Pat Sajak Years On Wheel Of Fortune

Recently, Pat Sajak dissed the old Wheel of Fortune shopping-spree format. The shopping format took on various forms over the years until it was eventually phased out in the late '80s.

Pat Sajak On Wheel Of Fortune
Pat Sajak Years On Wheel Of Fortune
Pat Sajak Years On Wheel Of Fortune Chuck Woolery

Sajak, 73, has been hosting Wheel of Fortune for almost 40 years and is signed to continue hosting through 2022. In December, he told Good Morning America he is considering retiring in two to three years. 0 comments 'I'd rather leave a couple years too early than a couple years too late,' he explained. Transcript for Pat Sajak Loses His Cool on 'Wheel of Fortune' Leaving is not a rare moment from wheel of fortune host pat say Jack after thirty plus years. A contestants they ills and slobs.

Pat Sajak has been hosting Wheel of Fortunefor nearly 40 years, but there's one segment of the show he wasn't a big fan of. During the Wednesday night episode of the long-running game show, one contestant reminisced about the show's shopping rounds, but Sajak was quick to nip that in the bud. 'The most boring three minutes of television,' he said.

Wheel of Fortune's old format involved players using their winnings to shop a large selection of prizes displayed on a spinning stage, including home goods and other occasionally random items. This element of the game was eliminated from the syndicated version of the show in 1987, which Sajak began hosting in 1983. Speaking to co-host Vanna White of the shopping segments, Sajak said, 'I don’t miss them.'

'In retrospect [you think], 'Oh, that was kind of fun,’ but, really, it was this thing going around with the [contestant’s] head in a circle… It was really not exciting television,' he explained. 'We like it just the way it is.' White agreed, noting that the show 'is so much better now.'

This quote wasn't the first time Sajak expressed his dislike for the shopping segment — in the early 2000s, he answered fan questions on his website, PatSajak,com, and shared that he wouldn't be bringing back the old format. 'Trust me, it was the most boring two minutes in television as shoppers hemmed and hawed over whether they wanted the dining room table or the floor lamp,' he wrote, via Fandom.

Last week, the host playfully criticized a contestant who had questioned producers' word choice in regards to his show-winning puzzle. 'Don’t! You won! Don’t argue, Darin! … You got the puzzle. Ungrateful players! I’ve had it!' Sajak exclaimed. 'No, I’m just teasing. I finally snapped!'

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On Friday, the 74-year-old sent a more upbeat message to fans of the show, teaming with White and announcer Jim Thornton for a video wishing viewers a Merry Christmas.

'Ho ho ho!' Sajak exclaimed as Thornton echoed him. 'Maybe I'll practice my elf,' Sajak remarked before White concluded with, 'Happy holidays from 'Wheel'!' 'Sending love and joy to the best fans in the world!' the video's caption read. '#MerryChristmas, Wheel Watchers!'

Wheel of Fortune fans might care deeply about who replaces Pat Sajak when he retires, but it does not matter to the jovial game show host. The beloved host said he does not care who takes over for him once he leaves, although there is no definitive timeline for when that will happen. Sajak was recently sidelined for an emergency surgery, giving fans a taste of what the show would be like without him.

When TMZ caught up with Sajak, his daughter Maggie Sajak and Wheel of Fortune co-host Vanna White outside a restaurant in West Hollywood last week, they had to ask Sajak who he thinks should be the next host.

'Once I'm gone, I don't care who takes the reins,' Sajak said, with his usual wit.

This week, Wheel is airing more episodes hosted by White, who was joined by Maggie as the temporary letter-turner.

White told TMZ she thought Maggie, 25, did a fantastic job filling in.

'I'm so proud of her,' White said. 'She did a great job. Better than me!'

'She's a great teacher,' Maggie chimed in.

When asked if she would ever want to take over for White full-time, Maggie was not so sure.

'Who knows, but it was a lot of fun,' she said with a shrug.

Later, Sajak assured his fans he is now feeling 'fine' after his emergency surgery in November. Sajak was hospitalized for a successful surgery to fix a blocked intestine. He missed several Wheel tapings, and the first White-hosted episode aired on Dec. 20. Some Sajak-hosted episodes aired during the last week of 2019, but more White-hosted episodes are aiing this week.

'This is a little complicated, so pay attention,' Sajak said in a video for Monday's episode. 'I was back from my surgery last week and had a wonderful time on the show, and I'm not going to be here this week. It's not that I had a relapse, it's just because of the technicalities of the taping order and all that. So you're going to see Vanna doing her Pat impression here. She does a great job. And we have a special letter toucher.'

In November, Maggie said her father felt a 'horrific pain' before he was hospitalized.

'He's not a big complainer,' Maggie said at the time. 'I could tell he was taking it seriously. We don't usually, you know, go into the emergency room for little things.'

Pat Sajak On Wheel Of Fortune

Although Maggie enjoyed filling in for White while White hosted, it was 'amazing' to see her dad back at work.