Jeopardy! Season 38 (2021-2022)

[Bastet]

5 minutes ago, SomeTameGazelle said:

That presumes that you are certain there are only 5 boroughs to begin with.

It's not about that presumption; J! almost always goes with the official, so even if all three of them happened to think there were seven, or however many, boroughs, four of the recognized five had been accounted for in the previous clues and not one contestant even rang in with a guess on that last clue; it was dumb not to offer the fifth as a guess even if none of them knew the park.

9 minutes ago, SomeTameGazelle said:

I was more shocked that everyone rang in with a guess and yet no one got from Wiener to Vienna.

I was also surprised everyone stayed in Germany, with no one twigging to Austria at all, let alone Vienna. 

[Cotypubby]

I can’t believe none of them knew to guess The Bronx on that last NYC borough questions!! WTF!? There are only five boroughs, they already asked about the other four, obviously The Bronx will be the answer. 🙄
 

Sad to see Yungsheng go, FJ was an instaget for me. At least the winner knew it as well.

Edited July 8, 2022 by Cotypubby

[ProudMary]

3 hours ago, Bastet said:

I missed three each in scarves (since "not Amy Adams, the other one" would not have counted for Isla Fisher) and leaders.

They do look very much alike don't they? I thought it was Amy Adams until Shopaholic was mentioned, then I knew it was Isla Fisher.

[South]

4 hours ago, dgpolo said:

This was discussed upthread, here is a bit of it.

After FJ I got curious as to who was the most portrayed Non-human literary character in film and television.

Answer:

  Hide contents

Dracula

Interesting.  Dracula was my guess for fj.  Partner South guessed SHolmes, then behaved like the cock of the rock for a bit too long.

[South]

4 hours ago, Ailianna said:

I immediately thought Sherlock Holmes, but then I stopped myself and asked if Dracula would be an answer--and decided that the use of the word human meant no vampires.

The word “human” didn’t even click with me.  Dracula was my guess, but even if I had caught the wording, I doubt I’d have chosen Holmes.

[South]

3 hours ago, Leeds said:

Anyone else waiting for Isadora Duncan to be an answer in the scarf category?

I surely was.

[30 Helens]

For some reason, I briefly thought Sherlock Holmes for the Dr. Who scarf question, so the character was fresh in my mind for FJ. I’m sure that helped with my instaget, although I prefer to think it’s because I’m brilliant.

Brian deserved the win, but I will miss Yungsheng’s happy dances.

T-minus 6 to Ken! 😁

[MrAtoz]

3 hours ago, 30 Helens said:

For some reason, I briefly thought Sherlock Holmes for the Dr. Who scarf question, so the character was fresh in my mind for FJ. I’m sure that helped with my instaget, although I prefer to think it’s because I’m brilliant.

Tom Baker did play Sherlock Holmes once, in an absolutely terrible BBC production of Hound of the Baskervilles.

I had pre-guessed Sherlock Holmes for FJ before I even saw the clue, so it was easy.

[ams1001]

8 hours ago, Cotypubby said:

I can’t believe none of them knew to guess The Bronx on that last NYC borough questions!! WTF!? There are only five boroughs, they already asked about the other four, obviously The Bronx will be the answer. 🙄

Maybe they were like me and had already lost track of which ones had been used...

6 hours ago, ProudMary said:

They do look very much alike don't they? I thought it was Amy Adams until Shopaholic was mentioned, then I knew it was Isla Fisher.

I said Amy Adams, too (I always think IF is AA when I see a picture), but I've never seen Shopaholic so that didn't really help.

[Trey]

I was so sure Scrooge was right that I never went any further.  A little voice in my head said the date was too late for Scrooge but I ignored it.  I always regret ignoring that little voice.

My only ts was MacBeth.  I thought it very odd that the contestants didn't get it, given Duncan as the predecessor.

[MrAtoz]

I wonder how many people don't realize that MacBeth was a real guy?

[Clanstarling]

15 hours ago, ECM1231 said:

I'm old enough to remember when that song first dropped.

Me too.

13 hours ago, Driad said:

Who is your film or TV Sherlock Holmes? Mine is Jeremy Brett.

Jonny Lee Miller

11 hours ago, SomeTameGazelle said:

I was more shocked that everyone rang in with a guess and yet no one got from Wiener to Vienna.

Me too - though since I've known Vienna as Wien since I was a child, I figured maybe I had an advantage.

2 hours ago, ams1001 said:

I said Amy Adams, too (I always think IF is AA when I see a picture), but I've never seen Shopaholic so that didn't really help.

Isla Fischer wasn't who we were thinking of ... so I'm still clueless.

49 minutes ago, MrAtoz said:

I wonder how many people don't realize that MacBeth was a real guy?

Raises hand. I should be ashamed, I know. Lit major and all.

Did okay, didn't get FJ, went with Scrooge instead.

[Welshman in Ca]

Well for FJ I thought Frankenstein first for some reason & then changed my mind to Dracula, wrong & wronger.

[zoey1996]

On 7/7/2022 at 11:18 AM, Clanstarling said:

On 7/6/2022 at 8:00 PM, Katy M said:

I said wheat too - soybeans never entered the equation. I did think "maybe wheat isn't the all american crop" which lead me to the show "The Americans" and led me to think, wouldn't it be ironic if it were a Russian crop originally..."

Kansas born & bred, daughter of a wheat farmer here. Yes, red and hard red winter wheat was introduced from Russia, Crimea, Ukraine. Mennonites brought it with them from those areas.  https://www.holyokeenterprise.com/opinion/early-history-winter-wheat-central-plains for further edification.

[SomeTameGazelle]

11 hours ago, Bastet said:

It's not about that presumption; J! almost always goes with the official, so even if all three of them happened to think there were seven, or however many, boroughs, four of the recognized five had been accounted for in the previous clues and not one contestant even rang in with a guess on that last clue; it was dumb not to offer the fifth as a guess even if none of them knew the park.

But if you think there are 7 boroughs, how are you supposed to know that the Bronx is the so-called 5th? In order for the Bronx to be worked out by process of elimination, you have to have started with a list of 5.

[MrAtoz]

25 minutes ago, Clanstarling said:

Raises hand. I should be ashamed, I know. Lit major and all.

His history is worth looking up.  MacBeth's actual life is way more interesting than the story Shakespeare told--though admittedly, there were fewer ghosts and witches.

[Trey]

15 hours ago, Driad said:

Who is your film or TV Sherlock Holmes? Mine is Jeremy Brett.

Jonny Lee Miller.  I loved Elementary. Jeremy Brett was also very good.  I liked Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock but didn't really care for that series.

[Driad]

2 minutes ago, Trey said:

Jonny Lee Miller.  I loved Elementary. Jeremy Brett was also very good.  I liked Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock but didn't really care for that series.

I agree with all of this.  I just have to give Jeremy Brett's series an extra point for being mostly true to canon.

[ams1001]

1 hour ago, Welshman in Ca said:

Well for FJ I thought Frankenstein first for some reason & then changed my mind to Dracula, wrong & wronger.

I thought of Frankenstein, too, but then wondered if he would be considered "human." Also he's too early (published in 1818.) Then I thought of Holmes and that made more sense for the year given. (I really haven't read or watched much Holmes stuff.)

[PaulaO]

3 hours ago, MrAtoz said:

I wonder how many people don't realize that MacBeth was a real guy?

I didn’t know.  I figured he was a made up dude. 

[Clanstarling]

1 hour ago, Trey said:

Jonny Lee Miller.  I loved Elementary. Jeremy Brett was also very good.  I liked Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock but didn't really care for that series.

I waffled with Cumberbatch - because though I like him (and his portrayal) I really disliked the series particularly in its latter stages. I liked Elementary, and am currently rewatching it for my exercise period each day. Still like it, and I'm enjoying watching the characters grow and change more quickly than during the original run.

Nevertheless, I wouldn't have come up with Sherlock Holmes if you held a gun to my head.

Edited July 8, 2022 by Clanstarling

[Leeds]

1 hour ago, SomeTameGazelle said:

But if you think there are 7 boroughs, how are you supposed to know that the Bronx is the so-called 5th? In order for the Bronx to be worked out by process of elimination, you have to have started with a list of 5.

I've never heard of NYC having 7 boroughs.  What are the (supposed) other two?

[Clanstarling]

1 minute ago, Leeds said:

I've never heard of NYC having 7 boroughs.  What are the (supposed) other two?

Me neither, I took a brief look on Google and found this (tourism?) site: https://www.nycgo.com/neighborhoods-boroughs/about-nyc-five-boroughs

Maybe there are some new ones? I don't know - I just know my kid lives in Brooklyn - that's the only borough I care about at this point.

[SomeTameGazelle]

1 hour ago, Leeds said:

I've never heard of NYC having 7 boroughs.  What are the (supposed) other two?

It's just a hypothetical confused person. @Clanstarling whoops, @Bastet referred to "seven, or however many, boroughs".  They could be anything depending on one's level of confusion. 

Edited July 8, 2022 by SomeTameGazelle
Mentioned the wrong person. Sorry about that

[DXD526]

Having grown up in the NY Metro area, I always assume everyone knows there are five boroughs of NYC! With my NY-centric thinking, I forget that for some people, info like that is just not on their radar.

When I saw that category, I thought, there's just enough questions for each to be an answer. I was wondering if they'd switch it up, maybe have one be there twice, or have Manhattan be four out of five, something like that. But they went the traditional one-each route. 

[Bastet]

4 hours ago, SomeTameGazelle said:

But if you think there are 7 boroughs, how are you supposed to know that the Bronx is the so-called 5th?

I'm not sure of your starting point in this -- do you think none of them knew how many there are, period, or do you think some or all think there are additional "unofficial" boroughs on top of the five?

[SoMuchTV]

1 hour ago, Bastet said:

I'm not sure of your starting point in this -- do you think none of them knew how many there are, period, or do you think some or all think there are additional "unofficial" boroughs on top of the five?

I'm not the one who posed the initial musing about people's possible thinking, but my thought is, there are plenty of people in the US who are vaguely aware that NYC has boroughs and would recognize the names when they heard them, but probably have never really had occasion to learn exactly what and how many there are.  Mr.TV kept trying to answer "Long Island" to more than one of the clues.  And when I saw the category, I knew enough to say, this should get easier as it goes along!  But for the last one, I couldn't dredge up The Bronx as the one that hadn't been used yet.

Edited July 8, 2022 by SoMuchTV

[Mindthinkr]

I got the Bronx (ran that category), Ketchum, Winston (Cup Series), vacuum, and House of Gucci. Nothing for FJ. 

[853fisher]

I didn't know "Confessions of a Shopaholic," but I think I might have recognized Isla Fisher without sunglasses.  I guess you could see her red hair, but otherwise the photo was not helpful to me - I really struggle to recognize faces with sunglasses, masks, etc.

[853fisher]

I apologize to the people of Alberta and to Jesus Christ.  In an untimed written test, I'm sure I would've had the right answer under Crossword Clues.  In the heat of the game, I'm afraid I said the crucifixion occurred in Calgary.  Oy.

[ams1001]

Ran One Letter Changes Everything, Gone Extinct, and Baby, Don't Hurt Me. Missed one Weather Word, three Historic Structures, and two in everything else. My only TS was Yves St. Laurent, got all three DDs, and FJ was an instaget.

This game gave me competing earworms (What is Love? and the Klondike jingle). Gah.

Once again, I was rooting for the returning champ but I also like the new champ.

[Prevailing Wind]

1 hour ago, 853fisher said:

I apologize to the people of Alberta and to Jesus Christ.  In an untimed written test, I'm sure I would've had the right answer under Crossword Clues.  In the heat of the game, I'm afraid I said the crucifixion occurred in Calgary.  Oy.

I could swear the contestant did, too, and Bialik ruled her correct.

[SoMuchTV]

1 hour ago, 853fisher said:

I apologize to the people of Alberta and to Jesus Christ.  In an untimed written test, I'm sure I would've had the right answer under Crossword Clues.  In the heat of the game, I'm afraid I said the crucifixion occurred in Calgary.  Oy.

I would have been frozen and unable to buzz in, while my mind was busy going, it’s Calvary! No, that’s the one with the horses. No, that’s cavalry. Or is it?  Is there a calarvry? No, Calgary! 

[Browncoat]

I got FJ tonight, but I had to think about it for a few seconds.  I only vaguely remembered the name of the city, then waffled on whether or not that event was in Genesis.  In the end, I couldn’t think of anything else.

I feel like there were some TS that I got, but I didn’t write them down.

[Thalia]

I thought of two towns in final Jeopardy.  I then pulled out the Old Testament and reread Genesis 19.  I have no idea how the show differentiated between one or the other town.  

[Driad]

FJ: My first thought was Jericho, but "the walls came tumbling down" sounded like an earthquake, not a meteor strike.  Then I thought of Sodom, which I chose (with a grain of salt).

[chessiegal]

7 minutes ago, Thalia said:

I have no idea how the show differentiated between one or the other town.  

FJ clue:

Quote

A 2021 study suggested that an asteroid that struck the Jordan Valley c. 1650 B.C. gave rise to the story of this city in Genesis 19

You had to know the 2021 study referenced Sodom. That seems like an obscure thing to know, making it not very good clue, IMO.

[IdEatThat]

I know so little about the Bible that when my mind spit out Jericho for FJ I was very pleased with myself.  It was a wonderful few seconds.

[SomeTameGazelle]

1 hour ago, Prevailing Wind said:

I could swear the contestant did, too, and Bialik ruled her correct

It was very definitely Calvary. I didn't even think of a similarity to Calgary until I saw people joking here and also after I saw your post I listened again and the V was very clear. 

The one I had doubts about was Rick and Elsa instead of Rick and Ilsa.

4 hours ago, Bastet said:

I'm not sure of your starting point in this -- do you think none of them knew how many there are, period, or do you think some or all think there are additional "unofficial" boroughs on top of the five?

I feel as if the notion of unofficial boroughs also assumes that everyone is so aware that there are definitely 5 boroughs that the only way to explain anyone imagining that Long Island is a borough is to grant it unofficial status. My assumption was that none of the contestants were sure how many official boroughs there are.

I think my only point is that as with so many clues, obvious responses are obvious only if you have particular knowledge. I was hearing "why did these contestants not employ the simple logic of 5 - 4? It is objectively obvious" and maybe I should have understood it as "the answer was obvious to me because I happen to know 5. Too bad none of the contestants did."

Thanks @SoMuchTV for explaining the level of ignorance I was imagining.  I have to admit that the clue where they gave the length of Staten Island made me start to think about Long Island inappropriately.

Edited July 9, 2022 by SomeTameGazelle
Spelling

[Bastet]

LOL at Mayim not saying "Yes, from ass" like she did with all the other clues about dropping a letter from a word to get the correct response. 

But not as hard as I laughed at myself for guessing "love is an open sore" (instead of open door) for the song lyric.

Leigh said "Elsa" for Ilsa.  And it sounded like Mayim said Edinburgh wrong (with a hard G at the end), but I sneezed right then so it may be that I heard her incorrectly instead.

I'm surprised no one tossed out Edinburgh as a guess for the Scottish castle, or Mary Todd Lincoln as the First Lady who married an awkward lawyer (although with that one, it may be that no one wanted to risk $2000 on a guess that late in the game).

I was terrible in Scandinavia, missing three.  But other than that, I only missed Morbius (never even heard of it) in the first round.

In DJ, I ran Cold War, Jacksons, and hurt, and got all but one in extinct.  I only missed two each in the others, so it was a good game ...

... until FJ.  I had no idea.  I've only ever heard of Sodom and Gomorrah together, and just know them as "wicked" places, not that they were destroyed.  So they weren't even on my radar to choose between.  Nothing was on my radar -- I couldn't think of very many cities to begin with, and the few I did weren't associated with being destroyed.  I got as far as "wherever the flood wiped out?" but then remembered the asteroid part of the clue and knew it had to be a death from above scenario.  So I had no guess.

Edited July 9, 2022 by Bastet

[853fisher]

I too thought I heard "Elsa" instead of "Ilsa."  I decided to keep my mouth shut when I went to look up a few favorite scenes on YouTube and one of the first things I heard was Sam pronouncing the name an awful lot like Leigh did.  I guess it could be a bit ambiguous.  I still think she didn't really know it and got lucky she didn't have to write it down.

Edited July 9, 2022 by 853fisher

[The Wild Sow]

13 hours ago, MrAtoz said:

I wonder how many people don't realize that MacBeth was a real guy?

I always get a little worried when he pops up as a Jeopardy question! Does the Jeopardy studio count as a theater??

[30 Helens]

8 hours ago, chessiegal said:

You had to know the 2021 study referenced Sodom. That seems like an obscure thing to know, making it not very good clue, IMO.

I don’t think that was required knowledge, just an extra clue that might help someone get the answer. A good FJ offers multiple ways to get in. Ours was the asteroid/ destruction angle, plus the reference to Genesis meant it was an early story. I had no idea about the study.

The Mary Todd Lincoln TS surprised me. When you think of “awkward lawyer” presidents, Abe seems pretty obvious, even as a guess.

[Katy M]

9 hours ago, chessiegal said:

ou had to know the 2021 study referenced Sodom. That seems like an obscure thing to know, making it not very good clue, IMO.

I didn't know that and I easily got the question.

[shapeshifter]

2 hours ago, 30 Helens said:

11 hours ago, chessiegal said:

You had to know the 2021 study referenced Sodom. That seems like an obscure thing to know, making it not very good clue, IMO.

I don’t think that was required knowledge, just an extra clue that might help someone get the answer. A good FJ offers multiple ways to get in. Ours was the asteroid/ destruction angle, plus the reference to Genesis meant it was an early story. I had no idea about the study.

1 hour ago, Katy M said:

I didn't know that and I easily got the question.

@chessiegal is correct, in that if you were familiar with (had the "burden of knowledge" of) the referenced chapter of the Hebrew scriptures (Genesis 19) you would have to know which of the 2 named cities was examined in the 2021 study

Here's the Jeopardy! clue:

• A 2021 study suggested that an asteroid that struck the Jordan Valley c. 1650 B.C. gave rise to the story of this city in Genesis 19

And here's the relevant portion of Genesis 19, which makes no distinction between the fates of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah:

• (24) Then the Lord rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah, from the Lord out of the heavens. (25) So He overthrew those cities, all the plain, all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground.
  (Genesis 19:24-25, bible.com/bible/114/GEN.19.NKJV#:~:text=Then the Lord rained)

This is the study which only discusses Sodom:

•  “A Tunguska Sized Airburst Destroyed Tall el-Hammam a Middle Bronze Age City in the Jordan Valley Near the Dead Sea” Scientific Reports (Bunch et al. 2021, https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-97778-3).

Perhaps Sodom is more well known than Gomorrah because it is easier to spell? 🙃

Kudos to the writers for having Mayim note that this was the first time the category of SCIENCE & THE BIBLE had appeared in Final Jeopardy!, as it hints that you might need to know the science if you are a Bible scholar, and vice versa. 

Mayim did speak this clearly (my favorite thing about her) but it did me no good. I was too pooped from playing with my little grandbaby and then swimming.

__________________________

Like others, I've appreciated the last three short-term (so far) champs--the latest because I am a NY Times crossword puzzler. 

I wonder if they've tweaked the contestant selection criteria by raising the bar a bit so there aren't so many good players that don't stand a chance against the really good players. Such an adjustment might have become necessary because of the virtual auditioning.

[graybrown bird]

From my long-ago Sunday School lessons, I remembered Sodom and Gomorrhah as a matched set  -- so hesitated to answer FJ with just one of the two.  Couldn't think of any other Biblical city that fit, though, so answered "Sodom."  A weird clue.

[Ailianna]

I dislike the pregame recap of the last game, I dislike the longer interview segments, but I really dislike the scoring comments. Do I need her to tell me the scores when they are right there on the screen heading into the commercial break between the J! round and DJ! round? And I really don't need to hear her say it was such a "competitive" game when there are at least $6000 between each player and the next. It comes off as fake and condescending to me. 

And I agree about there being no definitive way to know they wanted Sodom and not Gomorrah. I actually almost discarded them because they are always paired together in the Bible. I read through the article linked above, and had to go pages in before it referenced Sodom at all, in which it specifically said it wasn't trying to say if the city they excavated was or wasn't Sodom. It feels like a cheap trick to eliminate Gomorrah, since its a VERY specific bit of reference to choose one versus the other.

I agree people probably wrote Sodom because its shorter, easier, and is first in the pair. 

[chessiegal]

24 minutes ago, Ailianna said:

And I agree about there being no definitive way to know they wanted Sodom and not Gomorrah.

Exactly. When I read the clue, I thought, well, that fits Sodom and Gomorrah - fire and brimstone, but they are asking for one city, not two. I decided to pick Sodom.

[Clanstarling]

19 hours ago, SomeTameGazelle said:

It's just a hypothetical confused person. @Clanstarling whoops, @Bastet referred to "seven, or however many, boroughs".  They could be anything depending on one's level of confusion. 

When it comes to the boroughs, I'm just as confused as the hypothetical person - and clearly would have accepted any claim to how many there were. 😄

12 hours ago, IdEatThat said:

I know so little about the Bible that when my mind spit out Jericho for FJ I was very pleased with myself.  It was a wonderful few seconds.

I said Jericho because it was the only "single" city I could think of (as opposed to Sodom and Gomorrah), but I knew it was wrong because I was pretty sure the walls didn't come tumbling down in Genesis. (as for the meteor vs an earthquake - if it wasn't a direct strike, I would assume it felt like an earthquake)

12 hours ago, SomeTameGazelle said:

 I have to admit that the clue where they gave the length of Staten Island made me start to think about Long Island inappropriately.

Sorry, this made me laugh - because I'm very much an inappropriate person.

4 hours ago, 30 Helens said:

I don’t think that was required knowledge, just an extra clue that might help someone get the answer. A good FJ offers multiple ways to get in. Ours was the asteroid/ destruction angle, plus the reference to Genesis meant it was an early story. I had no idea about the study.

True, but without the knowledge about the study, you're left to simply pick and choose one of the two cities. Which seems poorly designed to me.

Ran Cold War, did fairly well across the board, even got a few in Scandinavia which is a terrible category for me.

Got all the Jacksons except for the Olympian, and was sad to see no one knew Glenda.

Edited July 9, 2022 by Clanstarling

[Cotypubby]

FJ seemed like nothing but a 50/50 choice between Sodom and Gomorrah. “Cities destroyed in the Bible” tend to always be “Sodom and Gomorrah” so I have no idea how you were supposed to distinguish between the two. Of course I ended up picking the wrong one.