BECOMING WINK MARTINDALE

It's no secret that we at Dartboard are regular "Jeopardy!" watchers. Or, at least, that we used to be. But since the new season has begun, we just can't get the thought out of our minds that Alex Trebek and company have taken the show into a drastic, kamikaze nose dive.

Dumbing down the quality of the answers on the board, thereby requiring far less cultural literacy in its contestants, the show has moved dangerously close to embracing a "Wheel of Fortune" world-view. Where it once stood atop the syndicated circuit--the New York Times of game shows--day by day it is coming to resemble the New York Post.

Let's hope its slide stops before it moves into competition with the likes of "Tic-Tac-Dough" and "Supermarket Sweep."