New opening sequence: gold tiles zoom out from the left, and flipping over to reveal their blue tiles on the right on a black background, and a silver Jeopardy! logo pans out. Finally, the silver Jeopardy! logo swings forward, revealing the 2002-2009 set (HD version). To celebrate the show's 25th anniversary, a "25th Anniversary" byline is shown under the Jeopardy! logo. The opening graphics were designed by Room 207.
For this season only, the dollar figures are already on the game board following the introductions.
The main theme and "Think!" music are given new arrangements by Chris Bell Music & Sound Design; these are still in use to this day, although the main theme was re-recorded by Bleeding Fingers Music in Season 38.
For both Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune, this is the first full season to be distributed by CBS Television Distribution.
This is the last season with the HDTV version of the 2002-2009 metallic set.
This is also the last season to have the category appearing in a blue rectangle fading on the upper left corner of the screen.
On early episodes of this season, Cheryl Farrell was still credited as member of the Clue Crew in the closing credits.
Cheryl Farrell left the Jeopardy! Clue Crew early this season, leaving Jon Cannon, Sarah Whitcomb, Jimmy McGuire, and Kelly Miyahara through the end of this season.
Jon Cannon left the Jeopardy! Clue Crew after this season ended, leaving only Sarah Whitcomb, Jimmy McGuire, and Kelly Miyahara until the end of Season 35.
The contestant intros and Final Jeopardy! winnings indicators changed to dark blue strips with white text in Franklin Gothic font.
The contestant introductions background looks similar to the previous season, except there are curves near the bottom.
Starting with this season, the Final Jeopardy! winnings indicator simply fades in instead of appearing through animation and the contestants who didn't make it to Final Jeopardy! return to the studio for the post-game chats.
This is the first time in the show's history and first time in the Alex Trebek era where the reigning champion did not return.
In this season, Jeopardy! introduced two new segments: "Champion Update," which provided an update on Jeopardy! champions, and "Ask Alex," in which Alex answered viewer questions.
The backdrop for Daily Doubles, picture clues, and split screen closing credits on episodes with a full credit roll is changed to a navy blue background with a white blob floating around. This remains the same for Seasons 26 and 27 long credit rolls.
Starting with this season, the College Championship is no longer taped on the road.
Due to the Kids Week Reunion in September 2008, Jeopardy! held Kids Week in July and continued to do so every year until 2013.
September 2008[]
September 8, 2008: Season 25 kicks off.
On early episodes of this season, the recordings of the new music are slightly different than the ones used through Season 37.
The "Think!" cue is nicknamed the "leaky faucet" by fans due to there being loud percussion.
September 15-19, 2008: The Kids Week Reunion is held, featuring former Kids Week contestants from 1999 and 2000.
September 24, 2008: Brian Levinson does his Sean Connery impersonation, when selecting the category "Starts with Feb, Trebek" during the Jeopardy! round, inspired by the Celebrity Jeopardy! skits on Saturday Night Live.
October 2008[]
October 6, 2008: The Jeopardy! theme is re-recorded to include an electric guitar lead throughout the entire piece.
October 8, 2008: Erik Nelson finishes with a 4-day total of $94,404.
October 13, 2008: The "Think!" music is re-recorded to reduce the prominence of the percussion.
October 31, 2008: First regular-play game in which Double Jeopardy! eliminated contestant returns for credits chat.
November 2008[]
November 3, 2008: Carl Brandt finishes with a 4-day total of $70,799.
November 10-21, 2008: The 2008-B Teen Tournament airs. The Rock & Roll Jeopardy! "Think!" music plays during the Final Jeopardy! round. Anurag Kashyap won the tournament and $75,000. Bradley Silverman received $44,600 for exceeding his minimum and Audrey Hosford received $26,400 for exceeding her minimum.
December 2008[]
December 8, 2008: Ben Bishop finishes with a 4-day total of $114,800.
December 30, 2008: Jim Stevens finishes with a 6-day total of $140,600.
January 2009[]
January 15, 2009: Alex delivers clues from Niagara Falls Canada. This episode reran in December 25, 2020.
January 19, 2009: This is the first time in the Alex Trebek era and first time in the show's history where reigning champion did not return. Priscilla Ball is unable to return as champion due to illness, so that game began with three new contestants. The last time they had three new challengers on Jeopardy! was back on the June 20, 2003 episode, where a champion retired undefeated after five wins. Alex announced that she would return as a co-champion on April 9, 2009 and made her second appearance.
January 26, 2009: Matt Kohlstedt finishes with a 5-day total of $77,803.
February 2009[]
March 2009[]
March 10-24, 2009: One Celebrity Jeopardy! match and the Tournament of Champions is held at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
March 10, 2009: One Celebrity Jeopardy! match with Aisha Tyler, Tom Bergeron, and Elizabeth Perkins, is held:
The 2009-2013 set debuts, although it doesn't get permanently put into use until Season 26.
The new set is designed specifically for HD, featuring Sony's latest technology.
The game board consists of 36 HDTV LCD television monitors.
The contestant podiums consisted of LCD television monitors on their sides, and the scores on the contestant lecterns are changed to a different font. Additionally, the scores are now always in the blue background; positive scores continue to be in white text, but negative scores are now in red text.
There is also a giant monitor between Alex and the contestants that displays the Jeopardy! logo, and the logo of a particular tournament during most of the game; it also reveals the Final Jeopardy! category just before the last commercial break, although both the category and clue continue to be revealed on the board. Alex makes his entrance through sliding doors from behind his podium.
The contestant backdrop consists of multi-colored triangles and framework that resembles a spider web.
March 11-24, 2009: The Tournament of Champions is held:
During the quarterfinals, Johnny said, "Here are today's contestants."
Dan Pawson wins the tournament and $250,000. Larissa Kelly received $100,000 and Aaron Schroeder received $50,000.
April 2009[]
April 9, 2009: This is the first time where returning co-champions was applied to champions who were previously unable to return.
April 30, 2009: Liz Murphy finishes with a 5-day total of $121,302.
May 2009[]
May 4-15, 2009: The College Championship is held. Patrick Tucker won the tournament and $100,000. Eric Betts received $50,000 and Laura Myers received $29,900 for exceeding her minimum.
June 2009[]
June 1, 2009: Justin Bernbach finishes with a 7-day total of $155,001.
July 24, 2009: Season 25 ends, which marks the last appearance of the metallic set.
Post-season[]
July 27-September 11, 2009: Summer reruns air. Select episodes from the show's first 25 years were reran September 7-11. 2009. These included the very first episode from 1984 as well as some episodes of notable champions, especially Ken Jennings, Brad Rutter, and Eddie Timanus.
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