FANS have called out Jeopardy! writers for their ‘loose phrasing’ on today’s category board during a ‘rough’ game.
The clues are typically “tightly” written, viewers noted, but the phrasing of Wednesday’s game took many off guard before a new champion was crowned.
Returning champ John Liu, a marketing analyst from Santa Monica, California, looked to extend his one-day earnings of $7,801.
He went up against Jacqui Kaplan, a high school English teacher from Sandy Hook, Connecticut and Joseph Carlstein, a graduate student from Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
The categories for the Jeopardy! round included Historic Americans, She’s Got the Power, Utopia, Where To Go When, 1980’s Catchphrases and Speaking Reversibly.
Joseph found the first Daily Double, quickly doubling his score to $4,000.
He held onto that lead heading into Double Jeopardy!, securing $5,600 in the first round.
John appeared to lose momentum after his first win, remaining in third place with $1,800 while Jacqui was in second with $2,800.
While fans noted that the writing seemed dismal compared to other games overall, it was the Double Jeopardy! round they claimed it stood out the most.
The three players were faced with the new categories: That’s A Really Big Ditch, French Authors, B In Science, No, Not The Dog, Songs, and Before & After.
The final category is what had fans complaining, with one writing: “Some really… loose writing on the Before & After clues today.
“Normally, those feel a lot tighter. The one for Fly by Night of the Living Dead really stuck out as an especially rough one to me.”
Others seconded this opinion , with one saying: “Definitely agree.
“A maybe-not-here-tomorrow business that sends a legion of zombies to attack a farmhouse
“The definition of ‘fly by night’ is ‘unreliable or untrustworthy, especially in business or financial matters,’ it doesn’t mean ‘about to go out of business or disappear,’ despite what the phrase might imply.”
A third also chimed in, saying: “Especially if you are absolutely dead set on using Night of the Living Dead, there are lots of options for phrases that end in “night” without using that one.”
Other clues Ken Jennings read from the category board included: “A truck with a trailer attached to haul the most ancient collection of Hindu sacred hymns.”
No one was able to guess the correct response, Big Rigveda.
Another clue included: “Spooky ghost-filled dwelling. That’s England’s current reigning dynasty.”
“What is Windsor?” Joseph incorrectly said to which Jacqui swooped in and accurately said “What is the haunted house of Windsor?”
Jeopardy! Set Secrets
Jeopardy! fans don’t see everything behind the scenes from watching on TV. These hidden set features make the show run smoothly:
- Each podium has a hidden riser so that all contestants appear to be the same height.
- After each clue is read, signal lights go off around the game board, indicating players can buzz in and respond.
- Buzz in too early, and you’re locked out for .25 seconds.
- The podiums have a small white light in the lower left corner, which tells Ken Jennings who goes next.
- Contrary to popular belief, the player with control doesn’t have a buzzer advantage on the next clue.
- To the game board’s left is a scoreboard so the players can see their opponents’ scores.
- All contestants must bring three outfits to the studio, but only the host and returning champion change for the next episode.
- There are wardrobe rules, including restrictions on busy patterns, solid white, purple (like the background), and logos.
- Five episodes are taped in a single day, and sometimes more.
- The categories, players (aside from the returning champion), and Final Jeopardy! for a tape day are all drawn randomly to ensure fairness.
- Female contestants are asked not to wear makeup, which is applied backstage, and don’t wear mascara because of sweat.
- Contestants fill out a questionnaire, and producers select five Q&A topics for the host.
- Host Ken isn’t allowed to interact with the contestants until after the game.
- Players can request to sit in a chair while competing without question.
A third clue in the category was: “Kids way of saying I promise about literary Marlow’s search for Kurt in Africa”
“What is Cross My Heart of Darkness?” Jacqui correctly responded.
Heading into Final Jeopardy, Joesph remained in the lead with $10,000 while Jacqui was closely behind with $8,000 and John had a score of $7,000.
With the closeness of the scores, final wagers would end up determining the outcome of the game.
Joseph was able to pull it off and win the game with $16,001.
Jacki plummeted to third after incorrectly guessing the Final Jeopardy! clue and ended the game with just $2,000 while John came in second with $13,999.
