[Jon]

Come on lads the previous theme was hardly “iconic”. It was generic 90s gameshow.

It was cheesy and probably needs modernising but I think if you played it to a lot of people they’d remember it was Wheel of Fortune. Anyway I think it’s still better than the opening they went with.

There are a few gameshows that benefit from a unified look across the world. Millionaire and something like The Cube’s appeal is the look, music and general atmosphere. But the classic usually American imports need to have more tailoring to local markets whilst taking the best parts of those original formats.

[harshy]

Come on lads the previous theme was hardly “iconic”. It was generic 90s gameshow.

I thought it was the theme tune for Wheel of Fortune didn’t realise it was even specific for the UK, and didn’t it start in the UK in the late 80s?

[Juicy Joe]

I used to feel the clapping even in the Nicky Campbell/Bradley Walsh era appeared weird/awkward and this was when I was child. As a result, I didn't really watch WoF back in the day, but watched most of the other 30 minute ITV gameshows that were on at 7pm weekdays as they appeared more natural.

If the applause during the wheel spin isn't ideal even now in the revived version, should there be silence as the wheel spins or some kind of atmospheric/tension music in the background? I mean, there isn't any clapping during these late-night roulette shows as the wheel spins.

[Brekkie]

Celebrity Lingo had a similar problem of it being filmed with an audience but the audience feeling like it was canned when it appeared on screen. I suspect they try and enhance the sound that is there - I suspect the audience enthusiasm for clapping the wheel drained away during the hour. Usually though natural sound works best.

It did 3.9m last night so ITV and Sony will be patting themselves on the back. Pretty much head to head with Gladiators from here on in, and as much as Gladiators will have an audience it's also a show that will just not appeal to many people too which will benefit ITV.

[eyeTV]

There are a lot of international versions of the show and I don't see any of them looking or sounding so similar to the US version.

It must be because Whisper is part of Sony Pictures Group who own the format.

[tellyblues]

Come on lads the previous theme was hardly “iconic”. It was generic 90s gameshow.

Fair enough if they wanted to change but the "new" theme is garbage. There's no blast of energy that you get from the old one. The opening titles are disgraceful and look like something you'd get free with editing software. The crowd chanting "Wheel of Fortune" VERY slowly is... bad.

Why does everything have to be like the US version? Is there some thought process that people who like the UK version are more likely to want to pay to watch the US version so keeping everything the same sells that show better?

[James2001]

Hopefully if it gets a second series they're able to make changes to make it closer to the old UK version.

[JAS84]

I thought it was the theme tune for Wheel of Fortune didn’t realise it was even specific for the UK, and didn’t it start in the UK in the late 80s?

It did, started in 1988. The US version has actually had several different themes - Big Wheels from 1974 to 1983, Changing Keys from 1983 to 2000, Happy Wheels from 2000 to an unknown date (Wikipedia's missing that info), then an unnamed rock tune for a while, and then a new version of Changing Keys from 2021 onwards. Did the producers of the new show not realise that our version's classic theme was NOT Changing Keys?

This is weird. This clip of WOF is from 2000. It uses the 1998 US opening (even though it had already been replaced in the US by then) with the UK theme, but the studio and other graphics still feature the previous logo!
tvark.org 

Wheel of Fortune | TVARK
More of the same with a new-ish set and a new presenters. … John Leslie ta…
  Source: tvark.org

[Jon]

There are a lot of international versions of the show and I don't see any of them looking or sounding so similar to the US version.

It must be because Whisper is part of Sony Pictures Group who own the format.

I wonder if Whisper (as in people in place before the Sony takeover) are producing it or whether it’s more a case of Sony using the brand.

[James2001]

Those titles were used on the 1999 and 2000 daytime series, I think. I don't particularly like the re-recording of the theme tune that was used on those last few years though, the original 1988 version was better.