November 4, 2009 Game Recap & Discussion (for Erin) (SPOILERS)

[WOF Recap Team]

TenPoundHammer here. This is my first time doing a recap, with a slight assist from the other Bobby. Good thing I'm a fast typist, because I don't have a VCR or DVR available!

Episode #5108 — HISTORIC BOSTON

Our Players
Amanda Morrison, administrative coordinator from Boston, MA
Joe Amoroso, software salesman from Marblehead, MA
Erin Ahearn, high school guidance counselor from Mansfield, MA

$1,000 Toss-Up: Phrase
S E I _ _
_ H E / _ A Y

Erin solves SEIZE THE DAY.

$2,000 Toss-Up: People
_ _ O C O _ A T E
_ O _ E R S

Erin solves CHOCOLATE LOVERS.

Jackpot Round: What Are You Doing?
Wheel prize: HomeGoods.com shopping spree, $5000.

_ A _ _ I N G / T H E
_ R E E _ O _ / T R A I _

Erin solves WALKING THE FREEDOM TRAIL for $600, bumped up to $1000.

Gameplay notes:
*On her first turn, Erin hits $2,500 and calls T, only to lose her $5,100 to Bankrupt on the next turn.
*Amanda lands on the Wild Card, but fails to claim it.

Duds: S (Amanda), P (Joe)
Bankrupt: Erin

Pre-Round 2 scores:
Amanda: $0
Joe: $0
Erin: $4,000

Round 2: Same Name
_ _ N _ E R &
_ A _ T H
H _ L L

Erin solves BUNKER & FAITH HILL for $2000.

Gameplay notes:
*For the second time this game, Amanda lands on the Wild Card and this time she picks it up with an N, but once again, that lousy S fails her.
*Erin landed on Free Play on both of her spins, calling L and then H.
*Joe lost a measly $250 to a Bankrupt.

Duds: S (Amanda, again)
Bankrupt: Joe

Pre-Round 3 scores:
Amanda: $0
Joe: $0
Erin: $6,000

So far, it's all Erin. Will she do a clean sweep?

Mystery Round: Things
M A _ E S T I C
S N O _ - C A _ _ E _
M O U N T A I N S

Erin solves MAJESTIC SNOW-CAPPED MOUNTAINS for $5,650. Since it's a prize puzzle, she also wins a Canadian Rockies railway tour worth $6,800, making her total $12,450 this round.

SPIN ID: RN02462, Ronald N. from Pennsylvania

Gameplay notes:
*On her last spin, Erin landed on the Mystery Wedge next to the $1,000,000 wedge. After calling two C's, she chose not to flip it over, which was a good decision. After the fact, Pat flipped it over to reveal that the Bankrupt was on the other side!

Bankrupt: Joe, on his first spin

Pre-Toss-Up #3 scores:
Amanda: $0
Joe: $0
Erin: $18,450

$3,000 Toss-Up: Rhyme Time

_ L _ V E _
_ N D E _ _ O R

Erin has no guess, so she loses her perfect record.

C L _ V E R
E N D E A _ O R

Joe finally breaks through and solves CLEVER ENDEAVOR for $3,000.

DQ: Erin rings in but clams up.

Round 4: Food & Drink
The round starts off as a Speed-Up. Pat's final spin lands on $5,000!

_ _ N _ - R _ P _ N _ D
T _ _ _ T _ _ S

Erin solves VINE-RIPENED TOMATOES for $24,000!

Duds: W (Amanda), B (Joe)

Final scores:
Amanda: $0->$1,000
Joe: $3,000
Erin: $42,450 (winner!)
Pre-BR Total: $46,450

$100,000 Bonus Round
Erin lands on the E in GAME. She is given a Phrase (which I managed to solve before the RSTLNE were revealed):

_ / _ _ _ / _ _ T _
_ _ R _ S

Erin chooses H, D, B and A, which give her:

A / _ A _ / _ _ T H
_ _ R D S

She certainly has A WAY WITH WORDS, easily solving the bonus puzzle for $30,000, giving her a very impressive end total of $72,450!

Watch Erin dominate the show!

[TenPoundHammer]

Two minor things I missed: I didn't get the Jackpot total, and I forgot to type down what the 3rd tossup looked like when Erin rang in. Other than that, I think I got everything. (ETA: Forgot to put in the SPIN ID on the first go-round. I just went back and put it in.)

Rather impressive performance all around, Erin! You were one Toss-Up away from a clean sweep, and I don't blame you — that was a rather tough Rhyme Time!

Post script: That bonus puzzle was previously used on November 28, 2003, but it was lost for $25K.

[WayoshiM]

Sweet show today!! Erin really impressed me most with her R4 solve - that was legitimately difficult with _ _ N _ not really suggesting VINE until RIPENED appeared (and you had to know how TOMATOES can be to get that at that stage!). Also, absolutely the right no-risk decision either way because she was only $6k ahead and it was the prize puzzle - she took control of the game with what she had anyways and made it hard for the others to accumulate enough in R4 despite the big speed-up.

BR became easy with the right letters - great!

That was a great, tricky RHYME TIME in T3, so it's not too surprising she froze on that.

[Bobby McBride]

Erin, that was excellent playing from you tonight! Too bad you couldn't finish off the maingame sweep.

I also got the bonus puzzle with just the RSTLNE.

Score: 9 (would've been a 10 had she either gotten the sweep or she had won $50K or $100K in the BR)

[Andy Manh Nguyen]

Tossups: Sorry that you ran into trouble on that third tossup, Erin. I would have blown it on that one by one letter with CLOVER ENDEAVOR.

R1: That first word eluded me but I got it with all but the O in the setup.

R2: I got it with all but the H's in the setup.

R3: I got before the M and C were filled in for the solve. Glad you didn't take the risk there, Erin.

R4: I got it the same time as Erin.

Bonus Round: I also nailed it with just the RSTLNE. You were fantastic tonight, Erin! Your performance is similar to that of Dyana Healey's earlier this season (September 17, 2009 and she's the newest board member on here)!

EPISODE RATING: I also give this a 9 out of 10

Tell us about your viewing party and what are your plans for the money, Erin. Other boardies, give Erin your big congrats!

[Mel2010]

You made tonight's show a lot of fun to watch! I loved your expression at the very end (w/fiance & family hugging you)! Do you still have that "I can't believe what just happened?!?" look/feeling, lol?!

Ten lb Hammer - great recap, esp. w/out having a DVR/VCR!

I give tonight's ep a 10/10! The puzzles, except for that supposed "rhyme time" one, were pretty easy. BUT, I got hung up on Bunker & Faith Hill. Doh!

[TenPoundHammer]

Originally Posted by Mel2010

Ten lb Hammer - great recap, esp. w/out having a DVR/VCR!

I type very fast and I know a quick trick to tell how many white blanks are up there (the board is 12-14-14-12, so just count the number of greens and subtract it from 14 or 12).

P.S. You might want to change your sig, since 9/20 has passed.

[Jitta33]

Hi everyone! Thanks for the recap, hammer, great job! Also, thanks to everyone for the nice comments! It has been such a crazy couple of days!! I have to say, I was way more nervous for my show airing than I was when I was actually taping it. I had a viewing party at my house last night to watch the show with a bunch of my friends and family and it was such a blast. It was so hard to keep everything a secret, but it was more fun watching everyone's reactions when we all watched the show together.

That darn toss-up "clever endeavor" has been on my mind since my show taped!! The worst part about that puzzle is that I knew what it was when I buzzed in, but I second guessed myself. For some reason, the word clever seemed like it was spelled wrong when I was looking at the puzzle, and the phrase clever endeavor seemed really odd to me so I was afraid to say it and end up on a blooper reel! I definitely regretted not saying anything, but now I tell myself that the speed-up round might not have played out the same way if someone else started the round.

This whole experience has been so much fun!! Thanks again for the comments!

-Erin

[dyanabanana]

WOW! Definitely one of my favorite episodes this season. Pat is on a roll with that $5k wedge in the FR! Awesome playing tonight and the puzzles were interesting. That Clever Endeavor got me too, I kept thinking "no, clever has an A in it, so it can't be that", because the word ENDEAVOR threw me off, but of course I normally know it's spelled CLEVER. Sneaky little puzzle!!! Great job ERIN!