Jeopardy! fans call out show for ‘confusing’ final clue & rage ‘should have been more clear!’ as game goes to tiebreaker
JEOPARDY! fans have been left deeply confused by Friday’s final question.
After a tight game, host Ken Jennings posed a final Jeopardy! clue pulled from the Sports category.
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The final Jeopardy! clue – read by host Ken Jennings – was pulled from the Sports categoryCredit: Jeopardy!
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The final Jeopardy! clue prompted a heated online debateCredit: NBC
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Current champ Drew Basile (above) a graduate student from Birmingham, MichiganCredit: Jeopardy!
“50 years ago Vin Scully announced he got ‘a standing ovation in the Deep South’ for breaking a longtime record,” it read.
The final clue prompted a heated debate online with many users who agreed that the clue was misleading and worded weirdly.
“This clue was such a mess,” one person said.
“It sounded way more like a general statement than a clue, in that Vin Scully wanted people to know he (Vin) got a standing ovation in the south, and I wasn’t sure what they were looking for as the response.”
“They really needed to change ‘he’ to ‘this player,'” agreed another.
“Ken did emphasize the ‘he’ when reading the clue, but my first thought was that they were asking about Vin Scully breaking some sort of announcer record. Weird clue.”
“I had to go back and read the clue because I was thrown off by the ‘he’ too,” echoed a third user.
WINNER WINNER
The episode featured three contestants – Josh Heit, a government relations professional from Silver Spring, Maryland; Richelle Brown, a substitute teacher from Alexandria, Virginia; and Drew Basile, a graduate student from Birmingham, Michigan.
Drew and Josh answered the final Jeopardy! correctly and Josh doubled up while Drew bet $0, so it came down to a tiebreaker.
The tiebreaker question was under the Science category: “This phenomenon named for a 19th century man is apparent in moving light sources as well as moving sound sources.”
Jeopardy! host Ken Jennings blamed for confusing moment in Drew Basile’s 2nd win as Survivor alum makes ‘unclear’ wager
Drew was in first and got it right, earning $20,000.
He is now a three-day champ with winnings of over $50,000; this after he first defeated 15-day champ Adriana Harmeyer.
ALL TIME LOW
Jeopardy! used to be the highest-watched show – with a weekly audience of over 27 million viewers tuning in.
However, the spinoff tournament Jeopardy! Masters suffered a major ratings slump.
Jeopardy! Host Timeline
Jeopardy! has had a tumultuous history regarding hosts after the death of the iconic Alex Trebek in 2020. Here are all of the hosts since the game show’s inception in 1964.
Art Fleming – 1964 to 1975, he was the original host of the daytime version of Jeopardy! on NBC.
Alex Trebek – 1984 to 2020, the late, great Alex hosted Jeopardy!’s modern iteration for 36 years until his death from pancreatic cancer.
Guest hosts – 2020 to 2021, Jeopardy! tested out a series of guest hosts for week or two-week stints, including Anderson Cooper, LaVar Burton, and Aaron Rodgers.
Mike Richards – 2021, he was named host for one week before resigning amid controversy. He was the show’s executive producer at the time.
Mayim Bialik – 2021 to 2023, when Mike was announced as the show’s new host, Mayim was chosen to host tournaments and primetime specials.
Mayim and Ken Jennings – 2022 to 2023, 74-time champion Ken (the longest-winning contestant ever) joined Mayim as a guest host and they split hosting duties.
Ken Jennings – 2023 to present. Last December, Mayim announced on Instagram that she would “no longer” host Jeopardy! after a lengthy hiatus, having stood with the writer’s strike, and Ken was named sole host.
Ken now helms all editions of Jeopardy! including Celebrity Jeopardy!, the nightly show, and other primetime specials like Masters.
Compared to 2023 ratings, viewership fell in huge numbers with one episode that became the series low for ratings.
The season’s low viewings left Jeopardy! fans concerned about the show.
Many theorized that viewers are tired of several tournaments being aired and are asking producers to go back to basics.
The show has been awarded 44 Emmys.
It is known as known as America’s favorite game show.
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Contestant Josh Heit (above) is a government relations professional from Silver Spring, MarylandCredit: NBC
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Drew Basile is now a three-day champ with winnings of over $50,000Credit: NBC
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Ken Jennings used to be the highest-earning contestant on Jeopardy! before becoming a host in 2021Credit: Getty
