TELEVISION - May 3, 1993

In Jeopardy?: The answer: A popular television game show accused by a former employee of favoring female contestants with last-minute rigging. The question: What is “Jeopardy!�? In a forthcoming book by Harry Eisenberg, “Inside ‘Jeopardy!’: What Really Goes on at TV’s Top Quiz Show,� the former “Jeopardy!� writer claims that clues and topics on the syndicated quiz show were altered to give women an edge. The book claims that “female-friendly� changes included swapping a weapons category for one featuring questions about clothing. A spokeswoman for Merv Griffin Enterprises, the show’s producer, dismissed the allegations as a publicity stunt and called Eisenberg a disgruntled ex-worker. Eisenberg does not implicate host Alex Trebek in his book.