Jeopardy! Season 38 (2021-2022)

[Cotypubby]

I was so certain FJ was “Of Mice and Men” and was so proud of myself for getting it! 🙃 whoops

Wow, never would have come up with Catcher in the Rye and had no idea that had anything to do with Burns.

[853fisher]

55 minutes ago, 30 Helens said:

I was a game show junkie as a child (enough to fake sickness so I could stay home from school for Password and Pyramid tournaments), and I loved Bill Cullen. As much for his celebrity guest appearances as his hosting. He just seemed like such a kind, genial man.

Hear hear.  I learned recently that someone wrote a biography of him a few years ago.  At first I thought it might be a bit dodgy, sort of a vanity project for the author, but it seems to have been thoroughly and lovingly sourced.  I'm hoping to get a copy by interlibrary loan one of these days, but it's not exactly the sort of mainstream book every branch has three of.

51 minutes ago, 30 Helens said:

This clue, heard from the next room, taught me it’s important to read the clues, not just listen: ”Thomas Chippendale preferred this dark reddish-brown wood from the West Indies; the British had dropped duties on it in 1733.”  Also, Mayim needs to work on her enunciation.

What a crappy thing to say!  😇😇😇

[30 Helens]

3 hours ago, Cotypubby said:

I was so certain FJ was “Of Mice and Men” and was so proud of myself for getting it! 🙃 whoops

I was so certain that I was throwing hints at the husband, who had no clue: “It’s a poem! ‘The best laid plans…’?” Him: “Of Mice and Men?” Me: “Yes!!….Oh. Never mind.”

Sometimes it’s better to just be quiet.

[Miss Anne Thrope]

5 hours ago, MrAtoz said:

Which, of course, is wrong.  The actual line is "if a body meet a body."  Holden's mis-remembering of the poem is what gives the novel its title.

To be fair, I did quote Burns incorrectly, but quoted Salinger/Caulfield relatively accurately.  Which does not surprise me, as the book was apparently beaten into my psyche. 

Edited June 1, 2022 by Miss Anne Thrope

[GreekGeek]

It's been awhile since I read The Catcher in the Rye, but I did enjoy reading and discussing it in school. I didn't connect it with the clue, though. I got stuck on "A man's a man" and "To a Mouse" and the only character I could think of for the latter was Stuart Little.

I did know 1985, [Summer of] '42, and some others I didn't bother to write down.

I'm impatient with the Ryan runaways. He's good but there were quite a few TS's last night. I hope there are some stronger opponents soon.

[Mindthinkr]

Not a great night, but I did get query, Boston, and flathead. I did not get FJ. 

[Trey]

8 hours ago, Cotypubby said:

I was so certain FJ was “Of Mice and Men” and was so proud of myself for getting it! 🙃 whoops

Wow, never would have come up with Catcher in the Rye and had no idea that had anything to do with Burns.

Ditto, on both statements.

An okay game for me overall.  I got the ts's of hickory, Epistles, and protein.

I agree we need stronger competition for Ryan.  I think we say that about everyone who is on a streak.

[MrAtoz]

3 hours ago, Miss Anne Thrope said:

To be fair, I did quote Burns incorrectly, but quoted Salinger/Caulfield relatively accurately.  Which does not surprise me, as the book was apparently beaten into my psyche. 

Oh, yes.  To be clear, I wasn't meaning to criticize you for the misquote, but Holden.  Sorry if I wasn't clear.

Edited to add:  About Bill Cullen, when I was on Jeopardy, Johnny Gilbert would tell stories to keep the audience entertained between shows.  He told us that one of his first jobs was announcing for the original, 1950s version of The Price is Right, hosted by Bill Cullen.  He called Bill "a lovely man," as I recall.

Edited June 1, 2022 by MrAtoz

[Prevailing Wind]

Cullen was also a polio survivor, which explains a lot of his physical limitations. While most game show hosts stand, he was always seated. I recall once seeing him walk and he had a pronounced limp. But he had such a great smile. His niceness radiated from him. And I liked him a lot better after he let that stupid crew cut grow out. LOL.

[Welshman in Ca]

14 hours ago, Katy M said:

I was just glad they reversed it. I was pretty ticked off it was accepted in the first place.

My wife was in the kitchen doing some college work when she heard a " fuck off that's not right it should be a pirate" from me and asked who was dead now when they accepted the answer originally. 

Edited June 1, 2022 by Welshman in Ca

[DXD526]

Watching Eye Guess is one of my earliest memories. We had the home game with Bill Cullen's picture on the box!

[Clanstarling]

15 hours ago, 853fisher said:

Accepting “King Lear” raised my eyebrow a bit.  The title of James Shapiro’s book is “The Year of Lear,” no “King” in sight.  The clue was “…’Year of’ this great tragic play,” and I guess that play is sometimes colloquially called “Lear,” but I really wish I couldn’t find any of these things to even think about poking holes in the writing.

I get your eyebrows raising, but the clue does specifically ask for the tragic play. Given that the title only references Lear, it probably should have been written to say "the title character in this tragic play" - there are still plenty to choose from.

13 hours ago, dcalley said:

Well, tonight we had "London Breed is this California city's first African-American woman mayor".

Yep, thought of our discussion when that came up.

I had a pretty good game, after the dismal game I had on Monday. I ran two categories (Pro, Flat) almost ran Medieval, and did well on a number of others.

My brain stretched and groaned trying to get an answer to FJ, I finally came up with Catcher in the Rye (was very proud of myself) then, when the correct answer was, of course, Holden Caulfield, I might have said a few dirty words, angry at myself. And pounded the arm of my chair. Not that I'm easily upset or anything. LOL.

I think I might have actually read this in college (went to high school a long time ago). I hated it with a passion (maybe that explains my passionate response to "this close" and failing)

Edited June 1, 2022 by Clanstarling

[proserpina65]

17 hours ago, 853fisher said:

I also wish they would briefly explain reversals by the judges.  “Earlier we accepted your response of ‘privateering’ to the clue about letters of marque.  A privateer has received letters of marque authorizing them to engage in naval operations, but we asked you what those operations would be considered without the authorization.  The correct response was ‘piracy,’ so I’m afraid we’ve had to adjust your score.”  I know time is not unlimited, but I think it makes sense to offer some kind of clarification without requiring the viewer to do their own research.

I was yelling at the tv when they accepted "privateering" incorrectly so this wasn't necessary for me, but I get that not everyone has my 17th-18th naval knowledge to fall back on.

Yeah, I said George from Of Mice and Men.  Never read Catcher in the Rye and had no idea the title was from a Burns poem.

So in addition to not getting FJ, I didn't do all that well overall.  I ran 2 categories in the J round (Wood and Musicians) and 2 in DJ (One Country and SNL Cast).  My TS correct answers were wagon tongue, old hickory, query, privateer, Malaysia and Flathead (a total guess on that one).

I should've run Medieval Times but apparently I've never known exactly what Occam's Razor meant and thus did not get that one.

[proserpina65]

16 hours ago, Katy M said:

I was just glad they reversed it. I was pretty ticked off it was accepted in the first place.

My fondness for books involving privateers and/or pirates back when I read trashy historical romances finally paid off because I knew that answer was dead wrong when she said it.

13 hours ago, MrAtoz said:

Which, of course, is wrong.  The actual line is "if a body meet a body."  Holden's mis-remembering of the poem is what gives the novel its title.

I didn't get it, by the way.  Looking for a novel with a title based on a Burns poem, I came up with "Of Mice and Men," so I guessed Lennie.

I went for the same book, but I think Lennie was the mentally challenged one.  The line didn't really sound like George, either, but that was all I had.

4 hours ago, Trey said:

I think we say that about everyone who is on a streak.

Yep.

[Clanstarling]

20 minutes ago, proserpina65 said:

So in addition to not getting FJ, I didn't do all that well overall.  I ran 2 categories in the J round (Wood and Musicians) and 2 in DJ (One Country and SNL Cast).  My TS correct answers were wagon tongue, old hickory, query, privateer, Malaysia and Flathead (a total guess on that one).

This amuses me because I had what I considered a good day, not doing as well as you did. Mileage sure varies. 😊

[proserpina65]

2 minutes ago, Clanstarling said:

This amuses me because I had what I considered a good day, not doing as well as you did. Mileage sure varies. 😊

For me it was because there were categories which were more difficult than I expected.  That's kinda how I judge - do I think I'm good enough at that subject to get all the answers right.  If it had all been science and math and presidents and I'd done that well, I would've been happy.

And not running Medieval Times really hurt since it touched on my major in college.

[morriss]

Did you know that of Jeopardy's top 10 winning streaks of all-time, 3 of them have happened in 2022 ?  Has the thought of game being rigged ever crossed anybody's mind? 🤔

[chessiegal]

19 minutes ago, morriss said:

Did you know that of Jeopardy's top 10 winning streaks of all-time, 3 of them have happened in 2022 ?  Has the thought of game being rigged ever crossed anybody's mind? 🤔

Nope, because the FCC would be all over it. Sony can't chance that kind of illegal activity.

[Welshman in Ca]

1 hour ago, morriss said:

Did you know that of Jeopardy's top 10 winning streaks of all-time, 3 of them have happened in 2022 ?  Has the thought of game being rigged ever crossed anybody's mind? 🤔

Not a chance after the scandals of the 50s & the likes of Sony wouldn't want to fix it anyway I would think.

Anyway some people have been stuck at home with noting else to do but brush up on their knowledge for a while.

Edited June 1, 2022 by Welshman in Ca

[bad things are bad]

6 hours ago, proserpina65 said:

apparently I've never known exactly what Occam's Razor meant and thus did not get that one.

It's a pretty useful concept!

[853fisher]

I smiled at the understated callback to Ken's infamous response about a long-handled gardening tool.  It didn't bother me that there was no outward sign that anyone onstage "got" it - the contestants were focused elsewhere and Mayim is what she is (in this case, not anyone who'd followed the show before last year).  But I did wonder why they didn't save that for a Ken day instead.

You may recall that the wine Jan and Michael serve their guests in The Office's "Dinner Party" is said to have an "oaky afterbirth" - so why I didn't remember that compound word for placenta, I couldn't tell you.

Ryan seems to get really lucky when he really needs to.  Good for him - he seems to be a genuine and decent guy for whom the money will really be transformative.  I'm afraid he'll get blown out in the ToC, but you never know.

Edited June 1, 2022 by 853fisher

[ams1001]

Had a good first round…Ran Dr. Mittens, Cat Obstetrician (loved that one) and Coffee Break; missed three Ballparks but only one each in the rest. Not so great in the second round. Missed one in Pop & Rock Life Stories, Tools, and Faust, three Words, and two in the others. Got both DDs, though. My TSes were x-ray, afterbirth, Thames, and Rio Grande. (Ever seen an x-ray of a pregnant cat/dog? It's pretty neat...you see all the tiny little spines in there.)

6 hours ago, proserpina65 said:

I should've run Medieval Times but apparently I've never known exactly what Occam's Razor meant and thus did not get that one.

I know Occam's Razor from back when I frequented an atheist blog where they liked to talk about logical fallacies and stuff like that.

[ECM1231]

Whoa, I was really nervous for Ryan at the end when he got FJ wrong. Luck was on his side. He seems like a really nice guy; I'm happy for him.

My TS's were X-ray, Rio Grande, mainframe, and Dag Hammarskjold. I also said Waterloo for Final Jeopardy.

I still dislike how long Mayim pauses before saying "That is correct."

[853fisher]

RE the idea that the game could be fixed, I share the basic impression that it wouldn’t be worth it for the show to do that.  There are significant penalties under federal law for explicit rigging like giving contestants answers.

I don’t think those rules would prevent the show from, say, attempting to pick stronger or weaker challengers as desired, and they do have data from their tests.  But I don't think the ratings show enough incentive to mess with things that way.  It's one of the top few shows regardless of whether there's a superchamp, with roughly the same ebbs and flows for the Olympics, winter vs summer, etc. as its peers. And if even something in the gray area like purposefully putting in ringers or cannon fodder came out, public reaction would likely be extremely negative. Why risk it?

Maybe I'm kidding myself - I'd sure like to believe in something these days!  But I find the explanations others have put forward perfectly plausible.  At least one of the recent superchamps said they had much longer than usual between being selected and playing, plus much more time at home under the circumstances.  There are more resources than ever for game theory, prep materials, etc.  And I think the incumbency advantage on the pressure cooker that is this show must be sort of exponential.

And if nothing else, with Claire McNear in particular poking around and a great deal of publicity around the show, I really think any kind of hanky-panky would have been exposed.  All it would take is one unhappy staffer with access to emails or a recorder. So while I'm sure the show is loving the present anomalies, I really think they are naturally occurring.

Edited June 2, 2022 by 853fisher

[SeanC]

I was astounded that none of them got Trafalgar, which is the most famous naval battle pre-20th century.

Especially the British woman. Lord Nelson  is looking askance from atop his column.

[Katy M]

I also said Waterloo.  At least I'm in good company.

I got the missed clues of afterbirth, synergy, tariffs, Huron, Rio Grande, and Huron.  Wait, does that mean I got 3 geography TSs?  That doesn't seem right.

I got the entire category of coffee right, which is also weird as I hate coffee and don't drink it.

[SoMuchTV]

55 minutes ago, 853fisher said:

I smiled at the understated callback to Ken's infamous response about a long-handled gardening tool.  It didn't bother me that there was no outward sign that anyone onstage "got" it - the contestants were focused elsewhere and Mayim is what she is (in this case, not anyone who'd followed the show before last year).  But I did wonder why they didn't save that for a Ken day instead.

I was just coming here to comment on that!  I guess there has to be a firewall between the writers and the schedulers, but I’m sure they were hoping that one would land on a Ken day!

[Browncoat]

As history is not my strong suit, I was not in the least bit surprised to have absolutely no clue for FJ.  I couldn't even come up with Waterloo.

But I did manage to get the TS of afterbirth, synergy, tariffs, Rio Grande, Thames, and kibitzing.  

As far as fixing the game, I believe there is no way to predict who will become a super champ and who will fade after one win.  I doubt test scores are an accurate predictor -- you never know if someone with a perfect test score will get flustered on stage with the lights and camera and all, while someone who barely passed will take to all that extra pressure like a duck to water.  

[ams1001]

43 minutes ago, Katy M said:

I got the entire category of coffee right, which is also weird as I hate coffee and don't drink it.

lol...me, too.

[Prevailing Wind]

I got mainframe. But the show was interrupted by yet another mass shooting with a dead gunman. Don't these shooters realize they're gonna end up dead, too?

Anyway, I blew FJ just as Stella was blowing chunks of kibble in the bedroom. Good thing she waited til the show was over to scarf & barf.

[zoey1996]

3 hours ago, Katy M said:

I also said Waterloo.  At least I'm in good company.

I got the missed clues of afterbirth, synergy, tariffs, Huron, Rio Grande, and Huron.  Wait, does that mean I got 3 geography TSs?  That doesn't seem right.

I got the entire category of coffee right, which is also weird as I hate coffee and don't drink it.

You have Huron in there twice.

I knew mainframe, Thames, and afterbirth. My brain went to Nelson but didn’t get to Trafalgar in time.

When my brother was in 6th grade, he had a crew cut and black-framed glasses and looked a lot like Bill Cullen.

Edited June 2, 2022 by zoey1996

[shapeshifter]

I'm glad Ryan won, but Meagan looked into the camera like she was apologizing and then seemed to be crying--which made me sad for quite a while. 
But being at least somewhat unflappable is probably necessary to continue to do well on Jeopardy!
 

Interesting to hear of Ryan's father's role in getting him to this point.

14 hours ago, 853fisher said:

I'm afraid he'll get blown out in the ToC, but you never know.

It would be kind of awesome if Ryan managed to Aw-Shucks himself into winning the whole enchilada in the ToC.
How much is it?

 

I got the TS of afterbirth.
I knew others, but my mind was too slow. 
 

Edited June 2, 2022 by shapeshifter
line spacing for readability

[Bastet]

I love that they started with Dr. Mittens.

Meagan really came on strong in DJ and made it a great game; she and Ryan wound up with the exact same Coryat score (he answered more clues than she did, but she only got one wrong).  That has to be a tough loss for her, coming down to just a few hundred dollars of wagering, but virtually everyone emerges from this saying they had a great experience and are grateful for it, so hopefully that's true as well.

The tariffs TS really surprised me.  Maybe they got thrown off by the Ferris Bueller bit?  I was also surprised by the x-ray TS, and a little by afterbirth and mainframe.  I also wasn't expecting no one to take a stab with another Great Lake after Ryan ruled one out.

I had another great game, other than FJ.  I knew there was a chance it wouldn't be in my wheelhouse from the category, and then once the clue came up and it was a name the battle clue, I knew I was doomed and didn't even try.  But I ran the entire first round and only missed five in DJ.

[Pallida]

I’ve realized why Mayim’s pauses and “long” responses to answers irks me so much. If I were a player, I think I’d feel it was jarring to pacing. I’d want to know if I could move on to next selection immediately, not process a pause and a sentence first. 

[30 Helens]

I basically conduct my life by Occam’s Razor. It has served me well.

I did not get the Ken/ hoe reference in the moment, and now I’m kicking myself. 

I got the TS’s of Under the Volcano (total guess but I’ll take it), afterbirth, and synergy, while running the categories for “Syn”, coffee, and Dr. Mittens. Almost ran a few more categories (save one answer), so not a bad day for me. Except for FJ. Not even a guess on that one.

3 hours ago, ECM1231 said:

I still dislike how long Mayim pauses before saying "That is correct."

This was driving me crazy today. I understand the need for confirmation under certain circumstances, but every damn time? Do they not put the answer on her cards??

Ryan got lucky today. Good for him.

[opus]

Memories. The Ken “hoe” moment….

[3 is enough]

For FJ I knew it wasn’t Waterloo, I knew it was Nelson, but I couldn’t pull Trafalgar out of my head.

Ryan had me scared.  Glad he will play another day.

[Katy M]

8 hours ago, zoey1996 said:

You have Huron in there twice.

Oops.  The second one was supposed to be Thames.

[GreekGeek]

8 hours ago, Prevailing Wind said:

I got mainframe. But the show was interrupted by yet another mass shooting with a dead gunman. Don't these shooters realize they're gonna end up dead, too?

Unfortunately, I think many of them do want to die. Why they want to take innocent people down with them is a mystery.

Anyway...I said Waterloo also. I knew "admiral" = sea battle and I was pretty sure Waterloo wasn't one, but I couldn't come up with anything else. But I did know afterbirth, Under the Volcano, Xray, Thames, Rio Grande, and Dag Hammaskjold. I also picked up on the "rake/ho[e]" inside joke.

That's the kind of game I want to see more of--suspenseful to the end.

[MrAtoz]

2 hours ago, GreekGeek said:

Anyway...I said Waterloo also. I knew "admiral" = sea battle and I was pretty sure Waterloo wasn't one

Well, it does have "water" right there in the name! 😀 

[illdoc]

9 hours ago, 30 Helens said:

I basically conduct my life by Occam’s Razor. It has served me well.

I did not get the Ken/ hoe reference in the moment, and now I’m kicking myself. 

I got the TS’s of Under the Volcano (total guess but I’ll take it), afterbirth, and synergy, while running the categories for “Syn”, coffee, and Dr. Mittens. Almost ran a few more categories (save one answer), so not a bad day for me. Except for FJ. Not even a guess on that one.

13 hours ago, ECM1231 said:

I still dislike how long Mayim pauses before saying "That is correct."

This was driving me crazy today. I understand the need for confirmation under certain circumstances, but every damn time? Do they not put the answer on her cards??

Whenever she takes too long (and not in a "you've given a different answer than what's here so I need confirmation as to whether or not to accept it" way), we usually say "doesn't she know the answer?". The feeling being that Ken knows the answer and doesn't need to be told "correct", whereas Mayim has no idea whether it's correct and needs to be told.

[Driad]

I was surprised at Dag Hammaskjold's posthumous Nobel peace prize because I "knew" that Nobel prizes are not awarded posthumously. That has only been true since 1974.

[Trey]

25 minutes ago, illdoc said:

Whenever she takes too long (and not in a "you've given a different answer than what's here so I need confirmation as to whether or not to accept it" way), we usually say "doesn't she know the answer?". The feeling being that Ken knows the answer and doesn't need to be told "correct", whereas Mayim has no idea whether it's correct and needs to be told.

Yes.  She may be a neuroscientist but that doesn't necessarily mean she knows much else.

I got the ts's of afterbirth, Rio Grande, kibbitzing, and Dag Hammerskjold.

The only battle I could come up with was the Battle of New Orleans.  I knew full well it was wrong but I couldn't come up with anything else.  I should have remembered Trafalgar. It was certainly a more important battle.

I was very embarrassed that I missed the Great Lakes question.  I said Lake Erie instead of Lake Huron. 

I am 0/3 on FJ this week.  Hope I get tonight's FJ.

Edited June 2, 2022 by Trey

[Caoimhe]

13 hours ago, SeanC said:

I was astounded that none of them got Trafalgar, which is the most famous naval battle pre-20th century.

Especially the British woman. Lord Nelson  is looking askance from atop his column.

Admiral = Sea battle, Time period  = Trafalgar.  Not British and I know that much! 

[ECM1231]

9 hours ago, opus said:

Memories. The Ken “hoe” moment….

That's hysterical! Never saw that episode. Thanks for sharing.

[Clanstarling]

15 hours ago, bad things are bad said:

It's a pretty useful concept!

I used Occam's Razor to teach my kids critical thinking when reading their social media. It's always been very useful, though sometimes there are zebras.

I did okay, almost ran two categories (Coffee, Pop & Rocklife - heh, just got the pun, lol), and did well on Picture the Novel, something I'm usually crap at.

Did not get FJ, like many I said Waterloo, even though I knew it was wrong - that Waterloo was a ground battle instead of a sea battle. But since I did some work in Waterloo once, that's the city I think of.

[HyeChaps]

Meagan is an excellent candidate for the second chance tournament.

[chitowngirl]

11 hours ago, Pallida said:

I’ve realized why Mayim’s pauses and “long” responses to answers irks me so much. If I were a player, I think I’d feel it was jarring to pacing. I’d want to know if I could move on to next selection immediately, not process a pause and a sentence first. 

I’d probably be standing there waving my hand in a “move it along” motion while waiting for a “yes” or “no”!

[ams1001]

Is it just me or did the heart reaction change color? I've had the tab open for a while and the few comments that have popped up since then have a red heart while the ones that were already on the screen have pink... (And I just hearted an older one; the little popup shows it pink but on the post after clicking it, it's red.) I am inordinately amused by this. I'm tired.

6 minutes ago, chitowngirl said:

I’d probably be standing there waving my hand in a “move it along” motion while waiting for a “yes” or “no”!

I may or may not have done that at home...

[SoMuchTV]

13 minutes ago, ams1001 said:

Is it just me or did the heart reaction change color? I've had the tab open for a while and the few comments that have popped up since then have a red heart while the ones that were already on the screen have pink... (And I just hearted an older one; the little popup shows it pink but on the post after clicking it, it's red.) I am inordinately amused by this. I'm tired.

I may or may not have done that at home...

Whoah!  I noticed the heart was a slightly different shade, then when I went to react to your post, there's a whole slew of new options!