‘Jeopardy! The Greatest of All Time’ goes all in on comedy, but Ken Jennings has the last laugh

The three decorated champions gathered for “Jeopardy! The Greatest of All Time� must possess encyclopedic knowledge along with the nerves of a poker player and a gunslinger’s buzzer-finger. But who would’ve guessed after the third meeting of these game show masters that, of all things, “Jeopardy!� has also got jokes?

Sure, the big story is that Ken Jennings is now just one win from being crowned the “Jeopardy!� GOAT after Thursday night, which saw the former champion effectively seal his victory with a daring, all-in bet in Final Jeopardy in the first round. But what sent social media buzzing were the flashes of humor, including references to a recent generation-baiting meme, a Bernie Sanders tagline and, in an affront to those in the thrall of awards season, a helpless response from the former champions when confronted with Oscar trivia.

Below, a rundown of some of the key moments — or, as host Alex Trebek said at the close of the episode, “I’d like to welcome you to the ‘Jeopardy!’ comedy hour.�

No Oscar winners here

Sorry, Alfonso Cuaron and Ang Lee: None of the three brilliant “Jeopardy!� champions could name you as the two foreign-born winners of the Academy Award for directing to not also win best picture. But at least they had a laugh doing so. Though Holzhauer was unlikely to catch Jennings barring an exceptionally foolish bet on his part (more on that later), James offered a half-serious compliment to Trebek as he drew a blank.

“Who is the GHOST?� he wrote, followed by an explanation of the ‘greatest host of syndicated TV,’ whom he added was Alex Trebek. Although, lest this seem too pandering, Holzhauer included a scrawl where he started to write ‘Pat Sajak,’ who is the host of “Wheel of Fortune.� The normally high-rolling Holzhauer was clearly out of his comfort zone on the category anyway, having wagered only 908 points. “I wish you had risked more points,� Trebek playfully grumbled.

Rutter managed little more than deference to the night’s champ with his scrawled response of “Ken es el hombre,� and even Jennings could only get Lee correct. Sensing the mood, Jennings led into revealing his response by saying, “I’m going to do a tight five minutes on airline food.� Still, there was little drama as he risked only $1,200 on a category that revealed a unifying gap among the “Jeopardy!� champions, which may provide a measure of justification for those who don’t pay attention to the Oscars. Still, at least one big Hollywood name took no offense.

The all-in bet giveth, and it taketh away

As so often is the case, Thursday hinged upon nerve. Going all in on a Daily Double is something of the Vegas-based Holzhauer’s signature move, but Jennings pulled away in the early game with another big bet, this time on a political crisis involving South Carolina in the 1830s. “I don’t want to do that again,� Jennings said, and yet a short time later, he did exactly that. In Final Jeopardy, he doubled his winnings in with an answer on U.S. Political History, earning a high-five from Holzhauer.

Holzhauer would’ve needed some of that same magic to catch him, and seemed well on his way as he ran the board to a 5,000-point lead before a missed Daily Double answer on a garnet knocked him back to level with everyone at zero. In the next game, Brad Rutter found each Daily Double and effectively ended any drama. “You’re welcome,� Rutter joked to Jennings.

You want more laughs? ‘Jeopardy!’ has laughs

Never shy about dipping into more contemporary trivia, “Jeopardy!� showed it knows memes as well with a reference to “OK, Boomer,� the generation-dividing tagline that swept through social media earlier this year after the creation of a sweatshirt and a subsequent barrage of media hand-wringing.

In answering the clue, the quick-witted Jennings recognized a moment. “I get to say it to Alex!� he enthused before answering, “What is ‘OK, Boomer?’ � “Thank you,� the 79-year-old Trebek, whose age places him in the Silent Generation, replied dryly.

Elsewhere, Twitter also lit up in response to the neighboring position of a few categories in one of the games, which were titled “I Wrote� and “The Dam Bill,� a reference to a Bernie Sanders debate sound bite from last summer. What other surprises will “Jeopardy! GOAT� reveal when the champions reconvene Tuesday? Unless Holzhauer and Rutter rally, Jennings will be laughing all the way to his million-dollar prize.

The comedy kept coming after the episode aired on the East Coast as Holzhauer took to Twitter, but Jennings had the last laugh.