Jeopardy! History Wiki
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Season 28 (2011-2012)[]

Season Changes[]

  • New opening sequence: two golden doors open revealing a yellow and purple background, with a bird's eye view of the Jeopardy! logo. The background is changed to red and violet. The camera zooms out revealing the Jeopardy! logo, with timer lights going backwards. Finally, the Jeopardy! logo zooms forward, revealing 2009-2013 set.
  • Alex Trebek entered the set from behind the game board, rather than the usual sliding doors, because of an injury to his right Achilles tendon. He began sitting at his podium during the entire show, including when the Final Jeopardy! category and clue are revealed.
  • With the start of Season 28, Alex Trebek began sitting at his podium during the Final Jeopardy! segment. In previous seasons, Alex stood in front of the game board for the entire segment.
  • For the first half of season 28, Alex Trebek stood at his podium during the Final Jeopardy! segment.
  • Aleve sponsors the consolation prizes beginning the second week of this season, however, it is only seen on regular play.
  • The closing credits change to a different font mid-season, which would be in use until Season 33.
  • Lisa Broffman joined the Jeopardy! staff as supervising producer.
  • On episodes with a full closing credit roll, the split-screen backdrop is light blue with glitters.
  • The copyright date gained a violet color scheme.
  • This is the second occurrence where no champions participated in the Tournament of Champions made it to the finals.
  • This is first season to end its original run in August rather than July.
  • This is the last season where Sarah Whitcomb-Foss was credited as Sarah Whitcomb.

September 2011[]

  • September 19, 2011: Season 28 kicks off, and the first episode to have a closed captioning sponsor at the end of the second commercial break rather than before the Final Jeopardy! segment; Alex comes on stage wearing a boot due to his Achilles tendon injury, and conducts the contestant interviews from behind his podium, Alex sits on his chair at his podium revealing the Final Jeopardy! category and clue, as opposed to standing in front of the game board in seasons 1-27, so Alex no longer stands in front of the game board.
  • September 23, 2011: Justin Sausville finishes with a 6-day total of $134,000.
  • September 26, 2011: First game consolation prizes are sponsored. Sponsor's name appears on podiums under prize totals at conclusion of game.

October 2011[]

  • October 4, 2011: Joon Pahk set the record for highest wager on a single Daily Double in regular play, betting his entire $16,400.
  • October 12, 2011: Joon Pahk finishes with a 7-day total of $199,000.
  • October 24, 2011: Alex Trebek introduces the Jeopardy! Hall of Fame backstage.
  • October 27, 2011: Sunny Staller's contestant interview appeared on September 11, 2019;

November 2011[]

  • November 2-15, 2011: The Tournament of Champions aired. This tournament marks the last time the champions in the quarterfinal week was in the order of their last names. Roger Craig won the tournament and $250,000. Tom Nissley received $100,000 and Buddy Wright received $50,000.
  • November 9, 2011: Alex delivers clues from the Metropolitan Opera in New York.
  • November 14, 2011: Alex delivers clues from Petra in Jordan. In the first of the two-day finals, eventual champion Roger Craig uncovers both Daily Doubles consecutively in the Double Jeopardy! round, wagers all of his winnings on both, and gives correct responses each time. Tournament of Champions winner Roger sets record for highest True DD wager ($18K).

December 2011[]

  • December 12, 2011: Alex returns to doing contestant interviews near the contestant podiums.
  • December 14, 2011: 84-year-old Tampa native Shirley Smallwood attends the taping, thanks to Jeremy Bloom's Wish of a Lifetime Foundation.
  • December 15, 2011: Alex's wife Jean, mother Lucille, and Dolores from Florida were featured in the audience. The closed captioning sponsor was announced right after the first commercial break, right before the Double Jeopardy! round, and right after the second commercial break.
  • December 29, 2011: Jason Keller finishes with a 9-day total of $213,900.

January 2012[]

  • January 6, 2012: Dave Leach finishes with a 6-day total of $98,054.
  • January 12, 2012: Dan McShane finishes with a 4-day total of $62,001.

February 2012[]

  • February 1-14, 2012: The College Championship is held. Monica Thieu won the tournament and $100,000. Sarah Bart received $50,000 and Zack Terrill received $25,000.
  • February 15-28, 2012: The Teachers Tournament is held. Brooks Humphreys, Patrick Quinn won the tournament and $100,000. Brooks Humphreys received $50,000 and Justin Hofstetter received $25,000.

March 2012[]

  • March 8, 2012: David Gard finishes with a 4-day total of $84,700.

April 2012[]

  • April 30, 2012-May 11, 2012: The Teen Tournament airs. Elyse Mancuso won the tournament by exceeding her minimum with $79,600. Rose Schaefer received $36,000 for exceeding her minimum and Catherine Briley received $31,000 for exceeding her minimum.

May 2012[]

  • May 4, 2012: During the last quarterfinal game in the Teen Tournament, Double Jeopardy! leader Gabriela Gonzales wagered $8,000, rather than the minimum necessary $7,001 to cover second-place player Evan Eschliman, who apparently wagered $1,200. To have had an even $15,000 had he gotten the correct response in Final Jeopardy!, but ended up with $12,600 after his miss. To her misfortune, Gabriela's score was coincidentally the same after her miss and over wager. Evan buzzed in first with the correct response to advance to the semifinals, whereas Gabriela's score was insufficient to earn her a wildcard spot.
  • May 7-18, 2012: The second week of the Teen Tournament, and the Power Players Week are both taped at DAR Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C.
    • May 11, 2012: Teen Tournament Winner Elyse Mancuso sets the record of $79,600. This was also the first time the winner has won more than $75,000 in the Teen Tournament. As a matter of fact, all three finalists (Elyse Mancuso, Catherine Briley and Rose Schaefer) surpass their respective minimum guarantees.
    • May 14–18, 2012: Power Players Week was held.
      • May 14, 2012: Chris Matthews, Lizzie O'Leary, and Robert Gibbs compete.
      • May 15, 2012: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Dana Perino, and David Faber compete. It is also the last tournament game in the Alex Trebek era where only one Daily Double was played on time.
      • May 16, 2012: Dr. Mehmet Oz, Katty Kay, and Chris Wallace compete.
      • May 17, 2012: Chuck Todd, Clarence Page, and Lewis Black compete.
      • May 18, 2012: Anderson Cooper, Kelly O'Donnell, and Thomas L. Friedman compete.
  • May 29, 2012: Joel Pool finishes with a 6-day total of $116,800.

June 2012[]

  • June 1, 2012: A clip was shown in House of Cards Season 1, Episode 11.
  • June 21, 2012: David Menchaca finishes with a 5-day total of $115,503.

July 2012[]

  • July 30-August 3, 2012: Kids Week is held.

August 2012[]

  • August 3, 2012: Season 28 ends.

Post-season[]

  • August 6-September 14, 2012: Summer reruns air.
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