Jeopardy!/YMMV

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• Adaptation Displacement: The current version has far outlasted the Art Fleming era, but the show clearly hasn't forgotten its roots; clues about the Art Fleming era appear now and then, and some contestants have appeared on both versions.
• Alternate Character Interpretation: Ken Jennings. Some see him as The Ace or a Badass Normal, who knew quite a bit about a lot of things (even drinks, despite being a teetotaler). Others see him as a Boring Invincible Hero, who proved what a bad idea it was to have unlimited wins.
• Non Sequitur Scene: After an inflatable shark was used in a video clue, said shark made an out-of-nowhere appearance going into commercial.
• Crowning Music of Awesome: The current Theme Tune, which debuted on the first show of Trebek's 25th season.
  • The think music is iconic in itself, but the current version with a small orchestra taking over the second half of the song from the pianos is awesome, particularly when it cues up and the made-for-HD backdrop turns from blue to red.
• Ear Worm: The "Think!" theme.
• Fan Nickname: The 1991-96 set is called the "grid set" by fans, while the 1996-2002 set is called the "sushi bar".
• Game Breaker: Until 2003, Jeopardy! champions could win up to five games before being retired. Starting in the 2003-04 season, the producers instituted a "sky's the limit" rule, where champions could go on and on winning until being defeated. Towards the season's end, Ken Jennings came along and went on a 74-game winning streak that lasted into the next season. And it's debatable whether Jennings' last game was a genuine loss, or him throwing in the towel, thinking "I've got enough, I can go home now."
• Heartwarming Moments: A contestant from New Orleans played three episodes (and won two) not long after Hurricane Katrina hit. Before her three episodes, the show included a clip of Alex assuring viewers that Deborah and her family were safe.
• Hilarious in Hindsight: Even Ken Jennings can't beat the Zerg Rush!
  • The first episode of Trebek's Jeopardy! in 1984 had these two back-to-back questions — "Two Saturday Night alumni who tried Trading Places", the answer being "Who are Dan Aykroyd and Eddie Murphy?", and "He may Never Say Never Again when asked to be Bond", with the answer obviously being "Who is Sean Connery?". That's right — Sean Connery and SNL have been part of Trebek's Jeopardy! since the beginning.
• Memetic Mutation: In the Cheers episode "What Is... Cliff Clavin?", Cliff appears on the show and, despite getting a runaway lead, wagers everything and gets Final Jeopardy! wrong. This episode has been referenced regularly on Jeopardy! — at least two contestants have copied his Final Jeopardy! response of "Who are three people that have never been in my kitchen?", and Trebek sometimes warns contestants with runaway leads not to "pull a Cliff Clavin" (i.e., wager everything and then get it wrong).
  • Similarly, Cliff's entire board of "dream categories" was used in an Ultimate Tournament Of Champions game.
  • There have been countless references to Saturday Night Live's "Celebrity Jeopardy!" sketches, which almost always featured Sean Connery (Darrell Hammond) as a contestant. Both the show itself and many of its contestants have made constant references to these sketches — the writers through category names ("Months That Begin with 'Feb'"), and the contestants through Sean Connery impersonations.
  • "Who is Kebert Xela?" was used by a contestant in Final Jeopardy!
  • And going the opposite direction, the "answering with a question" format had so wormed its way into the brain of American audiences (even in the Fleming era!) that practically any other game show that asks trivia will see multiple contestants answer with a question; that show's host may then remind them "this isn't Jeopardy!" with varying degrees of humor or irritation (most notably Win Ben Stein's Money, where offending contestants were forced to wear a dunce cap). This happens even in high school academic quiz bowls, especially since, like Jeopardy!, contestants have to buzz in.
• Most Wonderful Sound: The board fill sound at the beginning of the round (retired in July 2008 and, after a season wherein the board did not make a noise, replaced with a relaxing six-tone chime that Trebek has said that he likes). Also, the Daily Double trill and the simple one-note chime when the Final Jeopardy! category is revealed.
• The Scrappy / Creator's Pet: The "Clue Crew", first introduced in 2001.
  • Any clue read by a celebrity, as well as whole categories with clues read by a celebrity. Almost all of them tend to involve very long clues read very slowly (Oprah Winfrey being a particular offender).
  • "Kids Week" games, which not only makes the Teen Tournament feel particularly redundant, but features questions that are so incredibly easy/soft-ball, even for that demographic. Still, at least one kid won over $30,000.
  • Ken Jennings, having a bye into the final round of the 2005 "Ultimate Tournament of Champions", whereas most players had to win their way into subsequent rounds.
• Seasonal Rot / They Changed It, Now It Sucks: As with nearly any Long Runner Game Show, fan opinion is sharply divided:
  • The 1997-98 season not only abandoned the legendary Jeopardy Thinking Music used since 1964 and the synthesizer theme used since 1991, but saw the first use of clues read by celebrities, as well as even more punny categories and travel shows than ever before. It also introduced the generally-maligned "sushi bar" set, which was used until late 2002.
  • The 2001-02 season introduced the "Clue Crew", which many find to be a unnecessary addition to the show, and also the doubling of clue values, which some believe is unfair in regards to ranking all of the show's top money winners, plus Alex Trebek shaves his iconic mustache off.
  • The 2003-04 season removed the 5-game limit for winners, which led to Ken Jennings' 74-game winning streak lasting into the next season.
  • Later seasons have also seen more celebrity games, with a celebrity tournament that went on throughout the 2009-10 season. While the celebrity games in the 2000s were scenery-chewing, laid-back nightmares that led to less than half the board even being played, the 2009-10 season's celeb tournament at least had a decent roster of celebs who treated their games with respect.
  • Some also complain that the show has gotten easier over time, thus overlapping with It's Easy, So It Sucks. To be fair, this one is very much a Justified Trope; anyone who's watched the show for a long period of time is pretty much guaranteed to find it gradually easier to play along, because they'll constantly be learning from it.
  • Another major complaint is that the writing has gotten too convoluted and "cutesy", with clues often trying way too hard to "tease out" the right answer by way of wordplay. Other clues seem to be written too vaguely, leading viewers to question whether or not another answer might be acceptable. The decline in clue quality is often thought to have started when longtime clue writer Steven Dorfman died in 2004.
• Surprisingly Improved Sequel: The 1984 version was a major leap from Art Fleming's three versions, which used a much simpler set and pull-cards for the clues instead of the large, electronic set and wall of monitors.
• That One Level: Opera, ballet, or spelling categories, which are almost always saved for last.
  • Jep! as a whole may qualify — despite the subject matter, contestant ages, and format changes, its policy on phrasing responses was the strictest of all seven versions!
• Too Good to Last: The 1978-79 version, which ran for only five months, to some fans.