Game One

April 21st, 2011 · No Comments

On the morning of the big day, Aimee and Grace dropped me off at the Sony Studios lot at 8:30, just after we saw the Radisson shuttle pull in bringing out-of-town contestants from the hotel. I was glad to have been to a taping before, having seen how the process works and gotten some of the butterflies out of my system. I met the other contestants gathered outside, in their “camera-ready” outfits and clutching garment bags or dragging rolling suitcases in anticipation of a multi-show shoot. You can’t help but do your best to scope out the competition, which is pretty much impossible but you do it anyway. “That guy, he looks like he’s about my age, but more of a business-type guy, so he’ll probably know the same movies as I but might have deeper sports knowledge.” “That woman, she probably knows a lot more about pop culture than I do.” You’re rarely right, but you do it anyway.

We all discussed our Alex-ready facts, stories we’d provided to give him something interesting or entertaining to ask us about during the few seconds we have to talk after the first commercial break, and then went through an exhaustive instruction session on how to play the game from Maggie, the contestant coordinator. I’d already heard it once before, but she musters the same enthusiasm and energy every time, and it was an entertaining and useful primer on how (and how not) to play the game.

It eventually came out that among us was a four-time returning champion, so I immediately thought to myself that I didn’t want to be chosen to go first; better to have someone else take her out, and then I’d have a better chance against someone who wasn’t on a roll. Of course, whether you’re up against someone on with one win or four or 74 under his belt, you never know what’s going to happen, but it can’t hurt to imagine. I got my wish and did not get picked to play in the first match of the day, during which the reigning champ did get unseated. I wasn’t picked in the next game either, but I my name did get pulled to go in the the game after that.

The whole experience creates a strange combination of emotions. You’re really excited to actually be there, to actually be going on Jeopardy! and playing for real, so you’re talkative and chummy with the other players, but on the other hand, this is your one and only chance to be on Jeopardy!, and you really want to do well. In fact, you want to win, you want to beat whichever of those other people in the studio will be up against you, and you don’t want to blow it. So you’re excited, you’re happy, but you’re also trying to be dead serious, focused, and as ruthless as it’s possible to be in a slightly cramped green room full of very nice people.

Here’s me hoping Alex is wrong and that robots won’t take over the movies:

Looking back on that game, I don’t really remember the questions I got right, which seems to be true with most other contestants’ whose post-game accounts I’ve seen. The whole thing moves very quickly, with not much time to take note what you got right or even see how you’re doing. I feel like I spent most of the game not knowing how I stood against my opponents, which was fine. I remember landing on some Daily Doubles, and getting them right, and my overall impression was that I was working the buzzer pretty well, which I know can really go either way. Having seen the game now, I can see that I was an un-smiling, robotic bundle of nerves for at least the first half of the show, with my eyes darting here and there, and never cracking a smile. I guess I was just concentrating.

The game ended up being a lock by the time Final Jeopardy came around, and I was relieved. That’s all I had wanted, to win one game, and I knew going in to Final Jeopardy that unless I really bungled my math, I would do it. As it happened, I couldn’t really do the math, gave up trying to max out my potential winnings, and played it conservatively. I wagered less than I could have, just because I couldn’t seem to figure out exactly how much I could wager and still win if I got it wrong and Robin got it right. Anyway, I ended up getting the question right—thank you Landmark Books, my childhood love of space exploration, and Estes model rockets—and the rest was a blur. Alex approached and shook my hand, and we all had some conversation about the game for a few seconds as the credits rolled.

Here’s me when Alex tells me he hopes I wagered a lot. I didn’t.

After a brief and uncomfortable moment in front of the camera for a “Winner’s Circle” segment, I was rushed back to the dressing room to change into another shirt for “the next day,” which would start in about ten minutes. I looked at myself in the mirror, did a little dance, and thought to myself, “I’m a Jeopardy! champion, no matter what else happens.” It was a good feeling.

We had 25 people over tonight to watch the game, by far the largest group of people we’ve ever crammed into our living room. Aimee ordered pizza and made sangria, and we all had a great time. Grace got a little freaked out when everyone cheered as I was introduced, but she recovered quickly and probably enjoyed staying up past her bed time. It’ll be awhile before she understands that her dad was on TV…

Here’s the game cataloged on J!-Archive.

UPDATE

For the time being, the show is on YouTube. The shows are no longer on YouTube.

Tags: Los Angeles · Miscellany