# Merv Griffin announces that something "amazing" is going to happen... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 18, 2004, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/merv-griffin-announces-that-something-amazing-is-going-to-happen/245842 "2004-05-18T20:42:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 22
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2004, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/merv-griffin-announces-that-something-amazing-is-going-to-happen/245842/421 "2004-07-24T13:37:15Z")
I almost missed this cause I had something to do after work. But it had been a miserable day at work, I left late and without eating all day, and it was pouring rain, so I canceled. It was a GREAT final show of the season. Alex said the first three plays before saying “Richard III,” leading Ken to say “You’re killing me, Alex.” I did answer _Hamlet_ and _Macbeth_, remembering that someone’s ghost had told Macbeth not to do something. Not bad for a high school dropout! Since Ken is a tithing Mormon, the church will get 10% of his winnings. They must be doing a Happy Dance! ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2004, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/merv-griffin-announces-that-something-amazing-is-going-to-happen/245842/422 "2004-07-24T13:58:09Z")
The IRS too. They’ll take a lot more than 10%. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2004, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/merv-griffin-announces-that-something-amazing-is-going-to-happen/245842/423 "2004-07-24T14:00:50Z")
> [@ivylass](#): > > Anyone notice how quick Ken is on the signaling button? I’ve noticed several times where he’s rang in, only to struggle to answer the question. Most times he’s gotten it right. Is he also using the signaling button when he’s not sure of the answer, just to get in first? Yes. I think it’s been mentioned either in this thread or a similar one, but it’s a quiz show technique to buzz in if you’re reasonably sure you know the answer, even if your brain hasn’t caught up to it yet. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2004, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/merv-griffin-announces-that-something-amazing-is-going-to-happen/245842/424 "2004-07-24T14:12:25Z")
I know this is probably crazy, but I swear it seems like yesterday’s show was set up just for Ken. I mean, I’m not saying that there was anything unfair or anything like that, but… It was the season-ender and all the category titles of Double Jeopardy were take-offs on movies and movie names. Ken is famous for having 2,000 favorite movies. Plus, he is an English major and a prodigious reader. So, Shakespeare for Final Jeopardy? Again, I’m not complaining. I think it was a great tribute to a great player. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2004, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/merv-griffin-announces-that-something-amazing-is-going-to-happen/245842/425 "2004-07-24T14:14:56Z")
Oh, and I almost forgot. He knew that Charlotte’s women’s NBA team is the Sting. How on earth does an egghead Mormon from the other side of the country know these kinds of things? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2004, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/merv-griffin-announces-that-something-amazing-is-going-to-happen/245842/426 "2004-07-24T15:07:40Z")
How would being Mormon have anything to do one way or another with your knowledge of professional sports teams? ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2004, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/merv-griffin-announces-that-something-amazing-is-going-to-happen/245842/427 "2004-07-24T15:08:11Z")
You know, I was about to pooh-pooh the notion of material being written for Ken’s benefit, but then it occurred to me that until this long run came along, the writers never had the opportunity to “get to know” the contestants. The clues and questions are presumably written well in advance of the tapings, and by law and practice, the material for any given show is (supposedly) randomly selected from among many game sets to avoid any possible collusion or cheating. As long as no contestant stuck around for more than seven shows (the pre-Ken record), the writers couldn’t possibly know when writing any category which contestant would get it. But the longer Ken kept winning, the more likely it became that a question written today would be seen by Ken in a taping three weeks from now. So the question becomes, how far in advance is material written? If the writers are just now writing the next season’s answers and questions, they will obviously know that Ken is going to get some of them. Even if they are trying to avoid “helping” him, they might unconsciously choose subjects they know he’s good at. Or maybe they’d be inclined to try to take him down? The best solution would be to write a whole season’s material before the first show of the season is taped, and I suspect that that’s what they do. But that doesn’t solve the current problem of a champion who crosses seasons. Interesting. Of course, for all they know, Ken will lose the first show of the season. The real solution is probably just to continue writing material that is basically the same as the material they’ve always used. Ken’s knowledge is so wide-ranging that they would have to go out of their way to write material that would hurt his chances. And that wouldn’t be fair to the other contestants, either. BTW, I’ve been wondering for a while: do Mormons tithe on the gross or the net? I hope for his sake it’s the net. ---
**Author:** ![Jman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jman/32/4416_2.png) [@Jman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jman)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2004, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/merv-griffin-announces-that-something-amazing-is-going-to-happen/245842/428 "2004-07-24T15:31:13Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > Question: can anyone recall whether Ken ever went into Final Jeopardy without having more than twice his nearest competitor? According to [tvgameshows.net](http://tvgameshows.net), Ken has made Final Jeopardy mathematically inconsequential in 33 of his 38 games, including the last 18 games. Pretty amazing. Jman ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2004, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/merv-griffin-announces-that-something-amazing-is-going-to-happen/245842/429 "2004-07-24T15:37:29Z")
> [@Commasense](#): > > BTW, I’ve been wondering for a while: do Mormons tithe on the gross or the net? I hope for his sake it’s the net. All tithing is off the top. You earned the gross. You give God a portion. The IRS does its thing independent of God and the earner. > [@Walloon](#): > > How would being Mormon have anything to do one way or another with your knowledge of professional sports teams? Nothing directly, just that he’s war over in Utah. Read the rest of the phrase. ---
**Author:** ![stately\_plump\_buck\_mulligan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/858c86/32.png) [@stately\_plump\_buck\_mulligan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stately_plump_buck_mulligan)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2004, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/merv-griffin-announces-that-something-amazing-is-going-to-happen/245842/430 "2004-07-24T15:55:11Z")
I haven’t been able to watch the reign of King Ken on television, but I have been keeping up with this thread to see just how far the sucker’s gone. I followed the link to the ESPN article, and two things leaped out at me: 1. Damn! He looks way younger that I imagined. Kinda cute, too, contrary to what I’ve heard. [I’d never seen a picture of him before] 2. Trivial question: does Ken write his name differently each day, or is it that same all-lowercase serifed engravement every night? I’d never noticed, before, whether or not return champions re-wrote their name tag every day because none of them stayed around long enough for it to occur to me. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2004, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/merv-griffin-announces-that-something-amazing-is-going-to-happen/245842/431 "2004-07-24T16:00:57Z")
He writes it differently every time. Alex even took note of it one day. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2004, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/merv-griffin-announces-that-something-amazing-is-going-to-happen/245842/432 "2004-07-24T16:03:56Z")
BTW, given the normal lead time of taping _Jeopardy!_ episodes — anywhere from two to five months ahead of time — most if not all of the September shows have already been taped. ---
**Author:** ![Nightwatch\_Trailer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/9dc877/32.png) [@Nightwatch\_Trailer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nightwatch_Trailer)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2004, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/merv-griffin-announces-that-something-amazing-is-going-to-happen/245842/433 "2004-07-24T18:16:11Z")
I missed yesterday’s show (darn it! He finally broke the record and I missed it). What was the FJ question? ---
**Author:** ![Nightwatch\_Trailer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/9dc877/32.png) [@Nightwatch\_Trailer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nightwatch_Trailer)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2004, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/merv-griffin-announces-that-something-amazing-is-going-to-happen/245842/434 "2004-07-24T18:18:25Z")
Never mind. Right after I posted my query I found a Fark-linked article that had the Final Jeopardy question. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2004, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/merv-griffin-announces-that-something-amazing-is-going-to-happen/245842/435 "2004-07-25T00:24:51Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > Question: can anyone recall whether Ken ever went into Final Jeopardy without having more than twice his nearest competitor? Though this has already been answered, I’d like to note that his fifth appearance had him both below double his nearest competitor AND he got FJ wrong! Fortunately for him, and Jeopardy’s ratings, the opponent in question got it wrong too. But that particular combination of factors has never happened again so far; he’s always either been out of reach, or he’s gotten FJ right. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2004, 10:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/merv-griffin-announces-that-something-amazing-is-going-to-happen/245842/436 "2004-07-25T10:45:28Z")
It’s going to be a long six weeks. See you guys on the other side. And thanks for being patient at the beginning when things didn’t materialize on the announced date. I was starting to wonder whether people might think I’d made up the whole announcement. Would the last one to leave please turn out the lights? And when Ken starts back up, would whoever sees it first open a new thread? Goodnight, David. Goodnight, Chet. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2004, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/merv-griffin-announces-that-something-amazing-is-going-to-happen/245842/437 "2004-07-25T14:31:58Z")
> [@Nightwatch Trailer](#): > > I missed yesterday’s show (darn it! He finally broke the record and I missed it). What was the FJ question? These are 2 of the 4 of Shakepeare’s plays in which a ghost appears on stage. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2004, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/merv-griffin-announces-that-something-amazing-is-going-to-happen/245842/438 "2004-07-25T18:35:59Z")
Oh, and for anyone wondering, the other ghost play is _Julius Caesar_. Hence the exclamation “Great Caesar’s Ghost!”. ---
**Author:** ![Feit\_C\_Taj](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ee59a6/32.png) [@Feit\_C\_Taj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Feit_C_Taj)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2004, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/merv-griffin-announces-that-something-amazing-is-going-to-happen/245842/439 "2004-07-25T23:56:46Z")
To go back to the earlier posts on this thread, I half-expected Ken to pull his mask off on Friday’s show to reveal… Andy Kaufman! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2004, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/merv-griffin-announces-that-something-amazing-is-going-to-happen/245842/440 "2004-07-26T22:45:40Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > All tithing is off the top. You earned the gross. You give God a portion. The IRS does its thing independent of God and the earner. Not **quite** independent. Tithes are considered a kind of charitable donation under Federal Income Tax law, and you’re allowed to deduct (from your Taxable Income) up to 10% of your gross income in charitable donations. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/merv-griffin-announces-that-something-amazing-is-going-to-happen/245842.md?page=21) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/merv-griffin-announces-that-something-amazing-is-going-to-happen/245842.md?page=23)