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Ken Jennings says that “Jeopardy!” fans who want to beryllium contestants shouldn’t overthink their preparation.
“I would opportunity watching nan show is nan champion measurement to prep for nan show,” nan big explained to Fox News Digital connected nan reddish carpet for nan TCM Classic Film Festival.
“If you watch ‘Jeopardy!’ for illustration nan hit of nan host’s sound will benignant of get into your pulse. You’ll cognize nan benignant of worldly that comes up, nan benignant of material. That’s really you go a bully ‘Jeopardy!’ player.”
If personification is trying to cram for nan show, he suggests learning nan US presidents and their first ladies successful bid and world capitals.
“And I deliberation those are nan 2 things that is for illustration nan astir bang for your subordinate if you’re cramming for ‘Jeopardy!’” Jennings said, admitting that he did a “lot of studying” earlier his record-breaking tally connected nan show in 2004 during which he won 74 consecutive games.
And arsenic a erstwhile contestant, Jennings admits he has “so overmuch empathy” for players.
“Everybody there has passed a very difficult trial to beryllium connected nan show. So really it comes down to who tin execute nether unit because these group are not utilized to doing this pinch lights and camera and everything,” he revealed, adding that immoderate players “step up.”
“It’s for illustration they’ll abruptly go their champion ‘Jeopardy!’ selves. And immoderate are a small much cervid successful nan headlights. I perfectly retrieve that. It’s very overwhelming.”
He added that he’s “always reasoning astir their well-being because I retrieve what that’s like. It’s intense.”
Because of that compassion, Jennings tries to do things for illustration thief contestants make judge their question and reply stories will beryllium interesting.
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And he wishes he could thief them erstwhile they make mistakes during nan game.
“I saw somebody mess up her wager in Final Jeopardy! once, but erstwhile you fastener successful that wager, and she was just, ‘Oh no, I messed up nan math,’” he said. “But I wish I could jump successful and do people’s mathematics for them, but I’m not allowed, constitutionally.”
Despite his historical run, moreover Jennings had categories that made him sweat a little.
“There was ever a batch of lucky connected ‘Jeopardy!’ When I was on, and possibly because of Alex being Canadian,” he revealed, “and it turned retired I did not cognize arsenic overmuch astir crystal lucky arsenic a genuine Canadian for illustration Alex.”
Jennings, who has helmed nan crippled show for 5 years now, said he feels for illustration “doing an Alex Trebek impression is fundamentally nan champion measurement to big ‘Jeopardy!’ Like, it’s not a slavish thing. Like, he really perfected it, truthful if you’re getting arsenic adjacent to Alex arsenic you can, you’re going arsenic adjacent perfection arsenic you can.”
He admitted that he doesn’t person nan precocious Trebek’s “skill set,” which is why he emulates him, but he said he differentiates himself by bringing his characteristic to nan show.
“You know, I genuinely bask nan interview, I think, you know, and he was very overmuch like, ‘OK, bully for you. Let’s get backmost to nan game,’” Jennings said.
Jennings said he besides learned from Trebek, who died successful 2020, that nan “host of ‘Jeopardy!’ is not nan star. You shouldn’t beryllium paying attraction to nan big to ‘Jeopardy!’ Like, if everything’s going well, nan crippled and nan contestants are nan prima and that’s perfectly really it should be.”
For contestants, he said, it simply comes down to “who tin execute nether pressure.”
And he particularly looks guardant to “Jeopardy!” tournaments “where we spot our very champion players playing each different and nan viewers will cognize who they are, and they’ll beryllium like, ‘Oh, that’s Amy Schneider. I emotion her.’ Or, you know, ‘That’s Mattea Roach’ aliases Matt Amodio.”
The 45-year-old said he loves to spot nan “Jeopardy!” veterans treated “like prima athletes, for illustration arsenic a erstwhile nerd, trivia nerd myself, existent trivia nerd, for illustration that warms my heart, you know, to spot group that excited astir our small trivia game.”
Jennings thinks it besides mightiness astonishment immoderate viewers to cognize a week of games is really changeable successful 1 day.
“I deliberation a batch of viewers don’t recognize we do a afloat week astatine a time,” Jennings explained. “Like, we do 5 ‘Jeopardy!’s successful 1 day. So, erstwhile a subordinate wins, they person to unreserved disconnected stage, put connected a caller outfit. I put connected a caller suit.
“We travel backmost retired 10 minutes later, and past I show nan awesome lie, which is for illustration yesterday connected ‘Jeopardy!’ but it was not yesterday! It was 10 minutes ago. We’re conscionable fooling you.”
He explained that that means, “when players triumph for weeks astatine a time, like Jamie Ding has been doing successful caller weeks, it’s an endurance contest. That’s a existent marathon for them. They’ve sewage to play and past spell backmost and play again.”
And for Jennings, a emotion of trivia goes a batch deeper than a memorable tally connected nan show.
“I conjecture I retrieve being a kid and moving location from schoolhouse each time to watch Alex big ‘Jeopardy!’ and conscionable thinking, you know, successful existent life, this makes maine a small spot weird that I for illustration knowing each this stuff,” he explained.
“Like, I’m very alert that this distinguishes maine from different people. But for Alex, that was for illustration a safe space. You know? ‘Jeopardy’ was a safe spot for that.”
He added, “There’s definite benignant of personification wherever like, they request that safe space, you know, because curiosity is truthful important.”
Always humble, Jennings, admitted that he ne'er thought successful “a cardinal years” that he would big nan show.
“People would inquire me, ‘Hey, like, if Alex were — you’ve been connected Jeopardy for months — if Alex were to retire, would you for illustration to beryllium a host?’ And I said, ‘That will ne'er hap successful a cardinal years. They’ll get a existent broadcaster for this job.
“Everybody pinch a bully TV resume is going to want this job, I’m not moreover going to get a tryout. Nobody is much amazed than maine that I’m hosting ‘Jeopardy!’ but I conscionable emotion this show truthful much. I consciousness very lucky.”
