Question: Why doesn’t Jeopardy! set more rules regarding the selection of “answers?” Skipping around categories and starting with the $1,000/$2,000 options may be a strategy, but it throws other contestants and you end up with a boring route by one contestant. Quite honestly, I end up cheering for the other players and hope they don’t lose. —Laurie S
Matt Roush: One fan’s “boring” is another fan’s “fascinating,” and where Jeopardy! is concerned, there’s always an interesting dynamic when someone comes along who plays as aggressively and dominates as many games as Matt Amodio has done recently (he’d won 10 days in row as of this writing). I’m sure people felt much the same way at times during James Holzhauer’s long run, and Ken Jennings’ before that, but this is how Jeopardy! legends are born. They play by their own rules, and for the show to set some sort of guidelines about which answers they can play and when would violate the spirit of the game. Still, it’s only human nature if you find yourself torn between admiration of a player like Matt while he’s crushing it and feeling bad for those who are being crushed. (I also root for his opponents, especially those unfortunates who find themselves in the negative and don’t get a chance to climb out because Matt is so fast and usually correct in his responses.)
To submit questions to TV Critic Matt Roush, go to: tvinsider.com