Jeopardy! Makes The Worst Error In Its History Due To Horrendous Editing Mistake
An editing error on an episode of Jeopardy! showed the game's ending scores at the beginning of the episode.
Jeopardy! blunders for 500, please. As reported by The Sun, the March 8 edition of Jeopardy! kicked off with a technical error that spoiled the entire episode. As host Mayim Bialik introduced the show, the camera cut to a shot of the contestants with their final scores displayed on their podiums, leaving the show’s avid fans confused and disappointed.
The next time the camera cut to the contestants, the scores were cleared. By the end of the episode, the telegraphed scores turned out to be the accurate final numbers. Baffled Jeopardy! fans wasted no time in taking to social media to warn anyone who may be recording the episode to skip past the intro to avoid the spoiler.
Speculation as to how the error occurred was rampant. Many suggested that the intro was re-shot at the end of the taping, and the score wasn’t cleared. Others theorized that a contestant reaction clip from the end of the show was dropped into the beginning of the episode by mistake.
For many fans, the most puzzling question posed by the episode was how the oversight made its way to the airwaves. The shot spoiling the scores was not brief – it lasted on screen for about three seconds. Many blamed the show’s quick turnaround times, but no explanation could earn the show mercy on Twitter.
The error kicked off the penultimate episode of Mayim Bialik’s High School Reunion Tournament, a two-week special that has seen the return of past Jeopardy! Teen Tournament contestants. The slip-up is the latest in a series of sloppy mistakes that have irked fans of the series since the show was taken over by executive producer Michael Davies and the new hosting duo of Bialik and Ken Jennings.
Mayim Bialik, in particular, has been largely despised as the host of Jeopardy! Fans have not been shy about their distaste for the Big Bang Theory star’s work on the show, criticizing her for poor pacing, mispronunciation, and a lack of chemistry with contestants, all of which have been exacerbated by technical errors made during her tenure.
Much to the relief of the Jeopardy! fanbase, Ken Jennings will return as the host on Friday, March 10, returning the show to its regular format. However, fans were furious to hear that Jennings will only host until the end of April; Mayim Bialik will return on May 1 to host the rest of the show’s 39th season, which concludes in July.
Bialik’s stint on Jeopardy! has been rocky. Since she was announced as a co-host of the show last July, the list of complaints about her style has grown. The backlash against Bialik has been overwhelming, calling into question how long the host will last on the show. A minority of fans stand by Bialik, holding onto hope that more experience will smooth out the actress’s work.
Jeopardy! is a television staple that comes with specific expectations of quality and style. As the series shifts to fill the shoes of the late Alex Trebek, who served as the beloved host of Jeopardy! for 37 seasons, fans are growing impatient. The show’s reputation and once immovable fanbase are at stake, and errors like the premature score reveal may threaten the future of the quintessential game show.
