'Jeopardy!' is one of the few shows that models niceness. Why we need it — Matters of Fact

What's new on "Jeopardy!"?

Cue "Think" music. You have exactly 30 seconds. Go!

No, it's not the host. Ken Jennings, after jockeying earlier for position with Mike Richards and Mayim Bialik, is now permanently in the driver's seat, Alex Trebek's lawful successor.

And it's not the format. Contestants are still answering in the form of a question — as they've been doing since 1964, when the beloved game show made its debut on NBC.

What's new on "Jeopardy!" is The Hug.

Or to phrase it in proper "Jeopardy!" English: What Is The Hug?

Matters of Fact | A column about our lives in the age of media

It's the moment, increasingly familiar over the past few months, in which the winner turns to each of the two losers and gives each, in turn, a big, heartfelt embrace. It's come to feel obligatory. Like the standing ovation at a Broadway show.

And it's the latest example of how, in a media environment filled with cutthroat competition — a media environment that may all-too-accurately reflect America 2024 — "Jeopardy!" is one of the few shows that models niceness.

Setting an example

Ken Jennings is nice. The contestants are nice. Even self-described "game-show villain" James Holzhauer was, in his villainous way, nice.

"I know from my own personal experience in the show, I wanted everybody to do well even though some of them were in direct competition with me," said Elizabeth Susswein, originally from Wayne (she now lives in Hamilton Square) who appeared on "Jeopardy!" in 2005.

Competition is part of the American DNA. That's hardly news. We are a nation of Vince Lombardis, pummeling our way to victory. "To win and to win and to win" as Coach Vince would put it. "Loser" is the worst word in the American vocabulary. And this is reflected in our media, which manages to turn everything into a contest — the more remorseless, the better.

Dating, dancing, singing, cooking, Christmas light displays, even plastic surgery — what can't be turned into a contest, a winner-takes-all battle in which triumph and humiliation are the twin poles? Some reality shows, like "Survivor," are about deliberately head-faking, undercutting or conspiring against your opponent.

Seeing ourselves

Are these shows just a mirror? Are we really the dog-eat-dog country that "Hell's Kitchen" or "The Apprentice" might suggest? It certainly feels that way, sometimes.

But if these shows reflect us, they also — like a lighthouse lens — amplify those values, and beam them back out at us increased in magnitude. They reinforce our worst tendencies.

"Jeopardy!" is something else.

Competitive? Sure. Who doesn't want to be champ? But the competition here is to be the first among equals.

"Nobody steps up for that kind of experience without the desire to win," said Terry Wolfisch Cole, a Connecticut contestant who in January 2022 ran into a buzz-saw named Amy Schneider.

"On the other hand, I think there's a delight in stepping into an experience in which your love of knowledge is something everybody shares," Cole said. "No matter what divides you, you have that in common."

Some of these players are, in fact, friends. The recent outbreak of embracing and back-patting may have something to do with the fact that "Jeopardy!" has been taking a break from regular play — since July 28 it's been eight months of Second-Chance tournaments and Champions' tournaments, in many cases rematches of contestants who have faced off before. It's only this month that plain old "Jeopardy!" is back.

Bonding off-camera

But the fact that so many of these competitors have become friends, on and off camera, is telling.

"A lot of these players are connected, or at least have awareness of each other," Cole said.

Meanwhile, regular "Jeopardy!" contestants, since April 9, have hardly been less effusive.

On a recent episode, winner Alison Betts clearly would have hugged fellow-contestant Eric Reimund. Only problem: the contestant at the podium in-between, Veronica Tabor, had flamed out before "Final Jeopardy" — leaving a gap too big and awkward to embrace across.

Instead, Betts called out to her fellow contestant: "You were so good."

"You really have a lot of camaraderie with folks," said Christine O'Donnell of Elmwood Park, who was on the show in 2018. "The crew does everything to encourage that, so you don't feel disappointed when you lose, like I did. You're just happy to have had the experience."

In its own way, "Jeopardy!" is a mini civics lesson. It demonstrates — as home, church and school are supposed to do, and as mass media once did — how to behave respectfully toward each other.

All are welcome

And "Jeopardy!" shows us, not just a civil America, but a diverse America.

Fear of immigrants, "foreigners," and all the other Others, has been ginned up by some folks with an agenda. Including, notoriously, some political candidates.

But "Jeopardy!" shows us a broad swath of the country, people of all religions, complexions, sexes and sexualities, who are motivated by nothing more sinister than the desire to ring in first with the words, "What is Madagascar?"

Black, white, Asian, Latin, Sikh, Muslim, Hindu, men and women, young and old, gay and transgender: the daily assortment of "Jeopardy!" contestants wasn't always so pronounced (the show has had its diversity issues in the past). These days, it may be the most representative demographic portrait of the U.S. that can be seen on TV. And everyone's smart.

"Differences are not commented on," O'Donnell said. "If you have a contestant who is trans — and there have been a number of them — the question will not be, 'Tell me what it's like to be trans. It's 'Tell me what your hobby is, tell me where your vacation was.' There is something refreshing about dealing with difference in a very matter-of-fact way."

In short, "Jeopardy!" — in addition to being a fun and highly addictive game — shows America to itself in its best light. The America we aspire to be, rather than the one we might fear we are becoming.

"The 'Jeopardy!' community is amazing," Susswein said. "Obviously there are some outliers. But for the most part it's a great group of people that support each other."

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: 'Jeopardy!' contestants are nice as well as smart. Why?