The Champions
Ten years ago I saw the movie “Quizshow.” (God, could that really have been 10 years ago? Damn.) For those who don’t remember, it’s the story of the game show Twenty-One and an eager young lawyer who discovered the show was being fixed in order to goose ratings. I remember talking with my Mom about the movie afterward and she remembered when the show originally aired and how into the show people got. She told me that people would actively follow the progress of contestant Charles Van Doren, that it was a daily topic of conversation. That it was exciting. As of 1994 there really hadn’t been anything like that since and it all seemed very alien to me. How could the public at large be so interested in a game show contestant? How could that really capture the imagination of the general public? I chalked it up to having taken place in a different, simpler time.
Of course Ken Jennings proved me completely wrong.
Ken Jennings’ winning streak on Jeopardy was huge. Not in years has there been this much excitement over Jeopardy, nor for any game show. Sure, you could make an argument for Who Wants To Be A Millionaire before ABC ran it into the ground, but that show was all about hype and it was never about the Champion. That show was designed so that a contestant could be on one, maybe two shows at most, but it wasn’t open ended. Ken Jennings’ winning streak on Jeopardy was a mini-phenomenon. I read somewhere that he’ll be profiled on Biography. He’s doing the talk show circuit. Certainly a book and probably a Movie-Of-The-Week thing will be made at some point. Ken Jennings has cemented a place for himself in pop-culture history and helped Jeopardy find new audience.
For a long time Jeopardy had a rule that stated a winner had to leave after five games. That rule was obviously changed earlier this year. Interestingly, Merv Griffin, the creator and still Executive Producer on the show, was against the idea of lifting the limitation. In a recent interview he said he still is, that he personally likes to see new Champions. All this despite the fact that Jeoprady has attained higher ratings and interest than it has in recent memory.
Did Twenty-One take place in a simpler time? Sure, but it’s clear that’s not why the show became a phenomenon. It’s about the Champion and we eat up Champions. Whether they’re muscle bound idiots destroying themselves on a field of green or a guy who’s a bit nerdy and likable, we love Champions.
