Author Topic: Jeopardy! Ultimate Tournament of Champions (Read 21882 times)

Craig Karlberg · « **Reply #30 on:** February 09, 2005, 05:14:13 AM »

As far as the Quest for Ken goes, I'm leaning towards option B. There may be a night or two where I might be doing something else. Once the semifinals kick in, I'll tune in every chance I get. The finals is a DEFINITE must-see.

zachhoran · « **Reply #31 on:** February 09, 2005, 07:47:22 AM »

[quote name=\'hmtriplecrown\' date=\'Feb 8 2005, 11:28 PM\']

My first must-see matchup involves Bob Harris next Tuesday.

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That's probably the hardest match of the first five to call . He's got competition as tough as Melia in Cubbage, and Epstein is no slouch IIRC. It'll probably go to Cubbage, but 'twould be wild to see Harris pull an upset. Epstein has the distinction of being the champion in the only civilian week of shows seen in Summer reruns since they went to a 46 week season(they had an extra week of reruns in Summer 1992 as Labor Day fell on 9/7 that year)

OntarioQuizzer · « **Reply #32 on:** February 09, 2005, 09:14:48 AM »

[quote name=\'zachhoran\' date=\'Feb 9 2005, 07:47 AM\']Epstein has the distinction of being the champion in the only civilian week of shows seen in Summer reruns since they went to a 46 week season(they had an extra week of reruns in Summer 1992 as Labor Day fell on 9/7 that year)

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Zach, I consider myself to be one of the continent's biggest fans of Jeopardy! and Jeopardy's history - and I still have to say, "WHO CARES?" about this one...

You're not impressing anyone by spouting off this minutae like this about the contestants...

PYLdude · « **Reply #33 on:** February 09, 2005, 09:39:58 AM »

[quote name=\'OntarioQuizzer\' date=\'Feb 9 2005, 10:14 AM\'][quote name=\'zachhoran\' date=\'Feb 9 2005, 07:47 AM\']Epstein has the distinction of being the champion in the only civilian week of shows seen in Summer reruns since they went to a 46 week season(they had an extra week of reruns in Summer 1992 as Labor Day fell on 9/7 that year)

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Zach, I consider myself to be one of the continent's biggest fans of Jeopardy! and Jeopardy's history - and I still have to say, "WHO CARES?" about this one...

You're not impressing anyone by spouting off this minutae like this about the contestants...

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Come on, Andy, it's Zach Horan. Do you expect any less from him?

[quote name=\'zachhoran\' date=\'Feb 8 2005, 08:28 PM\']What about Ulf Larsen(?) who won the International tournament in Stockholm in May 1997?

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Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Michael Daunt win that tournament? There was no one named Ulf in that final...there was a Boris from Israel and the infamous Per Gunnar from the blooper reels ("What is your behind?"). So I don't remember their last names. Sue me.

I still remember those episodes, because I used the entire 6-week summer rerun gamut to prep myself for my J! tryout in 1997 (although looking back on it I might have been better served hitting the books for it, as well-didn't make it past the test. That test a bitch.).

Well, I got the tape in VCR all cued up, so I'm all set. I'm going to hold out judgment on this tourney for now- while 15 weeks seems like a loooooooong time for a game show to be having a tournament of champions of ANY sort, attempting to put the Ken Jennings vs. other champ arguments to rest is worth at least a few weeks' worth of shows.

curtking · « **Reply #34 on:** February 09, 2005, 10:02:52 AM »

[quote name=\'PYLdude\' date=\'Feb 9 2005, 09:39 AM\']Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Michael Daunt win that tournament? There was no one named Ulf in that final...there was a Boris from Israel and the infamous Per Gunnar from the blooper reels ("What is your behind?"). So I don't remember their last names. Sue me.
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Correct, PYLdude. You are in control of the board.

According to Brian Dominy's Database of Champions, Michael Daunt won the 1997 tournament. Ulf won the 1996 tournament.

Curt

clemon79 · « **Reply #35 on:** February 09, 2005, 11:35:47 AM »

[quote name=\'OntarioQuizzer\' date=\'Feb 9 2005, 07:14 AM\']You're not impressing anyone by spouting off this minutae like this about the contestants...

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He's not looking to. He's looking to impress himself when people give him attention for it.

The killfile isn't perfect, I know, but if enough people use it, it can come close.

PYLdude · « **Reply #36 on:** February 09, 2005, 12:12:41 PM »

[quote name=\'curtking\' date=\'Feb 9 2005, 11:02 AM\'][quote name=\'PYLdude\' date=\'Feb 9 2005, 09:39 AM\']Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Michael Daunt win that tournament? There was no one named Ulf in that final...there was a Boris from Israel and the infamous Per Gunnar from the blooper reels ("What is your behind?"). So I don't remember their last names. Sue me.
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Correct, PYLdude. You are in control of the board.

According to Brian Dominy's Database of Champions, Michael Daunt won the 1997 tournament. Ulf won the 1996 tournament.

Curt

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Thank you very much for confirming that for me, Curt, and I must say about Ulf Larsen...damn, was I wrong! I was always under the impression that Ryan Holznagel won that tourney. Oh well.

At the very least, I did prove Zach wrong, so...

*busts out victory jig*

Take THAT, you insignificant trivia-spouting monkey.

reason1024 · « **Reply #37 on:** February 09, 2005, 03:31:46 PM »

Does anyone have strong feelings one way or the other about the switch to a THREE day points addup for the finale? To me, it seems like overkill somehow.

clemon79 · « **Reply #38 on:** February 09, 2005, 03:59:20 PM »

[quote name=\'reason1024\' date=\'Feb 9 2005, 01:31 PM\']Does anyone have strong feelings one way or the other about the switch to a THREE day points addup for the finale? To me, it seems like overkill somehow.

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140+ contenders fighting for the chance to play Ken Jennings? The WHOLE THING is overkill.

I don't have a problem with it. Fact is, it's necessary. Ken may well deliver such an asskicking in Day One that Day Two would end up being a fait accomplit. This way, there is a chance for people...or maybe even Ken...to get back in it. For $2,000,000, it seems that three days is the least they can do.

sshuffield70 · « **Reply #39 on:** February 09, 2005, 08:07:04 PM »

[quote name=\'PYLdude\' date=\'Feb 9 2005, 11:12 AM\']At the very least, I did prove Zach wrong, so...

*busts out victory jig*

Take THAT, you insignificant trivia-spouting monkey.

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Now DANCE, MONKEY!

Dbacksfan12 · « **Reply #40 on:** February 10, 2005, 12:45:38 AM »

[quote name=\'PYLdude\' date=\'Feb 9 2005, 12:12 PM\']At the very least, I did prove Zach wrong, so...
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that means its time to bring out the Dom Perignon.

ChuckNet · « **Reply #41 on:** February 11, 2005, 11:36:05 PM »

Quote

Paul Boymel, Mike Day, and John Genova.

Day achieved his 5 wins via the questionable method of jiggling his buzzer the instant a clue was exposed, to be the first every time...it was because of him that they instilled the current lockout system, which requires a fraction of a second to reset itself once it's been pressed.

In his book, ex-J! writer Harry Eisenberg recalls that when Day returned the following season for the ToC, he seemed rather surprised to learn that his signaling button didn't work the same way that it had in the past.

Chuck Donegan (The Illustrious "Chuckie Baby")

Don Howard · « **Reply #42 on:** February 12, 2005, 02:34:01 AM »

[quote name=\'ChuckNet\' date=\'Feb 11 2005, 11:36 PM\']

Quote

Paul Boymel, Mike Day, and John Genova.

Day achieved his 5 wins via the questionable method of jiggling his buzzer the instant a clue was exposed, to be the first every time...it was because of him that they instilled the current lockout system, which requires a fraction of a second to reset itself once it's been pressed.
In his book, ex-J! writer Harry Eisenberg recalls that when Day returned the following season for the ToC, he seemed rather surprised to learn that his signaling button didn't work the same way that it had in the past.

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Hah!! Serves baby right. So when does V-Woman play?

Matt Ottinger · « **Reply #43 on:** February 12, 2005, 11:05:26 AM »

[quote name=\'ChuckNet\' date=\'Feb 12 2005, 12:36 AM\']Day achieved his 5 wins via the questionable method of jiggling his buzzer the instant a clue was exposed, to be the first every time...it was because of him that they instilled the current lockout system, which requires a fraction of a second to reset itself once it's been pressed.

In his book, ex-J! writer Harry Eisenberg recalls that when Day returned the following season for the ToC, he seemed rather surprised to learn that his signaling button didn't work the same way that it had in the past.[/quote]
Well, a couple of things about this. The buzzer "jiggling" was a part of the entire Art Fleming run, as well as the first few months of Alex's version. It wasn't a "questionable" method, it was the way the show worked. If you were willing to take the chance that you'd know the clue, you could buzz in even before it had been read. That was part of the "jeopardy". In fact, a lot of purists at the time were disappointed that the game changed so dramatically to now be about the timing of your buzzer rather than your knowledge.

The problem was that there were people who weren't as smart as Day (or Chuck Forrest or a few others who benefited from this method) but who tried to do the same thing. They'd put themselves deep into the hole, and the show was left with a lot of awkward silences when the person who buzzed in didn't have the foggiest notion once the clue was read. That's the bigger reason why they changed it.

Also, the Eisenberg book makes it sound like they threw Day out on stage without telling him that they'd changed the buzzer system. I can promise you that sort of thing would have been gone over carefully by the contestant coordinators. It might have come as a surprise to him to be TOLD that was how the buzzers worked now, but it's not like he found out WHILE he was playing.

zachhoran · « **Reply #44 on:** February 12, 2005, 07:37:59 PM »

[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' date=\'Feb 12 2005, 11:05 AM\']

The problem was that there were people who weren't as smart as Day (or Chuck Forrest or a few others who benefited from this method) but who tried to do the same thing. They'd put themselves deep into the hole, and the show was left with a lot of awkward silences when the person who buzzed in didn't have the foggiest notion once the clue was read. That's the bigger reason why they changed it.

Also, the Eisenberg book makes it sound like they threw Day out on stage without telling him that they'd changed the buzzer system. I can promise you that sort of thing would have been gone over carefully by the contestant coordinators. It might have come as a surprise to him to be TOLD that was how the buzzers worked now, but it's not like he found out WHILE he was playing.

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This is probably the reason there were a few solo FJ! playings in season one. There was only one solo FJ! playing since then, sometime in season two. By the time of Forrest(early in season two), they'd changed the buzzer system(beginning of season two IIRC)

I wonder if anyone who appeared on the show since season two wondered how they'd do under the 1984-85 buzzer system. Gee, maybe J! will bring that buzzer system back for their next Ultimate TofC.