Alex Trebek has passed (Update: new Jeopardy host stuff)) (1 Viewer)

[Torgo]

Seems like a bunch of subjective conspiracy nonsense to me. And I like a good tinfoil hat conspiracy as much as the next guy.

How is it a conspiracy theory when that is exactly what happened? I'm not saying Burton should have gotten the job, but Richards sure wasn't the best choice. Dude was as stale as day old toast.

 

[town123]

I thought Joe Buck was the best host, but I doubt he wanted the gig.

 

[Bleu Raeder]

How is it a conspiracy theory when that is exactly what happened? I'm not saying Burton should have gotten the job, but Richards sure wasn't the best choice. Dude was as stale as day old toast.

You're being kind. I was thinking more like month-old, spore-growing, stale toast.

 

[guidomerkinsrules]

Seems like a bunch of subjective conspiracy nonsense to me. And I like a good tinfoil hat conspiracy as much as the next guy.

Why does it seem like that?

 

[Optimus Prime]

If you watched Amy Schneider triumph during 40 games of “Jeopardy!” earlier this year, it’s hard to imagine there’s a question that she doesn’t know how to answer.

But one truly stumps her: What in the world is going on with all the “Jeopardy!” winning streaks this season?


“People kept asking me about it during my run because of Matt,” Schneider said in an interview, referring to Matt Amodio, who won 38 games mere weeks before Schneider’s episodes started airing. “At the time, my feeling was it’s not really anything — it’s just a statistical fluke.”


“But since then, it’s kept happening,” she continued. “And so that’s starting to feel like a less satisfying explanation to me.”

The question has baffled everyone, from viewers to “Jeopardy!” staff to contestants themselves.

Sure, over the last two decades since the quiz show removed the five-game win limit, you see the occasional week-long streak, with the anomaly like Ken Jennings (74) or James Holzhauer (32) or Julia Collins (20). But the 2021-2022 season has gone a bit haywire and shows no sign of slowing down…….

So what’s going on? Schneider thinks one possibility is that contestants are playing with pandemic-related restrictions that were enacted in 2020, meaning there’s no studio audience — and although some could feed off the energy of the crowd, there’s also less pressure without “the most important people in the world to me sitting in the audience watching.”


“When I try to think of things that might have made it easier for me, it’s definitely possible,” Schneider said……

One popular take online is that the clues have become easier, though people involved with the show immediately shoot that down.

Davies told the Times that he thinks the show is actually more difficult now because of the “massively diversified” range of categories. Schneider added that she has been playing along for years and never gotten the impression that it’s less challenging.

Ahasic agreed, saying that he watched some of Jennings’s games from 2004 and it seemed that the clues were more straightforward back then……

https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2022/06/24/jeopardy-winning-streaks-how-many-this-season/

 

[Dre]

Maybe they are deliberately targeting categories at contestants because people like streaks

 

[Bleu Raeder]

Maybe they are deliberately targeting categories at contestants because people like streaks

The categories are chosen randomly.

 

[CajunInVA]

Seems like it's about the ability to buzz in. You often see people pressing like crazy. Maybe the incumbent button is better for some reason? Maybe the tempo of all the new hosts have thrown off whoever activates the buzzer?

 

[Madmarsha]

I think people are dumber. I feel like it's been a while since I've said, HOW did they know that? And right now more often I yell at the TV and say, How do you NOT know that?

 

[Bleu Raeder]

Seems like it's about the ability to buzz in. You often see people pressing like crazy. Maybe the incumbent button is better for some reason? Maybe the tempo of all the new hosts have thrown off whoever activates the buzzer?

This has been discussed before but bears repeating. A week's worth of games is recorded in a day. Champions have a distinct advantage on the buzzer not because the timing is different on the buzzer but because the contestant has gained a sense of the rhythm of the host and the timing of the questions themselves. As time goes on this sense of timing improves for the contestant.

They do play some test rounds so that everyone relaxes and gains a sense of comfort but nothing compares to actual gameplay.

 

[Madmarsha]

Anybody see tonight's Jeopardy? That was the perfect example of Herm Edward's "you play to win the game" strategy.

The returning champ was in the lead with $20,000, second place guy had $10,000 going into final Jeopardy.

Instead of playing for the tie and betting zero, champ bet $1.
Second place guy was apparently playing for second. He bet $3,000.

Champ got the final question wrong. So his score was $19,999.
Second place guy got the question right so his score was $13,000. If he would have bet it all, essentially for the tie, he would have won by $1. He never gave himself a chance to win.

 

[Bleu Raeder]

Anybody see tonight's Jeopardy? That was the perfect example of Herm Edward's "you play to win the game" strategy.

The returning champ was in the lead with $20,000, second place guy had $10,000 going into final Jeopardy.

Instead of playing for the tie and betting zero, champ bet $1.
Second place guy was apparently playing for second. He bet $3,000.

Champ got the final question wrong. So his score was $19,999.
Second place guy got the question right so his score was $13,000. If he would have bet it all, essentially for the tie, he would have won by $1. He never gave himself a chance to win.

I have been seeing this more often than not lately along with lower $$ values at the end. Some weird phase the game is going through.

 

[Bleu Raeder]

That was the perfect example of Herm Edward's "you play to win the game" strategy.

Last night hit one of those "playing to win" nerves with me.

The second place contestant professed her love of astronomy during the interview and when the final category came up it was "Constellations", right in her wheelhouse.

Prior to final Jeopardy, Matt Mierswa (the returning champ with 2 days worth of wins) finished in the lead with $23,400. Emmie Trammel was next with $15,800 and the third place guy was in with $5,600.

Emmie's bet of $5,400 in final brought her up to $21,200 which was $2,200 less than the leader had on the board. The reigning champ could have bet up to $2199 and still could have won even with his wrong answer. Instead, he bet more (playing for the win if Emmie doubles her current score) and she, who had the category LOCKED UP did not bet enough to win, only winning because of the boldness of the current champ.

We're just not seeing the boldness we've seen with more recent players. If you think you're going to lose by $1 you make the winner work for it.

 

[Madmarsha]

Yep, that was another good one. She wasn't a "bad" player, but she seemed to favor categories. Let's see if she can transcend that.

 

[Optimus Prime]

Jeopardy! would be sticking with its two-host formula. According to sources, Mayim Bialik and Ken Jennings are finalizing deals to continue to share hosting duties on the venerable syndicated game show’s upcoming Season 39. A source for Sony Pictures TV, which produces Jeopardy! would not comment on speculation.

Bialik, who previously was announced as host of the Jeopardy! primetime and spinoff series, and former Jeopardy! champion Jennings had been filling in as guest hosts of the mothership syndicated program following the abrupt exit of Mike Richards as host in August after one day of tapings. The two were subsequently named full-time hosts for the remainder of Season 38. The pairing seemed to work well, and was well received by fans.........

‘Jeopardy’: Mayim Bialik & Ken Jennings Poised To Continue As Hosts Of Syndicated Game Show

Jeopardy! would be sticking with its two-host formula.

deadline.com