I’ve been watching Jeopardy! with my husband for years now, and thanks to the advent of TiVo, then DVR and now streaming, there’s one part of the series we generally skip: The bit where host Ken Jennings asks questions about the contestant’s personal lives. Turns out, even the game show host himself thinks the gimmick is “cringey” and he’s OK saying it out loud.
As the host of Jeopardy! for a whopping four and a half years on the TV schedule, Ken Jennings knows a thing or two about interviewing three people onstage in a row. The context is often a little different. For example, some of these people last multiple episodes. Some are only there for one half hour of fun before losing to someone better at the buzzer.
If you were to ask Jennings, the chit-chat is definitely not his favorite part of hosting the show. He spilled the beans to “Lovett or Leave It,” noting:
So, I have to admit, as a kid, I found the Jeopardy! interviews so cringey that I would leave the room. Because these people mean well but you make them stop playing Jeopardy for a second to talk about their cat or their trip to Thailand or something, and they’re not there for that. They just want to answer the little questions.
I’ve long wondered what the purpose of the mini personal interviews was, but I’ve always guessed it’s so the audience can learn a little more and invest in a particular person, or maybe to give the show editing options to help land the perfect runtime. As Jennings pointed out, the Jeopardy! interview has long been a staple of the show, no matter how much he hates it.
So, I try to make it good. I try to make it the least bad it can be. And get out of there.
I can relate with going out of the room as a kid when my family was watching something cringey on the TV, but despite Jennings usually being pretty candid, I'm still surprised the man said this in public. If you want to see his fully visceral reaction, check it out below.
I also think it's really funny in the clip when Jennings pointed out people talk a lot about their "cats," because I'd say cats are the no. 1 thing I can recall people talking about during personal interviews on the show. These are smart people who are onstage to try and answer as much trivia as possible. They aren't usually telling fun, anecdotal stories or trying to be funny. (Though sometimes Jeopardy! contestants are inadvertently hilarious.) So instead, we get cats. Lots and lots of cats.
To each his or her own, but I'm basing who I'm rooting for on their competence at trivia and whether or not they are strong in categories similar to myself. Not how they feel about their cats.
The "cringey" gimmick doesn't take away from the fact Jeopardy is still one of the best game shows ever, but I'd love to see it one day skip the anecdotes and maybe give us something cool and new to see, like a bonus video question with celebrities on camera or something. For now, though, the popular game show host has and will continue to make it work.