J! in the Media

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TheSunWillComeOut
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Re: J! in the Media

Post by TheSunWillComeOut »

Austin Powers wrote: Mon May 27, 2019 10:49 am Falco comes off poorly. You lost; stop with the sense that you were good enough that you were supposed to win a couple of games. Move on with your life.

It’s interesting how little the country cares about JH’s personality flaws, yet a small group of fans - almost all former contestants - can’t see anything other than those issues.

They’ll claim this is justified, due to violations of etiquette by JH years ago. But that stuff happened years ago and, really, who cares? No one seems to have been materially hurt and the folks mostly talking about it are the offended. The two most insulted are recognized as great trivia players and the reason those allegations never took root is that no one at the time believed them.

Maybe nothing seems terrible these days due to all the terrible news, but I am not surprised that no one gives a rat’s ass that JH was mean to Ms. Falco in the green room.

There’s an interesting underlying tension. Those that bash JH act like they want to be on the show “just for fun,” and that his approach seems mercenary. That’s the gist of Falco’s complaining that JH was able to organize his life around prep.

But at the same time, this micro-community can’t stop talking about how they were on the show. Half of these folks have Alex in their Facebook profile photos.

Appearing on the show is clearly an ego boost for these folks. I’d further speculate that it serves in their minds as a validation of their intelligence. Especially a kind of intelligence that is likable and considered attractive enough to be palatable for TV. I can’t help but think that Ms. Falco very much dreamed that she was going to be able to tell others she was a Jeopardy Champion, that she met Alex and that Maggie LIKED her.

JH wrecks all that. He’s way, way more talented than just about everyone, ever. I don’t see how that can be disputed at this point. That has to sting some even if folks act like it doesn’t. And he does it without frankly being that TV friendly. No stories about he was offered a dowry of camels for his hand in marriage while visiting Egypt, for example.

And his mercenary approach really cuts through the idea that the show is supposed to be a daily parade of thoughtful bookstore owners, schoolteachers, etc, who reflect America as it Should Be. Turns out it is just a game show, and being a game some play to win.

It’s reflective of nothing more than that, and that’s not a problem. Folks are allowed to dislike JH, but it would nice if they admitted the zeal behind their feelings reflects larger issues of their own self-importance and how it relates to the show. I think it’s unfair to JH to act like he takes the show way too seriously when there are more than a few people out there who have their self-image wrapped up in appearing on Jeopardy, too.
I’ll slide past dealing in depth with the assumption that contestants are forming impressions about James from a place of secret insecurity rather than sympathizing with the personal reported experiences of friends like most human beings do, and instead address the weird diss on those who have Alex in their profile pictures, which has a more simple explanation than what you’re insinuating here:

Consider that Jeopardy!, much like a wedding, was the last time many of us had professional photos taken, w/professional makeup done. In many cases, it’s between that or an awkward cut-out from a group photo.
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GaryG
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Re: J! in the Media

Post by GaryG »

Consider that Jeopardy!, much like a wedding, was the last time many of us had professional photos taken, w/professional makeup done. In many cases, it’s between that or an awkward cut-out from a group photo.
I hear there’s something called a “selfie” the kids are doing today.
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TheSunWillComeOut
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Re: J! in the Media

Post by TheSunWillComeOut »

GaryG wrote: Tue May 28, 2019 7:32 am
Consider that Jeopardy!, much like a wedding, was the last time many of us had professional photos taken, w/professional makeup done. In many cases, it’s between that or an awkward cut-out from a group photo.
I hear there’s something called a “selfie” the kids are doing today.
“professional photo, w/professional makeup done”
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squarekara
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Re: J! in the Media

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Hm. . . professional photo with silver fox AT or duckface selfie? C'mon--it's a no-brainer!

I'm not down on James and his clinical efficiency. When Robin says he doesn't respect the game, I disagree. He prepped like hell, auditioned more than once--"made it his job," as she says. That's committment on a level few can match.

But count me among "the small group of fans--almost all former contestants" who do not want to dismiss Robin's allegations out of hand or write her off as a crank. This is precisely the community that understands that no one should expect to encounter hostility in the studio. Aggressive gameplay, yes. But someone allegedly "punching down" and jeering? That's very unusual behavior in this setting, so lets not demonize the person who calls it out. Or speculate on her perception of self-worth. Or spin visions of her shattered personal dreams.

The Survivor comparison was very apt.
We learned pretty quick that show was not going to be a showcase for merit badge camping skills, but a personality-driven soap opera. It wasn't even about winning money. (My favorite moment in a subsequent pirate-themed season was when tie-dyed Rupert stole everybody's shoes.) Going forward, I guess prospective contestants can ask themselves "How am I gonna handle myself on taping day and beyond if someone tries to mess with my head?" and "If I attempt to engage in ball-busting trash talk, do I have the reciprocal familiarity that prevents it from being misinterpreted?"
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TheSunWillComeOut
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Re: J! in the Media

Post by TheSunWillComeOut »

squarekara wrote: Tue May 28, 2019 9:55 am I'm not down on James and his clinical efficiency. When Robin says he doesn't respect the game, I disagree. He prepped like hell, auditioned more than once--"made it his job," as she says. That's committment on a level few can match.
His prep is, in my view, admirable. If he had the time and this was his dream, then this was the level of training he needed to put in for a performance like this.

But we need to make it clear - not addressing squarekara here, just for anyone reading this - that any public frustration from his opponents over their inability to do the same is grossly unfair to categorize as "just not caring enough." I've talked about how I studied for 20-30 hours a week for close to two years, but that was at the expense of having much approximating a healthy 20-something's life outside my full-time job and Jeopardy! training, and even I couldn't get up to James-level in that time frame. Very few people would - or SHOULD, if they have family obligations - make that kind of sacrifice for the *hope* of being granted a *single shot* of having a big win on a quiz show. When Robin et al. discuss that aspect, they're not "having a sense of self-importance"; they're explaining a very real advantage that a millionaire semi-retired sports bettor had that they didn't. I don't see how it's a character failing to be disappointed that your draw landed you the scariest champion in Jeopardy!'s 35-year history.
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Re: J! in the Media

Post by harrumph »

This is a review of the Arthur Chu documentary. https://hyperallergic.com/501442/who-is ... -jeopardy/
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MarkBarrett
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Re: J! in the Media

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I've been asked off Board about the rectangle device that looks like a horizontal smart phone in this image: https://www.jeopardy.com/sites/default/ ... atured.jpg

It's the thing above the bigger writing screen.

I don't recall it being there in aught five so could someone with more recent knowledge/experience please tell me what it is so I can pass along the information? Thank you.
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triviawayne
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Re: J! in the Media

Post by triviawayne »

MarkBarrett wrote: Wed May 29, 2019 6:39 pm I've been asked off Board about the rectangle device that looks like a horizontal smart phone in this image: https://www.jeopardy.com/sites/default/ ... atured.jpg

It's the thing above the bigger writing screen.

I don't recall it being there in aught five so could someone with more recent knowledge/experience please tell me what it is so I can pass along the information? Thank you.
And what’s the metal parts and knobs on each side of the writing surface?
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Robert K S
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Re: J! in the Media

Post by Robert K S »

I think the rectangles Mark is asking about are LED lights to light the contestants' faces from below (aka nose shadow control). I might be mistaken.

I believe the metal parts are little audio speakers that let the contestants hear the production audio, including Alex Trebek's reading, and I believe also music. The knobs are probably volume controls but we didn't mess with them.
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MinnesotaMyron
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Re: J! in the Media

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Robert K S wrote: Thu May 30, 2019 12:52 am The knobs are probably volume controls but we didn't mess with them.
It wasn't Freedom Rock, so you didn't turn it up, man?
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squarekara
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Re: J! in the Media

Post by squarekara »

Robert K S wrote: Thu May 30, 2019 12:52 am I think the rectangles Mark is asking about are LED lights to light the contestants' faces from below (aka nose shadow control). I might be mistaken.
This makes sense to me. When the other lights are brought down during FJ, these provide that "footlight" effect.
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Robert K S
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Re: J! in the Media

Post by Robert K S »

I tried looking on various film and video production equipment sales sites for the lights in question but I couldn't find anything that looked exactly the same. Most everything else is bulkier, in rugged casing designed to take a beating between setups in the course of typical production. This leads me to believe that the lights in question are jerry-rigged cell-phone backlight type devices, similar to the ones sold for cheap here.
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MarkBarrett
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Re: J! in the Media

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A board member shared these photos (they were emailed to me today as a reminder from a different person) from the 2004 ToC on a prior incarnation of a message board:

Image
Image
teapot37
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Re: J! in the Media

Post by teapot37 »

I always thought it was funny that the image on Alex's monitor in that shot was the screen overlay for the Wheel of Fortune bonus round.
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Re: J! in the Media

Post by Robert K S »

You can see the old lectern setup also had a contestant key light and audio speakers for each lectern, although the lights were slightly bigger (pre-LED, presumably) and the speakers were in a different place.
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Re: J! in the Media

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Re: J! in the Media

Post by alietr »

Norman Chad's always been one of my favorites, and this is his second Holzhauer column:

Quit rooting against James Holzhauer’s must-watch ‘Jeopardy!’ run. Appreciate greatness.
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Re: J! in the Media

Post by alietr »

Well, this is certainly an interesting projection of 98 more wins:

How many more Jeopardy! games will James Holzhauer likely win? Professors crunch numbers

EDITED BY MOD: The article is updated with today's (6/3) result, so don't click if you don't wish to know what happened!!
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gnash
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Re: J! in the Media

Post by gnash »

alietr wrote: Mon Jun 03, 2019 9:43 am Well, this is certainly an interesting projection of 98 more wins:

How many more Jeopardy! games will James Holzhauer likely win? Professors crunch numbers
Kinda surprised that wasn't Sam Wang.
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Re: J! in the Media

Post by opusthepenguin »

alietr wrote: Mon Jun 03, 2019 9:43 am Well, this is certainly an interesting projection of 98 more wins:

How many more Jeopardy! games will James Holzhauer likely win? Professors crunch numbers
At the current rate, he's more than halfway to dethroning Brad Rutter and his lifetime J! earnings record. He'll likely do that BEFORE he breaks KJ's 74-game streak.
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