Recently, Ken Jennings signed off as the host of the famed quiz show Jeopardy!, with actress Mayim Bialik taking his place. At first, everything seemed to go well. Now, however, some fans are starting to feel a little annoyed by a change Bialik has brought to the show…
Mayim Bialik Takes Over Jeopardy!
Actress Mayim Bialik took over Jeopardy! hosting duties starting on February 8, beginning with one of the quiz show’s yearly specials, the “National College Championship.” However, the The Big Bang Theory star also brought a slight change along with her, one that not everyone is happy about. During the games, she has been leading into the first commercial breaks with an announcement along the lines of: “That brings us to the end of a very back-and-forth Single Jeopardy! round. Double Jeopardy! is up after this.”
Didn’t catch it? Bialik has started adding the word “single” to name the first half of the game, “Single Jeopardy!” In case you don’t know, in the first half of the game, contestants answer 30 clues in six categories, with prize values from $200 to $1,000. Afterward, the board is cleared, and the values are doubled. Hence the name “Double Jeopardy.”
The fact that “Single Jeopardy” is technically the right thing to call the first half of the game, it is not usually called that. So, as a result, plenty of Jeopardy! fans are not happy with the change. And they are letting both Bialik and CBS know how upset they feel at the change!
Will The Jeopardy! Change Stay?
No questions asked, many Jeopardy! fans dislike the “Single Jeopardy” change. “There’s no reason hearing Mayim say ‘Single Jeopardy’ should annoy me as much as it does but it makes me irrationally annoyed,” one person wrote on Twitter. “It’s been driving me nuts! She didn’t do that in the past, did she? Single Jeopardy is NOT a thing!” tweeted another.
Now, it should be stated, not everyone feels bothered by Bialik’s change. “I love Mayim and haven’t even noticed that she says ‘Single Jeopardy.’ I agree that there is no reason why this should annoy you at all, let alone annoy you a lot. Perhaps you need a new hobby?” one fan wrote, defending her idol. “I hope Mayim continues to call it single #jeopardy because all the outrage cracks me up,” another commented.
After hearing the backlash, the official Jeopardy! Twitter, Bialik will continue to use the “Single Jeopardy” name through the National College Championship episodes. Meanwhile, it remains unclear if the producers or Bialik instituted the change, and if it will continue after the tournament. Whoever made the change, it’s clear that the people who dislike it are in the majority. One Twitter user put it most succinctly: “@Jeopardy If you have renamed the Jeopardy round, ‘single Jeopardy,’ change it back…NOW,”
Sources: Good Housekeeping Magazine, MSN, The Today Show