Jeopardy! fans debate ‘unclear’ show rule about last names and call out ‘unfair’ pattern from judges

JEOPARDY! fans were left debating an unclear show rule about last names after a murky moment on the game show’s Season 40 finale.

A player was ruled correct with “The Obamas” but in the same round, “The Curies” wasn’t specific enough for Ken Jennings or the judges.

Jeopardy!

Jeopardy!

Jeopardy!

The moment fans questioned occured on July 26’s episode in the Jeopardy! round category, “A Date In History.”

The $600 clue which turned out to be a Daily Double was, “In the summer of 1989, this not-yet-famous couple went on a movie date in Chicago & saw a Spike Lee film.”

Then-two-day champ Davey Morrison gained the $1000 he wagered with his response, “The Obamas?”

The $200 clue in the same category was selected next and was, “After this couple’s first date in 1894, she went home to Poland while he wrote her letters about his “dream for science”

Rachel Bradley, who won the game and will spend the summer break as the returning champion, responded, “The Curies?”

This time, Ken asked, “More specifically?” and she correctly elaborated, “Marie Curie & Pierre Curie?” to get the earnings.

‘WHAT GIVES WITH THAT?’

Fans took to social media where they discussed why one response needed specificity but the other didn’t.

“Okay, so I am not one of those people who nitpick the judges decisions. Usually I’m like if the judges are okay with it, fine with me,” one Facebook user began a post in a fan group.

“But I don’t understand why one contestant got off with answering the Obamas in the famous couple category, but then when another contestant answered “the Curies,” she was ordered to be more specific and has to give their first names. What gives with that?”

“I thought the very same thing! I was so surprised by that. It seems so arbitrary now,” wrote another.

“There are more with the last name Curie. The judges are very consistent with the rules,” a third fan defended.

A fourth pointed out, “In this case because one of the Curie daughters and her husband were also Nobel prize winning chemists.”

To fifth a fourth wrote, “Ah see, I did not know there was more than one Curie couple that fit the bill.”

On Reddit, fans also discussed the ruling and if there was a set rule for last names or the judges were just going “case by case.”

“Are there any rules or insight on when they ask contestants to “be more specific?” a fan began a thread.

“Catching up Friday’s episode and they asked for an elaboration on “The Curies”, but in the same category did not ask for an elaboration on “The Obamas.”

“As someone not smart enough to know more than one set of Curies, I was curious why and when they put up specificity guard rails. In a later clue, the answer was accepted as a last name as just ‘Campbell’ but one could say that’s a generic enough last name that requires elaboration.

“Is there any determination here or is it a bitt case-by-case and one of those “the judges decide?'”

Jeopardy! Host Timeline

Jeopardy! has had a tumultuous history regarding hosts after the death of the iconic Alex Trebek in 2020. Here are all of the hosts since the game show's inception in 1964.

Art Fleming – 1964 to 1975, he was the original host of the daytime version of Jeopardy! on NBC.

Alex Trebek – 1984 to 2020, the late, great Alex hosted Jeopardy!’s modern iteration for 36 years until his death from pancreatic cancer.

Guest hosts – 2020 to 2021, Jeopardy! tested out a series of guest hosts for week or two-week stints, including Anderson Cooper, LaVar Burton, and Aaron Rodgers.

Mike Richards – 2021, he was named host for one week before resigning amid controversy. He was the show’s executive producer at the time.

Mayim Bialik – 2021 to 2023, when Mike was announced as the show’s new host, Mayim was chosen to host tournaments and primetime specials.

Mayim and Ken Jennings – 2022 to 2023, 74-time champion Ken (the longest-winning contestant ever) joined Mayim as a guest host and they split hosting duties.

Ken Jennings – 2023 to present. Last December, Mayim announced on Instagram that she would “no longer” host Jeopardy! after a lengthy hiatus, having stood with the writer’s strike, and Ken was named sole host.

Ken now helms all editions of Jeopardy! including Celebrity Jeopardy!, the nightly show, and other primetime specials like Masters.

Another fan explained, “The judges can ask for a clarification in any way. More details, or specific names, or to pronounce something again…in this case, there are multiple famous Curies, and only one famous Obama couple.”

Jeopardy! rules stipulate that a last name response will suffice if there’s no one else their response could be referring to or that would fit the clue.

However, other users still weren’t satisfied and brought an “unfair” ruling from earlier this season about first ladies where that didn’t seem to be the case.

‘BIZARRE’ NIXON RULING

Back in Sepmeber when Season 40 began, a player was ruled incorrect after being given a specificty request that some fans called uncessary.

During a Double Jeopardy round, contestant Alex Lamb chose the $1,200 clue in the category “The Real (White House) Wives of D.C.”

It read, “She met the future president in 1938 when they both tried out for a local play in Whittier, California.”

Alex’s response was “Nixon,” but host Ken asked him to be more specific.

Alex then incorrectly named Richard Nixon instead of Pat Nixon, the former First Lady of the United States.

Instead, another contestant correctly guessed the clue and Alex later lost the game.

Viewers at home were unhappy that Ken did not accept Alex’s answer pointing out there was no other First Lady named Nixon.

“That is bizarre. What other First Lady with the last name of Nixon did they did they have in mind that would be a plausible response?” one viewer wrote on Reddit at the time.

Others wrote, “It seemed really unfair and illogical to me. I’d understand for Barbara Bush, since there are two First Ladies named Bush, but a First Lady named Nixon could only be referring to one person.”

And, “The rules are very clear that last names are sufficient if there is only one acceptable answer, and there was only one first lady named Nixon.”

Alex himself took to the comments on Reddit and said he “got caught flatfooted” when Ken asked for clarification.

“You can imagine that once I answered Nixon, my mind pivoted completely to the next clue,” he wrote. “So when I was asked for clarification, I got caught flatfooted and that’s how it goes! Should have paused and answered.”

Jeopardy!

ABC

ABC