Even Jeopardy is resorting to cheap gimics!

[OttoDaFe]

@Gordon_Urquhart

@muldoonthief

Ah the good old days, when the hardest part of the game was figuring out how to spend your money so you didn’t wind up with the ceramic Dalmatian.

You could always put the rest on a Service Merchandise gift certificate.

I thought you could only do that if you didn’t have enough funny money to buy anything more (even the ceramic Dalmatian).

[Just_Asking_Questions]

@TreacherousCretin

Gimics mimic gimmicks?

I must have picked up that spelling from reading the commicks.

(I have no idea where “gimics” came from! I’m so ashamed…)

[Dewey_Finn]

@OttoDaFe

I thought you could only do that if you didn’t have enough funny money to buy anything more (even the ceramic Dalmatian).

I think that’s how it worked. Otherwise, I would have taken the whole sum (or most of it) in the form of a gift certificate.

[BigT]

@Marley23

I admit the show encourages this kind of attitude, but is Jeopardy is the only game show whose fans react like this to any proposed change? For whatever it’s worth I do wish they would tone down the cross-promotion and pop culture stuff some, but I always liked Trebek better with the mustache and I’m fine with the show doing what it takes to get and keep viewers.

It probably would be the same for any stuffy game show. You can only care about the purity of the show if it’s not for the plebs.

Compare the reactions to the pronunciation rules of Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune. It’s just yet another feature of Jeopardy, but people think it’s ridiculous on Wheel of Fortune, where it’s arguably much more important (as you could slur your speech when you were unsure about a letter).

Anyways, I do think this feels more gimmicky than the other stuff. The motivations seems different. The other stuff doesn’t feel like it was added as a ratings grab, but as a sort of in-show advertizing to keep the show afloat. It’s like the difference between a YouTube show having to take on a sponsor and creating a stupid publicity stunt.

Not that I think this is a big deal. It would only be a problem if this sort of thing became an actual part of the show, and not just a fun one-off. A one time thing can always just be a little bit of fun.

Also, about Wheel of Fortune: I had an old college textbook that had an essay on why WoF was so popular, and it decided it was the vicarious thrills of the whole shopping thing. Seeing as I was reading it in 2000, I couldn’t help but laugh.

[TreacherousCretin]

@Just_Asking_Questions

I must have picked up that spelling from reading the commicks.
(I have no idea where “gimics” came from! I’m so ashamed…)

No biggie. Go in peace.

[minionkat]

If they vote to keep it, I will have to put away one of my favourite t-shirts.

[DrFidelius]

@minionkat

If they vote to keep it, I will have to put away one of my favourite t-shirts.

Glarkware!

[42fish]

@Ellen_Cherry

If they had an option for “Grow Tom Selleck-style mustache,” then I’d vote.

Or an option for “John Waters style 'stache.”

[Gordon_Urquhart]

@Dewey_Finn

I think that’s how it worked. Otherwise, I would have taken the whole sum (or most of it) in the form of a gift certificate.

I have a pretty strong memory (and for now, that’ll have to do for my cite) of someone asking to put everything on a gift certificate, and Pat (I think it was after Chuck left) acted a little uncomfortable about it but the producers let it happen.

[garygnu]

That must have been before the rule where you had to buy stuff until there wasn’t anything available for the amount you had left. (How else would they get rid of four-foot ceramic pandas?)