Think You'll Get on Jeopardy!? Sorry, Incorrect Answer!

Think it's easy to get on Jeopardy! based on ability alone?

Wrong answer.

You might do well on the show, as this long-time Jeopardy! viewer still suspects. But actually getting there is, well, brutal -- actually, almost impossible. I found out the hard way.

I've been watching Jeopardy! for ages, and can rattle off correct answers as I watch at home with the best of them. How many people can actually name the guy who shot McKinley? (Czolgosz.) Or know Morocco's capital? (Rabat.) This, sadly, is the result of reading almanacs and atlases while growing up -- instead of literature.

I managed, through my newspaper-critic connections, to cadge an invitation to the Jeopardy! contestant tryouts in San Francisco.

Some 200 of us were ushered into a hotel ballroom equipped with projector and big screen. We were to answer 50 questions (NOT in the form of a question!), and had only 15 seconds each.

This, I was sure, would be a snap. I was almost salivating. (Who is Pavlov?)

The questions were projected on the screen, briskly. After four or five, I knew I was in big trouble and that my Jeopardy! dreams of well-deserved wealth were crumbling. (What is "incredulous," Alex?).

Most of the questions were far harder than the most difficult ones on the TV show. I looked around and saw other would-be contestants' brows dotted with perspiration.

We were asked later not to give the quiz away. But enough of a decent interval has passed that I can comfortably speak out today. The questions were so tough -- harder than Final Jeopardy! questions -- I only remember a couple of the "easier" ones.

One: Where does linseed oil come from? A. What is flax? (Missed that one)

Two: Where were the ruins of the city of Troy unearthed? ( I incorrectly guessed Greece, even suspecting it was wrong). A. What is Turkey?

Out of 200 hard-core Jeopardy!-philes, how many of us passed the brutal qualifying test?

Seven.

Feeling truly dumb, I sulked out of the room. I asked a retired schoolteacher next to me how she did.

"I've never felt so stupid in my life," she replied. Exactly.

Later, I found the Jeopardy! contestant coordinator who was running this event. I was going to write my TV column about this humiliating experience.

Why was the test so bloody difficult? I asked.

"We don't need that many people for the show," she shrugged. "We already have plenty of names in our contestant files."

Of the seven who passed here today, I asked, how many would actually get on the show?

"Maybe one or two."

So, will YOU be the next Ken Jennings? (He's the game show's all-time leading money winner.)

Q. What is "fat chance?"

Comments

[wakupmagy]

This is great. Maybe you could answer a question I've had about the show. Do the second and third place contestants keep the money amounts they win, or just the first place winner?
Thanks.
No particular reason--just curious.

[jalowe1957]

I was a contestant on "Jeopardy!" back in March 1988. They taped my show on November 1987, and I was stopped by shoppers who saw me on television the night before while I was at work for a market research firm.

It took me six auditions and three passed tests before I finally got on the show. I came in third and got patio furniture and consolation prizes, so it wasn't all that bad after all.

[goodgravy]

a friend of mine was on jeopardy. he totally bombed into last place though he said it was a great experience.

[luisroman]

I appeared on Jeopardy! on January 22, 2009.(finished 3rd because i screwed up the bet on Final Jeopardy!) The audition test was definitely difficult, but I thought it might be more of a question of nerves going into the audition than a question of one's actual knowledge. The contestant coordinators are very cool people who take care of us very well, but they are definitely looking for people who stand out. I think the fact that I am Latino probably wa a big plus in my favor (I was the only person of color in my audtion group) All in all it was a once in a lifetime experience, which I will always remember.

[chichel]

Hi Luis! Fancy seeing you here! It's Rachel, from the show that taped immediately following yours. You guys had the worst FJ question ever! :) And we had one of the easiest. Let the chips fall I suppose.

[luisroman]

Hi Rachel! Good to hear from you! Yeah, I told everybody how ridiculous the question was, but naturally, a dozen friends told me they were shouting "Lisa Marie Presley!" at the television as they watched. Isn't that just the way? Still, it will be a great memory for me forever, as I'm sure it will be for you. Hope everything else ig going well

[chichel]

I was fortunate enough to be on Jeopardy! My episode appeared on Jan. 23rd of this year. The tests were hard--I took the online test and qualified for the in-person auditions. Frankly, I was stunned that I had made it even to the audition round. The questions on the tests are all Final Jeopardy! level questions. The signaling device is the biggest challenge. I came in 2nd after a frustrating first round of not being able to ring in and not ringing in on a high-dollar question that I knew the answer to but wasn't sure of (Who is Dolly Madison?) and got called out on by Alex. Even more important than answering enough questions right in the audition is personality. People in my audition group got called out time and time again for being too quiet, lacking energy, etc. Most of the folks I was on with had a lot of personality. There were a few who didn't, but I think it was nerves.

[Halsey]

I had to smile...I've tried out (in LA) twice...and the questions ARE very difficult..but they tell you ahead of time they are more like FINAL jeopardy questions....so if you make it on the show..you will have the needed confidence...

Where I believe the problem lies is with the finger buttons...see..I don't play video games...ergo...do NOT have finger dexterity....to hit the buzzer before the young man who grew UP with hi-tech... I tried out for another show (Ben Stein's money)...and aced it..as you hit a bell...but the SHOW...was a buzzer..and I bombed...even tho I truly knew every answer...a young man beat me to the thumb.... for this reason...I fear trying yet again for jeopardy...until I nail Grand theft Auto....I'll have to settle for winning from the comfort of my chair....and the adoring looks of my cats....(they don't have thumbs..so sympathize)...


Oh...and always remember..Richelieu....vs. Robespierre....

[jl4141]

I took the J! test about ten years ago, and had a similar experience. I (vaguely) remember one particularly brutal question about what group performed some minor hip-hop hit about seven years earlier. Afterward, maybe one or two out of fifty people said they knew that one. Sheesh!

[libwingoflibwing]

My mom thinks I should try out. I am a trivia queen.

But I know I'd do horrible. I might know the answers, but I'd never ring in in time.

[Sinick]

Interesting. Cynical old me was thinking ahead of time that they would want the least knowledgeable contestants so that they would pay out less prize money--thus increasing their profitability. Your article shows otherwise but I'm still convinced that there is some ulterior motive.

[Hammerlock]

They want people smart enough to be competitive. The show is part-trivia, part competition--it loses some drama when contestants don't know the answer (the question?) 8-9 times out of 10.

The payout? Typically under 30,000, frequently under 20,000. This is peanuts for a prime-time show; one commercial pays for the entire thing.

[SaddieMcCall]

My sister was on the show. She kept getting frozen out, because she would press her button before he finished reading the question. If you respond too quickly, you are not able to give your question. I have that show on tape - and you can see her over and over pushing her button, only to not be able to respond because she was faster than Alex reading it out loud (she was reading it from the board). She won the first night, but lost the second show.