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Warning: This page may contain spoilers for the September 27, 2023 game of Celebrity Jeopardy!, especially for those of you in the Pacific time zone—please do not scroll down if you wish to avoid being spoiled. It should also be noted that in some countries, this episode will be airing on Thursday, September 28, 2023. This page will be updated as the game airs in the Eastern Time Zone, between 8:00 and 9:00 PM Eastern.
Today’s Celebrity Jeopardy! contestants:
Utkarsh Ambudkar, an actor originally from Baltimore, Maryland, playing for the SAG-AFTRA Foundation, supporting the Emergency Financial Assistance and Disaster Relief Fund
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Emily Hampshire, an actor & writer originally from Montreal, Quebec, Canada, playing for GLAAD
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Mark Duplass, a filmmaker & actor originally from New Orleans, Louisiana, playing for Blink Now
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Andy’s Pregame Thoughts:
Tonight begins Season 2 of primetime Celebrity Jeopardy!, as 27 new celebrities make their way onto the Alex Trebek Stage, with the overall winner taking home $1,000,000 for their charity! This week’s match sees Utkarsh Ambudkar (Jay on Ghosts), Emily Hampshire (Stevie on Schitt’s Creek), and Mark Duplass (Chip on The Morning Show). The previous sentence has been provided for the general information of the viewing audience; one important thing to not about this tournament is that because SAG-AFTRA is on strike, it is very likely that you will not see any mention of these celebrities’ projects on the show itself, as that would land the actors in significant trouble with SAG-AFTRA for “promoting struck work”.
None of these three players have much in terms of a Jeopardy! history—of the three players, only one of them—Mark—has been mentioned in a clue on the show, in a clue in December 2022 alongside his brother Jay.
One further important thing that you’ll see tonight that was hinted at on Monday’s Inside Jeopardy!: When a clue is on screen, there is going to be more information the screen than just the text of the clue. What extra information will be there is still yet to be seen, but the show is using this Celebrity Jeopardy! tournament as a testing ground for this innovation; I assume that if it is received well that it might migrate over to the regular syndicated show. I’m also sure that the show is very interested in hearing viewer feedback on this front. To that end, all comments here regarding the on-screen clue presentation will be within bounds in the comment section—I just ask that you refrain from any sort of personal attacks.
(Content continues below)
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Final Jeopardy category: Astronomy
Final Jeopardy clue: Discovered in the ’60s and ’70s, Cygnus X-1 was the first of these light-trapping gravitational bodies to be identified
Game Recap & Tonight’s Game Stats:
Looking to find out who won Jeopardy! today? Here’s the Wednesday, September 27, 2023 Celebrity Jeopardy! by the numbers, along with a recap:
Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: Ants; Big-Screen Basketball; Hey! That’s Not An Element!; Oui Oui, History; Chicken Five Ways; Also An Animal Sound)
It was Mark who got off to the best start, picking up 6 correct by the first break! After the commercial, Utkarsh found the Daily Double, but fell back down to $0. Mark held his lead.
Statistics at the first break:
Mark 6 correct 1 incorrect
Utkarsh 4 correct 0 incorrect
Emily 1 correct 3 incorrect
Scores at the first break (15 clues):
Mark $1,700
Utkarsh $1,600
Emily -$800
Today’s interviews:
Utkarsh claims to have aged out of being “Sexiest Man Alive”.
Emily has played a lot of academics, in spite of having no science background.
Mark got tips from Ike Barinholtz, but ignored them.
Statistics after the Jeopardy round:
Mark 11 correct 4 incorrect
Utkarsh 8 correct 4 incorrect
Emily 2 correct 6 incorrect
Scores after the Jeopardy! Round:
Mark $2,500
Utkarsh $400
Emily -$1,400
Double Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: Random U.S. State Facts; Post-Apocalyptic Pop Culture; Out Of Breath; Book Dedications; Meditation; From Z To A)
Utkarsh found his game a bit in this round, but three $1000 correct responses from Mark extended Mark’s lead. Emily still seemed to struggle, but there’s lots of time left for her as the game reached the halfway mark. After the break, Mark found both Daily Doubles, and picked up $4,500 on them both to extend his lead.
Statistics at the third break:
Mark 16 correct 4 incorrect
Utkarsh 16 correct 5 incorrect
Emily 3 correct 8 incorrect
Scores at the third break (45 clues):
Mark $6,900
Utkarsh $3,000
Emily -$2,000
Today’s second interviews:
Utkarsh has family at home who is more hoping for a good night’s sleep than for Utkarsh to do well.
Emily has a dad who’s proud of her for getting on the show.
Mark saw a clue about his film Jeff Who Lives At Home.
Statistics after Double Jeopardy:
Mark 23 correct 4 incorrect
Utkarsh 22 correct 5 incorrect
Emily 3 correct 9 incorrect
Scores after the Double Jeopardy! Round:
Mark $14,400
Utkarsh $6,800
Emily -$2,600
Triple Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: Islands’ Countries; The DNA Of Music; Alaska; Airport Stores; Oh, The Irony!; It “Is” What It “Is”)
Utkarsh went for the fireworks early in the round, picking up $7,000 on the first Daily Double of the round! The last Daily Double came out very late—Mark got it, but got it incorrect to fall to sit second going into Final.
Statistics after Triple Jeopardy:
Utkarsh 36 correct 6 incorrect
Mark 31 correct 6 incorrect
Emily 5 correct 10 incorrect
Total number of unplayed clues this season: 0 (0 today).
Scores going into Final:
Utkarsh $21,100
Mark $15,100
Emily -$1,100 ($500 given)
Final Jeopardy correct response: What is a black hole?
Mark and Utkarsh both got Final Jeopardy correct; Utkarsh made the cover bet, and he’s a semifinalist!
Tonight’s results:
Emily $500 – $500 = $0 (What is stars?)
Mark $15,100 + $15,097 = $30,197 (What is a black hole? Hi Ora & Molly!)
Utkarsh $21,100 + $9,101 = $30,201 (What is a black hole?) (Semi-Finalist)
Daily Double locations:
1) OUI OUI, HISTORY $400 (clue #24)
Utkarsh 1000 -1000 (Mark 2700 Emily -1100)
2) OUT OF BREATH $1000 (clue #17)
Mark 7100 +2500 (Emily -2000 Utkarsh 3000)
3) BOOK DEDICATIONS $600 (clue #25)
Mark 10200 +2000 (Emily -2000 Utkarsh 6600)
4) IT “IS” WHAT IT “IS” $900 (clue #3)
Utkarsh 7700 +7000 (Mark 14400 Emily -2600)
5) OH, THE IRONY! $900 (clue #8)
Utkarsh 17400 -2000 (Mark 15600 Emily -2600)
6) ALASKA $1200 (clue #29, $1500 left on board)
Mark 18600 -5000 (Emily -1100 Utkarsh 19900)
Overall Daily Double Efficiency for this game: 7
Unplayed clues:
J! Round: None!
DJ! Round: None!
TJ! Round: None!
Game Stats:
Utkarsh $18,000 Coryat, 36 correct, 6 incorrect, 38.10% in first on buzzer (32/84), 5/7 on rebound attempts (on 12 rebound opportunities)
Mark $17,200 Coryat, 31 correct, 6 incorrect, 33.33% in first on buzzer (28/84), 3/6 on rebound attempts (on 12 rebound opportunities)
Emily -$1,100 Coryat, 5 correct, 10 incorrect, 17.86% in first on buzzer (15/84), 0/0 on rebound attempts (on 4 rebound opportunities)
Combined Coryat Score: $34,100
Lach Trash: $9,400 (on 15 Triple Stumpers)
Coryat lost to incorrect responses (less double-correct responses): $10,500
Lead Changes: 11
Times Tied: 0
Mark Duplass, career statistics:
32 correct, 6 incorrect
3/6 on rebound attempts (on 12 rebound opportunities)
33.33% in first on buzzer (28/84)
2/3 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: -$500)
1/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $17,200
Emily Hampshire, career statistics:
5 correct, 11 incorrect
0/0 on rebound attempts (on 4 rebound opportunities)
17.86% in first on buzzer (15/84)
0/0 on Daily Doubles
0/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: -$1,100
Utkarsh Ambudkar, career statistics:
37 correct, 6 incorrect
5/7 on rebound attempts (on 12 rebound opportunities)
38.10% in first on buzzer (32/84)
1/3 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $4,000)
1/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $18,000
Andy’s Thoughts:
- So, it’s hard to describe the way the show has elected to show the category before each clue. However, I do like it—it gives me an opportunity to make sure my scores balance, and it doesn’t interfere with the clue screens.
- Today’s box score: September 27, 2023 Celebrity Jeopardy! Box Score.
Final Jeopardy! wagering suggestions:
(Scores: Utkarsh $21,100 Mark $15,100 Emily $500)
Mark: Limit your bet to $3,100. (Actual bet: $15,097)
Emily: Bet whatever you like. (Actual bet: $500.)
Utkarsh: Standard cover bet over Mark is $9,101. (Actual bet: $9,101)
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Even though Emily was in the red for most of the play, it was nice of the game to spot her $500 so that she wouldn’t be eliminated from the Final. And then, when she was the only one to get the Final wrong (for what it’s worth, I got it, but I don’t think Celebrity Jeopardy! counts toward my score), they gave her the same $30,000 for her charity that Mark got for his charity. Of course, when playing for charity, the rules have to be looser. Also, I will say that these actors’ performances with lively banter and commentary made for an amusing hour’s play.
I have to say that my Canadian-American partner… born in Montreal, no less, was very disappointed with Emily’s play. Regardless, good on Jeopardy to let her play in Final.
I generally liked the changes; we knew what the score was at virtually all times and it was a bit easier to see what we needed to focus on. I still kind of wish we could see the category on the clue, but I still liked what Jeopardy did overall.
I also appreciate Jeopardy experimenting with things as of recent, even if they don’t always work out. (such as revealing the Daily Double locations before the round starts)
I expected to like this new format since I would be able to keep an eye on everything that is going on, but as it turned out I did not like it. The screen was just too “busy” with too many items of interest to choose from to look at in the short time that one clue was being “played”. Just think how much busier a regular game would have been than this sub-par celebrity game was.
Perhaps on a 65″ or bigger TV [mine is 55″] the players would show up more clearly so you COULD pay more attention to their facial expressions or whatever, but that would also make for longer distances for one’s eyes to flit from the players to the categories to the clues.
Also, it seemed to me that the boards were regressive in appearance which made the show seem like a 20-yr-old rerun [except for being rectangular instead of square]. This may have actually been true due to not wanting to put a lot of money into a experimental board, but I don’t think that would be true — more than likely it was just a “modern board” with cameras focused differently to allow for the “Zoom screen” effect. However, I have not been able to get the color and shading(?) of my TV screen back to normal since having to adjust it a few months ago to be able to actually SEE indoor or night scenes in some shows like ‘House of Dragons’, so that may be responsible. However, in contrast to the Jeopardy! board’s dull appearance, Wheel of Fortune and $100,000 Pyramid looked fine.
Andy;
I agree showinv the contestants to the side of the game board is in an interesting innovation, but wasn’t the highlighting of the category selected done early in the Alex Trebec era, or, something similar? I think it might have been a reminder as to what categories were still in play.
This games Final Jeopardy might be considered too easy for a regular game of Jeopardy, but probably the right amount of “easiness” for a Celebrity Jeopardy, where the players are presumably invited for their personalities, and, intelligence, but don’t have a lot of time to prepare, unlike many regular Jeopardy players.
As for myself, I saw light trapping, gravitational bodies, came up with “what is a Black Hole?”
The only highlighting done in the first seven seasons was having a light on if the category was still in play.
Bill, I’m thinking what Andy described was likely what you were thinking of but just did not remember it exactly with it being so long ago [I sure don’t]. I imagine they quit doing that even before players started picking clues from all over the board, but that lighting thing sure would not help much now since most (if not all) the categories would stay lit until about the last six [low value] clues are chosen! Speaking of which, I had been thinking since last year that the celebrities would be better served by starting at the top and working down since it helps explain the category before they hit the high value clues, but it would have REALLY helped these three players.