Jeopardy! Is Killing Its Reputation

By Drew Dietsch
| Printed 7 seconds in the past

Jeopardy! exists in a really distinctive place within the recreation present ecosphere. It’s one of many few remaining old skool recreation reveals from the traditional guard of the style. And due to its specific trivia-based setup and tournaments, it has been the one recreation present that finest extols the concepts of intelligence, schooling, and info.

However, in a cultural panorama the place these very concepts are more and more not celebrated (and even brazenly denigrated), Jeopardy! has needed to change with the instances and modify itself to welcome in a bigger viewers. And the newest try to take action has endangered the very repute of a present that more and more feels much less and fewer true to its supposed spirit.

Pop Tradition Jeopardy!

Pop Tradition Jeopardy! is a brand new sequence streaming on Amazon Prime Video that acts as a by-product to the traditional Jeopardy! format. However, in actuality, the present is solely the bottom denominator tackle bar trivia with the Jeopardy! pores and skin draped over it. Hosted by Colin Jost, the sequence is clearly aiming for a much wider and youthful viewers than the standard recreation present’s viewer.

And it’s right here that Pop Tradition Jeopardy! reveals the crack in its basis. By limiting the scope of the potential trivia to “popular culture”, the sequence involves the belief that quite a lot of present cultural moments aren’t worthy of being attention-grabbing trivia. Watching contestants be unable to reply questions on YouTube controversies and TikTok celebrities doesn’t make me really feel dangerous for the contestants. It makes me surprise why anybody ought to know this stuff, not to mention audiences who watch Jeopardy! to each flex their very own information whereas additionally studying about worthwhile matters.

Pop Tradition Jeopardy! demonstrates what makes the precise Jeopardy! sequence so partaking in spite of everything these years: viewers just like the present’s advocacy for reputable intelligence on a broad variety of assorted topics. By narrowing issues right down to “popular culture”, the format and presentation don’t really feel in sync.

And it seems like that is the course the franchise desires to go, and it makes me need to cease watching any Jeopardy! present.

The Finish Of An Period

Look, I like films. If there’s one topic I really feel assured about in the case of trivia, it’s films. I might not need there to be a Jeopardy! On the Films sequence. Why? As a result of Jeopardy! isn’t formatted and themed to be the very best recreation present about films. As an alternative, you need to craft a brand new recreation present round that as the important thing idea and construct a recreation format that finest enhances the concept of a recreation present centered round films.

The identical goes for popular culture, however as a result of Jeopardy! is a reputation model that folks will acknowledge versus a brand new recreation present property, this new sequence has to try to cram itself into an ill-fitting Jeopardy! jacket. And I can see Jeopardy! persevering with to supply spinoffs on this vein till discovering one thing that sticks.

There have been different points with the common present over time however it has nonetheless managed to remain true to the spirit of Jeopardy!. This spinoff mindset looks like a dilution that can solely proceed because the common present begins to seemingly lose cultural relevancy.

I’ve grown up with Jeopardy! and have all the time tried to look at it after I can. However recently, it’s beginning to come throughout as the top of a selected recreation present period. With Ryan Seacrest taking up at Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! beginning to mutate itself into new kinds, perhaps I’m higher off discovering outdated episodes and remembering the higher years of one in all my favourite recreation reveals.