air dates: 3/30/64-1/3/75 & 10/2/78-3/2/79 on NBC daytime, syndicated 9/9/74-9/7/75 by Metromedia & 9/17/84-present by KingWorld ('84-'07) and CBS Television Distribution ('07-), ABC Saturday evenings (Super Jeopardy!) 6/16-9/8/90, VH-1 (Rock & Roll Jeopardy!) 8/8/98-2001, GSN (Jep!) 1/30/98-'99
hosts: Art Fleming ('64-'79), Alex Trebek ('84-present), Pat Sajak (4/1/97), Jeff Probst (R&RJ!), Bob Bergen (Jep!)
announcers: Don "Voice Of NBC" Pardo ('64-'75), Wayne Morse (4/17/67), John Harlan ('78-'79), Johnny Gilbert ('84-present), Loretta Fox (R&RJ! '98-'00), Stu Herrera (last season of R&RJ!)
(NBC '64-'75): Three contestants, one of whom was a retuning champ, competed in a game in which they were given the answers but must respond with the correct questions. The board contained 30 hidden answers arranged in six categories w/five in each category. The clues in each category were arranged in order of difficulty and ranged in value from $10-$50 in the Jeopardy! round and $20-$100 in Double Jeopardy! The champion selected the first category and amount. The "answer" was then revealed and read. The player who signaled first gave his/her response, which must be phrased in the form of a question. (Example clue: He created Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune. Correct response: Who is Merv Griffin?) If correct, that player scores the value of the clue and selects the next clue. If incorrect, or if the player takes too long, the amount is deducted from his/her score and either of the remaining players could ring in and respond. If nobody is correct, the player giving the last correct response selects the next clue. For at least a short time on the original run, any player who successfully ran a category would win a cash bonus. In the Jeopardy! round, one clue conceals a Daily Double, whereas, there are two in Double Jeopardy! The player who selected it gets that clue unopposed and must wager at least $5 of his/her score before the answer is revealed. If the score is less than the maximum clue value for that round, the player is allowed to wager up to that amount. Whether right or wrong, (s)he selects the next clue. The round ends when all clues have been played or until time expires. In the Double Jeopardy! round, the player in third place selects the first clue. At the end of Double Jeopardy!, only players with $1+ may compete in Final Jeopardy! A category is revealed and, during the break, the players write how much of their score they wish to wager. Then the "answer" is revealed and the players are allowed 30 seconds to write down their responses in question form. The correct question adds to that player's score. An incorrect question deducts from that player's score. After all three responses and wagers have been revealed, the player with the most money returns on the next show. During the original run, all players kept their winnings for that show. Five-time champs retired undefeated but returned for the annual Tournament of Champions.
In the Tournament of Champions, played the same way as the second week of today's tourneys, all contendors kept the cash they scored in each game. The winner of the finals won a tropical vacation, $1,000, and the annual Griffin Award.
(Syn. '74-'75, once a week): Three new players competed on each show, with no returning champs. Any player who successfully ran a category won a Chevy Vega (trip to London later in the run). The winner selected a number from 1-30 off the board and won the prize behind that number. Prizes on the board included cars, trips, and cash, with a grand prize of $25,000! The player must find both halves of the grand prize in order to win the $25k. Later in the run, the winner's bonus prize depended on his or her final score. The winner won a subcompact Chevy Vega for a score of <$1,000, a mid-size Chevy Caprice for $1,000+, $10,000 for $1,500+ (later $2,000), or $25,000 for $2,000+ (later $2,500).
(NBC '78-'79): Three players, one a returning champ, competed. This time clues ranged in value from $25-$125 in the Jeopardy! round. At the end of that round, the lowest scorer was eliminated but still kept his/her winnings for that round. The two remaining players, building on their scores from the last round, competed in Double Jeopardy! At the end, the winner played Super Jeopardy! Five categories were presented with five clues each, this time not arranged in order of difficulty. A clue was selected and read and a correct response lit up that square. Lighting up 5 squares in a row, across, up/down, or diagonally, won the big money. Three incorrect responses ended the game; however, the player earned $100 for each correct response. A champ played for $5,000 on his/her first attempt, $7,500 if (s)he defended his/her title the next day, $10k on the third, $12,500 on the 4th, and $15k on the fifth.
(current version): Same format from '64-'75, but this time the clue values ranged from $100-$500 in the Jeopardy! round and $200-$1,000 in Double Jeopardy! As of late 2001, these amounts have been doubled. At the end of the show, only the winner keeps his/her cash. If there is a tie for the lead at the end, those players return on the next show in addition to keeping all winnings. The runners-up received consolation prizes, which, as of '02, come in the form of cash ($2,000 for second place and $1,000 for third). Until '03, champs could stay on for up to 5 days. From '96-'03, five-time champs also won a new car. But now they may keep playing as long as they keep winning, which ultimately led to Ken Jennings' 74-day winning streak in '04!
Each year, a Tournament of Champions (featuring top winners from the previous season), a Teen Tournament, and a College Championship are held. Fifteen quarterfinalists compete in the tournament, three on each show. The winner of each game during the first week becomes an automatic semifinalist. The five quarterfinal winners and the four top-scoring runners-up ("wild card" players) move on to the semifinals. On each of the next three shows, three semifinalists compete for one of three spots in the 2-day finals. In the finals, each finalist's score from the first day is added to the next day's score. The finalist with the highest 2-day total wins the top prize. The further a player advances in a tournament, the more money (s)he wins.
On Super Jeopardy!, thirty-six of the show's biggest winners competed in a 13-week tounament. The nine quarterfinal shows each featured four of the players competing for a spot in the semis. In the Jeopardy! round, clues ranged in value from 200-1,000 points (not dollars). In Double Jeopardy!, they were 500-2,500. After Final Jeopardy!, the winner moved on to the semis. The other three players each took home $5,000. In each of the three semifinal shows, three semifinalists competed for a spot in the finals. The winner moved on and the other two players each received $10,000. The three finalists were Dave Traini, who finished in the red after Double Jeopardy! but was automatically awarded $25k for third place, Bob Verini, who won $50k for second place, and Bruce Seymour, who won the $250,000 top prize.
For two weeks in May '02, the fifteen biggest winners from the past 18 years returned for the $1,000,000 Masters Tournament, which was taped at Radio City Music Hall. Each player ditched in the quarterfinals received $10,000. Each semifinal loser took home $25,000. In the finals, Bob Verini took home $50,000 for third place, 1989 Teen Tournament winner Eric Newhouse came in second and won $100,000, and Brad Rutter, took home, of course, $1,000,000!
The Ultimate Tournament of Champions kicked off on 2/9/05 (my b-day!). 145 of the top winners from the past two decades came back to compete for $2,000,000!
135 players competed in round one which consisted of 45 games, with three players per game. Each winner was guaranteed $15k+ while the others each took home $5k.
In round 2, 54 players (45 Round 1 winners and 9 seeded players) played 18 games. Each winner was guaranteed $20k+. Runners-up won $10k each.
In each of the six quarterfinal games, each winner won $30k+, and the other 2 each got $15k.
In each of the two semifinal matches, the player with the highest 2-day total won $50k+. 2nd place took home $30k+ and 3rd place got $20k+.
For the finals, Jerome Vered and Brad Rutter took on automatic finalist Ken Jennings in a 3-day match. On 5/26/05, Brad wound up with the highest 3-day total and won TWO MILLION BUCKAROOS!!! Ken took home $500k for coming in second while Jerome picked up $250k for third place.
During celebrity weeks, each show featured three celebs playing for their favorite charities. At first, each player was guaranteed $10k, with the winner's score being doubled. Later, it was changed to $5k being added to the winner's score. Today, the winner is guaranteed $50k, while the runners-up are each guaranteed $20k. The same applied to Power Players week, in which famous political figures and media correspondents competed.
Introduced in the late '90s, Kids Weeks are held annually. On each Kids Week show, three kids, aged 10-12 compete. The winner is guaranteed $10k, while the runners-up receive consolation prizes, which, in '03, changed to $2k for second place and $1k for last place.
On VH1's Rock & Roll Jeopardy!, the clues were centered around rock and pop music. The scores were kept in points for the first two seasons and the winner took home $5k. In the third season, the scores were kept in money, with the winner keeping his or her winnings, but with a guaranteed $5,000 minimum.
On Jep!, three kids aged 10-12 competed. Five categories were presented, each with four clues. The point value was determined by the controlling player stopping a randomizer shuffling between 100-500 points in the Jep! round, and 200-1,000 in the Hyper Jep! round. Some clues also awarded bonus prizes for correct responses. A player's second incorrect response would have something dumped on that player. Every time a player responded incorrectly three times, that player had to sit out for the next clue. The Final Jeopardy! round on this version was called Super Jep! After this round, the winner chose from one of 2 grand prizes, second place selected one of two second prizes, and the last-placer selecting one of two third-place prizes.
OTHER TIDBITS:
The first American show to be hosted by Canadian-born Alex Trebek was The Wizard of Odds on NBC from '73-'74. He also hosted High Rollers, the second season of The $128,000 Question, Battlestars, Classic Concentration, To Tell the Truth, and PBS's annual National Geographic Bee.
In 1990, a cop from the Big Apple named Frank Spangenburg became the first champ to win a 6-figure total, $102,597, over a course of 5 days.
R&RJ! host Jeff Probst is better known as the host of CBS's Survivor.
In '84, "Weird Al" Yankovic poked fun at the show as well as the Greg Kihn Band's "Jeopardy" in his spoof "I Lost on Jeopardy!" which also featured Don Pardo. The music video also featured Art Fleming (1925-1995).
The late '70s revival had originally intended to be broadcast on CBS.
Another memorable player, a sports writer named Eddie Timanus, won his 5-day limit in '99 despite being totally blind since childhood.
In 2001, the show incorporated a team of correspondants known as the Clue Crew, who would present visual clues to the players, usually on location.
In '04, a software engineer from Salt Lake City named Ken Jennings (scanned newspaper pic below) won a total of $2,522,700 (Sa-WEET!) after 74, that's right, SEVENTY-FOUR victories!!! His amazing winning streak was brought to a halt by Nancy Zerg, a realtor from Ventura, Ca., on 11/30/04 and Ken had to settle for $2,000 for second place. But he still holds the record for the longest championship in game show history! On 10/10/08, he topped Brad Rutter's record for highest total winnings in game show history by winning $500,000 on Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?
