Blog: This is Jeopardy!

On an average weekday most kids are doing homework or hanging out with friends at 4:30, but not me. At 4:30, every Monday through Friday, I can be found in the basement with my mom and dad humming the theme to “Jeopardy!” or making snide remarks about the contestants. That’s right, I watch “Jeopardy!”. Every day.

I don’t quite remember how “Jeopardy!” came into my life but I’m happy it did. Not only is it educational but it is a way to guarantee I get at least 30 minutes of time with my family. My dad and I see who can answer the most questions and my mom typically naps, but nonetheless it’s family time.

“Ja-Party time!” is a commonly uttered phrase from my father, along with “Zoe, time to hang out with your fiancé!”

Yes, I am engaged to Alex Trebek. But we aren’t serious. Making fun of Alex Trebek is probably the number one reason my dad and I watch the show. Not only does he make the contestants feel dumb when they don’t answer the question correctly, but he also gives the answer as if he knew it already. I mean, come on, the answer is on a piece of paper in front of him yet he reads it as if it was common knowledge to him. He even has hatred for the inanimate computer contestant Watson. Watson gives one wrong answer and Trebek rolls his eyes at him. Hello! Watson can’t see you rolling your eyes, Mr. Trebek.

But the number two reason we watch “Jeopardy!” is for the oh-so-interesting contestants. Where they find these people I do not know, nor do I ever want to. After the first commercial break Trebek takes the time to get to know each contestant by hearing a short personal story that the producers deemed ‘interesting.’ Most of the contestants talk about their stamp collections or training their cats for the circus but occasionally a sane one shows up to give a boring personal anecdote. It’s as if they are begging for us to make fun of them.

Yet the real fun begins when the game finally starts. Witty categories are introduced and Dad and I place our bets on how well we would do in this round. We answer questions we know and yell at the contestant when they don’t know something we did. We place our “Final Jeopardy!” bets and guess which contestant will make it to the next round, and when our show draws to a close we go back to our regular jobs of doing homework and making dinner.

So every day I make fun of people I don’t know who are raking in the big bucks, check out my hot fiancé and spend time with my family. Those two and a half hours per week may be nerdy, they may be silly or unnecessary, but no matter how bad my day at school was, I know that I get to come home to my family of Mom, Dad and Alex Trebek, and I know that they will cheer me up.