853fisher

15 triple stumpers today - 25% of clues! I can only imagine what pressure the players must be feeling, but I hope tomorrow's game feels a bit worthier of the occasion. I was disappointed. It's interesting you say this! I came across an article about Sears the other day and noticed that the way they present the name in their logo went from "Sears" to "SEARS" in 1984 back to "Sears" in 2004 and then to "sears" in 2010. I'm sure there are many other similar examples. You're right, not a single one. I thought maybe they'd've had a better chance to pick up on the theme had they played it sequentially, but they really shouldn't need that in ToC level play. I thought Ken gave them a strong hint at least twice, in the way he gave the correct answer, that should have gotten the wheels turning. Never mind the "we've given you the answer with only the vowels" conceit - after the clue given on the first incorrect response, I thought 3 of the other 4 were relatively straightforward as "what is the parliament of Japan / the country associated with Reichstag / the one associated with Ben Gurion?" I thought the Althing was definitely the toughest.

I forgot the other especially bad triple stumper: the clue asking for a Vice President with the hint that “her parents were civil rights activists.” Hmmmm…a Vice President described by “her.” I don’t know, Alexander Polk?

My apologies - I tried to shorten what I first wrote and may have ended up unclear. We were not in Chevy Chase, MD but on the outskirts of the Chevy Chase neighborhood in DC. It is unusual to use an address other than "Washington, DC," so I felt that the sudden appearance of "Chevy Chase, DC" in our marketing as our physical address was just silly in general and specifically trying too hard to associate ourselves with an "upscale" name. We were a solid school without gilding the lily in that way, and I was always turned off by the elitism of some of the other Catholic high schools in the area, so perhaps I was extra sensitive when I felt similar attitudes were creeping into ours.

Count me with those who were disappointed Hasan acted like such a jerk. I wouldn't call myself a huge fan, but I've seen him here and there and thought well of him generally, so I wanted him to do well. I can't imagine many who didn't know him before tonight will be running to check out his new special. Too bad. I agree, that was pretty bad! It did seem the map was on screen for only a short time before they switched to the photo of Justice O'Connor, for absolutely no reason, but still. It shouldn't've been rocket science. I did get Chevy Chase. There is also a Chevy Chase neighborhood in DC itself, bordering the MD suburb. After some renovations, my Catholic high school rebranded itself with an address in "Chevy Chase, DC," which I found very pretentious. It was, and I think still is, very uncommon for anyone to give an address in the city other than as just "Washington, DC." I was told this even led to problems with the mail from time to time. I'll never forget "Chevy Chase" and the silly putting-on-airs it represents to me!

I wasn't terribly fond of the clue about how Orson Welles "panicked the U.S." with the War of the Worlds broadcast. That's the popular legend, but more recent scholarship has shown it was wildly overblown - newspapers seized on isolated incidents of confused citizens calling the police and spun it into a mass panic in order to discredit radio as a trustworthy and judicious source. I would've preferred it if they'd added just a word or two to make clear that characterization is myth, not fact. He usually didn't. His two operas were "Treemonisha," which was never fully staged in his lifetime, and "Guest of Honor," as mentioned. Joplin took it on a national tour, during which the cash receipts were stolen. His possessions, including the opera's score, were impounded by the operator of a theatrical boarding house where he could no longer pay the rent, and he was never able to retrieve them. I know people who would do unspeakable things to get their hands on a copy, but it will likely never be found. It left a powerful impression on me - I can still remember the discussions we had about it and even the cover of my copy, although I can't quite recall what year it was. I hope they're still reading it in schools. Somebody is in my city - 38 copies are out now from all our branch libraries!

Someone cleverer than me on Reddit pointed out that there are €1 and €2 coins, which add up faster than American coins in common use. Even still, you're right - to make up $3500/€3500 (not quite 1:1 exchange rate, but close enough for this purpose), they need to collect about €2.50 for every minute of the day. Mamma Mia! Well said - I really remember very little about any of these players' earlier appearances, so I hadn't thought of it that way.

I'm not surprised that folks found Rowan a little much, and I can't blame anyone who felt that way, but I enjoyed seeing them today. The over-the-top-ness of it all reminded me of friends who have been a bit heightened in all things while expressing a new identity to the world. Usually they mellow out after a little while, but I'm sure a TV camera would have the opposite effect. I'd be lying if I said I didn't find their exuberance a bit bracing myself, but I guess I "got" why they might be acting that way, so I didn't mind so much. Perhaps I shouldn't presume to know what a stranger on TV could be thinking, but I was powerfully reminded of being out for lunch with someone who was addressed their new way by the server, and was a mile a minute the rest of the afternoon because it filled them with such esprit. So, yes, I'll count myself in their corner! But I'm really rooting for anyone / everyone - I like Sadie and Jack too. Any excuse to share Connie Francis records is fine by me! "Just one wish will be granted / one heart will wear a valentine..." I just love this one. I don't know that I'll be singing along, though - my cats wounded my pride by fleeing the room a few nights ago under similar circumstances. ;)

Especially after reading from those who attended tapings that they had several contestants and Ken do retakes if they said "tournament" instead of "competition," I was pretty surprised they left Alicia's "tourna- competition" in the final cut. Surely that draws even more attention to the word than the dance around it they've been doing? I've got no fu- darn idea!

Yes? You rang?

I did get the Carpathia, but I'm not able to give the name of any ship on this show without first thinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald. I really liked her blouse too. We should all be so lucky, to look that good on TV!

Someone on Reddit who attended this week's tapings mentioned that all onstage were told to avoid "tournament" - players were asked to retake their chats if they said it and Ken caught himself more than once. Officially it is just "Jeopardy Second Chance." I thought that was interesting. Perhaps they anticipated criticism along the lines of "it's not much of a tournament if it's structured this way." I can't really think why else.

I was disappointed nobody got Nina Simone today. She was really spectacular. "The Amazing Nina Simone" documentary made me appreciate her even more. There's never a bad time for "I Put a Spell on You." I think this was a day or two ago but I definitely got Kimberly-Clark. My dear friend's father spent years working for Scott Paper and, after they were acquired, retired from K-C. They had only good things to say about the company so I usually buy their products. I wonder what my younger self would say if he knew I'd grown up to be the kind of person who had brand loyalty for toilet tissue. ;) I wasn't really invested in any particular contestant, but I felt for James - he really seemed to choke. Oh well! Sic transit gloria jeopardi.

I think they missed a trick by not providing more on-air context for the contestants. Not every viewer has easy access to, or frankly interest in, the podcast or other sources beyond the broadcast. I know the program is pretty tightly timed, and Ken has so far at least alluded to most contestants' original games during the interviews, but I'm sure there's room for something more consistent. They're trying so hard to "make Jeopardy a sport," why not build a stat or two and some hype into a snappy intro for Johnny Gilbert to read? "His two True Daily Double wagers and impressive 25/60 correct responses left him just $1000 away from toppling superchamp Amy Schneider. Here for his second chance is John Smith." I think something like that right at the start would be great. From the producers' point of view, I think that would increase the audience's investment in the players. I remember hardly anyone in the tournament (not a criticism of them - just the reality of what I retain from daytime TV a year ago), so I find myself not really caring about their "second chance" more than any players' attempts generally. At least try to jog my memory a little, or evoke the emotions of what I don't remember. It feels like a wasted opportunity.

Ken has been on Pyramid and did quite well. Mayim has not, and neither has been on Password. (It's neither here nor there for J!, but I hope if Password is renewed it gets an order for more episodes or Jimmy Fallon steps back from being a player on every single one - nothing against him, but there are so many other people I would like to see do it!)

Nixon was running for VP in 1952 but his place on the ticket was in doubt after it was reported that he had used a fund established by private backers for campaign travel, political mailers, and so on. This was not illegal at the time but many perceived that the funders might expect favors. The RNC bought a half hour of television time for Nixon to defend himself, in an early example of the medium being used for a direct political appeal. Nixon emphasized that the fund had been used entirely for legitimate campaigning with no quid-pro-quo or benefit to him personally, but stated he had received one unrelated gift he would not return: Checkers the cocker spaniel, who had been sent to the Nixons by a Texas businessman after Pat mentioned on the radio that their daughters hoped to have a dog one day. Nixon had just been discussing his modest upbringing and lifestyle, and delivered a line about how he was proud that Pat wore "a good Republican cloth coat" rather than the mink those who found the fund inappropriate speculated she would buy with it. This segment was supposed to show that Nixon was a relatable, honest "man of the people." The whole production was a lot of emotion and not much substance, but it was received very well. And that's ... more than anyone thought they would read about the Nixons' dog today! ;)

I saw reports elsewhere that a handful of affiliate stations showed an episode from the "Daytime Jeopardy" rerun package instead of the correct new episode. I'd be disappointed if this happened - sorry!

That "Common Bonds" category played like the Pyramid. Interesting coincidence that came up on the same day the current host of ABC's Pyramid presented a category. Speaking of - that one was a bit heavy-handed for me. At least the promo is often for something ostensibly educational, like a documentary. IMO a football player's skincare line isn't really in the "spirit of Jeopardy!" It's not like Sony is hurting for money - they even have some extra pharma sponsorship for this tournament. The clues were actually pretty good - maybe even just one relatively lengthy plug for the product instead of two and I would have felt differently.

I'd like to think my position would be that the people in my life would know that's not me, and it wouldn't affect me at all if people I won't ever meet might think it was, but I realize that's pretty easy to say when there's no risk of anyone making a show about our family lives! I hope most people understand any show like this is an exaggeration / "inspired by" / etc. realBeverly's own Twitter bio starts "Smother of 3 Yenta professional guilter I could've been a lawyer Why won't my kids call more?" so it feels like she's leaning into the fictionalized depiction, hopefully understanding there's no ill intention even if it's all been heightened.

It's definitely attention-getting, isn't it? But "This Episode is Entirely a Work of Fiction LLC" is the cutesy name for one of the production companies involved with the show. I'm not sure who is behind them but they're new this season. I don't doubt realAdam may be unhappy with the direction of the show, and we know realBeverly is, but they probably signed away their life rights. I suspect the usual disclaimer has been in the credits all along.

I think it is named for the river in NH and MA, in case they do "New England Waterways" tomorrow.

I was so pleased with myself for coming up with Andrea Doria that I stopped thinking it through. Oops - I need to get over myself! (He was a nobleman in Genoa who died in 1560 - so only 338 years wrong on that part of the clue. Pretty close. 😋)

Add my name to the moussaka chorus from Friday. One of my great-grandfathers was born on the Greek island of Zante and came to the US at 18. When my father was a boy, he wanted to learn the recipes, the language, and so on. His grandfather had taken great pains to blend in and didn't want to discuss the old ways. Dad loved his family, almost all of whom are gone now, and I know he's always regretted that. Fortunately I think attitudes about the "melting pot" have changed, at least somewhat. On to today's show: was I having an equipment problem or was the audio for Roger Bennett's "Gods of Soccer" clue atrocious for others too? It sounded to me like cell phone video, not professional-grade. I'm very interested to see how far Cris will go. I don't really have any personal attachment to him but his gameplay is obviously very good. He seems often to have pulled away in the first quarter of the game - I could use a bit more suspense.

Maybe I'm giving all involved too much credit, but I think the Hoff-as-he-was wig is a bit of purposeful self-parody. I don't think it's the right idea to call Brea back from Brown - it leads to a sense of arrested development. I think Adam is by far the least interesting character right now. Barry is doing something somewhat different for a change - he's still a bit of a jackass, but he and Joanne are at least going somewhere. I still like the show, and actually it's grating less for me than it was last year. It's not anything I want to watch again, but it's a funny enough half hour, after ten years of investment.

My initial response was that parts of the episode did feel a little mean-spirited. Having sat with that for a minute, I think the discussion about the samurais' future prospects is key. One was going to the family hedge fund, the other wanted to be on SNL ... they were another group dipping in and out of these kids' lives and patting themselves on the back for it. I did think their presentation was pretty bad and I can understand why the people who have made long-term commitments to those kids didn't want to cut the dilettantes any slack. Is it "nice" to say they must be virgins or whatever? Not especially, but I get why they'd be fed up. The key to Jacob being accepted by the students, and able to be "corny" without losing respect, was that he had earned their trust, doofus or not. He will always be an outsider in a way, but I feel we are seeing him take more advice from the other teachers, who are sometimes "right" and sometimes "wrong," but he's listening to those who can give him a bit more insight. And that's crucial to him being a positive presence at the school and in these kids' lives. This is all a bit "stream of consciousness" on my part, but I appreciate that the show made me think about this. Not to get too personal, but I'm a white guy from a privileged background myself - I think the show definitely provides an opportunity for people like me to reflect a little if we are willing to do that.

Interesting FJ clue today, I thought. I got it about three seconds after the music ended - I'm giving myself the points. ;) My first thoughts were of East/West Germany but I moved past that because I couldn't think of a famous specific title for a guidebook. You all succeeded in making me hungry for donuts. My city makes it difficult for large chains to set up shop here, which I'm generally happy about, but I'd love some HOT NOW. Our only KK is in a tourist zone I don't like. We do have some nice creative independents, I realized recently that Twitter will let you go past the "log in or sign up" pop-up if you click "log in" and then just the X in the upper left corner to close the dialog box. Sometimes it pays to be the one who just clicks everything to see what happens!