“Jeopardy!” Debuts New Set on September 14th
It seems that every syndicated game show this season is getting some big change. A good deal of these have to deal with game play changes. But with Jeopardy!, there’s no need to change the game. The only thing being changed this season is the set. If you watched the Tournament of Champions in season 25, you saw a preview of the brand new set. It comes to full-time use starting Monday, September 14th, in its season debut. The set is much more open than before and specifically designed for HD, while the previous one basically had to adapt however they could for HD. The Jeopardy! board is outfitted with flat screen monitors, as well as a new one to the side of host Alex Trebek to signal the Final Jeopardy category. The contestants also stand at a new podium which is, unlike before, one large vertical flat screen monitor. From these new pictures provided by the show’s Clue Crew, plus previously released pictures, it’s an incredibly nice looking set. What do you all think? Happy with it, or should they have done something different?
"But with Jeopardy!, there’s no need to change the game."
I could say that about ALL the games that changed this season, not just Jeopardy!
That being said, I think this set is stunning! The use of their Sony bankroll is amazing . The contestants "desk" is amazing with the 3 HD monitors in front. It's just stunning, and seeing it in action in the CES episodes, I know everyone will love it.
This is set is amazing. When I saw it while the Tournament was re-airing I was like "Woah!". So glad they decided to keep it. Defiantly a big plus!
The set is quite beautiful, I give credit to J!'s set designers, they have good taste, IMHO.
My one thing though I'd love to see, however, is having the JEOPARDY! name in the background somewhere, like it was for the first 20 some odd years almost. The materials/designs that make up polygons and triangles behind the contestants would be good for such a thing (i.e., the J would be the woodsy-grain look, the E could be the hot pink, the O the black diagonal lines, the P the blue alternating triangle design, etc.).
Not a complaint really, just my take on how I would've done things. The set is still marvelous to look at and still manages to look very much like Jeopardy. Now if only they'd alter the lights back to red for Double Jeopardy again, that would look great with those set pieces too…. Hmmmmm…. :)
It does look great, I just don't understand the significance of all the polygons in the background or around the main borad. Probably just me, but I don't see it as trendy, futureistic or anything other than clutter.
I am in the minority of those that don't care for the fake podiums for the contestants. Maybe becasue I don't have HD, but even then I don't think I'd care for it. Somewhat like all the shows and movies that don't have real sets anymore and just place their actors in front of green screens as if we can't tell the difference.
I do like the IDEA of those podiums in that there are possibilities to use the screen for more than just fake podiums and final jeopardy, but will anything be done with the technology?
Just for fun, I'd like to see them turn the screen to look like a cartoon shot of an x-ray and see what all the contestants had for lunch, but that's just my weird sense of humor coming out.
Very good point about the name in the background. I always liked those. That's a nice looking set. 9.5/10 from me.
I saw the Tournament of Champions, and I have to say I was blown away. The HD monitors for the board and lecterns look amazing in action. The monitor on that spike thing is kind of pointless (no pun intended), but it's a nice touch. I think this is easily the best-looking set yet.
Also, from the previews at priceisright.com, looks like the TPIR will have a brand-spanking new, flashy set as well. I also thought it looked cool.
I echo the sentiments about the flashing Jeopardy! sign, but I just wish they had a more "physical" Jeopardy! logo somewhere on the set (not just on the monitors). Every set before this one did, even if it wasn't flashing.
Having said that, what they did for this set is truly amazing. Now that I'm in SoCal, I really should get myself to a Jeopardy! taping just to see this set in action.
The Best game show set jeopardy has since the 1991-96 set.
The Best game show set jeopardy has since the 1991-96 set.
Fraknly Jeopardy (imo) has had the best sets of any game show. Who could come close to their level of comfort. I just feel comfort watching Jeopardy because their sets are so inviting and that has always been one of the reasons they lasted so long. I can't wait to see regular play and all the Teen and College Tournements as well as Kids Week.
The new set is absolutely gorgeous. The designers deserve a medal. I just wish I had an HDTV to watch it on. (Sigh.) The colour combination is dignified yet soothing, and I love the extra monitor on that pillar thing between Alex and the players. They really didn't use it as much as they could have during the tournament last March, but I hope they will this time around. Using it exclusively for Final J! would make a fine tip of the hat to the Art Fleming era which had a dedicated board of its own. I'm not totally sold on all those geometric shapes behind the contestants' podiums though. Perhaps putting the J! logo behind them would have been more appropriate. All the same, I'm very much looking forward to the season debut on Monday, not just for the set but also for that cute as a button champ who's coming back. ;) (Yes, I'm smitten. He's just so adorable! LOL)
I just have one major gripe though. I've let it brew for a long time and it's quite silly, but here it is: I have never liked the current version's logo. Never. There's just something about that font that just turns me off completely. To me it's always been more suited to a late 70's sci-fi B-movie than a quiz show. I've always preferred the logo used during the Fleming years, the one with the jumbled letters (including the backwards Y) in the serif font. That was the one change that, IMHO, never should have been made when the show came back in 1984. But progress is progress whether one likes it or not so I've learned to live with it.
By the way, I make this comment lightheartedly and in good humour, so please take it with a grain of salt. I mean no harm or disrespect. Really.
On the subject of sets, J!'s fiftieth birthday will be in 2014. It's still five years off, but here's a dream scenario for you to ponder: stage a month's worth of shows starting in late March of that year on a replica of the original NBC version's set in honour of the occasion. Make it as authentic as possible, complete with the original music and sound effects, a mechanical board with printed cards pulled by unseen stagehands, a blue curtain covering it, etc., etc., but keeping the current dollar amounts, of course. J! has always made a point of acknowledging its past; it would be nice to go all out and show the current fan base how it was originally staged. Any thoughts?
If Wheel ignores the fact that the show actually started in 1974, and not in 1983 as they stated in the 5000th show replayed tonight…I doubt that Jeopardy! will acknowledge anything before 1984.
The set is indeed gorgeous, although if the colors were even slightly more in the pastel range, the whole thing might have looked like a retro-80s-New Wave mess. Hooray for restraint!
I pity those who will be watching without HD, though — that striped floor trim is going to pulse like a mofo.
I'm anxious to watch the season debut of J! with the new set. The one thing that bothers me is that whenever a player was in a negaruve situation, the numbers turn red instead of the background. That makes it hard for me to see in a wide shot. Close-up's OK, but red on blue will be hard to get use to. We'll see come Monday.
Jeopardy! actually acknowledged the old Fleming version during the 4000th show a few years ago…so if they can do it once…
The big difference between WOF's history, and that of JEOPARDY! are night and day. J!'s debut in '84, was the start of a whole new series, whereas WOF's syndicated version initially ran concurent with the original NBC daytime version (which,BTW, despite it's 16 and a half year run, faced cancellation at least twice, during the "Chuck Woollery era"; according to THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF DAYTIME TELEVISION, an arrangement had been made by NBC to sell the rights for a nighttime version into syndication, in exchange for keeping the daytime version on the air. NBC eventually canned WHEEL in '89; CBS immediately picked it up, where it ran until January, 1991, NBC took it back, and the daytime version finally left the air foir good nine months later. Point of interest: despite the syndicated WOF's juggernaut success, the majority of its viewers never knew about the daytime version, or how long it had been running prior to the debut of it's nighttime counterpart.
…they can surely do it again, but this time be more substantial about it. A thirty second clip doesn't do it much justice. Also, the 4000th episode said nothing about the 74-75 syndicated version nor did it mention the 78-79 revival. Both of those runs may have been too short (or too embarrassing) to bother with but they're still part of J!'s legacy and should be acknowledged, if only for posterity.
Apparently the 1964 pilot episode still exists in its entirety as a black and white kinescope. GSN and/or Sony should try to get the rights to air the whole thing at least once.
You know, I do think this set (partially) turns red for DJ! In some of the vids I've seen, the steps with the stripes turn red (not during FJ!). Sorry, I can't really explain it much better.
Another change, the background isn't as dark (blue) like they had it at CES.
Thanks for reminding me, I remember that bugging me too. There wasn't enough contrast between the red numbers and the mid-blue background (plus it will bleed for non-HDers). I hope they've tweaked the display colors since then.
You can take a full 360 spin of the new set on the Jeopardy! website : http://www.jeopardy.com/showguide/virtualsettour/
Yeah, Craig. The red-on-blue was hard for me to read, too. The contrast of the two colors is too similar. I hope they go back to using white over red for minus scores, but using the new font. The set looks awesome otherwise.
To JasonMac920-
I thought the first two Trebek sets were hideous. But the designers got their acts together starting with the third set using the grid backgrounds. They've been great ever since.
Yeah, Craig. The red-on-blue was hard for me to read, too. The contrast of the two colors is too similar. I hope they go back to using white over red for minus scores, but using the new font. The set looks awesome otherwise.
To JasonMac920-
I thought the first two Trebek sets were hideous. But the designers got their acts together starting with the third set using the grid backgrounds. They've been great ever since.
Long Live The Sushi Bar Set!
Eeeww! That's peobably the WORST set I've ever seen. I liked the one from the early 2000s though the original set still was neat.
I REALLY like the new set. With Harry Friedman talking about Sony's latest hi-tech technology used in this set, it looks like the theme of the set was the modern PC though less obvious than the 1983 PC set where Alex came out of the floppy disk drive (no kidding). They brought back the dollar amount loading feature with a new sound that sounds like a modern computer loading. The new sound is ok, it serves it's purpose and will take some time to get used to, but I will miss the old sound. I won't miss the old set though. Good riddance. It looked really stale when they tried to update it for HD. I'm surprised Mr. Friedman didn't oust it sooner (he ousted the Dollar Amout Loading before the 02-09 set).
SHAMELESS PLUG: For those who missed the opening to the Season 26 Premiere, here it is…[youtube EXSekFq_Jno http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXSekFq_Jno youtube]
Bear in mind, this is all that I wanted to capture of the show, I'm sure others will put up the entire show at some point, but for now, I wanted to get the ball rolling.
As for the set, the sound effect they use to load the board at the start of the first round is fantastic. It's subtle but very dignified and classy. I just wish they'd use it in the second round too. And I love how they have that roving light move across the backdrop just before the commercial breaks. The one and only flaw, though: they've GOT to change the red font used for negative scores on the players' podium. Esthetically, it's just a bad combination; it's too jarring against the blue background, even in HD.
As for the episode itself, I'm not sure what I was more taken aback by: Stefan losing the game or his haircut. He's certainly one of the more endearing and charismatic champions the show has had for awhile now. (Not to mention the cutest!) Ah well…all good things must come to an end, I guess. Being a five-time champ with nearly 85 grand in your pocket is nothing to sniff at for sure. Hopefully he'll be back for the next tournament of champions.
I think Jeopardy is an hugely cheap show for 2009
Tonight's contestant won $13,300. :(
Hell, I think we should have Round 1
Category
$500 (2 Daily Doubles)
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
and Double
$1,000 (3 Daily Doubles)
$2,000
$3,000
$4,000
$5,000
Final Jeopardy
Did anyone notice the new board loading sound that was added for this season?
It's awesome!!
Jeopardy has NEVER been a "cheap" show! Kepp winning, keep earning! I'd hardly call that cheap!
Anyway, WOW AND WOW again to this set! Saw the TOC and I'm glad the new set has carried over, going to be another great year of J!