‘Jeopardy!,’ the FAQs
Posted on July 19, 2008
Filed Under Uncategorized |
Posted by Daria
What was appearing “Jeopardy!” like? How did I get on the show? What’s Alex Trebek really like? Some of you may already know the answers to these and other questions that people keep asking me, but for those who don’t, here’s a brief recap.
How did I get on the show?
I tried out by taking an online test. A few months later I received an email inviting me to try out in Denver. We drove up to Denver, where I auditioned along with about 60 other people (over three sessions). The audition consisted of a written test, a mock game, and saying a few words about yourself. The producers put us in the contestant pool for 12 months, which was later amended to 18 months. Ten months later, I got “the Call,” and in April I flew out to California for the taping.
Did they pay for you to fly out?
No. Each contestant pays his or her own way and for lodging and food. But everyone who appears on the show is guaranteed at least $1,000, which should more than cover your expenses. (The contestant who finishes third wins $1,000, while the second-place finisher wins $2,000. The winner gets what he or she won and gets to play another day.)
Did Stan and Sierra come with you?
No. Stan had returned home from San Diego the day before and didn’t want to go. Sierra didn’t want to miss school. (Alex seemed taken aback when I told him that.)
How does the taping work?
“Jeopardy!” tapes five shows over two days at the Sony studio in Culver City, Calif. Players who don’t live in the Los Angeles area are selected for the first day of taping, and a few of them tape on the second day of taping, with locals filling in the remaining spots on the second day. All of the out-of-towners gather on the morning of the first taping day and are herded into a “green room,” where the rules are reiterated, we get made up by professional makeup artists (which the guys weren’t too thrilled with), and we practice our “Hometown Howdies,” the greetings that air on local stations before our shows air.
Then we go into the studio, practice using the signaling tool, play mock games, and make sure Johnny Gilbert is saying our names right. It’s a lot of fun, especially playing the mock games.
How do they decide whom you get to play?
Who plays whom is chosen randomly, so you don’t know until about ten minutes before the taping starts if you will be playing.
What happens then?
When they call your name, you’re sent back to the green room to get your makeup freshened up, brought back in, get mic’ed up, and record your Hometown Howdies. Then, you play the game.
When does Alex come in?
You don’t meet Alex until just before the show starts. Someone else, in my case Jimmy from the Clue Crew, plays host during the mock games.
What’s Alex like?
He’s funny, likes to engage the audience and takes questions from them, is good at small talk. He’s not very tall.
What do the other contestants do while the game is going on?
They sit in the audience and play along and get shushed by floor managers for making too much noise. They’re sequestered from the other members of the studio audience. One contestant got reprimanded (humorously) for waving to a relative. If we had to go to the bathroom, one of the assistant producers had to accompany us.
Do you have any idea what the categories or questions will be before you go on the show?
No. But oddly enough, one of the games I watched being taped had the category “New Mexico.” And another game had the category “Nebraska,” and one of the other contestants (who wasn’t playing at the time) was from Omaha. And a Virginian played when the category “Virginia History” appeared, although he didn’t get all the answers correct.
Do they feed you?
When you first come in, they have an assortment of breakfast food in the green room. If you are lucky enough not to tape until after noon, like I was, you get to eat a free lunch in the Sony commissary.
What was your taping like?
It went by in a flash. I never felt like I was on television; you’re so focused on playing the game that you don’t notice the cameras or floor crew.
Were you nervous?
I was always nervous, even during the Denver audition. My legs shook constantly. Several other contestants said the same thing.
Was it like playing the game at home?
Kind of. It seemed to go by a lot more quickly. At home you can just answer the question; here you have to be the first one to buzz in. That’s really hard; you need a combination of luck and timing. In most cases, two or all three of the contestants know the answer to the question (or are willing to guess), but one person is just faster on the buzzer. There’s an art to it, which, unfortunately, I wasn’t around long enough to master.
How did you win?
I guess it was by a combination of luck and knowing the answers. It was fun to look at a clue and say, “I know that.” It’s not so much fun when you say, “Is it this?” and get it wrong. And it’s really not fun to say something really stupid and realize you can’t take it back. Kick, kick.
Did you know how much money you were winning?
No. At the end of the first round, I looked at the scores and saw I was in second place and didn’t really give it any thought. As we started to get toward the end of Double Jeopardy! I glanced up at the screens and was surprised to discover I had a “lock game,” meaning that if I didn’t answer anything incorrectly and didn’t wager too much in Final Jeopardy! I would win. So that’s what I did.
After the game, I asked one of the assistant producers, “This isn’t real money, is it?” because it didn’t seem real. After I returned from my makeup refreshing, he showed me the contract that indicated how much I had won and said, “It’s real money.”
What happened in the second game?
I wasn’t having much luck with the buzzer. I was so happy to have won one game that I didn’t try as hard for the second game; in a way, I felt like since I won, it was OK if someone else got to, too. But really, the other players just played better than I did. They knew more of the answers.
What was it like afterwards?
After the taping, I took a cab back with two other winners. We all were really high from the experience. Then I went out to dinner with one of the other contestants. The next day, I ran into one contestant and the family members of another contestant at the Getty Museum—the answer to “Where do “Jeopardy!” contestants go in Los Angeles?,” I guess.
What did you do with the money?
What money? I haven’t seen it yet. Contestants receive their checks within 120 days after the show airs. So I probably won’t see it until late fall.
What was it like watching yourself on TV?
It was like having deja vu—I’d remember what was going to happen just before it happened. I couldn’t remember what most of the categories were, and I thought some questions from the first game were from the second game, and vice versa. There were a few questions I got right on the show that I didn’t remember when watching it, which shows you that studying really does help. Watching myself lose wasn’t as bad as I had feared, in part because it wasn’t even that close.
Would you do it again?
In a minute. Unfortunately, once you have appeared on the show you’re disqualified from trying out again “until Alex retires.”
I want to be on “Jeopardy!” Do you have any advice?
1. Sign up at www.jeopardy.com to receive announcements about tryouts. They won’t fill up your inbox; in fact, I received maybe five emails from them in a year.
2. Watch the show and play along at home.
3. Read the message board at jeopardy.com. It offers plenty of useful advice.
4. If you get an audition, “be yourself, only more so.” I stole that from the message board but it really sums it up. Be “on,” be personable. Dress nicely, perhaps in something eye-catching. I wore a pink blazer and only one other person wore a bright color.
5. Be patient. Eighteen months is a long time to wait, but if they want you they’ll be very accommodating.
6. Try, try again. Some people have tried out three or more times before they’ve gotten “the Call.” Others have tried out eight or nine times. This was my second time; the first was 20 years ago.
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9 Responses to “‘Jeopardy!,’ the FAQs”
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Congratulations on winning your first game Daria. Cyberial cigar uno for you, well done my dear(lights Daria’s portofino)
Hey!
We were in Mexico when your Jeopardy appearance aired, so we texted a friend to tape it for us. Funny thing, though: Bill & I both woke up at midnight as the show was coming on and watched you! We were so impressed - great job in the “B” category, “Nebraska” and others! We have not gotten to see Friday’s tape yet.
-Cary in Colorado
Daria,
It was surreal watching you on Jeopardy! And not because it was midnight and i had mucho cervesas the night before.
You SMOKED ‘EM in the first game. Haven’t seen the second show yet. First, I was telling Cary “I can’t believe she knew that” Then I was saying: “She’s got it won! She’s got it won!”
It was awesome.
Bill
My friends have all been texting me for over a week being like, “was that really you’re aunt, she killed it.” So around dirty jerz you’re a celebrity. Oh, and I think I was MORE impressed on the second day when you answered, “Who is Notorious B.I.G.” My friend and I were screaming at the television because we could not believe you knew that. That one clue made the whole second day seem like a victory, at least for Team Daria in NJ.
Daria, We were at Disneyland in CA with Amy and family when we saw your performance. It was exciting to someone I knew. I have always said that you are the smartest person I know!
Wow Mom… a lot of people saw your excellent performance! I’m so proud of you!!!!
Awesome! What a class act!
What did Alex say to you and the other 2 contestants just after final jeopardy when the credits are rolling? I have always wondered what he is talking to them about!
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He’s making small talk. The first time, he talked about “Area 51,” thinking it was in New Mexico, where I’m from, not Nevada. And he asked if anyone had come to the taping with me. The second time, he talked about the RV trip I’m making and the cost of diesel.