Ken Jennings

Ken Jennings is a game show contestant. He is most notable for his record-setting streak of 74 wins on Jeopardy!.

The streak
Before the 20th season premiere in 2003, champions had to retire after winning five games. To celebrate the show's 20th season, the producers changed that rule, allowing champions to continue playing until they were defeated.

On June 2, 2004, Ken Jennings's first episode aired. He won the game, and proceeded to win all the remaining games during that season. By the end of Season 20, Jennings had accumulated 38 wins. In the process, he broke the single-day winnings record with a $75,000 score in the final game of Season 20.

Jennings returned to begin Season 21. He proceeded to win 36 more games. After the November 29, 2004 show, he had won 74 games for a total of $2,520,700.

The downfall
During a summer taping, reports from audience members claimed that Jennings had lost during a Season 21 show, while trying for his 75th consecutive win. These rumors circulated as the summer and fall of 2004 progressed. However, due to the official forum's no-spoiler policy, the rumor became known as "That Which Must Not Be Mentioned."

The original date for Jennings's loss was November 9, 2004. However, the show tried to mitigate the effects of the spoiler. First, they dubbed out Johnny Gilbert's announcement of the number of games won during games 49 through 73. Second, the show interspersed special weeks into Jennings's run. But fans quickly adjusted, and it became known that "D-Day" would be November 30.

On November 26, a Georgia station accidentally aired the Final Jeopardy! round from Jennings's last show. Over the weekend, audio clips of that fateful Final Jeopardy! circulated over the internet.

On November 30, Ken Jennings led challenger Nancy Zerg by $14,400 to $10,000, ... and I'll finish this later.