Definitions Deconstructed

This . . . Is . . . Jeopardy!

S. G. Lacey

​

Trivia has captivated human memory recall for decades.  Our aspiration to demonstrate that we’re smarter, savvier, and sneakier, than those individuals around us transcends time, location, and even the all-knowing internet.

 

The modern entertainment trivia game landscape, while very diverse in format, can be traced back to a single offering.  Incredibly innovative at the time of launch, this TV show now seems dull and mandate, when compared to nerdy 5th graders, familial bickering, or phoning a friend.  Over time, the gameplay has remained essentially unchanged, and the viewership has remained surprisingly robust.  Can you name this classic television production effort which is now over half a century old? 

 

What is “Jeopardy!”?

 

A cleverly chosen name, when analyzed deeply.  For once, a game show’s punny moniker doesn’t require any spelling manipulations, aside from the punctuation addition.

 

Jeopardy = Hazard or risk of exposure to loss, harm, death, or injury.  [REF]
Jeopardy! = A iconic America trivia contest which rewards risk when rapidly answering in the form of a question.  [REF]

 

Jeopardy! debuted as once-a-week daytime offering way back in 1964, then transitioned to a syndicated production for evening TV consumption a decade later.  Overcoming various setbacks and cancellations, it took another 10 years for the daily show format to get dialed in, the first episode of this modern era execution premiering in prime time on Monday, September 10th, 1984.  

​

Revival of the struggling Jeopardy! brand at the time included a new host.  With the benefit of hindsight, this fortuitous hiring decision has become synonymous with the product itself.  

 

A middle aged Canadian, who had failed at emceeing several game shows in the past.  As it turned out, this was his final work interview, sparking a 35-year run of witty banter.  Not bad for an unruly youth who nearly got expelled from boarding school, dropped out of the military, and was philosophy major at the University of Ottawa.

 

As Jeopardy! progressed over time, it became clear just how savvy Mr. Trebek was, and how prolific an intellect he possessed.  Spending several hours per day over 3 decades reading random trivia in preparation for each show’s filming probably didn’t hurt. 
   
Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end eventually, especially when human beings are involved.

 

In March 2019, Alex Trebek publicly announced he was diagnosed with Stage IV pancreatic cancer.  Battling through repeated doctor’s visits, chemotherapy treatments, and invasive surgeries, he continued to forge on at his role hosting Jeopardy!.  18 months later, Mr. Trebek passed away under quiet circumstances with close family present.  [REF]

 

This privacy was brief.

 

The next day, on Monday, November 9th, 2020, the regularly scheduled Jeopardy! broadcast to start the work week opened with a decidedly unique intro.  An sad acknowledgement and honorable tribute regarding Alex Trebek’s passing.

 

Even during his last struggling days, Mr. Trebek soldiered on, recording the entirety of Jeopardy! Season #37.  It helped that the standard production format was to film 5 shows per day, thereby covering an entire week of content, with winning candidates readily available to roll right into the next episode.  

 

Late is his illustrious career, Alex Trebek acknowledged he had over 100 quality suits in his arsenal.  As such, through rapid wardrobe changes on set, he could maintain a perception of originality for over 3 months of actual airtime.

 

Trebek had led every game of Jeopardy! for nearly 4 decades, so he wasn’t going to retire easily, or fade away without leaving his mark on the television product he was now synonymous with. 

 

As such, the last 35 episodes of Jeopardy! with the iconic host at the helm were aired posthumously, in original form, with no additional editing beyond normal practices.  These shows represent a visual documentary of Mr. Trebek’s last days, and the dedication with which he executed his craft to the bitter end, despite knowing death was imminent.

 

The process of finding a suitable replacement for Alex Trebek as Jeopardy host revealed just how uniquely perfect an individual he was for this special role.  The interview process played out on national TV over the course of the first half of 2021.  

 

This trial by fire brought in celebrities from all walks of life, representing a who’s-who of modern entertainment industry personalities.  There are not many jobs where professionals from several different realms can compete on the same stage as equals.  

 

Imagine Aaron Rodgers, Dr. Mehmet Oz, Katie Couric, LeVar Burton, George Stephanopoulos, Joe Buck, and Robin Roberts all vying for the same managerial role at the local car dealership.  Or bumping elbows at your next backyard barbeque.  This elite mix was clearly curated with an emphasis on diversity of life experiences, and screened using high confidence in front of the camera.  [REF]

 

From this impressive list of candidates, each given one week’s worth of shows to demonstrate their charismatic personality and educational chops, a clear winner emerged.  Mike Richards, the executive producer of Jeopardy!, as well as several other well-known game shows, including “The Price is Right” and “Who Wants to be a Millionaire?” 

 

Somewhat suspiciously, he was the same individual tasked with managing this entire interview process.  Public uproar claiming nepotism, combined with several scandals which surfaced following his public promotion, led to an impressively short tenure for Mr. Richards.  All told, he recorded and hosted just a single week of Jeopardy! after claiming the new post for himself.  Not a very convincing Trebek disciple.  [REF]

 

Now, a year after this debacle, the hosting has morphed into a stable, albeit temporary, cadence.  Current shared Jeopardy! answer reading duties are split between Mayim Bialik, of Big Bang Theory fame, with mental chops as an actual neuroscientist, and Ken Jennings, for many the most well-known Jeopardy! contestant ever, who has remained involved in the show on-and-off since his epic trivia run in 2004.  

 

It’s important to acknowledge the creator of Jeopardy!, who remained committed to this fledgling product in the struggling early years.  Mervyn Griffin, a Hollywood legend, who’s also responsible for the “Wheel of Fortune” franchise. 

There’s a large segment of Americans who’ve spend their 6 PM to 8 PM hours, depending on time zone, each night eating dinner in front of the television, watching this pair of riveting gaming products which Merv envisioned and executed.

 

In additional to championing the Jeopardy! brand, despite frequent adversity, Merv Griffin has made several meaningful contributions of his own to the show itself.  Mr. Griffin wrote and recorded the 30 second “Final Jeopardy” theme song on his own, way back in the product’s fledgling days.  This is now one of the most iconic jingles of our era.  

 

Also, Griffin’s wife Julann came up with the novel answer in the form of a question concept.  This was implemented to repair the damage done by various televised quiz show scandals of the 1950’s.  It is one of the unique elements which differentiated Jeopardy! from the sea of trivia contest rivals early on, and still gives some competitors execution challenges during the run of normal play.  [REF]
 
Distinctiveness combined with longevity have conspired to make Jeopardy! the most award-winning game show of all time, with over 30 Emmys and countless other accolades.

 

There’s no doubt the gameplay strategy of Jeopardy! has changed over time.  In addition to the relentless research of random factual knowledge, aspiring participants have also spent countless hours analyzing the scoring system, all in an effort to optimize execution.

 

In the spirit of Jeopardy!’s unique structure, let’s review some of the most memorable show interactions throughout history, using the ubiquitous answer then question format.  Good luck contestants. 

 

Answer:  It’s the only country that borders both the Caspian Sea and the Persian Gulf.
Question:  What is Iran?
Facts:  Presented in Final Jeopardy on October 12th, 2017, this turned out to be a real stumper.  The traditional format of the last question, with 30 seconds allotted to answer, allows for more wordy topics to be explored.  However, this was a terse, albeit challenging, one, which all three participants missed.  Since specific challenges are never reused, it’s not possible to assess the overall difficulty of queries.  However, one common Jeopardy! metric is the “Triple Stumper”, an especially challenging question where everyone playing either responds incorrectly or doesn’t buzz in at all.  These infrequent occurrences demonstrate which topics typically well-rounded, knowledgeable players aren’t so learned in.

 

A:  The ineptest Jeopardy! category ever.
Q:  What is “Talkin’ Football”?
F:  In February 2018, the trio of contestants failed this entire column, bumbling their way down the list and astonishing the couch potato, sports viewing, audience watching on TV.  As the last excruciating $1,000 inquiry was revealed, Mr. Trebek quipped, “If you guys ring in and get this one, I will die.”  Yet another of his many quick and witty interactions with contestants over the years.  Fortunately for all, it was another 3 amusing years before the prolific Jeopardy! host finally faded off into the sunset.  Ironically, classic film knowledge is another typically troubling category; an art form which Trebek appreciated and enjoyed as a means of relaxing throughout his life. 

 

A:  Current acceptance rate for applicants on the Jeopardy! game show.
Q:  What is 0.35%?
F:  All screening for Jeopardy! is now done completely online.  There are 3 progressively harder stages which one must pass before earning their chance on the big stage.  First is a simultaneous online trivia test against thousands of other applicants.  Encompassing 50 questions in different categories, with 15 seconds allotted for each response, means the entire evaluation takes just 13 minutes.  This quiz can only be taken once a year and requires extensive practice.  If you move on from the group challenge, though your exact score is not provided, you are eligible to be called up to a year later for a now-computer-based interactive session.  This involves a mock game, with 3 virtual contestants, which mimics the actual show format.  It’s important to focus on mid-game interview execution, as well as correct answers to all the questions.  If you succeed at this real time trial, then you’re eligible for the real deal during an 18-month window, with a 30-day heads-up for your exact filming day and time at the Culver City, CA studio.  The trio of contestants assembled for each actual show is somewhat randomized, with potential considerations for diversity of age, gender, race, location, vocation, and background if possible.  Thus, if you want to become a Jeopardy! participant, it’s key to persevere, as the talent pool and production goals vary over time.  [REF]

 

A:  One category has appeared on more Jeopardy! boards than any other.  
Q:  What is “Before & After”?
F:  This frequent and challenging offering looks for contestants to provide a solution which combines a pair of responses that share a central word.  The phrasing is often cryptic, making it difficult for players to interpret and solve these queries in the allotted time.  Like the statement “American daisy with dark center that was a leading U.S. suffragette.”, which is meant to yield “Black-Eyed Susan B. Anthony”.  Other oft-used categories, all of which are quite broad and vague, include “4-Letter Words”, “Stupid Answers”, and “Potpourri”.  Any veteran Jeopardy! watcher will recognize these groupings, though content writers make sure to never repeat actual questions, at least with identical wording.  [REF]  

 

A:  One Jeopardy! daily winner went home with this tiny sum, much less money than his losing competitors. 
Q:  What is a single dollar?
F:  The Jeopardy! victor each show earns their total monetary tally after settling up on the wagers from the last shared question.  In this case, the unlucky and unsuccessful winner, Manny Abell, a 2-day defending champion, ended with a grand total of just a lone buck, while his two opponents wagered all their funds in a hope of success, but responded incorrectly and thus wound up with $0.  However, the constellation prizes are $1,000 and $2,000 respectively, for the 3rd and 2nd place “non-winner” contestants.  The diabolical Final Jeopardy quiz which caused this fiasco was “Iran”, as described in the previously referenced answer and question.  At least poor Manny had the opportunity to play another game the following night, and win more money, which unfortunately didn’t happen.  He ended up in last, ending his short 4-day run, and adding another $1,000, which brought his total career cash to just under $45k.  

 

A:  On March 16, 2007, this occurrence meant that none of the contestants won.
Q:  What is a 3-way tie game?
F:  A tying trio has only occurred once in Jeopardy! history.  Every player got the Final Jeopardy question correct, with various wagers amassing $16k each at the end of the match-up.  All three of these participants were invited back for a rematch in the next televised show.  In contrast to this playing proficiency, the battle on March 12th, 2015, almost exactly 8 years later, was decidedly inept.  On this day, contestant Stephanie Hull tallied the lowest score ever achieved by a player in Jeopardy! history, at a staggering -$6,800.  She chalked this undesirable performance up to her lackluster early responses, competitors getting all the “Daily Doubles”, then her multiple incorrect answers to $2,000 questions as she tried to close the gap.  One of her combatants also had a negative score at the end of two rounds, making this the first time that there was only one eligible participant for Final Jeopardy.  Fortuitously, just last year, during the revolving host interview process following Mr. Trebek’s passing, the title for Jeopardy! contestant negativity was reset at -$7,400.

 

A:  James Holzhauer’s single show record cash tally in Jeopardy!. 
Q:  What is $131,127?
F:  An impressive score, considering the total baseline value of money available on the pair of boards with current Jeopardy! dollar amounts is only $54,000.  In this epic match, broadcast on April 17, 2019, Holzhauer conveniently got all the Daily Doubles late in rounds, and predictably gambled big each time.  This aggressive strategy has actually allowed him to amass Top 10 highest monetary marks of all time.  Before Holzhauer’s reign, the one-game record was a mere $77,000, earned by Roger Craig way back in September of 2010.  For reference, the maximum theoretical winnable sum in a single Jeopardy! match is $566,400.  This is a highly unlikely result, first relying on a lone contestant to completely sweep both game boards.  In addition, the Daily Doubles would need to be fortuitously found at the very end of each session, on the lowest scoring tiles, which almost never happens.  The last implausibility is that this individual would continue to double down every opportunity, including on Final Jeopardy, with over one-quarter million dollars already in their pocket.  Don’t hold your breath for this stratospheric single-day achievement.

 

A:  Name the 4 Jeopardy! contestants how have lasted more than 30 consecutive sessions.
Q:  Who are Ken Jennings, Amy Schneider, Matt Amodio, and James Holzhauer?  
F:  The career game earnings for each of these prolific players is all well over $1 million.  However, the monetary king of Jeopardy! is Brad Rutter, with nearly $5 million in total winnings, due to his high paying Ultimate Tournament of Champions, Million Dollar Masters, and Battle of the Decades bracket victories.  However, it’s difficult to compare total money earned over time due to the inflation adjustments of the game tile values.  The preliminary round highest square stared at $125 in 1984, and has incremented up over time to the current $1,000 for a bottom row questions in the first game today.  Since Holzhauer’s bold tactics were revealed to be successful on the worldwide entertainment stage, many modern participants have copied this unique technique.  It seems to be working, as half of the Top 10 longest winning streaks in Jeopardy! history have occurred since Holzhauer’s epic run the spring of 2019.  Like the iconic host, the gameplay of Jeopardy! has clearly changed significantly in recent years. [REF]

 

A:  A unique, but well-known, individual hosted Jeopardy! in 1997. 
Q:  Who is Pat Sajak?
F:  On April Fools’ Day 1997, Alex Trebek and Pat Sajak swapped roles as emcees for Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune.  These shows were broadcast back-to-back nightly on network television at this time, so it didn’t take viewers long to catch on to the stunt.  Amusingly, Sajak’s wife, Lesly Brown, joined Trebek turning tiles on the “Wheel”, while Pat Sajak and Vanna White, the long-standing co-leads, were contestants in this charity game.  One of Merv Griffin’s biggest revelations as a game show creator was that the hosts were as important as the run of play.  With this pair of blockbuster television hits, he definitely chose wisely on all fronts.  In the early years, there were multiple tweaks and reincarnations to Jeopardy!, as Merv Griffin and his production team tried to dial in the slick quiz show offering they envisioned.  These committed efforts definitely paid off.

​

The current broad Jeopardy! portfolio, in addition to the daily show, includes 10-day tournaments each year for Champions, Teachers, and Teens.  In addition, there are week-long activities highlighting Celebrities, Collegiates, and Kids.  Throughout the years, numerous tournament formats have been derived to bring popular and successful adult winners from the past back for more competition; many of these legends are true fan favorites.  The Jeopardy! brand has even gone international in recent years. [REF]    

 

One of the best testaments to the societal relevance of Jeopardy!, besides its 4-decade longevity, are the multitude of references to this trivia game show in other entertainment venues.  Of all these copies, spoofs, and clips, one hilarious execution stands out. 

 

A long running skit on “Saturday Night Live”, leveraging the comedic skills of Will Farrell convincingly representing Alex Trebek as the charismatic, often-frustrated, host.  Amusement is amplified by the parade of famous comedians who take their turn, each representing a different celebrity contestant, exaggerating known traits and mannerisms to the extreme.  

​

Some of these envisioned personages are absolutely hilarious.  Norm McDonald, channeling Burt Reynolds, who selects the absurd written podium moniker of “Turd Ferguson”.  Jimmy Fallon, mimicking 6 different well-known personalities over the long history of this unique parody.  Kenon Thompson, initially impersonating Bill Crosby as a contestant, then later getting his own chance to host in the controversial “Black Jeopardy!” SNL offering.   

 

But there’s one absurdly popular celebrity appearance who is more beloved by aficionados than all others.  Sean Connery.  

 

Don’t worry if you’ve been an avid Jeopardy! watcher daily over the years, but missed classy categories like “Swords”, “Catch The Semen”, and “The Rapist”.  Scotsman Sean Connery, perpetually portrayed by Darrell Hammond for nearly 20 years since this crazy character’s introduction in 1996, has issues with English language comprehension sometimes.  The awkward banter between the portrayed Trebek and Connery characters never fails to bring the house down in laughter, both the live SNL audience, as well as everyone watching on late-night TV.  [REF] 

​

Surprisingly, one of the biggest advocates of these Jeopardy! knock-offs was the individual who became the primary brunt of most jokes.  Alex Trebek himself, who participated in his own Saturday Night Live adventure in 2002.  Unfortunately, the real Sean Connery never made an appearance on either actual or fake Celebrity Jeopardy! during his illustrious acting career.  [REF]