Taking on a new job is never the easiest task in the world, and Ken Jennings had quite the unique challenge when stepping up as the first Jeopardy! guest host to fill the void after Alex Trebek's death. For the most part, fans have been giving his initial run a collective thumbs up, which has hopefully been giving Jennings some comfort, considering those episodes were filmed weeks ago. But it probably wasn't relief he felt when a contestant ended a recent Final Jeopardy round by trolling Jennings in the most masterful way.
As you can see in the video below, contestant Brian Chang decided to have a little bit of fun at Ken Jennings' expense during the final round with a clue given for the category The Business of Travel. Even though his two opponents wrote down the correct response – "What is Motel 6?" – Chang had other goals in mind when jotting down his answer, which was a pointedly hilarious callback to Jennings' erroneous Final Jeopardy reply that ended his record-setting 74-game winning streak in 2004. Check it out!
While there were always contestants who liked to use the Final Jeopardy process to make Alex Trebek say particular things – from SNL's Turd Ferguson to, well, more Celebrity Jeopardy! skit silliness – it wasn't exactly possible for anyone to have ever set up a savage burn quite like the one Brian Chang unleashed on Ken Jennings. It was just so particular and specific and soul-crushing!
Not that Ken Jennings really has anything to be embarrassed about concerning the erroneous H&R Block answer, considering he's still the record holder, and he went on to become the Greatest of All Time Jeopardy! champion after defeating Brad Rutter and James Holzhauer. In the scheme of things, he's living larger than any of the contestants that were on during his hosting stint, but for one golden minute, Brian Chang made hilarious Jeopardy! history. Oh, and he also won the episode, too, which Jennings pointed out in his well-handled comeback after seeing Chang's answer.
Now, Brian, I know from experience 'H&R Block' is sometimes the right answer, but not today, I'm afraid. . . . Even though you brought back some bad memories for me, you’re still gonna go home with $13,201. You're our new Jeopardy! champion!
By all means, Ken Jennings could have reacted in any number of ways, from showing faux indignation to pretentiously dismissing the joke. But in true Alex Trebek style, he just took it in stride and moved on, just like Jeopardy! did with its hosting situation. At this point, fans can also look forward to seeing Katie Couric behind the podium, as well as the Green Bay Packers' quarterback Aaron Rogers (who is himself a former champ) and The Big Bang Theory vet Mayim Bialik.
Jeopardy! airs weekdays in syndication, so be sure to check your local listings to see when and where it's playing in your area. In the meantime, head to our Winter and Spring TV premiere schedule to see what new and returning shows are on the way soon.
