Jeopardy Baby, Ooooh-ooh-oooooh (4 Viewers)

[Mrs. Rannous]

was I the only one who thought Bobby socks (Bobby soxers) was a 50s era (nascent rock n roll)? turns out wrong on all counts; 40s and Frank Sinatra.

No, you're not, but now that I think about it, it's saddle shoes and poodle skirts for rock n' roll and the '50s. But I also thought the Bobby socks went with the saddle shoes.

Me, too. Mr R had to look it up. Bobby socks came out in '44.

 

[BobbyLayne]

Strange game today. More lach trash (total value of wrong answers + triple stumpers) than correct answers. Both Elliott (defending champ) and Chuck post on r/jeopardy subreddit today.

Chuck here:

First: thanks to everyone for not being total jerks!

Second: we (as in the whole group there for taping that week) were unhappy with Elliott’s overturned answer on the DD. He said as we left he played very conservatively after.

Third: man was I annoyed at missing the KJV quote.

Fourth: it’s definitely a game of momentum. I did much better in DJ…until I got the DD art question. Totally threw me off, and if I had gotten the other DD first I probably get it right 8/10 times.

Once in a lifetime experience for sure.

Thanks for the support! Ken first ruled it correct but immediately caught himself and threw it to the judges. There was a ten minute stoppage where we had to face away from the stage while the judges furiously researched. Unfortunately for me, they couldn't find 'Baked Alaskan' as an accepted variation in any of their sources.

***************

Happy 4th everybody! Congratulations to Kate and Chuck for their great performances, especially our new champ!

I found the board particularly tough and they were both beating me on the buzzer consistently, so it was tough to even build a bankroll with the easier questions.

The correctly ruled 'Baked Alaska' Daily Double kind of killed any iota of momentum I might have had. There were actually two stoppages in this game -- that Daily Double and also the $800 Biblical Burial answer. Later in the game I turtled up big time because I just wanted to make it to Final Jeopardy. I usually nail Final Jeopardy from my couch, so it was disappointing to miss two games in a row. Couldn't even scrounge up a guess today.

Obviously I wish I had performed better in this game, but overall I had a blast and met a lot of really cool people!

 

[Mrs. Rannous]

Strange game today. More lach trash (total value of wrong answers + triple stumpers) than correct answers. Both Elliott (defending champ) and Chuck post on r/jeopardy subreddit today.

Chuck here:

First: thanks to everyone for not being total jerks!

Second: we (as in the whole group there for taping that week) were unhappy with Elliott’s overturned answer on the DD. He said as we left he played very conservatively after.

Third: man was I annoyed at missing the KJV quote.

Fourth: it’s definitely a game of momentum. I did much better in DJ…until I got the DD art question. Totally threw me off, and if I had gotten the other DD first I probably get it right 8/10 times.

Once in a lifetime experience for sure.

Thanks for the support! Ken first ruled it correct but immediately caught himself and threw it to the judges. There was a ten minute stoppage where we had to face away from the stage while the judges furiously researched. Unfortunately for me, they couldn't find 'Baked Alaskan' as an accepted variation in any of their sources.

***************

Happy 4th everybody! Congratulations to Kate and Chuck for their great performances, especially our new champ!

I found the board particularly tough and they were both beating me on the buzzer consistently, so it was tough to even build a bankroll with the easier questions.

The correctly ruled 'Baked Alaska' Daily Double kind of killed any iota of momentum I might have had. There were actually two stoppages in this game -- that Daily Double and also the $800 Biblical Burial answer. Later in the game I turtled up big time because I just wanted to make it to Final Jeopardy. I usually nail Final Jeopardy from my couch, so it was disappointing to miss two games in a row. Couldn't even scrounge up a guess today.

Obviously I wish I had performed better in this game, but overall I had a blast and met a lot of really cool people!

I don't see the problem with overturning "Baked Alaskan". No one cooked up a member of the citizenry.

 

[BobbyLayne]

Strange game today. More lach trash (total value of wrong answers + triple stumpers) than correct answers. Both Elliott (defending champ) and Chuck post on r/jeopardy subreddit today.

Chuck here:

First: thanks to everyone for not being total jerks!

Second: we (as in the whole group there for taping that week) were unhappy with Elliott’s overturned answer on the DD. He said as we left he played very conservatively after.

Third: man was I annoyed at missing the KJV quote.

Fourth: it’s definitely a game of momentum. I did much better in DJ…until I got the DD art question. Totally threw me off, and if I had gotten the other DD first I probably get it right 8/10 times.

Once in a lifetime experience for sure.

Thanks for the support! Ken first ruled it correct but immediately caught himself and threw it to the judges. There was a ten minute stoppage where we had to face away from the stage while the judges furiously researched. Unfortunately for me, they couldn't find 'Baked Alaskan' as an accepted variation in any of their sources.

***************

Happy 4th everybody! Congratulations to Kate and Chuck for their great performances, especially our new champ!

I found the board particularly tough and they were both beating me on the buzzer consistently, so it was tough to even build a bankroll with the easier questions.

The correctly ruled 'Baked Alaska' Daily Double kind of killed any iota of momentum I might have had. There were actually two stoppages in this game -- that Daily Double and also the $800 Biblical Burial answer. Later in the game I turtled up big time because I just wanted to make it to Final Jeopardy. I usually nail Final Jeopardy from my couch, so it was disappointing to miss two games in a row. Couldn't even scrounge up a guess today.

Obviously I wish I had performed better in this game, but overall I had a blast and met a lot of really cool people!

I don't see the problem with overturning "Baked Alaskan". No one cooked up a member of the citizenry.

They ruled correctly. Elliott agreed with them. Sherbert v Sherbet kind of thing; The judges actually told them they'd found multiple references to Baked Alaskan but it was "too colloquial."

Two players were ruled against - each took a full ten minutes, which we of course don't have any inkling of watching the edited production - and it threw both of them off, caused them to play with extreme caution, and as a result we end up with a disjointed, lopsided game that lacked any momentum.

I don't have a solution to that. We probably shouldn't start doing rulings based on the comfort and feelings of the competitors. Ideally competitors keep focused on the next clue, instead of mulling over what has previously happened. The show can't worry about how the contestants might be thrown off by a ruling—it's incumbent on the contestants to not let it jar them.

But....humans. Stuff happens. Too bad, I rather liked Elliott, his first game was superb.

 

[Leroy Hoard]

I only know a few classical pieces so I just went with one I knew. Lucky guess I guess.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

Ideally competitors keep focused on the next clue, instead of mulling over what has previously happened. The show can't worry about how the contestants might be thrown off by a ruling—it's incumbent on the contestants to not let it jar them.

Yep. You have to be mentally tough/resilient to do well. Some people get rattled by rulings, some get rattled just by being there with the lights and cameras. It's just part of the show.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

I only know a few classical pieces so I just went with one I knew. Lucky guess I guess.

The first thing I thought was "it can't be Four Seasons because that's not German." And lo and behold, someone guessed Four Seasons. I landed on the only group that I knew had to be German and I was right.

 

[Mrs. Rannous]

each took a full ten minutes, which we of course don't have any inkling of watching the edited production

I inkled. The cut and change of Ken's pace was clear to me. I think I may have watched too much of this stuff.

 

[BobbyLayne]

I only know a few classical pieces so I just went with one I knew. Lucky guess I guess.

The first thing I thought was "it can't be Four Seasons because that's not German." And lo and behold, someone guessed Four Seasons. I landed on the only group that I knew had to be German and I was right.

I got Tuesdays FJ but had no clue on Wednesdays (landlocked nation is the only country in the world to lie entirely above 4,000 feet.)

 

[Pip's Invitation]

I only know a few classical pieces so I just went with one I knew. Lucky guess I guess.

The first thing I thought was "it can't be Four Seasons because that's not German." And lo and behold, someone guessed Four Seasons. I landed on the only group that I knew had to be German and I was right.

I got Tuesdays FJ but had no clue on Wednesdays (landlocked nation is the only country in the world to lie entirely above 4,000 feet.)

I had no idea the elevation there was so high. I was trying to come up with a country near Kilimanjaro that was landlocked.

 

[Brunell4MVP]

Nailed FJ in 1 second. For no other reason than I knew it was landlocked and in the hills. Mrs Brunell was impressed. How do Jeopardy contestants know so little about math? Odd how confused they seemed about that category.

 

[Mrs. Rannous]

How do Jeopardy contestants know so little about math?

I'm betting they were all raised on that New Math crap. It doesn't really teach anything.

 

[Mr. Mojo]

I'm amazed that the defending champ who answered the really difficult Lesotho Final from Wednesday couldn't even put up a guess on the Thursday Final.
I mean guess Alice In wonderland, Peter Cottontail, Monty Python and The Holy Grail (wink, wink), guess something!

 

[zamboni]

I'm amazed that the defending champ who answered the really difficult Lesotho Final from Wednesday couldn't even put up a guess on the Thursday Final.
I mean guess Alice In wonderland, Peter Cottontail, Monty Python and The Holy Grail (wink, wink), guess something!

I thought Watership Down was one of the easier answers in awhile.

The biggest takeaway from yesterday is how the older lady on the right is a retired computer programmer. Seems like she pre-dated computers.

 

[Leroy Hoard]

The biggest takeaway from yesterday is how the older lady on the right is a retired computer programmer. Seems like she pre-dated computers

Rodney Dangerfield: "I bet you were really something before the Commodore 64".

 

[BobbyLayne]

I thought Watership Down was one of the easier answers in awhile.

Then came "What are horses?"

Alas, the sportswriter guessed Columbus gave us alligators.

 

[Leroy Hoard]

the sportswriter guessed Columbus gave us alligators.

The guy that was asleep for most of the game and woke up just in time to get out of the hole. And then he gave us gators.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

the sportswriter guessed Columbus gave us alligators.

The guy that was asleep for most of the game and woke up just in time to get out of the hole. And then he gave us gators.

He was pretty much inactive except for the country music category. Which may only have been because the other two didn't seem to care about it.

 

[BobbyLayne]

the sportswriter guessed Columbus gave us alligators.

The guy that was asleep for most of the game and woke up just in time to get out of the hole. And then he gave us gators.

He was pretty much inactive except for the country music category. Which may only have been because the other two didn't seem to care about it.

There was a 'hidden' sports category in the J! round that woke him up briefly. 15.79% (9/57) is a low buzzer rate, but 1-day champ Anji was even worse on Thursday at 10.53% (6/57.)

I don't pay super close attention to that stat unless someone is 45% + (as most super champs are) but that strikes me as two of the lowest % all year.

 

[Leroy Hoard]

Dumb me thought they only wanted one of the two answers on FJ.

 

[Snoopy]

The expert didn't know which baseball player has a surgery named after him?

 

[BobbyLayne]

Dumb me thought they only wanted one of the two answers on FJ.

haha the rare instaget for me - and I liked that it had two answers but I didn't have to figure out which one they wanted.

Spoiler: FJ clue

At the 1865 Paris art salon, the elder of these 2 men said if the younger were successful, it would be “because his name sounds like mine”

 

[BobbyLayne]

The expert didn't know which baseball player has a surgery named after him?

brutal

but I still loved the bet - go big or go home

 

[Mjolnirs]

The expert didn't know which baseball player has a surgery named after him?

brutal

but I still loved the bet - go big or go home

He just graduated med school, he probably felt he had to go big. I was surprised he didn't know, but he did say he was going into ENT.

 

[Runkle]

The expert didn't know which baseball player has a surgery named after him?

brutal

but I still loved the bet - go big or go home

He just graduated med school, he probably felt he had to go big. I was surprised he didn't know, but he did say he was going into ENT.

I'm surprised he thought Joe DiMaggio was a pitcher

 

[BobbyLayne]

The expert didn't know which baseball player has a surgery named after him?

brutal

but I still loved the bet - go big or go home

He just graduated med school, he probably felt he had to go big. I was surprised he didn't know, but he did say he was going into ENT.

I'm surprised he thought Joe DiMaggio was a pitcher

the whole category was straight medical knowledge, then the writers threw in the sports curveball for the DD

he went for a killshot - that was the right move

IMO they done him dirty

dude had two runaways and got 25 correct (3 incorrect) going down in flames In his 3rd game - he had the buzzer timing and the knowledge to make a run, but life's not fair sometimes



oh, and they all screwed up the FJ BUT that happens on the regular these days lol

 

[Mrs. Rannous]

oh, and they all screwed up the FJ BUT that happens on the regular these days lol

I gather you could hear me yellling at the TV, then.

 

[BobbyLayne]

oh, and they all screwed up the FJ BUT that happens on the regular these days lol

I gather you could hear me yellling at the TV, then.

from contestants dropping by r/jeopardy, i recently learned Final Jeopardy segment alone takes 15 minutes real time to tape. The contestants have scratch paper and generally get 12-14 minutes to contemplate strategy, complete the math and write down their bet.

 

[Mr. Mojo]

Dumb me thought they only wanted one of the two answers on FJ.

It could have been worded better. Just ask the 2 contestants.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

Dumb me thought they only wanted one of the two answers on FJ.

It could have been worded better. Just ask the 2 contestants.

Dumb me thought they were asking for a father/son combo and I couldn’t think of any French ones in the art world.

 

[Mr. Mojo]

Just a rant here, but I would really like an Olympics Final Jeopardy where it involves who actually won a medal.
They usually seem to be about which sport was added or who hosted or in the case last night, politics.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

Just a rant here, but I would really like an Olympics Final Jeopardy where it involves who actually won a medal.
They usually seem to be about which sport was added or who hosted or in the case last night, politics.

Most of their sports questions are pretty surface-level. Probably because a lot of contestants are bookworms who don't care about sports. Arthur Chu famously bet the minimum $5 every time he hit a DD in a sports category because he made no bones about having no interest in sports.

Just this week we had someone who mistook Yankee Stadium for Fenway Park.

 

[Snoopy]

Then there was the famous football category where no contestant even bothered to guess any of the answers.

 

[BobbyLayne]

Just a rant here, but I would really like an Olympics Final Jeopardy where it involves who actually won a medal.
They usually seem to be about which sport was added or who hosted or in the case last night, politics.

I thought Fj was clumsily worded, but got it bc LLWS uses the same awkward naming convention. Also, good friend is from that city.

 

[BobbyLayne]

Just a rant here, but I would really like an Olympics Final Jeopardy where it involves who actually won a medal.
They usually seem to be about which sport was added or who hosted or in the case last night, politics.

Most of their sports questions are pretty surface-level. Probably because a lot of contestants are bookworms who don't care about sports. Arthur Chu famously bet the minimum $5 every time he hit a DD in a sports category because he made no bones about having no interest in sports.

Just this week we had someone who mistook Yankee Stadium for Fenway Park.

I'm still a little peeved the recently minted M.D. got bamboozled by the writers hiding a sports question in the Stich category (the other four clues were all straightforward medical questions.)

 

[Runkle]

Dumb me thought they only wanted one of the two answers on FJ.

It could have been worded better. Just ask the 2 contestants.

Dumb me thought they were asking for a father/son combo and I couldn’t think of any French ones in the art world.

My mind kinda did the same thing, locked in on the Renoirs... Which I knew was wrong... But struggled to get off it and consider other options

 

[Snoopy]

My local station pre-emptied it yesterday, bit I just looked up the answer.

Spoiler: question

I knew China made the Olympic disallow the use of Taiwan and their flag and then use Taipei as their name.

 

[Mrs. Rannous]

Just this week we had someone who mistook Yankee Stadium for Fenway Park.

I reckon that person shouldn't show their face in either Boston or NYC. If you really know that little about sports, why ring in at all?

 

[Pip's Invitation]

Just this week we had someone who mistook Yankee Stadium for Fenway Park.

I reckon that person shouldn't show their face in either Boston or NYC. If you really know that little about sports, why ring in at all?

I suspect he read the clue wrong. It mentioned Babe Ruth's performance against the Red Sox in the stadium's first game. I would guess he saw "Red Sox" and reflexively answered "Fenway Park" without processing the entire clue. And he obviously didn't know that Yankee Stadium opened in 1923 (which is what the category was about) and Fenway opened earlier.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

Is it just me or does Justin look like Nerdy Woody Harrelson?

 

[BobbyLayne]

Just wanted to share Dennis's perspective on playing today (from r/Jeopardy)

Dennis, a biotech scientist from Half Moon Bay, California

Scores after the Jeopardy! Round:​

Dennis $9,400
Kathy $5,000
Ittai $4,000

Scores going into Final:​

Dennis $13,800
Ittai $13,500
Kathy $6,600

Statistics after Double Jeopardy:​

Dennis 16 correct 0 incorrect
Ittai 19 correct 6 incorrect
Kathy 10 correct 3 incorrect
Total number of unplayed clues this season: 41 (2 today).

11,200 Coryat, 16 correct, 0 incorrect, 25.93% in first on buzzer (14/54), 1/1 on rebound attempts (on 6 rebound opportunities)
1/1 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $3,200)
0/1 in Final Jeopardy

Hi everyone, Dennis here! I've been waiting for this day for a few months now and it's been surreal to finally watch this whole week's episodes. I guess it actually happened! Some thoughts (spoilers):

First, it was one of the most fun days that I've ever had! The entire cast and crew were so helpful and friendly and went out of their way to make us feel comfortable. And all of this week's contestants were wonderful people. In particular, Ittai and Kathy are fantastic people. In fact, first thing in the morning when I arrived in the parking garage, Kathy was actually the first person that I sat next to. She is a lovely person and immediately made me feel welcome.

So about the game. Everything is a blur, the games go both way faster than you think but also slower than you think (i.e., re-shoots). Although rehearsal is nice, that also goes by fast. You have to learn to focus on the clue (which is on the individual screen) but then also the activation lights and also get comfortable with your buzzer technique and timing. There's a lot of things to juggle in just a few seconds and it's hard to make big adjustments on the fly. So beforehand PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE!

Jeopardy Round:

• I was feeling good just from the adrenaline of being there.
• I had practiced beforehand to get used to jumping around categories so I was happy I found the Daily Double, and even happier to make it a true Daily Double! My son was proud.
• I'm also happy I got the kung pao chicken clue---my dad makes a mean kung pao chicken!
• I guess I'm also an out of the closet Swiftie now!

Interview: They make you prep a few stories beforehand, which is nerve wracking, but I think Ken liked this one? I do wish we had more time to interact with Ken during the day, but I understand why he has to keep his distance.

Double Jeopardy Round: Well...a few things started catching up to me:

• Lack of sleep. It turns out, being anxious and only getting 3 hours of sleep isn't ideal and the initial adrenaline rush was starting to fade. This was also the first game after lunch and a food coma was coming on.
• It was starting to sink in that this was real, so I started getting more nervous. My hands were starting to shake, which is why I was holding the buzzer cross-armed to steady them, which probably cost me some reaction time. I think I also became more hesitant on the buzzer to try and protect the lead---probably also why playing "prevent defense" in football is a bad idea. I should have taken more risks.
• This might not have been a nightmare board for me, but it was close and it certainly didn't have my favorite categories. For example, I know no Spanish and always struggle with religious categories, so those categories were brutal. Plus, the photo categories were annoying since you had to crane your head to the separate video monitor and then back to the clue.
• I'm disappointed I didn't get more of the Medicine clues, but my buzzer timing was too slow.
• But at least I got The Empire Strikes Back to the Future! I would watch that! Probably would be better than the sequels.
• But honestly, the biggest factor was that Ittai just caught fire on the buzzer! He really came alive in this round. I was checking J! Archive and while Ittai had a few more wrong answers, overall he was much more aggressive and it paid off.

Final Jeopardy: Okay, what can I say? I'm ready to accept all of the internet jeers. I knew if it wasn’t a runaway (and I wasn’t good enough and Ittai and Kathy were too good to make that happen), it would all come down to a single question. And I just blanked. After they revealed the category, during the break I mentally went through a list of famous ships...the Bounty, the Beagle, the Golden Hind (which later I found out was a Masters clue!), even the Arizona and the Missouri. I just had a total blank on the Maine. :cr‍y: The slogan is even Remember the Maine! I guess I didn't. Well, now I will never forget it for the rest of my life. I just had to write something down.

Anyway, while of course I would have preferred to have won, I’m glad it was competitive and I didn’t embarrass myself (maybe?). It was an incredible, once in a lifetime experience. And if I had to lose, at least I lost to some wonderful people. Stick around to see Ittai's next game, it's another good one!

 

[UOFI_316]

Just this week we had someone who mistook Yankee Stadium for Fenway Park.

I reckon that person shouldn't show their face in either Boston or NYC. If you really know that little about sports, why ring in at all?

I suspect he read the clue wrong. It mentioned Babe Ruth's performance against the Red Sox in the stadium's first game. I would guess he saw "Red Sox" and reflexively answered "Fenway Park" without processing the entire clue. And he obviously didn't know that Yankee Stadium opened in 1923 (which is what the category was about) and Fenway opened earlier.

I would think even non sports nerds would know "The House that Ruth Built", but over the last week there have been several questions that I thought were easy but got really bad guesses, like not even using the clue from the category name bad .

 

[BobbyLayne]

Damn. Daniel!

 

[Pip's Invitation]

Damn. Daniel!

We'll see how it goes but he seems to have Super Champion potential.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

Final Jeopardy: Okay, what can I say? I'm ready to accept all of the internet jeers. I knew if it wasn’t a runaway (and I wasn’t good enough and Ittai and Kathy were too good to make that happen), it would all come down to a single question. And I just blanked. After they revealed the category, during the break I mentally went through a list of famous ships...the Bounty, the Beagle, the Golden Hind (which later I found out was a Masters clue!), even the Arizona and the Missouri. I just had a total blank on the Maine. :cr‍y: The slogan is even Remember the Maine! I guess I didn't. Well, now I will never forget it for the rest of my life. I just had to write something down.

I know very little about warship names but as soon as the clue suggested it must have been sunk in 1898, I was like, oh, that has to be the Maine. I don't think I even knew that the Maine was a battleship. But 1898 = the Maine.

 

[BobbyLayne]

Damn. Daniel!

We'll see how it goes but he seems to have Super Champion potential.

yeah I've been guilty of crowning someone prematurely

but he looked the part - poised, easy demeanor, quick on the buzzer, breadth of knowledge

plus now Ken has a suit buddy

some might think well who cares about poise or personality but scroll up to read Dennis' experience. he was one and done despite going 16/16 - didn't ring in enough (trouble with timing) and missed FJ. even more impressive he had zero misses given the anxiety he was experiencing.

some people breeze in and don't let the lights or the crowd bother them, but I think it's far more common to be a bit overwhelmed. winning a game takes more than knowledge retrieval.

 

[BobbyLayne]

Damn. Daniel!

We'll see how it goes but he seems to have Super Champion potential.

You are not the guy. You’re not capable of being the guy. I had a guy, but now I don’t. You are not the guy.
Good on the buzzer - actually, he is great on the buzzer - but got very lucky 2x tonight. His opponents didn't take advantage of Daniel missing 8 Qs - both missed DDs in the Double Jeopardy round - and then he botched the FJ wager - needed more dollar to cover second place.

***************

After tonight, we're down to nine more episodes for Season 39. Andy from Jeopardy Fan had this nugget today:

Game show insider Randy West caused a stir yesterday when he posted to Facebook, “Jeopardy! is prepping the new season without writers, with the plan to reuse past A&Q material”. This morning, that sentence had been changed to “Jeopardy! is prepping the new season without writers, with options that include reusing past A&Q material.” (I do really enjoy how Facebook allows people to view the edit history.) My Thoughts from May 2 echo this: “I would highly recommend going back about five to ten years and memorizing as much of J! Archive as you can. During the last strike in 2008, there were instances where Jeopardy! would essentially lift past categories wholesale from about a decade earlier.”

 

[BobbyLayne]

What will you plan to do with your winnings?

The dream of seeing every suspension bridge in North America.

Well played game by all tonight. Alas, can be only one winner.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

What will you plan to do with your winnings?

The dream of seeing every suspension bridge in North America.

Well played game by all tonight. Alas, can be only one winner.

As much as I would have liked Daniel to go farther, he was beaten by someone who appears to be an excellent player as well.

 

[BobbyLayne]

What will you plan to do with your winnings?

The dream of seeing every suspension bridge in North America.

Well played game by all tonight. Alas, can be only one winner.

As much as I would have liked Daniel to go farther, he was beaten by someone who appears to be an excellent player as well.

for sure, 22 correct answers with 0 incorrect

third place didn't play badly but netted (-4000) off the two daily doubles she found in the DJ round