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Hosts
Art Fleming (1964–1979)
Alex Trebek (1983–2020) (He died in November of 2020)
Pat Sajak (4/1/1997, sub)
Various guest hosts (2021)
Mike Richards (9/13/2021–9/17/2021)
Mayim Bialik (2021-2023)
Ken Jennings (2021-present)
Announcers
Don Pardo (1964–1975)
John Harlan (1978–1979)
Jay Stewart (1983)
Johnny Gilbert (1984–present)
Broadcast
JEOPARDY 21 Years Of Answers & Questions - (2005 Documentary) - YouTube.480p.mp4 snapshot 20.44 -2020.04.27 18.46.29-
Jeop64
Test Episode: 3/5/1964
NBC Daytime: 3/30/1964 – 1/3/1975
Jeopardy! 1974
Syndication (Weekly): 9/9/1974 – 6/9/1975 (reruns aired until 9/7/1975)
Jeopardy! (1977) maintitle
Unsold Pilot for CBS: 3/6/1977
Jeop78
NBC Daytime: 10/2/1978 – 3/2/1979
Screenshot 2020-12-06 142414
Pilot: 9/18/1983
Jeop84p
Jeopardy! 1984
Pilot: 1/1/1984
Screen Shot 2012-06-19 at 11.32.10 AM
Jeopardy! 1986-1991 main title graphic
Jeopardy! 1994 title card
Jeopardy! 1999-2000 season title card
Jeopardy! Season 20 Logo-B
Jeopardy! 2009-2010 season title card
Jeopardy! Season 37 Logo
Syndication (Daily): 9/10/1984 – Present
Packagers
Merv Griffin Productions/Enterprises (1964–1994)
Columbia TriStar Television/Sony Pictures Television (Studios) (1994-Present)
Distributors
Metromedia Producers Corporation (1974–1975)
King World (1983–2007)
CBS Television Distribution/CBS Media Ventures (2007-Present)

Jeopardy! is a long-running game show with a reversed format in which a question to an answer is given. The show is at times dubbed as America's Favorite Quiz Show.

History[]

American longevity quiz show produced by Sony Pictures Television.

Founded by Merv Griffin and initially hosted by comedian Art Fleming, it aired on NBC from March 30, 1964 to January 3, 1975, and October 2, 1978 to March 2, 1979. Five years later, on September 10, 1984, it was broadcast again as a syndicated program produced by Sony, and was hosted by Alex Trebek. Trebek announced that he had been diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer on March 6, 2019, but he continued to air and passed away on November 8, 2020. Its sister show is Wheel of Fortune, a TV quiz show also created by Merv Griffin. Trebek hosts the most episodes of a single game show, announcer Johnny Gilbert is the longest-running single game show announcer, and Harry Friedman, producer of the show and Wheel of Fortune from 1997 to 2020, is in the Guinness Book of Records for producing the most game show episodes, respectively.

Gameplay[]

Three contestants compete in each show, all attempting to win money by correctly phrasing answers in a form of a question, but realizing the "Jeopardy!" is that they lose money if they are wrong.

The First Two Rounds[]

In the first two rounds, the three contestants face a game board of six categories each with five clues behind money amounts (30 in total). Each round lasts for 6½ minutes.

On a player's turn, he/she selects a category and an amount, then a clue is read. The first player to ring in with a correct question wins the value of the answer, but if he/she rings in and is wrong, the value of the answer is deducted from that player's score and the other player(s) have a chance at it. From 1964 to 1985, contestants could ring in at any time while the host was reading a clue; starting in the second season of the current version, contestants were/are forced to wait out until after the clue was/is read. The player who gets the question right or was the last to choose if nobody got the question right gets to choose another clue. The round continues until time runs out or if all the clues are played.

By the end of the original run (debuting no later than April 24, 1974), a cash jackpot ($500 + $500 per show) would be awarded to the first player of the day to correctly answer every clue in a single category. Doing so on the nighttime edition originally won that player a Chevrolet Vega, which was later changed to a London vacation package.

In the 1978 revival, the two contestants with the highest scores moved on to Double Jeopardy!, while the third-place contestant was eliminated from the game but kept the cash he/she won.

Also, in the pilot for the 1978 version, the game started with each contestant having 30 seconds to answer as many clues as they could; the rest of the round played as normal.

Money Amounts[]

Money amounts are minimal in the Jeopardy round, while the money amounts are doubled in the Double Jeopardy! round. In the 1990 Super Jeopardy! tournament, 2020 GOAT tournament, and the Masters tournament contestants played for points. Super Jeopardy! was the only version where the second round clue values were not double that of the first.

Here are the amounts for each round and on each version:

Years Amounts Total
1964–1975 $10-$50 $900
$20-$100 $1,800
1978–1979 and 1983 Pilot $25-$125 $2,250
$50-$250 $4,500
1984 Pilot $50-$250 $4,500
$100-$500 $9,000
1984–2001 $100-$500 $9,000
$200-$1,000 $18,000
1990 Super Jeopardy! 200-1,000 18,000
500-2,500 45,000
2001–present $200-$1,000 $18,000
$400-$2,000 $36,000
2020 GOAT Tournament and Masters Tournament 200-1,000 18,000
400-2,000 36,000
Celebrity Jeopardy! $100-$500 $9,000
$200-$1,000 $18,000
$300-$1,500 $27,000

Daily Double[]

At some point in the round(s), the contestant in control will uncover a very special clue hidden somewhere on the Jeopardy! board called the "Daily Double" (commonly in a high-value clue, but one occurrence happens on the second-lowest value clue)[1]. On a Daily Double, the contestant who picks it can wager any or all of his/her current score (wagering all is classified as a "True Daily Double") but must wager at least $5 (which was half of the lowest clue value in the original Fleming version, $10).

If the contestant's current score is less than the highest value of a clue in the round, or they have a non-positive score, he/she can risk up to the maximum clue value (which usually happens) on that clue. Either way, only the contestant who picked it can give the response. A correct response adds the wager, but an incorrect or improperly phrased response (even if correct and regardless of the round), or no response at all deducts the wager (It is not told how many seconds the limit is, but it seems to be 15 seconds). Either way, the contestant then chooses another clue afterward to continue the game. There is only one Daily Double in the Jeopardy! round, and two Daily Doubles in the Double Jeopardy! round (In the ABC version of Celebrity Jeopardy!, the TRIPLE JEOPARDY! round has three Daily Doubles).

Usually, it is often placed on the lower, higher amount, and rarely on the upper. There is also one in another category.

In recent years, the role of DD has become more important, as there are many cases of reversals due to DD. Therefore, even if you get a lot of questions right, there is no guarantee that you will win. Representative participants who benefited from the use of DD include Roger Craig, Alex Jacob, and James Holzhauer.

NOTE: In the original 1964 pilot (recently posted to YouTube), the Daily Double was an ADDITIONAL separate clue under one of the other clues on the board. The player who responded correctly to the regular clue was then given the sole opportunity to play the Daily Double clue. Otherwise, it was played as described above. This means that, originally, there were 31 clues available in the JEOPARDY! round (30 regular and one DAILY DOUBLE) and 32 in DOUBLE JEOPARDY (30 regular and two DAILY DOUBLEs). With the FINAL JEOPARDY! clue, this made for a total of 64 clues per game, rather than the 61 in the first and current runs (the 1979 revival used a maximum of 85 clues; 30 each in JEOPARDY! and DOUBLE JEOPARDY!, and 25 in the SUPER JEOPARDY! bonus round).

Special Daily Doubles[]

Sometimes a Daily Double clue appears differently. A Daily Double that had a sound clue after the main clue; this was called an Audio Daily Double. Another Daily Double shows the contestant a picture or a video clip. From Season 18 to Season 38, a video clip featured a member of the Clue Crew after the main clue; this is called a Video Daily Double (in the Art Fleming era it was called a Film Daily Double). One last type, called the Celebrity Daily Double, features a celebrity guest giving a clue about himself/herself.

Clue Crew[]

From September 24, 2001 to the end of Season 38, a group of correspondents were called the Clue Crew. On certain clues, one member (or multiple members) of the Clue Crew was (or were) at a certain location and gave a clue under the selected category.

When the group was first formed, they consisted of Cheryl Farrell, Sofia Lidskog, Jimmy McGuire, and Sarah Whitcomb (Foss). Sofia left in 2004, and in 2005, the group added two new members: Jon Cannon and Kelly Miyahara. Cheryl left in 2008 and Jon left in 2009. One decade later, Kelly left in 2019, with Jimmy and Sarah as the last members. The Clue Crew was disestablished in 2022 at the end of Season 38.

Kelly worked double duty not only as a Clue Crew member but also as the announcer of Sports Jeopardy!.

Phrasing[]

In the Jeopardy! round, if contestants forget their phrasing, they will be reminded but not penalized if the response itself is correct. However, in both the Double Jeopardy! and Final Jeopardy! rounds, the rule is more strict, and there are no reminders; an improperly phrased response is automatically ruled incorrect, even if the response itself is correct. In both the Jeopardy! and Double Jeopardy! rounds, contestants who forget their phrasing may still correct themselves before time runs out. For Daily Doubles (regardless of the round), improper phrasing will result in an incorrect response, even in the Jeopardy! round; as before, players who correct themselves before time runs out will be ruled correct. There is one exception to this rule: If the answer is a question in and of itself, answering as is acceptable. For the Final Jeopardy! round, contestants write "Who is" or "What is" during the third commercial break; this rule has been in effect since at least one instance a contestant wrote down the correct response but didn't phrase it properly. Other phrasings such as "Is it" or "Might it be" are acceptable, so long as the rule is adhered to.

Spelling and Pronunciation[]

A general rule is that misspellings are acceptable, so long as the pronunciations are not altered. This has happened on shows such as on June 25, 1999, October 14, 2005, July 31, 2013, and October 14, 2013. Titles, however, must be spelled to the letter; instances of these mistakes include January 21, 2011, and November 7, 2012.

Ringing In[]

On both runs of the Fleming version and the first season of the current version, contestants could ring in anytime a clue was exposed. However, from the second season on, contestants can ring in only after a clue has been read, as ringing in too soon locks out a player for a ¼-½ second. This rule was designed to allow the home audience to play along.

To accommodate this, some lights surrounding the perimeter of the game board illuminate when a clue has finished being read, which allows a contestant to ring in. Once a player rings in, he/she has 5 seconds to respond; each player's podium has 9 lights that indicate how much time remains for a response, and for each second that goes by, two lights dim.

Final Jeopardy![]

At the end of the Double Jeopardy! round, the contestants (minus the ones who ended the previous round with a non-positive score) play this final round. The round starts with one last category for that round revealed, and then during the final commercial break, the contestants write down how much they wish to wager based on that category and the scores to that point, from nothing to the total money they accumulated in the first two rounds. During this time, judges are on-stage to help with the wagering, and barriers are placed between the contestants' podiums to prevent cheating. When the break is over, the Final Jeopardy! clue under that category is revealed, and then the contestants have 30 seconds to write down the correct response, remembering to phrase it in the form of a question. During that time, the iconic "Think!" music plays in the background (since 1990 the lights dim during that time). When the time is up and the music ends, the questions are checked one by one and a correct response adds the wager but an incorrect response or an improperly-phrased response (even if correct) deducts the wager. The contestant with the least amount of money reveals his/her response first. If the score (prize) after FJ! is at least twice the score of other participants, the winner is confirmed even without betting points (money)[2].

If all three contestants finish Double Jeopardy! with a non-positive score, no Final Jeopardy! round is played that day, and three new players appear on the next show. This occurred at least once during the Art Fleming era, but not the Alex Trebek era or the post-Trebek era; however, there have been seven instances during the Alex Trebek era where all available players finished Final Jeopardy! with zero, which still meant that three new players appeared on the next show. Those events happened on September 11, 1984, April 5, 1985, July 9, 1991 (Seniors Tournament quarterfinal game 2), March 2, 1998 (1998 Celebrity Jeopardy! Ladies Night game), June 12, 1998, February 7, 2013 (Teen Tournament semifinal game 1), and January 18, 2016.

If a contestant is blind (like Eddie Timanus), the pen is replaced with a Braille keyboard to type his/her response and wager. If the pen and/or electronic pad malfunctions, contestants are provided with an index card and a marker to manually write their responses and wagers. Those events occurred on December 8, 1987, March 18, 1992, November 18, 2003 (2003 College Championship semifinal game 2), November 21, 2003 (2003 College Championship final game 2), May 1, 2008, July 15, 2009 (2009 Kids Week game 3), and May 21, 2010 (2010 Tournament of Champions final game 2).

On at least three occasions, only one person remained for Final Jeopardy!; in these instances, there was no change to the way the round was played.

Winning the Game/Returning Champions[]

The player with the most money wins the game. Originally, if the game ended in a tie, the players who were tied won the game and returned to play the next day[3]; since November 24, 2014, the tiebreaker round is played. The winning player returns to play the next day.[4]

During the Art Fleming era, all contestants kept their money, win or lose. When Alex Trebek took over in 1984, only the winning contestant kept the cash while the other players won prizes according to what position they finished. Starting with the May 16, 2002 episode, these were changed to cash prizes; from this episode to the end of Season 39, the 2nd place contestant received $2,000, and the 3rd place contestant received $1,000. In Season 40, these amounts were increased to $3,000 for 2nd place and $2,000 for 3rd place. If losing contestants are tied, the higher scorer from the Double Jeopardy! round is declared 2nd place, and if there is a tie at the end of Double Jeopardy! as well, the higher scorer from the Jeopardy! round is declared 2nd place. If the Jeopardy round score is tied, it will be treated as a tie for second place. March 27, 1998 Broadcasting is a prime example.

On the syndicated nighttime version from the mid-1970s, the winner received a bonus prize. In 1974, the winner chose one of 30 numbers, 28 of which each held a cash amount or a bonus prize. The other two numbers each hid half of the $25,000 grand prize, both of which had to be selected. In 1975, the winner received a Chevrolet Vega (the subcompact model) for a score of less than $1,000, a full-size Chevrolet Caprice Classic sedan for winning $1,000 or more, $10,000 for winning at least $1,500 (later $2,000), or $25,000 for winning at least $2,000 (later $2,500).

Originally, champions stayed on the show until they won five games. After a contestant won five games, three new contestants appeared on the next show. From Season 14 to the end of Season 19, five-time champions also won a new car.[5] At the beginning of Season 20, the five-time limit was removed, allowing contestants to remain on the show until they lose.

Originally, there was a winnings limit, with any excess donated to charity. This was originally $75,000, which increased to $100,000 in Season 7, and $200,000 in Season 14. It was finally abolished on November 26, 2001, due to the doubled clue values.[6]

If all three contestants finished with $0 or less, they all lost the game and three new contestants played the next day. There have been a total of seven such cases so far (regular-play: four times, tournament: two times, and special event: one time), the most recent being on January 18, 2016. In one Celebrity Jeopardy! match (March 2, 1998), the highest score from the Double Jeopardy! round was declared the winner.

On March 16, 2007, history was made when all three contestants were tied at $16,000; it was the only time in any version to date that a three-way tie had occurred.[7]

There had been four instances where a returning champion was unable to return who then returned in the future as a co-champion (now applies to champions who did not return since the co-champion rule was removed in early Season 31)[8].

If two or three contestants tie with a positive score at the end of the game, a one-clue tiebreaker is played. One final category is revealed, followed by a final clue. The first player to ring in with a correct response wins the game. Contestants are not penalized for incorrect responses, and as a result, cannot win by default. Tiebreakers have occurred a total of 14 times so far, 9 times in tournaments (including one in primetime), and 5 times in regular gameplay. Originally, if two or all three contestants tied with a positive score in regular-play games, they were declared co-champions, and each won the game and then returned to play their rematch. In the first 19 seasons, a champion who tied on his or her fifth appearance after having tied with an opponent made the champion's opponent the new champion. From Season 20 to early Season 31, if a champion who tied on his or her fifth appearance after having tied with an opponent upon his or her fifth win, they were declared co-champions, and each played their rematch on the next show.

If a finalist in tournament games finishes Double Jeopardy! with a $0 or negative score on either day, that contestant is eliminated from Final Jeopardy! as usual, but their score for that day is recorded as $0. Instances of these include May 21, 1987 (1987 Seniors Tournament finals game 1), February 19, 2004 (2004 Teen Tournament finals game 1), November 18, 2010 (2010-B College Championship finals game 1), February 21, 2014 (2014 College Championship finals game 2), May 15, 2014 (Battle of the Decades' finals game 1), January 8, 2020 (The Greatest of All Time game 2-2), and December 17, 2021 (2021 Professors Tournament finals game 2).

Super Jeopardy! Bonus Round[]

In the 1978 revival, the contestant with the most money after Double Jeopardy won the game right away and went on to play Super Jeopardy!

Super Jeopardy! was entirely different from the regular rounds, for the winning contestant now faced a board of 25 hidden clues (instead of 30) behind numbers 1-5 in place of money amounts, so there were five categories instead of six in this round. In this round, the winning contestant chose a number and a clue behind it was revealed. A correct response won $100, but an incorrect response or a pass blocked that square and gave the contestant a strike; three strikes, and that player was out.

Giving a correct response lit up lights around the square with the selected clue. The object of the game was to light up five squares in a row (just like in bingo), either across, up, and down, or diagonally. Getting five in a row won $5,000 plus $2,500 for every return trip, win or lose, so winning the endgame five times was worth $50,000.

In the pilot for the 1978 version, this was a timed round, and the contestant had 90 seconds to complete the round.

Trivia[]

Merv created the show with the help of his then-wife Juliann Griffin. He was in desperate need to create a quiz show but not one network would buy it due to the Quiz Show Scandals of the 1950s. So his wife said, "Why can't you go reversal and do a show where you can give the answers and the contestants give the questions?" Merv said, "I can't. That's why and how everybody went to jail." Juliann: "That's not what I meant, I meant like this: '5,280.'" Merv: "How many feet in a mile?" Juliann: "'79 Wistful Vista." Merv: "Was that Fibber and Mollie McGee's address?" That's when the light bulb came on. So Merv pitched the idea to NBC, and they agreed to air the show.

The original name for Jeopardy!, due to how the format worked, was called "What's the Question?" It was an unexcitable title, and NBC executives confirmed it by saying, "Merv, there are no jeopardies in the game. It needs more jeopardies." Merv didn't completely listen; he kept hearing the word Jeopardy. "Jeopardy? WOW! What a word." So he told the network executives, "I heard what you're saying and we've decided to change the name; from this day on, the name of the show will be called 'Jeopardy!'" And the rest is history.

There was a funny scene in Game 2 of the 2013 Teen Tournament final, where winner Leonard Cooper said, "The eyes of the world are upon you" ("The eyes of the world are upon you" on June 6, 1944), with the championship undetermined. It is)," he replied, "Are you some kind of human in Normandy? But I won 75,000 dollars." (The correct answer is "Who is Dwight D. Eisenhower?") This contestant's score the previous day was $3,000, FJ! My previous score was $37,000, and the second day FJ! The previous 2nd place was FJ with a score of $19,000 the previous day! The previous score was $14,400. This participant's bet was $7,000, so if this participant got the question right, the user could write down that answer and lose. However, the participant wrote Winston Churchill at the beginning and Franklin D. Roosevelt at the end... seems to be confused among the figures related to World War II.

On March 30, 2022, the Jeopardy! YouTube page will premiere the never-before-seen 1964 pilot episode of Jeopardy!

Alex Trebek produced Jeopardy! for its first three seasons.

Brad Rutter is Jeopardy's biggest winner with $4,355,102. Ken Jennings holds the show's longest winning streak, having won 74 games. James Holzhauer holds the top fifteen spots for highest single-day regular-game winnings; and he is the only player to win $100,000 or more in a single game, having accomplished the feat six times (including two occasions in which he sets a one-day record). He is the second-highest regular-game money winner behind Jennings and third-highest overall behind Jennings and Rutter.

In the first two seasons, the show aired 195 half-hour episodes. Beginning with the 3rd season and continuing through the present, the show has aired for 230 half-hour episodes, with an exception being the 36th season which had only 190 episodes due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

During the interim between seasons, encore presentations of the past season's tournaments are rerun.

Of the episodes from 1964 to 1975, only 24 episodes available.

Like another well-known Merv Griffin creation Wheel of Fortune, re-challenge is not allowed, and people who have worked for broadcasters or sponsoring companies cannot participate. However, if the result is changed due to an error in the question, re-appearance is allowed. In some tournaments, such as Tournament of Champions, returning champions can be invited separately. Celebrities who appeared in the special event may also appear again. There are cases where contestants from the Art Fleming system reappear, and Gary Palmer and Burns Cameron are representative. Perhaps the Fleming system and the Syndicate system seem to be separate[9].

Performers from the Art Fleming era have also appeared in the syndicated version, with #2 ToC winner Babs McClellan appearing in the 1991 Senior Championship (semi-finals) and #3 ToC winner Burns Cameron appearing in 1990 Super Jeopardy!

In 1990, a production company called GameTek made it into a game for Nintendo's Game Boy, and most of it consists of guessing words.

After the unlimited win streak system was applied from S20, there are many things that will go down in history. First of all, Ken Jennings, who wrote a new history for jeopardy, appeared in S20, and Dan Pawson in S25 became the first champion with more than six consecutive wins to win the ToC. In S30, Arthur Chu and Julia Collins were named champions with over 10 wins, and in the S35, James Holzhauer, who rivaled Ken Jennings, appeared and made history.

As of 2023, among the 5-time+ champions, 15 people have passed away, and among the winners of other tournaments, 7 people have died.[10]

In the case of 10-win champions, they often appear at the end or early part of the season (between July and September), with Ken Jennings, David Madden, Jason Zuffranieri, and Matt Amodio making their first appearances in June or July, followed by Matt Jackson, Seth Wilson, Austin Rogers first appeared in September.

Recording is conducted on Mondays and Tuesdays, and one week of recording is taken (subject to change depending on circumstances). Also, we start recording two or three months before the season starts, and finish recording the season two or three months before the season ends.

It is limited to champions with 10 or more wins in a row, and spoilers may appear before the broadcast. This is because, like Wheel of Fortune, it is aired on several channels as a program sales type, so the airing time is different, and therefore the results are exposed by people living in different regions. Also, in terms of noise marketing and public relations, newspapers or broadcasters sometimes give spoilers. For example:

  • In the case of Ken Jennings, there was a spoiler saying that after 38 consecutive wins in season 20, he will be removed from the 75-game winning streak. As a result, the production crew edited all the mentions of winning streak after 49 consecutive wins and changed the schedule to a special broadcast in the middle, but to no avail[11].
  • In the case of James Holzhauer, the results of the Final jeopardy were exposed on YouTube before the 33rd consecutive win challenge, and the 2nd ToC semifinals were also previewed on YouTube before the broadcast.
  • Jason Zuffranieri has also been exposed to the results of the last regular game in advance.
  • There is an unwritten rule that people who participate in the ToC on Jeopardy! or who have achieved 5 or more wins in a row will not appear on their sister program, Wheel of Fortune. On the other hand, it is often the case that someone from Wheel of Fortune also appeared on Jeopardy!.

It is still popular enough to be called the representative quiz show in both name and reality. At the Emma Game show awards ceremony, it was nominated in all but 1988, and it is proving its potential by winning 19 out of 38 times[12].

It is still enjoying its heyday, and the peak is S6~10, S20~21 (Ken Jennings and David Madden Dynasty), S35~Present (James Holzhauer).

People from countries other than the United States may also appear. However, contestant must reside in the United States or Canada. Representative examples include Vijay Balse (from India), Joon Pahk (from Korea), and Tom Baker (from Japan).

ABC has announced a new primetime tournament called Jeopardy! Masters; only this time, Ken Jennings will be hosting it. It will feature the six highest-ranked, current Jeopardy! contestants, who will face off in a Champions League-style event to win the title of Jeopardy! Masters champion.[13]

Starting with Season 40, a playoff system consisting of Second Chance, Champions Wildcard, Tournament of Champions, Invitational Tournament, and Masters (ABC Prime Time) will be established.

Multiple long-term champions in 2021-2022[]

From the second half of 2021 to the second half of 2022, it can be said that the reign of long-term champions continued. In the first half of 2021, after Zach Newkirk, who won six consecutive victories, until Courtney Shah, who has won seven in a row, came out, there was no champion for more than five consecutive wins in 100 games. In particular, in the 37th inning, the champion did not come out with a three-game winning streak, and during the 88th, there was not even a four-game winning streak.

Then, after a 38-game winning streak and becoming the third millionaire Matt Amodio, five long-term champions were born in that time (Jonathan Fisher, Amy Schneider, Mattea Roach, and Ryan Long). In particular, Jonathan and Amy won the championship for 5 or more consecutive wins to become the long-term champions, and Eric Ahasic who defeated Ryan Long also succeeded in winning 6 consecutive wins. After Cris Pannullo's 11 wins at S39, he is expected to return in late November.

Viewers have come up with various interpretations as to why millionaires or champions with more than 10 consecutive wins often come out recently[14]. Some speculate that the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in more time being spent at home to study, while others believe it is due to the growing amount of information available online. Others say it's just a coincidence or it's just a coincidence.

In response to this speculation, Schneider is skeptical as to whether the leisure time given during the coronavirus pandemic has helped so much. Ultimately, cramming doesn't make you better at answering questions on a quiz show.

Schneider advised, "In order to get good grades in 'Jeopardy!', you should always have an attitude of learning something." In other words, the common sense that you have accumulated rather than the knowledge you suddenly instilled by cramming shines.

However, in the S39 ToC, Ryan Long and Jonathan Fisher were eliminated from the quarterfinals, demonstrating that even ultrachampion does not guarantee ToC winner. Also, 38-game winning streak champion Matt Amodio and 23-fighting champion Mattea Roach lost to Sam Buttery and Andrew He, respectively. Even in the midst of that, Amy Schinder made it to the finals and eventually won, but had a close battle with Andrew and Sam. If She hadn't, She wouldn't have been able to win.

As a result, even if you have the longest winning streak like Ken, you should be aware that ToC can have a lot of upsets due to various factors.

Connection with The Chase[]

Since this program aired, there are many cases where contestants who were active in Jeopardy participate and make a big success.

This program, like Jeopardy!, deals with speed trivia quizzes, and is different in that it is in a 3:1 format and only competes on skill. In the case of Jeopardy, the Daily Double introduced a rule that requires luck to be combined in order to win.

Five years prior to appearing on Jeopardy!, James had appeared here and split $175,000 between two co-workers in a big win. In fact, it's a match that he's hard-carried, a one-minute round called the Cash Builder, he correctly answered 12 questions out of 13 posed by host Brooke Burns; the last question was asked just before time expired and was quickly passed on by Holzhauer. His score set a record for the Cash Builder that was never surpassed during the show's run.

In his second round, he faced Mark Labbett to determine whether he would advance to the final round and add money to the team prize pool. Holzhauer had a choice of three amounts to play for: $60,000 based on his score in the Cash Builder, $30,000 to reduce the difficulty of the round; and $120,000, which would increase the difficulty. He chose to play for $60,000; after the show he said that the odds did not favor playing for the maximum amount and that it was not worth the gamble.

The Chase was played head-to-head, with the players using hidden buttons to select multiple-choice answers. Holzhauer advanced to the finals and added to the prize pool with a score of five right and one wrong. Labbett scored a perfect five, with his final answer not revealed since Holzhauer had already achieved the necessary points to win the round.

In the Final Chase round (as team leader with two other contestants also participating), Holzhauer's team defeated Labbett by a score of 26 to 9, earning him a $58,333.33 share of the $175,000 team prize pool. By answering 19 questions correctly for his team, he set a Final Chase record, which was also never surpassed.

In ABC's 2021 game show "The Chase", three GOAT contestants Jennings, Rutter and Holzhauer take on the role of "chasers" to stop other contestants from winning prizes. Jennings left in 2022 and Buzzy Cohen and Victoria Groce joined as Chaser.

Meanwhile, the show says there are plans to invite Matt Amodio to play Chaser in season 4.

Emmy Award[]

As well as the contestants, the program also set many records at the Emmy Awards.

  • Number of nominations for most awards on a program: 38 - Since the first broadcast, it has been nominated in all but 1988. The second place is The Price is Right (36), and the third place is Wheel of Fortune (21)[15].
  • Most Awards: 19 - The second place is Pyramid (9), and the third place is The Price is Right (8).
  • Former host Alex Trebek has the most nominations ever (32) and the second most Host award ever (8). For reference, the first place is Bob Barker, former host of The Price is Right (14).

Additional Pages[]

Tournaments & Events[]

Galleries[]

To see pictures of the many styles of logos over the years click here.
To see pictures of the many intro logos over the years click here.
To see pictures of the many styles of the Daily Double over the years click here.
To see pictures of the dollar values from over the years, click here.
To see pictures of the many looks of the game board over the years, click here.
To see pictures of the many misc. things over the years, click here.
To see videos of Jeopardy! from over the years, click here.
To see timelines of the show over the years click here.

Phone Jeopardy![]

In the late '80s/early '90s, the show launched a 1-900 number where you could play at home for $1.95 a minute. The commercial featured Alex Trebek promoting the game (See below the page for these hilarious outtakes from the commercials).

Alex looks drunk, doesn't he?
Phone J

Guest Hosts[]

From January 11, 2021 to August 13, 2021, a variety of guest hosts handled hosting duties since Alex Trebek's passing in November 2020 and the subsequent final episode airing on January 8, 2021.

Of those listed, Ken Jennings hosted longest at six weeks, but had to bow out of further hosting in Season 37 due to his duties as one of the Chasers on ABC's version of The Chase. Every other guest host was initially planned to host for two weeks' worth of shows, but due to demand by both potential hosts and fan response, the two-week stints only lasted from February 22 to July 9. After that, each guest host was only on for a single week's worth of shows.

Beginning with Katie Couric, the show donated to a charity designated by that host. The amount matched the cumulative winnings of all contestants who competed during the guest host’s tenure; this included the champion's winning amount each day plus the $3,000 in second-and third-place winnings. The only exceptions to this were Anderson Cooper's playing for two different charities (one each week, as listed below) and for Buzzy Cohen's hosting of the 2021 Tournament of Champions (see below also).

Here is the list of guest hosts confirmed to host, along with the dates they were host, their charity names and earnings where appropriate:

  • Ken Jennings (January 11, 2021–February 19, 2021)
  • Mike Richards (February 22, 2021–March 5, 2021)
  • Katie Couric (March 8, 2021–March 19, 2021; Stand Up To Cancer: $230,504)
  • Dr. Mehmet Oz (March 22, 2021–April 2, 2021; Healthcorps, Inc.; $268,701)
  • Aaron Rodgers (April 5, 2021–April 16, 2021; North Valley Community Foundation; $236,725)
  • Anderson Cooper (April 19, 2021–April 30, 2021; 1st Week—Hospital Albert Schweitzer Haiti; $118,000/2nd Week—Justice Defenders; $138,197)
    • NOTE: As noted above, Anderson's "winnings" were split between two charities, one for each week he hosted.
  • Bill Whitaker (May 3, 2021–May 14, 2021; Media Fellowship House; $257,998)
  • Buzzy Cohen (May 17, 2021–May 28, 2021; Hope of the Valley Trebek Center for the Homeless; $250,000)
    • NOTE: This was the 2021 Tournament of Champions. Buzzy's choice of charity, honoring the new facility named for Alex Trebek, automatically received $250,000, an amount equal to the top prize for the Tournament. [16]
  • Mayim Bialik (May 31, 2021–June 11, 2021; National Alliance on Mental Illness; $194,851)
  • Savannah Guthrie (June 14, 2021–June 25, 2021; The Bowery Mission; $217,985)
  • Dr. Sanjay Gupta (June 28, 2021–July 9, 2021; Odyssey Atlanta; $231,059)
  • George Stephanopoulos (July 12, 2021–July 16, 2021; Share Our Strength/No Kid Hungry; $147,396)
  • Robin Roberts (July 19, 2021–July 23, 2021; Be the Match; $164,410)
  • LeVar Burton (July 26, 2021–July 30, 2021; Reading is Fundamental; $204,800)
  • David Faber (August 2, 2021–August 6, 2021; Robin Hood Foundation; $154,000)
  • Joe Buck (August 9, 2021–August 13, 2021; KidSmart; $159,601)

New Permanent Hosts[]

In August 2021, it was announced that then-executive producer Mike Richards would be the new host of the daily syndicated run of the show, while Mayim Bialik would host any future primetime special episodes aired on ABC. However, after a one-day taping of only a week's worth of shows, Richards stepped down from his position as host due to revelations of sexist comments made on podcasts. Mayim Bialik was brought back to host the daily shows. Shortly thereafter, Richards was also fired from his position as executive producer of both Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune, eventually being replaced in both EP positions by Michael Davies. Later in the season, Ken Jennings also returned to share hosting duties with Bialik while the latter was filming her FOX-TV series Call Me Kat (Based on the British sitcom Miranda created by British comedienne Miranda Hart, which originally ran on BBC One from 2009 until 2010 then moved to BBC Two from 2012 until 2015) which ended on May 4, 2023 after three seasons in total. This eventually led to Jennings stepping down from his above-mentioned "Chaser" duties on ABC's The Chase.

Although they shared the hosting duties during Season 38, Bialik was being announced in the show's opening as "the host of Jeopardy!", while Jennings would be announced as just "hosting Jeopardy!". This apparently caused something of an uproar of show fans who felt there was a "hierarchy" where Bialik was the main host and Jennings was relegated to a "substitute host" position.

On July 27, 2022, it was announced that Bialik and Jennings would be the show's permanent hosts in a job-sharing arrangement. According to reports from audience members who have attended tapings for Season 39 (presumably, the show is reinstating full audiences for tapings after the necessity of COVID-19 social distancing forced them to film without an audience), Jennings is now getting the full "host of Jeopardy!" introduction at the start of each of his episodes, presumably putting to rest the "hierarchy" rumors mentioned above. [17]

On December 15, 2023, it was announced that Mayim Bialik would no longer be hosting the syndicated version of Jeopardy!, leaving Jennings as the sole permanent host of the syndicated version.[18][19] The day after, the Jeopardy! Facebook page posted a message confirming Bialik's statement, saying that in order to "maintain continuity for our viewers," they had decided to keep Jennings as the sole host of the syndicated show, but they "hope to continue to work with her on primetime specials."[20]

International Versions[]

The countries that did their versions of Jeopardy! include:

  • Arab World
  • Argentina
  • Australia
  • Belgium (Dutch language only)
  • Canada (French language only) (The American edition is airing on NTV, YesTV, and CHCH)
  • Croatia
  • The Czech Republic
  • Denmark
  • Estonia
  • Finland
  • France
  • Germany
  • Hungary
  • Israel
  • Italy
  • Japan
  • Mexico
  • Netherlands
  • New Zealand
  • Norway
  • Poland
  • Romania
  • Russia
  • Slovakia
  • Spain
  • Sweden
  • Turkey
  • United Kingdom

Spin-Offs[]

  • Super Jeopardy! – a 13-episode run that aired as a weekly elimination tournament in the summer of 1990 on ABC pairing with another Merv Griffin game show, Monopoly (based on the world's most popular classic board game of the same name). The tournament featured 36 former champions, one of them a champion from the original Art Fleming era. The big differences in this version were that the contestants played for points instead of dollars, as well as the quarterfinal episodes having four podiums instead of three. The winner of the tournament won $250,000. The second place got $50,000 and the third place got $25,000. Semifinalists eliminated received $10,000 and quarter-finalists eliminated received $5,000.
  • Jep! – A short-lived kids' version aired on Game Show Network (GSN) hosted by voice actor Bob Bergen from 1998 to 2000.
  • Rock & Roll Jeopardy! – A three-seasoned Music version hosted by Survivor star Jeff Probst aired on VH1 from 1998 to 2001.
  • 21 Years of Questions & Answers - A short documentary narrated by Johnny Gilbert (though Trebek does briefly appear in the beginning) about the history of the show that can be seen as a featured bonus in the DVD movie called Jeopardy!: An Inside Look at America's Favorite Quiz Show from 2005.
  • Sports Jeopardy! – A short-lived sports version hosted by Dan Patrick airing online on Crackle and later on NBCSN from 2014 to 2016.
  • What is Jeopardy!?: Alex Trebek and America's Most Popular Quiz Show - A primetime special where the late Trebek (being interviewed by Michael Strahan) talks about his life, his battle with stage IV pancreatic cancer and his "GOAT" primetime spinoff that aired on ABC on January 2, 2020.
  • Jeopardy!: The Greatest of All Time - (also known as GOAT) was a primetime version featuring Jennings, Rutter, and Holzhauer that aired on ABC for four episodes only in 2020.
  • Jeopardy! National College Championship - Another primetime version of their annual College Championship featuring 36 students from 36 colleges and universities going head-to-head for two weeks hosted by Mayim Bialik that also aired on ABC in 2022.
  • Jeopardy! Hosted by Alex Trebek - A 24/7 channel that's devoted to "America's Favorite Quiz Show" hosted by the late Alex Trebek airing on digital channel Pluto TV since its debut on August 1, 2022.
  • Celebrity Jeopardy! - An all-star primetime spinoff hosted by Mayim Bialik now Ken Jennings that also airs on ABC in 2022.
  • Inside Jeopardy! - A podcast with all the answers that shares the inside look into America's Favorite Quiz Show, hosted by Michael Davies, Sarah Whitcomb-Foss & Buzzy Cohen released on YouTube in 2022.
  • This is Jeopardy! The Story of America's Favorite Quiz Show - A podcast where it peels back the curtain on the quintessential quiz show that made it cool to be smart, hosted by Buzzy Cohen released in 2023.
  • Jeopardy! Masters - A primetime spinoff hosted by Ken Jennings where recent Jeopardy! champions competing each other in a "Champion League-style" airing on ABC in 2023.

Rating[]

72px-TV-G icon svg

Music[]

Since Jeopardy! debuted in 1964, the series has had different theme songs. The most well-known tune is "Think!" which serves as the countdown music during the Final Jeopardy! round. Since the syndicated version premiered in 1984, a rendition of "Think!" has served as the show's main theme. During the first 13 seasons of the syndicated version, the original 1964 recording of "Think!" was retained for the Final Jeopardy! round, but since 1997, there have been different arrangements and re-orchestrations of both the main theme and "Think!" music.

Main (1964-1975) – "Take Ten" by Juliann Griffin
Think Cue (1964-1975, 1978, 1983 (Pilot), 1984 (Pilot), 1984-1997) – "Think!" by Merv Griffin

Main (1978 Open, 1983 (Pilot)) – "January, February, March" by Merv Griffin
Close (1978) – "Frisco Disco" by Merv Griffin (Later used on Wheel of Fortune as a prize cue).
Commercial (1983 (Pilot)) – "Nightwalk" (Later used on Wheel of Fortune as the second shopping music).

Main (1984 (Pilot)) – by Merv Griffin
1984-1992 – by Merv Griffin
1992-1997 – by Merv Griffin (1984 theme with bongo track added)
1997-2001 – by Steve Kaplan
2001-2008 – by Steve Kaplan (1997 theme sped up and re-arranged)
2008-2021 – by Chris Bell Music and Sound Design, Inc.
2021-present – by Bleeding Fingers Music

In 1984-1989 episodes, the theme song used wow insterments and saxophones. Click here to listen.
In 1989-1991 episodes, the theme song had the 1st 19 seconds removed.
In the 1991-1992 episodes, the theme song's pitch and speed went down by 5. Click here to listen.
In 1992-1996 episodes, the theme song is re-recorded to include a bongo track. Click here to listen.
In 1996-1997 episodes, the theme song had the first 5 seconds removed, and it begins to fade in. Click here to listen.
In 1997-2000 episodes, the theme song's speed went down by 5 and was completely re-orchestrated, now using piano, trumpets, saxophones, and electric guitars. Click here to listen.
In the 2000-2001 episodes, the theme song had the first 6 seconds removed the wind-blowing sound is heard.
In 2001-2005 episodes, the theme song's speed went up by 5, the instruments get re-orchestrated, and it now has a middle section where parts of the main melodies are played with variation before the main melodies return. There were two versions of the theme. One had an introduction similar to the 1997 theme and was used for most roadshows from 2001 to 2006, starting with the Celebrity games and International Tournament taped in Las Vegas and aired in February 2001. The other version, with a shortened introduction, was used for regular shows starting with the episode aired on April 23, 2001. Click here to listen. Both versions used saxophones and electric guitars in the middle section and near the end. A vamp of the theme omitting the saxophones and guitars altogether was played during the end credits from 2001 to 2005.
In 2005-2008 episodes, the regular non-vamp theme played during the end credits.
In 2008-present episodes, the theme song played differently and wasn't like the other theme songs from 1984 to 2008, but it sounded similar to the theme song used 1984-1997. For the first few weeks of the 25th Season, electric guitars were only used near the end. About a month into Season 25, electric guitars and saxophones were used throughout the entire theme. Click here to listen.

From 1964 to 1975 and reused 1984-1997, the original Final Jeopardy! "Think!" music consisted of a celesta lead in the first verse and a flute lead in the second verse, with timpani hitting the final two notes. Click here to listen.

September 1-12, 1997, the "Think!" cue had only a piano lead. Click here to listen.

From September 15, 1997, to July 25, 2008, the think music was changed to have a piano lead in the first verse and a trumpet lead in the second verse. That replaced the other one but alternated with it. Click here to listen.

From September 8 to October 10, 2008, the Final Jeopardy! "Think!" music now had a French horn lead with the piano and flute doubling in octaves, accompanied by loud tick-tock percussion; fans called this version the "leaky faucet". Now, both the timpani and pizzicato strings play the last two notes. Click here to listen.

Since October 13, 2008, the think music was remixed to have a more prominent piano lead and de-emphasizing the "leaky faucet" percussion. This alternated with the other one and then replaced it. Click here to listen.

Also, the music from Rock & Roll Jeopardy! has been used going into and coming out of commercial breaks during the College Championship, Kids Week episodes, and Teen Tournaments since Season 20. In 2006, it was used during Celebrity episodes. From 2007 to 2019, it was used during the introductions. The 2000-A College Championship and the 2010-B College Championship used it during the Final Jeopardy! round. When the music from that game show was first used, for in and out the commercial breaks, the commercial cues would be heard. Starting from the 2005 College Championship, when coming out of a break, the ending part of one of the commercial cues would be heard. The prize cue can also be heard when out the commercial break for the Double Jeopardy! round.

Rock & Roll Jeopardy! Theme Song
Rock & Roll Jeopardy! Think Music

Inventor[]

Merv Griffin

Studios[]

References[]

  1. The location is predetermined and not random. This strategy to find a daily double is widely used among aggressive players.
  2. In the program, it is expressed as a Lock Game.
  3. The last co-champions match took place on October 30, 2014.
  4. However, the broadcast did not immediately mention the change, and on March 22, 2016, the host Alex Trebek mentioned it for the first time.
  5. A total of 44 champions received a car in this format.
  6. The highest prize money for seasons 1-7 is Frank Spangenberg of $102,597, and seasons 8-14 is Jerome Vered's $96,801.
  7. In the rematch held on the following Monday, the champion who won one victory won, and even won three in a row.
  8. Since the co-champion rule was disestablished early in Season 31 after the 2014 Tournament of Champions, there have been four cases in which two returning champions participated in the same episode as returning co-champions.
  9. Although it was stated that a re-run was impossible, a contestant named Jeff Kirby from California tried again on October 12, 2009 without revealing that he had appeared on December 8, 1999. When this fact was later revealed, he was stripped of the $1,000 prize money given to him for third place. For reference, He received the same results when I appeared in 1999 and received a prize that time.
  10. Among them, Cindy Stowell (S33), Larry Martin (S35), and Brayden Smith (S37) died before the ToC recording, and in the case of Cindy, her own recording died 8 days before the airing.
  11. Especially since it was a program that was recorded 1-2 months in advance, it had no choice but to be vulnerable to spoilers.
  12. 2nd place is Pyramid (9 times), and 3rd place is The Price is Right (8 times).
  13. ‘Jeopardy! Masters’ Elite Quiz Spinoff Ordered At ABC
  14. Of course, in Season 30, the number of champions with 10 or more wins or more came out once a year, unlike before, but the frequency increased, but with the exception of James Holzhauer, most of them dropped out in the early stages of 10 consecutive wins.
  15. However, compared to the number of nominations, the only award was jointly awarded with Jeopardy! in 2011.
  16. https://www.jeopardy.com/jbuzz/news-events/jeopardy-champ-buzzy-cohen-guest-host-2021-tournament-champions
  17. A Subtle, But Major Change For Season 39 Of ‘Jeopardy!’ Has Fans Celebrating (August 10, 2022). Retrieved on August 14, 2022.
  18. Mayim Bialik Out As 'Jeopardy!' Host
  19. Mayim Bialik Out at Jeopardy!: 'Sony Has Informed Me That I Will No Longer Be Hosting'
  20. Jeopardy! Facebook response to Mayim Bialik's "I Will No Longer Be Hosting" post

Links[]

Official Site
Jeopardy! Online (Archived)
Official Sony Pictures Interactive page
Official CBS Television Distribution page
Jeopardy! @ Tim's TV Showcase
Info for Sports Jeopardy!
Rules for Sports Jeopardy!
Audition information & sample clues for Sports Jeopardy!
Official website from the president of Spiderdance who's responsible for Jeopardy! Online
Official Facebook page
Official Twitter account
Info on Past Games
Jeopardy: The Database of Champions
Josh Rebich's Jeopardy! Rule Sheets
JEOPARDY!|Matthew Carey Design
Sports Jeopardy!|Matthew Carey Design
Online Portfolio of Colin Kirkpatrick - Projects Jeopardy! 2009 set
Proposed 2011 Jeopardy! graphics package
Jeopardy! IBM Watson Challenge, Stage Design by Jason Minyard at Coroflot.com
Jeopardy! Virtual Set Tour
Jeopardy! New Permanent Set for 25th Anniversary (2013)
#168 - Jeopardy! Porno Parody @ Game Show Garbage

GSNN Extra's Tournament coverage[]

GSNN Extra's coverage of the 2003 Tournament of Champions
GSNN Extra's coverage of the 2003 College Championship
GSNN Extra's coverage of the 2004 Teen Tournament
GSNN Extra's coverage of the 2004 Tournament of Champions
GSNN Extra's coverage of the 2004 College Championship
GSNN Extra's coverage of the 2005 Teen Tournament
GSNN Extra's coverage of the Ultimate Tournament of Champions

YouTube[]

Official YouTube channel
Official CBS Television Distribution YouTube channel

Internet Archive[]

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