Do you remember TV shows from the heyday of reality television? Shows like Big Brother, America’s Next Top Model, Taxicab Confessions, and Shark Tank appealed to people so much because of the reality element. With the first emergence of this format, nobody could fathom that even reality TV could be scripted. Everything has changed in recent years when even the most seemingly honest and unedited types of media proved to be the opposite.
Are television game shows exceptions? No, they are the rule. Jeopardy!’s primary purpose is entertainment. Believe it or not, not every minute of footage is hilarious and entertaining; there are awkward silences, long pauses, and lots of boring dialogs. Believe me; you wouldn’t want to see the unedited version anyway! The question is, how much of it is edited? Are the edits meant to improve the quality of the show, or are the showrunners simply lying to us about everything? Do the edits work to cut out irrelevant details, or do they change the questions, answers, and even winners? Let’s look into it!
Is Jeopardy! Edited?
Jeopardy! is sometimes believed to be heavily edited because of the speed of the contestants in answering questions. More often than not, you will hear a buzz immediately after the host is done speaking. So, do they really buzz in that fast, or is that edited? The answer to that is yes, they really do buzz in that fast! Different contestants and live viewers of the show have confirmed that the contestants are very smart and incredibly quick to buzz in their answers. That’s one mystery solved!
However, that doesn’t answer the question at hand. Even though the showrunners never admitted to making major edits to episodes, some edits do take place. We will discuss them in detail in the following sections of this article.
How Much Is Edited?
When you scroll through Reddit threads, Quora answers, and forums on the topic of editing in Jeopardy!, it becomes apparent that the show is hardly edited. Of course, there is some necessary post-production and splicing of different clips together, but scenes are very rarely reshot. Additionally, you can expect small parts to be reshot on the spot in the case of a missing word or mispronunciation. These edits are done to improve the overall quality of each episode.
Jeopardy! makes it a point not to edit authentic interactions and conversations between the contestants and showrunners. Certain parts may be cut out completely to achieve the goal of sticking to the limited time frame. However, no one ever admitted to having a fabricated conversation on the show. At the very maximum, contestants may be asked to recreate their reaction or conversation if the first take did not work out because of technical difficulties.
The bottom line is not a lot is edited. Given it only takes about 45 minutes to record a 20-minute episode, there is very little room for reshoots and big edits. You, as a viewer, can rest assured that what you’re getting is a nearly exact translation of what actually happened, if only ever so slightly condensed.
Are Alex’s Conversations Ever Edited?
A Jeopardy! contestant named Shannon Young wrote an article detailing her experience on the show. She shared that Alex Trebek asked her to talk about a small anecdote from the NFL game she attended. They went back and forth for a couple of minutes. To Shannon’s surprise, the conversation was later edited.
It is not uncommon for certain dialog to get cut from the final version. That’s done to stick to the given time and keep the audience entertained. Very few people want to hear a stranger go on about something that happened to them for longer than a few seconds or minutes, no matter how funny the story is. At the end of the day, Jeopardy! is a game show. Viewers are supposed to feel entertained, so only the more interesting bits are kept in. Luckily, most contestants are unintentionally hilarious, so there is no need for lots of editing.
What Kinds of Things Are Edited Out?
One user shared their experience on Reddit. Whoisjoshwoo spoke about being on the show as a contestant in 2003. He said that his microphone malfunctioned, so they had to stop the taping to put a new mic on him and conduct a sound test. Once that was done, the host provided a clean edit by saying “Answer” and repeating the clue. The whole thing was stitched together, so the audience never had to find out about the mishap. Similar technology malfunctions make up a big part of the footage that gets edited.
A similar thing happened almost a year ago. One frame showed one set of scores; the next frame showed different scores. It’s as if the contestants’ scores changed within seconds, but there was no question between the two frames that would warrant that. The incident sparked a debate on Reddit. The viewers came to the conclusion that it was simply an editing error.
It is not uncommon for hosts to reshoot their clues during commercial breaks. Perhaps the host stuttered, didn’t enunciate, or missed a word. With a reshoot, it’s an easy fix. Plus, as one person on the Reddit thread rightfully pointed out, there was a note at the end of the episode stating that “due to technical difficulties, a portion of the game was re-created.” This incident appears to be a classic case of bad editing.
Interviews are often edited too. The reason is—players who are not experienced public speakers may take long pauses during their interviews, stutter, or repeat things. All the unnecessary material gets edited out to keep things short and sweet and increase the entertainment value.
Are There Reshoots?
Though infrequent, reshoots do take place from time to time. I don’t imagine there is ever a need to pick a different day and reshoot the whole episode or big parts of it. However, some contestants have come forward with their reshoot stories.
Joey Beachum, the winner of the 2008 College Championship, shared his story on Reddit. He and another contestant, Danielle Zsenak, were very close in their scores, and the winner was not immediately obvious. Andrew Chung, the third contestant, turned to Danielle and became really excited, congratulating her on her win. At that point, Alex Trebek had to intercept to say that the winner was actually Joey. The three contestants celebrated, and Alex Trebek wrapped up the show. The crew requested a reshoot of the last part immediately after, so the contestants had to reenact their excitement, which must have been quite awkward. Though Joey did not specify why the reshoot was necessary, it did happen. Now you can watch the episode again, knowing that a part of it was “fake”!
Smaller reshoots take place regularly. For example, the host can reshoot their reading of clues during commercial breaks. Commercial breaks are timed, so there is little space for corrective action. It seems that the general rule is—as long as it’s not awkward, it goes!
How Long Is the Actual Taping?
Contestants have written Reddit posts and comments saying that the time it takes to watch an episode is approximately the time it takes to tape one! The average episode of Jeopardy! is about 30 minutes with commercial breaks. It shouldn’t take longer than 45 minutes to tape an episode. The activity that takes up the bulk of the time when preparing an episode for air is post-production and editing.
There are different pieces of information about the way the show is recorded. Some say it takes about a month or two to edit the episode, so there is a big gap between the record date and the air date. It is also said that Jeopardy! records a week worth of episodes in one day. So, all the episodes you see this week were actually recorded in one day! That makes sense, as the winner of one episode competes in the next.
You can learn more about the process of taping the show, as well as everything that happens before and after, from Shannon Younger. Shannon wrote a detailed report of her experience, bringing up interesting pieces of trivia about our favorite televised trivia game. She revealed that the categories for the day’s five games are predetermined, but the players are not. There is a pool of players that sits with the audience and watches the live taping of the shows. Names from that pool are drawn at random for each individual episode taping. Thus, not only do you get to participate in one (or more) games of Jeopardy!, but you also get to watch some live! Shannon talks about nifty details like these in her article published in August of 2018.
How Long Is the Broadcast Show Without Commercials?
An episode of Jeopardy! with commercial breaks lasts about 30 minutes. If you remove the commercials, the actual episode will run for around 20 minutes. If you stream Jeopardy! online, you can get through almost three whole episodes in one hour! Now, that’s a productive way to spend an hour at home.
Do They Ever Change the Winner?
There is no instance known to the public where Jeopardy! would have to change the winner of an episode. If the score was miscalculated or the correct answer was rejected, the contestant can appeal to the showrunners and get them to look closer at the score. As Jeopardy! uses minimal editing, I don’t assume they would reshoot parts of an episode to change the winner on purpose. As long as everything is alright with the contestants, host, and equipment, there is no need for any changes.
Is Editing Fair?
In the case of Jeopardy!, I believe editing is fair. The show is edited for our entertainment and the edits do not change any vital details of the episodes. The questions, answers, contestants, and winner all remain the same. Even reshoots aim to keep the same bits and laughs in. Cutting personal interviews is part of the process of making the show more interesting to watch.
Though Jeopardy! may be considered reality TV, character development is hardly the show’s point. It’s important to consider that we only see most of the contestants once and never again. The characters we encounter only exist in the realm of their 20-minute episode. As long as the editing makes for an entertaining episode of television, I don’t see anything wrong with it.
Of course, the answer to this question may vary depending on the show in question. I don’t suppose I would defend heavy edits on reality shows and personal interviews with celebrities.
Final Words
What do you think about editing on Jeopardy!? Is it fair for the show, or should it try to go without? Do you have any personal experience with the show’s production? Share your stories and opinions with us in the comments!
And for more insider Jeopardy! secrets, check out our articles on the six things Jeopardy! contestants are forbidden from doing, how much money contestants really get, how to get on Jeopardy!, how contestants know so much, why Jeopardy! isn’t rigged, and why Jeopardy! contestants don’t get to keep their winnings.
Leave a Reply