Jeopardy Fans Are Mad Over Contestant Final Question Messages
Is it time to ban the personal messages from Jeopardy! contestants in Final Jeopardy?
That's a topic being debated this week on Reddit where fans who would take a bullet for their favorite gameshow are trying to figure out if they're sick of the "Hi mom" messages.
"The personal shoutouts on FJ responses are getting obtrusive and annoying. Rules need to be changed to either nothing but a legit response on FJ, or allow or require personal notes on all other responses. E.g., ‘What is Europe? Hi mom. ’What is James & The Giant Peach? My favorite book in 1st grade,'" a Jeopardy fan complained.
Is it really a big problem or is this just bored Jeopardy fans needing something to complain about? It appears to be a little bit of both.
Is it time for Jeopardy! to ban special messages in Final Jeopardy? Fans of the show are debating the topic.(Disney/Eric McCandless) KEN JENNINGS
As another viewer points out, Ken Jennings has stopped reading the special messages that are being included with Final Jeopardy answers.
"Yeah, that's a good way. Contestants can send their message, we/they see it, but it's not acknowledged," a fan reacted to Jennings' way of handling these situations.
Is this a solution that fans can agree on? It sounds like it.
"I just don't necessarily need Ken to call attention to it (e.g. ‘What is the Panama Canal, and hi to Bobby - is that your husband?’) in a way that feels like it interrupts the flow of wrapping up FJ. He used to do that more, and I think he's dialed it back a lot and only reads it when it's noteworthy or unusual, or when it rolls naturally, such as reading when a player with no idea writes ‘what is hi mom’ instead of saying 'you didn't come up with anything'. Both work fine for me, as does someone writing something that makes me laugh, like one of the FJ answers in last week's CelebJ. As long as Ken doesn't linger on it," advised another fan.
This might sound like some of the most petty talking points about a gameshow, but you have to remember just how dedicated fans are to this product. Jeopardy recently overtook "Wheel of Fortune" for first place in the gameshow TV ratings after losing the top spot when Ryan Seacrest took over the hosting duties from Pat Sajak.
Nerds are going to be nerds. Complaining about the littlest of things is a nerd specialty.
Jeopardy contestant's ‘We [love] you Alex’ special message
But it hasn't always been that way. Do you remember back in 2019 when, during Final Jeopardy, a contestant left a special message for Alex Trebek who was battling pancreatic cancer.
"That's very kind of you," a choked up Trebek told the contestant.
Trebek passed a year after this moment.
At the end of the day, it feels like Jennings is handling this non-issue the best way possible. Things don't need to be so stringent. Listen to the emotions in Trebek's voice. Those special messages do mean something to some people.
Jeopardy shouldn't even consider bending a knee to the nerds.