Jeopardy! isn't as enjoyable when all the contestants are too good

Slate

Night 1 of the Jeopardy! Greatest of All Time tournament was like a bloodless dunk contest, says Ruth Graham. "These men buzz in seamlessly, answer briskly, react calmly," she says of Ken Jennings, James Holzhauer and Brad Rutter. "Collectively, I don’t believe the group missed a single question all night. In the first game, all three of them aced the Final Jeopardy question. It was like watching three Watsons competing against each other. But is that really what the home Jeopardy! viewer wants? Does an NBA fan want to watch Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and LeBron James take turns trotting down the court and sinking perfect threes? Well, sure, maybe for a night or two. But (Monday's) bloodless dunk contest was a distinctly different experience from a regular night of syndicated Jeopardy. On a typical night, there’s usually at least one moment where the home viewer gets to sneer, 'Oh, come on, I would have gotten that one.' Meanwhile, part of the fun of a game show is the possibility of getting to watch someone win a life-changing amount of money. The GOAT competitors are three men who have already been made millionaires by the game."

ALSO:

• Alex Trebek felt he was slower during the Greatest of All Time tournament: “I seemed a little slower in the ad-lib portions. I could still deliver the clues, but I feel that I was not having one of my best weeks,” he said at the TV press tour.
• Trebek doesn't think the Greatest of All Time tournament can be topped: "We were talking backstage about how we would outdo this particular Greatest of All Time tournament. My suggestion was do Greatest of All Time seniors tournament in 10 to 12 years, or 15 years. Bring them (the contestants) all back again. I don’t know. I’m up for anything, if it makes sense.’”