Ken Jennings
You'll remember Ken Jennings, I'm sure; even those who never watch Jeopardy knew about Jennings by the time he walked over the record books, becoming something of a pop culture savant in the process. Jennings writes a blog which you may enjoy; last week, he made the news when some not-too-sharp journos mistook a tongue-in-cheek "rant" about Jeopardy and its format. Among other things, Jennings blasted such supposedly esoteric categories as U.S. history ... with the New York Post taking the post seriously, and the Associated Press distributing it widely without even blinking. Here are these thoughts from a posting earlier this month:
... Wake me up when you come up with something that middle America actually cares about. I think it would rule if, just one time, Alex had to read off a board like:
- PlayStation
- The Arby’s 5-for-$5.95 Value Menu
- Reality TV
- Men’s Magazines
- Skanks from Reality TV Who Got Naked in Men’s Magazines
- Potpourri
TV Squad saw through the humour of the whole episode; read about that here.
Thinking about Jeopardy categories brought to mind the classic Cheers episode in which postal worker Cliff gets on Jeopardy, and winds up with his dream board of topics, including civil servants, stamps around the world, celibacy and (of course) beer.
The Simpsons episode in which Marge loses a bundle on Jeopardy is a classic, too.
Likewise all the celebrity Jeopardy moments on SNL.
Posted by: John Mutford | Tuesday, August 01, 2006 at 20:50