Prisoner of Trebekistan: A Decade in Jeopardy! Read Online Free Page A

incidentally, over 300,000 clues. And counting. I hope these folks occasionally get out of the house. Then again, as you’ll see, I’m hardly in a position to talk.)
    Over the years, the producers have added variety with frequent special tournaments, many of them recurring events. The Tournament of Champions became an annual dogfight of returning champs, snarling and growling and reciting Shakespeare over a six-figure prize. Similar tournaments for Teen and College contestants showcase each year’s crop of intimidatingly precocious young people. The producers have also freshened the show by adding video and audio clues, many of which are read by the Clue Crew, a team of bright and engaging Alex-in-waitings who, I like to believe, all live together in a van and tour the country fighting crime.
    Like any burgeoning empire, Jeopardy! has also swept across distant lands, with local versions in Canada, England, Germany, Sweden, Russia, Denmark, Israel, and Australia. This led eventually to the International Tournament of 1997, which was won by Michael Daunt, a mild-mannered accountant from Canada with a kindly demeanor and a killer instinct that emerges about once every twelve seconds. A second International Tournament in 2001 was won by Robin Carroll, a homemaker from Georgia with a sweet smile, a warm laugh, and the ability to bring grown men to their knees with her thumb.
    These were soon followed by a Masters Tournament in 2002 and eventually the Ultimate Tournament of Champions in 2005. These both included (a) seven-figure prizes; (b) yours truly, still wearing shoes bought for a funeral; and (c) a young man named Brad Rutter, who is able to swallow other contestants whole without even needing to chew.
    As you probably know, the show has recently received more attention than ever. In the fall of 2003, the producers decided to eliminate the mandatory retirement of five-time champions. Before long, a soft-spoken Salt Lake City software engineer named Ken Jennings (aka the Stormin’ Mormon, the Utah Computah, or the Splatter-Day Saint) became a celebrity by winning seventy-four games in a row, frequently causing opponents’ heads to explode in eye-catching flames. The show’s ratings skyrocketed as America was gripped nightly by the sight of Ken’s opponents keeling over with fear, weeping balefully, and/or pleading with the producers for mercy. After which they would ask Ken for his autograph.
    Today, Jeopardy! has rightly assumed its place as a national touchstone, Alex Trebek has better name recognition than most U.S. senators, and Merv’s lullaby “Think Music” is played at everything from baseball stadiums to weddings. If the show were any more popular, Alex and Merv would be worshipped as gods on small tropical islands, their temples consisting of three thatch podiums and a lovely bunch of coconuts.
    Incidentally, Merv has made over $70 million in royalties from the “Think Music” alone. I probably have to send him a dollar now, just for mentioning it. His production company eventually sold for about a quarter of a billion dollars.
    That might seem a bit, um, huge, but give the guy his due: forty years ago, Merv recognized the value of a loopy idea and backed it with hard work, even when quiz shows were a nearly impossible sell. He spent months experimenting and daydreaming. He kept himself open to feedback—the show’s title itself came from listening to criticism—and, most of all, insisted on respecting his audience’s intelligence, even when well-paid bosses insisted otherwise.
    Is it all that surprising that Merv now zips around on a yacht the size of three fiberglass Hiawathas laid end-to-end and holds an ownership stake in (roughly speaking) one-third of the earth’s crust? It would be a lot more surprising if he had dis respected his audience and wound up with all that.
    If there’s one lesson here, I think it’s this: never underestimate the power of playfulness combined with hard work.
    If