Thanks all for the support!
No tie? C'mon man. 
I put this on my calendar.
If I'd had my druthers, I wouldn't have worn the jacket! The wardrobe guy said he thought my shirt had a "stain," so I put the jacket on.
A few more details. I took the online test sometime in early 2021 and got invited to a Zoom audition in July. After hearing nothing for more than a year, I assumed I hadn't made it. In December 2022, I got a call from a number I didn't know. I almost didn't take the call but decided to answer. It was the contestant coordinator asking about my availability over the new few months. She then called again after the new year and asked if I'd be willing to be the "local alternate" for the taping day on February 8. They always have an extra person in case someone gets sick or misses a flight, etc. I probably wouldn't play that day, but then I'd come back on February 27 to play for sure. Over the next few weeks, I was inundated with paperwork, including a dense, 5-page "interview sheet" where you provide fodder for the interview segment.
I had to go to the studio the night before each taping day to get COVID tested, and I stayed at a hotel near the studio.
When we arrived to the studio, we were "debriefed" in the parking garage before being escorted to the Wheel of Fortune set, which was our staging area for the day.
You can see one of the contestant coordinators next to the Wheel, and the other person is a makeup artist. The first taping day, we had to wear masks except when on stage. They didn't require it the second day.
We visited with the wardrobe guy and got makeup done, and the contestant coordinator give us a LONG discussion of how things work. The most amusing part of that was the "forbidden numbers." Unless it makes sense in the context of the game (i.e., taking scores into account), we were not allowed to use 69, 420 or 666 in our wagers. There was another number (1488?) that someone noted has something to do with some white supremacist nonsense. The one other thing I didn't already know was that, when you get to Final Jeopardy, they give you a pencil and paper to help with calculating your final wager.
They then led us over to the Jeopardy set to play rehearsal games. Ken Jennings came out and gave us a little pep talk. After some technical difficulties, we started the rehearsal games (each group of three played half of a board, and each person played twice against different people). The rehearsal games were hosted by former Clue Crew member (now stage manager) Jimmy.
What you don't see on TV is that there are vertical lights on each side of the clue board that cue the contestants to buzz in. The lights are triggered manually, so they don't always perfectly coincide with the host finishing the clue. We were told to look at the last word of the clue and use that, along with the lights, to help with timing. We also found out that the contestant coordinator has a computer (called ELVIS, which is an acronym for something) that lets her know if you're buzzing in early or late. If you're early, you get frozen out for 1/4 second, so they tell you to spam the buzzer once you decide to ring in. My biggest observation is that it's VERY easy to anticipate the end of the clue and buzz in early.
After the rehearsal games, we went back to the WOF set, and they announced who would be playing first. The rest of us sat there and watched the games on monitors. We took a lunch break after the third game. The games that are airing this week were recorded the first day I was on set. The person who won the game that will air on Friday is one of the few people to play with both Ken and Mayim as host. It'll be interesting watching this week's episodes since I know what's coming.
Topic: pg1067 on Jeopardy! (Read 4538 times)
