Jeopardy! has always been a favorite of mine, but it’s not as entertaining these days. Even though I know the answers to many questions, I simply can’t think of them immediately. The same worry is shared by many of my geezer and geezerette pals. I’m creating two distinct iterations of the game since I believe they have a lot of potential.
Close Enough is the title of the first one! Similar to Jeopardy!, it features three competitors and a host. This is how it operates: A question like “Name the cartoon by Al Capp that ran for 40 years beginning in the mid-1930s?” is posed by the host. I buzz in right away. “All right, Glenn, go ahead,” the host says. I respond, “Well, I can’t recall the title, but it was about hillbillies and was set in Dogpatch, USA. The lead character, Daisy Mae, was really gorgeous.” They even created a Broadway musical that was a success. “That’s close enough!” the host yells as she breaks off. You got it. The name you were having trouble remembering is Lil Abner. Well done. The next query!
You understand. You know the answer, so you buzz in, but it doesn’t come to you immediately. As seniors, we frequently give out a variety of hints when we speak with others.
Saying to a friend, for instance, “Remember the 1992 presidential election?” Bush the elder, Bill Clinton, and an independent What was his name? He was, after all, short. A multibillionaire. Bush and Clinton were both left-handed. I believe from Texas. Finally, the solution materializes out of thin air. Geezer Jeopardy would proceed in such manner. You buzz in with a series of arbitrary remarks, and if they are sufficiently near, you are given credit for the solution.
Take Your Time, or Whenever You Get It, is another variation that I believe I could enjoy even more. With one significant exception—you have five minutes from the moment the question is posed to respond—it adheres to the conventional structure and guidelines. If you believe you know the solution to the question the host asks, you can respond immediately. However, the host goes on to the next question if no one responds. A contestant may then buzz in or yell their response to a previous question at any time.
The host might inquire, for instance, “What is the brass musical instrument with a slide?” When there is no response, he goes on to the following query: “What did the president of the United States say? Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” When the host asks a third question and still receives no answer, one of the competitors yells, “Trombone!” Another competitor yells, “Reagan!” as the host says, “That’s the right answer!” Ronald Reagan! Although I haven’t figured out every aspect, you can see that it’s exciting and somewhat hectic. It allows us elders the time we need to think of a response that we know but are unable to provide immediately. For me and my geezer friends who aren’t as fast as we once were, there are two excellent suggestions for modifying a long-time favorite TV game show.
I believe you might succeed if you could get some experts to work on this. When Merv Griffin created Jeopardy, I doubt he had everything planned out! as well as the Wheel of Fortune. Additionally, I have some concepts for a Wheel adaption. I’m considering replacing Vanna White with Helen Mirren and perhaps having one of the Kelce brothers turn the heavy wheel for the competitors who might not be able to get it going.
You are surely aware by now that Ross Perot ran as an independent in the 1992 elections.
Blair, a professor emeritus at Baldwin Wallace University and a former executive at Standard Oil, believes that growing older is preferable to dying young.
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