Guest host Sanjay Gupta had to keep 'Jeopardy!' clues in hotel safe

CNN's chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, has shared behind-the-scenes tidbits about the venerable quiz show "Jeopardy!," for which he has taped two weeks' worth of episodes as the latest in a line of guest hosts.

The invitation to do so, in the wake of longtime host Alex Trebek's death in November, was an "especial honor," he wrote in a 2,900-word essay on CNN's website Sunday. His immigrant engineer parents and the Michigan-born Gupta would watch "Jeopardy!" together, finding it "the great equalizer in our family. We all had our strengths and our weaknesses. … I can still recall the look of pride my dad had when he came up with the correct response. I later realized he was even more proud when his young son did the same."

Neurosurgeon Gupta, 51, said that "the show's standards and practices team was omnipresent on set." They would remind him "to keep close tabs on any papers that contained clues, even asking that I put them in the hotel safe whenever I left the room. I wasn't supposed to share clues with anyone, obviously, not even my spouse. … There was a constant and purposeful shuffling of schedules and content to maintain that sterling history of high integrity."

The show, he noted, has its own language. "Instead of questions and answers, it is clues and responses," he wrote. "Mike Richards, the executive producer, even had a … 'swear' jar for every time I asked a contestant for their 'answer.' Right away, in my earpiece, I would hear his calm, patient voice. 'Response.' A few seconds later, he would say, 'You owe me a beer.' "

Gupta detailed the mechanics of being on stage, becoming familiar with the clues, and keeping contestants on track, and said that despite the seeming dryness of the fact-filled format, there is great emotion involved. Richards, he said, "told me something I never forgot: 'For the contestants who come to play, this is one of the biggest days in their lives, and when you look at someone at the end of the show and tell them they are a "Jeopardy!" champion, it is like placing a gold medal around their neck.' "

This realization, he said, "was powerful. … I wanted to make sure I didn't let the amazing contestants down."

On Twitter Monday, Gupta wrote: "I've been on TV for the past 20 years, but nothing could have prepared me for guest hosting @Jeopardy!. I hope I made Alex Trebek proud and I look forward to the next two weeks."