If you or someone you know participated in a Tournament of Champions on Jeopardy!, the show wants to hear from you. Their 30th season is coming up, so something fun may be brewing. More information is available at their website: http://www.jeopardy.com/news/decadessearch.php
Too bad they can\'t get Jerry Frankel (first TOC winner in 1985). He\'s dead.
Too bad they can\'t get Jerry Frankel (first TOC winner in 1985). He\'s dead.
Too bad they can\'t get Jerry Frankel (first TOC winner in 1985). He\'s dead.
Was that necessary, man? You don\'t need to say EVERYTHING that comes into your head ya know.
I like the idea of there being a 30th anniversary tournament...I also would like to see them have a second Ultimate Tournament of Champions but I\'m fairly certain they won\'t do it (at least not to the degree that they did it before).
I\'m suddenly curious as to who would receive the nine byes if they did that again (there were nine, right? It\'s been awhile since I covered the UTOC for the forum- or if you want to be more accurate editorialized)...I\'d assume that KenJen, Rutter, and Vered get the first three due to their runner up finishes in the last one (like Rutter, Eric Newhouse, and Bob Verini did due to their finishes in the Million Dollar Masters)...beyond those three and perhaps David Madden, who would get the other five? I could only come up with two more (Roger Craig, Larissa Kelly).
Was that necessary, man? You don\'t need to say EVERYTHING that comes into your head ya know.Just because he\'s insensitive doesn\'t mean he\'s wrong. (Lionel Goldbart, the Patron Saint of For The Love of Merv, Please Phrase Your Response in the Form of a Question? Also dead.)
Just because he\'s insensitive doesn\'t mean he\'s wrong.
Technically, he\'s correct, yes.
Technically, he\'s also a jackass.
What I\'m driving at: we have to decide if we\'re going to jam GSL\'s foot down his throat every time he sticks it in his mouth, to the detriment of actually discussing the topic. (For example, it wouldn\'t be too hard to have a thirty player tournament.)
Well, if GSL is going to keep saying things that require his foot to be jammed in his mouth, people are going to continue to call him on it. You don\'t have to participate in the discussion if it bothers you, you know. Hate to be blunt here but you left me little choice, Travis. Henke does the same thing, what\'s your opinion on that?
Now, returning to the topic...
So we do thirty. Definitely manageable. Leaves you ten winners. Are you including wild cards?
The comment itself is ridiculous, seeing as how Mr. Frankel died before the show\'s fourth season (26 years ago), and it never affected any other tournaments featuring former champions, including Super Jeopardy! The comment was unnecessary on many levels.
As for the tournament, I could see 30 players in a three-week tournament.
Week one: seasons 1-15 champs
Week two: seasons 16-30*
Week three: the 10 champs + 2 wild cards participate in finals M-Th, and Friday the top players return
Don\'t know if that would necessarily work, seeing as how the show usually does 2-day championship games...I also haven\'t had my coffee, so go easy on me. :-P
*First champion of the new season to rack up 5- or more wins
Too bad they can\'t get Jerry Frankel (first TOC winner in 1985). He\'s dead.
Anyone who claims I\'m being tasteless is full of shite, nothing more.
Remember last fall, when you went on your little political rant and got checked on it, but skirted responsibility for your actions? Well, you\'re getting really close to that point right now.
Your comment was ill-conceived at best, offensive at worst. Even if you didn\'t mean it to be tasteless (and hey, maybe it was an honest mistake), there\'s a little thing called \"tact\" that goes a long way. \"Unfortunately, the first TOC champion, Jerry Frankel, passed away. It would\'ve been cool to have him there.\" Or you could just not say anything at all, seeing as how he died in 1987, so it\'s really a moot point, given how many invitationals they\'ve had since then. There\'s times where showing off your knowledge come in handy...this prolly wasn\'t one of them.
BTW, getting defensive about being called tasteless is not the right way to address the issue.
That being said, I\'d personally like to see the issue dropped and get back to the topic at hand...speculation on the big news.
How I\'d do a 30-person tournament... have the 10 winners from the first 2 weeks, plus 5 wild cards to make 15 for the third week... weeks 3 and 4 play out same as the traditional 2-week tournament.
Anyone who claims I\'m being tasteless is full of shite, nothing more.
This may very well be my favorite line ever. You see, it\'s not tasteless because he put an \'e\' at the end!
Anyone who claims I\'m being tasteless is full of shite, nothing more.
I never claimed you were being tasteless.
I claimed you were a jackass.
I\'ll be happy to amend that to \"jackasse\" if it helps it absorb through your thick skull.
Anyone who claims I\'m being tasteless is full of shite, nothing more.
This may very well be my favorite line ever. You see, it\'s not tasteless because he put an \'e\' at the end!
It\'s French! They\'re never tasteless. He just forgot the accent on the \'e\'.
Seems like an interesting prospect, if they\'re trying to mount another UTOC or something similar. I wonder when they would hold this during the season. I\'m not guessing at the start of the season, but that\'s just me. I\'d suppose somewhere in the middle, like January or February (or both). I\'d like it to be at the end of the season, myself.
I like Travis\' idea, not least because every show is win-or-go-home. No wild cards, no total-point events. The UTOC had one other unique feature that I really, really liked. (And by really, really liked, I mean I really, really hated its absence from other ToC\'s.) If you won a game with, say, $17,800, you actually won—get ready for it—$17,800!
If it\'s no longer than a month, I imagine they\'ll do it during sweeps. If they did it Travis\' way, I\'d expect to start in either October or April and finish during sweeps.
No wild cards, no total-point events.I don\'t know if this was made clear, I had it set as two stretches of a two-week tournament; wild card and two-game final included. The two winners and Least Sucky Loser Finalist would play in a Grand Final of indeterminate length.
(To your credit, I do like the idea of winning what you score, as opposed to playing for Jeopardy Bucks.)
I\'m gonna guess that King World\'s pocketbook (which, I will point out, is handing out at least $400K in prize money to the finalists alone in a regular ToC) isn\'t as big of a fan.
I\'ll point out the precedent of the Ultimate Tournament, but the Teen, College and Seniors Tournaments were played for real money in those same finals, and the runner-up Finalists in the Tournament of Champions could end up winning more than the minimum prizes.
Which is why I said \"at least\" and wasn\'t referring to the finals at all, where you *do* get at least the cash in front of you in a normal ToC. (Though really that would only apply to third place in a 250K/100K/50K format, and if third place is still finishing over 50K over two days, well, damn.) It sounded to me like you wanted to replace the $10K you get for losing a semifinal with whatever they earned in their QF match, which in most cases is going to be more than that.
No wild cards, no total-point events.
I don\'t know if this was made clear, I had it set as two stretches of a two-week tournament; wild card and two-game final included. The two winners and Least Sucky Loser Finalist would play in a Grand Final of indeterminate length.
(To your credit, I do like the idea of winning what you score, as opposed to playing for Jeopardy Bucks.)
Gotcha. You made two posts, but one ended with the joke about a 43-day final and a mad-up number for a prize, while the second sounded serious. If you start with 81 players and send home two players every day, you end up with one winner after 40 days. I thought you made one joke suggestion and one serious.
Well don\'t I feel stupid.
I blame it on the Percodan. That stuff rots your brain.
And now a word from our sponsor...
But why do it again if they already tried it five years ago?
Ratings were good? Why not. Given just about any reasonable format, I\'m sure most of us will be following it.
But why do it again if they already tried it five years ago?If you\'re talking about a \"Where are they now?\" segment, if they get 2/3 feedback, they\'ll have enough filler for the entire season. I\'m hoping it\'s not a bloated reboot of the Ultimate Tournament 8 years later. A potential 300+ person tourney is way too big plus on a selfish level, I am in the pool through the end of season 30 and such a tournament means my probability of making the show gets lower and lower.
Fair cop.Who confirmed there is gameage involved? I\'m thinking a nightly \"Where are they now?\" segment going into breaks.Do we know for a fact that this is a tournament and not just exhibition games?
PS -- Now imagining an Alex Trebek roast with Gilbert, Sajak, 1-2 famous contestants and various SNL personalities (Ferrell as Trebek, Hammond as Sean Connery, McDonald as Burt Reynolds) as roasters
Needs moar Gottfried.
Going back to Art Fleming\'s version, I know Mel Gibson\'s father is still alive - but I think that\'s a door they\'re better off not opening.
Sheesh. Like father, like son?
As it stands right now, here is some information on how the upcoming Jeopardy! Decades Tournament is going to work.
Forty-five notable players from the past are divided into decades of Jeopardy! (1984-1993, 1994-2003, 2004-2013). They will compete against players who participated in the same decade. Five matches for each decade in the standard one-match win format. Each qualifying week will air in a different month in the winter/spring. The winners of those matches, fifteen in total, will go on to compete in a standard Jeopardy! tournament format for a top prize of one million dollars.
Interestingly, some candidates will be automatically included by producers but some will also be selected in an online vote by fans via the website and social media.
As it stands right now, that\'s kinda disappointing because the website never states \"Trebek era only\" and doing this omits the Fleming era (which could just be bundled as \"1964-79\" to avoid any problems), something the show doesn\'t usually do.As it stands right now, here is some information on how the upcoming Jeopardy! Decades Tournament is going to work.
Forty-five notable players from the past are divided into decades of Jeopardy! (1984-1993, 1994-2003, 2004-2013).
I like it. Enough to make it something out of the ordinary and a special event, but not an overdone fiasco that will take over half a season. It won\'t happen, but it\'d be cool to use retro effects and music for the earlier decades matches.
Then I suggest you whip up a social media campaign to get Burns Cameron and Jay Wolpert on the ballot. Let us know how that works out.As it stands right now, that\'s kinda disappointing because the website never states \"Trebek era only\" and doing this omits the Fleming era (which could just be bundled as \"1964-79\" to avoid any problems), something the show doesn\'t usually do.
WAIT A MINUTE.
On Friday, I got a survey from Sony Pictures to basically be a \"television insider.\" I auditioned at Kansas City in May, and was the only one there who was wearing a college sweatshirt (everyone else was dressed nice)
Hmm...
/will post proof if anyone asks.
WAIT A MINUTE.
On Friday, I got a survey from Sony Pictures to basically be a \"television insider.\" I auditioned at Kansas City in May, and was the only one there who was wearing a college sweatshirt (everyone else was dressed nice)
Hmm...
/will post proof if anyone asks.
Take it with a grain of salt. I haven\'t auditioned for the show in two years and got that email.
I like it. Enough to make it something out of the ordinary and a special event, but not an overdone fiasco that will take over half a season. It won\'t happen, but it\'d be cool to use retro effects and music for the earlier decades matches.
Seconded. I like the idea that every player has to win a game to get a bid into the real tournament. Considering how many different ways they skin their set for road shows, I\'m surprised we\'ve never seen a retro skin.
Just to make sure this doesn\'t get lost in the speculation and discussion sure to come: how was the Ultimate Tournament a fiasco?
It went on way too long and was basically a vehicle to milk Ken Jennings a little while longer.
I\'m not saying I didn\'t enjoy it, but I totally see where some folks might have considered a four-month long tournament to to be a lot over-the-top. Two MONTHS, just of first-round games? Really?
This one? Divided up into easily-managed-and-understood chunks, followed by a standard tournament. Simple.
But that doesn\'t make it a fiasco; that is to say a complete failure.
Oh, you\'re pointing at the dictionary again instead of understanding that language evolves, fine.
Take this with the tiniest of grains of salt for now, but a few other forums are reporting that there\'s going to be a set change next season. I kinda think the current set looks like a \"concept set\" if that makes sense, so the change, to me, would be well received.
So they\'re changing the set for the second time in four years? Why? Nothing wrong with the setup now.
I\'m gonna guess someone with a little more authority disagrees with you.
So they\'re changing the set for the second time in four years? Why? Nothing wrong with the setup now.
I\'m gonna guess someone with a little more authority disagrees with you.
I actually liked the current Jeopardy set. They\'ve had a good track record with sets, so I\'m sure the new look with be just as nice.
Obviously they had a reason. Since none of us work for the show we can\'t say for sure. What kind of answer do you want?
So they\'re changing the set for the second time in four years? Why? Nothing wrong with the setup now.
I think the last set I really liked was the \"sushi bar\" of the late-90s...it always reminded me of a college lecture hall or library. I found the two subsequent sets a little too...\"random\" and \"deco\" for my tastes. Not bad, just random. Wouldn\'t mind something like what they used for the Watson tournament, just a little more jazzed up.
I do agree with Chris P. that it seems pretty soon to redo the set...on one hand 4 years is a nice run (has it really been 4 already?), on the other hand, the other sets averaged 6 or 7 years, so it\'s only short by comparison.
/Alex\'s entrance was pretty cool
//Game show sets need more sliding doors :-P
///The \"grid\" set from the mid-90s is my all-time favorite
Remember, Alex\'s days may be numbered. Maybe they wanted to get one more set in before he hangs it up.
The Sushi Bar set was during my heyday of Jeopardy when my memory started holding onto everything. Such great moments from that specific time period. So I\'m a little more inclined to that set as my favorite. However, I really liked the sets with the giant JEOPARDY as my memory did kick in on the back end of grid set.
Take two <clap>:
I like it more than I dislike it. It great to see a more diverse colour pallette than \"how many shades of blue can we use?\" But, why do you need a Jeopardy! logo on the front of Alex\' lectern?
I like it. A lot. Wasn\'t the biggest fan of the random algebraic figures from the two prior sets, at least not compared to the 90s sets. While it appears there\'s still a few of those shapes, I love the pillars and borders along the top.
A lot of fuschia and blue though...it might just be the picture quality, but it hurt my eyes a bit.
But, why do you need a Jeopardy! logo on the front of Alex\' lectern?
I actually like it, even if it did take them 29 years. ;-) To me, it\'s a nice little throwback to a time when shows did that regularly. I know the GSN Pyramid did it, but you don\'t see it very often anymore...
/The little things
I think that\'s what it is, and that\'s a minor fix. All those colors clash together, and look kinda odd with the brown/tan striped trim.
For me it looks too busy. (Fuchsia-pink-purple really goes poorly with Jeopardy blue) That said I\'m much more likely to continue to watch Jeopardy with a new set than Millionaire with a new host.
I had \"because it was there in the 1984 pilot\" on my card.I actually like it, even if it did take them 29 years. ;-) To me, it\'s a nice little throwback to a time when shows did that regularly.But, why do you need a Jeopardy! logo on the front of Alex\' lectern?
Sorry, Dan\'l. No match.
But did you fill up your Benfield Bingo card? I\'m close. I need the $2.75 jackpot badly. I need quarters for the parking meters in downtown CLE.
Sir, my dauber was out of ink within a month of his arrival.But did you fill up your Benfield Bingo card?
Aaaand \"posts to show off knowledge of obscure minutae\" makes BINGO! Pay up, suckers!
But, why do you need a Jeopardy! logo on the front of Alex\' lectern?
I actually like it, even if it did take them 29 years. ;-) To me, it\'s a nice little throwback to a time when shows did that regularly.
I had \"because it was there in the 1984 pilot\" on my card.
Not to pile on, but yeah, I had no idea the pilot even did that...gonna have to disagree as well.
RIP Oolong
Two more pictures of the new set:
http://i.imgur.com/1cmPUxH.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/tayU1uF.jpg
Not since the end of the sushi bar era, so fall 2002. Although, the subsequent mishmash set of random tiles had tiny logos on some squares, so technically 2009?
/New set looks pretty spiffy
I liken it to Shaquille O\'Neal, who during his tenure with the Magic and Lakers really didn\'t need to wear a number; he could have just put his \"Shaq\" logo on the back of his jersey and everyone was still gonna know who he was.How long has it been since the title of the show has been on set in some form other than on a screen? Ten or fifteen years now?
I\'m not completely sold on the contestant lecterns, at least as viewed from that angle. They look somewhat dark compared with the rest of the set, but the remainder looks pretty good. Almost a 20s/30s art deco vibe.
Not since the end of the sushi bar era, so fall 2002. Although, the subsequent mishmash set of random tiles had tiny logos on some squares, so technically 2009?
There was one panel on the random squares set where it appeared at about the same size as the logo on Alex\'s new lectern, but it was in the corner between him and the contestants, so it wasn\'t usually shown in anything other than very wide shots of the whole set at the opening and closing.
I gotta admit, I\'ll kinda miss the sliding door that sat at center stage. Kinda like the title card being on the host\'s lectern, it\'s another of those \"little things\" I miss from the 70s and 80s...seeing a host come through a moving door.
It\'s a BATTLE. OF. THE. DECADES.
A season long affair, but no structure given to it.
I\'d think somewhere along the lines of the Celebrity Invitational.
It\'s a BATTLE. OF. THE. DECADES.
A season long affair, but no structure given to it.
I\'d think somewhere along the lines of the Celebrity Invitational.
They said 45 players, so the most obvious way is 3 weeks of shows based on decade groups (80\'s, 90\'s, and 00\'s- though they might fudge the eras a little depending on who\'s available)- winners of those 15 shows come back to compete in a traditional 2 week tournament, with each of the first round games having one player from each of the groups.
If they do do it by decade, the 80\'s group would be the closest we\'ve gotten to a Seniors tournament in a long time- even those in the Teen Tournaments back then would be in their mid-40\'s...
The \"darker set\" mantra snags Jeopardy.
It\'s darker than it was, but it\'s not exactly upper-tier Millionaire dark (or, hell, even Wheel of Fortune dark.)
I only caught the contestant interviews, but it looked like the backdrop of pillars was pretty far behind the contestants. I\'ll try to watch tonight to get a better view.
The \"darker set\" mantra snags Jeopardy.
It\'s darker than it was, but it\'s not exactly upper-tier Millionaire dark (or, hell, even Wheel of Fortune dark.)
Not to throw Tom Cubbage under the busThen don't. He's one of two grand champions who got there by winning a play-in tournament. And we'll see the other one at the end of March.
Be sure to note if your NBC affiliate carries the show in prime access that the Friday show will likely be pre-empted due to Olympics opening ceremonies.
Be sure to note if your NBC affiliate carries the show in prime access that the Friday show will likely be pre-empted due to Olympics opening ceremonies.
NBC's coverage of the Olympics starts on Thursday that week.
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