Jeopardy! Timeline (syndicated version)

This is a timeline for the syndicated version of Jeopardy! hosted by Alex Trebek, which includes the two unaired pilots. The 1974-1975 nighttime version hosted by Art Fleming is not included in the timeline.

Unaired Pilot 1 (September 18, 1983)

• The taping of the first unaired Jeopardy! pilot takes place at the now-defunct TAV Celebrity Theater, on Vine Street in Hollywood, California. This Jeopardy! episode never actually aired in syndication.
• Unaired Pilot 1 is announced by Jay Stewart, who also announced on Let's Make a Deal and later all game shows produced by Barry & Enright Productions from 1977-1981. At the time, he was also the announcer for $ale of the Century. Johnny Gilbert will be taking over as the announcer on the second and final unaired Jeopardy! pilot on January 1, 1984.
• The theme music is "January, February, March", written by show creator Merv Griffin, which had earlier been the opening theme of the 1978-79 revival, The All-New Jeopardy!. The music was used when the show goes into and comes out of commercial breaks, which is "Nightwalk", a prize cue written by the late Merv Griffin for the syndicated version of Wheel of Fortune was used.
• The first unaired pilot set is now consisted of two giant PCs with smaller PCs for contestants podiums with a blue background, and a gray, red bordered set piece with the Jeopardy! logo as a contestant backdrop. Contestants are now standing, instead of sitting, and Alex Trebek enters from the "Disk Drive" of the clue board and stands at the raised decimal key on the number pad at the base of the clue board.
  • The PCs on the set pay homage to the technology era of the 1980s.
• The original yellow scrambled letter logo is still in use on this unaired pilot.
• In the opening credits, the Jeopardy! logo appears in red, superimposed over a white board illustration on a navy-blue background. Jay Stewart's opening spiel is "Now entering the studio are today's contestants. From [city/state], [first contestant's name]. From [city/state], [second contestant's name]. And... from [city/state], [third contestant's name]. These three contestants will compete today on Jeopardy! And now, here's the host of Jeopardy!, Alex Trebek!"
• At the beginning of a round, a shot of the contestants at their podiums behaves like an opening door which opens to reveal the shot of the game board.
• An electronic sound effect is used which is much different from that used on the eventual series.
• This unaired pilot's board retains the late Art Fleming era's use of pull cards.
• The category and clue cards are the same as those on The All-New Jeopardy!.
• The same $25-$125 values seen on The All-New Jeopardy! are in place in the Jeopardy! round and doubled to $50-$250 during Double Jeopardy! However, the dollar value cards here are yellow on black backgrounds and use bolder text.
• The Daily Double card is the same one used on The All-New Jeopardy!
• For the Daily Doubles themselves, the card showing the clue is initially displayed on camera.
• The Final Jeopardy! segment is displayed in yellow mixed-case text in Helvetica Bold.
• The contestants write Final Jeopardy responses and wagers on slates, rather than light pens and monitors. The monitors didn't display their names; instead, these are shown in white atop the contestant podiums above their scores, which themselves are initially displayed using eggcrate displays, as on The All-New Jeopardy!
• At the end of the first unaired pilot, the 1975-1983 Merv Griffin Productions logo appears, with the words "A MERV GRIFFIN PRODUCTION" above it in a font resembling Impact. It then fades out, at which point the words "Distributed by KING WORLD, Inc." fade in at the bottom of the set in a bold version of Helvetica. Jay Stewart announces, "This has been a Merv Griffin Production, distributed by King World, Inc."

Unaired Pilot 2 (January 8, 1984)

• The second and final unaired pilot is announced by Johnny Gilbert, who becomes the full-time announcer for Jeopardy!. The show will make its syndication debut on September 10, 1984 with the episode Greg/Lois/Frank.
• The set is redesigned by Henry C. Lickel. It is now consisted of a neon band appearance in yellow, red and orange with orange carpeting. The contestant podiums now display names in monitors surrounded by yellow and brown padding. The Jeopardy! logo changes its color to a Helvetica-style font, but is still displayed in red on a navy blue background. Nine-foot orange neon letters reading Jeopardy! become the set's centerpiece; these are displayed in the "Gyparody" font, derived from a prototype face that is one of URW++'s many digitization from the film font era. Each letter now turns off and flashes one at a time left to right during the introduction and goes into and coming out of commercial breaks.
• Johnny Gilbert's opening catchphrase looks similar to Jay Stewart's, but unlike Jay Stewart, Johnny Gilbert gives the contestants' occupations before telling where they're from. In the "These three contestants..." line, "contestants" is changed to "people".
• Johnny Gilbert introduces Alex Trebek by saying, "And now, here is the host of Jeopardy!, Mr. Alex Trebek!", similar to how original Jeopardy! and longtime Saturday Night Live announcer the late Don Pardo would introduce the late Art Fleming and his contestants as "Mr." as well as "Mrs."
• Although this Jeopardy! episode never actually aired, it appears to have a returning champion in Jack Campion, who previously appeared in Unaired Pilot 1 and numerous other game show pilots from the late 1970s and early 1980s, including Blank Check (1975), Second Chance 3rd pilot, 1976, Card Sharks 1st pilot, 1978, Sale of the Century (1982) and Press Your Luck (1983). Campion is stated by Johnny Gilbert to have won over $17,600 in cash winnings after two matches.
• At the beginning of the show, Alex Trebek explains the game using a very similar spiel to that given by the late Art Fleming. The main theme is now a rendition of "Think!", which carries over into the actual series.
• Alex Trebek's podium is now consisted of a Jeopardy! logo. The contestants' scores changed to vane display, which carries over into the actual series and remains until November 2002.
• The game board gets its first permanent look, they no longer used the pulling cards, so the game board is changed from the pulling cards to 30 television monitors, so they started using the television monitors to display the clues and the dollar amounts. The television monitors consisted of a red frame with yellow padding around them. Categories are now backlit on cards above the television monitors. The categories are written in black Helvetica Condensed text on yellow backgrounds.
• The clue monitors, for their part, use white Korinna font on blue backgrounds, a motif which remains to this day. The dollar values are doubled to $50-$250 for the Jeopardy! segment and $100-$500 for the Double Jeopardy! segment. They now appear on screen with a whooshing sound and a globe effect, and then pop in onto the screen, initially using a "whirring" sound effect.
• They are still displayed on black backgrounds, but the text used for them is now white, and is changed to Hector Regular, a font which carries over into the actual series and remains until 1991.
• The Daily Double card changes to white Gyparody letters against a blue screen.
• The transition effect for going into and coming out of the commercial breaks is the camera shot shattering into pieces which then move off-screen coming out as well as on-screen going in.
• The time's up buzzer at the end of each segment sounds just like the all-strings piece from the shower scene in Psycho, but uses horns, rather than string instruments.
• Contestants now write their Final Jeopardy! responses on an electronic tablet using a light pen, a practice which carries over into the actual series.
• The contestants' responses and winners initially display onscreen on blue rounded rectangle boxes with red frames. Like the displays of clues on the monitors, the onscreen display of the Final Jeopardy! segment is changed to Korinna, which carries over into the actual series and remains until 1996.
• The Final Jeopardy! segment display also changes color, from yellow to white.
• Johnny Gilbert's closing catchphrase looks similar to Jay Stewart's, but rather than "King World, Inc." Johnny Gilbert says "King World Productions."
• The Merv Griffin Productions logo is in the style of the Merv Griffin Enterprises logo used on 1984-1993 episodes, featuring an illustration of a griffin a Greek mythological creature with the wings and head of an eagle, and the body, hind legs, and tail of a lion in a sky blue-framed stained glass box with the sky-blue text "MERV GRIFFIN PRODUCTIONS", all on a black background.
• The King World closing card is the text "KING WORLD PRODUCTIONS, INC." appearing in the center, in white center-aligned Helvetica text on a navy-blue background.
• The exact taping date of this unaired Jeopardy! pilot is never actually aired, but it is believed to be in December 1983 and January 1984. The show will make its syndication debut on September 10, 1984 with the episode Greg/Lois/Frank.
• One of the clues is about Lech Walesa's wife accepting the Nobel Peace Prize December 10, 1983, and a picture from another unaired pilot, in which Cynthia was the returning champion, appeared in an issue of the magazine Broadcasting, which is later changed to Broadcasting & Cable, which is published in January, 1984.

Season 1 (1984-1985)

Season changes:

• The neon bands of the Jeopardy! set changes its color to white, maroon, and blue with the contestant podiums being updated to match. The orange Jeopardy! lettering changes its color to red. The carpet changed its color to red, while the studio backdrop changes its color to blue. Also, the clue board changes its color to a white frame. The show's logo is redesigned to the Gyparody font, as seen on the set. The nine-foot neon letters now stay permanently lit through entire episodes.
• This is the first season to use the 1984-1992 Jeopardy! theme song, and the 1984-1997 "Think" music. The 1984-1997 "Think" music would remain in use until the Season 13 finale, which aired on July 18, 1997.
• This is the first season to be produced by Merv Griffin Enterprises, in which Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune continued to be produced until 1994.
• Metromedia Square in Hollywood becomes Jeopardy!'s new taping location.
• At the beginning of the Jeopardy! and Double Jeopardy! segments, each monitor displays a red Jeopardy! logo on a light blue background in Double Jeopardy!, this graphic features white text reading "DOUBLE" in Futura above the Jeopardy! logo. These graphics dissolve with a whoosh sound, and then the dollar amounts appear one by one, each with a corresponding electronic musical note.
• Additionally, the dollar amounts began to display on a blue background.
• The categories in the Jeopardy! segment now have clues worth $100, $200, $300, $400, and $500, and in the Double Jeopardy! segment, these amounts are doubled to $200, $400, $600, $800, and $1,000.
• The Daily Double card is completely redesigned. The word "DAILY" changed its color to yellow in Futura and it now consists of a red "DOUBLE!" in the Gyparody font. The background changes to a brighter blue.
  • There are now also separate cards for Audio Daily Doubles.
  • The word "AUDIO" is added on top of a shrunken "DAILY", but the rest of the logo remains unchanged.
• The categories are backlit up on cards with red text bordered by red neon lights which stay on permanently.
• The contestants make their Final Jeopardy! winners during the commercial break, after the category is revealed and before the clue is revealed.
• The contestants' names now appear in the podium monitors. The Daily Double sound effect is changed to a whooshing sound. The end of round sound effect is changed to ten low-pitched beeps. The sound effects are now generally electronic.
• Each episode begins with a shot of the Jeopardy! set, and Johnny Gilbert saying "This is Jeopardy!" over the sounds of the audience chattering in the background. After Johnny Gilbert's announcement, the Jeopardy! theme plays as a white Jeopardy! globe graphic with the Jeopardy! logo in transparent letters fades in, accompanied by a whoosh sound. The "These three people..." phrase was not used in Johnny Gilbert's catchphrase, and Johnny Gilbert did not introduce Alex Trebek as "Mr."
• A ticket and contestant plug is shown during the second commercial break.
• Alex Trebek enters the Jeopardy! set with a hand-held microphone, which looks just like the one that Bob Barker and Drew Carey used the microphone on the CBS daytime game show The Price is Right, but there are episodes of Seasons 1 and 2, in which Alex Trebek began wearing a clip-on microphone.
• The onscreen display text for the Final Jeopardy! clue changed its color back to yellow as in Unaired Pilot 1, and initially only appears when the second verse of the "Think" music plays.
• The sponsor list, eligibility disclaimer, credits, and copyright notice are initially displayed in Korinna.
• The sponsor list initially begins with "THE FOLLOWING HAVE PAID AND OR FURNISHED PRIZES TO THE PRODUCTION COMPANY FOR PROMOTING THEIR PRODUCTS", please note the omission of the slash between AND and OR, and the first eligibility disclaimer is "PRIZE WINNERS MUST MEET ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS".
• The wardrobe provider credit reads "Alex Trebek's Wardrobe furnished by MR. GUY of Beverly Hills".
• Initially, Merv Griffin's creator credit appears for the first time in the closing credits list.
• Alex Trebek is Jeopardy!'s first producer, and he would remain in use until 1987, when George Vosburgh replaced him as the new Jeopardy! producer.
• The syndicated version's first director is Dick Schneider, who remains as director for the show's first eight seasons, until his associate director, Kevin McCarthy took over as associate director in 1992.
• Other prominent members of the first syndicated Jeopardy! production team include production executive David S. Williger, production manager Jack Reynolds, stage manager Keith Richmond, lighting director Vincenzo Cilurzo, and technical directors Dave Bachman and Vince Mack.
• The first writing supervisor is Jules Minton who is labeled as an "Answer & Question Supervisor".
• The first production crew consisted of the late Steven Dorfman, Harry Eisenberg, Barbara Heller, Michele Vaughn Johnson, Gary Lee, and Suzanne Stone.
• Authentication of materials is initially provided by encyclopedia publisher World Book.
• At this point, Merv Griffin has expanded his company as Merv Griffin Enterprises. To reflect this, Johnny Gilbert's catchphrase is changed to "Jeopardy! is a production of Merv Griffin Enterprises, distributed by King World".
• In the Merv Griffin Enterprises logo, the griffin now winks at the camera, and the text is animated.
• The King World logo is changed to a new design the "Stars and Stripes" design, which features the name in Boost SSi Italic, with a set of three bars underneath and a star in the middle of them, and also has small white text above it reading "Distributed by". This is followed by a copyright/title screen which fades out along with the closing theme music.
• The original copyright card shows the Jeopardy! name in all caps Gyparody lettering with a white blue red border, on a sky blue background. The original copyright notice is in blue Korinna text, and reads "©1984 All Rights Reserved.", with no copyright holder named.

This season:

• Jeopardy! made its syndication debut on September 10, 1984, and Alex Trebek became the program's host, and now, Alex Trebek is joined by Johnny Gilbert as the show's announcer. On the series premiere episode Greg/Lois/Frank, Greg Hopkins became Jeopardy!'s first returning champion with $8,400. The theme song plays in a repeated loop from 1:16 to 1:44 during the consolation prize segments and the closing credits.
• On the September 11, 1984 episode Greg/Lynne/Paul, all three contestants have zero dollars at the end of the game, the first in the Alex Trebek era. Each contestant lost that day's Final Jeopardy! and wagered their entire earnings. Alex Trebek nearly forgets to reveal the correct response until someone reminds him offstage.
• On the September 12, 1984 episode Gunther/Nancy/Michael, Michael becomes the first contestant in the Alex Trebek era to be disqualified from playing Final Jeopardy! due to finishing Double Jeopardy! with -$1,300.
• In the October, 1984 episode, Elise Beraru became the first five day Jeopardy! champion of the Alex Trebek era, winning $47,350.
• On the October 4, 1984 episode, Elise Beraru wins $23,800, a record which would stand until the following year.
• By the November 26, 1984 episode:
  • The neon letters now flash off one by one in order from left to right during the introduction, the closing and goes into and comes out of commercial breaks.
  • The back light on the category card turns off when all the clues have been read.
  • The first Daily Double whoosh sound is changed to the 1984-present siren.
  • The first end of round sound effect is changed to sixteen high-pitched beeps, eight of which are heard twice.
  • The ring-in sound is not used.
  • The whoosh sound at the start of the Double Jeopardy! segment is not heard, and the dollar figures simply pop in.
  • The onscreen display of the Final Jeopardy! segment now appears about 10 seconds sooner than it did originally.
  • The copyright notice is changed to Futura, and "All Rights Reserved" is changed to the copyright holder name "Jeopardy Productions, Inc." in uppercase letters.
• On the December 4, 1984 episode, Richard Landon, who won four games a week prior, is brought back due to an error on his original fifth appearance aired November 27, 1984.
• The episode aired in March, 1985, which has Steve Rogitz as the champion and a full closing credit roll. During the closing credits, a camera zooms into Rogitz and then zooms back out.
• Also by the March, 1985 episode:
  • The neon lights now flash considerably faster.
  • The whoosh sound is not used in the opening, but it is still heard at the start of the Jeopardy! segment when the dollar values pop in.
  • The globe logo during the opening credits now flies toward the screen. The letters in the logo changed its color to red.
  • The closing King World logo is changed to a more elaborate animated version against a purple gradient background, without the "Distributed by" text.
  • The logo is changed to light blue, while the rays are crossed about and the company name slides in and zooms away, while the star moves from the viewer and the bar draws under the company name and the left and right of the star.
  • The copyright card is changed to blue with a large silver Jeopardy! logo.
  • The copyright notice is changed to white Helvetica sentence case text, and now takes up one line instead of two.
• This season kicks off on September 10, 1984. This season ends on June 7, 1985. Summer reruns kicks off on June 10, 1985.

Season 2 (1985-1986)

Season changes:

• The set is overhauled into the form, and it would remain in use until 1991, when the grid set designed by Ed Flesh was used.
  • The neon bands changed its color from white, maroon, and blue, to pale yellow and blue. The nine-foot letters of the Jeopardy! logo are closed in so that the light tubes are removed from the set. For this season only, the nine-foot Jeopardy! logo changes its color from red to white.
  • Contestants began walking onto the set through the archway during their introductions, which is added to the Jeopardy! set just behind the exclamation point.
  • The color of the clue board's frame changes its color to gray.
• At the beginning of this season, the show moved to Hollywood Center Studios, and continues to be taped there until 1994, when the show moved to Stage 10 at Sony Pictures.
• This is the last season, in which Alex Trebek enters the Jeopardy! set with a microphone in his hand, when he enters the studio, and goes straight to the game board.
• Contestants now must wait until Alex Trebek finishes reading the answers before buzzing in.
• A white perimeter light around the categories and clues on the board lights up to indicate when a contestant can ring in, this would be rarely shown on camera. If a contestant buzzes in too early, they are "locked out" for 1/8 of a second. A contestant now has five seconds to respond after ringing in on a clue. Nine lights are added atop the contestant lecterns. These lights indicate how much time a player who rang in on a clue has to respond.
• For each second that goes by, two lights on either side dim. If the central light goes out, time is up.
• At the beginning of this season, the color of the Jeopardy! set background changes its color from blue to red for the Double Jeopardy! and Final Jeopardy! segments.
• During the first week of this season, the champion began standing at the right contestant podium, rather than the left contestant podium.
• The opening credits are changed slightly with the globe changing its color to blue with red letters. The graphic is now accompanied by a whooshing sound before Johnny Gilbert says "This is Jeopardy!" in a slower, more dramatic manner. Then, the Jeopardy! globe explodes as the theme music begins and the rest of Johnny Gilbert's catchphrase continues as normal.
• At the beginning of this season, the color of the Jeopardy! dollar amounts on 30 television monitors of the 1985-1991 Jeopardy! set changes its color from white to yellow.
• The title cards for the Double Jeopardy! and Final Jeopardy! segments, and the Jeopardy! title card appears, when the show goes into and comes out of commercial breaks, use various color schemes: white text on a red indigo gradient, white text on silver, silver text on blue, red text on a gray checkerboard, etc.
• The Daily Double clue card is never shown on camera. Instead, the clue itself now displays onscreen as a chyron graphic, with white Korinna text.
• The ticket and a contestant plug now appears during the last commercial break.
• The onscreen display of the Final Jeopardy! segment changed its color to white, as in Unaired Pilot 2.
• The primary color of the box displaying the contestants' Final Jeopardy! winners and responses changes its color from blue to black.
• Beginning with this season, Jeopardy! announcer Johnny Gilbert says "This is Johnny Gilbert speaking" at the end of each episode. Beginning with the January 3, 2000 episode, Johnny Gilbert no longer says "This is Johnny Gilbert speaking" at the end of each episode.
• At the start of the closing credits, a new version of the Mr. Guy credit appears with the fashion label's logo, and "of Beverly Hills" was changed to "Beverly Hills, California".
• At the start of this season, Alex Trebek's wardrobe provider credit only says, "Alex Trebek's wardrobe by".
• The sponsor list lead-in changes to the current one: "THE FOLLOWING COMPANIES HAVE FURNISHED PRIZES OR PAID A FEE FOR THEIR PROMOTION ON THE PROGRAM". In the eligibility disclaimer, "PRIZE WINNERS" is changed to "CONTESTANTS". This season is also the first to feature an editing disclaimer reading, "PORTIONS OF THE PROGRAM NOT AFFECTING THE OUTCOME OF THE COMPETITION HAVE BEEN EDITED."
• At the beginning of this season, Jeopardy!'s first stage manager Keith Richmond leaves the show, and now, John Lauderdale becomes the new stage manager of Jeopardy!.
• The copyright card is recycled from the most recent used in Season 1.

This season:

• Shortly after the start of the season, the globe's color scheme changes its color to white with red letters.
• A number of alternate color schemes are experimented with over the course of the season, including a red globe with blue letters.
• By the September 16, 1985 episode, the champion is now standing at the left podium.
• On the October 4, 1985 episode, Chuck Forrest sets a new five day winnings record of $72,800.
• Also by the October 4, 1985 episode:
  • Alex Trebek's wardrobe provider credit again says "Alex Trebek's Wardrobe furnished by".
• On the November 7, 1985 episode, Harvey Becker sets a new one-day winnings total with $25,400. This record would stand for nearly three years.
• On the November 11, 1985 episode, a two-week long $100,000 Tournament of Champions made its debut, and it features all 15 undefeated five-time champions from the show's first season.
  • The quarterfinal matches last through the entire week with the winner of each automatically advancing to the semifinals. The other four spots are wild cards and go to the four highest-scoring players among non-winners.
  • The three winners of the semifinal matches face each other in the finals where the contestant with the highest score after two games wins the $100,000 top prize. Each runner-up in the finals receives the two-day total they accumulated. All semi-finalists receive $5,000, and all quarter-finalists leave with $1,000.
  • Each episode starts with a yellow "$100,000" graphic which zooms on screen accompanied by the white words "Tournament of Champions"; both are in in Korinna. The Jeopardy! globe logo does not appear in this tournament.
  • When the show goes into and comes out of commercial breaks, a title card displays that reads "$100,000 TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS" in purple Korinna text with white outlines, on a blue-and-red gradient background.
  • At the start of episodes during the finals week, the television monitors display "T OF C FINAL" in Korinna.
  • During the quarterfinals week, after Johnny Gilbert says, "This is Jeopardy!'s $100,000 Tournament of Champions", instead of "Now entering the studio are today's contestants", he says, "Now entering the studio are three of last year's five day undefeated champions."
  • On the November 22, 1985 episode, The late Jerry Frankel won the first Tournament of Champions. However, he died of AIDS on July 13, 1987.
  • The Sheraton Premiere Hotel provides some hotel accommodations for the cast and crew during at least the inaugural Tournament of Champions.
  • The Tournament of Champions was held every year in November until 1996.
  • On the last quarterfinal game of the Tournament of Champions, after the game is played and he congratulates that contestant for being a semifinalist, he says, "Here are the 9 semifinalists who will be playing on Monday for $100,000/$25,000. On my right, we have (Contestants name) (Location) and so on." When he announced the 4 wildcard spots he says, (contestants name), (location), (how much $$ they earned in 2nd or 3rd place). Then he concludes by saying, "And there you go ladies and gentlemen, these are the nine semifinalists who will be playing on Monday for $100,000/$25,000 in cash. Have a good weekend and we will see on Monday. So long." Then the closing theme plays. This applied for the Teen Tournament, College Championship, and Seniors Tournament. This type of practice has been done until Season 13.
• By the November 28, 1985 episode:
  • The King World part of the closing announcement is slightly changed to say "...and distributed by King World". The copyright card is changed to silver with a pink Jeopardy! logo. Later on this season, the copyright card is changed to bright blue with a shiny silver Jeopardy! logo, flanked by a silver star.
• On the December 24, 1985 episode, a Video Daily Double is used for the first time. The card is similar to the Audio Daily Double graphic, except "VIDEO" takes the place of "AUDIO."
• On this episode, which aired on February 10, 1986, before the closing credits Johnny Gilbert states: "Due to an error, contestant's score following Double Jeopardy! was corrected."
• This season kicks off on September 9, 1985 and ends on June 6, 1986.
• Summer reruns kicks off on June 9, 1986.

Season 3 (1986-1987)

Season changes:

• At the start of this season, The nine-foot Jeopardy! logo changes its color from white to yellow.

  

  A rare Merv Griffin Enterprises logo with the Merv Griffin Enterprises text removed, from the November 12, 1986 episode during the first Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions.

• At the beginning of this season, Alex Trebek did not enter the Jeopardy! set with a microphone in his hand, just like he did in the first two seasons of Jeopardy!. And now, Alex Trebek enters the Jeopardy! set, and goes straight to the game board.
• Starting with this season, Jeopardy! begins a long-standing tradition of making seasons consist of 46 weeks, and 230 half-hour episodes, which is starting on the second Monday in September and ending on the third Friday in July.
• The globe opening credits at the start of every episode changed its color to feature yellow Jeopardy! letters on a blue sphere with black lines divided into squares, rotating at warp speed.
• When the contestants walked onto the set during their introductions at the beginning of this season, their contestants names started to appear onscreen in gold Korinna font.
• The title cards for rounds and Daily Doubles changed its color to gold text on a silver backgrounds; the "DOUBLE" and "FINAL" in Double and Final Jeopardy!, as well as the Daily Double name, now use Gill Sans. For Video and Audio Daily Doubles, a navy-blue banner is featured with neither "VIDEO" nor "AUDIO" in white text, also using Gill Sans. On-screen displays of Daily Doubles and the Final Jeopardy! clue are now surrounded by blue backgrounds.
• This is the last season to feature Alex Trebek as Jeopardy!'s first producer. He has been with us since the show debuted on September 10, 1984. Starting in Season 4, George Vosburgh will replace Alex Trebek as the new producer of Jeopardy!.
• The title cards that appear when the show goes into and comes out of commercial breaks are the same as last season.
• The primary color of the box displaying the contestants' Final Jeopardy! wagers and responses changes its color back to blue.
• During the 1986 Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions, the Merv Griffin Enterprises text is removed from the logo; all that appears below the griffin is "A Unit of The Coca-Cola Company", in red with the company name in Coca-Cola's proprietary script font and the rest of the text in Helvetica.
• After the 1986 Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions, the Merv Griffin Enterprises text came back and starts to be shown between the griffin and the Coca-Cola byline.
• For the 1986 Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions only, Johnny Gilbert's closing catchphrase is changed to "Jeopardy! is produced by Merv Griffin Enterprises and it is distributed by King World".
• On the November 21, 1986 episode, Chuck Forrest, who had the highest score in regular competition, won the Tournament of Champions.
• On the February 2, 1987 episode, the King World part of the closing catchphrase is slightly changed again to say "and is distributed by King World".
• At some point between February 3, 1987 and the end of the season, the byline below the Merv Griffin Enterprises logo changes to "A unit of Coca-Cola TELEVISION", again using the proprietary Coca-Cola script font for the beverage brand's name.
• In some episodes, the sponsor list and eligibility disclaimer appear in the Helvetica font, while the credits still use Korinna.
• On the February 16, 1987 episode, the Teen Tournament made its debut, and Michael Galvin became the first champion to win $25,000.
• The copyright card is the same as in the later portions of Season 2.
• In May of 1987, the Senior Citizens Tournament made its debut.
• This season kicks off on September 8, 1986, and ends on July 24, 1987.
• Summer reruns kicks off July 27, 1987.

This season:

• In the November, 1986 episode, the Jeopardy! globe opening credits were changed: the blue coloration changes its color to teal, the lines are less pronounced, the letters are bolder, and the globe rotates at normal speed. This lasts until the 1985-1991 Jeopardy! set is retired in 1991, when the grid set designed by Ed Flesh was used.
• The first Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions consists of 14 men and 1 woman Beryl Arbit.
• The first Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions is also the first Tournament of Champions to feature a distinct logo for the Tournament—featuring a bronze Jeopardy! word mark on a silver banner, accompanied by light blue banners with gold text reading "$100,000" and "Tournament of Champions!", both in varying widths of Futura.

Season 4 (1987-1988)

Season changes:

• At the beginning of this season, The neon borders are added to the category cards.
• The Jeopardy! logo is changed to curved letters, and the Jeopardy! logo is changed to a shorter exclamation mark. The title cards for rounds changed its color to an aquamarine-blue gradient, with the Jeopardy! logo in white and the "DOUBLE" and "FINAL" in Double and Final Jeopardy! in red.
• On the November 13, 1987 episode, this episode consists all of the Jeopardy! Round categories that begin with the letter "A" and all of the Double Jeopardy! Round categories that begin with the letter "T" as a tribute to Alex Trebek.
• From January 25, 1988 until the February 5, 1988 episode, during the closing credits, the Final Jeopardy! logo flashes on the game board's monitors instead of the Jeopardy! logo.
• The color scheme for the Daily Double title card is changed to red text on a gold background with a blue banner.
• At the beginning of this season, George Vosburgh became the new producer of Jeopardy!, who replaced Alex Trebek as the producer of Jeopardy! for the show's first three seasons. Later, in the second half of this season, the byline changes, making it read "A unit of Columbia Pictures Entertainment, Inc.", is orange and the same font used for the aforementioned Merv Griffin text, instead of italics under the Merv Griffin Enterprises logo.
• At the start of this season, verification of questions is provided by Facts on File.
• The copyright card is the same as the rest of Season 2 and all of Season 3.

This season:

• A full closing credit roll is featured at the end of the episode Cheryl/Michael/Ron in 1988.
• All the contestants in the Tournament of Champions are men.
• Bob Verini, won the Tournament of Champions by a margin of $1 trailing Dave Traini who was in second place in the 2nd final game.
• On the July 5, 1988 episode, Kevin Frear sets a new one-day record of $27,800.
• This season kicks off on September 7, 1987. This season ends on July 22, 1988. Summer reruns kicks off on July 25, 1988.

Season 5 (1988-1989)

• In earlier episodes of this season, the copyright card is the same as the rest of season two and all of both seasons three and four. Later, the copyright card has changed its color to the shrunken Jeopardy! logo in gold, with backgrounds varying depending on the episode.
• This is the last season to use the King World "Stars and Stripes" logo.
• Mark Lowenthal won the Tournament of Champions.
• Stock footage from the January 30, 1989 episode was featured in the 1992 film Breaking the Rules
• On the December 30, 1988 episode, the 1,000th episode of Jeopardy! airs.
• On May 8, 1989, the College Championship made its debut.
• This season kicks off on September 5, 1988.
• This season ends on July 21, 1989 with the Senior Citizens Tournament.
• From there until Season 11, each season ends with the Senior Citizens Tournament.
• Summer reruns kicks off after the tournament which is July 24, 1989.

Season 6 (1989-1990)

Season changes:

• The category cards gave us a more rectangular shaped look.
• This is the first season to use the 1989-1998 King World "Spotlights" logo.
• Alex Trebek starts wearing glasses in this season.
• Stock footage from the March 16, 1990 episode was featured in the 1992 film Breaking the Rules.

  

  King World logo from 1989/1990.

• The short-lived Super Jeopardy! debuted in the summer of 1990, and the Jeopardy! set consisted of four contestant podiums, instead of three. The short-lived Super Jeopardy! ended that same year in 1990.

• In 1989, the King World logo changed again at the start of this season, which is now computer-animated at the beginning. A circular pattern at the right, the company name flying, "King" going from right to left and "World" going from left to right and a large star in the background, the background then turns black-brown gradient, with a purple line on the left and disappears and the blue rectangle across with the purple line on the left and right, making it a spotlight similar to the Fox logo, making the bars crisscrossed from here. The "Distributed by" text is above King World, chromed in and the triangle turns into the star from the beginning of the logo. It was better known as the King World Spotlights, although it made its official debut back in 1989, when Season 14 of Austin City Limits premieres on PBS, and new shows such as Shining Time Station on PBS, COPS on Fox, before moving to Spike TV, The New Yankee Workshop on PBS, Hey Dude on Nickelodeon, and Rescue 911 on CBS.

This season:

• On the September 12, 1989 episode, Bob Blake sets a new five-day winnings record of $82,501.
• In the November 1989 episode, Tom Cubbage was the only college winner to win the Tournament Of Champions.
• On the January 15, 1990 episode, Frank Spangenberg sets a new one-day record of $30,600, and a new 5-day winnings record of $102,597.
• This season kicks off on September 4, 1989. This season ends on July 20, 1990.
• Summer reruns kicks off on July 23, 1990.

Season 7 (1990-1991)

Season changes:

• Shortly after the start of this season, the lights began to dim during Final Jeopardy!, which has been permanent since.
• This is the last season to use the 1985-1991 Jeopardy! set, with its last appearance on the 7th season finale episode, which aired on July 19, 1991. For the 1985-1991 Jeopardy! set's final season, the first note of the 1984-1992 Jeopardy! theme song is removed.
  • The carpet/Plexiglas floor has a grayer look to it.
  • The circles underneath the contestant podiums are removed.
  • The blue parts of the contestant podiums are given new paint jobs.
• The white outline around the contestants' score displays changed its color to a thicker silver outline.
• The copyright card is changed to a rotation of red and blue. "All Rights Reserved" begins appearing in the copyright card for the first time since 1985. In early episodes of the season, the copyright card had a upside down triangle with the Jeopardy! logo in the banner.
• On the October 30, 1990 and October 31, 1990 episodes, a full closing credit roll is shown two days in a row.
• In the November, 1990 episode, Bob Blake won the Tournament of Champions after losing to Frank Spagenberg in the semi-finals.
• This season kicks off on September 3, 1990. This season ends July 19, 1991.
• Summer reruns kicks off July 22, 1991.

Season 8 (1991-1992)

• This season marks the debut of the brand new state of the art set designed by Ed Flesh. The set consisted of a metal grid against a blue background with the revised neutral white nine-foot Jeopardy! logo, which changes its color to a rotation of neutral white and red. When the set turns red in the Double Jeopardy! and Final Jeopardy! segments, the nine-foot Jeopardy! logo is still neutral white, and changes its color to a rotation of neutral white and blue. The grid set would remain in use until the November 8, 1996 episode, when the sushi bar set was introduced.
• This is the last season to use the 1984-1992 Jeopardy! theme song. It has been in use since the show debuted on September 10, 1984.
• The opening credits are changed to a new Jeopardy! globe spinning on a game board of the grid set. The whoosh sound is heard when the new Jeopardy! globe zooms out on the game board. The new Jeopardy! globe explodes to reveal the 1991-1996 set, where contestants walked onto the set. An image of Alex Trebek appears on the game board after the contestant introductions, as Alex Trebek enters the studio, and goes straight to the game board.
• The game board has changed a number of television monitors from 30 to 36, so the contestants can see the clues more sleeker on the wall of 36 television monitors, with various types of animation as they appear. Initially, the categories began to zoom in from the center of each television monitor.
• The contestant score displays are changed to incandescent seven-segment display, so that the scores can still be seen when the lights dim during the Final Jeopardy! segment.
• The copyright card is changed to a big yellow Jeopardy! logo featuring various backgrounds spotlights, etc., with the copyright notice beneath the logo.
• The whoosh sound is not used when the dollar figures pop in on the Jeopardy! segment board; the dollar figures simply pop in on the Jeopardy! segment board.
• This marks the last season to have the Daily Double clue shown in full screen. It was changed to having the Daily Double clue showing right next to the contestant's right shoulder during the 1992 Teen Tournament.
• When the grid set debuted, the Daily Double graphic didn't dissolve after the clue was read.
• It would dissolve when the camera turns to the contestants, as well as to Alex Trebek.
• For the first half of the season, the contestant's current cash winnings totals were shown in Korinna, and had a very cheesy star effect, the very cheesy star effect was removed during the 1992 Teen Tournament.
• The winner's post-Final Jeopardy! total graphics are now in a Korinna font, but it doesn't flash.
• Jim Scott won the Tournament of Champions.
• This episode, which aired on May 18, 1992, in which, Jerome Vered made his Jeopardy! debut, and it has a full closing credit roll with camera shots dissolving to reveal other camera shots and the Jeopardy! logo.
• On the May 4, 1992 episode, Chris Montplasir became a semi-finalist winner by answering the tiebreaker clue at the end of the game in the first quarterfinal game of the College Championship when she defeated Ken Kansa and Margaret Bickers.
• Three separate tiebreaker clues had to be played before Chris Montplaisir was declared the winner over Ken Kansa, but the first two tiebreakers were omitted from the broadcast game because neither player gave a correct response to either of them. The whole exercise turned out to be moot, because Ken's score earned him a wildcard spot into the semifinals. Neither player advanced to the finals.
• On the May 21, 1992 episode, Jerome Vered sets a new one-day record of $34,000.
• At this point, Jeopardy! became the most episodes of any syndicated game show.
• This season kicks off on September 2, 1991. This season ends on July 18, 1992, which marks the last appearance of the 1984-1992 Jeopardy! theme song.
• Summer reruns kicks off July 21, 1992.

Season 9 (1992-1993)

• This Merv Griffin Enterprises logo is now consisted of the Sony byline.
• The clue text for Daily Double is never actually shown in full screen, and now the clue text for Daily Doubles appear on the left side of the contestant's right shoulder, and then it dissolves after the clue is read.
• This is the first season to use the 1992-1997 Jeopardy! bongo theme. This would remain in use until the Season 13 finale, which aired on July 18, 1997.
• At the start of this season, the Merv Griffin Enterprises logo is changed. The Columbia Pictures Entertainment byline was changed to the Sony Pictures Entertainment byline in the 1984 logo. Also, Johnny Gilbert's catchphrase is exactly the same as in early 1987.
• In late-1992, Johnny Gilbert's catchphrase is changed by saying "This is Johnny Gilbert speaking. Jeopardy! is a production of Merv Griffin Enterprises. Distributed by King World."
• Similar to Johnny Gilbert's closing line from 1987, this new closing line is pre-recorded.
• A drumroll is heard after the Merv Griffin Enterprises Logo and before the King World Logo.
• To accommodate the change, the copyright card is moved from the end to between the two logos.
• The music of the King World logo sounded creepier from this time until 1994.
• At the start of this season, The main theme is rerecorded by adding bongos to the synthesizers and saxophones. The bongo theme would remain in use until the Season 13 finale, which aired on July 18, 1997.
• Perry Ellis acquires Alex Trebek's wardrobe, and the wardrobe provider credit has a Grief Companies reference.
• In mid-1993, the Merv Griffin Enterprises logo is changed to a style of the Columbia Pictures Television logo of 1992, except the letters on top is removed, and the griffin doesn't wink at the camera anymore.
• The Celebrity Jeopardy! tournament made its debut in October, 1992. It featured celebrity contestants who supply questions for answers, which looks just like the regular Jeopardy!, but with celebrities from various TV shows, instead of regular contestants.
• Leszek Pawlowicz wins the Tournament of Champions.
• In this season's College Championship, they gave away a Dodge Shadow car.
• The contestant interviews segment is right after the completion of the Jeopardy! segment and before the second commercial break.
• The contestant podium monitors changed its color from blue to red in the Double Jeopardy! and Final Jeopardy! segments, so they can match the background.

This season:

• From the start of this season until sometime in October 1992, Johnny Gilbert's pre-recorded catchphrase is the same as in early 1987, and the copyright card still appears after the logos
• On the January 19, 1993 episode, Darryl Scott, an Air Force lieutenant colonel originally from Washington, D.C., wins the game with $1.
• On the June 17, 1993 episode, the theme plays in its entirety during the closing, ending at the Merv Griffin Enterprises part of Johnny Gilbert's catchphrase.
• On the June 17 and the June 18, 1993 episodes, a full closing credit roll is shown two days in a row.
• This season kicks off September 7, 1992. This season ends July 23, 1993, which is also the 2,000th episode aired.
• Summer reruns kicks off on July 26, 1993.

Season 10 (1993-1994)

Season changes:

• At the beginning of this season, Johnny Gilbert's catchphrase is changed to say at the start of every episode: "Celebrating its 10th year as America's favorite answer and question show, This is Jeopardy!". This was done during regular episodes only.
• This is the last season to be produced by Merv Griffin Enterprises. Columbia TriStar Television will be taking over production of Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune in 1994.
• The Jeopardy! 10th anniversary logo is now consisted of an upside down triangle, with the silver Jeopardy! logo on a blue rectangle with the number 10 in red, and the yellow rectangle with the text "Anniversary" in a black Helvetica font with a blue globe in it. It was used during the introductions at the beginning of this season.
• The copyright card looks similar to early Season 7 episodes, but with a cloud background, and an upside down triangle that has a light in it, and the rectangle is blue and larger.

This season:

• The Jeopardy! 10th anniversary championship was supposed to be a tournament featuring the first nine Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions winners from the first nine seasons. However, they couldn't do it that way because the first two Tournament of Champions winners, the late Jerry Frankel died of AIDS on July 13, 1987, and Chuck Forrest had to work overseas.
• From November 1, 1993 to November 4, 1993, whichever contestant becomes Jeopardy! champions gets a chance to select which 1 of the 8 participants from each Tournament of Champions semi-finals will compete in the 10th anniversary championship right after the Tournament of Champions.
• Tom Nosek won the Tournament of Champions and went on to be a participant in the 10th anniversary championship.
• The week of the November 29, 1993 episode, which is the 10th Anniversary Tournament, featuring semi-finalists and finalists from past Tournament of Champions.
• On the December 23, 1993 episode, on the Video Daily Double question, we have the Merv Griffin Enterprises griffin, the Columbia Pictures torch lady and the TriStar Pictures Pegasus, and TriStar wins as the best answer.
• In this season's College Championship, the winner was awarded with a dodge prize along with the trophy and $25,000. It was going to be the car and the pickup truck.
• Jeff Stewart, a Brigham Young University chose the pickup truck.
• For the rest of the season, which includes the May 23, 1994 episode, Johnny Gilbert says the 1992 catchphrase in a different fashion, which is pre-recorded.
• This season kicks off on September 6, 1993. This season ends on July 22, 1994.
• Summer reruns kicks off on July 25, 1994.

Season 11 (1994-1995)

• Starting with this season until shortly after the start of Season 13, a new Jeopardy! globe opening sequence was used at the start of every episode. The Jeopardy! logo becomes three dimensional, and the Jeopardy! logo gives a yellow and orange gradient on a blue globe. The globe explodes, and the Jeopardy! logo zooms in by cutting through the "A" to reveal the 1991-1996 set.
• This is the first season of Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune to be produced by Columbia TriStar Television after Merv Griffin Enterprises closed its doors.
• At the beginning of this season, Johnny Gilbert's opening catchphrase changes back to say "This is Jeopardy!" at the start of every episode.
• Also at the beginning of this season, the show moved to Stage 10 at Sony Pictures.
• Early in the season, the new Jeopardy! globe logo changes its color to a bright blue sky background, and the Daily Double graphic changes its color a bright red sky background.
• Also, on contestant plugs for the Teen Tournament and College Championship for this season. the full bright blue sky background is used.
• During the College Championship, the winner takes home a Volvo car. This would remain in use until Season 20.
• On the July 4, 1995 episode, Isaac Segal makes his Jeopardy! debut. This episode first aired when Bob Ross, the host of The Joy of Painting died of lymphoma at the age of 52.
• Later in the season, the globe logo is now consisted of a shadow outline, and the blue sky background changes its color to darker. Also the Daily Double graphic changes its color to a red background darkened to match the sky. Also later in the season, the Greif Companies reference is not used on Alex Trebek's wardrobe provider credit.
• During this season, the first Columbia TriStar Television logo consisted of a blue background, with a Columbia Pictures torch lady, and the TriStar Pictures Pegasus, and the Columbia TriStar Television name with Sony byline in yellow text, and the music is a bombastic horn fanfare.
• After the first few episodes, Johnny Gilbert's catchphrase was changed to say "This is Johnny Gilbert speaking. Jeopardy! is a production of Columbia TriStar Television. Distributed by King World."
• At the beginning of this season, Columbia TriStar Television took over production of Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune, after Merv Griffin Enterprises closed its doors. 
• The music of the King World logo sounds truncated from this time until 1996.
• Later in the season, on the closing credits, "Created by Merv Griffin" appeared after the closing credit scroll.
• Johnny Gilbert's catchphrase was changed to say at the end of each episode "This is Johnny Gilbert speaking. Jeopardy! was created by Merv Griffin. Produced by Columbia TriStar Television. Distributed by King World."
• This season kicks off on September 5, 1994. This season ends on July 21, 1995.
• Summer reruns kicks off on July 24, 1995.

Season 12 (1995-1996)

• This is the most popular season with the 1991-1996 Jeopardy! state of the art grid set designed by Ed Flesh. A brand new globe intro was used at the beginning of this season. This time, the three dimensional Jeopardy! logo gives a yellow and orange gradient with a white shadow sliding out on the Jeopardy! globe, which is light blue. The globe explodes, and the Jeopardy! logo zooms in by cutting through the "A" to reveal the 1991-1996 set.
• This is the last season, in which Alex Trebek enters the Jeopardy! set, and goes straight to the game board.
• Johnny Gilbert does the Olympics version of the Jeopardy! opening catchphrase: "An official sponsor of the 1996 Olympic Games, This is Jeopardy!". It's only used on regular episodes only.
• Its sister show, Wheel of Fortune was moved from CBS Television City in Hollywood to Sony Pictures Studios' Stage 11 in Culver City.
• On the October 31, 1995 episode, Vanna White from Wheel of Fortune makes an appearance in the clues for their "Halloween/Costume" category.
• The Senior Citizens Tournament was held for the last time in December of 1995.
• On the May 17, 1996 episode, the second final game of the 1996 Teen Tournament was to determine the overall winner between Derek Bridges and Amanda Goad. Derek had a high enough score going into Final Jeopardy! to wager for the win, but mistakenly wagered for the tie, rather than the win. Both of them took home $31,200. Amanda Goad responded correctly and went on to become a 1996 Tournament of Champions semifinalist.
• An Olympics tournament is held from July 15, 1996 to July 18, 1996, followed by the last episode of the 12th season of Jeopardy!, which is the season finale, that aired on July 19, 1996.
• This season kicks off on September 4, 1995. This seasons ends on July 19, 1996.
• Summer reruns kicks off on July 22, 1996.

Season 13 (1996-1997)​​

Season changes:

• Johnny Gilbert's catchphrase for the first month of the season is "From the Sony Studios, this is Jeopardy!". The Jeopardy! globe intro was the same as it was in Season 11 of Jeopardy! (1994-1995), when Columbia TriStar Television took over production of Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune.
• This is the last season to use the 1992-1997 Jeopardy! bongo theme, and the 1984-1997 "Think" cue.
• This season is both the last season to use the grid set, and the first season to use the sushi bar set.
• In the second month, Johnny Gilbert's catchphrase changes to "From the Sony Pictures Studios, this is Jeopardy!". The opening credits are changed to a flyover of the Sony Pictures Studio complex, and the television monitor zooms out which passed through the dollar figures from the Jeopardy! and Double Jeopardy! rounds popping on the television monitors passing through a Jeopardy! logo at the end. The Jeopardy! logo zooms in by cutting through the "A" to reveal the 1996-2002 set.
• This is the last season to use the microphones on the contestant podiums. Starting in Season 14, the microphones are out, and the clip-on mics are in, which have been used on all other sets since then.
• The font for the contestant intros were changed to Compacta-D at the beginning of the season.
• In earlier episodes of this season, announcer Johnny Gilbert's catchphrase is the same as it was in early 1995.
• On the November 4, 1996 episode, Johnny Gilbert's catchphrase was changed to say "Jeopardy! was created by Merv Griffin" at the end of each episode. After Johnny Gilbert's catchphrase, the King World logo appears first, followed by the Columbia TriStar Television logo.
• The music from "Think!" is played during the King World logo.
• Beginning with the November 11, 1996 episode, the sushi bar set made its debut, which was also the Celebrity Jeopardy! episode of the first day of the 1996-2002 Jeopardy! sushi bar set designed by Naomi Slodki. The sushi bar set would remain in use until November 8, 2002, when they replaced it with the metallic set.
• The sliding doors behind Alex Trebek's podium was added to the Jeopardy! set at the beginning of this season. This would remain in use until Season 29, when they replaced it with a ramp behind the game board. Alex Trebek no longer enters the Jeopardy! set, and goes straight to the game board, and now, Alex Trebek enters the Jeopardy! set through the sliding doors of the "P" and "A", as he walks down a small staircase. On the April 1, 1997 episode, Pat Sajak would make his entrance instead of Alex Trebek.
• The 1996-2002 Jeopardy! sushi bar set consisted of a wood-like appearance with the nine-foot Jeopardy! logo with the sliding doors of the "P" and "A" as Alex Trebek enters the Jeopardy! set through the sliding doors of the "P" and "A" as he walks down a small staircase. The sushi bar set would remain in use until the November 8, 2002 episode, when they replaced it with the metallic set.
• The contestant interviews segment is right after the first commercial and before concluding the last segment of the Jeopardy! segment and then going into the second commercial break.
• But when this is done, Alex Trebek began standing near the contestant podiums, rather than near his podium like he did in the first eight seasons.
• Stock footage from the December 6, 1996 episode was featured in the 1999 film Baby Geniuses.
• On the December 25, 1996 episode, the "Merry Christmas" logo along with a decorated Christmas tree on a red background is shown on the game board at the top of the show, before each round, and at the end of the show.
• The first semifinal game of the 1997 College Championship, which aired on the May 19, 1997 episode, and they had to determine who, between Steven Bevier and Brian Chan, would go on to become a finalist.
• Both 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.
• Columbia TriStar Television changes its logo in mid-1997. It is changed to the Columbia torch lady zooming away from us and the TriStar Pegasus is different and flying across and the clouds on the second box zooms away slowly and the background is a blue cloudy sky and a light blue background. Also, the boxes and text were in bluish tint and all text is navy blue.

This season:

• At the start of the season, even though the contestants' names and total winnings are changed to the Compacta-D font, the 30-second thinking period of Final Jeopardy!, as well as the sponsor list and staff credits, still use Enchanted.
• By the October, 1996 episode, the closing credits were not shown in Enchanted, but it was change to Compacta-D; additionally, the clue text in the Final Jeopardy! thinking period changes to Clarendon.
• By the November 4, 1996 episode, the sponsor list moves to the bottom of the screen and changes to Compacta-D. However, the text used for clues as they appear on monitors still uses Enchanted to this day.
• This episode, which aired on November 8, 1996 marks the last appearance of the grid set. The sushi bar set will make its debut on the November 11, 1996 episode.
• At the beginning of the show and just before the Final Jeopardy! clue is revealed, Alex Trebek acknowledges the viewers that this is the last episode to use the grid set.
• At the end of the show, Alex Trebek takes home the microphone and sheets from the podium, and there is a sneak peek at the sushi bar set, when Johnny Gilbert previews the celebrity matches for the following week.
• Beginning on the November 12, 1996 episode, the 1996-2002 Jeopardy! sushi bar set changes back to blue for the closing credits.
• On the November 13, 1996 episode, all three celebrity male contestants wound up with $0 at the end of the show
• During this season's Teen Tournament, the sushi bar set changes to an unusual shade of pink for the closing credits.
• On the February 6, 1997 episode, during the Teen Tournament, the set was filled with tribble invasion creatures Star Trek all over.
• On the April 1, 1997 episode, which is the April Fools episode, Pat Sajak guest hosted Jeopardy! for a day, when he filled in for Alex Trebek as part of an April Fools Day gag. That same day, Alex Trebek guest hosted Wheel of Fortune, where Pat Sajak and Vanna White play for charity. While introducing the first round, the categories consisted of "Buy a Vowel", "Lose a Turn", "Book & Author", "Husband & Wife", "Before & After", which becomes a recurring Jeopardy! category itself, and finally, "Say "Jack"", in which all correct responses consisted of the word "jack", while the Double Jeopardy! segment is played on the word "fool". Aside from those elements, this is an April Fools episode, in which Alex Trebek and Pat Sajak traded places. The wardrobe provider credit at the end of the episode uses Alex Trebek's name as usual, instead of using Pat Sajak's.
• On the May 1, 1997 episode, the Law & Order theme plays, instead of the Jeopardy! theme, as all three celebrity contestants are actors on the show.
• The week of the May 5, 1997 episode, the semi-final and final matches of the International Tournament is taped in Stockholm, Sweden; this marks the first time, Jeopardy! is taped on the road.
• This season kicks off on September 2, 1996. This season ends on July 18, 1997, which also marks the last appearance of the 1992-1997 Jeopardy! bongo theme, and the 1984-1997 "Think!" music.
• Summer reruns kicks off on July 21, 1997.

Season 14 (1997-1998)

Season changes:

• A new version of both the main theme and the "Think!" music, which is composed by Steve Kaplan, which made its debut at the beginning of this season, and it would remain in use until the April 20, 2001 episode.
• The opening credits are changed to the same flyover of the Sony Pictures Studios complex, and a cube zooms out with the Jeopardy! logo flying over the floating cubes. The Jeopardy! letters fly away, and a cube zooms in to reveal the 1996-2002 set.
• This is the last season to use the 1989-1998 King World "Spotlights" logo.
• At the beginning of the season, all five time champions win one of the three Chevrolet cars. It could be the Corvette, Tahoe, and a pair of Cameros.
• Starting with this season, the category screen effects are covered by a Jeopardy! logo, as well as the Double Jeopardy! and Final Jeopardy! logo, and the Jeopardy! logo, which is used for a particular tournament.
• The microphones are out, and the clip-on mics are in, which have been used on all other sets since then.
• The studio audience is now shown.
• Many of the categories are now more obscure.
• At the start of this season, in addition to the regular Daily Double clues, Jeopardy! began to make room for audio and video clues to become their regular clues.
• Starting this season and continuing until the fall of 2009, The Final Jeopardy! category began displaying onscreen when contestants started to write their responses.
• This is the first time that the College Championship tapes ten episodes in a college campus.
• And also it's the first time that Alex Trebek introduced the new black college trophy to the viewers and contestants. That was the small and big trophy. This would remain in use until Season 24.
• Starting with this season, and it would remain in use until 2001, a Game Show Network logo appears during the closing credits in some episodes. Other episodes don't have the Game Show Network logo. The first promo is the ID with a voiceover saying "It's the only network you can play at home, Game Show Network, where it's all play, all day! Buzz your cable or satellite provider and get in the game!"
• The contestants' names and winnings in the introductions, as well as the graphic showing the Final Jeopardy! winner's new winnings count for the day, are changed to Optima, which continues to be used for them until Season 18.
• Optima also becomes the new font for the clue text in the Final Jeopardy! thinking period, and remains as such through most of Season 20.
• Additionally, the sponsor list, closing credits, and a copyright notice are changed to Optima as well, and continue to use that font until the end of Season 25.

This season:

• On the season premiere, the new theme song ends before Johnny Gilbert's closing spiel.
• Only applause from the audience is heard over the King World logo.
• On the September 2, 1997 episode, the theme song ends a few seconds before Johnny Gilbert's catchphrase.
• As with the season premiere, only applause from the audience is heard over the King World Productions logo at the start of this season.
• On the September 11, 1997 episode, oddly, the copyright date and "Created by Merv Griffin" credit are done in Compacta-D, as was the case for much of season 13.
• On this episode, which aired on September 15, 1997, the "Think!" music is remixed by adding a piano lead in the first verse and a trumpet lead in the second verse, replacing the other version which only had a piano lead. This would remain in use until the end of Season 24.  
• On the September 19, 1997 episode, the 3,000th episode of Jeopardy! airs. On this episode:
  • Johnny Gilbert appears onscreen to announce "This is the 3,000th show of Jeopardy!".
  • After Johnny Gilbert appears onscreen to do the announcement, stock footage from the first episode, which aired on September 10, 1984 entitled Greg/Lois/Frank is used.
  • After a stock footage from the first episode, which aired on September 10, 1984 entitled Greg/Lois/Frank, as the 1997-2001 theme plays, Johnny Gilbert introduces Alex Trebek with "Now once again, here is the host of Jeopardy!, Alex Trebek!".
  • The contestants are standing at their podiums for the first time when Alex Trebek walked onto the 1996-2002 Jeopardy! sushi bar set designed by Naomi Slodki. They didn't do that until Season 17.
  • The Jeopardy! round categories are the ones used on the first episode, which aired on September 10, 1984 entitled Greg/Lois/Frank. The categories consisted of "Lakes & Rivers", "Inventions", "Animals", "Foreign Cuisine", "Actors & Roles", and finally, "Number Please". They are introduced with their introduction from the first Jeopardy! episode on September 10, 1984 entitled Greg/Lois/Frank.
  • The "Actors & Roles" category this time which is consisted of video clues from some certain celebrities from the Celebrity Jeopardy! tournament.
  • The Double Jeopardy! categories are related to the milestone.
  • One of the categories is "Missed on Show No. 1," which are clues that were missed on the first episode, which aired on September 10, 1984 entitled Greg/Lois/Frank.
  • If a contestant gives an incorrect answer in this category, the buzzer used in the Season 1 sounds.
  • The Final Jeopardy! category is the same one from the first episode, which aired on September 10, 1984 entitled Greg/Lois/Frank "Holidays", and is introduced in the same manner.
• On this episode, which aired on October 6, 1997, the sushi bar set did not turn red in Double Jeopardy!, because the sushi bar set designed by Naomi Slodki turned red for the last time on the Celebrity Jeopardy! sportscasters episode, which aired on January 23, 1998.
• On the October 31, 1997 episode, which is the Halloween episode, Alex Trebek tries to wear a Statue of Liberty costume. Contestant Bob Harris makes his Jeopardy! debut on this episode.
• The second week of the Teen Tournament and Power Players Week, aired in November 1997, are taped at DAR Constitution Hall in Washington, DC.
• Instead of Alex Trebek announcing the nine semi-finalists who will be playing next week, while the contestants walk up on stage, each player will say their name and location and so on followed up an applause from the audience. This applied for the four wildcard spots. And also they did the same practice for the three finalists. This practice has been done for the Tournament of Champions, College Championship, Teen Tournament, and finally, Teachers Tournament, since then.
• On the December 15, 1997 episode, it was the first time, the Final Jeopardy! category is displayed superimposed at the upper left side of the screen during the round while the lights on the set dim and the contestants are writing their final responses.
• The December 16, 1997 episode became the first of three known games to use the "Bonus" category. In this category, each clue has two correct responses.
• If a contestant gives one correct response, they can choose to give the other correct response, or pass it to another contestant.
• However, if they chose to give the other correct response and get it wrong, they lose the value from the first correct response, so they are basically playing for double the clue value.
• On the December 19, 1997 episode, the real 3,000th episode of Jeopardy! airs.
• The December 31, 1997 episode is the second of three known games to use the "Bonus" category.
• The sushi bar set turns red in Double Jeopardy! for the last time on the Celebrity Jeopardy! sportscasters episode, which aired on January 23, 1998.
• The February 10, 1998 episode is the third of three known games to use the "Bonus" category.
• During the quarterfinals week of the Tournament of Champions, after the first round categories are revealed.
• Instead of Alex Trebek saying, "(Contestant's Name), you had the high score in the regular competition, you go first." He says, "(Contestant's Name), you won the toss, you go first."
• In the March 1998 episode, the dollar figures did not pop in on the Double Jeopardy! board, they are already present coming out of the second commercial break.
• This was first done in February during the Tournament of Champions before becoming permanent in March. And speaking of Tournament of Champions, this event was held in February 1998 and February 1999.
• On the March 2, 1998 episode, all three celebrity female contestants each had zero dollars at the end of the match.
• On the June 12, 1998 episode, all three contestants have zero dollars at the end of the game the first known instance since the 2nd show.
• This season kicks off on September 1, 1997. This season ends on July 17, 1998.
• Summer reruns kicks off on July 20, 1998.

Season 15 (1998-1999)

Season changes:

• During this season, the logo for Game Show Network is changed to letter tiles popping up with a ball and hand with mixed up letters appears: M, A, H, and E in the 1st row and W, S, and G in the 2nd row. The ball hits the scrambled letters to change the letters to the word GAME in the 1st row and the letters S, H, and W in the 2nd row, with the ball appearing between the H and the W. The plug has a different voiceover and "Buzz your cable or satellite provider and get in the game!" is changed to "Buzz your cable company and get in the game!"

  

  KingWorld logo from 1998.

• From this season until December 1999, the first Jeopardy! Online logo appears after the closing credits. A pop style tune plays over the logo, ending with the last four notes of the Jeopardy! theme song.
• Until early 1999, the music continues into the 1989 King World Productions logo, and the last four notes of the Jeopardy! theme song can be heard during the logo.
• In early 1999, the music for the Jeopardy! Online logo ends when the promo does, and the King World music returns.
• In late 1999, the King World "Spotlights" logo is changed to the 1998 King World "Star Shooter" logo, which shows a computerized golden-brown sky background complete with thunderclap.
• The King World logo completely changed its color from silver to blue.
• The closed captioning sponsor is broadcast right after the last commercial break right before the Final Jeopardy! round.
• The Priceline.com sponsor is announced by Johnny Gilbert right before the Double Jeopardy! round.

This season:

• The weeks of November 9, 1998 and November 16, 1998 are taped at the Wang Center for Performing Arts in Boston, Massachusetts.
• The November 9, 1998 episode is Boston Week, and the November 16, 1998 episode is the Teen Reunion Tournament.
• The Armed Forces Week was held during the week of June 28, 1999.
• This season kicks off on September 7, 1998. This season ends on July 23, 1999.
• Summer reruns kicks off on July 26, 1999.

Season 16 (1999-2000)

• The opening credits were changed to a new flyover past the Sony Pictures Studios complex. We zoom out on a TV tube shape to show various images from the show on some TV tubes, which moves from right to left. As this happens, gold letters pop in one by one to spell out Jeopardy!, then one final TV tube floats from the right and zooms in to reveal the 1996-2002 set.
• This is the last season to use Johnny Gilbert's opening catchphrase "Now entering the studio are today's contestants", in which the contestants walked onto the set during their introductions. Starting in Season 17, the contestants no longer walk onto the set during their introductions, they are already standing at their podiums.
• This is also the last season, in which Jeopardy! announcer Johnny Gilbert says "This is Johnny Gilbert" speaking at the end of each episode. Starting on the January 3, 2000 episode, he did not say "This is Johnny Gilbert speaking" at the end of each episode.
• On the December 8, 1999 episode, Alex Trebek explains to the viewers at home of what the crew do during the commercial break, just right before the Final Jeopardy! round.
• It includes two contestant coordinators, a stage manager, and an electronic scorekeeper.
• Harry Friedman is promoted as the executive producer of the show.
• On the season premiere week, the Game Show Network logo is changed to the "Ball Maze" logo with the voiceover saying "Why just watch television when you can play from home? Game Show Network! Buzz your cable company to get in the game!" No music plays at all during the plug.
• In the late October 1999 episode, Eddie Timanus became the first blind contestant to appear on the Jeopardy! set. During his appearance, the contestants are standing at their podiums for the second time. This change becomes permanent next season.
• The weeks of the November 8, 1999 episode, and the November 15, 1999 episode are taped at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
• November 8, 1999 is the semi-final and final episodes of the Teen Tournament, and November 15, 1999 is Celebrity Jeopardy!
• The College Championship was held in February 2000 in Sony Pictures Studios, Sound stage 10 with a college themed set. Janet Wong from Drew University won the college tournament of $50,000, a Volvo S40 sedan followed by a college trophy.
• By the December 27, 1999 episode, the Jeopardy! Online logo changes to a "Play Online and Win" logo with the Jeopardy! Online logo in blue text on a yellow oval. The music from the first logo is remixed, with some parts added to it as the letters of "Play Online and Win" pop in one by one.
• Beginning with the January 3, 2000 episode, Jeopardy! announcer Johnny Gilbert no longer says "This is Johnny Gilbert speaking" at the end of each episode.
• In the February 2000 episode, Jeopardy! announcer Johnny Gilbert makes an onscreen appearance after reading the clues for a Poetry category.
• In the May 2000 episode, the Tournament of Champions is held in Atlanta at the Atlanta Civic Center.
• During the first quarter final games of that episode, after Johnny Gilbert said, "From Atlanta, GA, this is the Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions!". Then five seconds later after the audience applause, then he introduced Alex Trebek on stage first before introducing the contestants. This is because Alex Trebek wanted to explain to the viewers at home that this is the first time that they taped the Tournament of Champions on the road.
• Then they showed the fifteen champions on the game board followed by an applause.
• This year's Tournament of Champions included two Teen Champions, 2 College Champions and 11 5-time champions.
• It was the last time, the Teen Tournament victors are eligible for the Tournament of Champions.
• The first three competed in the first match with Johnny Gilbert's introduction followed by the game.
• The dollar figures for the first round on the game board was already set up during the introduction. They didn't pop in. They did it like that for Season 25. This was the last time that Jeopardy! announcer Johnny Gilbert announced how much winnings these champions earned on their last appearance of the show during the quarter final introductions after their name.
• Robin Caroll, from Marietta, GA, won the $100,000 Tournament of Champions in her hometown.
• On the June 30, 2000 episode, Alex Trebek brings his kids, Matthew Trebek and Emily Trebek, onstage with him at the opening of the show.
• On the July 5, 2000 episode, Johnny Gilbert accidentally announced Alex Trebek as "Glen Trebek".
• The season kicks off on September 6, 1999. The season ends on July 21, 2000. Summer reruns kicks off on July 24, 2000.

Season 17 (2000-2001)

• The main theme is truncated.
• This is the last season to use Alex Trebek's trademark mustache, in which it had been used since Jeopardy! debuted on September 10, 1984 with the episode Greg/Lois/Frank. Beginning with the September 21, 2001 episode, Alex Trebek shaved off his trademark mustache to give a clean shaven look.
• This is the last season of Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune to be produced by Columbia TriStar Television. Columbia TriStar Domestic Television will be taking over production of Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune in 2001.
• The opening credits are changed to a blue background with the Jeopardy! logo sliding out, and it was being formed on a yellow rectangle. The Jeopardy! logo zooms in by cutting through the "A" to reveal the 1996-2002 set.
• A wind blowing sound is used in the introduction at the start of this season, and it would remain in use until the April 20, 2001 episode.
• Starting with this season and continuing into today, Johnny Gilbert's introduction changes back to say "This is Jeopardy!" for episodes taped in Culver City.
• The contestants no longer walk onto the set during their introductions, they are already standing at their podiums.
• At the beginning of this season, Jeopardy! announcer Johnny Gilbert did not say "Now entering the studio are today's contestants" at the start of every episode, This was done, because Jeopardy! announcer Johnny Gilbert wanted to use a rotation of other catchphrases: "Please welcome today's contestants", "Introducing today's contestants", "Here are today's contestants", "Today's contestants are", and finally, "Let's meet today's contestants".
• When the returning champion is introduced, his/her number of games won thus far is now shown onscreen.
• On the episodes, which aired in February 2001, Celebrity Jeopardy! and the International Tournament are held at the Hilton in Las Vegas, Nevada.
• A new, sped-up remix of the Jeopardy! theme makes its debut with these episodes.
• This Jeopardy! episode aired on April 20, 2001, which marks the last appearance of the 1997-2001 theme.
• The new Jeopardy! theme which made its debut in February is put permanently into use on this episode, which aired on April 23, 2001.
• The copyright notice is now accompanied by a trademark notice, which continues to use it to this day.
• This season kicks off on September 4, 2000. This season ends on July 20, 2001.
• Summer reruns kicks off on on July 23, 2001.

Season 18 (2001-2002)

• The opening credits are changed to a black background, with pieces of a very pale lavender shooting out to form the background of the set visible within it, and the Jeopardy! logo is formed in silver.
• This is the first and only season of Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune to be produced by Columbia TriStar Domestic Television. Starting in Season 19, Sony Pictures Television will be taking over production of Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune.
• The contestant intros and Final Jeopardy! winnings appear in a plain font similar to Arial. This would remain in use until the Season 20 finale.
• On early episodes of this season:
  • The dollar values for the first two rounds are still the same as they were on the September 10, 1984 episode Greg/Lois/Frank, when Alex Trebek began hosting Jeopardy!.
  • The second and final Jeopardy! Online logo is still in use after the closing credits.
  • Later in the season, the second and final Jeopardy! Online logo is dropped.
  • The Clue Crew is still not present.
• The September 11, 2001 episode is pre-empted in its original run in many markets, due to the news coverage of the terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington, D.C. It eventually airs on Game Show Network on June 21, 2005.
• On the September 21, 2001 episode, For the first seventeen seasons of Jeopardy!, Alex Trebek had a mustache, during the cold open, Alex Trebek shaved off his mustache to give him a clean shaven look.
• On the September 24, 2001 episode, the Clue Crew is introduced, and consisted of four members: Cheryl Farrell, Sofia Lidskog, Jimmy McGuire, and Sarah Whitcomb.
• The pink on the sliding doors of the "P" and "A" has changed its color to a very pale lavender on the sliding doors of the "P" and "A", and it would be used for the rest of the sushi bar set.
• The whoosh sound came back to the introduction in the October 2001 episode.
• The Tournament of Champions was held in the October 2001 episode.
• A split-screen for full closing credit rolls makes its debut, with the closing act of an episode on the left and the credits scrolling up on the right.
• During the quarter-finals week of the Tournament of Champions, Johnny Gilbert introduces, on each episode, three of last year's champions, by announcing the contestants' names and without announcing the total winnings that they earned since their last appearance on the show.
• On the November 26, 2001 episode, the old dollar amounts are changed to the current amounts: $200 to $1,000 in the Jeopardy! round and $400 to $2,000 in the Double Jeopardy! round.
• At the top of the episode, the old Jeopardy! round clue values of $100 to $500 are already in the monitors; as Alex Trebek mentions the new clue values the monitors make the usual transition: The old Jeopardy! round values are replaced with the Jeopardy! logo as the new Jeopardy! round values pop in.
• On the December 20, 2001 episode, the Los Angeles Spirit Chorale with Cheryl Farrell performs "Carol of the Bells" during the closing credits, instead of the Jeopardy! theme.
• On the December 21, 2001 episode, the Los Angeles Spirit Chorale with Cheryl performs "Silent Night", which is coming out of the last commercial break, and the rest of the song is heard for 30 seconds, instead of the "Think" music, after Alex Trebek reads the Final Jeopardy! clue.
• January 11, 2002 is the real 4,000th episode.
• On the 4th quarterfinal game of the Teen Tournament, Alex Trebek announced at the beginning of the show that when the 1st 3 contestants play, the other 12 contestants are locked in a deliberation room.
• This is so that the contestants won't know what score to beat to be in the semifinals as one of the 4 wildcards spots of high scores among the non winners.
• On the April 29, 2002 episode, Ben Sternberg sets a new one-day record of $38,400.
• In the May 2002 episode, the Million Dollars Masters Tournament is held at Radio City Music Hall in New York City to honor the show's 4,000th episode.
• The May 15, 2002 episode is the celebratory 4,000th episode, although it is actually #4088. It consists entirely of scenes with no gameplay involved.
• Starting on the May 16, 2002 episode, the second-place runner-up receives $2,000 and the third-place runner-up earns $1,000.
• During this season, Columbia TriStar Television closed its doors, so Columbia TriStar Domestic Television took over production of Jeopardy! and its sister show Wheel of Fortune. It looks just like the Columbia TriStar Television logo, expect the logo is a blue tint and the Sony Pictures Entertainment byline is smaller and the "TELEVISION" text is changed to "DOMESTIC TELEVISION".
• This season kicks off on September 3, 2001. This season ends on July 19, 2002. Summer reruns kicks off on July 22, 2002.

Season 19 (2002-2003)

• At the beginning of this season, Columbia TriStar Domestic Television closed its doors, so Sony Pictures Television took over production of Jeopardy! and its sister show Wheel of Fortune. On a dark blue screen, we see bars with orange inside and the text "Sony Pictures Television" appears zooming away slowly. The music is a Christmas style tune composed by Mike Jones.
• This season is both the last season to use the sushi bar set, and the first season to use the metallic set.
• This is the first season to be produced by Sony Pictures Television.
• Myron Meyer sets a new one day record of $50,000 on the September 5, 2002 episode.
• On the September 20, 2002 episode, on the last game of the 2002 Back to School Week, Mike Scott won the game by the tiebreaker round.
• Mike, who had the lead going into Final Jeopardy! with $10,800 to his nearest opponent's $9,000, wagered only $7,200, playing for tie, rather than for the win.
• Lucky for him, he gave the correct response to the tiebreaker clue.
• The episode which aired on November 8, 2002, which marks the last appearance of the sushi bar set, so the metallic set, will make its debut on the November 25, 2002 episode.
• The 2002 College Championship, which is taped in Ohio, and it was aired from November 11, 2002 to November 22, 2002.
• The Tournament of Champions was held in May 2003 when the champions play for $250,000.
• On the November 25, 2002 episode, Jeopardy! introduces a brand new set, which consisted of hanging panels with stone-like and metallic-like appearances. The contestant podiums are changed to a trapezoid shaped design. The contestant score displays are changed to LCD displays; positive scores are shown in white text on a blue background while negative scores are shown in a white text on a red background. The intro shows a time-lapse transition to the new set.
• In the January 2003 episode, minor changes are made to the set.
• Brian Weikle sets a new one-day record of $52,000 on the episode aired April 14, 2003.
• On the June 19, 2003 episode, John Beck becomes the last retired 5-time champion.
• The season kicks off on September 2, 2002. The season ends on July 18, 2003.
• Summer reruns kicks off on July 21, 2003.

Season 20 (2003-2004)

Season Changes:

• The five-day limit is lifted; now contestants can keep appearing on the show as long as they continue to win. Hence, the term "the sky's the limit."
• This was the late Steven Dorfman's final season as a longtime Jeopardy! staff writer before he died of colon cancer at the age of 48. The April 21, 2004 episode is dedicated to him.
• Thought of the Day has a unique title card in 2004 and 2014.
• The opening credits are changed to an orange and blue background, with details of the set visible within it, and the Jeopardy! logo is black. Sometimes, a "20th Anniversary" byline is seen in Futura underneath the Jeopardy! logo.
• The "DOUBLE" and "FINAL" in Double and Final Jeopardy, as well as the Daily Double text, are changed to Impact; the Daily Double text is black, which looks just like the Jeopardy! logo, while all the rest changed its color to red.
• Starting with this season, the contestant intros were changed to outer box intros.
• Also, the contestant intro and Final Jeopardy! winnings strips appear slanted, in blue, with black text in a font resembling Helvetica.
• Lisa Finneran, Rocky Schmidt, and Gary Johnson are promoted to senior producers.

This season:

• On the December 18, 2003 episode, this episode featured blind contestant, Dave Oberhart.
• In the January 2004 episode, Tom Walsh becomes the show's first seven-day champion.
• Ken Jennings makes his Jeopardy! debut on the June 2, 2004 episode.
• This season kicks off on September 8, 2003. On the season finale episode, which aired on July 23, 2004, Ken Jennings sets a new one-day record of $75,000.
• Summer reruns kicks off on July 26, 2004.
• The late Jeopardy! writer Steven Dorfman died of colon cancer at the age of 48. The April 21, 2004 episode of Jeopardy! is dedicated to him; furthermore, the Final Jeopardy! segment for that episode is the last Final Jeopardy! segment, written by Steven Dorfman to appear on Jeopardy! before he died of colon cancer at the age of 48.
• For at least the last 30 half-hour episodes of Season 20, the display text for video clues and the Final Jeopardy! thinking period are changed back to Korinna, which remains for the next two seasons.
• Also, the clue cards themselves changed from smart quotes and custom apostrophes to straight quotes and plain apostrophes, and the category names temporarily changed from Swiss 911 to Helvetica Condensed.

Season 21 (2004-2005)

• The opening credits are changed to the Jeopardy! logo in gold, which is superimposed over a background in many different shades of blue with cyan Bezier curves in the background.
• The "DAILY DOUBLE" name and the "DOUBLE" and "FINAL" in Double and Final Jeopardy! again use Impact, as do the words "VIDEO" and "AUDIO" in Video and Audio Daily Doubles; the "DAILY DOUBLE" name now appears in silver, while all the rest remain red.
• The contestant intros and Final Jeopardy! winnings changed its color to slate blue strips with white borders and white, italicized, shadowed text in Compacta-D.
• For this season and the next, the category names are switched to Haettenschweiler.
• This Jeopardy! episode, which is aired on November 24, 2004 has a full closing credit roll; resulting in a rare instance of a large majority of the 2001 theme without saxophones or electric guitars from the first B-major section onward being heard.
• The Tournament of Champions was held in September 2004.
• Ken Jennings' winning streak continues until November 30, 2004 when he is beaten by Nancy Zerg, who loses the next day.
• On the December 1, 2004 episode, Ken Jennings is brought out at the beginning of the show to be recognized for his place in game show history.
• The Ultimate Tournament of Champions is held from February, 2005 to May, 2005. Ken Jennings, Jerome Vered, and Brad Rutter face off in the finals.
• Rutter wins the tournament with a $2,000,000 cash prize, making him the biggest game show money winner at the time; as of today he is still the biggest money winner on Jeopardy!
• On the February 23, 2005 episode, this is the first episode where a one-contestant Final Jeopardy! is shown.
• David Madden makes his Jeopardy! debut on the July 5, 2005 episode.
• This season kicks off on September 6, 2004. This season ends on July 22, 2005. It also marks the last appearance where they didn't have electric guitars, as well as saxophones played in the closing credits.
• Summer reruns kicks off July 25, 2005.

Season 22 (2005-2006)

• The opening credits are changed to a navy-blue background with floating "Q" and "A" letters and many orange, brown, purple, and blue squares moving across the screen, with the Jeopardy! logo again appearing in gold.  
• This is the last season to use the 1998-2006 King World "Star Shooter" logo.  
• This is the last season of Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune to be broadcast in standard definition television. Starting in Season 23, Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune will begin broadcasting in high definition television.  
• The "DAILY DOUBLE" name, the "DOUBLE" and "FINAL" in Double and Final Jeopardy!, the contestant intro and Final Jeopardy! winnings strips, and the position strips in the credits are all changed to blue with yellow borders, and the contestant names and winnings counts are written in normal Compacta-D rather than in the italicized version of the font.  
• The "VIDEO" and "AUDIO" in Video and Audio Daily Doubles are now written in yellow script. 
• Kelly Miyahara and Jon Cannon were introduced as the new clue crew members for the quiz show. 
• David Madden's win streak ends on the September 19, 2005 episode after winning 19 games.
• In the first full closing credit roll episode of the season, the background for split-screen closing credits changes to floating Q's and A's in blue, making it match the background of this season's title card.
• Starting in the season premiere and continuing until the end of Season 26, the version of the theme with saxophone and electric guitar riffs plays during the credits.
• The Tournament of Champions was held in May 2006. It was the last time they used a logo different from the regular Jeopardy! logo used as now.
• By the November 28, 2005 episode, Oxford University Press again provides verification of materials for the show, which it continues to do to this day.
• By the January 16, 2006 episode, the audio quality of the show is reasonably modified, making the ticking noise in the Final Jeopardy! think music sound less audible.
• Beginning this season, the set turns red when the lights dim during the Final Jeopardy! segment.
• The season kicks off on September 12, 2005. The season ends on July 28, 2006; this is the end of the season was also the last episode of Jeopardy! to be broadcast in standard definition television, and it was also the last time ever that Enchanted is used on video clues and in the 30-second thinking period of Final Jeopardy!.
• Summer reruns kicks off on July 31, 2006.

Season 23 (2006-2007)

Season changes:

• This is the first season of Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune to be broadcasted in high definition television. So the old cameras are out, and the high definition cameras are in.
• This was also the last season to be produced by King World before CBS Television Distribution took over production of Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune in 2007.
• The opening credits are changed to a blue starry background, where many images are seen throughout before the Jeopardy! logo comes into view. The images consisted of the following: first images of the Sphinx, the solar system, and Alex Trebek himself; then the Statue of Liberty, Leonardo Da Vinci's Vitruvian Man, an African elephant, and the Kremlin; then an American eagle, the plain text "Daily Double", Mount Rushmore, and a volcano; then a panda, the Mona Lisa, and one of the Great Pyramids of Giza; and finally, a dinosaur skeleton, a space shuttle, and finally, Martin Luther King, Jr. When Johnny Gilbert gives his "This is Jeopardy!" announcement, the Jeopardy! logo finally comes into view, appearing as a starry blue and orange background with a grid pattern, with the Jeopardy! logo in blue. Finally, the Jeopardy! logo then zooms forward, in which the "A" reveals the 2002-2009 set.
• The game play round and Daily Double title cards changed its color to a starry blue background with the text appearing in orange.
• The contestant intros and Final Jeopardy! winnings strips changes its color to black with white borders, and use Franklin Gothic.
• Korinna is not used on video clues, as well as in the Final Jeopardy! thinking period; these are changed back to Optima, and continue to use that font to this day.
• The position labels in the closing credits as well as the copyright notice and the "Created by Merv Griffin" text have their strips removed, and all credits from Executive Producer to Senior Technical Supervisor/Coordinating Producer have their font changed to Helvetica.
• Lisa Finneran, Rocky Schmidt, and Gary Johnson are promoted to supervising producers.
• Also, on this episode, which aired on November 6, 2006, Johnny Gilbert is credited as announcer for the first time, and technical supervisor Bob Sofia is promoted to associate producer.
• The set receives a few minor face lifts to accommodate the transition to HDTV.
• New contestant podiums were added to the set; the contestant podiums were spaced wider apart, so that a camera shot can be trained on a single contestant within a 16:9 ratio frame without showing the other contestants on the sides of the screen.
• The game board is now consisted of a nearly-seamless projection wall.
• Also, during the first two weeks of taping, the ring-in lights on the contestant lecterns are in red LED.
• In the first full closing credit roll episode of the season, the split-screen background changes to a blue star field with light blue bars, one on the top and one on the bottom, with the Sony Pictures Studios credit scrolling to a stop on the center-right.

  

  The last King World logo from 2006, before CBS Television Distribution took over production of Jeopardy! and its sister show Wheel of Fortune in 2007.

• The last King World logo was used in December 2006, before King World closed its doors, and then, CBS Television Distribution will be taking over production of Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune in 2007. In this version, the 1998-2006 logo graphic was remade in 3D with a silver trim in the background, the logo text was tilted, and the sky in the background was changed from golden brown to blue and white.
• The last King World logo, however, does not begin to be used by Jeopardy! until January 2007; even then, it still uses the 1998 audio track.

This season:

• Jeopardy! aired its 5,000th episode on September 22, 2006.
• On the September 25, 2006 episode, the red ring-in lights on the contestant lecterns changed its color to white as they were in the pre-high definition television version of the set due to visibility issues, particularly in standard definition television.
• The Celebrity Jeopardy! tournament is taped at Radio City Music Hall, and airs from November 8, 2006 to November 21, 2006.
• In January, 2007, the opening credits are changed. The image of the Sphinx is changed to an image of the Coliseum in Rome; the elephant and Kremlin images were changed to images of a tiger and Stonehenge, respectively; the Kremlin image removes the Mount Rushmore image, and the volcano image is changed to an image of a blue butterfly on a leaf; the Great Wall of China removes the Mona Lisa image's former position, and the panda image is changed to an orangutan; and finally, the image of Martin Luther King, Jr. is changed to an image of Albert Einstein.
• On this episode, which aired on March 16, 2007, the first-ever three-way tie for first place occurs with all three contestants winning $16,000.
• This was the first time, in which two contestants on one previous episode on the April 17, 2006 episode, but returned due to a technical error; Brian Lamb, a former champion, returned on the June 26, 2007 episode and lost a game, and Holly Owens came back on the July 3, 2007 episode and won one game.
• This is the first and only season where there are two Teen Tournaments occurring in the same season; the first one is in February while the second one is in July.
• This season kicks off on September 11, 2006. This season ends on July 27, 2007. Summer reruns kicks off on July 30, 2007.

Post-season:

• Merv Griffin dies of prostate cancer on August 12, 2007.
• King World closed its doors on August 20, 2007.

Season 24 (2007-2008)

Season changes:

• At the beginning of this season, after King World closed its doors, CBS Television Distribution took over production of Jeopardy! and its sister show Wheel of Fortune. The current CBS Television Distribution logo made its first appearance on the September 27, 2007 episode. The CBS Television Distribution logo is consisted of a blue water background with a blue light and the styled CBS eye with the text reading "CBS Television Distribution" on the right. For the logo's first appearance, the 1998-2006 King World audio cue is still heard; afterwards, that is discarded in favor of CBS Television Distribution's own music cue, a synthesized violin fanfare.
• The opening credits are changed to a bluish-black starry background and a game board with orange lines forming the Jeopardy! logo as the camera pans around it. The camera then pans out, revealing the completed Jeopardy! logo in gold, and the game board dissolves as an orange line quickly forms behind the Jeopardy! logo. The Jeopardy! logo then zooms forward to reveal the 2002-2009 set.
• This is the first season to be produced by CBS Television Distribution after King World closed its doors.
• The game play round title cards are redone to match the new opening sequence.
• The "DOUBLE" and "FINAL" in Double and Final Jeopardy! are changed back to Impact; the "DOUBLE" now appears in gold, while the "FINAL" is reverted to a previous red coloration.
• The contestant intros and Final Jeopardy! winnings indicators are changed to cyan strips with black text in a font resembling Arial, appearing somewhat similar to the ones used in Season 20.
• The contestant introductions background resembles a blue grid.
• The split-screen background changes to the same blue starry background in the first full closing credit roll episode of the season, which is the season premiere, and the Sony Pictures Studios credit fades in on the center-right, then the split-screen still cuts back to the full-screen closing sequence.
• Over three months into the season, the text on the right becomes larger and the Sony Pictures Studios credit fades out after fading in, before the closing sequence zooms back in to fill the screen.
• Bob Sofia is promoted to coordinating producer.

This season:

• This season kicked off on September 10, 2007, which has a full credit roll.
• On the November 13, 2007 episode, during the second semifinal game of the Tournament of Champions, there was a two-way tie at the end of Final Jeopardy! in which Christian Haines and Celeste DiNucci both wagered to cover DJ! leader Jeff Spoeri by a dollar in Final Jeopardy!. Should he have wagered nothing? However, only Jeff gave an incorrect Final response.
• Celeste won the Tiebreaker Round and advanced to the finals, ultimately winning the Tournament of Champions.
• It was the first time since 2001, that the regular Jeopardy! logo each season is used for the Tournament of Champions and has been used since then.
• In May, Larissa Kelly becomes the highest winning female contestant in the show's history, until Julia Collins wins 20 games in Season 30.
• This season kicks off on September 10, 2007. This season ends on July 25, 2008.
• Summer reruns begin on July 28, 2008.

Season 25 (2008-2009)

Season changes:

• At the start of this season, the show moved to its own home at the Consumer Electronics Show.
• The opening credits are changed to gold tiles zooming out from the left and flipping over to reveal their blue sides, and a silver Jeopardy! logo pans out, then the "J" swings forward to reveal the 2002-2009 set. Sometimes, "25th Anniversary" is shown under the Jeopardy! logo in a cursive script.
• The contestant intros and Final Jeopardy! winnings indicators are changed to darker blue strips with white text in Franklin Gothic font.
• The contestant introductions background appears similar to the one used in Season 24, but curves near the bottom.
• Starting with this season and continuing to today, the Final Jeopardy! winnings indicators simply fade in; prior to that, various animations were used.
• The 25th Anniversary logo sometimes appears during the introductions.
• The whoosh sound is not used from the introduction.
• In this season, they did a champion update, and an Ask Alex segment.
• On episodes with a full closing credit roll in this season and the next two seasons, the split-screen backdrop is a blue background with a white blob floating around.
• Starting with this season, the College Championship is never actually taped at a college campus.
• Due to the Kids Week reunion in September 2008, Jeopardy! decided to hold a Kids Week competition this year in July and continued every year until July 2013.

This season:

• During the second week, there is a Kids Week reunion featuring former contestants from Kids Week 1999 and 2000.
• Priscilla Ball was a Jeopardy! champion on the January 16, 2009 episode. She was due to return as champion on the next show that aired on the January 19, 2009 episode, but felt ill, so that game began with three new contestants, last time they had three new challengers on Jeopardy! was on the June 20, 2003 episode and Alex Trebek announced that she would return as a co-champion at a later date. Priscilla eventually came back to Jeopardy! on the April 9, 2009 episode, and made her second appearance.
• Celebrity Jeopardy! and the Tournament of Champions are taped at the Consumer Electronics Show and aired March 10, 2009 to March 24, 2009.
• A brand new set is rolled out, featuring Sony's latest technology. The old television monitors are out, and the new television monitors are in, and the game board is now consisted of 36 HDTV LCD television monitors. The contestant podiums consisted of LCD television monitors on their sides, and the scores on the contestant lecterns are changed to a different font. And there is a giant monitor between Alex Trebek and the contestants that reveals the Jeopardy! logo, as well as the logo of a particular tournament during most of the game.
• Additionally, the scores are always on a blue background; while positive scores continue to be white text on a blue background, negative scores are now red text.
• The Final Jeopardy! category is now displayed on the giant monitor between Alex Trebek and the contestants, although both the category and clue continue to be revealed on the board.
• During the quarterfinals week of the Tournament of Champions at the Consumer Electronics Show, instead of Johnny Gilbert saying, "Here are 3 former champions." He says, "Here are today's contestants."
• This season kicks off on September 8, 2008. This season ends on July 24, 2009, which also marks the last appearance of the 2002-2009 set.
• Summer reruns kicks off on July 27, 2009.

Season 26 (2009-2010)

Season changes:

• The new set that was rolled out, when Jeopardy! moved to the Consumer Electronics Show in Season 25, and it became the permanent set in the studio.
• The opening credits are changed to flying glass panels with a moving Jeopardy! logo underneath. As more panels are flying over, the Jeopardy! logo is shown at different angles. Then the camera pans out to show the Jeopardy! logo, and then two glass doors close and then open to reveal the 2009-2013 set.
• At the start of this season, the champion update, and an Ask Alex segment was dropped.
• The game play round title cards feature the "DOUBLE" and "FINAL" in Double and Final Jeopardy! in red, using an unknown font with similarities to Agency FB.
• The contestant intros and Final Jeopardy! winnings indicators are purple strips with a white text in the same unknown font.
• At the start of the Jeopardy! segment, the Jeopardy! logo spans the whole game board except in the monitors that reveal the categories.
• The dollar figures now appear in 5 television monitors at this time, accompanied by six futuristic bell style musical notes.
• The closing credits are changed to a new font; shortly after the start of this season, however, the copyright credits are changed to Arial Black.
• The Tournament of Champions was held in May 2010 one week after the final week of the Million Dollar Celebrity Invitational.

This season:

• From September until May, the Million Dollar Celebrity Invitational takes place the third Thursday of each month, where celebrities are competing for 1 million dollars for their favorite charity.
• On the first week of May, the semifinals and finals of this event are held. The Celebrity Jeopardy! tournament was held for the last time.
• Beginning with this episode, which aired on March 15, 2010, the consolation prizes $2,000 for second place, $1,000 for third place begin appearing in the contestant lectern score displays as blue text on a white background.
• On April 1, 2010, this episode consists of the April Fools show with cameo appearances by Will Ferrell as his Alex Trebek character from Saturday Night Live, Neil Patrick Harris, Jeff Probst, and Pat Sajak from the April 1, 1997 episode.
• This season kicks off on September 14, 2009, and ends on July 30, 2010, which also marks the last appearance of the 2001-2010 Jeopardy! theme song and the 1997-2010 "Think" cue.
• Summer reruns kicks off on August 2, 2010.
• For the first time since Season 12, there are no road shows to tape; all 230 half-hour episodes are taped in Culver City.

Season 27 (2010-2011)

Season changes:

• The opening credits are changed to multicolored glass panels stacking on top of one another, forming the Jeopardy! logo with the camera panning out from the right. As the Jeopardy! logo is completed, blue glass panels above and below the Jeopardy! logo move in from right and left simultaneously. Then the Jeopardy! logo zooms forward, in which the "A" reveals the 2009-2013 set.
• A new version of the main theme and the "Think" music makes its debut, arranged by Chris Bell Music and Sound Design. Originally, the main theme doesn't use an electric guitar lead until halfway through. The "Think" cue uses prominent percussion, which gives true to its nickname "leaky faucet".
• Only during this season, the dollar figures don't pop in on the Jeopardy! round board; they are already present in the television monitors following the introductions.
• The Teachers Tournament made its debut in May.
• During the quarter-finals week of the opening introduction of the Teachers Tournament, Johnny Gilbert introduces the teacher contestants by announcing a brief description followed by their location and name. It looks just like the Kids Week introduction. This would remain in use until Season 29.
• The color scheme for picture clues and Daily Doubles changes to a light blue with tinted horizontal streaked lines.

This season:

• On the September 14, 2010 episode, Roger Craig sets a new one-day record of $77,000, surpassing Ken Jennings' previous record of $75,000.
• On October 11, 2010, the main theme gets remixed to include an electric guitar lead throughout the entire piece. It alternates with the original version until this version replaces the original for good; however, the original version of the new theme still plays during the closing credits to this day.
• The October 15, 2010 episode is the 6,000th episode.
• It is actually the 5,935th episode, complete with a full closing credit roll.
• On October 18, 2010, The "Think" music is remixed to de-emphasize the "leaky faucet" percussion and include a more prominent piano lead. This and the leaky faucet version alternate with each other until the leaky faucet version gets dropped for good.
• January 14, 2011 is the real 6,000th episode.
• On the February 14-16, 2011 episodes, the IBM Challenge is held in upstate New York and is a three-day match between the Watson supercomputer, Ken Jennings, and Brad Rutter.
• On the March 16, 2011 episode, this is the second episode, where only one-contestant Final Jeopardy! is used.
• This season kicks off on September 13, 2010. This season ends on July 29, 2011.
• Summer reruns kicks off on August 1, 2011.

Season 28 (2011-2012)

Season changes:

• The opening credits are changed to two golden doors opening diagonally to reveal a yellow and purple background and a bird's eye view of the Jeopardy! logo seen from the top of the letters. Then there are flying grid and purple and red panels somewhat similar to the Season 26 intro as the background changes its color to red and purple. The camera comes out of its birds eye view to reveal the Jeopardy! logo as the timer lights below the logo go in reverse direction. Finally, the Jeopardy! logo zooms in, revealing the 2009-2013 set through the "A" like in Season 27.
• Alex Trebek walked onto the set from directly behind the game board, instead of through the sliding doors as he is recovering from his Achilles Tendon injury on his right foot. He began standing at his podium throughout the whole game.
• On the October 24, 2011 episode, Alex Trebek introduces the newly unveiled Jeopardy! Hall of Fame backstage.
• Beginning with the December 12, 2011 episode, Alex Trebek walked away from his podium on the Jeopardy! set to begin interviewing contestants, and when the Final Jeopardy! "Think" music plays.
• Aleve sponsors the consolation prizes beginning the second week of this season; however, it is only seen on regular play.
• The closing credits are changed to a different font.
• On the December 14, 2011 episode, 84-year-old Tampa native Shirley Smallwood attends the taping thanks to Jeremy Bloom's Wish of a Lifetime Foundation.
• On the December 15, 2011 episode, Alex Trebek's wife Jean Trebek, 91-year-old mother Lucille Trebek, and cousin Dolores Trebek from Florida were featured in the audience.
• The closed captioning sponsored is announced right before the Double Jeopardy! and right after the second commercial break.
• On episodes with a full closing credit roll, the split-screen backdrop is light blue with glitters.

This season:

• During the Tournament of Champions, in November 2011, in the first of the two-day finals, Roger Craig uncovers both Daily Doubles in the Double Jeopardy! round, wagers all of his winnings on both, and gives correct responses.
• This was the first time that there were two tournaments in one month. This includes the College Championship, followed by the Teachers Tournament.
• The weeks of May 7, 2012 and May 14, 2012 are taped at the DAR Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C. May 7, 2012 to May 11, 2012 is the semi-final and final matches of the Teen Tournament, and May 14, 2012 to May 18, 2012 is Power Players Week.
• On the May 4, 2012 episode, during the last quarterfinal game in the 2012 Teen Tournament, in DJ! leader Gabriela Gonzales wagered $8,000 instead of the minimum necessary $7,001 to cover second-place player Evan Eschliman, who apparently wagered $1,200. So as to have had an even $15,000 had he gotten the correct response in Final Jeopardy!, but ended up with $12,600 after his miss.
• To her misfortune, Gabriela's score was coincidentally the same after her miss and over wager.
• Evan buzzed in first with the correct response to advance to the semifinals, whereas Gabriela's score was insufficient to earn her a wildcard spot.
• On the Teen Tournament Finals Part 2 which aired on the May 11, 2012 episode, Teen Tournament Winner Elyse Mancuso sets the record of $79,600.
• This is also the first time the winner has won more than $75,000 in the Teen Tournament.
• As a matter of fact, all three finalists surpass their respective minimum guarantees.
• This season kicks off on September 19, 2011. This season ends on August 3, 2012.
• Summer reruns kicks off on August 6, 2012.

Season 29 (2012-2013)

Season changes:

• At the start of this season, VITAC acquired its closed captioning sponsorship for Jeopardy!, and its sister show, Wheel of Fortune.
• This is the last season, in which the sliding doors behind Alex Trebek's podium were used on the Jeopardy! set. Starting in Season 30, the sliding doors are out, and the ramp behind the game board is in.
• This season kicks off on September 17, 2012.
• This season ends on August 2, 2013, which also marks the last appearance of the 2009-2013 set.
• Summer reruns kicks off on on August 5, 2013.

This season:

• At the beginning of the season, Alex Trebek announces special online contestant tests for viewers in Cleveland and Cincinnati markets.
• On the February 7, 2013 episode, all three contestants have zero dollars at the end of the game; the third known instance of this happening, and the first instance of it happening in a tournament semi-final game.
• The Tournament of Champions was held right after the Teen Tournament.
• On the July 31, 2013 episode, Skyler Hornback sets the all-time Kids Week record of $66,600, This is also the third highest one-day record behind Ken Jennings and Roger Craig.
• Just like in Season 26, there are no road shows to tape. All 230 half-hour episodes are taped in Culver City.

Season 30 (2013-2014)

Season changes:

• Although Jeopardy! did not receive a completely new set as it did at the beginning of Season 26, the set underwent a significant remodeling.
• The sliding doors behind Alex Trebek's podium are out, and the ramp behind the game board is in.
• There are LED borders on the game board; on top there are three LED strips and rectangular LED posts on the sides, which looks just like the ones used on Wheel of Fortune.
• Alex Trebek's podium is now consisted of LED strips to match the game board, and for the first time on the new set, it has the Jeopardy! logo especially for the landmark 30th anniversary season.
• Additionally, the piano key LEDs are out, so the contestant side was raised to create a single level floor.
• The contestant podiums resemble the 2006 models, while retaining the sideways monitors introduced in 2009.  
• And the large monitor between Alex Trebek and the contestants are out, and the new one with a thinner frame is in, and this time mounted on a walrus tusk post.
• The opening credits are changed to red spheres and meandering lines as the camera pans out to reveal a CGI rendering of a globe; the globe intro makes a comeback. The Jeopardy! logo and 30th Anniversary zoom out to the center of the screen from top and bottom respectively, and then the logo zooms forward, cutting to the new set through the "A" like in Seasons 27 and 28.
• The backdrop for picture clues, Daily Doubles, and split-screen closing credits on episodes with a full credit roll, changed its color to a blue starry background, appearing similar to the one used in Season 24.

This season:

• A special tournament entitled the Battle of the Decades was held to commemorate the 30th anniversary season of the current syndicated version of the show.
• 45 contestants who all competed in past Tournament of Champions games were split into three decades 1984 to 1993, 1994 to 2003, and 2004 to 2013.
• Each competed against other players in the same decade they competed in before; five matches were held for each decade. Each qualifying week aired in the winter/spring.
• The winners of that match competed in the quarter-finals/semi-finals/finals for the grand prize of $1,000,000.
• This season kicks off on September 16, 2013. This season ends on August 1, 2014.
• Summer reruns kicks off on August 4, 2014.
• On the November 5, 2013 episode, one of the Jeopardy! round categories is "Old Theme, New Genre" in which the main theme is performed in different music styles.
• Instead of the 2008 theme, these renditions also play going into and out of commercial breaks.
• On the December 5, 2013 episode, a marriage proposal happened in the studio audience during the commercial break just before the Double Jeopardy! Round.
• She actually said "yes" to her fiancee. Congratulations to the couple.

• On the February 10, 2014 episode, the first game of the College Championship, Sarah Stevens, a sophomore from the University of Delaware from Dover, Delaware, didn't wear any shoes during her appearance on Jeopardy!, She was just shown barefoot during the closing credits of the show.

• From April 21, 2014 to June 2, 2014, Julia Collins surpasses David Madden for the second-longest winning streak and becomes the show's winning est female contestant after having won 20 games.
• From January 28, 2014 to March 12, 2014, Arthur Chu's Jeopardy! reign lasted for 11 matches and lost on his 12th game. The television media considered him as the Jeopardy! villain.
• Again, there are no road shows to tape. All 230 half-hour episodes are taped in Culver City.
• Although it has been said the last week of the Battle of the Decades tournament followed by a week of celebrity games would be held in New York City, the tournament ends up all being taped in Culver City, and the celebrity games never get held.
• On the June 13, 2014 episode, Mike Janela of Guinness World Records presents Alex Trebek with a framed certificate recognizing his hosting record: "The most game show episodes hosted by the same presenter same program is 6,829 by Alex Trebek on 'Jeopardy!' in Culver City, California, USA as of 17 April 2014."
• Due to the Battle of the Decades, the Teen Tournament gets held over until the end of regular play.
• On the last episode of Season 30, which aired on August 1, 2014, the deciding game match of the 2014 Teen Tournament, in which both final game 2 leader Jeff Xie and final game 1 high scorer Alan Koolik both wagered everything in Final Jeopardy!, both responded correctly, and became tied with two-game totals of $54,200.
• Jeff buzzed in first with the correct response to win the $75,000 Teen Tournament prize. What a way to end the regular season.

Season 31 (2014-2015)

• This season kicks off on September 15, 2014. This season ends on July 31, 2015.
• Summer reruns kicks off on August 3, 2015.
• The opening credits are changed to a tower with all the dollar figures from the Jeopardy! and Double Jeopardy! rounds fading into various images on a sky background, with the Jeopardy! logo in gold on top of the tower. Finally, the Jeopardy! logo then zooms forward, in which the "A" reveals the 2013-present set.
• Alex Trebek regrew his mustache to kick off the 31st Season of Jeopardy!, only for him to have shaved it off on the October 13, 2014 episode.
• Aimee Seligstein, who played against Julia Collins last season, joined the Jeopardy! staff as a contestant coordinator sometime before the 2014 Tournament of Champions.
• Around this time, long-time contestant coordinator Robert James took a leave of absence from the show.
• The closed captioning sponsors includes not one, but two promos; before the Double Jeopardy! round.
• On episodes with a full closing credit roll, the split-screen backdrop is a blue and orange gradient space backdrop.
• The nation's syndicated quiz show celebrates its 7,000th milestone episode on February 6, 2015.
• In this year's Teachers Tournament, during the quarter-finals week, Johnny Gilbert introduces the contestants by their occupation, location, and name instead of announcing a brief description, location, and name.
• On the March 12, 2015 episode, there is a one-contestant Final Jeopardy!, in which Kristin Sausville, a stay-at-home mom and wife of Season 27/28 contestant Justin Sausville, wins her 2nd game.
• Starting this season, the Sony logo appears on a black background, then a light flashes to reveal the short version of the Sony Pictures Television logo.
• In May, Celebrity Week is held for the first time in five years.
• On May 8, 2015, the real 7,000th episode aired.

Season 32 (2015-2016)

Season changes:

• This season kicks off on September 14, 2015, and ends on July 29, 2016.
• Summer reruns kicks off on August 1, 2016.
• The opening credits are changed to a museum-like maze, where many images are passing by before finally finding its place in the Jeopardy! logo at the end. Finally, the Jeopardy! logo then zooms forward, in which the "A" reveals the 2013-present set.

This season:

• On this episode, which aired on December 21, 2015, there are three new contestants for the first time since January 19, 2009.
• Claudia Corriere, who won her second game on December 18, 2015 was unable to attend the taping session due to Alex Trebek's knee surgery, and thus, her third game was put on hold until at least 2016. From this episode until the first one of 2016, Alex Trebek remained at his podium throughout the whole game like he did the first three months of Season 28, due to mobility issues; he didn't walk onto the set during the introductions, but was already at his podium.
• Beginning with the first episode of 2016, the copyright credits are now in the same font and color scheme as the contestant intro graphics and Final Jeopardy! winnings indicators.
• The "Created by Merv Griffin" credit is also changed into the color scheme but is still in the same font used since Season 28.
• On the January 18, 2016 episode, all three contestants one of whom is Claudia Corriere, who returned for her third game have zero dollars at the end of the game.
• The semifinals and finals of the Teachers Tournament and Power Players Week are taped at DAR Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C.
• Again, there are no road shows to tape. All 230 half-hour episodes are taped in Culver City.