Jeopardy! Season 38 (2021-2022)

[Athena]

Jeopardy! Season 38 will premiere September 13, 2021.

Please remember the basic rules of this forum and thread. Posting about the day's episode should happen after 7PM ET. Before that, it is considered spoilers so please tag it. As always, be civil to your fellow posters and no politics.  

Thank you! 

[shapeshifter]

 

[PaulaO]

Spoiler

I don’t like the new backdrop.

 

[illdoc]

I'm not sure I care for the new opening theme music. Do you think Matt just didn't buzz in for some of the answers, so the other contestants could answer?

[Roaster]

6 minutes ago, illdoc said:

Do you think Matt just didn't buzz in for some of the answers, so the other contestants could answer?

I was thinking the same thing towards the end of the first round, when there were only low value clues left.  It seemed he did the same thing toward the end of last season.  Maybe it's our imagination.

[Suzysite]

I actually liked Mike R. as host.   It's just too bad he did whatever it was to get himself ousted.   Happy to see Matt back.  FJ...nope. 

[chitowngirl]

I noticed they put the FJ category over the clue!

[ams1001]

Yikes, not off to a great start. 47% / 60% / 54%. Got one DD, ran First Day on the Job, and got FJ (so I'm off to a good start on my first FJ Contest, at least). Not sure about TSes (I got at least one, in 7 Syllable Words, I think) because the game is not up on the J-Archive so I can't check.

I was amused at how delighted Matt looked when he got a 7 syllable word right. He was like a little kid with the counting on his fingers. I like his smile.

Didn't mind the new background (blue is my favorite color, after all) but I was distracted at the beginning and didn't really notice the music. Will try to pay more attention tomorrow.

2 minutes ago, chitowngirl said:

I noticed they put the FJ category over the clue!

I didn't notice that either! Damn I'm unobservant.

2 minutes ago, Suzysite said:

I actually liked Mike R. as host.   It's just too bad he did whatever it was to get himself ousted.   Happy to see Matt back.  FJ...nope. 

I do, too. If all that mess hadn't happened I'd be perfectly fine with him as permanent host. (Much more than Mayim; still keeping my fingers crossed that her filling in doesn't become permanent but I'm going to do my best not to let her bug me). Oh, well.

 

[BuckeyeLou]

What the heck was contestant, Amde, doing?!  He looked like he was scratching his leg or trying to untangle his cord, or something...it was very distracting watching him, like he was bending over & reaching for something...

[Katy M]

the only missed clue I got was blackberry.  I got FJ.  I didn't run any categories.  I did pretty bad in the first round and OK in the second.  Hopefully tomorrow night will be better.

[M. Darcy]

I had forgotten just how much I hated Matt. Sigh.   Wow, Mike Richards is really bad as host. Thankfully only 4 more days. 

[Katy M]

31 minutes ago, chitowngirl said:

I noticed they put the FJ category over the clue!

I did, too, mostly because I forgot what it was and I was like, zoiks, do they want a city, or a state or a site.  Oh, 13 colonies, OK, Rhode Island.

[Browncoat]

Well, I'm off to a bad start for the new season -- did not get FJ, and not because I was too specific.  I pretty much just randomly picked one of the 13 colonies.  Well, 12, because I eliminated Massachusetts.

The only TS I got was Whiskey A Go-Go.  And when BR came up, I said Baskin-Robbins!  And then read the whole clue and knew I was so very wrong.

I'll have to pay more attention tomorrow to the backdrop, but I don't like the new arrangement for the theme song.  (I don't like what they've done to Wheel's music, either, but that's neither here nor there.)

 

[saber5055]

Hoping Friday has the category "Last Day On The Job."

[ams1001]

1 minute ago, saber5055 said:

Hoping Friday has the category "Last Day On The Job."

I noticed Johnny didn't introduce him as "guest host" so I guess they didn't edit the intro, but then again, I guess it doesn't really matter. Whoever is host for the day is the host. Wonder if Mayim will be "guest" for the next few weeks.

[ByaNose]

36 minutes ago, ams1001 said:

Yikes, not off to a great start. 47% / 60% / 54%. Got one DD, ran First Day on the Job, and got FJ (so I'm off to a good start on my first FJ Contest, at least). Not sure about TSes (I got at least one, in 7 Syllable Words, I think) because the game is not up on the J-Archive so I can't check.

I was amused at how delighted Matt looked when he got a 7 syllable word right. He was like a little kid with the counting on his fingers. I like his smile.

Didn't mind the new background (blue is my favorite color, after all) but I was distracted at the beginning and didn't really notice the music. Will try to pay more attention tomorrow.

I didn't notice that either! Damn I'm unobservant.

I do, too. If all that mess hadn't happened I'd be perfectly fine with him as permanent host. (Much more than Mayim; still keeping my fingers crossed that her filling in doesn't become permanent but I'm going to do my best not to let her bug me). Oh, well.

 

It’s funny but after Mike Richards first stint as guest host I thought (knew) he was going to be picked. He just had that throwback look of a game show host. Oddly enough, I’ve watched TPIR since beginning but never put it together that the two Mike Richards were the one and the same. Anyway, I thought he would have been a great host but the past life in and shape or form I.E. previous jobs, social media & history can hinder you moving forward or getting fired before you even start. I also thought Ken Jennings was a close second for sentimental reasons but he also had social media issues. It seems now they MB at least, temporarily. She wasn’t bad and seemed very happy while hosting. I’m guessing some lines were edited out such as him officially taken over as host and also the opening montage of the studio name was added. 

[ams1001]

17 minutes ago, Browncoat said:

And when BR came up, I said Baskin-Robbins!

lol...so did I. I blame the talk of milkshakes in the FJ thread. 🍨

1 minute ago, ByaNose said:

I’m guessing some lines were edited out such as him officially taken over as host and also the opening montage of the studio name was added. 

Yeah, he kinda got right down to business after the stage dedication bit. I would have expected at least a little bit of a speech if the last several weeks hadn't happened.

[shapeshifter]

I wanted to adopt Matt as a godson or nephew or something when he smiled so joyfully at the camera/his parents at the end.

Yes, Matt sat back and let them get the low-hanging fruit at the end of the first round, instead of leaving a few big bites at the end, which increased his winnings.
I appreciate his strategies (including using "What's" to save brain seconds) because they are logical, whereas James Holzhauer's were purely gambling strategy applications for Jeopardy! I see Matt as more creative.
ETA: I also figured that Matt was counting the syllables for the answers in the "Seven Syllable Words" category so he might have time to correct if he was wrong.

And MR's lisp continues to irritate me. I don't know that I would have ever been able to tune it out, but we'll never know.
I couldn't help wondering if the Clue Crew purposely filled the categories with S's for him to read, including "Sounds Like Tennis," "That's Canadian Entertainment," "Tasty Business," "Somebody Wrote That," "Is an Island," "First Day on the Job," "Facts About Animals," "Authors Not Authoring," and "The Best Supporting Actor Oscar Goes To," and "Seven Syllable Words," although, to be fair, "S" is a common low-scoring letter in Scrabble too.

 

46 minutes ago, saber5055 said:

Hoping Friday has the category "Last Day On The Job."

Haha. "So say we all"?

 

Dear Jeopardy! aficionados, 
Is it typical for J! Archive to not have the first episode of the new season posted yet? 😟

Hope they're okay.

Edited September 14, 2021 by shapeshifter

[ams1001]

1 minute ago, shapeshifter said:

Dear Jeopardy! aficionados, 
Is it typical for J! Archive to not have the first episode of the new season posted yet? 😟

Hope they're okay.

Me, too! I usually use it to set up my scorecard because I can't always type fast enough when they read the categories.

Still haven't noticed a lisp with Mike.

[dcalley]

46 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

Dear Jeopardy! aficionados, 

Is it typical for J! Archive to not have the first episode of the new season posted yet? 😟

Hope they're okay.

Knowing that the a person involved with the site posts at JBoard, I went over to see if there was any mention of this, and there is! It seems the site's being recoded to improve its speed, and this is taking longer than anticipated.

Edited September 14, 2021 by dcalley

[vibeology]

Sandra Oh and Alanis Morissette in one category. I have to feel like two Ottawa celebrities was a bit of a shout out to Alex.

[saber5055]

2 minutes ago, vibeology said:

Sandra Oh and Alanis Morissette in one category. I have to feel like two Ottawa celebrities was a bit of a shout out to Alex.

I thought that about the entire That's Canadian Entertainment category. LOL at the suggestion the clue writers wrote a lot of "S" categories. "Sneaky Snakes" and I approve of that theory.

[Bastet]

Mondays and Thursdays are archive nights for me during football season, so I'm bummed it's not back up and running yet, but I'm sure the site admin is even more frustrated given all the work that's gone into the summer project (not to mention the work that goes into the daily updating) so I am not complaining. 

I looked up FJ elsewhere, and did not know it. 

Once I learned Mike Richards went to Pepperdine, I wondered if him coming on board as EP was the reason for the increase in categories/clues about Christianity, so hopefully with him out on his ass where he belongs, this season will return to normal on that front. 

[theartandsound]

Only four more episodes of the true hell that is Mike + Matt.

Matt just annoys the fuck out of me. His use of "What is" for people, the counting the syllables on his hands, his smarmy bemused expression... just yeah..... but yet I must continue to watch because I'm a fucking completest and an apparent glutton for punishment.

[853fisher]

I loved the mentions of Anthony McAuliffe and Dave Thomas, my Sigma Phi Epsilon brothers!  They were very good to the fraternity over the years, and now they're helping me answer trivia questions.  I try not to eat fast food but I wish there was a Wendy's near me tonight!

The losing contestants didn't seem too sporting.  Nary a polite smile or a little clap with Matt and the DDs, as there often is.  Well, Gabbie sort of tapped her arm with one hand a bit.  I wonder what Amdé was really thinking instead of "interesting" when he was ruled wrong in FJ.

"Is that Alanis Morrissette?" was cute.  I wasn't sure about the remark that "we all had [a BlackBerry]."  I'm a bit young to remember but my impression was that they were much less ubiquitous in their heyday than smartphones are today.

I did appreciate that they took our suggestion to put the category above the question, at least in FJ.  But I didn't care for the new theme music at all.  It sounded too heavy and electronic, like something someone playing with a low-end MIDI editor would have thrown together.

That was a terrifically unsubtle edit between Mike's introduction of Johnny and his comments about Mike.  I thought I read there was going to be a disclaimer / notice of some sort, but I'm not surprised they seem to just have left it alone.

[SoMuchTV]

38 minutes ago, theartandsound said:

Only four more episodes of the true hell that is Mike + Matt.

Matt just annoys the fuck out of me. His use of "What is" for people, the counting the syllables on his hands, his smarmy bemused expression... just yeah..... but yet I must continue to watch because I'm a fucking completest and an apparent glutton for punishment.

I had to laugh at the counting syllables on his fingers. I mean, yeah, I do it when I try to work out the answer, but I don’t see how it helps him once he’s already rung in and committed. 

[possibilities]

1 hour ago, shapeshifter said:

And MR's lisp continues to irritate me

Damn-- I didn't even notice it. I have one, too, and no one told me til I was in my 20s. And my name has S in it twice. Clearly I still don't know how to hear this, even though I try.

I laughed so much at "Is it Alanis Morrissette?" It's a question, so it's acceptable, but I don't recall if anyone has ever done it before.

 

[kathyk24]

No we did not all have Blackberries. I think Jeopardy needs to raise the prizes that the losing contestants get. Wheel of Fortune is giving away 10000 for one person getting the triple toss up correct so Sony has the money. 

[shapeshifter]

1 minute ago, kathyk24 said:

No we did not all have Blackberries

Yeah. Not me. Pretty elitist assumption. 

[possibilities]

I had "mischaracterization" for the first 7 syllable clue, so "oversimplification" (which makes more sense) kind of bummed me out.

[ams1001]

16 minutes ago, possibilities said:

I laughed so much at "Is it Alanis Morrissette?" It's a question, so it's acceptable, but I don't recall if anyone has ever done it before.

I know I've heard it at least once before, but that was years ago.

 

[ams1001]

2 hours ago, saber5055 said:

Hoping Friday has the category "Last Day On The Job."

 

[ams1001]

Also just saw this mentioned on reddit so I had to go look for the end credits...

Edited September 14, 2021 by ams1001

[dcalley]

25 minutes ago, ams1001 said:

Also just saw this mentioned on reddit so I had to go look for the end credits...

I think that thread is worth the read. Thanks for posting it.

[GreekGeek]

7 hours ago, 853fisher said:

The losing contestants didn't seem too sporting.  Nary a polite smile or a little clap with Matt and the DDs, as there often is.  Well, Gabbie sort of tapped her arm with one hand a bit. 

I'm a big fan of good sportsmanship, but maybe they just couldn't muster up the enthusiasm at seeing their chances of victory fly further out of reach. (Matt could have been wrong on the DD's, of course, but he usually isn't.)

[shapeshifter]

7 hours ago, ams1001 said:

Also just saw this mentioned on reddit so I had to go look for the end credits...

6 hours ago, dcalley said:

I think that thread is worth the read. Thanks for posting it.

Indeed.

And Stage Manager Jimmy McGuire even has dimples. 

[30 Helens]

It was weird watching Mike Richards look so happy, so satisfied about winning the job that will be snatched away right after the taping day and he has no idea… 

10 hours ago, chitowngirl said:

I noticed they put the FJ category over the clue!

This made me very happy. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve had to say, “wait, what’s the category?” and squint to see what’s written on the cube in the background.

Matt seems much more relaxed and comfortable after the break. I think it’s fine that he’s showing a sense of humor, but he needs to be careful or he will quickly approach Buzzy levels of annoying.

[shapeshifter]

11 hours ago, chitowngirl said:

I noticed they put the FJ category over the clue!

I’m hoping 🤞this is a tryout for potentially putting the category above all clues. 
If nothing else, someone has demonstrated it can be done. 

[Caoimhe]

10 hours ago, theartandsound said:

Only four more episodes of the true hell that is Mike + Matt.

Matt just annoys the fuck out of me. His use of "What is" for people, the counting the syllables on his hands, his smarmy bemused expression... just yeah..... but yet I must continue to watch because I'm a fucking completest and an apparent glutton for punishment.

I get too annoyed to watch "What's Amodio".  Not personality wise, he seems like a very decent person, it's just that his (very successful) game playing technique grates on me.  Which most likely keeps me safe from Mike and probably Giggly Mayim The Neuroscientist as well!

[TaraS1]

I don't hate Matt, he's obviously an incredible player, but I am very much over him and these runaway games.  I'm a huge sports fan, but it's boring to watch one team smash the other by 50 points (unless it's my beloved KY Wildcats doing the smashing lol). 

And Matt, counting the syllables out on your fingers is amusing once, it is not amusing on every question in the category.  

[laredhead]

I don't know how far in advance contestants are notified to appear on Jeopardy, but if the contestants in this new season already know of Matt's winning streak, I would think they are probably disappointed to show up for taping and he walks in as the reigning champion.  They would know his strategy, and by the time they can manage to ring in for an answer he has gobbled up all of the high $$ clues like an old Pac Man game gobbler.  I'm also in agreement with some aforementioned comments that he leaves the smaller $$ clues for the 2 other contestants when he's way ahead.    

[Trey]

I missed the opening music, will have to pay attention tonight.  I thought the new backdrop was okay - a lovely shade of blue - but kind of bland.

And I didn't notice the category being shown over the FJ clue. 

I thought Mike was very low key as host.

I like Matt well enough but I would like to see someone new.

My only ts was Banana Republic.  I didn't think they were even still in business.

I couldn't remember all Thirteen Colonies so guessed Rhode Island.  Imagine my surprise that it was correct! A good start to the new season and FJ game.

 

[Good Queen Jane]

13 hours ago, chitowngirl said:

I noticed they put the FJ category over the clue!

I'm glad they did because I first said the name of the city (albeit the wrong one) and then changed it to the name of the colony only (but still the wrong one). I thought the clue was poorly written.

[ams1001]

9 hours ago, dcalley said:

I think that thread is worth the read. Thanks for posting it.

I only read a little of it; will go back.

25 minutes ago, Caoimhe said:

probably Giggly Mayim The Neuroscientist as well!

I hope they saw the comments about that (and the personal interjections) and told her to rein it in.

14 minutes ago, Trey said:

I couldn't remember all Thirteen Colonies so guessed Rhode Island.  Imagine my surprise that it was correct! A good start to the new season and FJ game.

I was between Pennsylvania and Rhode Island, then I remembered Penn was the Quaker and Roger Somebody* was banished from Massachusetts for being too tolerant of other religions and founded RI.

*it's Williams, but I couldn't remember that at the time

[vibeology]

44 minutes ago, ams1001 said:

I hope they saw the comments about that (and the personal interjections) and told her to rein it in.

The one good thing about Mayim is that she has a lifetime of experience taking notes from directors so if she's still giggling when she comes back, it's clear its what the producers and directors want from her and I won't hold that against her.

[ams1001]

Here's the intro; music sounds fine to me.

 

[Mindthinkr]

Well off to a new start in so many ways. Season 38, no known permanent host, a new look and music. I got Whiskey-a-GoGo, overturn, and missed FJ. I also was a tad put out by the Blackberry answer. The person I was playing with got it. I had trouble understanding what they were looking for in the clue. Hence, I guess Amdé was ruled wrong because he said Providence, R.I. It was wrong because he included the city which was not a colony. 

[Katy M]

1 minute ago, Mindthinkr said:

Hence, I guess Amdé was ruled wrong because he said Providence, R.I. It was wrong because he included the city which was not a colony

That and the temple mentioned in the clue was located elsewhere in RI.  RI is a small state, but it's bigger than just Providence.

[saber5055]

16 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

I wanted to adopt Matt as a godson or nephew or something when he smiled so joyfully at the camera/his parents at the end.

Then we're going to be virtual relatives since Matt is my current teevee boyfriend. It makes me happy to see him every day, and I hope that continues for ... well, until the end of time. I am all for him having runaways since I can't handle the stress of not knowing until FJ answers are revealed.

3 hours ago, laredhead said:

I don't know how far in advance contestants are notified to appear on Jeopardy, but if the contestants in this new season already know of Matt's winning streak, I would think they are probably disappointed to show up for taping and he walks in as the reigning champion. 

I think it was in Ken's book Brainiac that he wrote that during his streak, when he pulled into the parking lot and the other players saw him, they all went from excited to be there to "oh cr*p." That last part is my interpretation, not Ken's words, but you get the picture.

[Mystery Author]

Quote

 his smarmy bemused expression...

With all due respect -- I'm sincerely respecting your opinion -- I honestly don't see how you can get "smarmy" from Matt's enthusiastic responses and I wish I was half as intellectually "bemused" as he is.

It seems to me that every time a Jeptestant goes on an extraordinary winning streak, there are people who dislike him (it's rarely a her). That includes James, Austin (of course), even Buzzy, whom I thought, and still think, would make a great J! host.

Quote

I was amused at how delighted Matt looked when he got a 7 syllable word right. He was like a little kid with the counting on his fingers. I like his smile.

There you go. Different strokes. I like his smile, too.

As for offering more $$$ to the losers, if you've seen The Chase, the players often walk away with nothing.