The famous Wheel is spinning your way with lots of cash and an assortment of sumptuous prizes! Today on...
And now, here's your host..
Bob Goen!
Broadcast History
Host: Bob Goen
Hostess:
Vanna White
Announcer: Charlie O'Donnell
Airdates: July 17 1989-January 11 1991, CBS
January 14 1991-September 20 1991, NBC
Studio: Studio 33, CBS Television City
Main Game
Daytime Wheel returned after a three
week absence in 1989, moving from NBC to CBS. Many other changes were made on
this version. To start, the daytime version now followed the nighttime version's
lead, by eliminating the
shopping element, and now just played for cash. Also, the Wheel was
"cheapened" a bit, and vowels were now only $200 ($100 on NBC). The theme song was
jazzed up also and more snazzy graphics were used in the intro, along with a few
set changes.
The
top dollar value in round 1 was $500, $1000 in round 3, and $1250 in round 5. In
round 2, 
round
3, and round 5, 
a
bonus prize was added to the Wheel. If a player landed on the prize, 
called
a correct letter, and solved the puzzle, the value of the prize was added to
their bank. On the NBC version, a prize was also added for round 1. The 
player
with the most money at the end of the show went 
to
the bonus round.
Bonus Game
In
the bonus round, the player picked one of five prizes, such as trips, cars, and
$5,000 cash. 
They
then got the R, S, T, L, N and E letters, then picked three consonants and one
vowel. If they solved the puzzle, they won that prize.
Facts
-Bob Goen can still be seen on "Entertainment Tonight," the entertainment magazine. Bob also hosted other game shows, including "Perfect Match", "Blackout", and "Born Lucky."
-"Wheel of Fortune" hasn't been seen in daytime since this version, but unless you've been living under a rock somewhere, the nighttime version still churns out new episodes and is still the number 1 syndicated show in America, now almost 20 years running.
-Oddly enough, after CBS cancelled the show, NBC picked up the show again! The show was off CBS on January 11, 1991, and re-appeared on NBC January 14th, even the returning champion came with it! Even more odd, after the show moved to NBC, it continued to tape at CBS Television City. However, all references to Television City were dropped in the opening, and the CBS logo was not shown in the end credits.
Pat Sajak makes a cameo on the first CBS episode!