Dominic Goes To Jeopardy - Part One: The Process

For young Dominic Olivera, the journey toward playing “Jeopardy” in front of a national audience was nearly as interesting as the experience itself.

Every year, the Jeopardy producers at Sony Pictures Company look to line up 15 individuals for their annual “Kids Week.” The idea, according to the CBS press release, is to “celebrate youth and academic excellence with fifteen of the nation’s brightest 10-, 11- and 12-year olds competing.”

The winnowing process is long and brutal. While perhaps not American Idol-ish in its degree of difficulty, there is still a matter of entertaining tens of thousands of pre-teens who dream of bantering with host Alex Trebek right after nailing the Final Jeopardy answer to win thousands of dollars. For Kids Week, the winner of each of the five games was guaranteed a minimum of $15,000.

Gathering the potential contestants was easy enough. As the #1 rated quiz show on television, Jeopardy claims almost nine million loyal viewers on a daily basis and in most major markets, a slot at 7:30 PM, right after “Wheel of Fortune.”  Finding test takers is as easy as presenting a well-placed ad heading into a commercial break requesting applicants to take the Jeopardy “test.” Unlike “WoF,” it is imperative for the Jeopardy producers at Sony to find contestants who are generally brighter than the viewing audience. While “Fortune” viewers take delight in answering the puzzle before the players, most Jeopardy watchers are happy just to keep up.

The first test was online and over 40,000 kids signed on. The first hurdle toward making it on the show is to pass this exam and the number of successful applicants is not readily available. Upon registering for the online test, applicants are allowed to choose the city where they would like to audition, if they are selected. Being from Northern Virginia, Philadelphia was the closest city to the Oliveras.

Soon after completing the exam, young Dominic received word that his score was worthy of a passing grade and he received an invitation to attend the audition in Philly. There are two good reasons for the audition. First, the invitees are given another test. As noted by Dominic’s mother, Gina, it is “to ensure you have the intellectual chops and that Daddy didn’t take the (online) test for you.” In this case, Dominic’s father Mario accompanied his son to the audition while Gina stayed home to care for the other three children – Vincent, Anthony and the youngest, Sophia.

The other reason for the audition is to acquaint the potential contestants with the workings of Jeopardy and to identify the most personable contestants. The process includes an interview with a member of the production staff and a mock Jeopardy game complete with bells and buzzers. Personality, intellect and stage presence are key components for the typical Jeopardy contestant, regardless of age. Dominic was given the opportunity to wow the producers with stories from his other extracurricular activities, which include music (he plays a mean piano and has performed before large audiences in the past), Boy Scouts (getting ready to begin his Eagle Scout project and recently completed a five day, 50-mile canoe/whitewater venture) and church. Dominic is an active member of Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Gainesville, VA, where among other activities he has been an altar server for four years.

Leaving the audition in Philadelphia, the only promise Dominic received was that the producers would “be in touch” if selected.

Then the wait began….

After a couple of months, Gina admits that they had “kind of forgotten about it and just figured they were not going to call.”

Then one day, the news arrived. Dominic’s presence was requested at the Sony Pictures Television studio in Culver City, CA as one of the 15 contestants selected for Kids Jeopardy week. The taping was to take place in early March.

There was only one problem. Mario, a lieutenant colonel in the Air Force, was getting ready to ship out to Afghanistan and his departure date had been pushed back to just before the taping. In fact, the going away “open house” party, set for February 5^th, had been cancelled as it was now the day that he would leave.