Yay, Lee Ann! I can't wait to see you on the show! Very exciting and thank you for posting about it here!

How exciting!! Will follow along

We met Ken Jennings last year - he was on our Antarctic cruise - hope you beat his record!

I plan on following and watching the shows you are a contestant on! How exciting. My dad is actually trying out for the show, so maybe he will follow in your footsteps!

I've got the show on my official calendar for tomorrow night! I love telling people that I "know" someone on the show! Are you having a viewing party at home?

Been waiting a long time for this TR! YAY!

How fun! I know it's on another post, but would you mind reminding us what day the show airs? I want to make sure to watch!

very cool.

Looking forward! Good luck! Well I hope you had good luck!

Excited to read about what happens to get to a taping - thx a mint for taking time to share the details like you have already. Will be following along!

Enjoy-la!

Very exciting!! Can't wait to see you on Jeopardy! Even DH is going to watch it with me!!

This is exciting! Can't wait to see you tomorrow! You look great in the promos!

Oh, how great! Didn't know you were going to be on. Can you tell us the date?

Good luck!

Wow! You have to be pretty smart to even make it onto Jeopardy! H

GOOOOOOO Lee Ann!
Ann Marie

You all can see me tomorrow (Tuesday), January 8th.

Getting on the show is, to some extent, a matter of luck. About 100,000 people take the online test every year, and you do have to score well enough on the online test to make it to the next level.

From that pool, about 4000 people are invited to audition, and 300-400 of them will be asked to be on the show.

Lee Ann

I feel like saying "Good Luck!" but the show has already taped!!! This is exciting. I remember reading your TR about the try outs!

If we can't wish "good luck on the show" as you know the results already, what can we wish you? Have a great TV-watching party?

I'm looking forward to watching the show! You look great in the hometown howdy

Just curious..did Jeopardy pay for your plane ticket and hotel? I was on Jeopardy about 40 years ago, and it was great fun. Hope you had good luck.

Lee Ann this is all so exciting . I loved your Hometown Howdy . And I'm loving hearing all about the whole experience .

shelleyk, contestants pay for their hotel, plane tickets, etc. If you're the returning champion, and you have to come back after a filming break, Jeopardy pays your airfare.

Lee Ann

On with the report!

As I mentioned in the previous post, contestants are responsible for their expenses. Providentially, we had enough points on Southwest for two free airfares, and enough credit card points for a free roundtrip on a different airline. The contestant rate at the Doubletree was very reasonable (including free parking and a free breakfast each morning for me), so we stayed there while taping.

PickleDude had never been to Disneyland, and Mr. Pickle and I hadn't been there in 30 years, so we decided to spend a day there when we arrived.

We all got to LAX about the same time, picked up our rental car, and headed to our first, very important stop - In 'n Out Burger just north of the airport.

We were really surprised at how busy Westchester was on a Friday afternoon. The restaurant was packed, but we eventually found a table and enjoyed our lunch.

Heading north on Sepulveda, we noticed several lanes were blocked. We looked to our right and discovered why it was so crowded in the area - the space shuttle was being towed through the streets en route to its new home, the California Science Center.

Our first stop of the weekend was the Getty Center. We hadn't been there for several years and were looking forward to our return visit.

Traffic was heavy, of course, and it took a while to make our way north on the 405, but we arrived and got in the automated shuttle, which decided to stop halfway up the hill. Eventually it slooowly reversed to the parking lot stop, and we took a van up to the museum.

The weather was lovely all weekend, and we had enough time to enjoy several exhibits and walk through the gardens before closing.

This, of course, put us back on the 405 in the middle of rush hour. A combination of surface streets and freeway got us to Anaheim about two hours later.

We stayed at the Econo Lodge just west of Disneyland. The room was pretty decent, and we had a good view of Disneyland's fireworks before we went to bed.

Just watched tonight's show - you have your work cut out for you, Lee Ann. The champion is good, but I know you are better!

This is too cool, I can't wait to see your show tomorrow night. Great report.

Deb, who was the winner tonight? Do tell us more please, as I forgot that tonight was the niht before the big night for Lee Ann.

A young man by the name of Ashok, 3 day winner so far.

I'll set up the DVR now....can't wait to see it!

Very cool!

So fun, Lee Ann! Can't wait to hear more about it!

Seeing your "hometown Howdy" makes me grin from ear to ear. You look and sound so GREAT!
Ann Marie

Great job and what a close game! I bragged to my DH "I know her."

I didn't know that was you. Incidently I guessed Ford for the final jeopardy question also. My husband guessed Carter.

Great job getting on the show.

My question is how hard is it buzzing in on time.

Exciting to watch you tonight against such tough competitors! I guessed Ford also, damn! Great to put a face to a Fodorite!

Elen: very good show! Youreally had such tough competition! We always watch Jeopardy, and you acquitted yourself very very well!

Lee Ann, you did SO well! The ending was such a nail-biter! I guessed Teddy Roosevelt for the final question. I hope you had a good time watching, but I'll bet it was hard to see it, and exciting! Great job!

I was rooting for you all the way as you were doing so well.
But Ashok was still going strong. Congrats on being # 2!!!

Lee Ann, When I saw that yesterday would be your day, I thought, "Ashok will be very hard to beat" but you did a great job holding him to such a low total. It was one of the best competitions I've seen in a long time. Congrats!

As I said on another thread, if the previous champion hadn't happened to have landed on that last double jeopardy, bet a lot, and gotten it right, the ending could have been vastly different. Lee Ann did us proud in a very rough round.

Incidentally, I had just heard the thing about Carter about a week ago -- I think it was in reference to George Bush being in intensive care and they were mentioning what president had lived the longest. Otherwise, I'm sure I would have guessed Ford.

Ford was the President who lived to the oldest age but he did not ever have the longest retirement.

I initially had thought Hoover but corrected myself within a few seconds.

What a great game.

Turning that question around "Which President had the shortest retirements - not counting assassinatons / died in office?"

And before anybody says Nixon, its not counting him either...

LeeAnn-What a great show. It was very exciting as all three of you were close in scores. I was impressed how quick you were on hitting the button. I think that's where I'd have the hardest time. Like NeoPatrick said, the ending could have been very different without the Daily Double. You looked so calm. Great showing!!

Thanks, everyone. On with the report...

Disneyland

We bought parking passes online before we left for California, and got our park tickets at our motel, so getting into the park (once we found our designated parking lot) was fairly quick and painless. There were a ton of people there, as it was Saturday.

We used the Fast Pass system to avoid lines at Star Tours and Splash Mountain, maybe another ride as well. Unfortunately, passes weren't available for Haunted Mansion or the Matterhorn, and we never did get to ride the Matterhorn.

We had a wonderful time, but I couldn't help noticing how much more commercial the park felt. Granted, it's been 30 years since I was last there, and it was commercial then, but somehow it was worse this time. But it was still a good experience.

Note - if you think you might be sitting in the front of the car on Splash Mountain, wear some protective clothing. It was a warm, sunny day, but it took me hours to dry off, and there were still wet things in my purse when I arrived at Jeopardy on Monday.

Lee Ann

Sunday

This was a fairly quiet day. We went to church Sunday morning, changed clothes, and decided to take PickleDude to Venice Beach.

The weather was lovely, and we enjoyed a walk down the beach to one of the breakwaters and back up the boardwalk, watching the skaters, skateboarders, dancers, etc. We just don't get that level of weirdness in Albuquerque.

The most unusual thing I saw was what looked like a wedding shoot of some kind down by the breakwater. The groom was dressed in a loose-fitting white shirt and white pants, and the bride was wearing...a very long white veil and a white lace bra and panties, garter belt and thigh-high white lace tights. Oh, and she was hugely pregnant. But they looked happy and I hope they enjoy their life together.

By now, we were hungry and it was almost time to check in to the hotel, so we went to Jasmine Deli and Cafe on Sepulveda in Culver City. I found this place in October, thanks to a Yelp link that tracys2cents gave me, and it was so good I had to take the Pickle guys.

The second time didn't disappoint either. Their lamb biryani is outstanding, and the guys enjoyed their meals just as much.

I mentioned up the thread that we stayed at the Doubletree by Jefferson and Sepulveda. Jeopardy contestants are given a discount on the room rates, as well as free parking and free breakfast. We found a nearby Hispanic market and bought breakfast food for Mr. Pickle and PickleDude, and settled in for the evening.

Lee Ann

Interesting story about the tacky pregnant bride photo shoot. Which Kardashian was that?

@Neo: <snort!!>

NeoPatrick!

Lee Ann

Monday, October 15th - Taping Day

All the contestants had to be in the Doubletree lobby at 7:30 in the morning to catch the shuttle to Sony Pictures. Thankfully, the hotel breakfast buffet was tasty, plentiful, and had great coffee, because usually I'm barely awake by 7:30.

It was easy to spot my fellow contestants - the people clutching garment bags (we had to bring a couple of changes of clothing) and standing around chatting nervously with loved ones. Most of us did a double take when a man who looked like Alex walked into the lobby. Turns out it was Brett, another contestant who was on Wednesday night's show.

At the time, a woman named Stephanie was on a big winning streak, shredding her competition, so we were happy to see she wasn't still around.

We arrived at the studios, were welcomed by the contestant coordinators, and found our seats in the green room. After spending a few minutes going over our paperwork, we took turns rehearsing our interview questions and our hometown howdies. Some people hadn't written a howdy, so Robert and Maggie worked with them to come up with something that sounded a bit clever. While this was happening, we all started going into makeup. The makeup artists were very warm and friendly, as was everyone involved with the show. They do a fine job at making everyone feel as comfortable as possible.

Once we finished the paperwork, and were rotating through the makeup room, Maggie, the head contestant coordinator, started telling us all what we would need to know while competing. She, Alex, and Glenn had just returned from a USO tour of Germany and Italy, so they were a bit jetlagged, but Maggie is so enthusiastic you couldn't really tell.

We went over legal stuff, how to answer correctly, being excited and speaking up, all the things you see on the show. She emphasized keeping the game moving - you've probably noticed that once a category is started, most contestants abbreviate the name of the category or the dollar amounts, and that's to keep the show flowing. She also mentioned that if the second and third place finishers end Final Jeopardy with the same amount of money, whoever was in third place going into Final would end up third. This was important later, as you have all seen.

Next, we spent about an hour on the set recording our hometown howdies. Each of us did three - the longer version you can see on the website, a shorter version of the same, and a "returning champion" version. When those were done, we took turns playing a mock game so we could get familiar with the stage, the signaling devices, the pen you use to write in Final Jeopardy, and the cameras.

When Alex reads the last syllable of the last word in the clue, lights come on around the edges of the game board and you can answer. I'd heard from several former contestants who thought they did better just listening for the syllable, rather than watching the lights, and I found that also worked well for me.

Those who needed it were coached to speak up or speed up. A couple of contestants were wearing clothing that didn't work well on camera and had to change.

Once we were finished, we went back to the green room while the audience entered the studio, and the first two contestants were called. I really didn't want to be in the first or second game, so I was relieved when I wasn't called.

The show is more or less recorded in real time - breaks last a couple of minutes, but you are given plenty of time to come up with your Final Jeopardy wager. We all silently played along in the audience; it was nice to have that additional time to listen and practice.

The game ended, and Robert called my name. My heart started racing, and suddenly I was really nervous. So I took a deep breath, headed back to the green room with the rest of the group, and started praying, "Lord, you got me here - now please help me do my best and have fun." I calmed down right away and started feeling excited. The makeup artist checked my face and the sound guy hooked on my microphone. Robert led the three of us onstage.

I had pulled the card for the third podium, and Matt got #2. Ashok, the returning champion, and I are about the same height, so they raised the floors behind the podiums for us so Matt didn't completely tower over us. John Lauderdale, the stage manager, told us which cameras to look at for our introduction, and it was show time!

Lee Ann

I'm guessing most of you have seen the show by now, so I won't go into a lot of detail about the game.

When I watched it Tuesday night, there were several categories in the first round that I didn't remember at all. Guinness Records? Hockey Talk? Cereal? They had totally left my mind. The whole thing goes by so quickly, and I was so focused on signaling quickly and speaking clearly that I forgot chunks of the game.

I remembered the Matthew Perry category, though. I've never watched any of his shows - maybe five minutes of Friends once - but I've seen plenty of promos for "Go On," and there were plenty of clues in the West Wing clue that I figured it out (though Matt beat me to that one). I knew about the other Matthew Perry, though, and had just reviewed information about him before taping.

Double Jeopardy was a little frustrating toward the end. I saw I was in third place and was trying hard to catch up, but Ashok kept beating us on the buzzer. We did prevent him from going on a big scoring run, however, which he had done in a couple of the other games he had played.

I was thrilled to hit a Daily Double; I considered betting more, but didn't want to get into a hole if I missed it. The combination of "Georgia Senator Sam Nunn" and "beverage company" meant it had to be Coca-Cola, but I was still relieved when Alex said I was right.

Going into Final Jeopardy, I had hoped to be way ahead. Instead, I was in third place in a very close game. I always figured I would bet everything if I found myself in that position, so I wrote down $18,000, my entire score.

Then I thought, "Maybe I should hang on to a dollar, in case Matt bets it all and gets it wrong. If I don't, I'll come in third, and I would really like to get an extra $1000 if possible." So I wagered $17,999. Given the category, and how well we had played until then (one wrong answer and two clues where none of us made a guess), I figured we would all know the answer for Final Jeopardy, so I should bet as much as possible.

If you watched the show, you know all three of us got Final Jeopardy wrong. I knew Gerald Ford had lived into his 90s, so he seemed like the reasonable choice. Jimmy Carter had had a birthday not too long before we taped, but I hadn't heard he had the new record for the president who lived the longest after leaving office. If I had, I would have remembered at the appropriate time!

Thanks to the dollar I kept, I placed second. At the end of the show, the contestants join Alex in front of the podiums. He said, "You people were trying to take all our money!" I said, "Well, Alex, that's why we're here."

We returned to the green room, signed more paperwork, collected our belongings, and I went to find Mr. Pickle and PickleDude in the audience so we could watch the next show. I would have won that game - knew almost all the clues, including Final Jeopardy.

At that point, we went back to the hotel so I could take off the TV makeup and change clothes. We had some lunch and decided to drive up to Griffith Observatory; Mr. Pickle and I had been there years before, but not in the actual observatory.

As we were driving through downtown, I suddenly realized that if I had bet $1000 or so, I would have won my game. I was really mad at myself! Fortunately, Mr. Pickle calmed me down, reminded me that I had achieved quite a bit just getting on the show, and told me how proud he was of me. I still mentally kicked myself for a few days afterward, but I'm over it now.

When we arrived, we discovered the observatory is closed Mondays and Tuesdays. So we walked around the area and enjoyed the views - it was clear and not very smoggy, so we could see a lot.

After a leisurely drive back to the hotel via our almost-alma mater, Loyola Marymount, we vegged for a while before deciding to have a nostalgic dinner at Dinah's, which is just up the street from the hotel. Mr. Pickle and I used to hang out there in college, so that was fun for us, and the food was still pretty decent.

Lee Ann

Congrats again, Lee Ann. When I watched the game after your night's, I thought if Lee Ann was playing this game, she'd have won...LOL!

Thx a mint for your detailed report. I love reading stuff like this tho it's of no use to me; I just like the nuts and bolts of things.

Enjoy-la!

I probably could have won tonight's game, too.

Lee Ann

You were terrific Lee Ann! Thanks for sharing so we could go along vicariously.

I can't believe tonight's group didn't know Donna Summer, Davy Jones, Marvin Hamlisch!

Saw your show and tho I did not connect you with Fodors...I rooted for you! You did good!

Lee Ann,

I had just heard something or other about Carter on the radio a few days ago (but didn't catch the whole piece). Still, I knew it had to be Carter. My husband, who hadn't heard that tidbit, immediately said "Ford." Your answer was a reasonable bet.

I was wondering, when Alex said that Presidential Distinctions was a new category for Final Jeopardy. Do they introduce new categories often? I thought he kind of hesitated, but maybe that was just me reading too much into the moment.

If

I didn't get to see the show, but I loved reading about your experience! You did a great job writing about it, and it sounds like you did a great job on-air too!

Just read the entire thread - a thoroughly enjoyable read.
Thanks so much, Ms Pickle.

When do you get to the kimchi?

MareW, if you're interested in seeing it, it's been uploaded to www.dailymotion.com Search for Jeopardy and you'll find it there for a few more days.

Cranachin - probably later today when I finish the report.

Lee Ann

Haha! Glad to know there is more to come!

Lee Ann, I watched again last night and I'm even more amazed. You got every question right until the last one. And even then Alex said Carter just surpassed Ford in September so that was a helluva good answer. Wow, I wish I were so smart.

Actually, Matt was closest to being right; Hoover held the record until Carter had his birthday. Either way, I had no clue.

OK, let's finish this up.

Tuesday morning, we all slept in. All that adrenaline, plus my natural tendency toward introversion, meant I was pretty tired. We packed up, checked out, and decided to head to Koreatown for a late breakfast/early lunch.

My pastor and his wife had recommended several options to us; based on my winnings, we decided to go cheap and ate at Ma Dang Gook Soo.

This place isn't much to look at - a little restaurant in a strip mall on Western - but they make their own noodles and everything was super fresh and delicious. I had bibimbap, PickleDude tried the chicken noodle soup, and Mr. Pickle went for the kimchi soup. Their servings, in particular, were huge, and they could easily have shared. All the little dishes of extra goodies (banchan, I think they're called) added even more flavor to our food.

Eventually we staggered out, full and happy, and decided to visit the California Science Center in Exposition Park before our evening flight to Albuquerque. We had been there a few years before, but some of the exhibits had changed since our last visit.

They have a new, very nice coastal exhibit, plus other things to play around with, and we enjoyed a fun afternoon there.

While we were gallivanting around southern California, the space shuttle made its way to the Science Center. As we left, we walked down to where we could see it in its new home. They were finishing construction on the exhibit; basically, they built the building around the shuttle, and it was scheduled to open a week or so after we left. But the back end of the building was still open, so we got a pretty good view.

We drove back to LAX, returned our car, and split up for our return flights home. Since I was in Los Angeles in June, LAX added free wi-fi to its terminals, so we were able to check mail and PickleDude was able to log in to his community college website and check his classes.

PickleDaughter picked us up at ABQ, and I began the long wait to tell you all about being on Jeopardy.

Thanks for your support, Fodorites!

Lee Ann

What a great experience Lee Ann. Thank you for sharing it with us.