Season 30 (2013-2014)
Season changes:
- The 2013-present set was introduced starting with this season.
- Although Jeopardy! did not receive a completely new set as it did at the beginning of Season 26, the set underwent a significant remodeling.
- The sliding doors behind Alex Trebek's podium are out, and the ramp behind the game board is in.
- There are LED borders on the game board; on top of that, there are three LED strips and rectangular LED posts on the sides, which looks just like the ones used on its sister show Wheel of Fortune.
- Alex Trebek's podium now consists of LED strips to match the game board, and for the first time on the current set, it has the Jeopardy! logo especially for the landmark 30th anniversary season.
- Additionally, the piano key Light Emitting Diodes are out, so the contestant side was raised to create a single level floor.
- The contestant podiums resemble the 2006 models while retaining the sideways monitors introduced in 2009.
- And the large monitor between Alex Trebek and the contestants are out, and the new one with a thinner frame is in, and this time mounted on a walrus tusk post.
- The opening credits have changed to red spheres and meandering lines as the camera pans out to reveal a CGI rendering of a globe; the globe intro makes a comeback. The Jeopardy! logo and 30th anniversary zoom out to the center of the screen from top and bottom respectively, and then the logo zooms forward, cutting to the current set through the "A" like in Seasons 27 and 28.
- The backdrop for picture clues, Daily Doubles, and split-screen closing credits on episodes with a full credit roll, changed its color to a blue starry background, appearing similar to the one used in Season 24.
This season:
- Season 30 of Jeopardy! kicks off on September 16, 2013.
- A special tournament entitled the Battle of the Decades was held to celebrate the 30th anniversary season of the current syndicated version of the show.
- 45 contestants who all competed in past Tournament of Champions games have been split into three decades 1984 to 1993, 1994 to 2003, and 2004 to 2013.
- Each competed against other players in the same decade they competed in before; five matches were held for each decade. Each qualifying week aired in the winter/spring.
- The winners of that match competed in the quarter-finals/semi-finals/finals for the grand prize of $1,000,000.
- On the November 5, 2013, episode, one of the Jeopardy! round categories is "Old Theme, New Genre" in which the main theme is performed in different music styles.
- Instead of the 2008 theme, these renditions also play going into and out of commercial breaks.
- On the December 5, 2013, episode, a marriage proposal happened in the studio audience during the commercial break just before the Double Jeopardy! segment.
- She actually said "yes" to her fiancee. Congratulations to the couple.
- On the February 10, 2014, episode, the first game of the College Championship, Sarah Stevens, a sophomore from the University of Delaware from Dover, Delaware, didn't wear any shoes during her appearance on Jeopardy!. She was just shown barefoot during the closing credits.
- From April 21, 2014, to June 2, 2014, Julia Collins surpasses David Madden for the second-longest winning streak and becomes the show's winningest female contestant after having won 20 games.
- From January 28, 2014, to March 12, 2014, Arthur Chu's Jeopardy! reign lasted for 11 matches and lost on his 12th game. The television media considered him as the Jeopardy! villain.
- Again, there are no road shows to tape. All 230 half-hour episodes are taped in Culver City.
- Although it has been said the last week of the Battle of the Decades tournament followed by a week of celebrity games would be held in New York City, the tournament ends up all being taped in Culver City, and the celebrity games never get held.
- On the June 13, 2014 episode, Mike Janela of Guinness World Records presented Alex Trebek with a framed certificate recognizing his hosting record: "The most game show episodes hosted by the same presenter same program is 6,829 by Alex Trebek on Jeopardy! in Culver City, California, USA as of 17 April 2014."
- Due to the Battle of the Decades, the Teen Tournament gets held over until the end of regular play.
- On the last episode of Season 30, which aired on August 1, 2014, the deciding game match of the 2014 Teen Tournament, in which both final game 2 leader Jeff Xie and final game 1 high scorer Alan Koolik both wagered everything in Final Jeopardy!, both responded correctly and became tied with two-game totals of $54,200.
- Jeff buzzed in first with the correct response to winning the $75,000 Teen Tournament prize. What a way to end the regular season.
- This is the last full season with ties allowed.
- Season 30 of Jeopardy! wraps up on August 1, 2014.
- Summer reruns kicks off on August 4, 2014.