Jeopardy! Season 38 (2021-2022)

[HyeChaps]

The connection between Teddy Roosevelt and North Dakota, which served me wrong a few weeks ago when the answer was Custer, came in handy for this one.

Edited December 17, 2021 by HyeChaps
Comma

[HelenBaby]

10 hours ago, stonehaven said:

..and I don't mean to be snarky or nasty but this Professors' tournament seems to seriously be lacking in brain power. The people all seemed nice but way, way too many wrong answers or non-answers.

When I was on the show a hundred (25) years ago, there was a university professor among the contestants in my group. She was really outgoing and seemed to be pretty smart (she was also in my group during the contestant search in Atlanta so I knew of her before we were called for the show.) Anyway, she didn’t do very well during her taping. She just seemed to be more about making a good impression on the staff and Alex that she seemed like her mind wasn’t on the game. I was just a worker bee in an office and did much better than she did even though I didn’t win. 

[Clanstarling]

11 hours ago, BuckeyeLou said:

The Hubby said South Dakota(thinking of TR on Mt. Rushmore) and I said Colorado.  So, we were in the general area...

So did mine. I said Montana. At least we were in the right area.

9 hours ago, PBnJay said:

Once again Mayim doesn't bother to tell the players that, when they find a DD, they can bet up to the highest amount on the board if they don't have a lot of money. It's her job to tell them that. And she never does.

I'd forgotten that, or just ignored it when/if other hosts said that.

I missed one each in Playing Professor (never watched Gilligan's Island and wasn't in the states during most of its run), and Prequels and Sequels (got beat out by my husband the Pooh expert).

Otherwise I did okay - not great, but okay.

Being a professor doesn't mean you're a great generalist when it comes to facts and trivia. But not being a great generalist doesn't mean you're not smart either.  (not a professor, so this isn't a personal reaction 😉)

[Mindthinkr]

This has not been a tournament that I am excited about them adding to the rotation.
I got Viola Davis and was sad for her that nobody came up with her name. I got the impression that these professors don’t watch a lot of tv. I was unable to come up with FJ. I guessed, but was wrong. I’m impressed with those of you that did. 

[proserpina65]

I was close with FJ.  I said South Dakota.  I knew there is a Theodore Roosevelt National Park in one of the Dakotas because it was mentioned in a biography of Laura Ingalls Wilder (or maybe it was the book about trying to visit all the places she lived, it's been awhile since I read both books).  The part of the territory in which she lived became South Dakota, hence my answer.

I liked Ed, so I'm fine with him winning.

[proserpina65]

16 hours ago, Browncoat said:

Holy moly!  I just caught up with last night's game.  Not the best showing, was it?  I also did not get FJ, bu I got an astounding number of TS.  Those include Suffolk & Norfolk, Osage, mathematics, evolution, photoshop, Jaguar, Henry Fonda, motorcycle, lime, and Zapata.  It made me incredibly sad that Henry Fonda was a TS, especially since one of the movies mentioned was Mr. Roberts.

Can someone enlighten me as to why Alisa bet anything on FJ?  Or actually, why any of them bet anything on FJ?  

I didn't get mathematics, but did get all the others.  Yeah, there were a lot of stumpers.

14 hours ago, Katy M said:

I got the TS of shepherd's pie and Viola Davis.

I got those as well.  Even though I usually suck at mixed up word categories.

 

[proserpina65]

1 hour ago, Clanstarling said:

Being a professor doesn't mean you're a great generalist when it comes to facts and trivia. But not being a great generalist doesn't mean you're not smart either.  (not a professor, so this isn't a personal reaction 😉)

Sam is really the only contestant who's been particularly impressive.  I did expect more of this tournament, but you're right.  The farther someone goes in academia, the more specialized their knowledge tends to get and sometimes that comes at the expense of general trivia-type stuff.

[chessiegal]

I came up with North Dakota for no particular reason. Teddy Roosevelt - rough riders - west - Badlands? - North Dakota. Totally lucky guess.

[MrAtoz]

1 hour ago, HelenBaby said:

When I was on the show a hundred (25) years ago, there was a university professor among the contestants in my group. She was really outgoing and seemed to be pretty smart (she was also in my group during the contestant search in Atlanta so I knew of her before we were called for the show.) Anyway, she didn’t do very well during her taping. She just seemed to be more about making a good impression on the staff and Alex that she seemed like her mind wasn’t on the game. I was just a worker bee in an office and did much better than she did even though I didn’t win. 

Judging by some of the ones I've known, many college professors have a great depth of knowledge in their particular field, but may know very little about other fields, including popular culture.  Heck, not that long ago, I overheard a professor at my university, when being told he could do something using an app on his smartphone, respond, "What's an app?"

As much as people like to talk about how Jeopardy is a game that rewards knowledge, what it really rewards is being familiar with a few buzzwords and big names in a lot of different areas.  In other words, it rewards breadth of knowledge, not depth of knowledge.  Being a professor is almost exactly the opposite.

[proserpina65]

7 minutes ago, MrAtoz said:

As much as people like to talk about how Jeopardy is a game that rewards knowledge, what it really rewards is being familiar with a few buzzwords and big names in a lot of different areas.  In other words, it rewards breadth of knowledge, not depth of knowledge.  Being a professor is almost exactly the opposite.

It definitely rewards those who are good at retaining lots of tidbits of knowledge about many subjects.

[30 Helens]

5 hours ago, Clanstarling said:

my husband the Pooh expert

Ha! 😆

[SyracuseMug]

4 hours ago, chessiegal said:

I came up with North Dakota for no particular reason. Teddy Roosevelt - rough riders - west - Badlands? - North Dakota. Totally lucky guess.

Louis L'Amour was also part of the clue, and since I'm familiar with his background, I knew the answer immediately.

[PaulaO]

Aren't the Badlands in South Dakota?  According to Wikipedia they are.

[shapeshifter]

6 hours ago, Clanstarling said:

Being a professor doesn't mean you're a great generalist when it comes to facts and trivia. But not being a great generalist doesn't mean you're not smart either.  (not a professor, so this isn't a personal reaction 😉)

6 hours ago, Mindthinkr said:

I got the impression that these professors don’t watch a lot of tv.

4 hours ago, MrAtoz said:

Judging by some of the ones I've known, many college professors have a great depth of knowledge in their particular field, but may know very little about other fields, including popular culture.  Heck, not that long ago, I overheard a professor at my university, when being told he could do something using an app on his smartphone, respond, "What's an app?"

As much as people like to talk about how Jeopardy is a game that rewards knowledge, what it really rewards is being familiar with a few buzzwords and big names in a lot of different areas.  In other words, it rewards breadth of knowledge, not depth of knowledge.  Being a professor is almost exactly the opposite.

Yes to all of the above.
Rhetorical question: I wonder whose idea it was to have a "Professors Tournament"? 

There probably are some professors who are also good Jeopardy! players, but probably it is a smaller percentage than the percent of good Jeopardy! players among all walks of life, because, as stated above, professors are not generalists.

And most of the professors I've known would not have time to appear on Jeopardy!  They spend their sabbaticals and "free" time either doing research and writing, or  mentoring students, or trying to catch up with their oft-neglected families.

I wonder if Matt Amodio would have done as well if he had been on Jeopardy! after he completed his PhD and was working as a professor.

[possibilities]

Mayim not telling people how much they can bet on DDs is something that production is also responsible for. They could easily tell her to do it, and make sure it happens during game play-- and they are choosing not to do so. It annoys me, because I think it shows a general sloppiness that has overtaken production on this show. Or maybe it was always like that, and having the same host for decades just papered over the problems on the off camera side.

I wouldn't mind the "Women Authors" types of categories, if they called them "Men Authors" when the answers were all dudes and "Authors" when the answers were mixed.

[Gimmick Genius]

6 hours ago, MrAtoz said:

As much as people like to talk about how Jeopardy is a game that rewards knowledge, what it really rewards is being familiar with a few buzzwords and big names in a lot of different areas.  In other words, it rewards breadth of knowledge, not depth of knowledge.  Being a professor is almost exactly the opposite.

Didn't James Holzhauer note at one time that his prep for Jeop was to read everything he could in the Children's Section of the library? Breadth over Depth indeed.

[Irlandesa]

6 hours ago, proserpina65 said:

Sam is really the only contestant who's been particularly impressive.  I did expect more of this tournament, but you're right.  The farther someone goes in academia, the more specialized their knowledge tends to get and sometimes that comes at the expense of general trivia-type stuff.

And I'd like to know how they recruited for this tournament.  There have been professors on "regular" Jeopardy! before.  Even within the past month or so, I believe.  If someone is really good at the game, they're going to want to see how far they can go.  This tournament is pretty limited, isn't it?  They do this.  Then the TOC.  And that's the end.  They can't keep amassing money and wins the way contestants like Matt and Amy have. 

It's ideal if all you want is a short term run.

6 hours ago, MrAtoz said:

As much as people like to talk about how Jeopardy is a game that rewards knowledge, what it really rewards is being familiar with a few buzzwords and big names in a lot of different areas.  In other words, it rewards breadth of knowledge, not depth of knowledge.  Being a professor is almost exactly the opposite.

Yep.  It's also deeply rooted in trivia "facts" whereas academia tends to be about analysis.  There's a reason the absent-minded professor is a thing. 

[zoey1996]

2 hours ago, PaulaO said:

Aren't the Badlands in South Dakota?  According to Wikipedia they are.

There are also badlands in North Dakota. The National Park near Medora ND is the Theodore Roosevelt National Park. I was in the area one time. Beautiful. I know little about L’amour, and didn’t get FJ.

[ams1001]

December 16:

67% / 33% / 49%

J!: Ran Geographic Nicknames (surprisingly), missed one in 15th Century, three in Fashion (not surprisingly) and two in everything else. 

DJ: Uh... No comment. 😖

FJ: Nope.

Got two DDs (one in each round) but no TSes.

I never noticed until tonight how many ear piercings Mayim has. I just googled and apparently she has eight in her right ear and seven in her left.

Edited December 17, 2021 by ams1001

[rubaco]

Looks like Ken will be hosting next week, hooray! (Based on a commercial I just saw.) I'm pretty sure he won't be parenthetically telling us what clothing items he looks good or terrible in.

[ams1001]

22 minutes ago, rubaco said:

Looks like Ken will be hosting next week, hooray! (Based on a commercial I just saw.) I'm pretty sure he won't be parenthetically telling us what clothing items he looks good or terrible in.

To be fair, I think most people would look terrible in that paper bag thing.

[Katy M]

I said South China SEa.  At least I was in good company.

I didn't get any missed clues, but I did run the mirror image category.  I did better than I've been doing, but I guess that's not saying much.  

[Browncoat]

I am really sucking hard on FJ this week.  Once again, I had no idea, and suspected I wouldn't when I saw the category.  At least I was right about that.

The only TS I got were valet, peplum, and crystals.

I can't imagine anyone looking good in that paper bag thing.  

[ams1001]

7 minutes ago, Browncoat said:

I am really sucking hard on FJ this week.  Once again, I had no idea, and suspected I wouldn't when I saw the category.  At least I was right about that.

I'm contemplating round foods to bring to the FJ Contest Table for Zero...again. Maybe tomorrow will save me.

[SoMuchTV]

15 minutes ago, ams1001 said:

To be fair, I think most people would look terrible in that paper bag thing.

 

10 minutes ago, Browncoat said:

I can't imagine anyone looking good in that paper bag thing.  

I had jeans with that kind of waist when I was pregnant (in the late 80s/early 90s). I can assure you I looked stunning. 

[ams1001]

17 minutes ago, SoMuchTV said:

 

I had jeans with that kind of waist when I was pregnant (in the late 80s/early 90s). I can assure you I looked stunning. 

I did say most people. 😉

[secnarf]

7 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

I wonder if Matt Amodio would have done as well if he had been on Jeopardy! after he completed his PhD and was working as a professor.

Most people who get PhDs don't end up as professors.

Some of them end up hosting the host of Jeopardy 🤷‍♀️

[Prevailing Wind]

1 hour ago, ams1001 said:

I'm contemplating round foods to bring to the FJ Contest Table for Zero...again. Maybe tomorrow will save me.

Haagen-Dazs comes in round cartons.  Just sayin'....

[ams1001]

33 minutes ago, Prevailing Wind said:

Haagen-Dazs comes in round cartons.  Just sayin'....

I went to Wegmans the other night and the Haagen-Dazs section was almost empty!

[Prevailing Wind]

57 minutes ago, ams1001 said:

I went to Wegmans the other night and the Haagen-Dazs section was almost empty!

I swear, it wasn't me. We don't have Wegman's here, although I wish we did.

 

[possibilities]

4 hours ago, ams1001 said:

To be fair, I think most people would look terrible in that paper bag thing.

I can't imagine the thought process behind naming a fashion after a paper bag. Who thought that would make it appealing? "Paper bags are in this season! You, too, can look like a cheap sack to schlep groceries in!"

[kathyk24]

I got Springfield no clue for Final Jeopardy. I don't understand why more contestants don't bet zero during a two -day tournament. I think Sam will have to have ameltdown not to be champion. 

[Mindthinkr]

I got paper bag waist, peplum, and crystals. I got a laugh when Alisa got the DD and seemed to stumble for a minute until she said “I don’t have to ring in”. I was another person in the South China Sea. Dagnabbit, I would have loved to have gotten the *. 

[shapeshifter]

Am I the only one who got the TS of Paradise?

• THE 15 CENTURY: Mid-century, Lorenzo Ghiberti completed his set of bronze baptistery doors with Old Testament scenes called "The Gates of" this

It was a weird brain archive retrieval moment in which I recalled the title of the piece from a college art history lecture in the early 70s, I think because the same image was used——back then shown as a slide in a large, darkened auditorium. 

I otherwise continued to be distracted, and so, for instance, only getting as far as "pe_lum" for the TS of "peplum," although I did get a few answers before they were spoken, like "the ropes" and "Joan of Arc," no way could I ever get my mind in gear to keep up with Sam in the ENDS WITH A SILENT CONSONANT category or the MIRROR IMAGE WORDS category. 
And, dagnabbit, Sam! You *really* should have done a true daily double in that category to be sure to win the whole enchilada!

Sam Buttrey seems the most likely of the professors to do well if he makes it to the regular Tournament of Champions. He's good at the word play categories and seems to have knowledge in more areas than the others.

Edited December 17, 2021 by shapeshifter

[Katy M]

 

3 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

Am I the only one who got the TS of Paradise?

• THE 15 CENTURY: Mid-century, Lorenzo Ghiberti completed his set of bronze baptistery doors with Old Testament scenes called "The Gates of" this

I said Saint John because I know the doors are on the Baptistery of St. John and so that's what I said.  I thought Hell was an odd answer, though.  Why would you have nice pretty doors to Hell on a church?

[ams1001]

6 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

Am I the only one who got the TS of Paradise?

I said Heaven, so I was on the right track, at least.

[proserpina65]

1 hour ago, shapeshifter said:

Am I the only one who got the TS of Paradise?

• THE 15 CENTURY: Mid-century, Lorenzo Ghiberti completed his set of bronze baptistery doors with Old Testament scenes called "The Gates of" this

I got it because A) I was a Medieval & Renaissance Studies major in college, B) I took a crap ton of art history classes as a result of A, and C) I've been to Florence and have seen those baptistry doors.  They are magnificent.

[Caoimhe]

26 minutes ago, proserpina65 said:

I got it because A) I was a Medieval & Renaissance Studies major in college, B) I took a crap ton of art history classes as a result of A, and C) I've been to Florence and have seen those baptistry doors.  They are magnificent.

C) here, they’re so impressive up close!

[Clanstarling]

19 hours ago, Gimmick Genius said:

Didn't James Holzhauer note at one time that his prep for Jeop was to read everything he could in the Children's Section of the library? Breadth over Depth indeed.

Yes he did. It's also a fast way to consume a lot of data - there isn't much analysis in the children's books.

16 hours ago, ams1001 said:

To be fair, I think most people would look terrible in that paper bag thing.

OMG yes! I can't even imagine wearing that unless you had to scrounge something to wear and found a cloth bag to cover your bits.

16 hours ago, ams1001 said:

I'm contemplating round foods to bring to the FJ Contest Table for Zero...again. Maybe tomorrow will save me.

I'm right there with you...

16 hours ago, SoMuchTV said:

 

I had jeans with that kind of waist when I was pregnant (in the late 80s/early 90s). I can assure you I looked stunning. 

My pregnancies were in that time frame too - but even if I'd seen them, I would never have worn them. Even non-pregnant I have a very short waist (being a very short woman) and the ruffle would be brushing my....😉

2 hours ago, ams1001 said:

I said Heaven, so I was on the right track, at least.

Me too. The same as paradise, but not close enough for the title of something. Sadly, I got everything in this category but this question. Or is that "hey, I got everything in this category except for the "easiest" one"?

I can't believe I didn't get The Dirty Dozen. As a kid I loved that movie I had a thing for a couple of the actors - and read the book (my dad's - and it was forbidden) I read everything that was forbidden to me. It was a point of pride for me. I was a naughty girl. But a well read one.

 

Edited December 17, 2021 by Clanstarling

[SyracuseMug]

2 hours ago, proserpina65 said:

I got it because A) I was a Medieval & Renaissance Studies major in college, B) I took a crap ton of art history classes as a result of A, and C) I've been to Florence and have seen those baptistry doors.  They are magnificent.

Interestingly, Ghiberti won the commission for those doors over Filippo Brunelleschi, who later built the dome of the Florence Cathedral (Santa Maria del Fiore). Both men submitted a bronze panel depicting the Sacrifice of Isaac, and though Ghiberti's was chosen, Brunelleschi's is also considered a masterpiece.

I'm sure you knew this, but I thought others might enjoy a bit of trivia. I learned it from an episode of Nova on PBS: "Great Cathedral Mystery." 🙂

[SoMuchTV]

So for the season of the year that ends in a silent consonant, they'd have to take Fall, right?  Because that second "L" is totally silent.  Not buying it...?

[Trey]

21 hours ago, ams1001 said:

I'm contemplating round foods to bring to the FJ Contest Table for Zero...again. Maybe tomorrow will save me.

Me too. Good thing I like carbs. 

I thought last week was fairly easy and I was 4/5 on FJ.  This week seems a lot harder and I am also waiting for tonight's game to see if I need to bring curly pretzels or straight pretzels.

[Bastet]

7 hours ago, Katy M said:

I thought Hell was an odd answer, though.  Why would you have nice pretty doors to Hell on a church?

"The Gates of Hell" is a sculpture by Rodin (one of my favorites at the museum, and it has an interesting history).  I figured the contestant just got mixed up and said that one.

[30 Helens]

On 12/16/2021 at 2:14 PM, shapeshifter said:

Rhetorical question: I wonder whose idea it was to have a "Professors Tournament"? 

Non-rhetorical answer: I’m not positive, but I seem to remember that this was one of Mike Richards’ innovations. Just a taste of what we would have enjoyed from him.

On 12/16/2021 at 3:26 PM, possibilities said:

Mayim not telling people how much they can bet on DDs is something that production is also responsible for. They could easily tell her to do it, and make sure it happens during game play-- and they are choosing not to do so. It annoys me, because I think it shows a general sloppiness that has overtaken production on this show. Or maybe it was always like that, and having the same host for decades just papered over the problems on the off camera side.

I wouldn't mind the "Women Authors" types of categories, if they called them "Men Authors" when the answers were all dudes and "Authors" when the answers were mixed.

It should just be authors, period. Unless the producers feel a need to remind people that, hey, women can write, too! They also do this with Black Authors, which is equally annoying and condescending. 

As for what Mayim tells the contestants, I agree there should be standards for what reminders she should give. Isn’t there a script? I suspect Alex did them on his own because he had been there so long he didn’t need a script. Somebody needs to realize Alex and his conditioned reflexes are no longer there.

On 12/16/2021 at 4:12 PM, Gimmick Genius said:

Didn't James Holzhauer note at one time that his prep for Jeop was to read everything he could in the Children's Section of the library? Breadth over Depth indeed.

Brilliant strategy.

[853fisher]

I don’t remember whether the host usually delivers remarks on the last day of a tournament, but I thought Mayim’s speech before DJ was quite overwrought. Yes, all the contestants seemed pleasant enough, and I suppose they gave their all, such as it was, to the game.  But Mayim sounded like she was announcing their receipt of the Nobel Peace Prize or something. A thank you to the contestants is a nice thing, and maybe I’m just a cynic, but I thought that bit was OTT and seemed insincere.

I did try to give it a rest about Mayim, really.  Some of you helped over the past few days by saying what I was thinking instead of me. ;)  But anyway, good luck to Sam in the ToC. I wish JP could’ve competed in the final instead of Alisa, who got a very lucky draw of opponents. I really hope, in the future, they just let professors who would qualify in the main pool play there, and we can all forget this tournament ever happened. I’m very excited to see Amy and Ken back on Monday.

Edited December 18, 2021 by 853fisher

[Prevailing Wind]

2 hours ago, SoMuchTV said:

So for the season of the year that ends in a silent consonant, they'd have to take Fall, right?  Because that second "L" is totally silent.  Not buying it...?

I had the same thought.

When I was a travel agent, an elderly couple came in to book a cruise. The woman did most of the talking. When she told me their names, she said his name was William, the second L is silent.

 

[ams1001]

77% / 50% / 62%

Started out well…ran Percussion Instruments and Movie Taglines, missed one each in Miscellany and Before & After, two in History of England and three in Math. 

I only got half in the second round and that was only my third worst DJ score of the week. 🤦‍♀️ Only missed one in Law but only got one in Refugees. Missed two Poetic Objects and Celebrities, and three Homes and Latin phrases.

Didn't come up with FJ but I felt dumb when it was revealed.

My TSes were Iron Man of War, Cedric the Entertainer, and Excalibur (missed DD).

Happy for Sam but I would have been good with either of them winning.

[Browncoat]

I did not get FJ tonight.  It was another of those that I could have sat here all night and never come up with the correct response.  

However, I did get the TS of Cedric the Entertainer, and Excalibur.

Congrats to Steve Martin!  He was brilliant in the before and after category.

[shapeshifter]

I too got the TS of Cedric the Entertainer. 
A no-brainer for us PrimeTimers, but not so much for professors who likely spend little time watching TV, especially live network TV.

If I had taken that job offer at the Monterrey Naval Post Graduate School back in 2000, Sam Buttrey would be a colleague. 
In an alternate universe that happened, so: We are so proud of you, Sam!

[PBnJay]

Deleted because I totally misread the post I responded to. My deepest apologies for my poor reading comprehension skills.

Edited December 18, 2021 by PBnJay