Since 1984, millions of television viewers in the United States tune into Jeopardy! on a daily basis. The half-hour game show, broadcast in syndication, sees three contestants providing questions to answers given by host Alex Trebek, in the unique "answer-and-question" format Jeopardy! is famous for. Categories range from science to literature, religion to history, language to entertainment. Pop culture makes up a good percentage of the clues in the various entertainment categories. And what makes for better pop culture clues than M*A*S*H (and television in general)?
Over the years, dozens of M*A*S*H clues have graced the Jeopardy! game board. As a big fan of Jeopardy! -- and M*A*S*H -- I always enjoy the occassional M*A*S*H clue. Here are some I have noticed. Contributions are welcome. And Jeopardy! fan site J! Archive lists clues going all the way back to the first season of the show, so be sure to check there to see plenty of other M*A*S*H clues from Jeopardy!.
Monday, April 9th, 2007 Edition
One of the Double Jeopardy categories was M*A*S*H and Alex Trebek clarified that the category was about the television series. Here are the clues:
- $400: "This seemingly clairivoyant company clerk was a big fan of Grape Nehi soda." One of the contestents correctly answered "Who is Radar?"
- $800: "Harry Morgan earned eight Emmy nominations as this Colonel, scoring a win in 1980." One of the contestents correctly answered "Who is Colonel Potter?"
- $1200: "After Trapper John was transferred stateside, this California-born major replaced him." Two contestents answered incorrectly, one guessing Major Winchester and the other answering Hawkeye! The correct answer is, of course, B.J. Hunnicutt.
- $1600: "Played by William Christopher, this chaplin was always raising money for Saint Theresa's orphanage." Nobody got it. Father Mulcahy is the chaplin in question.
After running through the first four questions in the category, the players moved on. The final $2000 clue was never asked. Time ran out and the buzzer sounded just as Alex Trebek was about to read out the clue. It would have been the final question of the Double Jeopardy round.
Thursday, June 7th, 2007 Edition
During the Jeopardy round, as part of the "TV Initials" category, the $800 clue was, "It's what the S stands for in M*A*S*H." The answer is surgical. One of the contestents said "squad" and got it wrong. Nobody else rang in.
Wednesday, June 13th, 2007 Edition
During the Jeopardy round, in the "Other Doctor McDreamys" category, the $400 clue, introduced by actor Brian Stokes Mitchell, was, "Before starring on Broadway, I spent eight years as Dr. "Jackpot" Jackson on this medical series, a spin-off of M*A*S*H." The answer is Trapper John, M.D. and nobody got it.
Wednesday, June 27th, 2007 Edition
During the Double Jeopardy round, in the "Longest Running Sitcom Actors" category, the $2000 clue was, "'M*A*S*H': Gary Burghoff, Larry Linville, Jamie Farr." The answer is Jamie Farr, who was with the series for all eleven seasons (although he was a supporting cast member for the first few seasons, as all M*A*S*H fans know). One contestant rang in with Gary Burghoff, which was incorrect. A second contestant rang in with Jamie Farr and got the cash.
Last updated July 24th, 2007