Jeopardy!

*Jeopardy!*
Jeopardy!
	File:Hdjeopalexbig.jpg Jeopardy! Season 23 logo
Created by	Merv Griffin
Starring	Alex Trebek; (1984–present); Art Fleming; (1964–1975; 1978–1979)
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	5,000 (as of 25 September 2006)
Production
Running time	30 minutes
Original release
Network	NBC (1964–1975, 1978–1979); Syndicated (1974–1975; 1984–Present)
Release	March 30,1964 –; Present

Jeopardy! is a popular international television quiz game show, originally devised by Merv Griffin, who also created Wheel of Fortune. The show originated in the United States, where it first ran on NBC from March 30,1964 until January 3,1975 and again from 1978 to 1979. Its most successful incarnation is the current Alex Trebek-hosted syndicated version, which has aired continuously since September 10,1984. Jeopardy! began its 23rd season in syndication on September 11,2006 with its first broadcast in HDTV.

Jeopardy! is a game of trivia, covering topics such as history, literature, and pop culture. During the game, three competing contestants select clues from a game board, up to 61 clues per game, each clue in the form of an answer, to which they must supply correct responses, each response in the form of a question. The conceit of "questioning answers" is original to Jeopardy! and, along with its theme music, remains the most enduring and distinctive element of the show.

Since the 1980s, the Trebek version has consistently placed weekly among the top-rated shows in syndication, and has had a marked effect on American pop culture. In January 2001, TV Guide ranked it #2 among the 50 Greatest Game Shows of All Time. Esquire magazine readers named it their "favorite game show". And in the summer of 2006, it was also ranked #2 by GSN on their list of the 50 Greatest Game Shows of All Time.

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Jeopardy! presenter Alex Trebek

Broadcast history

The Jeopardy! concept was originally created by Merv Griffin, who wanted to take the format of a television quiz show and make it more enticing by speeding up the game and putting a twist on the format.

The format was created shortly after the major quiz show scandals of the 1950's, when it was discovered producers had given contestants answers to questions being asked on the shows, thereby rigging the quizzes themselves. At the time, quiz shows were out of favour with networks because of the scandals, and the original twist was giving clues in the form of answers (originally with a bend toward comedy) and expecting replies in the form of questions, was originally the central concept of the show, which was pitched under the title What's the Question?. The name "Jeopardy" was coined when, according to Griffin, a skeptical producer rejected the show, claiming "it doesn't have enough jeopardies" (a reasonable complaint, since a winning player could, without the Daily Double betting clues Griffin eventually devised, maintain his or her lead relatively easily by avoiding risk). Griffin thought the "Jeopardy" name sounded perfect, and immediately used it to generate puns, like naming the second round of the game Double Jeopardy! (after the legal concept).

Art Fleming hosted and Don Pardo served as announcer on the original version, which aired on NBC's daytime schedule from March 30, 1964 to January 3, 1975 for 2,753 shows. Fleming also hosted a short-lived weekly syndicated version in 1974-75 (approximately 40 shows) and another short-lived NBC revival, The All-New Jeopardy!, from October 2, 1978 to March 2, 1979 for 105 shows. John Harlan was the announcer for that version of the show as he worked out of Los Angeles (where the show was taped), whereas Pardo remained in New York and no longer announced game shows by that time.

The original NBC version largely gained its popularity from college students and businesspeople who would watch the show during their lunch breaks, as the program aired for most of its network run (from September 27, 1965 to January 4, 1974) at Noon Eastern/11 Central. In fact, the show's 1975 cancellation was largely due to the network's relocating the show to two different time slots during the previous year, first at 10:30/9:30 a.m., opposite CBS' $10,000 Pyramid and Gambit, and then finally at 1:30/12:30 p.m., against the high-rated As the World Turns on CBS and another game, Let's Make a Deal on ABC.

With those moves (which some have said were deliberate on the network's part due to tensions between daytime programmers and Griffin), the show lost most of its traditional followers, and NBC, in exchange to Griffin for the last remaining year on Jeopardy's contract, permitted him to create a new show in its place, Wheel of Fortune, which debuted January 6, 1975, the Monday after the last Jeopardy! episode.

The first syndicated version was mainly an attempt by Griffin to keep the show going in the face of its imminent doom on NBC (this had also been attempted the previous season by packagers of two canceled network games, The Dating Game and Sale of the Century). It was noteworthy mainly for two things: at the program's end after "Final Jeopardy!", the winning contestant got a chance to select a prize hidden behind the slots on the main game board (numbered 1–30, à la Concentration); and host Fleming appeared dressed in a tuxedo with check-patterned jackets, instead of his customary business suit. None of these things helped this seemingly futile effort, and the show ran only one season, from September 1974 to September 1975; it is quite likely that most stations dropped the program even earlier than the end of the season, probably not long after the network version's demise.

The show did not sit idle long, however. In 1977, Merv Griffin, in an attempt to mend fences with CBS, which had cancelled his late-night talk show six years earlier, produced a pilot of Jeopardy! for that network. However, that network, because of the success of The Price is Right and Match Game, gave priority to Goodson-Todman Productions when considering ideas for new games, and let the option lapse. (In 1998, CBS purchased the syndicator of the current version, King World.)

Meanwhile, NBC had been experiencing considerable instability on its morning schedule in particular, with Wheel being the only bright spot by 1978. The network, obviously regretting its actions which led to the demise of the original version nearly four years earlier, decided to bring the show back on daytime.

Harlan's energetic announcing style, every bit as powerful as Pardo's, was especially potent in his emotional cue to Fleming on the first October 1978 episode: After introducing the contestants with the "This is Jeopardy! Now entering the studio..." lines that would become a Jeopardy! catch phrase in the following decade, Harlan announced:

Now entering the studio for the 2,754th time is the host of Jeopardy!, Art Fleming!

Fleming came out to a standing ovation from the audience at the NBC Burbank studio.

However, the network apparently stipulated format changes as a condition for airing the show, something Griffin largely refused to make during the original version; this resulted in an elimination format and a different bonus game. Neither of these pleased a disappointed public, which, unlike viewers of other games, preferred an absence of gimmicks from Jeopardy!

Not learning from its mishaps five years before, NBC made scheduling mistakes with both of the show's time slots. From October until January, the show faced the first half-hour of The Price is Right on CBS (10:30 Eastern/9:30 Central), which had been a solid hit for years by that point. But things got worse on January 5, when NBC dispatched it to what, ten years earlier, had been an impregnable slot for the program. However, by 1979, most American daytime viewers chose between $20,000 Pyramid on ABC and The Young and the Restless (ironically, now owned by Sony, like Jeopardy! currently) on CBS at 12 Noon Eastern/11 Central, ignoring NBC's offerings. Two months later, Fleming gave his final performance as host of the show, and retired to a morning drive-time radio show on KMOX in St. Louis, where he spent the remainder of his career. Fleming, a veteran actor as well as media personality, died in 1995.

In 1983, Griffin scored the syndication surprise of the year with his night-time version of Wheel. Shown mainly in the prime-time access local station periods between 7 and 8 p.m. Eastern (6:30-7 p.m. Central), its success influenced him to once again consider trotting out the beloved trivia game. As with Wheel, he sold Jeopardy! to distributor Mike King's King World operation. With Fleming no longer available, Trebek, a Canadian-born host best known for two stints on the 1970s NBC game High Rollers, won the audition to host, and journeyman announcer Johnny Gilbert assumed announcer duties. A set sporting glaring neon lights and state-of-the-art video monitors greeted viewers on the show's debut, which took place on September 10, 1984.

Despite the skepticism (possibly from the 1979 failure) from station managers, many of whom scheduled the show in unpopular morning or even late-night slots (WNBC in New York did the latter, and KCBS in Los Angeles even canceled it after several months, before another L.A. station, KCOP, picked it up [though KCBS would again pick it up for a time in 1989]), the show struck a partly nostalgic, partly fashionable chord with the American public, and, before long, it developed an intense, devoted following, far larger than was ever possible on the two daytime network runs. It took advantage of two pop-culture trends in the mid-1980s: a fascination with the culture of the early and mid-1960s, and the popularity of games such as "Trivial Pursuit" and barroom parlor trivia games (later electronic machines).

Trebek produced the show himself for the first three seasons.

The 1964 to 1975 airings originated from the NBC headquarters in New York's Rockefeller Center; it has been based in Southern California (at various studios) starting with the 1978 revival.

For most of its present run, Jeopardy! has ranked second to Wheel in the Nielsen ratings of syndicated programs. When the 2006-2007 season began (its 23rd), it surpassed Hee Haw as television's third-longest-running syndicated show, behind Wheel, which took second place in 2005.

In 2005, Jeopardy! won its 10th Daytime Emmy for best game show, surpassing Pyramid. It earned its 11th the following year.

The show was the subject of great interest and increased ratings (often beating Wheel) in the second half of 2004, as contestant Ken Jennings, taking advantage of newly relaxed appearance rules, remained a champion for seventy-four appearances, winning over US$2.5 million, and breaking almost every record in TV game show history.

On September 11, 2006, Jeopardy! began broadcasting in the HDTV format. King World and Sony indicated that as of August 10, 2006, some 49 of the 210 stations which carry the show in syndication are prepared for the transition. Because Jeopardy! is syndicated, it will appear in both the 1080i and 720p formats, depending on the station. [1]

Gameplay

The Jeopardy! Round

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One of the categories on Jeopardy! on May 25, 2005.

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The answer board (Season 19-22 Jeopardy! set).

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Brad Rutter is congratulated for his first place finish by Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek, at the Ultimate Tournament of Champions.

Each day, there are three contestants, one of whom is usually the defending champion (and is always introduced last and is at the podium on the viewer's left), who play a three-round game. The first round is simply called the "Jeopardy!" round.

Six categories are announced, each with a column of five trivia 'answers' (i.e., questions written in answer form), ostensibly graded by difficulty. Each category is a topical category, and the categories change on each show; frequently, they contain puns or other wordplay. (Column number 6, the one furthest to the right, usually contains the wordplay category.) The names of the six categories are sometimes related in some way (e.g., titles of Shakespeare plays, although only one may actually concern the famous playwright).

The values of each of the five answers are thus:

1964–1975: $10, $20, $30, $40, $50
1978–1979: $25, $50, $75, $100, $125
1984–2001: $100, $200, $300, $400, $500
2001–present: $200, $400, $600, $800, $1000 (these values were also used for the 1990 Super Jeopardy! tournament during the Jeopardy! round.)

The returning champion or the new challenger in the first position (standing at the leftmost lectern from Alex's point of view) begins the game by selecting a category and monetary value ("Presidents for $200"). The host then reads the 'answer' ("He was the Father of Our Country; he didn't really chop down a cherry tree"), after which any of the three contestants may ring in. The host recognizes that contestant, who must then phrase their response in question form ("Who was/is or Who's George Washington?").

A correct response wins the dollar value of the clue, and gives the "questioner" the right to select the next clue. If he/she is incorrect or failed to answer in time, that amount is deducted (hence, the dollar amount was always in jeopardy) and his/her opponents may ring in and respond. If all three contestants fail to respond or give wrong questions, the correct response is read, and the player who gave the last correct response chooses the next clue.

The current scores are shown on the front of each player's lectern. In the Art Fleming run, positive scores had plus signs next to them, while negative scores had minus signs next to them; in the Trebek version, no plus sign is used for a positive score, but the minus sign remains. On the current set, scores in the "plus column" are displayed with a blue background, negative scores with a red one.

Daily Doubles

In each game, three clues are designated "Daily Doubles" (a name taken from horse racing): one in the Jeopardy! Round and two in the Double Jeopardy! Round. Only the contestant who selects a Daily Double may respond to its clue. The player may wager as much as the maximum amount of a clue on the board (currently $1000 in the Jeopardy! round and $2000 in the Double Jeopardy! round) or as much as he or she has accumulated, whichever is greater, but must wager at least $5. A player may also indicate that they wish to make it a "True Daily Double", meaning that they are risking all the money that they have accumulated up to that point. Daily Doubles are sometimes designated with special tags, such as "Audio Daily Double" (in which a sound clip is played as part of the clue), "Video Daily Double" (in which a video clip is played as part of the clue), "Celebrity Daily Double" (in which a celebrity delivers the clue), etc.; such a tag is displayed as soon as the Daily Double has been selected, and may serve as a hint to aid the contestant in his or her wagering.

Ringing in

Before the 1985–1986 season, contestants could ring in anytime after the clue was revealed. Ever since, in order to give all three contestants a fair shot at the clue, players are required to wait until the host finishes reading the clue and the lights surrounding the board are illuminated before they can ring in. Pressing the signaling button too soon locks the player out for one quarter of a second. For easy clues, ringing in at the right moment is important, as it is presumed that all three contestants will be able to respond correctly. Many Jeopardy! players comment that "the buzzer was the most important aspect of the game."

Phrasing

In the Jeopardy! Round, players are not penalized for forgetting to phrase a response in the form of a question. (Alex will give a reminder should a player not correct him- or herself before his or her time runs out after ringing in.) In the Double Jeopardy! Round, adherence to the phrasing rule is followed more strictly, but players are still often permitted to correct themselves before their time runs out.

On occasion, players have couched their phrasing in languages other than English without penalty:

In game #4604, aired September 16,2004: SPEAKING IN TONGUES $800: A 1996 Oakland School Board decision made many aware of this term for African-American English
- Ken Jennings responded, "What be Ebonics?"^{[citation needed]}
In game #4657, aired November 30,2004: A CATEGORY ABOUT NOTHING $400: En español
- Ken Jennings responded, "¿Qué es nada?"^{[citation needed]}
In game #4752, aired April 12,2005: FROM THE FRENCH $1200 (DD, wager $2,000): It's a hint or trace of something (sounds like of Campbell's)
- Steve Chernicoff responded, "Qu'est-ce que c'est qu'un soupçon?"^{[citation needed]}

On at least one occasion, a contestant has responded with "Is that an..." instead of "What is an..." and was ruled correct^{[citation needed]}. In a regular season game in 2000, contestant Jeremy Bate responded to a question asking for a certain British rock band with "Who?" and was ruled correct.^{[citation needed]} On October 24,2006, contestant John Bowen was ruled correct with a response of "How about architect, now?" after using the aforementioned guess incorrectly earlier in the category.^{[citation needed]}

The Double Jeopardy! Round

The second round, Double Jeopardy!, works like the first round, with the following exceptions:

Six new categories are used.
The value of each clue is double what it was in the first round (except in the case of the 1990 Super Jeopardy! tournament):
- 1964–1975: $20, $40, $60, $80, $100
- 1978–1979: $50, $100, $150, $200, $250
- 1984–2001: $200, $400, $600, $800, $1000
- 1990 Super Jeopardy! tournament: 500, 1000, 1500, 2000, 2500
- 2001–present: $400, $800, $1200, $1600, $2000
The contestant with the lowest amount of money at the end of the first round picks first in the second round.
From 1985 to 1997, the set would change from blue to red starting with this round. When the show is finished, the set would change back to blue.
Also, in the 1978–1979 version only, only the two highest-scoring players at the end of Round 1 played Double Jeopardy!; the third-place player was eliminated before the start of the round.
The response must be phrased in question form. If a correct response is given in improper form, it is treated as an incorrect response; however, the contestant does have the opportunity to rephrase before their clock expires.

Finishing Double Jeopardy! with $0 (or less)

Sometimes, contestants will finish Double Jeopardy! with either $0 or a negative score. If that happens, they are automatically eliminated from the game and not allowed to participate in the game's final round, Final Jeopardy! In this case, the contestant(s) receive consolation prizes, which (as of 2002) are $1,000 for third place and $2,000 for second place.

Usually, it is only one contestant (if any) that gets eliminated before Final Jeopardy! However, on rare occasions, two contestants have been disqualified from playing, leaving the first-place player to provide a question to the Final Jeopardy! answer alone. The last show where two contestants finished 'in the red' aired on February 23, 2005 during the Ultimate Tournament of Champions (only Jeff Richmond advanced to Final Jeopardy!)

On the 1984 syndicated version, there has never been an instance where all three contestants finished "Double Jeopardy!" with $0 or less, thereby disqualifying everyone from "Final Jeopardy!". A three-way disqualification from Final Jeopardy! did happen at least once on the 1964 NBC version sometime between 1968 and 1975. During the commercial break between Double Jeopardy! and Final Jeopardy!, an audience member suggested that they could simply replay the game (with different categories) as if the embarrassing result had never happened. But the staff onstage said that this was not permitted by NBC's rules. The time normally used to play Final Jeopardy! was filled with chitchat between Art Fleming and the contestants.

The Final Jeopardy! Round

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Eventual champion Kermin Fleming's wager of $1337 (a reference to leetspeek) is revealed in a Final Jeopardy! Round from the 2004 College Championship.

In the Final Jeopardy! Round, the host first announces the category, then the show goes into a commercial break (during which the staff comes on stage and advises the contestants while barriers are placed between the players to discourage looking at one another's answers). The contestants then risk as little as $0 or as much money as they have accumulated, by writing it on a card (before 1979) or electronic tablet (since 1984). After the final commercial break, the Final Jeopardy! clue is revealed and read by the host, following which contestants have 30 seconds to write a response on a card/electronic drawing board, again phrased in the form of a question. The light pen is automatically cut off at the end of the 30 seconds. With rare exception, the "Think!" music is played during this 30-second period.

Other Final Jeopardy! response methods are occasionally used:

Blind contestants (including 5-time champion Eddie Timanus and 2005 Teen Tournament quarterfinalist Kerri Regan) utilize a keyboard with Braille keys. Entered text will be displayed in a typed font rather than the contestant's handwriting.
In the event of a malfunction of the handwriting input, contestants respond using a marker and paper tablet.

As with the rest of the show, Final Jeopardy! responses must be phrased in the form of a question. During the 1984–1985 season, a few contestants lost their games solely because they had forgotten to do this. As losing a game because of forgetting two words made for bad television, contestants have been instructed to write the question word ("What", "Who", etc.) of their Final Jeopardy! responses during the commercial break after the Double Jeopardy! Round since the beginning of the 1985–1986 season.

Cash prizes

The top money-winner at the end of "Final Jeopardy!" is the day's champion and returns to the next show. The value of the theoretical maximum one-day winnings is $566,400 ($28,320 from 1964-1975 and $283,200 from 1984-2001), provided:

All clues are revealed in both the Jeopardy! Round and the Double Jeopardy! Round
One player gives the correct response to every clue
All three Daily Doubles are hidden in the boards' top row (lowest dollar amount)
The Daily Doubles are the last clues to be uncovered in each round
Each time a Daily Double is revealed, the player wagers all his or her winnings on it
The player also wagers all his or her winnings on Final Jeopardy!

During the 1964 NBC and 1974 syndicated versions, all three contestants kept whatever cash they won. On the syndicated once-a-week version which aired from 1974–75, the winner chose one of 30 spaces, each of which concealed a prize such as a vacation, a car, or cash. The top prize was $25,000 in cash.

Starting in 1984, rather than receiving their scores in cash, runners-up were awarded consolation prizes; typically, a vacation package for the second-place player and merchandise for the third-place player. This changed on May 16,2002; thereafter, the second-place finisher was awarded $2,000 and the third place finisher was awarded $1,000. Since the show did not provide airfare or lodging for challengers (airfare was provided for returning champions' subsequent flights to L.A.), these cash consolation prizes alleviated the financial burden of appearing on the show.

Special cases

If no contestant finishes Final Jeopardy! with a positive total (i.e., at least $1), then nobody wins and three new contestants appear on the following show; in such cases the three players will participate in a backstage draw to determine player position. The three-way loss has happened three times since 1984, the first occasion being on the second episode; the number of times this occurred during the 1964 NBC version is undetermined.

If two or more contestants tie for first place, they each win the money and come back, assuming that they each have at least $1. (One contestant in the Trebek era actually won the game with only $1 [then Air Force Lt. Col. Darryl Scott, he won another $13,401 the next day]; there have been few players who have held the co-champ title twice, and there has never been a three-way tie).

If there is a tie in a tournament episode, a tiebreaker question is played, but this has only happened on a few occasions. In case of a three-way loss in a tournament, nobody advances, and an additional wild card is added in the tournament. (A wild card is one of the usually four non-winners with the highest scores in the opening round of a tournament to advance. There has been one triple loss in a tournament, and a fifth wild card was added.) Scores coming to "Double Jeopardy!" break ties for a wildcard position.

Other versions

The All-New Jeopardy!

During the short-lived 1978–79 series, the lowest-scoring contestant was eliminated after the Jeopardy! Round; whoever was ahead at the end of the Double Jeopardy! Round became the champion.

Instead of Final Jeopardy!, the winner then got to play a bonus round called Super Jeopardy! (no relation to the special summer 1990 tournament of all-time champions as aired on ABC). This round featured a new board of five categories with five clues in each, numbered 1–5 (and unlike the main game, not necessarily increasing in difficulty down the column). The object was for the contestant to provide any five correct responses in a straight line in a Bingo-like fashion (horizontally, vertically, or diagonally). Giving an incorrect response, or a pass, earned the player a "strike," and blocked off that space on the board; three strikes ended the round. "Super Jeopardy!" was worth $5,000 to a first-day champion, with the jackpot increasing by $2,500 each day that champion successfully defended his/her title; with the five-day limit in place, that meant a potential total of $50,000 in just "Super Jeopardy!" earnings ($5,000 + $7,500 + $10,000 + $12,500 + $15,000). If a player struck out, he/she still received $100 for each correct response given.

This bonus game proved rather unpopular among long-time fans of the show, and some critics allege that its inclusion, and the gameplay's elimination structure, doomed the revival to failure. Two sound effects from this version carried over to Sale of the Century in the 1980s: the correct response bell (a high-pitched ding) and the Daily Double bell, a Family Feud-esque series of dings.

Rock & Roll Jeopardy!

Rock & Roll Jeopardy! was a music-intensive version of Jeopardy! that aired on VH1 from 1998 to 2001. Hosted by Jeff Probst (of Survivor fame), clues on this version of the show highlighted post-1950s popular music trivia. Though the host was somewhat looser with the "phrase in the form of a question" requirement, the gameplay was basically identical to Jeopardy! The first two seasons awarded $5,000 to the winner; subsequent seasons were played for a $5,000 house minimum.

Jep!

Jep! was the children's version of Jeopardy!, hosted by cartoon voice artist Bob Bergen. The show aired in 1998 on Game Show Network (now GSN), and up to late 2004 on Discovery Kids. The show was not well received by fans or critics, and was canceled after one season.

Starting in 1999, just after Jep!'s cancellation, Jeopardy! began a "Back-to-School Week," which has easier clues and more accessible material for the younger contestants, but is otherwise identical to the adult version.

Returning champions

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Ken Jennings holds the record for the longest Jeopardy! winning streak.

For the first six seasons, winning contestants kept all winnings, with a cap of $75,000. Anything won above $75,000 went to the champion's favorite charity. The cap was increased to $100,000 starting in Season 7 after Bob Blake ($82,501) and Frank Spangenberg ($102,597) exceeded the $75,000 cap. In Seasons 14-19 the cap was raised to $200,000. The cap was eliminated altogether at the beginning of Season 20.

From Season 14 to Season 17, an undefeated champion would also be awarded a choice of Chevrolet cars or trucks (Corvette, Tahoe, or two Camaros). From Season 18 to Season 19, the winner won a Jaguar X-Type. Similarly, as part of the deal with Ford Motor Company for the 2001–02 season, Ford also added a Volvo to the Teen Tournament prize package.

Until Season 20 of the Trebek version of the show, a contestant who won five days in a row would be retired undefeated, with a guaranteed spot in the next Tournament of Champions.

Rule Changes

To mark the start of the current version's 20th season, in September 2003, the show changed its rules so there is no winnings limit, and champions' reigns became indefinite; a champion keeps coming back as long as (s)he keeps winning (although automobiles were no longer awarded for five wins). This rule change led to the remarkable winning streak of Ken Jennings, who currently holds most of the winning records on the show, including greatest number of appearances and regular season highest total dollar amounts won (excluding tournaments).

Tournaments

The Tournament of Champions

Beginning with the 2nd season of the Alex Trebek syndicated version, a Tournament of Champions (ToC) has been held more or less annually, featuring five-time undefeated champions and other biggest winners to have appeared on the show since the last ToC.

The ToC format was devised by Alex Trebek, and was as follows:

Fifteen players—five-time champions, and, if there are fewer than 15 five-time champions who have not yet played in a ToC, the highest scorers among the other game winners—are invited to participate.

The ToC lasts two weeks (10 shows), in the following manner:

Shows 1–5: The quarterfinals, with three new contestants participating each day. The five winners advance to the semi-finals. Four "wild card" spots are available to those with the highest score among non-winners; ties broken by the highest score after the Double Jeopardy! Round.

Shows 6–8: The semifinals. At this point, the game becomes a single-elimination affair, with each winner advancing to the finals.

If at any point in the quarterfinals or semifinals there is a tie for first place, one or more successive Tiebreaker Rounds are played, with the first player to answer correctly advancing to the next round. (Tiebreaker Rounds have appeared on the show only three times, and only twice in tournaments. In the event of more than one Tiebreaker Round being played in a game, only the deciding Tiebreaker Round is aired as part of the show broadcast.)

Shows 9–10: The two-day finals. Players begin the second final game with their scores reset to $0, and contestants' totals from both days are added together to determine their final scores. The contestant with the highest cumulative score wins the grand prize ($100,000 from 1985-2001; $250,000 since 2002). All non winners—including the second- and third-place players in the finals—receive a guaranteed amount based on their finishing positions. In addition, the runners-up in the finals receive additional cash equal to their score if it exceeds the guaranteed amount.

The Art Fleming era

The structure of the annual "best-of-the-best" tournaments during the Fleming era differed from the Tournament of Champions of today. In those matches, the winner won $25,000 and a trophy ^{[unreliable source?]}. Eleven "Grand Champions" were crowned during the 11-year NBC run.

The Teen Tournament

Featuring high school students. The winner receives $75,000 (plus, at various times through the run, a new car). For many years, the winner also participates in the Tournament of Champions. One of the most notable Teen champions was Eric Newhouse, who advanced to the finals of the 1989 ToC, and participated in the "Million Dollar Masters" and "Ultimate Tournament of Champions" tourneys. The first Teen Tournament aired in 1987.

The College Championship

Beginning in 1989 and featuring college students, the College Championship pitted 15 full-time undergraduate students from colleges and universities in the United States against each other in a two-week tournament, identical to the ToC in format. Beginning in 1997, the College Championship has been taped at host college campus using the show's traveling set. The winner earns $100,000, a trophy, and a spot in the next Tournament of Champions. (Tom Cubbage, the very first Jeopardy! college champion, also won his Tournament of Champions the following season.)

The Seniors Tournament

Between 1987 and 1995, the show held 10 Seniors Tournaments for contestants over the age of 50. This tournament was discontinued after December 1995, purportedly due to advertisers wanting to pull in younger demographics.

Special non tournament play

Celebrity Jeopardy!

Every so often (usually once a year), "celebrity weeks" are held in which the contestants are celebrities. Each celebrity chooses a charity (or two) to sponsor, and that charity is the recipient of the particular celebrity's winnings. Typically, each charity is guaranteed a certain amount ($20,000, e.g.), with the winner's charity receiving a larger amount ($50,000, e.g.). Contestants ending the Double Jeopardy! Round with a zero or negative score, who in regular play games would be disqualified from playing Final Jeopardy!, are given a nominal score with which to wager ($5,000, e.g.). Regis Philbin has made the most appearances on Celebrity Jeopardy!, with 3 appearances (including his upcoming appearance to be televised in November 2006).

Kids Week, Holiday Kids Week, and Back to School Week

Featuring children ages 10 through 12, usually broadcast from the show's main studio in Culver City, though on one occasion, Kids Week was filmed in Washington, D.C.'s DAR Constitution Hall. Kids Week features five independent shows, three contestants in each. Unlike the regular Jeopardy! format, the winner of each game does not go on to play another game. The third place winner receives $1,000, second place receives $2,000, and first place wins the amount of his or her score, with a minimum guarantee of $10,000. Additional prizes for all players, such as computers, gift certificates, and trips to local theme parks have been common in the past.

Special tournaments

There have been a number of special tournaments featuring the greatest players during the history of Jeopardy! These are listed below.

Super Jeopardy!

The first of these "all-time best" tournaments, Super Jeopardy! aired in Summer 1990 on ABC. It featured top players during the first six years of the 1984 syndicated run, plus a notable champion from the original Fleming era. The tournament was similar to the Million Dollar Masters and Ultimate Tournament of Champions (see below), although it was on a much smaller scale than that tournament. The Super Jeopardy! tournament also featured 4 contestants per game (in the first round of the tournament) as opposed to the standard three, and the games were played for points instead of dollars. Bruce Seymour won the tournament and $250,000.

Tenth Anniversary Tournament

The Tenth Anniversary Tournament was a short five-day tournament aired in 1993 following the conclusion of the regular Tournament of Champions. $100,000 Tournament winner Tom Nosek got a free pass into the tournament, the other eight spots were chosen randomly. The winner of each of the last five regular season games drew one name from each of eight bowls representing the second through ninth seasons of Jeopardy!. Contestants who had made it to the semi-final round of that year's tournament were put in the bowl.

Three regular semifinal matches were played, with the winners competing in a two-day final. Frank Spangenberg won the tournament with a two-game score of $16,800 plus a $25,000 bonus for a total of $41,800. Tom Nosek finished second with $13,600, and Leslie Frates won the $7,500 third place prize, which exceeded her score of $4,499.

The semi-final losers were: Roy Holliday, Steve Rogitz, Mark McDermott, Doug Molitor, Robert Slaven and Lionel Goldbart, who each won $5,000.

Teen Reunion Tournament

In November 1998, players from the 1987, 1988, and 1989 Teen Tournaments (including the champions) were invited to Boston to play in a special Teen Reunion Tournament of former players of the event. Eric Newhouse won the tournament and later found himself at two other special tournaments.

Million Dollar Masters

In May 2002, to commemorate the Trebek version's 4,000th episode, the show invited fifteen champions to play for a $1 million bonus, under a standard tournament format. The tournament was won by Brad Rutter.

Ultimate Tournament of Champions

File:Tv brad rutter.jpg

Jerome Vered, Ultimate Tournament of Champions finalist, in the second game of the three-day final.

Jeopardy! televised the Ultimate Tournament of Champions in 2005. This tournament, which was the largest (and longest) in Jeopardy!'s history, pitted 144 former Jeopardy! champions against each other, with two winners moving on to face Ken Jennings in a 3-game final.

The final winner was Brad Rutter ($62,000 for the tournament final), winning $2 million, the largest single-game prize in game show history. Jennings placed second (with $34,599) and took home $500,000. Jerome Vered finished third ($20,600), collecting $250,000.

As a result, Rutter is the all-time highest winner of any game show with $3,270,102, with Jennings a close second with $3,022,700.

Auditions

The Jeopardy! staff regularly offers auditions for potential contestants. For information on how auditions are conducted for this show, see Jeopardy! auditions.

Theme songs

The theme song, "Think!" (originally composed as "A Time For Tony" by Griffin as a lullaby for his son), has served the Final Jeopardy! countdown music since the show's inception in 1964 (although it was not used in the 1978–79 version), and is also the melody for the current opening theme. In the United States, it has insinuated itself into everyday communication; the song applies to any situation in which someone is waiting for another to answer a question or make a decision. For example, the theme is often heard at baseball stadiums when the manager goes to the pitcher's mound to discuss a replacement, or at football games during instant replay reviews. A variation of "Think!" was used as a jewelry prize cue, officially called "A Time For Tony," on Wheel of Fortune in the 1980s.

Griffin has estimated that the Jeopardy! theme song has earned him somewhere between $70 and $80 million in royalties.^{[citation needed]}

The main theme song to the original 1960s version is called "Take 10" and was composed by Griffin's wife, Julann. On the finale episode with Art Fleming in 1975 however, the theme used was "Smile" originally composed by Charlie Chaplin.

The main theme to the 1978–79 revival was called "Frisco Disco" and was composed by Merv Griffin and arranged by Mort Lindsey. "Frisco Disco" would also resurface in 1983 as a prize cue on Wheel of Fortune, and would continue to be used until 1989. The opening theme used was called "January, February, March" also composed by Griffin and arranged by Lindsey, and was also used on the 1st pilot of Jeopardy, with Alex Trebek, in 1983 as the main theme. As a side note, both compositions were composed and released in 1976, two years prior to the revival of Jeopardy! in 1978.

After a 2nd pilot was made, Jeopardy!, with Alex Trebek, went back on the air. When the current incarnation began in 1984, an electronic version of the "Think!" melody became the main theme, while the original recording was recycled for the Final Jeopardy! round. The main theme was remixed in 1991 to include a bongo track. In 1997, both the main theme and the "Think!" music were updated, with jazzy orchestral arrangements by Steve Kaplan. The main theme was updated again in 2000, with an arrangement similar to the previous one, but looser and more upbeat. The theme has gone through some slight re-orchestrations since then. Leading into and out of commercial breaks during College Championships and Teen Tournaments, the electric guitar-based theme from Rock & Roll Jeopardy! is played (and, during a few of those tournaments, was also played during Final Jeopardy!). Alternate versions of the Final Jeopardy! music have been performed by the UCLA marching band and the Yale Whiffenpoofs. During the show's first trip to New York City, a piano rendition was used.

On at least one occasion, the "Think!" theme was not played at all during Final Jeopardy! Before, during, and after Alex Trebek's reading of the Final Jeopardy! clue for game #3985, aired Friday, December 21,2001, the L.A. Spirit Chorale sang a live, a cappella rendition of "Silent Night", with Clue Crew member Cheryl Farrell performing the solo. This appeared to confuse challenger Carly Minner, who looked up from her podium in surprise when it was announced that time had expired.

The Set

Like the theme music, the Jeopardy! set has also changed over the years. The set currently in use is as of September 11, 2006. For a summary of changes to the set, see Jeopardy! set evolution.

International adaptations

The UK version was hosted by Paul Ross, with Derek Hobson, Chris Donat and Steve Jones before him.
The short-lived Australian version was presented by former Sale of the Century host Tony Barber.
The New Zealand version was hosted by Mark Leishman. His brother Philip hosted Wheel of Fortune.
The Swedish version started in 1991 with Magnus Härenstam (1991-2005), later Adam Alsing (2006-).
In Quebec (French Canada) it was hosted by Réal Giguère and aired on TVA network from 1991 to 1993.
In Germany, between 1990 and 1992 it was hosted by Hans-Jürgen Bäumler on RTL and named Riskant!. Between 1994 and 1998 it aired on RTL, hosted by Frank Elstner and named Jeopardy!. In 2000-2001, Gerriet Danz presented it on tm3.
In Russia, from 1994, it was called Svoya Igra, with Pyotr Kuleshov.
In France it was presented by Philippe Risoli, who also hosted Le Juste Prix, the French version of The Price is Right.
In Denmark it was hosted by Søren Kaster (from 1995), Lasse Rimmer (from 2000), and Lars Daneskov (from 2003).
In Israel with Ronny Yovel.
In Estonia it was called Kuldvillak, hosted by Mart Mardisalu, on tv3.
In The Netherlands it was called Waagstuk, hosted by Albert Verlinde, on SBS6 in 1995.
There was an Argentine version in the works, hosted by Fernando Bravo, the host of the local version of The Price is Right (El Precio Justo).

In addition, the American version of the show is distributed internationally and airs across the world.

Episode status

Fleming era

1964-1975

It is believed that only a small number of episodes from the original version of Jeopardy! survive, mostly as black-and-white kinescopes of the original color videotapes. In all likelihood, the original tapes were wiped as they were recorded over by NBC with new programming in an era when videotape was an expensive commodity.

A demonstration episode dated March 5,1964 survives as a black-and-white kinescope. (The first game for broadcast was taped on March 18,1964 and was aired March 30,1964. From the beginning, the show was recorded and broadcast in color.)
The Museum of Radio and Television in New York has the 2,000th episode from 1972, a celebrity match featuring Mel Brooks in character as the 2000 Year Old Man. GSN has aired this episode in its entirety.
A clip from an early 1960s episode aired in 2004 during an ABC News Nightline special on Jeopardy! on the night Ken Jennings lost.
A regular play 1974 episode and the 1975 finale exist among private collectors.
The UCLA Film and Television Archive has 14 episodes from this era in their collection: episodes from March 8, 16, 24, and April 1 and 9, 1971; March 12, 20, 28, and April 5 and 13, 1973; and April 24, 1974.

Some paper records of these games exist on microfilm at the Library of Congress.

1978-1979 revival

The status of the 1978 version is unknown.

GSN aired this version's last episode on December 31,1999 as part of a marathon of game show finales.
GSN also has the first episode from this run (October 2,1978).

Trebek era

The Trebek version is completely intact. GSN—which like Jeopardy! is an affiliate of Sony Pictures Television—has rerun approximately 8 seasons to date, although they continuously aired the 1997–98 season (14th season) from June, 2001 until June 13,2005. Since then, GSN has been rerunning episodes from the 2001–02 season (Season 18), including a series of 2001 episodes which aired only on about 50 syndicated stations due to the September 11, 2001 attacks.^{[citation needed]} Interestingly, when Jeopardy! was named #2 on GSN's 50 Greatest Game Shows of All Time, no episode was shown.

File:1992-05-19Jeopardy!Season8LeaderCard.jpg

Leader card from a Season 8 broadcast

There exists a 66 game disparity between the episode numbers assigned new Jeopardy! episodes and the actual number of Trebek-era games played. To assist subscribing affiliate stations in airing episodes in the correct order, an episode number is read by announcer Johnny Gilbert just prior to the taping of each game; this number is audible (and visible) on the episodes as received by the affiliates, but is trimmed from the show prior to broadcast. Each new episode receives an integer episode number 1 greater than the previous episode. However, all 65 reruns in Season 1 (1984-1985) were given new episode numbers despite not being new games, and a retrospective clip show that aired May 15,2002 was also given an episode number (#4088). As such, the game with episode number #5000 aired on May 12,2006, but the 5,000th game hosted by Alex Trebek did not air until September 25,2006.

Jeopardy! in popular culture

The show has been portrayed or parodied in numerous television shows, films, and works of literature over the years, frequently with one or more characters participating as contestants, or as a television show the character(s) watch and play along with.

Three cultural references stand out among the most popular, having been referenced, in turn, in categories, clues, or interview segments on Jeopardy! itself:

In an episode of the series Cheers, trivia buff Cliff Clavin (John Ratzenberger) appeared as a contestant on Jeopardy! Clavin reached the Final Jeopardy! Round all but assured to win, but lost due to a foolish bet.
Saturday Night Live has parodied Celebrity Jeopardy! matches, frequently with a twisted version of Sean Connery as a contestant.
Weird Al Yankovic based one of his song parodies on the Fleming version.

Merchandising

The Jeopardy! brand has been used on products in several other formats.

There have been Jeopardy! video games made on most platforms including Apple II, Commodore 64, DOS, Nintendo Entertainment System, Nintendo Game Boy, Sega Game Gear, Sega Genesis, Super NES, PlayStation, Nintendo 64, game.com, Sega Dreamcast, Apple Macintosh, PlayStation 2, Microsoft Windows, and mobile phones. A free version of the game can be found at Station.com.
Tiger Electronics also marketed a hand-held travel version of the game in the late nineties.
Several board game versions of the game have been produced over the years by Milton Bradley, Pressman Toys (including a Simpsons version), Tyco Toys and Parker Brothers.
For the show's fifteenth season in 1998-1999, a watch was released. The watch plays the famous theme song with the push of a button, and included 25 game cards with the answer-question format.
Educational toy company Educational Insights (makers of the Geosafari system) has released a self-contained, programmable Jeopardy! system that can be hooked up to a normal TV set for both home and school use. The school version is marketed as Classroom Jeopardy!, while the home version is called Host Your Own Jeopardy! Except for the names, both systems are identical, using a cartridge-based system for the categories and wireless controls for the players and host. The unit itself acts as the scoreboard.
A Jeopardy! DVD was released on November 8, 2005.
Annually, Day-to-Day Calendars releases a daily desktop Jeopardy! Calendar, featuring 6 full games-worth of clues presented 1 clue per day (with the correct response on the back of each day's sheet).

External links

Official Jeopardy! Web site
Official Jeopardy! message board
J! Archive: Clues from all games, starting from Season 21, as well as selected games from the past
Ronnie O'Rourke's JEOPARCHIVE!: Clues from all Season 20 games
Jeopardy! Database of Champions: Tournament of Champions results from Seasons 1–15
Jeopardy! at IMDb