Michigan State University professor describes competing on "Jeopardy!" a "summer camp for nerdy trivia folks."
He was on the show Tuesday night, placing second after answering the Final Jeopardy! question correctly.
Johnston says he's been trying to get on the show for the past five years. He found out in March he was being invited to compete.
"Being on set was utterly surreal and incredible. It was like I was in 5D," he said. "I had gone beyond the television screen, and I was within the show that I've grown up watching my whole life."
He says he set low expectations for himself, so he could enjoy the experience regardless of how he placed. And because of that, he feels like it was a success.
"I just wanted to buzz in once and get one question right and call a category without, you know, making some verbal gaffe or whatever."
Johnston says his experience as a high schooler competing on WKAR's "Quizbusters" may have helped him feel more comfortable on set.
"Thinking back to 'Okay, you made it through that. That worked out fine,' helped me going on to this, the 'Jeopardy stage!,'" he said.
WKAR's Sophia Saliby spoke with Johnston about the experience.
Interview Highlights
On how he was cast on the show
There is the Anytime Test online that folks can take if they're curious. And I have been taking that for about once a year for the last five or six years, but I've never gone to the next stage. There's another test, a second stage in the process, and then the third stage is a Zoom mock game where you're playing against other contestants, potential contestants, and you're buzzing in on your pen in your living room, and they're sort of seeing how you do in the pressure of a game environment.
On meeting host Ken Jennings
Ken Jennings is an utter professional and just consummate human being and such a talented host, funny, quick on his feet but also generous and gracious. And he met with the contestants before everything started to just give us some words of encouragement, and he was entertaining the studio audience in between. During commercial breaks, he would answer questions, and so up until the end of the day, which is a full day, he was really just kind of giving his all into making "Jeopardy!" America's quiz show.
On keeping how he did during the episode a secret
Keeping the secret was very fun and not hard at all. I told my partner because she wasn't able to make the taping. But besides that, my parents, my siblings, I just said, "Hey, you got to tune in," because I wanted them to experience along with me the kind of thrill. And I actually wanted to kind of experience it for myself again, because in the moment, everything is sort of hard to think through and to remember.
Interview Transcript
Sophia Saliby: If you watched "Jeopardy!" last night, you may have noticed a Mid-Michigan local competing.
Michigan State University Professor Pete Johnston came in second place, despite answering the final jeopardy question correctly.
Ken Jennings: Pete Johnston was in second place with $15,600. Did he think of "August?" He got it correct. Well done. What did you wager, Pete? $12,601. You now have a $1 lead over our champion.
Saliby: He joins me now to talk about the experience. Thanks for being here.
Johnston: Thank you so much for having me.
Saliby: I know there's a lot that goes into getting on the show, so in as few words as possible, what was that process like?
Johnston: There is the Anytime Test online that folks can take if they're curious. And I have been taking that for about once a year for the last five or six years, but I've never gone to the next stage. There's another test, a second stage in the process, and then the third stage is a Zoom mock game where you're playing against other contestants, potential contestants, and you're buzzing in on your pen in your living room, and they're sort of seeing how you do in the pressure of a game environment.
That stage, they say, "Okay, now, we might call you in the next two years, or we might not." And then lo and behold, they gave me a call in March to see if I would be able to tape.
Saliby: What was it like being on set and being with former "Jeopardy!" champion and host Ken Jennings?
Johnston: Being on set was utterly surreal and incredible. It was like I was in 5D. I had gone beyond the television screen, and I was within the show that I've grown up watching my whole life. So, just the whole experience, I was absolutely treasuring every moment.
Ken Jennings is an utter professional and just consummate human being and such a talented host, funny, quick on his feet but also generous and gracious. And he met with the contestants before everything started to just give us some words of encouragement, and he was entertaining the studio audience in between.
During commercial breaks, he would answer questions, and so up until the end of the day, which is a full day, he was really just kind of giving his all into making "Jeopardy!" America's quiz show and just, you know, a show that is a legendary staple for so many good reasons.
Saliby: Is there anything you studied up on beforehand that helped you during the actual game?
Johnston: I was watching back, and I was trying to think, was there anything I didn't know before I started studying? Because I was kind of brushing up on major topics like literature and geography and history.
And I think there were a couple that I just happened to, you know, East Asian geography, I happened to study the map and understand where Cambodia and Thailand and Myanmar were in relation to each other, and that actually came up in the game.
Saliby: You didn't win, but were you happy with your performance, or is there maybe anything you felt like you could have done better?
Johnston: I was so happy with my performance. I purposefully set very low goals to achieve, and I just wanted to buzz in once and get one question right and call a category without making some verbal gaffe or whatever. So, by those measures, I felt very successful.
And most of all, I just had so much fun, and I got to meet other contestants. It was like being at summer camp for nerdy trivia folks. Everybody there is kind of into "Jeopardy!" just as much as you are and willing to kind of get in and the nitty gritty of the game and sort of break things down. And it was so fun.
Saliby: You know, you're not a stranger to trivia shows because you were actually on WKAR's "Quizbusters" years ago. Do you feel like that experience helped you out on
"Jeopardy!"?
Johnston: I think it did. To be honest, I was on a few times, and I was definitely not the strongest link in my high school's Quiz Bowl team, but we got the experience of being in a studio. And I remember being so utterly nervous, just completely beside myself imagining that this show on public television was going to be seen by absolutely everybody in the state of Michigan which terrified me. And I think thinking back to "Okay, you made it through that. That worked out fine," helped me going on to this, the "Jeopardy!" stage.
Saliby: One final thing I wanted to ask, this show you were on filmed a little bit ago, was it hard to keep it a secret, how you did?
Johnston: Keeping the secret was very fun and not hard at all. I told my partner because she wasn't able to make the taping. But besides that, my parents, my siblings, I just said, "Hey, you got to tune in," because I wanted them to experience along with me the kind of thrill.
And I actually wanted to kind of experience it for myself again, because in the moment, everything is sort of hard to think through and to remember, and so, I really wanted to have a fresh viewing experience. And it was such a blast to get to watch along with everybody and kind of you know, see in real time how it was playing out.
Saliby: MSU Professor Pete Johnston is a recent "Jeopardy!" contestant. Thank you for joining me.
Johnston: Thank you so much for having me.
This conversation has been edited for clarity and conciseness.
