Richmond Local Competes On "Jeopardy!"

Amy George, now a Richmond local via Kansas, has what it takes to get on America's favorite quiz show. Amy gives us a behind the scenes look at the episode, which aired July 27, and talks about the fastest 22 minutes of her life.

What made you pursue a guest visit on “Jeopardy!”?

I don't want to say it was a lifelong dream but I think I had always been interested-- as far back as seeing the kids and teen tournaments-- in being on “Jeopardy!”

Back then you had to audition in person, either in Los Angeles or at a special event.  It just became a lot more achievable when they started the online tests. I did quiz/scholar's bowl in elementary through high school. 

I wasn't very interested in the College quiz scene; one of the reasons I feel ““Jeopardy!”!” is so popular is that even if you didn't know the answer, you've probably HEARD of most of the correct responses, and College Bowl isn't necessarily like that.

How did you prepare for the big day?

Well, you only get about a month's notice if you are selected to tape.  I actually got a few general trivia books, some reference guides, and so forth, when I was selected for an in-person audition. 

Once I got "the call," I had several friends quiz me from these books and other materials. I did a lot of reviewing the presidents, state and world capitals, mythology, and some other common subjects. I listened to a lot of history and science podcasts at work, as well. 

Ultimately, you can’t prepare or cram. I’ve always been a reader, and I’m generally interested in the world around me. Oh, and I also worked in a restaurant that had "Buzztime" trivia. It was good practice, and my tables really tipped me well when I helped them out with a few good answers.

What questions stumped you and do you have moments of replay in your head where you get them right?

Well, the last one, to some extent.  I was only inches out of third place, so I knew I probably had to bet large if I had any hope of winning.  You don’t actually get to keep any of the money if you’re not the winner. Believe me, I would have much rather walked away with $15,000! 

And the category was just “Royalty” and not “British Royalty," which is a favorite subject on “Jeopardy!”, so I had hoped the question wouldn’t be as arcane as I felt it ended up being. Even the guy that got it right said he had taken an entire course in British history and still felt like he was guessing.

The game moves so fast - and you just keep smacking that buzzer, it's sometimes kind of a shock when you actually ring in and have to produce the answer.  The first night after the game I was kind of a wreck replaying it in my head and really upset with myself for the incorrect responses I made. 

It's not like I expected to win - but I just hated to lose!  The beginning of the game started out with Linda, the returning champ, practically steamrolling over us – she had $6,000 and I had about $800. 

She was just so fast, and it was pretty hairy there for a while, but I got the hang of it eventually.

Tell us about Alex Trebek.

Everyone wants to know about Alex!  My impression of Alex is that he’s even taller than he looks on TV, and he's aged very well and is quite fit for a 72 year old man.  The show is filmed in real time, so during one of the commercial breaks he answers questions from the audience,  while the contestant coordinators are trying to keep us calm and the makeup artists refresh our face powder,

He seemed a little cranky, probably because the audience members ask the same questions a lot. 

Someone asked what his favorite hockey team is, I guess because he was born in Canada, and he responded that he's a Lakers fan.  He's been a US citizen for quite a few years, and he's lived here longer than he lived there, so I'm sure he gets tired of answering questions like that. 

He clearly takes what he does very seriously, and is very professional. Once or twice (over the 7 games that I saw taped) he would mispronounce or misread one of the questions and they would fix it during the commercial break, but he pretty much doesn't mess up.

Unfortunately, the only time you get to see Alex is on stage, because he's already seen the clues and responses for the day, so it'd be a problem if we were hanging out backstage together.  Thanks to the quiz show scandals of the 50's, there are some really intense standards and practices they have to follow in order to make it truly a fair game.

The staff actually spent a lot more time talking about Merv Griffin, who created both “Jeopardy!” and “Wheel of Fortune.” Probably since the “Wheel of Fortune” set is right across the way and I believe the two shows share a good deal of staff. 

I don't know if they spent more time talking about Merv out of one of those "if you can't say anything nice…" type situations, or what.

It was kind of crazy that my show aired on the day that Alex was on the news having injured his Achilles' tendon chasing down a hotel room robber!

How hard was it keep the results secret? Who did you watch the show with when it aired last week?

It was pretty hard, because people really wanted to hear how it went. I guess it would have been even harder if I'd won a bunch of money. You pretty much sign your life away, so if you won a million dollars and you just couldn't keep it a secret, you might not get paid. 

They don't actually pay you until 120 days after your air date. You have to pay your own way there - nothing's paid for except your lunch and snacks while you're on set and your transportation to the studio if you stay in the hotel they recommend you stay in. 

I watched with my husband, our dog (who didn’t recognize me on TV), and a handful of friends who helped me get ready for the show in one way or another.

Any other game show appearances lined up that we should know about?

Nope. “Jeopardy!" is a one time deal. As long as Trebek is the host you never get to try out again as a contestant I think that’s really sad for the kids and teens – I’d actually love to see them come back and play as adults. 

I 'm actually contractually forbidden from appearing on quiz shows for something like a year.

I assume this really only matters if you end up being Ken Jennings or something, because basically they “own” your performance and your image on the show.  For example, they could put a winner’s face on a billboard advertising the Tournament of Champions, and the person wouldn’t get any compensation for that.

What's the most memorable experience of the whole adventure?

Just being on set and seeing how the show is made was pretty cool. You don’t get a lot of time to talk to the other contestants at the studio, but you do tend to run into them at the hotel, and I got to know a few of them.  

They were almost all shockingly smart, witty and genuinely nice to boot. So it’s something just to be in the same league as these folks.  

A bonus was I got to visit my cousin, who lives really close to the Sony Pictures Studios, and we went to the Santa Monica Pier for dinner one night.  

Also someone told me I was briefly in the background when E!’s The Soup had a story about Trebek’s hotel robbery, so I can officially add that little feather in my cap.

Explain the process of getting on, going, waiting to tape and taping.

There are several steps actually.  

First you take an online test in the early part of the year.  You can sign up on the ““Jeopardy!”!” website, and then they email you when it's time to take the online test. It's 50 questions, and you pretty much need to get 35 or better to get invited to an in-person audition (they're in different cities every year, mine was in DC). 

Obviously you want to aim for getting them all right!  I think I got somewhere around 40.  

Then in May 2010 I was selected for an in-person audition, where you take a head shot (big smile!), and another 50 question paper test.  They take it away and grade it and based on those results match you up with people and you play a mock game. 

They also ask you some questions, similar to the interview that Alex does during the show with the contestants.  They're not just looking for people who know the answers, but also they're looking for people who play the game well, with personalities and voices that would be good on TV.  Their job is to make good TV. 

They said I would be in the contestant pool anytime in the next 18 months, and actually I got “the call” in Feb., 2011.  I had long since given up hope, so it was kind of a crazy surprise.

About 100,000 people took the online test, about 4,000 or 5,000 might have in-person auditions, and about 450 get to be on the show that season (that includes all the special shows they do, with regular contestants it’s probably closer to 400). 

I know people who've tried out for years and years, so the fact that I got on after my first try is kind of crazy.  There's a rumor that they do a bit of 'affirmative action' in contestant selection - so if you're not white and male, you actually might have a slightly better chance of getting on the show. 

It's their show, and they can do what they want, I guess.  It'd be pretty boring if it was three middle aged white lawyers every single day.  The contestant coordinators said that due to the popularity of the Watson challenge, more like 200,000 people auditioned this January.

You get to the studio, and sign some paperwork, and get your makeup done while the coordinators explain the rules of the game and how things will go.  Then you sit in the audience until your name is drawn to play.  I actually was on set one whole day and didn't get selected, so I knew I'd play the next day.  

You get some time on the set before the audience shows up to practice with the buzzers and timing lights. One of the things you don't see from home is there's a lockout system that's manually activated when Alex finishes reading the question. Some lights go on and that's your cue to buzz in.  

If you buzz in too early, you get locked out for 1/4 of a second, and that fraction of a second is a long time in “Jeopardy!” time.  It's probably the fastest 22 minutes of your life, and then it's over, and they escort you out of the studio, and that's that.  

They tape five episodes a day, two days a week.  That gives the staff time to work on other shows, like “Wheel of Fortune," and to conduct the contestant searches.

Has anyone come out of the woodwork saying they saw you on “Jeopardy!”?

I had several Facebook messages from people I didn't know - which was kind of weird.  Mostly stuff like "I'm watching you on Jeopardy! right now!"

I didn’t realize just how much people are excited see someone they know on TV--friends, family, and acquaintances alike.