« Rescue Me | Home | The Bourne Supremacy: get these people a dolly »
July 23, 2004
When I See You Smile
For 37 consecutive shows (and over $1.2 million in winnings) Jeopardy! has been held captive by a terrifying trivia machine named Ken Jennings. He has rocketed through every category hes come across geography, history, politics, cat anatomy, obscure Volkswagen parts. He wears a carefully blank expression, with just a hint of a smile, and sometimes adds a little flair to his answers. But he is almost never wrong, and by Final Jeopardy, no other contestant even stands a chance.
Jeopardy! writers are flailing around to find any weakness they can. Dammit, is there anything this guy doesnt freakin know? they probably scream at each other in scotch- and cigar-fueled meetings, green visors pushed low over their sweating brows. Theyve aimed at Kens clean Mormon living with categories like How bout a Drink? (he only missed one, the Brandy Alexander) and Are you a Betting Man? They even tried Drugs in Movies but Ken didnt hesitate a moment before buzzing in with What is Scarface?
Then something very interesting happened last night during Double Jeopardy, in the category of Sentimental Rock:
Answer: Bad English sang "When I See You Smile"; it was this group that had the hit "Feel Like Makin' Love
Have you ever seen the light go out in someones eyes? Suddenly, Kens trademark grin was gone, replaced by an expression that clearly said .ohshit.
Amazingly, Ken didnt know Bad Company. He also didnt know Foreigner or Whitesnake. He could not name one of REO Speedwagons two hits. The entire category was a wash.
It took over a month and a million dollars, but could it be weve finally found Kens weakness? Tonight is his last appearance before Jeopardy! goes on hiatus until the fall, and it will be interesting to see if categories like 1980s Power Ballads, Hair Bands, and Steve Perry Lyrics come up.
By a strange, Cliff Claven-like coincidence, these are the exact categories that have more than once led Amys Robot to victory at bar trivia night. Could it be the bot that will finally bring Ken Jennings down? Excuse me, but Im off to buy my ticket to L.A.!
