Jeopardy! Season 38 (2021-2022)

[853fisher]

MTT (whose return to work was mentioned in the arts news category) released an open letter discussing in greater detail his diagnosis of glioblastoma multiforme, an aggressive brain cancer likely to recur, just yesterday. He is no longer with the SF Symphony but is in demand as a guest conductor and is stepping back from administrative responsibilities, including with the training ensemble he founded 35 years ago, in order to make as much art as possible. It was a pleasant surprise that he was mentioned today, if a bit eerie. I certainly wish him and his husband the best at this time.

Edited March 4, 2022 by 853fisher

[Leeds]

4 hours ago, Katy M said:

I don't think that sounds right.  They usually ask for a BMS when someone just gives a last name, but sometimes just last names are acceptable and so how would the contestant know unless asked.  Contestants already know that it has to be in the form of the question as that is part of the rule.

As far as Law & Order, they're in the same franchise, but they are 2 different shows.  I feel like they shouldn't have let the next person buzz in, though, as Ken's hesitation made it obvious they were looking for something in that franchise.

I can count at least 5 different shows in the franchise, and it wouldn't surprise me to know there are more.  Original, SVU, Criminal Intent, Los Angeles, the one with the character with anger issues.

Who knows what else Dick Wolf has spawned.  Certainly there are enough for an entire Jeopardy! category.  In which version did x do this to y? In which version did guest actor z kill a perp with a banana slug?  Etc, etc.

[illdoc]

Question: How does an EMT "work from home"??!!!!!! 

[853fisher]

26 minutes ago, Leeds said:

I can count at least 5 different shows in the franchise, and it wouldn't surprise me to know there are more.  Original, SVU, Criminal Intent, Los Angeles, the one with the character with anger issues.

There was also "L&O: Trial By Jury" with Bebe Neuwirth; "L&O: True Crime" about the Menendez murders; and "Conviction," with Stephanie March's attorney character from SVU.  I think although Wolf created "Conviction" it is not considered formally part of the franchise.  But what the heck, I remembered that after I had already punctuated the first sentence. ;)

Edited March 4, 2022 by 853fisher

[Back Atcha]

On 3/2/2022 at 9:55 AM, Mindthinkr said:

@saber5055 Hooray for seeing the Havanese dog.

I agree.  I've seen them; a friend rescues them.  I've NEVER seen that shade of "tan," nor a one-color Havanese.  NOT that I've seen more than ten.

[ams1001]

I ran Business and What's my Name, missed one fabric and one eponym…my TSes were administer, calving (DD), nylon, Genoa, and lace. No FJ.

I laughed at the middle guy's face when he bet it all on the DD.

4 minutes ago, illdoc said:

Question: How does an EMT "work from home"??!!!!!! 

I found his linked in (I know it's the right one because his profile pic is him at his J! podium with the blue background). He worked as a Route Manager for field technicians for a communications company when the pandemic started; he's only worked as an EMT since November 2020.

[Katy M]

I got FJ.

I got the entire category of Beatles wrong and the partial category of eponyms rights.

Not a great night.  Getting FJ saved me from complete ruination.

[Browncoat]

Ryan annoyed me from the very beginning, when the players were being introduced, so it doesn't hurt my feelings that he couldn't come up with FJ.  I didn't come up with it, either, unless "What is that city on Sicily?" counts.  

But I did get calving, Okinawa, nylon, Genoa, lace, and merino.  I have lots of merino wool socks.  I love them -- so toasty in the winter.

 

[Leeds]

39 minutes ago, illdoc said:

Question: How does an EMT "work from home"??!!!!!! 

You live at the most dangerous crossing in, say, New York.  Then you sit by the window and as soon as there's a crash, you call out to the victims and tell them to crawl on over.

[853fisher]

I wanted Margaret to repeat, but Ryan's bold DD wager made it hard not to root for him a bit.  I matched the answer he seemed to be trying to write, Milan.  I doubt I could have come up with the capital of Sicily in 30sec even if I'd made that connection.

I got Okinawa principally because I know or know of several US military personnel who have been stationed there.  It made sense that somewhere we returned to local control as late as 1972 might be somewhere we still had some kind of presence.

The surprise in Tyra's ice creams appears to be cookie dough bites.  She's not my cup of tea, but some of the flavors do look great (just not at those prices!).  I guess "create their own ice cream" is pretty harmless in the grand scheme of things celebrities do for attention.

Esperanto seemed like one of those categories that would have been easier at a pub quiz!  I got the last 3 once I warmed up.  I love thinking about language so that one was fun for me.  The whole story of that language is fascinating to me.

Edited March 4, 2022 by 853fisher

[kathyk24]

33 minutes ago, ams1001 said:

I ran Business and What's my Name, missed one fabric and one eponym…my TSes were administer, calving (DD), nylon, Genoa, and lace. No FJ.

I laughed at the middle guy's face when he bet it all on the DD.

I found his linked in (I know it's the right one because his profile pic is him at his J! podium with the blue background). He worked as a Route Manager for field technicians for a communications company when the pandemic started; he's only worked as an EMT since November 2020.

I read an interview with Luis today before Jeopardy aired. He said Ken was wonderful o the contestants. Good game for Margaret I knew she had a southern accent. I knew calving nylon lace and merino. I loved the Beatles lyrics category.

[853fisher]

Confession: I wasn't paying full attention at the beginning of the game.  The first clue after the Beatles songs was "made of coral, this 2-word structure usually runs parallel to the shore" but my mind was still with the fab four and I thought, jeez, I don't know, an octopus's garden?  I don't know what's with me sometimes.

Just now, kathyk24 said:

I loved the Beatles lyrics category.

Good of you to follow the theme in your comments about it. ;)

[Bastet]

This was a good game that any of the three could have won, but I'm glad Margaret emerged victorious.  I was a little surprised by the administer TS, especially with a little extra time to think by the other two after one guessed wrong, and by lace, nylon, and merino a bit, too - I wasn't expecting that fibers & fabrics category to be such a tough one for them (four out of five were TS). 

The nylon TS (which I knew; the only one I didn't get in that category was Genoa) amused me, as in an episode of Designing Women where the characters were playing the home version of J! there was a similar clue and Charlene answered first, but with spandex, and then Julia swooped in with "What is nylon?" with wonderfully haughty delivery that led to a fun imitation by Charlene.

Damn Beatles category; if it wasn't for that, I'd have run the entire first round, but the only song I knew was "Love Me Do".

In DJ, I ran 1972 and eponyms and almost ran books and fabrics.  I missed two in esperanto, and getting three of them was a pleasant surprise; I was not at all sure about that category going into it!  So I did very well other than arts, in which I missed three.  But still, a good round overall.

I completely backed my way into getting FJ correct; my mind immediately jumped to Sicily for no other reason than I watch a lot of The Golden Girls (in which Sophia constantly tells stories about Sicily, with mafia jokes being rampant within them).  I had no fact-based information to tell me no, it's another country notorious for its mafia, so I stuck with Sicily.  Being unburdened by knowledge also helped me in choosing the city, since I could only think of two - Palermo and Trapani - and guessed the right one.

Edited March 4, 2022 by Bastet

[30 Helens]

3 hours ago, illdoc said:

Question: How does an EMT "work from home"??!!!!!! 

Maybe it’s like Emergency Uber: Get in an accident, make a call, and a guy rushes over in a Prius stuffed with gauze and neosporin.

[possibilities]

Maybe it's an EMT that's unemployed?

Or dad to a highly accident-prone child?

Edited March 4, 2022 by possibilities

[MrAtoz]

14 hours ago, Leeds said:

Who knows what else Dick Wolf has spawned.

I do.  There's also the "Chicago" franchise (Chicago Fire, Chicago P.D., and Chicago Med) on NBC, and the "FBI" franchise (FBI, FBI: Most Wanted, and FBI: International) on CBS.

Dude's like a modern-day Jack Webb.  Appropriate, since he also produced the short-lived remake of "Dragnet" with Ed O'Neill back in the early 2000s.

[Grundoon59]

I enjoyed seeing the Detroit clues (even if I could think of several that would have worked but been slightly harder).  WDIV is my news station of choice in addition to airing Jeopardy so fun to see the anchors reading the clues.  Mother Grundoon was at Tiger Stadium for the Mandela event and worked summers during college in the 40s at the Willow Run plant (which is actually well outside Detroit).  Plus with the last name of Howe, I have spent decades answering the question "So, are you related to Gordie?"  - the answer is no, despite Father Grundoon also hailing from Canada.

For FJ, I could not get my brain to summon up cities in Sicily fast enough to get it right - I just said Naples even though I was sure it was not right. 

[Welshman in Ca]

On 3/3/2022 at 6:11 AM, MrAtoz said:

Whereas my thought was "Battle In Vain?  What the hell is he talking about?"   I was astonished when they actually gave it to him later.  "Richard of York Gave Battle In Vain?"  How are you supposed to remember that, and why would you bother when it's much easier to picture a nerdy little guy named Roy G. Biv?

 I've never heard of Roy G. Biv until 1 minute ago.

I often get answers wrong because I will give the British word or saying for something but only my wife hears it & she tells me it counts, but she is biased sometimes.

Edited March 4, 2022 by Welshman in Ca

[BuckeyeLou]

2 hours ago, Grundoon59 said:

I enjoyed seeing the Detroit clues (even if I could think of several that would have worked but been slightly harder).  WDIV is my news station of choice in addition to airing Jeopardy so fun to see the anchors reading the clues.  Mother Grundoon was at Tiger Stadium for the Mandela event and worked summers during college in the 40s at the Willow Run plant (which is actually well outside Detroit).  Plus with the last name of Howe, I have spent decades answering the question "So, are you related to Gordie?"  - the answer is no, despite Father Grundoon also hailing from Canada.

For FJ, I could not get my brain to summon up cities in Sicily fast enough to get it right - I just said Naples even though I was sure it was not right. 

I said Naples also, and who knows, maybe you are a distant cousin of Gordie Howe? :)

[Quickbeam]

I ran the fabric category. As a Delaware alum you can’t graduate without knowing that DuPont created nylon. Plus I’m a knitter. I thought it was a good game, I love it when everyone jostles for the lead.

[Grundoon59]

36 minutes ago, BuckeyeLou said:

I said Naples also, and who knows, maybe you are a distant cousin of Gordie Howe? :)

Wouldn't mind at all because I have only heard nice stories about him but we are from great distances apart in Canada

[Josiemae]

That was one tough FJ! DH said Candide and I guessed Cyrano de Bergerac and ... it wasn't. 

Pulling for fellow- southerner Margaret, bless her heart.

 

[ams1001]

Margaret is so polite.

Ran Elements of Literature and Sams Club, missed one each in Transportation, D to E, and Bordering Russia. No FJ.

TSes were Tin Man, Bullet Train, flycatcher, and komodo dragon (DD).

I feel like they gave away the Ukraine clue just by putting the tape date on the screen like that.
 

[IdEatThat]

FJ was an instaget for me but I don’t think I could have spelled it.   Would they have taken a phonetic answer?   I sort of feel like my spelling would have added a syllable somehow.

[Katy M]

I didn't concentrate enough on the clue and so I said The Idiot, but I probably wouldn't have gotten it anyway.  

I got the missed clues of Tin Man, bullet, jackal (after hyena) and kimodo dragon.

I got the entire category of pop culture right.

[Browncoat]

No idea for FJ tonight, alas.  And I only got the TS/missed DD of tin man, bullet train, Komodo dragon, and flycatcher.

Congrats to Margaret!

[GreekGeek]

25 minutes ago, IdEatThat said:

FJ was an instaget for me but I don’t think I could have spelled it.   Would they have taken a phonetic answer?   I sort of feel like my spelling would have added a syllable somehow.

You mean like Donkey Ho-tee?

43 minutes ago, ams1001 said:

 

I feel like they gave away the Ukraine clue just by putting the tape date on the screen like that.
 

I wondered if the Ukraine would turn up as a clue and if so, how the show would address the current situation. The tape date on the screen was a subtle way to handle it. I thought there might be an insert of Ken explaining the show was pre-recorded and maybe offering his sympathies to the people of the Ukraine.

Hooray Margaret for that DD wager! A $400 clue in DJ is a relatively safe bet, so I'm glad she went all in.

I got FJ--yay me!

Edited March 5, 2022 by GreekGeek

[Browncoat]

nm

Edited March 5, 2022 by Browncoat

[IdEatThat]

29 minutes ago, GreekGeek said:

54 minutes ago, IdEatThat said:

 

You mean like Donkey Ho-tee?

Yes!

[anniebird]

Here in Cleveland our local channel showed an old Jeopardy - it had the correct title, S38 Ep125 but it was actually S38 Ep115. I thought I was having serious deja vu.

 

[stonehaven]

I'm loving the champ. I didn't get that many clues tonight but am glad she won. I can only hope we get more Ken Jennings. I loved the Beatles category yesterday when I could tell Ken was trying SO hard not to sing the lyrics.

[dgpolo]

2 minutes ago, anniebird said:

Here in Cleveland our local channel showed an old Jeopardy - it had the correct title, S38 Ep125 but it was actually S38 Ep115. I thought I was having serious deja vu.

There's talk on Twitter that they misgendered Sam Smith in the clue about them. Maybe they also had second thoughts about the Ukraine clue.

[anniebird]

3 minutes ago, dgpolo said:

There's talk on Twitter that they misgendered Sam Smith in the clue about them. Maybe they also had second thoughts about the Ukraine clue.

Very interesting. Thanks for the info

[blueray]

1 hour ago, GreekGeek said:

You mean like Donkey Ho-tee?

I wondered if the Ukraine would turn up as a clue and if so, how the show would address the current situation. The tape date on the screen was a subtle way to handle it. I thought there might be an insert of Ken explaining the show was pre-recorded and maybe offering his sympathies to the people of the Ukraine.

 

I was shocked when that was a category then of course Ukraine was one of the answers (so was Georgia). Both are countries that have been attacked by Russia. I didn't notice the date appearing anywhere, so I was thinking that they should have done something. And yes, having Ken film a clip would have been nice. 

[secnarf]

15 minutes ago, blueray said:

I was shocked when that was a category then of course Ukraine was one of the answers (so was Georgia). Both are countries that have been attacked by Russia. I didn't notice the date appearing anywhere, so I was thinking that they should have done something. And yes, having Ken film a clip would have been nice. 

I cringed a little when the category was revealed. TPTB really went all out with the Jeopardy curse for this one, didn't they? The FJ a little while ago and now this entire category.

I also didn't notice the date appearing anywhere, but I am not exactly known for paying close attention/looking at the screen while watching.

[Roaster]

I saw the date in the upper left.  Took me a sec to figure out why they put it there.  I think this was enough.  They can't change the show to respond to world events, and most viewers understand the episodes are recorded in advance.

[Fex]

Count me as another who guessed Candide for FJ. He was supposed to be beautiful, I think? At least at the start.

I was shocked that the clue writers misgendered Sam Smith. I don't expect everyone to know they use gender neutral pronouns (I used to know a MEGA Sam Smith fan), but if you are, say, writing for a huge TV show, do the tiniest bit of research. Their pronouns are at the top of all their social media, and it's not new information.

[dgpolo]

4 minutes ago, Fex said:

I was shocked that the clue writers misgendered Sam Smith. I don't expect everyone to know they use gender neutral pronouns (I used to know a MEGA Sam Smith fan), but if you are, say, writing for a huge TV show, do the tiniest bit of research. Their pronouns are at the top of all their social media, and it's not new information.

It was also pointed out on Twitter, not sure who by, that there was actually a clue about them changing their pronouns on May 4, 2021 (in a category called Pronouns). So someone screwed up.

I imagine, since Jeopardy is syndicated each market is making up their mind whether to air this episode? Maybe the whole Russian category might be considered in bad taste right now.

[Bastet]

Oh my, that Ukraine clue.  As soon as the Bordering Russia category was announced, I knew that was going to happen.

Good for Margaret on her true DD bet and her reasoning.  When she got that right, the game was hers from then on.  If Adrian had heard me yelling "Komodo dragon!" for his $10k DD, it would have been a different game going into FJ.

I thought I recalled reading that Sam Smith uses they/them pronouns, so I looked it up during commercial, and, as others have already noted, yep -- Smith identified as non-binary in March 2019 and announced their pronoun preference that September.  (I didn't remember this, but just looked it up after reading a post above: Yes, on the 5/4/21 episode [which was taped 3/2/21, so not even a year before this one was], a clue in the category Pronouns read: In 2019 singer Sam Smith announced, "I am changing my pronouns to" this genderless pair," with the correct response being "they/them".  That makes it an even more ridiculous error by the writers.)

Kudos to the J! archive for noting the proper pronouns in covering that clue.

I was surprised by the Tin Man TS, that none of the other two even guessed with one character ruled out. 

In the first round, I ran Sams, transportation, and D to E, and almost ran six.  I did okay in the others, missing two each.

In DJ, I ran pairs (fortunately, Pikachu is the one Pokeman name I know), symbols, and Russia, and almost ran Arthurian.  On the flip side, I was terrible in genus, missing all but one (I cannot believe I didn't figure out the chimpanzee clue).  I didn't do well in words, either, missing three; that was disappointing, as vocabulary categories are usually my jam.

I correctly guessed FJ by trying to think of a title character from a European novel prior to the 19th century (I was pretty sure Dostoyevsky wrote in the 1800s) that might be described as ridiculous, but wasn't at all sure of it.  So it was an educated guess rather than my weird way of getting last night's FJ correct (which involved being inspired by stereotypes from '80s TV and only knowing two Sicilian cities), but, hey, they both count.

Edited March 5, 2022 by Bastet

[Ailianna]

I was sure I was wrong on FJ but I really couldn't think if anything else. I was very surprised to be right!

[853fisher]

4 minutes ago, dgpolo said:

I imagine, since Jeopardy is syndicated each market is making up their mind whether to air this episode? Maybe the whole Russian category might be considered in bad taste right now.

I did think that, although it wasn't clear in January how bad things would get, it wouldn't've taken Nostradamus to predict that the Ukraine clue might age poorly.

However, my gut says that J! would probably not take kindly to affiliates choosing to pull the episode, and if I were a station manager I might not want to risk pissing them off, even if I perceived bad taste.

I'd be curious to know whether there was any advance notification.  I think I'd appreciate a quick heads-up to be prepared for viewers who may comment.  Disclaimer aside, I have been surprised in the past by the number of people who seem not to understand that this or that show tapes in advance, has been edited, etc.

The show also stated on Twitter that the clue was recorded in January.  I'm a little surprised that they didn't add some comment of support to the dry statement of fact: not criticizing, just observing.

[Leeds]

I wonder how many fans Margaret lost with that bizarre "sheepdog" answer?

[Fex]

33 minutes ago, dgpolo said:

It was also pointed out on Twitter, not sure who by, that there was actually a clue about them changing their pronouns on May 4, 2021 (in a category called Pronouns). So someone screwed up.

Ooh, I had not remembered that. That's even worse. Bad job, there!

I got distracted by the pronoun and the Russia/Ukraine clue, and forgot about the fun parts of the show: The gutsy DD wagers! Always fun, and I hope Adrian gets respect for that even though it didn't work out.

[HyeChaps]

https://www.facebook.com/Jeopardy/posts/5245283625522511

This came up in my Facebook feed in the afternoon.

 

[shapeshifter]

For FJ I could only come up with: That guy who tilted at windmills
And so it went for my week, other than singing most of the responses to the Beatles category.

 

4 hours ago, secnarf said:

I also didn't notice the date appearing anywhere, but I am not exactly known for paying close attention/looking at the screen while watching.

Depending upon the size of your screen and your distance from it, you might have missed it:

 

[Mindthinkr]

Shallow note: I loved Ken’s tie last night. 
I got diamond, Tin Man, Bullet train, and blanked for FJ. 

[blueray]

Okay so hot take here but here it goes:

So I never heard of Sam Smith, no idea who that is. So I just googled them. And pictures came up of a singer, recent concerts, etc but nothing about gender at all. So I clicked on Wikipedia and you have to go all away "personal" to even see anything about this. So my hot take is the person writing this category question, may have been like me (clueless about this artist) but with no time or reason to research their personal life. So we get a gender listed wrong and it is to late to fix.

[zoey1996]

I also was unaware that Sam Smith used they/them. If the clue had said, "They took home four grammys" would that have been confusing? Would the contestants tried to come up with a group/more than one person named Sam with four grammys? Better might be, "This person took home four grammys."

[Clanstarling]

14 hours ago, ams1001 said:

Margaret is so polite.

Ran Elements of Literature and Sams Club, missed one each in Transportation, D to E, and Bordering Russia. No FJ.

TSes were Tin Man, Bullet Train, flycatcher, and komodo dragon (DD).

I feel like they gave away the Ukraine clue just by putting the tape date on the screen like that.
 

I warmed up to her quickly, the politeness, as well as the readily apparent nerves.

Thank you for keeping track of my TSs 😉

I didn't see the date when the clue was up (we record, so we backed up), but as soon as the category came up, I knew there was bound to be a question about Ukraine. That's one hell of a Jeopardy curse moment.

13 hours ago, GreekGeek said:

I wondered if the Ukraine would turn up as a clue and if so, how the show would address the current situation. The tape date on the screen was a subtle way to handle it. I thought there might be an insert of Ken explaining the show was pre-recorded and maybe offering his sympathies to the people of the Ukraine.

I thought it was a good way to handle it. Those of us who watch regularly know it's recorded much earlier (and the date was interesting to see), and those who don't were given the information in a quiet way.

I did okay, but no FJ for me. I focused, unfortunately, on Dostoevsky's own work. Not that I would have gotten to Don Quixote at all.

[Trey]

It was nice that they put the date on the clue, for those who don't know the game is taped in advance. However, it was a simple geography question, so nothing offensive or political was intended.

Like @blueray posted up above, I know nothing of Sam Smith and that clue meant nothing to me.

I did get FJ but it was strictly a guess.