Jennings on Jeopardy! – Nice Guys Do Finish First

Special to FreeRepublic ^ | 27 November, 2004 | John Armor (Congressman Billybob)

[Congressman Billybob]

Leo Durocher got a bad rap. He didn’t quite say, “Nice guys finish last.” Besides, sometimes nice guys do finish first. No, I’m not talking about any politician, or pro athlete, or entertainer. Nope, I’m talking about someone you all know, and I’m certain you’re all rooting for.

Ken Jennings is a nice guy, and he’s already finished in first place.

His incredible run is rumored on the Internet to have gone about 71 consecutive shows and about $2.6 million in winnings. The trade press says the show where he loses has already been taped, and will air in about a week. It will be a glorious defeat, because Ken is already the greatest winner on any quiz show, ever.

So where’s the news in this article? Hang onto your pencils, your books and your chairs. Here it is:

Last Friday they had tryouts for Jeopardy! at Biltmore Square Mall south of Asheville, North Carolina. Like most of you, my wife and I are Jeopardy! junkies, plopping down in front of the TV and calling out the answers with high accuracy, almost every weeknight. So of course we planned to try out.

I got to the Mall at 10 a.m., for tryouts scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. There were already seven others in line: four ladies from Asheville, and three men from other parts of North Carolina who’d come a long way to try out. We started a sign-up list to protect our positions in line. As a lawyer, author and former professor, I thought my chances excellent, since those occupations have all done well in the past.

My wife was planning to come over right after she picked up her daughter at school. By the time she got there, more than 1,000 of the ultimately 1,500 would-be contestants were in line. So I searched the line, found them, and gave her my wrist band as number 8 in line. This was not just chivalry but practicality. I thought she’d do better than I would.

And so it turned out.

The first 1,500 people in line were brought in groups of 20 to a roped-off area in the Mall. Each got a quiz of ten questions, which varied of course from person to person and from group to group. The Jeopardy! staff didn’t tell contestants exactly how they scored. Kem was sure that she got nine of the ten correct (she skipped one question). That was enough to earn an invitation to come back for the full test the following morning; out of the hundreds quizzed, only 70 went on to the next round on Saturday.

The full test was fifty questions. Again, staff did not give out the exact results. They did say that passing that test required “something more than 70%.” Kem thinks she missed just four of those questions. It was enough.

Here’s a suggestion of the answers that she faced in the pre-test on Friday and the written, video-displayed tests on Saturday. (Rules forbid a precise statement of answers and questions.) Correct questions are at the end:

A: He was the 19th century author of “Twice-Told Tales.”

A: A lass named Fiona is the heroine of this Lerner & Lowe Broadway musical.

A: The Shoemaker-Levy comet collided with this planet in 1994.

A: This band was in the can with its lead singer, Shirley Manson.

My wife was one of the 15 contestants who passed both tests, and did well in the trial runs of the Jeopardy! show in a conference room at a local hotel on Saturday. The Jeopardy! folks were careful to say that nothing is guaranteed. But all that stands between her and an appearance on the show in Los Angeles is a phone call from the producer.

So keep your eyes pealed for another “nice guy,” this one named Kem, not Ken. I’ll keep you posted. With great pride.

[Q: Who is Hawthorne? Q: What is “Brigadoon?” Q: What is Jupiter? Q: Who are Garbage? I wouldn’t have a guess about the last one if my life depended on it.]

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About the Author: John Armor is a First Amendment attorney and author who lives in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. CongressmanBillybob@earthlink.net

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[drjimmy]

he was "fed" easy answers and his opponents have been absolute dolts, at least the first several weeks he was on, because we don't watch Jeopardy anymore until "kenny" is off.... I think Jeopardy wanted to have an "event" to boost their show....JMHO.....
How do those sour grapes taste? From someone who has been there, I can tell you that nobody gets "fed" anything on Jeopardy! The contestant matchups are completely random from among the pool. You may not care to watch, but based on the ratings a whole lot of people do. And if you think he had "absolute dolts" for opponents, no one is stopping you from trying out yourself.

[green iguana]

I think Jeopardy wanted to have an "event" to boost their show.

If Jeopardy really wants to have an event to boost the show, then it'll heavily advertise the segments leading up to where Jennings gets knocked off. I know I'll be watching all next week. Not that I want to see him lose, but that I want to see how he gets beaten.

[GRRRRR]

I'll take women's underwear for $500 Alex...

"What are Anna Nichole's?"

G

[eureka!]

bttt

[jimfree]

Hey Billybob. What fun! I'd just like to try out myself. Maybe someday.

[Getready]

As someone who has tried to get in on Jeopardy I noticed a
few things:

1) There were about 100 of us. The approx.50 question test which
featured handwritten answers (not computer dots, etc.) were
"corrected" in about 11 minutes. I thought that was strange
since I believe two people came out with the tests. I don't
think 2 people can go through 5,000 seperate answers in 11
minutes (or so).

2) First time I tried, they only chose college students for
the interview. Second time they took the 30-40 year old crowd
only. I think they target different demographics for their
contestants so they can get a good "mix" during the shows.

I think they do what another writer on this thread said,
they want you to be reasonably intelligent, have a good
personality, smile, not take losing very hard. When you're
in the TV studio, they can scan you with their cameras and
see if you are photogenic. I also believe they want you to
have some type of "interesting" story, so when Trebek
interviews you he can make a funny comment, or the audience
will connect with you. Or if you have very bizarre happenstance
occurence in your life(make sure it ain't the aliens coming
to take you away).

Finally, the show is about them, not you. Don't get too
nervous if you are trying to get on...Just play the game...

Also, please note: Jennings, on one of the shows, said that
one of his previous jobs or avocations was creating the
questions used on different quiz programs, so he has been
through a lot of information that would be considered "trivial"
However, he really seems to be sharp anyway....

[CoolChange]

We watched that one last night and got Helen Keller too. Who is Rachel Carlson?

[KC_for_Freedom]

Author of "Silent Spring", the book that got DDT banned as an insecticide.

[CoolChange]

Thanks. With the education system we now have, I guess it's easy to see how college age students would think of her first.

[uncitizen]

is there anything this guy doesn't know?

Yes he didn't know which female novel character was originally named "Pansy" and named changed before publication.

But that's totally understandable. Only the most die-hard GWTW fans would know that if they read analysis books of GWTW.

[uncitizen]

Was "play til you lose" a bad idea? Every body i know knows who Ken Jennings is now. People who never woulda watched Jeopardy before.

[don-o]

On a roll, eh Congressman?

Meet with Bork, and now this! Congratulation to Kem.

Keep us posted, and if you think of it, ping me.

[newgeezer]

The trade press says the show where he loses has already been taped, and will air in about a week.

I'll always wonder if the producers finally got sick of his run and ever-so-slightly sabotaged his button.

[cyclotic]

Me too.

I was jumping around the house high fiving my kids. In fact, with a little prodding, my 11 year old figured out Helen Keller before the young geniuses dropped Rachel Carson.

[newgeezer]

ping.

Therapists

Thepenismightier

Drat, I can't remember any of the others...

[jocon307]

"I was jumping around the house high fiving my kids."

LOL!

[It's me]

I stopped watching Jeopardy moths ago. I couldn't stand the arrogance of Ken Jennings!

Yeah, he's good but he is also a fast "clicker." My daughter was on the winning Academic League (High School Jeopardy with harder questions!!). She pressed the button fast and got the first chance to answer the question. That's what a lot of it comes down to, who presses the button first.

I'll be sure to watch Jeopardy this week to see the demise of Ken Jennings.

Oh dear, flame away...

[Calico Cat]

I tried out for "Jeopardy" in 2000, passed the 50-question test, then bombed in the trial game (I kept forgetting to phrase in the form of a question and kept biting my lip--nervous habit) and had absolutely NO interesting, funny stories to tell about myself (nervousness again!) I knew I wouldn't get called, and I wasn't. ("Jeopardy" called me to come to the tryout when I was in the hospital, one day after having a baby--so I'd had lots of sleepless nights, too!)

I'll try again, but only after this Ken is GONE! The man is a machine!

[Gritty]

Congratulations to Kem for getting nearly to the end. That in itself is an accomplishment!

We are not fans of Jeopardy!, but having Kem on as a contestant is one thing that will spur us to watch!

Keep all of us non-contestants informed on the when, etc., so we can cheer on the new "Nice Guy"!

[didi]

I have not been watching Jeopardy!, which used to be my favorite show....it's eating me up.....if 'Who is Helen Keller?" is the question, what is the answer??