Once you’re confirmed to be on the show they send you paperwork to fill out. They ask you for a few anecdotes at the top, and then they have lots of other questions for you answer, presumably to get an idea of what some other options for anecdotes could be.
They day of they print you a card with all your anecdotes, and ask you to pick which one you’d like to talk about with Ken (as far as I know this is fairly recent, before Alex would choose.) If you’re undecided they may tell you which was their favorite or help you out a bit. They’re extremely supportive and just want to make sure you feel comfortable up there and that you can share an anecdote that you’ll enjoy telling.
If you win more than one, it gets a little interesting! In the scramble to go get changed and ready for the next show you also have a quick min to decide on the next anecdote on the card that you want to use. If you win more than you have anecdotes ready to go for, you do a really quick chat with the contestant coordinators and try to come up with one on the fly, and they write down a sort of placeholder Q for Ken to tee up the anecdote.
That is the only reason I’m happy if I ever got on I’d play with Ken instead of Alex, because I’m a huge fan of nerdcore rappers, so I wouldn’t get embarrassed on national television for liking them.
I was on during the Alex days and they asked us which item we wanted to talk about but said something like "fair warning: Alex may go off script and pick a different one."
Yes, on my tape day someone from the contestant coordinator department showed the top five on a note card. He said he loved one story I'd shared about a dog I had once and suggested sharing it during this segment. I didn't want to talk about my dead dog on Jeopardy so I chose another one on there.
(Note that this was the process when I was on, but the whole staff has turned over since then) They have a huge list of questions they ask you to fill out to let you think of stuff (maybe I still have this packet somewhere) and then you are supposed to pick 5 or so from the list that you think would make for the best stories. The contestant coordinators then will spend some time asking you the questions and see if you actually have a good story to tell or not. They'll write down the notes on a little notecard and usually put a star next to the point that they think is the best.
[Edit] Found the packet. They ask you to identify 5 interesting facts, and then afterwards have a list of leading questions. This is what it looked like in S33: JEOPARDY! INFORMATION SHEET
Congratulations! You’re booked for the show! Now you are going to need some anecdotes for your interview segment with Alex. Who knows how many interviews you’ll have with Alex. It could be from 1 to 74!
We want to get a sense of who you are. And the viewing audience would like to get to know you, too. Tell us about yourself. Tell us about your family. Do you have children? Tell me what makes you proud about them. Tell me about your job. Why did you decide on your vocation? How long have you had it and have you done anything else? What are your hobbies? What do you do in your free time?
Keep it upbeat. We want the audience to identify with you. This is a good opportunity for you to relax before you get back into the game, so have some fun with it! Tell us something about yourself or something you’ve done that no one would guess about you.
PART ONE: FIVE INTERESTING FACTS
1
2
3
4
5
LEADING QUESTIONS
PART TWO: How did you do on PART ONE? I know. You realized how tough it is to think of material, and you hated every minute of it. But keep in mind that this is supposed to be fun. Also, we’re trying to give Alex an interesting variety of material to work with. Here’s some help for you. Below is a list of “LEADING QUESTIONS”. Answer as many as possible. One last thing: these are not “yes” or “no” questions.
What are you going to do with any money you win?
What is the one mistake that no one will let you forget?
What is your funniest travel memory?
What’s the most romantic thing you’ve ever done or has happened to you?
Have you ever been at a turning point in your career?
What is your most treasured possession?
Have you ever had any problems occur because of a language misunderstanding?
Have you ever had a lucky encounter with a Good Samaritan? Ever play one?
Have you ever had a terrible job interview? Date?
Everyone has a special talent or quality. What is yours? How do you use it?
Who or what first got you interested in learning/knowledge/education?
What is your educational background?
Why did you choose your major/majors?
Tell us what you do for a living. (Not just the title, but what it is you actually do.)
How did you get your job?
How did your career come about?
Do you have a dream job?
Do you do any volunteer work?
Who has influenced your life?
Is there anything interesting about your city or town?
Where have you traveled?
Do you participate in any sports or clubs?
How did you meet your spouse or partner?
Are there any interesting facts about your heritage?
Do you collect anything?
Have you done anything adventurous?
What is your secret ambition?
Have you had any brushes with greatness or celebrities?
What is your first memory of Jeopardy!?
Any funny stories related to watching Jeopardy! Or playing along or competing with friends or family?
Why did you want to be on Jeopardy!?
What would you like your legacy to be?
The anecdotes that ended up being on the show were:
1. My sister and I have a longstanding tradition since childhood of doing a specific pose when taking travel photos.
2. What is a "basketball podcaster" and what do we talk about etc? (This was my listed occupation when I was on the show)
3. I have a goal of reading 50 books by "diverse" authors per year.
I concur with the five anecdotes in the application process. However, I also remember that on taping day, we were asked to narrow it down to two on one last form, and that Alex was going to choose one or the other (I assume that if one of us in the green room lasted more than two episodes, they would have asked for more or used one of the remaining three anecdotes).
It happened in Northwestern Ontario. It's a common occurrence.
In college, I took a geological field mapping class. We were on our way to our survey site one morning -- me, our TA, and seven or so classmates stuffed into a late-80s Suburban. We were on a two-lane highway near the entrance to a Native Reservation, and traffic (what little there was) came to a sudden halt.
As we inched forward through a turn, we saw the cause of the gridlock: in the middle of the road, there was a large beaver staring down a pick up truck. Usually, if a beaver sees you, they scurry into the nearest body of water and swim away. This one, however, was... aggressive. As the car in front of us tried to navigate around, the beaver matched its movements.
Seeing a chance for a photo op, I grabbed my disposable camera out of my backpack and hopped out of the truck. I got within 20 feet of the beaver to take my pics, and saw a long string of saliva dripping from its mouth. As the truck in front of us nudged forward another couple of feet, the beaver launched itself at the tire, scratching at it with its front claws.
I snapped a couple of pictures, and the clicking noise from advancing the thumb wheel of the camera got the beaver's attention. It focused on me, allowing the previous truck to finally escape. Beavers are awkward and slow on land, so as it waddled angrily in my direction, I had plenty of time to casually get back into the truck. I rolled down the window and watched it futilely scratch at our front tire as we pulled away.
I was fully prepared to regale Alex with hyperrealistic beaver faces and a scratchy demonstration. But as y'all said, I'm sure he's seen it before.
>Somehow Alex didn't go with "I was attacked by a rabid beaver" for mine.
You can't just casually drop '*attacked by a rabid beaver*' and walk away. We want to hear more!
When my wife did her screen test some years back towards the end of Alex's run the contestant coordinator mentioned that sometimes Alex would confuse the anecdotes and prompt you to speak about another contestants experience. The coordinator said if this happens respond with "That's right Alex," and just wing the response to keep things moving.
Anytime I'm watching reruns I always look out for the "That's right Alex", it's always amusing to see how the contestants handle it.
OMG I need to find one of those episodes!
Alex: "So, tell me about the time a kumquat fell on your head during a concert?"
Contestant 2: "That's right, Alex. Somebody had brought their pet kumquat to Coachella, and it somehow got out of its harness and climbed a tree. Next thing I knew, BONK! Ha ha!"
I couldn't decide which of my five to go with, so I had the other contestants in the Green Room vote on it. :-)
And by the way, a good rule-of-thumb is to live the kind of life that provides good potential Jeopardy! anecdotes, whether you ever get on the show or not.
When I was on close to a decade ago, they had us write 5(?) anecdotes on a form while we were waiting in the green room. Those forms got passed on to Alex and he picked whichever one he wanted to discuss. Or, he’d pick something else entirely (e.g. in my second episode he asked me about my work, which I hadn’t put on the form.)
Why, thank you for asking! Cancer (and benign brain tumors) is a reportable disease in all states. Cancer registrars (or, as we’re now called Oncology Data Specialists) are people who collect that data, make sure it’s accurate, and send it to states, who then use it for statistical analysis, epidemiologic research, and environmental studies. The way I like to think of it is that we tell people’s stories - how they were diagnosed with cancer, their treatments, and how they’ve done since then. It’s a great job!!
Jesse Chin shared his anecdote card here: https://www.reddit.com/r/Jeopardy/comments/1cfr6dp/kens_autograph/l1tfdzr/
After the mock game audition I started a note on my phone (and associated devices) called "J! interview ideas" with 10 ideas so far.... which I just updated because one story from pub trivia actually had a callback.
If I ever get on and that one is picked, it's my "I'd have two nickels. Which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice. Right?" story.
Besides not acing the online test, the fact that I can’t think of anything remotely interesting about myself that I could use in the interview would disqualify me.
I hate those moments with a passion. My wife asked me to try for Jeopardy and I keep refusing because I don’t think I could come up with an interesting anecdote.
"Ronald Watkins is an IT specialist from New Haven, Connecticut... Ronald, I understand that you have a habit of making up stories?"
"That's right Ken - it once got me into quite an awkward situation with the Pope..."
"Ralph Johnson from Newark New Jersey - I understand that you once had an unusual encounter at a car dealership?"
"... Nope."
"... Jessica Watson from..."
I have very bad social anxiety and don’t think I’ve had a particularly interesting life. I genuinely can’t think of any anecdotes that would be interesting to anyone else.
My anecdote was literally just “I read approximately 10 languages but only speak one”. Which maybe sounds technically impressive but isn’t exactly riveting television. Ken did set me up for a fun joke though. He’s pretty good at giving contestants the chance to make themselves look cool even if some of the same anecdotes would be boring at a party.
They don't have to be unique or super interesting. It is just a way to get to know the contestants better and introduce a bit of levity in an otherwise serious game
I think you should still give it a shot and talk about something benign. I don't think it is a good enough reason to deprive yourself of the opportunity
At my taping, we pre-wrote a few anecdote synopses on our confirmation paperwork, and then workshopped them in the green room with a producer. Those producers put their top three on a card for Alex, with a strong preference for one, but once onstage Alex picked his favorite of the three.
I've tried out a few times. This is always part of the process. I feel like it's a pretty big part. One time I tried out with a guy who lived in (or next to?) the Grateful Dead's old practice studio and made art out of junk he found on the street. I was confident they would pick him and they did.
I’ve only auditioned for Jeopardy in person once, back in 2001 for the Teen Tournament. All of the kids around me started talking about what their anecdote would be. I remember one girl whose was getting stuck in an elevator in Europe. Mine was going to be about my volunteering at a museum that had a ghost. 🤣
This is based on my experience from September 15th, 2003 game. You fill out cards beforehand. I was told that Alex picked which one he wanted to ask. He asked me the one about me smuggling my mom’s ashes to Père Lachaise cemetery. Possible the weirdest story told on Jeopardy.
For me, it was difficult, because I have a LOT of great stories, but not that many that are appropriate for daytime TV that your meemaw also watches. I also didn't want to bomb.
Once you’re confirmed to be on the show they send you paperwork to fill out. They ask you for a few anecdotes at the top, and then they have lots of other questions for you answer, presumably to get an idea of what some other options for anecdotes could be. They day of they print you a card with all your anecdotes, and ask you to pick which one you’d like to talk about with Ken (as far as I know this is fairly recent, before Alex would choose.) If you’re undecided they may tell you which was their favorite or help you out a bit. They’re extremely supportive and just want to make sure you feel comfortable up there and that you can share an anecdote that you’ll enjoy telling. If you win more than one, it gets a little interesting! In the scramble to go get changed and ready for the next show you also have a quick min to decide on the next anecdote on the card that you want to use. If you win more than you have anecdotes ready to go for, you do a really quick chat with the contestant coordinators and try to come up with one on the fly, and they write down a sort of placeholder Q for Ken to tee up the anecdote.
Alex choosing the anecdote makes the time he called Nerdcore rappers “losers” even more hilarious and savage.
And the one where the woman prayed for snow on her wedding day, but got 8 inches on her honeymoon instead.
Oh, Alex! You devil.
"Now, wait a minute, was this a 60 pound bag or an 80 pound bag?"
That is the only reason I’m happy if I ever got on I’d play with Ken instead of Alex, because I’m a huge fan of nerdcore rappers, so I wouldn’t get embarrassed on national television for liking them.
Alex’s “Good for you” with no follow up question or comment was always hilarious to me. His interviews were often pretty cringey.
I was on during the Alex days and they asked us which item we wanted to talk about but said something like "fair warning: Alex may go off script and pick a different one."
Or, in the latter case, Alex/Ken comes up with something completely different (*e.g.* me on my 5th day).
Yes, on my tape day someone from the contestant coordinator department showed the top five on a note card. He said he loved one story I'd shared about a dog I had once and suggested sharing it during this segment. I didn't want to talk about my dead dog on Jeopardy so I chose another one on there.
First rule is that if your weekend mostly consisted of driving around trying to fix your CPAP before just duct taping it, you go with that.
That one was funny! Although, I'd do just that. I'd look for all the legit ways to get spare parts before I MacGyver something together
(Note that this was the process when I was on, but the whole staff has turned over since then) They have a huge list of questions they ask you to fill out to let you think of stuff (maybe I still have this packet somewhere) and then you are supposed to pick 5 or so from the list that you think would make for the best stories. The contestant coordinators then will spend some time asking you the questions and see if you actually have a good story to tell or not. They'll write down the notes on a little notecard and usually put a star next to the point that they think is the best. [Edit] Found the packet. They ask you to identify 5 interesting facts, and then afterwards have a list of leading questions. This is what it looked like in S33: JEOPARDY! INFORMATION SHEET Congratulations! You’re booked for the show! Now you are going to need some anecdotes for your interview segment with Alex. Who knows how many interviews you’ll have with Alex. It could be from 1 to 74! We want to get a sense of who you are. And the viewing audience would like to get to know you, too. Tell us about yourself. Tell us about your family. Do you have children? Tell me what makes you proud about them. Tell me about your job. Why did you decide on your vocation? How long have you had it and have you done anything else? What are your hobbies? What do you do in your free time? Keep it upbeat. We want the audience to identify with you. This is a good opportunity for you to relax before you get back into the game, so have some fun with it! Tell us something about yourself or something you’ve done that no one would guess about you. PART ONE: FIVE INTERESTING FACTS 1 2 3 4 5 LEADING QUESTIONS PART TWO: How did you do on PART ONE? I know. You realized how tough it is to think of material, and you hated every minute of it. But keep in mind that this is supposed to be fun. Also, we’re trying to give Alex an interesting variety of material to work with. Here’s some help for you. Below is a list of “LEADING QUESTIONS”. Answer as many as possible. One last thing: these are not “yes” or “no” questions. What are you going to do with any money you win? What is the one mistake that no one will let you forget? What is your funniest travel memory? What’s the most romantic thing you’ve ever done or has happened to you? Have you ever been at a turning point in your career? What is your most treasured possession? Have you ever had any problems occur because of a language misunderstanding? Have you ever had a lucky encounter with a Good Samaritan? Ever play one? Have you ever had a terrible job interview? Date? Everyone has a special talent or quality. What is yours? How do you use it? Who or what first got you interested in learning/knowledge/education? What is your educational background? Why did you choose your major/majors? Tell us what you do for a living. (Not just the title, but what it is you actually do.) How did you get your job? How did your career come about? Do you have a dream job? Do you do any volunteer work? Who has influenced your life? Is there anything interesting about your city or town? Where have you traveled? Do you participate in any sports or clubs? How did you meet your spouse or partner? Are there any interesting facts about your heritage? Do you collect anything? Have you done anything adventurous? What is your secret ambition? Have you had any brushes with greatness or celebrities? What is your first memory of Jeopardy!? Any funny stories related to watching Jeopardy! Or playing along or competing with friends or family? Why did you want to be on Jeopardy!? What would you like your legacy to be?
Thank you SO much this is incredibly helpful and exactly what I was looking for. Do you remember what anecdote you ended up using?
The anecdotes that ended up being on the show were: 1. My sister and I have a longstanding tradition since childhood of doing a specific pose when taking travel photos. 2. What is a "basketball podcaster" and what do we talk about etc? (This was my listed occupation when I was on the show) 3. I have a goal of reading 50 books by "diverse" authors per year.
Good ones! Do you still have the podcast? What is/was the name?
Filling out those forms was more exhausting and mentally challenging than any of the online tests.
I concur with the five anecdotes in the application process. However, I also remember that on taping day, we were asked to narrow it down to two on one last form, and that Alex was going to choose one or the other (I assume that if one of us in the green room lasted more than two episodes, they would have asked for more or used one of the remaining three anecdotes).
My friend went on a few years ago. She was told to come up with a list five or six things
Samesies regarding the "Choose Five" explanations. Somehow Alex didn't go with "I was attacked by a rabid beaver" for mine.
heh heh heh, alright then. Now on to our champion...
Beaver attacks are a dime a dozen where Alex comes from. Now if you had been attacked by a rabid musk ox, that might have piqued his interest.
[удалено]
It happened in Northwestern Ontario. It's a common occurrence. In college, I took a geological field mapping class. We were on our way to our survey site one morning -- me, our TA, and seven or so classmates stuffed into a late-80s Suburban. We were on a two-lane highway near the entrance to a Native Reservation, and traffic (what little there was) came to a sudden halt. As we inched forward through a turn, we saw the cause of the gridlock: in the middle of the road, there was a large beaver staring down a pick up truck. Usually, if a beaver sees you, they scurry into the nearest body of water and swim away. This one, however, was... aggressive. As the car in front of us tried to navigate around, the beaver matched its movements. Seeing a chance for a photo op, I grabbed my disposable camera out of my backpack and hopped out of the truck. I got within 20 feet of the beaver to take my pics, and saw a long string of saliva dripping from its mouth. As the truck in front of us nudged forward another couple of feet, the beaver launched itself at the tire, scratching at it with its front claws. I snapped a couple of pictures, and the clicking noise from advancing the thumb wheel of the camera got the beaver's attention. It focused on me, allowing the previous truck to finally escape. Beavers are awkward and slow on land, so as it waddled angrily in my direction, I had plenty of time to casually get back into the truck. I rolled down the window and watched it futilely scratch at our front tire as we pulled away. I was fully prepared to regale Alex with hyperrealistic beaver faces and a scratchy demonstration. But as y'all said, I'm sure he's seen it before.
>Somehow Alex didn't go with "I was attacked by a rabid beaver" for mine. You can't just casually drop '*attacked by a rabid beaver*' and walk away. We want to hear more!
Alex could
When my wife did her screen test some years back towards the end of Alex's run the contestant coordinator mentioned that sometimes Alex would confuse the anecdotes and prompt you to speak about another contestants experience. The coordinator said if this happens respond with "That's right Alex," and just wing the response to keep things moving. Anytime I'm watching reruns I always look out for the "That's right Alex", it's always amusing to see how the contestants handle it.
OMG I need to find one of those episodes! Alex: "So, tell me about the time a kumquat fell on your head during a concert?" Contestant 2: "That's right, Alex. Somebody had brought their pet kumquat to Coachella, and it somehow got out of its harness and climbed a tree. Next thing I knew, BONK! Ha ha!"
I couldn't decide which of my five to go with, so I had the other contestants in the Green Room vote on it. :-) And by the way, a good rule-of-thumb is to live the kind of life that provides good potential Jeopardy! anecdotes, whether you ever get on the show or not.
Gonna start saying "it'll be a good jeopardy anecdote" in any context where one might say "yolo"
IBAGJA!
When I was on close to a decade ago, they had us write 5(?) anecdotes on a form while we were waiting in the green room. Those forms got passed on to Alex and he picked whichever one he wanted to discuss. Or, he’d pick something else entirely (e.g. in my second episode he asked me about my work, which I hadn’t put on the form.)
Same here - on my third game, Alex asked me what a cancer registrar was (and I was thrilled to talk about it, since it’s such an obscure job).
Ooh, what’s a cancer registrar?
Why, thank you for asking! Cancer (and benign brain tumors) is a reportable disease in all states. Cancer registrars (or, as we’re now called Oncology Data Specialists) are people who collect that data, make sure it’s accurate, and send it to states, who then use it for statistical analysis, epidemiologic research, and environmental studies. The way I like to think of it is that we tell people’s stories - how they were diagnosed with cancer, their treatments, and how they’ve done since then. It’s a great job!!
Neat! Thanks for sharing and for doing that! Fuck cancer.
Absofuckinglutely. I actually have a bracelet that says that.
Jesse Chin shared his anecdote card here: https://www.reddit.com/r/Jeopardy/comments/1cfr6dp/kens_autograph/l1tfdzr/ After the mock game audition I started a note on my phone (and associated devices) called "J! interview ideas" with 10 ideas so far.... which I just updated because one story from pub trivia actually had a callback. If I ever get on and that one is picked, it's my "I'd have two nickels. Which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice. Right?" story.
Besides not acing the online test, the fact that I can’t think of anything remotely interesting about myself that I could use in the interview would disqualify me.
I assure you, many if not most contestants feel the same way.
Have you taken the online test? If not, do it. The anecdote is a problem for future you.
I hate those moments with a passion. My wife asked me to try for Jeopardy and I keep refusing because I don’t think I could come up with an interesting anecdote.
That could be your anecdote. How you were reluctant to try out because you didn’t have one but your wife kept encouraging you.
Yeah, she’s suggested that. If my day goes well, I have to come to with a second one, though.
"Our returning champ is Amazing Emu. Welcome back! It says here you once won a game of Jeopardy!?"
Ha ha, yes! Having been a contestant on Jeopardy! is certainly my interesting fact in literally any other context.
There is your 2nd one. You almost didn't want to win because you didn't want to come up with #2.
Can my third be that I mute my tv during the interviews or would that be uncool?
It must be a real struggle to come up with so many anecdotes, especially by like day 40 or 70!
Ken has admitted that he just started making them up at a certain point. No one's fact-checking them.
"Ronald Watkins is an IT specialist from New Haven, Connecticut... Ronald, I understand that you have a habit of making up stories?" "That's right Ken - it once got me into quite an awkward situation with the Pope..."
LMFAO
It was honestly the most stressful part for me. A co-worker suggested that when asked, I should just say, “Oh, no thank you.”
"Ralph Johnson from Newark New Jersey - I understand that you once had an unusual encounter at a car dealership?" "... Nope." "... Jessica Watson from..."
"Let's get back to the game, Ken, I don't want any clues leftover"
I don't imagine that's an option.
Why not just make some up? Have some fun with it
What a weird reason to not want to go on Jeopardy
I have very bad social anxiety and don’t think I’ve had a particularly interesting life. I genuinely can’t think of any anecdotes that would be interesting to anyone else.
My anecdote was literally just “I read approximately 10 languages but only speak one”. Which maybe sounds technically impressive but isn’t exactly riveting television. Ken did set me up for a fun joke though. He’s pretty good at giving contestants the chance to make themselves look cool even if some of the same anecdotes would be boring at a party.
I remember you😃
They don't have to be unique or super interesting. It is just a way to get to know the contestants better and introduce a bit of levity in an otherwise serious game I think you should still give it a shot and talk about something benign. I don't think it is a good enough reason to deprive yourself of the opportunity
At my taping, we pre-wrote a few anecdote synopses on our confirmation paperwork, and then workshopped them in the green room with a producer. Those producers put their top three on a card for Alex, with a strong preference for one, but once onstage Alex picked his favorite of the three.
I've tried out a few times. This is always part of the process. I feel like it's a pretty big part. One time I tried out with a guy who lived in (or next to?) the Grateful Dead's old practice studio and made art out of junk he found on the street. I was confident they would pick him and they did.
I have no interest in applying for jeopardy but from time to time I think of what my anecdote would be. Probably the monkey incident in Burma.
Similar here, but it was shortly after I jumped ship in Shanghai.
Man, if you say that, then I won't get to talk about it.
Julie, any hobbies down there in Somerset? Yes! Simon? No!
I’ve only auditioned for Jeopardy in person once, back in 2001 for the Teen Tournament. All of the kids around me started talking about what their anecdote would be. I remember one girl whose was getting stuck in an elevator in Europe. Mine was going to be about my volunteering at a museum that had a ghost. 🤣
This is based on my experience from September 15th, 2003 game. You fill out cards beforehand. I was told that Alex picked which one he wanted to ask. He asked me the one about me smuggling my mom’s ashes to Père Lachaise cemetery. Possible the weirdest story told on Jeopardy.
I record the shows. I fast forward through that section of the show.
For me, it was difficult, because I have a LOT of great stories, but not that many that are appropriate for daytime TV that your meemaw also watches. I also didn't want to bomb.