http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1950s_quiz_show_scandals
The above link is self-explanatory. But the rant I am about to do is anything but (your mileage may vary)...
During the time of the passing of Charles Van Doren and James Holzhauer's Jeopardy! streak, I had been yearning for more information on the quiz show scandals (link above). Heck, I even bought a 2-pack DVD set that not only talks about game shows in particular, but (on BOTH discs, also sold separately), you guessed it, the quiz show scandals. The Biography DVD also highlights Ken Jennings' streak, too, so that one is worth a watch.
But let us focus on the man chasing Ken Jennings, and that is none other than James Holzhauer, who as of the writing of this post, has won 29 games and over $2.25M. So, all he needs to do to surpass Ken is to win another $250,000. But given his big bets in Final Jeopardy! and on the Daily Doubles, we may see another 1-day record coming. Recently, I have been seeing comments on YouTube that the guy is a FRAUD or a CHEAT, and that Jeopardy! is RIGGED or FIXED.
Well, let us rewind to the history of the show: Merv Griffin was yearning to do a quiz show, but was fishy after the scandals (you're going to be hearing me talk about it a lot in this post, so...). His wife Julann was suggesting he do one where the contestants are given the answers, and Merv, of course, told her, "That's how they ended up in jail." But what she really meant was: Give them the answers (and not ahead of time, either), but have them come up with the questions. Originally the working title was What's the Question?, and it didn't really contain any excitement. Merv was sitting with executives at NBC who kept saying that there were no jeopardies, and that the show needed more jeopardies; hearing the word "Jeopardy!" ad nauseum (like you'll hear me say with "scandal"), Merv decided that that would be the title of the show.
Now back to the focus at hand. If Jeopardy! WERE rigged or fixed, or James WAS cheating, the show would already be off the air, and Alex and the staff would all be out of a job.
Once again, the quiz show scandals led to something that has ensured game shows are run fairly and squarely: STANDARDS AND PRACTICES. We game show fans know about it, but the idiots out there who are claiming this is all a big hoax do NOT.
Heck, there's a show similar to this in Win Ben Stein's Money. In Round 2, Ben stands as a "common contestant" to defend his money, and the co-host (Jimmy, Nancy, or Cousin Sal) takes over question duties and reminds us that from that point on, Ben does NOT, and I repeat, does NOT get the answers to the questions ahead of time. And they mean it, too. This is to ensure that the other two players also get a chance to play and take more of his money. In the Best of 10 Test of Knowledge, whoever plays second has to wear headphones in their isolation booth so they cannot hear the other's answers.
Last but not least, I've been hearing a lot about game shows being scripts. As many have said, the only "scripts" are the game material (puzzles, questions, etc.), or on the "prize shows" (such as Sale, Deal, Price, and Wheel), the prize copies. What is NOT scripted, and hasn't been since the scandals, are the outcomes.
Two cents? Leave them here. Gameshowguy2000 (talk) 17:52, May 29, 2019 (UTC)