Jeopardy! Timeline (syndicated version)/Season 8 (2024)

Season 8 (1991-1992)[]

Season changes:

• At the beginning of this season, Jeopardy! introduced a brand new set designed by art director Ed Flesh.
  • The set consisted of a metal grid on a blue background, where the Jeopardy! logo lights up in a rotation of colors, such as neutral white and red. During the Double Jeopardy! round, and the Final Jeopardy! round segments, the set background changed to red, as the Jeopardy! logo lights up in a rotation of colors, such as neutral white and blue. It was used during the contestant introductions, in and out of commercial breaks, and during the closing credits.
  • In the first two months of this season, the Jeopardy! logo lights up in all three colors like the American flag.
  • The contestant podiums had a shiny grid look, while Alex's podium was given a similar makeover.
  • The contestant scoreboards changed to incandescent seven-segment displays, so that their current scores are still seen even during Final Jeopardy!.
  • At the end of each episode, we see various shots of the set, and the game board's monitors display the Jeopardy! logo, and used the closing animations between the Jeopardy! logo, a shot of the host, and the day's episode winning champions, just like the game board.
  • The grid set remained in use until the November 8, 1996 episode.
• Also at the beginning of this season, the 1984-1992 theme is heard at a lower pitch.
• This is the last season to have the 1984-1992 theme.
• This is also the last season where Dick Schneider is the director as he retired after the season ended, with Kevin McCarthy taking over the next season. During that season, Classic Concentration ended its run on NBC after 4 seasons from 1987 to 1991, and Alex Trebek hosted To Tell the Truth.
• Alex now stands to the right of the Final Jeopardy! category and clue on the game board after the last commercial break, as opposed to the other way around for the first seven seasons.
• The opening credits have changed to a new version of the Jeopardy! globe, with a marble texture, and it spins around on the game board. The whoosh sound is heard when the new Jeopardy! globe zooms out on the game board. And then, it explodes to a wide shot of the set. An image of Alex appeared on the game board, as he makes his entrance.
• The game board consisted of 36 TV monitors set up like a near-seamless video wall, with the category names appearing on the top set of monitors, with various types of animation as the category names appear. On early episodes of this season, the categories simply popped in on the monitors; later on, by the spring of 1992, they zoomed in from the center of each television monitor. The category names appeared small early on, but as the season progressed, the category names began expanded in size twice before reaching their final, enlarged, easy-to-read form by the Tournament of Champions. With this new board, the logo can fill up all the monitors.
• On early episodes of this season, the logo remained on the board as the dollar amounts popped in. On later episodes of this season, the logo broke up into individual logos as the dollar amounts popped in.
• This is the last season (until partway into season 13) where the contestant podium monitors stayed blue.
• In the early weeks of the set's run, the blue neon bands on the top and bottom stay lit for the entire show; after that, they are turned off during gameplay and only light up going into commercial and at the end of the show.
• The copyright card is changed to a big yellow Jeopardy! logo, with the copyright notice beneath the logo.
• The whooshing sound is no longer heard, when the dollar figures pop in on the Jeopardy! round board; the dollar figures simply pop in on the Jeopardy! round board; the popping in sound was rotated for the first two months of this set's run.
• 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, as well as the left shoulder for Video Daily Double clues during the 1992 Teen Tournament.
• Upon the introduction of the new Daily Double presentation method, the Daily Double graphic didn't dissolve after the clue was read. It would disappear when the camera turns to the contestants, as well as to Alex.
• On early episodes of the season, the contestant's current cash winnings totals were shown in Korinna, and it had a star animation, which was removed shortly before the 1992 Teen Tournament.
• The winner's post-Final Jeopardy! graphics no longer flashes.
• Jim Scott won the Tournament of Champions.
• In the Teen Tournament, the contestant interviews are conducted at the conclusion of the first round; it was only done for that tournament only this season. It would not become a regular practice until the following season (and then was scrapped again early in season 13).
• 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.
• This is the last season where Mr. Guy is credited as Alex's wardrobe provider.

This season:

• Season 8 of Jeopardy! kicks off on September 2, 1991.
• The Tournament of Champions air from November 4-15, 1991.
  • On the November 11, 1991 episode, the LAKES & RIVERS category from the Double Jeopardy! Round is shown in the film Groundhog Day.
• The Teen Tournament airs from February 24-March 6, 1992.
• The College Championship airs May 4-15, 1992.
  • A bongo track is added to the 1984 theme, but this version doesn't get put permanently into use until the beginning of Season 9.
  • On the May 4, 1992 episode, Chris Montplaisir 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
• This episode, which aired on May 18, 1992, in which, Jerome Vered made his Jeopardy! debut, and it has a full credit roll, with camera shots dissolving to reveal other camera shots, as well as the Jeopardy! logo.
• On the May 21, 1992 episode, Jerome Vered sets a new one-day record of $34,000.
• At this point, Jeopardy! became the highest rated syndicated game show.
• The Seniors Tournament airs from July 6-17, 1992.
• Season 8 of Jeopardy! wraps up on July 17, 1992, which marks the last time, the 1984-1992 Jeopardy! theme song was used.
• Summer reruns air from July 21-September 4, 1992. Reruns later air on weekends from 1992-1993.