Roaster

Robin Roberts is good at that kind of stuff, and many of the guest hosts were TV professionals and so good at interviewing and communicating on camera (even the much-maligned Levar Burton). I would be happy with Robin, but I never thought she was in serious contention for the job (even if she wanted it.) The guest host period was sort of a gimmick (much like Celebrity Jeopardy!) that the producers came up with to fill a gap after Alex died. I don't much care who gets the job, as long as it is not Ken Jennings. But it looks increasingly like it will be Ken Jennings. ;(

Today was an example of my favorite type of Final Jeopardy clue. I didn't know this bit of trivia (origin of that mineral name), but the 1969 in the clue and the mention that there were three names allowed me to figure it out before the music stopped. So I felt like I accomplished something. And that's a recipe for a good FJ clue. Also: Matt has now tied fan favorite Julia Collins' streak of 20 wins.

I was thinking the same thing towards the end of the first round, when there were only low value clues left. It seemed he did the same thing toward the end of last season. Maybe it's our imagination.

IBM's Watson computer was the greatest player of all time. A lot of people say they want the host to fade into the background. Nothing fades better than a faceless computer. Also Watson probably doesn't have any Twitter history that will bring him down.

Ugh! Will this host drama never end? Just pick somebody. No more celebrity guest hosts or former players. Don't let the viewing public believe they are witnessing auditions or that they have a vote in who gets the job.

I'm glad this show is back for a swan song, and I thought these episodes were good, but I wish they hadn't resorted to stoner humor with Rosa. Stoner humor went out in the 80s if you ask me, and it was always sort of cheap.

I noticed that and I was surprised they gave it to her. On the other hand I was hoping for a close game so I was glad they did. In the movie they pronounced it T'Challa. How the comic book creators intended it, I don't know. That category got me thinking about Boseman. He was in some bad movies before striking pay dirt with Black Panther, which was not only one of the best MCU movies, but one for which he was perfectly cast. Shame that he died as his career was starting to take off.

All right! Nicolle came in with a smile on her face and a fast finger on the buzzer and proved herself a worthy contender. I looked up the raw results on the Jeopardy Archive. Matt got 24 responses right and 2 wrong. Nicolle got 22 right and 2 wrong. Unfortunately one of her wrongs was the Lost Tribes of Israel daily double. (I didn't come with it either.) Meanwhile Matt successfully executed a true Daily Double in DJ when he needed to. More evidence that he is one of the best players ever.

Richards should end every episode with "Help control the pet population. Have your pets spayed or neutered."

Thank you to Ruth for her large Daily Double wager and making today a game.

For such a great player, Matt seems to have a lot of problems with Final Jeopardys.

After Mike & Mayim have worn out their welcome, who will be the next permanent host? I saw this on another website (not my idea), but it is a good idea: Jimmy McGuire. He's part of the Jeopardy! family, knows the game and show inside out, and is comfortable on camera. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAYSQuSqleU

He was fine. All of them were fine. I'm starting to wish Jeopardy! had never done this guest host program as it invites viewers to judge the hosts, even the ones who did not want the job. Just name a new host and move on.

Wednesday: Before FJ I was hoping Matt would wage $40,000 so I could see an $80,000 payday. I'm a little surprised all three contestants missed FJ. German was the first thing that came to my mind. I suppose Dutch was a plausible guess, but not French.

Today was a good game even if it did end up being a runaway. Was Christina the toughest opponent Matt has faced? In the first round it was looking that way. All three contestants won true Daily Doubles. FJ - The July 4 reference made me think it was a country that gained independence from the US. 1946, Asia - it was obvious.

The Ken Jennings period went on too long. The only person on that list I really don't want to get the job is Ken Jennings. (I know a lot of people around here like him.) But realistically, people with jobs (Aaron Roger, Savannah Guthrie) aren't going to get it. And my preference remains: someone we don't know right now and who didn't guest host. Not a celebrity. A show business (and game show) professional, maybe who has done work in local markets or under the radar on syndicated shows. Let that person grow into the role, even if the fans object at first. (No matter who they pick, a portion of the fanbase will object.)

From what I read (in the media), the next season of Jeopardy! starts six weeks from Monday. They must be taping shows already. Yet I can't find anything (in the media) about who the new host is. They are apparently doing a good job keeping it a secret. J! is always good about keeping who wins games confidential before they air so I guess the producers have experience at clamping down on news they don't want to leak.

Nah, I remember people trying to visit all MLB parks years ago. It's structured tourism, I guess - sends you to most of the big cities throughout the country (and Toronto). Not a bad idea if you have the time and money to travel.

Comedy and Sports - that's a good FJ category. Let's see that more often. Levar seemed to think the clue "Black History Month" was funny, but I don't know why.

That didn't know Peter Sellers? 74,000 payday for Matt. And Reading is Fundamental

I always wondered if they would accept "Could it be ?" Like "Could it be The Tempest?" or "Is it The Tempest" But maybe not, because the answer to those questions are yes/no, not the wording they have in the clue.

Is Levar destined to have Matt in every game he hosts? I normally don't mind multi-game winners, but today Matt had over $12000 before the first commercial break. Takes away any horse-race element of the game. I did get FJ - Shakespeare, a sinking. The Tempest.

It's past 7 PM Eastern... Stephen Hawking - an avowed atheist whose ashes are interred at a church (Westminster Abbey). Nevertheless. that was a pretty easy FJ. (How many famous scientists died in 2018?) More impressive - Patrick finished Double Jeopardy with an astonishing score of -7400. I don't think I've ever seen anyone close to being that much in the hole. If you're going to lose, might as well flame out.

Even more unusual: of the six 200 clues, three were Triple Stumpers (I just looked it up on Jeopardy Archive). Only one other TS in the first round. And in DJ, the Andrew Lloyd Webber TS was in the 400 clue row. (Even I got that one, and that is not a good category for me.) These contestants were better at the harder questions, it seems.

As soon as I saw the FJ category was African Monarchs, I said "Haile Selassie". Robin was really excited that the winner got over $40,000. Alex used to love big paydays, too.