Answers On Jeopardy!
Denver Guy asks: I want to hear more about Jeopardy. Do the contestants try to play mind games off air? Does the show withhold taxes on winnings, or are the prizes net of taxes? Are their Jeopardy contestant reunions (there have been so many contestants over the years - it could make a cool club)?
Contestants are thrilled enough to be there without playing mind games. Besides, since they tape five shows in a day, unless you just won, you don't know if you'll be next, so you're nervous enough without screwing around. You do get to play a few practice rounds in the morning before taping starts and that does give you a chance to check out the others.
I seem to recall they didn't withhold taxes, though you could ask them to. Of course, if you won a large amount and didn't pay estimated taxes, you may be penalized for it. (When I played, they also had a limit on games won and money won--you had to list a charity any excess would go to. Happily, they've since dropped that requirement.) You can also reject anything they offer, of course. I turned down the Rice-A-Roni and Lee Press On Nails.
No reunions as far as I know, though they do have that Tournament of Champions, which is sort of a Homeschool Week.
posted by LAGuy @ 12:35 AM
4 Comments:
I've always wondered why anyone smart enough and gameshow-inclined enough to appear on Jeopardy wouldn't choose "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire" or the like instead. Why compete against other smart people for your money when you can avoid it?
You don't get to choose, they do. Jeopardy was easier to get on than other shows (actually, for a while there weren't too many other shows) since most of them required a ridiculously effusive personality, not knowledge.
Millionaire, in its glory days, had a daily call-in. If you passed, you were put in a pool of presumably tens of thousands from whom the charmed cricle would randomly be chosen.
In fact, I did get on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire but couldn't work that computer in the fast finger section so didn't get in the hot seat. Otherwise, I would have made at least a quarter million.
The new, tougher, syndicated Millionaire still has a test, but now looks for some interesting personal story, rather than the cold-blooded pursuit of money.
If I had my choice right now, I'd like nothing better than to get on Deal Or No Deal, which requires no skill.
How about "Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader?" The criteria for contestants there seems to be that you can't be smarter than a fifth grader.
Thanks for the insights
One more "insight." I see no reason why such windfalls should be taxed.
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