Turning Off Jeopardy!

[Kevin Prather]

Jeopardy has returning champions, so shows cannot be run out of order.

[Chelsea Thrasher]

[quote name=\'whoserman\' date=\'Jul 1 2004, 02:11 PM\'] Jeopardy has returning champions, so shows cannot be run out of order. [/quote]
 Except for the fact, that, as mentioned, the Kids and Power Players weeks are completely out of the main run of the shows, so those two weeks COULD have been bicycled to a later date, feasibly.

[Kevin Prather]

D'oh. Leszek posted while I was reading the thread, so I didn't catch his post. I hate it when that happens! Grr!

[Matt Ottinger]

[quote name=\'Jimmy Owen\' date=\'Jul 1 2004, 02:35 PM\'] Correct me if I'm wrong, but the shows were taped in March.  Is there any reason why they couldn't have been run during May sweeps?  If I remember correctly, there was some sweeps stunt in May, which probably could have been shown at a later date. [/quote]
 The problem with screwing around with the schedule is that Jeopardy does a very good job of keeping the shows rooted in the dates they're scheduled to air.  For example, on my show on June 21st there was a category about the AFI Top 100 Songs TV special that would air, as Alex said, "tomorrow night".  They frequently make similar references to the air dates, especially when it comes to holidays.

That's not to say they couldn't have done what you suggest, and on most any other show that's exactly what would have happened.  But Jeopardy isn't just any other show.  In my mind, shows like Pyramid, all the old GSN originals and even to an extent Wheel of Fortune are hurt by creating self-contained, generic little episodes that could run whenever.  

It's hard to describe this very clearly, but when a viewer watches an unscripted show that seems to take up a specific place in time, that viewer will tend to be more involved in it.  It's part of the appeal of live sports, late-night talk shows (especially, for obvious reasons, The Daily Show) and the morning news programs.  Even taped as far in advance as it is, Jeopardy strives for that same sense of immediacy.

[BrandonFG]

Was it this way when Thom McKee was on TTD? I'm serious, did Thom get this much press as well, esp. since his reign went into the summer as well (in his case, between two seasons)?

[Matt Ottinger]

[quote name=\'fostergray82\' date=\'Jul 1 2004, 03:47 PM\'] Was it this way when Thom McKee was on TTD? I'm serious, did Thom get this much press as well, esp. since his reign went into the summer as well (in his case, between two seasons)? [/quote]
 We game show fans who were around at that time found it fascinating, of course, but Tic Tac Dough was never part of the culture the way Jeopardy! has become.  There were a few human-interest stories, pretty much the same amount of attention Michael Larson got for his achievement, but certainly not an overwhelming amount.

In terms of publicity -- and ONLY in terms of publicity -- Ken's run and the ensuing attention can really only be compared to Charles Van Doren and similar "star" contestants from the late fifties.  Even John Carpenter's notoriety for being the first Millionaire winner didn't last very long.

[JayC]

[quote name=\'hmtriplecrown\' date=\'Jul 1 2004, 10:32 AM\'] Jennings' streak has been mentioned on Around the Horn; Pardon the Interruption; and I, Max (all sports debate shows) at least once this week, plus as I mentioned here previously, The Best Damn Sports Show Period has had the show's hosts and guests play the previous day's Final Jeopardy! since at least June 21. [/quote]
 Also, Jennings winning on Jeopardy has made Sportscenter's Top 10 plays list the last 2 nights, at the #5 spot and the #4 spot.  When he gets to $1,000,000+, that will probably put him at #1, assuming people still care then.

[clemon79]

[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' date=\'Jul 1 2004, 12:26 PM\'] It's hard to describe this very clearly, but when a viewer watches an unscripted show that seems to take up a specific place in time, that viewer will tend to be more involved in it. [/quote]
 Exactly what I loved about The Challengers.

[chris319]

The difference between a 6.2 and a 6.5 isn't momentous. What it proves is that a) people aren't getting bored and tuning out, and b) Ken wouldn't have given them that big a boost if they had run him during sweeps.

The posts in this thread have been interesting, but we are hearing from die-hard game show and Jeopardy! fans, not from casual viewers.

If they had gotten a long-term contestant that people found unpleasant to watch, it could have hurt their ratings significantly.

According to the late Dan Enright, this would not be the case. According to him, people would tune in to watch an unlikable contestant hoping that he would lose. He explains this in the 1992(?) PBS documentary in which he appeared.

If people didn't like Ken or whomever and were tuning out to the detriment of the ratings, there is a dilemma Harry Friedman may not have envisioned: How do you get rid of an unpopular Jeopardy! contestant? If you start asking him "Tex Rickert" questions you're going to have two contestants standing next to him who aren't going to know the correct response either.

[Ian Wallis]

We game show fans who were around at that time found it fascinating, of course, but Tic Tac Dough was never part of the culture the way Jeopardy! has become. There were a few human-interest stories, pretty much the same amount of attention Michael Larson got for his achievement, but certainly not an overwhelming amount.

That may be true, but Thom did have his picture on the TVGuide ads for "Tic Tac Dough" on local stations.  I guess the fact that he was going to be back after summer hiatus allowed them to send out those ads.  They didn't run them for long though - Thom lost two weeks after the new season started.

[zachhoran]

[quote name=\'Ian Wallis\' date=\'Jul 2 2004, 08:24 AM\']


That may be true, but Thom did have his picture on the TVGuide ads for "Tic Tac Dough" on local stations.  I guess the fact that he was going to be back after summer hiatus allowed them to send out those ads.  They didn't run them for long though - Thom lost two weeks after the new season started. [/quote]
 WPVI Phila. and WOR in NYC had promos for McKee as I recall.

Did any stations do the same thing for Kit Salisbury, whose run also spanned from one season to the next? Not as likely I suppose, since TTD was starting to lose ground by 1984 thanks to the onslaught of Syndie WOF.

[Jimmy Owen]

[quote name=\'chris319\' date=\'Jul 2 2004, 01:00 AM\']
If people didn't like Ken or whomever and were tuning out to the detriment of the ratings, there is a dilemma Harry Friedman may not have envisioned: How do you get rid of an unpopular Jeopardy! contestant? If you start asking him "Tex Rickert" questions you're going to have two contestants standing next to him who aren't going to know the correct response either. [/quote]
 But if the other two are experts on Tex Rickert, you might have something.  An accountant who works on the weekends as a bartender could do well on "Potent Potables," baseball, math, etc. On Matt's show, neither gentleman was as well versed as the lady in the prescription drug category.  Steve Carlin might advise J! to tailor the categories to what people know, short of actually giving them the answers and questions.  A contestant that stays in the studio too long, however, might have problems with a "Current Events" category.

[Matt Ottinger]

[quote name=\'chris319\' date=\'Jul 2 2004, 02:00 AM\'] If people didn't like Ken or whomever and were tuning out to the detriment of the ratings, there is a dilemma Harry Friedman may not have envisioned: How do you get rid of an unpopular Jeopardy! contestant? If you start asking him "Tex Rickert" questions you're going to have two contestants standing next to him who aren't going to know the correct response either. [/quote]
 My brother, who's not a Jeopardy fan at all, had an eerily brilliant suggestion:  Make the questions easier.  Great success on Jeopardy is a combination of buzzer speed and depth of knowledge.  You can't do anything about the first without cheating, but if the questions are easier across the board, that advantage is eliminated.

[dscungio]

My brother, who's not a Jeopardy fan at all, had an eerily brilliant suggestion:  Make the questions easier.  Great success on Jeopardy is a combination of buzzer speed and depth of knowledge.  You can't do anything about the first without cheating, but if the questions are easier across the board, that advantage is eliminated.

So do you want Ken up against Celebrities or the Back to School/Kids Week contestants?  



-Dean

[clemon79]

[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' date=\'Jul 2 2004, 09:17 AM\'] My brother, who's not a Jeopardy fan at all, had an eerily brilliant suggestion:  Make the questions easier.  Great success on Jeopardy is a combination of buzzer speed and depth of knowledge.  You can't do anything about the first without cheating, but if the questions are easier across the board, that advantage is eliminated. [/quote]
 Agreed, but you of all people know that Ken is both smart _and_ fast. You might knock him out that way, and you might also hand him a $75,000 payday that way...