My Jeopardy! Experience - November 1, 2012

[alietr]

I don't think the technical requirements are so difficult that they wouldn't be able to use more of the monitor bank to display the clue than just the one screen. But then again, the jumble of wires and connections I saw underneath the lectern might be an indication that it is beyond them. Maybe they haven't tried that because not enough people have complained about it being an issue?

[Elizabeth_Pfeifer]

I was thinking the same thing. Would a monitor twice the size--twice as wide and twice as tall, so four times the area--have been sufficiently large for you? I ask because you seem like an excellent edge case. I.e. once the vision impairment gets worse than yours, they probably need to make some other accommodation anyway, as they did for that legally blind guy back in the 90s. But if they could set it up to allow non-accommodated gameplay for anyone with your vision or better, I think that's worth doing.

It seems as though they make a good effort to work with various disabilities, so I'm definitely not accusing them of being insensitive. On the contrary, it's their demonstrated sensitivity to such issues that makes me think they might be receptive to these kinds of ideas. Of course, I'm a little bitter that they would almost certainly not accommodate my disability, which involves saying "Harding" when I mean "Garfield" and suddenly forgetting facts I've known all my life when called upon to state them.

It sounds as though the studio audience doesn't have a good view of the displayed clues either. Or do they have monitors they can watch that are closer than the ones on stage?

I think you are talking about Eddie Timanus - I thought about him too. My conclusion is that if I had not expected to be able to rely on being able to read the clues, but only to listen to them (as someone who was blind from the age of 3, like Eddie, was used to), that it wouldn't have been an issue.

I do give the Jeopardy! staff so much credit for being responsive in trying to find a workaround. Perhaps, though, to truly level the field, a larger monitor for showing the clues would work. (that would eliminate the lag from showing the clue on the big board AND on the monitor, and having to take time to look from the board to the monitor on the ground - that was probably the part that took up so much time for me)

[BobF]

I understood what you were saying. I made a brief comment about lectern screens and then I said:

Logistically I don't think it would be very practical for J! to instantly transform those 30 TVs into one large screen for the purpose of displaying the current clue to the contestants. That seems like an awful lot of switching back and forth.

In the audition, the CCs want you to say the category and dollar amount because it's easier on the camera crew if they know exactly which clue you are going to select next. In the audition, if you say something like, "same category, $600" they will remind you to state the category name (or an abbreviated form of it, as in "Authors, 6")

Maybe I'm totally wrong here, but I'm guessing that whatever technology or software that is available to allow TPTB to switch from 30 separate TV screens to one big combined screen and then keep going back and forth again may be more complicated than it's worth, as far as keeping the show running quickly and smoothly.

I like that thinking, along with that of others on here. Perhaps just have the clue that's being read overtake its immediate neighbors temporarily to make it 2 or 3 times as long and wide.

[opusthepenguin]

I don't think the technical requirements are so difficult that they wouldn't be able to use more of the monitor bank to display the clue than just the one screen. But then again, the jumble of wires and connections I saw underneath the lectern might be an indication that it is beyond them.

I suspect this would be a software fix rather than a hardware one. But maybe that's the holdup. There's got to be at least one single-panel cartoon out there of a guy standing in an office labeled SOFTWARE with footstep marking indicating he came from HARDWARE and the caption, "But they told me to talk to YOU."

[DadofTwins]

When I was on I had some of the same difficulty reading the board. I was born with cataracts and still have them. Part of the problem is seeing at distance, part of it is taking a split-second longer for a new image to come into focus, and part of it is the way cataracts make everything seem yellower.

Complicating matters was the 63-day champion standing to my right who inconveniently refused to disappear through a trap door in the floor.

I'm glad to hear that they rigged up a work-around. When I was there 8 years ago, the audience could see the show as it would appear on TV on 2 large monitors at the front of the stage (and out of the sightline of the contestants). My guess would be that adding a monitor the contestants could see showing the same shot wouldn't be that hard to do technically if they had the hardware on hand.

[sarahbree]

Funny, I just posted a very similar recap on my facebook page saying almost exactly the same things, except my version is decidedly rated R and probably not suited for this forum. I wonder if we were at the same audition in NY-mine was June 5th. You must have been at taping on Aug.25th with Keith. He beat me on Aug.8th taping day- thanks for putting it up, it helps to talk about it...congrats!

[ElendilPickle]

It sounds as though the studio audience doesn't have a good view of the displayed clues either. Or do they have monitors they can watch that are closer than the ones on stage?

The audience has large monitors facing them.

I brought my reading glasses in case I needed them, but I was able to see the game board with no problems. I thought about putting them on before I played, but I wouldn't have rocked the "glasses pulled way down my nose" look nearly as well as BADubois.

[alietr]

except my version is decidedly rated R and probably not suited for this forum.

So ... where's the link?

[Elizabeth_Pfeifer]

sarahbree,

No, my audition was June 22 in NYC, and I taped August 21.

I'd love to see your recap.

Elizabeth

[sarahbree]

here's an excerpt- per request....





Rehearsal is over, we are led back to the green room and take turns going to the makeup chair. Barbie is my pixie-sized makeup artist and she is a hoot. I grill her about the celebrities she works on but she reveals nothing- apparently it is career suicide to talk about your clients. No hints even, she is like a mini Buddha, just smiling and impervious. Whatever she magically does with my face, I like it, but it feels heavy. Now I am camera ready. Maggie, Robert and Glenn give us one last pep talk about speaking clearly and having fun up there. They tell us the studio audience has been led in and that we are not to make eye-contact with our loved ones, who will be sitting across the aisle from us in the same section. I find that odd, but later realize it has to do with the angle at which the podiums are on stage. It is a very strange feeling to walk out there with the entire studio audience watching us and we are led up to our seats. Apparently they were lectured not to look at us either, which explains the very strange look on my mother's face, but I wink at them anyway. Naomi give me the subtle thumbs up and that makes me feel better.
As I said, they tape a weeks worth of shows in one day, so the first game (Monday) is drawn and Betsy and a young guy named Tim go up to face Glen the Champ. I relax a little and settle in. There are audience fluffers who get everyone excited and clapping and then out comes Johnny Gilbert, that legendary voice of Jeopardy! He is very short and looks ridiculously like a character on Fantasy Island, all fake tanned, face-lifted and bad toupee. I think he is like 80 something years old- man, LA is gross... BUT, that voice! That voice! Very strange to see its embodiment. So he comes out and charms the audience a little while the stage crew does its final adjustments and finally the moment arrives- cue the music and JG's intro, the contestant's names-yadda yadda- and THEN HE WALKS OUT ON STAGE! I am now only 30 feet or so from Alex Trebek!!
He looks fabulous and it now fully sinks in that I am actually here and I will actually be going up there before this day is over. I try to focus my brain, relax, soak it all in, CONCENTRATE! I am amazed at how fast the pace is and before I know it the first game is over, Betsy is the winner and we are led back to the green room. Before we leave the seats, they draw for the next game, it is Susan and Martin. We have to go back to the green room between each game while they reset everything. Everyone is buzzing, congratulating Betsy, consoling Glen and Tim, shaking hands saying goodbye. Betsy gets to go in the Champion dressing room to change for the Tuesday show, Susan and Martin get their makeup retouched. I am betting on Susan for this one, she was a killer in rehearsal.

Game two-when the categories are revealed, I groan a little. There is "the Hudson River" and "James Beard Award Winning Chefs". I live next to the Husdon River! I worked for a JB Award winning chef! Naomi and I share a furtive eye-roll. Boom booom boom- it's over and Betsy wins again. They draw for the third game, it is Deepa and Keith. Back in the green room, two more are gone and it really starts to feel like the Hunger Games.

This was a close one and Keith is gifted the win with Final Jeopardy being his area of expertise- the Elements- he is a chemist. I hear my mother and another woman squealing when Keith wins and think that she is just as happy as I am that Betsy is done. After the third game there is a lunch break. Those of us left are given a voucher to eat in the studio commisary. Robert takes us there and it is very busy and bustling with the whole Paramount and Sony Pictures staff and crew having lunch. Because this is California, the salad bar is the size of a modular home and could feed an entire African village. I feel like the new kid at school, not knowing where anything is and not sure where to go. I stick with the pretty lady named Jeannie, she is from LA, so I suppose she knows more about how to behave. We find our way to our designated table and enjoy a little down time. Being away from the studio, I sort of sink into a torpor, I feel groggy and very tired. I have been in such a high state of nerves and adrenaline for 24 hours now that I think I am crashing. I need caffeine- damnit California- there is no good coffee to be found, I am forced to drink a diet soda which immediately makes my stomach hurt.
We are led back to the soundstage and the studio audience is also outside waiting to go in- they make them turn away so they can't look at us, ( how Michael Jackson!) this is very strange. Back inside, we are led to the stage and are sitting in the audience while the actual audience is led back in. WOOP- my name is called-YIKES!! I glance at Naomi and Mom and they look more sorry for me than anything else, uh-oh.
Back to makeup- Barbie is being very encouraging and makes me look good, but I can't help thinking I am being prepared for execution or something. I get up close and personal with Mitch the sound tech. Apparently you shouldn't wear a dress when needing a mic pack because that would require a 250 pound sweaty man's hands all down in your stuff. He is very professional, but does point out that it would be much easier if he could clip it my waistband instead of my bra strap. Robert gets a chuckle out of this and makes Mitch blush, which distracts me from my impending doom. I stand by the door with Robert and Keith, who looks slightly less nervous than before. I size him up- obviously very smart, quiet, unassuming. I wonder if I can make him flustered with womanly wiles ( hey whatever it takes!), but I am too nervous to be charming. We are waiting on Erik who has been in the bathroom for a long time. Robert cruelly starts humming the Jeopardy! think music.
We are led out silently to the stage and I am placed at the first podium, Erik in the middle and Keith at the champ spot. Mitch does some last minute mic adjustments and then I feel like I am slowly floating away... oh wait it is just the floor rising making me taller. Mitch tells me to breathe and don't lock my knees- ok, thanks Mitch.
LIGHTS! CAMERA! ACTION! Johnny Gilbert says my name and there I go, down the rabbit hole...

I won't give a play by play of the game, you saw what happened. I couldn't beat Keith to the buzzer most of the time and I got more than three wrong, which anyone who studies Jeopardy! knows this is the kiss of death. After the first round, Glenn and Maggie come up on stage and try to talk me off the cliff. They can see that I am ringing in too early, therefore being locked out, and they spend what seems like a long time buzzer coaching me. I really get the feeling they are rooting for me, either that or they just feel sorry for me. Oh lookie here, it's Alex Trebek approaching my podium to take that famous photo of the two of us together. He sidles right up close (oh lord) and I smile my best freak out smile. He slowly walks around to the other side of my podium and waits for John to give him the cue to start our conversation. I force myself to look him in the eye and make words come out of my mouth. I don't faint-success!

I know that it would be a miracle to make a comeback against a player like Keith who seems to know everything, not just geeky science stuff. My main goal is to make it to Final Jeopardy. I go in the hole a couple of times and think I might just throw up on this shiny stage. My proudest moment comes when the $2000 clue in "A-Ha" is revealed and I pull Hanseatic League out of my arse and dig out of the hole once more. Countless readings of Goodnight Moon pay off in the $1200 clue in the dreaded "Books and Authors" category and then I hit the daily double. I fully realize my dream of being a Jeopardy! Champion is over, but maybe I can come out without making a fool of myself. Fucking EM Forster- I could practically feel Naomi trying to telepethize the answer to me- the camera lingers on my increasingly pissed off face. I am done being scared and nervous, now I am just mad.
Final Jeopardy- anyone catch Alex saying "be careful, contestants..."? I did, so I took it to mean that the answer may be a little tricky. The category is "world languages" and while I am not as thrilled as I would be if it were "Harry Potter", I don't mind too much. I read it, I re-read it and read it again. I still think they are asking for the country, not the language. Now, what you don't see on TV is Alex agreeing with my answer- that wily silver fox is such a pro that when the judges wail "noooooo!" he waits a beat, knowing they will make an edit there and then proceeds to completely dissolve what ego I had left.
Afterward, as Alex approaches to shake my hand, I say "I'm not crazy, right?" and he says- "No, I really thought it was Brazil, too". That makes me feel an iota better. One perk of being the loser is that you get to stand right next to the man for the end shots, so I got some extra chat time up close and personal. I will never reveal what was said, I will take it to my grave...


And... it's all over- Mitch unceremoniously rips the mics off my underwear and guides me off stage. I sign a paper that says I get $1000 and then back to the green room. I get my stuff and Glenn asks if he can call me a cab. It's all so sad, I just can't bear to have it end, so I ask if I can stay for the last show. He lets me go out and sit with Naomi and Mom. I notice this pretty blonde woman they seem to know- she is Keith's fiancee Rachel and they have been sitting with her all day. She gets the thumbs up from Naomi, which means she must be pretty great. Plus, she thought I was in my 20's, bless her. I am now Keith's biggest fan (besides Rachel, of course) I want him to win really, really big so I can at least say I got beat by a Superchamp.
It is a fairly close game, but he does it again, finishing the day with three wins and $66,000 plus. Yowza! Taping day is over and everyone files out. Some random audience members congratulate me and tell me I did great- that's nice, but I am still burning inside. I am determined to enjoy this moment, so I supress my anger and disappointment.

We walk out after the studio audience had left and I get to introduce Mom and Nay to Robert and Glenn, I wish they could meet Maggie, but she has disappeared. We have to be escorted off the lot by Glenn (standard practice) and he calls us a cab. I am pretty sad to be leaving them, maybe a bit of Stockholm syndrome happening here, or something. Meredith who has just lost to Keith takes the cab with us back to the hotel. She is way more pissed than I am , maybe because she actually had a shot at one point. I feel bad for her.
Back at the hotel, I tear off my clothes and put on my comfy stuff and by the time I am done Naomi has the champagne ready and waiting. I very ungracefully chug it (after a toast, of course). Time to medicate! I call Jeremy and Dad and manage to not cry yet. After that first bottle, I start to relax and a great feeling of relief comes over me. It is done, done, done-forever. It is what it is and I can't change it, so let's party! Naomi and Mom faithfully rehash how unfair and stupid my categories were and how they knew that I knew more than it looked like but I just couldn't beat Keith to the buzzer. Speaking of Keith- let's send them a bottle of champagne!- he is so nice and they tell me that Rachel is just a sweetheart. So I call the desk and have one sent to their room. I hope they are not Mormons.
Phone rings and it's Rachel (Keith is too shy, he says later) calling to thank us, and since we are all merrily buzzed, how about meeting up downstairs and getting dinner? Great! Now I am in a great mood and I am looking forward to talking with another fellow contestant, even if he did mop the floor with me, so we primp and go down. I decide to leave my studio makeup on, what the hell, I'll never look this glam again.
Long story short , (ha) we start out in a cab but end up walking the streets of this ridiculous city looking for this restaurant and what seemed like hours later, get there and I proceed to get totally hammered. Getting to know Keith and Rachel was great, they are so funny and sweet and humble. They probably think I am crass and drunk, but I was in the mood to be in another universe. At some point Naomi reads the signs that it is time for me to go, so we get another cab back to the hotel. I think I remember yelling at the cab driver that Keith was paying the fare because he just won a ton of freaking money on Jeopardy! Yep, over-served.


So, that's it folks- thanks for listening. I will say that I went through a pretty rough patch after I got back, sort of like PTSD. It was hard to be all happy about it, I know how proud of myself I should be for making it there, but I went there to win- not lose horribly. Just because I love to torture myself, I looked at the J-archives and so far I am the losing-est contestant for season 29-yay! I am however so grateful for the experience and would encourage anyone to take the online test- you never know! Keith did as I asked and went on to kick some serious ass for 7 games, winning over 150K and will be back on the for the Tournament of Champions. I can't wait to cheer him on.

[flemmingfan]

Wow! Thanks again to Elizabeth and Sarah for sharing their Jeopardy experience. They are both well written and entertaining to peruse.

[jfrumkin]

Sarah, you captured it so well. I've been thinking about how I am going to write up my experience when my episode(s) air(s). It definitely won't be as eloquent as yours was.

[Dr. J]

I don't think the technical requirements are so difficult that they wouldn't be able to use more of the monitor bank to display the clue than just the one screen. But then again, the jumble of wires and connections I saw underneath the lectern might be an indication that it is beyond them.

I suspect this would be a software fix rather than a hardware one. But maybe that's the holdup. There's got to be at least one single-panel cartoon out there of a guy standing in an office labeled SOFTWARE with footstep marking indicating he came from HARDWARE and the caption, "But they told me to talk to YOU."[/quote

I really thought that the board was too far away, too. Why not move the podiums or the entire board itself? I few feet closer would make a big difference.

[opusthepenguin]

I really thought that the board was too far away, too. Why not move the podiums or the entire board itself? I few feet closer would make a big difference.

But then you would be on Alex's LAWN!!!

[Spaceman Spiff]

I don't have a prescription for glasses (yet), but I am beginning to play trombone with certain reading materials. I am far sighted. When I walked onto the J! set, I was wearing my reading glasses because I was nervous about the board being too far away. In actuality, those HD TV screens seemed a lot closer to me than it looks on TV. During the practice game I was relieved to see that the clues were fairly legible. I probably didn't need to wear my glasses, but I wore them anyway. I can't remember what the studio audience sees on their monitor. Does the clue automatically appear full screen on the monitor for the studio audience to look at? Or maybe that full screen thing is the result of post-game editing by J!.

I can't judge the distances, thought this might give an idea of the relative layouts and distances:

http://crk-art.com/past-projects/jeopar ... niversary/

I do remember being a bit concerned about the visuals before my taping because I'd seen Jane Curtain squinting at the board continuously (even with glasses on) during the previous season's Celebrity Tournament, and I recall the contestant packet mentioned that if you wore contacts or glasses to be sure to bring both, so you could see if you needed them or not. As for my personal experience, I just put in a fresh pair of contacts (multifocals), and did just fine.

As far as a comparative to what I think each clue block looks like, I'd guess that if you took a laptop screen and stood eight feet or so back, that'd be what it'd look like. Of course, the screens are hi-def, so the wording was very crisp. My only beef was the video clues, which appeared on a large screen to the left of the gameboard, but without the wording that you see at home, which meant that I had to pivot back and forth (especially if the clue was on the right side of the board!)

[BobF]

here's an excerpt- per request....

Apparently you shouldn't wear a dress when needing a mic pack because that would require a 250 pound sweaty man's hands all down in your stuff.

Funny, I had a TV appearance recently and I felt really uncomfortable with the male news anchor seemingly feeling up my butt while hooking on my microphone to my back pocket. The microphone was handed to me, but they couldn't hand me the pack?

[Elizabeth_Pfeifer]

I can't judge the distances, thought this might give an idea of the relative layouts and distances:

http://crk-art.com/past-projects/jeopar ... niversary/

I do remember being a bit concerned about the visuals before my taping because I'd seen Jane Curtain squinting at the board continuously (even with glasses on) during the previous season's Celebrity Tournament, and I recall the contestant packet mentioned that if you wore contacts or glasses to be sure to bring both, so you could see if you needed them or not. As for my personal experience, I just put in a fresh pair of contacts (multifocals), and did just fine.

As far as a comparative to what I think each clue block looks like, I'd guess that if you took a laptop screen and stood eight feet or so back, that'd be what it'd look like. Of course, the screens are hi-def, so the wording was very crisp. My only beef was the video clues, which appeared on a large screen to the left of the gameboard, but without the wording that you see at home, which meant that I had to pivot back and forth (especially if the clue was on the right side of the board!)

My problem isn't distance - it's that there are black holes in my visual field. If each single clue was blown up to fill the whole screen, the holes would only cover parts of letters, and I could still read the text. When the clues are that small, the holes cover multiple letters and it takes time for the brain to read and fill in the blanks(pots).

Take a typical iPad and call that your visual field. Pull up a typical 30 clue board, and then scatter 5-6 quarters over it. Some whole words will be covered. Now do the same thing with a 72 inch flat screen TV. The quarters will only cover a single letter or part of a letter, typically.

[Vanya]

here's an excerpt- per request....

Apparently you shouldn't wear a dress when needing a mic pack because that would require a 250 pound sweaty man's hands all down in your stuff.

Funny, I had a TV appearance recently and I felt really uncomfortable with the male news anchor seemingly feeling up my butt while hooking on my microphone to my back pocket. The microphone was handed to me, but they couldn't hand me the pack?

It's a Union job.

[RandyG]

It sounds as though the studio audience doesn't have a good view of the displayed clues either. Or do they have monitors they can watch that are closer than the ones on stage?

The audience has large monitors facing them.

Each side of the audience (right side from the audience's perspective for contestants & guests, left side for ticket holders) has a large monitor facing it directly. IIRC, from the ticket holder side, it's actually not possible to see anything on the board, except for a blue glow. The monitors are also positioned so that they don't block the view of anything else on the set.

[trainman]

Each side of the audience (right side from the audience's perspective for contestants & guests, left side for ticket holders) has a large monitor facing it directly. IIRC, from the ticket holder side, it's actually not possible to see anything on the board, except for a blue glow. The monitors are also positioned so that they don't block the view of anything else on the set.

It may depend on exactly where you get seated -- I've always been to the right side of the aisle on the ticket-holder side, and have always been able to see the board. (In fact, when I was in the audience a few weeks ago, I usually had a better view of the board than the contestants -- the arm of the overhead camera was often in the way.)