Andy’s Weekly Thoughts (4/20): What You Have To Do If You Hate The Changes So Much

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Current Champion

Matthew Riggle, career statistics:
47 correct, 6 incorrect
1/1 on rebound attempts (on 4 rebound opportunities)
41.23% in first on buzzer (47/114)
3/3 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $7,600)
1/2 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $21,300

To win:
3 games: 68.027%
4: 46.277%
5: 31.481%
6: 21.415%
7: 14.568%
Avg. streak: 4.128 games.
(Next game: September 14)
(Click Here for Methodology)

Upcoming Encore Presentations

August 12: S42 E98 (January 21, 2026)
August 13: S42 E99 (January 22, 2026)
August 14: S42 E100 (January 23, 2026)
August 15-16: S41 E141 (March 24, 2025)
August 17: S42 E101 (January 26, 2026)
August 18: S42 E105 (January 30, 2026)
August 19: S42 E102 (January 27, 2026)
August 20: S42 E103 (January 28, 2026)
August 21: S42 E104 (January 29, 2026)
August 22-23: S41 E142 (March 25, 2025)
August 24: S42 E106 (February 2, 2026)
August 25: S42 E107 (February 3, 2026)
August 26: S42 E108 (February 4, 2026)
August 27: S42 E109 (February 5, 2026)
August 28: S42 E110 (February 6, 2026)
August 29-30: S41 E143 (March 26, 2025)
(Source: Bell Fibe TV program guide)

All Time Winnings

All Time Jeopardy! Winnings, Regular Play Only:

1. Ken Jennings $2,520,700
2. James Holzhauer $2,462,216
3. Matt Amodio $1,518,601
4. Amy Schneider $1,382,800
5. Jamie Ding $882,605
6. Cris Pannullo $748,286
7. Mattea Roach $560,983
8. Jason Zuffranieri $532,496
9. Scott Riccardi $455,000
10. David Madden $430,400
11. Julia Collins $428,100
12. Matt Jackson $411,612
13. Austin Rogers $411,000
14. Ray Lalonde $386,400
15. Harrison Whitaker $373,999
16. Adriana Harmeyer $349,600
17. Caleb Groen $346,968
18. Adam Remsen $306,415
19. Ryan Long $299,400
20. Arthur Chu $297,200

All Time Jeopardy! Winnings, Including Tournaments (and Consolation Prizes):

1. Brad Rutter $4,968,436
2. Ken Jennings $4,372,700
3. James Holzhauer $3,614,216
4. Matt Amodio $1,964,601
5. Amy Schneider $1,864,800
6. Yogesh Raut $1,098,403
7. Mattea Roach $897,983
8. Jamie Ding $885,605
9. David Madden $785,733
10. Victoria Groce $773,801
11. Cris Pannullo $754,286
12. Roger Craig $706,200
13. Larissa Kelly $671,930
14. Matt Jackson $623,612
15. Jason Zuffranieri $549,496
16. Andrew He $534,365
17. Scott Riccardi $533,000
18. Jerome Vered $499,102
19. Julia Collins $495,767
20. Austin Rogers $493,000
21. Ben Ingram $449,201
22. Paolo Pasco $448,717
23. Adriana Harmeyer $446,600
24. Buzzy Cohen $441,603
25. Juveria Zaheer $441,000

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Here’s another week of editorial thoughts on happenings in the world of Jeopardy!

If You’re That Dissatisfied, There’s Only One Way To Make Your Displeasure Actually Count

I’ve seen a small number of longtime fans complaining on various social media sites about the general direction that the show is taking. And, as much as these fans don’t want to hear it, there’s only one way to make your displeasure actually count.

You will have to go cold turkey and completely ignore the show.

That means: don’t watch, unfollow it on social media, and don’t talk about it on any trackable social media. Because both positive and negative interactions are generally counted identically as interactions. And the show doesn’t just talk about ratings when it gives metrics to potential advertisers: it talks about follower counts, and interactions. So, even if you think your jeremiads have a negative effect, they may have the opposite effect than what you want.

Regarding The “Overexposure of Millionaire”

According to James B. Stewart’s 2005 book DisneyWar, the exposé surrounding Michael Eisner’s tenure at Disney, the decision that most pundits agree sunk Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?—the choice to air the show three nights a week that is still often cited by critics of Michael Davies in Jeopardy! spaces—was not a decision by Davies, or anyone else at his level. That decision was a “not negotiable” decision made by Bob Iger and Michael Eisner. Davies was very much in favor of “saving Millionaire for sweeps and special events”, and it appears as though blaming him for a decision of Iger and Eisner is quite incorrect.

Yes, I Do Hold Some Contestants To A Higher Standard—Here’s Why

I was the recipient of a small amount of criticism on Friday regarding my comments on Scott Nations’s Final Jeopardy bet.

I stand by those comments, because there are some contestants that I hold to higher standards than others when it comes to strategy.

In Scott’s case, I felt that his professional background in modeling financial and options markets to find the best possible returns would be a near-perfectly transferable skill to Final Jeopardy wagering, and was thus extremely disappointed that his Final Jeopardy betting appeared to me as though Scott spent comparatively little time studying potential situations; instead, making a bet that made me believe that Scott thought he was betting from the lead and not second place.

If there are others who I feel should, for professional reasons, be good strategic players, I will also hold those players to the same standard.

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Why I’m Not Covering The Australian Version

The Australian version of Jeopardy, hosted by Stephen Fry, aired this evening in Australia. I gave thought to covering it, but I chose not to. Here’s why:

• 7:30 PM Sydney time is the equivalent of 5:30 AM Eastern. I am someone who enjoys sleeping at that time—even at 7:00 AM Newfoundland time.
• It’s only six episodes.
• Channel Nine in Australia doesn’t have much confidence in it either, as evidenced by its scheduling: Saturday night is even more of a graveyard slot than it is in North America.
• The format, identical to the British version, works for a British daytime audience. It does not work for an Australian prime time audience that already has fans very familiar with the American version. (The American version has a small following in Australia as it airs on a couple of lesser-accessible channels.)
• It will be airing for the next five weeks as Nine burns off its episode order; I’d be surprised if it saw a recommissioning in its current format, though.

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