I'm pretty sure that there's a "word bank" that ensures all of these trap words. Another site has a thread called "words that are never won", and QUIRKY was right up there. I got the whole puzzle (QUIRKY HUMOR) with the contestant's picks, but there seems to be an unwritten rule that a puzzle must have a J, K, Q, V, or Z within them. Most Wheel contestants though aren't megafans and go with the flow too much. That and a category for a decade that half of everyone alive wasn't old enough to remember firsthand.
It's a shame that there aren't returning champions, although I'd devise it where you stay on until you either solve a bonus puzzle, or stay on for three shows. Each time you fail at the BR, you get an extra consonant to make your chances easier if you make another appearance. The Australian version of Wheel had a format similar to that. Even if you retire undefeated and strike out at the BR, you still end up with around $50K, which is what many who win the car/$39K end up with around. The contestant pool also would seem fresher and more interesting even if fewer players get to spin, and I don't know why there has never been "Wheel of Fortune Live!" just like Price since the show could take a similar Wheel on the road and award cash/prizes (just use the 1975 Wheel amounts and the Goen-level prizes, as well as the Ceramic Dalmatian prize wedge). WoF Live! would be a great way to groom the replacements for Pat/Vanna as well.