Jeopardy! History Wiki
Register
Advertisement
01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10
11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40

Season 13 (1996-1997)​​[]

Season Changes[]

  • Johnny's opening catchphrase was changed to say: "From the Sony Pictures Studios, this is Jeopardy!".
  • The sound of the studio audience chattering had returned, but it was removed after the sushi bar set was introduced. The laser swooshing sound was also removed from the top of the show once the sushi bar set debuted.
  • The opening now includes a computer-animated flyover of the Sony Pictures Studios complex before showing the Jeopardy! logo.
    • During the first two months of this season, the globe intro remained the same as it was in Seasons 11 & 12.
    • When the sushi bar set debuted, the monitor zooms out, passing through the dollar figures popping in, and the Jeopardy! logo at the end. Then, the Jeopardy! logo zooms forward to reveal the new set. Starting with this sequence, the opening graphics change with each new season, except for Season 39.
  • The closed captioning bug returned to the opening credits.
  • This is both the last season with the 1991-1996 grid set, and the first season with the 1996-2002 sushi bar set.
  • This is both the last season to have the closing animations between the host and the day's champions, and the first season to have different angles of the set, as well as shots of the host and the contestants.
  • This is the last full season where the set changed from blue to red for Double Jeopardy! and Final Jeopardy!
  • This is the last full season to have the clue values popping in at the start of Double Jeopardy!.
  • This is the last season to have the microphones on the contestant podiums.
  • This is also the last season to use the 1992 "bongo" theme, and the original "Think!" music in the Final Jeopardy! segment.
  • This is the last season where 5-time champions retired without a bonus prize.
  • This season is both the last season where Johnny said "This is Johnny Gilbert speaking. Jeopardy! was created by Merv Griffin", and the first season where Johnny said "Jeopardy! was created by Merv Griffin", which remained in use until December 17, 1999.
  • Producer George Vosburgh retired at the end of this season, with Harry Friedman taking over his post as producer the following season.
  • On early episodes of this season:
    • The closing credits feature various shots of the set, and the closing animations between the Jeopardy! logo, a shot of the host, and the day's episode winning champions was still seen in the closing credits.
    • The graphics from Seasons 11 and 12 were still used.
    • Johnny said: "From the Sony Studios, this is Jeopardy!" on early episodes of this season; but on later episodes of this season the word "Pictures" was added between Sony and Studios.
    • The host podium still had a microphone on it.
    • The show still used the 1991-1996 grid set.
    • The contestant podium monitors still turned red for Double Jeopardy!.
    • The studio still remained red during the closing credits.
    • The audience chattering and the swooshing sound were still heard at the top of the show.
    • The show's logo still appeared in the copyright card.
    • The large Jeopardy! logo still lit up in a rotation of colors.
    • The Final Jeopardy! responses and wagers were animated in front of the contestants.
  • The font for the contestant introductions changed to Helvetica Compressed at the beginning of the season, with the contestants' names in the introduction rendered in cycle case for the first two months only.
  • This season, the intro changing to a flyover of Sony Pictures Studios. On later episodes of this season, the monitor zooms out, passing through the dollar figures popping in, and the ''Jeopardy!'' logo at the end. Then, it zooms forward to reveal the 1996-2002 sushi bar set.
  • The copyright card appeared over a shot of the set.
  • After Johnny's catchphrase, the KingWorld logo appears with the main theme playing, followed by the Columbia TriStar Television logo.
  • For the first two weeks of this season only, the contestant interview segment continued after the Jeopardy! round is completed. After that point, that segment is moved back to being held after the first break, where it had been before Season 9. When the move is made, Alex now stands near the contestant podiums.
  • Columbia TriStar Television changed its logo on later episodes of this season. It is changed to the Columbia Torch Lady zooming away from the viewer, and the TriStar Pegasus is different and flying across, and the clouds on the second box zoom away slowly and the background is a blue cloudy sky, and a light blue background. Also, the boxes and text were in navy blue.
  • When the season kicked off, the contestants' names and the champion's total winnings were changed to Helvetica Compressed. However, on early episodes, Korinna was still retained in all other applications.
  • On later episodes of this season, the font for the sponsor list and the closing credits was changed to Helvetica Compressed, while the contestant plug and the Final Jeopardy! segments were changed to Clarendon.

September 1996[]

  • September 2, 1996: Season 13 premieres.
  • September 6, 1996: Bernie Cullen retires undefeated with $63,102.
  • September 19, 1996: Lucien Schmit retires with $36,982 despite losing his fifth game.

October 1996[]

November 1996[]

  • November 4, 1996: The sponsor list moved to the bottom of the screen and changed to Compacta-D. However, the text used for clues as they appear on the monitors, still used Korinna to this day. The phrase "Jeopardy! was created by Merv Griffin" is heard for the first time. This remained in use until December 17, 1999.
  • November 8, 1996: The grid set was discontinued after this episode aired. On this episode:
    • At the beginning of the episode and before Final Jeopardy!, Alex explained that the grid set used for 5 seasons and 1,151 shows, which in reality is actually 6 seasons and 1,200 shows.
    • During the end credits, Alex took home the microphone and the sheets from the podium, while a preview of the sushi bar set was shown during Celebrity Jeopardy!, when Johnny gives a sneak peek at the tournament on Monday.
  • November 11-15, 1996: Celebrity Jeopardy! is held.
    • Beverly Sills, John Mahoney, and Laura Innes compete on Monday.
    • Melissa Gilbert, Issac Mizrahi, and Sandra Bernhard compete on Tuesday.
    • Carl Lewis, Jon Lovitz, and Matthew Fox compete on Wednesday.
    • Brett Butler, Buzz Aldrin, and Eartha Kitt compete on Thursday.
    • Robert Loggia, Renee Taylor, and Alicia Witt compete on Friday.
  • November 11, 1996: The sushi bar set was introduced during Celebrity Jeopardy! after the discontinuation of the grid set. The new set was designed by production designer Naomi Slodki, and remained in use until the November 8, 2002 episode. On this episode:
    • The first 5 seconds of the theme song were truncated; and the theme fades in.
    • The sound of the audience chattering is no longer heard at the beginning of the show.
    • Alex made his entrance by walking down a small staircase for the first time.
    • The sushi bar set consisted of wood paneling with columns at each corner. There are glass windows supported by wooden frames behind the contestant podiums. The large Jeopardy! logo was emblazoned on the sliding doors, and the glass backdrop consisted of a darker shade of pink with the grid in purple, but the set was backlit in red. The contestant podiums and the host podium gained a new look. The game board consisted of a wood paneling backdrop, and the stage floor consisted of a marble circle with a golden border on top to match the set's backdrop.
    • The sushi bar set's monitors are different for graphics generation.
    • The contestant podium monitors and the scoring system processor were upgraded with new control software written; however, the same incandescent 7-segment display for the score readouts are the same, albeit with new drivers designed and fabricated for them.
    • Alex began wearing his clip-on microphone, and the host podium microphone was removed from the set to make the studio more modern.
    • The contestant podium monitors turned red in Double Jeopardy! and Final Jeopardy! for the last time, and the set stayed red in the closing credits for the last time.
    • The closing credits feature various shots of the set, and the closing animations between the Jeopardy! logo, a shot of the host, and the day's episode winning champions were used for the last time, the swooshing sound effect was also removed at the beginning of the show.
    • An animating transition occurs during Final Jeopardy! and the contestant's response fades in followed by how much they wagered. After that, it fades out adding or deducting the player's total at the end of the game. Season 14 marked the first full season to use this feature.
  • November 12, 1996: The show's set no longer stayed red during the closing credits, so the set reverted to blue for the first time, and the closing credits feature various angles of the set, along with the closing animations between the Jeopardy! logo, a shot of the host, and the day's episode winning champions were no longer used. So now, the closing credits appear over various shot of the set, a shot of the host, and shots of the contestants. Also, the contestant podium monitors no longer turn red for Double Jeopardy!, so the contestant podium monitors stayed blue throughout the whole show.
  • November 13, 1996: All three celebrity male contestants wound up with $0 at the end of the show.
  • November 18-29, 1996: The Tournament of Champions airs.
  • November 18, 1996: The white lights on the contestant podiums illuminate for the first time.

December 1996[]

  • December 6, 1996: The movie clip was featured in the 1999 film Baby Geniuses.
  • December 25, 1996: The "Merry Christmas" banner can be seen behind a decorated Christmas tree with the Jeopardy! logo in black.

January 1997[]

  • January 7, 1997: Claudia Perry retires with $45,303 despite losing her fifth game. She competed early in the season though was brought back due to technical difficulties.
  • January 16, 1997: Paul Gutowski retires undefeated with $51,301.

February 1997[]

  • February 3-14, 1997: The Teen Tournament airs.
  • February 6, 1997: During the Teen Tournament, the set was filled with tribble invasion creatures Star Trek all over.
  • February 21, 1997: Grace Veach retires undefeated with $51,601.

March 1997[]

April 1997[]

  • April 1, 1997: Wheel of Fortune host Pat Sajak hosted as an April Fools' joke. Alex Trebek hosted that same day's Wheel of Fortune, with Pat's wife Lesly Sajak as hostess, and Pat Sajak and Vanna White were contestants, as they play for charity. On this episode:
    • Christian Stallsmith, Lori Drummond, and Paul Roder compete.
    • Johnny's introduction begins normally, but instead, Johnny said: "And now, here is the host of Jeopardy!: Pat Sajak!".
    • The contestant podium lights malfunction throughout the whole show.
    • The categories in the first round were "Buy a Vowel", "Lose a Turn", "Book & Author"; consisting of clues about an author who publishes books, "Husband & Wife"; consisting of clues about husbands and wives, "Before & After"; which became a Jeopardy! category that is identical to the Wheel of Fortune counterpart, and "Say "Jack""; a pun on Pat's last name, all of the correct responses that contain the word "Jack".
    • After the first commercial break, Pat interviews the contestants before continuing with the Jeopardy! round.
    • The Double Jeopardy! categories are plays on the word "fool": "Hoaxes & Frauds", "April", "Fuels", "Shakespearean Fools", "Fool's Errands", and ""Fool"ish Songs".
    • The Final Jeopardy! category was "Trinidadian Amateur Ichthyologists". The clue was "This common aquarium fish was named for a Trinidadian clergyman" with no one coming up with the correct response of "What is a guppy?".
    • At the end of the episode, there was no credit given for Pat Sajak's wardrobe, but the wardrobe provider credit gave for Alex Trebek instead.

May 1997[]

  • April 28-May 2, 1997: Another Celebrity Jeopardy! is held. This is the first time more than one are held in the same season.
    • Rob Schneider, Robin Quivers, and Mark McEwen compete on Monday.
    • Chris Hardwick, Sharon Lawerence, and Patrick Duffy compete on Tuesday.
    • Joey Gordon-Levitt, Kirsten Dunst, and Benjamin Salisbury compete on Wednesday.
    • Sam Waterston, Carey Lowell, and Benjamin Bratt compete on Thursday.
    • Reggie White, Donna D'Errico, and Mike Piazza compete on Friday.
  • May 1, 1997: The Law & Order theme plays during the introductions; all three celebrities are actors on the show.
  • May 5-9, 1997: The semi-final and the final matches of the International Tournament are held in Stockholm, Sweden, this is the first time that Jeopardy! began taping these episodes outside the studio, and took the show on the road.
    • The events took place on the set of the Swedish version of Jeopardy!.
    • The board-fill sound used at the start of the Jeopardy! and Double Jeopardy! rounds featured a rapidly ascending marimba riff; the same one that was used on the Swedish version of the show.
    • The announcer speaks in a Swedish accent, however Gilbert's voice can still be heard during the closing credits.
    • May 9, 1997: There is a well-known incident of the clue in the category "Foreign Anatomy" that reads: "If a Japanese isha (doctor) asks you to stick out your shita, he means this". Per Gunnar Hillesoy (from Norway) buzzes in with a response of "What is your behind?" causing laughter from the audience. Boris Levit (from Israel) gives the correct response of "What is your tongue?", which Alex says, "A long way from your behind!".
  • May 12-23, 1997: The College Championship airs.
  • May 19, 1997: Both Brian Chan and Steven Bevier were tied at $6,500 going into Final Jeopardy!, and $13,000 coming out of it. Steven responded correctly and went on to become the 1997 College Championship 2nd runner-up.

June 1997[]

  • June 3, 1997: Lyn Payne retires with $55,002 despite losing her fifth game.
  • June 10, 1997: Wes Ulm retires with $63,201 despite losing his fifth game.
  • June 16, 1997: Arthur Phillips retires undefeated with $63,003. He became the last 5-time retired champion without a bonus prize.

July 1997[]

  • July 3, 1997: Kim Worth retires with $64,000 despite losing his fifth game.
  • July 18, 1997: Season 13 ends, with three male contestants playing on the season finale for only the second time. This also marked the last time, the 1992-1997 bongo theme, and the 1984-1997 "Think!" music was used.
  • July 21-August 30, 1997: Summer reruns air.
Advertisement