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Alex Trebek is wondering. Stosh Beverly is wondering. Who else is wondering? Could David Madden (Reuben Kincaid rules!!) be the next Ken Jennings? Good grief with this kind of speculation. He's won three games. Count 'em. Three. Not exactly an uncommon feat. For cryin' out loud comparing a 3-game winner to someone who bumped off 74 sets of competitors. Missin' those 10 shares that badly, eh?
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Hey, I would love it personally if this kid goes for a nice long streak. After all, he's originally from Ridgewood, which is about 10-15 minutes away from me in Saddle Brook, and where my Tae Kwon Do school is. I'm sure northern New Jersey could use some game show fame. :-)
Of course, if Millionaire picks me this season, I could do the same for Bergen County, but I think David has the better shot right now.
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[quote name=\'Don Howard\' date=\'Jul 8 2005, 09:28 AM\']... He's won three games. Count 'em. Three. ...
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Yawn. I didn't start watching Ken's run until after he won number 8. And now that we've brought it up, I have a feeling we're going to jinx him.
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Well, it can't be THAT bad yet, as I've not been asked to track stats yet...
...something which I was asked to keep an eye out for after Tom McCudden debuted with a $40,600 game back in December, by the way (Of course, he lost the next day)
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Also, remember: We are in July sweeps. The least important of the sweeps periods, but still sweeps. Trebek knows the air dates and if he thinks he's got something to hype, he's going to do it.
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Also, remember: We are in July sweeps. The least important of the sweeps periods, but still sweeps.
In recent years I've wondered about the validity of the July sweeps period - especially for most syndicated shows. For a show like "Jeopardy", which reguarly airs original episodes right into July I can see it being beneficial. But take "Who Wants to be a Millionaire". They've been in reruns for a few weeks, but I'm pretty sure this week's episodes are new as I can't recall seeing them before. I know they ran new episodes in July 2004. For the average fan out there, I'd be willing to bet they have no idea "WWTBAM" is new this week. There's been no fanfare and very little promotion that I've seen. Most people probably assume the show's in reruns until the fall. Same could have been said for Bergeron's "Squares" when they aired originals in July. It almost seems pointless to hold new episodes to July when I doubt they'd see an obvious spike in ratings. Maybe they should have stated on their last new show in May, that "we'll be back with new episodes on July 4th - be sure to tune in then".
Any thoughts?
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[quote name=\'Ian Wallis\' date=\'Jul 8 2005, 12:18 PM\']In recent years I've wondered about the validity of the July sweeps period - especially for most syndicated shows.
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It used to be that the February and July/August sweeps were minor compared to the November and May ones. Certainly we didn't worry about them much at the TV station. But the vibe I get now is that with a lot of shows debuting mid-season, and with summer series like Dancing With The Stars and Survivior (and, yes, Kajillionaire) becoming mega-hits, the whole business of sweeps is starting to become a year-round thing.
I'd like to hear Connecti-Matt's and/or Randy's opinion on this, though.
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[quote name=\'clemon79\' date=\'Jul 8 2005, 02:28 PM\']
I'd like to hear Connecti-Matt's and/or Randy's opinion on this, though.
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Thank you.
Mah Two Cents : Sweeps Suck.
We get the overnight numbers EVERY DAY. We put out 100% effort EVERY DAY. I don't mail in forecasts in April, but focus harder in May. I'd be crucified for that.
The difference between us and the networks is we do a show 52 weeks a year, and they feel that they can only contract shows for , at the most, 26 eps a year (soaps/gs/news is a bit different, cause they're cheaper)..... So if they can only get 26 eps of Raymond a year, they better program em when the overall Nielsen numbers are being crunched to determine advertising rates for the next few weeks....
The hit shows you see are not on because of July sweeps, they're on (usually) because they weren't ready for prime time in the fall, or there wasn't a lot of confidence in them....so as a result, you're seeing them in the season that isn't supoosedly watched as much.
Thanks (seriously) to Fox for realizing there was money to be made (tho not as much as the other seasons) in the summer....and forcing the other nets to at least make a half hearted attempt to program for the summer...
Oh, and another reason Sweeps Suck : I don't get vacation time during the 4 months. The bosses feel that if the Nielsen families are watching, they better be watching their "A team" of talent.
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[quote name=\'tvwxman\' date=\'Jul 8 2005, 02:58 PM\']Oh, and another reason Sweeps Suck : I don't get vacation time during the 4 months. The bosses feel that if the Nielsen families are watching, they better be watching their "A team" of talent.
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On the other hand, it also means you're the best of their weather forecasters. :-) (Or at least, best-looking.)
It could be worse: Some day, they'll be able to put a Max Headroom-type face to the Doppler Three Billion radar system, and we won't have any more human weather forecasters. As it is, the National Weather Service radio that the local PBS station plays in the SAP channel when there's no DVS or foreign-language broadcast has been synthesized for years. They've never been able to get "Schenectady" right....
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[quote name=\'Fedya\' date=\'Jul 8 2005, 10:04 PM\']
They've never been able to get "Schenectady" right....
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Neither could Hal Shear.
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[quote name=\'Fedya\' date=\'Jul 8 2005, 11:04 PM\']It could be worse: Some day, they'll be able to put a Max Headroom-type face to the Doppler Three Billion radar system, and we won't have any more human weather forecasters. As it is, the National Weather Service radio that the local PBS station plays in the SAP channel when there's no DVS or foreign-language broadcast has been synthesized for years. They've never been able to get "Schenectady" right....
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But don't you think it's fun to listen to the weather band just to see what the sythesized voice botches up on pronounciations? Gotta love modern technology :-)
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At first, I thought you're talking about the automated voice guy who does the local forecasts on The Weather Channel and WeatherScan on some cable markets today.
But boy I miss the old days in the 80's...
"Stay tuned for more weather coverage on...The Weather Channel."
[quote name=\'NicholasM79\' date=\'Jul 9 2005, 10:50 AM\'][quote name=\'Fedya\' date=\'Jul 8 2005, 11:04 PM\']It could be worse: Some day, they'll be able to put a Max Headroom-type face to the Doppler Three Billion radar system, and we won't have any more human weather forecasters. As it is, the National Weather Service radio that the local PBS station plays in the SAP channel when there's no DVS or foreign-language broadcast has been synthesized for years. They've never been able to get "Schenectady" right....
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But don't you think it's fun to listen to the weather band just to see what the sythesized voice botches up on pronounciations? Gotta love modern technology :-)
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Hmmmm. Perhaps I was a bit premature. The potential certainly is there, isn't it? Love that starting at the $800 box system.
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I predict a long run for young David Madden. He's another of our former National Academic Tournament players, just like Brad Rutter. Brad & I moderated games together at this year's NAA tourney and he is still the same nice guy, albeit 2 million dollars richer than last year's national tourney.
I'm proud to announce that my High Q show that I moderated from 1984-1998 is returning to the campus of Marshall University this fall on cable access. We're shooting a pilot soon to shop it to other cable systems here in the tri state of WV, OH & KY. It should debut this fall as The All New High Q
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Since it does look like he could be around for a while...
Is it just me, or does anybody else find him not as rootable-for as Ken Jennings? He takes categories out of order, which I imagine would upset at least some viewers (I know it always irks me), and he usually makes tiny Daily Double wagers, which doesn't make for compelling television.
There's no denying that he knows a wide range of trivia, and he's certainly playing the game successfully, but I find him a lot less fun to watch than Ken. It'll be interesting to see, if he continues to win, whether the show sees another word-of-mouth increase, or whether it takes more than a winning streak to create buzz.
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Scott Robinson
(You've just answered the $1,600 and $2,000 questions in the category correctly, you have a $10,000-some lead, and the Daily Double is in the $800 box. A $900 wager?!?)
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[quote name=\'MSTieScott\' date=\'Jul 15 2005, 02:35 PM\'](You've just answered the $1,600 and $2,000 questions in the category correctly, you have a $10,000-some lead, and the Daily Double is in the $800 box. A $900 wager?!?)
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Alex: You have a $13,000 lead. You might consider that...
David: I'll wager $100, Alex.
Alex: ...You chicken.
David: Bawk, bawk.
(An exchange from his third game.)
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[quote name=\'MSTieScott\' date=\'Jul 15 2005, 02:35 PM\']He takes categories out of order, which I imagine would upset at least some viewers (I know it always irks me)
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Oh noes! The contestant is using his right to pick freely from the board! Get me the remote, Marge, I think that nice young man Pat O'Brien is talking about Must Love Dogs!
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[quote name=\'clemon79\' date=\'Jul 15 2005, 07:29 PM\'][quote name=\'MSTieScott\' date=\'Jul 15 2005, 02:35 PM\']He takes categories out of order, which I imagine would upset at least some viewers (I know it always irks me)
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Oh noes! The contestant is using his right to pick freely from the board! Get me the remote, Marge, I think that nice young man Pat O'Brien is talking about Must Love Dogs.[/quote]
I'm with Scott on this one. It's a minor annoyance, but yeah, it just feels wrong. Didn't like it when Chuck Forrest did it twenty years ago, don't like it now. In all honesty, it probably IS a better strategy, especially if your goal is to burn them off with conservative wagers and just keep your opponents' hands off of them.
I don't see David as being so totally dominating as Ken was, so the luck of the odd Final Jeopardy ought to catch him sooner than it did Ken. Still, he's dominating enough that you can pretty much expect he'll be leading at that point.
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[quote name=\'MSTieScott\' date=\'Jul 15 2005, 04:35 PM\']Since it does look like he could be around for a while...
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I don't find him nearly as intimidating as Ken, who seemed to know almost everything. It was uncommon for me to get more than one or two clues that nobody else got when Ken was playing; with David there seem to be at least half a dozen clues each day that I know that none of the contestant that day do.
And David got lucky on the July 15 show that his opponents didn't go looking for the second Daily Double in DJ.
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I gotta go with Scott. I don't quite know why, but there's just something about David's attitude that's making me root for his opponents. When Ken was the champ, I wanted to see him keep winning.
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I think David seems overly-nervous at some points, and then when he loosens up, he gets a little overly-confident. You can sort of tell by the tone in his voice. One thing that Ken Jennings had was that he was loose and humble at the same time, and he was just very genuine. I think that's why it was so satisfying to see him win.
As for whether or not he's the next Ken, I doubt it. He seemed to dodge a few bullets today, and based on his game-play, I don't think he'll win too many more games. I would predict that he'll be the Kit Salisbury to Ken's Thom McKee.
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[quote name=\'Steve Gavazzi\' date=\'Jul 15 2005, 09:29 PM\']When Ken was the champ, I wanted to see him keep winning.
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Surely you weren't rooting for him to take down our esteemed EP?
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[quote name=\'Clay Zambo\' date=\'Jul 16 2005, 12:17 AM\'][quote name=\'Steve Gavazzi\' date=\'Jul 15 2005, 09:29 PM\']When Ken was the champ, I wanted to see him keep winning.
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Surely you weren't rooting for him to take down our esteemed EP?
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Okay, except for that show. :-)
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I don't mind David starting off in the 4th row of clues($800/$1,600). It's his DD wagers that bugs me sonetimes although he went $4K on the last episode to basically sew it up before FJ! & $6K earlier this week when he was under serious pressure to maintain his advantage. I didn't see enough of Chuck's style 20 years ago to compare David to but what he's doing is starting to get old on me. Hopefully, I'd like to see one of his opponents bring him down the HARD way.
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[quote name=\'Craig Karlberg\' date=\'Jul 16 2005, 01:19 AM\']It's his DD wagers that bugs me sonetimes although
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Why? If I got on the show, and found the Daily Double under "Those (bleeping) Phrygians," you better believe that I'm dropping $5 on it, and not a dime more. It's a viable strategy. If he likes the topic, he puts down some coin. If not, he doesn't. I admire someone who doesn't just bet $1,400 just because he has the money. I hope he lasts for a good long while.
For that matter, like I said in an earlier thread, every DD that he finds is one that his opponents don't get to play. They then have to work harder to catch him, and before you know it, David has a $21,000 lead.
<blah blah blah snipped>
but what he's doing is starting to get old on me.
What? Winning? Winning big? Getting Italian Literature questions correct?
Hopefully, I'd like to see one of his opponents bring him down the HARD way.
And how would that happen? With a two-by-four?
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[quote name=\'Craig Karlberg\' date=\'Jul 16 2005, 04:19 AM\']Hopefully, I'd like to see one of his opponents bring him down the HARD way.
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Well, I hope you wouldn't like to see it.
(And what the hell does that mean, anyway?)
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[quote name=\'Craig Karlberg\' date=\'Jul 16 2005, 03:19 AM\']Hopefully, I'd like to see one of his opponents bring him down the HARD way.
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What's the HARD way? Violence? A Pummelling? Trebek Body Slams him?
Wierdo.
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[quote name=\'Steve Gavazzi\' date=\'Jul 17 2005, 09:13 AM\'][quote name=\'Craig Karlberg\' date=\'Jul 16 2005, 04:19 AM\']Hopefully, I'd like to see one of his opponents bring him down the HARD way.
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(And what the hell does that mean, anyway?)
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It means winning a game that has "Translating Karlbergese" as one of the categories.
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[quote name=\'Craig Karlberg\' date=\'Jul 16 2005, 04:19 AM\']Hopefully, I'd like to see one of his opponents bring him down the HARD way.
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To Craig, this means some TV Violence. Not violence WATCHING TV, but since Craiggers is so find of smashing sets, he'd like to see his opponent smash a TV over Madden's head.
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[quote name=\'aaron sica\' date=\'Jul 17 2005, 10:20 AM\'][quote name=\'Craig Karlberg\' date=\'Jul 16 2005, 04:19 AM\']Hopefully, I'd like to see one of his opponents bring him down the HARD way.
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To Craig, this means some TV Violence. Not violence WATCHING TV, but since Craiggers is so find of smashing sets, he'd like to see his opponent smash a TV over Madden's head.
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Since when did Vince McMahon replace Harry Friedman? :)
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He takes categories out of order, which I imagine would upset at least some viewers (I know it always irks me),
I know we've had this discussion a couple of times before, but that really doesn't bother me. Actually, I find it to be a refreshing change. It gets kind of old when virtually every contestant starts at the top and works their way down - it's nice to see a different approach every once in a while.
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I don't like submarine pitchers in baseball, but if you can win doing it, more power to you.
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Hey, I haven't caught Jeopardy lately, but will be sure to do so tonight and tomorrow. Is Friday 7/22 the last show of the season, or is it 7/29?
Maybe Madden's skipping around the board is to throw his opponents off? That's a helluva good strategy, and he must be doing something right with 280k in the bank. I sure can't knock him for that one.
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[quote name=\'blockbusterfan\' date=\'Jul 21 2005, 04:34 PM\']Hey, I haven't caught Jeopardy lately, but will be sure to do so tonight and tomorrow. Is Friday 7/22 the last show of the season, or is it 7/29?
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IIRC, tomorrow's the last show of the season. If I'm right, Trebek will say something about it being the last show tomorrow. If I'm wrong, he won't.
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[quote name=\'dzinkin\' date=\'Jul 17 2005, 10:13 AM\']It means winning a game that has "Translating Karlbergese" as one of the categories.
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If you can do that, you should be awarded a Doctorate.
Hell. I just found the topic for my thesis.
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[quote name=\'Sonic Whammy\' date=\'Jul 8 2005, 11:24 AM\']I'm sure northern New Jersey could use some game show fame. :-)
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We already have some game show fame here in the southern part of North Jersey. A certain someone you all know tried out for Millionaire constantly, failed each time by slipping up, and failed to make it onto WOF twice during its visits to NYC. I wonder who that could be....
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IIRC, tomorrow's the last show of the season. If I'm right, Trebek will say something about it being the last show tomorrow. If I'm wrong, he won't.
Tonight's show (July 22nd) is definately the last of the season. I caught the satellite feed on Wednesday. Interestingly, Alex says the champion will have to wait 6 weeks until they return. Didn't we deduce that it will actually be 7 until the show's back? Oh well...this show was taped in March!
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[quote name=\'Ian Wallis\' date=\'Jul 22 2005, 08:00 AM\']
IIRC, tomorrow's the last show of the season. If I'm right, Trebek will say something about it being the last show tomorrow. If I'm wrong, he won't.
Tonight's show (July 22nd) is definately the last of the season. I caught the satellite feed on Wednesday. Interestingly, Alex says the champion will have to wait 6 weeks until they return. Didn't we deduce that it will actually be 7 until the show's back? Oh well...this show was taped in March!
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Mark Jeffries said earlier this week that J! and WOF have their season premieres the Monday after Labor Day this year(as they did two seasons ago), and he's usually right :)
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That makes up for last year when he say it would be seven weeks and it was six. This evens things out.
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[quote name=\'Don Howard\' date=\'Jul 22 2005, 10:25 AM\']That makes up for last year when he say it would be seven weeks and it was six. This evens things out.
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Wow.
You are now on my list of people I need to meet before I die. :-)
Brandon Brooks
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[quote name=\'Brandon Brooks\' date=\'Jul 22 2005, 10:52 AM\'][quote name=\'Don Howard\' date=\'Jul 22 2005, 10:25 AM\']That makes up for last year when he say it would be seven weeks and it was six. This evens things out.
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Wow.
You are now on my list of people I need to meet before I die. :-)
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Stop over anytime. You can regale me with tales of your H2 adventure.
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[quote name=\'MSTieScott\' date=\'Jul 15 2005, 05:35 PM\']Since it does look like he could be around for a while...
Is it just me, or does anybody else find him not as rootable-for as Ken Jennings? He takes categories out of order, which I imagine would upset at least some viewers (I know it always irks me), and he usually makes tiny Daily Double wagers, which doesn't make for compelling television.
There's no denying that he knows a wide range of trivia, and he's certainly playing the game successfully, but I find him a lot less fun to watch than Ken. It'll be interesting to see, if he continues to win, whether the show sees another word-of-mouth increase, or whether it takes more than a winning streak to create buzz.
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Scott Robinson
(You've just answered the $1,600 and $2,000 questions in the category correctly, you have a $10,000-some lead, and the Daily Double is in the $800 box. A $900 wager?!?)
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It is not just you. I am constantly rooting for his opponents. His Daily Double strategy is annoying but it works for him. He is a good player but not that likeable. However, if he keeps winning does that really matter?
Tim
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It is not just you. I am constantly rooting for his opponents. His Daily Double strategy is annoying but it works for him. He is a good player but not that likeable. However, if he keeps winning does that really matter?
Yep; I'm right there with you; I'm definitely watching the show just so I can see if this guy loses. He definitely seems to have this air of cockiness that KJ didn't really have; KJ just seemed to be there playing the game and having a good time while this guy seems to want to prove his intelligence to the world. And, sorry Matt, but, while I definitely wanted your game against Ken to be a close one, I was kinda hoping that Ken would be able to continue his streak...:) (Be gentle!)
Anyway, as far as your question, Tim, I think it would matter, maybe not initially when the new season starts, but as he keeps winning. If he really is an unlikeable character compared to KJ (those who are watching the show with me say the same thing), then the viewers will begin to turn off. Maybe they'll watch just to see him get beat (that's why people watched Herbert Stempel on "21," right?), but I suspect that most people will just find something else to do and come back when this guy has finally run his course. For some reason, while negative attention may have the power to attract people to something like positive attention, it doesn't have that staying power like positive attention. Again, the perfect example is "21;" Stempel got "boring" after a few weeks on the show and, despite being on for about three months, no one really wanted Van Doren to lose. My opinion, anyway...:)
He does not seem to have the skills and vast quantities of knowledge that KJ did, and so I think his run definitely will not threaten KJ's record, but he could make an interesting splash in game show history. It's unfortunate, sure (he he), but I guess we'll just have to wait and see.
Anthony
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Maybe it's just me, but Ken seemed to come across as much more confident than David was/is. David isn't so much as cocky as he is happy that he knew the correct response.
And I guess I'm the only one rooting for him. Maybe it's because I knew a kid in high school who was just like him.