Yes, we did get snow overnight. It was still coming down at a pretty good clip when I got up at 9:30, but by 11:30, it had begun to slow down. The snow was the fine, powdery stuff that blows around and is easy to clean. It stuck to the sidewalks and the grass, but the roads could have been a lot worse.
Good thing I already had off and had planned on spending the day at home. I took the laundry downstairs after I cleaned up from breakfast, then spent the next hour-and-a-half or so taking down the Christmas tree. Put the ornaments away, took the lights and garland off, changed the bears who stay out year-round into their regular jackets and neck-bows, put the Christmas stuffed animals and their clothes into the Santa bag, put the Christmas ornament bin and the Santa bag in the closet where I keep the holiday decorations. Put the laundry in the dryer before I did the bears.
Listened to the soundtrack from Wonka while taking the ornaments down. Though probably not quite as iconic as the 1971 film's music, there are some nice tracks here. The opening "A Hatful of Dreams" as Wonka (Timothee Chalamet) arrives at the European town where he hopes to open his own chocolate shop is lovely and wistful, and there's the sweet ballad for him and the orphan Noodle when he takes her to the zoo, "For a Moment." "A World of Your Own" is Wonka's number as people explore his chocolate shop, reminding everyone why they love fantasy to begin with. We even get Hugh Grant's two very funny versions of "The Oompa Loompa Song" as Lofty, a snooty Oompa Loompa who is trying to regain face after Wonka stole their magic while he was on the job.
Returned to Frosty cartoons during lunch. Frosty Returns is an oddity from 1992 that is pretty much Bill Melendez's attempt to cross the animation style and sarcastic kids of the Peanuts specials with the whimsical, weird plots and characters of Rankin-Bass. Jonathan Winters narrates the story of how budding magician Holly and her science-obsessed best friend Charles helped Frosty (John Goodman) stop a greedy businessman (Brian Doyle-Murphy) and his snow removal spray from destroying Frosty and the town's winter carnival.
Put the tree itself away after lunch, then did the rest of the Christmas decorations. Anything that goes up first - the wreath for the front door, the garlands and bows, the feather-style tree and its ornaments, the nativity and stockings and the red and green coasters I crocheted a while back - went in the last bin. The poinsettia place mats I'd just washed went in here, too.
Listened to more soundtracks while I worked. Diamonds are Forever from 1971 was the last Sean Connery Bond film for over a decade. It's strange as heck but a guilty pleasure of mine just the same, and one of the reasons is the awesome, cynical title song performed by Shirley Bassey. I like it even better than her better-known theme from Goldfinger.
I wanted the Deadpool & Wolverine soundtrack partially because I really enjoyed that movie back in July...and partially for the sheer variety of music used. You're not going to see "Angel of the Morning," the Platters version of "Only You," "Bye Bye Bye" by NSYNC, and "Glamorous" by Fergie in the same place anywhere else...and that's just side one, disc one! You have everything from Green Day's "(Good Riddance) The Time of Your Life" to Jimmy Durante's version of "I'll Be Seeing You" on the second disc. You might not be as interested in this if you're an 80's and 90's rock fan who already has a lot of these songs, but it's still worth getting for the truly eclectic selections.
By 3:30, the snow had long stopped. When I stepped outside, it was cloudy and still really windy, but otherwise not doing anything besides blowing snow around. I shoveled snow for a friend who was working most of the day. Thankfully, I believe we got the advertised 3 to 4 inches. The streets and many sidewalks were totally clear. I had a harder time, since neither the driveway, nor the sidewalk had been salted. At least it was really light snow like I mentioned, and not hard to scrape or lift.
Went back inside for Match Game '73. The first episodes I saw today featured one of my favorite panelists who only did one week...and one of my least-favorites. Comedienne Pat Carroll had a blast on the show and was funny as heck. I really wish she came back. Character actor Bill Culp didn't play well and didn't seem to really get the humor. Brett Somers spent that week arguing with her then-husband Jack Klugman in one of two weeks he sat next to her. The next week had a much better panel, with Charles Nelson Reilly returning and Nipsey Russell, Betty White, and Loretta Swit joining in.
Finished the night after dinner and a shower with episodes of Wheel of Fortune in honor of its 50th anniversary today. Originally titled Shopper's Bazaar and using an upright wheel, by the time of the pilot seen here with Ed Byrnes from 77 Sunset Strip, it looked and played more-or-less like the show most people are familiar with today. Creator Merv Griffith wasn't happy with how Byrnes was drunk throughout the pilot filming and ended up using Shopper's Bazaar host Chuck Woolery instead.
Fortune debuted on NBC January 6th, 1975, with Woolery hosting and Susan Stafford turning letters. Alas, between NBC and Griffith reusing tapes into the 1980's, very little of his version exists today. This episode from 1976 is one of the earliest in existence and gives us a good idea of how the show worked in the mid-late 70's. It's played pretty much the same as today, with people spinning a wheel and earning money after calling out letters that appear on a board. If they have enough money, they can buy a vowel. The contestant who figures out the phrase or name and wins the round can shop for prizes with their money between rounds.
Wheel was never a massive hit in daytime, but it had enough fans to narrowly avoid Fred Silverman eliminating most of NBC's games in 1980 to focus on The David Letterman Show. Former weather man Pat Sajak replacing Woolery in 1981 bumped up ratings enough for Griffith to try it in nighttime. That finally put it over. The nightly syndicated show with Sajak and Vanna White began in 1984 and was such a sensation, it continues in syndication to this day.
Sajak would be replaced in daytime briefly by Rolf Benirschke around 1989, which is also when NBC finally dropped the show. CBS picked it up, but it only lasted there about a year and a half before moving back to NBC for the final eight months of its run. Bob Goen hosted the last season at NBC.
My family loved Wheel of Fortune. We would watch Wheel and Jeopardy together after dinner in the 80's and early 90's, one of the few things we did as a family. In college, I would switch back and forth between Jeopardy and Hollywood Squares, then stay with Wheel after they ended. The regular 90's nighttime episode I have here is one that I might have watched in college while doing schoolwork or having a quick bite to eat.
Wheel was so popular, at one time, there was a children' version. Wheel 2000 debuted on CBS in 1997. It was Wheel crossed with Double Dare. Here, the dreaded bankrupt became "The Creature," with a lot of sound and special effects representing a monster that gobbled up the kids' points. "Lose a Turn" was "Loser." They could land on a wedge that would allow them to play a stunt or answer a question before they asked for a letter. "Lucy," a computer animated hostess, cheered them on. Considering how much my sisters and I loved Wheel as kids, this wasn't a bad idea, but the additional stunts and questions slowed down gameplay, the set looked cheap and has dated badly, and Lucy was more annoying than funny. No wonder it only lasted six months. (Supposedly, there's another kids' version in development. Hopefully, this one sticks closer to the adult version.)
There's been several changes to Wheel's gameplay over the years. The shopping segments were dropped in syndication around 1987 (though they apparently continued in the daytime until 1989). Griffin replaced them with prizes that now could be won if you hit them on the Wheel and didn't land on Bankrupt before the end of the round. One of the prizes that could be won was a $10,000 space, later replaced by a million-dollar space early in the 2010's.
There wasn't an actual bonus round until late 1981. Originally, the contestants could choose the five letters and one vowel and chose the prize they wanted before they began. By 1988, they'd started providing the five most common letters and vowel and letting the contestant choose four more. From 1989 to 2001, the prize was chosen from one of five envelopes marked WHEEL. After 2001, contestants choose their prize from a wheel.
Sajak and White were the two constants on the nighttime show. They were so associated with the show, they hosted the hour-long prime-time celebrity version that began in 2021. Sajak finally retired last June, to be replaced in the fall by Ryan Seacrest. I have Sajak's last episode here, complete with his heartfelt farewell to the show whose wheel he kept turning for over 40 years.
Celebrate 50 years of Wheels and prizes with these classic episodes!
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