Jeopardy! (British game show)

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Jeopardy!
GenreGame show
Created byMerv Griffin
Presented byDerek Hobson (1983–84)
Chris Donat (1990)
Steve Jones (1991–93)
Paul Ross (1995–96)
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series2 (Channel 4)
3 (ITV)
1 (Sky 1)
No. of episodes25 (Channel 4)
125 (ITV)
135 (Sky 1)
Production
Production locationTelevision House (1995–96)
Running time30 minutes (inc. adverts)
Production companiesThames (1983–84)
Reg Grundy Productions and TVS (Meridian) (1990–93)
Action Time in association with Columbia TriStar Television and King World Productions (1995–96)
DistributorFremantle
CBS Studios International
Release
Original networkChannel 4 (1983–84)
ITV (1990–93)
Sky One (1995–96)
Picture format4:3
Original release12 January 1983 (1983-01-12) –
7 June 1996 (1996-06-07)
Chronology
Related showsJeopardy!

Jeopardy! is a British game show based on the US version of the same name. It was originally aired on Channel 4 from 12 January 1983 to 2 July 1984, hosted by Derek Hobson, then was revived by ITV from 3 September 1990 to 9 April 1993, first hosted by Chris Donat in 1990 and then hosted by Steve Jones from 1991 to 1993 and then finally on Sky One from 4 December 1995 to 7 June 1996, hosted by Paul Ross.

Transmissions[]

Channel 4 era[]

Series Start date End date Episodes
1 12 January 1983 30 March 1983 12
2 2 April 1984 2 July 1984 13

ITV era[]

Series Start date End date Episodes
1 3 September 1990 26 October 1990 40
2 14 October 1991 20 December 1991 50
3 22 February 1993 9 April 1993 35

Sky One era[]

Series Start date End date Episodes
1 4 December 1995 7 June 1996 135

Gameplay notes[]

Unlike in the U.S. version, contestants have points (instead of money) added or subtracted for responses (or lack of) to questions selected, a concession made because of severe restrictions on game show prizes in the UK at the time. The original point values were 5 to 25 in the Jeopardy! Round and 10 to 50 in Double Jeopardy! There were three Daily Doubles in each round. (Points became pounds at some point in the Jones run, but for whatever reason went back to being points by the time Ross took over as host.)

In the Hobson, Donat, and Jones runs, the contestants only saw their own scores, although, at the end of each round, they were told their relative positions, i.e., who was in first place, who was in second, and who was in third. This had the side effect of reducing "runaways," a common phenomenon in the American show where contestants heading into Final Jeopardy! with more than double their nearest opponent would be guaranteed victory by betting a small amount; most players did not pay enough attention to others' correct or incorrect responses to know if they had clinched a runaway game.

Also under Hobson, Donat, and Jones, the response had to be grammatically correct in addition to the usual requirement of phrasing in the form of a question. For example, a response that began "Who is..." when a "What is..." prefix was grammatically correct would be disallowed, and the contestant would be charged a penalty. (This conceit had been abandoned on the American show since the mid-1960s.)

By the time Paul Ross took over the show, the points had increased to 100 to 500 (Jeopardy! round) and 200 to 1000 for Double Jeopardy! The Daily Double amount was reduced to the standard one for the Jeopardy! Round and 2 for Double Jeopardy!, like the US version.

The player leading after Final Jeopardy! won £500 (or whatever total they had in the Jones run when points became pounds); five consecutive wins increased that champion's winnings to £3,000 with the undefeated champion retiring. During the Steve Jones series, the top three scorers of each of those series played Master Jeopardy! (the equivalent of the Tournament of Champions in the American show) for the grand prize of a holiday. For the 1993 series, the scoring system was changed from points to money, 5-day champions won a £500 bonus in addition to whatever money they have won.

During the original ITV versions, the set was blue for the Jeopardy! Round and red for the Double Jeopardy! round, as in the American version. Unlike America's version, however, the set turned yellow for Final Jeopardy!; this was dropped for the program's third series.

The Derek Hobson/Channel 4 run of Jeopardy! aired before the U.S. version with Alex Trebek had debuted or been finalised and was thus based upon the original Art Fleming-hosted version of the game.

Episodes from the original US version also aired daily mornings on Sky One from July 1995 to December 1996.

External links[]

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