Attending a Jeopardy! taping session - take five

Because the timing worked out, we decided to make another run down to Culver City to watch a Jeopardy taping on Tuesday, March 4th. As usual, we booked the morning session since you get to see three shows (the afternoon session only sees two shows).

In the past, we would watch the taping then make a mad dash to try to get out of LA before traffic got really bad with the afternoon commute. This didn't really work though - we would get back to the car at about 2:00 PM and would find that it was already too late, and on top of that, we would be pretty hungry. All in all, not a fun post-show experience. 

This time we changed things up a bit and decided to not try to escape LA, but instead go back to our hotel in Marina del Rey, and head home mid-morning the next day. (We generally take two days to go home, using more scenic routes and giving us time to do things along the way. We come down in one day on I-5, which is efficient, but not at all scenic, and it's kind of a long day, so it's really nice to break up the return trip.)

A fun benefit of not leaving right away is that, once our session is over, we can get back in line to see if there are any openings for the afternoon session. I had checked the night before, and tickets were still available for both the morning and afternoon sessions, so it seemed likely that we would be able to, for the first time, attend all five of that day's games.

And that's exactly how it worked out - we got in line, got up to the table and explained that we had just seen the morning session and wanted to see if there was any room in the afternoon session, and there was!

So many lines to stand in! But at least it was sunny, if a bit cool.

The drawback of doing this is that you have to do all the waiting, hiking, and lines again. Also, you get no chance to grab some lunch.

You're not allowed to bring your own food, snacks or drinks past security, and supposedly they will find anything you try to smuggle in. Mrs Notthat is a bit of a rebel though, and she brought several protein bars in her purse, which the security guy had to have seen in the morning, but let them go. (It would have been hard to leave her behind in Jeopardy Jail, but, well, she knew the risks.)

So, as we were standing in line to go through security for the afternoon session, we ate our bars and drank a bottle of water that Mrs Notthat had bought in the Jeopardy store. (No, it was not Smart Water, but wow is that a missed opportunity!) 

Note: There are vending machines right after security, so you could grab something from them instead of trying to sneak stuff in. You could also potentially go to your car and eat something there before going through security, but there really wasn't a lot of time and we didn't want to push it, but I suspect you would be fine if you hustled a bit. Also, you can't eat anything in the studio, but there are opportunities between shows to leave the studio.

The only other thing to talk a bit about is the wristbands and studio seating. A long line is formed before the hike to the studio.

• The first people in line have gold wristbands - these are studio/show people that have nothing to do with specific contestants.
• The next group in line have purple wristbands - these are friends and family of contestants. 
• Then there are the rest of us with green wristbands - we bring up the rear (and are the largest group).

Once you leave on the hike to the studio, the order that you are going to get seated is pretty set. It doesn't guarantee anything though - it's pretty random. And I was not nearly as wobbly walking around as this implies - GPS is challenged a bit on the narrow "roads" on the lot surrounded by fairly tall buildings.

You don't get to choose your seats or even which side of the studio you sit in:

• The right side (as you're facing the stage) is where friends and family of the contestants sit. It's also where contestants can sit after they've lost. You get a good view of the big board, but you are nearly edge-on with the contestants, and can't see their scores (the scores are displayed elsewhere though, so it's not a big problem). Also, you will likely not be in that opening audience shot since the camera starts its swoop right over you.
• The left side gets a good view of the contestants and an OK view of the big board. You will almost for sure be in the opening audience shot.

We've been on both sides, and we've had unique experiences on each - you really aren't going to lose with either; there really are no bad seats, which is good because you can't really control where you are seated.

Mostly.

Mrs Notthat has gotten really good at knowing where to stand in the Jeopardy store/waiting area so that we can get in line as close to the front as possible (right behind the purple wristbands) - this enhances our chances of sitting in their area on the right, which we found fun this time since Mrs Notthat has social skills and got to learn a bit about some of the contestants by talking to their guests.

Even better, we were able to see and talk a little bit with some of the contestants that had been in the previous game - it's fun to see them up close and marvel at how well they've handled the stress of the day.

Watching five games in one day is a bit tiring. Working those five games is very tiring - by the fifth one, Ken was making a few more mistakes than earlier in the day (which is still not many, considering how complicated and quick the process is and all the variables that can come up).

It was fun though - we keep getting emails about ticket availability. I suspect that after all the tournament shows, the fires, and given the dreariness of this spring so far, there is a bit of fatigue that's keeping some people away. I have four previous posts about us attending there if you want to learn more of the details of attending a live taping.

This is a shot I grabbed from an episode we attended back in January - we were seated on the left side that time (I'm in the gray shirt on the aisle, pretty much in the center).

We don't have plans yet about going back, but we undoubtedly will.

Mrs Notthat can't wait to challenge the security guard again.

That's it - move along…