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Show M DAILY HERALD' Honda September 6, 2004 r 11 p" 111 'KenJen,' America's favorite braMy returns to TV tonight Tanya Barrientos t Can you beat him? KNIGHT RIDKR NEWSPAPERS . i iwtw wo u I u KB jeupaiujr aranais rwil tmu in 3 guv whistle the thinking music while you poniar.-;;--, Vacation's almost over nd it's time to get your head back into the game. Not the office game. Not the, campaign game. The game that's turned a quiet brainiac named Ken Jennings into America's newest television hero "Jeopardy!" 1151H. , . w hkkhj V aim , Bom in 1564, he was env, I's secretary Efcabeth ployed by US. Presidents: With a book V about the South, he became the first . state to uncover Catholic plots . v ;,. 3. Writers: QUESTIONS ):, t " '4 ; ;v; against heneign.: 4, Fruit Thfslruitof North Arnerica '.; shares its fiame with a literary chaf-- -acter who debuted in an 1876 novel. I BL Opera: The libretto tlBamV' a i Ted" was In this language, the native to past or present ;.;;..V;' publish a novels ,. ; 'v 2. Entertainment This title criarao- ter, who debuted in 1999, was creat--. ed by former marine biology educator -: . Steve HiHenburg. .; " ' ' r ; ; V:'. '!, '; ' ;f president softTonight, the ware designer from Salt Lake City re. turns to the classic quiz show to defend his title as the longest-runninhighest-earninbest atings-getting player ever on the syndicated program. Without eating maggots, without' .' ". sifting through a bevy of bachelorettes or warbling a Barry Manilow tune in front of Simon CowelL Jennings, 30, has won $1.3 million (so far) and become a star. He's heralded on Internet blogs "There are now three constants in life: death, taxes and Ken Jennings,'' Jason Kottke (Kottke.org) recently wrote under the heading "The Cult of Ken Jeng, iuouay si letjM ",'. v? ituaqeppnq ' ; r i bram-busting- ' : -- . Ken Jennings, of Salt Lake City, shown here in this undated publicity phWo-- will return to television tonight after summer reruns. Jeopardy airs on KJZZ. the past, "Jeopardy!" contestants remain on the program for as long as i they kept winning. Tom Walsh of played for lower sums and were re-quired to leave trie show after winning Washington set the record with seven five consecutive games. Some were inconsecutive victories. vited back for the limited-ru- n TournaThen came Jennings. ( ment of Champions. He started his streak on r, However, at the beginning of last . June 2, winning $3701 in a mere season (the program's 20th), producers , and he just kept hitting home changed the rules, allowing players toj! : runs. On July 23, the last show before -- 38-ga- half-hou- n IIMGM the break, Jennings amassed 75,000, :V serang a one-aa- y earnings recora The old record was $52,000 achieved by l Brian Weikle in 2003. The KenJen run also made the show's ratings rocket. Average viewership rose from 9.6 million in Jime to a whopping 15 mil- - ' lion in July, beating even the perennial . ' . 'I':'' :f:$mMM graeryiewijvHis faniiry doesnt grant ffterviewS. And even though he's made a few appearances on popu-- . lar talk shows (David Letterman, Jay Leno, "Regis & KeDy") he's divulged precious little. That could be because "Jeopardy!," which is taped well in advance of when it airs, requires contestants to maintain cprjfidentMry about show details while their games are on the air. If they talk, they lose their winnings. What is known about KerJen is that he is a devout Mormon who plans to contribute a portion of his winnings to the church. He's married to a woman named Mihdy who helped the non- drinker study the ingredients of cocktails by quizzing him with flash cards. He's father to a baby boy named Dylan and owner of a Labrador retriever named Banjo. Jennings holds a degree in computer science from Brigham Young University and calls himself an intellectual "generalist" who knows a little about a lot of things. He also happens to be a veteran player of academic quiz.bowls who in his spare time writes questions for the National Academic Quiz Tournaments organization. Which may give Jennings a slight edge.That and the champ's quick-triggbuzzer finger, said Steve Beverly, a professor at Union University in Jackson, Temt, and an expert in game-shohistory and trivia. d coordi"He's mastered that nation," Beverly said. "It's tricky, because you have to wait until (host Atex Trebek) completes the answer, but be faster than the other players." Beverly said Jennings' championship season has fueled rampant rumors fans. Some say he's among game-shogoing to last until October. Some say, he's going down his first week back; But nobody in the know is talking. And, Beveriy said, "that's what makes it so much fun." ' . er w eye-han- : . Yolo to our Newspaper in Education sponsors for their support 4 school year. during the 2003-200- tlTAH I HC A Surtot VALLEY REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER of fnttrmoimutin Htahh Cart IGNS BY TOMORROW REALTOR v. ''::-V- ' A Mome pare Copeland's Sports SUPERSTORE '' m 1.1' n t H tnw eM. m HI I A () tmwi nnum eo. to. wx .11 f , 2tti UtahValley State College waC3aA J' : Source: 'Jeopartfyt" "Wheel of Fortune," which had 12.4 niiDion, according to Nielsen Media Research. "He Tad an enormous impact on a show that didn't even need help," said Marc Berman, a columnist for medv- aweek.com. "He was just an unexpected bonus. By the end of the season, 'Jeopafdyr was beating out most shows on network television." . It didnt hurt that Jennings turned out to be a likable winner, an aw-shucks kind of guy who readily admitted to being a trivufnerd and seemed to enjoy every minute of the competitioa If his response happened to be about a foreign country, KenJen answered with a goofy accent. He embellished his Final Jeopardy answers with little cartoon drawings.' And he adopted an amusing habit of betting just enough on the Daily Dou- bles to make his winnings end in an : even number. "His personality has a lot to do with it," Bermari said. "It's like you're rooting for an everyday person who happens to be a genius. It's, brought new viewers to the show, arid longtime fans flee me back to it," Not triat .anybody knows mucK. '. v .;-;- , pies?) Of course, there have been impres-- " sive "Jeopardy!" champions before. New York City transit cop Frank Spangenberg won more than $102,597 in 1990. Computer consultant Leszek Pawlowicz won $75,400 in 1992. But in Aoy&W JeudojstiiQ auji sj ibcim ;.: garhehow ratings champ nickname, nrrl "8 v; sioujMXddaJenbsopgoSuogsjOUTAT8 nings." He's been given a catchy celebrity KenJen. There are even decorated with his image being peddled on eBay. When "Jeopardy!" faded into its summer reruns in late Jury, Jennings , had sailed through 38 consecutive games, beating 76 opponents with? . more than 1,300 correct responses in : ' more than 450 categories Fans watched in awe as the with a boyish face and a penchant for comic books and movies sliced and V diced his competitors by providing " questions to Jeopardy!" answers such as: "Izanagj &&anami are male & female creator gods from this island nation of Asia" (Question? . What is Japan?). And: Theseilowers, blooming in a Flanders cemetery jjup- -' ing WWI inspired fi famous poem by , Major John McCrae." (What are poo tortgijeofnelurth Rossini, nor thesutte. : I idXI3 Brent CrcitnAxlsnsthre Group Thp Daily Herald Hdwspsper in Education ' . 'K:v'"j 4 ..and thanks to those who donate to Newspaper in Education when pladns classified ads or those who donate their vacation papers to this educational program? i' ' li HI V i |