The Jeopardy! Experience, Part 2

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books, jeopardy, tv

After months of forced silence, I can finally complete the epic tale of my Jeopardy! experience. If you haven’t already, read Part 1 here (it is worth it, I promise). Compared to my aerial hijinks on the way to LA, the story of my actual episode is almost mundane. Almost.

If I were a dwarf, they’d call me Bashful.

I’m bringing sheepish back.

I mentioned in the first half of this story that prior to taping our episodes, all of the contestants were taken onto the set to play a practice round or two. I neglected to mention that we also taped a short promo to air in our home markets. These are known as Hometown Howdies and are heavy on the cheese. You can watch them here for the next week. My Hometown Howdy offers just a glimpse of the nervous feeling coursing its way through my body, as the picture shows. We filmed our howdies, did our rehearsals, and returned to the green room. As I already related, we drew for order and I wound up in the first game.

The game is afoot, Trebek!

The contestant wranglers led myself and my two competitors out onto the stage and we prepared to do battle. I would face off against fellow challenger Misha Bushyager, a stay-at-home mom from Maryland, and Matt Samberg, an attorney from Pittsburgh. Both seemed very nice before the taping but I was fully prepared to crush them mercilessly. I took my place behind the podium, signed in with my child-like scrawl, had my make-up retouched to keep the damage from my facial impact concealed, and tried to stay both confident and continent.

When taping an episode, it works exactly like what you see on TV. They play the intro music and graphic, Johnny Gilbert announces your name, and they turn the camera on you. Although I look fairly calm during the opening sequence (with a smile that is dangerously close to charming), my heart was pounding so hard that I thought the microphone might pick it up. Alex stepped out and greeted the camera, the crowd, and the contestants and turned to the game board. “Let’s start with single Jeopardy in these categories…” cooed the crafty Canadian. Nothing happened. The board was dead. The crew scrambled to fix the problem while the contestants were treated to bottled water and another touch up (for me at least). Board working at last, we picked up exactly where Alex had left off. Our categories would be Rolling Stone’s Greatest Guitarists, Literary Adjectives, State the National Park (what state is each park in), Abbre-V-ations, Famous Hungarians, and Medical Talk. My reaction to each was, respectively: money, meh, okay, okay, *%$*#@**&^%, and meh. Alex turned to Matt to choose the first clue and we were off to the races.

Remember that time I gave Alex Trebek the finger?

Matt started with the medical category and I was thrilled to see that I knew the first answer. I confidently rang in and Alex called on…. Matt. Okay, no big deal. Another medical clue to which I know the answer and another failed attempt to ring in. A third clue and a third failed ring in, this time losing out to Misha. I felt as though it were rehearsal all over again. The fourth medical clue, again one I know. Again, I can’t ring in. They told us in the green room not to get frustrated if we were having trouble ringing in, that we would find out timing. That went completely out the window. I was furious. The fifth medical clue came up and I didn’t even read it. I rang in with all I had, concentrating every bit of my rage into that tiny plastic button. I heard Alex’s voice. “Taylor!” Crap, I didn’t really mean to ring in. I scan the clue: Synonyms for it are pollex and digitus primus. “Umm… what are the index finger?” Both grammar and common sense had left me at this point. I missed it and Matt swooped in with the obvious answer of thumb. I was $1000 in the hole and my confidence had retreated to the pit of my stomach.

I made a minor recovery by getting the first Hungarian clue and could finally steer us towards the Rolling Stone category. Naturally, I couldn’t ring in before Matt and he stole the $200 clue. Back to the Hungarians. Matt missed the $400 question about a Hungarian composer with a guess of Bela Bartok and I correctly rang in with Liszt. I was in control again. Back to the guitarists, and the $400 clue. The answer was George Harrison and I was excited to be called on for a clue involving my favorite band. I stuck with the guitarists and correctly named Jimmy Page for $600. The $800 clue was mine as well with Chuck Berry. I asked for the $1000 clue and was rewarded with the Daily Double. The camera zoomed in on me and I gave the TV audience a good taste of my special TV magic.

Bemusement becomes me.

Some movie stars and TV actors make love to the camera. I have a different style. I make awkward to it, and I do it well. I offered the camera what could best be called a bemused smile and wagered $1000. I have been asked why I didn’t risk everything when I was doing so well in the category thus far. At this point I had two thoughts in mind. First, I did not want to return to the negative. The pain of being unable to ring in when I knew the answers earlier haunted me and I was afraid if I got behind again I might not be able to make it back. Second, I thought the category had been too easy. Surely the Daily Double would be more obscure. As confident as I was, I was still gun-shy. The question turned out to be an easy one, and I answered correctly with Eric Clapton. I now had the lead and my confidence was back. I made a little bit more awkward to the camera and then went to Literary Adjectives. I knew the $200 answer but Matt beat me to it. He went with the National Park category and I stole control with a correct answer. Back to Literary Adjectives and another answer I knew stolen by Matt. It was finally time for the first commercial break.

Interview with a Vamp… err…. Game Show Legend

We returned from commercial and it was time for the contestant interviews with Alex. He is given a card with three interesting facts about each contestant. The wranglers circle their favorite and then Alex picks which one he wants to talk about. I had chosen not to tell them about my airplane mishap on the trip out and stuck with the stories I had already submitted. They assured me that Alex would probably ask about the time I refused a hair cut as a child because I thought I was Cinderella. I was completely prepared to become America’s new sweetheart with this endearing and self-deprecating tale. I thought Alex might ask me about my second most interesting fact, so I prepared myself mentally to talk about the time I broke both arms simultaneously in high school. Instead, he surprised me by asking about my blog. I managed to respond without seeming surprised, but neglected to say the name of the blog (of course!). He advised me to read shorter books, to which I responded “Absolutely. Dr. Seuss.” That’s the best I could come up with? Dr. Freaking Seuss? It turns out that the cord on the buzzer isn’t quite long enough to wrap around your own neck.

Are we too old for the Kid’s Tournament?

We returned to the game and went through a very rough patch. Matt and I traded off a few times but we wound up with nine Triple Stumpers in the first round. Not exactly an impressive showing. There were one or two that I knew but was too much of a chicken to guess because I wasn’t completely sure. The round ended with me leading Matt $4000 to $3600. Misha was in third with -$1000. at this point, I had answered 9 correctly and 1 wrong. Matt had answered 10 correctly and 2 wrong. Misha had answered 2 correctly and 2 wrong. Surely Double Jeopardy would be better.

That board scared the Dickens out of me.

We began the second round by uncovering the categories, a theme board based on…. Charles Dickens! You know, that guy who is so famous and yet I have read a whopping one of his books. I muttered a few obscenities under my breath and prepared for a rough round. We set to work and it turned out to be a decent board. We were all fairly competitive, but I was again plagued by buzzer problems. There were so many questions in this round that I just couldn’t manage to get in on. Matt found one daily double in the middle of the round and answered correctly to tie me for the lead at $10,000. We continued until only three clues were left, this time with only one Triple Stumper. I got the second to last question correct, and was left with two choices: Dickens Bicentennial for $1600 or $2000. One of them had the Daily Double. I guessed $1600, hoping to have found a way to catch Matt, now leading me $16,000 to $13,200. Unfortunately, it was not the Daily Double. I was able to ring in but missed with an absolute guess of Oliver Twist. Matt got the right answer and thus the Daily Double. I felt completely sunk at this point.

A Ray of Hope?

Matt was given the Daily Double, which read as follows: This city named for its “harbor entrance” location re-created the dance at which Elizabeth Dickens’ water broke. I knew without hesitation. I am an avid fan of the Patrick O’Brian Aubrey/Maturin books, which center on the Royal Navy. Many scenes have transpired in this particular city. If only I were able to answer. Matt wagered $5300 and guessed Liverpool. The correct answer was Portsmouth. He dropped down to 12,300, a lead of only $700 going in to Final Jeopardy. Our category would be Famous Relatives. We went to commercial and made our wagers. I bet everything but $10. I knew I had to hope for an incorrect answer on Matt’s part.

We came back and were given this clue: In 2011, his daughter Svetlana, living in the US under the name Lana Peters, died in Wisconsin at age 85. I knew it was Stalin immediately. I could only hope that Matt didn’t. Alex revealed Misha’s answer of Stalin, with a wager of $9000, doubling up to $18,000 and briefly taking the lead. He revealed my answer and wager, and I took the lead with $23,190. Finally it was time for Matt’s answer. Alex said that he seemed to struggle with it before revealing the answer of… Stalin. With a wager of $10,901 for a total of $23,201 and the win. By eleven dollars. All told, I answered 20 correctly and 2 wrong. Matt answered 20 correct and 3 wrong. Misha answered 9 correct and 2 wrong. Unable to bear watching the later games, I left the studio with my entourage and had a nice day of sightseeing capped by a steak dinner with my Dad and younger brother.

The final result.

I have a growth…

Now that it is all over, I have to reflect on the experience. I will admit that I was upset after the game. I felt like I had blown the opportunity to win and was not pleased with myself. There was some weeping and some gnashing of teeth. Ultimately there was also the awareness that I had realized one of my long-standing dreams. It still stings a little bit to watch my episode, but I think I am coping well. A younger version of myself would have imploded over this disappointment but I recognize the honor of being invited to compete and truly enjoyed the experience. It has been fun having a bit of minor celebrity (I even got interviewed by The Jeopardy! Fan blog today, to be posted Saturday). This whole ‘focus on the positive’ thing borders dangerously close on personal growth.

Matt: Not as much of a Dickensian as my friends think.

Matt was a nice guy and a gracious winner (despite what some of my friends think based on his facial expression). I will continue to watch Jeopardy and soak up as much random knowledge as possible. In answer to the question everyone seems to have: No, I do not intend to try out for Who Wants to be a Millionaire?, Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader?, or any other game show. Jeopardy! is the best and most difficult game show and represents the sum of my trivia based ambitions. Maybe after Alex retires and I am eligible I will give it another shot. Until then, I will enjoy the life of a game show almost-was. Second in the game but first in the hearts of my fans (I love you too Grandma and Mom).

Watch me on Jeopardy tomorrow!

Tags

books, jeopardy, tv

Copyright Jeopardy Productions, Inc.

Months after my epic trip to Los Angeles to film my run on Jeopardy!, the air date is finally here.  Tomorrow my first episode will air.  If you live in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, it airs on CBS 11 at 11 AM.  If you live elsewhere and don’t know when to watch, visit this page to find out.  You can also see my extremely corny promo for the Dallas market, known as a  Hometown Howdy, here.  Just click on Taylor Norwood to see the awesomeness.  Watch all of them to see that I wasn’t the only nervous one that morning!

Watch me on Jeopardy in two weeks!

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books, jeopardy, tv

 

Photo Courtesy Jeopardy Productions, Inc.

In just two short weeks I will appear on the classic TV game show Jeopardy!  I received my official picture with Alex Trebek a while back but had yet to post it on the blog.  Despite taking a chair to the face, I thought the picture turned out pretty well.  I am not allowed to say how I did, but check out the first half of my story here.  I will post the second half after my stint on the show finishes airing.  Mark your calendars for my first episode (of one? of many?), airing Monday, July 2!

The Jeopardy! Experience, Part 1

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books, humor, jeopardy, travel, tv

My picture with the real Trebek will be e-mailed in July…

A few of my regular readers may have noticed my complete absence from the blog world over the past few weeks.  I wasn’t allowed to post anything about the reason, but am now at liberty to do so.  I have not been reading or posting for the past month because I was busy studying for an appearance on the classic TV game show Jeopardy!  This post will tell the first half of the story, but I can’t reveal the ending until my episode airs on July 2^nd.

How did I get here?

I have been asked by several people how I came to be on Jeopardy to begin with.  The process is long but relatively straightforward.  It starts with an online test, which I took in February of 2011.  If you do well enough on your online test you get an e-mail inviting you to a live audition.  My live audition was held in Kansas City in June of 2011.  At the audition you take another test (written this time) and play a short game of Jeopardy against two other potential contestants.  While playing your game, the contestant wranglers do a personality interview similar to what Alex Trebek does with the actual contestants.  The contestant wranglers at my audition were two lovely ladies named Maggie Speak and Corina Nusu.  They were both very entertaining and did a great job of drawing the potential contestants out of their shells.  I thought I did fairly well on the written test and had a great time playing the game and being interviewed.  At the end of the process, the wranglers told us that we were in the contestant pool.  The contestant pool is something like limbo.  It’s not a guarantee that you will be on, but it’s not a rejection.  It’s an 18 month-long maybe.  You aren’t allowed to tryout again until your 18 months in the contestant pool expires.  My time ran until December 2012.  That was it for the next several months.  I kept watching Jeopardy, but forced myself not to think too much about the possibility of getting called.  For the next few months following my audition, every conversation with a family member would include the question “Have you heard from Jeopardy yet?’.  I would remind them all that it could be more than a year before I heard anything, if I heard anything at all.

The Call

After roughly six months had gone by since my audition, I began to have a feeling that I would not get called on this attempt.  I still had a year to go in the contestant pool but I convinced myself that it wasn’t going to happen for me this time.  I wasn’t depressed or upset; I just wanted to force myself to face the likelihood that I would have to wait and tryout again in 2013.  As it always seems to happen with these kinds of things, I was proven wrong a short time later.  Just a week or two after convincing myself that it was not going to happen, I got the call.  My debate team was participating in a tournament in Houston on Friday, January 27^th and Saturday the 28^th.  We had just spent four hours on a charter bus traveling all the way from Dallas and were in the process unpacking our materials in a gymnasium that had been designated as the tournament rallying point.  My phone rang as we were setting up and I chose to ignore it (as I usually do with numbers I don’t recognize).  The unknown caller left a message, which I immediately checked.

“Hi Taylor, this is Corina with Jeopardy.  I am just calling to make sure the information in your file is current.  Please call me back when you get a chance.”

I dropped everything and called back immediately.  Corina went through all of information as though she were just updating my records, and then casually added “We would like to invite you for a taping on February 22^nd, do you think you can make that date?”  I agreed and the whirlwind began.  Corina reviewed all of the pertinent information with me and gave me a few instructions for things I would have to do before my taping.  I was strictly instructed not to post anything online until after my taping.  From that point on I was in study mode.

You can barely see the faceplant damage…

A Bumpy Ride

What followed were three long weeks of nervous studying and excited planning.  I was allowed six guests, and quickly had a full quota.  My wife would accompany me, as would my father, my younger brother, my grandma, my mother-in-law, and my sister-in-law.  We booked flights, hotel rooms, and the biggest rental car we could.  I sent in my legal paperwork and filled out three questionnaires to provide material for the interview with Alex.  I tried to focus on doing my job and studying when I could, but the excitement was building.  The day for departure arrived around the same time that I reached the point that I couldn’t stand to look at another flash card.  The party met at the airport (minus Grandma, who would meet us in LA) and we boarded.

I guess this is the point at which I should explain my special relationship with luck.  I would generally say that I have very good luck.  I have a wonderful and beautiful wife, a great family, the world’s most awesome dog, and a great job.  Life is good.  It is because life is good that my bad luck likes to trip me up every once in a while.  It is sort of like a karmic balance.  When things are going well, something has to happen to remind me that the universe is still boss.  That’s why I broke both arms (at the same time) in high school.  That is why I was bitten by a copperhead.  That is why my flight to Kansas City for my audition was cancelled (forcing my mother and myself to drive all the way there and back).  And that is why I gave the crew and passengers of American Airlines flight #2407 a trip they will never forget.

I have a long and disgusting history of motion sickness.  Fortunately, I have outgrown my tendency to get carsick.  Unfortunately, the same is not true of airsickness.  On this particular flight I went to sleep shortly after takeoff.  After a thirty minute nap, I awakened to the realization that I was about to be sick.  I headed for the first class bathroom (because it was closest) and reached out for the handle.  The next thing I remember, I was asleep in bed having a dream about getting on an airplane.  This lasted for what seemed like quite a while, before I woke up to discover that I was indeed on an airplane.  My dad was holding my head up and the flight attendants and first class passengers were watching me with looks of panic and fear.  Apparently I had passed out upon reaching the bathroom.  I heard one flight attendant ask repeatedly if I was diabetic.  My dad assured them that I was not and prevented me from getting an unneeded insulin shot.  Another said she was afraid I had suffered a heart attack (a comforting thought at the ripe old age of 25).

At this point I had pretty much returned to reality.  The flight attendants gave me a very large bottle of cold water and had me sit in the jump seat while I drank it.  My younger brother, Wiley, asked for a wet towel because my nose was bleeding.  Unbeknownst to me, I had passed out while standing at the bathroom door and had proceeded to crash face-first into the arm rest of a first class seat (a seat occupied by Don Nelson, former coach of the Dallas Mavericks).  I had a gash on the bridge of my nose and two very sore eyes.  After sitting for a while, I was ready to return to my own seat in coach, where my very frightened wife was waiting for me.  As I left first class, I told them that the in-flight entertainment was now over, which drew a few laughs (Seriously people, lighten up.  If I can laugh about it you can too!).  I wolfed down a granola bar and enjoyed the rest of the flight.

Bogart is too cool not to take this picture!

You’re not from around here, are you?

Our merry band spent the rest of the day being consummate tourists.  We visited Venice Beach, where my brother and I swam in the Pacific despite the frigid temperature of the water.  We cruised a little bit in Beverly Hills.  We went to Grauman’s Chinese Theater and examined the hand and foot prints of the stars (John Wayne had surprisingly small hands and feet).  We posed in front of the Hollywood sign.  For dinner we hit the Santa Monica Pier and ate at the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company.  At this point we were joined by two other members of the cheering section, friends who had flown in from Houston to watch me compete on their favorite TV show.  Through it all I acutely felt the nervous tension that accompanied the awareness of what tomorrow could hold.

This is Jeopardy!

The morning finally arrived and it was time to head to the studio.  I rode a shuttle with the other twelve contestants and the nerves were obvious in everybody’s face.  We arrived at the studio and began a two-hour process of makeup (mine took especially long thanks to my airplane mishap), rehearsals, and commercial tapings.  The rehearsals took place on the actual set, which is smaller than it looks on TV.  My first rehearsal was horrible.  I couldn’t buzz in no matter how hard I tried.  I got another rehearsal a little while later and eventually figured out my timing.  We were then returned to our backstage green room.  The contestant wranglers did a wonderful job of relaxing us and keeping us all in good spirits.  Through all of this, we had not seen Alex Trebek.  In order to avoid any possibility of favoritism they keep him away from the contestants until the episode is being filmed (We would all get a picture with him during our episodes, but they won’t e-mail them to us until the air date).  The producers did a drawing to see who would appear in the first episode, and my name was called.  My heart was beating out of my chest as they led the other contestants out, leaving only myself and my two competitors.  The time finally came, and we were marched out to the set.  I took my place behind my podium, signed in, and the fun began.  This episode will air on July 2^nd, and I will post the rest of the story shortly thereafter!

Jeopardy Audition 2011

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books, jeopardy, tv

I had my long-awaited Jeopardy audition two days ago in Kansas City, and it went very well!  I am in the contestant pool, which means I can be called any time in the next 18 months to be invited to LA for a taping.  It was quite an experience.  A cancelled flight turned a quick trip to Kansas City into an epic road trip that covered 1000 miles in two days.  The audition itself consisted of a written test, a miniature game of Jeopardy, and a personality interview.  Out of fifty test questions, I think I missed roughly 8.  The mini game was fun and I didn’t answer any questions incorrectly.  The interview also went well.  Overall, I think my chances are good to get invited to LA.  That said, I won’t be waiting by the phone.  There were quite a few really smart people in Kansas City and I am sure there have been many more auditioning around the country.  I will keep everyone posted if I get a taping.  Until then, I look forward to less studying and more reading.  Thanks for all of the support and encouragement!

My goal is in Jeopardy…

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books, jeopardy, tv

A recent development could potentially impact my quest for 100 books– I have been selected to audition for Jeopardy! My audition will be June 13th in Kansas City, MO.  After the novel I am currently reading, I will not read another novel until June 14th. Instead, I will read reference books and historical works in order to prepare for the audition. This might slow my pace a bit. I am still confident that I can get to 100, but it will require me to work even harder in the second half of the year. It will be worth it to meet Trebek!