document_title: Emmerdale

question_text: who is the longest serving actor in emmerdale

text: Emmerdale

text: Conception

text: The premise of Emmerdale Farm was similar to the BBC radio soap opera The Archers, focusing on a family, a farm and characters in a nearby village. The programme's farmyard filming was originally modelled on RTÉ's The Riordans, an Irish soap opera which was broadcast from the mid-1960s to the end of the 1970s. The Riordans broke new ground for soap operas by being filmed largely outdoors (on a farm, owned on the programme by Tom and Mary Riordan) rather than in a studio—the usual practice of British and American soap operas. The programme pioneered farmyard location shooting, with farm animals and equipment. During the 1960s and 1970s, outdoor filming of television programmes with outdoor broadcast units (OBUs) was in its infancy due to higher costs and reliance on the weather. The Riordans' success demonstrated that a soap opera could be filmed largely outdoors, and Yorkshire Television sent people to its set in County Meath to see the programme's production firsthand.[2][3]

text: Characters, residences and businesses

text: Emmerdale has had a large number of characters since it began, with its cast gradually expanding in size. The programme has also had changing residences and businesses for its characters, including a bed-and-breakfast and a factory.

text: The Miffield estate was the largest employer in the village of Beckindale, 39 miles (63 km) from Bradford and 52 miles (84 km) from Leeds. Lord Miffield leased Emmerdale Farm, on the edge of the village, to the Sugden family during the 1850s in gratitude after Josh Sugden sacrificed his life for the earl's son in the Crimean War. Josh's grandson Joseph married Margaret Oldroyd and their son, Jacob, was born in January 1916. During the 1930s, Jacob Sugden purchased Emmerdale Farm. In 1945 he married Annie Pearson, daughter of farm labourer Sam Pearson. Margaret Sugden died in 1963, and Joseph died the following year.

text: Jacob Sugden ran the farm into the ground, drinking away its profits. The badly-maintained farm's future looked bleak at his death on 10 October 1972. He was survived by his wife Annie, two sons and a daughter: Jack, the eldest; Peggy and Joe, the youngest of the three. These characters formed the basis of Emmerdale Farm.

text: Character types on Emmerdale have included "bad boys", such as Cain Dingle, Ross Barton, Carl King, Robert Sugden and Aaron Livesy; "bitches", such as Kim Tate, Charity Tate, Nicola King, Chrissie White, Kelly Windsor and Sadie King; "villains", such as Cameron Murray, Lachlan White, Pierce Harris, Steph Stokes, Rosemary King, Gordon Livesy, Emma Barton and Sally Spode; caring characters, such as Laurel Thomas, Emily Kirk, Lisa Dingle, Paddy Kirk, Ashley Thomas and Ruby Haswell; sassy females, such as Chas Dingle, Val Pollard, Viv Hope, Nicola King, Faith Dingle, Rebecca White and Leyla Harding, and comedy characters such as Kerry Wyatt, Bernice Blackstock, David Metcalfe, Val Pollard, Paddy Kirk, Faith Dingle, Seth Armstrong, Dan Spencer and Jimmy King. The show has had a number of matriarchs, including Diane Sugden, Viv Hope, Lisa Dingle, Annie Sugden, Faith Dingle and Moira Barton. Older characters in Emmerdale include Edna Birch, Betty Eagleton, Eric Pollard, Pearl Ladderbanks, Sandy Thomas, Seth Armstrong, Alan Turner, Sam Pearson, Lily Butterfield and Len Reynolds.

text: First episode

text: The first episode of Emmerdale Farm, aired on 16 October 1972, began with Jacob Sugden's funeral. Jacob upset the family when he left the farm to his eldest son, Jack, who left home at 18 in 1964 and had not returned. Jack appeared in the opening episode, avoiding the funeral and waiting for the Sugdens at Emmerdale Farm. Over the next few months Jack sold a share of the farm to his mother Annie, brother Joe, sister Peggy and grandfather Sam Pearson. Emmerdale Farm Ltd was formed when Henry Wilks bought Sam's share of the estate. The first episode, along with the others, have been repeated and released on a variety of media.[4]

text: Characters introduced in the first episode were:

text:
Annie Sugden (Sheila Mercier)
Jack Sugden (Andrew Burt)
Peggy Skilbeck (Jo Kendall)
Matt Skilbeck (Frederick Pyne)
Joe Sugden (Frazer Hines)
Sam Pearson (Toke Townley)
Amos Brearly (Ronald Magill)
Henry Wilks (Arthur Pentelow)
Marian Wilks (Gail Harrison)
Alec Saunders (Alan Tucker)

text: Overview

text: First 21 years

text: The show's focus, initially on the farm and the Sugden family, moved to the nearby village of Beckindale. Reflecting this change, on 14 November 1989 its title was changed to Emmerdale. Coinciding with the title change was the introduction of the Tate family. These changes and more exciting storylines and dramatic episodes, such as Pat Sugden's 1986 car crash and the 1988 Crossgill fire, gradually began to improve the soap's popularity under new executive producer Keith Richardson. Richardson produced the programme for 24 years, overseeing its transformation from a minor, daytime, rural drama into a major UK soap opera.[5] The Windsor family arrived in 1993.

text: Plane crash and the next 15 years

text: By 1993 Emmerdale was beginning its third decade on the air. In December of that year, one particular episode emerged as a major turning point for the show's history. Meant to evoke memories of the Lockerbie Disaster whose fifth anniversary was just nine days prior, the Emmerdale episode written for 30 December attracted its highest-ever audience (over 18 million) by featuring a plane crashing into the village, killing four people.[6] According to Nick Smurthwaite, the episode brought forth not just ratings but "complaints from aghast viewers."[6] Nevertheless, the episode proved to be "brilliant television", as the highly-rated episode "allowed the writers to get rid of much dead wood, and reinvent the soap virtually from scratch", which included survivors changing the village name from Beckindale to Emmerdale.[6]

text: Emmerdale had dramatic storylines for the rest of the 1990s and new long-term characters, such as the Dingle family, were introduced. The Tates became the soap's leading family during the decade, overshadowing the Sugdens and remaining at Home Farm for 16 years. Family members left or died and the last, Zoe, left in 2005. The early and mid-2000s included episodes with a storm (a similar, less-major storyline 10 years after the plane crash), a bus crash, the Kings River explosion, Sarah Sugden's death in a barn fire and the Sugden house fire (set in 2007 by Victoria Sugden, who was seeking the truth about her mother's death). It also saw the introduction of major long-term characters, including the King family and Cain and Charity Dingle (who left before returning in 2009).[7]

text: In 2009 the longest-tenured character, Jack Sugden, was killed off after the death of actor Clive Hornby (who had played Jack since 1980). Jack's funeral featured the first on-screen appearance in 13 years of Annie Sugden (Sheila Mercier). Early that year, executive producer Keith Richardson was replaced by former series producer Steve November (later replaced by John Whiston). Gavin Blyth became the series producer, followed by Stuart Blackburn after his death.

text: 40th anniversary week and beyond

text: Emmerdale celebrated its 40th anniversary on 16 October 2012. On 1 May 2012, it was announced that the show would have its first-ever live episode.[8] On 25 June 2012, it was announced that Tony Prescott, who directed the 50th anniversary live episode of Coronation Street in December 2010 would direct the episode.[9] On 23 July it was reported that an ITV2 backstage show, Emmerdale Uncovered: Live, would be broadcast after the live episode.[10] On 14 August, it was announced that the production team was building a new Woolpack set for the live episode. Although Emmerdale's village and interior sets are miles apart, its producers wanted The Woolpack to feature in the live episode.[11] On 31 August, it was announced that Emmerdale had created and filmed a live music festival with performances by Scouting for Girls and The Proclaimers.[12] On 6 September, it was confirmed that the One-hour live episode would include an unexpected death, two weddings and two births.[13]

text: Emmerdale Live aired on 17 October 2012, in the middle of the 40th anniversary week, with the death revealed to be Carl King's. The story of Carl's death took the show into 2013, when a new series producer replaced Blackburn (who became producer of Coronation Street).

text: At the beginning of August 2015, Emmerdale introduced a new storyline: "Summer Fate", with the tagline "The choices we make are the paths we take. Who will meet their summer fate?". A promo for the storyline was released on 13 July. A disaster storyline had been rumoured, confirmed by the promo. The disaster was identified on 1 August, two days before the disaster week began, as a helicopter crash. The crash was triggered by an argument between Chrissie and Robert Sugden; Chrissie set Robert's car ablaze, causing exploding gas canisters to collide with a helicopter. The helicopter crashed into the village hall during Debbie Dingle and Pete Barton's wedding reception. Regular characters Ruby Haswell and Val Pollard were killed in the aftermath of the crash. Although Ross Barton was apparently murdered by his brother Pete, it was learned three weeks later that he survived.

text: Families

text: Emmerdale has featured a number of families, some defining an era of the show:

text:
The Sugden family (1972–present)
The Bates family (1984–2001)
The Tate family (1989–2005, 2009–present)
The Windsor/Hope families (1993–present)
The Dingle family (1994–present)
The Glover family (1994–2000)
The Thomas family (1996–present)
The Blackstock/Lambert family (1998–present)
The Reynolds family (1999–2007)
The King family (2004–present)
The Sinclair family (2006–2008)
The Wylde/Lamb family (2009–2011)
The Barton family (2009–present)
The Sharma family (2009–present)
The Macey family (2010–2014)
The Spencer family (2011–present)
The White family (2014–present)

text: The Sugdens and their relatives, the Merricks and the Skilbecks, were at the centre of the show during the series' first two decades in the 1970s and 1980s (the Emmerdale Farm era). The Sugdens, owners of Emmerdale Farm, were its first family. Many of its members, and those of the Merrick and Skilbeck families, have left or been killed off since the mid-1990s.

text: December 1984 saw the arrival of Caroline Bates; her teenage children, Kathy and Nick, followed in late 1985. Caroline left the show in 1989, returning for guest appearances in 1991, 1993-1994 and 1996. Nick was written out of the show when he was sentenced to ten years in prison in 1997. Kathy and her niece, Alice, remained in the village until late 2001; by then, Kathy had outlived two husbands. Through her, the Bateses are related to two of Emmerdale's central families: the Sugdens (through Jackie Merrick) and the Tates (through Chris Tate).

text: Sugdens remaining in the village include Jack's widow, Diane; his three children, Andy, Robert and Victoria Barton; Andy's children Sarah and Jack (the latter born on the show's 40th anniversary), and Robert's son Sebastian. Other families followed: the middle-class Windsors in 1993 (known as the Hope family after Viv's 2001 remarriage to Bob Hope) and the ne'er-do-well Dingles in 1994.

text: The Tate, Windsor-Hope and Dingle families predominated during the 1990s and 2000s. The era's storylines included the 1993 plane crash, the 1994 Home Farm siege, the 1998 post-office robbery, the 2000 bus crash, the 2003–04 storm and the 2006 King show-home collapse. By the mid- to late-2000s, the last of the Tates (Zoe, daughter Jean and nephew Joseph) had emigrated to New Zealand. In 2009, Chris Tate's ex-wife Charity and their son Noah returned to the village. In 2017, Joseph Tate returned to the village. Members of the Windsor-Hope family left the village in early 2006, and Viv Hope was killed off in a village fire in February 2011 after nearly 18 years on the show. As of 2017, only Donna Windsor's daughter, April, and the Hope branch of the family (Bob and his children, twins Cathy and Heathcliff) remain.

text: The King family arrived in 2004 (as the Tates departed), but, apart from Jimmy King and his three children, Elliott, Angelica and Carl, its members have been killed off.

text: In 2018, most of the Dingles remained, with having actually increased their numbers in Emmerdale over recent years. Their circumstances had changed in their two decades in the village; Chas Dingle owned half of The Woolpack, with Charity Dingle owning the other half, and Marlon was a chef there. In 2014, the Dingles, Bartons and Whites are the central families; the Bartons are a farming family, and the Whites currently own Home Farm. In 2018, the Barton and White families had slowly been diminished, while the Sugden, and later the Tate, family had been brought back into front-burner storylines.

text: Storylines

text: Over the years, Emmerdale has highlighted a range of different social issues, including rape, cancer, miscarriage, dementia, homosexuality, arson, murder, HIV, sexual assault, post traumatic stress disorder, brain aneurysm, adultery, domestic violence, financial problems, embezzlement, sexual abuse, alcoholism, drug addiction, anorexia, teenage pregnancy, gambling addiction, bereavement, fraud, suicide, mesothelioma, schizophrenia, manslaughter, becoming a parent in later life, sudden infant death syndrome, self-harming, assisted suicide, epilepsy and premature births.

text:
1973 – Sharon Crossthwaite was raped and strangled by Jim Latimer. Jack Sugden discovered the truth after arriving home to find Jim trying to strangle Penny Golightly, after which Jim confessed his murder of Sharon.
1973 – Jack Sugden's lodger, Ian ("Trash") McIntyre, died trying to escape from a first-floor window at The Old Mill, where Jack had locked him in for his own safety; he fell, breaking his neck.
1976 – Matt Skilbeck's twin children (Sam and Sally) and his aunt, Beattie Dowton, were killed at a level crossing when their car was struck by a train.
1976 – Heather Bannerman crashed into the front gate at Emmerdale Farm after borrowing her husband's car.
1977 – A storm broke over Beckindale, and Ray and Sarah Oswell sought refuge at Emmerdale Farm after their cottage was destroyed by a falling tree.
1977 – A fire broke out at Emmerdale Farm, and the Beckindale Volunteer Fire Service arrived to fight the blaze; a firefighter was severely burned.
1977 – A fire broke out in the village, attributed to tourists staying in a barn.
1978 – An explosion at a mine trapped the vicar's son, Clive Hinton, and his friends Ian and Rod. Clive and Rod were found unconscious, and Ian escaped with cuts and bruises.
1978 – Steve Hawker and Pip Coulter robbed The Woolpack and left Amos Brearly and Henry Wilks locked in the cellar. The teenagers went to Emmerdale Farm, where they held Sam Pearson at gunpoint. To save her father, Annie Sugden gave them a getaway car.

text:
1981 – Farmer Enoch Tolly was killed in a tractor accident.
1982 – Enraged when he was sacked from NY Estates by Alan Turner, Jackie Merrick set fire to one of NY's caravans.
1985 – Jackie Merrick was knocked off his motorbike by Alan Turner's Land Rover, and spent five months in hospital with multiple fractures.
1986 – Pat Sugden died when she crashed her car down a hillside after she swerved to avoid a flock of sheep.
1987 – Jackie Merrick fell down a disused mineshaft whilst trying to rescue a stray sheep.
1988 – Phil Pearce left old rags at Crossgill Farm; they caught fire, trapping Annie Sugden inside.
1989 – Quarryman Dennis Rigg was crushed to death by Joe Sugden's bull when he threatened to evict the Sugdens.
1989 – Jackie Merrick accidentally shot himself whilst hunting a fox for a £10 bet.

text:
1990 – Frank and Kim Tate arrived home to find the Home Farm barn conversion had been set afire. Although Michael Feldmann was suspected, the culprit was farm labourer Jock McDonald.
1990 – Kate Sugden struck and killed Pete Whiteley when she drove home from Hotten.
1990 – A chemical tanker crashed into the village, trapping Amos Brearly in the Woolpack cellar.
1993–1994 – A plane crashed in Beckindale, leaving most of the village in ruins and killing Archie Brooks, Elizabeth Pollard, Mark Hughes and Leonard Kempinski.
1994 – Shirley Turner was shot dead during the Home Farm raid by Reg Dawson, ex-husband of Viv Windsor.
1995 – Luke McAllister died when his van crashed into a wall and exploded in flames.
1996 – Dave Glover died in a fire at Home Farm after he attended the wedding of Biff Fowler and Dave's sister, Linda.
1997 – At the engagement party for Steve Marchant and Kim Tate, after Lord Alex Oakwell snorted cocaine and took Linda Fowler for a late-night drive. As Linda fought off his advances, he crashed through a fence and struck a tree. Alex moved the semi-conscious, bleeding Linda to the driver's seat, wiped his fingerprints off the steering wheel and left her to die.
1998 – Vic Windsor died on Christmas Day when he struck his head on an ice-cream chest freezer in an attempt to prevent an armed Billy Hopwood from robbing the post office.
1999 – Graham Clark killed Rachel Hughes, pushing her off a cliff.

text:
2000 – A van and minibus collided in the village. Van driver Pete Collins died at the scene, and minibus passenger Butch Dingle died in hospital the next day.
2000 – Longtime character Sarah Sugden died in a barn fire set by her adopted son, Andy. Sarah's lover, Richie Carter, was trapped in the barn but was rescued by Sarah's husband Jack.
2001 – School headmistress Jean Strickland was struck and killed by a stolen car driven by Marc Reynolds, a student returning home from a night out with friends.
2003–2004 – A storm pounded Emmerdale 10 years after the plane crash, leaving part of the village in ruins with downed power lines and trees. Lightning struck The Woolpack's chimney, sending it through the roof into the bar and fatally injuring Tricia Dingle. Ashley Thomas and Louise Appleton were stranded on the road.
2005 – Max King died when the Land Rover in which he was a passenger crashed into a brick wall and exploded. Driver Andy Sugden escaped unharmed, giving the police a false account of the accident to avoid prosecution.
2006 – The Kings River show home was destroyed by explosions from a gas leak. Three people died; Noreen Bell and estate agent David Brown were killed in the explosion, and Dawn Woods died in hospital from internal injuries.
2006 – Tom King was murdered on Christmas Day by his son, Carl, who struck him on the head with a statue and pushed him out a window.
2007 – DCI Grace Barraclough was killed when she was hit by a lorry on her way to the police station to report Carl's murder of his father.
2007 – Victoria Sugden threatened to burn down the family home if her father (Jack) and adoptive brother (Andy) did not tell her who killed her mother. Andy admitted he was responsible, but the fuel she had spread ignited when the boiler fired up; the house was gutted, but the family survived.
2008 – Matthew King was killed when his van crashed into a wall while he tried to run over his brother, Carl. The brothers were fighting after Carl ruined Matthew's wedding to Anna De Souza earlier that day.

text:
2010 – Aaron Livesy and Jackson Walsh went out with Paddy Kirk and Marlon Dingle. After an argument with Aaron, Jackson's van stalled on railway tracks and was struck by a freight train; he was paralysed from the neck down.
2011 – A fire set by corrupt policeman Nick Henshall spread through the village, killing Terry Woods and Viv Hope.
2012 – On their way to a hotel (booked by their son after their reconciliation), John and Moira Barton's Land Rover hit a patch of black ice and stopped at the edge of a ravine. Although Moira (the passenger) was rescued by Declan Macey and Katie Sugden, the car fell into the ravine with John trapped inside; he died in hospital.
2012 – On Emmerdale's 40th anniversary, Carl King was killed with a brick by romantic rival Cameron Murray after he tried to rape former lover Chas Dingle.
2013 – Genesis Walker's car ran off a country road and into a ravine during a high-speed chase by Cameron Murray and Debbie Dingle after Genesis overheard Cameron admit that he murdered Carl King. Cameron pulled the semi-conscious Gennie out of the car and suffocated her.
2013 – On Emmerdale's 41st anniversary, Cameron Murray escaped from prison and held villagers hostage in The Woolpack. Alicia Harding was shot, and in a showdown in the flooded Woolpack cellar with Debbie, Chas and Marlon Dingle (who were rescued) Cameron was electrocuted.
2014 – During an argument Belle Dingle pushed Gemma Andrews, who fell and hit her head on a stone. They walked away, but on her way home Gemma fell and was rushed to hospital where she died.
2014 – Donna Windsor threw herself and Gary North from a multi-storey car park to their deaths.
2014 – Declan Macey shot Robbie Lawson dead in an attempt to kill Charity Macey.
2015 – During an argument, Chrissie Sugden set her husband Robert's car on fire. The fire caused gas canisters to explode, sending a helicopter crashing into the village hall during Debbie Dingle and Pete Barton's wedding reception. Ruby Haswell, Val Pollard and the helicopter pilot were killed.
2015 – Robert Sugden (Ryan Hawley) is shot outside The Woolpack by an unknown assailant in front of Chas Dingle (Lucy Pargeter); four weeks later, a flashback episode revealed the events of that night. Ross Barton (Michael Parr) shot him after Ross agreed with Andy Sugden (Kelvin Fletcher) to kill the other's brother. Ashley Thomas (John Middleton) might have dementia and Paddy Kirk (Dominic Brunt) cheated on his wife, Rhona Goskirk (Zoe Henry), with Tess (Nicola Stephenson).
2016 – In one of the biggest disasters in Emmerdale, a multi-car pile-up on the Hotten bypass causes for Aaron Dingle, Robert Sugden, Paddy Kirk, Rhona Goskirk, Pierce Harris, James Barton and Ashley Thomas to be involved in a horrible accident and leaving the lives of Aaron, Rhona and James hanging in the balance, with James succumbing to his injuries. The accident was caused by Emma Barton pushing James over a road bridge, hitting Ashley Thomas' car.

text: Audience

text: This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (October 2016) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

text: An average Emmerdale episode generally attracts 6–8 million viewers, making it one of Britain's most popular television programmes. During the 1990s, the series had an average of 10–11 million viewers per episode. On 30 December 1993, Emmerdale had its largest audience (18 million) when a plane crashed into the village. On 27 May 1997, 13 million viewers saw Frank Tate die of a heart attack after the return of wife Kim. On 20 October 1998, 12.5 million viewers saw The Woolpack explode after a fire.

text: The village storm on 1 January 2004 attracted 11.19 million viewers. 18 May 2004 episode in which Jack Sugden was shot by his adopted son, Andy, attracted 8.27 million viewers. On 17 March 2005, 9.39 million watched Shelly Williams fall from the Isle of Arran ferry. Zoe Tate left the show after 16 years on 22 September 2005 before 8.58 million viewers, marking her departure by blowing up Home Farm. On 13 July 2006, the Kings River house collapse was seen by 6.90 million viewers. Cain Dingle left on 21 September 2006, before an audience of 8.57 million viewers. On Christmas Day 2006, 7.69 million saw Tom King murdered on his wedding day. Billy Hopwood crashed his truck into a lake on 1 February 2007, attracting 8.15 million viewers. The end of the "Who Killed Tom King?" storyline on 17 May 2007, had an audience of 8.92 million.

text: On 14 January 2010, 9.96 million saw Mark Wylde shot dead by wife Natasha. Natasha's 27 October confession to daughter Maisie attracted an audience of nearly 8 million. On 13 January 2011, 9.15 million saw a fire kill Viv Hope and Terry Woods. The live 40th-anniversary episode on 17 October 2012, drew an audience of 8.83 million. On 16 October 2013, 8.37 million watched Cameron take the occupants of The Woolpack hostage and shoot Alicia. The next day, 9.28 million viewers saw Cameron Murray die.[14]

text: Awards and nominations

text: Locations

text: Location shooting was originally filmed in the village of Arncliffe in Littondale, a quiet valley in the Yorkshire Dales. The Falcon, the village hotel, served as the fictional Woolpack Inn. When the filming location became public it was moved to the village of Esholt in 1976, where it remained for 22 years.

text: Filming returned to Esholt for a one off episode in 2016 for the Ashley Thomas dementia special which aired December 2016. The location was used to represent Ashley's onset of dementia to the viewer.

text: The original Emmerdale Farm buildings are near the village of Leathley. Creskeld Hall, in Arthington, (Home Farm). The buildings are one of the few original filming locations used for the entire series, and have been involved in many storylines.

text: Construction of a purpose-built set began on the Harewood estate in 1996, and it has been used since 1997. The first scenes filmed on the set (the front of The Woolpack) were broadcast on 17 February 1998. The Harewood set is a replica of Esholt, with minor alterations.

text: The Harewood houses are timber-framed and stone-faced. The village is built on green-belt land, with its buildings classified as "temporary structures" which must be demolished within ten years unless new planning permission is received. There is no plan to demolish the set, and a new planning application has been drawn up. The set includes a church and churchyard, where the characters who have died on the series are buried.

text: Butlers Farm is Brookland Farm, a working farm in the nearby village of Eccup. Farmyard and building exteriors are filmed at Brookland, with interior house shots filmed in the studio.

text: Location filming is also done in the City of Leeds and other West Yorkshire locations; the fictional market town of Hotten is Otley, 10 miles North West of Leeds. Benton Park School in Rawdon and the primary school in Farnley were also used for filming. Interiors are primarily filmed at Yorkshire Television's Emmerdale Production Centre in Leeds, next to Yorkshire's Leeds Studios.[15] As of 28 March 2011, HD-capable studios in the ITV Studios building were used for most of the interior scenes.

text: Four farms have been featured on Emmerdale:

text:
"Original" Emmerdale Farm (1972–1993) – Belonged to the Sugden family for many years, until subsidence forced them to move. Filming location: Lindley House
Hawthorn Cottage (1993–1997) – Matt and Peggy's former home, the second Emmerdale Farm, was sold and converted into a quarry. Filming location: Bank Side Farm
Melby Farm (1997–2002) – A third Emmerdale Farm went bankrupt, and Jack moved into Annie's old cottage (Tenant’s Cottage) in the village. Filming location: Burden Head Farm
Butler’s Farm (2003 to present) – Acquired by Andy Sugden and Katie Addyman in 2003 before the Bartons took over in 2009. Filming location: Brookland Farm

text: Sponsors

text: Emmerdale's first sponsor (from 14 December 1999 to 20 February 2002) was Daz detergent, followed by Heinz Tomato Ketchup and Heinz salad cream from May 2003 to May 2005. Reckitt Benckiser took over until 2009, advertising Calgon, Air Wick, Veet, and Lemsip. Tombola Bingo underwrote the show from November 2009 to March 2012, followed by Bet365 Bingo until March 2014. McCain Foods began a two-year, £8 million sponsorship on 7 April 2014.[16]

text:
Start of sponsorship
End of sponsorship
Brand

1999
2002
Daz

2003
2005
Heinz Tomato Ketchup & Heinz Salad Cream

2005
2009
Reckitt Benckiser (Air Wick, Calgon, Veet & Lemsip)

2009
2012
Tombola

2012
2014
bet365 Bingo

2014
Present
McCain's

text: Longest-appearing actors

text: The 12 actors who have appeared in the series for 20 years or more are listed in the table below. The longest-tenured actor and the longest-serving cast member overall is Chris Chittell who has played Eric Pollard for 31 years. The longest-tenured actresses are Sheila Mercier (Annie Sugden) and Jane Cox (Lisa Dingle) with 22 years.

text:
Longest-appearing Emmerdale actors (as of 2018)

Rank
Actor
Character
Tenure

1
Chris Chittell
Eric Pollard
1986– (31 years)

2
Richard Thorp
Alan Turner
1982–2013 (31 years)

3
Clive Hornby
Jack Sugden
1980–2008 (28 years)

4
Stan Richards
Seth Armstrong
1978–2003, 2004 (25 years)

5
Steve Halliwell
Zak Dingle
1994– (23 years)

6
Sheila Mercier
Annie Sugden
1972–94, 1995, 1996, 2009 (22 years)

7
Jane Cox
Lisa Dingle
1996– (21 years)

8
Mark Charnock
Marlon Dingle
1996– (21 years)

9
Paula Tilbrook
Betty Eagleton
1994–2015 (21 years)

10
John Middleton
Ashley Thomas
1996–2017 (21 years)

11
Dominic Brunt
Paddy Kirk
1997– (21 years)

12
Kelvin Fletcher
Andy Sugden
1996–2016 (20 years)

text: Scheduling

text: Emmerdale was first broadcast two afternoons a week in 1972, and it later moved to a 19:00 slot. The number of episodes has increased, to its current six half-hour episodes each week. Each episode is filmed two to four weeks before it is broadcast on ITV.

text: Broadcast history

text:
Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Weekly episodes

1972–1988, 1990–1997

2

1988–1990

2

1997–2000

3

2000–2004

5

2004–2008

6

2008–2009

5 (1 hour on Tuesdays)

2009–present

6

text: Overseas

text: Ireland

text: Emmerdale reaches viewers in the Republic of Ireland via UTV Ireland, which broadcasts the series simultaneously with ITV in the UK with a live feed from London. Breaking news on ITV would interrupt the broadcast. Emmerdale was broadcast during the day on RTÉ One from 1972 to 2001 before it moved to TV3. RTÉ were several months behind; for many years, they broadcast the show five days a week (instead of ITV's three days a week) and took a break during the summer. As the series began a five-night week, RTÉ fell behind the ITV broadcasts; the gap between RTÉ One's last episode and TV3's first episode was about three months.[17]

text: Sweden

text: The series has appeared in Sweden as Hem till gården ("Home to the Farm") since the 1970s – originally on TV2 and since 1994 on TV4. Two episodes are broadcast weekdays at 11:35. Emmerdale is the most-watched daytime non-news programme in Sweden, attracting 150,000 to 200,000 viewers daily.[18] Episodes are repeated overnight on TV4 and in prime time on digital channel TV4 Guld.

text: Finland

text: The programme appears in Finland on MTV3 on primetime, 17:55–18:25 and 18:25–18:55 Monday to Friday, two episodes a day, with repeats of each episode the following weekday morning between 9:00 and 11:00. Episodes originally aired in the UK in September 2017 were broadcast in Finland in May 2018. Emmerdale attracts an average of 350,000 to 450,000 viewers per episode, and is the most watched non-Finnish every-weekday program in Finnish television.[19]

text: New Zealand

text: Emmerdale is broadcast in New Zealand weekdays on ONE, with an hour-long episode Monday to Thursday and a half-hour episode on Friday from 12:30 to 13:00. It is the second-most-watched daytime programme, after the news.[20] Episodes are broadcast a month behind ITV's.

text: Australia

text: Emmerdale was broadcast in Australia for the first time in July 2006, when UKTV began airing the 2006 series with episode 4288.[21][22] As of April 2016, UKTV episodes are from July 2014, twenty one months behind the UK airings.

text: Production

text: Executive Producers

text:
Michael Glynn
Keith Richardson
Steve Frost (2009 - 2012)
Jane Hudson (June 2018)

text: Series Producers

text:
David Goddard (16 October 1972 – 16 January 1973)
Peter Holmans (22 January 1973 – 17 July 1973)
Robert D. Cardona (23 July 1973 – 18 May 1976)
Michael Glynn (3 January 1977 – 10 January 1980)
Anne W Gibbons (15 January 1980 – 29 September 1983)
Richard Handford (4 October 1983 – 28 August 1986)
Michael Russell (2 September 1986 – 24 March 1988)
Stuart Doughty (30 March 1988 – 31 December 1991)
Morag Bain (2 January 1992 – 14 December 1993)
Nicholas Prosser (16 December 1993 – 29 November 1994)
Mervyn Watson (1 December 1994 – 6 August 1998)
Kieran Roberts (11 August 1998 – 13 April 2001)
Steve Frost (16 April 2001 – 25 February 2005)
Kathleen Beedles (28 February 2005 – 29 February 2008)[23]
Anita Turner (3 March 2008[24][25] – 13 March 2009)[26]
Gavin Blyth (16 March 2009 – 8 April 2011)[27][28]
Stuart Blackburn (11 April 2011 – 4 April 2013)[29]
Kate Oates (4 April 2013 – 16 May 2016)[30]
Iain MacLeod (17 May 2016 − 2018)[31]
Kate Brooks & Laura Shaw (June 2018)


document_title: South Pole

question_text: what is the climate of the south pole

question_tokens: what is the climate of the south pole

root

text: South Pole

text: Geography[edit]

text: For most purposes, the Geographic South Pole is defined as the southern point of the two points where the Earth's axis of rotation intersects its surface (the other being the Geographic North Pole). However, the Earth's axis of rotation is actually subject to very small "wobbles" (polar motion), so this definition is not adequate for very precise work.

tag: p

text: The geographic coordinates of the South Pole are usually given simply as 90°S, since its longitude is geometrically undefined and irrelevant. When a longitude is desired, it may be given as 0°. At the South Pole, all directions face north. For this reason, directions at the Pole are given relative to "grid north", which points northwards along the prime meridian.[1] Along tight latitude circles, clockwise is east, and counterclockwise is west, opposite to the North Pole.

text: The Geographic South Pole is located on the continent of Antarctica (although this has not been the case for all of Earth's history because of continental drift). It sits atop a featureless, barren, windswept and icy plateau at an altitude of 2,835 metres (9,301 ft) above sea level, and is located about 1,300 km (800 mi) from the nearest open sea at Bay of Whales. The ice is estimated to be about 2,700 metres (9,000 ft) thick at the Pole, so the land surface under the ice sheet is actually near sea level.[2]

text: The polar ice sheet is moving at a rate of roughly 10 metres per year in a direction between 37° and 40° west of grid north,[3] down towards the Weddell Sea. Therefore, the position of the station and other artificial features relative to the geographic pole gradually shift over time.

text: The Geographic South Pole is marked by a stake in the ice alongside a small sign; these are repositioned each year in a ceremony on New Year's Day to compensate for the movement of the ice.[4] The sign records the respective dates that Roald Amundsen and Robert F. Scott reached the Pole, followed by a short quotation from each man, and gives the elevation as "9,301 FT.".[5][6] A new marker stake is designed and fabricated each year by staff at the site.[4]

text: Ceremonial South Pole[edit]

text: The Ceremonial South Pole is an area set aside for photo opportunities at the South Pole Station. It is located some meters from the Geographic South Pole, and consists of a metallic sphere on a short bamboo pole, surrounded by the flags of the original Antarctic Treaty signatory states.[citation needed]

text: Historic monuments[edit]

text: Amundsen's Tent: The tent was erected by the Norwegian expedition led by Roald Amundsen on its arrival on 14 December 1911. It is currently buried beneath the snow and ice in the vicinity of the Pole. It has been designated a Historic Site or Monument (HSM 80), following a proposal by Norway to the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting.[7] The precise location of the tent is unknown, but based on calculations of the rate of movement of the ice and the accumulation of snow, it is believed, as of 2010, to lie between 1.8 and 2.5 km (1.1 and 1.6 miles) from the Pole at a depth of 17 m (56 ft) below the present surface.[8]

text: Argentine Flagpole: A flagpole erected at the South Geographical Pole in December 1965 by the First Argentine Overland Polar Expedition has been designated a Historic Site or Monument (HSM 1) following a proposal by Argentina to the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting.[9]

text: Exploration[edit]

text: In 1820, several expeditions claimed to have been the first to have sighted Antarctica, with the very first[clarification needed] being the Russian expedition led by Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen and Mikhail Lazarev.[10] The first landing was probably just over a year later when American Captain John Davis, a sealer, set foot on the ice.[11]

text: The basic geography of the Antarctic coastline was not understood until the mid-to-late 19th century. American naval officer Charles Wilkes claimed (correctly) that Antarctica was a new continent, basing the claim on his exploration in 1839–40,[12] while James Clark Ross, in his expedition of 1839–43, hoped that he might be able to sail all the way to the South Pole. (He was unsuccessful.)[13]

text: British explorer Robert Falcon Scott on the Discovery Expedition of 1901–04 was the first to attempt to find a route from the Antarctic coastline to the South Pole. Scott, accompanied by Ernest Shackleton and Edward Wilson, set out with the aim of travelling as far south as possible, and on 31 December 1902, reached 82°16′ S.[14] Shackleton later returned to Antarctica as leader of the British Antarctic Expedition (Nimrod Expedition) in a bid to reach the Pole. On 9 January 1909, with three companions, he reached 88°23' S – 112 miles (180 km) from the Pole – before being forced to turn back.[15]

text: The first men to reach the Geographic South Pole were the Norwegian Roald Amundsen and his party on December 14, 1911. Amundsen named his camp Polheim and the entire plateau surrounding the Pole King Haakon VII Vidde in honour of King Haakon VII of Norway. Robert Falcon Scott returned to Antarctica with his second expedition, the Terra Nova Expedition, initially unaware of Amundsen's secretive expedition. Scott and four other men reached the South Pole on January 17, 1912, thirty-four days after Amundsen. On the return trip, Scott and his four companions all died of starvation and extreme cold.

text: In 1914 Ernest Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition set out with the goal of crossing Antarctica via the South Pole, but his ship, the Endurance, was frozen in pack ice and sank 11 months later. The overland journey was never made.

text: US Admiral Richard Evelyn Byrd, with the assistance of his first pilot Bernt Balchen, became the first person to fly over the South Pole on November 29, 1929.

text: It was not until 31 October 1956 that humans once again set foot at the South Pole, when a party led by Admiral George J. Dufek of the US Navy landed there in an R4D-5L Skytrain (C-47 Skytrain) aircraft. The US Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station was established by air over 1956–1957 for the International Geophysical Year and has been continuously staffed since then by research and support personnel.[2]

text: After Amundsen and Scott, the next people to reach the South Pole overland (albeit with some air support) were Edmund Hillary (January 4, 1958) and Vivian Fuchs (January 19, 1958) and their respective parties, during the Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition. There have been many subsequent expeditions to arrive at the South Pole by surface transportation, including those by Havola, Crary and Fiennes. The first group of women to reach the pole were Pam Young, Jean Pearson, Lois Jones, Eileen McSaveney, Kay Lindsay and Terry Tickhill in 1969.[16] In 1978-79 Michele Eileen Raney became the first woman to winter at the South Pole.[17]

text: Subsequent to the establishment, in 1987, of the logistic support base at Patriot Hills Base Camp, the South Pole became more accessible to non-government expeditions.

text: On December 30, 1989, Arved Fuchs and Reinhold Messner were the first to traverse Antarctica via the South Pole without animal or motorized help, using only skis and the help of wind.[18][19] Two women, Victoria E. Murden and Shirley Metz reached the pole by land on January 17, 1989.[20]

text: The fastest unsupported journey to the Geographic South Pole from the ocean is 24 days and one hour from Hercules Inlet and was set in 2011 by Norwegian adventurer Christian Eide,[21] who beat the previous solo record set in 2009 by American Todd Carmichael of 39 days and seven hours, and the previous group record also set in 2009 of 33 days and 23 hours.[22]

text: The fastest solo (female), unsupported and unassisted trek to the south pole was performed by Hannah McKeand from the UK in 2006. She made the journey in 39 days 9hrs 33mins. She started on the 19th November 2006 and finished on the 28 December 2006.[23]

text: In the 2011/12 summer, separate expeditions by Norwegian Aleksander Gamme and Australians James Castrission and Justin Jones jointly claimed the first unsupported trek without dogs or kites from the Antarctic coast to the South Pole and back. The two expeditions started from Hercules Inlet a day apart, with Gamme starting first, but completing according to plan the last few kilometres together. As Gamme traveled alone he thus simultaneously became the first to complete the task solo.[24][25][26]

text: Climate and day and night[edit]

text: During the southern winter (March–September), the South Pole receives no sunlight at all, and from May 11 to August 1, between extended periods of twilight, it is completely dark (apart from moonlight). In the summer (September–March), the sun is continuously above the horizon and appears to move in a counter-clockwise circle. However, it is always low in the sky, reaching a maximum of 23.5° in December. Much of the sunlight that does reach the surface is reflected by the white snow. This lack of warmth from the sun, combined with the high altitude (about 2,800 metres (9,200 ft)), means that the South Pole has one of the coldest climates on Earth (though it is not quite the coldest; that record goes to the region in the vicinity of the Vostok Station, also in Antarctica, which lies at a higher elevation).[27] Temperatures at the South Pole are much lower than at the North Pole, primarily because the South Pole is located at altitude in the middle of a continental land mass, while the North Pole is at sea level in the middle of an ocean, which acts as a reservoir of heat.

text: The South Pole is at an altitude of 9,300 feet (2,800 m) but feels like 11,000 feet (3,400 m).[28]. Centrifugal force from the spin of the planet pulls the atmosphere toward the equator. The South Pole is colder than the North Pole because of the elevation difference.[29] The North Pole is a few feet from sea level.

text: In midsummer, as the sun reaches its maximum elevation of about 23.5 degrees, high temperatures at the South Pole in January average at −25.9 °C (−15 °F).  As the six-month "day" wears on and the sun gets lower, temperatures drop as well: they reach −45 °C (−49 °F) around sunset (late March) and sunrise (late September). In midwinter, the average temperature remains steady at around −58 °C (−72 °F). The highest temperature ever recorded at the Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station was −12.3 °C (9.9 °F) on Christmas Day, 2011,[30] and the lowest was −82.8 °C (−117.0 °F) on June 23, 1982[31][32][33]  (for comparison, the lowest temperature directly recorded anywhere on earth was −89.2 °C (−128.6 °F) at Vostok Station on July 21, 1983, though −93.2 °C (−135.8 °F) was measured indirectly by satellite in East Antarctica between Dome A and Dome F in August 2010[34]).

text: The South Pole has a desert climate, receiving very little precipitation. Air humidity is near zero. However, high winds can cause the blowing of snowfall, and the accumulation of snow amounts to about 20 cm (8 in) per year.[35] The former dome seen in pictures of the Amundsen–Scott station is partially buried due to snow storms, and the entrance to the dome had to be regularly bulldozed to uncover it. More recent buildings are raised on stilts so that the snow does not build up against the sides of them.

text:
hideClimate data for The South Pole

Month

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Year

Record high °C (°F)

−14.4 (6.1)

−20.6 (−5.1)

−26.7 (−16.1)

−27.8 (−18)

−25.1 (−13.2)

−28.8 (−19.8)

−33.9 (−29)

−32.8 (−27)

−29.3 (−20.7)

−25.1 (−13.2)

−18.9 (−2)

−12.3 (9.9)

−12.3 (9.9)

Average high °C (°F)

−26.0 (−14.8)

−37.9 (−36.2)

−49.6 (−57.3)

−53.0 (−63.4)

−53.6 (−64.5)

−54.5 (−66.1)

−55.2 (−67.4)

−54.9 (−66.8)

−54.4 (−65.9)

−48.4 (−55.1)

−36.2 (−33.2)

−26.3 (−15.3)

−45.8 (−50.4)

Daily mean °C (°F)

−28.4 (−19.1)

−40.9 (−41.6)

−53.7 (−64.7)

−57.8 (−72)

−58.0 (−72.4)

−58.9 (−74)

−59.8 (−75.6)

−59.7 (−75.5)

−59.1 (−74.4)

−51.6 (−60.9)

−38.2 (−36.8)

−28.0 (−18.4)

−49.5 (−57.1)

Average low °C (°F)

−29.6 (−21.3)

−43.1 (−45.6)

−56.8 (−70.2)

−60.9 (−77.6)

−61.5 (−78.7)

−62.8 (−81)

−63.4 (−82.1)

−63.2 (−81.8)

−61.7 (−79.1)

−54.3 (−65.7)

−40.1 (−40.2)

−29.1 (−20.4)

−52.2 (−62)

Record low °C (°F)

−41.1 (−42)

−58.9 (−74)

−71.1 (−96)

−75.0 (−103)

−78.3 (−108.9)

−82.8 (−117)

−80.6 (−113.1)

−79.3 (−110.7)

−79.4 (−110.9)

−72.0 (−97.6)

−55.0 (−67)

−41.1 (−42)

−82.8 (−117)

Average precipitation mm (inches)

0.3 (0.012)

0.6 (0.024)

0.2 (0.008)

0.1 (0.004)

0.2 (0.008)

0.1 (0.004)

Trace

Trace

0.1 (0.004)

0.1 (0.004)

0.1 (0.004)

0.3 (0.012)

2.3 (0.091)

Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm)

0.2

0.3

0.2

0.0

0.2

0.1

0.0

0.0

0.1

0.1

0.1

0.3

1.6

Average snowy days

22.0

19.6

13.6

11.4

17.2

17.3

18.2

17.5

11.7

16.7

16.9

20.6

203.0

Mean monthly sunshine hours

406.1

497.2

195.3

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

34.1

390.6

558.0

616.9

2,698.2

Mean daily sunshine hours

13.1

17.6

6.3

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

1.1

12.6

18.6

19.9

7.4

Source #1: Pogoda.ru.net (temperatures, 1981–2010, extremes 1957–present)[36]

Source #2: Deutscher Wetterdienst (precipitation 1957–1988 and sun 1978–1993),[37] NOAA (snowy days data, 1961–1988)[38]

tag: table

text: Time[edit]

text: In most places on Earth, local time is determined by longitude, such that the time of day is more-or-less synchronised to the position of the sun in the sky (for example, at midday the sun is roughly at its highest). This line of reasoning fails at the South Pole, where the sun rises and sets only once per year, and all lines of longitude, and hence all time zones, converge. There is no a priori reason for placing the South Pole in any particular time zone, but as a matter of practical convenience the Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station keeps New Zealand Time (UTC+12/UTC+13). This is because the US flies its resupply missions ("Operation Deep Freeze") out of McMurdo Station, which is supplied from Christchurch, New Zealand.

text: Flora and fauna[edit]

text: Due to its exceptionally harsh climate, there are no native resident plants or animals at the South Pole. Remarkably, though, off-course south polar skuas and snow petrels are occasionally seen there.[39]

text: In 2000 it was reported that microbes had been detected living in the South Pole ice.[40]


document_title: I Am Frankie

question_text: when is season 2 of i am frankie starting

text: I Am Frankie

text: Plot

text: Sigourney is a scientist working for the company EGG (Electronic Giga Genetics), who has developed a teenage android girl named Frankie. When the head of EGG, Mr. Kingston, plans to use Frankie for the military company WARPA (Weaponized Android Research Project Agency) for Project Q, Sigourney quits her job, smuggles Frankie out of EGG, and moves her family as far away from EGG as possible so that Frankie can live a normal life. As Frankie adapts to a normal life as a high school student at Sepulveda High, she befriends a girl named Dayton and gains a rival named Tammy. While she and her family work to keep her secret safe so that EGG does not find her, Mr. Kingston is determined to do whatever it takes to locate Frankie. Unbeknownst to Mr. Kingston, he is not the only one after her.

text: Episodes

text: SeasonEpisodesOriginally airedFirst airedLast aired119September 11, 2017 (2017-09-11)October 6, 2017 (2017-10-06)221August 11, 2018 (2018-08-11)October 4, 2018 (2018-10-04)

text: Cast and characters

text: Main

text:
Alex Hook as Frankie, an android girl who was created by Sigourney who used to work for EGG and seeks to become a real human. Alex Hook also portrays Eliza, who first appears in "I Am... a Sitting Duck" as an android girl and prototype version of Frankie with a dangerous agenda.
Uriel Baldesco as Lucia, a follower of Tammy and a member of Sepulveda High's Brain Squad.
Armani Barrett as Byron (season 1), a member of Sepulveda High's Brain Squad who is into robotics.
Kristi Beckett as Makayla, a follower of Tammy and a member of Sepulveda High's Brain Squad.
Kyson Facer as Andrew, a student at Sepulveda High who is one of Frankie and Tammy's love interests. He is later revealed to be an android created by James.
Sophia Forest as Jenny Gaines, the daughter of Sigourney who gets Frankie as an older sister.
Mohana Krishnan as Tammy, a girl and leader of Sepulveda High's Brain Squad who becomes Frankie's rival and seeks to find the truth about her.
Jayce Mroz as Robbie (season 1), an intelligent student who follows Frankie and Dayton around.
Nicole Alyse Nelson as Dayton Reyes, a girl who becomes Frankie's best friend and one of the few people to know the truth about Frankie.
Carson Rowland as Cole Reyes, the brother of Dayton who is one of Frankie's love interests.
J.D. Ballard / Jim Ballard as Mr. Kingston, the head of EGG who seeks to reclaim Frankie to be used in WARPA's Project Q. In "I Am... Bound for Glory", he is later revealed to be Dayton and Cole's father Tom operating under an alias. In the first season, Mr. Kingston's first name is Gilford; in "I Am... Eliza", his first name is changed to Clarence.
Todd Allen Durkin as James Peters, a former EGG scientist who used to work with Sigourney and wants to destroy Frankie.
Joy Kigin as Ms. Hough, the principal of Sepulveda High.
Michael Laurino as Will Gaines, the father of Jenny and husband of Sigourney who gains Frankie as a daughter.
Carrie Schroeder as Sigourney Gaines, a former EGG scientist who built Frankie.
Mark Jacobson as Voice of "PEGS1" (season 1), a small floating egg-shaped robot that works for Mr. Kingston.
Amina Alzouma as Rachel (season 2), a new student and computer expert at Sepulveda High.
Zachary S. Williams as Zane (season 2), a new student at Sepulveda High.
Tommi Rose as Simone (season 2), an android girl who was created by WARPA.
Jayme Lake as Cynthia (season 2), a scientist who is an old friend of Sigourney. She is later revealed to be the head of WARPA with plans to have their androids and Human Robot Organisms (or H.R.O. for short) take over Earth.
Ashton Heathcoat as Beto (season 2), Cynthia's android son.

tag: ul

text: Recurring

text:
Justin Jarzombeck as John (season 1)
Rachael Thompson as Engineer Anderson (season 1)
David Kelley as WARPA Agent (season 1)
J. Scott Browning as WARPA Tech (season 2)
Tracy Wiu as Sr. WARPA Tech (season 2)
Clayton Johnson / Clayton Royal Johnson as Dolph (season 2)
Sean Patrick Dawson / Sean Dawson as Lundgren (season 2)

text: Production

text: On January 20, 2016, Nickelodeon announced that it had green-lit I Am Frankie to series with its first season to contain 20 episodes. The series is the first global series to be produced at the new Viacom International Studio in Miami, Florida. The series was originally produced as Yo Soy Franky by Nickelodeon Latin America in Colombia and Catharina Ledeboer, who has previously worked on Every Witch Way and Talia in the Kitchen, adapted the series into English for global audiences. It was stated that production of the series would begin sometime in 2016.[1][2][3] The series officially debuted on September 11, 2017,[4] after a special sneak peek of the premiere aired on September 4, 2017. The premiere episode was made available on Nickelodeon streaming platforms starting on August 21, 2017.[5] Nickelodeon renewed the series for a second season on November 13, 2017.[6] Filming for the second season was planned to begin in March 2018.[7] The second season premiered on Nickelodeon with a special event on August 11, 2018;[8] new episodes of the second season will resume on September 10, 2018. Additionally, Amina Alzouma, Tommi Rose, and Zachary S. Williams would join the series' main cast in the second season.[9][10]

text: Ratings

text:
Season

Episodes

First aired

Last aired
Avg. viewers(millions)

Date

Viewers(millions)

Date

Viewers(millions)

1

19

September 11, 2017 (2017-09-11)

1.47[11]

October 6, 2017 (2017-10-06)

1.13[12]
1.24

2

21

August 11, 2018 (2018-08-11)

0.90[13]

October 4, 2018 (2018-10-04)

0.74[14]
0.78


document_title: Wheel of Fortune (U.S. game show)

question_text: how old to be on wheel of fortune

question_tokens: how old to be on wheel of fortune

text: Wheel of Fortune (U.S. game show)

text: Gameplay[edit]

text: Main game[edit]

text: The core game is based on Hangman. Each round has a category and a blank word puzzle, with each blank representing a letter in the answer, and punctuation revealed as needed.[7] The titular Wheel of Fortune is a roulette-style wheel mechanism with 24 spaces, most of which are labeled with dollar amounts ranging from $500 to $900, plus a top dollar value: $2,500 in round 1, $3,500 in rounds 2 and 3, and $5,000 for round 4 and any subsequent rounds. The wheel also features two Bankrupt wedges and one Lose a Turn, both of which forfeit the contestant's turn, with the former also eliminating any cash or prizes the contestant has accumulated within the round.[8] Each game features three contestants, or occasionally, three two-contestant teams; each contestant/team is positioned behind a single scoreboard with its own flipper. The left scoreboard from the viewer's perspective is colored red, the center yellow, and the right blue; which contestant/team occupies which position is determined by a random selection.[9]

text: A contestant spins the wheel to determine a dollar value and guess a consonant.[note 2] Calling a correct letter earns the value before the corresponding flipper, multiplied by the number of times that the letter appears in the puzzle.[11] A contestant with at least $250 may buy a vowel for a flat rate of that amount, until all the vowels in the puzzle have been revealed.[8] Calling a correct letter keeps the wheel in the contestant's control. Control passes to the next contestant clockwise if the wheel lands on Lose a Turn or Bankrupt, if the contestant calls a letter that is not in the puzzle, calls a letter that has already been called in that round, fails to call a letter within five seconds of the wheel stopping, or attempts unsuccessfully to solve the puzzle. The only exception is the Free Play wedge, on which the contestant may call a consonant for $500 per occurrence, call a free vowel, or solve the puzzle, with no penalty for an incorrect letter or answer.

text: In the first three rounds, the wheel contains a Wild Card and a Gift Tag, while two ½ Car tags are present in rounds two and three only. The ½ Car tags are not used during weeks with two-contestant teams, unless the teams are married couples. The Wild Card may be used to call an additional consonant after any turn (for the amount that the contestant has just spun) or taken to the bonus round to call an extra consonant there. The Gift Tag offers either a $1,000 credit toward purchases from, or $1,000 in cash courtesy of, the sponsoring company, and the ½ Car tags award a car if the contestant wins the round(s) in which he or she claims both. Unlike the other tags, the ½ Car tags are replaced in subsequent rounds unless the car is won. A special wedge in the first two rounds awards a prize which is described by the announcer if won. All of the tags and the prize wedge are located over the $500 wedges, so calling a letter that appears in the puzzle when landed upon awards both the tag/wedge and $500 per every occurrence of that letter in the puzzle. The first three rounds also contain a special wedge which, if won and taken to the bonus round, offers an opportunity to play that round for $1,000,000. A contestant must solve the puzzle in order to keep any cash, prizes, or extras accumulated during that round, with the exception of the Wild Card; once this is picked up, it is kept until the contestant either loses it to Bankrupt or uses it. Bankrupt does not affect score from previous rounds, but it does take away the Wild Card, individual ½ Car tags, and/or million dollar wedge if any was claimed in a previous round. Contestants who solve a round for less than $1,000 in cash and prizes ($2,000 on weeks with two-contestant teams) have their scores increased to that amount.

text: Each game also features three toss-up puzzles, which reveal the puzzle one random letter at a time, and award cash to whoever rings in with the right answer. The first determines who is interviewed first by the host, the second determines who starts round 1, and the third determines who starts round 4; respectively, these are valued at $1,000, $2,000, and $3,000. In addition to these, each game has a minimum of four rounds, with more played if time permits.[11] Rounds 2 and 3 are respectively started by the next two contestants clockwise from the contestant who began round 1.

text: Round 2 features two "mystery wedges". Calling a correct letter after landing upon this wedge offers the contestant the chance to accept its face value of $1,000 per letter, or forfeit that amount to flip over the wedge and see whether its reverse side contains a $10,000 cash prize or Bankrupt. Once either mystery wedge is flipped over, the other becomes a standard $1,000 space and cannot be flipped. Round 3 is a prize puzzle, which offers a prize (usually a trip) to the contestant who solves it. Starting with season 31 in 2013, an "Express" wedge is also placed on the wheel in round 3. A contestant who lands on this space and calls a consonant that appears in the puzzle receives $1,000 per appearance. The contestant can then either "pass" and continue the round normally, or "play" and keep calling consonants for $1,000 each (without spinning) and buying vowels for $250. The Express play ends when the contestant either calls an incorrect letter (which has the same effect as landing on a Bankrupt wedge) or solves the puzzle.[12]

text: The final round is always played at least in part in a "speed-up" format, in which the host spins the wheel to determine the value of each consonant, with $1,000 being added to the value on which the wheel stops before the red contestant's arrow. Vowels do not add or deduct money from the contestants' scores in the speed-up round. The contestant in control calls one letter; if it appears in the puzzle, the contestant is given three seconds to attempt to solve.[note 3] Play proceeds from the viewer's left to right, starting with the contestant who was in control at the time of the final spin, until the puzzle is solved. The three-second timer does not begin until the hostess has revealed all instances of a called letter and moved aside from the puzzle board, and the contestant may offer multiple guesses on his/her turn. After the speed-up round, the total winnings of the three contestants are compared; the contestant with the highest total winnings wins the game and advances to the bonus round. Contestants who fail to earn any cash or prizes in the game are awarded a consolation prize of $1,000 (or $2,000 on weeks with two-contestant teams).

text: If a tie for first place occurs after the speed-up round, an additional toss-up puzzle is played between the tied contestants. The contestant who solves the toss-up puzzle wins $1,000[13] and advances to the bonus round.

text: Bonus round[edit]

text: Prior to the bonus round, the winning contestant is allowed to choose one of three categories for his or her puzzle. Before Season 35 began in 2017, the category was predetermined. After doing so, the contestant spins a smaller wheel with 24 envelopes in order to determine the prize. He or she is then shown a puzzle in the category, and every instance of R, S, T, L, N, and E is revealed. The contestant provides three more consonants (four if he/she is holding the Wild Card) and one more vowel, then has 10 seconds to solve the puzzle after his or her other letters (if any) are revealed. The contestant may make as many guesses as necessary, so long as the contestant begins giving the correct answer before time expires. Whether or not the contestant solves the puzzle, the host opens the envelope at the end of the round to reveal the prize at stake. Prizes in the bonus round include various cash amounts, with the lowest being the season number multiplied by $1,000; a vehicle (or two vehicles during weeks with two-contestant teams); and a top prize of $100,000.

text: If the contestant has the Million Dollar Wedge, the $100,000 envelope is replaced with a $1,000,000 envelope. The $1,000,000 prize has been awarded three times: to Michelle Loewenstein (on the episode that aired October 14, 2008),[14] to Autumn Erhard (May 30, 2013),[15] and to Sarah Manchester (September 17, 2014).[16] Contestants who win the $1,000,000 may receive it in installments over 20 years, or in a lump sum of that amount's present value.[17] When the contestant fails to land on the $1,000,000 wedge, Sajak will reveal where it was on the prize wheel.

text: Previous rules[edit]

text: Originally, after winning a round, contestants spent their winnings on prizes that were presented onstage. At any time during a shopping round, most often if the contestant did not have enough left to buy another prize,[18] a contestant could choose to put his or her winnings on a gift certificate; alternatively, he or she could put the winnings "on account" for use in a later shopping round, but at the risk of losing any "on account" money to a Bankrupt, or failing to claim it by not winning subsequent rounds.[8] The shopping element was eliminated from the syndicated version on the episode that aired October 5, 1987,[19] both to speed up gameplay and to alleviate the taxes paid by contestants.[11] However, the network version continued to use the shopping element until the end of its first NBC run on June 30, 1989.[20]

text: Before the introduction of toss-up puzzles at the start of the 18th syndicated season in 2000,[21] the contestant at the red arrow always started round 1, with the next contestant clockwise starting each subsequent round.[22] In addition, if a tie for first place occurred, an additional speed-up round was played between the tied contestants for the right to go to the bonus round. The wheel formerly featured a Free Spin wedge, which automatically awarded a token that the contestant could turn in after a lost turn to keep control of the wheel.[23] It was replaced in 1989 with a single Free Spin token placed over a selected cash wedge. Free Spin was retired, and Free Play introduced, at the start of the 27th syndicated season in 2009.[24] Between September 16, 1996[25] and the end of season 30 in 2013, the show featured a progressive Jackpot wedge, which had been in several different rounds in its history.[note 4] The jackpot started at $5,000 and had the value of every spin within the round added to it; to claim the jackpot, a contestant had to land on the wedge, call a correct letter, and solve the puzzle all in the same turn. In later years, it also offered $500 per correct letter and $500 to the jackpot, regardless of whether or not it was won in that turn.

text: The network version allowed champions to appear for up to three days (originally five). The syndicated version, which originally retired contestants after one episode, adopted the three-day champion rule at the start of the seventh season in 1989.[28] In later years, the top three winners from the week's first four shows would return to compete in the "Friday Finals"; when the jackpot wedge was introduced, its value was affected as well, beginning at $10,000 instead of $5,000. The rules allowing champions to return after their initial appearances were eliminated permanently beginning with the syndicated episode aired September 21, 1998; as was the case before season 7, contestants appear only on a single episode.[29]

text: Before December 1981, the show did not feature a bonus round.[8] Under the bonus round's original rules, no letters were provided automatically; the contestant was asked for five consonants and a vowel, and had fifteen seconds to attempt solving the puzzle. Also, bonus prizes were selected by the contestant at the start of the round.[30] The current time limit and rules for letter selection were introduced on October 3, 1988.[31] Starting on September 4, 1989, the first episode of the seventh syndicated season, bonus prizes were selected by the contestant choosing from one of five envelopes labeled W, H, E, E, and L. One prize was always $25,000 in cash, and the rest were changed weekly; any prize that was won was taken out of rotation for the rest of the week.[28] During seasons 16 through 18 (1998–2001), the $25,000 remained in-place the entire week of shows regardless if it was won. At the start of season 19 in 2001, there were three car envelopes and two $25,000 envelopes, which were available the entire week of shows. These envelopes were replaced with the bonus wheel on October 22, 2001.[32]

text: Conception and development[edit]

text: Merv Griffin conceived Wheel of Fortune just as the original version of Jeopardy!, another show he had created, was ending its 11-year run on NBC with Art Fleming as its host. Griffin decided to create a Hangman-style game after recalling long car trips as a child, on which he and his sister would play Hangman. After he discussed the idea with Merv Griffin Enterprises' staff, they thought that the idea would work as a game show if it had a "hook". He decided to add a roulette-style wheel because he was always "drawn to" such wheels when he saw them in casinos. He and MGE's then-president Murray Schwartz consulted an executive of Caesars Palace to find out how to build such a wheel.[33]

text: When Griffin pitched the idea for the show to Lin Bolen, then the head of NBC's daytime programming division, she approved, but wanted the show to have more glamour to attract the female audience; she suggested that Griffin incorporate a shopping element into the gameplay, and so, in 1973, he created a pilot episode titled Shopper's Bazaar, with Chuck Woolery as host and Mike Lawrence as announcer. The pilot started with the three contestants being introduced individually, with Lawrence describing the prizes that they chose to play for. The main game was played to four rounds, with the values on the wheel wedges increasing after the second round. Unlike the show it evolved into, Shopper's Bazaar had a vertically mounted wheel,[34] which was spun by Woolery rather than by the contestants; this wheel lacked the Bankrupt wedge and featured a wedge where a contestant could call a vowel for free, as well as a "Your Own Clue" wedge that allowed contestants to pick up a rotary telephone and hear a private clue about the puzzle. At the end of the game, the highest-scoring contestant would play a bonus round called the "Shopper's Special" where all the vowels in the puzzle were already there, and the contestant had 30 seconds to call out consonants in the puzzle.

text: Edd Byrnes, an actor from 77 Sunset Strip, served as host for the second and third pilots, both titled Wheel of Fortune.[35] These pilots were directed by Marty Pasetta, who gave the show a "Vegas" feel that more closely resembled the look and feel that the actual show ended up having, a wheel that was now spun by the contestants themselves, and a lighted mechanical puzzle board with letters that were now manually turnable. Showcase prizes on these pilots were located behind the puzzle board, and during shopping segments a list of prizes and their price values scrolled on the right of the screen. By the time production began in December 1974, Woolery was selected to host, the choice being made by Griffin after he reportedly heard Byrnes reciting "A-E-I-O-U" to himself in an effort to remember the vowels.[35] Susan Stafford turned the letters on Byrnes' pilot episodes, a role that she also held when the show was picked up as a series.[33][36]

text: Personnel[edit]

text: Hosts and hostesses[edit]

text: The original host of Wheel of Fortune was Chuck Woolery, who hosted the series from its 1975 premiere[8][37] until December 25, 1981, save for one week in August 1980 when Alex Trebek hosted in his place. Woolery's departure came over a salary dispute with show creator Merv Griffin, and his contract was not renewed.[11][38] On December 28, 1981, Pat Sajak made his debut as the host of Wheel.[39] Griffin said that he chose Sajak for his "odd" sense of humor. NBC president and CEO Fred Silverman objected as he felt Sajak, who at the time of his hiring was the weatherman for KNBC-TV, was "too local" for a national audience. Griffin countered by telling Silverman he would stop production if Sajak was not allowed to become host, and Silverman acquiesced.[40]

text: Sajak hosted the daytime series until January 9, 1989, when he left to host a late-night talk show for CBS. Rolf Benirschke, a former placekicker in the National Football League, was chosen as his replacement and hosted for a little more than five months. Benirschke's term as host came to an end due to NBC's cancellation of the daytime Wheel after fourteen years, with its final episode airing on June 30, 1989.[8] When the newly formatted daytime series returned on CBS on July 17, 1989, Bob Goen became its host. The daytime program continued for a year and a half on CBS, then returned to NBC on January 14, 1991 and continued until September 20, 1991 when it was cancelled for a second and final time.[8]

text: Susan Stafford was the original hostess, serving in that role from the premiere until October 1982. Stafford was absent for two extended periods, once in 1977 after fracturing two vertebrae in her back and once in 1979 after an automobile accident.[8][41] During these two extended absences, former Miss USA Summer Bartholomew was Stafford's most frequent substitute, with model Cynthia Washington and comedian Arte Johnson also filling in for Stafford.[42]

text: After Stafford left to become a humanitarian worker,[33] over two hundred applicants signed up for a nationwide search to be her replacement.[43] Griffin eventually narrowed the list to three finalists, which consisted of Summer Bartholomew, former Playboy centerfold Vicki McCarty, and Vanna White.[44] Griffin gave each of the three women an opportunity to win the job by putting them in a rotation for several weeks after Stafford's departure.[11] In December 1982, Griffin named White as Stafford's successor, saying that he felt she was capable of activating the puzzle board letters (which is the primary role of the Wheel hostess) better than anyone else who had auditioned.[45] White became highly popular among the young female demographic,[46] and also gained a fanbase of adults interested in her daily wardrobe, in a phenomenon that has been referred to as "Vannamania".[43] White remained on the daytime series for the rest of the time it was on the air.

text: Sajak and White have starred on the syndicated version continuously as host and hostess, respectively, since it began, except for very limited occasions. During two weeks in January 1991, Tricia Gist, the girlfriend and future wife of Griffin's son Tony, filled in for White when she and her new husband, restaurateur George San Pietro, were honeymooning.[47] Gist returned for the week of episodes airing March 11 through 15, 1991, because White had a cold at the time of taping.[48] On an episode in November 1996, when Sajak proved unable to host the bonus round segment because of laryngitis, he and White traded places for that segment.[49][50] On the March 4, 1997 episode, Rosie O'Donnell co-hosted the third round with White after O'Donnell's name was used in a puzzle.[51]

text: On April 1, 1997, Sajak and Alex Trebek traded jobs for the day. Sajak hosted that day's edition of Jeopardy! in place of Trebek,[52] who presided over a special two-contestant Wheel celebrity match between Sajak and White, who were playing for the Boy Scouts of America and the American Cancer Society, respectively;[53] Lesly Sajak, Pat's wife, was the guest hostess for the day.[52] In January and February 2011, the show held a "Vanna for a Day" contest in which home viewers submitted video auditions to take White's place for one episode, with the winner determined by a poll on the show's website;[54] the winner of this contest, Katie Cantrell of Wooster, Ohio (a student at the Savannah College of Art and Design),[55] took White's place for the second and third rounds on the episode that aired March 24, 2011.

text: Announcers[edit]

text: Charlie O'Donnell was the program's first and longest tenured announcer. In 1980, NBC was discussing cancelling Wheel and O'Donnell agreed to take the position as announcer on The Toni Tennille Show. The network decided against the cancellation but O'Donnell decided to honor his commitment and left the series.[56] His replacement was Jack Clark, who added the syndicated series to his responsibilities when it premiered in 1983 and announced for both series until his death in July 1988.[57] Los Angeles radio personality M. G. Kelly was Clark's replacement, starting on the daytime series in August 1988 and on the syndicated series when its new season launched a month later.[58] Kelly held these positions until O'Donnell was able to return to the announcer position, doing so after his duties with Barris Industries came to an end at the end of the 1988–89 television season.[8] O'Donnell remained with the series until shortly before his death in November 2010.[59] Don Pardo, Don Morrow, and Johnny Gilbert have occasionally served as substitute announcers.[8]

text: After O'Donnell's death, the producers sought a permanent replacement, and a series of substitutes filled out the rest of the season, including Gilbert, John Cramer, Joe Cipriano, former The Price Is Right announcer Rich Fields, voice actress Lora Cain, and KNX news anchor Jim Thornton. For the show's twenty-ninth season, which began in 2011, Thornton was chosen to be the new announcer for Wheel, and he has been with the show ever since.[60]

text: Production staff[edit]

text: Wheel of Fortune typically employs a total of 100 in-house production personnel, with 60 to 100 local staff joining them for those episodes that are taped on location.[9] Griffin was the executive producer of the network version throughout its entire run, and served as the syndicated version's executive producer until his retirement in 2000. Since 1999, the title of executive producer has been held by Harry Friedman, who had shared his title with Griffin for his first year,[61] and had earlier served as a producer starting in 1995.[3]

text: John Rhinehart was the program's first producer, but departed in August 1976 to become NBC's West Coast Daytime Program Development Director. Afterwards, his co-producer, Nancy Jones, was promoted to sole producer, and served as such until 1995, when Friedman succeeded her.[3] In the 15th syndicated season in 1997, Karen Griffith and Steve Schwartz joined Friedman as producers; they were later promoted to supervising producers, with Amanda Stern occupying Griffith and Schwartz's old post.[61]

text: The show's original director was Jeff Goldstein, who was succeeded by Dick Carson (a brother of Johnny Carson) in 1978.[8] Mark Corwin, who had served as associate director under Carson, took over for him upon his retirement at the end of the 1998–99 season, and served as such until he himself died in July 2013 (although episodes already taped before his death continued airing until late 2013).[62] Jeopardy! director Kevin McCarthy,[63] Corwin's associate director Bob Cisneros,[64] and Wheel and Jeopardy! technical director Robert Ennis[65] filled in at various points until Cisneros became full-time director in November 2013.[66] Ennis returned as guest director for the weeks airing October 13 through 17 and November 17 through 21, 2014, as Cisneros was recovering from neck surgery at the time of taping.[67][68] With the start of the 33rd season on September 14, 2015, Ennis was promoted to full-time director.[69]

text: Production[edit]

text: Wheel of Fortune is owned by Sony Pictures Television (previously known as Columbia TriStar Television; the successor company to original producer Merv Griffin Enterprises).[70] The production company and copyright holder of all episodes to date is Califon Productions, Inc., which like SPT has Sony Pictures for its active registered agent, and whose name comes from a New Jersey town where Griffin once owned a farm.[71] The rights to distribute the show worldwide are owned by CBS Television Distribution, into which original distributor King World Productions was folded in 2007.[72]

text: The show was originally taped in Studio 4 at NBC Studios in Burbank.[73] Upon NBC's 1989 cancellation of the network series, production moved to Studio 33 at CBS Television City in Los Angeles, where it remained until 1995.[74] Since then, the show has occupied Stage 11 at Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City.[75] Some episodes are also recorded on location, a tradition which began with two weeks of episodes taped at Radio City Music Hall in late 1988.[76] Recording sessions usually last for five or six episodes in one day.[9]

text: Set[edit]

text: Various changes have been made to the basic set since the syndicated version's premiere in 1983. In 1996, a large video display was added center stage, which was then upgraded in 2003 as the show began the transition into high-definition broadcasting. In the mid-1990s, the show began a long-standing tradition of nearly every week coming with its own unique theme; as a result, in addition to its generic design, the set also uses many alternate designs, which are unique to specific weekly sets of themed programs. The most recent set design was conceived by production designer Renee Hoss-Johnson, with later modifications by Jody Vaclav.[1] Previous set designers included Ed Flesh[77] and Dick Stiles.[1]

text: The first pilot used a vertically mounted wheel which was often difficult to see on-screen. Flesh, who also designed the sets for The $25,000 Pyramid and Jeopardy!, designed the wheel mechanism. Originally made mostly of paint and cardboard,[77] the modern wheel mechanism is framed on a steel tube surrounded with Plexiglas and more than 200 lighting instruments, and is held by a stainless steel shaft with roller bearings. Altogether, the wheel weighs approximately 2,400 pounds (1,100 kg).[9]

text: The show's original puzzle board had three rows of 13 manually operated trilons, for a total of 39 spaces. On December 21, 1981, a larger board with 48 trilons in four rows (11, 13, 13 and 11 trilons) was adopted. This board was surrounded by a double-arched border of lights which flashed at the beginning and end of the round. Each trilon had three sides: a green side to represent spaces not used by the puzzle, a blank side to indicate a letter that had not been revealed, and a side with a letter on it.[22] With these older boards, in segments where more than one puzzle was present, while the viewer saw a seamless transition to the next puzzle, what actually happened was a stop-down of the taping; during the old stop-downs, the board would be wheeled offstage and the new puzzle loaded in by hand out of sight of the contestants. On February 24, 1997, the show introduced a computerized puzzle board composed of 52 touch-activated monitors in four rows (12 on the top and bottom rows, 14 in the middle two).[9] To illuminate a letter during regular gameplay, the hostess touches the right edge of the monitor to reveal it.[78] The computerized board obviated the stop-downs, allowing tapings to finish quicker at a lower cost to the production company. The former board was subsequently sent to the Smithsonian Institution for storage.

text: Although not typically seen by viewers, the set also includes a used letter board that shows contestants which letters are remaining in play, a scoreboard that is visible from the contestants' perspective, and a countdown clock.[79][80] The used letter board is also used during the bonus round, and in at least one case, helped the contestant to see unused letters to solve a difficult puzzle.[81]

text: Music[edit]

text: Alan Thicke composed the show's original theme, which was titled "Big Wheels". In 1983, it was replaced by Griffin's own composition, "Changing Keys",[82] to allow him to derive royalties from that composition's use on both the network and syndicated versions. Steve Kaplan became music director starting with the premiere of the 15th syndicated season in 1997, and continued to serve as such until he was killed when the Cessna 421C Golden Eagle he was piloting crashed into a home in Claremont, California, in December 2003;[83][84][85] his initial theme was a remix of "Changing Keys", but by the 18th syndicated season (2000–01), he had replaced it with a composition of his own, which was titled "Happy Wheels".[86] Since 2006, music direction has been handled by Frankie Blue and John Hoke;[1] themes they have written for the show include a remix of "Happy Wheels" and an original rock-based composition.[86]

text: In addition to "Changing Keys", Griffin also composed various incidental music cues for the syndicated version which were used for announcements of prizes in the show's early years. Among them were "Frisco Disco" (earlier the closing theme for a revival of Jeopardy! which aired in 1978 and 1979),[87] "A Time for Tony" (whose basic melody evolved into "Think!", the longtime theme song for Jeopardy![88]), "Buzzword" (later used as the theme for Merv Griffin's Crosswords), "Nightwalk", "Struttin' on Sunset", and an untitled vacation cue.[86]

text: Audition process[edit]

text: Anyone at least 18 years old has the potential to become a contestant through Wheel of Fortune's audition process. Exceptions include employees and immediate family members of CBS Corporation, Sony Pictures Entertainment, or any of their respective affiliates or subsidiaries; any firm involved in supplying prizes for the show; and television stations that broadcast Wheel and/or Jeopardy!, their sister radio stations, and those advertising agencies that are affiliated with them. Also ineligible to apply as contestants are individuals who have appeared on a different game show within the previous year, three other game shows within the past ten years, or on any version of Wheel of Fortune itself.[89]

text: Throughout the year, the show uses a custom-designed Winnebago recreational vehicle called the "Wheelmobile" to travel across the United States, holding open auditions at various public venues. Participants are provided with entry forms which are then drawn randomly. Individuals whose names are drawn appear on stage, five at a time, and are interviewed by traveling host Marty Lublin. The group of five then plays a mock version of the speed-up round, and five more names are selected after a puzzle is solved. Everyone who is called onstage receives a themed prize, usually determined by the spin of a miniature wheel. Auditions typically last two days, with three one-hour segments per day.[90] After each Wheelmobile event, the "most promising candidates" are invited back to the city in which the first audition was held, to participate in a second audition. Alternatively, a participant may submit an audition form with a self-shot video through the show's website to enter an audition. Contestants not appearing on stage at Wheelmobile events have their applications retained and get drawn at random to fill second-level audition vacancies. At the second audition, potential contestants play more mock games featuring a miniature wheel and puzzle board, followed by a 16-puzzle test with some letters revealed. The contestants have five minutes to solve as many puzzles as they can by writing in the correct letters. The people who pass continue the audition, playing more mock games which are followed by interviews.[91][92]

text: Broadcast history[edit]

text: Wheel of Fortune premiered on January 6, 1975, at 10:30 am (9:30 Central) on NBC. Lin Bolen, then the head of daytime programming, purchased the show from Griffin to compensate him for canceling the original Jeopardy! series, which had one year remaining on its contract; Jeopardy! aired its final episode on the Friday before Wheel's premiere. The original Wheel aired on NBC, in varying time slots between 10:30 am and noon, until June 30, 1989. Throughout that version's run, episodes were generally 30 minutes in length, except for six weeks of shows aired between December 1975 and January 1976 which were 60 minutes in length. NBC announced the cancellation of the show in August 1980, but it stayed on the air following a decision to cut the duration of The David Letterman Show from 90 to 60 minutes.[56] The network Wheel moved to CBS on July 17, 1989, and remained there until January 14, 1991.[8] After that, it briefly returned to NBC, replacing Let's Make a Deal,[93] but was canceled permanently on September 20 of that year.[8]

text: The daily syndicated version of Wheel premiered on September 19, 1983, preceded by a series of episodes taped on location at the Ohio State Fair and aired on WBNS-TV in Columbus, Ohio.[94] From its debut, the syndicated version offered a larger prize budget than its network counterpart.[39] The show came from humble beginnings: King World chairmen Roger, Michael, and Robert King could initially find only 50 stations that were willing to carry the show, and since they could not find affiliates for the syndicated Wheel in New York, Los Angeles, or Chicago, Philadelphia was the largest market in which the show could succeed in its early days. Only nine stations carried the show from its beginning,[95] but by midseason it was airing on all 50 of the stations that were initially willing to carry it, and by the beginning of 1984 the show was available to 99 percent of television households. Soon,Wheel succeeded Family Feud as the highest-rated syndicated show,[8] and at the beginning of the 1984–85 season, Griffin followed up on the show's success by launching a syndicated revival of Jeopardy!, hosted by Alex Trebek.[96] The syndicated success of Wheel and Jeopardy! siphoned ratings from the period's three longest-running and most popular game shows, Tic-Tac-Dough, The Joker's Wild, and Family Feud, to the point that all three series came to an end by the fall of 1986. At this point, Wheel had the highest ratings of any syndicated television series in history,[39] and at the peak of the show's popularity, over 40 million people were watching five nights per week. The series, along with companion series Jeopardy!, remained the most-watched syndicated program in the United States until dethroned by Judge Judy in 2011.[97] The program has become America's longest-running syndicated game show and its second-longest in either network or syndication, second to the version of The Price Is Right which began airing in 1972. The syndicated Wheel has become part of the consciousness of over 90 million Americans, and awarded a total of over $200 million in cash and prizes to contestants.[9]

text: The popularity of Wheel of Fortune has led it to become a worldwide franchise, with over forty known adaptations in international markets outside the United States.[9] Versions of the show have existed in such countries as Australia,[98] Denmark,[99] France,[100] Germany,[101] Italy,[102] Malaysia,[103] New Zealand,[104] the Philippines,[105] Poland,[106] Russia,[107] Spain,[108] and the United Kingdom.[109] The American version of Wheel has honored its international variants with an occasional theme of special weeks known as "Wheel Around the World", the inaugural episode of which aired when the 23rd syndicated season premiered on September 12, 2005.[110]

text: Between September 1997 and January 1998, CBS and Game Show Network concurrently aired a special children's version of the show titled Wheel 2000. It was hosted by David Sidoni, with Tanika Ray providing voice and motion capture for a virtual reality hostess named "Cyber Lucy".[111] Created by Scott Sternberg,[111] the spin-off featured special gameplay in which numerous rules were changed; for example, the show's child contestants competed for points and prizes instead of cash, with the eventual winner playing for a grand prize in the bonus round.[112]

text: Reception[edit]

text: Wheel of Fortune has long been one of the highest-rated programs on U.S. syndicated television. It was the highest-rated show in all of syndication before it was dethroned by Two and a Half Men in the 28th season (2010–11).[113][114] The syndicated Wheel shared the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Game/Audience Participation Show with Jeopardy! in 2011, and Sajak won three Daytime Emmys for Outstanding Game Show Host—in 1993, 1997, and 1998. In a 2001 issue, TV Guide ranked Wheel number 25 among the 50 Greatest Game Shows of All Time,[115] and in 2013, the magazine ranked it number 2 in its list of the 60 greatest game shows ever, second only to Jeopardy![5] In August 2006, the show was ranked number 6 on GSN's list of the 50 Greatest Game Shows.[116]

text: Wheel was the subject of many nominations in GSN's Game Show Awards special, which aired on June 6, 2009.[117] The show was nominated for Best Game Show, but lost to Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?; Sajak and White were nominated for Best Game Show Host, but lost to Deal or No Deal's Howie Mandel; and O'Donnell was considered for Best Announcer but lost to Rich Fields from The Price Is Right. One of the catchphrases uttered by contestants, "I'd like to buy a vowel", was considered for Favorite Game Show Catch Phrase, but lost to "Come on down!", the announcer's catchphrase welcoming new contestants to Price. The sound effect heard at the start of a new regular gameplay round won the award for Favorite Game Show Sound Effect; the sound heard when the wheel lands on Bankrupt was also nominated. Despite having been retired from the show for nearly a decade by that point, "Changing Keys" was nominated for Best Game Show Theme Song; however, it lost to its fellow Griffin composition, "Think!" from Jeopardy![118]

text: A hall of fame honoring Wheel of Fortune is part of the Sony Pictures Studios tour, and was introduced on the episode aired May 10, 2010.[119] Located in the same stage as the show's taping facility, this hall of fame features memorabilia related to Wheel's syndicated history, including retired props, classic merchandise, photographs, videos, and a special case dedicated to White's wardrobe.[120] Two years later, in 2012, the show was honored with a Ride of Fame on a double decker tour bus in New York City.[121]

text: Merchandise[edit]

text: Numerous board games based on Wheel of Fortune have been released by different toy companies. The games are all similar, incorporating a wheel, puzzle display board, play money and various accessories like Free Spin tokens. Milton Bradley released the first board game in 1975. In addition to all the supplies mentioned above, the game included 20 prize cards (to simulate the "shopping" prizes of the show; the prizes ranged in value from $100 to $3,000). Two editions were released, with the only differences being the box art and the included books of puzzles. Other home versions were released by Pressman Toy Corporation, Tyco/Mattel, Parker Brothers, Endless Games, and Irwin Toys.[122]

text: Additionally, several video games based on the show have been released for personal computers, the Internet, and various gaming consoles spanning multiple hardware generations. Most games released in the 20th century were published by GameTek, which produced a dozen Wheel games on various platforms, starting with a Nintendo Entertainment System game released in 1987 and continuing until the company closed in 1998 after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.[123] Subsequent games were published by Hasbro Interactive and its acquirer Infogrames/Atari, Sony Online Entertainment, and THQ.[124]

text: Wheel has also been licensed to International Game Technology for use in its slot machines. The games are all loosely based on the show, with contestants given the chance to spin the wheel to win a jackpot prize. Since 1996, over 200 slot games based on the show have been created, both for real-world casinos and those on the Internet. With over 1,000 wins awarded in excess of $1,000,000 and over $3 billion in jackpots delivered, Wheel has been regarded as the most successful slots brand of all time.[125]

text: Notes[edit]

text:
Jump up ^ The simplified title is often used by host Pat Sajak on-air and has been used instead of the full title in numerous promotional materials for the show.
Jump up ^ If a contestant cannot spin the wheel due to a physical limitation or disability, he/she is accompanied by a "designated spinner," a friend or family member who spins for him/her but is otherwise not involved in the game.[10]
Jump up ^ Sajak: "I'll give the wheel a final spin, and ask you to give me a letter. If it's in the puzzle, you have three seconds to solve it. Vowels are worth nothing, consonants worth...[wedge amount], we'll add $1,000 to that, [dollar amount] apiece."
Jump up ^ The jackpot wedge was originally in round 3,[26] was moved to round 2 at the start of the 18th syndicated season in 2000,[21] and after that moved to round 1 from 2009 to 2013.[27]

tag: ol