NHBA - Bar News Issue

Caption for Jeopardy picture: Attorney Marlene Lein, right, with her twin sister Maureen Lein, at the Jeopardy viewing party on the 21st of June at the Hooksett Elks’ Club.

After 20-plus years of sending postcards to the producers of the ever-popular game show Jeopardy in hopes of becoming a contestant, Concord attorney Marlene Lein finally had the opportunity to prove her trivia expertise. Lein’s appearance on Jeopardy was broadcast on June 22, and she came away $2,000 richer for her efforts.

Second place may not be considered "killing the competition," as Lein’s message on her "Hometown Howdy" (the show’s promotional plug for the week’s contestants) stated, but she still felt like a grand prizewinner. "I made enough money to pay for my trip to LA, I didn’t embarrass myself on national television and I had fun," said Lein.

In October of 2004 Lein traveled to Boston to compete against 70 other Jeopardy hopefuls in mock games, whittling down the final number of contestants to a mere eight.

Three weeks later, arriving home after a Manchester Monarchs’ event for season ticket-holders, Lein saw Sony Productions on her caller ID. "I knew I had made it then," Lein said. An ecstatic Lein phoned her sister in Hawaii to share the exciting news that she would appear on the show, taping December 9th.

At the time of her initial interview, Lein suspected she had a chance to be called back. Not only had she listed hockey—Alex Trebek’s favorite sport—as one of her main interests on a personal information sheet, she felt she had "clicked with the contestant coordinator." One of the hardest aspects of getting on the show for Lein was jotting down interesting personal details about herself that would be discussed with Trebek during the game. "Some people list most embarrassing moments, or funny details of their lives; I chose hockey knowing it was Trebek’s favorite sport," said Lein.

In order to prepare for the upcoming show, Lein spent nights and weekends studying The World Almanac. "Watching the show; knowing your weaknesses (hers was opera) and understanding how questions are phrased," are also important aspects for preparing to be a contestant, said Lein.

Her legal experience did not play a part in her success on the show, "Trivia is a whole separate aspect of my life," she said. Lein recalls arranging her college schedule around the show back in the 1970’s. "I wasn’t as big a Jeopardy psycho as some of my friends, but I was hooked," she said.

As a legal professional, Lein took Jeopardy’s eight-page confidentiality agreement very seriously. Until the night the show aired, only three friends who had accompanied her to the taping knew the outcome. She was surprised, however, that at no time was the audience informed of any requirement not to leak the winner’s name before the show aired in June. Lein referred those who pestered her for the outcome to her friends who were in the audience; she herself never even hinted at the result.

On June 21st, 30 friends gathered at the Hooksett Elk’s Club with Lein to finally find out whether she would go on to a second round. As a WNDS television crew prepared to video Lein and her friends watching the show, the room went dark due to a power outage. With only five questions left in double jeopardy [the final round], Lein’s friends scrambled to run extension cords from another area of the lodge that still had power, and the TV was back on. Thinking the evening would go on without a further hitch, disappointment prevailed again when the show returned and Lein wasn’t among the contestants – the local cable station mixed up the tapes and ended the show with the previous night’s final Jeopardy question. Lein’s crowd of friends was left in the dark once more. Lein has e-mailed the station requesting them to rectify the situation by sending her the show in its entirety.

Final Jeopardy, the missing segment that went un-aired, pitted Lein against overall winner, Mike Bober in the Historic Names category. "The first name of this man born Feb 15th, 1564, was derived from his parents’ surname, a common Tuscan habit at that time," was the stumping question for Lein. "I had no idea—it could have been a cast of thousands," Lein said. "Who was Galileo?" was the answer.

The best part of the experience? The Green Room, said Lein, where scrumptious food was plentiful and friendly den-mother-type contestant coordinators waited on your every need. Although she was too nervous to partake of the buffet laid out for her and fellow contestants, Lein did grab a danish and some water before the taping. The most disappointing part? "Alex Trebek spent no time with the contestants," said Lein. Chatting during the breaks with the audience, Trebek had little contact with the contestants. "Not even a baseball hat, autograph or t-shirt," was given to Lein or her challengers. However, a photo of Alex Trebek (sans autograph) and Lein rests in a faux-crystal frame on her desk; the only memento she was given from the show.

Finishing up taping the show on a Thursday afternoon, Lein and her friends enjoyed some sightseeing before Saturday’s flight home. Dinner that night offered them a chance meeting with Al Pacino, whom Lein did not recognize at first; and Calista Flockhart, who casually wandered by as they were leaving the restaurant.

Her "phenomenal experience" on Jeopardy is not the end, hopefully, of Lein’s game show career. Next in her sights is "Who Wants To Be a Millionaire?" After she satisfies the one-year waiting period between game shows, she will begin the process of submitting her name as a contestant all over again. "In order to prevent people from becoming professional game show contestants, shows ask you to wait 12 months to apply to another show," said Lein. If not for the waiting policy, Lein would already be stamping envelopes for her next conquest.