I’m a bit of a Jeopardy junkie. If I’m at home at 7:30 p.m. on a weeknight it’s pretty much a given that I’m tuning in the quiz show hosted by our very own Alex Trebek.
Same goes for my parents and other fans of the show, and I know there are plenty of others north of the 49th parallel.
I know there’s others, like my parents, that also like Wheel of Fortune and make it an hour of quiz show nirvana on a nightly basis but I’ve never gotten into the Pat Sajak, Vanna White phenomenon.
That may be because I’m not that good at it, or if I actually get the answer I find myself yelling at the screen from time to time as that darn wheel keeps turning determining the contestant’s fate.
With Jeopardy it’s more up to the contestant how well they do and as long as they know a little about a wide diversity of topics, you know like a Bachelor of Arts English major who is fairly tuned into world events, you will do well at this game show and maybe even make a fair bit of money (secretly I think maybe I like the show so much because it helps justify that piece of paper from SFU that’s taking up space in my closet somewhere and allows me to think, quite wrongly I’m sure, that for a few previous minutes each day, I’m not so dumb after all, ahem).
But, of course, you have to be fast with that clicker thing, and who knows how one will react if you actually took to the stage under the glaring lights and cameras and Alex himself and…..
However, delusional people who average five to 10 correct answers, ahem questions, on a nightly basis from the comfort of their own living room couches feel like “Hey, one day I’d like to give it a shot and see what happens” – imagining going on a winning streak and becoming rich and famous and ultimately and ironically an actual question on the show itself, i.e. “Who is Ken Jennings?”
Well, apparently you and I, and you’ve likely heard about this, can no longer pursue our Jeopardy fantasies, at least not in real life, any longer. Not that I ever would, of course, anyway, but how dare they take that dream away from us hosers?
And according to the show, and CBC News, they are working on reversing this new set of regulations that seemed to come out of nowhere.
“As international laws governing how information is shared over the internet are ever-changing and complex, we are currently investigating how we can accept registrations from potential Canadian contestants,” read a statement from the show’s publicists, “….and we are making every effort to find a solution before the next round of testing is available.”
My first reaction is to put it under “Gobbledygook for $1,000 Alex” but, hey, it sounds like they realize they may have made a mistake and are trying to rectify the situation.
So there’s hope for you and me yet.
However, I’m not naive and I know how these trade wars work so I think in retaliation we should ban Americans from appearing on Headline Hunters, Definition and Front Page Challenge until further notice and see how they feel about not being able to win all that Canadian coinage just because they happen to live where they live.
Oh, right, those shows aren’t on the air anymore.
OK, Plan B might be not to watch as regularly as before, get out the old Trivial Pursuit board instead, and see how they feel about that slice of Canadiana call to action.
Or we could start watching The Wheel instead.
And miss all the fascinating tidbits offered by Entertainment Tonight on a nightly basis? I don’t think so. In reality I’ll probably keep watching it, enjoying it, amazing myself at getting a handful of answers, all the while brushing up on my American history facts and figures, not to mention state capitals, so when they change the rules back to allowing Canucks I’ll be ready.
“Give me Chaucer for 100 Alex, please…”
