“Jeopardy!” is one of the longest-running game shows in television history.
Led by the household name host, Alex Trebek, the show has become an iconic part of American culture that most people take for granted.
But in recent weeks, “Jeopardy!” has proven to be the most boring stretch of its decade-long run for a surprising reason.
You know the game show. It’s that digital blue board where Alex Trebek asks three different contestants answers where they “answer” with the question that would’ve been proposed. This is “Jeopardy!”
It’s one of those staple shows that airs every weeknight on ABC at 7pm Eastern Standard Time. If you’ve played along then you’d know it’s hard. The average American might only get a select few right and that’s what has made it exciting over the years.
Watching some contestants bury the competition or flat-out embarrassing themselves like when a sports category comes up and none of them have any idea about the simplest questions involving that industry.
It’s one of those shows that make you feel stupid one minute and like the smartest person in the world the next – that’s the largest part of its intrigue.
Lately, though, one of the contestants, James Holzhauer, has been destroying his opponents on a level at which we’ve never seen before.
At the time of writing this article, Holzhauer has won 14-games in a row and the amount of money he’s accumulated is nothing short of eye-popping. It’s like he’s a computer that knows the answer to every question on any given subject.
Last week, Holzhauer surpassed $1 million in the shortest time ever. His $118,816 win put his total take at $1,061,554 million. This isn’t the only record Holzhauer broke, he previously won a game with a total of $131,127, topping the one-day record he set earlier in his run of $110,914.
Before Holzhauer came along, the one-day record was held by Roger Craig on Sept. 19, 2010, when he took home $77,000 in a single game.
And Holzhauer is dwarfing the competition so much that people are starting to recognize just how boring it is to watch – or even rigged.
I’m starting to think #Jeopardy is rigged. Day 15 of the James Show. 😐 #boring
— MidnightMuse (dee) (@mind_noise) April 25, 2019
I refuse to watch #jeopardy. There’s no competition. #boring
— Josephine (@notmyname02) April 23, 2019
Wife: (deep sigh) well…this is boring #Jeopardy #jeopardyjames
— Rob (@therobsabol) April 22, 2019
And they’re not wrong.
But there is a little excitement in the idea that he’s destroying his opponents with his knowledge in a shocking way.
He was a former computer programmer and went on to write two books detailing the experience.
But Holzhauer is only 14 games in and it looks like there is no stopping this guy in the near future.
He’s just too good. Holzhauer seemingly knows everything.
Maybe “Jeopardy!” will get wise and put Jennings and Holzhauer against each other in a celebrity episode?