As a longtime fan of game shows - going all the way back to childhood - I have witnessed on numerous occasions that contestants are asked to return to a show after they have been told they lost the game in an earlier episode.
Game show players can't really have an actual "do-over" since that could affect other contestants on the show and that, of course, would be unfair. However, a game show contestant can be given a "second chance" by being given the opportunity to play the game again in a brand new competition on another day.
That is what the producers of Wheel Of Fortune need to do for Renee Durette, who, on December 19th, 2012, was ruled incorrect when she failed to pronounce the "G" in the song lyric, "Seven Swans-A-Swimming" from "The 12 Days Of Christmas."
On this Christmas Day, Califon Productions and Sony Pictures Television need to do the right thing and give Durette the best Christmas present ever by inviting her back.
By saying, "Swimmin'" instead of "Swimming" cost Durette nearly four thousand dollars. As a result, she went on to lose the game and a shot at winning up to $100,000 in the bonus round.
Now I am well aware that Wheel Of Fortune contestants are warned many times, prior to taping the show, that answers to puzzles must be read exactly as they appear on Vanna White's board, in order for the contestant to win the round. In the case of Renee Durette's puzzle, Wheel Of Fortune producers have stated that the answer given was mispronounced, as it was spoken in vernacular.
What bothers me is that Durette called the letter "G" before she gave an answer to the puzzle. She knew the word was "Swimming" and not "Swimmin'" - as it was right up there on the puzzle board. But this Florida resident, with a southern accent, said, "That's kind of how I speak, you know, being from Florida." She went on to say, "I asked for the "G" so I knew it was there."
As I watched the show, it was apparent that host Pat Sajak first thought that Durette had answered the puzzle correctly. A split second later, it seemed obvious that a producer signaled to Sajak that the answer was wrong, so he had to backtrack; and Pat quickly stated that he could not accept the answer. The mistake, therefore, cost Renee Durette the $3,850 that she had accumulated in that round; and the producers' decision meant Durette ended up losing the game and a chance at going to the bonus round. Although the outcome didn't go in her favor, Durette was still very gracious with her comments. "I had an absolute amazing experience," she said with a smile. After all, she did take home $8,200 in winnings. However, it could have been a lot more.
Well, Renee Durette may have still been happy with her appearance on Wheel Of Fortune, but the producers' judgment call sparked outrage on Twitter and on the Internet. Even the other contestant, who was basically handed the win, couldn't believe it herself.
So this is my recommendation to veteran executive producer Harry Friedman, and his staff of producers at Wheel Of Fortune. Make your show's creator - the late great Merv Griffin - proud. I am quite confident that there have been times since 1975, when Wheel Of Fortune first aired as a daytime show on NBC and throughout it's nearly 30-year reign as the longest running syndicated game show, that there have been gaffes and goof-ups, either because of a technical error or a producer's fault.Clearly Renee Durette did not say "Swimming." She without question said "Swimmin'." But come on Wheel Of Fortune! Have a little Christmas spirit and acknowledge the fact that Durette speaks with a southern accent; and in reality, when "The 12 Days Of Christmas" is sung, I have heard individual people - even choirs - sing, "Eight maids-a-milkin', 7 swans-a-swimmin', 6 geese-a-layin'" and so forth.
So give Renee Durette a break and bring her back to play again. I'm sure Merv would.
And that's The Controversy for today.
I'm Gary B. Duglin.
Copyright 2012 Gary B. Duglin and TheControversy.net. All Rights Reserved.
Late as heck for the darn party, but,
ReplyDelete(1) had Renee been a Brooklynite or a Bostonian, this controversy would've made the front page of the New York City or Boston newspapers, respectively.
(2) Back in the Eighties or Nineties, one contestant from New York City-Brooklyn, to be exact-correctly solved the puzzle "You could have knocked me over with a feather" in said individual's New York City accent and won the round.
The above column was published on December 25th, 2012 and your comment above was submitted on January 30th, 2017, so I really don't understand your comment "Late as heck for the darn party." But thank you for reading The Controversy. GBD
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