Jeopardy! Season 37 (2020-2021)

[Katy M]

I didn't get FJ.  I said Netherlands.  I think I too was thinking Surinam.

I got the TS of Mandy Moore, Delta, Jack, Canton, 6th Sense of Humor, and shipwreck.

[Browncoat]

No clue on FJ tonight.  And I started off the week so well, too.  Alas.

How did Cameron miss Delta?  Was he too nervous about his hooves to think straight in the first part of the game?  I got that missed DD along with the TS of provocation/convocation, sixth sense of humor, and shipwrecks.  If I could understand a word Eddie Vedder sings, I might have gotten Jeremy -- I heard it on the radio on my way home from work this afternoon.  I like Pearl Jam, and I love Eddie's voice, but really, I often have no idea what he's singing.

[SoMuchTV]

5 minutes ago, Browncoat said:

How did Cameron miss Delta?  Was he too nervous about his hooves to think straight in the first part of the game?  

Lol. Mr TV said, how did he miss Seabiscuit? He has horse hooves!

[M. Darcy]

Discworld question! 

I’m not having a good FJ week. 

[GreekGeek]

17 minutes ago, SoMuchTV said:

Lol. Mr TV said, how did he miss Seabiscuit? He has horse hooves!

I know, right? He didn’t even name a real horse! Had he won, he would have been one of those really divisive champs. Some people would enjoy his stunts (though I don’t know if he had any more up his sleeve, no pun intended) and others would swear off the show until he lost.

 I want to play Josiah’s trivia game!

Up until now, I didn’t know there were two famous Mandy Moore’s. I thought the choreographer and the actress were one and the same! Doh!

Total guess on FJ.

[j5cochran]

54 minutes ago, Gimmick Genius said:

Lucy is a good player! I hope she stays for a long run. As for hosts, I'd like to see Jimmy and/or Sarah (the Clue Crew) given a shot.

On the day I taped my episode, Johnny Gilbert was not there for the recording of the first three games, so Jimmy did the announcer job. Johnny's voice was recorded later and added. And during our warmup, before the audience is brought in, Jimmy did the host job while we were getting a chance to test out the buzzers and try playing the game. Which is a long way of saying that Jimmy is used to working live during the game.

[ams1001]

1 hour ago, Katy M said:

I didn't get FJ.  I said Netherlands.  I think I too was thinking Surinam.

I got the TS of Mandy Moore, Delta, Jack, Canton, 6th Sense of Humor, and shipwreck.

I was thinking Netherlands, too.

I didn't get Canton or Jack but I got all the others.

[Prevailing Wind]

They were looking for a European country...and I sat here saying, "French Guiana!"  I know it, like Martinique, Guadeloupe, and St. Martin, are all "departments" of France, in essence, the equivalent of the US' states.  So my answer was like saying, "Maine" when the correct question is "What is the USA?"  And I really had no idea the border between it and Brazil is 400 miles long.

For the Pro/Con category, I pre-guessed Protest/Contest.  Yay, me.

[Bastet]

Yay, Lucy!  The bespectacled dude only betting $500 on the first round DD when he was in the hole did not endear him to me, and then when he had no idea about the Delta Blues, I was rooting for her even harder.  Then came the prop comedy.  Oh, dear.  After he couldn't come up with the other element in salt after sodium was ruled out ... that guy really rubbed me wrong in a way contestants rarely do, but I am so glad he was a one and done.

The shipwreck TS really surprised me, and "Jeremy" and sixth sense of humor a little bit, but that's it.

I joined the contestants in being stumped by two of the flag clues, and, unlike them, I didn't know Lorde's real name, but I got everything else in the first round.  In DJ, I didn't do very well in the books category, missed a couple choreographers and several other scattered clues, but still okay.  Thanks to regularly quizzing myself on geography, FJ was easy for me, so a good game overall.

[stonehaven]

I just came here to say that while I was out this evening, my Mom left a voicemail and all I heard was her yelling, "I got the FINAL question RIGHT! FRANCE!!!!! Your mother is so smart". She felt even better when I told her my friend and I completely missed it. So, yeah, my Mom is feeling on top of the world in her 78 years!!!!!!!! So, I raise a glass to my mom this evening! She's smarter than I am and I have a college degree....sigh....

[853fisher]

"Modern dance" should've ruled her out, but I guessed Agnes de Mille for the photo of a prolific choreographer.  I really screwed myself on "possessive history" too, because I thought I wanted possessives in the responses.  I would've picked up 4 instead of 2 in that column had I been looking alive.  I was very pleased with myself for "mind reading between the lines" instead of "sixth sense of humor," but I had forgotten "ordinal."

At least I won my proverbial coin toss between France and the Netherlands for FJ.  "French Guyana" sounds more to me like history than present, but I was sure I remembered that from a geography game I used to enjoy.  Otherwise, a rather confounding board overall for me.  Lots of novels and especially songs and other things I have absolutely never heard of.  Mamma mia!

I am not really impressed with any of the guest hosts after Ken.  There are a few I vaguely dislike (although I should be fair and admit that I don't really know too much about them) and nobody who makes me think, damn, that's the one, what a "get."  But as long as the game remains at the forefront no matter who they get, I'll be able to get over it.

2 hours ago, GreekGeek said:

Up until now, I didn’t know there were two famous Mandy Moore’s. I thought the choreographer and the actress were one and the same!

Me too.  They're both just in my periphery, enough that I've read about them both, but never been inspired to dig deeper.  I remember thinking she must be awfully talented to be so highly in demand as both a choreographer and actress.

Edited January 14, 2021 by 853fisher

[theatremouse]

I can't remember the wording of the clue, but there was a before and after with Peter, Paul and Mary - and the contestant said "Tyler Moore", but in the moment it sounded to me like they were looking for the character's name, not the actress or the name of the show. So it should've been Peter, Paul and Mary Richards, no?

[Scott]

Came here to post exactly this ^^^^.  They wanted someone who worked with Lou Grant and Ted Baxter (the characters), not Ed Asner and Ted Knight (the actors).  

[GreekGeek]

5 hours ago, theatremouse said:

I can't remember the wording of the clue, but there was a before and after with Peter, Paul and Mary - and the contestant said "Tyler Moore", but in the moment it sounded to me like they were looking for the character's name, not the actress or the name of the show. So it should've been Peter, Paul and Mary Richards, no?

Yes, the clue was something like “She sang with Peter and Paul and worked in the newsroom with Lou Grant and Ted Baxter.” I guess they would have accepted either Mary Richards or Mary Tyler Moore. It’s confusing that they combined real and fictional people in the clue.

[ams1001]

I got Mandy Moore because I watch both This Is Us and Dancing with the Stars...

[Clanstarling]

14 hours ago, Bastet said:

He's been on the show; he was in the celebrity tournament five years ago and won his game.

I suspect most of the guest hosts they come up with were on celebrity tournaments and did well. I'm not researching it, so I may be wrong.

I got Delta from the first part of the clue (there aren't that many regions on a river), and the blues element confirmed it for me.

I wasn't fond of the prop humor (has that been done on Jeopardy before). I didn't hold it against him - obviously it was approved by the producers.

[Mindthinkr]

9 hours ago, theatremouse said:

So it should've been Peter, Paul and Mary Richards, no?

I agree. I also thought Ken missed (and ruled another answer) correct where the contestant added a “s” and should have been ruled wrong. Go Lucy. She is a powerhouse of knowledge. I came up with (as did so many of you) the missed DD of Delta as well as nitroglycerin, and shipwreck. I don’t think I correctly understood FJ as my answer was way off base. 

[Mean Machine]

Lucy, where have you been all my life?  An artistic type that heals animals and is a powerhouse Jeopardy player?  I haven't rooted this hard for a contestant in a long time.  She completely mopped the floor with those guys today.

[Bliss]

4 hours ago, ams1001 said:

I got Mandy Moore because I watch both This Is Us and Dancing with the Stars...

Ditto!

[Bliss]

9 minutes ago, Mean Machine said:

Lucy, where have you been all my life?  An artistic type that heals animals and is a powerhouse Jeopardy player?  I haven't rooted this hard for a contestant in a long time.  She completely mopped the floor with those guys today.

Another ditto!

I don't want to jinx Lucy's luck by mentioning I hope she makes the TOC, so I won't. *wink*

[ErinV]

On 1/12/2021 at 3:11 PM, Tabasco Cat said:

Hate to burst your bubble but no, we all don't agree. He doesn't have a good voice for the job, It's not just the lisp, either. The timbre is all wrong and instead of commanding the audience's attention, his voice is like weak noise that blends into the background.

I like Ken overall but I agree about his voice.  I'm hoping I just get used to it, but otherwise I think he's great.

[ErinV]

On 1/13/2021 at 9:37 AM, Calibabydolly said:

I would like to see Austin Rogers (the NYC bartender) try to guest host! I really don't think Buzzy would make the cut for me, although he actually does look likeJaa game show MC. Austin is VERY smart and as a bartender....knows how to shoot the **** with anyone! Any thoughts? I know people didn't always like him but he made watching interesting for me anyway! Also what about James???

James yes.  Austin may cause be to actually stop watching!

[3 is enough]

The horse guy's glasses were so distracting.  I'm not sure how I feel about the hoof gag- honestly I have never seen any contestant do something like that before.  I felt for him because that is my biggest fear- that I get on the show and immediately fall into the hole.  He did manage to get out of it and be part of FJ, so that is something.

I like Lucy.

[853fisher]

I was reading up on French Guiana: I had the answer without knowing much more about it.  Very interesting.  The capital is Cayenne, in case they ever do a spices category and decide to get cute.

I forgot to say so yesterday, but I don't think Lucy should've been given credit for "sun storms...sun spots."  Ken said, "I hadn't ruled against you," but the pregnant pause struck me as obviously long enough to indicate that she had better pick a different answer.  I wish they would handle those situations differently.  Maybe it's one thing if you add, like "Roosevelt...Eleanor Roosevelt" or something.  But I think you should not be allowed to speak one answer and replace it with an entirely different one.  Stop and wait to see how they rule on the first one and give a "be more specific" if you want.

[HissyFit]

55 minutes ago, 853fisher said:

.... I don't think Lucy should've been given credit for "sun storms...sun spots."  Ken said, "I hadn't ruled against you," but the pregnant pause struck me as obviously long enough to indicate that she had better pick a different answer.  I wish they would handle those situations differently.  Maybe it's one thing if you add, like "Roosevelt...Eleanor Roosevelt" or something.  But I think you should not be allowed to speak one answer and replace it with an entirely different one.  Stop and wait to see how they rule on the first one and give a "be more specific" if you want.

What if her first answer had been correct and then she replaced it with an incorrect one?  Has that ever happened?

[Trey]

1 hour ago, 3 is enough said:

I like Lucy.

That sounds like a great tv show!

I like Lucy too, hope she continues to do well.

For FJ I first said Surinam (which seems to be spelt with or without an e on the end*), then realized they wanted the European country so quickly changed to the Netherlands which did no good at all since it was France they wanted.

*Apparently it was changed to Suriname in 1978.

[proserpina65]

22 hours ago, M. Darcy said:

Jeopardy has announced the next group of Guest Hosts

None of those thrill me, but I don't hate any of them right off the bat.  I'll have to see how they do.  Still hoping for Brad.

For FJ, I said the Netherlands since I wasn't sure if Surinam was independent or not.  Almost changed it to France.  Oops.

 

Edited January 14, 2021 by proserpina65

[KLovestoShop]

I’m sorry, but I just can’t support Mr Jennings after reading about his insensitive tweets.  The comment about a hot person in a wheelchair is bad enough (I’m disabled) and now the one I just read about when Trump starts a war it’s understood that the other side knows to drop bombs on the Midwest and South.  Of course, he tries to cover his behind saying they were just jokes or were meant to start discussions, just rings hollow.  I can’t help but get the feeling that he’s nothing but an insensitive jerk and not worthy to fill Alex Trebek’s shoes. 

[Katy M]

2 hours ago, HissyFit said:

What if her first answer had been correct and then she replaced it with an incorrect one?  Has that ever happened?

Then it would be incorrect. It probably hasn't happened, because they're generally faster with "corrects" than incorrects.  The pauses come when they don't get the answer they're expecting, but the host isn't sure if the answer given may be acceptable so is waiting for a ruling from the judges.

[proserpina65]

18 hours ago, SoMuchTV said:

I pre-called progress and Congress (old joke). Just hope it doesn’t invoke the jeopardy curse!

I immediately thought of this line from 1776:  “In my many years, I have come to a conclusion that one useless man is a shame, two is a law firm, and three or more is a Congress.”

18 hours ago, Browncoat said:

How did Cameron miss Delta?  Was he too nervous about his hooves to think straight in the first part of the game?  I got that missed DD along with the TS of provocation/convocation, sixth sense of humor, and shipwrecks.  If I could understand a word Eddie Vedder sings, I might have gotten Jeremy -- I heard it on the radio on my way home from work this afternoon.  I like Pearl Jam, and I love Eddie's voice, but really, I often have no idea what he's singing.

I ran the song category.  I also got Delta, jack and shipwrecks.

3 hours ago, 853fisher said:

But I think you should not be allowed to speak one answer and replace it with an entirely different one.

Contestants are told before their games that if the host hasn't ruled your original answer incorrect yet, you can change it.  Thus, if I had changed my stupid "a" to "the" before Alex said I was wrong, I'd have gotten credit for the very first clue I rang in on during my game.  But I didn't, alas.

 

I pre-called progress and Congress (old joke). Just hope it doesn’t invoke the jeopardy curse!

[zoey1996]

4 hours ago, ErinV said:

James yes.  Austin may cause be to actually stop watching!

I’m the opposite - I’d watch Austin and skip James!

Instead of Delta, I thought Memphis.

[Emma9]

21 hours ago, SoMuchTV said:

Lol. Mr TV said, how did he miss Seabiscuit? He has horse hooves!

Right?!? I wasn't sure whether he actually rode/worked with horses and had caught his flu directly from the source - even if the disease isn't supposed to be a zoonosis, it seems even less plausible that a different human also contracted it (or at least was a carrier) and then passed it to him - but if Black Beauty was the only 'racehorse' he could think of...

 

8 hours ago, Mindthinkr said:

I agree. I also thought Ken missed (and ruled another answer) correct where the contestant added a “s” and should have been ruled wrong.

I was surprised when 'Order of the Phoenix Suns' was ruled correct, when the pause came before that one I was expecting them to insist on the 'Harry Potter and the...' part of the title.

Edited January 14, 2021 by Emma9

[dcalley]

For Wednesday's last DD, Lucy bet enough (4000) that, had she been wrong, she could have lost her runaway given the value still on the board (2000).

She had 25,400 and her closest opponent had 9400. The possible outcome of 21,400 vs. 11,400 is no longer a runaway. Fortunately it worked out for her.

[kathyk24]

FYI for Boston Jeopardy viewers tonight's show will be on Channel 38 at the usual time.

[ams1001]

Got all of Two-Letter Lit and Wee-Pourri, and most of Best of Times. Didn't get all the Unicorns but correctly guessed Buttercup, and got all but one of Leg Day (I was a little distracted though so I didn't do so well in the second round overall).

FJ was insta-instaget. I looooved that book when I was little. The library in my town at the time had some bookcases that were low enough that you could sit on top of them, and I would climb up there and read it over and over.

Has Ken said "Thank you, Alex" at the end of every game?

[Katy M]

Cluess on FJ.  I said Pat the Bunny.

The only TS I got was Secretariat.

 

I got the entire categories of 2 lettter lit and bad history right.

I chuckled at the No incident.

[Browncoat]

The first half or so of the game was pre-empted in my area.  Did anyone do anything wacky like horse hands yesterday?  For FJ I very confidently said "Pat The Bunny" because it has holes!  I did not have The Very Hungry Caterpillar when I was a kid -- I didn't know it had holes (or was that old).

I also got the TS of Buttercup and Cunard.

Go, Lucy!  I kind of covet her hair.

[j5cochran]

2 hours ago, Katy M said:

Clueless on FJ.  I said Pat the Bunny.

I said Pat the Bunny, too. That seems to be a popular wrong answer here!

[Bastet]

Ken saying "arrondissement" made me smile, thinking of how Alex would have said it with relish.

No one even guessing Corvette for a Chevy sports car was surprising.  I was also a bit surprised they didn't get left hand or 1500 metres (and by how far off most of their guesses were), but another good game.

Only a decent one for me - a handful of misses in each round and I didn't get FJ; I tend to do poorly with children's lit categories, since I don't have kids and it was so long ago that I read children's books - and I don't think I ever read that one to begin with (or maybe that's a little kids book, meaning it would have been read to me - in that case, even if it was, I don't have memories that far back).

[kav]

The first book title that popped into my head was Holes, but that was from way later and was a chapter book, so did not have holes, but then I said the Very Hungry Caterpillar.  I learned something new about it being first printed in Japan.  I was surprised the Champion did not get it considering her career, but maybe having known a lot more titles might have made it harder to choose one.

 

Bastet, it is about a caterpillar who eats too much (1 apple, 2 pears, 3 plums, 4 strawberries, 5 oranges, cake, cheese, pickle, cupcake etc) that gets a stomachache, goes into its cocoon, and turns into a butterfly.  Eric Carole wrote it.

Edited January 15, 2021 by kav

[853fisher]

Much better game for me today than yesterday.  I did get FJ although I might not have guessed the book was 50 years old.  What was the significance to "hailing a cab in 1947" as opposed to any other year in which you might whistle for a taxi?  Nice to Lucy continuing to do well.  I think she has potential to go a long way.

16 hours ago, Browncoat said:

Did anyone do anything wacky like horse hands yesterday?

Nothing like that.  Liz told an odd story about how her brother will name her first child because of a bet they made while watching J! in childhood, Brett talked about making a one-man theatrical show out of his memory for baseball statistics, and Lucy talked about her affinity with animals and especially rescues.

Edited January 15, 2021 by 853fisher

[Cotypubby]

1 hour ago, 853fisher said:

What was the significance to "hailing a cab in 1947" as opposed to any other year in which you might whistle for a taxi?

Whistling for a taxi just seems like an old-timey thing. I’ve always just put my arm out. 
 

I chuckled at the image of a “10 meter” race. 10,000 meters answered as being less than a mile also made me laugh.

[GreekGeek]

5 hours ago, Cotypubby said:

Whistling for a taxi just seems like an old-timey thing. I’ve always just put my arm out. 
 

I do too, and even that seems old-timey nowadays. I think of Young People as hailing cabs via app, or using Uber or Lyft. But I did wonder why 1947, of all years, was used as shorthand for “a long time ago.”

Another guesser of “Pat the Bunny” here, although I was sure it as older than 1969.

Impressive that Lucy pulled off another runaway game, after it looked like she would lose to Brett for much of the game.

[Katy M]

10 minutes ago, GreekGeek said:

I do too, and even that seems old-timey nowadays. I think of Young People as hailing cabs via app, or using Uber or Lyft. But I did wonder why 1947, of all years, was used as shorthand for “a long time ago.”

Another guesser of “Pat the Bunny” here, although I was sure it as older than 1969.

Impressive that Lucy pulled off another runaway game, after it looked like she would lose to Brett for much of the game.

Just for funsies, I googled 1947 and whistling for a taxi, and there was a movie that came out that year called the Guilty and part of the alibi was that he heard someone whistling for a taxi.  But I've never heard of that movie, so it's probably fairly obscure and has nothing to do with anything.

[Mindthinkr]

Something about Ken has been bugging me and I finally figured out what. He is using all the same hand gestures that AT did. It’s almost as though he studied him on the show, and is mimicking him. Mind you it’s not bothering me, and they say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. 
  
I was able to get a few TSs. Secretariat, Buttercup, Cunard (just watched the Meryl Streep movie that was filmed on the QE2), and like so many of you I said Pat the Bunny for FJ. 

[Trey]

13 hours ago, Katy M said:

I chuckled at the No incident.

I thought that was a faux pas on Ken's part since he made Brett think he was wrong - not a good move for a host.

An okay game for me but not great and so far an even crappier week. Just two ts's for me last night: Secretariat and Cunard.

Did not get FJ.  I've never heard of that book except on Jeopardy! Odd too, since about the time it came out I was getting books for my children from the library but I guess I never got that one.  My FJ guess was The Missing Piece.

 

[M. Darcy]

Finally got a FJ right this week! 

[Clanstarling]

1 hour ago, Mindthinkr said:

Something about Ken has been bugging me and I finally figured out what. He is using all the same hand gestures that AT did. It’s almost as though he studied him on the show, and is mimicking him. Mind you it’s not bothering me, and they say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

He may not even know he does it - he's watched Alex while he was a contestant longer than anyone and may just have absorbed it as part of the job as host.

I've been thinking about Ken's performance this week (not related to @Mindthinkr's post), and realized that if their schedule is as it was in the old days - it's literally his first day on the job. I don't think anyone's first day goes entirely smoothly, no matter how well versed you are.

I thought Ken did fine. He talks a little fast, but if it helps clear boards I'm for it.

Edited January 15, 2021 by Clanstarling

[Bliss]

2 hours ago, Mindthinkr said:

Something about Ken has been bugging me and I finally figured out what. He is using all the same hand gestures that AT did. It’s almost as though he studied him on the show, and is mimicking him. Mind you it’s not bothering me, and they say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. 
  
I was able to get a few TSs. Secretariat, Buttercup, Cunard (just watched the Meryl Streep movie that was filmed on the QE2), and like so many of you I said Pat the Bunny for FJ. 

Mindthinkr, you made me LOL... I need to learn your secret - how stuff that bugs you doesn't bother you!

[MoreCoffeePlease]

Quote

I chuckled at the image of a “10 meter” race. 10,000 meters answered as being less than a mile also made me laugh.

I know we don't really use the metric system in the U.S., but kids do learn about it school, don't they? Jeesh.

Not a huge fan of Ken, BUT, I think he has done really well. Alex made it look effortless, but it has to be very difficult, especially if you get contestants who start hopping all over the board quickly. I think some of the guest hosts will be surprised at how difficult the job is, unless they practice a lot.