'New' Show - Jeopardy!

Question. A TV quiz show that has been a hit in the USA for forty years consecutively but has never been a great success in the UK despite being tried several times?

Answer. What is Jeopardy! ?

You know, if I was meaner of spirit than I already am, I might well have decided not to write about the latest revival of Jeopardy! since I did not get invited for an audition to appear on it despite going to the time and trouble of filling in an application form. Well, there’s lots of shows that I could say that about, so what the hell?

Can you call a show that was first created 60 years ago a ‘new’ show? Ah, but that was in the USA. Okay – then can you call a show which has been tried in the UK no fewer than four times previously a ‘new’ show? Well, for the purposes of LAM, I’m going to.

I said that Jeopardy! debuted in 1964 in the US, which it did, and ran for just over 10 years. I don’t wish to go into mind numbing detail about syndication in the US and what it means, but the current version of the show began its run in syndication in 1984. It’s probably fair to say that as quiz shows go it’s something of an American national institution. In his introduction to the latest UK revival host Stephen Fry as good as said as much himself, speaking of his own enjoyment of the show on many visits to the USA. Which is probably as good a reason as any why there have been so many attempts to establish the show in the UK.

You know, I watched the first episode on New Year’s Day and I had mixed feelings about it. If you know anything about the show then you know that the format is pretty simple. It’s a general knowledge quiz made up of several rounds. Three contestants buzz in to ‘answer’ questions from specified categories. The questions can be worth between £25 and £150 depending on the degree of difficulty. In each round there are 1 or more ‘daily doubles’ which enable the contestant to nominate a certain amount of the cash they have already won. If they get the question right, they double the stake. If they get it wrong then they lose it. At the end, the contestants have to stake as much or as little of the money they have earned on one question. Whoever has most money left at the end, is the winner and can come back on the next show.

Of course, the big gimmick of Jeopardy! is that contenders get given the answers and have to provide the questions. I’ll be honest, I’ve always thought that this is a bit naff as gimmicks go. Let’s be honest, there’s not a great deal of difference between asking

“Who was the writer of “Jane Eyre”? – answer Charlotte Bronte –

And

“The writer of “Jane Eyre” – answer “Who is Charlotte Bronte?”

I’ll be honest, it brings out the smartarse in me, and makes me want to answer

“The writer of “Jane Eyre” – which writer used the pseudonym Currer Bell? – which of course is not what is required – the great Stephen spells it out quite clearly that the answers must start with ‘who is’ or ‘what is’.

Okay I’m being a smartarse here. The question and answer format is what really makes Jeopardy! what it is and if you don’t like it then don’t watch. One of the funny things that I felt while I was watching it was that the gameplay itself felt rather old-fashioned. Basically you listen to a general knowledge question, beat the others to the buzzer, give the right answer and there’s cash in the bank. This is what quizzes were like when I was growing up. There’s a lot to be said for this as well. You know that I always think that the more questions that are asked in a show, the better, and you do get a lot of questions for your money in this revival.

While we’re on the positives, what this version of Jeopardy! has that no previous British version had is Stephen Fry. Stephen Fry is an inspired choice as host, especially when you consider that we might well have ended up with Richard Madeley. Previous hosts of British versions include Derek Hobson (personality not included) – Steve Jones (wipe the smile off your face, sonny, and lose the silly mid-Atlantic accent) and Paul Ross (Jonathan too expensive?). Actually I didn’t think that Paul Ross did a bad job of it either. But someone further removed from a primetime US quiz show host than Stephen Fry would be hard to find. I could listen to Stephen Fry read out selections of the most boring parts of the Yellow Pages – and I paid good money to see him reading from his book “Mythos” in Cardiff a couple of years ago. He brings class to everything he’s involved in.

Will this one run and run? I don’t honestly know. The fact that it was put on at quarter to six in the evening suggests that ITV do not see this as a prime time show – and to be honest the amount of cash that can be won on each show is nice but not earth shattering. Yet it runs at an hour long, with precious little variation between rounds. It feels padded. While I’d consider making it a regular watch for the presence of Stephen Fry if for nothing else if it was no longer than forty-five minutes, an hour is asking too much of me. And I like quizzes. Aiming to capture a reasonable proportion of viewers used to “Pointless”, “The Chase”, “Eggheads” and “Richard Osman’s House of Games” may well prove to be too much of a tall order, the great Stephen notwithstanding.