This Could Smart : Celebrities go for the buzzer in a special week of ‘Jeopardy!’

Any die-hard “Jeopardy!” fan can tell you, winning the answer-and-question game show is a combination of luck, nerves and strategy. You need a brain filled with facts and figures, the ability to remain calm and the reflexes to beat the competition to the buzzer. The average contestant is driven by the lure of momentary fame and possible fortune and the fear of looking like a complete idiot on national television.

That same fear seems to infect the 15 actors, comedians and entertainers gathered on a recent Sunday to tape the second annual “Celebrity Jeopardy!” tournament. The week of celebrity games kicks off a month of special programming, which includes the game show’s annual Tournament of Champions.

“My only fear is that today I will disprove that horrible rumor that the show is slanted toward women,” says comedian Elayne Boosler.

“I’m a little apprehensive,” says “Wheel of Fortune” host Pat Sajak. “Displaying stupidity gives me pause.”

But the competition isn’t exactly cutthroat. After all, each contestant has been promised $10,000 for the charity of his or her choice regardless of the game’s outcome, which takes a lot of the sting out of humiliation.

The score of the week’s big winner will be doubled. As singer-pianist Michael Feinstein puts it: “At least, I’m secure in the fact that even if I totally screw up . . . somebody will still benefit from the experience.”

Before the game, the three celebs who will fight it out during each sequence hang out in trailers, then move on to “the green room” before a quick round of press interviews. Three publicists have been assigned as personal escorts to ease the stars through the experience. The average “Jeopardy!” contestant should be so lucky.

Honestly, though, how hard could a game of “Celebrity Jeopardy!” be?

“They told me they toned this down for actors,” says Harry Anderson of “Dave’s World.” “All monosyllabic answers.”

A “Jeopardy!” spokesman insists that the game topics were chosen at random. Only a cynic would suggest that there might be a few more entertainment-related categories than usual.

The possibility of TV categories doesn’t ease MTV correspondent Tabitha Soren’s fears.

“I’m probably some version of nervous because I don’t watch television that often,” Soren says. “You can’t make television and watch it.”

Kelsey Grammer concedes that he could easily blow a “Cheers” category. “I would probably just know Frasier’s stuff.”

He says he’s nothing like the title character of his new show, but worries that the audience may confuse him with his pompous TV alter ego. “In this venue, I don’t see how I could not look like Frasier Crane.” And, he says, he certainly doesn’t know as much about everything as his fellow “Cheers” character Cliff. On pop culture, “I stink,” Grammer says.

The celebs gathering for these charitable faceoffs worry that they may have to search their gray matter for “questions” in categories they’d rather not deal with. Among them:

-- “Civil War questions,” says Teri Garr (“Good Advice”). She quickly adds: “Although I know a lot about the Civil War, it’ll probably be just the ones I don’t know. I’m hoping that the Mickey Mouse Club will come up.”

-- “If they ask Broadway musicals . . . I’m checking out,” says Dean Cain of “Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman.” (The Princeton grad, however, is faster than a speeding bullet when a reporter quizzes him about Presidents.)

-- “Probably almost anything about sex,” says comic Paula Poundstone.

-- “Anything that has to do with women” says fellow comedian Sinbad, who’s going through a divorce. “I’m bad at those categories . . . or an alimony category.”

A few come prepared with game plans.

“Whatever I don’t know, my answer is going to be, ‘What is Elvis?’ ” says comedian Elayne Boosler.

Timothy Daly of “Wings” suggests he might use his mother-in-law’s name if he draws a blank, since, after all, she is “a ‘Jeopardy!’ fanatic.”

Sinbad even has a strategy for losing: “I’m gonna act like I planned it.”

Ed Asner (“Lou Grant”) is concerned about his buzzer technique: “My physical reflexes suck.”

“If I had to push a buzzer and answer a question, I’d have gone belly up at the Emmys,” says Poundstone, who concedes she’s more nervous about this outing than the first taping of her new show.

Before his match, Jay Thomas (“Love & War”) wanders the set testing the feel of each push-button control. “It’s a very nerve-racking game,” Thomas says. “This ain’t ‘Family Feud.’ I’m telling you, I may be the first guy on ‘Jeopardy!’ to throw up on national television.”

The nervous contestants are divided on the value of preparation. “I studied harder for this than for the SATs,” Boosler admits.

But “Law and Order’s” Jerry Orbach says he decided against studying. “I figured there wasn’t really any point in dragging out the World Almanac and the encyclopedia. I’m just gonna go for whatever’s in the subconscious.”

“You can’t study,” says Sajak. “I mean, you study Egyptian kings all weekend and then the category is fun with phlegm.”

“Celebrity Jeopardy!” airs Tuesday-Saturday at 7 p.m. on KABC and at 7:30 p.m. on KNSD and KESQ.