the most beautiful game show moment: Scott Weiss breaks Jeopardy!

[selinker]

What: The end of the March 16, 2007, episode of the quiz show Jeopardy!, which featured the only nonzero three-way tie in the program's history. Here is the Final Jeopardy showdown.

Click to view

Why: As it headed to commercial before Final Jeopardy, the March 16 episode looked to be like most others in the four decades since Jeopardy! debuted: one contestant

Comments

[selinker]

It should be obvious that I'm using a fairly broad definition of "game show" here. I include all studio game shows, all reality shows with a major competitive element, and all talent shows-not coincidentally because I can't stand most of the latter two groupings. But I do think they're all basically the same thing: people enter to win prizes and fame, using some level of mental, physical, and/or artistic talent. As always, your mileage may vary.

Also, it's pretty amusing to note that I wrote this entry on Monday, and then the next day I learned someone had written a musical about it. I'm not the only one who thinks it's a beautiful thing, apparently.

[ladycelia]

That is a truly beautiful thing.

[selinker]

What I love about this is that I hate ties. I can't stand them in soccer or hockey, really can't stand them in baseball's all-star game, and go out of my way to try to eliminate them in games I design. But the Jeopardy! system was so broken that it's just beautiful how well Scott exploited it, and how he turns out to be a humanitarian for doing so.

[ladycelia]

Yeah, in this case, the tie was delightful. And don't get me started in ties in the All Star Game. Gah!

[dougo]

What, no Newlywed Game "strangest place you've made whoopie"?

My favorite recent game show moment came from Russell finding a hidden immunity idol on this season of Survivor, with no clues and not even an announcement that it existed. He went on to find two more (so far), and successfully used one to get someone else voted off (first time that's happened on the show, I think?), but his finding the first one was the best single moment.

[selinker]

Even though I've never watched a minute of Survivor, I read the descriptions of that one the next day and had to admire it.

As for the "in the butt" moment, I figured I had that kind of thing covered with the Countdown and Catchphrase bits.

[dougo]

The Countdown one is amazing. How did they keep playing?! Seems like it must be a fake, but hard to tell for sure. Some discussion here: http://www.poetv.com/video.php?vid=24054

[dougo]

I should add that even if it's a fake it's still pretty beautiful.

[anonymous]

BEQ here. Just saying, that sand animation was pretty powerful. That is all.

[selinker]

Actually, that is what got me to write this entry. I thought, man, I gotta put that on my journal. Most beautiful sand animation? Most beautiful Ukrainian talent show? This seemed like a better option.

[selinker]

First off, everyone should watch the video Monty has linked. It's as fascinating a documentary as I have ever seen. You will spend your time striking an imaginary button as you try to do what Larson did. (Also, I want to go to the dentist that gives drinks to patients to relax them.)

I did consider including Larson's triumph, but it's just too sleazy. Larson was an opportunist. That he figured out Press Your Luck and was able to take it for all it was worth proves he was very clever. But it doesn't make what he did admirable, nor does what happened to him afterward make me think he was a good guy. I'll stick with Scott Weiss as my game show hero.

[aquarian_days]

I watched the video as I had never heard about this particular scandal. Absolutely fascinating. But it also justifies your choice even more as I could probably count on one hand all the times in the history of game shows a contestant has done anything truly honorable. Maybe I'm cynical, but I do think that if more people could do the sort of thing Michael Larson did, they would do it. Perhaps without such impunity, but things like ways to manipulate your fellow cast members and ensure you're the last one standing on "Survivor"? Absolutely. In a way, these kinds of shows sort of encourage contestants' baser natures to come out. It's truly nice to see someone fight against that mentality.

[selinker]

I am having trouble coming up with any other examples of selfless acts in game shows/reality shows (and I can come up with ten or more easily in sports). I'd love to see if people can think of others.