Jeopardy! Season 37 (2020-2021)

[853fisher]

I'm not certain I ever finished the novel either, but I seem to recall that the Pequod crew wondered whether the whale had supernatural powers.  Perhaps Captain Ahab was calling those powers unto himself?  The connotations of the word may well just have changed too, as suggested earlier.  "Supernatural" definitely got me thinking about phantoms etc.

Anyway, congratulations to Leslie.  When was the last time we had a twist ending like that?  Perhaps today's boards will suit her better. or she'll have proven to herself that she can do it and will really go full steam ahead.  I picked up a few triple stumpers and cleared Crossword Clues.  I also got a kick out of "Who is fur-me?"  "Yes, Enrico Fehrrrrrmi."

Sorry to see T.J. go, of course.  Maybe for Christmas I will have someone make up our star charts or what have you so we can figure out the other ways Jupiter is making life difficult for us. 😉 One unexpected fringe benefit of my friend appearing was getting to see a great deal of camaraderie among the contestants.  I'd always wondered how things really are in the studio.

When I did a local station's quiz bowl, I thought it might be an opportunity to meet interesting new people, but I remember the three schools went to separate corners of the green room and just sort of mean-mugged each other in between reviewing our world capitals.  Now that I can put their names in context, I've been seeing some of his opponents and others from that tape date on social media exchanging not just niceties about the game but recipes, thoughtful comments on news articles, etc.  A little bonhomie can give one a little hope these days!

[Katy M]

I looked up the quote for anyone interested.

 

Quote

“Ahab had purposely sailed upon the present voyage with the one only and all-engrossing object of hunting the White Whale. Had any one of his old acquaintances on shore but half dreamed of what was lurking in him then, how soon would their aghast and righteous souls have wrenched the ship from such a fiendish man! They were bent on profitable cruises, the profit to be counted down in dollars from the mint. He was intent on an audacious, immitigable, and supernatural revenge.”
― Herman Melville, Moby-Dick or, the Whale

I think it was "supernatural" because any normal human being would just not be so obsessed. So, it's not natural.

Edited December 3, 2020 by Katy M

[saber5055]

2 hours ago, DrSpaceman73 said:

Directv dispute with the station so no jeopardy for me right now which sucks.  

Geez, welcome to my (sucky) world.

1 hour ago, Driad said:

In mythology etc., knowing someone's name gives you power over them, so a nameless monster would be more frightening. (A bit surprised Moby Dick had a name.)

Maybe the doc should have given his monster a name then. Guessing he did not know his mythology. Me, however, I know YOUR name is @Driad, so be afraid. Very afraid.

[saber5055]

Yeah, we know the quote is from the book (and posted over at TJF, thank you Andy) but obviously no one remembers that small sentence. How many here knew it was Moby Dick, raise your hand ... *crickets*  Plus it was an asterisk. So, a pretty obscure clue all the way around. But, good for you, Jeopardy writers. Nicely played.

[Mystery Author]

Happy belated birthday. Saber...

[illdoc]

3 hours ago, saber5055 said:

How many here knew it was Moby Dick, raise your hand

Me! I did! "Revenge" to me screamed "Capt Ahab". 

[saber5055]

Bless you're heart, @Mystery Author, your the BEST.

And it's so good to see you again, it's been like ... forever! Welcome back. Try sticking around for a while. We've missed you.

1 minute ago, illdoc said:

Me! I did! "Revenge" to me screamed "Capt Ahab". 

You have the honor of wearing the Smartest Pants in this thread! "Good for you." TM AT  Well done!

[zoey1996]

Our cable went out at 7:21 last night, and didn’t come back until 7 something this morning, so no FJ for us.  Also no Amazing Race, but I watched it on demand this afternoon.

Our cable is also our internet, and it didn’t work last night either.  Don’t like being without connectivity.

[ams1001]

I missed the first few minutes again (lost track of time) and I don't really remember how I did, generally (I may or may not have woken up from a nap 15 minutes before it started), but I did get FJ, so yay me.

[Katy M]

FJ was an instaget.

I got the TS of April 10th (guess), Buffalo, Salvation Army, biplane, anemia, and Pullman.

Edited December 4, 2020 by Katy M

[Browncoat]

I got Lincoln, but couldn't remember the other guy.  Oh well!  This is definitely not going to be my best week!

I did get dragon, biplane, anemia, and Pullman, though.

And no, we do not all want to be James Bond.

[SoMuchTV]

FRED! WHAT? COULDN’T QUITE HEAR YOU THERE!

[zoey1996]

I went to K-State in Manhattan KS freshman year lo these many years ago, so I was cheering for Fred.  Relieved that he got FJ, but on the other hand, another asterisk would have been nice, too.

[ams1001]

11 minutes ago, SoMuchTV said:

FRED! WHAT? COULDN’T QUITE HEAR YOU THERE!

HE WAS KINDA LOUD, WASN'T HE?

[shapeshifter]

I knew FJ Lincoln / Douglas only because a daughter went to college in Galesburg, and they made a big deal during the tour about Lincoln and Douglas climbing out of windows to enter the debate platform. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Main,_Knox_College#Lincoln-Douglas_debate

 

9 minutes ago, ams1001 said:

22 minutes ago, SoMuchTV said:

FRED! WHAT? COULDN’T QUITE HEAR YOU THERE!

HE WAS KINDA LOUD, WASN'T HE?

Not so much LOUD as annoyingly pitched and overly enthusiastic. 
But his smile seemed sincere. 

[ams1001]

1 minute ago, shapeshifter said:

Not so much LOUD as annoyingly pitched and overly enthusiastic. 
But his smile seemed sincere. 

I did like him otherwise. Though I was kinda rooting for the middle challenger (Morgan?).

[Halting Hex]

Morgan, sweetie, not only was 1858 a whole 23 years too early…

…not only did Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday fight on the same side…

…but I'm reasonably sure that "The Gunfight at the OK Corral" was not a best-of-seven event!  Given that "gunfights" tend to involve people filling each other with bullets until one side is pretty much dead.  You don't get a lot of sequels, honestly.  Sigh.

It was an insta-get for me, and IMO Fred is lucky he didn't pay for poor betting strategy.  The standard "2x+1" way to stay clear of a second-place challenger would have required him to bet $14,601 to avoid the chance of Leslie doubling up.  If his whole strategy was to assume she would fail, he'd have been better advised to bet $0.

As it was, had he gotten it wrong and Morgan doubled up, she would have won, with $10,000 to his $9999.  I don't understand his bet at all. 

Edited December 4, 2020 by Halting Hex
Because 1886 was not 1881, either. But still.

[GrannySmith]

FJ was an instaget. Stephen Douglas attended Canandaigua Academy. Probably our most famous graduate. 

[saber5055]

Well, I got all you guys beat. I live smack in the middle between two of those FJ towns, and have been to the third multiple times. The last dog show I went to before COVID-19 shut down was Freeport Kennel Club. And Galesburg is a great place to catch Amtrak to Chicago.

But my first thought was a duel, then I thought well, the duel wasn't that good if they had to redo it all those times. Then I thought, "Hey, you mean another state has a town named Galesburg?" Then I noticed Alton, and said, "Hey, that's a town in downstate Illinois." That's when my brain cells kicked in and I knew the state was Illinois (Hello! Duh!) and the people were Lincoln/Douglas. I was even more certain I was correct than I was certain Tuesday's FJ was the English Channel.

I also got some TSs but didn't care enough to make note of them.

In defense of the Wyatt Earp/Doc Holliday answer, the clue just said "these two men faced each other." And Wyatt and Doc faced each other a lot ... over Faro games, coffee, what have you. Wyatt/Doc was actually a pretty good wrong answer.

2 hours ago, ams1001 said:

I missed the first few minutes again

Opening sequence was AT with a Galapagos tortoise!

Edited December 4, 2020 by saber5055

[GreekGeek]

1 hour ago, shapeshifter said:

I knew FJ Lincoln / Douglas only because a daughter went to college in Galesburg, and they made a big deal during the tour about Lincoln and Douglas climbing out of windows to enter the debate platform. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Main,_Knox_College#Lincoln-Douglas_debate

 

Not so much LOUD as annoyingly pitched and overly enthusiastic. 
But his smile seemed sincere. 

Maybe someone will tell him nicely to dial it down.for tomorrow. I liked him though. He looked like a professor straight out of Central Casting. 

[ams1001]

29 minutes ago, saber5055 said:

But my first thought was a duel

Same here...

29 minutes ago, saber5055 said:

then I thought well, the duel wasn't that good if they had to redo it all those times.

...then I realized that made no sense.

[Bastet]

Other than his Niagara Falls answer, I never heard Fred as any louder than the others.  He just had a deliberate way of speaking.  And a bow tie, and I have a completely irrational aversion to anyone wearing a bow tie with anything other than a tuxedo.  But good for him.

Class was a truly stunning TS for me; Marx & Mao (so, in the most general terms, communism) = ___ struggle and not one of three J! contestants knows it's class?  Biplane, Pullman, and notwithstanding were also clues I was not expecting to stump them all, but that one was on an extra level.

I wouldn't have accepted Alaskan since the clue specified "this state".  I think reading comprehension/paying attention is part of the game's challenge.

I had only a so-so game, missing about half a dozen in each round, but I knew FJ instantly.

[853fisher]

Just in case anyone hasn't seen the "Slowly I Turned" sketch the Niagara Falls clue alluded to...  It's been done by so many performers going back to vaudeville days.  Here, it's Lucy with Phil Silvers (who played Sergeant Bilko, in case that ever comes up) on CBS's big season opening show in 1963.

I thought "gauge" in the $2000 box was very high.  "Pullman" maybe should've been up there.  I would have put "gauge" under $400 or maybe $800.  My best friend is a railfan and my father is rebuilding his father's model layout, so I have a lot of exposure, to be fair.  But I also see it regularly in mainstream news about public transit, for example, and many other places.  Maybe I am way off.

It was cool to see someone from Berkeley Rep, Morgan.  I don't know her (two in one week, can you imagine?) but I am looking forward to their '21-'22 season, if we can all get our stuff together around here.  I think I said this about another contestant earlier, but I know enough folks who are just the way Fred is, totally sincerely and genuinely, so they don't bother me.  The only times I really wanted to slip him some chamomile were "Niagara Falls" and "Rex Harrison."

The commentary above about Holliday and Earp really made me laugh!  I took from the little smiley face she drew that she knew it was a bit silly.  Honestly Grant and Lee having a confrontation in 1858, while chronologically closer, is no less obviously wrong, from where I stand, but it's much less funny.  If you can't come up with anything else, might as well make us laugh.

I did know the FJ answer immediately, although I couldn't've named the cities if given the topic.  I texted a friend, "they should dock $10 for lopping an 's' off of 'Douglass.'"  My first address after college was on Douglass, which was so frequently misspelled even by those who should have known better that I grew very precious about it.  Well, I thought it would be interesting to see the whole list of debate cities, so I looked him up.  And what do you know!  I Venmo'd my friend $10 and told him to buy a bottle of wine for putting up with me. 

Finally, so many remembrances of Alex talked about the way he built all the contestants up and wanted them to do their best.  I always loved disappointed Alex a bit.  "Yeah, I know, $2700. Leslie became champion not because she won $2700, but because that's what she had left."  Anyway, good luck in today's game!  It's all in the delivery.

Edited December 4, 2020 by 853fisher

[Cotypubby]

Going back to the previous show’s FJ, the “supernatural” bit had me thinking ghosts so I went with Jacob Marley. It wasn’t a bad guess really, that book was also written mid 19th century! Never would have thought of Moby Dick in a million years. 

[GreekGeek]

6 hours ago, 853fisher said:

Just in case anyone hasn't seen the "Slowly I Turned" sketch the Niagara Falls clue alluded to...  It's been done by so many performers going back to vaudeville days.  Here, it's Lucy with Phil Silvers (who played Sergeant Bilko, in case that ever comes up) on CBS's big season opening show in 1963.

Thank you! I actually had not seen that sketch before and I wondered what “Slowly I turned” had to do with Niagara Falls. I didn’t know the skit was that famous. But after watching, I still don’t think most people associate Niagara Falls with it. I thought the phrase would be better used in a clue about someone named Martha.

[Mindthinkr]

I ran the category of Health and medicine. As well I should have. Then I also got all three DDs (Buffalo, Beowulf, and anemia). I came up with Salvation Army, dragon, biplane, and Pullman as well. I was lost on FJ so I said Hatfield and McCoy. Yes, I know...lousy guess. 

[Good Queen Jane]

2 hours ago, GreekGeek said:

9 hours ago, 853fisher said:

Just in case anyone hasn't seen the "Slowly I Turned" sketch the Niagara Falls clue alluded to...  It's been done by so many performers going back to vaudeville days.  Here, it's Lucy with Phil Silvers (who played Sergeant Bilko, in case that ever comes up) on CBS's big season opening show in 1963.

Thank you! I actually had not seen that sketch before and I wondered what “Slowly I turned” had to do with Niagara Falls. I didn’t know the skit was that famous. But after watching, I still don’t think most people associate Niagara Falls with it. I thought the phrase would be better used in a clue about someone named Martha.

This sketch was a catch phrase in my family. We knew it from a Three Stooges episode. My father did a particularly funny version of it.  All anybody had to say was "Niagara Falls!"  and we would all join in. Gosh, this is bringing back wonderful childhood memories.

 

[Prevailing Wind]

I have a vague memory of Abbott & Costello doing it, but with Acapulco being the trigger word.

[MrAtoz]

"Slowly I Turned" has been done by almost everyone  who was ever in vaudeville.  There seem to be multiple versions.  "Niagara Falls" is the one I'm most familiar with--that's how the Three Stooges did it--but "Martha" as the trigger word is common as well.

The Three Stooges' version is an interesting variation in that first Moe, then Larry, then both of them together beat up Curly.

There are a couple of Abbott & Costello clips on YouTube as well.  The interesting thing there is that Costello usually did it with a guest performer, not with Abbott.

[Clanstarling]

15 hours ago, zoey1996 said:

Our cable went out at 7:21 last night, and didn’t come back until 7 something this morning, so no FJ for us.  Also no Amazing Race, but I watched it on demand this afternoon.

Our cable is also our internet, and it didn’t work last night either.  Don’t like being without connectivity.

We lost our cable and internet for 6 hours a month or so back - during the day. It is funny how accustomed you become to being connected (especially since we stream all of our "TV" - well, except for Jeopardy, we have an antenna for that. It was our priority when we decided to cut the cord.). Anyway...since I work remotely, we were very fortunate it was on a day I'd taken off. What a relief it was to get it back!

10 hours ago, 853fisher said:

Just in case anyone hasn't seen the "Slowly I Turned" sketch the Niagara Falls clue alluded to...  It's been done by so many performers going back to vaudeville days.  Here, it's Lucy with Phil Silvers (who played Sergeant Bilko, in case that ever comes up) on CBS's big season opening show in 1963.

thank you! I knew it was a joke of some sort, but couldn't place it at all. Mr Starling had never heard of it.

I misread the FJ date and almost said Lee and Grant. But once I realized when it was, Lincoln and Douglas came to mind immediately. So I couldn't make fun of Leslie's choice. The Earp and Hickok one, on the other hand, caused a great deal of amusement as we sat smugly on the couch.

Edited December 4, 2020 by Clanstarling

[Trey]

I don't think I've ever seen a "Martha" version of Slowly I Turned before.

I like Fred - can't say I noticed him being over loud.

I got the ts's of sighed/side, Buffalo - very odd that Nickel City would be a ts,  Salvation Army, biplane, anemia, and Pullman.

I knew FJ was Lincoln vs Somebody. but didn't know who Somebody was.  I also considered Grant and Lee but discarded that answer.

[MoreCoffeePlease]

I like Fred too. I'd rather have someone like him who speaks clearly, and maybe a little loudly, versus those folks who speak super-fast and don't enunciate.

[saber5055]

12 hours ago, 853fisher said:

I texted a friend, "they should dock $10 for lopping an 's' off of 'Douglass.'"  My first address after college was on Douglass, which was so frequently misspelled even by those who should have known better that I grew very precious about it.

Wrong Douglas/Douglass. Lincoln debated Stephen, not Frederick.

[853fisher]

12 minutes ago, saber5055 said:

Wrong Douglas/Douglass. Lincoln debated Stephen, not Frederick.

Indeed.  I'm sure it must be the street I lived on (which I think might have been named after Frederick, but that neighborhood is a void on a very interesting map of street name etymologies I found some time ago) and having read more about Frederick than Stephen that just got it stuck in my craw.  In general, Douglas seems far more common than Douglass.  I'm sure I won't forget now. 😉

[Bastet]

3 hours ago, Trey said:

I don't think I've ever seen a "Martha" version of Slowly I Turned before.

It was on I Love Lucy.

[853fisher]

55 minutes ago, Bastet said:

It was on I Love Lucy.

The same episode where she learns ballet!  What a treat.  Apparently another Abbott & Costello version I don't quite remember was "Pokomoko."  Not sure we will see that on the board soon, but just in case. 😉

[ABay]

Again I say someone on the clue-writing team is from Western New York. And I want to know who.

[HissyFit]

On 12/3/2020 at 2:19 PM, saber5055 said:

How many here knew it was Moby Dick, raise your hand ... 

Here! Captain Ahab was my early answer, and I stuck with it ... but I was second-guessing myself until the music ran out. 

[ams1001]

Another one with the one-square-one-round lens glasses.

"Mr. Napkins"! How cute is that? 😊

[Tabasco Cat]

On 11/30/2020 at 8:01 PM, M. Darcy said:

No one knew Schlemiel Schimazel!

This was explained to me years ago. A Schlemiel is the waiter who dumps a bowl of soup on a guy. A Schlimazel is the guy who gets the soup dumped ON him.

[shapeshifter]

40 minutes ago, ams1001 said:

"Mr. Napkins"! How cute is that? 😊

Adorbs! But I liked the person who won too. Too bad it wasn't a not-bow tie. 😉

 

2 hours ago, ABay said:

Again I say someone on the clue-writing team is from Western New York. And I want to know who.

Heh, I knew that one *only* because I just signed a lease on a house 300 feet from Lake Ontario. (I'm moving from Chicago to be near my daughter.)

[Browncoat]

46 minutes ago, ams1001 said:

Another one with the one-square-one-round lens glasses.

"Mr. Napkins"! How cute is that? 😊

Very cute!  He just really needed to stop swaying so much.

Missed FJ again.  I knew what they were going for, but the name just wouldn't come to my brain. 

I did get Emma Watson, canny, Champlain, Mackinac, and 100 Years War.  That last was a total guess -- it's my go-to war for that general time period.

[ams1001]

3 minutes ago, Browncoat said:

I did get Emma Watson

I couldn't come up with her name. Pictured her in Little Women, but just kept thinking "Hermione!" and her real name wasn't coming.

[secnarf]

I also immediately thought of Cyprus, then Malta, then spent the rest of the time debating between the two. I did settle on the correct one, though, based on the logic that Berbers are more North-Western Africa, and Malta is further west than Cyprus 🤷‍♀️

[Tabasco Cat]

On 12/2/2020 at 7:13 PM, ams1001 said:

I just noticed that one of the lenses in TJ's glasses is round, and the other is square.

Whoa. And they let this guy near children? Whatever, he missed 2 easy answers about New York and lakes so I was glad to see him lose.

[Bastet]

Oh dear, two bow ties!

I can't believe no one even guessed the Constitution.  No one knowing the meaning of homo sapiens also surprised me.  Canny was a bit surprising as a TS, too, but I bet if they'd had more time - or been on their couch instead of on the stage - at least one contestant would have come up with it.

I didn't know any of the duets in DJ, and just kept on stinking up the joint - I probably missed half.  Just a horrible round for me, which wiped out the fact I'd only missed a few in the first round.  And then I didn't get FJ, either.

[nuraman00]

I noticed Ken Jennings was the "consulting producer" during the end credits in several recent episodes.

 

However, I didn't see his name on December 2nd or 3rd.

 

What happened?

 

Has anyone noticed any specific impact Jennings has had?

 

I also read this, about his title:

 

https://deadline.com/video/jeopardy-ken-jennings-season-37/

[nuraman00]

We've had a few rare occurrences during the past week or so.

 

* Daily Double as the first item.

* Daily Double as the $200 clue (same as above)

* Person in 3rd place heading into Final Jeopardy, winning.

* All 3 contestants getting Final Jeopardy wrong.

 

Questions:

 

* What's the record for most total clues a person has answered correctly, during an episode?

* Has anyone ever answered every question during a Jeopardy or Double Jeopardy round correctly?

I just read about the tiebreaker rules:

 

https://ew.com/tv/2018/03/02/jeopardy-tiebreaker/

 

When was the last time there was a 2 way tiebreaker?

 

Has there ever been a 3 way tiebreaker?

 

 

[ams1001]

39 minutes ago, nuraman00 said:

Has there ever been a 3 way tiebreaker?

"A three-way tie for first place has only occurred once on the Trebek version, on March 16, 2007, when Scott Weiss, Jamey Kirby, and Anders Martinson all ended the game with $16,000." (from the Jeopardy wikipedia page)

I couldn't find an answer to the most correct responses in a game but Ken Jennings "holds the record for the highest average correct responses per game in Jeopardy! history (for those contestants with at least 300 correct responses) with 35.9 during his original run (no other contestant has exceeded 30) and 33.1 overall including tournaments and special events." (from Ken's wikipedia page)

 

[Prevailing Wind]

I'm one of the  Cyprus/Malta wafflers. My waffle landed Cyprus side up. I don't think I've gotten a single FJ right this week (considering I slept through 60% of the shows, that's not as alarming as it seems.)

I like the bow-ties.  (I always hear "the bow-tie" said in Al Franken's voice as he portrayed Sen. Paul Simon on SNL.)

Is it me or did the lady seem awfully slow to pick a clue? 

I knew the Elias Howe/Sewing Machine/Dream answer - he was having a hard time with the needle. He dreamed he was surrounded by cannibals with spears. The spears all had holes in the spearhead. When he woke, he moved the eye of the sewing machine needle down near the point instead of up near the top, where a "hand" needle has its eye. VOILA!  His sewing machine finally worked.