Roaster

FJ: The first thing that came to me was The Gutenberg Bible, but I thought: that can't be right. I've never heard of Cardinal Mazarin, and the Gutenberg Bible is what it's always called. I've never heard of the Mazarin Bible. But I couldn't think of anything else. So in the game I would have written "What is the Gutenberg Bible?" but I can't honestly say I knew it.

Tim got Emma. It was the first Daily Double.

Sounds super interesting. I don't get CNN, so I just hope I will eventually (within a year) get to see it.

Jen with an awesome $42K payday. She got all three DDs and had healthy wagers on the first two. She bet conservatively on the third DD and so did not get a runaway. And another reason it not a runaway is that Nikole accumulated $16K by the end of DJ without the help of any DDs, which is a good performance in itself. A well played game. For FJ, I guessed "A Mighty Fortress is Our God." Hey, I go to Catholic church. What do I know about Anglican hymns?

Diane Guerrero on Doom Patrol is making a play to be one of the most beautiful women ever on a TV series. Up there with Mary Tyler Moore in the 60s, Cheryl Ladd in the 70s, and Minka Kelly in the 2000s.

That's something I learned today! Learn stuff watching Jeopardy. I never really though about why it was called a rap sheet.

Episodes featuring everyone's favorite Finnish politician and diplomat, Minna Häkkinen, as played by Sally Phillips Helsinki - Season 2, Episode 5 Detroit - Season 3, Episode 6 Camp David - Season 5, Episode 8 Georgia - Season 6, Episode 3 Oslo - Season 7, Episode 6

Prussian blue, and when I think of a war that happened in 1870-71 I think of the Franco-Prussian War.

The video is now on Jeopardy!'s Youtube channel.

If I were ever to go on Jeopardy, in addition to state capitals, I would memorize the name Valentina Tereshkova. She seems to come up a lot over the years. All I could remember today was "Valentina".

Yeah, Emily was the best player this week so far. Will she win multiple games?

Emily's first DD was "coloratura". Not only did I not know that, I don't think I've ever heard of a coloratura. I learned something today! For FJ, several small counties occurred to me, including Lichtenstein. But I wasn't sure. They all missed The Monkey's Paw!

Happy Endings is on Netflix now. It's just as good as I remember it from 10 years ago. Holds up well. One of the best comedies of the past couple decades.

For FJ, I thought of Monroe Doctrine - two-word Nineteenth Century foreign policy - but the definition - to leave the parties to themselves in the hope others will do the same - is not exactly what I remember from school.

In related news, the second-best game show on TV - the Bachelor franchise - has no host anymore. This summer's Bachelor in Paradise will have a rotation of guest hosts including David Spade, Lil Jon, Tituss Burgess, and Lance Bass. With more to be announced. I am hoping Dr Oz gets in there somehow. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/bachelor-in-paradise-hosts-season-7-chris-harrison-exit-1234965422/

Well, today, the response "what is the Nile" got a BMS and the contestant was able to say Blue Nile and While Nile. A lot of triple stumpers today, but I thought it was a good game in that nobody looked bad and all contestants finished DJ with over 10,000. Verlinda did not answer anything incorrectly (per J! Archive) but she also did not get any of the daily doubles. In FJ I answered Vivian Leigh right away, although I suppose Olivia de Haviland and Jessica Tandy were good guesses.

USA Today's TV critic ranks the 9 guest hosts so far. She has Mike Richards number 1. https://www.msn.com/en-us/tv/news/the-best-and-worst-jeopardy-guest-hosts-from-mayim-bialik-to-buzzy-cohen/ar-BB1eUQnX A couple weeks ago (pre Mayim), the website denofgeek.com also rated Mike Richards the highest. https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/ranking-jeopardy-guest-hosts/

Sounds good to me. People seem to think the choice of a new host is really important, though. No matter who they pick some will grumble. None of the guests have bothered me much, but I don't want any of them to get the job full-time. And a new host every couple weeks keeps it all fresh. There must be a near infinite supply of ex-champions and celebrity fans who would love to do it for a couple weeks.

Yes, that occurred to me immediately when I saw the category. Do the writers have that century on their minds? I thought she said Ireland, too. Certainly not England. Mayim ruled her correct, but I was sure they would issue a judge's ruling at the next break and deduct points.

I actually got FJ today, somewhat to my surprise. And I have never read one word by Thomas Hobbes.

Somewhere, Alex Trebek is smiling today, although maybe with a touch of disappointment. The Postman Always Rings Twice clue referred to Albert Camus. Alex used to LOVE pronouncing Camus' name as only he could. Neither contestant Julia nor host Mayim used a French accent with enough gusto. Ditto FJ with the category 17th Century Frenchmen and the answer Richelieu, although again, nobody said Richelieu with strong enough French accent.

I tried to find some news on the internet, but could find nothing. Not even the stars or when they anticipate the show coming out. Maybe COVID caused a serious delay but you would think there would be some info in the public sphere.

Mayim Bialik did a promotional interview. Did you know Alex Trebek once did a guest shot on Blossom?

Jennifer struck me as one of the best Jeopardy players in the past few years. She won 8 games in December 2019. She didn't bet as big as Sam in the finals. In the two-game match, Sam found three daily doubles and bet everything in all three. Jennifer also found three daily doubles and bet everything on only one. There's more to the story than that, but wagering matters. Sam's win means the last 7 TOC champs have been between the ages of 30 and 35. Before that the winner was Vijay Blase, who appears to have been in his late 30s. The last woman to win was Celeste Dinucci in 2007. Per LinkedIn, she graduated college in the 80s so she was probably in her 40s when she won. Jeopardy's viewership skews older (from what I understand), but the very best players tend to be under 40. Jennifer had the potential to break the streak, but it wasn't to be.

When Jennifer found the Great Awakening daily double, she had $10,400. She only bet $2200. If she had bet it all, she would have finished the DJ round with over $27K. (Easy for me to say, I know). That would have forestalled Sam's runaway and forced Sam to bet something in FJ. And then, with $27K, if Jennifer had bet it all in FJ and got it right while Sam got FJ wrong, Jennifer would have won the whole shooting match. That's a lot of "ifs", but the point is that this two-game match was closer than the final score would suggest.