WoF Retro Recap: March 10, 2000

EPISODE #3255: MEXICO WEEK

Preview Puzzle: FICTIONAL CHARACTER

_ _ M _ I

Answer: BAMBI

Tim Lang: school administrator married to Kim for nearly 15 years with a 10-year-old daughter named Allison, loves to golf and did a little acting in a community theater from Altamont, NY

Jennifer Declairville: working towards her degree as an elementary special education teacher, likes to gamble from Santee, CA

Heather Galucia: accountant married to Michael with daughter Kyra who was in the audience, likes to paint from Harrison, AR

Round 1: PROPER NAME

Tim: R ($300), L ($300), E (and it’s the only bad vowel of this puzzle)
Jennifer: T ($900)
Heather: S ($800), K ($450), D ($600), solve for $1,850…

L _ S _
K _ D R _ _

She IDed actress LISA KUDROW.

FEATURED PRIZE #1: Trish McAvoy cosmetics gift certificate (BEAUTY) worth $2,500

Round 2: THE 60’s (PUZZLER)

Jennifer: S ($300)
Heather: T ($800), normal BANKRUPT ($800 lost)
Tim: R ($300), N ($300), 2 O’s, $10K’s right side ($350 lost)
Jennifer: L (FS), 2 M’s ($300), A, C ($300), P ($600)
Heather: G ($300), 2 B’s ($800), solve for $1,900…

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

She recited “COME ON, BABY, LIGHT MY FIRE” by The Doors.

Puzzler: PROPER NAME

J _ _
_ O R R _ _ O _

She blanked out on lead singer JIM MORRISON.

Heather: $3,750 | Others: $0 each (Jennifer had FS)

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FEATURED PRIZE #2: CLUB MED worth $4,800

Jackpot Round: PHRASE

Heather: 4 T’s ($900), 2 S’s (BEAUTY), BANKRUPT near JACKPOT ($3,600 & BEAUTY lost)
Tim: 2 R’s (JACKPOT), M ($500), 2 E’s, 3 N’s ($600), H ($300– so close to CLUB MED), solve for $2,350…

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

Sometimes, you need to TAKE MATTERS INTO YOUR OWN HANDS, and Tim solved that one to get on the board.

UNCLAIMED JACKPOT: $7,300

Tim: $2,350 | Jennifer: FS | Heather: $3,750

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Round 4: BEFORE & AFTER

Tim: T ($300), S ($800), E
Jennifer: R (CLUB MED), L ($600), M ($550), used FS, 3 N’s ($300), E repeat (not acknowledged as such)
Heather: P ($700), 2 O’s, D ($800), 2 A’s, BANKRUPT near $600 ($1K lost)
Tim: G ($600– almost got the same fate as Heather), SPEED-UP

L A N D _ N G
S T R _ P / O _
_ A _ O N

The last three consonant singles were worth $1,350. He then said F…

L A N D _ N G
S T R _ P / O F
_ A _ O N

…but he didn’t solve for $2,800. Jennifer was next with B (she initially wanted to solve first)…

L A N D _ N G
S T R _ P / O F
B A _ O N

…and she had a LANDING STRIP OF BACON to go from worst to first with $2,600 & CLUB MED.

PENALTY BOX	DUDS	BANKRUPTS	REPEATS
Round 1	E (Tim), T (Jennifer)
Round 2	S, P (Jennifer)	2 (Heather, Tim)
Jackpot Round		Heather
Round 4	E (Tim), M (Jennifer)		E (Jennifer)
10 TOTAL	6	3	1

FINAL SCORES
Tim: $2,350 | Jennifer: $7,400 cash & Club Med | Heather: $3,750

GRAND TOTAL: $13,500
BANKRUPT TRASH: $8,250 cash & BEAUTY

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Bonus Round

Jennifer chose W H E E _.

Category: ON THE MAP

This is the capital city of Kansas…

T _ _ E _ _

DMCA added just the vowel…

T _ _ E _ A

The only thing she could come up with was TOLEDO, so she didn’t locate TOPEKA and was the second Toyota pickup loser this week.

MY RATING: 4

WoF Retro Recap: March 9, 2000

EPISODE #3254: MEXICO WEEK

Preview Puzzle: PHRASE

_ A K _ / A / _ _ S H

Answer: MAKE A WISH (Pat goofed with FAKE A BASH)

Suzanne Quinn: business consultant married to John with four sons from Union Beach, NJ

Kelly Longmire: in the process of changing careers, looking to get into more marketing and advertising with a son named Kendall, also does singing and was going to Italy in April through May singing gospel in the first half and jazz in the second from Chicago, IL

Pat Fagan: sales manager married two years to Cindy who does some stand-up comedy and performs in a comedic improv troupe called “This Instant” in Seattle from Kirkland, WA

Round 1: ON THE MAP (PUZZLER)

Suzanne: 2 T’s ($400), R ($600), 2 E’s, 2 A’s, L ($450), B ($300), I
Kelly: 2 N’s ($550), S ($550)
Pat: M ($500), 2 O’s (NMV), D ($1K) (complete board)

E D M O N T O N
A L B E R T A

He read the answer for $1,250.

Puzzler: PEOPLE

C _ N _ _ I _ N _

He knew that the city was full of CANADIANS.

FEATURED PRIZE #1: Hewlett-Packard multimedia PC featuring Intel Celeron processor, CD-ROM drive, Iomega Zip drive, 15″ monitor, and Polk audio stereo speakers + choicemall.com shopping spree (COMPUTER) worth $2,500

Round 2: SLOGAN

Kelly: 2 R’s ($450), 2 N’s ($700), 2 S’s ($600), L ($500), 3 T’s ($550), 3 E’s, 4 A’s, 4 G’s ($400), F Y ($900)
Pat: P ($300), $10K’s left side ($300 lost)
Suzanne: H ($500), B ($500), normal BANKRUPT ($1K lost)
Kelly: solve for $6,750…

N _ T H _ N G
B E A T S / A
G R E A T / P A _ R
_ _ / L ‘ E G G S

She capitalized with “NOTHING BEATS A GREAT PAIR OF L’EGGS”. No bonus since the product name is already part of the answer. And her name tag was falling off.

Suzanne: $0 | Kelly: $6,750 | Pat: $4,250

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FEATURED PRIZE #2: Kármina Palace (MEXICO) worth $3,408

Jackpot Round: SAME NAME

Pat: T ($600), R ($600)
Suzanne: BANKRUPT near JACKPOT
Kelly: 2 N’s ($550), S ($500)
Pat: L ($900), 3 E’s, W ($400)
Suzanne: M ($900), 3 A’s, C ($800), BANKRUPTed at the same place again ($1,450 lost)
Kelly: solve for $1,100…

M _ C _ A E L / &
_ _ A N E
_ E A T _ N

She took advantage of Suzanne’s late BANKRUPT again with MICHAEL & DIANE KEATON.

UNCLAIMED JACKPOT: $10,250

Suzanne: NOT GOOD | Kelly: $7,850 | Pat: $4,250

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Round 4: THINGS

Suzanne: instant BANKRUPT near $500
Kelly: R ($300), T ($300), SPEED-UP, S ($450) (the overhead shot was taken from another episode’s Round 1 since the $1K space can be seen)

_ T _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ R _ S

Consonants were worth $1,600.

Kelly: N
Pat: L
Suzanne: M
Kelly: P
Pat: W
Suzanne: 2 D’s
Kelly: H
Pat: F
Suzanne: B
Kelly: G
Pat: C (goofed with ARTICULATED WORDS)
Suzanne: Z (NMC)

_ T _ L _ C _ Z _ D
W _ R D S

The following sentence will use ITALICIZED WORDS:

Suzanne avoided the parting gifts with $4,800.

PENALTY BOX	DUDS	BANKRUPTS	MISSOLVES
Round 1	I (Suzanne), S (Kelly)
Round 2	Y (Kelly)	2 (Pat, Suzanne)
Jackpot Round	R, W (Pat); S (Kelly)	2 (Suzanne)
Round 4/Speed-Up	N, P, H, G (Kelly); M, B (Suzanne); F (Pat)	Suzanne	Pat
19 TOTAL	13	5	1

FINAL SCORES
Suzanne: $4,800 | Kelly: $7,850 | Pat: $4,250

GRAND TOTAL: $16,900
BANKRUPT TRASH: $2,750

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Bonus Round

Before choosing an envelope, Kelly mentioned that the name of the group she’ll be performing at is “Kelly Longmire and the Foggy Jazz”. She choose W H E E _.

Category: THING

This is another term for a bill…

_ N _ _ _ _ E

CMDI left only two blanks…

I N _ _ I C E

She can pay for her INVOICE(S) with the $25K, giving her a final total of $32,850.

MY RATING: 6

WoF Retro Recap: March 7, 2000

EPISODE #3252: MEXICO WEEK

Preview Puzzle: THING

_ O Y / _ A _ C E

Answer: SOY SAUCE

Michelle Sullivan: speech pathologist who likes to travel and collect “dreamsicles” (those are little angel cherub babies; she has collected about 50 so far) from Harrison, AR

Ted Crockett: singer and songwriter who works in business management, also related to Davy Crockett; his dad is also named that from Nashville, TN (moved from Idaho about a year and a half ago)

Lillie Perkins: teacher of children of the talented and gifted program for seven years with two daughters, also directed a children’s choir for 28 years from New Haven, CT

Lillie sadly passed away in January of this year according to this obituary note.

Round 1: TITLE

Michelle: NULL CYCLE, M (FS), C ($350), used FS, L ($300)
Ted: N ($300), 2 G’s (Pat mistakenly thought there was just one) ($500), I, D ($300), A, W ($300)
Lillie: B ($600)
Michelle: Y ($600), solve…

_ _ D G I N G
A M Y

She solved the 1999 drama series JUDGING AMY.

FEATURED PRIZE #1: El Cid Mega Resorts in Mazatlán (MEXICO) worth $3,300

Before the next round, we see Pat sticking the FS on his right hand and spinning around with it.

Round 2: THINGS (PUZZLER) (biggie alert)

Ted: LaT right away
Lillie: 7 S’s ($500), A, 8 E’s, 3 W’s ($300), C (MEXICO), 2 I’s, 3 T’s ($600), “Vowel O.”- x2, solve for $5,200 & MEXICO…

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

After yelling out the answer, she would probably have a SWISS CHEESE OMELETTE SERVED WITH HASH BROWNS on that Mexico trip.

Puzzler: THING

_ R E _ _ F _ S _
_ E N _

She didn’t know that this food is one of the items that can be found in a BREAKFAST MENU (she guessed FRENCH for the first word).

Michelle: $600 | Ted: $0 | Lillie: $8,500 cash & Mexico

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FEATURED PRIZE #2: Italjet dragster (SCOOTER) worth $3,799

Jackpot Round: THE 80’s

Lillie: R ($900)
Michelle: 2 T’s (SCOOTER), S ($450), 3 E’s, BANKRUPT near JACKPOT ($200 & SCOOTER lost)
Ted: 2 L’s ($400), Y ($300), 2 A’s, W ($300), M ($900), 2 O’s, 2 D’s ($500) (NMC), solve for $2,800…

T O T A L L Y
A W E S O M E
D _ D E

That solve of yours was TOTALLY AWESOME, DUDE.

UNCLAIMED JACKPOT: $8,750

Michelle: $600 | Ted: $2,800 | Lillie: $8,500 cash & Mexico

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Round 4: SAME NAME

Michelle: T ($600)
Ted: NULL CYCLE?, R ($600), 3 L’s ($300), S ($300)
Lillie: P ($900), M ($450)
Michelle: N ($600), SPEED-UP

_ _ _ _ _ L _ R / &
L _ _ _ L
P _ _

Consonants were worth $1,800.

Ted: W
Lillie: C
Michelle: B
Ted: D (only got the top line)
Lillie: H

B _ C H _ L _ R / &
L _ _ _ L
P _ D

Lillie blew the $4,500 solve with BACHELOR & LILY PAD and then gave a more non-sensical guess of BACHELOR & LILY POD). Michelle then said the last consonant of G…

B _ C H _ L _ R / &
L _ G _ L
P _ D

…and solved BACHELOR & LEGAL PAD for $3,600.

PENALTY BOX	DUDS	LaTs	BANKRUPTS	MISSOLVES
Round 1 (aired)	C, L (Michelle); W (Ted); B (Lillie)
Round 2		Ted
Jackpot Round	R (Lillie)		Michelle
Round 4/Speed-Up (aired)	T, N (Michelle); S, W (Ted); M (Lillie)			3 (Ted’s incomplete solve, Lillie x2)
15 TOTAL	10	1	1	3

FINAL SCORES
Michelle: $4,200 | Ted: $2,800 | Lillie: $8,500 cash & Mexico

GRAND TOTAL: $15,500
BANKRUPT TRASH: $3,999 cash & SCOOTER

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Bonus Round

Lillie chose the same letter as Tess from last night: W H E E L.

Category: PHRASE

Opening setup…

_ / L E _ _
_ _ / _ _ _ T _

CKVI was an interesting combo, but that only added…

_ / L E _ _
_ _ / _ _ I T _

…but she still took A LEAP OF FAITH for the Infiniti G20 luxury sport sedan worth $24,220, giving her a final total of $32,720 cash & prizes! She was quite the emotional one, wasn’t she? Husband Rudy and daughter Tiara joined her to see her new ride.

May she rest in peace…

MY RATING: 7 (largely thanks to Lillie’s enthusiasm)

Wed.

WoF Retro Recap: March 6, 2000

While Andy’s out watching a baseball game, I, Jerry, will be recapping the rest of S17’s Mexico week before I get to the remaining 20th Anniversary season episodes.

EPISODE #3251: MEXICO WEEK

Preview Puzzle: PROPER NAME

_ E _ E
C A _ _ B E _ _

Answer: NEVE CAMPBELL (Pat totally blew it with BEBE KARAMBERNY)

Jon Byers: field operations manager for the United States Census Bureau married with five children and 5 1/2 grandchildren and a sixth on the way, was in the army for 23 years from Glendale, CA

Tess Cerna: 911 operator who speaks Spanish (like me) with three children and married to Gonzalo Ramirez (she accidentally sold his golf clubs for $5 in a garage sale) from Paso Robles, CA (the city name means “pass of the oaks”)

Kathy Rourke: second language English teacher married to Dan with two children, three step children, also does golfing like Tess though she won’t make that same mistake from Metairie, LA

Round 1: EVENT (PUZZLER)

Jon: NULL CYCLE, L ($600), C (he shouted out that letter causing Pat to shout back at him and not hear the buzzer, causing the buzzer to sound twice) ($500)
Tess: 2 N’s ($1K), NON-NULL CUT (she bought a dud vowel in the cycle, likely the E), D ($600), 2 I’s, BANKRUPT ($2,100 lost)
Kathy: 3 G’s ($300), A (NMV), solve for $650…

_ A N G
G L I D I N G

She solved HANG GLIDING.

Puzzler: PERSON

_ H R I _ _ –
_ E E _ E R

She flubbed with SHRINGLIER; it was THRILL-SEEKER (this shouldn’t have been hyphenated, IMO).

FEATURED PRIZE #1: Konka’s Hyaline HDTV (FLAT SCREEN) worth $3,499

Round 2: BEFORE & AFTER

Tess: 5 T’s ($800), 2 S’s ($300), I, 3 E’s, 2 L’s ($10K), P ($600), 3 A’s, 2 Y’s ($300), 3 R’s ($300), B ($300), H ($600), CRITICAL DUD OF G ($300) ($16,850 at risk)
Kathy: BANKRUPT
Jon: N ($600), D (FLAT SCREEN), solve…

/ L E T ‘ S
P L A Y / I T / B Y / E A R
N _ S E / & / T H R _ A T
/ D _ _ T _ R

LET’S PLAY IT BY EAR, NOSE, & THROAT DOCTOR– Jon solved to win that flat-screen TV.

Jon: $4,099 cash & TV | Tess: ONE CRITICAL DUD | Kathy: $650

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FEATURED PRIZE #2: trip to the Westin Regina Resort Los Cabos in Mexico (CABO) worth $4,700

Jackpot Round: FICTIONAL CHARACTERS

Kathy: R ($300), BANKRUPT near JACKPOT ($300 lost)
Jon: T (JACKPOT), D ($400), E, N ($600)
Tess: same BANKRUPT
Kathy: S ($300)
Jon: LaT
Tess: C ($550)
Kathy: H ($450) (I knew it at this point), I, L ($300), A, 2 Z’s ($350), U, B ($550), G ($300), 2 O’s (NMV), 2 Y’s (JACKPOT)

B U Z Z
L I G H T Y E A R / &
_ O O D Y

Set off the fireworks– she IDed the iconic Toy Story duo BUZZ LIGHTYEAR & WOODY for $1,300 & the $9,100 pot!

Jon: $4,099 cash & TV | Tess: BAD SHAPE | Kathy: $11,050

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Speed-Up: ON THE MAP

Consonants were worth $6K (just barely hung on, too)!

Jon: R
Tess: T
Kathy: N
Jon: S
Tess: M
Kathy: G
Jon: L
Tess: C

_ _ L _ _ _ M _
C _ T _

Tess nailed OKLAHOMA CITY to go from worst to first with $18K!

PENALTY BOX	DUDS	LaTs	BANKRUPTS
Round 1 (aired)	C (Jon)		Tess
Round 2	G (Tess)		Kathy
Jackpot Round	N (Jon), S (Kathy), C (Tess)	Jon	2 (ladies)
Speed-Up	R, S (Jon); N, G (Kathy)	N/A	N/A
14 TOTAL	9	1	4

FINAL SCORES
Jon: $4,099 cash & TV | Tess: $18K | Kathy: $11,050

GRAND TOTAL: $33,149
BANKRUPT TRASH: $2,400

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Bonus Round

This week’s non-$25K bonus prizes…

• Infiniti G20 sports sedan ($24K+)
• Toyota RAV4 ($20K+)
• Ski Centurion 22′ bowrider boat ($24K+)
• Toyota Tacoma pickup ($14K+)

Tess chose W H E E L.

Category: PERSON

Here are the ending letters…

_ _ _ _ E R

(Contestant wipe is an Aztec calendar.)

PDMO only added the vowel…

_ O _ _ E R

All she could think of was MOTHER, COVER, and GOVERNOR, so she failed to solve JOGGER for the Toyota pickup.

MY RATING: 6