"Ultimate Jeopardy"

[ClockGameJohn]

[quote name=\'Jimmy Owen\' date=\'Dec 30 2004, 12:07 PM\'][quote name=\'SRIV94\' date=\'Dec 30 2004, 10:54 AM\'][quote name=\'Jimmy Owen\' date=\'Dec 30 2004, 09:42 AM\']The way I think it should be done is to have Ken on for all 15 weeks and whomever can beat him would move on to a final week of matches against Ken.  "The Ken Jennings Challenge," if you will.

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What happens if nobody beats him?

Doug

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Declare Ken the all-time champ.

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I think we've acknowledged that already.  ;-)

[Don Howard]

[quote name=\'uncamark\' date=\'Dec 30 2004, 12:29 PM\']As for security, I see releases being handed out to the audience in line stating that they will not dislcose the outcome of what they are going to see--and you can't get in unless you sign it.  I also see everyone who has a connection to the show signing non-disclosure agreements, tapes being delivered to Media City for post-production in unmarked containers and perhaps not feeding the finals to the stations over the weekend before air dates as per normal, but on the air date--perhaps making the first feed at the earliest time a station airs "J!", making that station put the feed directly on the air.

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That won't stop some big-mouth from blabbing. This isn't like the "Who Shot J.R.?" mystery on Dallas where you can simply shoot multiple endings. As we learned from Ken's defeat to Ms. Zerg, someone will not be able to keep his or her lip zipped.

[JayDLewis]

From the moment I read about this I knew it was a JTS moment. No, I don't believe this stunt will hurt J!'s longevity or how the show is regarded.

KenJen is the draw, not the 150 people who have a shot at facing him. This tournament proves nothing unless one person from the first round goes the distance.

If J! *really* wanted to see how former players would have done with the unlimited winnings format, they could just open up the game to any 5 time champ pre 2003 and let them have another shot.

Besides, only Brad Rutter can top KJs money amount...unless someone else won $500K+.

Again, it proves nothing and Ken will still be king once the dust has settled.

BTW, I liked Ken's comment about how he'd come back to play for Arby's coupons. I smell another endorsement deal!

[BrandonFG]

[quote name=\'TimK2003\' date=\'Dec 30 2004, 09:44 AM\']2) With this 'Ultimate Tourney' coming on the heels of Ken's reign of terror, and probably coming  about as a result of his reign, I'm starting to see visions of Henry Winkler donning his leather jacket *and* water skis while the beach has just been cleared due to a shark sighting.

Does anyone else share this vision?

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As much as I love J!, I think the shark was sighted when they added the Clue Crew. It does nothing but slow down the show, IMO.

Like Don H. said, wait a couple of years, but then again, by 2006 folks might forget about Ken Jennings.

[Robert Hutchinson]

[quote name=\'SRIV94\' date=\'Dec 30 2004, 10:54 AM\'][quote name=\'Jimmy Owen\' date=\'Dec 30 2004, 09:42 AM\']The way I think it should be done is to have Ken on for all 15 weeks and whomever can beat him would move on to a final week of matches against Ken.  "The Ken Jennings Challenge," if you will.[/quote]
What happens if nobody beats him?[/quote]

Then Ken will go Shatner and play the final week against himself and himself, holding all three signaling devices.

(Hopefully no podia will be thrown, though.)

[Robair]

[quote name=\'Don Howard\' date=\'Dec 30 2004, 12:46 PM\']That won't stop some big-mouth from blabbing.

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You mean, "That won't stop some big-mouth from blabbing."

[dzinkin]

It was bound to happen... Ken and the tournament have been Slashdotted.

My favorite post...

Host Alex Trebek called the tournament the "quest for Ken."

But in the year 2020, people will look back upon the event and remember it as "the day of ownage by that young Mormon dude."

[dale_grass]

(Hopefull no podia will be thrown, though.)

Anyone who appreciates the fact that the alternate plural of "podium" is "podia" will appreciate the fact that the contestants use lecturns, not podiums.

[clemon79]

[quote name=\'uncamark\' date=\'Dec 30 2004, 10:29 AM\']I thihnk they're prepared for the opening rounds being lower-rated, although they might prepare for that by having Ken in the studio every day in a seat in between Alex and the players and having him participate in some way
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Hey, I got an idea! Let's put Ken in an electric cage up on the set, and cut between him and the actual players to get his reaction on everything going on. Then, at the end of the round, we could fire up the cage, and Ken could do a little dance for everyone.

"Dance, monkey! DANCE!"

This is the UberTournament you've all been clamoring about for ages, and now everyone's screaming that if Jennings isn't on-screen every third minute, it's gonna be a failure. Folks, this version of Jeopardy made it 23 years without Ken Jennings, and it's done JUST FINE in the ratings.

It'll be okay. Really. It won't hurt you to see other people on the screen. Two minutes 'til Wapner.

[Matt Ottinger]

[quote name=\'Jimmy Owen\' date=\'Dec 30 2004, 11:42 AM\']The way I think it should be done is to have Ken on for all 15 weeks and whomever can beat him would move on to a final week of matches against Ken.  "The Ken Jennings Challenge," if you will.[/quote]
What is it they say about great minds, Jim?  I posted this on the Sony board yesterday:

You know, they could have gone a different way. Line up all the champs two at a time, and have Ken play all of them. Then after that's over, have just the winners (including Ken), however many there are, play a super tournament.

That way, everybody gets to find out how they'd do against Ken, Jeopardy keeps their main man front and center for another 15 weeks, and you'd still end with an ultimate championship!

[Jimmy Owen]

Matt, I have to admit you come up with some great ideas!

[fsk]

Isn't it a bit unfair to give him a bye into the finals?  I can see why they wouldn't want the main attraction eliminated before the final, but why not make it double-elimination or triple-elimination if that's a concern?

Plus, if he played in the early rounds, there would be more opporunities to air his show on key ratings days.

[PYLdude]

I think the whole point of this tournament is to whittle down the field of Jeopardy! greats down to two, with the final prize being Ken in a clash of the titans. I think considering that, it's more than fair, because that'll probably be the best thing for them. The question now is will people watch for 15 weeks to see who gets to that point?

[Kevin Prather]

[quote name=\'dale_grass\' date=\'Dec 30 2004, 12:30 PM\']

(Hopefull no podia will be thrown, though.)

Anyone who appreciates the fact that the alternate plural of "podium" is "podia" will appreciate the fact that the contestants use lecturns, not podiums.

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Pig's ass they do. [I've always wanted to say that. ]

A lectern is a podium used to hold a book or scripture so a person may read standing up.

</major nitpick>

[Robert Hutchinson]

Looking up the definitions, it seems that neither "lectern" nor "podium" is truly a proper description of what a J! contestant stands behind.

Anyway, I was talking about Alex's podium. Uh, lectern. Yeah, that's the ticket.