My turn on J!

[Samer]

As some of you have figured out, I finally got my chance to appear on Jeopardy!.

My episode airs Thursday.

I figured I'd throw out a few things (not giving away any gameplay secrets for shows that hasn't aired yet):

(1) I found out how much Mark had won in his first game while I was in the makeup chair. If I had had liquids in my mouth, there might well have been spewage or choking.

(2) Tuesday's episode features a contestant doing something you rarely see. The contestant specifically asked if it could be done, and got permission to do so. [And, again, I remind you this has nothing to do with gameplay.]

(3) Why can't they just put all the clues on the big monitor they use for video clues? It would make them a lot easier to read. . . .

(4) I was royally peeved when "French Composers" came up as a category, as I could have easily cleaned up on that.

(5) Perhaps the most amusing moment of the whole day was when, at lunch, I had to explain to Robert why "wide receivers" are called that.

[BigDaddyJ]

Welcome, and I look forward to seeing your game on Thursday. I hope you'll share more of your behind-the-scenes experiences with us at that time.

I'll keep my eyes peeled tonight for whatever rare thing is going to happen!

[Samer]

Welcome, and I look forward to seeing your game on Thursday. I hope you'll share more of your behind-the-scenes experiences with us at that time.

I'll keep my eyes peeled tonight for whatever rare thing is going to happen!

Good news: it's hard to miss.

[jepkid97]

(2) Tuesday's episode features a contestant doing something you rarely see. The contestant specifically asked if it could be done, and got permission to do so. [And, again, I remind you this has nothing to do with gameplay.]

You have wet my appetite for 7:30 tonight. Also, congrats!

[Samer]

Oh, let me add one more thing: all of us wannabes watching Tuesday's episode were pretty much unanimous about a couple of things. I'll share those after tonight's ep airs.

[bomtr]

(2) Tuesday's episode features a contestant doing something you rarely see. The contestant specifically asked if it could be done, and got permission to do so. [And, again, I remind you this has nothing to do with gameplay.]

You have wet my appetite for 7:30 tonight. Also, congrats!

It's just not the same without TRD around.

[Paucle]

It's just not the same without TRD around.

what the h... ?

[alietr]

Welcome aboard/back, and best of luck in arrears, Samer!

[SkoolRN]

Welcome aboard/back, and best of luck in arrears, Samer!

Looking forward to tonight.

[OrangeSAM]

It's just not the same without TRD around.

what the h... ?

Paucle, you're all whet!

[jepkid97]

(2) Tuesday's episode features a contestant doing something you rarely see. The contestant specifically asked if it could be done, and got permission to do so. [And, again, I remind you this has nothing to do with gameplay.]

Was it that

Spoiler

she wore a hat

?

[boson]

As some of you have figured out, I finally got my chance to appear on Jeopardy!.

My episode airs Thursday.

Best of retroactive luck Samer! Gotta cheer for the former quizbowlers. May you have a Craigian experience.

[MDaunt]

Break a leg.

I won't be able to watch, but I'll read the game thread with interest.

[Samer]

(2) Tuesday's episode features a contestant doing something you rarely see. The contestant specifically asked if it could be done, and got permission to do so. [And, again, I remind you this has nothing to do with gameplay.]

Was it that

Spoiler

she wore a hat

?

Yes.

[Samer]

OK, so a couple of comments on today's episode:

(1) In the green room, Christine was talking about how she INSISTED on wearing a hat. Needless to say, the contestants were unanimously in support. If they had said no, things might have gotten ugly.

(2) Those of us in the audience collectively went "#%@%" when Tom missed that DD.

As others noted, the problem with it was that it just went on and on. One important thing is that on a video DD, only the first part of the text appears on the clue monitor. So if you don't catch the ask in the question, you're SOL. And that's exactly what happened to Tom. If he got that right, things might have turned out very differently.

And an amusing note on the process leading up to The Call: I've had some strange luck in applying for J!

When I applied for the college tournament, I was one of about eight people (it might have been five) who passed in my room. . . . as was a freshman in my dorm who I had never met.

Then, I had an audition in 2007 (after the switch to computer testing) . . . and one of the people in my audition was one of my former TRASH teammates, Jason Keller.

Then, I had another audition in 2009(?) . . . and (A) accidentally went to the hotel where the 2007 audition was held(!), instead of the right one (thankfully, I knew my way around Manhattan, so it only took me 20 minutes to get from one to the other). And guess who one of the people in my audition was? One of my former TRASH teammates, Jason Keller.

OTOH, on a really amusing note for those of us on the "distinguished" side of 25 who lived in the Tri-State Area: some of you may remember an ad for Mt. Airy Lodge that featured a couple sitting in a gigantic champagne glass-as-bathtub. One of the other folks at my audition was the guy in the glass.

[dhkendall]

OK, so a couple of comments on today's episode:

(1) In the green room, Christine was talking about how she INSISTED on wearing a hat. Needless to say, the contestants were unanimously in support. If they had said no, things might have gotten ugly.

Ah, never occurred to me that hats are usually verboten (not just that contestants don't want to wear them but that there seems to be an actual standing rule (however, as shown today, a flexible one).

As others noted, the problem with it was that it just went on and on. One important thing is that on a video DD, only the first part of the text appears on the clue monitor. So if you don't catch the ask in the question, you're SOL. And that's exactly what happened to Tom. If he got that right, things might have turned out very differently.

Which is partly why I'm glad that we don't get the clue text here at home, good practice to listen to what the Clue Crew is actually saying. (Yeah, I know, reading ahead helps with the ring-in (aka "early bird gets the worm"), but I would guess that a majority of Clue Crew clues are too long for the screen, so the screen is essentially useless as soon as you know it's a Clue Crew clue.)

[RCraig]

Good luck, Samer!

Btw, this got me thinking: Have a pair of twins ever appeared on the show (on different shows)?

[heelsrule1988]

I knew that name in the Hometown Howdies looked familiar... good luck, Samer!

[Samer]

Good luck, Samer!

Btw, this got me thinking: Have a pair of twins ever appeared on the show (on different shows)?

To the best of my knowledge, no. [For those wondering—as Roger knows—I have a genetically identical* twin brother who occasionally played, but far more often served as a moderator at quiz bowl tournaments. He too has taken and passed the tests, although in the last ten years I don't think there's been a single year where we've both had an audition.]

*At this point, we look different enough that you would be very hard pressed to confuse me for him or vice versa.

[earendel]

OK, so a couple of comments on today's episode:

(1) In the green room, Christine was talking about how she INSISTED on wearing a hat. Needless to say, the contestants were unanimously in support. If they had said no, things might have gotten ugly.

Did she insist because she's a member of the Red Hat Society?