‘Jeopardy!’ Fans Slam Show’s Writers As Sam Buttrey Loses Controversial TOC Game 3
Jeopardy‘s Tournament of Champions continued on Wednesday (November 16) night as Andrew He won his second game of the week, leaving him just one victory away from claiming the TOC crown. However, many fans believe Sam Buttrey was robbed.
Heading into Final Jeopardy!, Professors’ Tournament winner Buttrey led with $14,800, with He at $13,200, and super-champ Amy Schneider trailing with $2,400. The final clue under the category “The New Testament” read: “Paul’s letter to them is the New Testament epistle with the most Old Testament quotations.”
Schneider’s answer, “Who are The Hebrews,” was deemed correct by host Ken Jennings, while Buttrey’s “Who are The Romans” was considered incorrect. Meanwhile, He answered incorrectly with “Philippiaes,” but after Buttrey’s wager, he ended up with enough earnings to win the episode.
Some fans were not happy with this outcome, as there is much debate over who wrote the biblical texts, including parts of The New Testament. As noted on the Jeopardy Fan website, there are “conflicting sources as to whether Romans or Hebrews contains more quotations. Secondly, there’s the more pressing question of authorship—specifically of Hebrews. There’s no dispute that Paul wrote Romans.”
“What a bunch of crap,” one fan wrote on the Jeopardy! Reddit forum. “This is a terrible clue. The authorship of Hebrews is disputed. Not counting Hebrews, Romans has the most [quotations]. Sam was robbed.”
“Way to go writers you have just screwed up the biggest TOC in years,” added another commenter. “Sam was correct. This should be overturned.”
“I just feel sick for Sam,” said one viewer. “He played a tremendous game and lost on a questionable FJ clue. The writer of Hebrews never identifies themself, as Paul does in his letters.”
Others are holding out hope that the show will correct this in the next episode. “Wondering if, since it’s a tournament, they’ll make an announcement at the beginning of tomorrow’s show?” wrote one fan. “It’s just hard for me to believe that nobody caught this pretty massive blunder.”
“What a rough break for Sam; it’s been awhile since we’ve had a FJ this egregiously misleading or outright wrong,” wrote another user. “It’s sad to see a tournament affected by something like this, as bringing the affected contestants back for another chance won’t work here.”
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The final question answer that Jeopardy had was incorrect. Hebrews is anonymously written. Although the early church believed it to be written by Paul, and the King James Bible attributes it to Paul, it is highly debated, thus this cannot be an answer. The answer should have been Romans, since it has the second most quotations of the old testament and it is unquestionably written by Paul. Because of this blunder, the question should be rescored.
Although I was pulling for Amy S to win, I am now pulling for Sam B because of this error. It is not because I like him better, but instead it is because the show made a huge mistake in Final Jeopardy in Game 3, and in my opinion when someone gets something right, the score should be corrected.
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I dunno - there isn't complete agreement on the author of Hebrews. Many believe that Paul wrote most of the epistles, except for the ones from James and John. So Amy correctly Identified the quote as being from Hebrews.
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I agree. Annul that clue and reset
The game
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Since it’s not shot and aired live, the tournament is over before we see it (and can comment on it to get bad rulings overturned) 😢
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Two blunders in a week. First, a clue re a recent murder...no sensitivity! And now a poorly researched clue. Better supervision of the writers is needed.
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Three. The FJ clue about chemical element symbols that begin with two vowels. They claimed there are three, but ignored gold(AU), which would make four.
I've been watching Jeopardy! since the beginning, with Art Fleming as host. There may have been someone before him, but that's where I came in, about 1968. I used to skip my sixth-hour study hall, and run the 2 1/2 blocks to my home to watch it.
Sadly, the show has changed for the worse following the loss of Alex, with the only thing missing being a clown on a unicycle...well, the unicycle is missing.
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I think you either misheard or mis read the question. The question was elements with names that start with two vowels not elements with symbols the are two vowels.
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In a fair landscape, the result of this episode should be annulled and reverted to one win each for Amy and Andrew.
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But that doesn’t address Sam’s missed opportunity to win which is at the center of the issue. And arguably he did win. I think a redo of final jeopardy with a new answer and the game scores as they were would be fair. But I doubt it will happen.
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At the very least another playoff question should be asked.
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Jeopardy has always had categories and questions that deal with the Bible. While it's presented as a quiz show many of the answers are trivia. That said, the writers don't seem to research their answers as carefully as they once did and many times exactly what they're asking is more complicated than the actual answer.
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“Trivia” is always related to unimportant facts. Check the definition of it! Not all of Jeopardy’s questions are considered unimportant facts!
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Everything Mike Davies touches turns to rubbish, dump him and Mayim Bialik. IMO, religious texts are inappropriate material for a game show; would they post a question about the Quran and expect it to be general knowledge? Jeopardy is falling apart.
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There have been clues about the Quran before.
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Not about disputed tracts that theologians can't agree on.
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Obviously you’ve seen every single episode of Jeopardy & are an expert on it to know that!
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I agree he’s the common denominator in the show losing it’s mojo.
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I disagree. They are BOTH the reason the show is failing! LeVarr Burton would have been a thousand times better host!
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The same can be said about the Bible questions on Jeopardy. Why would the questions about the Bible be appropriate for people that studied the Quran? Their general knowledge of the Bible would be no greater than people that didn’t study it!
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Heb 2:3 how shall we escape if we ignore so great a salvation? This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him.
According to this verse the writer was a second generation believer, and not one of the Apostles. This would be especially true of Paul who claimed in Galatians that he recieved his theology directly from Jesus and not any man.
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This blunder is yet another example of Michael Davies' incompetence. Ever since he took over for Mike Richards, Jeopardy has become a total shit show. Spelling issues, bad clues, having two hosts - just a few examples.
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I said this on Facebook I am not a fan of Amy she has a bad attitude and temper people who watched yesterday (wed)when she missed a double jeopardy how she banged the table also she talked how she loves baseball and was asked to throw out the first pitch twice and was given home plate and it was big and just put it against the wall we're her pets played with it, a true baseball fan would be in their glory.
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THERE SHOULD NOT BE any BIBLE QUESTIONS....ever..... THERE ARE NO "CORRECT" ANSWERS TO ANY BIBLE QUESTION. PERIOD
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That's a bs statement.
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Blessed are the cheesemakers.
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The authorship of Hebrews has always been unclear. The style is clearly different than the Pauline epistles. THEY SHOULD THROW THIS GAME OUT..no question..
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Should they not cover any other mythology then? Greek mythology is just as much a religion. They need not avoid every classic book that means more to some than others.
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Don't forget to stock up on tinfoil.
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Alex did not create Jeopardy, Merv Griffin did as well as creating Wheel of Fortune. Alex wasn't even the first host of Jeopardy.
As for "all people are smart", it's a scientific fact that there are sizable disparities in IQ between the various races.
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Well said.
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Most knowledgeable New Testament scholars believe St. Paul did NOT write the epistle to the Hebrews -- because Paul always identified himself as the sender, and the Hebrews letter is stylistically very different from those letters identified as written by Paul himself. Even if "possible" Paul may have written the Hebrews epistle, it is just as likely it was written by one of his contemporaries - such as Barnabus, Apollos, Silus, or someone else. But we absolutely do NOT know who wrote it, and therefore it is NOT correct to say it is one of Paul's epistles. Therefore, Amy's answer to the Jeopardy question was INCORRECT (and she should NOT have won) because the question specifically said which of "St Paul's letters" has the most quotes from the OT ? Jeopardy needs its researchers to go through the epistles identified as having been written by St. Paul, and count the # of OT references in just those letters (ie., Romans, Corinthians, Philippians, Thessalonians, Titus, Timothy, etc.). If it turns out Romans has the most OT quotes of St. Paul's letters, then Sam should have won because that was the correct answer. I am sooooo disappointed in Jeopardy. Either it should have asked "which NT epistle has the most OT quotes" - in which case Hebrews is correct, or it should NOT accept the answer of Hebrews if limiting the ques to St. Paul's epistles because it's more likely than not St. Paul did NOT write Hebrews ! Alex Trebek would be ashamed of you, Ken Jennings !
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The Jeopardy people got the question wrong - it has never been confirmed that Paul wrote Hebrews!
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There's no crying in Jeopardy
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I agree Sam was correct. I have read the Bible three times-one time it was part of a class. We discussed the Hebrew chapter and that no one in scholarly circles can than say with any certainty that Paul wrote this epistle. The writers need to throughly vet clues. I am surprised no one knew this. Also Romans is a plethora of quotes
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since TOC is pre-recorded, unless someone present at the taping realized the ambiguity of the question , there was nothing that could have been done.
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I was just as surprised as anyone else. Way too many answers,left me scratching my head.I was really surprised. A do over would be a way of not leaving Sam along with everyone one else with a sour taste in their mouths.
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Lol this sounds like the same kind of difference between names in roman and greek mythology. I.e. Hercules and Heracles. Its all hearsay
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The headline says 'Jeopardy Fans..." How many would that be? Two? Very few follow the Paul controversy much less subscribe to it.
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Agendas
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The game has gone in the toilet ever since Alex passed away. There's a reason there was a string of multi winners after he left. Jennings and Bilyak or whatever her name is let contestants get away with incomplete answers or after the buzzer. It's crazy.
The show became unwatchable since they're too soft on contestants. Jennings is changing it up a little but too late.
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May I make an aside that is not about the FJ? I thought the state capital answer (Cheyenne) was a bit elementary for a TOC daily double.
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It certainly is a shame this happened during one of the best Jeopardy TOC. Huge disappointment that the writers have not honed up to their mistake. I've wondered if anyone in the audience caught the error as it was happening.
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I think you mean owned up, like taking ownership. Honed up is something totally different. 🤔😧😑🙄
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Please don't have a SPOILER in the title. Was going to watch tonight.
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Big bucks - little bucks - no matter; it's still a game for for chripes sake!!!!!
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I think they should reset.
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Because there is so much controversy on religion and politics, these subjects need to be omitted from play!
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Dump Ken Jennings now
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Nope, dump Mike Davies and Mayim Bialik; although I'd be OK with replacing Ken with Buzzy Cohen
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I don’t know that’s why I’m asking.
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I think it is set up for Andrew He to win he has found 6 of the 9 Daily Douubles and I think he has answered them all right
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My husband and I both agree. We had romans hands down because it is well regarded in biblical scholarship that Paul is not the likely author of Hebrews.
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Why, since Alex passed away have there been so many controversial issues as well as “sharing” the hosting duties ??
And, why all of a sudden is it OK when picking the next clue from the same category that the contestant just says the amount they are choosing and it is assumed it is for the same category? No mention of the category. None of this happened I believe when Alex hosted the show for so, so many years.
Thanks for listening.
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And when did everybody get so up in arms about everything Jeopardy! ???
For crying out loud, give it a rest, people! Don't you have anything bigger to worry about? Or do you just like hating on people?
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For many people Jeopardy is a welcome escape from the ordeals of the day where they unwind and distract themselves from issues. The mental equivalent of a robe and slippers; it matters and has for decades.
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And these days that mental escape merely means an opportunity to look for another excuse to be vitriolic, to find another reason to be angry at someone else, to point a finger and say "I'm better than they are."
It's supposed to be a release from stress and yet so many seem to just infuse the half hour interlude with more and more hate and anger.
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Which didn't happen until Mike Davies started putting his spin on it and it all went sideways. Hiring Mayim Bialik was a wrong answer, it should have been Ken and Buzzy. Celebrity Jeopardy in prime time degraded the dignity of the show with spotlight hungry hams. In the past, Celebrity Jeopardy was not prime time and mainly featured journalists, authors and news anchors. Everything MD has done has angered the core audience and diminished the show.
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Can someone please explain to me how a best of SEVEN tournament can be won by only winning three games
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It's best of seven OR until one player wins 3 games. If each one wins 2 games it will go to seven, but will end if one wins 3 before then.
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Wrong. If one person wins the first three games there is still the possibility that one other contestant could win the next four games. The third contestant doesn’t win any games.
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There are three competitors.
If there were two competitors, the closest possible finish would be 4-3.
Here, the closest possible finish is 3-2-2.
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Wrong. If one contestant wins the first three games there is still the possibility that another contestant could win the next four games, with the third contestant winless.
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What is the agenda of these articles, simply eye grabs? The frequent fans "slamming" or "in an uproar" is terribly tiring.
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There have always been a fair number of biblical questions. Is it my imagination or are there more with new host? There seems to be an assumption that everyone needs to have read the bible. Is there Mormon influence here. IDK. Just thinking that there are a lot more interesting topics. Let's broaden the religious education expectations.
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Regardless of your views on the Bible, you have to admit that it is the foundational writing for Western religion and is a huge part of our history and culture. Jeopardy! is aired in the West for Western audiences, so these questions are perfectly appropriate. A question from the Quran would be just fine in a hypothetical Jeopardy! Saudi Arabia. Agreed that this was a debatable answer. The danger with picking these types of questions is that so many people know the source material, so any potential controversy surrounding the accuracy of the question will be vocalized by more than just the standard handful of trivia buffs.
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It would disadvantage a contestant who was raised Buddhist, Sikk, Muslim etc.. It's easy for the writers to tailor the categories to cater to a particular contestants strengths. That's why I play against the boards rather than supporting a contestant
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Yes. The questions are most certainly tailored to advance certain contestants. What fool can't see that. It is, like all other media, totally politicised and controlled.
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🤦♀️ oh boy! Did Saudi Arabia personally tell you that??
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What really needs to happen is for Jeopardy to stop including stuff from the bible on a par with actual non-superstitious works. No other compilation of myths gets this treatment as often.
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I feel like Greek/Roman/Egyptian/Norse mythology comes up quite a lot.
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They teach mythology in public schools and movies and cartoons use it. The Bible is only taught in Christian schools and Sunday schools and Old Testament in Jewish institutions.
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You'll find out one day how "superstitious" the Bible is, and you'll weep for mercy !
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And the moon is made of green cheese and there really is an Easter Bunny.
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Sam is annoying to watch. He just irritates me I'm glad he's losing 😇
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Huh. I think he's a hoot.
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