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Author Topic: Buzzing in on Jeopardy  (Read 4145 times)

splinkynip

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Buzzing in on Jeopardy
« on: October 12, 2004, 10:02:58 PM »
Ok I am not here to bash Steve Beverly but I am almost definately right on this one and I let him know to correct his error, however, he claims he is right.

On his latest FAQ, he talks about Chuck Forrest's hopscotch strategy of jumping all over the board, and part of his success was due to buzzing in early.  Accoridng to Steve, he says that the show then changed to the current buzz in format at the top of the next season.

Incorrect I say.  I told him that the buzzin changed at the top of the second season, before Chuck.  He wrote back denying it, also saying that a bell occurred for the whole first season when ringin in.

Am I crazy or am I wrong?  And what would randomly going all over the board have anything to do with buzzing in?  Why don't we see more randomness these days?

Thanks!

tvwxman

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Buzzing in on Jeopardy
« Reply #1 on: October 12, 2004, 10:06:33 PM »
[quote name=\'splinkynip\' date=\'Oct 12 2004, 09:02 PM\']
Incorrect I say.  I told him that the buzzin changed at the top of the second season, before Chuck.  He wrote back denying it, also saying that a bell occurred for the whole first season when ringin in.

Thanks!
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[/quote]

Well, you're wrong....and not wrong....

The bell was heard for the whole first season when someone rang in...

And, at the beginning of the 2nd season, it was changed to after the answer was read (bell removed)....
-------------

Matt

- "May all of your consequences be happy ones!"

dzinkin

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Buzzing in on Jeopardy
« Reply #2 on: October 12, 2004, 10:13:55 PM »
[quote name=\'tvwxman\' date=\'Oct 12 2004, 10:06 PM\']Well, you're wrong....and not wrong....

The bell was heard for the whole first season when someone rang in...

And, at the beginning of the 2nd season, it was changed to after the answer was read (bell removed)....
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Are you sure?  I distinctly remember the bell being removed partway through the first season -- in fact, I recall wondering if something was broken until I realized that the bell was never coming back. :-)  It may have been the same week that the Daily Double sound was changed to what we hear today.
« Last Edit: October 12, 2004, 10:18:31 PM by dzinkin »

adamjk

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Buzzing in on Jeopardy
« Reply #3 on: October 12, 2004, 10:16:23 PM »
Does anyone remember what the original DD sound sounded like in 84?
« Last Edit: October 12, 2004, 10:24:41 PM by adamjk »

chris319

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Buzzing in on Jeopardy
« Reply #4 on: October 12, 2004, 10:23:21 PM »
[quote name=\'adamjk\' date=\'Oct 12 2004, 07:16 PM\']Does anyone remember what the original DD sound sounded like?
[snapback]60612[/snapback]
[/quote]It was a foghorn. Oh, sorry, that was Art Fleming.

splinkynip

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Buzzing in on Jeopardy
« Reply #5 on: October 12, 2004, 10:23:55 PM »
Thanks for the responses so far.  I do too believe that the bell for ringin was eliminated party into the 1st season, because I remember when I firsto watched it, I didn;t realize there were lights around the contestant podiums.  I thought Alex was just randomly asking someone for the response!  

Goes to show the writers (if in fact Steve did confer with them) are not always right on their own knowldedge of the show!  Gonna pop in some old times later to confirm.

What dates was Chuck originally on Jeopardy anyway?  Before or after the first TofC?

Matt Ottinger

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Buzzing in on Jeopardy
« Reply #6 on: October 12, 2004, 10:31:25 PM »
[quote name=\'splinkynip\' date=\'Oct 12 2004, 10:02 PM\']And what would randomly going all over the board have anything to do with buzzing in?  Why don't we see more randomness these days?[/quote]
The two don't necessarily have anything to do with each other; they were two different strategies that Forrest employed.  The idea was that if he could keep control and bounce around the board, he'd keep his opponents off-balance.

Personally, I didn't think much of that strategy, and I still don't.  Except for the DDs, every question's a toss-up every time, so it doesn't make much difference where you go on the board.  Unless you're searching for a DD it's pretty pointless, you're really not confusing the two smart people to your left.  I also think that's why you don't see many people doing it these days.  There's just not that much advantage to it.
This has been another installment of Matt Ottinger's Masters of the Obvious.
Stay tuned for all the obsessive-compulsive fun of Words Have Meanings.

zachhoran

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Buzzing in on Jeopardy
« Reply #7 on: October 12, 2004, 10:51:23 PM »
Splinkynip writes:

What dates was Chuck originally on Jeopardy anyway?  Before or after the first TofC?
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My reply:
IIRC his original five shows aired (at least on WPVI, although by this time most game shows were not bicycled, so it probably aired on the same dates everywhere) from 9/30/85-10/4/85. THe first TofC aired from 11/11/85-11/22/85.
« Last Edit: October 12, 2004, 10:53:18 PM by zachhoran »

Dbacksfan12

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Buzzing in on Jeopardy
« Reply #8 on: October 13, 2004, 01:31:08 AM »
[quote name=\'splinkynip\' date=\'Oct 12 2004, 09:02 PM\']Am I crazy or am I wrong?  And what would randomly going all over the board have anything to do with buzzing in?  Why don't we see more randomness these
days?
Thanks!
[snapback]60605[/snapback]
[/quote]
Steve being wrong and not admitting it. Imagine that.

According to The Jeopardy! book, the format was changed, as you cited, at the start of season 2.
--Mark
Phil 4:13

uncamark

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Buzzing in on Jeopardy
« Reply #9 on: October 13, 2004, 05:50:18 PM »
[quote name=\'chris319\' date=\'Oct 12 2004, 09:23 PM\'][quote name=\'adamjk\' date=\'Oct 12 2004, 07:16 PM\']Does anyone remember what the original DD sound sounded like?
[snapback]60612[/snapback]
[/quote]It was a foghorn. Oh, sorry, that was Art Fleming.
[snapback]60613[/snapback]
[/quote]

No, that was "DING DING DING DING."

It wasn't that many years ago that GSN aired the first syndie "J!" as part of their first shows marathon, and I'm trying to remember--but I can't shake all of those canned "aws" on *every* incorrect response.  You could tell Merv and Trebek weren't sure about how "J!" was going to be received in 1984 between that and all of the extra applause cues in the first season.

irismason42

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Buzzing in on Jeopardy
« Reply #10 on: October 13, 2004, 06:10:35 PM »
Also in the first syndie saeason, when the DJ! round begun, the blue never changed to red because of the red striped J! Letters, but in the 2nd Season, they took care of all of that, took away the red striped letters so it'll allow the blue change to red after the first round of the game is over.

adamjk

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Buzzing in on Jeopardy
« Reply #11 on: October 13, 2004, 07:05:24 PM »
[quote name=\'uncamark\' date=\'Oct 13 2004, 04:50 PM\'][quote name=\'chris319\' date=\'Oct 12 2004, 09:23 PM\'][quote name=\'adamjk\' date=\'Oct 12 2004, 07:16 PM\']Does anyone remember what the original DD sound sounded like?
[snapback]60612[/snapback]
[/quote]It was a foghorn. Oh, sorry, that was Art Fleming.
[snapback]60613[/snapback]
[/quote]

No, that was "DING DING DING DING."

It wasn't that many years ago that GSN aired the first syndie "J!" as part of their first shows marathon, and I'm trying to remember--but I can't shake all of those canned "aws" on *every* incorrect response.  You could tell Merv and Trebek weren't sure about how "J!" was going to be received in 1984 between that and all of the extra applause cues in the first season.
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[/quote]

Yeah, those canned aws got old after a while. I just saw the premiere episode through a tape trade today, and it was a bit different from what I expected. I thought that as soon as someone rang in, Alex would stop reading the clue at that point. Don't know what made me think that, but as I saw today, that was not the case.

ChuckNet

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Buzzing in on Jeopardy
« Reply #12 on: October 13, 2004, 07:44:30 PM »
[/QUOTE]Are you sure? I distinctly remember the bell being removed partway through the first season -- in fact, I recall wondering if something was broken until I realized that the bell was never coming back. :-)
Quote

The bell was indeed removed early in the first season...I have some first-season eps from 1985, and it wasn't there.

Chuck Donegan (The Illustrious "Chuckie Baby")