| What is Alex Trebek like? |
I didn't really get a chance to meet him, except on the set,
during shooting. Aside from the interviews, which he controlled, he made
comments about my Final Jeopardy! questions. Between
shows, he would talk to the audience. He seemed to have a sharp sense of
humor, making a couple cutting remarks in response to some questions. |
| How many of the questions does Alex know before the
show? |
He claims to know between sixty and seventy percent
of the questions when they are presented to him for his final
approval. This would put him even with the average contestant. |
| Are the contestants given the categories before
the game? |
Absolutely NOT! The questions are
arranged by the writers board by board (sometimes there are
theme boards), but the specific board for a game is selected at
random just before taping. Usually during a week with a holiday,
a category pertaining to that holiday, or holidays in general
will appear. For example, during my second game, which aired the
week of Thanksgiving, there was a category on American Indians.
Since the boards are chosen at random and the players' names
are picked just before each game, there is no way the contestants could
be briefed-- which is the way everybody wants it. It is a federal
offense to rig a TV game show, and there is a person on the set at all times to
ensure that it doesn't happen.
|
| When are you going back? |
I'm not. One chance is all you get, and I've had mine. One
fan out there, though, believes they owe me another shot. According to
him, the Census Bureau had data that showed that Nevada's population had
gone over the 10 per square mile mark by the time they were taping my
show, and that made Nevada a wrong answer; and since Jim's accepted
answer included Nevada, he shouldn't have won: I should. |
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