Anyone watching Jeopardy?

[funnybone]

I haven't watched the show regularly in YEARS, but my son has been intriqued the last couple of weeks as there is someone on who has won almost $800,000! :eek: He's won 25 games (when I last watched you could only win 5) and will keep going until he loses. Just wondering if anyone else has been watching lately.

[linsleyd]

I started watching this week, it's really interesting to see someone win that much! This past week he hasn't been doing as strongly as he has in the past matches but he is still making around $15,000-$20,000 each game.
It's funny though, because it looks like he's guessing on half of the answers and he's right most of the time!

[beckms]

We're totally hooked. That guy is kind of creepy, though.

[funnybone]

Originally posted by linsleyd
This past week he hasn't been doing as strongly as he has in the past matches but he is still making around $15,000-$20,000 each game.


LOL - I know but at final jeopardy, when he has $20,000 another contestant $600 and the third contestant is out for being in the hole, he sure looks brilliant. :)

[funnybone]

Originally posted by beckms
We're totally hooked. That guy is kind of creepy, though.

Nerdy too. :p

[HUNGRY!]

I wasn't before but you talked me into it!

I wonder when they changed the 5 game rule. Gone the way of shopping on Wheel of Fortune I suppose. Sigh, I still want that dog statue.

[linsleyd]

Originally posted by funnybone


LOL - I know but at final jeopardy, when he has $20,000 another contestant $600 and the third contestant is out for being in the hole, he sure looks brilliant. :)

I know but Alex always seems disappointed or relieved, I'm not sure which when he doesn't end with a higher amount of money! Last nights was almost a win in and of itself, that second guy was almost in the hole!

[funnybone]

It's almost on here now (3:30). I'm TIVOing it for DS as he is at basketball camp and can't watch. Yesterday he just watched final jeopardy and was proud that he (12 years old) got the final answer and Mr. Smartypants didn't. ;)

HUNGRY - I know what you mean about the old prizees on W of F. They were so overpriced, but great. Getting the money isn't as good, that's for sure. :)

[Escher]

Alex Trebek has just met his replacement.....

[Grace]

I'm watching too.... DH now calls it "The Ken Show"! :rolleyes: :D

[Escher]

New Theory: They are putting normal schmoes like you and I up against brainiac instead of the normal high-quality folks they get just to extend his streak, and attract higher market share....

Gee, this tin-foil-hat fits me just right!

[Jazzmatazz49]

Time to check your grammer!

Time to check your spelling!

Sorry, I just couldn't resist...;) ;) ;)

[Escher]

Originally posted by MWS

Time to check your grammer!

I threw that one in there as a "freebie" in order to gain "regular schmoe" status....

I'm sure your spelling error was along the same vein, no?

Good to know we think alike.....
moving along.....swiftly now!

[Cafe Latte]

I've watched some of the shows and he really is amazing. He won again and tied the record for most money won on a single day - $52,000 I think. I'll be tuning in again on Monday. :)

[MKSquared]

Nope - he didn't set the record, nor did he tie it. Ken, playing his own little games, wagered to bring his total to exactly ONE DOLLAR less than the one-day record. He could have easily blown it out of the water, but he didn't. Interesting fellow.

[gabbyh]

After not watching for years, we got hooked also...looks like he has a chance to go over a million bucks this week...should be interesting...

~Gail

[Member10000]

Originally posted by MKSquared
Nope - he didn't set the record, nor did he tie it.

I thought he tied it as well. If you go to the website www.jeopardy.com, it says he tied it. He's been fun to watch.

[MKSquared]

Hmmm. I must have misunderstood Alex at the end of the show when he said that Ken was one dollar away from tying the record. *shrug*

[Lil'Jmarie]

"Jennings is making the most of a change in "Jeopardy!" rules. To mark the start of its 20th season last September, the quiz show lifted its five-game limit for winners and allowed them to keep going until they lose."

i saw this on yahoo at this (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=494&ncid=763&e=4&u=/ap/20040712/ap_en_tv/jeopardy_winner) site. thought it may clear up the 5 game maximum that they used to have. :)

[cookinator]

He was just on Good Morning America. We are watching most evenings.I was watching Charlie dance around trying not to give the outcome of his winning streak, but I got the feeling from the conversation that he's no longer in the show? Just a hunch..

[funnybone]

Originally posted by cookinator
He was just on Good Morning America. We are watching most evenings.I was watching Charlie dance around trying not to give the outcome of his winning streak, but I got the feeling from the conversation that he's no longer in the show? Just a hunch..

They tape the shows ahead of time, so I guess he had to lose at some point or another. I plan to watch him on Letterman (I think he is on tonight from the article Lil'Jmarie linked to).

He did tie on Friday. Alex said something about needing $1 more to beat the record. Going to be glued today at 3:30pm. :o :)

[Sarah45]

I'm confused about the jeopardy $$ record. I got this off of the official jeopardy site "The highest cumulative amount won by a single JEOPARDY! player is $1,155,102 in cash, received by Brad Rutter of Lancaster, PA in 2001-2002." How could he do this when the one day record is $52,000 and they were limited to 5 days competing??

Also, this seemingly conflicting quote is from the yahoo article posted above "Previous record-holder Tom Walsh, 39, of Washington, D.C., managed a seven-day run with $184,900 in winnings on the show in January."

Anyone with any insight? I will keep searching to see what I can fid but so far, I can't figure this out...

Edited to add: Figured it out, Brad Rutter won a million dollar tournament of chamions special. I guess that makes Ken the only regular jeopardy champion to break 1 million.

[MrsReber]

I read something on CNN that stated people had won lots of money in the Jeopardy tournaments that they have. I think they had excluded those winnings when comparing some of the totals. It also mentioned that the 5 game rule was changed recently. I'm happy that the guy won so much and is getting all that attention. I still haven't watched, though. Is it getting kind of boring seeing the same guy win each day? Or is it exciting to see him win more money? When will it end? They have to kick him off sooner or later!

[Sarah45]

I hate geting conflicting stats from every which direction. Would it have been so hard to say that the previous record was held by a tournament of champions winner? Oh well, i relly shouldn't be bothered by a game show :D

As far as getting bored, he does kind of run away with the game each night but he is a pretty entertaining guy and I would hate to miss the show when someone beats him! I have only been watching since last week though...

[Grace]

I say it IS getting boring. He answers just about every single question. He rings in before the question is even read (before he even reads it) because he knows the chances are good that he'll know it. Then he thinks about it and gives his answer.

As I said before, DH now calls it the "Ken Show", and I only watch now because I want to see someone beat him. But I think it will be awhile before that happens. :rolleyes:

Any competition is only fun to watch when it's an actual competition. Who enjoys a baseball game when the score is 15-0? People get up and leave early because there's no more competition left to watch. The Ken Show is starting to get like this for me.

[Jazzmatazz49]

So Ken is still on? I saw the last part of a CNN crawl telling that he had won over 900K, so I thought maybe he had finally been beaten.

[Escher]

He's now over a million and still going...

For comparison's sake...previous high scorers have run in the $75k range...

this is from the official Jeopardy site:
http://www.jeopardy.com/gena.pjw?cont=_kenjennings&cat=contestant

[funnybone]

Originally posted by Grace
I say it IS getting boring. He answers just about every single question.


I agree it is getting boring. My son is glued to it, and I usually come into the room just before final jeopardy. I think in the end he probalby decides to lose or drop out on his own out of sheer boredom to himself. ;) :D

[Escher]

Originally posted by funnybone
I think in the end he probalby decides to lose or drop out on his own out of sheer boredom to himself. ;) :D

Yeah. I'd tire of earning tens of thousands of dollars a day too, with oodles of national tv exposure, to boot.....

Ummmm.... maybe not!

The producers are in a quandry... THEY may want to boot him, but how do they do it gracefully?

[Laurielee]

Quote
"He rings in before the question is even read (before he even reads it) because he knows the chances are good that he'll know it. Then he thinks about it and gives his answer."

Grace, I havent watched the show, but my local radio announcer said this same thing yesterday morning, and that he gets time to think while Alex reads the question. so now I want to see.


Laurie

[Escher]

What do you want to make a bet the producers will "stack the deck"....
and get two specialists to defeat him?

Maybe a Literary professor (with lots of obsure literature questions) and a physicist (with lots of obsure physics questions).... or some other such unbalanced gimmick.

[funnybone]

Originally posted by Grace
He rings in before the question is even read


I always heard that you can't ring in until after the question is read.

BTW - it was just on here. I won't tell you how it went.

[Grace]

Maybe I should say he rings in before the question is finished being read - my guess is that he just holds down the button or something, so that the instant they release the buzzers, his is already ringing. But I know that the other people wait until they finish hearing the question before they try to ring in, and by that time Alex has already called on Ken as the first to have buzzed.

Thanks for keeping it a secret! I've got it TIVO'd, and I won't be able to watch it until late tonight!

[funnybone]

Just bumping up - this is his 35th day. Doesn't look like the end is near just quite yet.

[Member10000]

I watched earlier and now we have to wait until Sept. to find out how he does. The show is on hiatus until the 6th. So far, he has earned $1,321,660 and he finally beat the one day record today too.

[fci5767]

They should just hire the guy. It would be cheaper. I caught the show today and he blew the other two people out of the water. It's definitely putting some new life into the show.


Beth

[Grace]

I've been watching every day, and he blows everyone out of the water. We find it boring - without the element of competition, it's pretty ho-hum. Watching one guy answer all the questions day in and day out doesn't add life to the show, IMO. The only excitement today was watching him FINALLY blow away the previous one-day winning record. Oh well. I guess we'll find out in the Fall how much longer it will go on!

[Member10000]

Originally posted by Grace
Watching one guy answer all the questions day in and day out doesn't add life to the show, IMO.


I agree, but the ratings are up 50% since he's been winning. I only catch the ending now.

[birdyone]

I think he is microchipped!!!!!! Entertaining at first, now downright not so..........he's a computer geek anyway - why not a chip. JMHO.

[funnybone]

I'm reviving this thread because I know the new season is starting soon. I had heard it was supposed to start on the 6th, but it wasn't on yesterday (not here at the regular time). I've set it on TIVO because I want to see the episode where Ken loses. (Well, it has to happen sooner or later).

[funnybone]

Well, it must have been on since I came acrosss this on a search:



Daily winnings
Day Air Date Winnings Running Total
Day 1 Wednesday, June 2 $37,201 $37,201
Day 2 Thursday, June 3 $22,000 $59,201
Day 3 Friday, June 4 $37,000 $96,201
Day 4 Monday, June 7 $30,000 $126,201
Day 5 Tuesday, June 8 $29,799 $156,000
Day 6 Wednesday, June 9 $25,000 $181,000
Day 7 Thursday, June 10 $50,000 $231,000
Day 8 Friday, June 11 $35,158 $266,158
Day 9 Monday, June 14 $25,000 $291,158
Day 10 Tuesday, June 15 $50,000 $341,158
Day 11 Wednesday, June 16 $35,000 $376,158
Day 12 Thursday, June 17 $34,000 $410,158
Day 13 Friday, June 18 $30,000 $440,158
Day 14 Monday, June 21 $31,601 $471,759
Day 15 Tuesday, June 22 $15,200 $486,959
Day 16 Wednesday, June 23 $26,000 $512,959
Day 17 Thursday, June 24 $40,000 $552,959
Day 18 Friday, June 25 $48,801 $601,760
Day 19 Monday, June 28 $21,000 $622,760
Day 20 Tuesday, June 29 $40,000 $662,760
Day 21 Wednesday, June 30 $35,000 $697,760
Day 22 Thursday, July 1 $40,000 $737,760
Day 23 Friday, July 2 $17,600 $755,360
Day 24 Monday, July 5 $19,600 $774,960
Day 25 Tuesday, July 6 $14,000 $788,960
Day 26 Wednesday, July 7 $40,000 $828,960
Day 27 Thursday, July 8 $40,000 $868,960
Day 28 Friday, July 9 $52,000 $920,960
Day 29 Monday, July 12 $52,000 $972,960
Day 30 Tuesday, July 13 $32,000 $1,004,960
Day 31 Wednesday, July 14 $17,500 $1,022,460
Day 32 Thursday, July 15 $28,000 $1,050,460
Day 33 Friday, July 16 $50,000 $1,100,460
Day 34 Monday, July 19 $35,000 $1,135,460
Day 35 Tuesday, July 20 $29,200 $1,164,660**
Day 36 Wednesday, July 21 $30,000 $1,194,660
Day 37 Thursday, July 22 $52,000 $1,246,660
Day 38 Friday, July 23 $75,000* $1,321,660
Day 39 Monday, September 6 $10,001 $1,331,661

[MNGirlTX]

Here in Dallas there are 2 shows today...yesterday's and today's due to the holiday.

[funnybone]

With TIVO, I have a season pass, so if there are two episodes, then it will record them both. I'm no longer interested in yesterday's show since I know he won, but my son will want to watch it. It's on at 3:30 and he gets home at 4:00 - that's why I need to record it.

[funnybone]

If this is true, I give up watching. I just can't do it for another 30+ episodes.:rolleyes: :eek:

Has Ken Jennings''Jeopardy!' Run Ended?
Sep 9, 7:19 AM (ET)


LOS ANGELES (AP) - Has Ken Jennings ended his "Jeopardy!" streak? A report posted Wednesday on TV Week's Web site said the brainy software engineer lost in a show taped Tuesday, walking away after his 75th straight game with about $2.5 million overall in cash and prizes. The magazine cited unidentified sources and said the show would air later this fall.

A representative for the show told TV Week that it would not disclose whether Jennings lost.

Calls late Wednesday by The Associated Press to "Jeopardy!" publicist Jeff Ritter and to the show's production offices were not immediately returned.

Jennings, 30, of Salt Lake City, began his record-breaking run June 2, with a six-week hiatus for summer reruns.

After winning the show that aired Wednesday, his 41st, he had amassed $1,380,661.

To mark the start of its 20th season last September, the quiz show lifted its five-game limit for winners and allowed them to keep going until they lose.

[Pat58]

I've been watching pretty much all along. I'm getting really annoyed by him though - he's got a million plus in the bag but he makes faces as if he's being faced with a life or death decision, or as if he is really stressed out while thinking of the answer. What has he got to be stressed out over? All this faux anxiety makes me nervous when I'm supposed to be relaxing and I agree, it's not fun anymore.

[funnybone]

For those who may still care, I think his days are over soon. He about 12 days left, if the article about him losing after 75 is correct. I haven't been tuning in lately, but have set it on TIVO so I can see who finally beats him. I just saw this note on the web so that reminded me of the thread:


Ken Jennings, a software engineer from Salt Lake City, has shattered records on the TV game show "Jeopardy!" His run began June 2 (interrupted by several special theme weeks). A look at Jennings' streak:

Consecutive shows as winner: 63.

Money won on show aired Friday: $30,000.

Money won so far: $2,125,301.

Perspective: At the start of its 20th season last fall, "Jeopardy!" changed its longtime rule that said a champion must leave after five straight wins. Now a player stays until losing. Jennings now has the longest winning streak in game show history.

Final Jeopardy: The category was "Films of the '70s." The clue: "'The Babysitters Murders' was the working title for this 1978 thriller." Only Jennings correctly answered, "Halloween."