Jeopardy FGRs

I hope that everyone was able to see/enjoyed last night's Jeopardy episode. Even though I didn't win, I can still say I enjoyed watching it. I was pleased that I didn't do anything dumb. I was thinking that it would be a good idea to post some frequently asked questions and their responses. But, in order to maximize my moment of geekness, I'm going to post them in a Jeopardy-friendly format. I will first post the frequently given response or "FGR" then I will respond in turn in the form of a question. I know this is an eye-roller, but I don't care.

R: This is how I got to be on Jeopardy.

Q: What is, out of curiosity, I took the national on-line test? As I remember, the test had about fifty questions from fifty different categories. I wasn't given a lot of time to answer the questions which seemed to be part of the test. It seemed to be testing breadth of knowledge and ability to move from one topic to another. After several months, I got an email inviting me to audition for the show. I was given the option of going to several cities. Denver was an option and so was Las Vegas, but I don't remember what else was on the list. I auditioned about a year ago here in Denver with 15-20 other people. The audition started with another fifty question test. I assume that this was to prove that you took the test and not a committee of you and your friends/family. After that, they did a bunch of introductions and let us all run through a mock round. They wanted to see if we could speak out loud and keep the game moving, etc... As the audition ended, we were told that if we passed the test our applications would stay on file for the next year and we might get a call.

R: This is what the taping was like.

Q: What is, I got to Sony Picture Studios in LA at 8:00 AM? No taping occurred for a couple of hours. There were several contestant liaisons who explained to us how everything was going to go. They also prepared us for the "Hometown Howdy" and our introduction with Alex Trebek. We all also had to get make-up put on. They tape five shows in one day. I was on the third show of the day so I got to watch two tapings from the audience seats. They didn't tell me that I would be on until after the second show had taped. I went back and had my make-up redone then went and signed on to the podium. I was pretty nervous through it all obviously. I think that I did a pretty good job managing the nerves though. After my taping, they gave me a Jeopardy bag and wished me a good day and that was it. I think we left the studio around 12:00-1:00 PM.

R: $2000 for a second-place finish, a photo with Alex Trebek, a Jeopardy bag and the experience of appearing on the show.

Q: What is what I won?

R: She was very good and obviously better than me. She was a really nice girl and I have no hard feelings at all. Since I didn't know the answer to final Jeopardy, the only way I could have won anyway was if I had banked more than double her total or through a betting fluke.

Q: What is how I feel about the girl who beat me?

R: Quite a few

Q: How many responses did you know but didn't get the opportunity to answer? Buzzer skills are obviously very important. I actually did it wrong a lot in the audition and had to be told to stop buzzing in early. It seems like it would be frustrating to know the answer and not buzz in first, but things happened so fast and I was focusing so hard that I didn't really have time to feel frustrated. When I actually did buzz in first, I really felt put on the spot and a couple of times had a hard time remembering what I was going to say.

R: Redo only my make-up.

Q: What is what the make-up lady did every time they stopped taping?

I think that's enough for now. Being on Jeopardy was an amazing experience for me; and I think that a lot of other people have had fun with it also. I'd be happy to answer any more questions anyone might have.