2020 Jeopardy North American Audition Tour

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Bamaman
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Re: 2020 Jeopardy North American Audition Tour

Post by Bamaman »

Ken, Mike, and Jimmy already work for Jeopardy so there wouldn’t be a contract issue beyond compensation.

If TPTB haven’t already had quiet discussions amongst themselves about what they would do if Alex died unexpectedly, they are fools. They hopefully had a contingency plan in place for this situation.

Ken would draw attention but I just don’t see him as host material.

I think Mike appointing himself the new host would be a bad look.

Jimmy doesn’t have a big name but he certainly would be familiar to regular viewers. If he does the practice games he should be able to do it for real.

The problem is there isn’t a deep bench of game show hosts that people would know. There isn’t a Bill Cullen or Tom Kennedy that could do it temporarily while they pick a permanent replacement. People knew who Alex Trebek was when he got the job. He was chosen because he had plenty of network game show experience. But the new host may well get a lot of “Who?” reaction.
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DysonSphere
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Re: 2020 Jeopardy North American Audition Tour

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Anyone else passed the Zoom audition test but not received a follow up email about an interview? I expected they would conduct an interview shortly and put us in the "pool" but I haven't heard anything so far.
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Re: 2020 Jeopardy North American Audition Tour

Post by DysonSphere »

Bump!

I was beginning to lose hope. But I just received an email invitation for the final stage of the audition process: a mock game. Check your email fellow Jboardies who participated in Zoom auditions earlier this year.
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Re: 2020 Jeopardy North American Audition Tour

Post by DysonSphere »

Sorry for the multiple posts.

Has anyone played a mock game on Zoom yet? I'm curious how it would work. Is there a proprietary software they are using this year for ringing in, or do you say "Buzz"?

If nobody has done virtual yet, how do mock games generally go? Is it a full game of Jeopardy with scoring, Single, Double, and Final Jeopardy and everything? Any information helpful. Thanks!
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triviawayne
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Re: 2020 Jeopardy North American Audition Tour

Post by triviawayne »

DysonSphere wrote: Tue Dec 15, 2020 11:26 am Sorry for the multiple posts.

Has anyone played a mock game on Zoom yet? I'm curious how it would work. Is there a proprietary software they are using this year for ringing in, or do you say "Buzz"?

If nobody has done virtual yet, how do mock games generally go? Is it a full game of Jeopardy with scoring, Single, Double, and Final Jeopardy and everything? Any information helpful. Thanks!
I've heard there is no official buzzer, everyone on Zoom just has a click pen in their hand and they call on whoever they want to.

Even in the in-person auditions, while there was an official buzzer, the three people playing at a time had no way of knowing who buzzed in first; and they would call on whoever they wanted to if necessary just so they can see everyone play.

That underlined part is important, because that is what it is all about.

Now I don't know exactly about the Zoom version, but in the in-person version, three people at a time would play on a regular Jeopardy board, calling out categories and values, clues would be revealed, people would buzz in and answer when called on. At the in-person, there was a full 30 question board. You might clear about half the board in your part of the mock game.

Because each group of three is playing half a board, new categories are put in during gameplay...so this messed me up a tiny bit, but not much.

I really don't expect the Zoom version to have any real differences other than not having a real buzzer.
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trainman
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Re: 2020 Jeopardy North American Audition Tour

Post by trainman »

triviawayne wrote: Tue Dec 15, 2020 2:58 pm Now I don't know exactly about the Zoom version, but in the in-person version, three people at a time would play on a regular Jeopardy board, calling out categories and values, clues would be revealed, people would buzz in and answer when called on. At the in-person, there was a full 30 question board. You might clear about half the board in your part of the mock game.

Because each group of three is playing half a board, new categories are put in during gameplay...so this messed me up a tiny bit, but not much.
Every audition I've done over the years (including the Zoom audition I did a couple months ago) has only had the top three rows filled in, so there are only 18 clues to choose from. Whenever all three clues in a given category are played, it's immediately replaced on the board by a new category with three new clues.
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Re: 2020 Jeopardy North American Audition Tour

Post by DysonSphere »

Very helpful information on the mock games. Thanks!
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triviawayne
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Re: 2020 Jeopardy North American Audition Tour

Post by triviawayne »

trainman wrote: Wed Dec 16, 2020 1:47 am
triviawayne wrote: Tue Dec 15, 2020 2:58 pm Now I don't know exactly about the Zoom version, but in the in-person version, three people at a time would play on a regular Jeopardy board, calling out categories and values, clues would be revealed, people would buzz in and answer when called on. At the in-person, there was a full 30 question board. You might clear about half the board in your part of the mock game.

Because each group of three is playing half a board, new categories are put in during gameplay...so this messed me up a tiny bit, but not much.
Every audition I've done over the years (including the Zoom audition I did a couple months ago) has only had the top three rows filled in, so there are only 18 clues to choose from. Whenever all three clues in a given category are played, it's immediately replaced on the board by a new category with three new clues.
Weird how I mis-rememberd that.
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DysonSphere
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Re: 2020 Jeopardy North American Audition Tour

Post by DysonSphere »

There were some questions on the Jeopardy application that I was expecting, like if I had ever been on TV before (no) or if I had a criminal record (no). But there were a couple of questions on the application that surprised me. The first was if I've ever competed in trivia competitions (no). What do you think is the purpose of this question? Is it a positive or a negative if people have? Also, they asked if I knew anyone who had been on Jeopardy (yes, a friend). What do you think is the purpose of that question? They give a card out encouraging referrals, so I thought they liked those connections, but from the question I got the vibe they were cautious about certain kinds of interactions between contestants.
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Re: 2020 Jeopardy North American Audition Tour

Post by seattlecyclone »

DysonSphere wrote: Wed Dec 16, 2020 11:12 am There were some questions on the Jeopardy application that I was expecting, like if I had ever been on TV before (no) or if I had a criminal record (no). But there were a couple of questions on the application that surprised me. The first was if I've ever competed in trivia competitions (no). What do you think is the purpose of this question? Is it a positive or a negative if people have? Also, they asked if I knew anyone who had been on Jeopardy (yes, a friend). What do you think is the purpose of that question? They give a card out encouraging referrals, so I thought they liked those connections, but from the question I got the vibe they were cautious about certain kinds of interactions between contestants.
I think they just want to know what they're getting into if they take you onto the show. Like, if you're married to James Holzhauer or if you own the station that airs Jeopardy in Fairbanks Alaska, the lawyers might put the kibosh on you being on the show.

I'm doing a Zoom interview in the near future as well, and I had to answer a few of those questions in the affirmative (not the felony one though lol). I've gotten to know a former Jeopardy champion over the past few years from a completely non-trivia-related hobby, so I wrote his name down. For the question about whether I know anyone closely related to the production, I had to look up whether the TV meteorologist I know from school back in the day works for a station that airs Jeopardy (she doesn't). I was also on a TV show once (as an extra in one episode). We'll see if anything is disqualifying.
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Re: 2020 Jeopardy North American Audition Tour

Post by alietr »

seattlecyclone wrote: Thu Dec 17, 2020 9:30 pm I think they just want to know what they're getting into if they take you onto the show. Like, if you're married to James Holzhauer or if you own the station that airs Jeopardy in Fairbanks Alaska, the lawyers might put the kibosh on you being on the show.
There have been plenty of married couples who were both on the show.
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Re: 2020 Jeopardy North American Audition Tour

Post by DysonSphere »

My mock game Zoom audition was last night so officially in the pool. Anyone else audition this week? I was expecting a cakewalk because the tests were over and the mock game clue values were low, but I thought the questions were HARD. Even harder than the online test. Maybe they wanted to see how people handle getting answers wrong? Still, I had a lot of fun and thought everyone did fine. They said they have begun accepting contestants from outside California (with proper precautions).
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triviawayne
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Re: 2020 Jeopardy North American Audition Tour

Post by triviawayne »

DysonSphere wrote: Sat Dec 19, 2020 7:16 am My mock game Zoom audition was last night so officially in the pool. Anyone else audition this week? I was expecting a cakewalk because the tests were over and the mock game clue values were low, but I thought the questions were HARD. Even harder than the online test. Maybe they wanted to see how people handle getting answers wrong? Still, I had a lot of fun and thought everyone did fine. They said they have begun accepting contestants from outside California (with proper precautions).
They've been accepting contestants from outside California...Nevada and Arizona.

Or from how the conversation went, did it seem like they're open to the rest of the country?
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Re: 2020 Jeopardy North American Audition Tour

Post by DysonSphere »

triviawayne wrote: Sat Dec 19, 2020 10:01 am
DysonSphere wrote: Sat Dec 19, 2020 7:16 am My mock game Zoom audition was last night so officially in the pool. Anyone else audition this week? I was expecting a cakewalk because the tests were over and the mock game clue values were low, but I thought the questions were HARD. Even harder than the online test. Maybe they wanted to see how people handle getting answers wrong? Still, I had a lot of fun and thought everyone did fine. They said they have begun accepting contestants from outside California (with proper precautions).
They've been accepting contestants from outside California...Nevada and Arizona.

Or from how the conversation went, did it seem like they're open to the rest of the country?
Yes. My takeaway was the pool is now open to most or all of the country. People have begun flying in.
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Re: 2020 Jeopardy North American Audition Tour

Post by cinemaniax7 »

Does anyone know whether they have completed the recruitment process that began with the January round of online testing?
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Re: 2020 Jeopardy North American Audition Tour

Post by triviawayne »

cinemaniax7 wrote: Sat Dec 19, 2020 11:35 pm Does anyone know whether they have completed the recruitment process that began with the January round of online testing?
Looking at the front page here and the initial post with cities listed, I would say they haven't hit all the cities. But with the weirdness that is 2020, and I know I wasn't looking for information regarding auditions taking place like I normally would since I was in the pool, that post probably isn't as accurate as it has been in past years.

That said, I do know of a few times over the years that an audition city would be on the list, and there weren't any confirmed auditions (either by people on this board, or anywhere else I would get/find information); plus again, to bring up 2020...they probably won't get to all cities that were on the list this year.

What we need to wonder about now is if going forward, they will keep using zoom, and maybe there won't be any cities listed--can anyone who recently signed up for the anytime test tell us if you were required to select an audition city?
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Re: 2020 Jeopardy North American Audition Tour

Post by mas3cf »

DysonSphere wrote: Sat Dec 19, 2020 5:04 pm
triviawayne wrote: Sat Dec 19, 2020 10:01 am
DysonSphere wrote: Sat Dec 19, 2020 7:16 am My mock game Zoom audition was last night so officially in the pool. Anyone else audition this week? I was expecting a cakewalk because the tests were over and the mock game clue values were low, but I thought the questions were HARD. Even harder than the online test. Maybe they wanted to see how people handle getting answers wrong? Still, I had a lot of fun and thought everyone did fine. They said they have begun accepting contestants from outside California (with proper precautions).
They've been accepting contestants from outside California...Nevada and Arizona.

Or from how the conversation went, did it seem like they're open to the rest of the country?
Yes. My takeaway was the pool is now open to most or all of the country. People have begun flying in.
The big mystery to me is if/when the 18-month clock restarted for those in the pool. The official post about it on jeopardy.com hasn't been updated since June.
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Re: 2020 Jeopardy North American Audition Tour

Post by DysonSphere »

In light of special circumstances of the past year, is this still the best forum to track the progress of the contestant selection process?

Has anybody who auditioned since, say, November-December, gotten "the call"?

I've noticed a lot of contestants are still introduced as "originally from". Does this mean they are still working primarily from a California pool?

Thanks!
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Re: 2020 Jeopardy North American Audition Tour

Post by Tabby »

Just got notified that I am scheduled for a zoom audition, part 2, next week. I took the zoom audition test back in October, based on the January 2020 online test. I had pretty much given up after being told I would progress to the mock game portion and then not hearing anything for 6 months.
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Re: 2020 Jeopardy North American Audition Tour

Post by morbeedo »

Tabby wrote: Fri May 14, 2021 11:06 am Just got notified that I am scheduled for a zoom audition, part 2, next week. I took the zoom audition test back in October, based on the January 2020 online test. I had pretty much given up after being told I would progress to the mock game portion and then not hearing anything for 6 months.
Well, hot damn!
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