This whole line of argument is inane. Even if the audience who saw Ken lose didn’t know at the time that he’d had a 97 day winning streak, they would say to themselves now, “Say, I saw this Ken fellow lose.” So even if they didn’t know exactly how many days his run had been, they’d know that he had in fact lost. (And it would probably be possible to determine the length of the winning streak based on what day the filming of its end was.) And yet, it seems that no one has leaked any such information.
And what would cause the producers to omit announcing the returning champ’s numbers at the beginning of the show? A crystal ball that would tell them ahead of time, “This is the show that Ken will lose”?
And as whiterabbit pointed out, the same audience watches the taping of five consecutive shows.
The only reason that this hasn’t leaked at all is very likely that he hasn’t lost yet. I think his streak has a lot more to do with the impotent competition he has faced rather than his own abilities. Some of his opponents seem very tentative and stage-struck.
And yet, some don’t. […shrug…]
Only a few have really challenged him. But many have sat on their hands as he ran categories. If you’re going to beat him, you have to be aggressive and beat him to the buzzer, and if you miss a few so be it. Last night, it was all over after 2 categories were run.
Even if you’re right, I still don’t see how that impugns Ken’s abilities. Impotence of his opponents does not account for his knowing every answer in 3 straight categories. Beating the buzzer is fine, but then you have to answer the question.
I knew the answer to almost every single question he got, and I knew a few he didn’t. Where Jennings masters the game is in buzzer control - he obviously buzzes in before he’s sure of the answer (er, the question. You know what I mean) and trusts himself to figure it out. That’s just smart play; if you’re confident you’ll know the answer at least two thirds of the time, just keep the other players off the board. I knew almost all the answers he knew… but put me up there and I’d probably be too nervous and intimidated to play without enough aggression to get the answers out.
I mean the first question last night, on States, was “It’s first in agriculture and population.” Who doesn’t know that “what is California” is the correct response? There’s no reason the other two could not have gotten that.
Consequently, he’s now much better than when he started. Since he’s been on for 29 shows, he’s even more relaxed and confident then before and can control the games at his leisure.
If you watch, he always builds up a big lead fast, which puts the other contestants back on their heels. They probably are intimidated, and they’re behind and don’t have a chance to get into the game. There’s no way he’s faced 60 bad opponents- I think he’s made at least a few good players look bad. Also think about the number of questions he answers per show (maybe I’ll count that today). The others don’t have the chance to make much money. 