It’s a hat trick of appearances on ‘Jeopardy!’ for Seattle contestant

12 Jan 2024, 06:00 by Rob Owen · The Seattle Times

For Queen Anne’s Martha Bath, her upcoming appearance as a “Jeopardy!” contestant marks the completion of a hat trick of “Jeopardy!” appearances that began on the Art Fleming-hosted daytime version of the game show in 1972.

She didn’t win that time — her consolation prize was $40 and an encyclopedia set she still owns — but on her return appearance in 2022, Bath took home $30,800, winning her first episode and advancing to a second episode where she came in second.

Bath gets a third chance as part of the “Season 39 ‘Jeopardy!’ Champions Wildcard” tournament that begins Jan. 16 with Bath playing on Jan. 18. (Seattle’s Kelly Barry will also compete in the tournament.)

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Bath learned of her latest appearance while listening to the “Jeopardy!” podcast in March 2023 when the podcast host announced plans for the tournament that would include favorite players. A few were named, including Bath.

“I listened five times. Did they really mention me?” Bath, 73, recalls. “And then they said, ‘Of course we haven’t contacted them, but we hope they will accept.’ ”

Bath’s invitation came via email. Unlike regular games where contestants pay to get themselves to Los Angeles where “Jeopardy!” films, for tournaments, the show picks up the cost of airfare, lodging and incidentals.

For her third appearance on “Jeopardy!” (7:30 p.m. weeknights, KOMO-TV), Bath filmed at the show’s Culver City, Calif., studio the week of Jan. 2.

“I am a lifelong ‘Jeopardy!’ viewer,” Bath says. “We tape it. I watch it. I miss nothing. I love the show. And I’m a purist. People say, ‘Have you been on another [quiz show]? No, it’s ‘Jeopardy!’ ”

Born in Pensacola, Fla., Bath’s first “Jeopardy!” appearance came when she was living in Connecticut. In those days, “Jeopardy!” filmed its episodes at Rockefeller Center in New York City and contestants’ appearances were capped at five wins.

“Back then everything was done by snail mail,” Bath recalls. “They gave you a date to come in [and audition] and they gave you a 50-question test. … And then they will ask you questions like, ‘I’m going to give you a word or phrase and I want you to give me an appropriate question.’ … They were trying to judge spontaneity and creativity. They wanted to see how well you make connections.”

Bath was 21 years old when she first competed on “Jeopardy!”

“We played a full practice game where I won,” she says. “But when we got out on stage, you get overwhelmed.”

Bath says the key difference between the show now and then — other than the switch from hand-pulled cardboard cards to an electronic game board — is that in 1972 producers did not stop taping for anything. In terms of game play, on the old show players could answer before the question was fully read.

“Now you cannot [buzz in to answer] until they’re done reading the question. And that’s a real key difference. Nowadays, being good on the button is very important. … Most of us [playing] will probably know 80% of the answers,” it’s just a question of who is fastest on the buzzer, Baths says.

Bath’s path to return to “Jeopardy!” began before the COVID-19 pandemic or Alex Trebek’s November 2020 death. Bath took the show’s online test and then she went to an audition session at the Seattle waterfront and landed in the contestant pool where she remained for 18 months. COVID hit, and her 18 months expired. She took the online test again, which was then followed by an audition over Zoom. She got the call and was likely to appear in late spring of 2022 but then she got COVID and had to cancel. The show promised to invite her back in the fall, which led to her September 2022 winning appearance with host Ken Jennings, who lives in Seattle when he’s not filming “Jeopardy!”

“He fills Alex Trebek’s shoes admirably,” Bath says of Jennings. “My husband [who was in the studio audience in September 2022 and January 2023] commented this time on the difference between the taping last September and now and just how much he has grown [into the role of host]. … But I am saddened that I did not get to meet Alex Trebek. Everyone wanted to meet Alex Trebek.”

Bath moved to Seattle in 1997 after her husband spent 26 years in the U.S. Navy. She worked for several companies, retiring about 17 years ago as a CPA with The Hagen Firm in Edmonds. She currently does part-time bookkeeping for her son’s brewery in Portsmouth, N.H., and for Seattle Interiors in Wallingford.

Would Bath be up for another “Jeopardy!” appearance down the road?

“Well, what on earth could they possibly ask me back again for?” Bath says. “I don’t know. Other people deserve a chance to go and experience it.”

“Jeopardy!”

The “Season 39 ‘Jeopardy!’ Champions Wildcard” tournament starts at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 16 on KOMO-TV, with Martha Bath playing on Jan. 18.