Jeopardy! Season 37 (2020-2021)

[saber5055]

Today's Rifleman episode, Season 3, Episode 34, is "The Queue."

See, everything is connected.

[illdoc]

41 minutes ago, saber5055 said:

Today's Rifleman episode, Season 3, Episode 34, is "The Queue."

See, everything is connected.

And Johnny Crawford (who played The Rifleman's son) just died Apr 29th.

[Trey]

9 minutes ago, illdoc said:

And Johnny Crawford (who played The Rifleman's son) just died Apr 29th.

I hadn't heard that.  RIP, Johnny Crawford.

[saber5055]

41 minutes ago, illdoc said:

And Johnny Crawford (who played The Rifleman's son) just died Apr 29th.

Oh no, I totally didn't know that. Sad news, he was a teen heartthrob. I guess that makes him sort of three Kevin Bacons away from last Thursday's FJ. And the Jeopardy curse.

In unrelated news, today is the 43rd anniversary of the first bulk spam email being sent (1978).

[SoMuchTV]

54 minutes ago, saber5055 said:

Oh no, I totally didn't know that. Sad news, he was a teen heartthrob. I guess that makes him sort of three Kevin Bacons away from last Thursday's FJ. And the Jeopardy curse.

In unrelated news, today is the 43rd anniversary of the first bulk spam email being sent (1978).

Oh I totally thought that connection was why you posted that!  As an aside, I only recently realized that adding the Celebrity Deaths thread to my notifications has been very eye-opening.

This link may or may not take you there, but it's under Beyond TV/Other TV Talk/Everything Else TV:

 

[Tunia]

Oh nooooooo...Did Bill Whitaker really just say "YUCK-a-tan"?

[ams1001]

Hmm...reserving judgment on Bill. He didn't annoy me or anything, but I wasn't paying a ton of attention. I did get phlogiston...don't know if he pronounced it right (or if I did)...

[Browncoat]

I had as rough a night as the contestants, though I did get FJ after a second trying to come up with who said "Go west, young man."  It came to mind in plenty of time to write it down.

The only TS I got were skull and Ken Kesey.

Bill was fine, I guess.  He also had that surprise in his voice when someone got something right, and he had the same pause, too, after contestants' responses.

[Katy M]

FJ was an instaget.

I got the missed clues of William IV, galleys, edict and skull.

Oddly enough I got the entire category of authors wrong.

And, side note.  Every time Pisarro is an answer, I can't think of his name and say Balboa.  I  know it's not right, but I can't think of the name.

[Prevailing Wind]

He pronounced a lot of things weirdly.  I'm giving him a break because I'd like to think he learned those word through reading.

I though FJ was easy.  The first part of the clue made me think of Twain, but the year was wrong. Then "following his own advice" gave it to me.

I'm also amused at how forgiving we are of the surprise in his & Cooper's voices when a contestant gets it right, yet Oz was raked over the coals for the same thing. (I know *I* disparaged him.) It depends on who we like or don't like. LOL

1 minute ago, Katy M said:

And, side note.  Every time Pisarro is an answer, I can't think of his name and say Balboa.  I  know it's not right, but I can't think of the name.

I remember Pizarro because that's always been a major complaint of mine of my education in American History. EVERY damn year we had it, so much time was spent on Conquistadors and PIzarro conquering the Inca, if we got to Reconstruction before the school year ended, we were lucky.  I know modern American History because I lived through it, but anything between Lincoln and Eisenhower is unknown to me via my formal education.

[Katy M]

1 minute ago, Prevailing Wind said:

I remember Pizarro because that's always been a major complaint of mine of my education in American History. EVERY damn year we had it, so much time was spent on Conquistadors and PIzarro conquering the Inca, if we got to Reconstruction before the school year ended, we were lucky. 

Same here, which is why it's weird that I blank on it Every.  Single. time.

 

[saber5055]

Hey @Tunia, long time no see.

I've never heard of Bill Whitaker. Haven't been able to get any CBS channels since analog went digital. But I don't give a care who the host is these days. I don't watch for the person who reads the clues.

I'm enjoying the champ, I love how she is so obviously happy and excited to be there. Good on her. Long may she reign.

[shapeshifter]

I kept dozing off but did wake up to exclaim "Mike Nichols!" and "Skull!"

 

I am very picky about voices and diction. Bill Whitaker has nice enunciation, but the timbre of his voice annoyed me as much as Mike Richards' lisp.

[zoey1996]

38 minutes ago, Prevailing Wind said:

 

He pronounced a lot of things weirdly.  I'm giving him a break because I'd like to think he learned those word through reading.

 

I didn’t notice any. I’ve watched him on 60 minutes for years, and really like him.

I watched Friday’s show when it was shown here Saturday. Glad I could. It was a good game.

I was screaming “Texas!” I’ve seen the Barbara Jordan statue at the Austin airport. I had no idea on any in the Prom Music category. I would have said head instead of skull; wonder if that would have been accepted. FJ was a near instaget.

[Katy M]

38 minutes ago, zoey1996 said:

I would have said head instead of skull; wonder if that would have been accepted.

I think you may have gotten a BMS.

[Tunia]

1 hour ago, saber5055 said:

Hey @Tunia, long time no see.

I've never heard of Bill Whitaker. Haven't been able to get any CBS channels since analog went digital. But I don't give a care who the host is these days. I don't watch for the person who reads the clues.

I'm enjoying the champ, I love how she is so obviously happy and excited to be there. Good on her. Long may she reign.

Hiya' Saber...

I was previously unfamiliar with Bill Whitaker also, but once I read his credentials, I was disappointed in his pronunciations.  Being on "60 Minutes" (which I don't watch), he should be well familiar with "YOO-ca-tan", and he had a couple other flubs.

Alex made hosting seem so effortless that I have high expectations for whoever fills his shoes.  It surprises me how much I DO care who the new host is.  Thus far, Anderson Cooper and Aaron Rodgers have been my favs, but I'll be waiting to see how Mayim Bialik and LeVar Burton come through.

I like the current champ too. :-)

Edited May 4, 2021 by Tunia
LOL - Haven't been posting much lately...Time to change my avatar. Hmmm - what to choose?

[853fisher]

How did tonight's game go for me?  Well, I learned a lot!

I did get everything under "E Words."  In FJ, I fell into the Twain trap.  I couldn't think of the advice referenced and also couldn't shake the remark apocryphally attributed to him that "the coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco."

I wish I'd remembered "Ted Lasso" from the clue a few months ago.  It sounds like a good premise but I just won't get another streaming service.  I could only think of "Jake Wrench," which turns out to be the trade name of a handyman who advertises here.

I thought "Prom Music" could've been more appealing with broader scope, but the contestants did well, so what do I know?  Only that at my Catholic school, "cheap thrills" were off limits, and nothing with a "this my s***, this my s***" bridge like "Hollaback" was on the playlist. ;) 

Bill did enunciate well in English but that was about it for me.  I agree some foreign pronunciations were wanting.  While he did better overall than I feared based on what seemed like very awkward body language at the beginning, he was just too soft-spoken and understated for me.  I know nothing about him other than having read when he was chosen for this that he is with "60 Minutes," and I am surprised to have felt that he had no gravitas at all.  Perhaps that will change as he settles in.

Emily remarked on Reddit that the contestants' call was 7, they didn't start taping until 11:30, and didn't finish the first one until 1:30.  This can't be easy on anyone, on- or back- stage.  Alex did it nearly in real time.  I'm ready for this parade of guests to pass by and for whoever they pick to start polishing.

Did Johnny Gilbert sound not quite like himself?  I hope he is well.

Edited May 4, 2021 by 853fisher

[Bastet]

I, too, was wait, what did you just say? about Bill Whitaker's pronunciation of a couple of things, but I enjoyed him and really liked his opening remarks.

The edict TS surprised me.

I learned what phrenology is via an awesomely bad '80s movie starring Charlie Sheen and Emilio Estevez, so thanks Men at Work.

I only ran food, vice, and E in the first round, but just missed one each in the others - except history, in which I was terrible, missing four.

In DJ, I had two bad categories -- I didn't get a single author, and missed three in prom music.  I only ran African-American women, but just missed one each in the rest.

I didn't get FJ; I deduced it was referring to "Go West, young man," but didn't come up with who'd said/written that.  I had the vague sense that was one of those sayings where it was disputed who'd first said it, so I will have to look that up.

[GreekGeek]

1 hour ago, zoey1996 said:

 

I would have said head instead of skull; wonder if that would have been accepted. FJ was a near instaget.

I would have too. I was also hoping that the contestant who said "brain" would get credit. I forget if it was in the Greek derivatives or the Ye Olde Medicine category, but the "phren" part of the word is closer to the Greek word for "brain" than  the one for "skull." I guess the rationale was that you can't touch the brain the way you can the skull.

Sad that no one knew Mike Nichols. He was in the arts news recently in connection with a new biography of him by Mark Harris. I also knew Cherries Jubilee, edict, metaphor, Graham Greene, and Ken Kesey. For FJ I thought of Mark Twain first, simply because he's one of those authors who turn up often as clues, but then remembered "Go west, young man" and Horace Greeley.

I was afraid Emily would tank after being in the red earlier in the game, but her brave DD wagers paid off again.

[shapeshifter]

34 minutes ago, GreekGeek said:

. I was also hoping that the contestant who said "brain" would get credit. I forget if it was in the Greek derivatives or the Ye Olde Medicine category, but the "phren" part of the word is closer to the Greek word for "brain" than  the one for "skull."

Ah! With the contestant being bilingual, I was wondering if there was a linguistic reason for his choosing the incorrect term.  
I’ve seen at least one episode of a show in which a character used bumps on someone else’s skull in some allegedly predictive way. 

Edited May 4, 2021 by shapeshifter

[Katy M]

8 hours ago, Bastet said:

I learned what phrenology is via an awesomely bad '80s movie starring Charlie Sheen and Emilio Estevez, so thanks Men at Work.

me, too.  Who says you can only get educated from educational tv and documentaries?

[ams1001]

12 hours ago, Browncoat said:

Bill was fine, I guess.  He also had that surprise in his voice when someone got something right, and he had the same pause, too, after contestants' responses.

I wonder if they're just trying to sound enthusiastic but it comes out sounding surprised instead...

[Clanstarling]

12 hours ago, Katy M said:

And, side note.  Every time Pisarro is an answer, I can't think of his name and say Balboa.  I  know it's not right, but I can't think of the name.

I have the same trouble with Ansel Adams and John Muir (which makes some sense) and Pollock and Calder (which makes absolutely no sense). As for Conquistadors, I throw out whatever name comes to mind, and it's always wrong. Never could keep them straight.

12 hours ago, saber5055 said:

 But I don't give a care who the host is these days. I don't watch for the person who reads the clues.

I've never heard anyone but my daughter use that phrase. Damn, and I thought it originated with her. So much for one of my cute kid stories.

12 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

I am very picky about voices and diction. Bill Whitaker has nice enunciation, but the timbre of his voice annoyed me as much as Mike Richards' lisp.

I found his timbre very soothing, and probably liked it better than any host so far. Mileage certainly varies.

Edited May 4, 2021 by Clanstarling

[Trey]

It was a good game for me.  I got the ts's or missed DDs of William IV, cherries jubilee, edict, Graham Greene, and From Here to Eternity.

Instaget FJ.

 

[saber5055]

3 hours ago, Clanstarling said:

I've never heard anyone but my daughter use that phrase. Damn, and I thought it originated with her. So much for one of my cute kid stories.

Mom?

[Katy M]

5 hours ago, Clanstarling said:

I've never heard anyone but my daughter use that phrase. Damn, and I thought it originated with her. So much for one of my cute kid stories.

I haven't said I don't give a care in ages, but I think I used to all the time as a kid.

[Roaster]

For FJ my first instinct was to answer "Masters and Kinsey".  And then I came to my senses and remembered the Gulag Archipelago.

Ugh, two of the contestants forgot to eat their Wheaties this morning.
 

[ams1001]

Did okay in the first round - ran Ding Dong and Reading Material and only missed one Crossword Clue. Did so bad in DJ, though. I did get all the Popes and all but one in American Music but zero Facts about Countries, and only one Brit in a Boat, one 20th Century Name and two pronouns. Also got FJ.

[illdoc]

"Cook"?!!!!! Mutiny on the Bounty and the $400 clue and only one person answers and they say "Cook"??!!! Shame, shame, shame.  I came close on the Shackleton answer--I said Shackleford and guessed the wrong "the XXIII" pope (debated between John & Paul and picked Paul). I also got the TS of Christian Bernard and the Shannon River. And what was up with the long hesitation (and obvious guess) of Michelangelo ("Agony & Ecstasy")? 

[catrice2]

Great result today.  There were some really easy and some really hard clues.

[Katy M]

I said Lawrence of Arabia, but in my defense, I knew it was wrong.

I got the missed clues of furniture, Christian Barnard, shape notes, and Captain Bligh.

I got the entire category of ding dong right and the entire category of pronouns wrong.

I said I "eye" as Odysseus's response to Cyclops.  But that probably wouldn't be clever in Greek.

[Browncoat]

I had absolutely no idea for FJ.  I have heard of the book, but only vaguely, in passing.  It never would have come to me.

I thought they were looking for something more specific than just "furniture" for that one clue, so I missed that one.  But I did get Christian Barnard, shape-note, Captain Bligh, and Shackleton.  You can't go to Antarctica without learning about Shackleton!

[GreekGeek]

I thought Bill jinxed the contestants by commenting that there had been no incorrect answers in the first round, because there were some doozies in DJ. I too was amazed that Bligh was a TS. I got Pierre Trudeau, Christian Barnard, John, and the missed DD of Shannon.

I thought Emily would have lasted longer. I wish her big DD wager had paid off again and brought her within range of catching Hanna. Since Emily was the only one to get FJ right, she would have won again. 

In FJ I fixated on The Kite Runner for some reason, maybe because I thought it was set in the 70's. Then at the last second I remembered The Gulag Archipelago.

[blueray]

I was surprised when the $1000 was Harry Potter and DH. I wonder if I just missed understood what the amount was, as that was a very easy question.

[Bastet]

Emily had some big misses, and Hanna ran away with the game in DJ; it was interesting that Bill said she had "a big lead" rather than "can't be caught" like Alex did.  (Or "can't be beat"?  My goodness, I'm already forgetting.) 

The furniture TS was surprising, but I suspect they, like @Browncoat were trying to think of a specific type of furniture.  I was also surprised it took three tries to get Masters and Johnson.

I only ran truce, crossword clues, and ding dong in the first round, but missed three each in pop culture and witches.  Just one each in the other two categories, but it didn't bode well since I'm usually worse in DJ.

Indeed - I didn't run a single category.  I mostly missed one or two each category, but I was terrible in Brits in Boats, missing four.

I didn't know FJ, either, so it was not my night.  I've been saying that more than usual lately, so hopefully I snap out of my J! funk soon.  There were several responses that, once revealed, I either thought Duh! or that if I'd had a little more time I'd have correctly reasoned my way to or at least correctly guessed it, so I think recent stress is affecting my focus.  That's my story, anyway, and I'm sticking with it.

[saber5055]

I'm thinking that Monday's episode taking two hours to tape instead of less than one-half hour to complete was wearing on Emily. The other two were fresh players while she had to be exhausted after two hours of standing at that podium and redoing things over and over. Then start from scratch with a second episode. I was sorry to see her go, she was a refreshing personality. Wish she could have stayed longer. But kudos to her being the only one to answer FJ. That's something. She can be proud of her run.

FJ was easy for me. I paid a lot of attention when Gulag was published, there was no end to the publicity and back stories about it. It made a huge impression that obviously stayed with me over the years.

[ams1001]

12 minutes ago, Bastet said:

The furniture TS was surprising, but I suspect they, like @Browncoat were trying to think of a specific type of furniture.  I was also surprised it took three tries to get Masters and Johnson.

That was my problem; furniture was the one I missed in the category.

I was yelling Johnson! at my TV but they weren't listening to me.

[shapeshifter]

7 hours ago, saber5055 said:

FJ was easy for me. I paid a lot of attention when Gulag was published, there was no end to the publicity and back stories about it. It made a huge impression that obviously stayed with me over the years.

I remember the buzz about Solzhenitsyn's Gulag Archipelago, but not well enough to name it for FJ 
--maybe if they'd named the author--but probably not then either. 

OTOH, I cannot recall how I learned about shape note singing, but seeing a clue with "the notes are printed as ovals, triangles, diamonds & rectangles" was all it took to jog that term loose from my brain. But clearly real Jeopardy players brains work differently than mine.

 

10 hours ago, illdoc said:

"Cook"?!!!!! Mutiny on the Bounty and the $400 clue and only one person answers and they say "Cook"??!!! Shame, shame, shame.

And none of them heard me yelling: Bly! Bly! Bly! Bly! 
Oops! 😬 
[“Bligh! Bligh! Bligh! Bligh!”]

 

8 hours ago, Browncoat said:

 You can't go to Antarctica without learning about Shackleton!

Have you been to Antarctica, @Browncoat? Your avatar seems to say the answer to that is yes.

 

8 hours ago, GreekGeek said:

I thought Emily would have lasted longer. I wish her big DD wager had paid off again and brought her within range of catching Hanna. Since Emily was the only one to get FJ right, she would have won again. 

I wish Emily had won and gone on to be a 5-time winner. There haven't been any since Brayden, have there? 😞
Emily really seemed quicker and to have a depth and breadth of knowledge greater than the average Jeopardy player. But I'm sure there are a lot of magnificent athletes who never get to the Olympics either.

7 hours ago, saber5055 said:

I'm thinking that Monday's episode taking two hours to tape instead of less than one-half hour to complete was wearing on Emily. The other two were fresh players while she had to be exhausted after two hours of standing at that podium and redoing things over and over. Then start from scratch with a second episode.

This^ explanation makes sense, @saber5055. And similar situations with the other guest hosts might explain why there haven't yet been any 5-time winners.

[in a small voice] During the first round I was kind of hoping Brittany would win because I liked her hair, LOL.

Edited May 5, 2021 by shapeshifter
Oops

[saber5055]

18 minutes ago, ams1001 said:

I was yelling Johnson! at my TV but they weren't listening to me.

But I'll bet your neighbors heard, and now they know more about you than they should.

15 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

This^ explanation makes sense, @saber5055. And similar situations with the other guest hosts might explain why there haven't yet been any 5-time winners.

No, the first episode taped with Bill was the only time this has happened. There were a lot of problems connected to this specific host that required multiple do overs.

17 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

Have you been to Antarctica, @Browncoat?

Old timers here know that's a big YES.

[shapeshifter]

7 minutes ago, saber5055 said:

22 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

similar situations with the other guest hosts might explain why there haven't yet been any 5-time winners.

No, the first episode taped with Bill was the only time this has happened. There were a lot of problems connected to this specific host that required multiple do overs.

But do you think maybe extra floofing and primping and cue-carding the guest hosts has taken a toll on the contestants?

[saber5055]

1 minute ago, shapeshifter said:

But do you think maybe extra floofing and primping and cue-carding the guest hosts has taken a toll on the contestants?

No.JMHO of course. There were long spells between five-time winners while AT was hosting. It's not easy to last five games, plus there's the three-day curse thing.

[The Wild Sow]

1 hour ago, shapeshifter said:

"Cook"?!!!!! Mutiny on the Bounty and the $400 clue and only one person answers and they say "Cook"??!!! Shame, shame, shame.

 

1 hour ago, shapeshifter said:

And none of them heard me yelling: Bly! Bly! Bly! Bly!

Or even “Bligh! Bligh! Bligh! Bligh!”? <g>

I, too, was yelling “Johnson! Johnson!”

About that “The Witch is Dead” category, Billie Hayes - the hilariously wicked Witchiepoo from H.R. Pufnstuf- died today at age 96. Jeopardy Curse strikes again?

[Browncoat]

@shapeshifter, yes, I have!  The photo in my avatar is one I took with my very own camera.  Those two were just hanging out on an iceberg, watching the parade of zodiacs go by.

[DrSpaceman73]

I had no idea on FJ.  Never heard of it

Cook??  Come on.  He died in hawaii.  There are two movies about mutiny on the bounty.  

The former champ bet big and lost this time.   Still a good strategy though.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Clanstarling]

10 hours ago, Browncoat said:

I had absolutely no idea for FJ.  I have heard of the book, but only vaguely, in passing.  It never would have come to me.

I thought they were looking for something more specific than just "furniture" for that one clue, so I missed that one.  But I did get Christian Barnard, shape-note, Captain Bligh, and Shackleton.  You can't go to Antarctica without learning about Shackleton!

I figured out the author pretty quickly, it took me some time to figure out the title of the book, but finally connected "like an island chain" in the quote to "archipelago." I think I read it back when, but I don't really remember.

I answered furniture correctly - but it was more like my eyes glazed over and I said "I dunno, furniture?"

Bligh was easy for me. I read a lot about him, including the fact that there were two mutinies against him, one in Australia, as I recall.

[MrAtoz]

9 hours ago, saber5055 said:

I'm thinking that Monday's episode taking two hours to tape instead of less than one-half hour to complete was wearing on Emily.

I hadn't heard about that.  Where can I find out more about it?

It was such a well-oiled machine when Alex was there, but I suppose it's not surprising that the guest hosts may be having some trouble.  There's no other job that's quite like hosting a fast-moving game show, so there's no real way to get experience before you actually do it.

I wasn't sure about FJ at first, but then I caught the "island chain" reference in the clue.  I never knew why the book had "archipelago" in the title.

[M. Darcy]

Heh, on my show I also had a Shannon River DD that I got wrong (I also said the Liffey).  Alex gave me a hard time for not betting a lot and when I got it wrong, I really wanted to say “See, I wasn’t wrong to not bet a lot you jerk”.  

(for the record, I got all three daily doubles and I did get the first one right. I am “famous” for the last one I missed - the Izaak Walton one). 

[Trey]

15 hours ago, Bastet said:

Emily had some big misses, and Hanna ran away with the game in DJ; it was interesting that Bill said she had "a big lead" rather than "can't be caught" like Alex did. 

I have noticed, since the first guest host, that they no longer say the game is a runaway or a contestant "can't be caught". They might say that contestant has a really big lead but that's about it.

It was a pretty good game for me.  I got the ts's or missed dd's of furniture, Pierre Trudeau, Christian Barnard, Pope John XXII, and Shannon River.  Bligh was on the tip of my tongue but I couldn't spit it out.

Not an instaget FJ.  I knew what book they meant but I really had to dig to pull up Gulag Archipelago.  I am pretty sure I read the book back when it first came out.

Good-bye Emily, hello Hanna.

Edited May 5, 2021 by Trey

[Grundoon59]

Like you @saber5055, the Gulag Archipelago made a big impression on me back in the day (partly because I had a chance to go on a student trip to parts of the Soviet Union in 1977 and read a lot about Russia/USSR before and after) so FJ was an instaget. 

Antarctica is still on my bucket list (but enjoyed your accounts of your trip @Browncoat) but I went through a period of fascination with books about exploration so I knew Shackleton as well - the book I read about his journey was enough to convince me much of the world would have remained unexplored if it were left to wimps like me. 

Also count me in the chorus shouting JOHNSON and BLIGH but luckily the weather in Michigan has turned a little rainy and chilly after a glorious spring weekend so my neighbors wouldn't be disturbed by me. 

[j5cochran]

I was yelling "Bligh" along with the rest of this gang, but with a big dollop of irony. In my on-air game, the Final Jeopardy clue was "In 1790 Thursday October Christian became the first child whose birth was recorded on this remote island." I knew he was the child of the leader of the Bounty Mutiny, but I couldn't come up with the name of the island. Pitcairn Island is now engraved in my brain!

(I think irony is the right choice of words. I'm sure someone here will correct me.)