To celebrate Jeopardy!'s 20th anniversary in syndication, contestants can keep playing as long as they keep winning.
This is the first season to implement the unlimited rule for returning champions.
This is also the first full season to use the SDTV version of the 2002-2009 metallic set.
This is also the first season to have contestant's intro on a season's title card background and to have transitions to the next contestant.
This season marked minor changes to celebrate Jeopardy!'s 20th anniversary season:
The contestant podiums and the backdrop behind the contestants are slightly changed to make the studio more modern. In addition, the contestant podiums now have outer lights to make it easier to recognize who rang in first.
New opening sequence: an vermillion, peach, blue, and navy background has the set visible within it, and the Jeopardy! logo gained a black color scheme with silver 3D drop shadow. Finally, the black Jeopardy! logo swings forward, revealing the metallic set.
To celebrate the syndicated game show's 20th anniversary, a "20th ANNIVERSARY" byline is seen underneath the Jeopardy! logo. In all instances of the logo, there are miniature Jeopardy! logos flying on top of, out of the left side, and into the right side of the main logo. The credits strips changed to blue parallelogram shaped.
The "DOUBLE" and "FINAL" in Double Jeopardy! and Final Jeopardy!, and the Daily Double text changed to Impact; the Daily Double text gained a black color scheme to match the season's title card.
On later episodes of this season, the "DOUBLE" and "FINAL" in Double Jeopardy! and Final Jeopardy! changed to red.
Starting with this season, the contestant introductions have an outer box design.
Also, the contestant intro and Final Jeopardy! winnings strips became blue, with black text in a font resembling Helvetica.
This is the last season where Steven Dorfman was credited as writer. Following his death from colon cancer on January 4, 2004, he was no longer credited as the writer after the April 21, 2004 episode, which was dedicated to the memory of him.
This is the last full season to feature the original Jeopardy! Clue Crew lineup since it was introduced in 2001, consisting of Sofia Lidskog, Cheryl Farrell, Sarah Whitcomb, and Jimmy McGuire, before Sofia Lidskog left the Jeopardy! Clue Crew early next season.
Beginning with this season and continuing until Season 35, the theme music from Rock & Roll Jeopardy! is used during the Teen Tournament, College Championship, and Kids Week. For the next two seasons, it is only used for in and out of commercial break bumpers.
For at least the last 30 half-hour episodes of Season 20, the display text for video clues and the Final Jeopardy! thinking period is changed back to Korinna, which remains for the next two seasons.
Also, the clue cards themselves changed from smart quotes and custom apostrophes to straight quotes and plain apostrophes.
This is the third season not to have Tournament of Champions.
September 2003[]
September 8, 2003: Season 20 premieres, and Jeopardy! celebrated its 20th anniversary. On the season premiere, Sam Ott made his second appearance, and the champions return until they lose ("sky's the limit" rule) effective beginning this game.
September 11, 2003: Sam Ott finishes with a 4-day total of $67,102. Since her first appearance was on the last game of the previous season, she became the last 4-day champion to retire despite losing her fifth game.
September 22-26, 2003: Back to School Week is held.
October 2003[]
October 16, 2003: Sean Ryan is the first 6-day champion and the first unlimited champion with a total of $123,797.
October 22, 2003: Russ Schumacher finishes with a 4-day total of $67,102.
November 2003[]
November 10-21, 2003: The College Championship was held at Yale University. New square podiums are similar to the home-based trapezoid ones are introduced for the road shows. The Roadshow theme is reused. Keith Williams won the tournament and $100,000. Grant Hutchinson received $50,000 and Josh Perkins received $25,000.
December 2003[]
December 18, 2003: The episode features Dave Oberhart, one of the show's blind contestants after Eddie Timanus.
January 2004[]
January 12, 2004: Tom sets a new regular play cash winnings record of $152,900.
January 14, 2004: Tom Walsh is the first 7-day champion with a total of $184,900. In addition, the game also ended a tie resulting in co-champions. He is the only champion with a tie-win record after 6 or more wins.
February 2004[]
February 9-20, 2004: The Teen Tournament airs. Jennifer Wu wins the tournament and $75,000. Chris Holden received $25,000 and Courtney Bennis received $15,000.
February 26, 2004: Arthur Gandolfi finishes with a 4-day total of $137,300.
March 2004[]
March 19, 2004: Steve Reynolds finishes with a 4-day total of $75,102.
April 2004[]
April 8, 2004: Chris Miller finishes with a 5-day total of $123,597.
April 14, 2004: Scott Renzoni finishes with a 4-day total of $112,998.
April 21, 2004: This episode is dedicated to the memory of writer Steven Dorfman, who died of colon cancer on January 4, 2004 at the age of 48; Dorfman no longer credited as writer after this episode aired.
April 26, 2004: Tom Baker finishes with a 3-day total of $102,300.
May 2004[]
May 3-14, 2004: Two weeks of episodes were filmed at DAR Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C.
May 3-7, 2004: Kids Week is held.
May 10-14, 2004: Power Players Week was held.
Bob Woodward, Peggy Noonan, and Tucker Carlson compete on Monday.
Anderson Cooper, Maria Bartiromo, and Kwiesi Mfume compete on Tuesday.
Ari Fleischer, Ashleigh Banfield, and Aaron Brown compete on Wednesday.
Al Franken, Gretchen Carlson, and Keith Olbermann compete on Thursday.
Tim Russert, Christie Whitman, and Tavis Smiley compete on Friday,
May 14, 2004: Senator John McCain reads Final Jeopardy.
May 31, 2004: Anne Boyd finishes with a 4-day total of $84,600.
June 2004[]
June 2, 2004: Ken Jennings makes his first appearance on Jeopardy!
June 10, 2004: The episode features Ken Jennings setting an all-time Coryat high of $39,200. Ken also runs four categories (Verb First Names, You're 21 Today, The Mind and Observations and Celebrations).
July 2004[]
July 13, 2004: Ken Jennings is the first contestant to break $1,000,000 in regular-play.
July 20, 2004: Ken surpasses Brad Rutter's total of $1,155,102 to become the highest-earning player ever on the show.
July 23, 2004: Season 20 ends, and Ken Jennings sets a new one-day record of $75,000 in his 38th game.
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