Winner doesn't seem to be in any 'Jeopardy!'

When we in the media first heard about Ken Jennings, it sounded like a fun little story — local computer nerd becomes the first "Jeopardy!" contestant since the show lifted its five-day cap to go on and on . . . like the Little Engine That Could.

Jennings had broken all kinds of "Jeopardy!" records, having been on the show more days and having won more money than anyone ever. And on one show, he racked up $50,000 — just $2,000 shy of the record for the most money won on a single "Jeopardy!" episode.

As with all such TV game shows, however, Jennings had to sign a contract precluding him from speaking to the media until his run was finished on the air.

This isn't the suspenseful thing for Jennings that it is for the rest of us, of course. The episodes were taped months ago, but he's not allowed to tell anyone (except his bank) how much he won, or how many days he stayed on.

So, when he was made available to local media earlier this month, following his 10th day on the show, and having earned $341,158, we thought he would probably foul out that night.

But no.

That was a week and a half ago, and he's still on a roll.

By the time my deadline arrived for this column, Jennings had been on 16 times, had won $512,959 and was going for his 17th straight night on Thursday.

"Jeopardy!" host Alex Trebek has been joking each evening that Jennings may never leave, calling it the "Alex and Ken Show," and saying his producer can't remember when Jennings was not on the program.

Jennings is obviously a bright guy. And he comes off as quite personable and charming. He's always gracious to the other contestants at the end of each show, and almost looks embarrassed that he's stomping everyone else into the ground.

It has to be a bit dispiriting for these really bright opponents when, just before the "Final Jeopardy!" round, they each have $3,000 or $8,000 or even $18,000, and Jennings has somewhere north of $30,000.

One night last week, at the end of a show where Jennings had already racked up $32,200 — and his opponents had earned $5,000 and $6,600 — respectively, the "answer" under the "Famous Products" "Final Jeopardy!" round was this: "First designed as a surgical disinfectant, in 1895 it was available to dentists & by 1914 was sold over the counter."

When Trebek went to another contestant first, she had written: "Same as Ken's answer."