Today is the 50th anniversary of the classic game show Jeopardy! The show first premiered way back in 1964 with Art Fleming as the host on NBC. As you can see, times have changed! Back then, there were no computers, and everything was written on paper on the big board. The big board also featured someone in the back lifting all of those clues. Here is a clip from the classic 1960’s version.
And here is a full episode from a classic version of Jeopardy! in 1974.
The NBC version only lasted until 1975. There was a short nighttime version in 1974-1975 and a new version in 1978-1979, but both were quickly taken off the air. From 1979 until 1984, there was no Jeopardy! on the air. Then on September 10, 1984, the syndicated version you see on TV today premiered. This year is the 30th season of the version hosted by Alex Trebek. Here is video of the premiere of the syndicated version back in 1984.
I am not surprised to see Jeopardy! still on the air today. They come up with some very creative categories, it’s a great thinking show, and many people like to watch and play along. Trebek is expected to retire in a couple of years, and the person named to replace the retiring Trebek will have a lot of weight to his or her shoulders as they are expected to carry on the great tradition of this classic game show. So happy birthday Jeopardy! I hope you are around for another 50 years!
If you want, you can play along with famous Jeopardy! contestant Ken Jennings with this Mashable video. If you get it wrong, don’t worry, you get another chance!
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