO KNOW AND FOR YOU TO FIND OUT”).

Scott: $300 M, CRITICAL N REPEAT ON $10K (he tried to change it to K, which they don’t allow)

Veronica: BANKRUPT near $600

Sandra: solved again…

T H A T ‘ S / F O R
M _ / T O / _ N O _
A N D / _ O U / T O
F _ N D / O U T

Sandra’s right on the second attempt w/ “THAT’S FOR ME TO KNOW AND YOU TO FIND OUT” for $1,800 and the webtv package.

Sandra: $4,699 cash & webtv/Scott: $5,650/Veronica: ZIPPO

---

FEATURED PRIZE #2: a $7,100 Fred Joaillier gift certificate used to purchase a pendant (82 points) and diamond earrings (74 points) set in 18-karat white gold (DIAMONDS)

Jackpot Round: ON THE MAP

Veronica: insta-dud of T

Sandra: $450 R, no L

Scott: $900 S, LaT

Veronca: $800 N, D for dud on DIAMONDS

Sandra: $700 M, $400 Y, $300 P, one A, solve..

_ A S P _ R
_ Y _ M _ N _

Sandra’s missolved yet again, this time w/ JASPER, WYOMING.

Scott: $700 C, $3,500 W, solve…

C A S P _ R
W Y _ M _ N _

Scott located CASPER, WYOMING for $5,100.

UNCLAIMED JACKPOT: $14,150

Sandra: $4,699 cash & webtv/Scott: $10,750/Veronica: BUPKIS

---

Round 4: SHOW BIZ

Sandra: $550 S, LaT

SPEED-UP

_ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ S

Consonants were worth the $1,300 minimum (so close to the big one).

Scott: T
Veronica: R
Sandra: N
Scott: C (DUD)
Veronica: H (DUD)
Sandra: D (DUD)
Scott: L (DUD)
Veronica: M
Sandra: G
Scott: V

M _ V _ _
R _ T _ N G S

Scott solved MOVIE RATINGS for $2,600.

PENALTY BOX	DUDS	LaTs	BANKRUPTS	DQs
Round 1	R (Sandra), L (Scott), T (Veronica)			Sandra‘s missolve
Round 2			3 (Scott, Veronica 2x)	2 (Sandra‘s missolve, Scott‘s N repeat)
Round 3	T (Veronica), L (Sandra), D (Veronica)	Scott		Sandra‘s missolve yet again
Round 4	C, L (Scott) H (Veronica) D (Sandra)	Sandra

FINAL SCORES
Sandra: $4,699 cash & webtv/Scott: $13,350/Veronica: PARTING GIFTS

If it weren’t for Sandra’s R2 solve, I would’ve given her the DESERVING PARTING GIFTS label, because she was pretty shaky throughout the game.

GT: $18,049
BANKRUPT TRASH: $8,650

---

Bonus Round

Scott chose the H from -HEE-.

Category: PHRASE

Some help up top to start…

S _ _ _ E / _ T
_ _

MCPA added two more…

S _ A _ E / _ T
_ P

SHAPE IT UP is one letter off…but he rebounded w/ SHAKE IT UP and won the trip for four to Spain (air europa to Hotel Melia Castilla in Madrid and then to Hotel Melia Victoria in Palma de Mallorca) worth $19,469, giving him a final total of $32,819 cash & trip. Melissa the wife celebrated w/ him.

MY RATING: 6

WoF Retro Recap: October 14, 1999

EPISODE #3149: EUROPEAN VACATION 

Preview Puzzle: ON THE MAP

_ _ A N G _ A _

A: SHANGHAI

Kevin Oliff: manager at a car dealership married to Joanna w/ two sons who went on a first date in a hot air balloon from Simi Valley, CA

Lora Hyde: married lady to Beau for 9 yrs. w/ two kids and a Pittsburgh Penguins fan from Pittsburgh

Yolanda Price: law student at Harvard married to James for three years w/ a 2-yr.-old son (Kobe) who likes Tae Bo from Indianapolis

Round 1: PEOPLE (PUZZLER)

Kevin: $1,200 S pair, T for turnover

Lora: $400 R, $900 L, two E’s, $300 K, two I’s, LaT

Yolanda: H for halt

Kevin: $400 P, solve…

_ L P I _ E
S K I E R S

He solved ALPINE SKIERS for $1,600 (not $1,200 as displayed, because they didn’t add the $400 he got for the P). Now for THINGS…

B I _ D I _ G _

He knew these skiers wear BINDINGS (and the scoreboard mistakenly displayed $4,200 instead of $4,600)

FEATURED PRIZE: $2,500 worth of Dooney & Bourke handbags, luggage and leather goods (marked ACCESSORIES)

Round 2: PHRASE

Lora: insta-dud of S

Yolanda: four T’s for $1,200, the H failed her again

Kevin: $2,400 N trio, $300 R, two E’s and four I’s, $300 C, one A, $400 G, solve…

I / C A N ‘ T
_ _ I T E / _ _ T / _ _
_ I N G E R / _ N / I T

He wrongly replied “I CAN’T QUITE PUT MY FINGER ON IT” in a good way for $2,650.

Kevin: $7,250/Ladies: $0 each

---

FEATURED PRIZE #2: Sunline and Epirotiki Greek Island Cruise from Royal Olympic Cruises worth $10,390 (GREECE)

Jackpot Round: THE 80’s

Yolanda: $300 S, $300 R, one E, the T failed her

Kevin: H was a baddie for the third round in a row

Lora: $700 C, BANKRUPT near JACKPOT

Yolanda: L for lost turn

Kevin: P for phooey

Lora: two B’s on JACKPOT…

R _ B _ _ ‘ S
C _ B E

Lora solved this RUBIK’S CUBE for an $8,300 Jackpot!

Kevin: $7,250/Lora: $8,300/Yolanda: NOTHING

---

Round 4: SAME NAME

Kevin: $10K T pair, $500 S, $900 N trio, one I, $900 R, $300 M, $300 L, one O, $1,100 H pair, three A’s, $900 G, one W for ACCESSORIES, two E’s (NMV), finally went for solve…

M A R T H A / &
_ E N _ E L
W A S H I N G T O N

He IDed MARTHA & DENZEL WASHINGTON for $13,900 and the accessories — BIG PR!

Kevin: $23,650 cash & accessories/Lora: $8,350/Yolanda: NOT HER NIGHT

Round 5: THING

Lora: $1,200 R pair, no T

Yolanda: $800 S, N for no

Kevin: $500 G

SPEED-UP

S _ R _ _ _ _
_ _ _ R G _

It’s a $1,500 Final Spin.

Kevin: L (DUD)
Lora: M (DUD)
Yolanda: 3 E’s

S E R _ _ _ E
_ _ _ R G E

Yolanda got SERVICE CHARGE for her only $800 of the night.

PENALTY BOX	DUDS	LaTs	BANKRUPTS	DQs
Round 1	T (Kevin), H (Yolanda)	Lora
Round 2	S (Lora), H (Yolanda)
Round 3	T, L (Yolanda) H, P (Kevin)		Lora
Round 4	BIG PERFECT ROUND
Round 5	T, M (Lora) N (Yolanda) L (Kevin)

FINAL SCORES
Kevin: $23,650 cash & accessories/Lora: $8,300/Yolanda: $800

GT: $32,750
BANKRUPT TRASH: $700

---

Bonus Round

With -HEE- lit up, Kevin chose the H.

Category: THING

Here’s two in the second word of this one-liner…

_ _ _ / T _ E

Thinking he knew it already, he said BWMI…

B I _ / T _ E

Well, it’s not BOW TIE, but he still got BIG TOE and won the $25K (Pat had trouble opening the envelope, so he made Kevin do it), giving him a final total of $48,650 cash & accessories. He was greeted by Joanna the wife and his mom.

MY RATING: 8

WoF Retro Recap: October 13, 1999

EPISODE #3148: EUROPEAN VACATION 

Preview Puzzle: FICTIONAL CHARACTER

_ O O _ Y

A: GOOFY (not LOOPY, Pat)

Gloria Davis: claims analyst for a major insurance company and works compensation who sometimes likes to do skits (she does Minnie Pearl and Vann) married to Joel w/ two kids from Charlotte, NC

John Brozek: worker for a major golf retail chain and senior at the University of Central Oklahoma who was in the Air Force for six years and spent some time in Aviano, Italy from Oklahoma City

Joe Connelly: youth minister at Holy Spirit Catholic Church married to Jennifer w/ three kids who hoped to sing the national anthem at a major league ballpark someday from Indianapolis

Round 1: OCCUPATION (PUZZLER)

Gloria: four S’s for $2,400, $550 T, BANKRUPT (lost $2,950)

John: $400 R, two E’s, LaT

Joe: $700 M (NMC), solve…

S E _ M S T R E S S

Joe solved SEAMSTRESS for the 7 Benjamins. Now for THING…

_ H _ E A _

He knew the seamstress uses THREAD.

FEATURED PRIZE: Jaguar 18-karat gold-and-steel his and hers watches from Festina worth $2,790 (WATCHES)

Round 2: FILL IN THE BLANK

John: $300 R, LaT

Joe: one S for WATCHES, $350 T, N for negative

Gloria: $700 H, $500 K, one O, M for mistake

John: BANKRUPT near $600 (lost $300)

Joe: $300 L, two E’s and two A’s (NMV), $1,200 B pair, solve…

? / B R E A K
? / S H O _
? / T A B L E

He solved ? BREAK ? SHOP ? TABLE for $1,350 and the watches. He also got the bonus answer of coffee.

Joe: $10,840 cash & watches/Others: $0 each

---

FEATURED PRIZE #2: spa trip to The Oaks at Ojai worth $3,993 (SPA)

Jackpot Round: ON THE MAP

Joe: insta-dud of T

Gloria: $500 S, H for halt

John: $1,400 L pair, $700 N, four I’s and two O’s, $300 R…

_ _ O R I _
I L L I N O I S

…but he FLUNKED OUT w/ the M — no way, sir. -__-

Joe: $600 P, solve…

P _ O R I _
I L L I N O I S

He located PEORIA, ILLINOIS for the $600.

UNCLAIMED JACKPOT: $8,850

Joe: $11,440 cash & watches/Others: ZERO a head

---

Round 4: THING

Gloria: $550 S, T’s a baddie again

John: no L on SPA

Joe: $350 R, D for dud

Gloria: $800 B, FOOLISH DUD of J (huh?!)

John: LaT

Joe: two E’s, two C’s for SPA, solve…

C _ B E R S _ _ C E

I’m writing this recap in CYBERSPACE on my website, and Joe solved for $100 and the spa trip.

Joe: $15,533 cash & prizes/Others: BAD SHAPE

Round 5: PHRASE

John: $300 T, $1,500 H trio

SPEED-UP

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

It’s a $1,900 Final Spin. He then said R…

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

….and solved HONK THE HORN for his only $3,700 of the night. — PR.

PENALTY BOX	DUDS	LaTs	BANKRUPTS	DQs
Round 1		John	Gloria
Round 2	N (Joe), M (Gloria)	John	John
Round 3	T (Joe), H (Gloria), M (John)
Round 4	T, J (Gloria) L (John) D (Joe)	John
Round 5	PERFECT ROUND

FINAL SCORES
Gloria: PARTING GIFTS/John: $3,700/Joe: $15,533 cash & prizes

GT: $19,233
BANKRUPT TRASH: $3,250

---

Bonus Round

Joe chose the L from -HEEL.

Category: ON THE MAP

Just an L to start…

_ _ L _ _ _ _

CDMO only added the vowel…

_ O L _ _ _ _

COLUMBIA and FLORIDA were definite no-nos, but the South American country of BOLIVIA is right and he won the Distinctive Destinations trip to French & Italian Riviera (Hotel Splendido in Portofino and then private yacht to Hotel de Paris in Monte Carlo) worth $23,100, giving him a final total of $38,633 cash & prizes. He was greeted by his wife Jennifer and brother John.

MY RATING: 7

WoF Retro Recap: October 12, 1999

EPISODE #3147: EUROPEAN VACATION

Preview Puzzle: PLACE

_ U P L E _

A: DUPLEX (Pat thought it was a FUPLED)

Jenny Oliver: a 25-yr.-old worker for a mortgage company who was going to attend six weddings this year (none of them are hers) from Dallas (orig. from Greenville, TX)

Bill Kruse: U.S. Navy for 17 years (all on submarines) who makes the air and water usable for humans and married to Grace w/ one son (Efren) from San Diego (orig. from Illinois)

Ana Baez: worker for the school district of Palm Beach County as an ESOL (English for speakers of other languages) coordinator married to Juan w/ two kids (daughter in college and son in high school) from Belle Glade, FL

Round 1: PROPER NAME

Jenny: insta-dud of T on $1K

Bill: L for lost turn

Ana: $700 M, $900 S trio, two E’s and A, $450 R, bad I buy

Jenny: $600 N pair, solve…

S _ _ A N N E
S _ M E R S

She IDed actress SUZANNE SOMERS (she played Chrissy Snow on “Three’s Company” and also invented the ThighMaster) for $600.

FEATURED PRIZE: SONY stereo system worth $3,550 (STEREO)

Round 2: QUOTATION (PUZZLER)

Bill: $700 L, $2,500 S, one E and four A’s, $1,200 R pair, $2,400 N trio, four O’s, $1,600 Y quartet, solve…

_ _ / Y O _ ‘ R E
_ A _ _ Y / A N _ / Y O _
_ N O _ / _ _ / _ L A _
Y O _ R / _ A N _ S

…but he blew the $7,650 solve w/ “IF YOU’RE READY AND YOU KNOW IT, CLAP YOUR HANDS”, not counting his R’s carefully.

Ana: one F for STEREO, lost right back to $10K’s right side

Jenny: $1,650 P trio, solve…

_ F / Y O _ ‘ R E
_ A P P Y / A N _ / Y O _
_ N O _ / _ _ / _ L A P
Y O _ R / _ A N _ S

She solved “IF YOU’RE HAPPY AND YOU KNOW IT, CLAP YOUR HANDS”. Now for PLACE…

P _ E _ C H _ _ L

That song’s sung in a PRESCHOOL, and Jenny’s correct.

Jenny: $5,250/Others: $0 each

---

FEATURED PRIZE #2: 7n Costa Caribbean Cruise on either the Costa Romantica or Costa Victoria worth $4,450 (CRUISE)

Jackpot Round: BEFORE & AFTER

Ana: insta-dud of S

Jenny: $700 T pair, NULL CYCLE? (the Jackpot jumped by $1,350), five E’s, $1,200 M pair, one A and four I’s, $900 N trio (she originally got buzzed on this call), solve…

M E _ I _ I N E
_ A _ I N E T
M E E T I N _

There’s no such thing as a MEDICINE CABINET MEETING, but she’s right for $2,050.

UNCLAIMED JACKPOT: $8,200

Jenny: $7,300/Others: ZERO a head

---

Round 4: RHYME TIME

Jenny: insta-dud of N

Bill: $400 S, one E, T for turnover

Ana: no L

Jenny: $1,200 R pair, two A’s, C for crud

Bill: $300 F, $700 H, solve…

F A _ R
S H A R E

Bill finally got his FAIR SHARE of money in the amount of $1,150.

Jenny: $7,300/Bill: $1,150/Ana: ZERO

Round 5: PLACE (only six letters in this one)

Bill: NULL CYCLE?, P for phooey

Ana: also struck out w/ L

Jenny: NULL CYCLE?, one D for CRUISE, N for nothing

Bill: $550 M

M _ _ D _ _

The last consonant was worth the next best thing at $1,900.

Bill: C (DUD)
Ana: F (DUD)
Jenny: W

M _ _ D _ W

Jenny solved MEADOW for $1,900 and the cruise.

PENALTY BOX	DUDS	LaTs	BANKRUPTS	DQs
Round 1	T (Jenny), L (Bill), I (Ana)
Round 2			Ana	Bill‘s blown solve
Round 3 (aired)	S (Ana)
Round 4	N, C (Jenny) T (Bill) L (Ana)
Round 5 (aired)	P, C (Bill) L, F (Ana) N (Jenny)

FINAL SCORES
Jenny: $13,650 cash & cruise/Bill: $1,150/Ana: PARTING GIFTS

GT: $14,800
BANKRUPT TRASH: $3,550 stereo

---

Bonus Round

Jenny chose the W.

Category: THING

This is an oval-shaped prize they introduced later this season on the wheel and still use today…

_ _ _ T / T _ _

MGHA filled in all but two blanks…

G _ _ T / T A G

She scared us a bit w/ GOAT and GAIT, but she got GIFT TAG and won the trip to London (St. James Court) and INFINITI I30L worth $37,613, giving her a final total of $51,263 cash & prizes! She took her parents to her new car.

MY RATING: 7

WoF Retro Recap: October 11, 1999

EPISODE #3146: EUROPEAN VACATION

Preview Puzzle: PROPER NAME

_ U L _ A
_ O B _ _ T S

A: JULIA ROBERTS

Kristy Johnson: a lady who just started teaching second grade at Star Center Elementary in Lake Geneva who’s a newlywed from Elkhorn, WI

George Houston II: geologist for a state regulatory agency married to Lisa (they own two cats) nicknamed “Butch” from Winter Garden, FL

Eric Reichard: student at IUPUI majoring in English hoping to be a film director but was a movie theater usher at the time from Indianapolis

Round 1: OCCUPATION (PUZZLER)

Kristy: $1,800 S pair, LaT

George: L for loss of turn

Eric: $2,700 R trio, $400 H, $350 D (NMC), solve…

H _ _ R D R _ S S _ R

He solved HAIRDRESSER for $3,450. Now for THING…

_ _ U S S _

He didn’t know the hairdresser uses MOUSSE.

FEATURED PRIZE: $2,500 IKEA gift certificate (SHOPPING)

Round 2: BEFORE & AFTER

George: four T’s for $1,200, $1,650 S trio, two E’s and five A’s, $500 H, $600 B pair, solve…

S _ A _ H E T T _ / &
_ E A T / B A _ _ S
A _ _ / B A T S

SPAGHETTI & MEAT BALLS AND BATS don’t go together, but he was now tied with the other man– PR.

Kristy: ZIP/Men: $3,450 each

---

FEATURED PRIZE #2: 1wk trip to New York Marriott Marquis worth $4,310 (NEW YORK)

Jackpot Round: QUOTATION

Eric: $900 R trio, LaT

Kristy: $450 N, BANKRUPT near JACKPOT

George: T for turnover

Eric: $800 Y, four O’s, C for crud

Kristy: same BANKRUPT

George: no L

Eric: $900 D pair, P for phooey

Kristy: $900 H, two G’s for NEW YORK, solve…

H O _ / D O _ _ / Y O _ R
G _ R D _ N / G R O _ ?

Coming from “Mary, Mary Quite Contrary”, she solved “HOW DOES YOUR GARDEN GROW” for $900 and the NYC trip.

UNCLAIMED JACKPOT: $10,050

Kristy: $5,210 cash & NYC/Men: $3,450 each

---

Round 4: THING

Kristy: BANKRUPT near $500

George: $1,800 T pair, S for strikeout

Eric: $600 R, $1,200 N trio, one E, no H

Kristy: $300 C, two O’s, $500 Y, $900 W, buys of U, two A’s and I (NMV), $300 G, solve…

T O W N / &
C O U N T R Y
_ A G A _ I N E

She solved TOWN & COUNTRY MAGAZINE for $1K. And Pat noted that the magazine is just called “Town & Country”, which is why they didn’t classify as Title.

Kristy: $6,210 cash & NYC/Men: $3,450 each

Round 5: EVENT

George: insta-dud of T

Eric: $550 R, $900 S

SPEED-UP

_ _ _ – _ _ _
S _ _ _ _ _ R

After Pat’s BANKRUPT near $600, consonants were worth $1,300 a pop.

Eric: N
Kristy: 2 L’s (she only got the hyphenated answer)
George: M

_ L L – _ _ _
S _ M _ N _ R

George got ALL-DAY SEMINAR for $1,300.

PENALTY BOX	DUDS	LaTs	BANKRUPTS	DQs
Round 1	L (George)	Kristy
Round 2	PERFECT ROUND
Round 3	T, L (George) C, P (Eric)	Eric	2 (Kristy)
Round 4	S (George), H (Eric)		Kristy
Round 5	T (George)			Kristy‘s incomplete solve

FINAL SCORES
Kristy: $6,210 cash & NYC/George: $4,750/Eric: $3,450

GT: $14,410
BANKRUPT TRASH: $450

---

Bonus Round

The non-$25K prizes that week…

• trip to Germany, Austria, and Switzerland + INFINITI G20T ($32K+)
• trip to Spain (almost $20K)
• trip to London + 1999 INFINITI I30L ($37K+)
• trip to French & Italian Riviera ($23K+)

Kristy picked the second E.

Category: PHRASE

Here’s a trio…

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

DMCA didn’t add much besides the obvious…

_ _ T / A N D
S _ _ C _

She’s nowhere close w/ SIT, DOT AND and FIT AND SWITCH, so she didn’t win the HOT AND SPICY prizes of Germany & INFINITI G20.

MY RATING: 5