Jeopardy! Season 37 (2020-2021)

[Prevailing Wind]

I'm curious, not trying to be snarky, but what does she DO with that neuroscience degree besides push some pills on a commercial?  I do think it's something to be proud of, but what does ANY neuroscientist do? Especially one who has a job acting in TV series...  Like I said, I'm curious.

[saber5055]

1 hour ago, Prevailing Wind said:

I'm curious, not trying to be snarky, but what does she DO with that neuroscience degree besides push some pills on a commercial? 

Why don't you ask these people what they are doing with their college degrees. Age listed is how old they were when receiving their new degrees:

Leo Plass, 99; Nola Ochs, 98; Twila Boston, 98; Allan Stewart, 97; Cliff Dadson, 93. There are more here.

Some people graduate college to prove something to themselves or to achieve a personal goal. A guy I knew who had a BA in history from Iowa worked decades on the line at a tractor factory putting tires on combines.

3 hours ago, Prevailing Wind said:

Closed captioning revealed the correct response as "Diamond Ted."

Jim's brother, no doubt.

[ams1001]

3 hours ago, PaulaO said:

From what I’ve read, Mayim dresses conservatively in accordance with her religion/faith.  I liked her bubbly personality and little asides about herself. 

She does; it's why her (not religious) character on Big Bang never wore pants (actually, I think she wore sweatpants in one scene, but that was the only time). I didn't really notice too many asides about her education but I did kind of roll my eyes at her comment about using her acting and science skills as host. Acting, sure, but they give her the answers; how is she using her science skills? But Jeopardy does play into a general interest in education, I'll give her that.

2 hours ago, Prevailing Wind said:

I'm curious, not trying to be snarky, but what does she DO with that neuroscience degree besides push some pills on a commercial?  I do think it's something to be proud of, but what does ANY neuroscientist do? Especially one who has a job acting in TV series...  Like I said, I'm curious.

She has a (relatively new) podcast where she discusses mental health and ties in the neuroscience aspect. Other than that...? I'm sure there's lots of research going on into how the brain works but I don't think she's involved in that. Though when she's discussing it for a lay audience I suppose it's helpful that she has a background in it.

1 hour ago, saber5055 said:

Some people graduate college to prove something to themselves or to achieve a personal goal. A guy I knew who had a BA in history from Iowa worked decades on the line at a tractor factory putting tires on combines.

I have a BA in English Literature and I work with data in the finance department of a warehouse. 🤷🏻‍♀️ 

1 hour ago, saber5055 said:

Jim's brother, no doubt.

😄

[shapeshifter]

3 hours ago, PaulaO said:

My sister didn’t know Mayim has a PhD so not everyone is as up on stuff as this group.  

Good point. I can imagine Mayim considering whether or not to mention her PhD on each episode or not, and deciding to do it because

• It sets an example for young women (although, as mentioned above, that's somewhat debatable) 
• Not everyone will pay attention every time she says it, and it's something she believes is an important credential for her to be considered as a permanent host (if she is considering that)
• It's who she is and part of her brand, and she feels the need to state that on each show for those randomly tuning in, perhaps expecting to see Alex or at least an Alex clone

I think variations on these reasons would also explain why she states she is an actor at the start of each game.

[seacliffsal]

Although many people have degrees and graduate degrees that are not necessarily reflected in their careers, I think that very few of these people talk about their degrees when introducing themselves.

[saber5055]

19 minutes ago, seacliffsal said:

Although many people have degrees and graduate degrees that are not necessarily reflected in their careers, I think that very few of these people talk about their degrees when introducing themselves.

And all of these "very few" people you reference have hosted WHICH game show on television?

[Bastet]

1 hour ago, ams1001 said:

I'm sure there's lots of research going on into how the brain works but I don't think she's involved in that.

I thought she'd had a research paper published after her PhD dissertation (not that a dissertation on "hypothalamic regulation in relation to maladaptive, obsessive-compulsive, affiliative, and satiety behaviors in Prader-Willi syndrome" isn't enough!), but in looking it up I see that parenthood - she had her first kid while in the process of collecting and analyzing data and got pregnant with the second right after filing her thesis - caused her to switch from pursuing the research and teaching track to returning to acting (better schedule, since she was the primary caregiver, plus better pay and SAG health insurance).  But she has written several books that incorporate science.

[seacliffsal]

On 6/12/2021 at 2:32 PM, saber5055 said:

And all of these "very few" people you reference have hosted WHICH game show on television?

I guess I don't see why introducing oneself on television would require one's academic degrees.

[shapeshifter]

4 hours ago, seacliffsal said:

I guess I don't see why introducing oneself on television would require one's academic degrees.

I'm guessing in Mayim's situation --in which she has reason to be concerned that she might not be taken seriously as a Jeopardy host because most only know her as a character actor on sitcoms-- it might be a good idea to let the Jeopardy audience know of her credentials, especially since she brings to the table a knowledge of science that is likely deeper than all of the guest hosts who are well-versed in news and other current events.

Perhaps she was coached to give her credentials that way by her agent.

[kathyk24]

42 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

I'm guessing in Mayim's situation --in which she has reason to be concerned that she might not be taken seriously as a Jeopardy host because most only know her as a character actor on sitcoms-- it might be a good idea to let the Jeopardy audience know of her credentials, especially since she brings to the table a knowledge of science that is likely deeper than all of the guest hosts who are well-versed in news and other current events.

Perhaps she was coached to give her credentials that way by her agent.

I think people might believe that she only played a scientist on the Big Bang Theory. They may not realize she had another career and some people don't watch Jeopardy every day so she mentioned her credentials.

[DrSpaceman73]

I fast forward through the intros anyway so doesn't bother me.   No idea what she says.  

[MrAtoz]

7 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Perhaps she was coached to give her credentials that way by her agent.

It may even be something the Jeopardy producers are encouraging.  I sometimes wonder how much of what the guest hosts say is pre-scripted, and how much is off-the-cuff.

Full disclosure, I've been a fan of Mayim ever since she was a child actor, so I find it hard to think ill of her.  I'm not crazy about her anti-vaccination beliefs, but I think she did a good job as host.  Her sitcom has apparently been renewed for a second season (somewhat to my surprise; it's quite bad), so I don't know that she would have time to be the permanent host, even if she were interested.

[bad things are bad]

3 hours ago, MrAtoz said:

Her sitcom has apparently been renewed for a second season (somewhat to my surprise; it's quite bad)

Boy howdy, you are not wrong about that. Too bad "How does this show stay on the air?" is not a J! category :)

[Roaster]

For FJ, I thought of Monroe Doctrine - two-word Nineteenth Century foreign policy - but the definition - to leave the parties to themselves in the hope others will do the same - is not exactly what I remember from school.

[ErinV]

2 minutes in…nope, Savannah’s voice is going to be an issue 😬

[ams1001]

Not a bad game tonight...

J!: Ran That's Heavy, Man, got the DD, TS of second base (a total guess), aircraft carrier, vodka (also a guess, but Gorky Park is Russian, so it seemed logical), and Beau Brummel (thank you, Annie) and missed only 8 clues (and no more than 2 in any category). 73%

DJ: Ran Musical Sequels, got no DDs, got the TS of masks, International Criminal Court, Omar Khayyam, and Steve Jobs (again, a total guess). Missed 9 clues (again, no more than 2 in any category). 70%

FJ: All I could think of was laissez-faire but I knew that wasn't right. 70% for the game.

I liked Savannah well enough as host. She might annoy me as time goes on. We'll see.

Edited June 14, 2021 by ams1001

[proserpina65]

Oh, for fuck's sake, now I have to put up with Katie for another damned game, damn it.

[Katy M]

I said laissez-faire.  Monroe Doctrine came to my mind first, but for some reason, I didn't think it fit the clue.

I got the missed clues of vodka, gin, masks and international criminal court.

I got the entire category of musicals, of all things, right.

[SeanC]

A lot of misses for easy clues tonight, I thought.

Savannah was off to a good start.

[Browncoat]

I came up with laissez-faire too.  I never would have thought of the Monroe Doctrine.  Oh well.  Of the three, I'm good with Katie winning again.

Seems like there were a lot of TS.  Ones I got include vodka, aircraft carrier, gin, second base, Beau Brummel, Plymouth Rock, Omar Khayyam, and the walrus. 

I guess Savannah did an okay job, but I'm afraid her voice and vocal fry are going to be problematic for me.  

 

[shapeshifter]

57 minutes ago, ErinV said:

2 minutes in…nope, Savannah’s voice is going to be an issue 😬

3 minutes ago, Browncoat said:

I'm afraid her voice and vocal fry are going to be problematic for me

I'm usually very picky about voices, and I didn't have a problem with Savannah Guthrie's. I didn't notice any vocal fry.
Maybe I was more sleep deprived that I thought? We'll see (I'll be listening) tomorrow and following. 
I liked her compassionate inflections when she had to tell the contestants they were wrong.

I was distracted during the first round.
In DJ I got the TSs of Plymouth, Walrus, and Omar Khayyam, all of which I think at least one of the contestants should have known too. 

[proserpina65]

12 minutes ago, Browncoat said:

Ones I got include vodka, aircraft carrier, gin, second base, Beau Brummel, Plymouth Rock, Omar Khayyam, and the walrus. 

I got all of those.  Did not get FJ, however.

I'm fine with Savannah Guthrie.  I don't notice anything wrong with her voice.

[seacliffsal]

I pretty much liked Savannah except for her "you got it" comments for correct answers.  She kept the game moving and didn't bring too much focus back to herself.

I thought the clue for FJ really did not fit "Monroe Doctrine."

[ProudMary]

WAY too many triple stumpers tonight on clues I thought were relatively easy. 

As a lifelong baseball fan, it broke my heart that no one knew that the old "neighborhood" play involved second base. It's sad to me that baseball clues in general on Jeopardy! have gone unanswered lately. So much for "America's Pastime." 😔

Could someone please show me a map labeling that particular body of water as the "Gulf of Persia?" I think I'll be waiting for quite a while.

 

[ams1001]

2 minutes ago, seacliffsal said:

I pretty much liked Savannah except for her "you got it" comments for correct answers.  

Yeah, that was the only thing that bugged me a little, but I kind of forgot about it by the time I was posting.

5 minutes ago, ProudMary said:

Could someone please show me a map labeling that particular body of water as the "Gulf of Persia?" I think I'll be waiting for quite a while.

https://www.heritagecharts.com/mapchart.php/393/22/the_gulf_of_persia

(from 1805)

[ProudMary]

4 minutes ago, ams1001 said:

Yeah, that was the only thing that bugged me a little, but I kind of forgot about it by the time I was posting.

https://www.heritagecharts.com/mapchart.php/393/22/the_gulf_of_persia

(from 1805)

Guess I'll have to eat my hat on that one, but I think its present-day name should have been required. 

As for Savannah Guthrie, I've never cared for her and was fully expecting to be annoyed by her performance, but she completely surprised me. I thought she did a very good job.

[zoey1996]

I was so pleased to see the Mobituaries category! I’ve listened to several of the podcasts, and I’m currently reading the book. And I knew some of the answers because of that!

I hope Ms. Guthrie reduces the use of “you got it;” otherwise I thought she did OK. I hadn’t commented on Mayim Bialik, but I thought she did well overall.

[secnarf]

I definitely thought the definition they gave for FJ 100% described laissez-faire, which I answered before they finished reading the clue and with complete certainty 🙄

[GreekGeek]

2 hours ago, proserpina65 said:

Oh, for fuck's sake, now I have to put up with Katie for another damned game, damn it.

Why? I didn't find anything particularly annoying about her, though sooner or later her low FJ wagers will probably cause her to lose.

I got vodka, masks, Plymouth, Omar Khayyam, the Walrus, Dag Hammarsjkold, and Beau Brummel. The latter name is embedded in my brain thanks to Billy Joel's "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me:"

Quote

 

How about a pair of pink sidewinders and a bright orange pair of pants?

You could really be a Beau Brummel, baby, if you just give it half a chance.

 

I didn't mind Savannah's voice. I'd never heard of Mo Rocca, though, and thought his clues were much too wordy.

I also said "laissez faire" on FJ. 😖

[DrSpaceman73]

2 hours ago, Roaster said:

For FJ, I thought of Monroe Doctrine - two-word Nineteenth Century foreign policy - but the definition - to leave the parties to themselves in the hope others will do the same - is not exactly what I remember from school.

Also it was not actually what the us does or has ever done.  But I knew FJ. Vodka (pretty obvious, Russia) Omar khayyam I also got. 

 

Beau brummell!!!  Thanks Billy Joel

 

 

[ams1001]

23 minutes ago, GreekGeek said:

I didn't mind Savannah's voice. I'd never heard of Mo Rocca, though, and thought his clues were much too wordy.

He is rather wordy...

He's a frequent panelist on Wait, Wait...Don't Tell Me and when he gets stuck on a question he can get a little....frustrating. I like him, though. (I originally knew him from The Daily Show.)

[Bastet]

I tuned in just a little late, so I didn't hear Savannah's opening remarks.  I think her first game as host went very smoothly, and I like the charity she chose.  (They've all, other than Dr. Oz, chosen well.)

The Plymouth Rock TS was a doozy.  Maybe there was some confusion about the category, since that was the first of its clues unveiled.

But maybe not; there were several TS this game that were not clues I'd have never predicted would have gone unanswered.  The Walrus, ICC, vodka (not that no one knew the drink, but that no one took the Gorky Park = Russia = vodka guess).  Gin, too a bit, in that I was again surprised no one guessed, just because most of the other common liquors had already been used.  And I was a little surprised by the aircraft carrier TS; if I know something military, I figure at least one J! contestant will (I guess I'm more surprised no one even had a guess - I kind of thought someone would say battleship).

Anyway, I had a great game to start my week.  I came so close in the first round - I ran the whole thing until the very last clue, when I joined the contestants in being stumped by Beau Brummell (I should have paid more attention to "It's Still Rock & Roll To Me" [but I do know all the lyrics to "We Didn't Start the Fire", which can also help with clues]).

In DJ, I only ran the city and gh categories, but I only missed five across the others.

FJ was an instaget, but then I briefly doubted myself when I re-read the quote; the more specific I got with the language, the more it started to sound like something else instead.  But I stuck with it.

One of my best games!

[Leeds]

3 hours ago, ErinV said:

2 minutes in…nope, Savannah’s voice is going to be an issue 😬

For me too.  (Anyone else have to Google her?)

 

40 minutes ago, GreekGeek said:

Why? I didn't find anything particularly annoying about her, though sooner or later her low FJ wagers will probably cause her to lose.

 

I also said "laissez faire" on FJ. 😖

I quite like Katie.

There were a couple of very weird pronunciations tonight: "trow" for "trough" from Katie, and "lassez" faire instead of "laissez" from the hand-wringer.

[3 is enough]

I did not get FJ.  I thought Savannah did fine, but I’m guessing she has no desire to be the permanent host.

[Cotypubby]

3 hours ago, proserpina65 said:

Oh, for fuck's sake, now I have to put up with Katie for another damned game, damn it.

What’s the problem with Katie? I quite like her and hope she continues to do well.

26 minutes ago, Leeds said:

There were a couple of very weird pronunciations tonight: "trow" for "trough" from Katie, and "lassez" faire instead of "laissez" from the hand-wringer.

I always read “trough” as “trow” in my head,  like it goes with that other thing on a farm, a plough. I used to always think that a “troff” was a totally different word.

I didn’t notice anything about Savannah’s voice, she sounded perfectly fine. 🤷‍♀️
 

Add me as another who thought FJ was laissez faire, even though I thought, “Well that’s French, so they probably don’t mean that… but isn’t that what that term means so it has to be that?” Never would have come up with the Monroe Doctrine in 1000 years.

Edited June 15, 2021 by Cotypubby

[DrSpaceman73]

I don't think it's mo rocca.  That is just how they write those questions/ answers often with the guest categories. I find it annoying.  They go on and on for often obvious answers, like the Anne frank one tonight. 

Contestants should always save those for last just because the questions are so long. 

[Prevailing Wind]

On 6/12/2021 at 2:32 PM, saber5055 said:

And all of these "very few" people you reference have hosted WHICH game show on television?

Savannah Guthrie, J.D. from Georgetown U. Law Center.

[Cherpumple]

2 hours ago, GreekGeek said:

Beau Brummel. The latter name is embedded in my brain thanks to Billy Joel's "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me:"

I got this one because I rewatched "Annie" recently with subtitles and there's a line in one of the songs ("Your clothes may be beau brummelly, they stand out a mile") that I never noticed before. Weird timing for this question!

[kathyk24]

Am I the only person who doesn't notice vocal fry? I just think people talk the way they talk.

[ams1001]

8 hours ago, Cherpumple said:

I got this one because I rewatched "Annie" recently with subtitles and there's a line in one of the songs ("Your clothes may be beau brummelly, they stand out a mile") that I never noticed before. Weird timing for this question!

That's how I got it, too (You're Never Fully Dressed without a Smile!), though I haven't watched it recently. Then I laughed when the first musical clue in the next round was about Annie (never knew it had a sequel!). When someone mentioned Billy Joel above I had to think about which song he used it in.

6 hours ago, kathyk24 said:

Am I the only person who doesn't notice vocal fry? I just think people talk the way they talk.

I don't notice it unless it's really bad. I used to listen to a podcast where the hosts were pretty bad and I stopped listening because after a while it was all I could hear. Savannah didn't bother me.

9 hours ago, Leeds said:

For me too.  (Anyone else have to Google her?)

She moderated one of the debates last year (which I only saw clips of on the news/late night shows). I had to google her then.

Edited June 15, 2021 by ams1001

[Trey]

6 hours ago, kathyk24 said:

Am I the only person who doesn't notice vocal fry? I just think people talk the way they talk.

It has to be pretty bad for me to notice it and I didn't hear anything from Savannah, whoever she is.  I thought she did a great job as host.

So many ts's! I got many of them: vodka, aircraft carrier, second base, Beau Brummel, masks, Plymouth Rock, Omar Khayyam, the walrus, and Dag Hammerskjold.

However, I did not get FJ, so it was a bad start to the week.

[MrAtoz]

7 hours ago, kathyk24 said:

Am I the only person who doesn't notice vocal fry? I just think people talk the way they talk.

No, I'm the same way.  I keep hearing people complain about it.  I keep listening to clips that supposedly feature horrible, annoying, unbearable examples of it.  And I keep failing to hear anything unusual.

Even when people describe it, I can't quite conceptualize what it's supposed to be.

[DrSpaceman73]

I certainly dont notice vocal fry as much as others and didn't notice it last night.  Busy phillips is the classic celebrity example and I think and it is one of the many reasons I don't like her. 

I have no idea of who the new guest host is, never heard of her but thought she did a good job. 

 

 

 

[Clanstarling]

14 hours ago, Roaster said:

For FJ, I thought of Monroe Doctrine - two-word Nineteenth Century foreign policy - but the definition - to leave the parties to themselves in the hope others will do the same - is not exactly what I remember from school.

We looked it up, and though there was one concept that could be stretched to fit the clue, it still didn't really describe the Monroe Doctrine in our opinion - which was basically - hands off OUR hemisphere.

13 hours ago, ams1001 said:

FJ: All I could think of was laissez-faire but I knew that wasn't right. 70% for the game.

That's what I got too - though I probably would have mangled the spelling so badly it wouldn't have been accepted even if it was right!

13 hours ago, Browncoat said:

I guess Savannah did an okay job, but I'm afraid her voice and vocal fry are going to be problematic for me. 

It bothered me a little, and I'm usually only bothered when it's a severe vocal fry. I think maybe it's just that she's the host that made it more noticeable to me.
 

10 hours ago, ams1001 said:

He is rather wordy...

He's a frequent panelist on Wait, Wait...Don't Tell Me and when he gets stuck on a question he can get a little....frustrating. I like him, though. (I originally knew him from The Daily Show.)

I know him from some Food Network competition show ... Iron Chef? or something like that. I had no idea who he was when I saw that show.

Got many of the triple stumpers - vodka seemed the logical answer for a Gorky Park. I'm not a drinker, so most of my answers were guesses.

 

[Mindthinkr]

I had a decent game until it came to FJ. I got vodka, aircraft carrier, gin, Beau Brummell (thanks to Regis Philibin who frequently wore them back in the years when he was a chat show host), and Plymouth. The wording of FJ led me to laissez faire. 

[ams1001]

8 minutes ago, Clanstarling said:

Got many of the triple stumpers - vodka seemed the logical answer for a Gorky Park. I'm not a drinker, so most of my answers were guesses.

I'm not a drinker, either, but I do surprisingly well with booze categories, for some reason.

 

2 hours ago, ams1001 said:

(You're Never Fully Dressed without a Smile!)

This song has been stuck in my head ever since that clue last night... just thought I'd share. I think I'd prefer Billy Joel but I can't quite get the song to stick.

[TaraS1]

Savannah's "You got it!" was mildly annoying, but otherwise I thought she did a nice job. 

I think I'm in the minority, but I absolutely loved Mayim's turn as host. I thought she was fun and personable and did a great job reading the clues. (But she's an anti-vaxxer??  Ugh, I wish I hadn't heard that.)

[DrSpaceman73]

6 minutes ago, TaraS1 said:

Savannah's "You got it!" was mildly annoying, but otherwise I thought she did a nice job. 

I think I'm in the minority, but I absolutely loved Mayim's turn as host. I thought she was fun and personable and did a great job reading the clues. (But she's an anti-vaxxer??  Ugh, I wish I hadn't heard that.)

I enjoyed mayim too, more than I thought I would.  

 

And she isn't anti- vaccine.  She just followed a different schedule for her kids

 

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/mayim-bialik-flu-covid19-vaccines-clarifies-not-anti-vaxxer-204319240.html

[proserpina65]

14 hours ago, GreekGeek said:

Why? I didn't find anything particularly annoying about her, though sooner or later her low FJ wagers will probably cause her to lose.

Something about her bugs the crap out of me, so I'll be glad when she's gone.  What bothers one person doesn't necessarily bother others.  Hell, there are people who love Austin.

15 hours ago, zoey1996 said:

I was so pleased to see the Mobituaries category! I’ve listened to several of the podcasts, and I’m currently reading the book. And I knew some of the answers because of that!

It was an interesting category but he took too long with his clues.  Fortunately they still managed to clear the board.

I guessed laissez faire for FJ even though I didn't think it was right.  And I was correct about that, lol.

14 hours ago, GreekGeek said:

I got vodka, masks, Plymouth, Omar Khayyam, the Walrus, Dag Hammarsjkold, and Beau Brummel. The latter name is embedded in my brain thanks to Billy Joel's "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me:"

I got all those, although I was reluctant to say Dag Hammarsjkold out loud since that was my incorrect answer to a clue about UN Secretaries General in my game back in 2008 (the correct answer was Trygve Lie) and I always figure Hammarsjkold is wrong if I think of him.

Funnily enough, Beau Brummel came up yesterday morning in comments on a Slate article about workplace dress codes, and then there he is in a Jeopardy clue.

I also got gin, International Criminal Court and aircraft carrier.

Edited June 15, 2021 by proserpina65

[proserpina65]

14 hours ago, Leeds said:

(Anyone else have to Google her?)

She's the co-host of The Today Show, along with Hoda Kotb, which I watch every weekday morning while eating breakfast.  To be fair, I tend to switch between the 3 morning shows, depending on what story is being featured at any given time.

3 hours ago, MrAtoz said:

No, I'm the same way.  I keep hearing people complain about it.  I keep listening to clips that supposedly feature horrible, annoying, unbearable examples of it.  And I keep failing to hear anything unusual.

Even when people describe it, I can't quite conceptualize what it's supposed to be.

This is me, too.  I've tried to hear it, but I just don't.