J! in the Media

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OSXpert
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Re: J! in the Media

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alietr
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Re: J! in the Media

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Bamaman
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Re: J! in the Media

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I think they are reading way too much into it.
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earendel
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Re: J! in the Media

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Bamaman wrote:
I think they are reading way too much into it.
And NPR has added to the discussion.
http://www.npr.org/2016/10/26/499409086 ... bouie-says
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Re: J! in the Media

Post by Robert K S »

A piece on Arnold Zenker for the CBS Evening News just played a clip of this Season 1 clue.

Still his only mention on the show (per the Archive, at least).

The piece had me wondering if Art Fleming joined the strike.
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Re: J! in the Media

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Robert K S wrote: Tue Apr 25, 2017 6:59 pm A piece on Arnold Zenker for the CBS Evening News just played a clip of this Season 1 clue.
AFRTA?!?
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Re: J! in the Media

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J! and WoF along with their three big on air talents are signed through the 2019-20 seasons.
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Re: J! in the Media

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MarkBarrett wrote: Tue May 02, 2017 4:15 pm J! and WoF along with their three big on air talents are signed through the 2019-20 seasons.
Good news and bad news! The good: we get three more years of AT.

The bad: as I recall, the qualification rules state something along the lines of "can never have appeared on Jeopardy! during the Alex Trebek version of the show," implying that contestants from the Art Fleming era are eligible, and that contestants from the AT era may regain eligibility if/when a new host comes along. Guess I'll have to postpone my dreams of a repeat visit for a few more years.... sigh.
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Re: J! in the Media

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AFRET CMS wrote: Tue May 02, 2017 6:06 pm
MarkBarrett wrote: Tue May 02, 2017 4:15 pm J! and WoF along with their three big on air talents are signed through the 2019-20 seasons.
Good news and bad news! The good: we get three more years of AT.

The bad: as I recall, the qualification rules state something along the lines of "can never have appeared on Jeopardy! during the Alex Trebek version of the show," implying that contestants from the Art Fleming era are eligible, and that contestants from the AT era may regain eligibility if/when a new host comes along. Guess I'll have to postpone my dreams of a repeat visit for a few more years.... sigh.
That's okay, plenty of us are still waiting for our first turn. :D
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MarkBarrett
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Re: J! in the Media

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The Staff Picks section of the Jeopardy! Store: https://www.thejeopardystore.com/Store/Page/StaffPicks

has a cool picture of the set: Image

The middle left above the camera shows one of the player score displays.
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Re: J! in the Media

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MarkBarrett wrote: Wed May 03, 2017 7:24 pm The Staff Picks section of the Jeopardy! Store: https://www.thejeopardystore.com/Store/Page/StaffPicks

has a cool picture of the set: Image

The middle left above the camera shows one of the player score displays.
That is a nice picture, I should print that up. Along with a "You Will Be Here" arrow pointing to the champ's lecturn.
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Re: J! in the Media

Post by alietr »

What's with the stupid question mark in the logo on all of the items? Everything would look much better without it.
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Re: J! in the Media

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alietr wrote: Thu May 04, 2017 8:12 am What's with the stupid question mark in the logo on all of the items? Everything would look much better without it.
The question mark seems to be a secondary logo for the show, I've seen it used a lot lately.
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Re: J! in the Media

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I received emails with links to these stories in the NYT:

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/21/fash ... l?emc=eta1

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/19/insi ... l?emc=eta1

If the links work for you the articles each have some good photos. If not I've tried to at least get some of the text copied below although unnecessary portions of the web page made its way in.

#1:
Spoiler
I’ll Take the Gray Lady for $2,000

By FLORA LEE PEIROCT. 19, 2016

Times Insider shares historic insights from The New York Times. In this article, Flora Lee Peir — an assistant news editor and one of a handful of Times staffers who has competed respectably on “Jeopardy!” — takes us behind the scenes of the symbiotic, decades-old relationship between a news organization and an iconic television game show. Pay attention! There will be a quiz.

Photo

Alex Trebek, left, with Richard Pérez-Peña, a Times reporter on the National desk who was a five-time “Jeopardy!” champion, in 1987. CreditJeopardy Productions, Inc.

The cameras were rolling, my tensed-up body was shaking and an aloof Alex Trebek stood just a few feet away. I was living the dream, but I had no time to take it in. My thoughts were on the clue displayed across the floor:

“The name of this South American estuary means ‘silver river.’ ”

“The Plata,” it turns out, was not an adequate answer; the judges wanted the river’s full name — Rio de la Plata. There went $3,000, along with my dreams of a nice payout on “Jeopardy!”.

I returned to work after that 2011 episode with $2,000 — after taxes, it was just a bit more than the cost of my hotel and airfare. The bigger prize in many ways was my addition to the newsroom’s unofficial roster of all-star trivia geeks. (Fear us at corporate competitions.)

A handful of New York Times reporters and editors have competed on “Jeopardy!” over the years, mostly while working for other publications. Our biggest champion, Richard Pérez-Peña, won the maximum allowed five games in 1987.


‘Jeopardy!’ Quiz: What Is ... The New York Times? OCT. 19, 2016


I work on the show from time to time as a freelancer.Not only is it fun, but the production is a highly experienced well oiled machine with...

CR

October 20, 2016

When I was on in the early 2000s, I found to my dismay that the signaling button's cord didn't reach QUITE far enough to the left side of...

Viseguy

October 20, 2016

Here's one for you:This popular educational TV show for young people shared a studio with "Jeopardy!" during its premiere season in 1964...

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In an in-house newsletter he compared the pressure of the games with “writing 1,200 words for the front page in an hour on deadline.”

“I think there are a lot of parallels between ‘Jeopardy!’ and journalism,” he added. “The need to recall a wide range of information, to think quickly, to focus and tune out distractions, to perform under time pressure.”

Mr. Pérez-Peña has found himself in good company here. Other champions at the paper include Patrick McGeehan, a reporter on the Metro desk; Danial Adkison, a news editor; and Lucas Peterson, the Frugal Traveler. (There is no formal count; in-house trivia geekery is strictly self-reported.)

Photo

Patrick McGeehan, a reporter on the Metro desk, who appeared on “Jeopardy!” in 1995.CreditJeopardy Productions, Inc.

Mr. McGeehan, who won two games in 1995, says he rode to his first victory on one of his strongest categories: sports. “When the clue for final Jeopardy popped up, I knew immediately that the right response was ‘What is golf?’ The champ and the other challenger, both of whom had accumulated much more money than I, bet big and misfired. My triumph surely surprised everyone on the set who was not my mother.”

Both Mr. McGeehan and Mr. Pérez-Peña benefited from a break in taping. “Jeopardy!” records five shows a day for a few months each year, and both men were champions on the last episode of the week. It was a bonus for Mr. McGeehan, a reporter at the time for USA Today.

“I spent the next several days vacationing in Southern California as the reigning Jeopardy champion,” he says. When he explained to his bosses that he needed a little more time off, they gave him the O.K. — “especially after I told them that one of the responses that propelled me to victory had been ‘What is Gannett?’ ”

Mr. Pérez-Peña had an even longer break: The show stopped taping for the summer. As he talked about his experience during that hiatus, his attitude toward his performance changed.

“In telling family and friends the story, the guy who came damn close to losing two of his three games faded into the back of my mind,” he wrote. He returned to the show with new-found confidence and handily won his last two games.

Could he do it again today?

He isn’t sure.

After years of reporting and asking questions, he says, “I’m too aware of what I don’t know.”

Photo

Flora Lee Peir, the author and a Times assistant news editor, with Mr. Trebek in 2011.CreditJeopardy Productions, Inc.

Mr. Pérez-Peña’s five victories allowed him to compete in the tournament of champions. Two other Times staff members, Damon Darlin and Kristie McClain, fell to five-time champions in their bids for trivia glory.

“I was lucky with some of the questions,” recounts Mr. Darlin, an editor with The Upshot who competed in 1994. “In the first round, a category was Newspapers. In the second, Magazines. I was winning until the final question, which was a killer.” (“In 1923 Henry Ford bought this Mass. tavern & turned part of it into a museum honoring Longfellow.”)

He did not know the answer. But the defending champion, trailing at the time, had attended a wedding there and was able to seize her fourth victory with the Wayside Inn.

“I got a set of Sony picturephones as second prize,” Mr. Darlin notes. “I used them once, and had to pay income taxes on them.”

Photo

Damon Darlin, an editor with The Upshot, who appeared on “Jeopardy!” in 1994. CreditJeopardy Productions, Inc.

Ms. McClain, an editor on the Sunday Review, had no problem with her Final Jeopardy question (answer: the Spanish-American War) in 1988, but she and the third contestant were trailing well behind the defending champion, who held on for his fifth victory. She was less than thrilled with the categories on her board: Belize, cameras and the 16th century.

Most of my colleagues competed on the show before a new class of categories emerged: those focused on The New York Times itself. The show and The Times began a partnership about 15 years ago, allowing “Jeopardy!” writers and producers access to the newspaper’s archives for clues, presenters and, yes, categories.

Rocky Schmidt, a supervising producer for “Jeopardy!”, says the relationship began through a conversation with Jeff Honea, a creative director in The Times’s marketing department. The men came up with ideas such as categories promoting new sections, inviting famous Times writers to compete in special episodes and having the paper print a clue from the show each day. These can still be found in the Arts section, encouraging readers to watch the show for the answer or find it in the next day’s paper.

“That’s kind of nice,” says Mr. Honea, who is now director of public relations strategy for the National Geographic Society. “For me, it’s like a legacy.”

Photo

Amy Harmon, a Times reporter who covers science and society, presenting a video clue on “Jeopardy!” in 2013. CreditJeopardy Productions, Inc.

Video teams are periodically sent to our headquarters on Eighth Avenue in Manhattan, allowing reporters like Amy Harmon and Sheri Fink to present clues related to their work. “The answer to one of my clues was ‘What is a DNA test?,’” Ms. Harmon, a domestic correspondent, recalls, “and I remember being impressed with how the show worked with me on the wording to make sure it was clear and accurate.”

Both Ms. Harmon and Ms. Fink say the response from far-flung friends and family when their clues appeared on the show was extraordinary.

“I used to think The Times had a big audience, but my ‘Jeopardy!’ appearances are pretty humbling in that regard,” Ms. Harmon says. “Every time the clips air I hear from long-lost relatives, sources, teachers and total strangers.”

24COMMENTS

Mr. Schmidt, who says he is in touch with The Times every few months, hopes the relationship will continue “for a long, long time.”

“Obviously there’s a natural symbiosis between ‘Jeopardy!’ and The New York Times,” he observes. “People who read The Times are well informed, and people who are well informed tend to do well on ‘Jeopardy!’”
#2
Spoiler
Alex, We’ll Take ‘To Have and to Hold’ for $1,000

Vows

By VINCENT M. MALLOZZI JULY 21, 2017


Maryanne Lewell and Michael Townes, who met as fellow contestants on “Jeopardy,” were married July 7 at St. Andrew’s Catholic Church in St. Andrews, New Brunswick. CreditSarah Rice for The New York Times
The category is: “North Meets South.”

And here’s the answer: The Canadian high school teacher and the middle school teacher from South Carolina who met as fellow contestants on “Jeopardy” and went on to be married.

And the correct question is: Who are Maryanne Lewell and Michael Townes?

Ms. Lewell, now 41, and Mr. Townes, 37, came buzzing into each other’s lives in October 2013, among those gathering before Alex Trebek to compete in the game show’s annual Teachers Tournament.

Each had scored very well in an online test for potential “Jeopardy” contestants and was contacted for auditions, hers in New York, his in Nashville.

Casting producers liked them enough to invite both to the show, which was filmed in Culver City, Calif. They began chatting, along with 13 other contestants, while waiting nervously in the green room for their 22 minutes of fame.


Mr. Townes soon found out that Ms. Lewell was single and taught history and social studies at Saint John High School in Saint John, New Brunswick.

Photo


Stephanie Townes, right, the sister of the groom, and other members of the bridal party before the ceremony. CreditSarah Rice for The New York Times
“If Maryanne were part of a ‘Jeopardy’ category, it would have to be ‘Nerdy Redheads,’” Mr. Townes joked. “Much like myself, she was into a lot of nerdy sort of pursuits.”

Ms. Lewell, who said that Mr. Townes belonged in a “Kind of Cute, Kind of Funny,” category, learned that he was divorced with two young children, and taught middle school English in the Greenville County school district’s alternative program.

“He was such an easygoing and kind person,” she said. “I felt very comfortable around him.”

But Mr. Townes was not the reason she had made the trek to the only place in the world where people routinely respond to answers with questions.

“I was there to play the game,” Ms. Lewell said. “When you’re in a group like that, it’s really overwhelming because there’s a lot of information coming at you.

“There’s all the rules and regulations, and you have makeup people, and the contestant coordinators telling you how the show is going to work. I was busy trying to take in all of that information in order to play the game properly.”

Photo


Msgr. Brian Henneberry led the ceremony.CreditSarah Rice for The New York Times
Ms. Lewell, who appeared in two of the 10 episodes filmed over two days, made it to the semifinals, while Mr. Townes, who competed on a separate show, did not get past the quarterfinals.

“It’s sort of a sore subject,” said Mr. Townes, who was leading at the end of the Double Jeopardy round with $16,400 before he was abruptly eliminated.

“The category I went out on for Final Jeopardy was ‘Play Characters,’” he said. “The question wound up being Henry Higgins, from ‘My Fair Lady,’ which is a play that I really liked, but I completely blanked.” (The “answer” was: In Peter Roach’s phonetics glossary, this alliterative guy is “the best-known fictional phonetician.”)

After the first day of taping, the contestants went out for drinks, and Ms. Lewell and Mr. Townes sat beside each other to continue their conversation.

As it turned out, their academic roads to “Jeopardy” were paved with three diplomas apiece.

Ms. Lewell graduated with a bachelor’s in arts from the University of New Brunswick, where she also received a Master of Arts degree in English, and she earned a second bachelor’s, in education, from St. Thomas University in Fredericton, New Brunswick.

Photo


Friends and family exit the church after the wedding. Many of the guests wore blue, to match the couple’s wedding colors. CreditSarah Rice for The New York Times
“She was so sweet and smart and easy to talk to,” said Mr. Townes, a son of Suzanne Townes and Stephen Townes, the chief operating officer of Ranger Aerospace, a private equity consolidator and management holding company in Greenville.

Ms. Lewell was feeling much the same about Mr. Townes, who had graduated from the University of South Carolina, from which he also received an M.B.A. He also held a Master of Arts degree in teaching from Clemson.

“He was a well-educated guy who really loved his kids,” said Ms. Lewell, the only daughter of Donna Lewell and David Lewell, a retired civil engineering technician for the city of Saint John.

“Mike was just a fun person to be with,” she said. “I find a sense of humor to be pretty attractive.”

They parted ways for the evening, and as Mr. Townes made his way back to his hotel room, he ran into another contestant, Mary Beth Hammerstrom, who recalled how smitten Mr. Townes had become with Ms. Lewell.


“Our conversation started with Mike saying, ‘That girl from Canada is so smart,’” she said, “and continued with him saying, ‘That girl from Canada is so beautiful’ and ‘That girl from Canada is so witty.’

“It ended with Mike saying, ‘That girl from Canada is so out of my league.’”

The next night, after taping was completed, several contestants went out for dinner. Mr. Townes stayed briefly with the group but soon headed for the airport, where he took a red-eye flight back home.

“All of a sudden, Mike was gone,” Ms. Lewell said. “I figured, ‘Well, I live in Canada and he lives in South Carolina, that’s the last I’ve seen of that guy’ — I was really sad to see him go.”

But almost immediately, most of the group began chatting via Facebook, and Ms. Lewell and Mr. Townes embarked on sidebar conversations that highlighted such common interests as “wonky politics,” as Mr. Townes put it, as well as a love of travel, comic books and science fiction movies.

“She was always on my mind,” Mr. Townes said. “Most of the things I texted her about were really just excuses to talk to her again.”

Photo


Former contestants from the “Jeopardy” Teachers Tournament attended the wedding, including Mary Beth Hammerstrom, left.

CreditSarah Rice for The New York Times
Indeed, she received a text when he took his two children — Annmarie, now 8, and Reeve, 12 — to a minor league hockey game, and another when he attended a 50th anniversary screening of “Doctor Who,” sending her a picture of his ticket stub with the words “ha ha, be jealous,” scrawled across it.

Each passing text tugged at Ms. Lewell’s heart, pulling her toward a new life that beckoned beyond the border.

“When you really connect with somebody, there’s an intangible thing where you almost instantly start to share and speak the same language,” she said. “You understand what the other person means, and we had that right from the get-go.”

They grew closer online, watching most of the Winter Olympics from Sochi, Russia, in February 2014, and trading comments about the performances of their fellow countrymen.

Later that month, Mr. Townes sent Ms. Lewell a different sort of comment. “At the risk of what seems like a fairly strong friendship here,” he texted, “I really just have to say, I hope it’s not too weird, but if we lived in the same city, there’s really no way I wouldn’t have asked you out by now.”

Photo


The groom’s daughter, Annmarie Townes, and Alex Townes enjoying sweet treats at the photo station at the reception. CreditSarah Rice for The New York Times
He was speaking her language.

“The chemistry between us was so evident,” Ms. Lewell said. “One of us just had to acknowledge it.”

In June 2014, Mr. Townes visited Ms. Lewell for the first time, spending 10 days in her native Saint John, where fishing is one of the region’s major industries. She gave him a tour that included several restaurants for sampling sticky buns and fish and chips, and a visit to the majestic Hopewell Rocks, which stand up to 70 feet tall and are washed over by some of the highest tides in the world.

“I really enjoyed it,” Mr. Townes said. “There’s a lot in Saint John that reminds me of home, especially the people, who go out of their way to be polite, and have that Southern sensibility that family is first.”

The next month, Ms. Lewell joined Mr. Townes and his family on their annual summer trip to Edisto Island, S.C.

“I met everyone at once, and we had a great time,” she said. “I think Mike and I had already fallen in love by then, but at that point, we were all in.”

Photo


The bride and her father, David Lewell, before the ceremony. CreditSarah Rice for The New York Times
She visited him again at Christmas, and they began a long-distance relationship that did not become known to their “Jeopardy” friends until spring 2015, when Ms. Lowell and Mr. Townes reached out to six of them to plan a reunion in Washington.

Ms. Lowell told Ms. Hammerstrom that she was bringing her new boyfriend but gave no name, saying only that “he feels like he knows you already.”

Ms. Hammerstrom remembered thinking, “Poor Mike, he will be so upset.”

But a few weeks later, Ms. Lewell revealed her boyfriend’s identity to the other “Jeopardy” teachers, posting photos of her and Mr. Townes on one of their nerdy pursuits: “They were standing in front of Stephen King’s house in Bangor, Me.,” Ms. Hammerstrom said, laughing. “The cat was finally out of the bag.”

At the reunion, Ms. Lewell told everyone what she had been telling her own family about Mr. Townes.

“My life works better when he’s in it; everything just runs more smoothly,” she said.

“I’m a single lady of 40 with no kids, and this guy, who’s a dad, comes into my life with two awesome kids and gives me the opportunity to be a stepparent, which is something I never expected or knew that I wanted,” said Ms. Lewell, her voice beginning to quiver. “It has been one of the greatest gifts of my life.”

They were married July 7 at St. Andrew’s Catholic Church in St. Andrews, New Brunswick, where Msgr. Brian Henneberry welcomed 90 guests, many holding the couple’s wedding program, which included a note that read in part, “This journey began under the bright lights of a California soundstage, and we can’t wait to share our future adventures with you.”

Their reception followed at the Van Horne Ballroom on the grounds of the nearby Algonquin Resort, which was decorated with four gold-colored balloons spelling “Love.” A photo station featured two life-size cardboard cutouts, one of an Imperial Stormtrooper from “Star Wars” and the other of Aragorn, from “Lord of the Rings.” Guests were prompted to put on masks and other props and wave lightsabers at one another.

“Hopefully, they will always be happy,” said Donna Lewell, the bride’s mother.

The bride plans to move to South Carolina but must first get all of her immigration-related paperwork taken care of. She is also waiting to see if her teaching certificate is going to transfer.

One invited guest who could not attend the festivities offered best wishes via email.

“My congratulations to the couple,” Mr. Trebek wrote. “Although Maryanne and Michael are not the first couple to have met at ‘Jeopardy’ and gone on to be married, they participated in one of our best Teachers Tournaments.”

Mr. Trebek then placed the couple in their very own “Jeopardy”-like category. “Even though neither won the competition,” he said, “they certainly are ‘Winners in Love.’”

Sandy Morgan contributed reporting from St. Andrews, New Brunswick.

On This Day
When July 7, 2017

Where St. Andrew’s Catholic Church, St. Andrews, New Brunswick

What They Wore The bride wore a blush, ballerina-style dress, the bodice and her bird cage veil decorated in Swarovski crystals. She also wore platinum pumps, and her headpiece was a vintage-style blush-colored silk rose with ivory feathers. The groom wore a black tuxedo with patent leather shoes and a blush tie to match the bride’s dress.

Forgetful Groom Just before the ceremony, Monsignor Henneberry asked Mr. Townes for his pen from the “Jeopardy” set, which he had said he would bring to sign the registration. Mr. Townes turned to the guests and bowed sheepishly, admitting he had forgotten, which filled the church with laughter.
davey
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Re: J! in the Media

Post by davey »

There are some highly dubious statements in the comments that accompany that second article...

I work on the show from time to time as a freelancer.

Not only is it fun, but the production is a highly experienced well oiled machine with everything happening pretty much in real time, despite the "Portions were edited for time that did not affect the outcome" disclaimer at the end.

We used to do six shows a day until Alex had health issues in 2012, and now we do five.
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MarkBarrett
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Re: J! in the Media

Post by MarkBarrett »

davey wrote: Sun Jul 23, 2017 9:50 pm There are some highly dubious statements in the comments that accompany that second article...

I work on the show from time to time as a freelancer.

Not only is it fun, but the production is a highly experienced well oiled machine with everything happening pretty much in real time, despite the "Portions were edited for time that did not affect the outcome" disclaimer at the end.

We used to do six shows a day until Alex had health issues in 2012, and now we do five.
As far as six shows a day I think that was done for the Elite 18 in the UTOC?

In trying to copy the article it looks like I also picked up reader comments and that was one of them. This should be the comments only:
Spoiler

DD
Los Angeles October 22, 2016
I work on the show from time to time as a freelancer.

Not only is it fun, but the production is a highly experienced well oiled machine with everything happening pretty much in real time, despite the "Portions were edited for time that did not affect the outcome" disclaimer at the end.

We used to do six shows a day until Alex had health issues in 2012, and now we do five.

Great show with which to be associated, even occasionally.
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CR
NY, NY October 20, 2016
When I was on in the early 2000s, I found to my dismay that the signaling button's cord didn't reach QUITE far enough to the left side of the podium for me to consistently and comfortably buzz in on time. I hope that, for the sake of other lefties out there, they've fixed this design flaw.
(I came in third, and will always regret my decision NOT to "make it a true Daily Double, Alex" when I had the chance.)
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Viseguy
NYC October 20, 2016
Here's one for you:
This popular educational TV show for young people shared a studio with "Jeopardy!" during its premiere season in 1964.

Question: What is ...
.
.
.
.
.
"Watch Mr. Wizard."

I know this because a grammar school classmate of mine was one of the kids who assisted Mr. Wizard (Don Herbert) with his on-air experiments. We took a class trip to Rockefeller Center one Saturday to watch her tape an episode. The props for "Jeopardy!", including a retractable "Jeopardy!" sign that was attached to the ceiling, were stowed on the stage.
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Virginia's Wolf
Manhattan October 20, 2016
Alex Trebek is the paterfamilias of arrogant, white know-it-alls. I can't imagine a better job for him—or any other job for that matter!
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Steve
CA October 20, 2016
Is that you Sean Connery? (See SNL celebrity jeopardy for context).
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Martha MacC

October 20, 2016
This is the saddest Jeopardy story of all: Back in the day, when the show was filmed in NYC, I went to take the test - hoping to get on and win the $1000 top prize - as I was then a poverty-stricken graduate student. Ironically, I was also working at the New York Times. So when I was selected to be on the show, I was elated as I saw winning (which I was sure I could do) as a way to stay in grad school.

Cheered on by my colleagues at the Times, it was off to the studio and time for the live Jeopardy rehearsal. What happened? I froze! I could barely ring the bell that was used then and was shaking so much the producers could see it on-camera. They decided not to put me on so my "staying in school" plan collapsed; I had to leave my wonderful job at the Times and soon after left NYC. I often wonder how different my life would have been if I hadn't been so nervous on that fateful day.

Think I'll try out for Senior Jeopardy - bet I could get on and not fall apart this time!
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clapol
Washington DC October 20, 2016
Also a former reporter, I was on Jeopardy in the late 70s, when Art Fleming was host. The hardest part was hitting the buzzer first. You kind of had to take a leap of faith if you knew anything about the category, and buzz in before you read the question. If you read it through, someone else had already buzzed in. News gathering was much less stressful!
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Brucer
Brighton, Michigan October 20, 2016
I tried out for the show once upon a time. I aced the written test except for one lonely question and sadly that was all it took to be cut from the team. For some reason I am pretty good at pulling correct Final Jeopardy questions out of thin air. Deductive reasoning will carry you far in this life, my dear Watson!
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Stephen Kurtz
is a trusted commenter Windsor, ON October 19, 2016
Jeopardy is not only a game of trivia it's also a question of reflexes and many a loser has hit the signalling device a split second too slowly.
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Feeling Old
Peekskill October 19, 2016
Back in 2001, my ex-husband worked with someone who's brother was a producer on Jeopardy. My son was becoming a Bar Mitzvah that year and we hit on game shows (since he watched so many) as the theme to his party celebration. Through this connection we were able to get Johnny Gilbert to record a script introducing us at the party like he would introduce a contestant on TV. Somewhere in a box in my basement is the cassette tape with those introductions. That is probably the closest I will ever get to my favorite game show!
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Ellen Ripstein
New York, NY October 19, 2016
I've freelanced on the NYT crossword production since 1996, and was on Jeopardy - just once - in 1991. http://ennienyc.livejournal.com/5506.html
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Tom Ontis
California October 19, 2016
I do really well in my living room (almost) every night.
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Sam
Astoria October 19, 2016
I was on in 2001, and got some good-natured flak from colleagues after not successfully ringing in on a clue whose answer was the TV news network that I work for. The buzzer is tricky!
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Abby
Tucson October 19, 2016
OK, I had a temp job calling folks for an insurance company hoping to bring on agents to be. How many people have been awarded Carl Kasell's voice on their message machines? A lot more than you might think. None of them bought into the policy, either.
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JK
Illinois October 19, 2016
Once, the $500 question in the category of NYT (I believe) was: Name the editor of the crossword puzzle. I was up on my feet yelling "Who is Eugene T. Maleska" and was astounded that none of the contestants knew the answer.
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Jay Davis
NM October 20, 2016
Once the answer on Final Jeopardy was "Afghanistan" (Name a country whose names starts, but doesn't end with "A"). But none of the contestants had ever heard of that country in spite of the fact that U.S. troops were fighting and dying there.

And once the statement was, "This state has a saguaro cactus on its license plate." And contestant lost $500 when he answered, "What is New Mexico, Alex?"
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Abby
Tucson October 19, 2016
I used to claim I had a stomach ache to stay home and watch Jeopardy. Concentration also fascinated me. Why couldn't school be more like Jeopardy where you get credit for asking questions?
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Jay Davis
NM October 20, 2016
Your parents let you stay home to what game shows?

Jeopardy is fine as entertainment.

But even if school often isn't education, neither is playing a game show.
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Abby
Tucson October 20, 2016
I don't think my parents knew my motive for faking the flu, but I still recall some of the answers. Take a thermometer and place it under your cat's armpit. A cat's temp is purrfect for faking an slightly elevated human one.
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Rob
Finger Lakes October 19, 2016
I was a one-time champion in 2007 and I had the pleasure of getting to scrimmage against IBM's Watson before the machine played all-time Jeopardy champions. All and all a great experience!
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Hunt
Syracuse October 19, 2016
I teach Latin. I went on Jeopardy! in 2008. Lost on Final Jeopardy:
The last third-party presidential candidate to win a state's electoral votes.
Who is George Wallace?
I would have won $30,000.
I tell the story whenever I can. What a delightful experience!
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Jane
NJ October 19, 2016
I also appeared on Jeopardy! back in the late 1980s, and I'm also a reporter. I'm not necessarily the smartest person in the room, but my Jeopardy! brain allows me to make connections others don't. It's a great asset for writers.
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Aimery
DC October 19, 2016
Great article! Very interesting to hear about the experiences of Times contestants and the NYT's partnership with Jeopardy.
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Mikeyz
Boston October 19, 2016
This brings back memories of lying around the frat house after lunch in 1967, watching 'Jeopardy', and thinking we all could be champs. Age brings wisdom and the realization that some things only look easy.
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dhkendall
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Re: J! in the Media

Post by dhkendall »

MarkBarrett wrote: Sun Jul 23, 2017 10:19 pm This should be the comments only:
Thank you for reminding us why it is never a good idea to read the comments. Anywhere. Ever.
"Jeopardy! is two parts luck and one part luck" - Me

"The way to win on Jeopardy is to be a rabidly curious, information-omnivorous person your entire life." - Ken Jennings

Follow my progress game by game since 2012
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dhkendall
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Re: J! in the Media

Post by dhkendall »

Saw this video about the behind the scenes of J! today on Facebook (but you don't need a Facebook account to view it, I confirmed that). It's from at least 10 years ago, but it will be of interest to everyone, even this very senior boardie who thought he knew everything about J! behind the scenes learned from this video and enjoyed!
"Jeopardy! is two parts luck and one part luck" - Me

"The way to win on Jeopardy is to be a rabidly curious, information-omnivorous person your entire life." - Ken Jennings

Follow my progress game by game since 2012
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MarkBarrett
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Re: J! in the Media

Post by MarkBarrett »

dhkendall wrote: Thu Aug 10, 2017 2:48 pm Saw this video about the behind the scenes of J! today on Facebook (but you don't need a Facebook account to view it, I confirmed that). It's from at least 10 years ago, but it will be of interest to everyone, even this very senior boardie who thought he knew everything about J! behind the scenes learned from this video and enjoyed!
Yes, the video is fun to watch, especially since it's from my era set. I give up. What did you learn that you did not already know?
Bamaman
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Re: J! in the Media

Post by Bamaman »

dhkendall wrote: Sun Jul 23, 2017 11:38 pm
MarkBarrett wrote: Sun Jul 23, 2017 10:19 pm This should be the comments only:
Thank you for reminding us why it is never a good idea to read the comments. Anywhere. Ever.
The person who said the contestants had never heard of Afghanistan amused me. I guess not thinking of it in a 30 second time span is the same as not knowing it exists.
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