Jeopardy! Season 38 (2021-2022)

[zapper]

Up here in Canada, out on the west coast, we have a tea company "Murchies" which at one time also made coffee, but is primarily tea. The company has been around for 100 or so years and makes tea blends for all sorts of things (radio shows, anniversaries and so on).

I am surprised that they haven't come up with a "Mat-tea" blend for the current Canadian media-darling.
 

[IdEatThat]

I wouldn’t have gotten that final jeopardy if I had an hour to guess.  I’m not a movie fan, old or new and whatever knowledge I have is through cultural osmosis, unless it’s one I particularly liked (Cool Hand Luke and The Princess Bride).  I’m enjoying the champ and was delighted she pulled out the win.  I’d love for her to keep going and blow through the rest of the Jeopardy records.  
 

With respect to the opening remarks, I see it as a symptom of a generally more relaxed show than it had been with Alex, and I’m enjoying that as well. I wasn’t a big fan of Alex as I found him somewhat condescending to women.  In the interview section he’d often ask women about their husbands rather than themselves, how they met, their honeymoon etc.  it really rubbed me the wrong way.   I do hope Ken is named permanent host.

[853fisher]

I think the extended length of the opening remarks is in part a function of the new EP's stated desire to present Jeopardy! "as a sport."

I notice the guys calling the games seldom say, you know, "welcome back to the Chase Center, after last night's game which went about as expected, nothing too wacky happened."  There is a stat for everything and, if not, superlatives waiting to be invented on the spot ("Johnson has now made more three-pointers during the fourth game of the post-season than any other player under 6'2" in the Western Conference!").

I think there is yet balance to be found in the length and tone of this segment.  The new interest in stats is welcome to a certain extent in my household, but sometimes the show seems to be trying too hard to establish a "story" where that is not especially necessary.  Maybe this moment with so many superchamps will pass and they'll have to pivot to something else.

Edited May 6, 2022 by 853fisher

[PBnJay]

The highlight of Thursday's episode for me was Ken suggesting Mattea got Rick Rolled.

[PBnJay]

3 hours ago, MrAtoz said:

I disagree with this in the strongest possible terms.

As do I.

[PBnJay]

Attention all Ken fans: Enjoy today's game as you won't see him next week.

[bankerchick]

23 hours ago, zapper said:

I think, that at the end of the day, people just don't long runs of champions and want the 5 game limit to return.

and

22 hours ago, proserpina65 said:

This is part of it for me.  Although I'd problem put the limit at 10 rather than 5.  And I do make exceptions for champions I really like.

I had this exact conversation yesterday with a friend who does not watch Jeopardy, but we are in Canada so there is no escaping Mattea-mania.  As well as trying to answer as many questions as possible, I also bear in mind that I am watching a 'game' show and would like to see a game.  I don't want to see the same people every day for weeks at a time.  I like Matt and Amy but eventually got bored.  I don't like Mattea at all so along with being bored, am also annoyed.

4 hours ago, ABay said:

It's a shame Citizen Kane doesn't run on TV like Casablanca or The Wizard of Oz so more people would see it.

I'm pretty sure TCM played it about 5x last month alone.  Maybe it's the only month in the year they play it, but if you wanted to see it, there was no shortage of opportunities.  (They also played Casablanca a few times, and that is a movie I will watch every time it's on,)

[DrSpaceman73]

2 hours ago, Shermie said:

Yay for Mattea for pulling back from the brink. I think she’s ready to go at this point, based on her casual “oh well” attitude. She’s already broken records with her run, and she’ll be back in the tournament of champions. 

I’ve tried to watch Citizen Kane, but no. I find a lot of old movies are just too hokey for me. The acting is so stilted; often I think “this won a best acting Oscar?” when I’m watching a classic. Plus, I think everybody knows the secret of CK by now, so it wouldn’t have the big surprise at the end anymore.

Secret!  Don't ruin it for me! No spoilers!  

Just kidding. I learned the ending to this from the simpsons. Same with planet of the apes. 

The old movie  I could barely make it through was west side story.  It looks SO RIDICULOUS, dancing and singing street thugs.  I was literally shocked, like disbelief anyone can watch  that and just not ROTFL from how it looks. 

[zoey1996]

15 hours ago, Leeds said:

Believe me, you're not missing anything.

 

4 hours ago, MrAtoz said:

I disagree with this in the strongest possible terms.

 

1 hour ago, PBnJay said:

As do I.

I think it’s a terrific movie. I got to see it in a real movie theater pre-pandemic; I’d watched it several times on tv, and will watch again.

[ABay]

1 hour ago, bankerchick said:

I'm pretty sure TCM played it about 5x last month alone.  Maybe it's the only month in the year they play it, but if you wanted to see it, there was no shortage of opportunities.  (They also played Casablanca a few times, and that is a movie I will watch every time it's on,)

Huh. In all the years I had TCM I don't recall it being played with anything like the regularity of other films.

ITA about Casablanca. Even the nonleads have great lines. "I gave them the best table, knowing they are German and would take it anyway." Whenever a plane flies low over my house I think "It's the plane to Lisbon!" And who cannot find a use for "There are vultures. Vultures everywhere." I love Claude Rains but Louis becomes more difficult to watch as time goes by. So to speak.

[MrAtoz]

1 hour ago, DrSpaceman73 said:

The old movie  I could barely make it through was west side story.  It looks SO RIDICULOUS, dancing and singing street thugs.  I was literally shocked, like disbelief anyone can watch  that and just not ROTFL from how it looks. 

With musicals, that's one of the things you just have to accept.  It's no more ridiculous than the founding fathers rapping.

[zapper]

2 hours ago, MrAtoz said:

With musicals, that's one of the things you just have to accept.  It's no more ridiculous than the founding fathers rapping.

I once heard opera described as a play where if someone gets stabbed, instead of dying, they sing about it.

Edited May 6, 2022 by zapper

[ProudMary]

4 hours ago, bankerchick said:

I'm pretty sure TCM played it about 5x last month alone.  Maybe it's the only month in the year they play it, but if you wanted to see it, there was no shortage of opportunities.  (They also played Casablanca a few times, and that is a movie I will watch every time it's on,)

Yes. TCM does its "30 Days of Oscar" special each year during Academy Awards month, with all the films shown being Oscar winners. In Citizen Kane's case, it won only one Oscar for Best Original Screenplay, despite receiving nine nominations. It should probably have won more of the "below the line" awards--Cinematography, Editing, Sound--as the film was truly groundbreaking in those categories. The story behind the screenplay's creation was the basis for  2020's Mank, which ironically won two Oscars including Cinematography.

[UsernameFatigue]

19 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Since I share with Mattea the seeming necessity of using vocalizations and hand gestures to trigger thought processes to locate data stored in my gray matter, I must always forgive her these tics, even when I too find them a little irritating, along with my attending feelings of empathetic embarrassment. 
Today that paid off for me with a big vicarious thrill at her surprise win against seeming unbeatable odds. Yeah! We won!

 

I knew FJ was Citizen Kane, but did some hand waving until I was able to shout out the answer. Maybe that is why Mattea's handwaving doesn't bother me. My husband also speaks with his hands, even when he is on the phone. I find it charming. 

I haven't seen Citizen Kane in years, but just checked and I can watch it on two different On Demand channels. So I think I will revisit the movie tonight, after hopefully celebrating another Mattea win! 

 

 

Edited May 6, 2022 by UsernameFatigue

[ams1001]

Ugh, I did terribly tonight…but it ended well! Got Pinatubo, Methodism (I better; I was raised Methodist), Bausch & Lomb; no FJ but I was in the right city, at least. 

Danielle's reaction was great. 😄 Also I like her hair.

Edited May 7, 2022 by ams1001

[Prevailing Wind]

Whoooo Hooooo!!!

[Katy M]

I said Hartsfield and Love.  Could not think of the other name.

I got the missed clues of Quo Vadis (before the wrong answer), Congregationalism, Bausch & Lomb and Claudius.

Another bad night.

[Browncoat]

Severe thunderstorms and tornado watches here blocked my satellite for the second half of Jeopardy tonight, so I had to check the archive.  FJ was an instaget -- I've flown through there too many times not to know that one.

I also got the TS of Methodism, Quo Vadis, Bausch & Lomb, and quincentennial.  I should have gotten Pinatubo, but I just could not drag the name out of the deep recesses of my brain.

[mertensia]

5 hours ago, MrAtoz said:

With musicals, that's one of the things you just have to accept.  It's no more ridiculous than the founding fathers rapping.

Plus one of the song and dances in **Galavant** is a ripoff of one of the ones from **West Side Story**. "I'm Gonna Kill me a Giant".

[SoMuchTV]

2 minutes ago, Browncoat said:

 

Severe thunderstorms and tornado watches here blocked my satellite for the second half of Jeopardy tonight, so I had to check the archive.

 

What a night to miss FJ!  Our local weather guy kept breaking in at commercial breaks but near the end he made a point of saying, we’ll cut back to Final Jeopardy then get back to you. I wonder if they knew the results. 

[Browncoat]

1 minute ago, SoMuchTV said:

What a night to miss FJ!  Our local weather guy kept breaking in at commercial breaks but near the end he made a point of saying, we’ll cut back to Final Jeopardy then get back to you. I wonder if they knew the results. 

More like they know they'll get bombarded with hate mail and nasty-grams if they pre-empt FJ.  Our weather people fuss at us all the time when they have to pre-empt Wheel or Jeopardy, insisting that a potential tornado is somehow more important than Final Jeopardy.  Unfortunately, the only thing I can do about the weather and satellite TV is switch to cable.

[Babalooie]

Without spoiling the results, I think that one of the contestants made a mistake in their math.

[secnarf]

22 minutes ago, Babalooie said:

Without spoiling the results, I think that one of the contestants made a mistake in their math.

After 7pm EST you are allowed to discuss the results. 
 

I generally am bad with the wagering, but I think Mattea bet a logical amount - she bet to cover double Danielle’s score going in to FJ. She can’t have known what Danielle’s wager would be. Danielle seems to have bet assuming that Mattea would bet that amount and then get FJ wrong - frankly, too much math for me to have figured out on the spot.  Her alternate strategy and probably what most people would have done is to bet it all, or all but a dollar, and this is what Mattea’s bet covered for. 
 

Really unfortunate that it came down to that, but that’s the way the game works. Congrats to Mattea on a wonderful run. Like her or not, she played the game well and accomplished what only a few have been able to do before. 

[Shermie]

Good run for Mattea, congrats on a job well done.

I didn’t understand Mattea’s or Danielle’s logic in their FJ bet.

[dcalley]

Here is J-Archive's wagering suggestion for this game, FWIW.

Quote

Danielle: You have the hope of surpassing Mattea if you come up with the correct response. Bet at least $7,801 to force Mattea to wager to win while also protecting your position from being usurped by Betsy.

Mattea: Wager $3,601 to cover Danielle, but no more than $4,399 so as not to fall behind Betsy's doubled score.

 

Edited May 7, 2022 by dcalley

[shapeshifter]

Okay. Now I get it.
Mattea bet just enough so that if she had known the correct response, she would have had a final score of $22,801, or one dollar more than double Danielle's score going into FJ, which covers any wager of Danielle's provided Danielle does not know the correct response.

So Mattea did Not lose because she made a timid wager. 
I'm glad she retires as an example of winning without taking big risks. 

I am not going to figure how much more $$ she could have won had she just bet the safe max for her FJs. 
Let someone else do that.

But does this mean Danielle based her own wager on the above logic? If so, James Holzhauer might not want to play poker against Danielle.

I did not get FJ. I flew to Atlanta once about 20 years ago.

If I pronounced the TS as Mount Pinatuba would it have been okay?

 =  ?

ETA:

But wait. There’s more.

Scores at the end of the Double Jeopardy! Round:

• Mattea   $19,200
• Danielle $11,400

Wagers

• Mattea   $3,601
• Danielle $4,200

Final scores:

• Mattea   $15,599
• Danielle $15,600

So if Mattea had stuck with her risk avoidance tendencies and wagered $0 (or even anything from $0 — $3,599) she would still be a champion.

But the category was the vague “USA,” and Mattea had studied US history and culture. 🤷‍♀️😐

Edited May 7, 2022 by shapeshifter
More about wagers

[ams1001]

6 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

I did not get FJ. I flew to Atlanta once about 20 years ago.

When I was a junior in college my friend's parents moved to Florida, so for the second half of spring break that year (1996) two other friends and I went home with her. We went from Newark to Tampa with a stop in Atlanta. I forget if we were dropping people off or picking people up, but we were on the ground for maybe 20 minutes and didn't get off the plane. I had no reason to pay attention to the name of the airport.

6 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

If I pronounced the TS as Mount Pinatuba would it have been okay?

 =  ?

Not unless they misheard you.

I knew Will & Kate, but I didn't say it out loud because I was laughing too hard at the clue ("fresh prints of swell heir"). 

[DrSpaceman73]

I've been to and flown to Atlanta many times still didn't get FJ. 

Glad she is gone. That was an amazing comeback.  Halfway through DJ mattea was way ahead and seemed uncatchable then the new champ got the $5000 daily double and FJ.  

[blueray]

I am sad to see Mattea go but she had a great run. I'm really looking forward to her in the tournament of champions. 

As for FJ, I had no idea. I have only been to the Atlanta airport once and it was for a connection that I made by minutes they were closing the gates. 

Edited May 7, 2022 by blueray

[Bastet]

Just after I thought, "Huh, learned something new today" upon answering the "pugil" clue, Mattea said the same thing.

She had a terrific run!  I was hoping for it to continue, if for no other reason than to keep pissing some people off, but I also wouldn't mind going a while before we get to the next long-running champ.

Danielle's reaction to winning was great, and I enjoyed Mattea's reaction to losing as well.

I got all but three clues in the first round - Matt Damon, blockchain, and Belgium (I was not at all expecting to get all but one in a royalty category, so that was fun).

The only category I ran in DJ was brands.  I got all but one in affairs and N, but missed two or three in everything else. 

I almost reasoned my way to FJ, but came up short.  It had to be something in Atlanta, but no two-name venue sprang to mind.  Concentrating on something that would be named after mayors, and work on the site of a former race track, I thought, "A-ha!  The airport!  What's it called?" -- and never got any farther than that.  So my answer would have been a non-counting "Who are the guys the Atlanta airport is named after?"

[SomeTameGazelle]

42 minutes ago, blueray said:

I am sad to see Mattea go but she had a great run. I'm really looking forward to her in the tournament of champions. 

As for FJ, I had no idea. I have only been to the Atlanta airport once and it was for a connection that I made by minutes they were closing the gates. 

I had forgotten that I had flown into Atlanta once for a work conference. Based on this it would have been before they added the Jackson but I didn't pay any attention to the Hartsfield aspect either as its code is simply ATL.

I'm glad Mattea got to 23, but good for Danielle -- she was very lucky to get a FJ that was local to her, but she played a pretty good game in any case.

Edited May 7, 2022 by SomeTameGazelle
spelling

[PaulaO]

Glad Mattea is gone,  I had no idea for FJ!  I could barely understand the clue.  I knew it was Atlanta because of Coca Cola but nothing else.

[catrice2]

Have never been able to make it through Citizen Kane, although I am also one of few who does not like It's a Wonderful Life, so what do I know?😀

Didn't understand the wagering tonight, but I guess it worked out.

[UsernameFatigue]

I am sad that Mattea's run had ended, but so impressed by not only her intelligence, but her sunny personality and kindness to the other contestants. She always acknowledged with a smile and applause when another player answered a DD correctly. Some contestants are not that gracious. I did love the mischievous smile on her face as she wrote her FJ answer. I am already looking forward to the Tournament of Champions and hope Mattea, Amy and Matt face off against each other at the end. What a treat that would be. 

Congrats to Danielle on getting two DDs and FJ correct. Had she hesitated a split second longer on the second DD the outcome would have been different, but I am happy for her. 

Edited May 7, 2022 by UsernameFatigue

[3 is enough]

5 pm Pacific Time and I turned on my laptop only to see a prominently featured story on the MSN homepage spoiling tonight’s result.  Show airs at 7pm here. 😡

Good run for Mattea.  I liked her and was hoping she continue, but I do think she was getting tired.

[Prevailing Wind]

https://www.ajc.com/blog/airport/behind-the-two-names-atlanta-airport-hartsfield-and-jackson/fR8At0MiXNKfh5aIYIVDmM/

They only added Jackson's name in 2003. People still call it "Hartsfield" and omit the Jackson.

6 hours ago, catrice2 said:

Have never been able to make it through Citizen Kane, although I am also one of few who does not like It's a Wonderful Life, so what do I know?😀

Didn't understand the wagering tonight, but I guess it worked out.

It's like I have a twin!

[Trey]

I am sad to see Mattea go but I guess I can accept her defeat as graciously as she did. 

 I could have sat until doomsday and would not have gotten FJ because I have never heard the name of the Atlanta airport.

I did get the ts's of Pinatubo and Quo Vadis but that's just small potatoes since I didn't get FJ too.

[M. Darcy]

No one got Claudius or Poldark! Where were the PBS nerds! 
 

[Trey]

52 minutes ago, M. Darcy said:

No one got Claudius or Poldark! Where were the PBS nerds! 
 

Clue:

Robert Graves' novel about a Roman emperor begins, "I, Tiberius" this name

I think most people know I, Claudius but not so many know I, Tiberius ______, although, what else could it be? Possibly that's a really stupid remark.

I just plain forgot about Poldark.

[SomeTameGazelle]

47 minutes ago, M. Darcy said:

No one got Claudius or Poldark! Where were the PBS nerds! 
 

I couldn't tell whether "I, Tiberius" scared them away from thinking it could be Claudius or if they were simply too young to make the association. I was aware of I, Claudius in the 70s but had never watched it until a couple of years ago when John Hodgman and Elliot Kalan (who appeared on J! last season) did a podcast discussing it, and I had to borrow DVDs from my library since it wasn't streaming anywhere (at least not that I had access to).

For Poldark I got as far as "starts with P!" but no further.

[M. Darcy]

21 minutes ago, SomeTameGazelle said:

I couldn't tell whether "I, Tiberius" scared them away from thinking it could be Claudius or if they were simply too young to make the association. I was aware of I, Claudius in the 70s but had never watched it until a couple of years ago when John Hodgman and Elliot Kalan (who appeared on J! last season) did a podcast discussing it, and I had to borrow DVDs from my library since it wasn't streaming anywhere (at least not that I had access to).

For Poldark I got as far as "starts with P!" but no further.

I loved that Podcast! And FYI, Acorn TV has the series.

Ken tweeted  that he’ll be back before the end of the season.  It’s going to be a long few months. 

[dgpolo]

I got both Claudius and Poldark, this was the Poldark clue:

Title last name of Ross, a brooding hero of 18th century Cornwall in books by Winston Graham & 2 BBC series

Never read it, never saw it, but I had a friend at work who loved it so I knew enough that he was 'brooding' in England somewhere and had 2 series based on it. Somehow that was enough for me to get it.

[Caoimhe]

Definitely not a fan of Mattea’s chattiness but I was surprised at how sad I was to see her lose last night.  I hoped she would hang on for at least one more game.

Got Claudius and Poldark as I’ve read books about both but FJ was a complete blank.

[ProudMary]

20 minutes ago, M. Darcy said:

Ken tweeted  that he’ll be back before the end of the season.  It’s going to be a long few months. 

Nooooooooo! 

Speaking of tweets, this one must have been a great surprise for Mattea.

 

[ams1001]

13 hours ago, 3 is enough said:

5 pm Pacific Time and I turned on my laptop only to see a prominently featured story on the MSN homepage spoiling tonight’s result.  Show airs at 7pm here. 😡

I actually spoiled myself during the commercial break before FJ. Sometimes I get impatient and go read the clue on the archive. I tried not to see who won but I scrolled down a little too far and noticed "second place" under Mattea's name.

[Shermie]

I would have preferred that Mattea lost to her Thursday opponent (Sarah?), who was ahead of her the entire game, rather than to Danielle. I enjoyed Sarah and she would have been a formidable player going forward. 

[Bastet]

34 minutes ago, Shermie said:

I would have preferred that Mattea lost to her Thursday opponent (Sarah?), who was ahead of her the entire game, rather than to Danielle. I enjoyed Sarah and she would have been a formidable player going forward. 

In Thursday's game, with Mattea not being in the lead heading into FJ (for the first time, I think) and Sarah having led the whole time, I was nervous for the first time in Mattea's run, thinking this could be it.  But last night, even though the math meant it was possible for her to lose depending on how FJ went, I never considered it happening, even though the category was USA.  It just felt like one of the other several games where it wasn't a lock, but she'd been in the lead the whole time, so she was going to win.  When she got FJ wrong, I, figuring she'd have wagered exactly as she did, realized oh, wow, it just happened.

[Back Atcha]

2 hours ago, M. Darcy said:

Ken tweeted  that he’ll be back before the end of the season.  It’s going to be a long few months. 

HaHA...not for everyone.

[kassandra8286]

On 5/3/2022 at 10:40 PM, 853fisher said:

RE my friend Danielle who is playing Friday, thanks for all your kind comments!  I asked to get off work an hour earlier and join her little party via Zoom.  My boss said "sure, you've got an hour coming.  Is it really for a friend playing Jeopardy?  I can never tell with you!" ;)

Congratulations on your friend winning, @853fisher! One for the record books. I liked her a lot and hope she continues to do well. That must have been quite a Zoom party!

[Montreal Meany]

2 hours ago, Trey said:

Clue:

Robert Graves' novel about a Roman emperor begins, "I, Tiberius" this name

I think most people know I, Claudius but not so many know I, Tiberius ______, although, what else could it be? Possibly that's a really stupid remark.

I just plain forgot about Poldark.

I didn't come here just to plug this page, but I did find it interesting. Anyway, I can see why this may have been a confusing clue even for those who have read the book. I'd have written it as a fill-in-the-blank ("Tiberius ________ Drusus Nero Germanicus"), even though that makes it rather busy for a regular game clue.