My "Jeopardy" Story:

I've been a trivia addict since I was a kid.  This was back in the days before there were networks filled with children's programming.  Not only was there no cable,  in my hometown in western Ohio there were only two local stations; one CBS and one NBC in Dayton.  If we wanted to watch "The Outer Limits", "Beany and Cecil" or "The Addams Family" we had to crank the antenna around to get ABC in Columbus.  I spent my mornings as a preschooler watching game shows and reruns.  In high school and college I participated in local quiz shows and contests.

A few years ago, when I was between jobs and desperate, it occurred to me to try out for "Jeopardy".  So, I take a train to L.A., go though the tests, the interview, a mock version of the show, etc., I survive all the cuts and they tell me I'm in line for a spot on the show.  I must have been a little too far down the line because the bastards never called me.  I blame Merv Griffin.  I did, however, receive the button pictured above.  I also discovered one of their dark secrets.  Ever notice that they never show the studio audience?  It's because their shiny set is in a seventy-year-old barn of a sound stage, and the audience is sitting on the kind of collapsible bleachers usually found in junior high school gyms.

If nothing else, it was entertaining.  The production folks that handled everything were polite, answered all our questions, and seemed genuinely intent on showing everybody a good time.  They did explain that, with returning winners and all, they never know just how many contestants they'll need in a given production year.  I guess there's always next season.
 

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