NEW YORK - Beverly Herter is in a club that's grown less exclusive by the day: She lost to Ken Jennings on 'Jeopardy!'
'It's kind of a bonding experience going against Ken,' said Herter, a freelance editor from Portsmouth, R.I., beaten in an episode televised last week.
Jennings has dispatched 76 contestants on the brain-teasing trivia game, making the Utah software engineer the unlikeliest of TV stars and juicing a show that's aired quietly for 30 years.
Ratings have soared, Jennings visited both David Letterman and Jay Leno and newspapers run a daily update on his winnings. The Web site Slate even invented a Ken Jennings drinking game (two sips if he misses a Daily Double). Not bad for a Mormon teetotaler who's oddly proficient in alcohol-related questions.
After Friday's show, Jennings had won 38 straight games and $1,321,660.
It won't end anytime soon. Jennings set a one-day record by winning $75,000 on Friday's episode, the last original episode of the show's season. 'Jeopardy!' will air reruns until Sept. 6, when Jennings will return.
'I think it's great,' said Michael Davies, executive producer of 'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire' and a loyal 'Jeopardy!' fan. 'There are shows on television that are watched by millions of people every day that are not on the radar. It's good that people are talking about the show.'
Jennings made his first appearance June 2. In his first full week of winning, 'Jeopardy!' averaged 8.4 million viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research. During the week of July 5 - traditionally one of the slowest TV weeks of the year - the show averaged 12.6 million viewers.
A little-noticed rule change a year ago made Jennings' run possible. Throughout its history, 'Jeopardy!' champions were retired after five wins. Last fall, just to spice things up, producers decreed that a champion could keep playing until being beaten. They also recently doubled the monetary value of their prizes.
'Jeopardy!' is probably the only show Jennings could be on, Davies said. At 30, he's too old for most reality shows, not good-looking enough for the dating shows and he'd probably be grossed out by 'Fear Factor,' he said.
'It's a timely reminder to television executives and producers that you can get buzz on television in a lot of different ways,' Davies said. 'It's not only about being shocking and extreme and over the top.'
Tim Crockett, a Las Vegas casino employee as well as another Jennings victim, tried trash-talking the amiable Jennings backstage to intimidate him. When Jennings complained about having to trek back and forth from his Utah home to Los Angeles for tapings, Crockett said he wouldn't have to worry about that anymore.
Jennings just walked away.
Final score: Jennings $35,000, Crockett $7,900.
As they waited for their 'Jeopardy!' appearances, Herter and Crockett had the unfortunate experience of watching four show tapings where Jennings annihilated opponents. One thoroughly demoralized yet still witty contestant stumped by a final Jeopardy question wrote, 'whatever Ken writes' as his reply.
During one game aired last week, Jennings had earned $9,200 before either opponent even had the chance to answer one question.