“Jeopardy!” History to be Made on Friday

14 Mar

Posted by Alex Davis as Jeopardy, Syndication

TVBarn2 posted an email tune-in advisory for “Jeopardy!” on Friday, March 16th. Here’s what it says.

Dear Media Colleagues–

*This Friday, March 16th, 2007…and for the first time in 23 years,
“Jeopardy!” history will be made. *

It was such a remarkable event we consulted a Game Theory expert and he said
it may never happen again! I wish I could give you more information about
this special show, unfortunately, I can only encourage you and your valuable
readers to watch Friday’s program. Alex Trebek and our producers remain mum
and I, myself, have been sworn to secrecy.

Any special “tune-in” item for your readers, who are our viewers would be
greatly appreciated!

Please check your local listings for station and time. Thank you so much!

Best regards,

Jeff Ritter
Senior Publicist, “Jeopardy!”

Be sure to check it out! Anyone have any guess as to what it’ll be?

39 Responses

Doug Morris
1
March 14th, 2007 at 7:57 pm

Well, only two shows into the Trebek era, we had a three-way tie at zero and three new players entered the studio on show #3. It happened again years later.

Based on that, I’m gonna say Final J! ends in a three-way tie with scores higher that $0 — and those three players return as co-champs Monday. I sure can’t recall this ever happening before.
Woodie B.
2
March 14th, 2007 at 8:06 pm

I recalled one episode back around 1999 when the champion had exactly twice the money of the other players. The champion wagered nothing (but got the FJ right) and the 2nd player wagered everything (got it right and tied the champ), however the 3rd player chickened out (despite getting the FJ right) and wagered less. When Alex Trebek saw her wager, he winced and said, “OH NO!” Instead of three winners, the champ and player #2 were co-champs.
Kevin C.
3
March 14th, 2007 at 8:23 pm

How about someone getting every question right in the game (all 30 in the Jeopardy round, all 30 in the Double Jeopardy round, and Final Jeopardy)…it would be even cooler if the person ended up with a perfect score of $566,400 (having daily doubles in a $200 space in Jeopardy round, and both daily doubles in the $400 space in the double jeopardy round)
Travis
4
March 14th, 2007 at 8:47 pm

The drawback is a lot of CBS stations are carrying the NCAA March Madness games which will pre-empt this episode. I have seen the episode and it won’t disappoint. The drawback is if it is pre-empted, it’s a shame!
glenn
5
March 14th, 2007 at 8:49 pm

given that today they were hyping the champ as a man who beat jennings in a crossword contest i think its some single game scoring record…although a shutout or perfect game would be my 2nd guess
Jordan S.
6
March 14th, 2007 at 10:14 pm

I would also suggest that this big event is a three-way tie; if this was anything more significant like a superchamp or somebody wiping the board, there’s no doubt that there probably would have been leaks in the media by now. A three-way tie is just significant enough to promote, but insignificant enough to have a total media frenzy.

It’s not a difficult scenario to engineer… all you need is a pre-Final Jeopardy situation where all three players are at the same score, make the same bet (usually everything) and all answer correctly or incorrectly. Alternatively, you can have a scenario where one player’s score is X and the other two players are at X/2, with the leader wagering nothing and the trailing players wagering everything. It’s almost happened before - check out the Jeeks’ Rule glossary entry at the J! Archive.
ucb
7
March 15th, 2007 at 7:06 am

Maybe the event is that all three players finish Double Jeopardy in the red? Not likely, but you never know…
Erskine Thompson
8
March 15th, 2007 at 7:12 am

Given the current champion, I don’t find the “Three players in the red” scenario likely at all. Conversely, I don’t think he’s good enough to wipe the board, even if he did best Jennings at the U.S. Crossword Puzzle Championship. I’m guessing, like most of you, a three-way non-zero tie. That’s where the “game theory” element comes in, because it takes into account not only the probabilities, but the individual gameplay strategies of the contestants.
Dugger
9
March 15th, 2007 at 9:22 am

If Jeopardy! is going to be pre-empted for NCAA basketball, I would think that http://www.j-archive.com would give some kind of a glimpse of this historical event. As for the $566,400, that would be cool. Hmm…it has something to do with game theory…

Well, have a nice day and God Bless!
Marc Power
10
March 15th, 2007 at 9:24 am

Maybe, just maybe were going to ahve a champ who ca finally reach the level that Ken did. just a thought.
Mark
11
March 15th, 2007 at 10:58 am

Can someone please be sure to record the show and post it on YouTube or something? The local CBS affiliate here I think goes by the call letters “WPREEMPTEVERYTHING” so of course they’re airing NCAA instead.
Donald
12
March 15th, 2007 at 11:50 am

I am going to guess that ALL three players finish Double J! in the red.
King Erroneous
13
March 15th, 2007 at 12:16 pm

The winner wins the game with $1.
Travis P
14
March 15th, 2007 at 1:01 pm

Somebody already did that in the late 1990s.
Michael
15
March 15th, 2007 at 2:09 pm

Here’s another one that nobody’s thought off though I think it’s a long shot….could Alex be following Bob Barker and retire? (Doubt it)
David
16
March 15th, 2007 at 2:38 pm

An insider just leaked the news, it’s an all-chimpanzee game. Could be exciting.
Steven
17
March 15th, 2007 at 4:22 pm

How about just someone ends the game with a 6-Digit victory. If I were a betting man, Returning champ kicks butt, winds up with, and i quote, $125,600, but this is just a guess
Andrew
18
March 15th, 2007 at 5:37 pm

My best guess is a 3-way tie
Mike
19
March 15th, 2007 at 7:09 pm

NCAA likely gets better 18-49 male ratings than Jeopardy! plus March Madness makes CBS affiliates a heckuva lot more money than Jeopardy! In short, go where the money is.

Outside of a 3-way tie (which almost happened on Memorial Day 1997, as mentioned above) or 3 people in the red at the end of Double J!, I can’t think of any other longshot happening which is feasible.
Julia
20
March 15th, 2007 at 7:50 pm

I highly doubt it will be a sweep of the whole board or a 6 digit victory. I do think it’s possible that a 3-way tie could happen. A 3-way tie at $0 could happen. That’s the most likely 3-way tie to happen. What would that mean? Would everyone come back? Would there be 3 new players? I know that if there are three players ending in the red, there would be no Final Jeopardy!, and no returning champions, but I doubt that would happen.

Although…an all chimpanzee game sounds interresting. Kinda like watching “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?”
Paul Burgos
21
March 15th, 2007 at 9:34 pm

My best guess is that all of the players will be in the red or end up with $0 in final Jeopardy! and besides KHOU-TV and KBAK-TV will not be airing the show tomorrow due to the NCAA Playoffs. At least KFSN, KSBW and KSBY will air it. And if you are reading this Craig Herrera & Kris Sanchez, you will find out what goes around comes around after what you did to Fresno.
Nikolai
22
March 15th, 2007 at 10:53 pm

I’m just going to take a wild guess and say that for the first time, all three players will have the same score and return the next show. What do you think about that? The chimpanzee thing that David suggested sounds nutty. You’d think they would save that for April Fool’s Day.
Jordan S.
23
March 16th, 2007 at 7:41 am

A 3-way tie at $0 could happen. That’s the most likely 3-way tie to happen. What would that mean? Would everyone come back? Would there be 3 new players? I know that if there are three players ending in the red, there would be no Final Jeopardy!, and no returning champions, but I doubt that would happen.

Julia, if there is a three-way tie at $0 after Final Jeopardy!, there is no champion - three new players appear on the next episode. This has happened a couple of times on Jeopardy!, including on the second episode way back in 1984.
Chris
24
March 16th, 2007 at 8:15 am

not necessarily J! was just new then, rules may have changed since to make it like PYL and bring all 3 back
adam
25
March 16th, 2007 at 10:20 am

luckily the station that airs Jeopardy! in my neck of the woods is an ABC affilate so the show won’t get pre-empted up here
Intelligentfan777
26
March 16th, 2007 at 10:23 am

No doubt I’ll be tuning in tonight! I’m with most of you here, it will probably either be……..

1. All three players tie after Final Jeopardy and return as co-champs on the next show.

2. Someone breaks a single-day record.

3. Someone plays a perfect game……..unlikely, I know. But hey, remember, in the game show world, nothing is impossible!
Rodney Flippen
27
March 16th, 2007 at 4:07 pm

The three men are walking away with $16,000 and all are coming back on monday.
pookeo
28
March 16th, 2007 at 6:12 pm

3 way tie i saw it
Johnny
29
March 16th, 2007 at 6:24 pm

Way to spoil it, dude
Intelligentfan777
30
March 16th, 2007 at 7:22 pm

A historic day indeed!

What a great episode! This definitely qualifies as an “Instant Classic” in the annals of game show history!

Now I have a somewhat silly question….Would you immediately rate this event as one of the greatest of all time in game shows? Just curious.
Andrew
31
March 16th, 2007 at 9:41 pm

Nah, but it ranks up there.
David Howell
32
March 17th, 2007 at 6:51 am

I’m somehow surprised it didn’t happen before.

Not sure it’s an absolute classic, but it’s one the fandom will be talking about for years.
Julia
33
March 17th, 2007 at 10:42 am

very unimpressed. A 3-way tie does not rank up there for me. It’s just stupid betting on the part of the champion. Why not bet one dollar more and win outright? I woud have been more impressed with a huge win or something on that level. In my opinion, not worth the hype.
Alex
34
March 17th, 2007 at 12:52 pm

Folks, I saw the episode and guess what? Somebody was right about one thing….IT’S A 3-WAY TIE!!!!! All 3 answered the final jeopardy clue correctly, with the 2 challengers risking all and the champ betting small.
That surprised me at the end! And they get to come back on Monday. Wicked cool!!!!!!!!
Alex
35
March 17th, 2007 at 12:55 pm

P.S. all totalled $16,000 each and Alex Trebek also became part of the Clue Crew.
David Howell
36
March 17th, 2007 at 3:53 pm

Maybe he felt more confident dealing with two opponents he was now familiar with next time, rather than two unfamiliar ones?

Or maybe he just wanted to make a name for himself :)
Zach
37
March 18th, 2007 at 6:40 pm

Darn, I was spoiled an hour before the show, but anyway it was still amazing.
steve
38
March 18th, 2007 at 7:41 pm

i thought about the event after it happened, and i honestly think it was a good strategy on the previous champ’s part. if you consider the situation leading into final jeopardy, he was one question away from the run-away victory, and all he needed to do was get that final $2000 question to secure it. problem is, he blew it, and the other guy got it. so now the other two contestants are both in striking range of him.

what could have been going through his mind while wagering for final jeopardy? well, he just proved to himself that he could beat these two contestants in a near-run-away victory. if there were some way to secure another game with these two contestants again… (and of course, i’m not saying the other two contestants were stupid or anything.) a tie would be the only way to play these two again… and why not? you get a free $16,000 along the way…

well played, sir… hope it all works for you on monday!
Intelligentfan777
39
March 19th, 2007 at 6:38 pm

SCOTT Vs. JAMEY Vs. ANDERS………..Part 2……In Progress As I type where I live.

Any over/under on another three-way tie? ;)