Ol' Ken Jennings Rips Up "Jeopardy!"

                     

For those who don't know, Ken Jennings [who won a record gazillion times on "Jeopardy!"] ripped the game show for a myriad of issues.  To relive it....go here:  Ken Jennings - Blog

I know...why write about this?  Well, when you play Trivial Pursuit...it combines "Sports and Leisure"...and trivia game shows are sorta leisure.  So I'm gonna comment on it, just so my sports brethren can be informed. 

There are two things about this entire thing that crack me up.

One....anyone can have a blog.  How great is that?  I mean, I do...for crying out loud.  And in this world where it seems everyone gets 15 minutes of fame by creating a blog, going on a game show, or "starring" in a reality TV show....it is just so weird how psuedo celebrities can be quickly made.  People like that Howie on Big Brother 2000, Super Nanny, Dog the Bounty Hunter or any of us who have blogs. 

Sorry...tangent.

The second thing is that Ken has a blog...and when you read his blog just a bit, you really wonder how somebody like that could be a Jeopardy! champion for over 3 months straight.  I mean, his Jeopardy! blog post begins like this:

"Dear Jeopardy!,  Hey, I hope you remember me. It’s been a while since we talked. We were a bit of an item a couple years back, in all the papers, but I think we both know that was just a summer thing. The last time we saw each other…well, the magic just wasn’t there. That’s why I don’t mind when I see you with a new special someone. Or two. Nearly every night! … I’m sorry, is this sounding passive-aggressive? I don’t mean to badger you. I remember that, when we were together, it seems like all I ever did was nag you with questions."

What??  Huh??

I know "smart people" have a humor all their own....just as "rich people" do...but this is corny.  That blog entry is full of nonsense and childish jokes in the vein of "yeah, not as ugly as your face" type crap.  Stuff like this:

"Third, that damn electric blue everywhere in your decor. Was that hip in 1984? Was that the only electronic-age color that Solid Gold wasn’t using in their set that season? Why do you want your show to remind me of my TV screen when there’s no tape in the VCR? "

Or..."Finally, Alex. I know, I know, the old folks love him. Nobody knows he died in that fiery truck crash a few years back and was immediately replaced with the Trebektron 4000 (I see your engineers still can’t get the mustache right, by the way.) "

That is priceless!  Dude needs his own sitcom!

Of course, no one likes Alex Trebek or "Jeopardy!" made fun of.  So there was a bit of a backlash on the whole deal....hence the reason I'm writing any of this.  Because of this....Jennings decided to address it all with this clever number:

"It’s a humor piece, and one which gets its laughs from the outrageous non sequiturs it proposes, not the ripeness of its target for criticism."  Dude is the next Dennis Miller!

The thing is, Kenny, is that [and this has already been said by you] Jeopardy! made you.  If you didn't go on that show and rip it to shreds....you'd be just another computer programmer....the geeky kind, not the grungy kind.  And, despite all of your improvements who want to add onto Jeopardy! from your blog....remember that it has been on the air for 22 years straight with Trebek and has been on TV since the 1960s.  Only "Wheel of Fortune" [an easy crossword puzzle game], "The Price is Right" [an unemployed and housewife's dream show] and "Hollywood Squares" [D-list celebrities telling cheesy jokes....ya know, people like Ken Jennings] has survived as long.  Not "Who Wants to be a Millionaire"...which flamed out.  Not the tons of other shows that pop up here and there then go away.  There is a channel devoted to Game Shows that cannot even keep a new one on the air long. 

I guess that Jeopardy! has figured out it's formula and it's niche....and no matter how cheesy and robotic you think it is.....I guess shock comedians like you just have to deal with it. 

And remember....if they hadn't have made a change in their format....ya know, the one that limited champions to a5-day reign....no one would give a damn about you.