JEOPARDY! hit a sour note on Monday’s episode as a confusing category saw a contestant voice his displeasure with Ken Jennings in real-time.
The Season 39 Second Chance finale featured Xanni Brown, Greg Czaja, and Christopher Pennant grappling with a round of “Misheard Lyrics.”
8
8
The shade reached a boiling point in the Double Jeopardy! round as the category was run through in succession.
It entailed naming a song title (or artist) based on misconstrued lines.
But common misnomers like “Starbucks Lovers” by Taylor Swift were nowhere to be found.
Instead, the made-up lyrics seemed like ones no one had ever uttered, even mistakenly.
‘NEVER HEARD THAT ONE’
The $800 clue read: “Many have sung along to the radio, ‘I left my brains down in’ here.”
No one buzzed in, and Ken, 49, awkwardly revealed it was “I blessed the rains,” referring to “Africa” by Toto.
A nervously laughing crowd witnessed Christopher throwing shade, admitting: “Never heard that one.”
After the laughter died down, he proceeded to pick the next clue in the column.
Most read in Entertainment
The $1200 clue fared no better, with contestants drawing blanks on Neil Diamond’s “Forever In Blue Jeans.”
At that point Ken had to quip: “You guys are too good at hearing lyrics; you don’t know the misheard ones.”
The “Misheard Lyrics” debacle continued with an awkward ruling on the $2000 clue, and Xanni found herself on the losing end.
Despite a late attempt to complete her response to “Angel of The Morning”, Ken ruled against her
The other two clues in the round were aced, thankfully, including a laugh on the $200 clue: “This Beatles song has a lot of levels, but it’s ‘a girl with kaleidoscope eyes’ rather than ‘a girl with colitis goes by.’
FANS HATE THE LYRICS CATEGORY
Fans also weren’t buying the category, as one viewer surmised on Reddit: “Weird game. Seemed like a lot of triple stumpers, especially the misheard lyrics.”
Another wrote on X: “Misheard lyrics category should never be repeated.”
“These misheard lyrics s**k. #Jeopardy,” wrote a third.
A fourth wrote: “Jimi Hendrix misheard lyrics: ‘Scuse me while I kiss this guy.” Song: Purple Haze.”
By Final Jeopardy, Xanni (who put up big numbers against 21-time champ Cris Pannullo in 2022), had $13,800, while Greg had $10,600 and Christopher $8000.
The deciding clue, under the theme “Landmarks,” brought clarity, it read: “213 feet wide, this late 18th c. European structure has 5 portals, the middle of which was–at first–for royals only.”
Xanni and Greg both aced it with “Brandenburg Gate,” and Xanni secured victory; factoring in her score from game one, she claimed a prize of $35,000.
The win also earned her a coveted spot in the Champions Wildcard, opening the door to the upcoming Tournament of Champions.
FOOL THEM ONCE
In late December, the Season 39 Second Chance competition, designed as a redemption round for non-winners from last season, kicked off.
This four-week showdown, stretching until mid-January, sees four winners emerge.
Each claims $35,000 and a coveted spot in a Season 39 Wildcard Competition (for brief winners from last season).
This following competition holds two golden tickets to February’s Tournament of Champions.
Despite some fans expressing tournament fatigue as the momentous 40th season won’t see regular episodes until April, Season 39 Second Chance also marked a return to the norm.
The tournament was supposed to kick off Season 40 before the Writers Guild of America strikes – and it features the return of all new material.
Last Monday, standout sensation Juveria Zaheer won group one with an outstanding performance.
With Xanni winning week two, only two slots remain before the Wildcard tournament begins- then the long-awaited ToC takes flight.
The ToC sees the likes of Hannah Wilson, Ben Chan, and Cris Pannullo return in February.
The winner of the ToC nabs $250,000 and joins a short list that includes Amy Schneider and James Holzhauer.
The winner also gets invited to the next Jeopardy Masters, so fortune and perhaps even TV fame are at stake.
8
8
BYE-ALIK
Meanwhile, earlier this month co-host Mayim Bialik was let go, leaving former champ Ken as the sole host.
The Big Bang Theory alum, 48, dropped the bombshell that she was fired personally in a statement on Instagram.
She heavily implied leaving was not her decision, but did not explain her exit.
Mayim has since removed “co-host @jeopardy” from her Instagram bio.
An hour after her statement, the official Jeopardy! account confirmed the news.
“It took me off guard, because I loved working with my Mayim and I’m gonna miss her. I can’t speak to her decision-making process or her opinions about it,” Ken has since told the Hollywood Reporter.
“But on my end, I’m just a fan of Jeopardy! and I’m always delighted to host when they call upon me. I just feel extremely lucky to have even been considered for this job as a non-broadcaster.”
It’s such an honor and, hopefully, I look forward to 37 more years of doing it, when I’ll be a very, very old man.”
8
8
8