Jeopardy! Season 37 (2020-2021)

[rubaco]

12 hours ago, ams1001 said:

Yes, they started the tie-breaker question in November 2014. As the all-knowing wiki puts it, "Previously, if two or all three contestants tied for first place, they were declared "co-champions", and each retained his or her winnings and (unless one was a five-time champion who retired prior to 2003) returned on the following episode." Doesn't say why they changed it, though.

I had to refresh my memory about why they did away with co-champs, so yesterday I googled around and found this article. Apparently contestants were trying for ties too frequently and the show decided to put an end to that.

[853fisher]

I'm really picking nits here, but I am alone in feeling that there are some relatively cavernous pauses between responses and Ken responding affirmatively?  At least a few times per episode I feel this way.  The responses are unambiguously correct, not anything for which Ken should need to wait the judges, but things seem just that half a second slower than they should.  I probably need to get over whatever I'm sensing, because we are generally clearing boards and I think Ken is fine overall, but I think he could be just a little quicker on the uptake.

Something interesting from Thursday: although I still don't like the local news anchor gimmick, I thought it was pretty cool the way they had the two anchors introduce themselves on the first clues called, although they were not at the top of the board.  I guess they must have recorded two copies of each clue.  I thought it was an interesting insight into what the writers have to plan for.

On 1/23/2021 at 12:07 AM, nuraman00 said:

For the 3 Letter D word category from last week, $1000 clue, would "Dis" have also been an acceptable answer?  Do you think the show would have accepted it?  Because that's the answer I came up with.

That's clever!  But although it is an abridgment of "disrespect," I have always seen it spelled "diss."

13 hours ago, rubaco said:

I had to refresh my memory about why they did away with co-champs, so yesterday I googled around and found this article. Apparently contestants were trying for ties too frequently and the show decided to put an end to that.

Interesting article.  Thanks!  I'm not sure I'm entirely convinced of the assessment that the producers really didn't mind paying two winners, but it'd be fair enough not to want to send people home having traveled at their own expense without competing because a slot was tied up.  On the other hand, surely they invite alternates who won't make it to the stage 9 times out of 10?  It's not like they couldn't afford to bring anyone back who doesn't get to play, perhaps prioritizing non-locals to play as scheduled to minimize the expense.  As far as I know, everyone is still pretty local right now anyway.  All other things being equal, I would prefer co-champions to a tiebreaker, but oh well.

Edited January 25, 2021 by 853fisher
more thoughts on ties

[j5cochran]

21 minutes ago, 853fisher said:

Interesting article.  Thanks!  I'm not sure I'm entirely convinced of the assessment that the producers really didn't mind paying two winners, but it'd be fair enough not to want to send people home having traveled at their own expense without competing because a slot was tied up. All other things being equal, I would prefer co-champions to a tiebreaker, but never mind.

When I arrived on a Tuesday morning to film the show, they had 12 (I think! or maybe 13) people there to fill the 11 slots required for the five games that day - the previous winner and two new players for the first game, and then two new players for the next four games. The extra person(s) was in case someone didn't make it that day. At least one of those people was local, and was reserved for the last game filmed that day. If he/she didn't get to film, he/she was automatically in the first game filmed on the next day, or the next week.

So the show was used to having leftover contestants. And if a contestant won on the last game recorded that day, he/she came back the next day or week or whenever. If it was next week or later, Jeopardy paid for the return roundtrip airline ticket (known as the Ken Jennings rule), because that contestant wouldn't get paid their winnings until after their shows had broadcast.

So at the worst in the case of co-champions, the show might have to pay double winnings for one game, and a pair of roundtrip tickets. Not that much! Get rid of the tie-breaker and bring back the co-champions!

[853fisher]

8 minutes ago, j5cochran said:

When I arrived on a Tuesday morning to film the show, they had 12 (I think! or maybe 13) people there to fill the 11 slots required for the five games that day - the previous winner and two new players for the first game, and then two new players for the next four games. The extra person(s) was in case someone didn't make it that day. At least one of those people was local, and was reserved for the last game filmed that day. If he/she didn't get to film, he/she was automatically in the first game filmed on the next day, or the next week.

So the show was used to having leftover contestants. And if a contestant won on the last game recorded that day, he/she came back the next day or week or whenever. If it was next week or later, Jeopardy paid for the return roundtrip airline ticket (known as the Ken Jennings rule), because that contestant wouldn't get paid their winnings until after their shows had broadcast.

So at the worst in the case of co-champions, the show might have to pay double winnings for one game, and a pair of roundtrip tickets. Not that much! Get rid of the tie-breaker and bring back the co-champions!

Interesting, thanks!  I must have edited my post while you were typing.  You read the version before I kept thinking about alternates etc and changed my tune a little, ending up not far from your perspective.  It's a dangerous thing when I get to thinking. 😉

 

As an aside, perhaps everyone but me realized this, but the host can see how the players have wagered and responded before the reveal.  I probably should have guessed, given how on-the-nose Alex's comments always were, but I thought maybe he was just really good.

[j5cochran]

1 hour ago, 853fisher said:

Interesting, thanks!  I must have edited my post while you were typing.  You read the version before I kept thinking about alternates etc and changed my tune a little, ending up not far from your perspective.  It's a dangerous thing when I get to thinking. 😉

Great minds think alike!

[Cherpumple]

3 hours ago, 853fisher said:

I'm really picking nits here, but I am alone in feeling that there are some relatively cavernous pauses between responses and Ken responding affirmatively?

I've noticed that too. So far I chalk it up to him being conscientious about making sure he's doing everything right, especially since there have been some close calls lately (adding an incorrect "s", slight mispronunciations, etc.). But now that I think about it, how does he know the correct response was given? Are they written somewhere on his podium, or does he get a signal through his earpiece? Alex made everything look so seamless that I never really thought about it before.

[Prevailing Wind]

Perhaps that gap is there because he knows he's talking faster than Alex and needs to slow up the game. They're clearing the boards. If they go any faster, what will they do with the extra time saved?

[bad things are bad]

Quote

what will they do with the extra time saved?

Pretty sure there'd be another Geico commercial. 

[853fisher]

12 hours ago, Prevailing Wind said:

Perhaps that gap is there because he knows he's talking faster than Alex and needs to slow up the game. They're clearing the boards. If they go any faster, what will they do with the extra time saved?

I wouldn't be opposed to more video or audio clues, but I'd be afraid we'd get something silly instead, with or without the gecko.  Yours is not a bad thought.  If that is the case, I hope Ken used his additional time on the show to work on equalizing things, maybe speaking just a mite slower instead.  He's doing fine for ten episodes in and I have no problem with the speed of his speech, but if they decide to keep him around beyond the six weeks, I would rather he go just a skootch slower than have to insert micropauses.  It's not easy, I know!

[Tabasco Cat]

I wasn't expecting another week of Jennings. I thought they were going to change guest hosts every two weeks. I guess not. I won't be watching again until there's a new guest host. Have fun, everyone. I'm out for now.

[ams1001]

I missed the first half of the first round because they were doing live coverage of the walk from the House to the Senate and it took me that long to find the alternate ABC channel (I've made a note in my personal mini TV guide that I keep in excel, for future reference). Finally found it about 3 clues before the first commercial.

I was surprised Beijing was a TS...

Did pretty well in DJ...got all but one Musical Theater and all the Philosophy and Before & After (I liked the 4-letter twist on the category) and Nature.

FJ was a no for me.

4 minutes ago, Tabasco Cat said:

I wasn't expecting another week of Jennings. I thought they were going to change guest hosts every two weeks. I guess not. I won't be watching again until there's a new guest host. Have fun, everyone. I'm out for now.

He did 30 shows (6 weeks).

[Katy M]

I did horribly.

I said Malta and France for FJ. Geography's still not my subject.

I got the ts of Warsaw, Beijing, sandstone, Saladin and Orange order.

I got the entire category of musical theater wrong.

[Browncoat]

I was worried the game would be pre-empted tonight, but only Wheel was.  Whew!  And then I completely surprised myself by guessing FJ correctly!  Algeria was an instaget, but it took a few seconds for Monaco to come to my brain -- I knew Rainier, Prince of.......  Monaco!  

Another case where the contestant in 3rd place should have bet zero.  Not that it mattered, but it certainly could have!

I also got the TS of St. Christopher, flamin' hot, sandstone, lacewing, and Orange, and I got all the Musical Theatre right.

[Driad]

Saint Christopher?  Hasn't he been Mr. Christopher for years now?

[HissyFit]

Jeopardy! pre-empted. Not on any other channel available to me.

But that's OK. I can watch the hunky firemen. The steam coming from my ears has set off the smoke alarm.

[Prevailing Wind]

Damnit. I fell asleep again - through most of the news, most wof Wheel and woke up in time to hear the FJ category announced. For all the clues I saw today, I'm at 100%. LOL.

[Cotypubby]

😤 Jeopardy was preempted to show people walking down a hallway through the Capitol. It only came back in the middle of DJ. So I missed a Musical Theater category!? 😡

Edited January 26, 2021 by Cotypubby

[ams1001]

25 minutes ago, Cotypubby said:

😤 Jeopardy was preempted to show people walking down a hallway through the Capitol. It only came back in the middle of DJ. So I missed a Musical Theater category!? 😡

Here's today's game, if you wanna see how you'd do...

http://www.j-archive.com/showgame.php?game_id=6920

[Bastet]

Ha - a male authors category!

I don't know that I'd have given Elliot his version of the Kierkegaard quote, but I don't know Danish; Google translate tells me backwards and reverse have different words in Danish, though, so I find Ken's "Maybe that's what he said in Danish, we don't know" unconvincing.

I quit counting how many I missed pretty early in the game, because it was getting depressing; yikes!  I did get FJ, though.

[853fisher]

4/5 in Musical Theatre!  I never thought I'd be unhappy after seeing Audra McDonald, but here we are.  It's time I learn more about "Ragtime," the only one I have neither seen or heard in full.  If you were tickled by the tidbit about "Fiddler" being popular in Japan, may I recommend "A Miracle of Miracles," the fabulous 2019 documentary about the show?  I think it's on Amazon Prime and on demand through some PBS stations.  I saw it at one of my favorite neighborhood movie theatres, which a year ago tomorrow was closed after 110 years with 10 days' notice.  I read last night that the application of the out-of-town landlord, who barely negotiated with various arts nonprofits, to convert the space to retail was accepted by the planning board.  Does this mean I stop writing letters now?  I don't think so!

Anyway, not one of my strongest games outside the musicals, but I had a lot of fun when I could pay attention!  I had a stream of texts from my mother preparing me to help her and my father get a vaccine appointment tomorrow, since they had a hell of a time today.  I don't know what they expect anyone to do who isn't good with technology or may not even have reliable internet service.  Ma is of course on the short list of people who can interrupt during "Jeopardy!" before she goes to bed. 😉

I thought Ken oversold his feelings about the tiebreaker just a little.  As a lifelong fan, he's always loved that most exciting kind of finish!  Hasn't it been around less than five years?  Of course it's his job to be the show's cheerleader, but it came off more than a little artificial to me.

Edited January 26, 2021 by 853fisher
abridged

[Driad]

7 minutes ago, 853fisher said:

"Fiddler" being popular in Japan

A coworker took time off because her parents were visiting from China. When she returned, she told us what they had done, including seeing "Fiddler." She had mentioned that they had very little English, so I asked if they could follow the plot well enough. She said yes, they came from the same village, only in China. A truly international show!

[chessiegal]

6 minutes ago, 853fisher said:

I thought Ken oversold his feelings about the tiebreaker just a little.  As a lifelong fan, he's always loved that most exciting kind of finish!  Hasn't it been around less than five years?  Of course it's his job to be the show's cheerleader, but it came off more than a little artificial to me.

The tie breaker was used in tournaments, so more years than it's been used in regular shows. Ken's seen his share of tournaments.

[ams1001]

11 minutes ago, 853fisher said:

4/5 in Musical Theatre!  I never thought I'd be unhappy after seeing Audra McDonald, but here we are.  It's time I learn more about "Ragtime," the only one I have neither seen or heard in full.

I got that one from the author of the book. I've never read it but I've seen the cover a million times since it was often on school summer reading lists, which we had tables for in the bookstore (which I spent a lot of time maintaining because I was in charge of fiction for a while).

[853fisher]

14 hours ago, chessiegal said:

The tie breaker was used in tournaments, so more years than it's been used in regular shows. Ken's seen his share of tournaments.

Ah, fair point, that!  I still don't see how folks would consider that the most exciting potential part of the show, but different strokes, as they say.  And I could at least get my facts straight along the way. 😉

 

By the way, Elliott reminded me of someone.  I thought it was just someone I know socially, but it turns out he's the head writer for "Mystery Science Theatre 3000" and has had several other entertainment projects.  I don't like anyone talking over my movies for any reason, but all my friends seem to enjoy that series, so I thought I'd share.

One more thing (I'm in the J! Zone on a Monday, I guess): according to the weekly contestant roundup, the champion who would have returned at the beginning of the season were it not for COVID will do so Thursday.  I assume they went back to taping 5 a day, so I thought we'd see him on a Monday, but perhaps they randomly chose which day to slot him back in on.  He's not identified as a champ here, but I assume that's just a limit of their template.

Almost everyone else this week is still from the Pacific Coast, or identified as "Originally from _____" (which is COVID-ese on game shows for "I too am from Greater LA but let's appear to have variety"), but the midwest has started to creep in.  Zach is still shown from Metro DC, same as last year, so I guess they are relaxing their informal travel restrictions.  I don't really think it's appropriate to be flying people across the country to appear on game shows yet, as we're still very much in the throes of it all, but I understand that reasonable minds could differ.

Edited January 26, 2021 by 853fisher
missing quote

[Katy M]

8 hours ago, Bastet said:

Ha - a male authors category!

I don't know that I'd have given Elliot his version of the Kierkegaard quote, but I don't know Danish; Google translate tells me backwards and reverse have different words in Danish, though, so I find Ken's "Maybe that's what he said in Danish, we don't know" unconvincing.

I quit counting how many I missed pretty early in the game, because it was getting depressing; yikes!  I did get FJ, though.

But when people translate, they don't usually do it word for word. They do it so it sounds right in the new language.  So, maybe reverse would be the word more likely to be used in Danish and backwards and forwards is more common in English.

I don't remember what it was, but there was a different answer I was side-eyeing for a similar reason.  Or maybe it was that one I don't know.

[Clanstarling]

9 hours ago, ams1001 said:

I got that one from the author of the book. I've never read it but I've seen the cover a million times since it was often on school summer reading lists, which we had tables for in the bookstore (which I spent a lot of time maintaining because I was in charge of fiction for a while).

I read Ragtime ages ago, never knew it was a musical. Unfortunately, the author's name didn't clue me in as I'd forgotten he wrote the book. But otherwise, I did fairly well in the category.

I got Monaco for FJ, but was thinking side by side - so I went with Turkey instead of Algeria.  Mr. Starling got Algeria, but not Monaco. If only we'd collaborated!

[MrAtoz]

9 hours ago, 853fisher said:

It's time I learn more about "Ragtime," the only one I have neither seen or heard in full.

I love Ragtime.  It's one of the great musicals of that era, in my opinion.  Overshadowed by Sondheim and Lloyd Webber, but right up there with them as dramatic musicals go.  Presumably they had Audra McDonald giving the clue because she was in the original cast.  It's not short (the cast album is on two CDs), but the music is gorgeous.

Fun fact: the lyrics are by Lynn Ahrens, who also wrote a bunch of the songs for Schoolhouse Rock! ("Interjections!  Show excitement!  Or emotion!")

[zoey1996]

On 1/23/2021 at 7:44 PM, ams1001 said:

Also wondering when the champ when they shut down will be back (he hasn't been, right?).

Gilligan was champ for the last game with Alex, broadcast Friday, Jan. 8 2021, originally scheduled to run Dec. 25 2020. He appeared in the next game broadcast Monday Jan. 11 2021. He came in second in that game.

[chessiegal]

Andy Saunders on The Jeopardy! Fan says Zach Newkirk will be back on Thursday.

[Trey]

Not a great game for me.  Only one ts: Orange.

Did not get FJ.  I was thinking of the other two sides of the Mediterranean🙃

[Roaster]

15 hours ago, Tabasco Cat said:

I wasn't expecting another week of Jennings. I thought they were going to change guest hosts every two weeks. I guess not. I won't be watching again until there's a new guest host. Have fun, everyone. I'm out for now.

 

15 hours ago, ams1001 said:

He did 30 shows (6 weeks).

I was surprised to see him back, too.  You'd think they would use this time to try out potential permanent hosts (with due respect to Ken, he is not a long-term solution for them.)  I figured a new host every two weeks, with a few celebs (Katie Couric, Aaron Rogers) mixed in for fun.

They need to get a show-business, broadcasting pro for this job.  Let a bunch of them try out.

[opus]

9 minutes ago, Roaster said:

I figured a new host every two weeks, with a few celebs (Katie Couric, Aaron Rogers) mixed in for fun.

Well, after last Sunday, Aaron is now available, so they can get to work on that one.

[3 is enough]

I got Monaco for FJ and I knew it was one of the North African countries but I just didn't know which one was the largest.

Zach comes back as a contestant not champ- I guess that's all they can do.  The only advantage to being a returning champ is getting to pick the first clue.  Maybe they will have a coin toss to determine who goes first?

Edited January 26, 2021 by 3 is enough

[PaulaO]

After all my wailing and gnashing of teeth about how I can’t stand KJ, I admit I am enjoying him as guest host.  I would have no problem with him being permanent, although I still want to see how Buzzy would do.  

[853fisher]

1 hour ago, 3 is enough said:

The only advantage to being a returning champ is getting to pick the first clue.  Maybe they will have a coin toss to determine who goes first?

Perhaps whoever had the highest score in their last game?  That would be $19,995 for Zach, while it remains to be seen who will win Wednesday and with how much.  I'm sure they will address it, however briefly.  50 quatloos to the poster who gets closest to accurately predicting how they will handle this.  😉

[Mindthinkr]

4 hours ago, Clanstarling said:

I got Monaco for FJ, but was thinking side by side - so I went with Turkey instead of Algeria.  Mr. Starling got Algeria, but not Monaco. If only we'd collaborated!

I got Algeria first and couldn’t come up with a “small” country beside it so I never got to Monaco. So no FJ for me. 
 

    So many of the medals are for protection. St Michael for policemen, St Anthony to help find lost things, St Jude for hope etc, so I thought the clue was too open for me to say St Christopher. 
   I got flaming hot, and sandstone for TSs and loved seeing the Fiddler clue as it was the first play I ever saw on Broadway (starring Zero Mostel). 

[illdoc]

Re Ragtime: Saw the movie in...1982? I was waiting in line with my Grandma while my aunt & mom were parking the car. By the time they come up, there's me, a guy in front of me, and then my grandma. Mom says "why did you let that guy cut in front of you?" Me: "Because he let Grandma cut in front of him!". Grandma didn't go to the movies much. You didn't want to sit near us since she did a lot of talking thru out the movie (related to points in the movie, but still). She did enjoy the movie.

[Trey]

2 hours ago, Mindthinkr said:

So many of the medals are for protection. St Michael for policemen, St Anthony to help find lost things, St Jude for hope etc, so I thought the clue was too open for me to say St Christopher. 

I agree; it made it hard to come up with an answer.  Besides, I thought St. Christopher had been removed from the roster of Catholic saints.

St. Anthony has been my go-to saint for a long time now.

[Cherpumple]

2 hours ago, Mindthinkr said:

So many of the medals are for protection. St Michael for policemen, St Anthony to help find lost things, St Jude for hope etc, so I thought the clue was too open for me to say St Christopher. 

Yeah, I didn't like the vague wording of this one and thought it would be something like "badge" or "amulet". 

[ABay]

It didn't sound like they were looking for a saint's name, it sounded like they wanted a synonym for medallion specific to religion.

[Clanstarling]

3 hours ago, Mindthinkr said:

So many of the medals are for protection. St Michael for policemen, St Anthony to help find lost things, St Jude for hope etc, so I thought the clue was too open for me to say St Christopher. 

I thought so too. It seems to me that St Christoper is just one type of medal. Unless that specific medal is St. Christoper's - wouldn't know.

 

12 minutes ago, ABay said:

It didn't sound like they were looking for a saint's name, it sounded like they wanted a synonym for medallion specific to religion.

Yep, that's what I got stuck at.

 

[Mindthinkr]

1 hour ago, Trey said:

St. Anthony has been my go-to saint for a long time now.

Same here. I have talked to him so often that sometimes I call him Tony. 
I don’t think he minds, as he does help me keep finding lost stuff. 
Figures that we both like him so much...great minds and all that. 😊

[illdoc]

Wow! 3 different shows, covering 30 years of Chris Noth's career and it's a TS?! I understand the James Garner TS (since he's mainly known for one series 40+ years ago and he died several years ago), but Chris Noth? Besides Chris & James, I also got Finland, werewolf (missed DD. "pack"!!! I screamed at the screen when she said "vampire"), wombat, and got as far as "Louis Z-something" (for "Unbroken" survivor). I also thought FJ was an instaget.

Edited January 27, 2021 by illdoc

[ams1001]

19 minutes ago, illdoc said:

Wow! 3 different shows, covering 30 years of Chris Noth's career and it's a TS?! I understand the James Garner TS (since he's mainly known for one series 40+ years ago and he died several years ago), but Chris Noth? I also got Finland, werewolf (missed DD. "pack"!!! I screamed at the screen when she said "vampire"), wombat, and got as far as "Louis Z-something" (for "Unbroken" survivor). I also thought FJ was an instaget.

I got James Garner (took me a second to recognize the young face) but could not for the life of me come up with Chris Noth's name (and I've probably seen every one of his L&O episodes, though I didn't watch the other two shows); I was picturing him in my head. I got werewolf and wombat and Louis Zamperini (whose surname is very similar to my own; Unbroken's a good book, too). I got FJ as quickly as it took me to add 1982+17.

[SeanC]

Brian got a bit lucky that she missed that werewolf clue somehow.

[Katy M]

I got FJ, but was questioning myself because I forgot Prince died in 2016.  But, right is right whether or not I know why.

Only ts I got was James Garner and werewolf.  I could picture Chris Noth, but couldn't pull his name out.

 

[M. Darcy]

No one knew Chris Noth and James Garner! People should also know James Garner because he’s in one of the greatest movies ever - Victor/Victoria. 
 

I was in high school when 1999 came out and we all did the math and figured out how old we’d be then.  And it just seemed impossible that we would be 32 years old! 

[Browncoat]

I confidently shouted "Bohemian Rhapsody!" for FJ, not thinking about or doing the math.  I know it charted again after the movie came out, but if I'd done the math, I would have gotten it right.  Oh well!  

I did at least get James Garner and werewolf.  I thought vampire for that until I got to the "alpha of the pack" part of the clue.  I think Gabriela didn't pay attention to the whole clue and stopped at bitten.   I never watched any show Chris Noth was in, so I had no idea who that was.

Gabriela's vocal fry was killing me.  

[DrSpaceman73]

Thought it was candle in the wind though the years were a bit off.  Didn't think of 1999

[GreekGeek]

I did the math on the first part of FJ and came up with 1999, but I didn't know why it would chart the third time. When Ken pointed out that 2016 was the year Prince died, it made sense. (Remember when we were all cursing 2016 for taking so many greats?)

I also got Chris Noth, James Garner, and werewolf. I remember the Polaroid camera commercials he did with Mariette Hartley. Everybody assumed they were married, although they weren't. She had a shirt saying "I am not Mrs. James Garner." They were a "thing" for awhile. I looked for one on Ebay...no luck.