Anybody watching Jeopardy?

[weezie]

Matt Jackson is crazy quick! He's totally beating down on his opponents.

[snowdenscold]

My wife and I watch every night and Matt has indeed been impressive.

In fact, I recently got selected for the regional audition round (did it in Boston last weekend), and I was thinking that if I were lucky enough to be selected to go for a real show out in L.A., that hopefully Matt will be gone by then! None of this Ken Jennings stuff where he's still there several months from now...

[gurufrisbee]

We try to watch, but sometimes the daughters aren't cooperative for that. We did see last night and he was very impressive.

[weezie]

...In fact, I recently got selected for the regional audition round (did it in Boston last weekend), and I was thinking that if I were lucky enough to be selected to go for a real show out in L.A...

Look at you man! Good for you! Keep it up!

[brevity]

I watch JEOPARDY! regularly. The DVR cuts the experience down to 13-16 minutes. I skip all the non-essential parts, like the ads, the meet and greet, and even the categories.

So I've seen 11 episodes of Matt Jackson even though I knew nothing about him, including his last name. His buzzing skill is undeniable -- watch the body language of the middle contestants when they get frustrated -- but when it comes to knowledge he's a bit infuriating. Because he doesn't know crap about pop culture. I don't understand how he can clear $30000 a game without knowing the easy stuff.

Alex mentioned in yesterday's or today's episode that he's only 23, which explains quite a bit. I've seen many incredible players in the post-Ken era, and Matt is easily my least favorite. (Before you ask, Arthur Chu didn't bother me.) Normally I like to see a great player last as long as possible, but I really want Matt to stumble.

[Kimist]

I watch JEOPARDY! regularly. The DVR cuts the experience down to 13-16 minutes. I skip all the non-essential parts, like the ads, the meet and greet, and even the categories.

So I've seen 11 episodes of Matt Jackson even though I knew nothing about him, including his last name. His buzzing skill is undeniable -- watch the body language of the middle contestants when they get frustrated -- but when it comes to knowledge he's a bit infuriating. Because he doesn't know crap about pop culture. I don't understand how he can clear $30000 a game without knowing the easy stuff.

Alex mentioned in yesterday's or today's episode that he's only 23, which explains quite a bit. I've seen many incredible players in the post-Ken era, and Matt is easily my least favorite. (Before you ask, Arthur Chu didn't bother me.) Normally I like to see a great player last as long as possible, but I really want Matt to stumble.

Jackson is indeed both quick and knowledgeable. His missing areas of expertise are overcome by his general good knowledge. The second place guy (on Thursday?) could easily have been a champion in most Jeopardy contests.

I also DVR nightly, but since you skip the meet/greet you've missed out on his interesting family background.

Arthur Chu thoroughly got on my nerves. . .I was daily pulling for him to lose. He did seem a bit more mellow in the Tournament of Champions. . .maybe he read some of the posts about him??

k

[cf-62]

So I've seen 11 episodes of Matt Jackson even though I knew nothing about him, including his last name. His buzzing skill is undeniable -- watch the body language of the middle contestants when they get frustrated -- but when it comes to knowledge he's a bit infuriating. Because he doesn't know crap about pop culture. I don't understand how he can clear $30000 a game without knowing the easy stuff.

Alex mentioned in yesterday's or today's episode that he's only 23, which explains quite a bit. I've seen many incredible players in the post-Ken era, and Matt is easily my least favorite. (Before you ask, Arthur Chu didn't bother me.) Normally I like to see a great player last as long as possible, but I really want Matt to stumble.

Like others, I rooted for Arthur to lose every game. He simply made the game unenjoyable (to watch or play along). Matt plays a little differently. He's not DD hunting as much as just trying to build his bank faster.

And the other day (7), he actually HAD to answer Final Jeopardy to win, and the category was Movie Characters. I thought he was toast, but the answer was simply way too easy to be a Final Jeopardy question.

It's his speed of clicking when the lights come on that's killing the other contestants.

[Jarhead]

Like others, I rooted for Arthur to lose every game. He simply made the game unenjoyable (to watch or play along). It's his speed of clicking when the lights come on that's killing the other contestants.

...but doesn't he have to ask the correct question to win the dollars? And if he answers incorrectly, or doesn't answer at all once he clicks in, he loses money. He doesn't do much of that, does he? I didn't watch the show today. Did he stay alive?

[luburch]

...but doesn't he have to ask the correct question to win the dollars? And if he answers incorrectly, or doesn't answer at all once he clicks in, he loses money. He doesn't do much of that, does he? I didn't watch the show today. Did he stay alive?

He did. He ended with $51,000 on the day, but the other contestants weren't the best. There were quite a few questions that went unanswered.

[budwom]

I watch JEOPARDY! regularly. The DVR cuts the experience down to 13-16 minutes. I skip all the non-essential parts, like the ads, the meet and greet, and even the categories.

So I've seen 11 episodes of Matt Jackson even though I knew nothing about him, including his last name. His buzzing skill is undeniable -- watch the body language of the middle contestants when they get frustrated -- but when it comes to knowledge he's a bit infuriating. Because he doesn't know crap about pop culture. I don't understand how he can clear $30000 a game without knowing the easy stuff.

Alex mentioned in yesterday's or today's episode that he's only 23, which explains quite a bit. I've seen many incredible players in the post-Ken era, and Matt is easily my least favorite. (Before you ask, Arthur Chu didn't bother me.) Normally I like to see a great player last as long as possible, but I really want Matt to stumble.

Just DVRing thru the Aleve ads saves us five minutes.

[Indoor66]

Just DVRing thru the Aleve ads saves us five minutes.

But all the pain you suffer...

[BD80]

Just DVRing thru the Aleve ads saves us five minutes.

Shouldn't Aleve have just one dose of ads instead of the multiple doses of the other pain relievers?

[Indoor66]

Shouldn't Aleve have just one dose of ads instead of the multiple doses of the other pain relievers?

They probably need to have just two for each day.

[weezie]

OOOooo, here we go: I wonder if the Jeopardy! viewers are too preoccupied with aches and pains to notice the relative lack of "in the mood" Cialis/Viagra ads?

[snowdenscold]

...but doesn't he have to ask the correct question to win the dollars? And if he answers incorrectly, or doesn't answer at all once he clicks in, he loses money. He doesn't do much of that, does he? I didn't watch the show today. Did he stay alive?

Indeed, though one should also realize that for most of the clues on Jeopardy, all 3 contestants likely know the answer, but you only see the one person who rings in. So the buzzer timing really is probably the most significant factor, as the amount of clues that only you know and the other 2 don't is probably fairly small. Next biggest factor might be DD hunting and smart wagering.

Speaking of wagering, the amount of incredibly stupid wagers I've seen (both on DD's and also Final Jeopardy) always amazes me. I can't figure out if people just totally cramp up under the pressure and can't think through it clearly, or if they just really don't know what the optimal action to do in the situation is. Or even near-optimal... or basically just avoiding a terrible choice. I mean, these people are smart enough to know tons and tons of information about a large variety of categories - but they can't be bothered to think about some basic wagering scenarios ahead of time. Not sure if that's just two different enough categories of brain activity, or lack of foresight, or what...

[BD80]

OOOooo, here we go: I wonder if the Jeopardy! viewers are too preoccupied with aches and pains to notice the relative lack of "in the mood" Cialis/Viagra ads?

Knowledge is aphrodisiac enough

[Indoor66]

OOOooo, here we go: I wonder if the Jeopardy! viewers are too preoccupied with aches and pains to notice the relative lack of "in the mood" Cialis/Viagra ads?

I never liked dueling bathtubs.

[wilson]

Indeed, though one should also realize that for most of the clues on Jeopardy, all 3 contestants likely know the answer, but you only see the one person who rings in. So the buzzer timing really is probably the most significant factor, as the amount of clues that only you know and the other 2 don't is probably fairly small. Next biggest factor might be DD hunting and smart wagering.

I appeared on Jeopardy a few years back, and this is spot on...an exact explanation of how game-play functions. I lost by a narrow margin in my appearance, and it all came down to the question above the final Daily Double. It was a fairly easy one, to which I knew the answer, but I simply got beaten on the buzzer, and when my opponent then went through the standard progression of simply choosing the next clue down the board, he got the significant boost of the last DD, and that was pretty much that.
[/humblebrag]

[swood1000]

I appeared on Jeopardy a few years back, and this is spot on...an exact explanation of how game-play functions. I lost by a narrow margin in my appearance, and it all came down to the question above the final Daily Double. It was a fairly easy one, to which I knew the answer, but I simply got beaten on the buzzer, and when my opponent then went through the standard progression of simply choosing the next clue down the board, he got the significant boost of the last DD, and that was pretty much that.
[/humblebrag]

How did you get to be a contestant?

[wilson]

How did you get to be a contestant?

It starts with an online test. You have to register ahead of time and log in at a specified moment. 50 free-response questions, and if I recall correctly, you have like 10 or 15 seconds per question...long enough to type your answer in (spelling doesn't count as long as they know what you're saying), but not long enough to Google it.
Then, if you score high enough, you get invited to one of the regional live auditions. At the audition, they ask you to wear what you'd wear if you were on air, and you do a good bit of paperwork and biographical forms, plus a written test, a practice interview segment, and a practice game segment.
When I finished my audition, they told me I had been selected for the contestant pool for the next year. They said that meant that they might call and they might not, and if after a year, I hadn't been selected, I could go through the selection process again. They called me about 4 weeks later, and I unequivocally accepted their invitation.
Despite my loss on the show, I was very pleased with my play (I had a high dollar amount that would win about 95 times out of 100), and the whole experience was one of the coolest, most fun things I've ever done. I highly recommend it to anyone who ever gets the chance.