‘A true treasure in our culture’

MSU professor, a longtime fan, reflects on ‘Jeopardy!’ appearance

Last week, Michigan State University film studies professor Peter Johnston, 40, achieved a lifelong dream of competing on NBC’s long-running game show “Jeopardy!”

“I joked with my family, ‘Next stop: “Wheel of Fortune,”’ when we watched the episode,” Johnson recalled, laughing.

He tested his mettle against eight-day returning champion Scott Riccardi, an engineer from Somerville, New Jersey, and Carl Adams, a litigation technology specialist from Des Moines, Iowa. Johnston came in second place, with $28,201 on the board.

“If you don’t come out on top, you don’t keep all of the money. Second place gets $3,000, and third place gets $2,000,” Johnston said. “It was close. Scott was a heck of a competitor, as well as a real smart and nice guy.”

Now that his “Jeopardy!” adventure has played out, it’s “back to our regularly scheduled programming,” he said. That includes filmmaking and teaching.

“Once students return, I’ll be teaching again in the fall. The fun thing about being a college professor is there’s always an infusion of young, creative minds that you get to work alongside, and it keeps it perpetually refreshing,” Johnston, the interim director of MSU’s film studies program, said.

The seventh of eight children and the youngest son, Johnston grew up in what he described as a “‘Jeopardy!’ household” in Alma. He also played Trivial Pursuit frequently and was a member of the quiz bowl team at Alma High School. Upon graduation, he earned a bachelor’s degree in photography from Alma College and a master’s degree in digital media arts from MSU.

Johnston has been taking the online “Jeopardy!” test since 2019. In April 2024, he made it to the second round, which is another test.

“I went for it and figured that might be the end of it. Then I made it to the third round,” he said. “It was a mock game over Zoom. They interview you and try to make it seem like the show, seeing how you do in a game environment.

“I thought that would be the end of it as well because there’s no guarantee, but in March, they gave me a call and asked if I could come out and tape,” he continued.

Initially, a producer asked Johnston if he could tape his episode in April, but Johnston had to turn him down because he didn’t want to miss his students’ film premiere.

“I teach a capstone film course at MSU, and the big premiere was that day,” Johnston explained. “I said, ‘I really can’t make that week.’ The producer said, ‘Well, okay. I’ll check with the other producers and see.’

After that, I thought, ‘I wish it had worked out. Maybe I’ll never hear from there again. Maybe that was my shot.’ One week later, she called back: ‘OK, how about the week after?’ I was grateful that I could both be there for my students and also participate in this opportunity.”

To prepare for his appearance, Johnston studied history, literature, poetry, geography, monarchs, U.S. presidents, world capitals, Shakespeare — “all kinds of general knowledge.” His wife, Katie Wittenauer, quizzed him relentlessly every night before bed.

In addition, Johnston — who had watched the show religiously for decades — began watching in a different way.

“I started pretending that I was on ‘Jeopardy!’ I’d watch it while standing behind a chair as if it were a podium. I’d buzz in on a pen and try to visualize what it’d be like to be on the stage. I also bought a buzzer and did drills to get my timing down,” he explained.

He also consulted with MSU alumna Robin Miner-Swartz of Lansing, a two-time “Jeopardy!” champion.

“She reassured me, ‘You made it on the show for a good reason. You know some of the things they might ask. You can rely on the knowledge you have, but the buzzer timing is the most important thing. All three competitors might know the answer, but whoever can time the buzzer just right is the one who gets to answer it,’” Johnston said.

According to Johnston, the “Jeopardy!” crew films five episodes per day.  He didn’t know he would be up against Riccardi until the day of filming.

“We all knew going in that he was pretty good. Sure enough, he was an excellent competitor,” Johnston said. “I felt confident when I buzzed in on the first question and got on the board. I just tried not to worry too much about anybody else and answer as many questions as I could.”

When asked if there’s any chance of him returning to the show, Johnston replied that the odds are pretty slim.

“They do bring back some folks to what they call the Second Chance Tournament. I’m just gonna let it happen if it happens. If it did, that would be incredible, but I’m not gonna get my hopes up too much,” he said.

Still, his appearance — a high point in his life — is something that will stick with him for a long time. He said the best part has been “getting to share it with folks from my entire life.”

“I’ve been hearing from people I haven’t been in touch with for a long time: high school classmates, friends of my family, friends of my parents,” he said. “People from across the country were texting me, people who didn’t know it was happening. It’s so much fun to share in America’s quiz show, which is a true treasure in our culture. Getting to play a small part in that, and getting to share it with people, is just incredible.”