DANGER! host Ken Jennings made a joking comment that may have been about Mayim Bialik as the champion’s winning streak got serious on Thursday.
Ken apparently referenced the former host on Final Jeopardy when Adriana Harmeyer claimed her seventh win and a total of $155,700.
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The West Lafayette, Indiana, archivist returned to battle Rabbi Shira Gluck and theater producer Benjamin Nelson.
Ken opened the match by commenting that Adriana now has the longest winning streak of the season – and she’s not slowing down.
After Danger! round, she led with $4,800, Benjamin (in the first Daily Double) had $2,400 and Shira $3,000.
On Double Jeopardy!, Benjamin briefly tied her for the lead in the second Daily Double, while Shira lost the third with a safe bet.
But once again, Adriana fled after the smoke cleared, with $18,800, Shira with $8,900 and Benjamin with $8,000.
‘MEMORIES OF MAYIM?’
Final Jeopardy was in the “US HISTORY” category.
It said “Challenged in court that same year, the Butler Act of 1925 in Tennessee prohibited this activity and was not repealed until 1967.”
Benjamin incorrectly wrote “…?” and Shira also incorrectly wrote: “What is drinking alcohol?”
But Ken found it incorrect in a way he normally doesn’t, and that didn’t go unnoticed by astute viewers.
He told Shira, “Unfortunately, this is not correct.”
As one fan pointed out, this is exactly what Mayim used to say on Final Jeopardy, whether the shade was on purpose or not.
“After Shira’s response to FJ was revealed, Ken brought back memories of Mayim saying, ‘Unfortunately, this is not correct,’ wrote one Redditor.
Only Adriana got “The Teaching of Evolution” right, adding $800 to win $19,600 in a sensational seven-day total.
‘IT’S EXCITING!’
Other fans flooded a Reddit gaming thread celebrating the champion, now the winner of the longest regular game of the year, and think she could be the show’s next super champion.
“Of course! First 7-day champion since Ben Chan, this is getting exciting!” one Redditor pointed out.
“Another day without finding a single Daily Double and another escape. Adriana could be one of the top 5 Jeopardy players of all time,” said another.
“She certainly has to be there now. Obviously we’ll have to see how she does in tournaments, but so far she’s definitely building a really impressive resume,” wrote a third.
“Four consecutive escapes for Adriana, and five out of seven in total,” commented a fourth.
Adriana will face two more opponents tomorrow night to seek her eighth victory, which would put her in contact with stars like Hannah Wilson.
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SLAY-DRIANA HARMEYER
Meanwhile, Adriana, an art archivist from West Lafayette, Indiana, has been going strong since arriving last week.
She now has the longest streak and gains of the entire season and the fans are all in on it.
“Well done, Adriana, you’re a great competitor!!” one Redditor wrote recently.
“Adriana is impressive, friendly and fun to watch. I’m predicting a 20-game streak. I expect even more. Go, Adriana!” wrote another.
“Adriana is killing it and I love her retro vibe, like she stepped off the set of the Mary Tyler Moore Show,” wrote a third.
“Adriana is so cool I bet she doesn’t even care,” wrote a fourth.
So far, the other qualifiers for the next ToC (all women) are five-day winners Alison Betts and Dr. Amy Hummel and Lisa Ann Walter from Celebrity Jeopardy!
That said, with four wins, Grant DeYoung and Amar Kakirde will likely enter the fray as well.
DON’T ‘FIND THE DAILY DOUBLES’
Other fans pointed out that Adriana opted for a risk-averse strategy, which is especially rare in the modern era.
She’s a traditional player who competes from top to bottom (what a relief!) and didn’t go on the daily double hunt à la James Holzhauer.
Instead, she found only eight of the 21 hidden clues, refusing to bounce around the board.
This allows the other contestants to find the Daily Doubles (like Carol on Monday) and fall on their swords by losing them with big bets.
“What’s with starting from the top all of a sudden? Haha,” noted one fan on Facebook.
“So much for the argument that finding DDs and luck takes all the fun out of it!” wrote another after his fifth win.
Adriana will be looking for her seventh win on Thursday, which would give her the show’s longest winning streak since nine-day champion and 2024 ToC runner-up Ben Chan.
Meanwhile, Adriana is a clinical assistant professor and archivist of University History at Purdue University Archives and Special Collections.
His Q&A stories shed light on his Jeopardy! journey, including not being selected as a teen contestant.
She honed her skills on a 1990s CD-ROM version of Jeopardy! starting when she was seven. She only stopped playing after the disc broke in half.
She also said in a recent interview that she auditioned for the show online for fun and was surprised to be contacted a few weeks later.
“I had taken the test online a few times before, but this time I went online one night and took the test for fun.”
“I didn’t expect anything to happen – I just thought of it as another fun Internet test.”
Bye-ALIK
On December 15, 2023, Mayim broke the Internet by announcing that she was fired from Jeopardy! in person on Instagram.
She and Ken co-hosted the game show starting in 2022, leaving.
“As the Hollywood holidays begin, I have some Jeopardy! news,” she began her post.
“Sony has informed me that I will no longer be hosting the syndicated version of Jeopardy!”
Danger! posted a statement an hour later and it has since been reported that Mayim broke the news without consulting the program first.
In its statement, the show expressed that it “looked forward” to working with Mayim on specials and spinoffs in the future.
But the actress has not shared any plans to return to the franchise – or vice versa – not even for Celebrity Jeopardy!.
Plus, Ken tended to be a fan favorite when the two stars were co-hosts.
Ken later said he “understood” the decision, as the shows “don’t have two hosts”.
Now, Ken runs every facet of Jeopardy! including specials and spinoffs.
Mayim has had no public relationship with Jeopardy! since his departure and recently appeared in the series finale of Young Sheldon.
Danger! airs at 7pm ET on ABC – check your local listings.
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
