DANGER! Fans were left debating an unclear rule about last names after a dark moment at the end of the game show’s 40th season.
One player was found to be correct with “The Obamas”, but in the same round, “The Curies” was not specific enough for Ken Jennings or the judges.
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The moment fans were asked this question occurred on the July 26 episode of Jeopardy! round category, “A date in history”.
The $600 clue that turned out to be a Daily Double was: “In the summer of 1989, this not-yet-famous couple went to the movies in Chicago and saw a Spike Lee movie.”
Then-two-day champion Davey Morrison won the $1,000 he bet with his answer: “The Obamas?”
The $200 clue in the same category was selected next and was: “After this couple’s first date in 1894, she went home to Poland while he wrote letters to her about his “dream for science.”
Rachel Bradley, who won the game and will spend her summer vacation as champion, responded: “The Curies?”
This time Ken asked, “More specifically?” and she correctly elaborated, “Marie Curie & Pierre Curie?” to get the gains.
‘WHAT’S ABOUT THIS?’
Fans took to social media where they discussed why one answer needed specificity but the other didn’t.
“Okay, so I’m not one of those people who criticizes judges’ decisions. I usually think if the judges agree with it, that’s fine with me,” one Facebook user began a post in a fan group.
“But I don’t understand why a contestant responded to the Obamas in the famous couple category, but when another contestant responded “the Curies,” she was told to be more specific and had to give their first names. therefore?”
“I thought the exact same thing! I was so surprised by this. It seems so arbitrary now,” wrote another.
“There’s more to the surname Curie. The judges are very consistent with the rules”, argued a third fan.
A fourth pointed out: “In this case because one of the daughters Curie and her husband were also Nobel Prize-winning chemists.”
For the fifth, a fourth wrote: “Ah see, I didn’t know there was more than one Curie couple that fit the profile.”
On Reddit, fans also discussed the decision and whether there was a set rule for surnames or whether the judges were just looking at it on a “case by case” basis.
“Are there any rules or information about when they ask contestants to “be more specific?”,” one fan started a thread.
“Updating Friday’s episode and asked for an elaboration on “The Curies”, but in the same category they did not ask for an elaboration on “The Obamas”.
“As someone who is not intelligent enough to know more than one Curie set, I was curious why and when they put up specific protective barriers. In a later clue, the answer was accepted as surname only as ‘Campbell,’ but it may This is a generic enough surname that requires elaboration.
“Is there any determination here or is it a bit case-by-case and one of those ‘judges decide?’”
Danger! Host timeline
Danger! has had a tumultuous history regarding hosts following the death of the iconic Alex Trebek in 2020. Here are every host since the game show’s inception in 1964.
Art Fleming – from 1964 to 1975, he was the original host of the daytime version of Jeopardy! on NBC.
Alex Trebek – From 1984 to 2020, the late, great Alex hosted the modern iteration of Jeopardy! for 36 years until his death from pancreatic cancer.
Guest Hosts – 2020 to 2021, Jeopardy! tested a series of guest hosts for one- or two-week stints, including Anderson Cooper, LaVar Burton and Aaron Rodgers.
Mike Richards – 2021, he was named host for a 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 winningest contestant of all time) joined Mayim as guest host and they shared hosting duties.
Ken Jennings – 2023 to present. Last December, Mayim announced on Instagram that she would “no longer” host Jeopardy! after a long hiatus, having defended the writers’ strike, and Ken was named sole host.
Ken now runs all editions of Jeopardy! including Celebrity Jeopardy!, the late night show and other primetime specials such as Masters.
Another fan explained: “The judges can ask for clarification anyway. More details, or specific names, or pronouncing something again… in this case, there are several famous Curies and only one famous Obama couple.”
Danger! The rules stipulate that a surname answer will suffice if there is no one else your answer could refer to or who fits the clue.
However, other users were still not satisfied and brought up an “unfair” decision from earlier this season regarding the First Ladies where that did not appear to be the case.
NIXON’S ‘BIZARRE’ DECISION
In September, when Season 40 began, a player was deemed incorrect after receiving a specific request that some fans felt was unnecessary.
During a round of Double Jeopardy, contestant Alex Lamb chose the $1,200 clue in the category “The Real (White House) Wives of D.C.”
It read: “She met the future president in 1938 when they both auditioned for a local play in Whittier, California.”
Alex’s answer was “Nixon,” but host Ken asked him to be more specific.
Alex then incorrectly named Richard Nixon instead of Pat Nixon, the former First Lady of the United States.
Instead, another contestant correctly guessed the clue and Alex later lost the game.
Viewers at home were unhappy that Ken didn’t accept Alex’s response by pointing out that there was no other first lady named Nixon.
“This is bizarre. What other first lady with the surname Nixon did they have in mind that would be a plausible answer? one viewer wrote on Reddit at the time.
Others wrote: “It seemed really unfair and illogical to me. I would understand Barbara Bush, as there are two first ladies named Bush, but a first lady named Nixon could only be referring to one person.”
And, “The rules are very clear that surnames are sufficient if there is only one acceptable answer and if there is only one first lady named Nixon.”
Alex himself accepted the comments on Reddit and said he “was taken by surprise” when Ken asked for clarification.
“You can imagine that after I responded to Nixon, my mind completely turned to the next clue,” he wrote. “So when I was asked for clarification, I was taken by surprise and that’s how it happens! I should have paused and responded.”
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This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
