And didn’t make it. The damn test was hard. Like really hard.
Out of a room of 100 people only 5 passed.
But I did get a free Jeopardy pen.
Hey, this is something I’ve always wondered: If you try out for Jeopardy and make it in, but you don’t live in California, does the show pay for your travel expenses? Maybe they let you know this information, even if you didn’t make it.
I still say: congrats for trying out! I’ve always wanted to try out too (and I will if I’m free next time they come to Detroit). Would you say that the tryout questions are harder than the ones they use on the show?
I passed the test a few years ago, but never got the call to appear. That happened to be the season with the most 5-time champions ever. It figures.
When I took the test, it went like this - everyone sits in a room, almost everyone in business suits or other “workplace” attire, because that’s what they told us to wear. We fill in applications, with all of our relevant data points and the five “pithy facts” that Alex would use in our introduction on the show. Then we get a spiel about Jeopardy and Sony and the contestant search process.
We’re handed a sheet with 50 lines on it, one for each answer that are to be required to give. They tell us that we must get at least 35 correct answers to be placed into the contestant pool. Two monitors are placed at the front of the room. In a very brief time span, there are 50 questions given in the white-on-blue scheme as shown on the show itself, and read by Alex Trebeck, who we hear but do not actually see. We write our answers, but not in the form of a question. All too quickly the time has elapsed (I believe each question had 10-20 seconds to be answered.) and we hand in our answer sheets. We take a break while the tests are graded, and chat amiably with one another – there is no spirit or sense of competition here.
The business reconvenes, and together we go through the questions and the correct answers. We don’t have our answer sheets, they’re still being graded, so we all tend to forget which ones stumped us in the process. Then comes the fun part.
They start calling out names. We’ve now been together for a while, and as name after name is called, we all can only think that these are the people who’ve passed. We all wait to hear our name. A small number of us get a big lump in our throats, our names aren’t called.
Then they say “If we’ve called your name, we thank you for your time, but you did not pass the test. You may leave now.”
The people whose names were not called look at each other in astonishment as the non-passing folks shuffle out, dejected.
Then they give us more data. The show does not pay for airfare, and you must appear when called, no rescheduling. This is why they like to have as large a group of prospective contestants as possible. They take polaroid pictures of each of us and attach them to our application forms. We look at each other nervously some more while the administrators do more work which does not involve us.
Then they ask us to introduce ourselves and say a little bit about ourselves. In the group that I took the test with, we began with 100, and 12 passed. Every single member of my group was an attorney save one woman, who was a master archivist at the NYC library. The moderators encourage us to chat together, then they bring us up three at a time to play a very, very low tech (buzzers like on the show, but otherwise consisting of cardboard cue cards and questions written in magic marker) mock game.
After the mock game, they send us home with the advice to stand by for a call any time between August and February. Before leaving we all exchange business cards in the hallway. (The search was held in a hotel banquet/meeting room.) We go home and wait the most cruel and abominable wait of our lives, and we watch every single show, looking for others from our group. None of us makes it onto the show.
It is most definitely an experience worth having.
I tired out about a year and a half ago. I also got the pen. It took about 45 minutes to whittle 78 people down to 6. (I was one of the other 72). I’ve said in previous threads that after that I no longer get angry at the idiots on the TV show who are missing very simple questions that seem to me to be obvious. No matter how bad they seem to be doing, remember that they passed the test, and I didn’t.
And from what I remember (which may not be correct), you are set up with accomodations once you get to California but you have to pay for your travel. Also, the questions in the tryout were much harder than the usual TV questions.
I passed the test 6 times, both in L.A. and at contestant searches here in Texas, but for whatever reason, they never called me and I never appeared on the show.
I don’t know for certain whether this was a matter of sheer dumb luck, or whether there was just something about me the contestant coordinators didn’t like (hard to believe anyone mightn’t adore me, I know!). Regardless, I haven’t tried in the last 5 years now, and won’t try again unless they come back to Austin.
Of course, you guys know that we have a 5 time champ on the boards… (no, not me!!!)
Zev Steinhardt
Must… get… out of… system…
I lost on Jeopardy!
Baby
Ooo-oo-ooo-ooooooo!
I lost on Jeopardy!
Baby
Ooo-oo-ooo-ooooooo!..
We have a 5-time Jeopardy Champ? Ahh, the wonders of the SDMB! He/she better come and spill about the experience, or… I’ll shake my fist in his/her general direction. Take that!
My University professor won the world championship of Jeopardy in 99 I think.
My mom was on, in 1994. We were living in LA so airfare wasn’t an issue. She tied for second. Unfortunately, she ended up against this woman who was on her fifth show, a real nice woman who was kicking everybody’s asses, so Mom didn’t have a prayer of winning. She probably would have had a good shot at winning a show or two, if it weren’t for Amy.
I will never eat a Werther’s Original again, though. We had a CASE of those things!
For a while, I took fiendish delight in playing “I Lost On Jeopardy” just to irritate her…
Who dat? 
I was on Jeopardy! in June of 2000.
I participated in a contestant search in Washington, where about 5% of the tested passed. I was called about six months later.
The show was taped at the tail end of April to be shown in June. I had to pay all travel expenses. The only thing I was guaranteed was a ten-dollar room discount and lunch at the studio commissary.
I came in second, which was good for a week in Puerto Rico that
Mrs. Moto and I used as a honeymoon.
My fifteen minutes was a whole half-hour, but it’s used up now.
The 5 time, undefeated Jeopardy Champion Doper is me, 5 Time Champ
My five appearances were about a year ago. I won $50,703 and a 2002 Chevy Tahoe. Finally, all the useless information I carry around in head came in handy.
Taxes can kill you though, especially when you win merchandise. Plus California takes 7% right off the top. It was almost enough to make me want to become a Republican.
Actually Mr Moto you are only guaranteed lunch in the commissary if you haven’t lost by the lunch break after the 3rd show of the day. I am glad you were able to enjoy your vacation prize. Since the contestants have to pay their own way to the show, it ends up costing them.
Wow, Astorian 6 times on the waiting list, and they never called you? I was on the waiting list 3 years. It is hard to say what their criteria are, your local TV market is one, besides how well you test.
Jeopardy! generally tapes 5 shows on Tuesday and 5 on Wednesday. I was fortunate enough to directly follow outgoing 5 time champion. It was a lot of fun, I got to say “What is Scotland, there Alex?” in what I think is a halfway decent Scots burr. Then “Vat is Sweeden?” And the money has come in handy.
BTW My appearance in the Tournament of Champions will be replayed sometime in July. I will post the date to the SDMB, when I find out the exact date, if anyone is interested.