joining us live now to talk a little more about this is doctor christina hackel, chair of the school'stment of television, film and media studies. uh. christina, thank you for joining us. >> thank you so much for having me. >> can you believe that pat sajak is retiring after more than 40 years and 8000 episodes? >> it's such a career. it's such a it's an amazing thing. it's definitely the end of an era. >> yeah. at the height of the show, they had more than 40 million people watching every episode. what was it about wheel of fortune in europe that really appealed to the people? was it the form of the show? was it pat sajak? was it vanna white? >> i'm sure. i mean, i am no game show academic or expert, but i'm sure it was all those things. game shows are such an enduring format, they're, you know, in the history of the, of american television at the start of american television and perennial there, they're alive and kicking today. it's so many are going into production even this season, more than ever before. >> that's an interesting thing you bring up there too. and we talk about these