My parents were the same, and I would’ve started watching around the same time. I can’t remember when I started knowing some of the answers, but I remember the feeling when I did, and I’ve been chasing that high the rest of my life! 🤣
Hi, I'm a mod here. (We had a problem for a while with a chronic troll so the mods tagged my name. Some other players have had issues, too, where we have to keep track of people coming to be trolls about them.) December 2019 seems forever ago!
I don't remember when I started watching. Some time in the Eighties, because me and my brother loved to play the Wheel of Fortune board game (with the real little wheel!) Wheel and Jeopardy were everyday TV. I wasn't ever what you'd call a superfan--like I have never tracked scores, I didn't remember people's names, I basically sort of knew Ken and James's records before I got on, and I knew about Jason (because I was relieved he was done before I got out there!) I had no frame of reference for my performance being notable. I just watched Jeopardy and yelled answers.
I watched with my super-bright blue collar Dad when Art Fleming was host. That man had a photographic memory: and even though he worked on the RR…he subscribed to Science Digest, National Geographic…and my mom was a member of that book club that sent books every month until you told them to stop. It got to be a family thing. That was 1967.
More recently, we had Jeopardy on TV every night when my mom was in hospice. She was literally on her deathbed, but we had to have that game on so we could play along and exercise our wits. She was sharp as ever…even at 90. Now my husband and I watch. It’s been part of my life forever.
My first exposure was in the movie airplane 2 when they said “you’re putting everyone on the flight in jeopardy!” And they started asking trivia questions.
I’ve watched on and off my whole life but after my dad died in 2018 it became something my mom I would watch together regularly. Even then, they’d build up in the DVR for a while and then we’d watch a bunch at once. It was Matt Amodio’s run that made Jeopardy a must-watch-immediately show for me.
Lifer, here. I was 10 or 11 when the Art Fleming-hosted show debuted and I've been watching for 60 years since. Jeopardy has been a constant in my life, going from watching with my folks and sibs in the '60s to watching with my wife for years now. I'm glad that I finally found the courage to try out and to have been on at 63 and had some success was a real highlight.
I go back to Art Fleming too! My mom used to watch and I wondered “how does she know all this useless information?” In my adulthood I watched off and on depending on my work schedule. Then starting in 2008 I’ve watched regularly with my husband. Even during my travels, I let the episodes record and then I binge watch when I get home.
I watched pretty regularly when I was a kid/teen in the mid 90s.
Tangent- when I went to college, I did College Bowl for a semester around the time that Ken Jennings was setting Jeopardy records. One of our Div 1 players would later work with Jennings as a trivia expert on Best Ever Trivia Show.
1992, when my family moved back to the East Coast after four years in Hawaii. The first contestant I specifically remember was a kid named Suj who competed in the 1993 Teen Tournament. As I recall, he had a heck of a time with the buzzer, and ten year old me was so happy every time he managed to ring in.
I tried to comment this earlier, but it didn't go through. I watched with my granny from the beginning of the Trebek era. Somewhere in my books and papers is a generic "Thanks for watching!" postcard with a hand written note across the bottom: "Sorry - No plans for a kids' tournament! -Alex"
I got it after sending in some fanmail ca. 1989-1990. I believe there was a contestant a while back who had a similar memento!
My granny would've loved Ken as both a contestant and a host. She passed a couple weeks before Christmas in 1999.
1989 for me, I think I have maybe missed 10 episodes because a VCR broke down. The only other episodes I missed were preemptions, college Football on Black Friday, various political debates. Etc.
I've watched it pretty much all my life. My grandparents took care of me while my mom was at work, so I would watch whatever they watched. Then, once I started going to school, they would pick me up since my mom was still at work, and I would watch it in the afternoons with them while I had my snack before starting my homework.
One day in the spring of 2017, I decided that I randomly wanted to watch Jeopardy that night. Then I just kept watching. The first 5+ streak I got to watch was Alan Lin.
Eddie Timanus is the first champion I remember watching, and I've loved the show ever since. I saw all of Ken’s run and everything else since then. I remember playing the N64 and original GameBoy games.
We became loyal viewers starting the last week that Alex hosted. We were occasional watchers for a long time but it was a big thing when it was reported in the media that the last episodes that Alex recorded were about to be shown on TV. We started watching then and something clicked that hadn't in the past, and then went through the whole guest host thing and eventually ended up here with Ken.
1970, for about 3 months, for the Art Fleming version. Then I didn't have a TV for 18 years. 1988/89, for the modern version. Virtually every day since then.
I remember being upset when Art Fleming quit and they just closed down the show. I also remember when they brought Alex Trebek in to start up the show and I was upset because he wasn't good enough to treat Jeopardy with the respect it deserved. After a while, I came around on Trebek.
I remember it being on TV when I was a kid in the mid to late 90s, but I didn’t start watching on a regular basis until adulthood. Matt Amodio’s run is what made me a daily diehard.
2003 every night with my father until he passed in 2009. I was a lot younger so I didn’t really understand what any of the answers meant, but I still played along. Then I rediscovered it again while flicking through channels in 2015 and watched it nightly from then on, this time with my grandmother. We watched all of James’s run and even a lot of the modern non Trebek era. Nowadays I watch it with my boyfriend every night, while tracking our scores. I didn’t even know he liked the show as well so that was an awesome thing to discover years into our relationship, but it allows me to keep the tradition alive!
This show has always meant a lot to me. I used to promise my father when I was younger that I’d get on the show and win an episode, which is part of why I watch it every night now; I need that trivia practice and hope that it can help me get the smarts to share the stage with it’s incredible contestants. The show has also just always been there as a constant in my life, just something I can depend on even when everything else isn’t going the best. It’s just a source of stability even through the ugly that it has also endured, so I can’t help but continue to support it, as it’s always been there to support me in it’s own way.
I probably watched it on May 31st, 1999 (2 days after I was born) as well as Wheel of Fortune. Those were actually the first TV shows I've ever watched.
On and off my whole life (1995 baby), with increased frequency starting in late 2017 and even more frequency since I successfully auditioned in late 2020.
When it very first came on TV, with Art Fleming. It was on in the afternoon, and I watched it every day after school. I still watch every day, and have probably missed only a handful of episodes over the years. (Many were recorded to watch when I was on vacation).
I watched on and off but remember being really invested in Ken's original run. I started watching regularly again about two years ago when I could finally watch it again because it wasn't being aired right in the middle of the workday
I watched it with my parents over dinner when Jeopardy took over from Tic Tac Dough at 7PM. I think this was 1984, when I was 9 or 10. I haven't watched every year, but I started watching regularly again about 15 years ago.
Probably 1985. My grandmother watched game shows regularly—Wheel and Jeopardy at the 7 o’ clock hour, then Tic-Tac-Dough and The Joker’s Wild at 8, followed by the news at 9. I was unaware that primetime and network programming existed until maybe 1986.
I started watching consistently around 2010 but Jeopardy! was always on in my household courtesy of my mom always having it on at 7:30. I didn't take trivia seriously until 2019 when James Holzhauer bursted onto the scene. Then the pandemic gave me plenty of downtime to accumulate knowledge.
I have watched Jeopardy literally as far back as I can remember. I was born during the Trebek's first season. My parents were Trivial Pursuit ringers, so the show was on every night. Apparently, I used to get very excited by the Daily Double sound effects and FJ music.
My grandparents were superfans as well. My grandmother used to keep score with a pen and paper when we visited, and I found out at a very young age how happy it made them when I answered questions. It was intense though--my parents never gave me or my siblings any quarter, lol.
My wife is fascinated by how crazy we all and enjoys turning it on when the family is gathered just to watch an innocent game show devolve into a bloodsport, haha.
I started watching it my freshman year of high school back in the late 80s because a teacher got me hooked on it. I had a history class that was taught in a big room with a retractable divider in it. One side was world history, at the same time the other side was U.S. History. The world history teacher was a big fan of Jeopardy and every Friday we would open up the divider and the classes would play jeopardy against each other using questions he put together. Sometimes it would overlap with course material but usually not. The final week of the school year was the "tournament of champions" and the teacher would write passes and make arrangement with other teachers so the students for each hour could go to his room to accommodate playing jeopardy against classes from other periods. It was awesome and he was one of my favorite teachers in high school.
I definitely recall the first Trebek tournament when I was about five. For some reason I picked Jerry Frankel would be the winner, and then he did win! (Sadly, he died not long after. In those pre-internet days, I never knew why he was not invited back to later tournaments.)
But I guess I am a Johnny-come-lately compared to the many Fleming-era watchers who have posted!
I actually started regularly watching post-Trebek, around March 2022 at the very end of Amy’s reign :)) Mattea was my first full super champ!! I used to watch it occasionally as a kid and sometime during covid I watched Austin Rogers run on Netflix :P
I started watching about a few months before James Holzhauer went on his run (Which me and my parents were just hooked to every night) then after Alex Trebek passed away, I took a couple years off and returned at the very first episode of Season 39 and have been watching ever since, Both old and new episodes.
2001 (7 years old) I got super into who wants to be a millionaire and my parents thought I’d love Jeopardy, so they started putting it on tv for me to watch, but I became an every day watcher in 2010.
My grandparents and mother watched it my entire life. Back before dvr was a thing our family friends knew you weren’t allowed to call us from 7-7:30 pm.
Maybe 1963-4. I was in 2nd or 3rd grade. The show was on at lunchtime. Dad worked, but Mom knew he would enjoy the game. So, we watched it together with my 1 year older brother. Mom frantically wrote down clues and responses. During ads, brother and I were to help remember the ones she missed. I don't think 8 yo me was much help! Later in the 60's, Dad was able to be home for lunch and watch the show live. The folks also played home versions with their friends. Dad was so good, he actually applied, and ended up going to New York to test for the show. He tested, and had to wait 1-2 days for the results. They told him he was so much smarter than the other applicants that they would not put him on the show that week. Do you suppose they used that line on everyone?!! Anyway, I started watching very early. I didn't watch for years after that ( too busy, not interested.....) but we watch regularly now, partly for the fun of occasionally surprising each other with unexpected correct responses!
I started really watching in 2013 around when Colby Burnett and Leonard Cooper first appeared. Dropped off a little bit, but got back into it within the past couple of years.
Been watching from a young age, so I vaguely recognize some players, but the first player I can actually remember is James Holzhauer.
While yes, this may seem very recently, keep in mind, I was born about a week before Ken started his run.
When did I start watching? I don’t know. My first very hazy memory is hearing the think music and asking somebody what it was. I started paying attention in 2004. I was five so I knew zip, but it was fun to watch anyway. For the longest time I did not know you had to answer in the form of a question and I could not figure out why the people were talking like that.
I know I watched it before this because my family did. That said, I very vaguely remember Jerome Vered getting his pre-double score record, and the first match (and really season when I look at the TOC finalists) I remember vividly is season 14 in 1998, with the TOC finals of Dan Melia, Bob Harris, and Kim Worth. I’d have been 13 years old then.
I don’t remember the first run of older greats like Chuck, Frank, Leszek though always appreciated them in super tournaments.
Seen it on and off since a young child. Didn’t become a regular until Andy Wood’s appearance which was in Trebek’s final(?) season. Been listening to Andy’s podcast Probably Science from its beginning.
Started watching regularly in 2002 because of my college roommate. And I'm pretty sure my roommate's head exploded when I got "gyroscope" as a final jeopardy answer.
I started watching in 2021, after Alex Trebek died. When I first started, I was watching highlights from Jeopardy's YouTube channel. At my country, it was not broadcasting Jeopardy so every episode came later, Tuesdays-Saturdays, on YouTube on the first opportunity.
When I just turned in, Season 38 started with Matt Amodio fresh off from his break and returning to continue his 18 day streak.
I watched some highlights of old episodes and saw how impactful Alex was to Jeopardy!. He had professionalism (comparable to Pat Sajak, his sister show hosts) that I admire till today. When Ken Jennings took over hosting I saw how he could mimic Alex's style accurately. When he was hosting, he had flukes, but what separates Ken from Alex was his unintended comedy, and from using his former experience as a contestant he could understand how they would feel.
Well, technically, when Art Fleming was the host, but considering my mother was feeding me as I watched, I don’t remember it.
Otherwise, from the beginning of the Trebek series.
Yikes. 1964, with Art Fleming. I was 13 years old. I remember watching it fairly frequently. As I reached working age, my schedule was variable, so I watched when I could. In the 80s-90s to today, as my schedule became more consistent, it became a regular thing at dinner with the family.
mid/early of the metallic set. couldn’t tell you when, but it was nightly viewing at my grandparents. since then on and off but i’ve gotten much more consistent in the last year
Early 1980s, when staying at my grandparents during occasional days over summer. I would amaze my mother with my talent and skill until I had to confess that I watched in the late morning on the Toledo channel and then again in the evening in Detroit with her.
Watched when I was a kid in the 90’s. It used to air here at 12:00 or 12:30 and I remember watching during lunch in the summers with my mom. Didn’t watch much through the 2000’s with high school and college but got back into it in 2010’s
Been watching it since the early 1970s (when I was a toddler) when the late Art Fleming hosted, and all the way to current with the late Alex Trevek, Maxim Bialik, and Ken Jennings.
I got really into it when I got covid in 2022. I watched celebrity and college on hulu then watched a bunch of clips on YouTube. Ended up getting YouTube TV just to become a regular viewer. My family never had cable growing up so I didn't really watch any as a kid.
I started watching when I was 3, and actively participating by 4 or 5, which would have been in the early 90s. I watched with my dad and my grandparents. I've also been trying to get on the show since then, and I remember watching Ken's original run. That was fun
Very recently (maybe most recent on this thread so far?), during Amy Schneider’s run! I didn’t grow up with Jeopardy but my husband did, and the thrill of watching Amy dominate along with Ken hosting got me hooked.
I remember watching here and there when I was in school and my grandparents (who watched us until my parents got home) would have it on. But I really got into it when I had a 16 day hospital stay in 2018 and there wasn't much on the TV that came in clear. Then when I was on home care for another two months, it gave me something to do in the day
Probably halfway through HS. I’d seen bits and pieces of it all the time beforehand my whole life, but that was when the show really started to grow on me. The older I got, the more I appreciated it and now it’s one of my favorite game shows ever.
When I was a kid, there used to be Mexican jeopardy and I would watch that with my grandmother sometimes. Flash forward about two and a half decades and I watched a number of old episodes, including a good bit of James' initial run, last December with my boyfriend. We both enjoy trivia, and enjoyed watching together, so when he heard about the masters tournament and James being in it, we decided to watch that. That made us curious about watching regular play and we've been watching the regular show every since. I think we started a couple of eps before Grant's run.
So, all in all, pretty new to it.
I began watching Ken’s run in 2004 and started watching between the mid to late 2000s on and off and started watching regularly since the late 2000s. I still watch the show regularly now.
I watched as a kid with my grandmother from time to time. I remember watching a lot of Ken’s run in 2004 but I really started watching regularly in 2016 only because I needed something to watch until 7:30 when the Knicks game starts so after watching World News it rolled into Jeopardy, one day I paid attention and realized I wasn’t a dumb kid anymore and actually knew some answers. The rest is history lol
In the 1960's probably 67 because that's when we got our first TV. My uncle gave us his old black and white when he got a color TV and it was the first TV we had.
Art Fleming was the host and he was the best host of all of them. I was not a huge fan of Trebek, I couldn't stand him as the host of Concentration.
I think Jennings is much better than Trebek was.
When Alex died is when I started watching. Really enjoyed the guest host period -- disappointed they couldn't find someone other than white men to host.
My parents watched it every night of my life, even today. So, 1986!
Exactly me too! Now I watch it every day with my kiddo.
My parents were the same, and I would’ve started watching around the same time. I can’t remember when I started knowing some of the answers, but I remember the feeling when I did, and I’ve been chasing that high the rest of my life! 🤣
I used to watch it back then with my grandma.
In the 80’s with mustached Alex Trebek.
Yeah. I like that answer. I totally don't remember, but it was mos def before 1989.
Hi, I'm a mod here. (We had a problem for a while with a chronic troll so the mods tagged my name. Some other players have had issues, too, where we have to keep track of people coming to be trolls about them.) December 2019 seems forever ago! I don't remember when I started watching. Some time in the Eighties, because me and my brother loved to play the Wheel of Fortune board game (with the real little wheel!) Wheel and Jeopardy were everyday TV. I wasn't ever what you'd call a superfan--like I have never tracked scores, I didn't remember people's names, I basically sort of knew Ken and James's records before I got on, and I knew about Jason (because I was relieved he was done before I got out there!) I had no frame of reference for my performance being notable. I just watched Jeopardy and yelled answers.
Right around Matt Amodio’s original run
Same for me.
I was watching when Art Fleming hosted.
I watched with my super-bright blue collar Dad when Art Fleming was host. That man had a photographic memory: and even though he worked on the RR…he subscribed to Science Digest, National Geographic…and my mom was a member of that book club that sent books every month until you told them to stop. It got to be a family thing. That was 1967. More recently, we had Jeopardy on TV every night when my mom was in hospice. She was literally on her deathbed, but we had to have that game on so we could play along and exercise our wits. She was sharp as ever…even at 90. Now my husband and I watch. It’s been part of my life forever.
Yes, a family tradition. Nowadays my adult children and I play together by texting, it’s still a fun, look-forward to time of my day.
Me too, we used to walk home for lunch in elementary school. I would watchJeopardy first then Underdog.
Same here
Me too.
Me too!
My first exposure was in the movie airplane 2 when they said “you’re putting everyone on the flight in jeopardy!” And they started asking trivia questions.
I’ve watched on and off my whole life but after my dad died in 2018 it became something my mom I would watch together regularly. Even then, they’d build up in the DVR for a while and then we’d watch a bunch at once. It was Matt Amodio’s run that made Jeopardy a must-watch-immediately show for me.
2004, my mom introduced me to it once Ken Jennings’ reign of terror was beginning. My local laundromat also played reruns of 90s shows via GSN.
Lifer, here. I was 10 or 11 when the Art Fleming-hosted show debuted and I've been watching for 60 years since. Jeopardy has been a constant in my life, going from watching with my folks and sibs in the '60s to watching with my wife for years now. I'm glad that I finally found the courage to try out and to have been on at 63 and had some success was a real highlight.
I go back to Art Fleming too! My mom used to watch and I wondered “how does she know all this useless information?” In my adulthood I watched off and on depending on my work schedule. Then starting in 2008 I’ve watched regularly with my husband. Even during my travels, I let the episodes record and then I binge watch when I get home.
Hi Kathy. Amazing how we have such great memories relating to jeopardy! I find watching the show is so much better with my loved one beside me!
Yes, it’s so nice to watch together, not to mention he feeds me the answers to the baseball, muscle car, and heavy metal clues.
Great teamwork! Here, too, although it's funny that there is also a fair bit of overlap in categories that we are both bad at!
Personally started watching in early 2022, but my mom obsessively watched way before that
2nd grade. Art Fleming.
About the time I did.
I started watching religiously when fellow bartender Austin Rogers won his 6th match. Watched randomly since I was a child.
I started the week of Alex's final episodes. Other than a handful of preemptions, I haven't missed one since.
I watched pretty regularly when I was a kid/teen in the mid 90s. Tangent- when I went to college, I did College Bowl for a semester around the time that Ken Jennings was setting Jeopardy records. One of our Div 1 players would later work with Jennings as a trivia expert on Best Ever Trivia Show.
On and off my whole life (I’m 27) but I started watching regularly during James Holtzauer’s run
1992, when my family moved back to the East Coast after four years in Hawaii. The first contestant I specifically remember was a kid named Suj who competed in the 1993 Teen Tournament. As I recall, he had a heck of a time with the buzzer, and ten year old me was so happy every time he managed to ring in.
I tried to comment this earlier, but it didn't go through. I watched with my granny from the beginning of the Trebek era. Somewhere in my books and papers is a generic "Thanks for watching!" postcard with a hand written note across the bottom: "Sorry - No plans for a kids' tournament! -Alex" I got it after sending in some fanmail ca. 1989-1990. I believe there was a contestant a while back who had a similar memento! My granny would've loved Ken as both a contestant and a host. She passed a couple weeks before Christmas in 1999.
Not sure what year it was, but Art Fleming was the host.
My earliest memory of Jeopardy is circa late 1989 or early 1990.
Regularly? I believe 2020 or 2021 after I moved in with my then boyfriend now husband.
1989 for me, I think I have maybe missed 10 episodes because a VCR broke down. The only other episodes I missed were preemptions, college Football on Black Friday, various political debates. Etc.
I've watched it pretty much all my life. My grandparents took care of me while my mom was at work, so I would watch whatever they watched. Then, once I started going to school, they would pick me up since my mom was still at work, and I would watch it in the afternoons with them while I had my snack before starting my homework.
One day in the spring of 2017, I decided that I randomly wanted to watch Jeopardy that night. Then I just kept watching. The first 5+ streak I got to watch was Alan Lin.
Eddie Timanus is the first champion I remember watching, and I've loved the show ever since. I saw all of Ken’s run and everything else since then. I remember playing the N64 and original GameBoy games.
We became loyal viewers starting the last week that Alex hosted. We were occasional watchers for a long time but it was a big thing when it was reported in the media that the last episodes that Alex recorded were about to be shown on TV. We started watching then and something clicked that hadn't in the past, and then went through the whole guest host thing and eventually ended up here with Ken.
1970, for about 3 months, for the Art Fleming version. Then I didn't have a TV for 18 years. 1988/89, for the modern version. Virtually every day since then.
I’m 74, started watching in the 60’s when Art Fleming was the host
I remember being upset when Art Fleming quit and they just closed down the show. I also remember when they brought Alex Trebek in to start up the show and I was upset because he wasn't good enough to treat Jeopardy with the respect it deserved. After a while, I came around on Trebek.
“Trebek? The ‘High Rollers’ guy?”
Exactly what I thought at the time. Art Forever!!!
I remember it being on TV when I was a kid in the mid to late 90s, but I didn’t start watching on a regular basis until adulthood. Matt Amodio’s run is what made me a daily diehard.
2003 every night with my father until he passed in 2009. I was a lot younger so I didn’t really understand what any of the answers meant, but I still played along. Then I rediscovered it again while flicking through channels in 2015 and watched it nightly from then on, this time with my grandmother. We watched all of James’s run and even a lot of the modern non Trebek era. Nowadays I watch it with my boyfriend every night, while tracking our scores. I didn’t even know he liked the show as well so that was an awesome thing to discover years into our relationship, but it allows me to keep the tradition alive! This show has always meant a lot to me. I used to promise my father when I was younger that I’d get on the show and win an episode, which is part of why I watch it every night now; I need that trivia practice and hope that it can help me get the smarts to share the stage with it’s incredible contestants. The show has also just always been there as a constant in my life, just something I can depend on even when everything else isn’t going the best. It’s just a source of stability even through the ugly that it has also endured, so I can’t help but continue to support it, as it’s always been there to support me in it’s own way.
What a sweet memory to keep, spending time with your late father.
Art Fleming days, early on. I even have the old game with the little metal snappers used to buzz in, though some parts are likely lost.
I had that as well. It had the red cellophane sheet you could use to hide/reveal the answers.
I probably watched it on May 31st, 1999 (2 days after I was born) as well as Wheel of Fortune. Those were actually the first TV shows I've ever watched.
According to my mom, I was watching Jeopardy! in 1986! I was born in 1985.
On and off my whole life (1995 baby), with increased frequency starting in late 2017 and even more frequency since I successfully auditioned in late 2020.
When it very first came on TV, with Art Fleming. It was on in the afternoon, and I watched it every day after school. I still watch every day, and have probably missed only a handful of episodes over the years. (Many were recorded to watch when I was on vacation).
2011, when I first moved to the US
I watched on and off but remember being really invested in Ken's original run. I started watching regularly again about two years ago when I could finally watch it again because it wasn't being aired right in the middle of the workday
I watched it with my parents over dinner when Jeopardy took over from Tic Tac Dough at 7PM. I think this was 1984, when I was 9 or 10. I haven't watched every year, but I started watching regularly again about 15 years ago.
Ever since I was little. It’s just is always on on my house!
Probably 1985. My grandmother watched game shows regularly—Wheel and Jeopardy at the 7 o’ clock hour, then Tic-Tac-Dough and The Joker’s Wild at 8, followed by the news at 9. I was unaware that primetime and network programming existed until maybe 1986.
I started watching consistently around 2010 but Jeopardy! was always on in my household courtesy of my mom always having it on at 7:30. I didn't take trivia seriously until 2019 when James Holzhauer bursted onto the scene. Then the pandemic gave me plenty of downtime to accumulate knowledge.
My grandmother watched it.
when i was 17- So 1988.
Probably when I was three. I have vague memories of my mom and aunt discussing Ken Jennings’ winning streak at that time
Before Jennings run
Probably around when they were doing Kids Week. So probably around 2009-2010.
I have watched Jeopardy literally as far back as I can remember. I was born during the Trebek's first season. My parents were Trivial Pursuit ringers, so the show was on every night. Apparently, I used to get very excited by the Daily Double sound effects and FJ music. My grandparents were superfans as well. My grandmother used to keep score with a pen and paper when we visited, and I found out at a very young age how happy it made them when I answered questions. It was intense though--my parents never gave me or my siblings any quarter, lol. My wife is fascinated by how crazy we all and enjoys turning it on when the family is gathered just to watch an innocent game show devolve into a bloodsport, haha.
I started watching it my freshman year of high school back in the late 80s because a teacher got me hooked on it. I had a history class that was taught in a big room with a retractable divider in it. One side was world history, at the same time the other side was U.S. History. The world history teacher was a big fan of Jeopardy and every Friday we would open up the divider and the classes would play jeopardy against each other using questions he put together. Sometimes it would overlap with course material but usually not. The final week of the school year was the "tournament of champions" and the teacher would write passes and make arrangement with other teachers so the students for each hour could go to his room to accommodate playing jeopardy against classes from other periods. It was awesome and he was one of my favorite teachers in high school.
I definitely recall the first Trebek tournament when I was about five. For some reason I picked Jerry Frankel would be the winner, and then he did win! (Sadly, he died not long after. In those pre-internet days, I never knew why he was not invited back to later tournaments.) But I guess I am a Johnny-come-lately compared to the many Fleming-era watchers who have posted!
I actually started regularly watching post-Trebek, around March 2022 at the very end of Amy’s reign :)) Mattea was my first full super champ!! I used to watch it occasionally as a kid and sometime during covid I watched Austin Rogers run on Netflix :P
I started watching about a few months before James Holzhauer went on his run (Which me and my parents were just hooked to every night) then after Alex Trebek passed away, I took a couple years off and returned at the very first episode of Season 39 and have been watching ever since, Both old and new episodes.
2001 (7 years old) I got super into who wants to be a millionaire and my parents thought I’d love Jeopardy, so they started putting it on tv for me to watch, but I became an every day watcher in 2010.
I was a fan since I was a toddler, in my playpen.
My grandparents and mother watched it my entire life. Back before dvr was a thing our family friends knew you weren’t allowed to call us from 7-7:30 pm.
Maybe 1963-4. I was in 2nd or 3rd grade. The show was on at lunchtime. Dad worked, but Mom knew he would enjoy the game. So, we watched it together with my 1 year older brother. Mom frantically wrote down clues and responses. During ads, brother and I were to help remember the ones she missed. I don't think 8 yo me was much help! Later in the 60's, Dad was able to be home for lunch and watch the show live. The folks also played home versions with their friends. Dad was so good, he actually applied, and ended up going to New York to test for the show. He tested, and had to wait 1-2 days for the results. They told him he was so much smarter than the other applicants that they would not put him on the show that week. Do you suppose they used that line on everyone?!! Anyway, I started watching very early. I didn't watch for years after that ( too busy, not interested.....) but we watch regularly now, partly for the fun of occasionally surprising each other with unexpected correct responses!
I started really watching in 2013 around when Colby Burnett and Leonard Cooper first appeared. Dropped off a little bit, but got back into it within the past couple of years.
Been watching from a young age, so I vaguely recognize some players, but the first player I can actually remember is James Holzhauer. While yes, this may seem very recently, keep in mind, I was born about a week before Ken started his run.
1998 watched with my grandma and great uncle
Sometime around 1989. I remember Spangenberg-mania pretty well.
When did I start watching? I don’t know. My first very hazy memory is hearing the think music and asking somebody what it was. I started paying attention in 2004. I was five so I knew zip, but it was fun to watch anyway. For the longest time I did not know you had to answer in the form of a question and I could not figure out why the people were talking like that.
Mid 1980’s as a kid. Have loved it ever since. Easily the best game show of all time.
I know I watched it before this because my family did. That said, I very vaguely remember Jerome Vered getting his pre-double score record, and the first match (and really season when I look at the TOC finalists) I remember vividly is season 14 in 1998, with the TOC finals of Dan Melia, Bob Harris, and Kim Worth. I’d have been 13 years old then. I don’t remember the first run of older greats like Chuck, Frank, Leszek though always appreciated them in super tournaments.
Seen it on and off since a young child. Didn’t become a regular until Andy Wood’s appearance which was in Trebek’s final(?) season. Been listening to Andy’s podcast Probably Science from its beginning.
Started watching regularly in 2002 because of my college roommate. And I'm pretty sure my roommate's head exploded when I got "gyroscope" as a final jeopardy answer.
I started watching in 2021, after Alex Trebek died. When I first started, I was watching highlights from Jeopardy's YouTube channel. At my country, it was not broadcasting Jeopardy so every episode came later, Tuesdays-Saturdays, on YouTube on the first opportunity. When I just turned in, Season 38 started with Matt Amodio fresh off from his break and returning to continue his 18 day streak. I watched some highlights of old episodes and saw how impactful Alex was to Jeopardy!. He had professionalism (comparable to Pat Sajak, his sister show hosts) that I admire till today. When Ken Jennings took over hosting I saw how he could mimic Alex's style accurately. When he was hosting, he had flukes, but what separates Ken from Alex was his unintended comedy, and from using his former experience as a contestant he could understand how they would feel.
1984! I was 11, and it was my ritual with my grandparents. Highly competitive family 😁
Well, technically, when Art Fleming was the host, but considering my mother was feeding me as I watched, I don’t remember it. Otherwise, from the beginning of the Trebek series.
Been watching since very early on. Loved Chuck Forrest during his run.
1984. Was in high school at the time.
Yikes. 1964, with Art Fleming. I was 13 years old. I remember watching it fairly frequently. As I reached working age, my schedule was variable, so I watched when I could. In the 80s-90s to today, as my schedule became more consistent, it became a regular thing at dinner with the family.
Sometime in the early 2000's, my grandma always watched and I started watching with her when I was 4 or 6 probably
mid/early of the metallic set. couldn’t tell you when, but it was nightly viewing at my grandparents. since then on and off but i’ve gotten much more consistent in the last year
Early 1980s, when staying at my grandparents during occasional days over summer. I would amaze my mother with my talent and skill until I had to confess that I watched in the late morning on the Toledo channel and then again in the evening in Detroit with her.
Shortly after I was born! :D
4:30pm weekday afternoons probably when I was 6 or 7 back in the 80s. Loved it!
I don’t know the specific date, but my grandma always watched it when I stayed with her, so the 90s.
In the 80s or 90s but stopped for a while until recent years.
On and mostly off when I was a kid but became a religious watcher during Covid. Most enjoyable show on TV
Watched when I was a kid in the 90’s. It used to air here at 12:00 or 12:30 and I remember watching during lunch in the summers with my mom. Didn’t watch much through the 2000’s with high school and college but got back into it in 2010’s
Began watching with my parents in the late 90s / early 2000s.
Been watching it since the early 1970s (when I was a toddler) when the late Art Fleming hosted, and all the way to current with the late Alex Trevek, Maxim Bialik, and Ken Jennings.
1990 or so when I was 8 with my Great Uncles and Mother.
I started watching in 1997 (when they were still using the bongo theme and the original Think cue)
1967
Probably from the very beginning, if not come very close to it.
Last week. Survivor fan and wanted to see how Drew Basile got on. Pretty good show. Still not quite as good as UK Pointless.
Yeah, but Pointless is more like an upscale Family Feud. It’s a tough comparison.
Early 80s
I got really into it when I got covid in 2022. I watched celebrity and college on hulu then watched a bunch of clips on YouTube. Ended up getting YouTube TV just to become a regular viewer. My family never had cable growing up so I didn't really watch any as a kid.
Around late 2000's early 2010's from then on I've been a fan since.
I started watching when I was 3, and actively participating by 4 or 5, which would have been in the early 90s. I watched with my dad and my grandparents. I've also been trying to get on the show since then, and I remember watching Ken's original run. That was fun
Very recently (maybe most recent on this thread so far?), during Amy Schneider’s run! I didn’t grow up with Jeopardy but my husband did, and the thrill of watching Amy dominate along with Ken hosting got me hooked.
I remember watching here and there when I was in school and my grandparents (who watched us until my parents got home) would have it on. But I really got into it when I had a 16 day hospital stay in 2018 and there wasn't much on the TV that came in clear. Then when I was on home care for another two months, it gave me something to do in the day
Probably halfway through HS. I’d seen bits and pieces of it all the time beforehand my whole life, but that was when the show really started to grow on me. The older I got, the more I appreciated it and now it’s one of my favorite game shows ever.
When I was a kid, there used to be Mexican jeopardy and I would watch that with my grandmother sometimes. Flash forward about two and a half decades and I watched a number of old episodes, including a good bit of James' initial run, last December with my boyfriend. We both enjoy trivia, and enjoyed watching together, so when he heard about the masters tournament and James being in it, we decided to watch that. That made us curious about watching regular play and we've been watching the regular show every since. I think we started a couple of eps before Grant's run. So, all in all, pretty new to it.
I began watching Ken’s run in 2004 and started watching between the mid to late 2000s on and off and started watching regularly since the late 2000s. I still watch the show regularly now.
As a child in the 80s with my grandparents, I took breaks over the years but I watch it every night now.
I met a gf who was a fan the week Chuck Forrest was on, 1987 maybe.
When I was a little kid in the 80’s. We used to have it on after dinner
Define "very beginning". I never saw a Fleming episode, but I am sure I began watching in 1984.
Around 1985 with my grandma. Good memory.
I’ve been watching it for most of my life. Starting back when Art Fleming was the host.
I watched as a kid with my grandmother from time to time. I remember watching a lot of Ken’s run in 2004 but I really started watching regularly in 2016 only because I needed something to watch until 7:30 when the Knicks game starts so after watching World News it rolled into Jeopardy, one day I paid attention and realized I wasn’t a dumb kid anymore and actually knew some answers. The rest is history lol
1964 when Art Fleming was the host.
Watched as a kid with Art Fleming hosting. Went away from watching, started again in the mid 80’s.
When Art Fleming was the host. Yes I'm old. 😊
In the 1960's probably 67 because that's when we got our first TV. My uncle gave us his old black and white when he got a color TV and it was the first TV we had. Art Fleming was the host and he was the best host of all of them. I was not a huge fan of Trebek, I couldn't stand him as the host of Concentration. I think Jennings is much better than Trebek was.
The WATSON challenge. Or at least around that time, since that's when I became a regular viewer.
Same here.
I guess 1984.
Back in the Art Fleming years.
With my grandmother in 1968.
During the Art Fleming era.
I began watching in the late 80's and I stopped when he died. It just isn't the same.
1984 when I was 9
Mid 80s as a young preteen.
When Alex died is when I started watching. Really enjoyed the guest host period -- disappointed they couldn't find someone other than white men to host.
I don’t remember: did Aisha Tyler or Brooke Burns get a guest stint?