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game winners would go on to the
two-game final.
At 11:30 we went to the studio
to play another practice game..
Then followed a nail-biting 45
minutes waiting with my fellow
competitors Amy Zucker and
Brad Davis for out show to start;
the first semifinal. What a psych-
out!
In the first round Amy got off
to a quick start and by the first
commercial break she was
leading me $1,600 to $900. Brad
had -$600. During the chit-chat, I
took the opportunity to thank my
farily, Tony, my other
housemates, and "everyone
else." At the end of Jeopardy!,
Amy had $3,000, I had $2,700,
and Brad had $200.
Amy was quick. I tried to beat
her to the questions and ended
up locking myself out and getting
frustrated. Alex said to me before
Double Jeopardy!, "It looks like
you're buzzing in too soon."
"Brilliant observation," I thought
to myself.
During the rest of the round
the buzzer was driving me nuts.
After watching the telecast of the
show, I counted up $1,500 worth
of questions that I would have
earned if I had just been more
patient. Then I got a break. Amy
missed a $1,000 question and I
got it. That was a $2,000 swing. I
then went to European History
for $200 and got it. The $400
question was simple but to my.
horror Amy beat me in. She blew
it, giving me a golden
opportunity. In my glee, I buzzed
frantically - but too quickly,
because Brad got in d answered
the question correctly. I then ran
the rest of the category.
"And boy, you've come alive
there Matthew," said Alex. "You
have closed the gap to within
$300 of Amy's goal of $9,200."
"The category will be..." Alex
began. "Please be something
obscure in Politics or something
that only I would know," I
prayed. Alex continued, "...The
Bible."
The Bible?
Not one of my strengths. If it
is the New Testament, I'm
finished. This time, though, I was
not going to regret my bet. I was
sure that Amy would bet enough
to beat me by $1 if I bet all my
money. I figured that if Amy
were to bet that way and miss,
she would be left with $599. I bet
$8,300, which would leave me
with $600 if I missed.
We returned from the
commercial and Alex read the
question; "Of the men
mentioned in the King James
version, he's the first
alphabetically."
It took me three read-throughs
before I understood the question.
I started saying names to myself.
"Adam, no. Aaron, yes!" I
thought for a bit, knowing that I
had to get this right. Down it
went. I hummed along to the last
half of the song and hoped that
Amy hadn't thought of Aaron.
Brad guessed Abraham, which
had not even occurred to me. He
missed and ended up with $602. I
nodded in approval. He would
have beaten both of us if we had
all missed. l turn. I was right!
Then Amy's answer was shown.
She also got Aaron and as I
guessed, she bet enough to beat
me by $1 if I had bet it all. She
finished with $17,801 to my
$17,200 and won the spot in the
finals. As it turned out, she was a
religion major.
There were congratulations all
around, and Alex praised my
comeback. Amy moved off alone
as Brad and I went to deal with
our parting gifts. We were each
given three sheets. One was a
contract for $5,000 and a
Nintendo Entertainment System.
The other two listed the parting
gifts we received for our two
appearances. We were offered 14
items we could forfeit if we
didn't want to pay the taxes. I
accepted most of the prizes
including $25 worth of Mentos
candy and $50 worth of Matrix
hair products.
Games Two and Three were
not as exciting but at the end we
went to dinner again on the Soul
Train set. The losers and finalists
were not allowed to mix. The
other losers and I had a great
time at dinner. We took pictures
in front of the Soul Train sign and
joked the whole time.
The Finals were anti-
climactic. None of the players
knew the Final Jeopardy!
answers during the first game.
Michael Thayer eventually won
$25,000 for his winning effort
(and a berth in the $100,000
Tournament of Champions,
which the college champ won last
year). After the congratulations,
we k pictures on stage and
Alex signed some autographs.
Later that night we partied in
the hotel, exchanged addresses
and said our goodbyes.
Overall, I finished in fourth
place and earned $5,000 before
taxes. (California takes 5 percent.
Yes, I have to declare it as income
on my federal return.)
My goal before I left for
California was not to lose in the
first round. I achieved that, and
to my relief, I felt that I had not
embarrassed myself on TV.
Justice Stevens saw my show
and kindly wrote to congratulate
me. I never would have guessed
that Jeopardy! has such avid fans
in such high places. He even told
me that he "would be happy to
welcome me to his chambers."
Nothing wrong with that.
The weekend was fantastic. I
met a lot of great people and
learned almost everything about
the production of what I think is
the greatest game show in
television history. I enjoy the
notoriety. I can't believe how
many people actually saw my
shows. Every day since I have
returned to Ann Arbor total
strangers have been
congratulating me. I really am
flattered and I thank you all for
watching.
The show was run again
recently, and invited competitors
for the next college taping. If you
get the chance to take the test for
Jeopardy, I'd be glad to help you
with the answers... in the form of
questions, of course.
advocacy," said Fehlauer 'ving
an outside voice telling the public
to see a show or not see a show
does nothing to educate the cast,
he continued. "It only sells tickets,
and we don't need to do that."
Instead, they wish to be free to
create and explore theater without
worrying about public opinion.
"Everyone involved is involved
because they love theater. We
aren't being paid a darn thing, and
that's fine with us."
"You don't want to be paid?"
we asked.
w "Not necessarily. Because no
C one is being paid, we don't have to
i go out begging for money, we don't
have to do popular shows, atd we
- don't have to sell tickets, so it gives
Sus complete artistic freedom. We
don't have to worry about
offending season-ticket holders."
Acting isn't the only part of any
theater group, especially in the
Basement. Commonly overlooked
as an important part of the theater
process are the technical personnel,
including lighting and set
designers. "The aura of a play can
be determined by how the show is
lit," said Fontichiaro, who is also
the co-chairperson of Basement
Arts. "I think the lights are another
character in the show - not any
more or less important than the
actors." One of teunique
advantages of the Arena is the
collapsible set and transportable
audience seating. "The designer
can determine audience
position. We've done shows in
the round, three-sided, and
traditional set-ups." In some
shows, the cast practically sits
with the audience, such asin
Waitingfor Lefty, and Seascape
with Sharks and Dancer by Don
Nigro, to be produced this
semester. "The audience will be
almost involved in the play; the
set goes right through the
audience," said LSA drama
student and Seascape director,
Mark Wilson. Not only does
Basement Arts provide a forum
for actors, but it also supplies a
creative outlet for technicians,
while giving the necessary
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Andy Newberi (left), a second-year student in LSA, ad Richard
Perloff, a third-year law student, rehearse "Zoo Story."
bloomed in small, unrestricted
theaters not unlike the Basement.
In the past two years
numerous student playwrights
have had their plays or works in
progress produced by Basement
Arts, allowing them to view their
concepts on stage. Two
Hopwood-winning plays are the
direct result of the development
provided in the Arena. "One work
scheduled for this semester is so
new that it hasn't even been
named yet," said Fehlauer,
speaking of a multi-media work
by Noemi Zeigler.
Basement Arts discourages
written reviews of the works
performed in the Arena and
instead encourages one-on-one
criticism. "We don't want to do
anything that would make people
afraid to take risks, and published
criticism can become consumer
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Ansi ir heesmh usin
Jeopardy! desk on the second floor of the
Just who is that man who seems to be
so charming, intelligent and dapper?
-The Authoritative Calvin & Hobbes, p. 215
THREE TIMES DOPE
LIVE FROM ACKNICKULOUS LAND
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Peace Ya' Self
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IYOUNGBLOOD
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Don't Keep Me Waiting
, Sit And Wait.
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10
try The question I am most asked is "What
is Alex Trebek really like?"
using Alex is very aloof and quite certain of
his superiority. He knows that as the host
of Jeopardy! he is expected to know
Cut everything and on the show he makes it
ng sound as if he does. I will give him credit:
you He is brilliant and probably would be a
great player himself, but he is not
dr infallible.
yet It is not difficult to look smart when the
aer answers are right in front of you. Even
with that crutch he doesn't always get it
Ury right. He reads every question before each
ur show in his dressing room to check the
pronunciation and, being a French-
t... Canadian, his French is impeccable.
freak But, if Alex misreads a question during
ick! a game, the game continues. Afterwards,
of the studio audience is silenced as Alex
rereads the question and dubs over his
For error.
He dresses well. He has his own dresser
who coordinates his outfits to make sure
that he doesn't wear the same thing twice.
He changes clothes between each show to
support the myth that each show is shot on
a different day.
I was disappointed with Alex. He never
talked to the contestants on a personal
basis except when on stage. I thought he
could have come over during dinner, even
to make small talk. But he never made the
slightest effort. During the shooting of our
commercials he came out, without saying
hello, and said, "People, let's see if we
can't get this done quickly?"
When one contestant missed a Final
Jeopardy! question, Alex really let her
know it. "No, sorry," Alex said. "You knew
that was wrong but you just wanted to get
something down, but of course it's wrong.
How much did you lose?"
T .
. . ,
-" _
aA
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NEW! by Bill Watterson
The Authoritative
Calvin & Hobbes
T"Hi.F
CALVIN
AND
HOBBES;
.4 CavnnrdftbteJ rcu ,
by 5nLLwarmTCO
' h lestytcn~t?~rY
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$12.95 at
book store
'I
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761-7177
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9:30-9 Fri.
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WEEKEND
September 21,1990
-A-