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Lord Help Me, I Can’t Stop Watching JEOPARDY
I don’t know about you, but I really enjoy game shows.
Especially with the way the world is today, there’s something absolutely captivating about the stable-yet-sterile world of these shows.
Family Feud, Wheel of Fortune, Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?, the list goes on - but the fact remains that if the episode isn’t that old, the show feels always of the moment yet completely timeless.
The outside world never seems to effect it - except perhaps for the questions asked and answers shared - the world of the game show is in a gloriously excited bubble. The only worry is if you can get the questions right and get to the final round.
With Jeopardy though, I’ve found particular solace as of late.
Alex Trebek - though kind of a dick - is always a steady hand, guiding the show and its categories like a well-oiled machine, versus the controlled chaos of Steve Harvey on Feud, the somehow-still-figuring-out-the-show-all-these-years-in nature of Drew Carey as a Price is Right host, and whatever weirdness Pat Sajak has evolved into over the years.
The questions - always broad enough to keep the average viewers interest, but detailed and obscure enough to make rubes like me watching at home convinced I’m smarter for doing so.
The format is always straight forward - three rounds: easier to start, harder in the middle, and one son-of-a-bitch at the end.
The contestants? Pretty boilerplate, mostly forgettable, until someone does something remarkable and gets on a history making run - one that makes cult heroes of people such as Ken Jennings, Austin Rogers, Buzzy Cohen, or Matt Jackson.
It’s an educational chicken soup, fed in a high-def, brilliantly lit game show candy coating. It soothes my nerves, sands off the rough edges of the day, and makes me feel comfortable.
Lately, I’ve been doubling down even more. My local affiliate (Baltimore’s WBFF Fox 45) airs it at 7:30pm, but now I can watch it any time, with seasons’ of past special events available to watch any time, any where, via Hulu and Netflix.
I recognize, I could be binge watching the shows everyone won’t stop talking about - Russian Doll, Maniac, Castle Rock - but instead, I find myself launching that unforgettable theme and getting caught up in the drama of man versus man versus giant question board.
That is Jeopardy. And I can’t get enough.
Thursday February 28, 2019