Welcome to another edition of Andy’s Weekly Thoughts, where I give my editorial thoughts on happenings in the world of Jeopardy!
Yes, Jeopardy! UK Is Coming Back
The news broke this week that the UK version of Jeopardy! will be seeing a second series.
First of all, I sincerely hope this means Archi Campbell will be returning to defend his title. If not—the production staff has some serious explaining to do: in the United States, the end-of-series break does not mean three new players for the start of the new series, and the show will receive justifiable anger from all corners if Archi does not return for Series 2, Episode 1.
Secondly, I would like to reiterate that I firmly believe that Series 1 was, in general, a good product, and that its biggest issue was ITV airing it at 4:00 and not 3:00. 4:00 was not the place in ITV’s schedule for a “hard” quiz; its viewers want a softer game show at 4:00. If this airs at 3:00, I think that it will turn out just fine. Viewers should also be reminded that I believe that most of the negative social media that the show got was generally from viewers upset at the show’s diverse casting, and that most of the negative press was from Americans who placed completely unfair expectations upon the program. (Or, columnists from hom*ophobic/transphobic British publications who were saddened that, once again, “get woke, go broke” doesn’t actually happen in practice.)
When the second series is airing has yet to be announced.
My friends over at Geeks Who Drink have introduced a daily trivia game—Thrice! Existing to make daily clever trivia content accessible to a wide audience, it's a daily challenge that tries to get you to the answer via three separate clues. It has a shareable score functionality to challenge your friends and new questions every day will give you a new daily social ritual! You can find it at thricegame.com!
Are you going on the show and looking for information about how to bet in Final Jeopardy? Check out my Betting Strategy 101 page! If you want to learn how to bet in two-day finals, check out Betting Strategy 102!
Are you looking for information on how to stream Jeopardy! in 2024? Find out information here on how to stream from most places in North America!
Do you appreciate the work I do here on The Jeopardy! Fan? Would you like to make a one-time contribution to the site? You may do so here!
You can find game-by-game stats here at The Jeopardy! Fan of all 17 players, now including Adriana Harmeyer, that have won 10 or more games on Jeopardy!
You can now listen to Alex Trebek-hosted Jeopardy! episodes from TuneIn Radio without leaving The Jeopardy! Fan — listen now!
This Might Be How Adriana Gets Upset in The ToC, Too
Losing on Wednesday the way she did—with Drew Basile successfully converting a $10,000 Daily Double—might be the best thing to happen in the long run for Adriana Harmeyer. She had spent most of her run lacking urgency in finding the Daily Doubles, which came back to bite her when Drew found the crucial one. If you are as strong a player as Adriana is, it is okay to use the Daily Doubles as a form of defense: you finding them means your opponents don’t get the ammunition to make their comebacks. Hopefully, she exhibits more urgency going forward in the search for Daily Doubles, because “buzz in first and give correct responses”, which can be the basis for an excellent regular-play run, can only take you so far, especially at the higher levels.
We have many new offerings at The Jeopardy! Fan Online Store! Here are our current featured items:
Why Wasn’t This Rule Codified Back In 2015?
On October 7, 2015, there was a minor controversy on Jeopardy! Matt Jackson, facing a Daily Double, uttered “Five”—meaning “five dollars”—and many fans thought that Matt had wagered “five thousand dollars.” That confusion should have led to a rule clarification from the show nearly nine years ago. It is my belief that the rule needs to be that “Daily Double bets should be uttered as numbers (with the one historical exception of “True Daily Double” meaning “my score right now”) and numbers should not be shortened”.
This would have lessened a lot of confusion on Thursday when Drew uttered “12”, and it was ruled to mean “1,200”. There were debates in a number of spaces on Thursday from people who thought the bet should have been “12”, “1,200”, or even “12,000”. These sorts of debates should not be taking place—the show needs to make things as unambiguous as possible for the home viewer—and the fact that this wasn’t codified after the Matt Jackson issue in 2015 is, in my opinion, a failing on the part of the show.
In Closing
Will Drew Basile put himself into the ToC conversation early next week?
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