Final Jeopardy: TV History (12-12-25)
The Final Jeopardy question (12/12/2025) in the category “TV History” was:
A 1964 review of this TV special, still played today, mentions “trials as an outcast” & “the songs of Johnny Marks”
4x champ Will Riley, an engineer orig. from Houston, TX, has now won $77,403. In Game 5, he competes against: Trey Hart, a grant writer from Petaluma, CA; and Madelyn Dawson, a writer & editor from Staten Island, NY.
Round 1 Categories: Cities by Historic Events – It’s All Greek Mythology to Me – Seafood – Let’s Start a Hip-Hop Group – “M.C.” – Hype Man
Will found the Jeopardy! round Daily Double in “Seafood” under the $800 clue on the 15th pick of the round. He was in the lead with $3,800 now, $600 more than Trey in second place. Will bet $5.00 and came up with étouffée. That was WRONG.
This seafood stew gets its name from Provençal words -for “boil” & “lower” show
Trey finished in the lead with $6,400. Will was second with $4,795 and Madelyn was last with $1,800. All clues were shown.
Round 2 Categories: Bodies of Water – Novels – Rhyme Time – Modern 2-Letter Initials – Movie Lines – Bye, Phoenicia
Madelyn found the first Daily Double in “Novels” under the $1,600 clue on the 2nd pick. The first clue was a triple stumper, so the scores were the same as above. Madelyn bet $1,700 of her $1,800 and thought it was Bleak House. That was WRONG.
In a Dickens novel, the ownership of this title place is gambled away to Quilp show
Trey got the last Daily Double in “Bodies of Water” under the $800 clue, with 9 clues left after it. In the lead with $14,400, he had $4,405 more than Will in second place. Trey bet $4,000 and he was RIGHT.
In the 1830s, sea lampreys invaded this Great Lake though Niagara Falls kept them from further incursion for a while show
Trey finished in the lead with $19,600. Will was next with $10,395 and Madelyn was in third place with $900. All clues were shown.
Only ONE of the contestants got Final Jeopardy! right.
WHAT IS “RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER”?
The 1964 Christmas special “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” animated the tale told by the 1949 Johnny Marks song of the same name, with the reindeer bullying poor Rudolph until Santa tapped him to guide the sleigh on a foggy Christmas Eve. It is narrated by Burl Ives as Sam the Snowman. Marks wrote all the songs for the special, including “A Holly Jolly Christmas”. Parts of Marks’ song “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree”, recorded in 1958 by Brenda Lee, were also included in the special.
The quotes in today’s clue come from the New York Times review of the show. You can read it if you have a NYT subscription.
Madelyn had no response. She lost $750 and finished with $150.
Will wrote down “beats me.” A zero bet kept his score at $10,395.
Trey got it right. He bet $4,500 and won the game with $24,100. Trey Hart is the new Jeopardy! champ and he’ll be the returning champ when regular games resume next year. We’re quite likely to see Will again in a future tournament, too.
2 triple stumpers from BODIES OF WATER:
($400) The Celebes Sea is south of Mindanao in the Philippines & north of this country’s island of Sulawesi
($2000) After flowing through 6 countries, the Zambezi River meets the sea in this East African nation
2 years ago: Only ONE of the players got this FJ in “THE WILD WEST”
In 1888’s “Ranch Life & the Hunting-Trail” Teddy Roosevelt wrote his 2 ranch hands were “able to travel” like this animal show
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Good for Trey, he had a near runaway and was the best player tonight. Will had too many wrong responses but it didn’t matter. FJ: TV History and 1964 should have been a giveaway for me, but I was stumped. Never did watch those animated shows, but I did eventually see the Grinch. My wife loved it so I watched it with her.
This being a Friday and Will’s 5th show, that tells me he recorded all 5 in one day and was likely mentally pooped today.
DD #1: that was pretty darned easy, and I was shocked to see Will not get it. #2: I said Ye Olde Curiosity Shop which I hope was acceptable since they didn’t ask for an exact title. I went to the one in London long ago but that’s not its name. #3: I figured it was Lake Erie which is closer to Niagara Falls.
Guessed the country of Sulawesi. Thought for sure someone would get Eastwood’s classic line.
I was wondering if they would have accepted my Dirty Harry response. I put the word ‘punk’ in vetween the right two phrases!
I only viewed part of today’s game due to an interruption. Anyways, that $5 DD wager of Will’s had to be the lowest that I’ve seen in years. However, that turned out to be a good bet regardless. The FJ had stumped me, but as for the Rudolph The Red Nose Reindeer song, Gene Autry was actually the one who created and marketed it (he must have sold millions of those 78 RPM records back then).
Actually, Rick, it was Johnny Marks’ brother-in-law, Robert May, who created Rudolph in 1939 in a Montgomery Ward booklet for children. Johnny Marks adapted it to music 10 years later and Gene Autry’s recording made the song famous. Gene Autry wrote “Here Comes Santa Claus”
Well VJ, then this begs the question as to how Gene Autry managed to obtain the rights for the song. Perhaps Gene modified the original lyrics so as to skirt around the copyright? What I do remember was that Gene didn’t like the song to begin with, but his wife encouraged him on. Anyways, it was Gene Autry who was ultimately credited with the song. In fact, I’m sure that he must have sold plenty of gold records with that No. 1 hit.
Hmmmm………………I just ordered an original 10″ 78RPM shellac record of Gene’s 1949 hit. Well, I sure enjoyed the song when I was a kid, and even adults can appreciate it. In fact, I’ll play the record on my 1963 Zenith AM/FM/PHONO Stereophonic wood floor console. Yes, that wood floor console is an all tube model, and just the right medium for a record of that era.
Rick, I’m not disputing that Gene Autry made a bundle, I’m just saying he didn’t get a songwriting credit for Rudolph. When you get the record, you’ll see for yourself that the songwriting credit goes to Johnny Marks (“J. Marks”) and the vocals credit goes to Gene Autry.
According to Christmas Made These People Very Rich, Marks’ estate continues to receive royalties from the many Christmas songs he wrote.
Your Marks-manship is of the highest caliber.
That ends the regular play games in 2025. We are likely to see Will again in the 2027 postseason but Trey will be back after the postseason run likely in February to defend his title. Second Chance begins on Monday.