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Saturday, November 15, 2014

CRANKY OPINION SATURDAY IS IN JEOPARDY


CRANKY OPINION SATURDAY IS IN JEOPARDY
A cranky opinion for
CRANKY OPINION SATURDAY

The following is the opinion of a cranky old man with little knowledge about anything he opines.  Opposing opinions are welcome but will probably be ignored.  As usual, please, no name calling, and that means you, you big stupid- head!

Last week I copped out of an opinion post.  Politics had worn me out.  Polarization had me beaten.  Hate, fighting, name calling, all of this has taken the fun out of having opinions.  So is the Cranky Old Man done with opinions?  Does this opinionated man have nothing left to complain about?

No way.

Today I have to speak on a subject that is really the aluminum foil on my amalgam fillings. 

I watch a lot of TV.  I like game shows, reality shows, and quiz shows.  One of my favorite shows is “Jeopardy.”  Lately, as sure as the hosts name is pronounced Alex TREEbek, they are ruining this game.

This quiz show has multiple categories for the contestants to risk money answering questions. 

Yes yes, I know, they don’t answer questions; actually they get the answer and have to supply the appropriate question.

For instance:

THE ANSWERHe wrote the seldom read “I Used To Be Stupid.”

 The Question that fits the answer is – “Who is the Cranky Old Man?” 

If you had answered, “Who is the author of ‘I Used To Be Stupid.’?” You would have correctly formatted a question that fits the answer but you would still receive the WRONG buzzer, so you see the game is really questions and answers.

OK, aren’t you sorry you challenged me? 

Anyway.

For the past 40 years contestants in this game have answered the questions in each category in order; lower priced questions (the easiest) to higher priced questions (the most difficult.) Lately contestants have been choosing category questions out of order.  They do this in an attempt to find the “Double Jeopardy” question which allows them to risk part of or all of the money they have earned.  The “Double Jeopardy” question is always behind one of the higher priced choices.

This is annoying to me for several reasons.

1.     Tradition!  40 years of selecting questions in order of difficulty and now they are changing because of some strategy?  Does anyone care about tradition anymore?

2.    I like to try and answer the questions along with the contestants.  I need to warm up to the more difficult questions.  I have to start with “American President’s Pets for $200 Alex.”  I just cannot just jump straight to the $1000 question.

Come on Jeopardy, change your rules!  Make it mandatory to choose questions in each category in order of their difficulty.

There it is; there is my beef, there is my solution, and there is my cranky opinion for this Saturday.   

If you disagree, then you are probably smart enough to answer the questions hardest to easiest, you don’t watch the show, or you just have no passion.

If you agree, voice your opinion.  Let Alex TREEbek know you’ve had it with these Jeopardy contestants that are ruining the game.  

Tell him Cranky sent you.

The preceding opinion was from a cranky old man and not necessarily that of management…Mrs. Cranky.

17 comments:

  1. I haven't seen that show in years, unless you count the Saturday Night Live version with Will Farrell and Burt Reynolds. :)

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  2. Actually, they've been doing this for years. It hasn't troubled me too much because I'm just as likely to get the easy, cheaper questions wrong as I am the expensive ones. I do admit that I'm glad you've finally gotten around to commenting on the compelling issues of our time. Ha!

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  3. I get lost when they skip all over the board. But since I can't answer the easy questions I guess it really doesn't matter too much. If I were to pick, I would choose tradition.

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  4. When contestants used to do it more as you describe, I used to wonder why they did that instead of opting for the more difficult 'answers'. I didn't realize it was to keep you, and those like you, happy...

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  5. Perhaps going with the flow will uncrank you and solve everything. Just saying...

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  6. I don't watch that show and I don't care about how they do or don't answer the questions. Not one bit.

    Have a fabulous day. :)

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  7. We watch Wheel of Fortune, followed by Jeopardy most every evening. It gives us pleasure to beat some of those wise guy contestants. My wife hates the people who jump to the expensive questions first. I don't care. Sorry, Joe.

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  8. Jeopardy is the only show we record (so we can fast forward through the LONG commercial segments) & I can answer about 70-80% of the questions, in ANY order!! (Not the ones on music since about 1980, though.)

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    Replies
    1. Are you sure it's not tree-BEK?

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  9. I've actually never watched an entire episode of Jeopardy, but I probably wouldn't be very good at it either.
    I get slaughtered when we play Trivial Pursuit. I can remember almost all the old stuff, but calling it to mind in a timely fashion is a challenge :)

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  10. I watch on occasion but find my recall has really slowed with age.If you notice, there are rarely any older contestants on the show for that same reason. I get the question out a split second after the contestant says it but I guess that doesn't count and no one believes me that I knew it at all. .

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  11. Haven't watched Jeopardy in years, so don't know of any rule changes, but I do remember watching it when I was sick in elementary school years ago and being excited when I knew the answer.

    betty

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  12. I haven't watched Jeopardy in a while...but I remember my entire family always was glued to the TV during that time when Ken Jennings was on.

    I always preferred the traditional method of "working your way up" on the board, but I have to admit I might go for the expensive questions in a category I'm familiar with if I needed to catch up to my opponent (or put some $$$ distance between us).

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  13. Jeopardy is on at 4:30 here, and I get home in time to see the last half of it. I don't care if they skip around. I think that's the only chance the contestants who have fallen behind have to catch up. I hate it when Alex Truh-BECK says after someone answers an obvious question/answer/whatever..."GOOD!" Like he's SO patronizing sometimes.

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  14. I rarely know the answers to questions, or in this case, the questions that fit the answers, so I don't care how they play the game. Which I never watch.

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  15. It's kind of interesting though, that after so many years this is happening. What caused the change I wonder?
    Maybe it's reality shows - with each season the contestants are trying more and more to game the system, and maybe game show contestants have learned from this?
    I can see how this would be annoying.

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