Who is Dan Quayle?

February 18, 2016 8:41 AM

Here is an episode of Jeopardy!, airdate February 6, 1992. Commercials are included.
posted by theodolite (63 comments total)

Why am I watching this?
posted by Rock Steady at 8:43 AM on February 18, 2016 [18 favorites]

I'll take WTF for $200 please.
posted by cjorgensen at 8:51 AM on February 18, 2016 [1 favorite]

Dan Quayle is no Jack Kennedy.
posted by Segundus at 8:52 AM on February 18, 2016 [3 favorites]

Why only part 1
posted by The Whelk at 8:52 AM on February 18, 2016

Sorry, here is the stunning conclusion.
posted by theodolite at 8:55 AM on February 18, 2016

We made it almost to the first commercial break before I shouted an answer out loud in my office, because the people were taking too long.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 8:57 AM on February 18, 2016 [2 favorites]

We made it almost to the first commercial break before I shouted an answer out loud in my office, because the people were taking too long.

Let me guess, Who is Chrysler?
posted by dis_integration at 8:58 AM on February 18, 2016 [3 favorites]

That is correct.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 8:59 AM on February 18, 2016 [5 favorites]

What is Mexico?
posted by jozxyqk at 9:00 AM on February 18, 2016 [2 favorites]

I'm making the "Not Sure If Serious" face so hard right now...
posted by Rock Steady at 9:00 AM on February 18, 2016

My episode of Jeopardy! aired October 9, 1992. I was foiled in Final Jeopardy by a question about Tipper Gore.

I still have the original VHS tape from the night it aired, but haven't watched it in 14 years. For a lot of that time, the tape was lost somewhere in the house, but these days the problem is I don't know anyone with a VCR anymore. I would love to get it turned into a digital format before it becomes unwatchable (maybe it already is, who knows?), but commercial services won't do it because the episode is copyrighted material.(I know, I know...take it to AskMe)
posted by briank at 9:01 AM on February 18, 2016 [8 favorites]

"Who are 3 people who've never been in my kitchen?"
posted by tonycpsu at 9:06 AM on February 18, 2016 [9 favorites]

I'll convert it for you, briank, if you let me add it to the J! Archive. Especially considering it looks like you lost to a J! legend in Leslie Miller.
posted by themanwho at 9:08 AM on February 18, 2016 [14 favorites]

Young millennials: Behold the roots of the Tim & Eric aesthetic.
posted by Atom Eyes at 9:09 AM on February 18, 2016 [8 favorites]

Why aren't all the comments in here in the form of questions?

Why is this an FPP (like Rock Steady asked essentially)???
posted by JoeXIII007 at 9:19 AM on February 18, 2016 [1 favorite]

What are frogs?
posted by Johnny Assay at 9:21 AM on February 18, 2016 [9 favorites]

That Dunkin Donuts commercial. "De plain! De plain!"
posted by jacquilynne at 9:21 AM on February 18, 2016 [1 favorite]

The population of the world can be divided into two groups: those who have seen the February 6, 1992 episode of Jeopardy! and those who have not. I find myself now bafflingly inducted into the first group. Thanks, I guess.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 9:26 AM on February 18, 2016 [16 favorites]

I have a whole new appreciation for grapefruits now.
posted by wemayfreeze at 9:28 AM on February 18, 2016 [12 favorites]

commercial services won't do it because the episode is copyrighted material.(I know, I know...take it to AskMe)

Or Jobs (A job which I would love to do for you but I don't have the capability anymore)
posted by MCMikeNamara at 9:31 AM on February 18, 2016

Bring back the Trebek 'stache!
posted by Chrysostom at 9:34 AM on February 18, 2016 [4 favorites]

I will say that I find it interesting that I would have been a High School sophomore when this episode aired, and there's a decent chance I actually watched this episode that day -- I watched a lot of Jeopardy! back then -- but my mental picture of what the world looked like when I was in High School does not match this episode or the commercials. I guess if I really think about it, the teen girl squad in that grapefruit commercial does look like some of the girls in my school at that time, but it all seems way more 80s than I would have expected for 1992. I mean, Nirvana released Nevermind four months before Nancy screwed up Final Jeopardy.
posted by Rock Steady at 9:37 AM on February 18, 2016 [4 favorites]

The commercials are just as wonderful as I wanted them to be. Florida Grapefruit seemed kind of desperate for love though, to be honest.

I wish that more Jeopardy videos were readily available because I'd like to do a study about how it would be much easier to identify the era based on contestant's fashion choices when there were women in the group. (This is one of those studies that would lead everyone who hears about it to say "duh, of course" but it would still be fun to do.)
posted by MCMikeNamara at 9:47 AM on February 18, 2016 [1 favorite]

it all seems way more 80s than I would have expected for 1992.

The 80s as we knew them ended in early 1993 and not just because that's when I graduated from high school.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 9:47 AM on February 18, 2016 [10 favorites]

Aww, man: fat-free Kraft Singles. For Dad!
posted by Mayor West at 10:00 AM on February 18, 2016

I wish that more Jeopardy videos were readily available because I'd like to do a study about how it would be much easier to identify the era based on contestant's fashion choices when there were women in the group.

You're right generally, but, counterpoint, Vance's tie.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 10:02 AM on February 18, 2016 [2 favorites]

The 80s as we knew them ended in early 1993 and not just because that's when I graduated from high school.

I graduated from high school in 1990, and 1993 sounds about right.
posted by cardboard at 10:04 AM on February 18, 2016 [2 favorites]

Bulgaroktonos, say what you will about Vance's tie, but we are still talking about it 24 years later.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 10:15 AM on February 18, 2016 [2 favorites]

Up to the first commercial I'm doing much, much worse than my modern nightly games of Jeopardy.
posted by codacorolla at 10:22 AM on February 18, 2016

I feel bad for Tom Wilson. We now know that, given half a chance, weirmaraners will breed without need for intermediaries.
posted by Chitownfats at 10:24 AM on February 18, 2016 [2 favorites]

I don't get it.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 10:27 AM on February 18, 2016 [1 favorite]

I don't get it.

You have to answer in the form of a question, since the questions are presented in the form of declarative statements. It's a little archaic, but it's sort of the show's gimmick that moves it from being a traditional trivia quiz.
posted by codacorolla at 10:30 AM on February 18, 2016 [6 favorites]

I'm reminded of how some libraries removed ads from Victorian magazines to save shelf space, while later historians found the ads the most interesting thing about most of them.*

*Not sure I'm remembering this right, a quick google gives me Victoria's Secret, mostly.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 10:32 AM on February 18, 2016 [2 favorites]

but it all seems way more 80s than I would have expected for 1992.

It was that awkward transitional period that everyone wants to forget about when they get all nostalgic for the 80s OR for the 90s - The one that brought us so very many unforgettable musical abominations
posted by MysticMCJ at 10:33 AM on February 18, 2016 [10 favorites]

I'm reminded of how some libraries removed ads from Victorian magazines to save shelf space, while later historians found the ads the most interesting thing about most of them.

It's true. When I worked at HBS, we had a bunch of researchers who would come to pour over old trade periodicals looking at the ads.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 10:38 AM on February 18, 2016 [1 favorite]

I'd totally forgotten that Jeopardy used to give out consolation prizes. Oooh, a stair stepper!

_{oh you know, just me and my bro, hanging out in a tent, eating stolen cheese product}
posted by codacorolla at 10:40 AM on February 18, 2016 [2 favorites]

The one that brought us so very many unforgettable musical abominations

I genuinely love four of those five songs.
posted by Rock Steady at 10:48 AM on February 18, 2016 [7 favorites]

Now I want to know which one of the five you don't actually love.
posted by jacquilynne at 10:54 AM on February 18, 2016 [1 favorite]

What are frogs?

That clip kills me every time.

Also, clearly the real question is "WHAT ARE SHOULDER PADS? AND WHY WERE THEY SO POPULAR WITH WOMEN ALEX?"
posted by GuyZero at 10:57 AM on February 18, 2016 [2 favorites]

Shoulder pads were popular b/c women were trying to project strength.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 10:59 AM on February 18, 2016 [3 favorites]

very many unforgettable musical abominations

I was correct in my guess as to what "abominations" would be
posted by Lucinda at 11:02 AM on February 18, 2016

My wife is a few years younger than me, so she missed a lot of the media I consumed in my tween and early teen years. A few weeks ago we stood around the kitchen in the morning before work watching the "Rico Suave" video because she'd never heard of it.

I don't think she was as impressed as I had hoped.
posted by uncleozzy at 11:44 AM on February 18, 2016

If only @CoolJepStories had been around back then.

"I played in a rock band."
"The job market for lawyers is tough."
"I'm an asshole cop."
posted by enjoymoreradio at 11:50 AM on February 18, 2016 [2 favorites]

If only @CoolJepStories had been around back then.

I caught that "I like riding in elevators" woman on 2/15 and it was excruciating. I have no idea why they make the contestants or viewers go through that.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 11:55 AM on February 18, 2016 [1 favorite]

A few weeks ago we stood around the kitchen in the morning before work watching the "Rico Suave" video because she'd never heard of it.

If memory serves, his only addiction had to do with the female species.
posted by Chrysostom at 11:56 AM on February 18, 2016 [1 favorite]

What's up with the super loud snare drum in Two Princes? It's like the producer had a fever and the only medicine...
posted by Monday, stony Monday at 12:00 PM on February 18, 2016

Nancy is right out of early Law & Order central casting. And did Alex...just kinda flirt with her?
posted by CheesesOfBrazil at 12:05 PM on February 18, 2016

"I can't believe I watched the whole thing."
posted by Navelgazer at 12:10 PM on February 18, 2016

Now I want to know which one of the five you don't actually love.

What is "Cotton Eyed Joe," Alex?
posted by Rock Steady at 12:28 PM on February 18, 2016 [4 favorites]

And did Alex...just kinda flirt with her?

It's kind of hard to tell with Trebek, but he is odd with some women in a way that might or might not be flirtatious.

On the other hand, I have to note how obviously smitten he appeared to be with psychologist / amateur roller-derby skater (and third-place finisher) Maneshka a couple nights ago, to the point of "whipping" her across the stage during the closing credits. (I don't ever recall him touching a contestant before, other than the Ceremonial End Of Play Handshakes.)
posted by aught at 12:34 PM on February 18, 2016 [2 favorites]

Observations:

(1) The mother in the Kraft singles commercial really reminds me of Kate Mulgrew ("Capt. Janeway," or "Red" from OitNB), but I'm usually bad at the "spot the celebrity in their early days" game. Mulgrew would be 35 at the time... which is about the right age...

(2) How were the Japanese not trading fair? Oooh early '90s trade panic.

(3) I was in elementary school when this aired, I remember the 90s being exactly like this, possibly because my life was limited to things my mom exposed me too. Including microwave shrimp.

(4) Vance's tie doesn't irk me, honestly I think the tie style of large repeating graphic patterns of the late '80s - early '90s may come back soon. I enjoy giving some of my older co-workers a shock by wearing my dad's pre-retirement classics from the height of the 80s.

(5) God all of these contestants are straight out of central casting. Frank, I'm pretty sure, had couple lines in Police Squad! or Barney Miller. Vance appeared in one of the later Revenge of the Nerds movies.

I would honestly buy Jeopardy! DVDs for full retail price if had the opportunity.
posted by midmarch snowman at 12:43 PM on February 18, 2016 [2 favorites]

it all seems way more 80s than I would have expected for 1992.

Meanwhile this 1984 clip looks like the 70s (I was there for both decades). And the 1974 clip looks like I remember the 60s.

At the risk of offending our Canadian mefites, Trebek's accent sounds a lot more stereotypically Canadian in the 80s and 90s.
posted by aught at 12:51 PM on February 18, 2016 [2 favorites]

You have to answer in the form of a question

Oh.

What is the 'it' that I don't get?
posted by Kirth Gerson at 12:54 PM on February 18, 2016 [1 favorite]

Having now watched this past the first commercial break (the great advantage of working from home: jeopardy on your tablet while you code), I have to say I love the camera zooms on the clues/answers, and wish they still did it. They should also do the Vertigo effect on the contestants when wagering for daily doubles.
posted by dis_integration at 1:07 PM on February 18, 2016 [3 favorites]

Weird. I was born in 1981, and my family almost always watched Jeopardy! at dinner time. I wouldn't have thought I was conscious of it at the time, but I distinctly remember when they changed to this set, with the metal grid behind the contestants instead of the big-ass neon JEOPARDY thing.
posted by penduluum at 1:19 PM on February 18, 2016 [1 favorite]

People might say Vance is a bog standard nerd, but actually he's Jon Arbuckle, Garfield's owner.
posted by ambrosen at 1:31 PM on February 18, 2016

(1) The mother in the Kraft singles commercial really reminds me of Kate Mulgrew ("Capt. Janeway," or "Red" from OitNB), but I'm usually bad at the "spot the celebrity in their early days" game. Mulgrew would be 35 at the time... which is about the right age...

I'd wager a true daily double's worth that that is 100% /not/ Kate Mulgrew. But I can see why you'd say that.

(2) How were the Japanese not trading fair? Oooh early '90s trade panic.

I love the 90s obsession with the LOOMING SPECTRE OF JAPANESE MANUFACTURING. It reminds me of going to the Tabasco factory tour on Avery Island, where they made us watch a video produced in about 1994 (this was 2013) about Tabasco all over the world, but the only Tabasco bottle they showed was one with a Japanese label. The woman in that video had similar shoulder pads to Nancy. And was afraid of Japan.
posted by dis_integration at 1:39 PM on February 18, 2016

I'd still kill for a good copy of my episodes.

Never understood why the Jeopardy folks don't do that.

(Yes, my photo with Trebek is still here at my desk. No, that's not lame. You're lame!)
posted by drewbage1847 at 2:52 PM on February 18, 2016 [3 favorites]

I have no idea why they make the contestants or viewers go through that.

The thing about Jeopardy! is that, even though it's a sort of middlebrow smarty-pants institution, it also really is a television show, so it seeks to have compelling people that audiences can get interested in. The interviews are meant to humanize people who are, by nature of being competitive trivia buffs, different (read: geekier) than the viewing audience. As 11-time champ Arthur Chu explained:

But, man, the freak shows really come out on Jeopardy! It’s all the nerdiest, most awkward people in America. You have no idea that Jeopardy! picks the top 5 percent of telegenic appeal from their pool. I was probably one of those super awkward people. My glasses were crooked, and I stammered and stumbled a lot my first audition. And I didn’t get called.

Another thing about the Jeopardy! interviews is that each contestant provides the show with at least 5 anecdotes prior to taping, from which the staff picks their 4 favorites. Those four get printed on a card provided to Alex, with a little highlight next to the one you would most like to talk about, which is no guarantee Alex asks about it. On my episode, I was dead convinced that I would be asked about the two years I was the stage manager for a burlesque/vaudeville show in Detroit. Instead, he asked about a canoe safari I went on where the guide threw rocks at some hippos after he decided they were not interesting enough for us. If you think someone's story was awkward or silly, I'll bet they were thinking the same thing, like 'Why didn't he ask me about meeting the Pope?' or whatever.

Even though I know the process, I still cheer more for people who talk about something I like too.

Also, the interview is pretty much the only time you get to talk to Alex, so most contestants are cool with it. Less cool BY FAR are the 'Hometown Howdies,' which are terrible and awkward and uncomfortable. 'Who is [name]? That's me!' Some folks needed almost a dozen takes to get through it, just staring at the camera, asking who their own damn self is, then letting the world know.
posted by palindromic at 3:03 PM on February 18, 2016 [4 favorites]

When people go back and watch these early 90s, early 80s, early 70s, etc. TV shows and commercials there's always a lot of surprise that things looked like the previous decade (i.e. early 1990s TV looks like the 80s, etc.). But what people forget is that the TV was always behind the times. Every once in a while you'd have someone who would make a new fashion trend (MC Hammer pants), but most of the time anything depicted on TV was already old-hat in real life. Nirvana's Nevermind came out in 1991. By 1992, real-life high schools were jam packed with kids in ripped jeans, long underwear, and plaid shirts. And by, say, 1995 or so television finally started showing people wearing the "hip, new" grunge look.
posted by Bugbread at 5:18 PM on February 18, 2016 [3 favorites]

Cop hating on defense lawyers, what a fuckin pal.
posted by oceanjesse at 4:25 AM on February 19, 2016

"Hitler, North Dakota?"
posted by usonian at 2:49 PM on February 19, 2016

Best of web, thanks for posting.
posted by timshel at 11:42 PM on February 19, 2016