Ken Jennings Quits Jeopardy! Season of ‘rude comment’ that ‘damages players’ chances’ as champion Lucas Partridge claims third win

KEN Jennings insulted a Jeopardy! Contestant with a remark some fans felt was unnecessary at Friday’s season finale.

Returning champion Lucas Partridge won a total of $66.2k and will return for more in September.

6

6

6

Lucas, a school counselor from Las Vegas, Nevada, came up with a two-day total of $42,200.

He met Monika Chavez, a professional education librarian from Alhambra, California, and Sharon Bishop, a high school Spanish teacher from Pawtucket, Rhode Island.

Sharon picked the clue early on under “Real Fast” for $400.

Ken, 49, read: “Sifan Hassan holds the women’s world record in this athletics competition: 4 minutes and 12.33 seconds.”

She guessed, “What’s the 50-yard run?”

Ken thought she was wrong since the correct answer was “The Mile”.

Then he snorted, “I think a lot of us can do the 50 yards a little faster.”

However, Sharon still put up an impressive game after that, correctly scoring a daily double but missing the second.

Sharon ended up with $17,000, Lucas had $12,000 and Monica had $1,200.

In “Final Jeopardy” under “WORD ORIGINS” it said: “The theories about the origin of this style of journalism include Cajun slang for jazz gone wrong and Boston slang for a person on the brink.”

Only Lucas was right as “Gonzo” doubled everything to catch up from a deficit to win $24,000 for a three-day total of $66,200.

Ken remarked, “For the first time since June we have a three-day champion! Thank you for being with us on the Alex Trebek stage.

We have some great summer repeats ahead of us and then see you next season.”

Lucas will spend the summer as a Jeopardy! Champion and will return along with Season 40 on September 11th.

FANS THINK KEN CROSSED THE LIMIT

However, some fans were unconvinced by Ken’s comment, feeling that it hurt the season finale and perhaps Sharon’s confidence as well.

One fan wrote on Reddit: “In general, I enjoy it when Ken comments on gameplay, stakes, bugs or good scores, etc., and I enjoyed it when Alex did too.

“But there’s a very fine line between commenting on gameplay and calling someone an idiot. To me it felt like he crossed the line with that joke.”

Another wrote, “This is a good example of something Alex could get away with being Alex, but could be misunderstood by someone else.”

A third wrote: “What’s the point of saying that to a contestant? It’s not really a humorous comment.”

“It’s not like the participant was someone like James or Brad, who we know are great and could use a little trouble if they said something stupid.”

“It came in the middle of the first lap, Sharon was still trying to get going and maybe was still a bit nervous.”

“The moderator may think a reaction was bad, but why would they draw a new participant’s attention to it?”

A fourth agreed: “It’s a nuance of hosting. There is a time and place for mockery and sarcasm. That probably wasn’t the best use of it.”

A fifth was simply happy: “Congratulations to Lucas for bringing in three wins! Nice end to the season.”

I’ll watch the summer reruns, but I won’t watch season 40 either until the strike is resolved.”

And one more thing: “A great ending to (in my totally impartial opinion) the best season of Jeopardy! any times.”

6

6

SEASON 40 & TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS

Starting Monday, the game show will air its annual summer reruns, mostly of tournaments and Masters 2022.

Production of season 40 is scheduled to begin in mid-August anyway, but with one major caveat.

As the writers are still on strike, all new episodes will be made up of recycled versions of old questions from years past.

As Sony announced this week, the clues will all be recycled versions of old footage, bypassing the writers until the end of the strike and making the show cheaper.

Sony noted in a statement that this is the case The Hollywood Reporter: “Jeopardy! employs members of the Writers Guild of America, and the syndicated game show plans to draw on material from previous seasons (39 years’ worth) when it begins taping shows for the 2023-24 season.”

Fan favorite Mattea Roach, 24, slammed the move: “It would be better if the season didn’t start new episodes until the strike is resolved.”

Also on Tuesday, Amy Schneider tweeted, “Disappointed to hear that Jeopardy is contemplating this course of action. I will also not participate in Jeopardy productions that are not being used.” new Notes written by their amazing unionized writers under a fair, collectively negotiated contract.”

Fans are also divided as to the implications for the future, as potential contestants can check out the archives of Jeopardy!’s past. notice. Hints.

This also leaves participants grappling with crossing the picket line and who will host.

Mayim, 47, decided not to present for the remainder of the season and Ken was already being criticized for being a so-called scab at the end.

Ken would face intense scrutiny if he crossed the picket line again, but having done so before, he will most likely host.

Meanwhile, Sony confirmed that Celebrity Jeopardy! will return on ABC this fall: “featuring original material written by WGA writers before the strike.”

However, the Tournament of Champions was canceled until the end of the strike, Sony said in its statement.

Canadian contestant Ray Lalonde – who has won 13 games over the winter – blew the whistle on Friday.

Ray — a Toronto-based set designer and union member — posted a viral appeal on Reddit titled, “Start season during WGA strike.”

He wrote, “There are now credible reports that the producers are making contingency plans to begin filming the next season of the show using old and/or recycled footage if the WGA strike remains unresolved.”

“I have informed the show’s producers that if the strike remains unresolved, I will not picket lines to attend the Tournament of Champions.”

The other top contenders for the upcoming fall edition of the annual $250,000 winners tournament, including Cris Pannullo (21 wins), Hannah Wilson (8 wins), Ben Chan (9 wins), and Troy Meyer (6 wins), responded that they would too not participate until an agreement has been reached with the WGA.

Fan favorite Hannah replied on Reddit: “I’m with you Ray! A table of contents with all the recycled clues doesn’t sound like much fun to play anyway.”

Ben commented on Reddit, “Ray, thanks for taking this stand. If you’re out, I’m out.”

Cris replied: “As I have said to Ray personally, I totally agree with his stance and will not be participating in any game made up of recycled clues while the WGA strike is in effect. Glad to see Hannah’s (Edit: And Ben’s!) contribution here.” as well.”

Fans were quick to applaud the contestants for coming together and agreeing that they didn’t want to compete without writers and with repurposed cues.

6

REVIEW OF SEASON 39

After a year of big winners, bad losers, and masterful specials, Season 39 of Jeopardy! over.

Here’s a look at some of the most exciting moments of season 39: