"Jeopardy!" Fans Slam "Painful Watch" After Multiple On-Air Flubs
The were several speed bumps during the June 20 game.
It's usually fun to play along with Jeopardy! and root for different players, especially as they start or continue their winning streaks. But certain episodes are simply less fun to watch than others, whether that's due to a significant amount of triple-stumpers or a single contestant effortlessly sweeping the board. One particularly troublesome game aired on Thursday, June 20—and thanks to multiple on-air flubs, Jeopardy! fans slammed the episode as a "painful watch."
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During last Thursday's episode, Jonquil Garrick-Reynolds, Bob Longstreth, and Drew Basile were competing, and there were a few notable hiccups.
While Basile found both Daily Doubles, he made an odd wager before Jennings read the second clue. "Um, 12," Basile said, making it unclear whether he meant $12, $1,200, or $12,000, as he was in the lead with $13,800.
Host Ken Jennings interpreted it as the lower wager, saying "for $1,200" before reading the clue, The U.S. Sun reported.
"I had a debate with a couple people, and that could have meant $12, $1,200, or $12,000. From the hesitation and clue value, I thought $1,200, but with his [Double Jeopardy] and [Final Jeopardy] wager yesterday, all three are plausible," a Redditor wrote in a discussion post.
While another Redditor pointed out that Basile shouldn't have shortened his wager like that, other fans called out Jennings for not asking him to clarify.
"Ken should ask players to clarify if someone does it. I remember Alex [Trebek] asking someone to be clear with the wager (I thiiiiink it could've even been Ken he was talking to then)," a Redditor wrote.
"It was a painful watch, the producers need to have a word with Ken," another added, while a separate commenter wrote, "This was a messier game than we've seen in a while. Lots of corrections."
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Basile also forgot to phrase his answers in the form of a question twice. But he wasn't the only contestant to fumble during the episode.
Longstreth was originally awarded points for answering with "Wimbledon," which was the correct answer. However, upon returning from a commercial break, the judges reverted this decision, noting that the contestant had actually said "Wimbleton" with a "t."
"Bob, our judges have determined that you replied 'What is Wimbleton' with a pretty hard T, so I'm afraid that will drop down your score," Jennings told Longstreth, per The U.S. Sun.
On Reddit, a viewer called attention to Garrick-Reynolds' response, "Witches of Waverly Place." Initially deemed correct, the ruling was reversed, as the TV show in question is actually called Wizards of Waverly Place. However, the Redditor claimed that the ruling should have stood due to several technicalities.
"Saying 'Witches of Waverly Place' instead of 'Wizards' when all they wanted was 'Waverly'? Witches apparently do exist in the show's universe, so you could argue she wasn't saying the show's name but just talking about witches that might exist in that location," the Redditor wrote.
RELATED: Ken Jennings Slammed for "Disrespectful" Comment About Jeopardy! Champ.
Garrick-Reynolds' response to a $800 Double Jeopardy clue was questioned as well. This one asked what Otterbox and Pela are "on the job protecting no matter who the manufacturer is."
In response, Garrick-Reynolds said, "What are phone cases?" Jennings and the judges appeared to debate the answer, which technically should've been "phones."
"Protects them both, I guess," Jennings said, ruling Garrick-Reynolds correct.
But overall, viewers didn't pin too much blame on Jennings and the players.
"I found this to be a weirdly difficult game with a lot of clues where I actually wasn't sure what answer they were looking for," a Redditor wrote. "I must not be alone because the contestants were all struggling at the start."
