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Jep! was a children's version of the classic popular quiz show Jeopardy! hosted by actor and cartoon voice artist Bob Bergen. It aired for one season on Game Show Network (now called GSN) beginning on January 30, 1998.

Gameplay


Three child contestants competed. For the first two rounds they were seated in futuristic chairs (explanation later). As on the adult version of the show, the kid contestants had to buzz-in and respond in the form of a question.

Differences to the show

There are a few differences to this version & the adult version:
  • Colored Podiums - Each contestant's podium had a different color, similar to that of Wheel of Fortune & its child counterpart Wheel 2000. However, the blue and red podiums were switched, therefore, the blue was on the left, and the red on the right.
  • Scoring - Contestants played for points & not dollars, however, as in the adult version, correct responses gained points, while incorrect answers deducted points (and in the first two rounds earned an In Jeopardy light, as explained later).
  • The JEP! board - There were five categories with four clues each (scaled down by the traditional six categories with five clues on the adult version) on the board. Rather than the player calling out an amount for the clue, a randomizer was used to select point value.
  • The Red Buttons - These replaced the infamous hand buzzers in the adult version. They were used to stop the randomizer to select amounts, and, of course, to buzz in. Each contestant has two buzzers.
  • Buzzer sounds - When a player buzzed in, a certain sound was played simply to add pizazz to the show. Note: The adult shows did have a buzzer sound from 1964-1985; the current version does not have a buzzer sound.
  • The "In Jeopardy!" lights - On the adult version of the show, a horizontal panel of nine lights on the player's podium above the player's score is used to indicate how much time a player who has rung-in has left to respond. However, in Jep, these timer lights were used not for time to respond, but rather as In Jeopardy lights. Instead of nine lights as on the regular version, three were used. If a person answered a question incorrectly during the first two rounds, not only would they have points deducted, but one of the three lights would light up in red. Getting one red light meant that a "vat" above the player's head would "cook" up something, usually styrofoam peanuts or packaging items. Two lights meant the "vat" would open up, spilling its contents on the player's head. Three lights meant that a player would have to be sent behind a wall (from where they came through at the start), where they would not be able to answer for one clue. After that one clue, the player would return, and their lights would reset. The reason why the futuristic chairs are used is to slide the player (on a mechanic belt) behind the wall.

The Jep! Round

Point values range from 100 to 500 points.

Hyper Jep!

Similar to Double Jeopardy! on the adult version of the program. Point values are doubled meaning that they range from 200 to 1000

Daily Double

The Daily Double clues work the same way as on the adult version of the program. The contestant who picks that clue wagers any or all of his/her current score. A correct response adds the wager but an incorrect response deducts the wager.

Special Clues

In addition to the Daily Doubles, there are two special clues in each of the first two rounds. They are:
  • The JEP! Squad - this is where a kid from anywhere in America gives a clue. This is a forerunner to the regular version's Clue Crew.
  • JEP! Prize - in addition to the points, the player whom answers correctly also wins a prize (originally given by host Bergen, later delivered from up above).

Super Jep!

This is exactly the same as Final Jeopardy! except that no one gets eliminated, for all three players play this round (if anyone ends the Hyper Jep! round with 0 or less their score gets turned into 500 points (the other players get their scores increased by the amount it took the player to get to 500)). The Super Jep! category is revealed in the center monitor, then during the break the contestants make wagers based on how strong they feel about the category. When the break is over, the Super Jep! clue is revealed; then the players have 30 seconds to write down their question. When the time is up, the answers were checked one at a time starting with the third place player's & ends with the first place player. The player with the most points wins the game.

The Prize Choices

At the end of the game, all three contestants get a choice of two prizes. The third place finisher goes first & getting a choice of two 3rd place prizes. The 2nd place finisher is next, he/she gets a choice of two 2nd place prizes. The day's winner is last, that player gets a choice of two grand prizes.

Notes


  • Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek was the show's consultant. He also gave some of the clues via the middle monitor on three shows.
  • On one show to celebrate the special TV Tuned in to Kids & Family Week, all three rounds had a category devoted to cable television.

Gameplay

  • Contestant Announcer - Host Bob Bergen introduced the contestants as well as talk about the prizes, but when came time to introduce Bergen, one of the contestants (usually the one on the blue podium) did the honor.
  • JepTV.com - On a few shows, there was a category called JepTV.com named after the show's website (www.jeptv.com). There was a survey on that site and some of the questions were about that survey; most of the others were about the internet itself.
  • Triple Dump - On three shows where all three contestants give only one incorrect question or no incorrect questions at all after the first two rounds (resulting in no one getting dumped, which didn't always go over well with Bergen), all three contestants got dumped anyway.
  • Videowriter - The kid contestants on the show not only wrote down their answer on the videowriter during Super Jep!, they also wrote down their answer on certain clues usually in the second round requiring a visual response. On the first show, the contestants had to draw the planet Saturn; on another show, in the category "Roman Numerals" instead of answering the clue verbally, they had to write down the correct roman numeral to score.

See also


External links


Jeopardy! | Children's game shows | Cable game shows

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Jep!".

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