The famous contestant is Ken Jennings, who, as a software engineer from Salt Lake City, won a record 74 straight games in 2004.
The other guy is Brad Rutter, 33, a Manheim Township High School grad who was working at a Lancaster record store in 2000 when he began a Jeopardy! streak of his own.
He had left Johns Hopkins University without finishing his history degree - "School and I have never really gotten along," he said - but still won five games, the limit then, collecting $55,102, along with two Chevrolet Camaros.
Then he won three straight showdowns against former champs, outdueling Jennings to win the 2005 "Ultimate Tournament of Champions" and $2 million, making Rutter the show's top money winner ever.
He won, in part, because he really got into a "zone," anticipating when to buzz in, he said.
A few years ago, he headed for Hollywood, seeking acting roles and doing stand-up at comedy clubs. He does a "pretty passable" impression of Sean Connery as a bumbling Celebrity Jeopardy! contestant, à la Saturday Night Live.
Now he's going up against what Nova, the PBS science show, called the "Smartest Machine on Earth."
Top prize is $1 million, with $300,000 for the runner-up, $200,000 for third. The humans have pledged half of their haul to charities, IBM all of its.
Rutter, a voracious reader as a child, has earmarked his dough to go to Lancaster County libraries for technological improvements. "Hopefully, somebody else growing up in Lancaster can have the same kind of passion sparked," he said.
On a normal night, nine million people watch the nation's most popular syndicated quiz show, a spokesman said.
