Jeopardy taping three tournaments in D.C.

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lbligh
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Re: Jeopardy taping three tournaments in D.C.

Post by lbligh »

My husband and I attended one of the Teachers Tournament sessions in Washington DC. We were sitting in the nosebleed section where we had a great view.

The things that surprised us were,
1. The number of trucks parked outside DAR. They must have brought in a hell of a lot of equipment!
2. How gracious Alex was to the audience. Any time there was a break in the action, he came forward and talked to the audience, answering questions and making explanations. At one point he was interrupted mid-reply by the need to resume his host duties, and as soon as he had completed that, he returned to the same reply he had been making.
3. The set included a giant statue of Abraham Lincoln, which presumably was a copy of the one in the Lincoln Memorial. I have to wonder if it was a sly dig at the owners of Constitution Hall, the Daughters of the American Revolution, for their long-ago refusal to allow Marian Anderson to sing. Famously she was invited to perform on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial instead.
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Re: Jeopardy taping three tournaments in D.C.

Post by MrMushnik »

Late to the party here, sorry. But, I attended the first 2 power players tapings on Saturday, 4/9. They did 2 shows at each. For the first one, I sat with Nancy Christy (!!!! THAT WAS AMAZING) since I gave her my tickets I didn't need for that evening's taping. I also met with a fellow "Wheel of Fortune" alum. We were seated in the house left orchestra near the front for the first 2 shows (general admission). Before one of the "power players" played, their family and friends came to sit right in front of us. It wasn't the best view as we couldn't see the board, but there were 2 giant screens on either side of the stage. We tried looking for Megan Barnes and some others after the first taping, but we couldn't see you! Next time!

After the first 2 shows (sans Nancy :( ) I lingered around with my "Wheel" friend to ask the audience person if there was any way we could get better seats since we had tickets to the second taping and didn't want to wait in line. "I was just on Wheel of Fortune if that means anything!" (grasping at straws there). He said, "Oh yeah, you do seem familiar" (I taped "Wheel" on 2/19. As many of you know, the 2 shows share several staff members including the audience coordinator apparently). So, for the second taping we were in the "Gold Star" section inside, which was different from the VIP tent outside I think?
DC mike gold star.jpg
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I learned this section was for friends and family of WoF and J! staff. Many of them weren't even sure what they were actually seeing ("What is this?" "What are Power Players?" "I'm not sure what they do at 'Wheel', they just sent me these tickets") We had time to go out and get a bite to eat between the 2 tapings. I ran into Sarah (who filled in for Johnny who wasn't there and will be dubbed in) and geeked out a little. She was nice enough to snap a pic with me.
DC sarah.jpg
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For the next taping, we were front and center (but I would have like to have been a little more house right to see the board and scoreboard in total, but I'm not really complaining)! As mentioned, Alex was amazing with answering questions during breaks. During the first taping, I asked him if he had any jealousy or envy about how much easier Pat Sajak's job is compared to his. He gave a humorous response along the lines of, "Only in the sense that he gets to work with Vanna White, and (nothing against him, I love him) I have Johnny Gilbert." He did say later on (maybe during second taping?) that hosting "Wheel" was a lot harder than it looks (he did it once for April Fool's Day I think while Pat hosted J!) but I'm wondering if that was out of professional courtesy...

Another question some of you may find interesting was from a guy who asked, "When you retire, will former contestants be able to try out again?" Alex paused for a while in what seemed like deep thought and just said, "No." (I suppose that could be another thread. I feel that Kids should be able to at least since they don't have a tournament or anything. Or the people that played that weird kids version of J!)

Each celebrity got a full rehearsal game (where most clues were left uncovered) unlike civilians that rotate in and out of one. There were media outlets (and I assume J!) recording the rehearsal games. I really wish they would get posted somewhere because they were often funnier than the real games. Jimmy hosted these rehearsals and did his best to keep the game moving along with (some) clueless celebrities. (Seriously, I asked the family in front of me if this person had watched before she came. They repeatedly weren't answering in the form of a Q, answering without buzzing in, and raising their hand. It was pretty funny). Press interviews happened on stage between each taping. Surprising that technical glitches (either a clue not appearing on the board or something being uncovered, I couldn't tell) happened twice in the second taping but not the first. All in all, it was an amazing experience and I was so tempted to go behind this curtain:

Image

Oh, and I should say that while I'm from St. Louis, I didn't fly to D.C. JUST to watch Jeopardy! (I'm not THAT crazy...I don't think). When I heard Power Players was announced, I found stupid-cheap flights and used it as an excuse to finally visit D.C. (I had never been before)! I got as much sightseeing in as I could in one day and hit a couple museums to boot. Here's some select monuments arranged "Brady Bunch"-style with the 3 branches of govt. in row 2:
DC landmarks.jpg
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Re: Jeopardy taping three tournaments in D.C.

Post by triviawayne »

Love row two, and nice to see you have it in constitutional order.
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Re: Jeopardy taping three tournaments in D.C.

Post by bpmod »

MrMushnik wrote:Each celebrity got a full rehearsal game (where most clues were left uncovered) unlike civilians that rotate in and out of one. There were media outlets (and I assume J!) recording the rehearsal games. I really wish they would get posted somewhere because they were often funnier than the real games.
That goes without saying.

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Re: Jeopardy taping three tournaments in D.C.

Post by arjavrawal »

Were you able to get inside Capitol Hill and see the visitor's gallery too, or did you suffer the same tough luck as me?
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Re: Jeopardy taping three tournaments in D.C.

Post by MrMushnik »

Thanks triviawayne. I wish I could say that was completely intentional...so I will.

And yeah bpmod, they were obviously looser, but Jimmy kept trying to make it as "real" as possible. Though whenever a daily double came up he did say, "Remember, this is JUST A REHEARSAL game" and a lot of the crowd would scream, "ALL OF IT!!!" (Most took the advice).

arjavrawal, I really wish I did, but I the Capitol was one of my last stops at 4:30 so I only got the pic in front of it. Tour groups out the wazoo of course. I didn't do a ton of planning for this trip, clearly. Still one of my favorite vacations though.
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Re: Jeopardy taping three tournaments in D.C.

Post by dhkendall »

MrMushnik wrote: Another question some of you may find interesting was from a guy who asked, "When you retire, will former contestants be able to try out again?" Alex paused for a while in what seemed like deep thought and just said, "No." (I suppose that could be another thread. I feel that Kids should be able to at least since they don't have a tournament or anything. Or the people that played that weird kids version of J!)
Great recap! I really enjoy hearing behind-the-scenes details of my favourite shows! (Seriously, all of them! I remember finding out once that a show I like tapes in a town a few hours from me so went to see "behind the scenes" myself and even stayed overnight in the hotel that is also a hotel in the show that appears from time to time! I've never had the conclusion to "not learn how the sausage is made" to borrow a phrase).

The show I think you're thinking of is Jep!, but the restrictions are only for those who appeared on Alex Trebek hosted versions of the show, so Jep!, Rock and Roll Jeopardy!, and Sports Jeopardy! contestants are all safe regardless.
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Re: Jeopardy taping three tournaments in D.C.

Post by MrMushnik »

I also love behind-the-scenes accounts! This reminds me of one I read recently from one of my "Wheel" friends. (If you like "Ellen" or viral "Wheel" contestants, you can read here https://www.facebook.com/notes/10153491358203266/ )

And yes, Jep! is what I was thinking of. I don't know why they made the restrictions different for WoF. You can't have been on ANY version of the show, including Woolery or that bogus "Wheel 2000." I would be kind of bitter about that...
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Re: Jeopardy taping three tournaments in D.C.

Post by mfc248 »

I'm resurrecting this long-dormant thread to note a scheduling change: one of the Teen Tournament competitors Tweeted that the tournament's airing is to be delayed another two months, presumably into the November sweeps period.

I'm thinking the most likely start dates would be November 9 or 14, as TPTB would not want to have the tournament in progress on the 8th, when those who watch in the 7-8 pm hour (local time) won't see that night's game at that time, if at all.

ETA: this is by no means official; the J! website still lists the start date of the tournament as September 12.
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Re: Jeopardy taping three tournaments in D.C.

Post by jeff6286 »

mfc248 wrote:I'm resurrecting this long-dormant thread to note a scheduling change: one of the Teen Tournament competitors Tweeted that the tournament's airing is to be delayed another two months, presumably into the November sweeps period.

I'm thinking the most likely start dates would be November 9 or 14, as TPTB would not want to have the tournament in progress on the 8th, when those who watch in the 7-8 pm hour (local time) won't see that night's game at that time, if at all.

ETA: this is by no means official; the J! website still lists the start date of the tournament as September 12.
Hopefully they make (or have made) an exception to the usual policy of sending checks 6 months after airdate, or these teenagers might not get their money for a full year!
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Re: Jeopardy taping three tournaments in D.C.

Post by alietr »

jeff6286 wrote:Hopefully they make (or have made) an exception to the usual policy of sending checks 6 months after airdate, or these teenagers might not get their money for a full year!
Correction: Within 120 days after airdate.
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Re: Jeopardy taping three tournaments in D.C.

Post by nightreign »

alietr wrote:
jeff6286 wrote:Hopefully they make (or have made) an exception to the usual policy of sending checks 6 months after airdate, or these teenagers might not get their money for a full year!
Correction: Within 120 days after airdate.
I had to wait four months for my Kids Week episode to air, and I got my check a few days afterward, FWIW.
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Re: Jeopardy taping three tournaments in D.C.

Post by geolawyerman »

mfc248 wrote:I'm resurrecting this long-dormant thread to note a scheduling change: one of the Teen Tournament competitors Tweeted that the tournament's airing is to be delayed another two months, presumably into the November sweeps period.

I'm thinking the most likely start dates would be November 9 or 14, as TPTB would not want to have the tournament in progress on the 8th, when those who watch in the 7-8 pm hour (local time) won't see that night's game at that time, if at all.

ETA: this is by no means official; the J! website still lists the start date of the tournament as September 12.
I am said competitor. The tournament runs from November 9 - November 22 (J! would never air a tournament during Thanksgiving), and I can tell you most of us are not at all happy with the change. One competitor's grandparents flew halfway across the world to see their appearance during an extended stay, but they will no longer be able to see that person's episode(s). Two competitors will be at college by the time their episodes air and their friends will be (quoting one of the two) "scattered across the country" rather than still at home. Otherwise, we're really just annoyed that we're waiting 3 1/2 more months when we thought we were in the "home stretch" of sorts.
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Re: Jeopardy taping three tournaments in D.C.

Post by triviawayne »

geolawyerman wrote:
mfc248 wrote:I'm resurrecting this long-dormant thread to note a scheduling change: one of the Teen Tournament competitors Tweeted that the tournament's airing is to be delayed another two months, presumably into the November sweeps period.

I'm thinking the most likely start dates would be November 9 or 14, as TPTB would not want to have the tournament in progress on the 8th, when those who watch in the 7-8 pm hour (local time) won't see that night's game at that time, if at all.

ETA: this is by no means official; the J! website still lists the start date of the tournament as September 12.
I am said competitor. The tournament runs from November 9 - November 22 (J! would never air a tournament during Thanksgiving), and I can tell you most of us are not at all happy with the change. One competitor's grandparents flew halfway across the world to see their appearance during an extended stay, but they will no longer be able to see that person's episode(s). Two competitors will be at college by the time their episodes air and their friends will be (quoting one of the two) "scattered across the country" rather than still at home. Otherwise, we're really just annoyed that we're waiting 3 1/2 more months when we thought we were in the "home stretch" of sorts.
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Re: Jeopardy taping three tournaments in D.C.

Post by GoodStrategy »

I guess that means the earliest the next ToC will likely be is next February (with May at the latest barring a KJ-esque run).
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