Pat Sajak will retire from Wheel of Fortune in 2024
June 12, 2023 5:27 PM Subscribe
I liked Wheel of Fish better.
Done in one.
posted by Jessica Savitch's Coke Spoon at 5:31 PM on June 12, 2023
Done in one.
posted by Jessica Savitch's Coke Spoon at 5:31 PM on June 12, 2023
Wait, Pat Sajak is still alive?
posted by GenjiandProust at 5:44 PM on June 12, 2023 [6 favorites]
posted by GenjiandProust at 5:44 PM on June 12, 2023 [6 favorites]
Any word from Vanna White yet? Is she also retiring? Is... is she gonna be the new host?
posted by May Kasahara at 5:44 PM on June 12, 2023 [5 favorites]
posted by May Kasahara at 5:44 PM on June 12, 2023 [5 favorites]
G🟩🟩D RIDD🟩NC🟩
posted by New Frontier at 5:46 PM on June 12, 2023 [41 favorites]
posted by New Frontier at 5:46 PM on June 12, 2023 [41 favorites]
Long overdue.
In some nicer alternate universe, Alex Trebek is alive and well, and this sleazy right-wing buffoon’s career peaked years ago as the least-popular bingo host on a cruise ship for other sleazy right-wing buffoons.
posted by armeowda at 5:48 PM on June 12, 2023 [39 favorites]
In some nicer alternate universe, Alex Trebek is alive and well, and this sleazy right-wing buffoon’s career peaked years ago as the least-popular bingo host on a cruise ship for other sleazy right-wing buffoons.
posted by armeowda at 5:48 PM on June 12, 2023 [39 favorites]
Time to put together a committee to find a new host, which will end up concluding the leader of the committee is the best candidate, followed by backing out of that decision and hiring a high -profile antivaxer.
posted by Joakim Ziegler at 5:58 PM on June 12, 2023 [25 favorites]
posted by Joakim Ziegler at 5:58 PM on June 12, 2023 [25 favorites]
*
posted by OHenryPacey at 6:17 PM on June 12, 2023
posted by OHenryPacey at 6:17 PM on June 12, 2023
Wait, Pat Sajak is still alive?
He’s slowly shrinking away.
posted by Thorzdad at 6:20 PM on June 12, 2023 [1 favorite]
He’s slowly shrinking away.
posted by Thorzdad at 6:20 PM on June 12, 2023 [1 favorite]
Who will be the LeVar Burton of this hosting succession, a grassroots candidate who despite being immensely talented and beloved in their own right is not quite a good fit?
I vote David Lynch.
posted by HeroZero at 6:30 PM on June 12, 2023 [22 favorites]
I vote David Lynch.
posted by HeroZero at 6:30 PM on June 12, 2023 [22 favorites]
I say Lynch and Hertzog should take turns.
posted by Joakim Ziegler at 6:43 PM on June 12, 2023 [19 favorites]
posted by Joakim Ziegler at 6:43 PM on June 12, 2023 [19 favorites]
Al Yankovic, but you never see him because he's MCing from a closet back stage.
posted by Clever User Name at 6:49 PM on June 12, 2023 [10 favorites]
posted by Clever User Name at 6:49 PM on June 12, 2023 [10 favorites]
He is an excellent host.
posted by davidmsc at 6:50 PM on June 12, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by davidmsc at 6:50 PM on June 12, 2023 [3 favorites]
I vote David Lynch.
“We’re looking for a phrase. Screaming Teapot, you have the wheel.”
“AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”
“We have one ‘A’”
DAMN G🟩🟩D C🟩FFEE
posted by leotrotsky at 6:51 PM on June 12, 2023 [25 favorites]
“We’re looking for a phrase. Screaming Teapot, you have the wheel.”
“AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”
“We have one ‘A’”
DAMN G🟩🟩D C🟩FFEE
posted by leotrotsky at 6:51 PM on June 12, 2023 [25 favorites]
I hear Bob Barker is available.
posted by briank at 7:17 PM on June 12, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by briank at 7:17 PM on June 12, 2023 [2 favorites]
Like Judge Judy, if they just aired reruns from ten or twenty years ago, who would really be able to tell the difference?
posted by sdrawkcab at 7:19 PM on June 12, 2023 [11 favorites]
posted by sdrawkcab at 7:19 PM on June 12, 2023 [11 favorites]
I'm sure he's headed straight to Fox News or OAN for his very own white male grievance show
posted by NoMich at 7:20 PM on June 12, 2023 [10 favorites]
posted by NoMich at 7:20 PM on June 12, 2023 [10 favorites]
[Brian Blessed voice]
PAT SAJAK'S ALIVE!?!?!
posted by bartleby at 7:26 PM on June 12, 2023 [14 favorites]
PAT SAJAK'S ALIVE!?!?!
posted by bartleby at 7:26 PM on June 12, 2023 [14 favorites]
Pretty clear to me that Werner Herzog is the perfect replacement.
posted by saladin at 7:29 PM on June 12, 2023 [15 favorites]
posted by saladin at 7:29 PM on June 12, 2023 [15 favorites]
Will they give the show to his daughter? That can be the only outcome I foresee, with her being in some nebulous role the past few years.
posted by wenestvedt at 7:35 PM on June 12, 2023
posted by wenestvedt at 7:35 PM on June 12, 2023
I think the plan is to skewer him on a metal rod and just make his corpse twitch using electricity while ChatGPT uses the corpus (ha!) of 40 years of past shows to generate inanity in perpetuity
posted by lefty lucky cat at 7:54 PM on June 12, 2023 [5 favorites]
posted by lefty lucky cat at 7:54 PM on June 12, 2023 [5 favorites]
Pretty clear to me that Werner Herzog is the perfect replacement.
you have elected to spin the wheel, a choice as pointless yet inevitable as life itself. having spun, you cry out for 'big money,' yet the money you seek is but a pittance compared to that controlled by forces which, unseen, shape your very existence. the wheel continues to spin, its outcome ambiguous for the moment. i invite you to remain in that moment, to allow the wheel to spin forever. denying the wheel its climax, the final clicks of its meaningless rotations, is the only agency we are left with. if we were brave we would turn our backs on the wheel and forge our own path ungoverned by the vagaries of fate.
alas, it is too late. the wheel has stopped, and you are confronted with a choice. like all choices, however, this too offers only the illusion of freedom. the laws of probability are ageless, like the universe itself, and today they enact their will upon you. there are 3 'R's. you may spin again, if that is the sum of your desire.
no, you say? is it that you have realized the futility of your predicament, and in doing so determined that the only noble, the only human, thing to do is to refuse to cooperate? you cannot escape this vile game, but perhaps by prolonging it for all eternity you can spare your comrades a similar fate.
the moment becomes too great for you and in your desperation you seek to buy a 'U,' a request i am compelled by the judges to deny. Tina, it is your spin.
posted by logicpunk at 7:57 PM on June 12, 2023 [168 favorites]
you have elected to spin the wheel, a choice as pointless yet inevitable as life itself. having spun, you cry out for 'big money,' yet the money you seek is but a pittance compared to that controlled by forces which, unseen, shape your very existence. the wheel continues to spin, its outcome ambiguous for the moment. i invite you to remain in that moment, to allow the wheel to spin forever. denying the wheel its climax, the final clicks of its meaningless rotations, is the only agency we are left with. if we were brave we would turn our backs on the wheel and forge our own path ungoverned by the vagaries of fate.
alas, it is too late. the wheel has stopped, and you are confronted with a choice. like all choices, however, this too offers only the illusion of freedom. the laws of probability are ageless, like the universe itself, and today they enact their will upon you. there are 3 'R's. you may spin again, if that is the sum of your desire.
no, you say? is it that you have realized the futility of your predicament, and in doing so determined that the only noble, the only human, thing to do is to refuse to cooperate? you cannot escape this vile game, but perhaps by prolonging it for all eternity you can spare your comrades a similar fate.
the moment becomes too great for you and in your desperation you seek to buy a 'U,' a request i am compelled by the judges to deny. Tina, it is your spin.
posted by logicpunk at 7:57 PM on June 12, 2023 [168 favorites]
Al Yankovic, but you never see him because he's MCing from a closet back stage.
posted by Clever User Name at 8:49 PM on June 12 [3 favorites −] Favorite added! [!]
NIGHT AFTER NIGHT AFTER NIGHT AFTER NIGHT ALRIGHT
posted by symbioid at 8:05 PM on June 12, 2023 [14 favorites]
posted by Clever User Name at 8:49 PM on June 12 [3 favorites −] Favorite added! [!]
NIGHT AFTER NIGHT AFTER NIGHT AFTER NIGHT ALRIGHT
posted by symbioid at 8:05 PM on June 12, 2023 [14 favorites]
I hope they have no host. Everyone knows the rules and judges can make callings from loudspeakers if need be. Players can take turns and spin the wheel and make guesses and clap on their own without being ushered from step to step.
posted by GoblinHoney at 8:51 PM on June 12, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by GoblinHoney at 8:51 PM on June 12, 2023 [4 favorites]
How did I not know that he’s such an ass? Makes my disdain for Wheel in favor of Jeopardy seem far better than the intellectual snobbery that it actually is!
(For the record, the giant ballroom they used for Wheel tryouts definitely seemed livelier and more fun than the deathly quiet side conference room used for Jeopardy)
posted by drewbage1847 at 8:56 PM on June 12, 2023 [9 favorites]
(For the record, the giant ballroom they used for Wheel tryouts definitely seemed livelier and more fun than the deathly quiet side conference room used for Jeopardy)
posted by drewbage1847 at 8:56 PM on June 12, 2023 [9 favorites]
Yeah, it’s pretty obvious they’ve been grooming his daughter for something. But host?
Say what you will about Pat’s politics (the less, the better, actually) but he is an excellent host for the show. If his daughter has his ability to both cheer for contestants while also giving them a mild ribbing, then she should be a lock. But the stuff they’ve had her do strikes me more as prep for Vanna’s role.
posted by Big Al 8000 at 9:03 PM on June 12, 2023 [4 favorites]
Say what you will about Pat’s politics (the less, the better, actually) but he is an excellent host for the show. If his daughter has his ability to both cheer for contestants while also giving them a mild ribbing, then she should be a lock. But the stuff they’ve had her do strikes me more as prep for Vanna’s role.
posted by Big Al 8000 at 9:03 PM on June 12, 2023 [4 favorites]
And somewhere, Ed Grimley goes completely mental.
posted by Capt. Renault at 9:54 PM on June 12, 2023 [10 favorites]
posted by Capt. Renault at 9:54 PM on June 12, 2023 [10 favorites]
bout time vannah kicked him to the curb.
posted by lkc at 10:05 PM on June 12, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by lkc at 10:05 PM on June 12, 2023 [1 favorite]
> I hope they have no host.
No host, no contestants. 23 minutes of various shots of the board, the wheel, the prizes that will never be won. Nobody's suit provided by BOTANY 500.
posted by user92371 at 11:10 PM on June 12, 2023 [15 favorites]
No host, no contestants. 23 minutes of various shots of the board, the wheel, the prizes that will never be won. Nobody's suit provided by BOTANY 500.
posted by user92371 at 11:10 PM on June 12, 2023 [15 favorites]
Maggie Sajak as host means Nikko Santo Pietro as letter-brushing co-host; sign a contract in blood, you get what you get.
posted by Iris Gambol at 11:29 PM on June 12, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by Iris Gambol at 11:29 PM on June 12, 2023 [3 favorites]
I watched the show a lot more during the Woolery era back when you had to spend your winnings in the showcase.
posted by octothorpe at 3:34 AM on June 13, 2023 [9 favorites]
posted by octothorpe at 3:34 AM on June 13, 2023 [9 favorites]
Why you no want ceramic dog, nice contestant lady?
posted by wenestvedt at 3:54 AM on June 13, 2023 [7 favorites]
posted by wenestvedt at 3:54 AM on June 13, 2023 [7 favorites]
Red snapper! Verrrry tasty!
posted by jferg at 4:11 AM on June 13, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by jferg at 4:11 AM on June 13, 2023 [3 favorites]
"We need five consonants and a vowel."
"Z, 4, Q, another Q, a third Q, and the Batman symbol."
posted by Servo5678 at 4:50 AM on June 13, 2023 [4 favorites]
"Z, 4, Q, another Q, a third Q, and the Batman symbol."
posted by Servo5678 at 4:50 AM on June 13, 2023 [4 favorites]
"if that is the sum of your desire" is where I actually cracked up.
posted by mhoye at 5:47 AM on June 13, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by mhoye at 5:47 AM on June 13, 2023 [2 favorites]
user92731: Nobody's suit provided by BOTANY 500.
This is the line that cracked me up. I miss Jim Perry ($OTC and Card Sharks are the only ones where I remember seeing Botany 500 in the credits, but Wikipedia tells me there were many more).
posted by deezil at 6:47 AM on June 13, 2023 [1 favorite]
This is the line that cracked me up. I miss Jim Perry ($OTC and Card Sharks are the only ones where I remember seeing Botany 500 in the credits, but Wikipedia tells me there were many more).
posted by deezil at 6:47 AM on June 13, 2023 [1 favorite]
I miss game show hosts. Now when one retires everyone is like "BEN AFFLECK SHOULD REPLACE THEM"
posted by rhymedirective at 7:15 AM on June 13, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by rhymedirective at 7:15 AM on June 13, 2023 [2 favorites]
As others have noted, Sajak's politics are TERRIBLE but he has kept them largely confined to his personal blog/website/social media and off the show. If you didn't know anything else about the man beyond how he presents himself on the show (which, I suspect, is the limit to which most fans of Wheel think about Sajak), you wouldn't even know how terrible his political opinions are IRL. That doesn't excuse his opinions but it is a testament to his professionalism that you wouldn't know from watching him on TV that he was deeply invested in Republican Party/Conservative politics. He presents himself as an affable fellow rooting for the contestants (contrasted to Alex Trebek's sometimes adversarial relationship with Jeopardy! contestants) and has made Wheel of Fortune the audiovisual equivalent of comfort food for folks throughout his life. I actually worry that without the show, he's going to go full-braying jackass MAGA shithead and become a polarizing figure among WoF fans. I really don't want to see Wheel become yet another battlefield in the culture wars.
posted by KingEdRa at 7:33 AM on June 13, 2023 [12 favorites]
posted by KingEdRa at 7:33 AM on June 13, 2023 [12 favorites]
Why you no want ceramic dog, nice contestant lady?
Does anyone else remember when they also had a literal white elephant made out of ceramic that they made you spend that last hundo on or is that something that happened over in the Berenstein Bear universe?
posted by KingEdRa at 7:50 AM on June 13, 2023 [3 favorites]
Does anyone else remember when they also had a literal white elephant made out of ceramic that they made you spend that last hundo on or is that something that happened over in the Berenstein Bear universe?
posted by KingEdRa at 7:50 AM on June 13, 2023 [3 favorites]
Yes! The giant, rotating Lazy Susan Of Awful Prizes!
My kids didn't believe me so I had to go trawling through YouTube for old WoF episodes and find the "prize- shopping" parts. They were dumbfounded, which I really enjoyed.
posted by wenestvedt at 9:39 AM on June 13, 2023 [5 favorites]
My kids didn't believe me so I had to go trawling through YouTube for old WoF episodes and find the "prize- shopping" parts. They were dumbfounded, which I really enjoyed.
posted by wenestvedt at 9:39 AM on June 13, 2023 [5 favorites]
"In that case, I'll take the rest on a gift certificate."
posted by Servo5678 at 10:37 AM on June 13, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by Servo5678 at 10:37 AM on June 13, 2023 [3 favorites]
I miss Jim Perry ($OTC and Card Sharks are the only ones where I remember seeing Botany 500 in the credits, but Wikipedia tells me there were many more).In my childhood, my mind would conflate Botany 500 and the SS Botany Bay.
posted by eckeric at 11:14 AM on June 13, 2023 [5 favorites]
OMG IT'S THE CERAMIC DALMATIAN YOU GUYS:
https://www.metv.com/stories/who-remembers-when-wheel-of-fortune-had-shopping
posted by wenestvedt at 12:28 PM on June 13, 2023 [3 favorites]
https://www.metv.com/stories/who-remembers-when-wheel-of-fortune-had-shopping
posted by wenestvedt at 12:28 PM on June 13, 2023 [3 favorites]
ORIGINAL 'Shoppers Baaar pilot with Woolery
Pilot #3 with Edd 'Kookie' Burns (sans comb)
Say what you want about Sajak, but 1) he is unquestionably a real gosh-darn professional brodcaster like Letterman, Larry King and Gerry Todd (respect for the admittedly shallow and insipid craft), and 2) his predecessor the handsome Chuck Woolery was last seen screaming 'Cultural Marxism! Soshulizm! AAAAAA!' out the window of his SUV to an interviewer as he was driving his family out of Cali and back to his home state of Tennessee to retire.
I think the nicest thing about Sajak is that, as a conservative firebrand, he's Dr. Sominex compared to the rest. Like Earth or Archie Bunker, mostly harmless.
I suspect Ed Grimley is moving on to admire the nearly-as-bland Chris Wallace (non-politically) by now.
With Sajak's departure, I admonish you to be vigilant, for Mike Richards is around every corner, waiting, planning, scheming to take over...
GGGGenre.
posted by zaixfeep at 1:59 PM on June 13, 2023 [1 favorite]
Pilot #3 with Edd 'Kookie' Burns (sans comb)
Say what you want about Sajak, but 1) he is unquestionably a real gosh-darn professional brodcaster like Letterman, Larry King and Gerry Todd (respect for the admittedly shallow and insipid craft), and 2) his predecessor the handsome Chuck Woolery was last seen screaming 'Cultural Marxism! Soshulizm! AAAAAA!' out the window of his SUV to an interviewer as he was driving his family out of Cali and back to his home state of Tennessee to retire.
I think the nicest thing about Sajak is that, as a conservative firebrand, he's Dr. Sominex compared to the rest. Like Earth or Archie Bunker, mostly harmless.
I suspect Ed Grimley is moving on to admire the nearly-as-bland Chris Wallace (non-politically) by now.
With Sajak's departure, I admonish you to be vigilant, for Mike Richards is around every corner, waiting, planning, scheming to take over...
GGGGenre.
posted by zaixfeep at 1:59 PM on June 13, 2023 [1 favorite]
I predict Vanna takes over as host for a year, with young Sajak as letter-turner, then new host... Sean Spicer!
posted by zaixfeep at 2:04 PM on June 13, 2023
posted by zaixfeep at 2:04 PM on June 13, 2023
Metafilter: Pretty clear to me that Werner Herzog is the perfect replacement.
posted by zaixfeep at 2:07 PM on June 13, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by zaixfeep at 2:07 PM on June 13, 2023 [2 favorites]
Metafilter: Pretty clear to me that Werner Herzog is the perfect replacement.
These responses are even funnier when you misread it as Whitey Herzog, manager of the St Louis Cardinals back in the 80s when I followed baseball.
posted by DigDoug at 4:55 AM on June 14, 2023 [4 favorites]
These responses are even funnier when you misread it as Whitey Herzog, manager of the St Louis Cardinals back in the 80s when I followed baseball.
posted by DigDoug at 4:55 AM on June 14, 2023 [4 favorites]
Wait, Pat Sajak is still alive?
Yes. He’s Canadian.
posted by slogger at 8:11 AM on June 14, 2023 [3 favorites]
Yes. He’s Canadian.
posted by slogger at 8:11 AM on June 14, 2023 [3 favorites]
Oh man, please tell me the above means I'm not the only one who used to play the pre-Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon era movie trivia game of
Celebrity: Dead or Canadian?
Telly Savalas? Dead
Donald Sutherland? Canadian
Leslie Nielsen? trick question! - Dead AND Canadian
Catherine O'Hara? Canadian
Madeleine Kahn? Dead
Jessica Lange? Neither!
Anne Murray? Canadian
Karen Carpenter? Dead
Helen Reddy? also Canadian. Shit, no wait, she's Australian! OK your turn.
posted by bartleby at 4:07 PM on June 14, 2023 [2 favorites]
Celebrity: Dead or Canadian?
Telly Savalas? Dead
Donald Sutherland? Canadian
Leslie Nielsen? trick question! - Dead AND Canadian
Catherine O'Hara? Canadian
Madeleine Kahn? Dead
Jessica Lange? Neither!
Anne Murray? Canadian
Karen Carpenter? Dead
Helen Reddy? also Canadian. Shit, no wait, she's Australian! OK your turn.
posted by bartleby at 4:07 PM on June 14, 2023 [2 favorites]
Ryan Seacrest to replace Pat Sajak on 'Wheel of Fortune,' beating out Vanna White, Maggie Sajak and more (Yahoo)
posted by Iris Gambol at 4:15 PM on June 27, 2023
posted by Iris Gambol at 4:15 PM on June 27, 2023
{Update: Today, Ryan Seacrest was named to succeed Sajak. Seems apt, as he had already earlier succeeded Dick Clark and Regis Philbin in their jobs. Also, Vanna White, making approx 1/5 of Pat's salary, today hired a high-powered lawyer to see if she could improve her lot.
No word yet on who's succeeding Ed Grimley.}
edit: Iris, congrats, you beat me to it. But the Grimley throwaway is all mine, I must say.
posted by zaixfeep at 4:15 PM on June 27, 2023 [1 favorite]
No word yet on who's succeeding Ed Grimley.}
edit: Iris, congrats, you beat me to it. But the Grimley throwaway is all mine, I must say.
posted by zaixfeep at 4:15 PM on June 27, 2023 [1 favorite]
I'm not the only one who used to play the pre-Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon era movie trivia game of
Celebrity: Dead or Canadian?
Been playing it ever since Arthur Black, on CBC, covered some California radio station playing it live three decades or so ago.
posted by Mitheral at 6:53 PM on June 27, 2023
Celebrity: Dead or Canadian?
Been playing it ever since Arthur Black, on CBC, covered some California radio station playing it live three decades or so ago.
posted by Mitheral at 6:53 PM on June 27, 2023
Vanna hasn't had a raise in 18 years.
posted by jenfullmoon at 12:51 PM on June 28, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by jenfullmoon at 12:51 PM on June 28, 2023 [1 favorite]
[conservative "Christian"] Hillsdale College Welcomes Pat Sajak as New Board of Trustees Chairman
Sajak has served as vice chairman of the Hillsdale College Board of Trustees since October of 2003. He has had an illustrious career in television, serving as a host of several shows, including “Wheel of Fortune,” “The Pat Sajak Show,” “Pat Sajak Weekend,” and “The Pat Sajak Baseball Hour."
posted by Iris Gambol at 8:09 PM on June 28, 2023
Sajak has served as vice chairman of the Hillsdale College Board of Trustees since October of 2003. He has had an illustrious career in television, serving as a host of several shows, including “Wheel of Fortune,” “The Pat Sajak Show,” “Pat Sajak Weekend,” and “The Pat Sajak Baseball Hour."
posted by Iris Gambol at 8:09 PM on June 28, 2023
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