During Ken Jennings’ interview segment of Wednesday’s game, Sam Nguyen revealed why his obsession with Jeopardy! landed him in hot water with the casting department of its rival show.
5
Ken Jennings hosts Wednesday’s game of Jeopardy!Credit: Jeopardy!
5
Jeopardy! contestant Sam Nguyen makes a confession about Wheel of FortuneCredit: Jeopardy!
Sam, a tax accountant from Hyattsville, Maryland, went up against Molly LeBlanc, an administrative assistant from New Orleans, Louisiana and returning champ Bill McKinney.
Bill, a VP of restaurants & bars from Boston, Massachusetts is a two-day champ looking to extend his winnings of $28,000.
The show veteran was off to a quick lead, having scored $2,600 by the first commercial break.
Sam was holding his own in second place with $1,000 while Molly was in the red with negative $200.
As host Ken, 50, came back from break, he walked over to the contestant’s podium to conduct his interview segment.
He walked over to Sam first, and asked: “I’m told before coming on Jeopardy!, you also tried out for Wheel of Fortune?”
“That’s right. About six years ago I was trying out for Wheel of Fortune,” Sam responded.
“But unfortunately, I made the grave mistake of saying that I’m actually more of a Jeopardy! Fan.
5
Ken Jennings walks over to the podium to interview the contestantsCredit: Jeopardy!
“And in a room full of Wheel of Fortune enthusiasts. It didn’t go over well.
“Then I saved myself and one of the contestant coordinators asked if I had ever been on Jeopardy?
“I said ‘no but after I get on Wheel of Fortune I’ll go on Jeopardy! next.’ As my friend says, joke about the job you want.”
Ken laughed before continuing onto chat with the other two players.
Jeopardy!’s Ken Jennings blurts out slang for body part & fans are in disbelief show ‘finally progressed’ clue language
Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! typically air side-by-side on syndicated channels and share the same studio lot in Culver City, CA.
While some would say their sister series, others argue the two game shows are actually rivals of one another.
Heading into Final Jeopardy!, Bill has the outstanding lead as he found all three Daily Doubles.
He has secured $14,800 while Sam was far behind with $3,200 and Molly had $2,000.
Ken introduced the last category under “The World of Science” as the players placed their wagers.
“Nobelprize.org says some papers of this scientist ‘are stored in lead boxes,’ a ‘legacy that is literally untouchable,’” the clue read.
Everyone was correct in writing down “Who was Marie Curie?”
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.
Bill won his third game, ending it with $18,100 while Sam just edged out Molly with $4,001.
Molly came in third just a single dollar behind Sam with $4,000.
Fans were upset with how “easy” the Final Jeopardy! clue was – which is typically the most difficult of the game.
“FJ was like a $200 clue…” one person wrote.
“I could get the FJ! answer right after the word ‘papers” I think,’ another agreed.
“Echoing everyone else’s sentiments: what a strangely simple FJ after two fairly tough boards,” a third insisted.
5
Jeopardy! contestants from l-r:Credit: Jeopardy!
5
Ken has hosted Jeopardy! since 2021
