Jeopardy! Tryout Update!

So in between Jeopardy tryouts, my bachelor party in New Orleans, moving into our first house, additional wedding planning, a visit from the soon-to-be in-laws, a 3 day criminal defense lawyer's conference, etcetera, it's been a long few weeks.

Trying out for Jeopardy was a great time. I have wanted to get on the show for about 18 or 19 years now, though it's been about 5 years or so since I regularly watch the show. I had participated in the online contestant search earlier this year and heard back from them two months ago letting me know that they wanted to put me through the motions in person. Flew into Dallas, found the hotel, camped out at a Starbucks, drank way too much juice and iced tea, went back to the hotel, went to the restroom 4 times, and signed in for my appointment.

I was very surprised about the people at the tryout. Like me, they seemed normal enough. Or maybe that means I am so far down the geekhole that I can't tell the difference. There were only a few that met my stereotype for the typical contestant; one guy actual did declare that he lived in his grandmother's basement. Considering that I had expected to come in and be the most socially adept person in the room, I was a little crestfallen at this point.

We took another 50 question test, that I felt pretty good about. The scuttlebutt is that 35 or more correct (70% +) will qualify you to be on the show. I think I was somewhere between 38-40, and my studying did actually pay off to the tune of 2 questions. They next have you come up in groups of three and play a simulated mini-round. The Internet revelations about how the buzzer timing works were extremely accurate and helpful (even though I wasn't technically on the Hollywood set). There is a delay between when the question ends and the light comes on and you can ring in slightly before the light comes on and not be locked out. Still, I am not a particularly fast buzzer operator, but I'd say I got about 6 out of 15, which makes me slightly above average. The capper is the interview, which I thought went OK. I had hoped they would ask me to do my Celebrity Jeopardy Sean Connery impression, but I'm pretty sure there's one douche bag per audition who thinks they do it spot on. I was that douche bag.

After all of that, there was nothing more than the vague statement that we may be called in the next 18 months to fly to LA to be on the show. Based on my highly unsophisticated calculations (30 people per session x 3 sessions per city x 8 cities = 720 applicants), if a whole season is about 180 regular episodes and there are at least 2 new contestants per episode, I figure I have about a 1 in 2 chance of getting a call. Let you know what happens.....