The Jennings Juggernaut Rumorama

[tvwxman]

SPOILER SPACE
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.I think we need a separate board for speculation on the end....

Keith Olbermann's fantastic "Countdown" show on MSNBC tonight reports that TVWeek reports that Ken lost on a taping TODAY, while playing for his 75th win...racking up $2.5 mil in the process...

True ? Fiction? I guess we'll find out in 7 weeks.

[MikeK]

www.tvweek.com has breaking news, which confirms Matt's post.

[adamjk]

I don't buy it for two reasons:

1. A "Jeopardy!" spokesman did not return a call, but was quoted in TV Week saying that since the show's "inception, we have never disclosed whether a contestant has won or lost before a show aired

2. This coming from the blog where this all began:
I asked the studio if this was supposed to be a secret but they said we could spread the news. Spread the news. The show should air around the end of October."

[dzinkin]

[quote name=\'adamjk\' date=\'Sep 8 2004, 10:08 PM\'] I don't buy it for two reasons:

1. A "Jeopardy!" spokesman did not return a call, but was quoted in TV Week saying that since the show's "inception, we have never disclosed whether a contestant has won or lost before a show aired

2. This coming from the blog where this all began:
I asked the studio if this was supposed to be a secret but they said we could spread the news. Spread the news. The show should air around the end of October." [/quote]
First off, J! staffers HAVE disclosed the results of at least some shows before airing.  Per a Washington Post article from 10/23/99 -- printed after Eddie Timanus's first three shows had aired -- "show officials" confirmed that Eddie was in fact a five-day champion.

That notwithstanding, your reasoning proves absolutely nothing.  What if the tip came from an audience member?  Contestants are told not to disclose the outcome of a show, but audience members often are told the exact opposite; that was the case at the J! Tournament of Champions I attended in Atlanta, where Johnny Gilbert was asked about this very matter and replied that audience members could indeed share the results.

[Craig Karlberg]

In that regard, the chain of vulnerability starts at the audience level, followed by the show staffers & then the contestants(sworn to secrecy as always).

[gamed121683]

[quote name=\'tvwxman\' date=\'Sep 8 2004, 08:23 PM\'] SPOILER SPACE
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.I think we need a separate board for speculation on the end....

Keith Olbermann's fantastic "Countdown" show on MSNBC tonight reports that TVWeek reports that Ken lost on a taping TODAY, while playing for his 75th win...racking up $2.5 mil in the process...

True ? Fiction? I guess we'll find out in 7 weeks. [/quote]
 Well, maybe it is true. For I heard the same news on the Early morning shows on NBC & ABC. So... all I can say is fire up the VCR's, I guess.

[inturnaround]

So, in-studio spoilers are banned here...except when they're not.

If J! doesn't mind spoilers coming from the audience, then why again do we have a blanket blackout?

I tend to buy the TV Week report, though. They're a fairly well put-together trade paper that I used to read.

[ClockGameJohn]

Mr. Zinkin is right on.

While TPiR has a much more relaxed approach on the subject, somewhere deep in my Contestant Guidelines novel that we were given, it says that "we will not disclose the outcome" until airing.  HOWEVER, we all know that the other 316 people could give a rats ass less on protection - they won nothing.

How many times do we hear that a big Golden Road win took place months before it airs?  You wanna know what happens on the Season 33 premiere?   I know and I sure didn't hear it from a contestant.

With the amount of hype being generated by Ken Jennings, who is a marvelous player, there is someone in that studio audience just dying to leave the taping and blab the results to someone who will listen.

It will happen...he will lose.  I personally don't care when (with no offense to Ken), I think it's just great entertainment to watch.  When it happens, it happens.  It seems to me that the focus has turned to when he's going to lose...without any regard to how well he's doing.

[adamjk]

Has it occured to anyone that this may be a ploy by Jeopardy producers in order to keep ratings up?

[MikeK]

[quote name=\'adamjk\' date=\'Sep 9 2004, 08:48 AM\'] Has it occured to anyone that this may be a ploy by Jeopardy producers in order to keep ratings up? [/quote]
Adam,

How long have you been a conspiracy theorist?

ABCNews.com and the AP are reporting that Jennings lost.  Heck, someone who attended the tapings on Tuesday told me Jennings lost (not my bowling buddy, tiddly winks partner, or curling teammate).  This makes 4 media outlets and one very credible witness.

Tuesday, November 9 should be Ken's final show, depending on when the college tournament airs.

[dzinkin]

[quote name=\'inturnaround\' date=\'Sep 9 2004, 06:49 AM\']So, in-studio spoilers are banned here...except when they're not.[/quote]
No, it's more along the lines of "we don't want them here but there will be times when the information gets out regardless, and we need to strike a balance."

If J! doesn't mind spoilers coming from the audience, then why again do we have a blanket blackout?

There's a difference between telling a few friends and posting the result to a board read by over a thousand people.  There's also a difference between an occasional game show result that's reported in the mainstream media, and a flood of "HEY LOOK AT THIS I WAS IN THE AUDIENCE I GOTTA TELL YOU WHAT HAPPENED RIGHT NOW" posts.

As has been explained to you and others time and again, the fact that in-studio results will get out occasionally doesn't mean we have to encourage it.

[Matt Ottinger]

This has become a bona fide news item, so it seems a little silly and disingenuous for us to bury our electronic heads in the sand and pretend we don't know.  David's right that we don't encourage this sort of discussion, but we're also realistic.  

By the way, the folks at Jeopardy are extremely upset and annoyed that the word got out as quickly as it did.  They absolutely did not want that to happen, regardless of what some people are saying.  They're trying to repress the discussion on the Sony board by deleting threads and threatening to delete accounts, but at this point that's like trying to control an elephant with a flyswatter.

[cmjb13]

[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' date=\'Sep 9 2004, 09:23 AM\']By the way, the folks at Jeopardy are extremely upset and annoyed that the word got out as quickly as it did[/quote]
They shouldn't be.

Then don't tape in front of an audience.

[Don Howard]

Aw, heck, we knew it would get out. The darned show tapes months in advance. I've even asked a friend who lives in the area and attends Jeopardy! tapings to keep me posted. Still looking forward to seeing the Alex reaction to all this as the weeks fly by. So, did my prediction of last June come true? Did Erik Krapelein knock him off?

[SRIV94]

[quote name=\'hmtriplecrown\' date=\'Sep 9 2004, 08:04 AM\'] Tuesday, November 9 should be Ken's final show, depending on when the college tournament airs. [/quote]
 Perfect.  Just in time for sweeps.

Not trying to add to the conspiracy theory, mind you.  

Doug