12 Awesome Moments in Jeopardy History
Without doubt, Jeopardy! is the Sifter’s favourite game show. Blurting out guesses to every answer is surprisingly enjoyable, even when you’re wrong most of the time! Below is a collection of 12 awesome moments in Jeopardy! history. From hilarious outbursts to the welcoming of our new computer overlords, these are moments any Jeopardy! fan will surely enjoy.
12. Trebek Endures ‘Your Momma’ Joke
It’s like the producers set up the category names just for this punchline! Filmed December 16, 2010. I wonder if Trebek had a snappy comeback? Oh my.
11. Contestant on Teen Jeopardy drops F-Bomb
And Stephen joined the dark side shortly thereafter.
10. Kevin Destroys Max Four Times in a Row
“Max. No. Max. No. Max. No. Max. No.” Broadcast on December 17, 2007.
9. Contestant Tries to Send Alex Trebek Back to the Fifth Dimension
To understand the clip above you may need to watch the clip below. I wonder if Alex watches Family Guy?
8. The First Ever 3-Way Tie on Jeopardy!
The first ever 3-way tie occurred on March 16, 2007. At the end you can hear a faint “You’re welcome” by the last contestant. Nice!
7. Contestant Impersonates Sean Connery
Why is this notable? For the uninitiated, Saturday Night Live had a long running skit with Will Ferrell as Alex Trebek hosting countless episodes of ‘Celebrity Jeopardy’. Memorable guests (impersonators) included Burt Reynolds and Tom Cruise. But nobody was more popular than a fake Sean Connery who became Alex Trebek’s nemesis. There were many episodes of this skit but someone put together a gigantic Sean Connery compilation, see below.
6. Alex Trebek Enters With No Pants
“Don’t you hate pants?” – Homer Simpson
5. Awkward Sexual Responses
Donkey Punch. Threesome. Hoe. That is all.
4. Roger Craig’s Back-to-Back True Daily Doubles
Like a Boss.
3. Jennings and Craig Breaking the One-Day Winning Total Record
On the 20th season finale on Friday, July 23, 2004, Ken Jennings scored the highest amount ever won in a single day of Jeopardy! with $70,000. This feat would be bested by Roger Craig on Tuesday, September 14, 2010 during the Tournament of Champions where Roger won a staggering $77,000.
2. Ken Jennings Epic 74-Game Win Streak Comes to an End
On November 30, 2004, Jennings’ reign as Jeopardy! champion ended when he lost his seventy-fifth game to challenger Nancy Zerg. Jennings responded incorrectly to both Double Jeopardy! Daily Doubles, causing him to lose a combined $10,200 ($5,400 and $4,800, respectively) and leaving him with $14,400 at the end of the round. As a result, for only the tenth time in 75 games, Jennings did not have an insurmountable lead going into the Final Jeopardy! round. Only Jennings and Zerg, who ended Double Jeopardy! with $10,000, were able to play Final Jeopardy! as third-place contestant David Hankins failed to finish with a positive score after Double Jeopardy!.
The Final Jeopardy! category was Business & Industry, and the answer was “Most of this firm’s 70,000 seasonal white-collar employees work only four months a year”. Zerg responded correctly with “What is H&R Block?” and wagered $4,401 of her $10,000, giving her a $1 lead over Jennings with his response still to be revealed. Jennings incorrectly responded with “What is FedEx?”, and lost the game with a final score of $8,799 after his $5,601 wager was deducted from his score. He was awarded $2,000 for his second place finish, which gave him a final total of $2,522,700 for his run on Jeopardy!. Zerg, whom Jennings called a “formidable opponent,” finished in third place on the next show.
Jennings’ 75 matches took place over a span of 182 calendar days, which included stoppages for the show’s summer break, one Kids Week series of episodes, the 2004 Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions, and the 2004 Jeopardy! College Championship. [Source]
1. Watson Becomes ‘Self-Aware’. Destroys Human Competition
The Robopocalpyse is coming. Save yourselves.
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