Celebrity Jeopardy! (Saturday Night Live)
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''Celebrity Jeopardy!'' is a series of sketches that aired regularly on the television comedy/variety show ''
Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...
'' between 1996 and 2002, the years when Will Ferrell was a cast member. It parodies the same-named special event on the television quiz show ''
Jeopardy! ''Jeopardy!'' is an American television game show created by Merv Griffin. The show is a quiz competition that reverses the traditional question-and-answer format of many quiz shows. Rather than being given questions, contestants are instead g ...
'' that features competition between notable individuals with all winnings going towards charitable organizations, and significant reductions to the game's level of difficulty. Fifteen sketches aired between December 1996 and February 2015: two sketches per season from 1996 to 2002, and one each in
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and
2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...
, when Ferrell returned to the show as host. The sketch was revived for the '' Saturday Night Live 40th Anniversary Special'' on February 15, 2015. Ferrell portrayed ''Jeopardy!'' host Alex Trebek. Darrell Hammond also appeared in each sketch, usually portraying
Sean Connery Sir Thomas Sean Connery (25 August 1930 – 31 October 2020) was a Scottish actor. He was the first actor to Portrayal of James Bond in film, portray the fictional British secret agent James Bond (literary character), James Bond in motion pic ...
, Trebek's "arch-nemesis" who makes crass insults implying a sexual relationship between Connery and Trebek's mother.Phil Pirrello, Scott Collura (February 28, 2008)
Top 15 Will Ferrell Characters
. ''
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''.
Norm Macdonald appeared as Burt Reynolds in six sketches.
Jimmy Fallon James Thomas Fallon (born September 19, 1974) is an Americans, American comedian, television host, actor, singer, writer, and producer. Best known for his work in television, Fallon's breakthrough came during his tenure as a cast member on the ...
also appeared six times, portraying a different character in each appearance. On several occasions, ''Celebrity Jeopardy!'' sketches have been referenced during actual episodes of ''Jeopardy!''.


Sketch

The participants in each sketch consist of Ferrell, Hammond, the host for the episode, and a third cast member; after Norm Macdonald left the series, the third celebrity would be most frequently played by Jimmy Fallon. The sketch uses a mock-up of the first set designed for the real ''Jeopardy!'' by production designer Naomi Slodki (the "sushi bar" set), introduced one month before the first sketch; this set remains in use for all fifteen sketches, including the three return appearances of the sketch after Ferrell's departure, which were produced after the set's basis was retired. The sketch often begins at the start of the Double Jeopardy! round. Trebek welcomes the audience and, occasionally, apologizes for an offense or incident that occurred before the break. He then introduces the celebrity contestants and reveals their scores, which are either $0, a negative score, or a very low positive score. Many times, the contestants refuse or fail to select an appropriate category and dollar value from the game board, grinding the game to a halt and often requiring Trebek to choose them himself. As the celebrities' growing ineptitude and lack of interest became apparent, the subject matter used for categories shifted from normal topics (such as "Movies" and "Popular Music") to more childish topics, categories with titles giving not-so-subtle hints as to the correct response without reading the clues (such as " Colors that end in 'urple'", " Countries between Mexico and Canada", and " Current Black Presidents"), and those requiring no responses whatsoever (such as "Automatic Points" or "Tie Your Shoe"). Recurring ''Jeopardy!'' category "Potent Potables" appears in every sketch but is never selected, and when it finally is chosen, it results in an inadvertently offensive pre-recorded Video Daily Double involving
Bill Cosby William Henry Cosby Jr. ( ; born July 12, 1937) is an American retired comedian, actor, and media personality. Often cited as a trailblazer for African Americans in the entertainment industry, Cosby was a film, television, and stand-up comedy ...
. Instead of buzzing in with the correct questions, contestants either give wildly incorrect responses or say things that have nothing to do with the game, frustrating Trebek, who does nothing to hide his contempt for the celebrities' performance. Trebek's mood is also exacerbated by Connery's pranks and antics, which include making sexual jokes at Trebek's expense, deliberately misreading or vandalizing the categories on the board to turn them into sexually suggestive phrases (such as " Let It Snow" as "Le Tits, Now" or "Catch These Men" as "Catch the
Semen Semen, also known as seminal fluid, is a bodily fluid that contains spermatozoon, spermatozoa which is secreted by the male gonads (sexual glands) and other sexual organs of male or hermaphrodite, hermaphroditic animals. In humans and placen ...
"; or in terms of vandalizing, "I Have a Chardonnay" as "I Have a hardon"), and implying that he has had sexual relations with Trebek's mother. Trebek eventually grows exasperated with his inability to conduct the show and cuts it short by moving to Final Jeopardy!. He either discards the scripted category in favor of a much easier task (such as having the celebrities write and respond to their own questions), or announces a childishly simple category. Even though it appears impossible for the celebrities to fail, they invariably do. Connery occasionally provides a correct response, yet uses his wager to transform the text into a rude phrase or drawing (such as the letter V which is the Roman numeral for 5, until the V was revealed as part of the whole wager which reads "SucK it Trebek"). Sometimes Connery appears to have sympathy for Trebek until the wager reveal, which happens to be a rude drawing at Trebek's expense; in an earlier sketch, this is also performed by
John Travolta John Joseph Travolta (born February 18, 1954) is an American actor. He began acting in television before transitioning into a leading man in films. List of awards and nominations received by John Travolta, His accolades include a Primetime Em ...
, who in response to a clue asking the celebrities to name their favorite food, responds with " miso", an actual soup, but when Trebek asks for the wager, reveals it to be "horny", which is read as "me so horny". Trebek is the beleaguered straight man and is generally the only person on stage interested in the game. The contestants, who are either unaware of what the game is or uninterested in playing, will ramble incoherently, deliver irrelevant monologues, or openly antagonize the host. Whenever a contestant takes the game seriously, they prove utterly incapable of supplying the correct question. No contestant ever offers a correct response; however, two come close: Phil Donahue and
Tony Bennett Anthony Dominick Benedetto (August 3, 1926 – July 21, 2023), known professionally as Tony Bennett, was an American jazz and traditional pop singer. He received many accolades, including 20 Grammy Awards, a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, ...
, who in their respective sketches, offer descriptions for the holiday of Christmas and ''
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''. When Reynolds, who had initially been the celebrity who appeared in each sketch, makes his return appearances, he misreads categories in the same manner as Connery and insists that he be addressed as "Turd Ferguson" because he finds that name funny. At the end of almost every sketch, all three celebrities have scores in the negative thousands of dollars, and in most cases, a humorous, often sexual, Final Jeopardy! punchline is delivered by Connery. In one of his sketches, Reynolds is declared an unquestioned winner, even though he wins simply because he has the least amount of negative money, rather than actually earning a victory. When Trebek ends the show, he either states that money will be withheld or taken away from the contestants' charities due to their negative scores, or announces his intention to resign or kill himself.


Episodes


Cast


''SNL'' cast members

A typical ''Celebrity Jeopardy!'' sketch featured three cast members (two as contestants and Ferrell as Trebek), plus that week's host as a third contestant. The thirteenth edition of the sketch (Cosby, Sharon Osbourne, Connery) featured three members of the ''SNL'' cast as the three contestants and Ferrell, now hosting, reprising his role as Trebek. The episode with Connery, Ozzy Osbourne and Martha Stewart featured cast members in all four roles. * Dean Edwards as Chris Tucker *
Jimmy Fallon James Thomas Fallon (born September 19, 1974) is an Americans, American comedian, television host, actor, singer, writer, and producer. Best known for his work in television, Fallon's breakthrough came during his tenure as a cast member on the ...
as
Adam Sandler Adam Richard Sandler (born September 9, 1966) is an American actor, comedian, producer and screenwriter. Primarily a comedic leading actor in films, List of awards and nominations received by Adam Sandler, his accolades include an Independent Sp ...
, Nicolas Cage, French Stewart, Hilary Swank, Robin Williams and Dave Matthews * Will Ferrell as Alex Trebek * Ana Gasteyer as Martha Stewart * Darrell Hammond as
Sean Connery Sir Thomas Sean Connery (25 August 1930 – 31 October 2020) was a Scottish actor. He was the first actor to Portrayal of James Bond in film, portray the fictional British secret agent James Bond (literary character), James Bond in motion pic ...
, Phil Donahue and
John Travolta John Joseph Travolta (born February 18, 1954) is an American actor. He began acting in television before transitioning into a leading man in films. List of awards and nominations received by John Travolta, His accolades include a Primetime Em ...
* Taran Killam as Christoph Waltz * Norm Macdonald as Burt Reynolds * Kate McKinnon as
Justin Bieber Justin Drew Bieber ( ; born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian singer. Regarded as a pop icon, he is recognized for his multi-genre musical performances. He was discovered by record executive Scooter Braun in 2008 and subsequently brought to the U ...
* Amy Poehler as Sharon Osbourne * Horatio Sanz as
Ozzy Osbourne John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer, songwriter, and media personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead singer of the heavy metal music, heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which per ...
* Molly Shannon as
Minnie Driver Amelia Fiona Jessica "Minnie" Driver (born 31 January 1970) is a British and American actress and singer. She rose to prominence with her break-out role in the 1995 film ''Circle of Friends (1995 film), Circle of Friends''. She went on to star i ...
*
Kenan Thompson Kenan Thompson (; born May 10, 1978) is an American actor and comedian. He has been a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' since Saturday Night Live season 29, 2003, making him the longest-tenured cast member in the ...
as
Bill Cosby William Henry Cosby Jr. ( ; born July 12, 1937) is an American retired comedian, actor, and media personality. Often cited as a trailblazer for African Americans in the entertainment industry, Cosby was a film, television, and stand-up comedy ...
* Kristen Wiig as
Kathie Lee Gifford Kathryn Lee Gifford (Given name, née Epstein; born August 16, 1953) is an American television presenter, singer, songwriter, actress, and author. From 1985 to 2000, she and Regis Philbin hosted the talk show ''Live with Kelly and Mark, Live! wi ...


''SNL'' hosts

Thirteen of the fifteen sketches included the episode's host, usually as a contestant. The tenth sketch was one of two not to feature a host, as it was part of an ''SNL'' primetime special that did not feature a guest host. The 40th anniversary special also did not have a host. Both Ferrell and Macdonald were previous cast members who reprised their ''Celebrity Jeopardy!'' role upon their return. Notably, two hosts appeared as actual contestants on the real ''Celebrity Jeopardy!'': David Duchovny (in 1995 and 2010) and Martin Short (in 2006). *
Alec Baldwin Alexander Rae Baldwin III (born April 3, 1958) is an American actor and film producer. He is known for his leading and supporting roles in a variety of genres, from comedy to drama. He has received List of awards and nominations received by A ...
as
Tony Bennett Anthony Dominick Benedetto (August 3, 1926 – July 21, 2023), known professionally as Tony Bennett, was an American jazz and traditional pop singer. He received many accolades, including 20 Grammy Awards, a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, ...
* Drew Barrymore as Calista Flockhart * Jim Carrey as Matthew McConaughey * David Duchovny as Jeff Goldblum *Will Ferrell as Alex Trebek *
John Goodman John Stephen Goodman (born June 20, 1952) is an American actor. He rose to prominence in television before becoming an acclaimed and popular film actor. Goodman has received List of awards and nominations received by John Goodman, various acc ...
as
Marlon Brando Marlon Brando Jr. (April 3, 1924 – July 1, 2004) was an American actor. Widely regarded as one of the greatest cinema actors of the 20th century,''Movies in American History: An Encyclopedia''
*
Tom Hanks Thomas Jeffrey Hanks (born July 9, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker. Known for both his comedic and dramatic roles, he is one of the most popular and recognizable film stars worldwide, and is regarded as an American cultural icon. Ha ...
as himself * Lucy Liu as Catherine Zeta-Jones * Norm Macdonald as Burt Reynolds (who changed his name to Turd Ferguson in several sketches, claiming "it's a funny name"). * Tobey Maguire as Keanu Reeves * Matthew Perry as Michael Keaton *
Winona Ryder Winona Laura Horowitz (born ), known professionally as Winona Ryder, is an American actress. Having come to attention playing quirky characters in the late 1980s, she achieved success with her more dramatic performances in the 1990s. Ryder's L ...
as
Björk Björk Guðmundsdóttir ( , ; born 21 November 1965), known mononymously as Björk, is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct voice, three-octave vocal range, and eccentric public per ...
*
Martin Short Martin Hayter Short (born March 26, 1950) is a Canadian and American comedian, actor, and writer. Short is known as an energetic comedian who gained prominence for his roles in sketch comedy. He has also acted in numerous films and television ...
as
Jerry Lewis Jerry Lewis (born Joseph Levitch; March 16, 1926 – August 20, 2017) was an American comedian, actor, singer, filmmaker and humanitarian, with a career spanning seven decades in film, stage, television and radio. Famously nicknamed as "Th ...
* Ben Stiller as
Tom Cruise Thomas Cruise Mapother IV (born July 3, 1962) is an American actor and film producer. Regarded as a Cinema of the United States, Hollywood icon, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Tom Cruise, various accolades, includ ...
*
Reese Witherspoon Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon (born March 22, 1976) is an American actress and producer. She is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Reese Witherspoon, various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Aw ...
as Anne Heche


Background

Norm Macdonald was inspired to create the first ''Celebrity Jeopardy!'' after noting how much easier the questions on the real-life ''Celebrity Jeopardy!'' were compared to regular episodes. A fan of the sketch series '' SCTV'', Macdonald acknowledged that his concept would be substantially the same as "Half-Wits," a recurring sketch on the short-lived ''The Martin Short Show'' (1994) in which Eugene Levy played a parody of Trebek, exasperated by the incredibly dumb contestants on the program. Macdonald called Levy and secured permission to co-opt the premise of the sketch. During the May 2007 special ''Saturday Night Live in the '90s: Pop Culture Nation'', Macdonald said he created the ''Celebrity Jeopardy!'' sketch purely as an excuse to do his Burt Reynolds impersonation. He purposely chose to make Reynolds an anachronism, appearing on stage as if Reynolds was still the same age he was in 1972. Macdonald also claims that Reynolds was a fan of the sketch and that there were talks to do a sketch where the real Reynolds would crash the game and punch out Macdonald. Reynolds would then play the remainder of the game, with his responses being even dumber than Macdonald's. However, Macdonald was fired from ''SNL'' before that sketch could be written. The host and contestants are played as caricatures of their real-life personalities. Hammond said that, while his initial Connery impression was as accurate as possible, it would eventually morph into a "bastardization" of the actor, which audiences — and Hammond himself — found far more entertaining. Though Trebek shaved his trademark mustache in 2001, Ferrell retained it as long as he played the character, even in the twelfth sketch — Ferrell's last episode as a cast member — when a clean-shaven real Trebek made a cameo at the end.


Critical reactions

Critical responses to the sketches have been positive. In 2008, Ferrell's portrayal of Trebek was #3 in ''
IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...
''s "Top 15 Will Ferrell characters".


Impact

''Jeopardy!'' host Alex Trebek mentioned his admiration for Will Ferrell's impression of him in interviews. Trebek also stated that during every taping of the show, he was asked by one of the audience members how he felt about Ferrell's impression, and always replied that he loved it. On several occasions, ''Celebrity Jeopardy!'' sketches have been referenced during actual ''Jeopardy!'' episodes: In the May 19, 1999 '' Celebrity Jeopardy!'' episode, the Jeopardy! round featured the category "'S' Words", and the Double Jeopardy! round featured "Swords" in the same column (in the first sketch, wherein "'S' Words" is a category, Connery misreads it as "Swords"). During the September 5, 2001, episode, the Double Jeopardy! categories were "Sean Connery", "Surprise Me, Trebek!", "Therapists" (misread by Connery as "The Rapists"), "Things You Shouldn't Put in Your Mouth", "The Number After 2", and "Rhymes With 'Dog'". The June 27, 2006, show featured the category " Japan-U.S. Relations", which had been misread by Connery as "Jap
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Relations". In the November 8 and 16, 2006 ''Celebrity Jeopardy!'' episodes, categories included "Surprise Me, Trebek!" and "Answers That Start With 'Feb'", respectively (the latter of which is a reference to the category "" from the sketch). On the September 24, 2008 episode, the Jeopardy! round featured the category "Stars With Feb, Trebek". When contestant Brian Levinson first selected the category, he did so in a Sean Connery voice. On the November 23, 2009, show, the categories in the Jeopardy! round were "''SNL'' Celebrity ''Jeopardy!''", " States That End in Hampshire", "What Color Is Green?", " Current Black presidents", "Sounds That Kitties Make", and "Twinkle Twinkle Little Word That Rhymes With Star". A May 15, 2015 ''Celebrity Jeopardy!'' featured " The Pen is Mightier", a category about famous authors and their books (which was misread in a ''Celebrity Jeopardy!'' sketch as "The Penis Mightier" by Connery, who thought it was a penis enlargement product); and on September 16, 2015, a contestant who did not know the actual answer jokingly guessed "The Love Ballad of Turd Ferguson" during Final Jeopardy! The Jeopardy! round from the July 8, 2016, episode featured the categories " States That Begin with Californ", "Is That a Hat?", "Catch These Men" (which Connery reads in a sketch as "Catch The Semen"), "A Petite Dejeuner" (a respelling of the category from the sketch which was "A Petit Dejeuner", which Burt Reynolds misread as "Ape Tit Dejeuner"), "'S' Words" (which appeared again after appearing in 1999), and "SNL Cracks Us Up". On July 10, 2019, the Jeopardy! round featured the category "An Album Cover", which Connery reads in a sketch as "Anal Bum Cover". The category "Surprise Me, Trebek!" appeared again in the '' Jeopardy! The Greatest of All Time'' special in 2020. When contestant Brad Rutter picked the category for the first time, he too shouted its name in an imitation Sean Connery voice. The February 6, 2023 episode featured the category "Months That Start with Feb". The July 11, 2024 episode featured the category "States That End in Hampshire", which appeared again after appearing in 2009.


Home video releases

The October 1999 ''Celebrity Jeopardy!'' sketch featuring Sean Connery, Burt Reynolds, and French Stewart was featured in the ''SNL'' Game Show Parodies compilation special from February 2000 and its later home video release. The special was co-hosted by Will Ferrell in character as Alex Trebek alongside Darrell Hammond as then-''
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire ''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?'' (WWTBAM) is an international television game show franchise of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? (British game show), British origin, created by David Briggs, Mike Whitehill and Steven Knight. In its format, cu ...
'' host Regis Philbin, who was briefly mentioned in the April 2000 ''Celebrity Jeopardy!'' installment. Two of the three ''Best of Will Ferrell'' home video compilations would include Celebrity Jeopardy! sketches, including the Connery/Reynolds/Stewart sketch in 2003's first volume and 2005's Connery/Osbourne/Cosby installment in 2010's third volume.


Other ''Jeopardy!'' sketches

''Saturday Night Live'' has parodied ''Jeopardy!'' in other unrelated sketches, such as the futuristic parody ''Jeopardy! 1999'' from October 1976, ''Bob Swerkski's Quiz Masters'' (featuring
Bill Swerski's Superfans "Bill Swerski's Superfans" was a recurring sketch about Chicago sports fan (person), fans on the American sketch comedy program ''Saturday Night Live''. It was a prominent feature from 1991 to 1992, and its characters have made various other appe ...
) and the comedy themed ''Stand Up and Win'' in 1992, "Das Ist Jeöpardy!" (an episode of '' Sprockets'') in November 1993, and the April 1995 sketch ''Gapardy'', featuring The Gap Girls. Additionally, various contestant impersonations, including Connery and Reynolds, have appeared outside of ''Celebrity Jeopardy!'' sketches with the same cast members.


''Black Jeopardy!''

A recurring sketch in more recent seasons is '' Black Jeopardy!'', which debuted in season 39, and whose clues frequently invoke African American stereotypes. ''Black Jeopardy!'' is hosted by Darnell Hayes (
Kenan Thompson Kenan Thompson (; born May 10, 1978) is an American actor and comedian. He has been a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' since Saturday Night Live season 29, 2003, making him the longest-tenured cast member in the ...
), and whose contestants often include two stereotypical African American contestants and the third either being a white person, a foreigner of African descent, or someone who is ignoring the game for their own personal agenda. The first two contestants are always played by the regular cast members and always have an African American name, while the third contestant is always played by the guest host and almost always with a more "European" name that catches Darnell by surprise. Among the "third" contestants have been: *Mark, a professor of African American studies at
Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...
. ( Louis C.K.) *Allison, who "understands Black culture because she once dated a Black man" and claims to be "color blind". ( Elizabeth Banks) *Doug, a
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
supporter with a MAGA hat. (
Tom Hanks Thomas Jeffrey Hanks (born July 9, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker. Known for both his comedic and dramatic roles, he is one of the most popular and recognizable film stars worldwide, and is regarded as an American cultural icon. Ha ...
) Doug does surprisingly well until the Final Black Jeopardy! category is revealed as "Lives That Matter" * T'Challa, Prince of Wakanda. ( Chadwick Boseman) *Jared, a Black Canadian. ( Drake) * Velvet Jones, an African American contestant who promotes his consultation business on how women can make money as prostitutes through numerous books. (
Eddie Murphy Edward Regan Murphy (born April 3, 1961) is an American actor, comedian, and singer. He had his breakthrough as a standup comic before gaining stardom for his film roles; he is widely recognized as one of the greatest comedians of all time. H ...
) The sketches are implied to take place in an apartment building in a residential neighborhood as opposed to a TV studio, and also have several sponsors pertaining to African American stereotypes, most of them fictional though Sprite was listed as one due to that drink's long association with the
National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...
.


See also

* Recurring ''Saturday Night Live'' characters and sketches


References


External links

* {{Jeopardy! Saturday Night Live sketches Saturday Night Live in the 1990s Saturday Night Live in the 2000s Jeopardy! Parodies of television shows Mass media franchises introduced in 1996