Jeopardy! Season 38 (2021-2022)

[PaulaO]

I don't like Matt because I don't like runaway games.  I stopped watching J! because of Ken's winning streak.  Is it possible that Matt will never lose?  And there's been plenty of female contestants I haven't liked.  Specifically the one who said "you're the devil, Alex Trebek."  Who is Jimmy Macguire?????

Edited September 15, 2021 by PaulaO

[Bastet]

28 minutes ago, PaulaO said:

Who is Jimmy Macguire?????

Clue crew guy who is now the show's stage manager.

[853fisher]

I am definitely "on team Matt," but I liked seeing a good challenge.  Daniel's score at the end of DJ must be one of the highest to still be locked out in FJ by a runaway.  But his anecdote made me vaguely embarrassed for him.  Why, oh why, would you put that on the list of things you'd like to tell the world about yourself if that's how you feel about it?  And put me down for "Billy Kid is wrong."  Evidently they still need to tighten a few things back up.

RE the Monopoly clue, "the bank cannot go broke in this Parker Bros game, so exhaustion may be the deciding factor": when played by the rulebook, without the melange of house rules many use, a game should take maybe an hour and a half.  I think its reputation for going on and on is entirely undeserved.  People just need to play it right and they won't need to be exhausted.  (Yes, they love me at game nights, why do you ask?)

It only took 12 days of him reading and months of ongoing discussion, but I finally perceived Mike's slight lisp, and couldn't hear anything else the rest of the episode.

[shapeshifter]

1 minute ago, 853fisher said:

It only took 12 days of him reading and months of ongoing discussion, but I finally perceived Mike's slight lisp, and couldn't hear anything else the rest of the episode.

I am not going to apologize for making you hear MR's lisp because misery loves company, doncha know? 😆

 

3 minutes ago, 853fisher said:

RE the Monopoly clue, "the bank cannot go broke in this Parker Bros game, so exhaustion may be the deciding factor": when played by the rulebook, without the melange of house rules many use, a game should take maybe an hour and a half.  I think its reputation for going on and on is entirely undeserved.  People just need to play it right and they won't need to be exhausted.  (Yes, they love me at game nights, why do you ask?)

My family played Monopoly when I was a child, and the clue threw me off, because I don't think we ever ended the game by fiat/exhaustion. But I was the youngest, so my memory is unreliable. 

[chitowngirl]

Off topic, I apologize, I don’t know how to quote and bring this to Small Talk… The way to get Monopoly to an end is to buy hotels and houses. And if you really want to tick players off, keep buying 4 houses without going the extra $ for the hotel so the supply of houses runs out.

Edited September 15, 2021 by chitowngirl

[ProudMary]

58 minutes ago, 853fisher said:

It only took 12 days of him reading and months of ongoing discussion, but I finally perceived Mike's slight lisp, and couldn't hear anything else the rest of the episode.

It was about three days into Richards' initial guest hosting stint that someone had mentioned his lisp. I hadn't originally picked up on it, but once mentioned, I couldn't unhear it and it's been driving me crazy ever since.

After Monday's episode ran, someone here wondered if the writers had set him up by loading sibilant sounds into many of the category names. On Tuesday, I wondered whether the writers were at it again with the opening celebrate the contestants monologue, where Richards was made to say "contethtanth" at least four times.

I will be very happy when this week ends, hopefully with Matt Amodio still as champion. I'm firmly in the "I like Matt" camp.

[vibeology]

1 hour ago, chitowngirl said:

Off topic, I apologize, I don’t know how to quote and bring this to Small Talk… The way to get Monopoly to an end is to buy hotels and houses. And if you really want to tick players off, keep buying 4 houses without going the extra $ for the hotel so the supply of houses runs out.

That is exactly correct. Buy cheaper properties so you can buy houses early and max out at four to create a housing shortage. Never move to hotels. I like to buy up the corner around the jail. 

Someone should tell Richards that if you have to explain a joke, you're probably told it wrong. That Bob Hope joke was very clear and did not need extra tacked on. Only three more games! It's not that he's bad at hosting, just that he's only got two modes. Either smarmy or a complete void of personality.

[dcalley]

9 hours ago, GreekGeek said:

Yes, articles are not required, but I did wonder whether that applied only to the beginnings of titles, like "Christmas Carol" instead of "A Christmas Carol." I guess "Billy Kid" had to be acceptable if you're going to apply the rule consistently.

Initial articles are not required.* I did not notice a missing "the" in Billy the Kid, but if it was truly missing, the player should have been penalized.

*except for Wells's The Invisible Man, to distinguish it from Ellison's Invisible Man

[3 is enough]

I realize I am being very shallow in bringing this up, but please indulge me.  Has anyone else noticed that Mike Richards appears to be very heavily Botoxed?  He's 46, and not a line to be seen.  I find it very distracting, though I only started noticing it when his picture was popping up all over the internet.

 

Edited September 15, 2021 by 3 is enough

[shapeshifter]

1 minute ago, dcalley said:

Initial articles are not required.* I did not notice a missing "the" in Billy the Kid, but if it was truly missing, the player should have been penalized.

*except for Wells's The Invisible Man, to distinguish it from Ellison's Invisible Man

—unless the clue perhaps began something like “Which of H.G. Wells’ novels….” 
Right?

[Clanstarling]

3 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

My family played Monopoly when I was a child, and the clue threw me off, because I don't think we ever ended the game by fiat/exhaustion. But I was the youngest, so my memory is unreliable. 

We played it when I was little (I always liked to be the shoe - go figure). Ultimately, I didn't care for the game, mostly because Mom reverse cheated - that is, she screwed up so I could win. I did not like that, even when I was little I'd rather win or lose on my own merits than have someone give me an advantage (which makes it even worse if you lose).

The only game I knew that went on forever was in my late teens, early twenties. There may have been a few partaking of things that made the game slow down...or those playing the game. 😉

Edited September 15, 2021 by Clanstarling

[Prevailing Wind]

1 hour ago, 3 is enough said:

I realize I am being very shallow in bringing this up, but please indulge me.  Has anyone else noticed that Mike Richards appears to be very heavily Botoxed?  He's 46, and not a line to be seen.  I find it very distracting, though I only started noticing it when his picture was popping up all over the internet.

 

Yes. I think he looks like an android. Plastic Man, or something. He does NOT look like a natural human being.

[SHD]

4 hours ago, PaulaO said:

I don't like Matt because I don't like runaway games.  I stopped watching J! because of Ken's winning streak.  Is it possible that Matt will never lose? 

All it takes is for someone else to score big on DDs and Matt not get any and that's what will end his run. His runaway games have mostly depended on him betting big on a DD initially and getting it right. I didn't think James H. was ever going to lose, either!

Edited September 15, 2021 by SHD

[3 is enough]

1 hour ago, Prevailing Wind said:

Yes. I think he looks like an android. Plastic Man, or something. He does NOT look like a natural human being.

That's it!  I was thinking along the lines of a simply drawn cartoon character, like from The Simpsons or Futurama, but an android better describes it.

[Browncoat]

I foolishly did not pay attention to the year in last night's clue, and so missed FJ last night too.  Really not off to a great start this season!  I didn't get any TS, either.

So close, middle guy!  Maybe tonight will be the night.  I'm more than ready for a new champ.  I'm more than ready for a non-runaway game, for that matter.  That was the thing about Ken -- not all his games were complete blowouts like James' and Matt's..

I tried to hear Mike's lisp, but couldn't with yesterday's show.  I'll try again tonight.  

[PBnJay]

After a string of very stressful days and upsetting occurrences, it was very calming for my nerves to turn on Jeopardy and see Matt being the constant and dependable player. It's like when little kids want to hear the same story or watch the same movie over and over because knowing how it ends makes them feel secure and safe and calm.

So thank you Matt for being who you are. You have made some bad days much better.

[saber5055]

19 hours ago, opus said:

Thanks, but it looks better in full and depresses me a bit because I can’t get it to fit exactly like it does in my photo file. It’s a bit off in the avatar. But close enough I guess.

Thanks for posting your whole avatar @opus. I had been trying to figure out what the cut-off part was so now I know. It's brilliant, well done and so very sad, all at the same time. Respect.

[ams1001]

Holy crap, I got 90% in the first round! Ran Numerical Entertainment and Reduplicatives, got four each in Organizations and Can I Sell You Some Insurance (On TV)?, and three each in the Action & Suspense Novels and It's a Gas. Also got the DD.

Only 53% in the second round (got 3 in each category), but I did get both DDs.

(And I was confident enough about all three of the DDs that I put in my score before they confirmed the correct response.)

FJ was an insta-instaget (and I've never even read the books!).

Final score: 73%

When I went to the J6 page to get the categories I noticed that it's still Alex's voice on there. The extra clue in Insurance was about Colonial Penn (but the correct response was not Alex).

Edited September 15, 2021 by ams1001

[proserpina65]

I officially hate Matt again.  And I would not have accepted AHA instead of the American Heart Association; I've never heard anyone call it that.

FJ was too easy.  I lived for Lord of the Rings when I was a teenager.  (Don't like the movies, though.)

[illdoc]

3 hours ago, dcalley said:

*except for Wells's The Invisible Man, to distinguish it from Ellison's Invisible Man

And Unforgiven (Clint Eastwood) vs The Unforgiven (Burt Lancaster)

[Katy M]

FJ was an instaget.

the only missed clues I got were Harry Hole and insouciant (without help).

I said inebriated and I gave it to myself.

[Browncoat]

At last!  An FJ that I knew, and it was an instaget.  Whew!  

And I finally heard Mike's lisp, when he read the category title, "Famous Families".  No idea why I don't hear it as obviously at other times.

But I did not get any TS.  I might have zoned out a little, though, when Matt got the first DD, then un-zoned for FJ.

[ams1001]

2 minutes ago, Katy M said:

I said inebriated and I gave it to myself.

Me, too.

(Definition: "drunk; intoxicated.")

Just now, Browncoat said:

And I finally heard Mike's lisp, when he read the category title, "Famous Families".  No idea why I don't hear it as obviously at other times.

I still haven't noticed it but I haven't really been trying to hear it, either.

[bankerchick]

Am I the only one who heard Matt say, 'Ring-a-ling' for the circus brothers?  That should have been scored as incorrect.

I really like Matt but am starting to get bored.  Especially when he gets the DD and before the first commercial break the game is pretty much out of reach.

I can hear Mike Richards' lisp but after listening to Ken Jennings I don't really think it's worth mentioning.

5 minutes ago, Katy M said:

I said inebriated and I gave it to myself.

As I would have as well.

[shapeshifter]

Whew! I went from pride in my internet champion "son" and his lovely new dress shirt to panic when it looked like Maureen could dethrone him --and I am sure she could have if she had landed on the DDs.

I was a little surprised when I said "insouciant" and he incorrectly said "insoucant."

For FJ, neither Elvish nor even Klingon occurred to me. Instead, my mind skipped over the category "Authors" to "...knowing many languages and making up his own..." and fixated on "esperanto" then gave up, and I told myself not to worry, that my Matt would know the answer, and when I opened my eyes he was smiling very happily. 

I really liked Nick and would have been happy if he had beat Matt. And I probably would have rallied around Maureen too.

But I hope Matt continues at least for the rest of the week, and I would like to see him best James Holzhauer and Ken Jennings, because he seems like such a nice person.

[SoMuchTV]

I finally remembered to listen for the lisp, and I just could not hear it.  Either the sound from my tv is substandard, or my brain’s tuning it out. Either way, I’m not complaining. 

[SoMuchTV]

2 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

I was a little surprised when I said "insouciant" and he incorrectly said "insoucant."

Maybe this is related to my lisp-deafness but I thought the ci in insouciant was more of a sh sound (so 3 syllables) and he was pretty darn close. 

[dcalley]

4 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

—unless the clue perhaps began something like “Which of H.G. Wells’ novels….” 
Right?

This clue mentioned Wells, and Invisible Man was ruled incorrect.

[kathyk24]

33 minutes ago, bankerchick said:

Am I the only one who heard Matt say, 'Ring-a-ling' for the circus brothers?  That should have been scored as incorrect.

I really like Matt but am starting to get bored.  Especially when he gets the DD and before the first commercial break the game is pretty much out of reach.

I can hear Mike Richards' lisp but after listening to Ken Jennings I don't really think it's worth mentioning.

As I would have as well.

I also heard Ring a Ling. I'll bet Nick gets mistaken for a woman quite often due to his voice.

[saber5055]

Finally, a FJ that was so brainlessly easy, I got it immediately. So simple ... Lewis Carroll of course.

And so my streak of perfection continues!

[proserpina65]

27 minutes ago, Katy M said:

I said inebriated and I gave it to myself.

Me, too.  They'd have to accept it because it fits the clue.

[Ailianna]

1 hour ago, proserpina65 said:

And I would not have accepted AHA instead of the American Heart Association; I've never heard anyone call it that.

FJ was too easy.  I lived for Lord of the Rings when I was a teenager.  (Don't like the movies, though.)

Are you living in my head? Everything here is exactly my thoughts.

[HissyFit]

1 hour ago, Katy M said:

I said inebriated and I gave it to myself.

Another "inebriated" viewer here.

[SHD]

47 minutes ago, saber5055 said:

Finally, a FJ that was so brainlessly easy, I got it immediately. So simple ... Lewis Carroll of course.

And so my streak of perfection continues!

At first I thought Carroll but then landed on Burgess because wasn’t there some kind of Droog slang/language in A Clockwork Orange? Whatever, I am doubly wrong! Go, me!

[shapeshifter]

12 minutes ago, HissyFit said:

Another "inebriated" viewer here.

Ah ha! So that's why I didn't get it in time! I wasn't an "inebriated" viewer! Haha!
All y'all have much better brain cells than mine if you can participate in Jeopardy! watching while inebriated! Sadly, I think I used up too many brain cells in the early 1970s trying to keep up with my inebriated friends.

Actually, I think I did come up with "intoxicated" just as whoever said it on the show did.

*Sigh* I did find the YouTube video of the episode to rewatch, and I have recording capabilities depending upon the weather, but I do miss j-archive.com. I hope they resolve their technical issues soon.  

[853fisher]

I heard ring-a-ling too but I accept the judges’ discretion on that one because I find it doesn’t come off the tongue easily, at least not for me.

Count me in for Lewis Carroll too. I should have realized all the wordplay I was thinking about didn’t really constitute it’s own language and kept thinking, but I was ready to turn my brain off for the day by then.

I found myself wishing tonight that the show was still matching winnings to charity. I knew it wouldn’t continue indefinitely but it was really feel-good. Maybe they will match winnings again during a tournament or something.

Way to twist the knife into the gecko’s back with that insurance category! I hope he wasn’t watching to see how quickly he’s been forgotten. ;) I enjoyed thinking ahead in that category. They have some sharp marketing people in that industry.

[ams1001]

5 minutes ago, 853fisher said:

I heard ring-a-ling too but I accept the judges’ discretion on that one because I find it doesn’t come off the tongue easily, at least not for me.

Me, too, and I was thinking the same thing. 

[shapeshifter]

I just listened to Matt's "Ringling" on Youtube. I can understand why it sounded like "Ring-a-ling" to many who posted above, but I heard it as a simple glottal stop--which is a regional speech pattern, and the closed captioning interpreted it as "Ringling."

[Bastet]

The insouciant TS surprised me, since Matt was close.

I almost ran the first round, but missed two in novels.  I came almost as close in DJ, missing three - one each in possessions, USA, and Olympics.

I didn't know FJ, though (I've never read Lord of the Rings, and trying to think of a British author who wrote a book with a fake language didn't get me anywhere, as I didn't even know there was a fake language in that book - I know virtually nothing about it other than it's an epic fantasy, which doesn't interest me).

So, I had a great game, but was a big fat dud at the end.

[ams1001]

33 minutes ago, Bastet said:

The insouciant TS surprised me, since Matt was close.

I suspect they didn't realize it was a pronunciation issue and just thought he was wrong. I think it's one of those words most people don't hear out loud much, though. 

[opus]

I was also inebriated and said Carrol.

[possibilities]

3 hours ago, Katy M said:

I said inebriated

Me, too. I don't see any reason why it wouldn't be accepted.

I got hung up trying to remember where Esperanto came from, so I blew FJ.

 

[Cherpumple]

6 hours ago, proserpina65 said:

And I would not have accepted AHA instead of the American Heart Association; I've never heard anyone call it that.

Yes! Speaking as a member of the American Historical Association, I was outraged by that ruling. They are definitely letting Matt get away with way too many short cuts.

And speaking of Matt, I know that his strategy of starting every response with "what's" is meant to make it easier for him but it would have the opposite effect on me. Putting "what is" in front of a person's name would compete with decades' worth of linguistic conditioning in my brain, and take precious mental resources away from me actually coming up with the right answer. It would be a disaster.

[shapeshifter]

3 hours ago, Cherpumple said:

10 hours ago, proserpina65 said:

And I would not have accepted AHA instead of the American Heart Association; I've never heard anyone call it that.

Yes! Speaking as a member of the American Historical Association, I was outraged by that ruling. They are definitely letting Matt get away with way too many short cuts

If I read the look on Matt’s face correctly, he  quickly computed that it was faster to say the acronym and was prepared to “be more specific,” and then MR decided (likely for time too) not to say, “be more specific.”

Have we heard any of the guest hosts say “be more specific”? I think so, but they’ve skipped a lot—again, probably because they’re struggling to get through the clues in time. 

[GreekGeek]

9 hours ago, SHD said:

At first I thought Carroll but then landed on Burgess because wasn’t there some kind of Droog slang/language in A Clockwork Orange? Whatever, I am doubly wrong! Go, me!

Burgess was the other possibility I thought of, even though I did know Tolkien (not "Tolkein"). He did create his own slang in A Clockwork Orange, which was essentially Anglicized Russian words. (The Russian word for "good," khoroshiy, was "horrorshow.") Carroll wasn't a bad guess either; he made up words in "Jabberwocky", a few of which, like "galumph", later became "real" words.

I'm definitely tired of all the Matt runaways; I got excited when Maureen built up a good score early on, but she fizzled out in DJ.

[Prevailing Wind]

9 hours ago, 853fisher said:

Way to twist the knife into the gecko’s back with that insurance category! I hope he wasn’t watching to see how quickly he’s been forgotten. ;) I enjoyed thinking ahead in that category. They have some sharp marketing people in that industry.

I didn't notice GEICO was gone until the break before FJ - I knew it was Wednesday and was baffled not to see the camel for Hump Day.

9 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

I just listened to Matt's "Ringling" on Youtube. I can understand why it sounded like "Ring-a-ling" to many who posted above, but I heard it as a simple glottal stop--which is a regional speech pattern, and the closed captioning interpreted it as "Ringling."

Some folks have trouble pronouncing certain paired consonants, which is why it was drummed into us in school that it's NOT "Athalete."

RE: The Lisp - I only heard it (for the first time) in some of his speech, not at all times.

[ams1001]

8 hours ago, possibilities said:

Me, too. I don't see any reason why it wouldn't be accepted.

I feel like that was one where Alex would have added an "or [other acceptable response]" since they're synonyms that both fit the category.

[Clanstarling]

15 hours ago, Prevailing Wind said:

Yes. I think he looks like an android. Plastic Man, or something. He does NOT look like a natural human being.

I have always thought he looked like a Ken doll. (not a Ken Jennings doll)

12 hours ago, bankerchick said:

I really like Matt but am starting to get bored.  Especially when he gets the DD and before the first commercial break the game is pretty much out of reach.

I only occasionally pay attention to the score. I just like getting the clues and answering them, when I can, and smacking my head when I should have known them. So I'm not on tenterhooks when it comes to who's winning for the most part. Sometimes, though, it is of interest to me - especially when the game is tight and someone might overthrow a champion. But not usually.

Different strokes.

11 hours ago, saber5055 said:

Finally, a FJ that was so brainlessly easy, I got it immediately. So simple ... Lewis Carroll of course.

And so my streak of perfection continues!

'Twas a brillig guess.

10 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

I just listened to Matt's "Ringling" on Youtube. I can understand why it sounded like "Ring-a-ling" to many who posted above, but I heard it as a simple glottal stop--which is a regional speech pattern, and the closed captioning interpreted it as "Ringling."

It's too early for me to come up with the linguistics point - so thank you. I thought of that but couldn't articulate. Just as apparently I say "Ringaling" too, while trying to say Ringling.

I did pretty well, didn't run any categories though. However, this is a Tolkien household, so we all got FJ with no sweat. My first of the season.

Edited September 16, 2021 by Clanstarling

[Mindthinkr]

I lost my paper of answers, but I did get FJ. 

[Trey]

My only ts was insouciant, which I got before Matt misspoke.

No FJ for me, I went with Lewis Carroll.

I also said inebriated.  No reason why they wouldn't have given it to us.