|
''Wheel of Fortune'' is an Australian television game show produced by Grundy Television. The program aired on the Seven Network from 1981 to 2004 and January to July 2006 and is mostly based on the same general format as the original American version of the program. After ''Wheel of Fortune'' ended, the format was revived by the Nine Network in 2008 as ''Million Dollar Wheel of Fortune'', until it was cancelled in June 2008 due to low ratings and following arguments from long-time host John Burgess concerning why he did not like the revamped format. An earlier unrelated show also titled ''Wheel of Fortune'' had been broadcast on the Nine Network. That version had been developed by Reg Grundy as a radio game show before it transferred to television in 1959. ==History== In 1981, the Reg Grundy Organisation purchased the rights to Merv Griffin's American game show ''Wheel of Fortune'' and created a faithful reproduction of the American series, as they had done with many other game shows. The new show began airing on the Seven Network on 21 July 1981, and was produced at the studios of ADS-7 in Adelaide. The show's production moved to SAS-7 when ADS and SAS swapped network affiliations and channel frequencies at the end of 1987. In 1996, as part of an attempted major revamp with the remaining of the show's famous theme music and sounds, the program relocated from Adelaide to Seven flagship ATN-7 in Sydney. Along with a new set, new music, faster game format and modified rules, John Burgess was sacked from his twelve-year stint as host and replaced by Tony Barber. By the time that Burgess' final episode went to air it had become common knowledge that the show had relocated and that changes would occur. However, Burgess' final words referred only to the show's relocation, thus suggesting that he was at the time oblivious to his sacking. The following Monday after Burgess' final episode, Tony Barber began as host amid much controversy. Beside the fact that viewers did not appreciate the fact that Burgess was sacked without a chance to say goodbye on air, viewers had trouble accepting the new rules, faster pace and Barber's energetic hosting style. Additionally, Burgess had made media appearances saying how he had been badly treated and only found out about his sacking accidentally when a Grundy executive had to cancel a golf date with him because he was needed at the studios to continue work on the new format. The ratings for the first two nights appeared promising to begin with but plummeted badly from then on. Some ground was regained after Seven and Grundy's in an embarrassing about-face reinstated as much of the old rules possible after the first five weeks. It regained further ground presumably due to audience curiosity when Adriana Xenides took sick leave in November 1996, but neither moves were enough to return it to a credible position as far as ratings were concerned. A 5pm nationwide pre-news news bulletin that replaced Family Feud on July 1, also proved fatal for Wheel and the network. On November 27, 1996, the Seven Network issued press releases in which Barber announced his resignation from the show. In his 2001 memoir ''Who Am I'', Barber later explained that he was removed from the position by the network and was offered future projects with the network in exchange for agreeing to the press release. The future projects however never came to pass. Burgess has claimed (also backed up by Barber in his memoir) on many occasions that he was offered the job back with a heavy pay raise and declined, but the Seven Network denied this story. In any event, Burgess was quickly given a contract by the Nine Network to host the game show ''Catch Phrase'' (later retitled ''Burgo's Catch Phrase'') that would be ''Wheel of Fortunes rival for a few more years. Adriana Xenides, who had been the show's co-hostess and letter-turner since its premiere, fell sick - ultimately suffering from depression and what she called a "physical breakdown". Barber appeared at the start of the 1997 series premiere to introduce and hand the show over to Rob Elliott with former ''Perfect Match'' hostess Kerrie Friend replacing Xenides for the next seven months. On 18 June 2006, the Seven Network announced that they had stopped broadcasting of the program with the last episode airing on 28 July, just one week after celebrating 25 years on Australian television. The final episode was filmed on 23 June at Channel 7's Epping studios. One of the contestants on the final episode was Edith Bliss, former field reporter for ''Simon Townsend's Wonder World'', who won the game and effectively became the show's final, undefeated champion. From the Monday following the final episode, ''M *A *S *H'' reruns returned to the timeslot. Following the finale, Seven also aired 20 unaired episodes from 2005. These were hosted by 2004 host Steve Oemcke, and clearly produced before it was decided to rest the show in 2005. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Wheel of Fortune (Australian game show)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|