'Jeopardy! Greatest Of All Time': Ken Jennings wins big on first night but champ Brad Rutter loses everything
The newest limited series of 'Jeopardy!', rightly titled 'Jeopardy! Greatest Of All Time', premiered this January 7. It was Ken Jennings' night from the start, with him beating James Holzhauer by 200 points to win the night.
Unfortunately, though the night started out with jokes about Jennings holding the record in losing the most matches to fellow contestant Brad Rutter — with Holzhauer joining in on a couple of punches — Rutter fared the worst of the three contestants.
In the first match, Rutter was the only contestant to get an answer wrong. But that was not all. Rutter, as usual, came across multiple Double Jeopardy questions but he failed to answer a single one correctly. What made this worse for Rutter is that each time he wagered everything, leading him to start his scoreboard over and over again.
This was not the case for Jennings, who got the chance to answer two Double Jeopardy questions, and though visibly nervous, answered both correctly.
Holzhauer himself was his confident smiling self and though he won the second match, Jennings' massive lead in the first meant that Jennings won the night overall.
With multiple categories and answers that earned laughs from the audience, the show also featured many celebrities asking the questions, including Ryan Seacrest, Dax Shepherd, Bryan Cranston, Katy Perry, and Luke Bryan.
But it was Alex Trebek's appearance that was perhaps the most emotional to watch. With the erstwhile host and his wife's interview on ABC News with Michael Strahan last month, viewers are undoubtedly worried about Trebek's health. However, Trebek was as cheerful as ever on the first night for 'Jeopardy! Greatest Of All Time'.
While it may take two or more nights to understand who the ultimate 'Jeopardy!' champion might be, viewers shouldn't be quick to write off Brad Rutter. After all, there is a reason he is one of the contestants.
The next episode of 'Jeopardy! Greatest Of All Time' will air on January 8 on ABC at 8/7c.
