‘Jeopardy!’ Fans React to Buzzer Rule Changes Starting With Alex Trebek’s Changes
The Jeopardy! buzzer rules changed over the course of the television show. The original daytime version first hit the air on NBC in 1964. It saw some initial revivals, but the iteration that modern audiences know started in 1984. Some Jeopardy! fans continue to go back back to watch old episodes. They discovered that the buzzer rules actually changed when Trebek took over from host Art Fleming. They have strong feelings about which set of rules they prefer.
‘Jeopardy!’ changed buzzer rules with Alex Trebek
The buzzer rules on Jeopardy! weren’t always the same. The show evolved over the course of time, making quality of life changes. They’re intended to benefit the game for cleaner production. In the days of Fleming, contestants had the ability to hit the buzzer at any point. Therefore, they could buzz in before he finished reading the answer. However, this encouraged too many players to ring in early, resulting in a lot of negative scores.
However, Trebek had a hand in making some serious changes to the game show when he joined it, also serving as a producer. He changed the Jeopardy! buzzer rules to force contestants to listen to the full answer before responding in the form of a question. The signaling devices are briefly deactivated until this point, no longer allowing players to immediately spam the buzzer.
‘Jeopardy!’ fans prefer the new buzzer rules
According to Reddit, Jeopardy! fans debated which set of buzzer rules they prefer. It turned out that the majority of fans actually preferred the new rule. The original poster explained that players could still immediately buzz in as soon as the answer was read before thinking about how they would respond. However, it forced the contestants to listen to more of the answer to determine if they knew the correct response.
One Redditor mentioned that contestants buzzing in too early is “really annoying” for the viewer to watch. They didn’t like seeing players buzz in, regardless of whether or not they had any idea what the correct response was.
Several responses noted that Jeopardy! buzzer rules allowing players to immediately buzz in before the answer is read becomes a reflex competition rather than one about trivia. However, another Redditor said that the old rules was what put the meaning of the word “jeopardy” into the show. Nevertheless, the most upvoted comments explained that the old rules allowed the best players to “break” the game by always getting the first shot at responding.
How does the device work?
According to the official Jeopardy! website, mastering the buzzer rules is one of the most important elements of the game. There’s a staff member who activates the players’ buzzers as soon as the host speaks the last syllable in the last word. The system locks out any contestant who tries to ring in too early for a quarter of a second.
The new rules might require contestants to wait until the last syllable is spoken, but the producers anticipate that there will be instances where all three contestants are hitting the buzzer early. As a result, they still tell players to continue hitting the button until they see the light on their podium appear or the host calls on them for a response. There are certainly different strategies when it comes to the buzzer system, which is more complex than the televised show lets on.
