Jeopardy cheap?

[Kurt Toy]

Art did the short-lived 1978 revival which was done in California. I wonder if Art objected going to Cali.

 

[Frank Ferreri]

Art did the short-lived 1978 revival which was done in California. I wonder if Art objected going to Cali.

Yes he did. Art has some colorful opinions regarding California.

 

[bpatrick]

Forget the money, what about the "dumbing down" of the show? The current Jeapordy cannot be compared to the original show from the '60s. I remember those questions as somewhat challenging. In today's excuse for a quiz show, part of the answer is usually contained in the question, ( I know that the answers are displayed and the brain surgeon rocket scientists' response must be in the form of a question)! Most of the questions are contemporary trivial celebrity pop culture crap. Its a shame that it has come to this but if the questions from the original show were used there would most definitely be total silence for 30 minutes. I recall that during our town's Jeapordy tryouts, way back in the late '80s, the screening test questions ranged from pre-K to PhD level and ONLY THE LOWEST SCORING cretins were selected. I know because I took part and was befuddled when the winners were anounced. I knew one of them personally and his cerebral capacity was comparable to a sea urchin.

Reminds me of a story I once read about a guy who took the test for "Tic Tac Dough," missed (I think) one question, and was turned down. The reason the lowest-scoring test-takers get picked is so the viewer can feel superior to them. It has been a truism since the scandals that viewers don't want the Herb Stempels and Charles Van Dorens; they make them feel dumb (even if they were given the answers), even though viewers do get a rooting interest in a Ken Jennings or (in "TTD"'s case) Thom McKee (remember him?). Personality, not brains, seems to be the key factor in contestant selection on any game show. Of course, that begs one question: given the difficulty of the questions and the speed at which the players answered them, how did "GE College Bowl" last 11 years in the post-scandal era?

And Art Fleming would have been wise to have turned down the '78 "Jeopardy!" revival. Maybe it's just me, but I always detected a Barry and Enright influence on the show, even though they had nothing to do with it (maybe it was the end game, where the winning contestant had to complete a row of five in order to win a jackpot). I suppose, too, that at the time no one figured anyone else could host the show;
Alex was doing the second version of "High Rollers" and it would be six more years before Merv would take his own gamble--and win big--by hiring him for the new show.

 

[imhomerjay]

If they wanted people who can't answer the questions, I'd have been selected for Jeopardy by now, many times over. ;D

 

[formeraa]

Hey, I remember watching Art Fleming in b&w when I was four years old and watched it until the original version went off the air when I was 14. I loved Jeopardy because it was different. As a four year old, I didn't know the answer to any of the questions, but I loved the fact that you had to guess the question. I remember on the nighttime version when Art had to start giving away additional prizes based on the winner's final total. Finally, one day, someone won the car (which was the top prize). Being the cool, calm and collected person that Art was, he simply smiled, and stated in a calm voice "You've won the car. Let me shake your hand." No fanfare music, no jumping up and down, nothing like that... Art was the anti-70's game show host.

Contrast the first run of Jeopardy to the likes of "The Magnificent Marble Machine" (if you're not familiar with it, google it)

Back to the original quiestion, I would guess that they took away the winning from the 2nd and 3rd place contestant in order to significantly raise the dollar values on the questions.

 

[bpatrick]

It reminds me of what the show's current announcer, Johnny Gilbert,
once said about announcing game shows. On shows like "The Price
Is Right," they want the announcer to scream "A NEW CAR!" But on
"Jeopardy!" no one jumps up and down; they shake hands. That means
a more low-key approach to the announcing, and with the exception of
his trademark "THIS...IS...JEOPARDY!" he does take a low-key approach.

 

[KyDXIn]

It was my pleasure to know Art Fleming as a friend after his retirement to Florida. Art was a great guy. He told me that when Jeopardy was reincarnated he was asked to host. He turned it down for two reasons. 1- Move to California 2- They were going to water down the questions to make it easier. He would not be a part of the watered down version.

From what I've seen of him on TV many years ago, he seemed like a top-notch guy with a lot of class. I enjoy watching him again through clips that have been posted on Youtube. Many hosts today are just pompous...

 

[mjlarochelle]

Hmmm, so if it is known that game shows such as Jeopardy! choose the contestants who have greater difficulty asking questions (in response to answers), then shouldn't it be easy for anyone to get in? One could just go in and play dumb.

 

[imhomerjay]

If there were some truth to the allegation, perhaps, but.....well, we'll leave it there.