Switched to Supermarket Sweep while looking up muffin recipes, taking the laundry downstairs, and preparing Rose's birthday card. Buzzr's monthly marathon for April highlights shopping-themed shows, including this one. I caught the beginning of a big tournament that had people competing to win two cars at the end of the week. The first one was really close, but team three killed at the Big Sweep. They didn't manage to find the money, though. The contestants on the second show got much luckier. This time, they were ahead most of they way through, won the Big Sweep easily, and found the $5,000 with just a few minutes to spare.
Headed out to run errands on my bike around 2:30. It was too cold and dreary to be walking. Though it hadn't rained since the morning, the weather remained breezy, gray, and below-average chilly, not even in the 50's. I mainly wanted to deliver Rose's birthday card. (I would later text her and leave her a birthday greeting on Facebook as well.) Got a super-sweet chai latte at a busy Common Grounds Coffee House barely ahead of a big group of parents and kids who had just come from the Oaklyn School. Made a quick stop at Dollar General later for chocolate chips and an Orange Cream Coke Zero.
Put the laundry in the dryer when I got home, then had lunch while watching What's New, Scooby Doo? Scooby's saying "Riva Ras Vegas" when he and Shaggy win a concert to be backstage at a concert for then-teen pop star Lindsay Pagano. While Lindsay gets a crush on Fred, the others try to figure out why the ghost of recently-deceased magician Rufus Raucous seems to have it in for Lindsay and her concert.
After Scooby ended, I went online to apply for jobs and try to figure out what I want to do. I know I can write and read, but what can I do with that? I'm organized, but it doesn't seem to do me much good. My computer and management skills aren't good enough for most receptionist and secretarial jobs. I have no idea how to use the recent versions of Microsoft Word or Excel, and I have a hard time figuring out the math equations on the latter. I've never had regular meetings, or worked with a team, or directed anyone, or done any of the things normal office workers do.
I've been feeling blue for the past few months, since before Christmas. I think I'm more bored than anything. I keep trying to find something that will really stimulate me, but nothing seems to be working. I can't find anything new that interests me. I start writing and organizing projects, but after a while, I lose interest and don't finish them. I try to go back to old interests, but they don't have the same feeling.
I finally brought my laundry upstairs and put it away, then called Uber to take me to Deptford. Jessa wanted to eat there on Monday night instead of Saturday. It was late when I finally got to calling Uber, It didn't help that the driver didn't seem to speak English, and I had no idea how to explain who I was and where I was going. He drove up to the Deptford Mall 10 minutes after six.
Jessa finally met me next to Red Robin. As it turned out, she thought today was my birthday and gave me my gift - natural snacks like baked peas and organic lemon-coconut cookies. I was fine with doing a shorter Deptford trip today and a longer one next week, especially since I'm working too long and late to go out this Saturday.
I treated her to Red Robin, which is right at the main entrance. She had a "Sh'room Burger," a burger smothered in mushrooms. I had a basic Red Robin Deluxe Cheeseburger. Mine was a bit chewy and messy, but not bad. We shared that tower of onion rings.
We only had the time to explore the Boscov's next door to the Red Robin after dinner before the mall closed. She got two shirts. I finally bought a new comforter in a pretty teal, coral, and peach floral print. Since the comforter came with pillows and pillowcases but not sheets, I picked up a coral sheet set to go with it. They were both on good sales, with both sets coming to $44 all together.
Jessa and I chatted as she drove me home. She basically said that it'll be easier for me to find myself if I can accept what I am and try to figure out what kind of a person I want to be. I have a very hard time accepting what I am. I know I have ADHD, but it's easier to fall back on old patterns than it is to accept I have a mental disability that makes it hard for me to do certain things.
Cheered myself up by spending the rest of the night on YouTube, watching Jeopardy! episodes in honor of its 60th anniversary last year. Jeopardy! debuted in 1964 as an antidote for the dour, overwrought quiz shows of the 50's. Three contestants choose a clue from a subject list, then phrase their answer in the form of a question. The bonus round has them wagering money on one last, hard question. The winner is the one with the most money left at the end.
The very simplicity of Jeopardy is what made it such a hit. It would prove to be the second-highest-rated game show of the mid-late 60's after Hollywood Squares. Quiz shows were suddenly a viable format again, and Griffith was off and running as a TV producer. The original daytime show ran until 1975, when NBC's vice president of daytime programming Lin Bolen moved it out of its original noon slot in an attempt to find younger-skewering shows. Griffith attempted a syndicated nighttime version in 1974, but that barely lasted a year.
(Too bad very little of the original daytime Jeopardy - and none of the original syndicated - exists today. NBC erased tapes until 1980, Merv Griffith until 1985. This teen tournament episode from 1967 was only recently unearthed. Hopefully, more will turn up eventually.)
Jeopardy! returned to NBC as The All-New Jeopardy in 1978. Here, the lowest-scoring contestant was eliminated after the first round, and Final Jeopardy was replaced by a Super Jeopardy round that had the winning contestant answering questions in a bingo-like format. The changes were roundly disliked by most fans, including long-time host Art Fleming. This version lasted five months and is the last time to date that Jeopardy has been seen in daytime and on the networks.
Griffith gave Jeopardy! another chance in syndication after the nighttime Wheel of Fortune was a sensation. Alex Trebek took over hosting a show that was far closer to the original, including re-instating the Final Jeopardy bonus round. This time, it worked. Jeopardy! became just as popular in syndication as the show it was usually paired with, maybe even more so. Like Wheel, it continues to run in syndication to this day.
By far the most famous contestant on the show is likely Ken Jennings, who would run a record-breaking consecutive 75 days and remains one of the biggest winners on any game show. It's too bad only bits and pieces of most of his episodes are currently on YouTube. I include the only one with him I could find in full, which is the day he was finally defeated.
After Alex Trebek died in 2020, the producers finished the season with rotating hosts, then did producer Mike Richards for a week. He was so badly received, they brought in Jennings and actress Mayim Bialik as the rotation hosts in 2021. Bialik's involvement with the strike in 2023-2024 ended her hosting duties. Jennings was announced as the permanent host in 2023, and has remained so ever since.
The success of Jeopardy spawned spin-offs. Rock and Roll Jeopardy used the same format on VH-1 from 1998 to 2001, with rock questions replacing the general interests. Jep! from 1998 was a kids' version, which added balls or slime dropped on a contestant when they gave a wrong answer and let the kids choose random point values instead of going down a row. While not great, Jep! was somewhat more tolerable than the kid Wheel from around the same time, due to the decent questions and energetic host Bob Bergen. (There have also been the online-specific Sports Jeopardy, Celebrity Jeopardy, and Pop Culture Jeopardy.)
It's one of the most beloved quiz shows of all time. What is Jeopardy! Follow its heart-pounding history and get to know its most famous contestant-turned-host!
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