DANGER! The producers have thrown in a lot of new ideas in their current season, but some may have been better left on the drawing board than on the tip board.
The changes include a category rule that received instant backlash, “embarrassing” Gen Z clues, and that never-ending barrage of tournaments.
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CHAOS CATEGORY
The landmark 40th season of Jeopardy! It debuted in September and ends at the end of July 2024.
Between the WGA strike and co-host Mayim Bialik’s firing, it’s been a busy year.
One change that caught viewers off guard had to do with categories.
The producers decided to require players to say the full name of a category every time they select a clue.
This meant that players could not abbreviate a category name to stay in the flow of the game, but had to spell it out every time.
In one episode, this meant prompting “During Lou Gehrig’s consecutive game streak” with each choice, leading to a seemingly hasty approval from host Ken Jennings: “See you tomorrow on Jeopardy!”
“If you want to make them go through the entire category name every time #Jeopardy, keep it maybe three words max,” one fan joked about the change.
“For producers to force contestants to say ‘During Lou Gehrig’s back-to-back game streak’ every time is ridiculous,” wrote another.
A third wrote: “Really, I’m fed up with this rule.”
A contestant confirmed to The US Sun that producers asked players to do so for the benefit of viewers.
“As part of a change for the new season, and this is even more beneficial for the public – they need us, or would they prefer us to say the whole category every time.
“I imagine for new contestants this would probably mislead them, and I fear it would lead to leaving some clues on the board,” they said.
When the tournaments ended and new competitors returned in the spring, the rule was removed.
“I don’t think we made a perfect change. We have informed contestants to provide full category names,” said executive producer Michael Davies on the show’s podcast.
“We obviously go back. If it’s a 12-word category, we’re not asking you to repeat all 12 words.”
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GEN-Z SLANG CLUES
Danger! it also apparently tried to attract younger audiences with clues about modern slang – which caused widespread protests.
During Jeopardy! Masters in May, there was a category called “Internet Slang.”
It said: “Slang like ‘fanum tax’ and ‘skibidi’ confuses many; it is associated with this generation, a name that inappropriately follows Gen Z.”
Matt Amodio got it right with “Gen Alpha” and can be seen with an embarrassing facial expression.
“Just saw the skibidi bathroom mentioned during Jeopardy, day ruined,” wrote one user X at the time.
“Where were you when Ken Jennings said Fanum tax and Skibidi live on TV on Jeopardy masters,” wrote another.
“Lord save us, Jeopardy now has a Skibidi Toilet clue,” wrote a third.
Players were also tasked with a category called “It’s Giving” this season — and not all fans thought it was giving.
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TOURNAMENT FATIGUE!
The biggest change to Jeopardy!’s 40th season, of course, was the schedule.
Two-thirds of the season was made up of past player tournaments instead of good old regular Jeopardy!
Some were aired because of the WGA strike in the fall, others because the game show producers wanted to expand into a more sports model.
When the season began, fans watched a months-long parade of Second Chances and Champions Wildcards.
So, Danger! moved forward with yet another Second Chance and Wildcard event and then the 2024 Tournament of Champions.
Then came the spring Jeopardy! Invitational Tournament and finally Jeopardy! Masters in prime time.
On social media, fans made their thoughts on the confusing and incessant tournaments clear.
“How many damn second chances are we giving? #jeopardy This is getting old,” one said.
“Receiving?” replied a second sarcastic commenter.
“How long will this nonsense last? No tricks. No tricks. Just old Jeopardy!, until you’re 26”, complained another.
“I would like to see new contestants try to start their own sequels,” one suggested.
“It was fun at first, but now I’m irritated. I don’t think a normal episode has been shown this season,” said another.
The bewildering number of tournaments was a major break in tradition – and although some were caused by the strike, the general expansion was planned before then.
The producers read the room and decided to completely revamp season 41, which begins in September 2024.
They announced that there will not be a single tournament until 2025, so the regular games of normal competitors will continue until the New Year.
“For the rest of 2024’s syndicated Jeopardy!, you’ll be watching the regular games,” insiders confirmed.
In other words, all the events like Second Chances, Wildcards, and JITs that fans were subjected to in Season 40 won’t take up as much time next season.
Instead, regular non-tournament Jeopardy! will continue when the new season starts and tournaments will take place in 2025.
That said, there have also been positive changes – the game show has increased the consolation prizes to $3,000 and $2,000, making it easier to get more diverse contestants.
And they allowed players to sit while competing without question.
Danger! will take its annual summer hiatus at the end of July and return renewed for season 41 in September.
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This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
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