Ken Jennings called out for denying partial answer about famous film as Jeopardy! fans question if game rules are ‘real’

JEOPARDY host Ken Jennings has been called out for not accepting one contestant’s answer.

On Wednesday’s episode of the game show, returning champion Kelly Proulx takes on newcomers Issac Hirsch and Dana Keane.

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Jeopardy Host Ken Jennings has been called out by fans for his ruling on a recent responseCredit: Jeopardy

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On Wednesday, returning champ Kelly Proulx faced Issac Hirsch and Dana KeaneCredit: Jeopardy

Ken Jennings asked a film question to the three playersCredit: ABC
During her first Jeopardy game on Tuesday, Kelly won with a whopping total of $16,801.

In the Double Jeopardy round in the Don’t Go Jason category, Ken, 50, posed a question regarding Jason Schwartzman getting his head kicked in in an Edgar Wright film.

Isaac was the first to buzz in and was slightly correct with his Scott Pilgrim answer, however, he guessed Scott Pilgrim vs. The Universe.

Ken, 50, did not let it slide, but Kelly quickly got the answer correctly which was Scott Pilgrim vs. The World.

Scott Pilgrim is a series of comic books created by Bryan Lee O’Malley where the six original volumes were released between 2004 and 2010.

In order, the books are Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, Scott Pilgrim & The Infinite Sadness, Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together, Scott Pilgrim vs. The Universe, and Scott Pilgrim’s Finest Hour.

In 2010, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World became a hit film starring Michael Cera, Chris Evans, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, and Brie Larson.

WHAT FANS THINK

In an online Reddit forum dedicated to the nightly show, fans called out Ken’s Scott Pilgrim call.

One wrote, “Ken (seemingly) not accepting “Scott Pilgrim” and requiring the full “Scott Pilgrim vs the World” has me wondering if there’s a hard and fast rule about movie titles and subtitles.

“Or if it’s more vibe-based on the judges’ part? ‘vs the World’ is clearly deemphasized in that movie’s marketing materials.

Netflix releases a teaser for the animated series Scott Pilgrim Takes Off
“Would the full Terminator 2 Judgement Day instead of just Terminator 2?”

A second replied, “Isaac said “vs. the Universe”, but in general, it is absolutely ‘vibe-based.'”

“There’s other Scott Pilgrim media with different titles after the name, so that would likely influence if they would require more than just the name,” a third pointed out.

A fourth wrote, “I would assume that titles that include (or suggest) colons don’t require anything after the colon. I agree that “Scott Pilgrim” is pretty unambiguous.

Jeopardy! Host Timeline

Jeopardy! has had a tumultuous history regarding hosts after the death of the iconic Alex Trebek in 2020. Here are all of the hosts since the game show’s inception in 1964.

Art Fleming – 1964 to 1975, he was the original host of the daytime version of Jeopardy! on NBC.

Alex Trebek – 1984 to 2020, the late, great Alex hosted Jeopardy!’s modern iteration for 36 years until his death from pancreatic cancer.

Guest hosts – 2020 to 2021, Jeopardy! tested out a series of guest hosts for week or two-week stints, including Anderson Cooper, LaVar Burton, and Aaron Rodgers.

Mike Richards – 2021, he was named host for one week before resigning amid controversy. He was the show’s executive producer at the time.

Mayim Bialik – 2021 to 2023, when Mike was announced as the show’s new host, Mayim was chosen to host tournaments and primetime specials.

Mayim and Ken Jennings – 2022 to 2023, 74-time champion Ken (the longest-winning contestant ever) joined Mayim as a guest host and they split hosting duties.

Ken Jennings – 2023 to present. Last December, Mayim announced on Instagram that she would “no longer” host Jeopardy! after a lengthy hiatus, having stood with the writer’s strike, and Ken was named sole host.

Ken now helms all editions of Jeopardy! including Celebrity Jeopardy!, the nightly show, and other primetime specials like Masters.

“[However], I’m not at all surprised that they didn’t accept it–I can’t think of any other title where you wouldn’t need to supply both halves of the ‘vs.'”

Someone else argued the person above’s point, “But if other Scott Pilgrim media are a factor, then you could argue Scott Pilgrim vs The World is ambiguous since that’s also the title of the second book.”

WHO WON THE GAME?

By the end of the first round, Isaac was in first place with $4,000, Dana in second with $3,900, and Kelly in last place with $3,600.

By the end of the round, Isaac was way ahead of his competition with $18,000 and the others with $8,000 and $8,300.

The Final Jeopardy question based on historic women stumped all three players.

Kelly finished with $7,000 and Dana finished with $300

Isaac finished with $19,185 and will continue his Jeopardy journey on Thursday’s episode.

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Issac Hirsch responded with Scott Pilgrim, hesitated, then added ‘vs. The Universe’Credit: Jeopardy

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However, it was Scott Pilgrim put the second comic book of the series, Scott Pilgrim vs. The WorldCredit: Jeopardy

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Scott Pilgrim vs. The World was made into a film in 2010 starring Michael Cera and Chris EvansCredit: Handout