Jeopardy! Timeline (syndicated version)

This is a timeline for the syndicated version of Jeopardy! hosted by Alex Trebek (including the two pilots). The 1974-1975 nighttime version hosted by Art Fleming is not included in the timeline.

Pilot 1 (September 18, 1983)

• The taping took place at TAV Celebrity Theater in Hollywood, California.
• The theme music was the same opening theme as on the 1978-79 version (January, February, March).
• The pilot set is two giant PCs with smaller PCs for contestants podiums with the show's logo as a contestant backdrop, players now stand instead of sitting, Alex Trebek enters from the "Disk Drive" of the clue board and stands at the raised decimal key on the number pad at the base of the clue board.
• The original yellow scrambled letter logo is still in use as are the pull cards.
• The same $25-$125 values as last seen in the 1978-79 version are in place in the Jeopardy round and doubled to $50-$250 during Double Jeopardy.
• The Daily Double card is the same one used in the 1978-79 version.
• Contestants write Final Jeopardy responses and wagers on slates instead of light pens and monitors because their "monitors" were actually stylized eggcrate displays instead of vane displays on top of monitors.
• After the 1975-1983 Merv Griffin Productions logo, the words "Distributed by KING WORLD, Inc." fades in at the bottom of the set.
• Pilot 1 is announced by Jay Stewart, who also announced on Let's Make a Deal and later all game shows produced by Barry & Enright Productions from 1977-1981.

Pilot 2 (January 1984)

• The set is redesigned to its neon band appearance in yellow, red and orange with orange carpeting. The contestant podiums now display names in monitors surrounded by yellow and brown padding,
• The Jeopardy! logo changes to a Helvetica-style font.
• Nine-foot orange neon letters in the Gyparody font become the set's centerpiece. Each letter now turns off and flashes one at a time left to right during the introduction and throws to and from commercial breaks.
• Alex's podium contains a Jeopardy! logo.
• The contestants' score displays changes from eggcrate to vane.
• The clueboard gets its first permanent look with carpeting around the monitors and yellow padding around the frame.
• Dollar values are $50-$250 for Jeopardy! and $100-$500 for Double Jeopardy!. They begin coming on with the Jeopardy globe effect.
• The Daily Double card changes to white Gyparody letters against a blue screen..
• The Merv Griffin Productions logo is in the style of the Merv Griffin Enterprises logo used on 1984-1993 episodes. The King World logo is the text "KING WORLD PRODUCTIONS, INC." appears in the center on a blue BG.
• Contestants write Final Jeopardy responses the same way they did in pilot 1.
• Pilot 2 is announced by Johnny Gilbert, who becomes the announcer for the eventual series.
• The exact taping of this pilot looks like it could be somewhere between December 1983 and January 1984. One of the clues is about Lech Walesa's wife accepting the Nobel Peace Prize (December 10, 1983), and a picture from another pilot, in which Cynthia was the returning champion, appeared in Broadcasting Magazine in January 1984.

Season 1 (1984-85)

Season Changes:

• The neon bands of the set become white, maroon and blue with the podiums being updated to match, the orange lettering becomes red, and the Jeopardy! logo is removed from Alex's podium, the carpet also becomes blue, the studio backdrop is always blue while the clueboard has a white frame.
• The show's logo is redesigned to the Gyparody font, as seen on the set. The nine-foot neon letters now stay permanently lit through entire episodes.
• Alex Trebek is host, Johnny Gilbert is announcer, and Metromedia Square in Hollywood is the show's taping location.
• A rendition of "Think!" is used as the main theme.
• The game board features 30 monitors to reveal the clues and dollar amounts.
• At the beginning of the Jeopardy! round, each monitor displays a red Jeopardy! logo on a light blue background. These logos disappear with a "whoosh" sound, and then the dollar amounts appear one by one, each with a corresponding electronic musical note. The categories in the Jeopardy! round have clues worth $100, $200, $300, $400, and $500.
• In the Double Jeopardy! round, the same logo graphic appears on the monitors, but with "DOUBLE" written in smaller white text above "JEOPARDY!". The values then appear in the same manner, but are doubled to $200, $400, $600, $800, and $1,000.
• The Daily Double card is completely redesigned. The word "DAILY" becomes yellow in Futura and partially covers a red "DOUBLE!" in the Gyparody font. The background changes to a brighter blue.
  • There are also seperate cards for Audio Daily Doubles. The word "AUDIO" is added on top of a shrunken "DAILY' with the rest of the logo unchanged.
• The categories are backlit on cards with blue text bordered by red neons which stay on permanently.
• The players names appear in the podium monitors.
• The Daily Double sound effect is a similar whooshing sound.
• The end-of-round sound effect is ten low-pitched beeps, five of which are heard twice.
• Contestants now write their Final Jeopardy! responses using a light pen.
• The sound effects are electronic.
• The show opens with a shot of the set, and Johnny saying "This is Jeopardy!" over the sounds of audience chatter. After the announcement, the opening theme starts and a globe graphic with the show's logo in transparent letters fades in, accompanied by a "whoosh" sound. Johnny's full opening spiel is: "This is Jeopardy! Now entering the studio are today's contestants. A(n) [job title] (originally) from [city/state], [first contestant's name]. A(n) [job title] (originally) from [city/state], [second contestant's name]. And (our returning champion)... a(n) [job title] (originally) from [city/state], [third contestant's name] (...whose #-day cash winnings total [dollar amount]). And now, here is the host of Jeopardy!, Alex Trebek!"
• Johnny Gilbert's closing spiel is: "Jeopardy! is a production of Merv Griffin Enterprises, distributed by King World". The Merv Griffin Enterprises logo is on a black background, with a drawing of a griffin that winks at the camera, and animated "Merv Griffin Enterprises" text below. The King World logo features the "Stars and Stripes" logo design with the text with a bar and the star on the left and right against a solid dark blue background, with a small "Distributed By" disclaimer above. This is followed by a copyright/title screen which fades out along with the closing theme music.
• A ticket or contestant plug is shown during the second commercial break.
• Trebek uses a hand-held microphone (almost similar to the one that Bob Barker used on The Price is Right) in Seasons 1 & 2 in most episodes and some episodes he didn't use it because he wore a microphone.

This season:

• Jeopardy! permieres on September 10, 1984. On this episode (Greg/Lois/Frank), Greg Hopkins becomes the show's first returning champion with $8,400. The theme song plays in a repeated loop from 1:16 to 1:44 during the consolation prize plugs and the credits.
• On September 11 (Greg/Lynne/Paul), all three contestants have zero dollars at the end of the game, the first in the Trebek era. Each contestant missed that day's Final Jeopardy! and wagered their entire earnings. Alex nearly forgets to reveal the correct response until someone reminds him offstage.
• On September 12 (Gunther/Nancy/Michael), Michael becomes the first contestant in the Trebek era to be disqualified from playing Final Jeopardy! due to finishing Double Jeopardy! with -$1,300.
• In October, Elise Beraru becomes the first 5-day Jeopardy! champion of the Trebek era, winning $47,350. On the episode aired October 4, Elsie wins $23,800, a record which would stand until the following year.
• By November 26:
  • The neon letters now flash off one by one in order from left to right during the introduction, the closing and throws to and from commercial breaks.
  • The backlight on the category card turns off when all clues have been read.
  • The first Daily Double whoosh sound is replaced by a siren.
  • The first end-of-round sound effect is replaced by 16 high-pitched beeps, eight of which are heard twice.
  • The ring-in sound is eliminated.
  • The whooshing sound at the start of the Double Jeopardy! round is eliminated, and the dollar figures simply pop in.
  • "All Rights Reserved" is replaced by the copyright holder name "Jeopardy Productions, Inc." in uppercase letters.
• On December 4, Richard Landon, who won four games a week prior, is brought back due to an error on his original fifth appearance aired November 27.
• The episode aired in March 1985 has Steve Rogitz as the champion and a full credit roll. During the credits, a camera zooms into Rogitz and then zooms back out.
• Also by March 1985:
  • The neon lights now flash considerably faster.
  • The "whoosh" sound is removed from the opening, but it is still heard at the start of the Jeopardy! round when the dollar values pop in.
  • The globe logo during the opening now flies toward the screen. The letters in the logo become red.
  • The closing King World logo is changed to a more elaborate animated version against a purple gradient background, without the "Distributed By" text, the logo is light blue and crossed about rays and the company name sliding in, zooming away and the star moves from us and the bar draws under the company name and the left and right of the star.
  • The copyright card is changed to blue with a silver Jeopardy! logo.
• The season ends June 7. Summer reruns begin on June 10.

Season 2 (1985-86)

Changes for this season:

• The set is overhauled into the form it would maintain until 1991.
  • The neon bands change to pale yellow and blue.
  • The nine-foot letters are closed in so that the light tubes are hidden.
  • Contestants now come in through the archway added to the set just behind the exclamation point.
  • The clueboard's frame changes to grey.
• The show is now taped at Hollywood Center Studios, and continues to do so until 1994.
• Contestants now must wait until Alex finishes reading the answers before buzzing in. A white perimeter light around the categories and clues on the board lights up to indicate when a contestant can ring in (this would be rarely shown on camera). If a contestant buzzes in too early, they are "locked out" for 1/8 of a second.
• A player now has five seconds to respond after ringing in on a clue. Nine lights are added atop the contestant lecterns. These lights indicate how much time a player who rang in on a clue has to respond. For each second that goes by, two lights on either side dim. If the central light goes out, time is up.
• The set background changes from blue to red for Double Jeopardy! and Final Jeopardy!
• During the first week of this season, the champion stands at the right podium rather than the left podium.
• The opening is changed slighly with the globe now red with blue letters. The graphic is now accompanied by the "whoosh" sound before Johnny says "This... is... Jeopardy!" in a slower, more dramatic manner. The globe then explodes as the theme music begins and the rest of Johnny's spiel continues as normal.
• The ticket or contestant plug now appears during the final commercial break.
• Johnny starts preceding the closing logo announcements with "This is Johnny Gilbert speaking".
• At the start of the credits, a new Mr. Guy credit appears with a logo, with "of Beverly Hills" replaced by "Beverly Hills, California".
• Alex's wardrobe provider credit only says, "Alex Trebek's wardrobe by".
• The copyright card is recycled from the most recent used in Season 1.

This season:

• On September 16, the champion now stands at the left podium.
• On October 4, Chuck Forrest sets a new 5-day winnings record of $72,800.
• Also by October 4:
  • Alex's wardrobe provider credit is updated to say, "Alex Trebek's wardrobe furnished by".
• On November 7, Harvey Becker sets a new one-day winnings total with $25,400. This record would stand for nearly three years.
• On November 11, a two-week long $100,000 Tournament of Champions debuts featuring all 15 undefeated five-time champions from the show's first season.
  • The quarterfinal matches last through the entire week with the winner of each automatically advancing to the semifinals  The other four spots are "wild cards" and go to the four highest-scoring players among non-winners. The three winners of the semifinal matches face each other in the finals where the contestant with the highest score after two games wins the $100,000 top prize. Each runner-up in the finals receives the two-day total they cumulated. All semifinalists receive $5,000 and all quarterfinalists leave with $1,000.
  • Each episode starts with a "$100,000" graphic which zooms on screen accompanied by the words "Tournament of Champions" in the Enchanted font. The globe logo is not used during the tournament.
  • During the quarterfinals week, after Johnny Gilbert says, "This is Jeopardy!'s $100,000 Tournament of Champions", he says, "Now entering the studio are 3 of last year's 5-day undefeated champions."
  • On November 22, Jerry Frankel wins the first Tournament of Champions. Sadly, however, on July 13, 1987, he died of AIDS.
• By November 28:
  • The King World part of the closing announcement is slightly changed to say "...and distributed by King World".
  • The copyright card is changed to silver with a pink Jeopardy! logo. Later on this season (indeterminable by closing cards being replaced with the 1994 Columbia-Tristar logo on GSN reruns), the card is changed to silver with a pink Jeopardy logo and, after that, to light blue with a silver Jeopardy! logo.
• On December 24, a Video Daily Double is used for the first time. The card is the same as the Audio Daily Double graphic, except "VIDEO" replaces "AUDIO."
• The season ends June 6. Summer reruns begin June 9.

Season 3 (1986-87)

• The 9-foot Jeopardy! logo is now yellow neon.

  

  A rare Merv Griffin Enterprises logo with the MGE text missing, from the November 12, 1986 episode during the 1986 Tournament of Champions.

• Alex no longer uses a hand-held microphone for the beginning and end of the show as he had during the first two seasons.
• Starting with this season, there would be 46 weeks of the season (230 episodes), starting in September and ending in July.
• Contestant's names now appear on screen when contestants enter the studio.
• By November 12, 1986 during the 1986 Tournament of Champions, the Merv Griffin Enterprises text is missing from the logo; only "A Unit of The Coca-Cola Company" appears below the griffin.
• By December 24, 1986, the Merv Griffin Enterprises text has returned and starts to be shown between the griffin and the Coca-Cola byline.
• By February 2, 1987, the King World part of the closing announcement is slightly changed again to say "...and is distributed by King World".
• At some point between February 3, 1987 and the end of the season, the byline below the Merv Griffin Enterprises logo changes to "A unit of Coca-Cola TELEVISION".
• In some episodes, the sponsor list and eligibility disclaimer are done in the Helvetica font, while the credits are still done in Enchanted.
• On February 16, 1987, the first-ever Teen Tournament is held.
• The copyright card is the same as the rest of season 2.
• In May the first Senior Citizens Tournament is held.
• The season begins September 8, 1986. The season ends July 24, 1987. Summer reruns begin July 27, 1987.

This season:

The Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions consists of 14 men and 1 woman (Beryl Arbit).

Season 4 (1987-88)

Season changes:

• The neon bordering around the category cards are covered.
• The show's logo gets curved and the exclamation mark becomes a little shorter which is what is probably still seen today.
• Later, in the second half of the season, the byline changes, making it read "A unit of Columbia Pictures Entertainment, Inc.", is orange and the same font used for the aforementioned Merv Griffin text and not in italics under the Merv Griffin Enterprises logo.
• The copyright card is the same as the rest of season 2 and all of season 3.

This season:

• A full credit roll is featured at the end of an episode (Cheryl/Michael/Ron) in 1988.
• The Tournament of Champions consists of all men.
• On July 5, 1988, Kevin Frear sets a new one-day record of $27,800.
• The season ends July 22, 1988. Summer reruns begin July 25, 1988.

Season 5 (1988-89)

• In earlier episodes, the copyright card is the same as the rest of season 2 and all of both seasons 3 and 4.
• Later, the copyright card is changed to the shrunken Jeopardy logo, each varied depending on the episode.
• Jeopardy! aired its 1,000th episode on March 31, 1989.
• On May 8, 1989, the first-ever College Championship premiered.
• The season ends on July 21, 1989 with the Senior Citizens Tournament. From there until season 11, each season ends with the Senior Citizens Tournament. Summer reruns begin after the tournament.

Season 6 (1989-90)

Season changes:

• The category cards are more rectangular shaped.
• Alex wears glasses beginning with this season.

King World logo from 1989/1990.

• In late 1990, the King World logo changes, now computer-animated, at the beginning, a circular pattern at the right, the comany name flying, "King" going from right to left and "World" going from left to right and a large star in the background, the background then turns black-brown gradient, with a purple line on the left and disappears and the blue rectangle across with the purple line on the left and right, making it a spotlight (like the Fox logo), making the bars criss-crossed from here. The "Distributed by" text is above King World, chyroned in and the triangle turns into the star from the beginning of the logo. It was better known as the King World Spotlights, although it made its official debut back in 1989.

This season:

• On September 12, 1989, Bob Blake sets a new 5-day winnings record of $82,501.
• On January 15, 1990, Frank Spangenberg sets a new one-day record of $30,600, and a new 5-day winnings record of $102,597.
• The season ends on July 20, 1990. Summer reruns begin on July 23, 1990.

Season 7 (1990-91)

Season Changes:

• Shortly after the start of this season, the lights dim during Final Jeopardy!, which has been permanent since.
• This season is the last one to use the 1985-1991 set, with its final appearance on the season finale episode aired July 19, 1991.
• The white outline around the contestant's score displays replaced with a thicker silver outline.
• The copyright card is changed to a rotation of red and blue.
• "All Rights Reserved" begins appearing in the copyright card again.
• In early episodes of the season, the copyright card had a upside-down triangle with the Jeopardy! logo in the banner.
• On October 30 and October 31, 1990, a full credit roll is shown two days in a row.
• The season ends July 19, 1991. Summer reruns begin July 22, 1991.

Season 8 (1991-92)

• A new state-of-the-art set debuts. The backdrop consists of a metal grid, and was named the "grid set" by fans alike.
• The game board now featured 36 monitors, which were made sleeker; the categories are now displayed in the top row of monitors with a different animations as they appear. Initially, the categories zoomed in from the center of each monitor. The contestant score displays are now incandescent seven-segment display so that the scores can still be seen when the lights dim during Final Jeopardy.
• The main theme music is lower-pitched.
• The copyright card is changed to a big yellow Jeopardy logo (spotlights, etc.) and under the logo is a copyright notice.
• The "whoosh" sound is no longer heard when the dollar figures pop in on the Jeopardy! round board; the dollar figures simply pop in.
• This marks the last season to have the clue text zoom in and replace the Daily Double logo. It ended sometime in 1992.
• Also in 1992, the Daily Double Logo appears next to the contestant who selected it but it didn't disappear after the clue was read. It would disappear when the camera turns the 3 players or to Alex Trebek.
• The episode aired May 18, 1992 (Jerome Vered's first game) has a full credit roll with camera shots dissolving to reveal other camera shots and the Jeopardy logo.
• On May 4, 1992, Chris Montplasir became a semi-finalist winner by answering the tie breaker clue at the end of the game in the first quarterfinal game of the college championship when she defeated Ken Kansa and Margaret Bickers.
• On May 21, 1992, Jerome Vered sets a new one-day record of $34,000.
• Jeopardy! surpasses Wheel of Fortune as the longest-running syndicated game show series in term of shows aired.
• The seasons ends July 18, 1992. Summer reruns begin July 21, 1992.

Season 9 (1992-93)

• This Merv Griffin logo contains the Sony byline under it.
• Now the clue text for Daily Doubles appear on the left side of the contestant and then disappears after the clue is read.
• At the start of this season, the Merv Griffin Enterprises logo changed. The Columbia Pictures Entertainment byline was replaced with the Sony Pictures Entertainment byline in the 1984 logo. Also, Johnny's closing line is exactly the same as in early 1987.
• In late-1992, Johnny's line changed to "This is Johnny Gilbert speaking. Jeopardy! is a production of Merv Griffin Enterprises. Distributed by King World." Like Johnny's closing line from 1987, this new closing line is pre-recorded. A drum-roll is heard after the Merv Griffin Enterprises Logo and before the King World Logo. To accommodate the change, the copyright card is moved from the end to between the two logos. The music of the King World logo sounded creepier from this time until 1994.
• The main theme is remixed to include bongos.
• Perry Ellis begins providing Alex's wardrobe and the wardrobe provider credit has a Greif Companies reference.
• In mid-1993, the logo is in a style of the Columbia Pictures Television logo of 1992, except the letters on top is missing and the griffin no longer winks at the camera with a statue of the griffin.
• Celebrity Jeopardy! debuts.
• The contestant interviews segment is right after the completion of the Jeopardy! round and before the second commercial break.
• The contestant podium monitors turn red in Double Jeopardy! to match the backdrop.

This Season:

• From the start of this season until sometime in October 1992, Johnny's pre-recorded closing line is the same as in early 1987, and the copyright card still appears after the logos
• On June 17, 1993, the theme plays in its entirety during the closing, ending at the Merv Griffin Enterprises part of Johnny's closing line.
• On June 17 and June 18, 1993, a full credit roll is shown two days in a row.
• The season ends July 23, 1993, which is also has to be the 2,000th episode aired. Summer reruns begin on July 26, 1993.

Season 10 (1993-94)

Season changes:

• Johnny's opening line is extended to say, "Celebrating its tenth year as America's favorite answer-and-question show, this is Jeopardy!"
• The 10th anniversary logo is used in the introduction.
• The closing card changes to the same as early season 7 episodes, but with a cloud background, and triangle has a light in it with the banner is blue and larger.

This season:

• The week of November 29, 1993 is the 10th Anniversary Tournament, featuring semi-finalists and finalists from past Tournament of Champions.
• For the rest of the season including May 23, 1994, Johnny says the 1992 closing line in a different fashion, which is pre-recorded.
• The season ends July 22, 1994. Summer reruns begin on July 25, 1994.

Season 11 (1994-95)

• Starting with this season until shortly after the start of Season 13, there is a new globe intro.
• Johnny's opening line reverts to simply "This is Jeopardy!"
• Also beginning this season, episodes are taped at Stage 10 at Sony Pictures.
• Later in the season, the Greif Companies reference is removed from Alex's wardrobe provider credit.
• During this season, the logo is a blue background, with a Columbia Pictures torch lady and the TriStar Pictures pegasus and the CTT name with Sony byline in yellow text and the music is a bombastic horn fanfare. Johnny's closing line was changed to "This is Johnny Gilbert speaking. Jeopardy! is a production of Columbia TriStar Television. Distributed by King World." CTT took over production of Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! from Merv Griffin Enterprises. The music of the King World logo sounded truncated from this time until 1996. Later in the season, on the closing credits, "Created by Merv Griffin" appeared after the closing scroll. Johnny's line changed to "This is Johnny Gilbert speaking. Jeopardy! was created by Merv Griffin. Produced by Columbia TriStar Television. Distributed by King World."
• The season ends July 21, 1995. Summer reruns begin on July 24, 1995.

Season 12 (1995-96)

• This season is the most popular season with the grid set.
• Johnny Gilbert begins the Jeopardy! opening by saying, "An official sponsor of the 1996 Olympic Games....This .....is....Jeopardy! (It's only used on regular episodes only.)
• Its sister show, Wheel of Fortune is moved from CBS Television City in Hollywood to Sony Pictures Studios' Stage 11 in Culver City.
• On October 31, 1995, Vanna White appears in the clues for their "Halloween/Costume" category.
• The last Senior Citizens Tournament is held in December 1995.
• An Olympics tournament is held in July 1996.
• The seasons ends July 19, 1996. Summer reruns begin on July 22, 1996.

Season 13 (1996-97)​​

Season changes:

• Johnny's introduction for the first month of the season is "From the Sony Studios, this is Jeopardy!"
• In the second month, Johnny's introduction changes to "From the Sony Pictures Studios, this is Jeopardy!"
• The font for the contestant intros changes to Compacta-D at the start of the season.
• In earlier episodes this season, announcer Johnny Gilbert's closing spiel is the same as it was in early 1995. By November 4, 1996, Johnny's closing spiel is just "Jeopardy! was created by Merv Griffin". After Johnny signs off, the King World logo appears first, followed by the CTT logo.
• The music from "Think!" is played during the King World logo.
• The contestant interviews segment is right after the first commercial and before concluding the last segment of the Jeopardy! round and then going into the second commercial break. But when this is done, Alex Trebek stands near the contestant podiums instead of near his podium like he did in Seasons 1-8.
• Columbia TriStar changes its logo in mid-1997. It is changed to the Columbia torch lady zooming away from us and the TriStar pegasus is different and flying across and the clouds on the second box zooms away slowly and the background is a blue cloudy sky and a light blue background. Also, the boxes and text were in bluish tint and all text is navy blue.

This season:

• At the start of the season, even though the contestants' names and total winnings are changed to the Compacta-D font, the 30-second thinking period of Final Jeopardy!, as well as the sponsor list and staff credits, still use Enchanted. By October 1996, the staff credits, no longer done in Enchanted, change to Compacta-D; additionally, the clue text in the Final Jeopardy! thinking period changes to Clarendon. By November 4, 1996, the sponsor list moves to the bottom of the screen and changes to Compacta-D. However, the text used for clues as they appear on monitors still uses Enchanted to this day.
• The episode aired November 8, 1996 marks the last appearance of the grid set. At the end of the show, Alex takes home the microphone and sheets from the podium.
• On the episode aired November 11, 1996, a new set designed by Naomi Slodki debuts. The set is nicknamed the "sushi bar" set due to its wood-like appearance. On air it is referred to as a den by Alex and according to Slodki it is supposed to be an advanced library foyer. The show's logo is emblazoned on glass, with the "P" and "A" acting as two doors for Alex to make his entrance and walk down a small staircase, similar to the Big Doors from The Price Is Right. The "whoosh" sound disappears from the introduction, and the audience is no longer heard in the background during Johnny's introduction. The main theme music is truncated. It is also the last episode where the contestant monitors turn red in Double Jeopardy. From now on, the title card will be introduced at the beginning of the show and will change with each new season.
• Beginning on November 12, 1996, the set changes back to blue for the credits.
• During this season's Teen Tournament, the set changes to an unusual shade of pink for the credits.
• On April 1, 1997, Pat Sajak hosts in place of Alex (who in turn hosts Wheel of Fortune that day). The categories in the first round feature references to Wheel (including Before & After, which becomes a recurring Jeopardy! category itself, and Say "Jack", in which all correct responses contain the word "Jack"), while the Double Jeopardy! categories are plays on the word "fool". Aside from those elements, this is a relatively normal episode compared to the Wheel special. Alex is credited at the end of the episode.
• On May 1, 1997, the Law & Order theme plays in the intro, as all three celebrity contestants are actors on the show.
• The week of May 5, 1997 (the semi-final and final matches of the International Tournament) is taped in Stockholm, Sweden.
• The season ends July 18, 1997, which also marks the last episode to use the bongo theme as well as the original "Think!" cue. Summer reruns begin July 21, 1997.

Season 14 (1997-98)

Season changes:

• A new version of both the main theme and "Think!" music, composed by Steve Kaplan, debut.
• Starting with this season, the category screen effects are covered by a Jeopardy! logo (or Double Jeopardy or a logo of a particular tournament)
• The microphones are removed from the podiums, and now Alex and the contestants wear clip on mics.
• The studio audience is now shown.
• Many of the categories are now more obscure.
• There would be audio and video clues as regular clues in addition to the Daily Doubles.
• Starting this season and continuing till the fall of 2009, The Final Jeopardy! category is now displayed on screen when contestants begin writing their responses.
• Starting this season and continuing through 2001, a Game Show Network plug appears during the credits in some episodes. Other episodes don't have the GSN plug. The first plug is the ID with an announcer saying "It's the only network you can play at home, Game Show Network, where it's all play, all day! Buzz your cable or satellite provider and get in the game!"
• The contestants' names and winnings in the intro, as well as the graphic showing the Final Jeopardy! winner's new winnings count for the day, are switched to Optima, which continues to be used for them until Season 18. Optima also becomes the new font for the clue text in the Final Jeopardy! thinking period, and remains as such through most of Season 20. Additionally, the sponsor list, credits, and copyright notice are switched to Optima as well, and continue to use that font until the end of Season 25.

This season:

• On the season premiere, the new theme song ends before Johnny's closing spiel. Only applause from the audience is heard over the KingWorld logo.
• On September 2, 1997, the theme song ends a few seconds before Johnny's closing spiel. As with the season premiere, only applause from the audience is heard over the KingWorld logo.
• On September 11, 1997, oddly, the copyright date and "Created by Merv Griffin" credit are done in Compacta-D, as was the case for much of season 13.
• On the episode aired September 15, 1997, the "Think!" music is remixed to include a piano lead in the first verse and a trumpet lead in the second verse, replacing the other version which only had a piano lead.  This lasts until the end of Season 26.
• September 19, 1997 is the 3,000th episode (this is actually the 2,935th episode). On this episode:
  • Johnny Gilbert appears on-camera to announce "This is the 3,000th show of Jeopardy!"
  • After Johnny appears on-camera to do the announcement, the intro from the first episode plays.
  • After the intro from the first episode, as the 1997 theme begins, Johnny introduces Alex with "Now once again, here is the host of Jeopardy, Alex Trebek!"
  • The contestants are introduced after Alex's entrance.
  • The Jeopardy! round categories are the ones used on the first episode ("Lakes & Rivers", "Inventions", "Animals", "Foreign Cuisine", "Actors & Roles", "Number Please"). They are introduced with their introduction from the first episode. The "Actors & Roles" category this time contains video clues from some certain celebrities from the Celebrity Jeopardy! tournament.
  • The Double Jeopardy! categories are related to the milestone. One of the categories is "Missed on Show No. 1," which are clues that were missed on the first episode. If a contestant gives an incorrect answer in this category, the buzzer used in the first season sounds.
  • The Final Jeopardy! category is the same one from the first episode ("Holidays") and is introduced in the same manner.
• On the episode aired October 6, 1997, the set no longer turns red in Double Jeopardy!
• The episodes aired November 1997 are the first ones to be taped at road venues, starting with the second week of the Teen Tournament and Power Players Week.
• December 16, 1997 is the first of three known games to use the "Bonus" category. In this category, each clue has two correct responses. If a contestant gives one correct response, they can choose to give the other correct response, or pass it to another contestant. However, if they chose to give the other correct response and get it wrong, they lose the value from the first correct response, so they are basically playing for double the clue value.
• December 19, 1997 is really the 3,000th episode.
• December 31, 1997 is the second of three known games to use the "Bonus" category.
• The set turns red in Double Jeopardy! one last time on the Celebrity Jeopardy! sportscasters episode aired January 23, 1998.
• February 10, 1998 is the third of three known games to use the "Bonus" category.
• In March 1998, the dollar figures no longer pop in on the Double Jeopardy! board, they are already present coming out of the second commercial break. This was first done in February during the Tournament of Champions before becoming permanent in March.
• On June 12, 1998, all three contestants have zero dollars at the end of the game (the first known instance since the 2nd show).
• The season ends July 17, 1998. Summer reruns begin July 20, 1998.

Season 15 (1998-99)

Season changes:

• During this season, a logo of Game Show Network consisting of letter tiles popping up with a ball and hand with mixed up letters appears: M, A, H, and E in the 1st row and W, S, and G in the 2nd row. The ball hits the scrambled letters to change the letters to the word GAME in the 1st row and the letters S, H, and W in the 2nd row, with the ball appearing between the H and the W. The plug has a different voice-over and "Buzz your cable or satellite provider and get in the game!" is replaced with "Buzz your cable company and get in the game!"

  

  King World logo from 1998.

• From this season until December 1999, the first Jeopardy! Online promo appears after the credits. A pop-like tune plays over the promo, ending with the last four notes of the theme song. Until early 1999, the music continues into the 1989 KingWorld logo, and the last four notes of the theme song can be heard during the logo.
• In early 1999, the music for the Jeopardy! Online promo ends when the promo does, and the King World music returns. In late 1999, the KingWorld logo is changed to the 1998 King World StarShooter, which shows a computerized yellow background complete with thunderclap. The King World format completely changed, making it look blue instead of silver.
• The closed captioning sponsor is broadcast right after the final commercial break right before the Final Jeopardy! round.
• The Priceline.com sponsor is announced by Johnny Gilbert right before the Double Jeopardy! Round.

This season:

• The weeks of November 9 and 16, 1998 are taped at the Wang Center for Performing Arts in Boston, Massachusetts. November 9 is Boston Week, and November 16 is the Teen Reunion Tournament.
• The season ends July 23, 1999. Summer reruns begin July 26, 1999.

Season 16 (1999-2000)

• The intro now starts with a new flyover past the Sony Pictures Studios complex. We zoom out of a TV tube-like shape to show various images from the show on some TV tubes, which move from right-to-left. As this happens, gold letters pop in one-by-one to spell out Jeopardy!, then one final TV tube floats from the right and zooms in to reveal a shot of the set.
• On the season premiere week, Kids Week debuts.
• On the season premiere week, the Game Show Network plug changed to the "Ball Maze" ID with the announcer saying "Why just watch television when you can play from home? Game Show Network! Buzz your cable company to get in the game!" No music plays at all during the plug.
• In late October 1999, Eddie Timanus is the first blind contestant featured on the show. During his episodes, the contestants are already at their podiums during the intro. This change becomes permanent the next season.
• The weeks of November 8 and November 15, 1999 are taped at Madison Square Garden in New York City. November 8 is the semi-final and final episodes of the Teen Tournament, and November 15 is Celebrity Jeopardy!
• By December 27, 1999, the Jeopardy! Online promo changes to a "Play Online and Win" promo with the Jeopardy! Online logo in blue text on a yellow oval. The music from the first promo is retained, with some dits added to it as the letters of "Play Online and Win" pop in one-by-one.
• Starting on January 3, 2000, announcer Johnny Gilbert no longer signs off at the end of the credits.
• In February 2000, Johnny Gilbert makes an on-camera appearance after reading the clues for a Poetry category.
• On July 5, 2000, Johnny Gilbert made his first mistake on Jeopardy! by saying, "And now here is the host of Jeopardy! Glen....Trebek.
• In May 2000, the Tournament of Champions is held in Atlanta at the Atlanta Civic Center.
• The season ends July 21, 2000. Summer reruns begin July 24, 2000.

Season 17 (2000-01)

• The main theme is truncated.
• A wind blowing sound is used in the introduction until after the April 20, 2001 episode.
• Starting with this season and continuing into today, Johnny's intro reverts to "This is Jeopardy!" for shows taped in Culver City.
• The contestants no longer walk onto the set during their introductions; they are already at their podiums.
• Because of this, instead of "Now entering the studio are today's contestants", Johnny uses a rotation of other phrases: "Please welcome today's contestants", "Introducing today's contestants", "Here are today's contestants", "Today's contestants are", and "Let's meet today's contestants".
• On the episodes aired in February 2001, Celebrity Jeopardy! and the International Tournament are held at the Hilton in Las Vegas, Nevada. A new, sped-up remix of the main theme debuts with these episodes.
• April 20, 2001 is the last episode to use the 1997-2001 theme.
• The new main theme which made its debut in February is put permanently into use on the episode aired April 23, 2001.
• The copyright notice is now accompanied by a trademark notice, which continues to accompany it to this day.
• The season ends July 20, 2001. Summer reruns begin July 23, 2001.

Season 18 (2001-02)

• The contestant intros and Final Jeopardy! winnings appear in a plain font similar to Arial. This lasts until the end of Season 20.
• On early episodes of this season:
  • The dollar values for the first two rounds are still the same as they were on September 10, 1984, when the show officially returned to the air.
  • The second Jeopardy! Online promo is still in use after the credits. Later in the season, the promo is dropped.
  • The Clue Crew is still not present.
• The September 11, 2001 episode is pre-empted in its original run in many markets due to news coverage of the terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington, D.C. It eventually airs on GSN on June 21, 2005.
• On September 21, 2001, Alex shaves his mustache.
• On September 24, 2001, the Clue Crew debuts with four members: Cheryl Farrell, Sofia Lidskog, Jimmy McGuire, and Sarah Whitcomb.
• The pink on the sliding doors is replaced by a very pale lavender and is used for the rest of the "sushi bar" set
• The "whoosh" sound returns in the introduction in October 2001.
• A split screen for full credit rolls is introduced, with the closing act of an episode on the left and the credits scrolling up on the right.
• On the November 26, 2001 episode, the dollar amounts are changed to the current amounts: $200-1000 in the Jeopardy! round, $400-2000 in the Double Jeopardy! round. At the top of the episode, the former Jeopardy! round clue values of $100-$500 are already in the monitors; as Alex mentions the new clue values the monitors make the usual transition: The old Jeopardy! round values are replaced with the Jeopardy! logo as the new values pop in, one by one.
• On December 20, 2001, the Los Angeles Spirit Chorale with Cheryl Farrell sings Carol of the Bells during the credits.
• On December 21, 2001, the Chorale with Cheryl sings Silent Night coming out of the final commercial break, and the rest of the song is heard for 30 seconds (instead of the Think music) after Alex reads the Final Jeopardy clue.
• January 11, 2002 is the real 4,000th episode.
• On April 29, 2002, Ben Sternberg sets a new one-day record of $38,400.
• In May 2002, the Million Dollars Masters Tournament is held at Radio City Music Hall in New York City to honor the show's 4,000th episode.
• May 15, 2002 is the celebratory 4,000th episode, although it is actually #4,088. It consists entirely of clips with no gameplay involved.
• Starting on May 16, 2002, the second-place runner-up receives $2,000 and the third-place runner-up earns $1,000.
• During this season, the CTT logo is replaced by the logo of CTDT. It's the same as the CTT logo, expect the logo is a blue tint and the SPE byline is smaller and the "TELEVISION" text is replaced by "DOMESTIC TELEVISION".
• The season ends July 19, 2002. Summer reruns begin July 22, 2002.

Season 19 (2002-03)

• Shortly after the start of this season, the CTDT logo is replaced by the logo of Sony Pictures Television. On a dark blue screen, we see bars with orange inside and the text appears zooming away slowly. The music is a Christmas-like tune composed by Mike Jones.
• Myron Meyer sets a new one day record of $50,000 on September 5, 2002.
• The episode aired November 8, 2002 marks the last appearance of the sushi bar set.
• The 2002 College Championship, taped in Ohio, airs from November 11-22, 2002.
• On the November 25, 2002 episode, the show gets another brand-new set, featuring hanging panels with stone-like and metallic-like appearances. The contestant podiums are now trapezoid shaped. The contestant score displays are now LCD displays; positive scores are shown in white text on a blue background while negative scores are shown in a white text on a red background. The intro shows a time-lapse transition to the new set.
• In January 2003, minor changes are made to the set.
• Brian Weikle sets a new one-day record of $52,000 on the episode aired April 14, 2003.
• On June 19, 2003, John Beck becomes the last retired 5-time champion.
• The season ends July 18, 2003. Summer reruns begin July 21, 2003.

Season 20 (2003-04)

Season Changes:

• The five-day limit is lifted; now contestants can keep appearing on the show as long as they continue to win.
• The main title card has an orange-and-blue background with details of the set visible within it, and the wordmark is black. Sometimes, a "20th Anniversary" byline is seen in Futura underneath the wordmark. The "DOUBLE" and "FINAL" in Double and Final Jeopardy, as well as the Daily Double text, are switched to Impact; the Daily Double text is black like the wordmark, while all the rest become red.
• Starting with this season, the contestant intros were outer box intros. Also, the contestant intro and Final Jeopardy! winnings strips appear slanted, in blue, with black text in a font resembling Helvetica.
• Lisa Finneran, Rocky Schmidt, and Gary Johnson are promoted to senior producers.

This season:

• In January 2004, Tom Walsh becomes the show's first 7-day champion.
• Ken Jennings' run begins June 2, 2004.
• On the season finale episode aired July 23, 2004, Ken Jennings sets a new one-day record of $75,000.
• Summer reruns begin July 26, 2004.
• Writer Steven Dorfman dies. The April 21 episode is a tribute to him; furthermore, the Final Jeopardy! clue for that episode is the last clue written by Dorfman to appear on the show.
• For at least the last 30 episodes of Season 20, the display text for video clues and the Final Jeopardy! thinking period are switched back to Enchanted, which remains for the next two seasons.

Season 21 (2004-05)

• The main title card for this season depicts the wordmark in gold, superimposed over a background in many different shades of blue with cyan Bezier curves in the background. The "DAILY DOUBLE" name and the "DOUBLE" and "FINAL" in Double and Final Jeopardy! again use Impact, as do the words "VIDEO" and "AUDIO" in Video and Audio Daily Doubles; the "DAILY DOUBLE" name now appears in silver, while all the rest remain red. The contestant intros and Final Jeopardy! winnings use slate-blue strips with white borders and white, italicized, shadowed text in Compacta-D.
• Ken Jennings' winning streak continues through November.
• Nancy Zerg beats Ken Jennings on November 30, 2004; however, she loses the next day.
• The Ultimate Tournament of Champions is held from February to May. Ken Jennings, Jerome Vered, and Brad Rutter face off in the finals. Rutter wins the tournament with a $2,000,000 cash prize, making him the biggest game show money winner at the time; as of today he is still the biggest money winner on Jeopardy!
• On February 23, 2005, there is a one-player Final Jeopardy!
• David Madden's run begins on the episode aired July 5, 2005.
• The season ends July 22, 2005. It also marks the last episode where there isn't electric guitars or saxophones played in the end credits. Summer reruns begin July 25, 2005.

Season 22 (2005-06)

• This season's title card uses a navy-blue background with floating "Q" and "A" letters and many orange, brown, purple, and blue squares moving across the screen, with the wordmark again appearing in gold. The "DAILY DOUBLE" name, the "DOUBLE" and "FINAL" in Double and Final Jeopardy!, the contestant intro and Final Jeopardy! winnings strips, and the position strips in the credits are all switched to blue with yellow borders, and the contestant names and winnings counts are written in normal Compacta-D rather than in the italicized version of the font. The "VIDEO" and "AUDIO" in Video and Audio Daily Doubles are now written in yellow script. 
• David Madden's win streak ends on the September 19, 2005 episode after winning 19 games.
• In the first full credit roll episode of the season, the full credit roll split-screen scheme changes to floating Q's and A's in blue, making it match the backdrop of this season's title card.
• Starting in the season premiere and continuing until the end of season 24, the version of the theme with saxophone and electric guitar riffs plays during the credits.
• By November 28, Oxford University Press again provides verification of materials for the show, which it continues to do to this day.
• By January 16, the audio quality of the show is reasonably modified, making the "ticking" noise in the Final Jeopardy! think music sound less audible.
• Beginning this season, the set turns red when the lights dim during Final Jeopardy!
• The season ends on July 28, 2006; the end of this season marks the last episode aired in standard definition, and also the last time ever that Enchanted is used on video clues or in the 30-second thinking period of Final Jeopardy! Summer reruns begin on July 31, 2006.

Season 23 (2006-07)

Season changes:

• Both Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune begin airing in high-definition television.
• The main title sequence uses a blue, starry backdrop where many photographs are seen throughout, before the main title card comes into view. The photographs include the following: first pictures of the Grand Canyon, the solar system, and Alex Trebek himself; then the Statue of Liberty, Da Vinci's Vitruvian Man, an African elephant, and the Kremlin; then an American eagle, the plain text "Daily Double", Mount Rushmore, and a volcano; then a panda, the Mona Lisa, and one of the Great Pyramids of Giza; and finally a dinosaur skeleton, a space shuttle, and Martin Luther King, Jr. When Johnny gives his "This... is... Jeopardy!" announcement, the main title card finally comes into view, appearing as a starry blue-and-orange backdrop with a grid pattern, with the wordmark in blue.
• The gameplay round and Daily Double title cards use starry blue backdrops with the text appearing in orange.
• The contestant intro and Final Jeopardy! winnings strips are black with white borders, and use Franklin Gothic.
• Korinna is no longer used on video clues or in the Final Jeopardy! thinking period; these are switched to Optima, and continue to use that font to this day.
• The position labels in the end credits (as well as the copyright notice and "Created by Merv Griffin" text) have their strips removed, and all credits from Executive Producer to Senior Technical Supervisor/Coordinating Producer have their font changed to Helvetica.
• Lisa Finneran, Rocky Schmidt, and Gary Johnson are promoted to supervising producers. Also, on the episode aired November 6, Johnny Gilbert is credited as announcer for the first time, and technical supervisor Bob Sofia is promoted to coordinating producer.
• The set receives a few minor facelifts. New podiums were added to the set; the contestant podiums were spaced wider apart for the 16:9 ratio frame. The game board was replaced with a nearly-seamless projection wall. Also, during the first two weeks of taping, the ring-in lights on the contestant lecterns are in red LED, as they were in the previous version of the set.
• In the first full credit roll episode of the season, the split-screen scheme changes to a blue starfield with light blue bars, one on the top and one on the bottom, with the Sony Pictures Studios credit scrolling to a stop on the center-right.

  

  The King World logo from 2006.

• King World changes its logo on December 2006, in this version, the 1998 logo graphic was remade in 3D with a silver trim in the background, the logo text was tilted, and the sky in the background was changed to blue and white. The new King World logo, however, does not begin to be used by Jeopardy! until January 2007; even then, it still uses the 1998 audio track.

This season:

• Jeopardy! aired its 5,000th episode on September 22, 2006.
• On September 25, 2006, the red ring-in lights on the contestant lecterns are changed to white due to visibility issues, particularly in standard-definition.
• On November 8-21, the show goes to Radio City Music Hall for the 10-day Celebrity Jeopardy! tournament.
• In January, the opening sequence is modified. The picture of the Grand Canyon is changed to a picture of the Coliseum in Rome; the elephant and Kremlin photos are replaced with pictures of a tiger and Stonehenge, respectively; the Kremlin photo replaces the Mount Rushmore picture, and the volcano picture is replaced with a picture of a blue butterfly on a leaf; the pyramid occupies the Mona Lisa photo's former position, and the panda photo is replaced with an orangutan; and finally the picture of King is replaced with a photo of Albert Einstein.
• On the episode aired March 16, 2007, the first-ever three-way tie for first place occurs with all three contestants winning $16,000.
• This was the first time which two contestants on one previous episode (April 17, 2006) returned due to a technical error; Brian Lamb, a former champion, returned on June 26 and lost a game, and Holly Owens returned on July 3 and won one game.
• This is the first and only season where there are two Teen Tournaments occurring in the same season; the first one is in February while the latter is in July.
• The season ends July 27, 2007. Summer reruns begin July 30, 2007.
• Merv Griffin dies on August 12.
• King World is shut down on August 20.

Season 24 (2007-08)

Season changes:

• As King World has been incorporated into CBS Television Distribution by this point, the King World logo at the end of the show is replaced with the current CBS Television Distribution logo on September 27. The background is a blue water screen with a blue light and the styled eye with the text on the right. For the first week, the 1999 King World audio cue is still heard; afterwards, that is discarded in favor of CTD's own music cue, a synth violin fanfare.
• The opening features a bluish-black starry background and a game board with orange lines forming the Jeopardy! logo as the camera pans around it. The camera then pans out, revealing the completed Jeopardy! logo in gold, and the game board disappears as an orange line quickly forms behind the Jeopardy! logo. The logo then zooms forward to reveal the 2002-2009 set.
• The gameplay round title cards are redone to match the new opening sequence. The "DOUBLE" and "FINAL" in Double and Final Jeopardy! are switched back to Impact; the "DOUBLE" now appears in gold, while the "FINAL" is reverted to a previous red coloration.
• The contestant intros and Final Jeopardy! winnings indicators use cyan strips with black text in a font resembling Arial. The contestant intro's background resembles a blue grid.
• The split-screen scheme changes to the same blue starry background in the first full credit roll episode of the season, which is the season premiere, and the Sony Pictures Studios credit fades in on the center-right, then the split-screen still cuts back to the full-screen closing sequence. Later in the season, the text on the right becomes larger and the Sony Pictures Studios credit fades out after fading in, before the closing sequence zooms back in to fill the screen.

This season:

• The season premiere aired September 10, 2007 has a full credit roll.
• During the Tournament of Champions, there was a two-way tie at the end of Final Jeopardy! in one of the games; as a result, there was one extra clue and one of the players had to ring in and give a correct response in order to advance, unlike in regular play.
• In May, Larissa Kelly becomes the highest winning female contestant in the show's history.
• The season ends July 25, 2008.  Summer reruns begin July 28, 2008.

Season 25 (2008-09)

Season changes:

• The opening intro is gold tiles zooming out from the left and flipping over to reveal their blue sides, and a silver Jeopardy! logo pans out, then the J swings forward to reveal the 2002-2009 set. Sometimes, "25th Anniversary" is shown under the Jeopardy! logo in a cursive script. The gameplay round title cards feature the "DOUBLE" and "FINAL" in Double and Final Jeopardy! in red, using an unknown font with similarities to Agency FB.
• The 25th anniversary logo sometimes appears during the introductions.
• The "whoosh" sound is removed from the introduction.
• A new version of the main theme and think music debut, composed by Chris Bell Music & Sound Design.
• For the first month of this season, the main theme uses no electric guitar leads until midway through the piece. However, beginning with the episide aired October 6, 2008, the main theme is remixed to include electric guitar leads the entire way through.  This and the first version alternate with one another from time to time until the newer version replaces the first version for good; however, the first version of the main theme still plays during the end credits as of today.
• Also for the first month of this season, the think cue is nicknamed "leaky faucet" due to the prominent tic-toc percussion in the background.  On the episode aired October 13, 2008, the think music is remixed to de-emphasize the "leaky faucet" percussion.  As with the main theme, the newer and first versions alternate with one another until the newer version replaces the first version for good.
• Only during this season, the dollar figures no longer pop in on the Jeopardy! round board; they are already present following the introductions.
• In the first full credit roll episode of the season, the split-screen scheme changes to a blue background with a white "blob" floating around.

This season:

• During the second week, there is a Kids Week reunion featuring former contestants from Kids Week 1999 and 2000.
• Priscilla Ball was Jeopardy! champion on January 16, 2009. She was due to return as champion on the next show that aired on January 19, 2009, but felt ill, so that game began with three new players, (last time they had 3 new challengers on Jeopardy! was on June 20, 2003) and Alex announced that she would return as a co-champion at a later date. Priscilla eventually returned back to Jeopardy! on April 9, 2009 and won her second game.
• Celebrity Jeopardy! and the Tournament of Champions are taped at the Consumer Electronics Show and aired March 10-24, 2009. A brand new set is rolled out, featuring Sony's latest technology. The game board is now a wall of 36 HD LCD monitors. The contestant podiums are now LCD monitors on their sides, and the scores on the contestant lecterns are changed to a different font. And there is a giant monitor between Alex and the contestants that reveals the Jeopardy! logo (or logo of a particular tournament) during most of the game. Additionally, the scores are always on a blue background; while positive scores continue to be white text on a blue background, negative scores are now red text. The Final Jeopardy! category is now displayed on the giant monitor between Alex and the contestants, although both the category and clue continue to be revealed on the board.
• The season finale episode aired July 24, 2009 which also marks the last appearance of the 2002-2009 set.
• Summer reruns begin July 27, 2009.

Season 26 (2009-10)

Changes this season:

• The new set that was rolled out at the Consumer Electronics Show in Season 25 became the permanent set in the studio.
• The intro features flying glass panels with a moving Jeopardy logo underneath. As more panels are flying over, the Jeopardy logo is shown at different angles. Then the camera pans out to show the Jeopardy! logo, and then two glass "doors" close and then open to reveal the current set.
• At the start of the Jeopardy! round, the Jeopardy! logo spans the whole game board except in the monitors that reveal the categories. The dollar figures now appear in 5 monitors at a time, accompanied by six futuristic bell-like musical notes.
• The end credits are changed to a new font; shortly after the start of this season, however, the copyright credits are changed to Arial Black.
• The split-screen scheme in full credit rolls is the same as in season 25.

This season:

• From September until May, the Million Dollar Celebrity Invitational takes place the third Thursday of each month, where celebrities are competing for 1 million dollars for their favorite charity. On the first week of May, the semifinals and finals of this event are held.
• Beginning with the episode aired March 13, 2010, the consolation prizes ($2000 for second place, $1000 for third place) begin appearing in the contestant lectern score displays as blue text on a white background.
• The season begins September 14, 2009 and ends July 30, 2010. Summer reruns begin August 2, 2010.

Season 27 (2010-11)

Season Changes:

• The intro is multi-colored glass panels stacking on top of one another, forming the Jeopardy! logo with the camera panning out from the right. As the Jeopardy! logo is completed, blue glass panels above and below the Jeopardy! logo move in from right and left simultaneously. Then the Jeopardy! logo zooms forward, in which the "A" reveals the 2009-2013 set.
• The Teachers Tournament debuts in May.
• Again, the split-screen scheme in full credit rolls is the same as in season 25; however, the color scheme for picture clues and daily doubles changes to a light blue with tinted horizontal streaked lines.

This season:

• On September 14, 2010, Roger Craig sets a new one-day record of $77,000, surpassing Ken Jennings' previous record of $75,000.
• October 15, 2010 is the 6,000th episode (it is actually the 5,935th episode), complete with a full credit roll.
• During the 2010-B College Championship, aired November 8-19, the think music from Rock and Roll Jeopardy! is used during the Final Jeopardy! round.
• January 14, 2011 is the real 6,000th episode.
• On February 14-16 2011, the IBM Challenge is held in upstate New York and is a three-day match between the Watson supercomputer, Ken Jennings, and Brad Rutter.
• On March 16, 2011, there is a one-player Final Jeopardy!
• The season begins September 13, 2010. The season ends July 29, 2011. (It would be the last season for the series to end near the end of July.)
• Summer reruns begin August 1, 2011.

Season 28 (2011-12)

Changes this season:

• The intro is two golden "doors" opening diagonally to reveal a yellow and purple background and a bird's eye view of the Jeopardy! logo seen from the top of the letters. Then there are flying "grid" and purple & red panels (somewhat similar to the Season 26 intro) as the background changes to red and purple. The camera comes out of its birdseye view to reveal the Jeopardy! logo as the timer lights below the logo go in reverse direction. Finally, the Jeopardy! logo zooms in, revealing the 2009-2013 set through the "A" (like in Season 27).
• Alex enters the set from directly behind the game board instead of through the sliding doors as he is recovering from his Achilles Tendon injury on his right foot; he stays at his podium throughout the whole game.
• Beginning December 12, 2011, Trebek steps out of his podium to interview contestants and when the Final Jeopardy! think theme plays.
• Aleve sponsors the consolation prizes beginning the second week of this season; however, it is only seen on regular play.
• The credits are changed to a different font.
• The closed captioning sponsored is announced right before the Double Jeopardy! and right after the second commercial break.
• In the first full credit roll episode of the season, the split-screen scheme changes to light blue with glitters.

This season:

• During the Tournament of Champions, in the first of the two-day finals, Roger Craig uncovers both Daily Doubles in the Double Jeopardy! round, wagers all of his winnings on both, and gives correct responses.
• The weeks of May 7 and May 14, 2012 are taped at the DAR Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C. May 7 is the semi-final and final matches of the Teen Tournament, and May 14 is Power Players Week.
• On the Teen Tournament Finals Part 2 which aired May 11, 2012, Teen Tournament Winner Elyse Mancuso sets the record of $79,600. This is also the first time the winner has won more than $75,000 in the Teen Tournament.
• For the first time in its history, Jeopardy! ends its series in the beginning of August.
• The season begins on September 19, 2011. The season ends August 3, 2012. Summer reruns begin August 6, 2012.

Season 29 (2012-13)

Changes this season:

• VITAC now provides closed captioning for Jeopardy! and its sister show Wheel of Fortune.
• The season begins on September 17, 2012. The season ends on August 2, 2013, which marks the last appearance of the CES set. Summer reruns begin on August 5, 2013.

This season:

• On February 7, 2013, all three contestants have zero dollars at the end of the game; the third known instance of this happening, and the first instance of it happening in a tournament semi-final game.
• On July 31, 2013, Skyler Hornback sets the all-time Kids Week record of $66,600, This is also the third highest one-day record behind Ken Jennings and Roger Craig.

Season 30 (2013-14)

Changes this season:

• Although the show 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's podium were removed.  There are LED borders on the game board; on top there are three LED strips and rectangular LED posts on the sides, similar to the ones used on Wheel of Fortune.  Alex's podium now has LED strips to match the game board, and for the first time on the new set, it has the Jeopardy! logo especially for the landmark 30th anniversary season. Additionally, the "piano key" LEDs were removed from the floor, and 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 and the contestants is also retained from the CES set but this time mounted on a "walrus tusk" post.
• The intro features 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 new set through the "A" (like in Seasons 27 and 28).
• Carly Rae Jepsen's hit song "Call Me Maybe" is used as the main theme, replacing the 2008 theme; however the 2008 think cue is retained.
• The color scheme for picture clues, daily doubles, and perhaps the split-screen scheme, changes to a blue starry background, appearing similar to the one used in Season 24.

This season:

• A special "Battle of the Decades Tournament" will be held to commemerate the 30th Anniversary of the current syndicated version of the show, 45 contestants who all competed in the past Tournament of Champions will be split into three decades (1984-93, 1994-2003, 2004-13). Each will compete against each other players in the same decade they competed in before, five matches will be held for each decade, Each qualifying week will air in the winter/spring. The winners of that match will compete in the finals for the grand prize of $1,000,000.
• The season begins on September 16, 2013. The season ends on August 1, 2014. Summer reruns begins on August 4, 2014.
• 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 2010 theme, these renditions also play going into and out of commercial breaks.

• On Monday, February 10, 2014, 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 ending credits of the show.