I figure this must come up a lot, so there should be some sort of rule for it. I don’t mean whether the judges will accept a variation of an answer, but two distinctly different answers that are both correct.
Besides the Grateful Dead, Mickey and Billy are the Rhythmdevils (hey, what a good idea for a username) and have collaborated with a lot of other bands (e.g. the Dead and they’re playing for the Disco Biscuits at Gathering of the Vibes).
So, had someone used any one of their incarnations other than the Grateful Dead, would they have gotten the buzzer and told “sorry, that’s not the answer the judges were looking for” or are the judges quick with the Internet?
Numerous episodes have featured scoring corrections, where the judges find that a contestant’s answer (or question, whatever), though different from theirs, is acceptable.
If it’s a valid answer and matches the category, it’ll be accepted. Though sometimes this only happens after the response is initially considered wrong followed by the judges researching and reversing their decision, which is what I bet would happen here under your scenario.
And what you don’t see is that they sometimes stop the taping of the show for 10 minutes or so to research whether a borderline or questionable answer is acceptable. Then they edit out that part seamlessly so all you see is Alex saying, “We have a scoring change to announce…” Those always come after lengthy stops and discussion between the judges (which obviously neither the contestants nor the studio audience can hear).
If a correction is needed, it seems like they always try to do it after the next commercial, or when the next Daily Double is revealed. Those are natural breaks in the rhythm of the show, and you want everyone’s score correct so the person who finds the DD can wager appropriately.
Now that I think about it, the contestants always seem to put down their signaling devices when the Daily Doubles are found. I always figured that was kinda pointless; they’re gonna need them again in 15 seconds or so. Maybe the producers have them do that so they can edit the tape without a continuity error.
Some questions even have multiple possible intended answers, every so often someone will ring with a correct answer, and Alex will say “yes, or [other possible answer].”
According to what I was told when I had a Jeopardy! audition about ten years ago, it can sometimes be as long as half an hour of dead time that’s cut between when Alex asks the judges for a ruling and they give a response. At the time, I was told that there were three judges, two of whom referred to a collection of reference books and one of whom used the internet, and they were looking for multiple corroborating sources before they accepted or denied a response.
One that I remember (I think it was a Final Jeopardy) was asking for a talking animal from the Bible, with either the Serpent of Eden or Balaam’s Donkey being acceptable.
I’ve wondered this myself. I’m aware of judges researching and possibly changing their rulings, but how does such research get instigated? Are contestants allowed to protest rulings and request that the judges research further?
We only have about a gazillion members who have been on Jeopardy themselves and can likely answer this. Hopefully one of them will be along shortly.
