All told, we’ve had worse weeks
This was a rather saddening week for Jeopardy! fans.
We started out with a two-day champion losing on an over-wager and ended with another two-day champion losing on an even worse over-wager.
Out of 15 tries, our contestants mustered just three correct Final Jeopardy! responses.
And we had two of the lowest winning amounts ever recorded: $1,599 on Monday, and $1,500 on Friday. Only once have the producers gotten away with smaller checks in the same week: back-to-back $1,300 paydays on February 22–23, 2001, before the clue values doubled.
For the week, however, we didn’t do all that badly: our champions combined for $61,098 in winnings, better than at least 29 other weeks (adjusted for doubling) and far more than the $47,198 the second week of Season 24.
(The average weekly haul since Ken Jennings lost is just over $100,000.)
The total of 3 correct Final responses, too, pales in comparison to one very bad week in 1999: the closing week of Season 15. Thanks to the J! Archive, I’ve replicated that below.
In putting this together, I was able to get two right, so maybe they were particularly tough.
Monday, July 19, 1999
Vic Chandhok (1x) vs. Shane Richman vs. Mary Campbell (full game)
| Vic | Shane | Mary |
| 9,700 | 6,000 | 7,000 |
| 4,301 | 0 | 6,900 |
| 5,399 | 6,000 | 100 |
| PLACE NAMES |
| ITS ORIGINAL NAME, WAI MOMI, & ITS CURRENT NAME BOTH COME FROM THE VALUABLE MOLLUSKS ONCE FOUND THERE |
[spoiler]What is Pearl Harbor?[/spoiler]
Tuesday, July 20, 1999
Shane Richman vs. Martha Raphelson vs. Paul Graff (full game)
| Shane | Martha | Paul |
| 5,700 | 9,800 | 5,600 |
| 5,700 | 1,700 | 2,700 |
| 0 | 8,100 | 2,900 |
| THE ANIMAL KINGDOM |
| THE FAMILY MONODONTIDAE IS COMPOSED OF 2 MEMBERS: THE BELUGA WHALE & THIS OTHER MARINE MAMMAL |
[spoiler]What is the narwhal?[/spoiler]
Wednesday, July 21, 1999
Martha Raphelson vs. Diana Bush vs. Ed Case (full game)
| Martha | Diana | Ed |
| 7,500 | 1,700 | 6,900 |
| 6,400 | 1,000 | 6,900 |
| 13,900 | 700 | 0 |
| THE NOBEL PRIZE |
| IT’S THE ONLY NOBEL CATEGORY IN WHICH THE PRIZE HAS NOT BEEN AWARDED TO A WOMAN |
[spoiler]What is Economics? (Note: Elinor Ostrom won in 2009.)[/spoiler]
Thursday, July 22, 1999
Martha Raphelson vs. Jackie Wollner vs. Jason Scupine (full game)
| Martha | Jackie | Jason |
| 6,900 | 7,100 | 5,700 |
| 6,900 | 300 | 3,300 |
| 0 | 6,800 | 2,400 |
| WORLD LEADERS |
| THIS COUNTRY’S LEADERS HAVE INCLUDED YUSOF BIN ISHAK, BENJAMIN SHEARES & LEE KUAN YEW |
[spoiler]What is Singapore?[/spoiler]
Friday, July 23, 1999
Jackie Wollner vs. Geoff Morley vs. Peter Senkbeil (full game)
Jackie would lose her third match – the first regular game of Season 16 – on, appropriately, a triple-stumper (one that was more or less reused recently).
| Jackie | Geoff | Peter |
| 7,400 | 1,900 | 2,900 |
| 1,100 | 1,900 | 901 |
| 6,300 | 0 | 1,999 |
| PUBLICATIONS |
| HENRY NICHOLS’ “FOUR SEASONS” ENGRAVING HAS APPEARED ON THE COVER OF THIS PUBLICATION EACH YEAR SINCE 1851 |
[spoiler]What is Farmers’ Almanac?
(Note: distinct from The Old Farmer’s Almanac)[/spoiler]