Jeopardy! is about to pop off like champagne in the Spurs locker room. It might seem weird to say that of a show that’s been on TV for, like, 40 years—particularly a show that's primary demographic is made clear by its dependence on hearing aid commercials—but it's true. Thanks to the swirling diarrhea of the Internet, the uncanny, pervasive access of modern media and our national obsession with celebrity, the realm of Trebek has never been hotter. As a culture, we have reached the point where Jeopardy! can now be broken down and analyzed like sports, and that's what nerds like me have been waiting for.
Jeopardy!, a constant of syndicated greatness, is unique in the breadth of its appeal. The show is there every day and reaches a wildly wide variety of people. Your mom might watch Jeopardy or your girlfriend or your cousin or your boss. Everybody is familiar with the format. But there has always been a select culture of diehards who take the show a bit more seriously than the masses. I, myself, fall firmly into this category, and if you're reading this, you probably do too. As the blogosphere and Twitter grew, so too did online conversations between Jeopardy! loyalists. The Internet allowed Jeopardy! nuts to come out of our hideaways, and that trend reached its apex recently at a surprising point: the place where Jeopardy! meets basketball.
Julia Collins recently gained fame after winning 20 consecutive games, the second longest streak ever behind only the godfather of this shit, the incomparable Ken Jennings. Julia's run made her the winningest woman in Jeopardy! history. A few weeks ago Julia appeared on Zach Lowe's podcast. Poached from Sports Illustrated to be Grantland's primary NBA writer, Lowe has become one of the most read and respected NBA journalists of our time. His podcast is usually about basketball. But in his conversation with Julia, his Jeopardy! nerdom came front and center. And it's this interview that highlighted exactly the idea that has Jeopardy! on the rise: This show isn't all that different from sports.
On the podcast, Julia discussed the inner workings of the show in a manner few of us have ever heard before. She talked betting strategy for Final Jeopardy! and Daily Doubles. She even used the word "sportsmanship" in relation to dealing with opposing contestants. Discussing how she would move away from categories her competitors seemed to favor in order to get them out of their groove, Julia approached the game like a battle. And that's what it is: a competition of the mind with all the strategic and competitive nuances of, say, a baseball game, but wrapped tightly in the structure of a 24-minute game show.
Julia's run was also significant in that it followed directly after another Jeopardy! contestant tweeted his way into the public discourse. As she was filming the show, Arthur Chu's episodes were airing. Buzz about Chu's style of play started after only a few episodes. Employing an aggressive, but established strategy of bouncing around the board looking for Daily Doubles, with the understanding that not only are they good for your game, but that they also eliminate your opponent's opportunities.
But what really made Chu a sensation was his willingness to tweet about what really went on during the game, providing insight into his strategy, embracing his persona as a villain and using his moment on the show to propel his own career. Chu also participated in a Reddit AMA, illuminating many of his own strategic choices. In one interview, Chu referenced Roger Craig, another Jeopardy! all-star who trained intensely by studying the archive of past clues and charting which subjects were most prevalent.
Now, thanks to some talkative champions and inquisitive journalists, the mysterious world of Jeopardy! is now as familiar as the locker room dramas and pre-draft scouting that make the NBA so entertaining, even during the off season.
Julia Collins and Arthur Chu just a few recent examples of Jeopardy! celebrities, a term I wouldn't be able to type with a straight face if it weren't for the first transcendent contestant, the G of all Gs and proud Washingtonian, Ken Jennings. After winning a record 74 consecutive episodes of Jeopardy, Jennings parlayed his notoriety and charm into books deals, hosting gigs and speaking appearances, paving the way for future Jeopardy! savants to become part of the pop culture discussion.
Remember when Teen Tournament champion Leonard swagged on the entire nation by betting it all for a come from behind win in Final Jep!? Or have you forgotten? Don't feel bad. Jeopardy! celebrity is fleeting. Something Julia said on the Lowe podcast illustrated this point perfectly, and hinted a bit at what makes the show so great in the age of fast-twitch consumption.
"The show must go on," she said when asked if there was a celebration when her winning streak ended. Even for a celebrated champion, the show does indeed end, Alex retreats to his room to snort a gram off a hooker's ass and then returns five minutes later to film another episode. Jeopardy! doesn't have time to stop and bask in its own glory. It churns people in and out. Nobody remembers the names of losers and that shit works perfectly in the age of Twitter. Each day, a new opportunity to cheer or deride a new cast of contestants emerges.
But what about Trebek, the only true, if we're being honest, Jeopardy! celebrity? With retirement looming, speculation about a replacement is already rampant. I have a theory, but that's fodder for another column (after Jeopardy! hires me to write its official blog, of course). Trebek recently offered a rare glimpse into his own life and the the show's production on the Nerdist podcast. The interview was over and hour, the longest Trebek has given, and four times the length of his Charlie Rose interview, previously the longest chat we were allowed to witness with Jeopardy! Jesus.
Though Trebek, who is, like, 90 years old, talked more about his lawn care regimen than the show itself, he did shed some light on the recent phenomenons of Julia Collins and Arthur Chu. Trebek remembers everything—details of particular battles—and that's great. The storied host offered tidbits of insight about how the staff will help coach struggling players during commercial breaks, working with them on buzzer timing. No truly groundbreaking information came from the interview, but it was an example of the rare insights modern media can give us. In the year 2000, did you know anything about how the show worked behind-the-scenes? Now, thanks to some talkative champions and inquisitive journalists, the mysterious world of Jeopardy! is now as familiar as the locker room dramas and pre-draft scouting that make the NBA so entertaining, even during the off season.
And right there, in this sports connection, is where the next Jeopardy! revolution will likely happen. Here is where I would make my millions, if only I'd completed a mathematics level higher than high school geometry: STATS, the gamification of the ultimate game. In his interview, Trebek referred to something known as "running a category." That's a trackable stat: runs aka completing a whole stack of questions correctly. Julia talked about switching away from another contestant's strong category. That's a "switch." Arthur Chu talked about taking a Daily Double of the board. That could be a "block." More simply, Daily Double percentages could easy be tracked, and the correlation between Daily Double success and wins is easily discoverable. Overall, correct answer percentage is also doing. And what about buzz in speed? Yep, we could figure that out too.
There is 40 years worth of Jeopardy! data to mine. Enterprising contestants are already combing the archives themselves. It's time for the sports analytics community to jump on this. So, here's my elevator pitch, Nate Silver: a Jeopardy! metrics column. I can't write it. I can barely do my own taxes. The idea is right there for some nerds to pick up and make a reality. The Jeopardy! analysis game is about to pop and you'll want to get in on it early. I'll take a modest check of $640 for the idea. You guys run with it.
Angelo Spagnolo is a writer living in Portland, Oregon. Read his blog here and follow him on Twitter here.
