Jeopardy! is currently in the middle of its High School Reunion Tournament, but some longtime viewers are becoming tired of the drawn-out format and are missing the regular show.
A user on the Jeopardy! Reddit forum recently started a thread griping about the new tournament structure, which now stretches over three weeks or more.
“This is taking away opportunities for regular people to get their chance to play Jeopardy,” they wrote. “Two weeks with five semi-finalists and four wild card slots is a great setup. Most of the contestants get to play at least twice, and the tournaments form a nicely contained narrative arc. This new format is unwieldy, interminable, and confusing.”
The current High School Reunion Tournament kicked off on Monday, February 20, and will run until Thursday, March 9. It features 27 former teen contestants competing for a $100,000 grand prize and a spot in the Tournament of Champions.
“I’m finding it particularly galling for such a clearly recycled gimmick as this high school reunion tournament,” the fan continued. “Because Jeopardy rewards quick reflexes as much as knowledge, it already tends to skew youthful. And now they are disrupting the regular season for almost a month to celebrate young, pretty, successful people who have already had their chance.”
They also suggested bringing back the Seniors Tournament, which saw contestants over 50 competing in a two-week event. This Seniors Tournament used to be held each season between 1987 and 1995 before it was ultimately dropped in 1996.
Many agreed with the user’s complaints, with another Reddit poster commenting, “While this post definitely has strong “old man shakes fist at cloud” energy, I’m tempted to agree as someone who finally made it through all the testing/audition parts and is still waiting for The Call!”
“HS Reunion is dumb,” wrote another. “If it was from multiple seasons or had some other logic I might be into it. But “We gave these folks a shot a few years ago, so here they are again” …ok?”
Some fans found the questions to be too simple, “That’s my beef with this tournament, the questions have been easier than regular games.”
Another viewer suggested “putting all tournaments, including the TOC, in prime time and have them solely hosted by Mayim [Bialik]” and then “the syndicated show is nothing but regular shows hosted by Ken [Jennings].”
However, not everyone agreed, with others sharing that they’ve enjoyed the High School Reunion tournament.
“Personally I’ve enjoyed the Reunion tournament but I would have liked to have seen more participation across Teen/High School tournaments instead of the one or two tourneys they’ve plucked these folks from,” wrote one fan.
“I was following you at first, but the piece about “young, pretty, successful people” makes you sound a little resentful of their youth,” said another.
Others also suggested why a new Seniors Tournament might not happen.
“For the same reason they’re having more tournaments for young people. Advertisers will pay more to buy time on shows that appeal to younger audiences,” stated one Reddit poster.
“They’re working to attract a younger audience, a new generation,” explained another. “Again, ratings. Gotta look at it from that perspective if you’re trying to understand why TV producers make the decisions that they do.”
What do you think of the High School Reunion Tournament and Jeopardy! tournaments in general? Let us know in the comments.
Jeopardy!, Weeknights, Check your local listings
