Abstract

I didn't notice EJ's intro today, but the clip is making its way around Twitter. The wink, kiss, eyebrow lift, and grin combo was a bit much. He needed to save something for the next day in case he won (which he did). I don't care, I stand by my previous statement. Even if I am old enough to be his mom (a teen mom, mind you!). I was just on the Baja peninsula last month and everyone was referring to that area on the map as the Sea of Cortez. So I'm confused about that. I thought of Snafu for FJ, but figured that Jeopardy wouldn't use such a blatant reference to the f-bomb.

And I am enjoying every minute of it. I like my Jeopardy champs handsome, well-dressed, and smug as heck. I got FJ, but today I discovered that I know nothing about the Nobel prizes or rappers and I really need to study the periodic table. Interesting that Alex made a point of saying the game is more exciting when it's not a runaway.

I don't know if anyone cares about spoilers anymore (I've forgotten the last 2 days), but cute E.J. and his cheekbones win again.

Not that I know of, and Jeopardy doesn't release contestants' ages. Ben was in my audition group. So was Ellie from the Teacher Tournament.

Oh, I got "Bottom" because my kids used to have Shakespeare character finger puppets and guess which one was their absolute favorite!!

I said slide projector. Ugh. But I had a really good first two rounds. I thought my kid was the only person scared of butterflies, but apparently it's a thing. New champ is very good-looking. Nice cheekbones.

I wonder what Jennings' reaction was when he saw how the show turned out. He's a snarky guy (not to mention smart, duh) and one would think he would notice these things. Could the money really be that good for a GSN show? I didn't have him pegged for a guy who just really really wants to be on TV, but maybe I'm wrong.

My mom is visiting her sister (who is in her 80s and starting to suffer some cognitive decline). Mom texted me to say they were watching Jeopardy and my aunt really liked James and misses seeing him. So I'll have to make sure to let her know when ToC comes around.

I don't know how people end up on the show still doing that. They start drilling it into your head all the way from the audition how to call categories quickly and efficiently. I was semi-spoiled for FJ. There's a Jeopardy Blind Guesser account on Twitter that invites people to guess the FJ answer based only on the category. I saw someone's guess of Taj Mahal which planted the idea in my head, and when I saw the clue I just thought "of course."

Yeah, I am not a patient person. I played Millionaire on the in-flight entertainment on vacation, and was annoyed because I had to wait for the "final answer?" and dramatic music and lights between questions. Jeopardy: the beer chug-a-lug of game shows.

Not me. There have been some really fun competitive games on Jeopardy in the last week, and James is killing it on Twitter, so I'm well entertained. I get where you're coming from, though. When you get attached to a contestant, it's hard to see them leave. Hopefully you have his episodes saved on your DVR for a rewatch! (Speaking as someone who does NOT have my favorite contestant's episodes saved and I have to comb through YouTube clips.)

I'm watching the 2011 Tournament of Champions finals on Netflix, and Roger Craig just answered that same clue about the Chrysler building that we were discussing on Wednesday. (Nothing against him, because he seems like a nice guy, but wow it is nerve wracking to watch him because of how long he takes to answer. You think he isn't going to spit it out in time - and sometimes he doesn't. His ratio of wrong answers to right must be higher than most champs.)

I saw a pretty scathing review of the new show. I don't think I'll bother watching. I hate slow-paced game shows, that's why I was never a fan of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.

Taking my reply to media thread.

I have never seen or read Death of a Salesman, but I got FJ immediately as a Pavlovian guess. That was a really good game. We've seen several instances of all 3 players scoring really high in the last week. Martin seemed to be really fast on the buzzer. He's probably got another win or two in him at least.

The whole episode is there unless it got taken down sometime in the last couple of weeks.

@suebee12James' episode of The Chase is available on YouTube if nothing else.

Back on topic. New champ today, but sounds like it's going to be a good game with a decent payday.

Well, the James haters won't even see this, but here goes: James sent a birthday card to a fan who has leukemia, and a get-well card to a 94-year-old recently widowed woman who's been hospitalized herself. Both notes handwritten and very kind. And he and his wife just donated $40K to an organization that helps homeless teens. I don't WANT to put the guy on a pedestal, but dang. Plus he is absolutely killing it on Twitter. Some fan Tweeted that they wanted a Jennings/Holzhauer Presidential ticket in 2020. James immediately retweeted and added that the opposing party just announced a Rutter/Watson ticket. (Brad's response: "No deal. I suspect that Watson is trying to kill me even without being a heartbeat away from the presidency.") And then there is this: If you're not a Twitter person, it's worth the annoyance of having an account just to follow James, Ken Jennings, and Buzzy Cohen. They are all very entertaining. ETA: I just listened to the Pat McAfee show. Another great interview, especially about the various conversations with Jeopardy lawyers (to sum up: "James! Quit doing that!").

You're not off, exactly. He was the younger twin, and his mother's favorite. So in essence the baby of the family. Edited to add: Are all of you aware of this website? Trivia Trainer Jeopardy clues get fired at you right and left. Answer in your head or out loud, then when you click on the answer, tell the truth whether you got it right. The site will keep your score in the various categories so you know where your strengths and weaknesses are. I am addicted.

So, this radio morning show guy is hanging out in O'Brien's pub to watch the NBA playoffs, and makes a stink when they turn the game off. The manager or whoever comes out and explains to him that it's the most famous Pub Trivia event in America and he's surrounded by Jeopardy winners. So radio guy makes a swift recovery and lands a good interview with Brad Rutter. The story (pretty funny) and interview are here: Brad interviews Brad

What? Didn't they just have one? Or is time really going by that fast?

Brendan wins again.

I've got to be more careful when browsing for spoilers because I keep seeing FJ accidentally. I got Centrum. Clearly these contestants don't watch enough TV commercials.

Brendan seemed like a very congenial guy. I liked his anecdote. He didn't do anything annoying, he smiled pleasantly, he played great! I could get behind games like this with 3 high scores as a regular thing. I'm a little sorry to see Emma go, only because I want to hear more of her quirks. Visiting cities with O as the only vowel, working crosswords with her left hand - just so off-the-wall nerd. I was enjoying it.