Okay, a follow-up post is in order.
First, I’m way late in learning that a second series (“season” in U.S. terms) was ordered for “Jeopardy!” on British television. To speed up the game, a seventh column of answers was inserted into the board.
That’s right. “Jeopardy!” in the UK featured seven categories per round. It still consisted of three rounds—a Jeopardy! round, another Jeopardy! round, and a Double Jeopardy! round. I still side with the UK podcasters who reacted to the first series: Why not do a Jeopardy!, a Double Jeopardy!, and a Triple Jeopardy! round, à la “Celebrity Jeopardy!” here in the U.S.? Speaking of which, the folks at Disney just renewed “Celebrity Jeopardy!” for another season following the all-star competition (see what I did there, my fellow Americans?).
A few other changes of note:
\ The board values: The £150 answer in each of the first two rounds was reduced to a more logical £125. Thus, the £25–£50–£75–£100–£125 setup brought back memories of how things looked in 1978 and 1979 here in the States (just mentally replace the British pound sterling symbol with the U.S. dollar sign and you’re good). The late ’70s marked the last time we saw the original host, Art Fleming, helm the franchise.
\ The audio: There were noticeably more sound effects. More music also played during a Daily Double and after Final Jeopardy! It bothered some viewers, but not me. Watching one episode, though, I did find myself thinking a one-tone buzz-in sound effect would’ve been a nice touch, à la 1984. IYKYK. (And if you don’t know, keep reading).
Unfortunately, it was reported earlier this year that the UK’s ITV won’t be bringing “Jeopardy!” back for a third series. And that’s a bummer.
Knowing what I know about British TV, the UK deserves its own version of the show. After all, this is the nation that gave us “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” Conversely, after “Countdown” became a monster hit over there, we tried to launch our own American version (we just stripped out the math and number puzzles and altered the conundrum round; even with a great host with a familiar name, it didn’t sell).
Furthermore, given the way British television is structured, game show hosts there enjoy just about as much legendary status as iconic rock stars (Mick Jagger, Christine McVie, David Bowie, or Phil Collins, just to name a few).
History, as documented by ukgameshows.com, tells us “Jeopardy!” has been done across the pond well before the 2020s. It can absolutely be done again. If it is resurrected, my hope is that it returns either as a lean, fast-paced 30-minute block (something similar to what Americans have seen weekdays since 1984), or adopts a true J!–DJ!–TJ! format if it stays at a full hour (something similar to the aforementioned “Celebrity Jeopardy!”).
Some video links:
\ The final episode of the Stephen Fry era; notice his prominence in the opening animation; that’s, pretty much, how British game shows work.
\ The second episode of the current U.S. version; as you’ll see and hear, the machine “needed some oil”; the FJ! segment is still talked about to this day.
\ From what was branded as Wink Martindale’s YouTube channel, since renamed The Game Show Vault: An attempt to bring “Countdown” to American shores.