This blog series is about my experience as a contestant on the quiz show, Jeopardy! I originally wrote it to share with friends and family, but a few pointed out that other fans may like to read it, too. I hope that fans of the show will find it entertaining, while aspiring Jeopardy! contestants will find it insightful as they continue their journey towards becoming a contestant. Don’t miss the previous entries in this series:
The day had arrived. I was scheduled to be an alternate contestant on Jeopardy!
I awoke at 4:00am on November 30, my adrenaline vaporizing any sense of drowsiness I would have otherwise experienced. Why so early, you ask? All of the day’s contestants—including any alternates—were required to arrive at the Sony Pictures lot at 7:00am. I wanted to be sure I gave myself plenty of time to fuel up with a nutritious breakfast and several cups of coffee, and get through whatever traffic stood between my home and the heart of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. I got on the road a little past 5:00am—before the sun had risen—and drove to Culver City.
I arrived shortly before 7:00am, checked in with security personnel who verified my identity and credentials, and then walked over to the designated meeting spot for the day’s Jeopardy! contestants. We had been told in various emails and phone calls to make sure we all stayed at least six feet apart while on the studio lot—from immediately when we arrived all throughout the day. Close to a dozen sharply dressed individuals were milling about, all of them wearing face coverings. A few of them were making small talk, but most were keeping to themselves. When I arrived, I joined in a few pleasantries with a handful of people before our team of contestant coordinators—also known as our “handlers”—arrived. They gathered us up and organized us into a line to go through a security screening, always reminding us to maintain our distance from one another. The entire staff’s dedication to going above and beyond adhering to COVID-19 protocols was unwavering and impressive.
After everyone had gone through security, the contestant coordinators pointed out the Jeopardy! studio just across the walkway. That was where we’d be spending most of the day. But before that, they ushered us all into the studio building next door—home of Wheel of Fortune! Prior to the pandemic, all of Jeopardy!’s contestants would hang out together in a green room inside the Jeopardy! studio. But because the green room is a relatively small space, the staff was utilizing the Wheel of Fortune set as a makeshift green room, which has plenty of space for everyone to spread out and maintain social distancing protocols.
The Wheel of Fortune Studio
We walked through the main door of the Wheel of Fortune studio and into a small museum dedicated to the show’s history, complete with display cases of memorabilia and countless photographs along the walls depicting Pat Sajak and Vanna White from over the years. This is what would welcome regular studio audience members arriving to watch a taping of Wheel of Fortune. We continued walking into the audience seating area, where we caught our first glimpse of the Wheel set.
Wow! It’s smaller than I expected, I thought.
Several of the others noted thinking the same thing. The magic of television is real, and one of its key strengths is morphing the appearance of a set so that it looks wider, deeper, or simply larger than it actually is. Still, there it was before us: the wheel of fortune, along with the famous game board. Several studio workers were busy doing some construction to the set, all in an effort to change its overall look and feel ahead of a new round of filming coming up in the near future.
I turned my attention back to the audience section and found that the auditorium-style rows of seats were taped off so that only a certain number of seats—each noticeably more than six feet apart—could be utilized. Each of us contestants took a seat and were told that this would be our “green room” for the day, where our bags, snacks, and changes of clothes would be stored, under the watchful gaze of a security guard. Because the show films five episodes per production day, all contestants are asked to bring at least two or three changes of clothing to wear in the event they win a game and have to film another episode immediately following their first show. If you’ve ever wondered about the various outfits that multi-day Jeopardy! champions wear, now you know that they’re all part of a quick costume change.
Everyone got comfortable and prepared for an orientation led by one of the Jeopardy! team members. Most people opted to put on an extra sweater or a jacket at this point; if you take nothing else away from reading about my experience, remember that the production studios take full advantage of massive air conditioning units—they’re freezing inside! Dress accordingly.
The orientation was the first opportunity for us to really get to know our contestant coordinators. All of them were unbelievably friendly, encouraging, and full of energy. They truly went out of their way to make sure we would have an amazing experience and give a great set of performances for the television cameras.
Since it was the first day of filming after Alex Trebek’s passing, there was a touch of somberness to the whole affair, and it was evident how much the legendary host meant to all those who worked on the show. But, the show must go on, everyone noted, and it was Alex’s wish that the show carry on long after he was no longer able to be a part of it. I remembered reading a similar statement in Alex’s memoir.
While we waited for the orientation to begin, I had the opportunity to speak with the returning champion, Jim Gilligan, who coincidentally took an auditorium seat near mine. He was extremely friendly and excited to be back to the studio. Jim was the final champion who competed with Alex Trebek as host. He had won his lone game several weeks prior during Trebek’s last day of filming, and had now returned to defend his title at the start of the “guest host” era. During our conversation, Jim revealed that he had also once been a contestant on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? with Regis Philbin.
Sitting to the other side of me was a young man named Tanay, who was also very friendly and barely able to contain his excitement about being a Jeopardy! contestant. This was a common theme that I witnessed during my time at the studio—everyone who competes on the show is a diehard fan who has made a dedicated effort (many across several years or even decades) to one day appear. It was a remarkable and incredibly fun experience to be able to converse with a diverse group of people who all shared this singular passion for a quiz show.
Orientation & Rehearsal
The contestant orientation began. It was a light-hearted presentation from the contestant coordination team that detailed all of the official rules of the game, the itinerary for the day’s filming, all of the legalese that goes into being a quiz show contestant, and what to expect when we jumped up on stage for both a quick rehearsal and the actual games. As with any other filming day, the plan was to shoot five episodes, with a lunch break somewhere in the middle.
It was at this point that the two alternates—myself and one other gentleman—were told that we wouldn’t be needed for filming since all of the main contestants had shown up. That is, of course, unless someone fell and broke their leg during the lunch break or some other highly unlikely scenario occurred. I learned that, like me, my fellow alternate had also been booked as a main contestant at a future date in the coming weeks. So we sat back, relaxed, and prepared to take in the whole experience without any of the pressure of knowing we’d be going on stage that day. We also recognized that we’d been given a tremendous opportunity to witness how the show is filmed, which would help ease some nerves whenever we came back in the future for our actual filming days.
When the orientation concluded, all of the main contestants were escorted over to the Jeopardy! studio next door for their rehearsal games. My fellow alternate and I remained in the Wheel of Fortune “green room,” but we were able to watch the rehearsal on a set of closed-circuit television screens, albeit without any sound. The main contestants were sent on stage in groups of three, where they were given a chance to familiarize themselves with the signaling devices. They also took part in about half a round of practice gameplay, with Jimmy McGuire of the Jeopardy! Clue Crew serving as the host. After about an hour of rehearsal, all of the contestants were brought back to the Wheel of Fortune set, where my fellow alternate and I bombarded them with questions about the experience of standing on the big stage. Then it was time to pick the first two players who would go up against defending champion Jim.
Ever wonder how Jeopardy! picks the two new contestants to go up against the reigning champion? It’s accomplished via a random draw by an independent standards and practices attorney who oversees the production. Likewise, the assigning of podium spots for the two new challengers is completely random, as well (the returning champion always stands at the podium nearest the host, of course, to the left-hand side of the television audience’s screen).
Tanay—the young man sitting next to me—was selected, along with a woman named Julie with whom I hadn’t yet had an opportunity to speak. The two of them, along with Jim, went down to the floor of the Wheel set to meet with a makeup artist. All contestants had been told ahead of time that we’d be responsible for doing our own hair and makeup due to COVID-19 protocols (prior to the pandemic, I was told that contestants were given the full hair and makeup treatment from a team of professional artists).
However, there was one makeup artist on site—in full PPE gear and who stayed physically away—who created a blend of powder in a customized color for each main contestant after visually evaluating their skin tone, then placed it on an oversized cotton puff. Contestants would liberally apply this throughout the day, all in an effort to mitigate any sweat-induced sheen or shininess that a television camera may pick up. It wasn’t the full makeup treatment that pre-pandemic contestants used to receive, but it was very much appreciated by all.
The Jeopardy! Studio
Around 11:00am—four hours after we arrived at the Sony Pictures lot—Jim, Tanay, and Julie were taken over to the Jeopardy! studio to prepare for the first game of the day. Shortly after, all of the remaining contestants—including us two alternates—were escorted over, as well. The layout seemed very similar to the Wheel of Fortune studio in that the entryway houses a small museum of memorabilia and photos, most of them depicting Alex Trebek in some of his most famous episodes, during his travels for the show, or at various promotional events. Then we continued into the auditorium-style seating area where a studio audience would normally be, and I caught my very first glimpse of the set in person.
Wow! It’s smaller than I expected, I thought, my mind echoing what I’d experienced upon seeing the Wheel set for the first time.
But whereas the Wheel of Fortune studio is a long, rectangular shape, the Jeopardy! studio is a bit more square-shaped. One thing that isn’t small is the game board, which is made up of 36 big-screen televisions stacked together that display the categories and clues—if anything, the mythical board looked ever bigger in person. Jim, Tanay, and Julie were on-stage getting some last-minute prep from various staff members while some stage hands and camera operators were ensuring all of the filming equipment was ready to go.
Sections of the audience seating area were taped off—like those in the Wheel studio—to ensure social distancing. Those of us not playing in this first game took our seats. We were then greeted by Jimmy McGuire. Jimmy gave us a friendly and heartfelt welcome speech, noting the uniqueness of the occasion, the gratitude of the staff for being able to continue filming the show, and the need for everyone present to continue adhering to the production’s COVID-19 protocols. Jimmy also encouraged us to applaud and cheer when appropriate, and to show plenty of enthusiasm—with us serving as the bare minimum of a studio audience, our applause would be enhanced in post-production. The magic of television.
Filming Begins
There’s a bit of housekeeping that the contestants must tackle before the game begins. The first is in the form of a “Hometown Howdy.” This is a short commercial featuring a contestant that his or her local affiliate station can air to showcase a local resident being on the show. It goes like this: a narrator says an interesting fact about the contestant—gleaned from a list of fun facts about ourselves we’d provided in some early paperwork—in the form of a clue. For example, “This surfer from San Diego is going to be on Jeopardy!” The contestant then pretends to ring in with their signaling device and says, “Who is [their name]. That’s me!” The Jeopardy! staff members are the first to point out that these promos are a tad cheesy, but it’s all in good fun.
Another bit of housekeeping involves recording the opening shot of the contestant in the middle position. This has something to do with the placement of the cameras and making sure the overall opening goes smoothly—but I’m no expert in television production, and I can’t remember the details of the staff’s explanation. In any case, Tanay smiled at the camera for about 10 seconds to capture a recording that would be added into the episode’s opening with a voiceover from Johnny Gilbert. Speaking of Gilbert and voiceover work, here’s what happened next.
The housekeeping is wrapped up with the studio announcer noting the game’s official episode number and airdate—used for the crew’s records, and which are also documented on the J! Archive website. Johnny Gilbert, Jeopardy!’s longtime announcer, wasn’t in the studio when I attended. At 92 years old, Johnny is still going strong with his work. But we were told that he’s transitioned to doing much of his voiceover duties inside his home studio, partially in an effort to keep safe during the global pandemic. Sarah Whitcomb Foss, Jimmy’s counterpart on the Clue Crew, was on-site to serve as the announcer. This first episode of the post-Alex Trebex era was number 8311, and would air on January 11, 2021.
Then, at the end of a very long morning, the first game of the day began.
Watching Jeopardy! In Person
An episode of Jeopardy! occurs in person just as you see it on television, but with a few breaks here and there, as needed. Sarah kicked things off by introducing the contestants. We were told that her narration would be replaced by a voiceover from Johnny Gilbert for the actual show airing. After Sarah introduced each of the contestants, she introduced the host.
“And now, here is the guest host of Jeopardy!, Ken Jennings!”
Everyone began applauding as Ken Jennings emerged from behind the game board and greeted the camera. He began saying a heartfelt message about his love of the show and the passing of Alex Trebek, but he got a little choked up and needed to take a pause. He composed himself and started again, knowing that the first attempt would be edited out in post-production. If you watch the episode, you’ll see that Ken was visibly emotional (and I imagine quite a bit nervous in his first stint as a guest host).
After his opening, Ken walked over to the host’s podium and read the categories as they appeared on the game board. Then he called on Jim—as the defending champion—to select the first clue. If you want to relive how the game turned out, click here to view it on J! Archive.
During the regularly scheduled commercial breaks, the contestants were given time to rest and refocus. The production team reset their cameras and equipment. All of us in the studio audience would immediately share our thoughts on the gameplay we’d just witnessed, discuss strategies for selecting clues, and just generally geek out over what a thrilling experience it was for all of us to be on the set of our favorite quiz show.
Breaks in play also saw Ken working with the director and sound engineers to repeat a handful of clues in a process called “pick-ups.” This involved correcting any auditory irregularities during the prior run of play, including any opportunities the director saw fit for Ken to attempt reading a clue with more energy or smoother pronunciation. I strongly believe in giving credit where credit is due—for someone without a ton of experience in broadcasting (at least, to my knowledge), Ken seemed to admirably perform the duties of Jeopardy! host. He was friendly and articulate, and his love of the game was very apparent.
During the break immediately before the Final Jeopardy! round, a stagehand installed some privacy screens on the contestant podiums, and the players were reminded of the process and rules for both wagering and writing down their answers. Once the final round was filmed, Ken struck up a conversation with the contestants while the cameras rolled—this is the footage you see at the very end of an episode as the show’s theme song plays it all out.
Then the production team reset for a new episode while the champion was whisked away to change their clothing. The second- and third-place finishers went to fill out some final paperwork before joining the rest of us in the audience. The whole process then repeated four more times that day—with a lunch break somewhere in the middle.
My services were not required as an alternate contestant that day, but I would be back in only a few, short weeks. I’ll go into more of the details of what it’s like from an on-screen contestant’s perspective in my next blog post.
Click here to read Part 4—The Rehearsal.
Follow me on Twitter—@mdouglaswhite.
