Roaster

Greg is quite low-key for such a good player and doesn't inspire the hackles that Alex J did, even though they have won a comparable number of games and money (not sute who has more).. Ah well, Celebrity Jeopardy may be a good break. I'm sure at least a few of the celebtrities will be good players and I hope nobody embarasses themselves.

Today's FJ was what I think of as a Quadruple Stumper - all three contestants missed it and so did I. Once Alex mentioned the place where the equipment was I got it. But I never would have got it based on the original clue. Who would think a room on a ship would be called a Shack?

The bar is supposed to be in Ferndale. MI, right next to Detroit. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferndale,_Michigan The Wikipedia article mentions the Undateable connection in the second paragraph. I don't know if there is any particular reason. If you are going to place your show in a particular geographic location (maybe they do that to make the characters seem more grounded), it's as good a place as any. It's good to have a show that isn't in NYC, Chicago, or Los Angeles for a change.

I'm liking the actress who plays Leslie on this show. She was unremarkable and underused on Rules of Engagement (at least, when I wated that show, which wasn't regularly). She's a straght character here in a bar full of comedians, and they need that.

The Nedist podcast recently featured the male cast members (minus D'Elia) http://nerdist.com/nerdist-podcast-undateable/

They announced a few contestants: Aaron Rogers - NFL quarterback and MVP Keving O'Leary - he's on the TV show Shark Tank Zachary Quinto - he plays a Vulcan in the movies, so he must be smart Ginger Zee - meteorologist on Good Morning America - TV meteorologists being a common face of science to the public

I've never heard about the Second Day Curse. But knowing Jeopardy fans, I'm sure someone somewhere has done a statistical analysis to show wehther or not there is a second-day curse.

So they are apparently keeping the lineup of contestants secret? (Except that it somehow leaked that Aaron Rogers is on with Kevin O’Leary from Shark Tank and former astronaut Mark Kelly.) Shows like Dancing With the Stars widely publicize their celebrities. I, too, will be interested to see how Rogers does. You have to be smart to play quarterback in the NFL, but being smart doesn't mean you'll be good at Jeopardy necessarily. There are some overlaps in desirable skills. The best Jeopardy players have short reaction times and can make decisions fast, like a good quarterback. But the amount of sheer knowledge of broad subjects is something NFL players may not necessarily have. My theory is that the best age for Jeopardy contestants is the early 30s, where you still have youthful reaction times but have accumulated enough knowledge. The peak age for quarterbacks is generally thought to be the early 30s, also. But, of course, we see many good Jeopardy players past age 50, so the analogy breaks down there. On the other hand, I see no reason to think actors would make good game show contestants.

THURSDAY The DD in the first round: I didn't know, but in the long pause, I guessed Venice. Alex had to guess it too. That's when I figured he would win again. The thing about Alex is: he's not a dominant player as we have seen before where the dominant players know all the answers right away. Alex is a very good player - above average for sure - but more importantly he plays intelligently. I know viewers hate board hopping, but it is a good strategy. He also rings in when he thinks he might know an answer even though it takes a couple seconds for him to come up with it. His DD wagers are also thought out well.

Oooh, Becky said "I'd like to make it a true daily double", a pet peeve of some around here. But she had the appearance that would make her a fan favorite had she won and stayed around. "Chapter titles in Moby Dick": Now there's a Jeopardy category. On FJ, I got epsilon, and then drew a blank.

Gutsy Daily Double bet today and it paid off for him (Alex). Gave him all sorts of breathing room, even if these runaways are kind of a bummer to watch. Too bad he missed FJ - we could have seen a monster payday.

Meh. If this show has any ambition to be more than a run-of-the-mill sitcom (and it probably doesn't), it needs to get past this stock storyline: Which male character is a jerk this week? Is it Danny? Is it Justin? Do they bring in a jerk-of-the-week? Last season jerks-of-the-week included Leslie's ex husband, Justin's father, and the neighbor who grew marijuana in his apartment. This episode: it's Candace's boyfriend. You can't build a show just around that. Is it going to be a comedy about a group of friends and their interactions and things they do together? I think so, but let's see some more depth in the friends (I sort of hate myself for being the kind of person who asks for more depth in sitcom characters, but I just did). Leslie has got to be more interesting than just a girl with nice hair who sits around the bar all day. And the guy with the glasses? I don't even know his name.

I laughed. Better than I remember from last season. Shelly had some good lines. Was surprised this show came back, but maybe it will turn into something decent.

Aren't all the Bachelors good looking? I'm not into guys, but they seem to me like the type that many (most?) women would go for. So do people want MORE cheap dates or FEWER? Seems like there are different opinions. I'd prefer more cheap dates. Focus on the people (as boring as they may be) and not on the scenery or spectacular locations. Group dates are pretty gimmicky and boring and you don't see the leads interact with anyone much, but I guess they are a way of getting a lot of contestants on screen. I'd prefer a smaller cast (maybe 10 women) and more 1-on-1s.

I just watched this episode on Hulu and was pleasantly surprised. I knew the gimmick going in, but it didn't bother me. (I;m so used to product placement on this show by now.) Clever and well executed episode.

I'd rather be married to one of Chris's sisters than to either Becca or Whitney. Did the show's production staff decorate that barn? It looked like a Disneyland barn, right down to the small tractor sitting outside and the bales of hay forming and entry lane.

Lot of crotch jokes in this episode.

Well I wouldn't have voted for MF to win the Emmy the past couple of years, but it is funny the reaction its winning provokes. And yes this is one of the best-acted shows on TV. Other actors in smaller casts and hour-long shows might get a better chance to shine, but the MF actors do awesome work inside their stereotypical rolles and limited screen time.

Here’s a question: is there any show on the Previously.tv forums that gets as much hate as Modern Family? Every episode we have people talking about how horrible this show is and how they are taking it off their weekly viewing list. This show is practically an affliction on both the TV landscape and American society at large. Plenty of TV shows – even episodic sitcoms – go downhill over the years. Plenty of shows stay on longer than they ”should”. But I wonder what these Modern Family haters are using for comparison, because as near as I can tell there are many worse shows on primetime network TV. Have the haters ever seen The Middle or Two and a Half Men or Last Man Standing or Mom? What about the much-beloved (not by me) How I Met Your Mother – which was almost universally agreed to have declined in quality over the years? Why do the characters have to be likeable? This show has indulged in stereotypes from Day One – the prissy gay guys, the loud Latin lady, the nerdy teenage girl, the pretty and dumb teenage girl., etc Stereotypes allow the writers to not flesh out characters – it’s an economic technique for story-telling they have used to shoehorn so many characters into a half-hour show. Maybe you got tired of the characters, but I don’t think the formula has changed that much over the years.

Another ballsy Daily Double play today! Under the new spoiler rules, I can't say more, but believe me, the way today's (Tuesday's) game ends is Jeopardy at its best.

The category on World Leader Anagrams - whatever it was - looked to be interesting. But then they made it too easy by giving you the country in every clue.

I'm actually liking Kimmel. He's providing some badly needed irreverence to this self-serious show.

I guessed Oklahoma, too. Then I kicked myself when they revealed tthe answer, which was obvious in hindsight.

What did she say? She voted for the black guy in the Happy Endings favorite character poll?

I liked it. Writer Danny Zuker trying something different.