Wheel of Fortune‘s Blatant Plug of Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Was an Unmitigated Disaster (WATCH)

Wheel of Fortune‘s Blatant Plug of Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Was an Unmitigated Disaster (WATCH)

Tom Cruise may want to erase last night’s Wheel of Fortune from his DVR.

To mark the blockbuster’s Oct. 10 digital release, Mission Impossible — Dead Reckoning, Part One was the recipient of its very own puzzle on Tuesday night’s Wheel. There was just one problem: All three contestants struggled mightily to identity the movie title despite almost every letter having been filled in.

More from TVLine

San Jose, Calif. resident Rose Fisher ultimately solved the mystery with just two letters missing, but even she seemed unsure if her “D” guess was the correct one (watch above).

And it got worse from there.

Later in the show, while congratulating the night’s big winner, Keri Isacovici, host Pat Sajak referenced her earlier Mission: Impossible struggles with an off-handed, “Who needs that stinkin’ movie?” He rather quickly backtracked on the crack (perhaps remembering that Paramount probably-allegedly-maybe paid a tidy sum for the plug), professing that Mission Impossible — Dead Reckoning, Part One is actually a “terrific movie.”

Wait — there’s more.

In his customary end-of-episode banter-fest with co-host Vanna White (watch above), during which he asked the legendary letter-turner if she’s seen MIDRP1 (she hasn’t), Sajak knowingly, cheekily (dismissively?) butchers the title, referring to it as Mission Reckoning Impossible. White then asks Sajak if he has seen the film that he earlier declared was “terrific.” He confesses that he has not.

“I don’t see a lot of the action films, to be honest with you,” he shrugged, before adding, “But it does great box office.”

Well… not that great, for something that carried a near-$300 million budget!

The fact that no one from last night’s Wheel had seen Mission Impossible — Dead Reckoning, Part One should come as little surprise considering the much-hyped sequel was widely considered a box office disappointment.

Best of TVLine

Get more from TVLine.com: Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Newsletter

Click here to read the full article.