Jeopardy! Timeline (syndicated version)/Season 26

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Season 26 (2009-2010)

The CES set from S26

The podiums

The board during Double Jeopardy

Season Changes

• New opening sequence: flying blue glass panels with the white Jeopardy! logo moving underneath. As more blue panels fly over, the white Jeopardy! logo appeared at different angles. The camera pans out to show the white Jeopardy! logo on the navy blue background with some blue, purple, and magenta squares and some yellow scribbles moving on the ground, and two blue glass doors close, then opening to reveal the 2009-2013 set.
• The 2009-2013 set becomes primary in the studio and remains until the end of Season 29.
• Starting with this season, the Final Jeopardy! logo returned to the contestant podium monitors at the end of each episode.
• The Jeopardy! Clue Crew consisted of three members; Sarah Whitcomb, Jimmy McGuire, and Kelly Miyahara, which continued until the end of Season 35.
• The gameplay round title cards feature the "DOUBLE" and "FINAL" in Double and Final Jeopardy! in red, using the Eurostile font which continues to be used until the end of Season 31.
• However, the Double and Final Jeopardy! backdrops look different than the title card without the squares and just the navy blue background.
• The contestant intros and Final Jeopardy! winnings indicators changed to purple strips with white text in the same font.
• At the start of the Jeopardy! segment, the Jeopardy! logo spans the whole game board except in the monitors that reveal the categories. The dollar figures now appear on five television monitors; one for each value, accompanied by six futuristic bell style musical notes popping in a different pattern. The sound effect remains until the end of Season 32.
• The closing credits are changed to Futura and were used for the copyright credits on early episodes; shortly after the start of this season, however, the copyright credits are changed to Helvetica Black and has a transparent blue border added back to the copyright card.
• The split-screen background for full credit rolls remains the same as Season 25.
• For the first time since Season 12, there are no road shows to tape. All 230 half-hour episodes are taped in Culver City.

September 2009

• September 14, 2009: Season 26 begins, and Stefan Goodreau finishes with a 5-day total of $84,870.
• From September until May, the Million Dollar Celebrity Invitational takes place the third Thursday of each month, where celebrities are competing for $1 million for their favorite charity.
• September 17, 2009: The first Million Dollar Celebrity Invitational features Wolf Blitzer, Dana Delany, and Andy Richter competing. Andy Richter sets a new single-day winnings record for Celebrity Jeopardy! games of $68,000.

October 2009

• October 1, 2009: Andy Srinivasan finishes with a 4-day total of $69,600.
• October 12, 2009: Contestant Jeff Kirby ineligibly returns as repeat contestant.
• October 15, 2009: The second Million Dollar Celebrity Invitational features Kareem Abdul-Jabaar, Soledad O'Brien, and Michael McKean competing.
• October 16, 2009: Terry Linwood finishes with a 5-day total of $122,705 and a clip was shown in the June 6, 2010 episode, "Half Measures", of Breaking Bad.
• October 20, 2009: This episode marked the only rare Audio Final Jeopardy! to date.
• October 30, 2009: Christine Valada finishes with a 4-day total of $68,703.

November 2009

• November 2-13, 2009: The Teen Tournament is held. Rachel Rothenberg wins the tournament and $75,000. Will Dantzler received $31,600 for exceeding his minimum and Aidan Mehigan received $15,000.
• November 19, 2009: The third Million Dollar Celebrity Invitational features Julie Bowen, Jane Kaczmarek, and Robin Quivers compete.
• November 23, 2009: The Jeopardy! round categories are "SNL Celebrity Jeopardy!", "States That End in Hampshire", "What Color is Green?", "Current Black Presidents", "Sounds That Kitties Make", and "Twinkle Twinkle Little Word That Rhymes with Star". Alex delivers clues from Israel during the Double Jeopardy! round.

December 2009

• December 9, 2009: Alex delivers clues from the Galápagos Islands and Dave Belote finishes with a 5-day total of $134,801.
• December 17, 2009: The fourth Million Dollar Celebrity Invitational features Christopher Meloni, Harry Shearer, and Joshua Malina compete.
• December 24, 2009: Ryan Chaffee finishes with a 4-day total of $91,900.
• December 30, 2009: Stephen Weingarten finishes with a 4-day total of $96,690.

January 2010

• January 6, 2010: After the introductions, the dollar figures pop in before the camera cuts to the game board.
• January 20, 2010: Jason Zollinger finishes with a 6-day total of $148,404.
• January 21, 2010: The fifth Million Dollar Celebrity Invitational features Pat Sajak, Elizabeth Perkins, and Doug Savant competing.

February 2010

• February 1-12, 2010: The College Championship airs. Nick Yozamp won the tournament and $100,000. Ryan Stoffers received $50,000 and Surya Sabhapathy received $26,600 for exceeding her minimum.
• February 18, 2010: The sixth Million Dollar Celebrity Invitational features Chris Matthews, David Duchovny, and Charles Shaughnessy competing.

March 2010

• March 10, 2010: Vijay Balse finishes with a 4-day total of $82,400.
• March 15, 2010: The consolation prizes appear in the contestant podiums for the first time.
• March 18, 2010: The seventh Million Dollar Celebrity Invitational features Anderson Cooper, Aisha Tyler, and Cheech Marin competing.
• March 29, 2010: Regina Robbins finishes with a 4-day total of $90,700.

April 2010

• April 15, 2010: The eighth Million Dollar Celebrity Invitational features Neil Patrick Harris, Rebecca Lobo, and Hill Harper competing.
• April 16, 2010: The ninth and final Million Dollar Celebrity Invitational features Jane Curtin, Isaac Mizrahi, and CCH Pounder competing.

May 2010

• May 3, 2010: The semifinals and finals of the Million Dollar Celebrity Invitational are both held. Michael McKean won the tournament and received $1,000,000 for the International Myeloma Foundation. Jane Curtin received $250,000 for the U.S. Fund for UNICEF and Cheech Marin received $100,000 for Hispanic Scholarship Fund.
• May 10-21, 2010: The Tournament of Champions is held. Vijay Balse won the tournament and $250,000. Jason Zollinger received $100,000 and Stefan Goodreau received $50,000.
• May 25, 2010: Buddy Wright finishes with a 4-day total of $88,804.

June 2010

• June 23, 2010: Paul Kursky finishes with a 5-day total of $109,411.

July 2010

• July 5-9, 2010: Kids Week is held.
• July 22, 2010: John Krizel finishes with a 4-day total of $105,424.
• July 30, 2010: Season 26 ends.

Post-season

• August 2-September 10, 2010: Summer reruns air.