LEWISBURG — Jove Graham, a Geisinger biomedical engineer, has admittedly had a lot of proud moments in his life, but none has been so public as Wednesday night’s appearance on the national TV quiz show, “Jeopardy!”, in which he won $34,401 and wrested the championship away from a formidable opponent who had won five days in a row.
Watching and cheering the Lewisburg resident’s every move — and booing his opponent’s correct answers — were about 75 guests, neighbors, colleagues and friends, who watched the show on a large projection screen in a classroom at Bucknell University’s Dana Engineering Building.
When he answered the last question, the “Final Jeopardy” answer, correctly to win the game, the Bucknell audience stood up, exploded with cheers and gave Graham a standing ovation.
“Watching yourself on TV is a weird experience,” said Graham, 35, who by contract was not allowed to tell anyone what happened when the show was taped in November in Hollywood. “I can’t tell you how many people have asked me how I did on the show,” he added with a wink and a smile.
“I just tell them to watch. And I say that I was proud of how I did.”
Graham said the entire experience of being on the show was “crazy, wonderful and nerve-racking. It’s an intense situation. You fly out to California for two days, they tape five shows a day. You don’t know which show you will be on. You sit in the green room with other contestants, and then they call your name. Fifteen minutes later, you are on the soundstage, and the show begins.”
Graham thanked his wife, Donna, for putting up with him in the month before the taping. “I would watch ‘Jeopardy!’ and play along with the contestants. I would read books by people who appeared on the show. This has been a long-term goal of mine, to be on the show.”
The “Jeopardy!” audition process first involves an online test. There are 50 questions, and you have 15 seconds to answer each question. If you pass the online test, you might be invited to an audition.
Graham failed the test initially as a college student. This time, he made it to the second round, a live audition in Washington, D.C. There, he took a written 50-question test, played a short mock game against two other people who were auditioning and was interviewed. In October, he received a call that he had been accepted as a contestant.
The taping took place at Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City, Calif.
The most common question Graham is asked is, “What is host Alex Trebeck like?”
“I don’t really know,” Graham said. “Because he knows the answers, he has no interaction with the contestants prior to the game. Once the game begins, Trebeck has more interaction with the studio audience than the players. But he is very professional, very personable, and after the show, you get to spend a moment with him.”
Because “Jeopardy!” tapes five shows a day, Trebeck doesn’t have much time between shows, Graham said.
“I’m glad I did this,” Graham said. “Imagine how many people try out for the show and don’t get on. This was a dream of mine. I’m very grateful I did qualify, and I think I did well.”
Graham defends his championship at 7:30 tonight. The show airs on WHP Channel 21 and WBRE Channel 28.
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Matthew Harris / The Daily Item
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Geisinger biomedical engineer wins on 'Jeopardy!'
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