JEOPARDY! fans are fuming that the show’s sponsored ad categories featuring celebrities have become ‘tiring’ to watch and a ‘miserable’ part of newer episodes.
In recent seasons, viewers have noticed an increase in Jeopardy! games that include a sponsored category that promotes new projects, as they did recently with Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo to promote Wicked’s release.
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That trend continued today, to the dismay of fans, when actors Nicholas Hoult and Lily-Rose Depp read one of the categories via video message to promote their new vampire horror flick, Nosferatu.
Each of the pair appeared on the top of today’s Double Jeopardy! round to introduce the category “The Cinematic Vampire.”
“Vampire movies are a very old genre. But they’re not as old as some vampires,” Johnny Depp’s daughter said with a stoic face.
“And we’ll have clues about some of the most notorious ones in celebration of our upcoming film,” Nicholas added on camera.
Due to the added seconds it takes to transition from host Ken Jennings into the video message, as well as the actors taking up extra time talking about their film promotion, the celebrity-focused categories often eat into the actual game.
Because of this, the Double Jeopardy! round is often not finished – leading to lower prize pots for the contestants and higher frustration for the fans.
Viewers have not been shy about their disdain for the sponsored content, with one writing: “These upcoming movie ad categories are really tiring tbh.”
“Per usual, the length of the clues means we don’t finish DJ and this time left a lot of cash on the board! I like Hoult, but both he and Depp appeared to be really miserable about reading these clues aloud, like someone was torturing them and forcing them to do it under duress.”
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“No offense intended to the players, but this was a dud of a game,” a critic raged.
Another responded, criticizing executive producer Mike Davies: “And remember, Davies thinks the viewers like having celebrities laboriously read overlong clues that destroy the pace of the show and help result in leftovers.
“He thinks the celebrities are doing us a favor by agreeing to do it, not that the show is doing them a favor by allowing them to do it.”
One more raged: “I cannot wait to see this movie but I even hate when they pop up during Jeopardy! Totally takes me out of the game and makes the experience all a bit miserable.”
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While another viewer was let down by the episode as a whole: “The sponsored category aside, that was just a brutal DJ board in terms of difficulty.
“If anything, all the unrevealed clues today come from the amount of triple stumpers, and I was right there with the contestants on most of them – a lot of the $1,200 to $2,000 clues felt like TOC, JIT or Masters level cuts.”
Nosferatu, starring Lily, Nicholas as well as Willem Dafoe and Bill Skarsgård, comes to theaters nationwide on Christmas Day.
Today’s game saw Laura Faddah looking to extend her two-day winning streak of $17,000.
The manager from Memphis, Tennessee went up against Jenifer Miller, a freelance web developer from Ann Arbor, Michigan and Sean Maguire, a commercial real estate manager from New York City.
Heading into Double Jeopardy! Laura had done a good job of maintaining her lead of $6,200 – which was boosted by scoring the first Daily Double.
Jeopardy! Set Secrets
Jeopardy! fans don’t see everything behind the scenes from watching on TV. These hidden set features make the show run smoothly:
- Each podium has a hidden riser so that all contestants appear to be the same height.
- After each clue is read, signal lights go off around the game board, indicating players can buzz in and respond.
- Buzz in too early, and you’re locked out for .25 seconds.
- The podiums have a small white light in the lower left corner, which tells Ken Jennings who goes next.
- Contrary to popular belief, the player with control doesn’t have a buzzer advantage on the next clue.
- To the game board’s left is a scoreboard so the players can see their opponents’ scores.
- All contestants must bring three outfits to the studio, but only the host and returning champion change for the next episode.
- There are wardrobe rules, including restrictions on busy patterns, solid white, purple (like the background), and logos.
- Five episodes are taped in a single day, and sometimes more.
- The categories, players (aside from the returning champion), and Final Jeopardy! for a tape day are all drawn randomly to ensure fairness.
- Female contestants are asked not to wear makeup, which is applied backstage, and don’t wear mascara because of sweat.
- Contestants fill out a questionnaire, and producers select five Q&A topics for the host.
- Host Ken isn’t allowed to interact with the contestants until after the game.
- Players can request to sit in a chair while competing without question.
Sean was in second with $3,400 while Jenifer had secured $2,000.
It would be tough to catch Laura – especially after she found and accurately guessed the second and third Daily Doubles.
Heading into the last round, Laura had extended her lead to a runaway $15,600 while Sean was far behind with $4,200.
Jenifer was not eligible to participate in Final Jeopardy! as she had negative $2,000.
The players placed their wagers for the category, “World Leaders,” as Ken read the clue: “In 2009 this leader gave Barack Obama the book “Open Veins of Latin America: Five Centuries of the Pillage of a Continent.”
Both players were incorrect in their response, which accurately would have been, “Who was Hugo Chaves?”
Laura finished her third victory with $13,200 while Sean was runner-up with $4,187.
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