Eric Smith remembers watching โJeopardy!โ and competing against a friend when he was in middle school.
โWeโd be stoked if we got six or seven questions right,โ the Tucsonan says.
Come Thursday, Dec. 19, Smith will have the chance to flex his โJeopardyโ skills on the televised game show.
Four years ago, Smith โ a longtime bartender at local restaurant Kingfisher โ took an online โJeopardy!โ test. It was 50 questions in 50 categories, with 15 seconds to answer.
โI always watched โJeopardy!โ and I always did well,โ Smith, who graduated from University High School and later the University of Arizona, says. โ(The test) was free so I thought I would give it a shot.โ
In 2018, he took the test for a third time. The digital test never tells its users their score, but Smith assumed he did well. In May of that year, he received the long-awaited call and was asked to audition.
He flew to San Francisco a couple months later, where he was given a written version of the test. Then, contestants broke into groups and played a mini version of the game show.
โIt had been 14 months since I had auditioned and I hadnโt heard back from them,โ Smith says. โAfter six months or so, I was like, โWell, it would be a nice surprise, but Iโm not holding my breath.โโ
More than a year after auditioning, Smith got the call โ he made it on the show.
โWhen she called me, I scared my fiancรฉ because I shouted as loud as I could,โ he says. โI was so happy I was getting called.โ
Smith found himself in Los Angeles in October of this year, ready to compete on the show.
โItโs a crazy process,โ Smith says. โThey pick you up at the hotel at 7 a.m., shuttle you over with the other contestants for the day and the defending champion.โ
Contestants arrive at the studio about 8 a.m., go to hair and makeup and then rehearsals begin.
โThe overall experience โ itโs fast but itโs a lot of fun,โ he says.
โYouโre talking to all the other โJeopardy!โ contestants from around the country. Itโs fun listening to their experiences.โ
And host Alex Trebek? Smith says heโs incredibly friendly.
โEspecially with the audience,โ Smith says. โHeโs very warm and likes to make jokes. He makes the day great for everybody โ the audience and the contestants.โ
โIโm really excited to watch myself on Thursday,โ Smith says.
Catch Smith on the show Thursday on ABC. Check your local listings for the time.
12 times Tucson has appeared on national TV:
12 times Tucson has appeared on national TV
'Nightwatch Nation' on A&E
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The Tucson Fire Department made their television debut on A&E's Nightwatch Nation in 2018.
The show takes viewers through a behind-the-scenes look at the duties of first responders. Think the show "Cops," but with firefighters and ambulances.ย
Tucson's fire crews make an appearance in all 10 episodes of the season.
'Bar Rescue' on Paramount Network
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Workers have been transforming RJโs Replays, 5769 E. Speedway, in advance of Saturday nightโs unveiling.
Television personality and Nightclub Hall of Fame inductee Jon Taffer transformedย RJ's Replayย on East Speedway into theย Frozen Cactusย for the reality series "Bar Rescue" on the Paramount Network.ย
Taffer also worked his magic on The Original Hideout on South Mission Road.
'Man v. Food' on Travel Channel
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El Guero Canelo owner Daniel Contreras shows perfectly cooked Sonoran-style hot dogs to Man v. Food host Adam Richman.
Adam Richman ate his way through Tucson on an episode of "Man v. Food," which he filmed in town in 2009.ย
Richman, who is not affiliated with the reboot, noshed on Sonoran hot dogs at Guero Canelo and attempted to finish Lindy's OMFG burger challenge in less than 20 minutes. He was not successful.ย ย
'Diners, Drive-ins and Dives' on Food Network
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Food Network host Guy Fieri hung out with owner Fatima Campos and seemed to enjoy the Seco de Carne con Frejoles.
Food celebrity and all-around party animal Guy Fieri gave Tucson some love, hitting multiple restaurants, including Rocco's Little Chicago Pizzeria, Chef Alisah's Bosnian restaurant, Zemam's Ethiopian, Renee's Organic Oven, Cafe Tumerico and Inca's Peruvian Cuisine.ย
'Booze Traveler' on Travel Channel
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Three Wells Distilling on the Travel Channel's "Booze Traveler"
Three Wells Distilling Company made its national television debut in early April, 2018, with an appearance on the Travel Channel series, "Booze Traveler."
The program follows host Jack Maxwell to cities around the world as he experiences the local beers, wines and spirits.ย
The Tucson episode, dubbed "Southwest Spirits," featured Three Wells owners Matt Montgomery, Chris Dudding and Kente Escandon, and the process that they undergo to turn prickly pear fruit into their own special brand of liquor.ย
'American Pickers' on History Channel
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'American Pickers'
Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz of "American Pickers" skipped Tucson on their visit to Southern Arizona in 2011, choosing instead to hit Willcox, Arizona, where they found two collectors amid the fields of pick-our-own crops and homegrown wineries.ย
One of the episode's most colorful subjects was Fargo Graham, who worked on movies filmed at Old Tucson during its John Wayne days.ย
'No Reservations' on Travel Channel
UpdatedAnthony Bourdain never officially made it to Tucson, but he did skirt around the city, making a stop at the Titan Missile Museum in Green Valley in 2008, for his long-gone Travel Channel series, "No Reservations."
Bourdain also stopped through Alice Cooperstown in Phoenix during the same episode.ย
'Ginormous Foods' on Food Network
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Comedian Josh Denny ate giant treats in Tucson on "Ginormous Foods."
The short-lived "Ginormous Foods" series on the Food Network featured comedian Josh Denny tasting huge dishes at restaurants throughout the U.S.ย
In Tucson, he sampled Boca Tacos y Tequila's Titanic Taco Dog, Lindy's Burn-Out Burger and a 16-inch, chocolate-filled glazed doughnut, dubbed the B.F.D. from the now-closed Stray Dogs.
'United Shades of America' on CNN
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The US-Mexico border in Nogales, Ariz.ย
W. Kamau Bell, a Bay Area comedian and host of the CNN docu-series "United Shades of America," took his show to the Arizona-Mexico border to interview folks on both sides about immigration and all of the issues that come with it.ย
Coincidentally, British comedian Jamali Maddix also traveled to the Arizona border region for the latest season of his Vice network series, "Hate Thy Neighbor."
'Bizarre Foods' on Travel Channel
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Andrew Zimmern has been through Tucson a couple of times with his "Bizarre Foods" and "Delicious Destinations" programs for The Travel Channel (in 2009 and 2016).ย
Zimmern has grubbed out at several local favorites over the years, including El Charro, Pico De Gallo on South Sixth Avenue and the Tucson Tamale Company.ย
'The First 48' on A&E
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Tucson Police Department detectives took centerstage on A&E in 2008, as their cases were chronicled in the docu-series, "The First 48."
The show, which rotated between select cities within the US, worked off the premise that the first 48 hours are the most crucial when detectives are attempting to solve a crime.ย ย
'Eat Street' on the Cooking Channel
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Serial Grillers food truck in 2013.ย
Serial Grillers was still just a food truck at Pantano and 22nd when the Cooking Channel series "Eat Street" tapped it to be the subject of a Season 5 food truck feature.ย
Another local food truck, Planet of the Crepes, also made the "Eat St." cut during Season 5.ย ย
'Throwdown! With Bobby Flay' on the Food Network
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Huevos rancheros at Teresa's Mosaic Cafe
Celebrity chef Bobby Flay battled Tucson chef David Matias of Teresaโs Mosaic Cafรฉ on Flay's food competition show "Throwdown! With Bobby Flay"ย in 2010.
Flay bested Matias when competing for who made better huevos rancheros, but it was Teresa's that came out on top with loads of free publicity.ย
Former Star reporter Kristen Cook, a big fan of eggs, served as a judge.ย ย
