Today’s TV: Wednesday 11 February 1981
from the NZ Listener
TV One
11.35am Play School (Rpt)
Noon News
12.02 The Young and the Restless
12.30 Beauty and the Beast
1.00 We’ve Got Each Other (Final) (Rpt)
1.30 Days of Our Lives
2.25 Sooty (Rpt)
2.45 The Learning Tree
2.55 Emily
3.10 Fables of the Green Forest
3.30 The Men from Shiloh
4.50 The Voyage of Charles Darwin (Part 6) (Rpt)
6.00 Behind the Scene with Jonathan Winters (Final)
6.30 News
7.00 Coronation Street
7.30 The Story of Wine (Part 4)
8.05 Turtle’s Progress (Part 6)
9.10 Midweek
9.40 Summertime Movie - Ask Any Girl (1959)
11.35 News
11.40 Closedown
TV2
2.30pm Crown Court
2.55 Tales of the Unexpected (Rpt)
3.20 Country Calendar (Rpt)
3.35 Dinah and Friends
4.15 A Tapestry Workshop
4.30 Happy Ever After (Rpt)
5.00 Eight Is Enough (Rpt)
5.55 News
Further headline bulletins at 7pm, 8pm and 9pm
6.00 The Wednesday Special - Victor Borge in Concert
7.00 The Muppet Show
7.30 When Things Were Rotten
8.00 The Sullivans (Double episode)
9.00 Out (Rpt)
10.00 News at Ten
10.30 Petrocelli
11.20 Jokers Wild
11.50 Closedown
Today’s TV: Monday 11 February 1991
from the NZ Listener and The Press
TV One
7.15am Teletext in Vision
7.30 One Network News - Gulf War Special
An extended hour-long bulletin
8.30 Closedown
11.45 Teletext in Vision
Noon One Network News - Gulf War Special
An extended hour-long bulletin
1.00 Film on One - Sleeping Beauty (1987) (Rpt, G)
2.15 Matinee on One - The Young Philadelphians (1959) (Rpt, G)
4.40 Last of the Summer Wine (G)
5.15 Quantum (G)
5.25 Dad’s Army (Rpt, G)
6.00 One Network News
An extended hour-long bulletin
7.00 Sale of the Century (G)
7.30 ‘Allo ‘Allo! (PGR)
8.05 Fawlty Towers (Rpt, PGR)
8.45 Beyond 2000 (G)
9.45 Haggard (Part 2) (PGR)
10.15 One Network News - Gulf War Special
An extended 45 minute bulletin
11.00 Monday Documentary - Inside the Cartel (PGR)
12.05am Closedown
Channel 2
6.15am Teletext in Vision
6.30 Hallo Spencer (G)
7.00 The Woody Woodpecker Show (G)
7.30 Heathcliff (G)
8.00 ITN World News
8.25 The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (G)
8.55 Bugs Bunny (Rpt, G)
9.05 Sesame Street (Rpt, G)
10.05 Alison Holst’s Microwave Menus (Rpt, G)
10.40 Aerobics Oz Style (G)
11.05 Santa Barbara
Noon The Young and the Restless
1.00 Days of Our Lives
2.00 Working Girl (Starting today) (G)
2.30 After 2, including:
2.33 Play School (Rpt, G)
3.00 Casper and Friends (G)
3.30 Defenders of the Earth (Rpt, G)
4.00 The Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers (G)
4.30 Count Duckula (Rpt, G)
5.00 Charles in Charge (Rpt, G)
5.30 Wheel of Fortune (Series premiere) (G)
6.00 Family Ties (Rpt, G)
6.30 Blind Date (G)
7.00 Neighbours (G)
7.30 The Flying Doctors (G)
8.30 LA Law (PGR)
9.30 Jake and the Fatman (PGR)
10.30 Hill Street Blues (Rpt, AO)
11.30 Snoops (PGR)
12.35am Closedown
TV3
Noon Trial by Jury (PGR)
12.30 NBC Nightly News
Live - via satellite
1.30 Another World (PGR)
2.30 The Oprah Winfrey Show (G)
3.30 Dennis the Menace (Rpt, G)
4.00 The All-New Mickey Mouse Club (Rpt, G)
4.30 Police Academy (Rpt, G)
5.00 He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (G)
5.30 Home and Away (G)
6.00 3 National News
7.00 Man About the House (G)
7.30 Candid Camera (G)
8.00 Col’n Carpenter (G)
8.30 3 Mini-Series - Voice of the Heart (Starting tonight, part 1)
10.30 Nightline
11.00 Late Movie - Last of the Great Survivors (1984)
1.00am (approx) Closedown
Sky Movies
Noon The Black Tent (1956) (G)
2.00 Going Sane (1987)
4.00 The Hayley Mills Storybook
5.15 A Haunting Harmony (1990)
6.00 The Shooting Party (1984) (GA)
8.00 Jacknife (1989) (GA)
10.00 The Western - Return of the Seven (1966) (GY)
11.40 Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II (1987) (R16)
1.13am Closedown
Wheel of Fortune
If you were sitting in front of the television at 5.30pm on this day (11 February) in 1991 then you were likely witnessing the start of a new era in Kiwi game show history. That evening marked the long-awaited premiere of the New Zealand version of Wheel of Fortune on Channel 2 (now TVNZ 2).
While the phrase “America’s Game” was often bandied about, the road to the New Zealand screen wasn’t entirely straight-forward and the version we got had a distinctly antipodean flavour.
The false start
History buffs like me might spot a discrepancy in the early press coverage.
As evidenced by early news clippings (courtesy of The Press via Papers Past), Grundy Television and TVNZ originally intended to spin the wheel nearly a year earlier.
The show was initially slated to debut in March 1990 on TV One (now TVNZ 1) but due to production delays, the launch was pushed back. When it finally arrived in 1991, it had jumped channels to the younger-skewing Channel 2 and taken up the prime 5.30pm slot.
The faces of Fortune
Fronting the programme was the late, great broadcasting personality, Phillip Leishman. By his side at the letter board was Lana Coc-Kroft, crowned Miss Universe New Zealand in 1988 and previously known as a model on Sale of the Century.
Together, they brought a local charm to a format that was already a global juggernaut. While the original US version was produced by Merv Griffin Enterprises (now Sony Pictures Television) and distributed by KingWorld (now CBS Media Ventures), the Kiwi iteration was produced by Grundy Television (which also produced the Australian version for the Seven Network from 1981 to 2006). Consequently, the set design and format closely mirrored the Australian version rather than the US original.
Cars, trips and ‘multiples of five’
The gameplay was a classic ‘system of chance’ as described by series producer, Tony Skinner.
Skinner was a veteran of the genre, having moved over to Wheel of Fortune after serving as co-executive producer (the other being Andrew Brooke) on the New Zealand version of Sale of the Century.
Contestants spun the wheel (marked in money segments in multiples of 5 instead of the American 50) to uncover mystery names, phrases, occupations or places. The goal was simple: take control of the wheel, solve the puzzle and bank the money to qualify for the bonus round.
The stakes were high for the time. A ‘carry-over champion’ format meant a winning contestant could return each evening, Monday to Friday, until beaten. The prize pool was impressive, featuring overseas trips, household appliances, boats and the ultimate prize: a car.
Skinner noted the unpredictability of the game in press interviews at the time:
“Because it’s a system of chance, a car could be spun up every night of the week - it doesn’t tend to happen like that, but it could. In Australia, someone won two cars.” - Tony Skinner
A global legacy
While 1991 marked its New Zealand television debut, the concept was much older.
The format was originally conceived by the legendary Reg Grundy for Australian radio way back in 1957. It wasn’t until 1975 that Merv Griffin adapted it for American television, turning it into the behemoth we recognise today.
For Kiwi viewers in the early 90s, however, the origins didn’t matter as much as the excitement of the spin. Whether you were playing along from the sofa or hoping to be the next carry-over champion, Wheel of Fortune quickly cemented itself as a staple of New Zealand’s tea-time viewing.
How the Wheel re-shuffled Channel 2
When Wheel of Fortune finally spun onto New Zealand screens, it didn’t just bring a new game to town - it forced a significant reshuffle of Channel 2’s evening line-up.
To make way for Phillip Leishman and Lana Coc-Kroft at 5.30pm, TVNZ had to move some viewer favourites, ending the era of the ‘double episode’ soap block and shifting the New Zealand’s premier dating game.
Blind Date
The 5.30pm slot belonged to Blind Date.
Hosted by Dave Jamieson and Suzy Aiken (now Suzy Clarkson), the show had been a tea-time staple since it premiered on the evening of Monday 30 October 1989 (originally at 5.15pm, followed by the early evening newsbreak and regional news - Top Half, Today Tonight, The Mainland Touch and The South Tonight - from 5.45pm).
With Wheel of Fortune taking over the 5.30pm slot, Blind Date (billed by TVNZ as ‘the world’s premier TV dating game’) was bumped to 6.30pm. This move placed it immediately after reruns of the US sitcom, Family Ties, which held its ground at 6pm before making way for Perfect Strangers (briefly) and, later, M-A-S-H (which was shown at 6.30pm with Blind Date moving to 6pm after only a month).
Neighbours
Perhaps the biggest adjustment for viewers was the change to Neighbours, the highly successful Aussie soap that launched the careers of Kylie Minogue, Jason Donovan, Guy Pearce, Craig McLachlan, Natalie Imbruglia, Delta Goodrem, Margot Robbie and many others (and even made Stefan Dennis - known for his role as Paul Robinson - a superstar!).
For some time, Kiwi fans had been treated to double episodes starting at 6.30pm. This aggressive scheduling was designed to close the gap between the New Zealand broadcast and the Australian transmission - a strategy implemented after Sale of the Century switched channels to TV One in July 1989 (immediately after Holmes at 6.30pm).
The launch of Wheel of Fortune brought an end to this binge-viewing bonanza. With Blind Date moving into the 6.30pm slot, Neighbours was pushed back to 7pm and reverted to single, half hour episodes.
