The answer is: The perfect quiz show, produced by NBC and hosted by Art Fleming. The question: What is Jeopardy!?
The game board of 30 squares containing six categories (five squares per category) supplied the answers, contestants raced to provide the appropriate questions, and Fleming kept up a rollicking pace in the rarest of beasts – a game show where you actually had to have some brains to participate.
TV’s toughest game show was originally telecast at noon Eastern time (and probably the best excuse a kid ever had for wanting to stay home sick from school) and drew the brightest players and became a big hit with college students.
Bad time slots temporarily killed the network version in 1975, but Jeopardy! went into syndication, rising from the ashes like a mythical bird (what is a Phoenix?) in 1978.
In 1984, following another hiatus, Jeopardy! returned with Alex Trebek as its host.
A once-a-week primetime version of the show called Super Jeopardy! was trialled on ABC in 1990. It did not prove to be as popular as the five-day-a-week early evening version of the show, and the series was cancelled after less than a full season on air.
In 1998, a daytime version of the show called Rock ‘n’ Roll Jeopardy! was aired on American cable television with Jeff Probst hosting. All the categories were music-oriented and music videos and audio clips were frequently used as the answers provided on the series.
TV’s toughest game show was originally telecast at noon Eastern time (and probably the best excuse a kid ever had for wanting to stay home sick from school) and drew the brightest players and became a big hit with college students.
