That love of answering questions has always translated well for me when it comes to my television experiences. Television has been, almost from the beginning, a home for people who like to solve puzzles and answer questions.
Travel back some fifty years, and the biggest hit of the time was a half-hour show called “The $64,000 Question.” Unlike today’s big-money quiz shows that provide contestants with all sorts of help answering questions, that first successful quiz show placed its contestants in “soundproof booths” to isolate them from the chatter of the crowd. audience and the chance to actually hear a correct answer.
The first contestant to win the grand prize (and $64,000 was a grand prize) was a man named Charles Van Doren. He had to answer questions posed to him by the show’s host, Hal March, which were extremely difficult and required extensive knowledge of the topic raised in the question. When Van Doren answered the final question to win the money, he became a national celebrity until, later, news leaked that the show’s producer had given him the answer in advance.
That revelation literally destroyed the quiz show format for many years, certainly shows where the jackpot was a significant amount of money. Over time, however, the public forgot about the scandal and quiz (or knowledge) shows found their way back to the small screen.
It started slowly at first with the introduction of simple word games that required quick answers, but no special knowledge. There were other television games where cash prizes were awarded to contestants who could solve a picture puzzle. And still other shows that rewarded contestants who did not possess special knowledge of any subject, but just got lucky.
Regardless, I watched and enjoyed these shows, always hoping that one day a show would appear on my TV screen that would challenge me and “test my knowledge.” And thanks to the special genius of the late Merv Griffin, that day came.
Now, for as long as I can remember, I’ve been a fan of Jeopardy.” I love sitting at home and answering the answers with the right question. And when I do, I often wonder how successful I would be if I had to do it in the stage in front of a national television audience.
I don’t have that answer. But I do know this: my need to answer questions (or answer answers with questions) is satisfied five nights a week, whenever host Alex Trebek and Jeopardy fill my TV screen.
Author: Frank Bilotta