"Jeopardy!" champ passes $1 million mark

Story

Okay, so I'm a regular "Jeopardy" viewer and I've been following this guy, off and on, for the better part of a month. I'm starting to wonder whether there isn't some kind of offscren tomfoolery going on, however.

The last couple of nights it seems like his fellow contestants haven't even attempted to compete with him. Alex will ask a question, and this Jennings guy will be answering without either of the other two even hitting the buzzer. It's hard to believe he's really *that* quick-witted, or that everyone else would be that dumb.

It's the summer season, a slack time for TV land, and I'm sure this story is a great little promotional tool for the show. So whaddaya think: is the fix in?

 

I doubt the show is being fixed. I think that the Jeopardy producers would get in too much trouble over that, and surely there are a lot of people watching what's going on there right now because this guy's total winnings are up to one million dollars. I think that what's more likely is that this guy has "ringing in" nearly perfected because he's been on almost 30 shows so far. While it looks like the others aren't ringing in attempting to give answers, they probably just aren't pressing their button in the "sweet spot" that gets them in first very often.

I actually don't watch Jeopardy much any more. I decided to watch last night's show because I had heard about how well the current champion is doing. I found myself feeling like the show is less interesting with a stealth player like that on board since it became obvious pretty quickly that he was going to win again.

 

I auditioned for Jeopardy once, and it is indeed hard to ring in.

The other contestants just look like deer in the headlights.

 

It's easier to do sitting at home...

 

Ken has ruined the show for me. Nearly every show a blow out. I admit he knows many off-the-wall answers, but it's his ability to ring in so fast that allows him to bury everyone. Many of the questions I'm sure all the contestants could answer. I don't know what it is, maybe the others try to ring in when they know an answer, Ken rings in no matter what and then trys to come up with an answer.

I've stopped watching.

 

Since these shows are filmed months in advance, is there any "leak" as to how far he went? It does seem odd that the other contestants seem like plants (literally and figuratively)

:-jon

 

I dont think its fixed. But I do think its amazing that he has been on so long. Theoretically, he could be on forever. He has seen all of the types of categories, and they cant get any harder, because that would disadvantage the other players. I am a regular Jeopardy viewer. Its on at an inconvenient time, so I tape it and watch it when I have a free half hour.

 

"I don't know what it is, maybe the others try to ring in when they know an answer, Ken rings in no matter what and then trys to come up with an answer."

My thoughts exactly.

The woman on yesterday's show was constantly pushing her button
to ring in but Ken nearly always manages to be just a litle bit quicker.

Yesterday, he had on off-day but still won. He seemed kinda tired.
I wonder how many shows they tape a day?

 

I'm a long-time, hardcore Jeopardy! fan. (My friends know not to call me when Alex is on.) Others have got it exactly right: this Ken guy has some Zen-like control over the buzzer to ring in. He obviously has a wide range of knowledge, but certainly the other contestants know some of these answers but just can't ring in as fast.

They tape 5 shows a day, you'd think any person might start getting worn out after so many shows in a row. Jeopardy! usually has 6-8 weeks of reruns during the summer, which will probably start in a week or two. Judging from his appearances on other shows this week, it's a safe guess that Ken swept the board and will be back again in Sept. What're they gonna do for the Tournament of Champions next year? How can he play himself?

P.S. I could take him, if I could ring in fast enough...

 

It's an interesting situation for sure...but does anyone think they should have stuck to the "5 wins and you're done" rule of the old days? It must be getting predictable to watch.

 

Ringing in a lot on one answer. The buzzer gets locked out for a second or so after it's pressed, and you can't ring in before Trebeck stops reading the question. That's why sometimes you'll see a contestant slamming away at the buzzer incessantly and they never get to answer a question.

No reason to think it's fixed or there's any trick. After a few days, it's reasonable to expect someone to become very familiar with the buzzer, giving him a huge advantage over the other players. And, yes, he does know a lot (you're not going to win even one game without that). Frankly, I don't see how anyone can beat him. I wouldn't be surprised if he just quits one day. Lord knows he has enough money.

Note that he refuses to break the one-day record, even though he's had plenty of opportunity to do so easily.

 

This might be incorrect specualation on my part, but I assume that Ken eventually lost a game. There was a clip from Good Morning America online about a week ago where Ken was asked a question but cautioned not to reveal exactly how many games he won. The way the question was asked, I got the impression that his reign was over before the interview was done.

 

I first heard about this guy last April, from a relative who works in the contestant selection department at the show. Unbelieveable. I think there should be a set limit, again, because this kind of domination of a show is ridiculous.

Evan

 

I saw a guy from a game show magazine or web site interviewed a couple weeks ago about this guy. His theory was Ken is so good with the buzzer because he was in quiz bowl for many years when he was younger. He also said Jeopardy's ratings were up 20 percent (at that time), so I'll bet they don't mind they took away the five wins and out rule.

Plus, this could give them endless opportunities to do "Super" Jeopardy type specials and match Ken against other champs.

 

what is the one-day record on jeopardy?

 

What is $52,800?

 

Ken was sent here by Exeter to raise money to fight the metaluna mutants on his home planet. The forehead is a dead givaway.

http://207.136.67.23/film/Reviews/tie.htm

 

Jennings is a Mormon, incidentally. I don't pretend to know all that much about that church or its adherents; are they into tithing? Will Ken be encouraged to keep *all* of the money to do as he sees fit? Or, conversely, will he be expected to give the lion's share of the dough to the church?

No offense to any Mormons who might happen to be here; I'm honestly curious about this.

 

A couple of times during his run, Ken has indicated his intention to tithe his winnings to the church (literally, one-tenth). Now that he's over a million bucks, that'll be a substantial donation!

 

For what it's worth, all Mormons in 'good' standing (ie, permitted entrance to the temple) do this with a tenth of their total income, regardless of salary or wealth. The things I learned living in Utah for ten years...
Anyway, thus endeth the religious discussion (per forum rules ).

 

Did anyone see the movie "Quiz Show," based on true events, about the show 50's game show "Twenty One" and its popular champion, Charles Van Doren? It was pretty good, aside from Rob Morrow's attempt at a Boston accent. Anyway, that show was fixed, the word got out and the Van Doren name was trashed. Poor little rich guy.