How long has Jeopardy! been on the air? The original game show was created by talk show host Merv Griffin back in 1964, but it had trouble staying on the air. The first Jeopardy! “era” was from 1964 to 1975. Then it came back for a single season in 1978. Finally, it wasn’t until 6 years later that the nightly version locked in and has been hosted by Alex Trebek ever since. It has been ranked as one of the top 50 shows in television history by TV Guide magazine.
Oddly, the idea that could be a tie at the end of the 30 minute contest never occurred to producers until 2016, when the game show’s website published the rules in the event of a tie. The program’s think tank probably told producers the odds of a tie ever happening was astronomically low, but it would be pretty embarrassing for Trebek, the producers, and the players if it did happen and there was no tie breaking format.
Well, lo and behold, on March 1, 2018 a tie actually occurred, the first in the show’s 44 year’s history. There are enough video clips of the event floating around the Internet, but we should pause for a moment and think about everything that had to go right (or wrong, depending on your view) for a tie to happen. First, both rounds had to be played where two or all three contestants were within shouting distance of winning prior to the final Jeopardy! question. Next, the players had to weigh their chances of coming up with the answer to the final question, which is usually trappy. The third event needs to be where the contestants write down a final amount to bid that will end up with a final total that will exactly match one or two of the other players.
On the show that made Jeopardy! history, both players answered the question wrong. One has to think that the possibility of a tie when the contestants answer the question correctly is nearly impossible.
As for the tie breaking rules, they are fairly simple. A question is asked, and the first contestant to buzz in with the correct answer is declared the winner. If neither contestant comes up with the correct answer, another question is selected, and the cycle is repeated until there is a winner. None of the tie breaking questions has a dollar value that will add to the contestant’s winnings.
The question is whether this is the best way to determine the winner. Why not have both contestants return for the next show? The audience would likely tune in to see which of the two (or three) ended up winning the next show. Both would be able to keep their winnings from the previous show, so they could both walk away winners regardless of the outcome. If the new (third) contestant won, then everyone could walk away a winner.
Is this such a terrible outcome for the show considering the odds of a tie happening again in another 44 years?
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