The Wheel of the Worst
The Wheel of the Worst is a wooden wheel upon which tapes are placed. The wheel is spun at least three times to select movies in special Best of the Worst episodes.
Despite its title as The Wheel, five different wheels have held this name over time, though never at the same time. All of the wheels were built by Rich Evans.
The Wheel is characterized as an entity unto itself, and often as a negative force or antagonist to the panel. It has been shown to have paranormal capabilities: manipulating lights, making phone calls on the behalf of other RLM staff, and manifesting itself with nobody having visibly moved it. This is in stark contrast to The Plinketto Board which has never been referred to as anything other than an object.
Rich seems to be compelled to create The Wheel when a previous one is destroyed. When asked why he would make a new wheel after participating in the destruction of the previous one, he could only respond with “They made me” while pointing at the Wheel logo, adding that he “couldn’t stop it.” [when?]
Wheels[edit | edit source]
There have been five wheels that held the title of The Wheel of the Worst.
- The first wheel made entirely out of wood from scratch. This wheel was unfinished and had visible nails sticking out of it. This wheel was destroyed by Jack Packard.[when?]
- The second wheel was a modification of the first with a sturdier spinning segment after the first was broken. Mike Stoklasa knocked the wheel over while celebrating over Octopuff in Kumquat, splitting the wheel in half cleanly.[when?]
- The third wheel was laid out on its side to prevent damage. This wheel was painted green and was notable for being designed to hold both VHS tapes and DVDs. To date, this was the largest wheel. It was destroyed by Mike and Rich, who dropped a giant safe onto a Billy B. sing-along tape resting on the wheel like a table.[which episode?]
- The fourth wheel was specifically made with the same parts as the first one. It’s base features all of the previous Wheel of the Worst logos. It’s unknown what happened to this wheel, making it the first wheel to be retired for a new one without a destruction attempt or acknowledgement.
- The fifth wheel has a store-bought prize wheel grafted onto the stand-up base that was introduced with the first wheel. In the center, a photo—originally of Cameron Mitchell—is often present.