TV Series# 2: What is “Jeopardy!”?

The second in the series of TV Series is Jeopardy! , a favorite of trivia buffs. The show in its current avatar debuted in 1984 (Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeopardy! ) with Alex Trebek as the host. The original version aired in 1964 with a different host (and possibly different format) and continued in the 1970s. In its current version the show has 3 rounds: The Jeopardy! round, the Double Jeopardy! round and the Final Jeopardy!. The Jeopardy! round has one Daily Double and Double Jeopardy! has two Daily Doubles where the contestant who buzzes for the clue can bet a max of all their earnings till that point (or max $1000 or $2000 respectively if they have less than those amounts). In the Final Jeopardy!, open for all contestants who have positive earnings, they can again bet all their earnings. Goes without saying if a contestant gives wrong response he/she loses whatever they bet and gain the same amount to the final tally if the response is correct. In the first two rounds person buzzing in first for a clue gets first crack, if the response is wrong person who buzzed later gets their turn until the response is right or all who have buzzed in get a chance. It’s a fast moving quiz show with knowledge level of contestants pretty high.

Alex Trebek has been hosting the show since the mid-1980s and he is very popular deservedly. The kind of host who comes across as knowledgeable, well prepared, witty and classy without imposing himself 👌 It also helps he is fluent in multiple languages (English and French for sure, possibly Spanish too. Can’t say the same about his pronunciation of clues with Indian origin though 😆 ). In short, Trebek, who is 80 now, is a consummate professional. The announcer for the show is a spry/sprightly Johnny Gilbert who is a young 96 year old. His voice sounds like someone half his age 👏. The show enjoys cult following with some of the big winners in the show enjoying a big fan following too. Among the winners Ken Jennings, James Holzhauer, Brad Rutter have become household names for those who watch the show. The show has also spawned variations of the regular format targeted for specific contestants. ‘Tournament of Champions’, ‘Teen Tournament’, ‘College Championship’, ‘Teachers Tournament’, ‘Celebrity Jeopardy!’ are testament to the show’s enduring popularity. 👍

The three biggest winners of prize money in the show have been Ken Jennings, James Holzhauer and Brad Rutter. I don’t remember watching shows when Brad Rutter won in his initial run. I have seen him win in other tournaments subsequent to his Tournament of Champions win. When Ken Jennings went on his incredible 74 wins streak I watched some of the games. Apart from encyclopedic knowledge that kind of streak requires focus, buzzer timing and endurance of the highest order which is quite likely not going to be matched for a long time. I watched most of James Holzhauer wins during his run. That’s the advantage of working from home and when the show airs towards the end of work day (4:30pm-5pm). When his run was on I blocked my calendar on all days when the show was on. Work is important but for the 30 minutes the show was on at that time nothing else mattered 🤣 When James was winning astonishing amount of money in each game my favorite activity was capturing his winning amount and when my wife came home from work ask her the question “Can you guess how much James won today?” 😂 Another highlight was watching Ken and Brad take on IBM powered AI competitor Watson.

Having watched Jeopardy! since mid-1990s I have seen some amazing champions who have been dominant and crushing competition or win through sheer will against strong competition. I generally get a few clues right. The ones that I get right tend to be ones that are generic, not involving knowledge specific to America. Categories like “Before and After” I don’t even try guessing. In that context I could identify with 2010 Tournament of Champions winner Vijay Balse. An Indian American he generally wouldn’t even attempt clues in couple of categories (out of 6) but the other 4 he would do remarkably well. He won 4 games in the regular season. So, he wasn’t an automatic contestant in Tournament of Champions. He qualified by virtue of having quite a bit of money during his 4 wins. Did not see his Tournament of Champions win but I was amazed he won against what must have been very strong competition. Kudos to him for winning on his strengths. 👏

Among the things I like about the show is real time check by the judges in case a contestant gives a response that is initially deemed incorrect and then they find the response is acceptable. In such instances the contestant gets credited for correct response which is fair. 👍 Few things I wish were different. Whenever I see a round finish with a few clues not completed I feel bad if it is not due to delay by contestant/s. IMHO all clues should be covered to maximize the opportunity and prize money win. Other thing that I don’t really like is pickiness when it comes to acceptable response. 👎 For example if there is a slight mispronounce in response it’s deemed incorrect and contestant is penalized. A little bit of leeway should be provided. Also, the response is always expected to be in the form of a question and I think it is strictly enforced in Double Jeopardy! round which can be tough when a contestant has got it right but forgot to phrase it in the form of a question. But these are minor irritants and on the whole I enjoy the shows quite a bit. 👍 The one allowance that is allowed is incorrect spelling in Final Jeopardy! Possibly a nod to the falling standards in spelling in these autocorrect and spell checker powered times when people sometimes use “Your” and “You are” in Emails to mean the same 🤣 Among the interesting trivia I have learned watching the show couple come to mind: 7 eleven shops got their name because those shops used to be open from 7am to 11pm (don’t know if it is still true), The Great Smoky Mountains is the most visited National Park. If there is a clue “It’s the most popular trivia/quiz show” my response will be “What is Jeopardy!?” 🙂👍🙏