purchase a vowel

Playing for Pizzaの主人公Rickは怪我で静養している同僚を見舞いに行っている場面です。 "Would you like for me to bring you a pizza?"
"No."
"A sandwich, a steak, anything?"
"No." And with that, Trey lifted the remote, punched a button, and a happy little housewife purchased a vowel.
Rick eased from the chair and quietly left the apartment. He sat in the late-afternoon sunshine at an outdoor table and drank a Peroni from a frosty mug.
"a happy little housewife purchased a vowel" の箇所が分かりません。特に "purchased a vowel" に特別な意味がありそうなので辞書で調べましたが、中々手がかりがつかめません。
ふと "buy a vowel" で調べると例の俗語辞典に次の説明がありました。
・Urban Dictionary: This means that you don't exactly understand what someone is saying, and you'd like them to elaborate.
PERSON A: "I have a friend who has a friend who's friend has a friend that has a friend that knows somebody who knows a guy who knows a girl who's girlfriend has a boyfriend who went to a really bad doctor who's doctor's doctor's doctor's doctor ate a BigMac and flatulated on top of his flatulence until he fainted"
PERSON B: "Can I buy a vowel?"
他の辞書には "buy a vowel" でも当たりませんが、ウェブ上で次の記事を見つけました。
YAHOO ANSWERS! This is a reference to a t.v. show called 'Wheel of Fortune'. The point of the game was to guess words or phrases based on slowly revealed letters. At any time during the particular round, a contestant had the chance to 'buy a vowel' in order to help them guess the hidden word/phrase/title/person - whatever it happened to be. It has now come to mean someone needed additional clues or information and is meant in a self-deprecating way.
なるほど、TVのゲームショーから出てきた表現ですか。
Rickには怪我をしてふてくされている同僚の態度の意味を知るにはもっとヒントが必要だったのでしょうと推測しました。