Jack Yesner Week 12- Amending the Jeopardy Rules

  The popular trivia competition series Jeopardy! has undergone many changes since its syndication in 1984, including doubling money values, removing a buzzer sound, and implementing the rule that contestants can only buzz in after the entire clue is read. However, no rule change has been as significant as the one made at the start of the twentieth season in 2003. Previously, contestants could only win a maximum of five games and 75,000 cumulative dollars, however, both caps were since removed. After the rule change, contestants could now win as many times until they lost, which was seen almost immediately with Ken Jennings, who won over 2.5 million dollars over a span of 75 games between 2003 and 2004. Since Jennings’ historic run, multiple other contestants have taken advantage of this rule change to win many games and amass large sums of money. The most recent of these contestants is current contestant Amy Schneider, who has accumulated 1,382,800 dollars in 40 games (as of January 25, 2022), the second longest streak only shorter than Jennings’. Additionally, long game streaks have been occurring more frequently statistically, and in the current season of Jeopardy, season 38, only 4 episodes have not featured a returning champion that has won at least five games. 

The frequency and longevity of current Jeopardy champions has led old champions who were capped at five wins to detest the rule change and call for its removal. One such champion, Tom Nichols, a five-day champion who won his games in 1994, has been vocal about his contempt for the removal of the win cap. Nichols argues that after a returning champion has won a couple of games, they become well acquainted with the buzzer system and gain an unfair advantage over new contestants. He additionally states that by encouraging long-term, notable winners, Jeopardy loses its credibility as a show designed to quiz knowledge.

While Nichols’ complaints may certainly be valid, it is unlikely that the rule change will ever be revoked. Typically, ratings have dramatically increased when the returning champion has won for a significant amount of days. Currently, Jeopardy ratings are at a season high due to Schneider’s run. Since producers of the show would not want ratings to decrease, it would not be in their best interests to rescind the rule. What do you think? Should Jeopardy stay as it is today or reinstate the winnings cap? Should previous winners that were capped at five wins be compensated in some way, such as being given a second shot in a new episode or being invited to attend a new tournament featuring past winners?Amy Schneider's 39th consecutive Jeopardy! win makes her second only to Ken Jennings | EW.com

Comments

  1. AnonymousJan 26, 2022, 11:45:00 AM

    I think Jeopardy! should remain without the win cap because I think it is fun to watch your favorite contestants and cheer for them. If you have contestants switching out too frequently, you don't get to cheer for just one person because they end up getting switched out by the end of the week. However, with longer streaks like Amy Schneider, James Holzhauer, and Matt Amodio have gotten, people become more passionate about watching and tend to enjoy it more because they have someone to go back to each weekday to watch and cheer for.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Ben Nikpour - Week 10: Oscar Viewers are Dropping

Image
     Before a few days ago, I did not know much about the Oscars. I knew it was an award show, but besides that, I was basically clueless. It wasn’t until the Will Smith and Chris Rock situation that I spent the time to look into what the Oscars are.       For some background, the Oscars, properly known as the Academy Awards, are awarded to artists in the film industry. The first show was in May of 1929. At its peak, in 1998, the Oscars brought in over 55 million viewers; that same year was the release of one of the biggest movies of all time: Titanic. Since then, viewers have been dropping. In 2020, the Oscars had their lowest amount of viewers with only 24 million people watching the event. In 2021, the Oscars broke their 2020 record of lowest viewers by only bringing in less than 11 million people. This year the Oscars brought in close to 17 million viewers which is an improvement but not by much. Award shows like the Grammys, Emmys, Golden Globes, ...
Read more

Noah Bard Week 1 - The Misunderstanding of our Modern-Day Gladiators

Image
   When I hear the word gladiator, I Immediately think of the Colosseum and humans being eaten by lions. However, times have changed, and so has the term gladiator. I’m talking about the sport of MMA, and more specifically, UFC fighters. Besides the few million crazed fight fans out there like myself, the current consensus about MMA is that it’s stupid. At face value, it’s a very sensible conclusion to make. Why in the world would anybody want to risk their lives on national television, or in that case at all? Well, here’s why.      Every day before that bell rings, these men and women are mastering the art of fighting. It takes much more than just supernatural athleticism; it ultimately comes down to the fighter's mental fortitude. Every slight move in the eyes, feet, and hands of your opponent must be taken into account to win. It’s a common stereotype to think that fighters aren’t very smart and not only because of what they do for a living, but oftentimes it...
Read more

Ariella Green Week 7: The Airport

Image
  Ariella Green Week 7: The Airport      Don’t ya hate going to the airport?       I absolutely can not stand going to the airport. As I’m sure most of you know, I am very organized and like to plan out everything. When things don’t go according to the plan, it stresses me out.       Thursday morning, I assumed I would have an easy experience flying from PBI to JFK on JetBlue airlines. Little did I know, there would be many little bumps along the way that I had to deal with while trying to catch my flight.       First, we arrive at the airport at around 10:30 for our 11:45 flight. I personally believe that you should always give yourself enough time at the airport, so you don’t have to rush at the gate or if you want to make a purchase. We also had to face the challenge of finding somewhere to park, which is nearly impossible sometimes. After searching for a while, we found...
Read more