What’s the next-best thing to new episodes of Jeopardy!? Old episodes of Jeopardy!, of course. Especially when those old episodes feature hot, young, mustachioed, permed Alex Trebek. The quiz show may be out of new episodes due to the coronavirus pandemic, but starting July 20, Jeopardy! will “open the vault for a four-week retrospective series.†In a statement, executive producer Mike Richards said, “I know our fans will love the nostalgia while still enjoying the game play. A lot has changed over the years — the set, the pace of the game … the mustache! — but the ability to play along is timeless.†According to the statement, producers “combed through nearly 8,000 episodes and have chosen 20 of the most compelling shows in the series’s history, many of which have not been seen since their first airing.â€
For the week of July 20–24, they’ll air the best of Jeopardy!’s first decade, including the series premiere, which aired September 10, 1984. For the week of July 27–31, it’s the best of Celebrity Jeopardy!, and for the final two weeks, there will be an encore presentation of the 2002 “Million Dollar Masters†tournament filmed at Radio City Music Hall. We’re jealous that there are people out there who get paid to watch 8,000 episodes of Jeopardy!, but we’ll settle for watching these curated 20.