Ken Jennings out of a job

[PYLdude]

[quote name=\'Robair\' date=\'Dec 1 2004, 03:17 PM\'][quote name=\'inturnaround\' date=\'Dec 1 2004, 09:45 AM\']Some interviews he's given have mentioned that he'd love to market a trivia game. That would be something I'd be interested in seeing. It's called "Can You Beat Ken?"

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He mentioned on "Regis and Kelly" today that University Games is working on it with him, and it will be formally introduced at the February Toy Fair in New York. So there will actually be a "Can You Beat Ken" game.

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Well, I guess it doesn't hurt to squeeze as much as you can out of your fifteen minutes, eh, Ken?

I like this idea, though...will it sell? Maybe. Would I buy a copy? Probably not. But still, it's a fun idea to consider and/or try to market.

[gameshowguy2000]

If they get Ken to host SNL, I'd certainly watch.

[dzinkin]

[quote name=\'gameshowguy2000\' date=\'Dec 1 2004, 02:53 PM\']If they get Ken to host SNL, I'd certainly watch.

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It would be interesting if Saturday Night Live did that, considering that Ken's local NBC affiliate doesn't even carry SNL.  (KSL considers SNL "inappropriate," so the show airs on Salt Lake's WB affiliate instead.)

[johnnyd1788]

[quote name=\'Skynet74\' date=\'Nov 30 2004, 11:26 PM\']In an even funnier twist. My Local News just reported that H & R Block has just offered Ken free Tax preparation FOR LIFE. How funny is that? Kudos to H & R Block for not holding Ken's wrong answer in final Jeopardy against him. They sound like good sports.


John

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This is true. I think the main reason why they did that so he wouldn't "forget" them.

[chris319]

H & R Block has just offered Ken free tax preparation FOR LIFE.

Ken doesn't need free anything any more. Besides, wouldn't he be better off going to a C.P.A.?

[inturnaround]

[quote name=\'chris319\' date=\'Dec 1 2004, 06:07 PM\']Ken doesn't need free anything any more. Besides, wouldn't he be better off going to a C.P.A.?

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I dunno. Long gone are the days where $2.5 million meant you were set for life. Though, you're right, it's always been ironic that the more money you have, the less you actually are expected to pay for.

[Michael Brandenburg]

My two cents on Ken Jennings now-finished run on Jeopardy:

I was out shopping the evening the show aired on WCPO-TV in Cincinnati, but I set my VCR to record that program and the Amazing Race 6 program that aired later on that evening on WKRC-TV.  (As it happened, a certain pro wrestling and NASCAR fan among us will likely be fighting for that tape… .)

Interesting that he finally lost on a FJ clue involving income tax preparation ("H & R Block" was supposed to be the correct response) -- I would have responded "Internal Revenue Service" to that one myself!  Also of interest: Last tax filing season, I took advantage of my employer's "Free E-Filing" program to electronically file my Federal and Kentucky state inccome tax returns for 2003 -- and they altered my state return so I ended up owing the wrong amount on the return!

Correcting that error required me to submit an amended Kentucky state return (the "old fashioned" way) and an additional $21 payment.  Of course, because I can get fired from my job for not paying my Federal income taxes in a timely manner (under Section 1203(b)9 of the IRS Reform and Restructuring Act of 1998 that was signed into law by President Clinton on July 22, 1998), this means I have now "fired" my employer as my income tax E-filer!

So now, to the people at H & R Block: Since you have now been kind enough to offer Ken Jennings free income tax preparation for life, will you offer me free E-filing of my own tax returns if I buy the famous tax-preparation product of your own software engineers?


Michael Brandenburg
(Still an IRS employee since 1984 -- but a certain Mr. Tom Ridge didn't want me acknowledging that lately in this forum!)

[MCArroyo1]

[quote name=\'gameshowguy2000\' date=\'Dec 1 2004, 02:53 PM\']If they get Ken to host SNL, I'd certainly watch.

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I wouldn't bet on it, especially when you look at the long line of A-list celebs who've hosted recently.  Ben Affleck, Jude Law, Colin Farrell's up next.

But John Carpenter showed up in one sketch right after winning on Reege's show.  So I'd put my money on a short cameo, but nothing much else.

[TimK2003]

[quote name=\'Michael Brandenburg\' date=\'Dec 1 2004, 06:17 PM\']Correcting that error required me to submit an amended Kentucky state return (the "old fashioned" way) and an additional $21 payment. 

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I though the 'old fasioned way' in Kentucky was just to send in a pint or 2 of Jack Daniels and things would be OK.  My how the times have changed in the Bluegrass State!!!

Too bad Ken didn't hang on for another 6 episodes or so -- then his run would have been equal to the entire runs of "Blackout", "Your Numbers Up", and other shows which lasted only 13 weeks.

[MyCapableAssistant]

He mentioned on "Regis and Kelly" today that University Games is working on it with him, and it will be formally introduced at the February Toy Fair in New York. So there will actually be a "Can You Beat Ken" game.






Well, I guess it doesn't hurt to squeeze as much as you can out of your fifteen minutes, eh, Ken?

Sounds to me like EVERYBODY's cashing in on Ken's 15mins. H&R Block just got
FREE PUBLICITY by advertising to do Ken's taxes for free. Any talk show he's been on probably more than likely has had high ratings because everyone has tuned in to see this brainiac. As for the Ken game and Ken book? That probably shoulda been expected but I was surprised to hear it, actually.

Last night on the radio on the way home from work, we heard a Werid Al Yankovich song called: "I lost on Jeopardy!" It actually sounded quite good, but in an online search for the MP3, the only thing that was available that "I" found was FOR SALE.

Did anybody else hear the song? If you haven't heard it, keep your ears open for it. It really wasn't half-bad.

[Chief-O]

[quote name=\'MyCapableAssistant\' date=\'Dec 1 2004, 08:17 PM\']Last night on the radio on the way home from work, we heard a Werid Al Yankovich song called: "I lost on Jeopardy!" It actually sounded quite good, but in an online search for the MP3, the only thing that was available that "I" found was FOR SALE.

Did anybody else hear the song? If you haven't heard it, keep your ears open for it. It really wasn't half-bad.

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Or if you have VH1 Classic, watch for the video. They air it regularly.

Somewhat Necessary ObGameShows: Don Pardo and Art Fleming both appeared in said video.

[zachhoran]

[quote name=\'TimK2003\' date=\'Dec 1 2004, 08:12 PM\'][quote name=\'Michael Brandenburg\' date=\'Dec 1 2004, 06:17 PM\']Correcting that error required me to submit an amended Kentucky state return (the "old fashioned" way) and an additional $21 payment. 

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Too bad Ken didn't hang on for another 6 episodes or so -- then his run would have been equal to the entire runs of "Blackout", "Your Numbers Up", and other shows which lasted only 13 weeks.

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Ken was on for 15 weeks, two weeks longer than Trebek's second run of Battlestars even.

[Kevin Prather]

And that's 15 weeks of his shows, not even counting the breaks he has had in between.

Incidentally, how many weeks of regular shows (not tournaments, kids weeks, celeb weeks, etc.) are there in one season of Jeopardy?

[starcade]

For weeks now, I've joked that he was a "former software engineer" -- I would say it likely someone has a very fat offer for him to get into the biz.

(See van Doren, before the scandal took him out...)

[starcade]

And as for the H&R Block thing:

Great publicity, and the guy's going to need some good tax prep for at least the next couple of years...