"Qatar?"
Grudgingly, they echoed Allen's admission that Jennings was, in fact, "a nice guy" who bulldozed them with a certain graciousness. Even in the cutthroat television industry, there was open admiration.
"Look, he's a very personable guy, very charming. . . . Ken Jennings, he's just brilliant, and that's the appeal of him," said Michael Davies, executive producer of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire," in a phone interview yesterday.
Patrons at an Arlington restaurant react last night as "Jeopardy!" champ Ken Jennings misses his final question.
(Gerald Martineau -- The Washington Post)
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'Jeopardy!' Champ Defeated: Ex-"Jeopardy!" contestants gathered at Faccia Luna in Clarendon, Va., to toast the anticipated end to champion Ken Jennings's record 74-game winning streak.
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It was the high stakes on "Millionaire," mused "Jeopardy!" creator Merv Griffin, that ultimately opened the door on the staid quiz show for a juggernaut like Jennings. Griffin speculated that "Jeopardy!" producers "thought, 'Geesh, in this climate now maybe we are a little cheap. Let's see what happens.' "
Jennings's record was made possible by a change in rules last year that allowed champions to continue indefinitely instead of retiring after five games.
Now on leave from his computer job, Jennings plans to make the talk-show circuit before settling in to write a book "about trivia, and why it's popular and who excels at it."
Last night he was on CBS's "Late Show With David Letterman" and ABC's "Nightline," and he'll appear today on "Good Morning America" and "Live With Regis and Kelly." Barbara Walters is interviewing him as one of her "10 Most Fascinating People of 2004," and A&E is doing a "Biography" episode on him.
Jennings's skill left 148 challengers in the dust, some so awestruck they asked for autographs, others so annoyed that they bonded over the Internet. In the green room before playing, challengers tried to psych him out with voodoo dolls and dark references to Tonya Harding. His victories became so routine, so assured, that his wife, Mindy, did crossword puzzles while in the studio audience.
The former Mormon missionary from Salt Lake City showed no mercy: Down went the challenger who had survived the London blitz; down went the preacher with twin babies.
He showed no fear: Down went the toxicologist specializing in fatal bites from severed rattlesnake heads; down went the former gravedigger.
"They could not find anybody to really challenge him," said Griffin. "That scared me a little."
Jennings plowed through questions with voracity and occasional delight, his wrong answers often more entertaining than the right ones, like the time the clue board asked for a word that can describe either a garden tool or a person of immoral character.
"What is a ho?" Jennings responded.
"A rake," host Alex Trebek sputtered through laughter.
