TVSPIELFILM: Ms. Kraus, Mr. Hermanns, what memories do you have of the wheel of fortune?
Thomas Hermanns: Back then, the game show wave was very strange to me because those formats were American. Suddenly there was jingling and everything was in pastel colors, it was very un-German – which I personally really liked.
Sonya Kraus: I discovered the show in the USA at the time because I lived there and there you couldn’t avoid “Wheel of Fortune”. So I only knew Vanna White in the US version. She was also the reason why I asked for a microphone back then, I didn’t want to remain silent like my predecessor. When I came back, everything was there again immediately. My whole body remembered it straight away and I probably could have hosted the show even with a blood alcohol content of three.
With Mr. Hermanns on the wall and Ms. Kraus as moderator, the show makes a good leap into the present day.
Herman’s: (nods) Sonya and I take turns. I was really confronted with the picture of women on the wall, it always looks so easy when they do it. You have to run really hard, not stand in the middle, know the word, always smile. I wanted to conquer that and that was also important for Sonya.
frills: The game was so present to me and therefore it was a pleasure for me, at the same time I also took advantage of it to admire Thomas…
Herman’s: And to rush! Then it said “Gelsenkirchen in a snowstorm” and Sonya said: “You can find the R” and then I was back in the running. And reinventing the beat, that clockwork of the game, was our goal.
Did that work?
Herman’s: It looks a lot like prime time. This is not the afternoon edition from before, we have set new accents.
frills: We have more glamour, more glitter and Thomas and I can flirt perfectly with role clichés.
Herman’s: We have costume changes on the show, Sonya had a truckload of evening dresses and I had a reversible jacket that represents exactly two facets of my personality.
