Million Dollar Wheel of Boredom.

Wheel of Fortune has recommenced on Channel Nine in Australia. After a potted history, and after being on tv for nearly fifty years, you can imagine it would be difficult to shake up the format of the show, without losing the key successes of the show.

Enter Big Cash prizes, new personalities and "young folk". As Michael Idato states "it is one of those peculiarities of television that for many years Wheel did not offer cash prizes."

Now they're making up for lost time by offering (the chance to win) a Million Dollars. I say a chance, because if you "spin it up", you have to win the round, then win the night, for a chance at playing for the Mil.

New hosts. Well obviously this is a no brainer for a show that's been off TV for two+ years. I find Tim Campbell painful to watch however, having none of the natural TV pizazz that Larry Emdur possessed for game shows. Love him or hate him, Larry Emdur could certainly propel a game show. Kelly Landry, in what I can only assume is a clever clause negotiated by her agent;

Landry, unlike her predecessors, is no mere "letter turner"..."she is the co-host and takes a role in the show, introducing the puzzles"

WTF? She says "Phrase" and suddenly she's a co-host?
The new "high tech" letterboard appears to be no more than the letters lighting up at the touch of a button underneath the letter. There was an opportunity for Channel Nine to seriously revamp the format by, I don't know, NOT having a piece of female eye-candy who does essentially nothing but act as a high-priced clothes horse?
Lavinia Nixon was more of a "co-host" on Temptation (Sale of the Century) than Landry is on Wheel. She wishes she could be a tenth of the letter turner Adriana Xenides was.

They're both wooden, and I can't see either of them lasting. Perhaps I'm being too harsh, and its too early, they both need to settle in, but HELLO? The first week of a show like this, which has been promoted through the roof on a struggling network, it needs to have IMPACT and convince viewers to switch from Deal or No Deal, which is currently winning the time slot.

Lastly, "young folk". There is certainly a younger contestant set, as if they're trying to say "We're young! We're in touch! See our young hosts! See our young contestants winning! Please watch!"

Sorry Wheel, I'm sticking with Andrew O'Keefe, who makes you Tim Campbell, look like a cardboard cutout.