Now, I am not a regular watcher of any television show (well, maybe the mindless Wheel of Fortune) but I did become bewitched by the Ken Jennings performance on Alex Trebeck’s Jeopardy program since last summer.  I am convinced that Ken Jennings could have gone on and on and on.  He is one smart cookie and had three things going for him that made him a natural and continuing winner.  He is smart, a programmer and has that kind of mind that puts things together.  He is super fast on the clicker that made him come in first before the other candidates even thought of a possible answer.  The last and most awesome thing about him is that he clicked and on his feet figured out the answer from the clues that even I could sometimes puzzle out.

You can’t tell me he didn’t know the answer to that question about 70,000 seasonal workers who worked only four months a year.  I didn’t know the answer, the other remaining contestant knew it but Ken gave a ridiculous reply feigning ignorance where he, knowledgeable and quick to decipher from clues, gave answers to arcane knowledge from all over history and the world of science and business and industry.  What happened here is a simple business decision that says quit while you are winning and are ahead.  While other programs peak quickly they also quickly fizz out and fade away.  Jeopardy was smoothly operated to optimize this winner to the point where he could not possibly continue forever.  There is a built in limit that made his popularity and interest work up to the point there this disappointing end had to come. I think it was bungled but he had to go.  It was a business decision.

We all recognize the excellence of certain performers.  They are naturals and Ken Jennings was certainly that.  He made the Jeopardy show king, once again, and this in a country and world that does not value smart people.  It was revealing that most of his competitors over the months barely made a few thousand dollars while Ken Jennings won over two and a half million dollars during his run.  It was marvelous theatre, great publicity for the program and a shot in the arm for the minority of our population who know things and value education.

Mr. Jennings also fits right into the moral values miasma that has overcome this country. He is a moral man, a Mormon and a man who tithes to his church.  That means he donates ten percent of his winnings to the Mormon Church which is roughly (because I am not good at figuring out percentages) two hundred and fifty thousand dollars of his total winnings. You can’t tell me he didn’t know the answer to that question.  It was time for him to go and his winnings created a mark that would be difficult for any one to match, much less surpass in the future. Suspense is good, but all good things must have an end.