“Jeopardy!” continues to be a game show mainstay for a lot of viewers, but there isn’t a denying that it has been getting an enormous amount of criticism recently.
James Holzhauer, one of the crucial successful contestants of all time, has an idea about why fans are getting so frustrated in regards to the show these days: behind-the-scenes issues with the show’s crew.
In a latest interview with TV Insider, Holzhauer was asked about any changes he would make to the show if he could, and his answer was definitely interesting.
“There was a number of turnover backstage, I’ll say,” he began. “The entire production team has turned over, so that you type of see a number of the things were lost after they modified hands there.”
He continued, “I feel it’s still an excellent show, nevertheless it could use a bit of tweaking here and there. Among the query writing might be a bit of sharper than it has been.”
Holzhauer has been within the “Jeopardy!” world long enough to know what he’s talking about.
He won 32 consecutive games in 2019 and, within the list of the highest 10 highest winnings in a single game, he holds each spot.
Relating to the record for the very best winnings in regular season play, he comes second only to Ken Jennings.
Many fans would likely agree together with his assessment that “the query writing might be a bit of sharper,” as that has been a significant criticism about many episodes this season.
In an episode earlier this week, the Final Jeopardy category was “World of Water,” with the clue reading: “The Bass Strait divides Tasmania & mainland Australia & hydrographers have disputed which of those 2 larger bodies it’s [sic] a part of.”
The right answer was deemed “Indian and Pacific Oceans,” which two of the contestants guessed, but fans didn’t think the query was fair.
“The Aussies would say What are the Pacific and Southern Oceans?. Their definition of the Southern Ocean goes all of the approach to the south coast of their continent,” a puzzled viewer stated on the show’s YouTube page.
One other fan responded to the geographical comment writing, “The query is poorly worded: I feel the default position of Australians on this query could be ‘What are the Southern Ocean and Tasman Sea?’ but you do you America.”
This Monday’s episode featured a category called Movie Mashups, and contestants and viewers alike were left confused by the clues.
The $1,200 clue read, “You stay classy, Kali! A 2004 San Diego news anchorman ‘&’ a 1984 Indiana Jones title structure.”
Not one of the contestants attempted to guess, and the right answer was revealed as “Ron Burgundy and The Temple of Doom.”
The $1,600 clue was “An Alan Rickman ‘Die Hard’ villain ‘wants those detonators’ from a title Great Dane of 2002!” One contestant gave it a attempt to incorrectly answered, “Hans Gruber Beethoven.”
Host Mayim Bialik informed them the right answer was “Hans Gruber and Scooby-Doo.”
“That movie category was horrendous,” one Twitter user wrote. “Not even a mashup or a ‘pun’. Just two random things. Awful.”
“Well that episode was [trash],” one other added.
One other issue these days has been what’s referred to within the “Jeopardy!” world as “triple-stumpers” – clues that not one of the three contestants solve.
Viewers have called these instances “painful,” and plenty of were left wondering if the problem was that the clues were too difficult or if the contestants weren’t conversant in the themes.
One episode had 23 of those triple-stumpers, only one wanting the show’s record of 24.
Producer Sarah Foss touched on that in an episode of the “Inside Jeopardy!” podcast, saying, “We’ll forget it ever happened.”
