• by Adam Buckman , Featured Columnist, February 19, 2025

“Jeopardy!,” a staple of television if there ever was one, is running off course with gimmicky tournaments and “invitations” to past contestants who happened to win a few games long ago.

Gone are the shows where ordinary people with extraordinary knowledge of diverse subjects have the opportunity to play “Jeopardy!” for the first time and match their intellects with others like them.

Or if such shows are not completely gone, they have not been around for the last few months.

This conclusion is based on very consistent viewing of “Jeopardy!” practically every day and definitely a few times a week by yours truly.

Everyone is familiar with the show’s Tournament of Champions. These are regular, annual features of the show that have been around for years. 

“Jeopardy!” fans like them and appreciate them. They are exciting games at the highest level of this revered, challenging quiz show.

The tournaments have created “Jeopardy!” stars (not least of which is the current host of “Jeopardy!,” Ken Jennings) who we know from their past winning streaks. 

We root for our favorites in these Champions’ tournaments that last all of two weeks or so (if memory serves).

Other special “Jeopardy!” competitions annually seen in-season include the teachers’ tournament and the college tournament featuring smart college kids. 

These are also longtime staples of the typical “Jeopardy!” season, each lasting a week or two. Like the Tournaments of Champions, we expect them.

But for months now, “Jeopardy!” has been obsessed with past contestants. For weeks, there were “Second Chance” tournaments featuring past winners nobody remembers who were brought back because they previously won a few games.

A similar tournament is happening right now -- the “ ‘Jeopardy!’ Invitational Tournament,” ballyhooed by Ken Jennings with the acronym “JIT.” 

This is another stunt featuring past winners who have been invited back, some after many, many years since they were last seen.

On Monday, in what might be an extreme example, one of the former contestants who returned for the JIT was Doug Molitor, 72. He first appeared on “Jeopardy!” in 1979, when Art Fleming was still the show’s original host.

Molitor, a novelist and TV scriptwriter, then returned in 1987 in the Alex Trebek era, won four games and competed in the Tournament of Champions. Thus, he has been on “Jeopardy!” with all three of the show’s hosts.

This JIT got underway directly following the just-concluded Tournament of Champions. So now, “Jeopardy!” seems to have tournaments one after the other.

Where have the regular shows gone? These were the ones that helped build “Jeopardy!” into one of TV’s premiere powerhouses, still attracting an average audience of 7 million to 8 million per episode.

Contestants who are not past participants or second-chance candidates are the ones who are the most relatable. 

They’re trying their hands at “Jeopardy!” for the first time, not the second. In the parlance of TV, second chances are just reruns.