30 Helens

Very busy week for me, so I had to do the week’s worth of shows in a marathon run. Now I know how the contestants feel (not really, from the comfort of my couch) because my brain was damn near fried by the end. So maybe not surprisingly, I ended up with a whopping 0/5 (no *). And I can’t even blame it on New Year’s drinking! I should have at least gotten pantomime because, like secnarf above, I thought of “mime”. I was kicking myself after, because “pan” should have been the easy part. Hispaniola also should have been a gimme, but nobody told me Grant smoked cigars. And what do I know about moons? I can’t even keep track of geography here on earth! I expect everyone has left the party by now, so I’ll just bring a broom to sweep up the crumbs. Hopefully someone left a donut for me on one of the tables. 😉

I was hoping someone would invite him to be a Jeopardy contestant some day, so his mom could make fun of him.

Just finished watching the series on Peacock. As I had never seen it in its original run, it was all new to me.i would love to get into in-depth analysis, but here are some initial impressions. 1. Early seasons are the best. This will come as a surprise to no one. The constant cast turnover was disappointing, especially with the female leads. Melissa Leo gone… why? Michelle Forbes… great addition, but also gone too soon… why? It was clear the network wanted to attract younger viewers, because the cast also skewed younger each year. Some additions I didn’t mind (Kellerman, before he became a one-note vigilante), others were pointless (Ballard). But the overall move from gritty to pretty as the show shifted into procedural mode was not great. 2. The second version of the opening credits were too cheesy. “fingerprints! Suspects! Evidence!”! Yeah, we get it. It’s a cop show. 3. I started watching after Andre Braugher died, so part of the appeal was seeing baby Andre in a role that he commandeered despite his youth. I knew him from Glory, from Men of a Certain Age (a wonderful show that ended way too soon and I’m still mad about it) and from Brooklyn 99. I thought he was great in all these roles, but seeing him as Frank Pembleton added a new layer to my appreciation. Subway, in particular, was an amazing episode. 4. I’m kind of torn by the posthumous movie. While it was nice to see the return of so many exiled cast members, I thought the series had a good wrap up before that. The “evolution“ of Tim Bayliss from wide-eyed idealist to cynical killer was sad, but earned. Seeing him walk down the alley with his demons was a fitting end to the series. The movie didn’t negate that, exactly, but it did strip away some of the substance. Deficiencies aside, this was an awesome 7 seasons of television and I’m glad I got the chance to see it.

I’m not sure what you mean. Because Pooh’s head is delicious, whether or not you want to add a little hunny.

2/5. Smokey the Bear (yeah, I said it!) and Saturday Night Fever. Ha, ha, ha, ha, me and Smokey are stayin’ alive, stayin’ alive. They may not prevent forest fires, but I’ll bring some bear cookies anyway. l

I got all the Simpsons. I may not have watched the show in 20 years, but it’s burned into my brain. Instaget FJ. “Catch the Fever!” Ken congratulating Laura on “Stayin’ Alive”: Dad joke of the night. He does those so well.

“Smokey the Bear” seems to be common parlance. I only recently learned that “Smokey Bear” was the official name, and I’m guessing most of America still hasn’t gotten the message. So I’m not surprised Jeopardy judges would accept both versions. I still think Smokey THE Bear sounds better, so I may be a little prejudiced. I think “Department Store Santa” is a specific sub genre of Santas, so I have no problem with that. But maybe I’m just saying that because that’s what I said. For FJ, I was focusing on the East coast and never thought of Memphis, even though I’ve driven through there several times and seen the big pyramid. But of course Andrew Jackson is from Tennessee, so when it was revealed (or, actually, when Mr. Helens put it forth), it was a bit of a groaner for me. Sigh. Maybe next time.

Yeah… it wasn’t exactly a current phrase when I was growing up, either, but it was still known. I was also surprised by the blank looks. My first thought for FJ was Uncle Sam, but I quickly traded that in for Smokey (the) Bear. Although I don’t know what his zip code would be. I think forest fire prevention is meant for everywhere? I’m a little puzzled by the champ’s profession. She’s a “manager”… of what? Seems so vague. And now I want someone else to come out with a career description of “worker”, or better yet, “managed”.

Ooh, did you pass over my house and see me waving? I was out there, I promise! I’m not sure what the Jeopardy schedule is for the next couple of days, but I’d like to take this opportunity to wish everyone on this board a very happy holiday season, no matter what you celebrate (even if it’s just a day off from work). Cheers!

Pizza pizza! That was a staple dining option for me, back in the ‘90s. Two pizzas meant dinner and lunch for days, on the cheap. A reasonable person might question how they could afford to sell two pizzas for, what was it, about $6? I never did, but my more sensible side forbade me to purchase any more once I started to earn a more respectable paycheck. Still have a little nostalgic love for the toga-wearing pizza guy, though, not gonna lie.

Ah, thank you. That is another movie I haven’t seen, and know only from clips. Clearly my brain was smushing the two movies together, grapefruit or no grapefruit! But I guess that just goes to prove, it doesn’t matter how you get there, as long as you get there.

2/5 Blanche and Rico. No time to post food because this site is giving me fits!

Not a great game for me, although I did get the two missed DDs of Mrs. Dalloway and Taoism. FJ was far from an instaget, but I eventully got there through process of elimination: “Little Caesar… Edward G. Robinson… he smushed a grapefruit in someone’s face… is there a grapefruit statute? Wait, what was the character’s name? Little… Little something. Rico. RICO! That’s it!” I’ve actually never seen the movie, just clips. But somehow that found its way into my deepest file drawers and I was able to dig it out.

I love you / You love me / Janky, Janky, let’s party! Oh, sorry. Wrong show.

Decent game for me. I got some TSs and ran both Poets and Writers categories. FJ, however, was a big fat “huh?” Team names change so often that I can’t even keep track of who’s playing now, much less back then. Welcome back to this hemisphere, @Browncoat! I hope you smuggled a penguin or two into your cabin to bring home.

Somebody better tell him that, because he’s already commented on the Jeopardy sub-Reddit for yesterday’s game! Nah, I don’t see why the show would care, as long as there are no posted spoilers about upcoming games.

Congratulations to the bitter jury, for meeting their obligation with minimal acrimony. Except for Kyle. BAD DOG, KYLE. BAD. DOG. As the questioning went on, I really thought Rachel was getting screwed. In my mind, she was the obvious winner, but the jury seemed to like Sam more, for reasons I don’t understand. I would have ranked Sue above him, for the simple fact that her age placed her at a significant disadvantage in terms of TC voting, and so the fact that she survived all that while even gaining an immunity necklace or two earned my respect, I can’t think of anything of note that Sam accomplished. He looked like a challenge beast, but he was not a challenge beast. Or a strategic player. He just existed. I kind of wanted to see Sue in the fire-making challenge, just so she could cement her legacy as the Soot Queen (aka literal Cinderella). At least she cleaned her face for the finale. This was a really good season, with a worthy winner, I have a feeling we’ll be seeing Andy again, but I can’t be mad about that. I have a feeling we won’t be seeing Gabe again, and I can’t be mad about that, either. Everything works out in the end. In terms of the finale, I know Jeff has become attached to his immediate post-vote discussion for its “realness”, but I have to say that I miss the big arena show. Yes, there were drawbacks, like questions from 9-year-olds that ground everything to a halt, but I liked seeing the full cast, and how everyone looked with 3 too many coats of mascara. Both forums have their advantages, and I just wish they would do both. They certainly have the capability.

I thought this was an exceptionally difficult game, so congratulations @Achilles765, whether or not you won! You definitely did better than I did.

Woo hoo! I was saved by Blanche today. Or, more accurately, my knowledge of French. (Although, to be precise, “Blanche DuBois” does not mean White Woods. It means White of the Woods or White from the Woods.) Side note: Boise, Idaho was so named because it was wooded.

OK, I stand corrected. I really thought Oscar had a bench. But now that you mention it, a rock is much more appropriate. I guess that means that Dex will get his plaque on a fallen tree? A piece of driftwood? Really, anything stiff and arboreal would suffice.

So does Dex get a bench now? Or will they just scratch out Oscar’s name and update the existing one.

Oooh! How exciting! Can you at least tell us which podium you’re at so we know who to root for (or against)? Either way, please come back and share your experience. It’s always fun to get an insider’s perspective. And congratulations for making the show! That’s no small feat.

Well, it was Geography, so you know I had little to no hope. All I saw were a bunch of words I didn’t recognize, and that they were looking for a pair of mountains. Fingers crossed that tomorrow’s FJ is about Maya Angelou, or Margaret Mead. (😉 @possibilities) For some reason, when the contestants were introduced, Matt struck me as someone who looked like he could be a multi-day champion. Then he said “yeti cat” and it was all over.

1/5 Last week I was saved by Morticia, this week it was Marie. So I will bring some chocolate mousse— it’s to die for! (not really. It’s 100% radium-free.)

Mr. Helens thought of Hitchhiker’s Guide, but didn’t know the author. I’ve never read it, so all of your jokes are flying over my head. I guessed Kurt Vonnegut, just to say something. Or maybe they were in the marathon, too? It could be Antarctica’s version of running with the bulls. 😉