JEOPARDY! has aired Wednesday’s episode with a mind-boggling editing mistake that was hard to miss or explain.
The end scores of all three finalists in the show’s High School Reunion Tournament were accidentally on-screen for multiple seconds during Mayim Bialik’s intro.
ABCMayim Bialik introduced the finalists of Jeopardy!’s High School Reunion Tournament[/caption]
The camera cut to show students Jackson Jones, Maya Wright, and Justin Bolsen as she spokeNBCWhen the camera cut to them a second time, their final scores were on-screen[/caption]
The shocking gaffe occurred during Wednesday, March 8’s Jeopardy! episode.
Mayim, 47, was hosting the first act of the two-part High School Reunion Tournament finals, worth $100,000, and a slot in the 2023 Tournament of Champions.
Twenty-seven former Teen Tournament contestants from the 2018 and 2019 Teen Tournaments have duked it out over the last three weeks to earn a spot in the top three.
Vanderbilt Junior Jackson Jones, Brown freshman Justin Bolsen, and Emory senior Maya Wright emerged to face off tonight and tomorrow – their scores will be combined to determine the winner.
Mayim introduced them and the rules of the special’s finals: “Jackson, Maya, and Justin will be competing in a two-game match.”
The screen cut to show the contestants with no scores and just their names showing as expected.
The camera then cut back to Mayim to continue her intro.
“The player with the highest combined total will be our winner,” she explained – also saying the cash and tournament slot were up for grabs.
The camera then cut back once more to the three contestants and the eventual final scores for each were all front-and-center.
Jackson was shown with $24K, Maya $3.7K, and Justin $13.57K for approximately three seconds before the categories were then presented – this ended up being how the game went.
Then, Mayim presented the categories, and the gameplay began. The next time the contestants were shown their scores were blank once more.
Casual viewers may have wondered if there was something wrong with their TV screens – but that wasn’t the case, it was an unexplainable massive spoiler.
‘HORRENDOUS EDITING SLIP-UP’
A Reddit internet thread was created warning fans of the editing gaffe and to skip past it to enjoy the episode and Jackson’s well-deserved win in the first part of the student-based special.
The user wrote: “SPOILER ALERT: you might want to skip the opening of Wednesday’s episode.
“Somehow, the final scores for the contestants were briefly visible on their displays during the opening of the episode. So if you don’t want to see them, skip ahead to the introduction of the categories.”
Another user then replied: “‘Briefly’ is underselling it. They just edited in the post-game reactions into the intro, and it’s on-screen for 3 seconds, uncut, dead-on.”
A third fan replied: “Oh wow, that’s quite a mess.”
A fourth user commented in the thread wondering if the slip-up went unnoticed since the special was taped in late January so it had a quick turnaround.
“That was a HORRENDOUS editing slip-up at the start of the show during Mayim’s introduction; I guess that’s one of the pitfalls of airing these so close to tape date. Just kinda soiled the mood instantly. Hopefully, it doesn’t happen again tomorrow.”
A fifth simply wondered how no one caught it in post-production: “It’s on-screen for three straight seconds. How did that go to air?”
And a sixth: “Yes, for whatever reason they likely had to reshoot the opening after the show and neglected to erase the scores.”
“What I wonder is how many people view the finished product before it is sent to the affiliates, and none of them noticed this?”
Final Jeopardy under: “Geographic Name’s The Same” read: “The busiest passenger port in the U.K., it shares its name with a capital of one of the original 13 states.”
Only Jackson was correct, adding $10,000 to take the lead with $24,000.
Justin dropped $4,831 to end with $13,570 and Maya lost $1,030 and will ended with $3,370.
Each contestant’s score will carry over tomorrow’s episode as the finals are a two-day total point affair format.
Indeed, the scores wound up being exactly what was spliced in at the top of the show.
IS INTEGRITY IN JEOPARDY?
Ken Jennings, 47 is returning on Friday, March 10 to host regular episodes after the special’s finals conclude.
In September he and actress Mayim were announced as the permanent replacements for the late, great Alex Trebek, who had hosted since 1984.
The hosting announcement hasn’t been the only big change for Jeopardy!, as executive producer Michael Davies – who replaced the ousted Mike Richards – filled a job that before them, hadn’t changed hands in decades either.
There have been a few questionable moments that fans have nitpicked since.
Last season, the show misspelled an Edgar Allan Poe quote in Final Jeopardy on-screen and there have been some upsetting rulings in the all-important last round, but no gaffes this glaring come to mind.
ABCThe scores glaringly shown at the top of the episode wound up being the final scores of the game[/caption]
ABCThe finalists in Mayim’s special will have their combined earnings tonight and tomorrow to determine the winner[/caption]
ABCRecently, there was a typo on-screen during Final Jeopardy, but no editing gaffe this irresponsible comes to mind[/caption]
