This past August, I was on Jeopardy!, wearing all blue from the waist up and looking for a way to be faster with the signalling device (if you call it a buzzer, the producers will hit you with a ruler). Getting to the point where I was standing on a soundstage at Sony Studios in Culver City, Calif. took a very, very long time. My Jeopardy! journey started back in 2006.
Qualifying
The first step towards getting onto Jeopardy! is taking a 50-question qualifying exam. In the olden days, taking this test meant travelling to a major city and sitting in a room with a bunch of other people while taking an exam. By 2006, interested parties could take the exam online, free from the constraints of other prying eyes. When I took this test for the first time seven years ago, I thought I would do well because I had watched the show for years, but my first test ended in flames like a Spanky Spangler stunt.
For those who really want to get on Jeopardy!, dedication is everything. My first failure began a cycle of six years of me registering for the test and four years of me actually taking it (I slept through one and forgot about the other). Each time I took it, it got a little better. By the time I took the exam in January of this year, I thought that I killed it. My suspicion was confirmed when I got invited to a regional audition in May.
Dressing to Impress
The regional audition is much like going to audition for a play. You’ve got to stand out to impress the producers—who ultimately decide your fate. I went into my audition wearing blue jeans, an old oxford shirt and dirty, beaten-to-shit white Vans.
While I certainly looked terrible, I passed the new exam, played a very good practice round and talked about my love of Bravo reality television shows, which seemed to deeply impress one of the producers. Ultimately, being myself may have led to my success at the auditions.
Waiting
At the end of the audition, the producers tell you that you are in the pool of eligible contestants for a year and a half—I did not stay in the pool that long. A month and a half after my audition, I was contacted by one of the show’s producers, who told me that I had been selected for the show.
After trying to do get on Jeopardy! for such a long time and finally succeeding, this was a particularly exciting and satisfying moment in my life.
Meeting the Competition
When my filming time came around in late August, I went out to Los Angeles. Once I arrived at the Jeopardy! studio, the other contestants and I were checked by security and ushered into the green room. Everyone was absolutely jazzed to be getting this rare opportunity, and the excitement could be felt when we walked onto the set for the first time: It was a place that none of us believed we would ever be.
Jeopardy! contestants come from all backgrounds. I met engineers, lawyers, librarians and there was even a poet named Fidelito who had graduated from the Writers’ Workshop in the 1990s. When he found out I was from Iowa City, we talked about his old haunts. Everyone’s collective enthusiasm and positivity made the experience easier, and lessened my nerves.
The Unexpected Challenge
While eyeing up the competition was really the easiest part of the experience, the hardest part of Jeopardy! was having to watch other people play. When I tell this to people, they think it’s because I’m nervous to play. Nerves were 10 percent of my struggle. The other 90 percent was keeping my mouth shut. As anyone who watches Jeopardy! knows, the best part of the show is yelling out the answers. Since the crowd is mic’ed, you can’t say anything because it will be picked up. Sitting through four games of this was extremely difficult for me.
In Jeopardy!
When my game came around at the end of the day, I was relieved because I finally got to play. To be honest, I don’t remember much about my experience on the show except four things: I didn’t know about the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT), I read too much into a question that referenced Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, I didn’t remember as much from The Americans as I thought I did and I never remember that Indonesia is a country in the world.
The whole game went by like a blur with moments of frustration and elation scattered throughout. I knew answers and got them right, but I couldn’t tell you what they were. By the time I fully got my bearings and felt comfortable, the game was over and I was in third—not quite able to fulfill my dreams of being a Jeopardy! champion and getting into the Tournament of Champions. But, if there was any upside to being third, it was hearing host Alex Trebek tell me that he was impressed with my game play. That truly was the best part of my Jeopardy! experience.
A.C. Hawley has not actually watched his episode of Jeopardy! He might watch it someday.
