Jeopardy! Season 37 (2020-2021)

[Roaster]

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.

[Thalia]

Great final.  I'd have been happy with either a Veronica or Sam win (I never warmed up to Jennifer), and was touched by the way Sam appeared to tear up at the end.  

But to me, the biggest surprise of the entire tourney was how much I enjoyed Buzzy as host.  I was not a fan, but he's been great for the past two weeks.  At least IMHO.  

[ams1001]

J!: Wow! I ran two categories (Philharmonic Convergence and Classic Toys & Games), missed one in Imbiber's Lexicon, and missed 2 in the other three categories, for 77%. Got the DD (I gave the French) and the TS of Beethoven (thanks in part to TwoSet Violin on youtube who did a video for his birthday).

DJ: Ran 10 Letter Words, bombed Movies, and got two each in the other categories. No TS but I got both DDs. 43%

FJ: Did not get FJ, for a final score of 59%. Still my best game of the week. (Best game of the whole tournament was last Friday with 67%.)

Fun Fact: (Re William Tennent and the Great Awakening clue) I pass by the Old Tennent Church on my way to work! :)

Yay, Sam! He looked like he couldn't quite believe it.

Obligatory:

 

15 minutes ago, Thalia said:

But to me, the biggest surprise of the entire tourney was how much I enjoyed Buzzy as host.  I was not a fan, but he's been great for the past two weeks.  At least IMHO.  

I agree. I never disliked him, but I get why some people might. He's a bit quirky. He did great as host.

Edited May 28, 2021 by ams1001

[Katy M]

I said Austria because geography is not my thing, but I was trying to get around where Yugoslavia was.

The only TS I got was chaise.

I did pretty well in the first round and didn't do too badly in the second for a TOC.

[Browncoat]

I said Albania for FJ, and was not surprised when it was incorrect.  At least I'm in good company with Veronica.

The only TS I got was Joan Baez.  

Congrats to Sam, though I would have been happier if one of the women had won.

[M. Darcy]

Grr. In DC, they broke in during Double Jeopardy for a weather update. They had video of Jeopardy in the corner but without audio, it was impossible to tell what was happening.  They could have given us audio for FJ at least. 

[shapeshifter]

1 hour ago, Roaster said:

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).

I could tell by Jennifer's face that she was really sorry she hadn't bet more on the DD, but also that she knew it could have gone the other way.

Speaking of looks on faces, I ♥️loved♥️ the look on Sam's face. He was so totally overcome, that I was very glad he won and clapped for him. He really appreciated it (appreciated winning --not my clapping) and was so humble. I could tell Veronica and Jennifer appreciated his humility as well and they were able to clap sincerely for him.

And as a bonus, now the name of Kavanaugh has been redeemed!

Even though I'm pretty ignorant about classical music, something about "Emperor" in the TS $1000 clue made me guess Beethoven. But I really can't keep up at all with these champions. 

 

[ABay]

Tom Lehrer strikes again. There are at least different hypotenuses depending on where and when he sang Lobachevsky: Ingrid Bergman, Doris Day, and Brigitte Bardot.

[Bastet]

The episode is preempted here for NBA playoffs tonight, and I don't feel like waiting until 9:30, so I just checked the archive (I'll still watch later, to actually see the game play, but I went ahead and read all the clues):  Well, boo, but congratulations to Sam on a good championship.

The Joan Baez TS surprised me, that no one even guessed her - there aren't a ton of Joans to chose from.  Maybe they were thrown off by rock & roll, just associating her with folk music?  Anyway, I love her, so that TS bummed me out a little, too.

I ran geography, toys, imbiber's lexicon, and garbage in the first round.  I missed one in philharmonic, and one in "house" - the name of the house where Lincoln died, even though I've been there.

In DJ, though, I only ran nonfiction and Joans.  I missed three each in movies and 18th century, two in math, and one in 10-letter words.  Not bad for this ToC, though!

And I got FJ, which I believe means I wind up at 50% for correct FJs in the whole tournament.

[zoey1996]

1 hour ago, ABay said:

Tom Lehrer strikes again. There are at least different hypotenuses depending on where and when he sang Lobachevsky: Ingrid Bergman, Doris Day, and Brigitte Bardot.

What does this mean?

[GreekGeek]

13 minutes ago, zoey1996 said:

What does this mean?

According to the song, Hollywood made Lobachevski’s book into a movie called Eternal Triangle, “with Doris Day [or whoever] playing part of hypotenuse.” He pronounced it “hhhhhypotenuse.”

 I missed the show; sounds like a good one.

Edited May 29, 2021 by GreekGeek

[zoey1996]

10 minutes ago, GreekGeek said:

According to the song, Hollywood made Lobachevski’s book into a movie called Eternal Triangle, “with Doris Day [or whoever] playing part of hypotenuse.” He pronounced it “hhhhhypotenuse.”

Thanks, but what song? I must have missed a question.

eta, OK, I found the question, but I know nothing about the movie or song. 

 

Edited May 29, 2021 by zoey1996

[Mindthinkr]

Even though I ran a few categories (Toys, Imbibe) the only TS I got was Marion Davies and didn’t get FJ. 
I enjoyed the Tournament, and felt good for Sam winning even if I would have preferred one of the ladies winning. 

[Ailianna]

12 hours ago, Thalia said:

Great final.  I'd have been happy with either a Veronica or Sam win (I never warmed up to Jennifer), and was touched by the way Sam appeared to tear up at the end.  

But to me, the biggest surprise of the entire tourney was how much I enjoyed Buzzy as host.  I was not a fan, but he's been great for the past two weeks.  At least IMHO.  

I liked Sam and Veronica a lot going in, but Jennifer's very sincere and seemingly supportive gesture toward Sam when it was over made me a fan. It looked like she leaned over to say something encouraging to him during the first clapping, and whatever it was Sam nodded and stood upright again. I imagine it was something to let him know he had earned the win and deserved it. We won't ever know probably but that said to me that Jennifer is not only a gracious second-placer (it's really hard to call someone who made second in the TOC a loser in any way!) but also a generous person to reach out in that way.

And I thought Buzzy did a great job hosting. I wouldn't be unhappy ever to see him again.

Have they ever considered using two hosts, who appear for a month at a time and rotate? Or something like that, given the shooting schedule?

[Trey]

That was a very good ToC. Kudos to Sam on his win.

I loved Buzzy as host and hope he gets the permanent gig.

I got the ts's of Beethoven, Spain, and Joan Baez - I could not believe she was a ts.  I nearly sobbed at the sadness.

I did not get FJ, guessed Romania which is too far east and south.

[Roaster]

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.
 

[Bliss]

So enjoyed this tournament - way more than I thought I would. I honestly thought I'd miss Alex too much... I guess the grief is starting to become manageable?

All the players were excellent, as was Buzzy. I think Sam's comment about eye surgery might be a good one for Buzzy. Something tells me he'd look good without glasses, not that there's anything wrong with wearing glasses (I do for driving). JMO.

I really didn't care who won; however, being female, I was hoping one of the women would take it! Jennifer was actually the true winner in one respect - she had more correct answers than Sam, and if she'd wagered more on her DD and FJ, she'd have won the tournament. Big "if" and I totally understand why she chose to play it 'safe'. If I'd made some different choices in my past, I'd be in a different situation now, too... life's funny that way.

I could listen to Veronica talk for hours... she has one of the most pleasing voices!

[MrAtoz]

17 hours ago, Browncoat said:

The only TS I got was Joan Baez

I got that too, but given the "singer of The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" phrasing of the clue, I almost said Levon Helm until I remembered the category!

I guess Greece for Final Jeopardy, figuring that the breakup of Yugoslavia would be the key to the clue, but of course it was wrong.

It was a good final overall; I would not have minded any of the three finalists winning.

[ABay]

@zoey1996, I think you'll find the answers if you watch the video @ams1001 posted a link to upthread.

[Fukui San]

7 hours ago, Ailianna said:

I liked Sam and Veronica a lot going in, but Jennifer's very sincere and seemingly supportive gesture toward Sam when it was over made me a fan. It looked like she leaned over to say something encouraging to him during the first clapping, and whatever it was Sam nodded and stood upright again. I imagine it was something to let him know he had earned the win and deserved it. We won't ever know probably but that said to me that Jennifer is not only a gracious second-placer (it's really hard to call someone who made second in the TOC a loser in any way!) but also a generous person to reach out in that way.

And I thought Buzzy did a great job hosting. I wouldn't be unhappy ever to see him again.

Have they ever considered using two hosts, who appear for a month at a time and rotate? Or something like that, given the shooting schedule?

I’ve been in the reddit forum where the contestants post. Jennifer said she said “I’d give you a hug right now but the Covid compliance officer would tase us both.”

 

[shapeshifter]

13 minutes ago, Fukui San said:

I’ve been in the reddit forum where the contestants post. Jennifer said she said “I’d give you a hug right now but the Covid compliance officer would tase us both.”

I love the way she combined warmth with humor -- very compassionate -- as well as quick thinking as we would expect from a Jeopardy champion.

[GreekGeek]

16 hours ago, zoey1996 said:

Thanks, but what song? I must have missed a question.

eta, OK, I found the question, but I know nothing about the movie or song. 

 

The song is "Lobachevsky" by Tom Lehrer. The movie is fictional, a joke on the notion that one could make a movie out of a book on math.

[Bliss]

One last thought about this tournament... I was super impressed with the final 3 - each of them was a true winner in my book. All were composed, yet compassionate. All had attractive personalities complete with nonquirkiness. Does this make sense?

If I had a chance to make one suggestion for future contestants: watch your "ummms". As a former toastmaster, I notice this WAY TOO MUCH. Umm, you know what I mean? Right? LOL

[proserpina65]

22 hours ago, Roaster said:

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.

Oh, absolutely.  Going into FJ on day 2, I paused the tv and tried to figure out what she needed to be in order to win if Sam didn't bet anything.  I stink at math, so I didn't succeed, but I knew there was an amount which would've been enough.

Obviously I'm thrilled that Sam won, but it really was a great final with three very worthy contestants, and I'm happy that it was so good and so fun to watch.  I loved how emotional Sam got at the end - I probably would've been bouncing off the stage.

I did not get FJ.  I was trying to come up with something which share borders with Yugoslavia.  There were categories I ran and ones I did terrible at.  I did actually get two of the math clues right, Fibonacci and infinity, which made me very happy given how crap I am at math.

And I have to hand to Buzzy.  He really surprised me with how good a job he did hosting.

19 hours ago, Bastet said:

Maybe they were thrown off by rock & roll, just associating her with folk music? 

That was probably the case.  I knew who it was but could not come up with her name to save my life.  I did get Beethoven, at least.

10 hours ago, Mindthinkr said:

the only TS I got was Marion Davies

I got her at the last second, after saying "I have no idea".  I also got Spain.

5 hours ago, Roaster said:

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.

So much goes into winning: knowledge, obviously, but speed on the buzzer, wagering, luck on both the categories and getting the daily doubles.  Frankly, I'm always amazed that anyone ever wins more than one game, let alone the TOC.

 

[MrAtoz]

The Tournament contestants will be doing an AMA (Ask Me Anything) on reddit on Monday-Wednesday.  All 15 contestants, plus the two alternates (who were Elise Nussbaum and Jessica Babbitt) will be answering questions.

Link to the announcement:  

 

[lmulsman]

On 5/28/2021 at 10:55 PM, GreekGeek said:

According to the song, Hollywood made Lobachevski’s book into a movie called Eternal Triangle, “with Doris Day [or whoever] playing part of hypotenuse.” He pronounced it “hhhhhypotenuse.”

 I missed the show; sounds like a good one.

When his name was mentioned, my mom and I both said, wait, he’s real? We had always thought he was a made up character . I wonder if there really was some suspicion of plagiarism.?

[Clanstarling]

On 5/28/2021 at 10:31 AM, proserpina65 said:

I was greatly disappointed that none of the contestants knew Boris the Spider.  My best friend is a huge Who fan, and  I once suggested, to her great amusement, that when the CSI franchise got around to CSI: Peoria, that should be the theme song.

Made me laugh so hard!

On 5/28/2021 at 5:00 PM, Katy M said:

I said Austria because geography is not my thing, but I was trying to get around where Yugoslavia was.

Yep, I was stuck around the former Yugoslavia too. Oh well. I never put together how much change there was in that part of Europe during the 90's.

On 5/28/2021 at 5:03 PM, Browncoat said:

The only TS I got was Joan Baez. 

I got Joan and Spain. I was a little surprised Joan was a triple stumper - but then I'm old and she was prominent in my childhood.

On 5/28/2021 at 6:06 PM, shapeshifter said:

Speaking of looks on faces, I ♥️loved♥️ the look on Sam's face. He was so totally overcome, that I was very glad he won and clapped for him. He really appreciated it (appreciated winning --not my clapping) and was so humble. I could tell Veronica and Jennifer appreciated his humility as well and they were able to clap sincerely for him.

Such a good description of what happened! An all around a wonderful show of graciousness and good sportsmanship. I warmed up to Sam a lot more during his reaction. Mind you, I never disliked him, I was simply focused on hoping one of the women would win.

19 hours ago, Fukui San said:

I’ve been in the reddit forum where the contestants post. Jennifer said she said “I’d give you a hug right now but the Covid compliance officer would tase us both.”

Compassionate and funny! Love it.

Edited May 30, 2021 by Clanstarling

[Grundoon59]

I knew I would find Tom Lehrer references here ( I think he has been discussed before) - both Grundoon parents were fans and had almost all his records so his songs populated my childhood (even if I didn't understand all the references at the time).  I even remember going to a revue of his songs in London in 1980 even though I couldn't persuade any of my other classmates doing the summer abroad to attend and having a blast. 

I enjoyed the tournament and even though I am not on the Buzzy for permanent host bandwagon, I think he did a good job in a difficult situation. 

I stand by my comments about Ryan but I was pleased to see in the article from his local paper that was linked above that he realized he should have congratulated Veronica.  I don't think he deserved to be called a "villain" but he does need to realize that we are all judged by our behaviors.  I think it was telling that he said other contestants said he did nothing wrong (not their job to tell him even if they felt he behaved badly) and that his friends told him to ignore the criticism (I don't think he should let the criticism destroy him but instead use it as a growth experience).  He is relatively young and should be rightly be proud of what he accomplished but we can always learn from our past and do better in future. 

Edited May 30, 2021 by Grundoon59
Missed a typo until after I posted

[Katy M]

I got FJ right.

The only TS I got was Edward VII.

[ProudMary]

Kevin' interview story about his father throwing bird seed all over him in Venice was horrifying! 🤤 

If the answer of "Hoffman" in a category about actors doesn't merit a BMS, I have to think that it never again will on Jeopardy!

[Browncoat]

I have fond memories of Bravo and their early programming.  I'm not sure when I watched last.  I guess a couple of seasons ago with Top Chef, though I haven't watched that in a while.  All that to say that I got FJ.  And that I miss the Bravo that once was.

I only got two TS -- horseshoe and Sartre. Which I can't help but hear in Alex's voice.

 

 

[Katy M]

4 minutes ago, ProudMary said:

Kevin' interview story about his father throwing bird seed all over him in Venice was horrifying! 🤤 

If the answer of "Hoffman" in a category about actors doesn't merit a BMS, I have to think that it never again will on Jeopardy!

i don't watch the interviews, but it sounds horrifying.  I was in Venice once and there like 600 million pigeons.

[Grundoon59]

As a native Detroiter of a certain age with the last name Howe, I have spent years explaining that I was not related to Gordie (our families spring from different parts of Canada and even my paternal aunt who was a major hockey and genealogy fan could never find a link) so it hurt my heart that he was a TS tonight (with an additional stab with the reference to Alex). 

Still a good game and I thought Mayim did well as host.  

Edited June 2, 2021 by Grundoon59
I can't believe I didn't spell Gordie right

[ProudMary]

1 minute ago, icemiser69 said:

What is BMS?  I Duckduckgoed it, and it came up with British Menopause Society.  I don't think that is what you were going for.

I didn't do very well, but I though Mayim did a really good job.

 

😅

Be more specific. 

[Katy M]

11 minutes ago, ProudMary said:

If the answer of "Hoffman" in a category about actors doesn't merit a BMS, I have to think that it never again will on Jeopardy!

That's a good point.  I had no idea what the answer was and when he said Hoffman, I assumed Dustin.  But, tht's probably because I'm old.  They've gotten really lazy with needing first names when it could be multi people.

[shapeshifter]

I got the TS of Rambler, which was my first car when I was 26. That was a 14-year-old Rambler.

Anyway. 
Mayim totally wowed me. She was a cross between Vanna White, Elizabeth Banks, Alex, and Carl Sagan.
I think the scores might have been a little higher than they would have been had she not delivered the clues so clearly and kept it moving.
Yes, "Hoffman" might have deserved a BMS, but have any of the guest hosts used the BMS?

Edited June 1, 2021 by shapeshifter
Tl;dr

[Moose135]

50 minutes ago, ProudMary said:

If the answer of "Hoffman" in a category about actors doesn't merit a BMS, I have to think that it never again will on Jeopardy!

Kit Hoffman???

I thought Mayim did well, I wouldn’t complain if she got the gig full time, but I don’t know if that is a consideration. I didn’t like Buzzy when he was a contestant, and didn’t care for him as a host. 

[saber5055]

53 minutes ago, ProudMary said:

If the answer of "Hoffman" in a category about actors doesn't merit a BMS, I have to think that it never again will on Jeopardy!

This is exactly what Andy said over on TheJeopardyFan.com. It def needed a BMS.

Nash Rambler TS ...  ha ha ha.

I was seriously waiting for Camus to be an answer in THAT'S MY PHILOSOPHY.

[Snow Apple]

Loved Mayim shading Bravo. That's something Alex would have done.

[ams1001]

I was at my parents' so I couldn't keep score. Did not get FJ. I sometimes have mixed feelings on Mayim in general but I thought she did well as host.

[Bastet]

4 hours ago, icemiser69 said:

What is BMS? 

I see this has been answered, but for future reference, here is a glossary thread for frequently used abbreviations in this forum.

I wasn't home tonight, so I didn't see Mayim's first episode.  In fact, today felt like a Sunday all around, so I altogether forgot there was an episode.  I'll have to check the rest of the archive tomorrow (I looked up FJ, which I got, but am a bit too tired for the whole game).

[ams1001]

5 hours ago, Bastet said:

In fact, today felt like a Sunday all around, so I altogether forgot there was an episode. 

lol...me, too. My dad turned it on and I thought, "oh yeah, it's actually Monday..."

[stonehaven]

I loved Mayim. I'm ashamed to say it took me ten seconds to get Bravo. I watch an hour of Jeopardy so all the categories run together so if this is wrong, excuse me but I cannot believe I ran a FONT category. I guess all those hours in college typing papers and playing with font types to mess with my professors finally paid off????

[shapeshifter]

23 minutes ago, stonehaven said:

…I watch an hour of Jeopardy so all the categories run together so if this is wrong, excuse me but I cannot believe I ran a FONT category. I guess all those hours in college typing papers and playing with font types to mess with my professors finally paid off????

That was the rerun from June 8, 2020 with the Fonts of Wisdom category (j-archive.com/showgame.php?game_id=6691). 
But high five ✋ to my fellow Fonts category runner. 🙂

I posted recently in the ghost town of Jeopardy threads “All Episodes Discussion: The Daily Double” (forums.primetimer.com/topic/3972-all-episodes-discussion-the-daily-double/) and am following that thread, and often watch the reruns too these days.

 

[Mindthinkr]

   The person I was watching with is now team Mayim all the way to get the hosting job. He does not watch mainstream tv and had no idea of who she was prior to last night’s show. I thought she did well too. 
   I came up with Red Wings (thanks to my brother who lives for ice hockey), Richardson, Rambler, horse show, and Brutus. I’m off to a good start this week. I came up with Bravo. 
   Hooray for @saber5055, @PaulaOand myself for finally getting a category in our wheelhouse. (Horse Sense) 

[Clanstarling]

12 hours ago, ProudMary said:

Kevin' interview story about his father throwing bird seed all over him in Venice was horrifying! 🤤 

If the answer of "Hoffman" in a category about actors doesn't merit a BMS, I have to think that it never again will on Jeopardy!

Yeah, way to scar your kid for life. I didn't notice that the contestant only said "Hoffman" because I was busy dredging his whole name out of my mind.

1 hour ago, stonehaven said:

I loved Mayim. I'm ashamed to say it took me ten seconds to get Bravo.

Took me longer than that, but I did pull it off in time. I didn't watch Bravo in the early days, so I certainly didn't connect it with arts and classical music (though...Bravo - duh.)

I liked Mayim alot. I particularly liked the contestant interviews (well the first two), when she called back to the first contestant's story while reacting to the second. We did have to laugh a little at her muted response to the third one - okay, you like long road trips. Was there an actual story other than that? 

[Katy M]

5 minutes ago, icemiser69 said:

That through me, because Bravo is a cable channel, it isn't a network.   IIRC, the clue asked for a network.  There is a difference.

This is a quote from the Bravo Website

Quote

With more breakout stars and critically acclaimed original series than any other network on cable, Bravo's original programming

They self identify as a newtwork.

[Mario500]

9 minutes ago, Katy M said:

They self identify as a newtwork.

"newtwork"? 

[Mario500]

12 hours ago, Snow Apple said:

Loved Mayim shading Bravo. That's something Alex would have done.

"shading"? 

[Trey]

20 minutes ago, Mario500 said:

"shading"? 

Insults, thinly veiled.