JEOPARDY! fans are not over the moon with the game show over what many dubbed a factually inaccurate or, at the very least, debatable ruling.
On Monday night's episode, a judgment call in a "Solar System" category became the latest testy topic with viewers.
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The game saw Burbank, California's Isaac Hirsch notch his fourth win with $100,568 total.
In the Jeopardy! round, he selected the $800 "Solar System" clue.
It was, "In 1959 the Russian space probe Luna 3 took the first photos of this hidden hemisphere."
Isaac responded, "What is: The dark side of the moon?"
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Ken Jennings, 50, ruled, "Yeah, the far side, often called the dark side of the moon," accepting the alternate response.
However, as fans quickly pointed out, there is no so-called dark side of the moon.
"It's eternally out of view, never facing the Earth - which has earned it a misleading nickname, 'the dark side," according to The Atlantic.
'THE MOON DOESN'T HAVE A DARK SIDE'
Fans rocketed to social media, where many were bothered "dark side" was accepted even if Ken noted it was not the initially desired answer and a common misnomer.
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"The terminology 'dark side of the Moon' is misleading to the public. I will die on this hill," one Facebook user vented.
"No, Ken, the moon DOESN’T have a dark side. You’re no Alex, Ken," roared another.
"Tell that to Pink Floyd," joked a third, as a fourth defended, "That's how it's conventionally known."
A fifth said, "I’m OK with the judges because they (apparently) acknowledged common usage, even among some scientists. It is still grossly misleading."
A sixth defended the host who has been getting plenty of flack recently, "Ken doesn't make those decisions! It's a common synonym for far side of the moon. Hence acceptable. I think Ken is doing a wonderful job!! Kudo’s Ken."
WATERFALLS RULING GETS NO TLC
Last week, headline-making controversy ensued over a ruling in which a player was denied a response over a single letter.
Returning champ Kelly Proulx answered the $2,000 clue in the Double Jeopardy category "Waterfalls."
The clue was, “A Yosemite fall with a wispy ribbon of water that flutters in the air like a diaphanous cloth bears the name of this marital wear."
As fans may know, the one-day winner responded with, "What is Bridalveil Falls?"
Jeopardy! fans say contestant was 'robbed' in 'absurd' ruling on $2k clue she 'got correct'
Ken and the judges determined her answer was incorrect because of the "S".
"No, I'm sorry," Ken said. "It's actually Bridalveil Fall, so we couldn't take that. It is: 'What is a Bridalveil?'"
Fans were outraged at what they perceived as a nitpicky rule, and several took to social media to criticize the host.
"The category was 'Waterfalls'! What's wrong with 'Bridal Veil Falls'?" one irritated viewer wrote on X. "I screamed 'You B*****d' at the screen."
Another was "ready to individually fight the #Jeopardy judges for ruling 'Bridalveil Falls' wrong because of the extra "s" that was not germane to the clue."
“I typically give long and wide deference to the judges, but f–k the judges for that ruling. There is nothing pinning the clue to ‘fall,’ so she got the required information correct. That was positively disgusting," wrote a third over on Reddit.
“Yeesh that’s a brutal call on the last clue,” a fourth user wrote.
“That ruling was garbage,” a fifth bluntly wrote.
Another X user wrote, "@Jeopardy just cheated champion Kelly by not accepting Bridal Veil Falls because it's actually 'Fall'. "But they accepted 'larynx' for the larynx. Make it make sense."
As that last user noted, just two games earlier, the judges accepted the incorrect pronunciation of the larynx, which bothered viewers even then.
'VERY HARSH,' KEN ADMITS
In a post-game chat that didn't air on the show but was shared on the show's podcast, Ken apologized to Kelly.
"Sadly, 'Bridavail Falls' with the ‘S,’” he told her in the clip from the end of the episode.
“You know, it turned out no one knew [Final Jeopardy was] 'Mary Queen of Scotts,' so it didn’t matter.
"I’m glad it didn’t hinge on my very harsh ruling on the ‘S.'"
Because of the ruling, Isaac wound up with a runaway lead of $18,000, rendering Final Jeopardy inconsequential.
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In happier news, the game marked Isaac's first win; he's gone on quite a streak since and will go for win five on Tuesday's episode.
Jeopardy! airs at 7 pm ET - check your local listings.
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