When it comes to winning, sometimes the difference is little more than a letter. Such was the case of the episode of November 6, Danger! That left fans upset with host Ken Jennings’ controversial ruling over a contestant’s answer.
The show had made it to the Final Jeopardy round with the Music and Literature category and the question: “John Steinbeck called this ‘one of the world’s great songs’ and wanted the music and lyrics printed in one of his novels.” .
As Jennings reviewed the contestants’ answers, Brian Adams wrote, “What is the Battle Hymn of the Republic?” A seemingly correct answer, except Adams was missing one thing; the letter “l” in the word “Republic”.
Adams raised his hands in dismay as he realized his mistake. “We can’t accept that, Brian,” Jennings responded. It would be a serious mistake that would cost Brian his entire $5,200 winnings.
The next contestant, David Pai, couldn’t come up with an answer, while favorite Jiliana Cotter got it right, taking her to victory with a hefty sum of $22,400.
Let’s ask the fans
While Adams couldn’t have won the game even if he had gotten the answer right, fans disagreed with the host’s decision to throw out his answer.
“They should have accepted the guys responding,” one fan wrote in the comments on YouTube.
“I didn’t think spelling counted on Final Jeopardy?!” said another.
“Really? You lose because you leave ONE LETTER out of a word in a multi-word title? Not even the first letter. Not even the first word. Yuck!” commented one fan.
Others also felt sympathy for Brian.
“I’m sorry, Brian. “This bothered me for the rest of the day,” one fan admitted.
But it wouldn’t be the first time a controversial call upset fans. The October 18 episode Danger! had stumped not one, but two contestants with the difficult pronunciation of the ancient Aztec city of “Tenochtitlán.”
However, for Danger! rules, the program will point out spelling errors as long as they do not change the pronunciation of the answer. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case for Brian, who no doubt remembers how to spell the word “republic.” Better luck next time!
Categories: Biography
Source: vcmp.edu.vn