Post by thekid965 on Sept 16, 2013 11:28:11 GMT -5
The new seasons of Jeopardy! (30) and Wheel (31) begin today in most markets. As they say in The Biz, check your local listings.
Jeopardy!, of course, remains the same as it's always been since 1964 (not counting the aberrant NBC revival from circa '78), but -- quite under the radar, as it happens -- we're getting a new set this year, which debuts tonight. It's not a radical change the way past redesigns have been, but it does look noticeably different. BuzzerBlog has a sneak preview photo, if you can't wait for tonight. Also, because this is a Major Anniversary Season™, we're getting a year-long celebratory gimmick: The "Battle of the Decades," a tournament held at intervals throughout Season 30, which will feature 45 past Jeopardy! champions (from the '80s, '90s, and '00s) competing for a million-dollar grand prize.
Changes in Wheel for this season are similarly minor. The biggest news is probably the retirement of the Jackpot space after almost two decades; in its place is a new feature, the "Express." The setup is similar to the Mystery Wedges, in that it begins as a standard $1,000 space for whoever spins it. If it pays off, the player then has the option to spin again as normal, or to "get on the Express" and continue calling consonants at a thousand clams a pop for as long as s/he keeps finding letters in the puzzle, or until s/he opts to solve. (S/he can also buy vowels in an Express situation, as the usual $250 per.) The catch: If the player calls a wrong letter (or incorrectly solves the puzzle), s/he instantly goes Bankrupt. Also, once you're on the Express, you're committed to it until you either solve the puzzle or you blow it. Think of it as a Wheel adaptation of that old Joker's Wild favorite, the "Fast Forward" category. Look for it in Round 3. The remainder of Wheel changes for Season 31 are purely cosmetic updates to the Wheel itself.
Jeopardy!, of course, remains the same as it's always been since 1964 (not counting the aberrant NBC revival from circa '78), but -- quite under the radar, as it happens -- we're getting a new set this year, which debuts tonight. It's not a radical change the way past redesigns have been, but it does look noticeably different. BuzzerBlog has a sneak preview photo, if you can't wait for tonight. Also, because this is a Major Anniversary Season™, we're getting a year-long celebratory gimmick: The "Battle of the Decades," a tournament held at intervals throughout Season 30, which will feature 45 past Jeopardy! champions (from the '80s, '90s, and '00s) competing for a million-dollar grand prize.
Changes in Wheel for this season are similarly minor. The biggest news is probably the retirement of the Jackpot space after almost two decades; in its place is a new feature, the "Express." The setup is similar to the Mystery Wedges, in that it begins as a standard $1,000 space for whoever spins it. If it pays off, the player then has the option to spin again as normal, or to "get on the Express" and continue calling consonants at a thousand clams a pop for as long as s/he keeps finding letters in the puzzle, or until s/he opts to solve. (S/he can also buy vowels in an Express situation, as the usual $250 per.) The catch: If the player calls a wrong letter (or incorrectly solves the puzzle), s/he instantly goes Bankrupt. Also, once you're on the Express, you're committed to it until you either solve the puzzle or you blow it. Think of it as a Wheel adaptation of that old Joker's Wild favorite, the "Fast Forward" category. Look for it in Round 3. The remainder of Wheel changes for Season 31 are purely cosmetic updates to the Wheel itself.