Attending a Jeopardy! taping session - take four

Back in December, we decided to join a group that was going to run the Ryan Bonaminio parkrun in Riverside CA on January 25th. Mrs Notthat and I decided to tack on a Jeopardy viewing the following Monday (the 27th). What made this especially fun was that it was to be the first day of taping of the Jeopardy Invitational Tournament (JIT). We had no idea who would in the JIT, but it would likely be people that we've seen before - it would be a blast!

And then early January happened in the LA area. The devastating wildfires put this trip in, well, jeopardy.

When Jeopardy cancelled the tapings for the week of Jan 6th, it made our date seem pretty fragile. The wildfire news just seemed to get worse and worse. The group trip to Riverside was cancelled. It was all pretty grim.

Then we started hearing that local businesses that were not directly affected by the fires were suffering due to the lack of people wiling to visit the area - LA is a HUGE area and most of the city was operating as usual.

Also, there was rain predicted for the weekend we would be there. We kept checking the Jeopardy On-Camera website and the taping was still on, although it did look like they were moving the regular shows that were to be taped earlier in the month to our week, so, likely no JIT for us. That was a little disappointing, but still, even normal Jeopardy tape days are a lot of fun.

In the end, we headed to Riverside on Friday and on Saturday ran the parkrun, then headed to Playa del Ray to enjoy the weekend while waiting for Monday. Saturday stayed mostly dry, but Sunday was pretty damp - not huge dumps of rain, which would have caused their own issues, but scattered showers. That night, on top of the rain showers, there was lightning and thunder (and new worries about what the lightning might do, which was apparently nothing bad).

On Monday, we headed to the Sony Pictures lot, determined to not be late arriving (see the post from our last time attending a taping). We still were not sure whether we were going to be seeing a regular set of shows or JIT shows, but one thing made us feel like there was something special about these shows - James Holzhauer and a number of other Jeopardy veterans we recognized were all in the same check-in area as us!

I wish I knew what book that was - likely not Sudoku for Dummies.

When you check in as an audience member, you are given a wrist band. One thing that we had not seen before was that, in addition to the purple bands (that friends and family of contestants get) and blue bands (that us normal people get), there were a few people with gold bands! I don't know who these people were, but they went to the front of the line, even ahead of James!

The person wearing #18 is Rowan, who most of you will likely remember from their appearance in last year's Second Chance Tournament, where they did exceptionally well! And it was kind of sunny!

It turned out that the shows were indeed regular Jeopardy shows, and that the JIT shows had been pushed back a week. And the explanation for why James, Rowan, and a few other Jeopardy vets were there was because they had friends playing. (In James' case, he had been coaching a guy that you will likely really like once these episodes air.)

A slightly unusual thing is that we have no idea when these episodes will air - they will be the first shows after the JIT, and since those shows haven't been recorded yet, they don't know how long that tournament is going to go. (As viewers, we also don't know how long the Tournament of Champions is going to go either, although they obviously already know that.)

And that's about it. I got to talk with Rowan for a bit during a break (I teased them that Ken had made a big deal about James being in the audience but failed to mention that they were there too - all Jeopardy royalty should be acknowledged!). The three shows we got to attend were entertaining, as always. The banter between Janes and Ken between shows was also entertaining.

This makes five regular shows total that we've been able to watch (two in Feb of 2023), along with three Masters (in April 2024) and three 2024 Tournament of Champions shows (in Dec of 2024) we've been able to attend.

From the Department of Odd Timing

The three TOC shows we saw in early December 2024 were set to air starting on Jan 27 - the same date that we were attending this taping! Once we made it home, we were able to watch those shows (we have a Tivo to record broadcast TV shows).

I took this picture off our TV screen. Best thing - there is Sam!

It's amazing how much we had already forgotten about those shows, including not being all that sure who won each of them. Certain moments and comments were pretty memorable, but for the most part, it was like watching the shows for the first time!

If you are curious about what's involved in attending a taping, you can see my earlier posts for some details. It's free, but there's a LOT of waiting around until you finally get into the studio. 

The waiting is worth it.

That's it - move along…

The Ryan Bonaminio parkrun - California is up to two parkruns again!

 If you search for the top attractions in Riverside CA, the top of the list is The Worlds Largest Paper Cup.*

I have a hard time believing that cup is made of paper. (It's not - it's actually concrete.)

Second on the list is to go to the wonderful Ryan Bonaminio park on Saturday morning at 7:30 AM and run the Ryan Bonaminio parkrun.**

* Probably not first on the list. I didn't really check.

** Being second on the list will be true soon. (I know this isn't how footnotes work, but I didn't want to make you have to scroll to the bottom only to roll your eyes and mutter cruel things under your breath. You're welcome.)

Ever since parkrun restarted after the COVID shutdown, there had only been one parkrun in California - Byxbee parkrun in Palo Alto. (The first parkrun in California, Crissy Field, was unable to restart.) So it was a bit thrilling when a new parkrun opened in Riverside in early November of 2024. And in December, Mrs Notthat and I decided to come down in January to run the event and tie it in with going to a Jeopardy taping the following Monday.

Then, well, January happened to the LA area. Devastating wildfires all over the place.

Jeopardy cancelled the tapings for a week in early January and it sounded like it was a REALLY bad idea to come down for a visit. The Riverside area had not been directly affected by the fires, but the fires were not done directly affecting people. We were on the fence about whether to come down when the Hughes fire broke out and temporarily closed the primary freeway into the LA area.

It was looking bleak.

Then the freeway opened back up. And even better, there was rain in the forecast. Not a torrential rain that would directly lead to other issues either - a nice rain that would bring at least a bit of relief to this area. I watched a news bit about how, because so many people were staying away, a lot of businesses that rely on tourists were struggling. So we decided to drive down on Friday, stay the night in Riverside, then go to Playa del Rey for a couple nights and Jeopardy on Monday, as planned back in the before times.

It's ironic that the Ryan Bonaminio (rhymes with Fryin' Gonnawinio, sort of) parkrun starts so early to try to beat the heat. There was no heat to beat on Saturday - it was 42º F and felt like 20º (when it's even a bit cool in California, it always feels colder than that just because you're in California and, dang it, it's not supposed to be cold).

In case you are curious how the park got it's name.

An interesting mix of shorts, t-shirts, and puffy jackets at the start.

The RB parkrun has been slowly growing in size, but compared to Byxbee, it was nicely cozy (we had 23 finishers at event #10, tied for the most ever, if you don't count the first event). A fun thing they do is have everyone pose for a group picture before the start.

Pre-run photo by a parkrun volunteer. Mrs Notthat is the one in the tan puffy jacket, which she did not actually run in. But running in it was still on the table at this point.

The course is a double out-and-back. In my early days, I didn't like out-and-back courses much, but now I like them a lot since you get to see all the participants several times and I can't believe how much I don't notice along the course the first time through it.

I hacked this course map together. (You probably already figured that out.)

You start on a gravel bit of trail.

After a short bit, the gravel turns to concrete.

That's the eventual first place finisher already heading back on his first lap. He was WAY ahead of me. 

The far turnaround - you loop around that tree.

In spite of what my GPS insists is fact, I did not climb over that tree or end up on the grass. 

These cones kept you from adding bonus distance to your 5K (that blue bit on the course map).

Mrs Notthat, sans puffy jacket, heading out for her second lap.

The start area turnaround. Probably could use a sign here like the far turnaround, although it really is pretty obvious. (The wetness is due to the park people washing the benches and such.)

What my GPS showed for the start/finish area. No tree climbing implied.

At the end of my second lap, I finally got to go through the finish chute! Fame and glory!

The actual run was pretty uneventful, but fun. It ended up being my fastest 5K so far this year (which, sadly, is not saying much). By the second lap things had warmed up a bit and I could start to feel my fingers.

It turned out there was another runner there from Byxbee, Martin, and even cooler, this was his 25th parkrun milestone! 

I tried to take a selfie with the sign, but it did not go well.

It makes me laugh that the official volunteer photographer took this shot of my failed attempt to take a selfie.

In the end, Mrs Notthat talked someone into taking a proper shot. I can't explain why we are all bent over though. Maybe low-flying aircraft.

A picture was taken of the women who ran today.

And that's about it! A HUGE thanks to Alex, the Event Director and today's RD, for starting this event and making it so enjoyable! I suspect that 90% of the time, that 7:30 AM start time is very nice to have to beat the heat, so I won't complain. The park is great with toilets fairly close to both turnarounds and lots of parking. (I was amazed at how full that lot started to get later in the morning - this park is really popular.)

You should definitely add this event to your itinerary - I suspect it's going to continue to grow as local people start to understand what's going on (there is always so much suspicion about anything that's free - there just has to be a catch). 

That's it - move along…

PS: Here is a link to the thing I wrote about Byxbee parkrun. And here is a link to a thing I wrote about the Jan Alfano parkrun in Arizona.