Jeopardy! Season 38 (2021-2022)

[ams1001]

12 minutes ago, proserpina65 said:

A favorite of children? Have any of the clue writers ever read Watership Down?

It was the obvious answer given that lapin is French for rabbit, but still, most definitely not for children. 

It's not.

I just googled and the first thing that comes up says Reading Level grade 4-8 but Interest Level grade 9-12. It's shelved in the regular fiction section at Barnes & Noble.

[proserpina65]

8 minutes ago, ams1001 said:

I just googled and the first thing that comes up says Reading Level grade 4-8 but Interest Level grade 9-12. It's shelved in the regular fiction section at Barnes & Noble.

We had it in regular fiction at Borders too.

[Mindthinkr]

I got Wayne Brady, Delorean, the missed DD of Charlemagne, and came up with 4 fictional languages. None of which led me to the correct FJ.  

[853fisher]

Thanks all for the feedback re Watership Down.  It had been on that never-ending list of things to read and I'm glad this came up before I could write it off.  I never recalled it coming up when I was a fairly interested student reader.  I suppose "beloved by children" doesn't necessarily exclude "...but wasn't written particularly for them."

[dcalley]

On 11/23/2021 at 7:00 PM, 853fisher said:

I still think the walk back on looked fort of clunky.  Of course I'm sure if there was a cut and all three were back others wouldn't like that either.  It's a tiny thing.

They used to cut to all three being on stage with Alex, and I think some viewers were grumpy when they changed it!

On 11/24/2021 at 10:17 AM, vibeology said:

It's not just recently. Jeopardy throws us Canadians a bone at least once a week and has for years. I assume it's because either Alex asked for some CanCon or the writers/producers wanted to tip their hat to his Canadian heritage.

Canadians are eligible to be contestants, too, though for a time they weren't: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/television/canadians-contestants-are-welcome-back-on-jeopardy/article31932033/

[shapeshifter]

42 minutes ago, proserpina65 said:

A favorite of children? Have any of the clue writers ever read Watership Down?
It was the obvious answer given that lapin is French for rabbit, but still, most definitely not for children. 
It's not.

Having been an adult when the book came out and I read it, I concur that Watership Down is not a book for children. It was too violent for me.
But I guess we are wrong.
Both Richard Adams (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watership_Down#Origin_and_publication_history) and cataloging librarians (http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/733718674) thought of it as a children's book. 

Also, when the book was adapted for film, they "omitted several side plots" (wikipedia.org/wiki/Watership_Down#Film).
I have no idea what that means, but perhaps it became more likely to be, as the Jeopardy! clue writers described it, "beloved by children"?

 

[kathyk24]

I'm a fan of Amy but I really Liked Greta. I thought her missed DD was haste makes waste. I didn't know Franklin wrote time is money. 

[chessiegal]

12 minutes ago, 853fisher said:

 I suppose "beloved by children" doesn't necessarily exclude "...but wasn't written particularly for them."

Actually, it was written for children. The author, Richard Adams, used to tell the stories to his two daughters on car trips. His daughters insisted he write the stories down.

 

 

[proserpina65]

Just now, chessiegal said:

Actually, it was written for children. The author, Richard Adams, used to tell the stories to his two daughters on car trips. His daughters insisted he write the stories down.

 

 

Oy vey

[possibilities]

I knew the weeds TS. 

I knew the language was from Watership Down, but I was certain that was not a children's book. I read it and NO WAY!! So I was wondering if some other children's book used the same name for bunny language, but I didn't think Velveteen Rabbit or any of the Beatrix Potter books did so, and I didn't think Pooh's Rabbit did, either. So I was stumped.

Amy won big without any DDs today, didn't she? It's amazing how dominant she is.

[dcalley]

[GreekGeek]

I was sure the FJ answer would be either Elvish or Klingon. I got the right answer but like other commentators I was thrown off by "beloved by children." But the characterization isn't as off base as you might think. It seems that it was originally promoted as a children's book; the comments here under "Reception" offer some insight. I guess it's a matter of individual temperament whether a child will love it or be scared silly by it. And the movie is even scarier. 

Too bad the challengers both bet big on the DD's and missed, but I would not have been happy if either had dethroned Amy. They each had sort of a smug vibe IMHO.

 

[Browncoat]

45 minutes ago, GreekGeek said:

I was sure the FJ answer would be either Elvish or Klingon. 

I pre-guessed Klingon when the category was revealed, and added Elvish to my pre-guess during the commercial.  

[secnarf]

I also pre-guessed Klingon. I have never heard of Watership Down - seems to be a rather significant gap in my knowledge, judging by the responses here. I should add it to my to-read list.

[Bastet]

Well, once again - four of five this week! - I had no guess for FJ.  I've never read the book, and couldn't tell you a thing about it other than I know the title exists. 

[MrAtoz]

Just to add one more data point, one of the commenters over at The Jeopardy Fan said about Watership Down that they have "loved it since I first read it as a child."

Maybe it's like Grimm's Fairy Tales, many of which are surprisingly bloody, and yet Disney makes beloved kid's movies out of them.

[illdoc]

8 minutes ago, MrAtoz said:

Maybe it's like Grimm's Fairy Tales, many of which are surprisingly bloody, and yet Disney makes beloved kid's movies out of them.

Loved the Grimms. How many people know that Cinderella's stepsisters cut off part of their feet in order to fit into the glass slipper? Or that the Ariel needed to kill the guy and rub his blood on her legs in order to turn back into a mermaid (never seeing the movie, I assume that isn't in it)?

[Clanstarling]

On 11/25/2021 at 4:26 PM, illdoc said:

Re: FJ---While I have at least heard of "don't trust anyone over 30", I had no clue for the answer. I came up with "Don't quote me", which I know makes no sense.

I certainly heard of it (I was only 9 at the time of the quote, but it hung around for quite a while), but I had no idea where it originated.

On 11/26/2021 at 5:07 AM, Miss Anne Thrope said:

It sounded to me like the two pronounce their last names differently -- one "Ther-oh" and one "Ther-oo" -- and thought that was why he said both full names.   

FJ also an instaget for me. (I've hit 60 and not thrilled, but so far it's okay.)

It took me 5 years to get over turning 40, never got over turning 50, but when I hit 60 I was "huh, yeah this feels about right" so either I'm an old soul, or I just came to terms with it. There's a lot of freedom that comes with age. The physical crap is not so great, but the don't give a damn is.
 

14 hours ago, 853fisher said:

I know a few basic facts about "Watershed Down" exclusively because of mentions on game shows.  However, I hadn't realized it is a novel for children.  In retrospect, I suppose "anthropomorphic rabbits" should have been a clue.

That threw me, I knew which book it was but couldn't come up with the title, and it being a children's favorite seemed just wrong. My daughter go it right - and she told me she'd read it at 10, but agreed it wasn't really for kids because it got really dark.

I did well on the boards, but this week I was crap at FJ. Oh well, another week, another attempt.

 

[M. Darcy]

I read Watership Down in high school and just hated it.  I might have figured out the clue since the name of the language is similar to lapin but the beloved and children threw me off. 

[GreekGeek]

20 hours ago, illdoc said:

Loved the Grimms. How many people know that Cinderella's stepsisters cut off part of their feet in order to fit into the glass slipper? Or that the Ariel needed to kill the guy and rub his blood on her legs in order to turn back into a mermaid (never seeing the movie, I assume that isn't in it)?

👋 I did! (And it wasn't.) Also that some birds warned the prince to check out the blood in the slipper and then pecked out the eyes of the evil stepsisters. (This isn't in all versions though.) Don't get me started on what Disney did to the Hercules myths. I'm glad Disney never tried to adapt Watership Down, even though the existing movie is pretty horrifying. In the days of video stores, clerks were beset by angry parents complaining that the movie should have been placed with the horror movies, not the kids' movies!

[Gimmick Genius]

I watch "rerun Jeopardy!" on Saturdays and lately they've been episodes from last season with the Guest Hosts. But last night's show jumped way up into early this season. Mayim was host and Matt Amodio was on his 28th or 29th show. But there was a response of Stephen Sondheim, so they might have bumped this one up for topicality. I'll see if they revert next week.

[30 Helens]

Re. Watership Down: I have never read it, although it was certainly encouraged and available in my school. I always assumed it was similar to Animal Farm, in the sense that the themes are adult, yet presented in a way that would be appealing to children. I need to put it on my Kindle list and read it, already.

[Clanstarling]

My daughter, who read Watership Down at 10 and agrees it's really not a children's book, designed a more representative cover when she was in her graphic arts program:

Edited November 28, 2021 by Clanstarling

[Ailianna]

2 hours ago, 30 Helens said:

Re. Watership Down: I have never read it, although it was certainly encouraged and available in my school. I always assumed it was similar to Animal Farm, in the sense that the themes are adult, yet presented in a way that would be appealing to children. I need to put it on my Kindle list and read it, already.

I still haven't read it, but in fifth grade (so 10 or 11 years old) I had a good friend who was obsessed with it. She read it many times and loved it.

On the other hand, I was about 9 the first time I read Black Beauty, which is also considered a children's book, and it is a long, long slog through animal abuse that is horrific. Yet I loved that book (but still haven't given it to my 13 year old).

I just think we forget some of the awful, as well as the big age ranges covered by children's books.  Old Yeller, Where the Red Fern Grows, and a lot more. Most also seem to feature suffering by animals.

[GreekGeek]

10 hours ago, Ailianna said:

I still haven't read it, but in fifth grade (so 10 or 11 years old) I had a good friend who was obsessed with it. She read it many times and loved it.

On the other hand, I was about 9 the first time I read Black Beauty, which is also considered a children's book, and it is a long, long slog through animal abuse that is horrific. Yet I loved that book (but still haven't given it to my 13 year old).

I just think we forget some of the awful, as well as the big age ranges covered by children's books.  Old Yeller, Where the Red Fern Grows, and a lot more. Most also seem to feature suffering by animals.

According to this article, Black Beauty wasn't intended to be a children's book, but a plea to adults to not abuse horses. Somehow someone somewhere got the idea that if it has an animal protagonist, it's for kids. 

I managed to miss all the "dead dog" books growing up, but I remember being shocked by the ending of The Yearling. And it was thanks to My Friend Flicka that I learned what gelding was. Yikes! That book had some other horrific moments, even though it has a happy ending.

[ams1001]

November 29th:

83% / 57% / 70%

Got off to a much better start than last Monday… Ran Play Characters and Knead to Know, got four each in 19something, Helping the Planet, and Run!, and three in He Had a Hat.

Then DJ happened…ran nothing but did get four each in Animals and Bands.

FJ was an instaget.

My TSes were Stanley Kowalski (which was the only one in the first round, and yes I knew the full name), and...uh, that's it (but there were only two in the second round plus a missed DD which I did not get, either; never even heard of the band the 1975…which is the year I was born).

(Anyone else in the NYC area get the commercial for Montefiore with the stuffed unicorn? How freakin' cute was that?)
 

Edited November 30, 2021 by ams1001

[Browncoat]

Instaget FJ tonight.  Bells plus Paris?  Of course.  But then I spent the rest of the time thinking I must be wrong.  Fortunately I couldn't think of anything else, and stuck with the correct response.

The only TS I got was Stanley Kowalski, and was surprised it was a TS.  Maybe they didn't know his last name and weren't sure if just "Stanley" would have been accepted?  I suspect it would have been.

[Bastet]

I'll be watching football tonight, so not until tomorrow night will I see the show for the first time in a week, but at least today I took the time to read the archive.  For most of the clues where I couldn't see the photo, I either didn't need it or feel secure I'd have known it had I been able to see it, but for one I just have to guess that I'd have recognized it (the iguana).

The Stanley Kowalski TS surprised me; I have to think it was just that none could remember his name in time, not that none of them knew Stella = A Streetcar Named Desire = Stanley Kowalski.  The Rome fire TS was also surprising.

I got everything in the first round other than one each in helping the planet, hats, and 19something.

In DJ, I didn't run anything.  But I wasn't terrible in anything, either, only missing one each in most (yes, I even knew all but one of the Jesus clues) and two each in words & phrases and COs.

And FJ was an instaget (to the extent I momentarily second-guessed myself, thinking a FJ couldn't be that obvious), so I'm off to a good start this week.

[Mindthinkr]

I thought I had a decent night. I got Stanley Kowalski (yes the full name) and fire. The only category I ran was Knead to Know, but y’all know me and food. Don’t even ask where my head went for FJ. I just couldn’t pull it out of my memory bank. 

[ams1001]

16 minutes ago, Bastet said:

but for one I just have to guess that I'd have recognized it (the iguana).

He looked something like this...

 

[Bastet]

Thank you, @ams1001; yep, I'd indeed have correctly guessed iguana if the clue picture looked anything like that.

Edited November 30, 2021 by Bastet

[Prevailing Wind]

It looked a LOT like that.

 

[shapeshifter]

I knew the TS of Nero fiddling while Rome burned, but everything else was a blur leaving me in the dust of my distractions.

[SyracuseMug]

22 minutes ago, Bastet said:

The Stanley Kowalski TS surprised me; I have to think it was just that none could remember his name in time, not that none of them knew Stella = A Streetcar Named Desire = Stanley Kowalski.  The Rome fire TS was also surprising.

On Friday, there was a TS about the Lorraine Motel in Memphis where MLK was assassinated. I found that one surprising as well. I figured it was common knowledge.

[ams1001]

3 minutes ago, Prevailing Wind said:

It looked a LOT like that.

Maybe it's the same picture... I couldn't remember it exactly but I was going for one taken from a similar angle, at least.

Though this one made me laugh; he looks like he just told a good joke.

[DrSpaceman73]

Catching up from Thanksgiving. 

He lost but really, just hire Chris as the new host. Man did he have a great voice!!

They sure like watership down. 

Will shortz fellow alma mater from Indiana University. He was the first to do an individualized major at the University.  

So weird they have so many long multiday winners this season. Is this like the 4th one that lasted 10 days?  

 

[chessiegal]

13 minutes ago, DrSpaceman73 said:

Catching up from Thanksgiving. 

He lost but really, just hire Chris as the new host. Man did he have a great voice!!

They sure like watership down. 

Will shortz fellow alma mater from Indiana University. He was the first to do an individualized major at the University.  

So weird they have so many long multiday winners this season. Is this like the 4th one that lasted 10 days?  

 

The season started with Amodio. He lost to Jonathan Fisher who had 11 wins. There was a 1 day winner, then Tyler Rhode for 5 wins. A few days later Andrew He won 5 games, and now we have Amy. That's a lot of multiday winners in a short time.

[GreekGeek]

14 minutes ago, DrSpaceman73 said:

So weird they have so many long multiday winners this season. Is this like the 4th one that lasted 10 days?  

 

According to the Tournament of Champions tracker, which starts from 1/5/21, thus far only Matt (38 wins) and Jonathan (11 wins) have lasted more than 10 days, although Amy is fast approaching the double digit wins. 

[Clanstarling]

12 hours ago, ams1001 said:

He looked something like this...

 

It's prettier than the one they showed - this is like its instagram selfie. 😉

11 hours ago, DrSpaceman73 said:

So weird they have so many long multiday winners this season. Is this like the 4th one that lasted 10 days? 

This does seem to be The Season of Champions.

I did pretty well, though I didn't run anything. Got FJ by putting Paris and Bells together, but wasn't particularly confident.

Amy sure has a nice smile. I like seeing her happy.

Edited November 30, 2021 by Clanstarling

[DrSpaceman73]

14 hours ago, GreekGeek said:

According to the Tournament of Champions tracker, which starts from 1/5/21, thus far only Matt (38 wins) and Jonathan (11 wins) have lasted more than 10 days, although Amy is fast approaching the double digit wins. 

So she'd be the 3rd not 4th 10 day winner but still a lot not even halfway through the season. 

Then two other five day winners. Five with at least five days so far this season. 

Edited November 30, 2021 by DrSpaceman73

[30 Helens]

17 hours ago, DrSpaceman73 said:

He lost but really, just hire Chris as the new host. Man did he have a great voice!!

Well, Ken did compare him to Brad Rutter. I’m just sayin’… 😄

I’m enjoying Amy’s run. She’s not flashy, but she is quietly and methodically stomping the competition. I like her style.

[853fisher]

Pam was really intense!  I wasn't surprised to learn she is an accomplished athlete.  I really like Amy but would've been excited to see what Pam did in future episodes.  Goodnessdidn'tshetalkawfulfastthough?

I recently saw "Dirty Harry" for the first time and, while I enjoyed the movie and it certainly prompted topical conversation afterward, I found "do ya feel lucky, punk?" extremely underwhelming as Eastwood delivered it.  So yes, Ken, I do agree that it was much better done by Johnny!

I thought "chicken skin" was just Amy trying to parse the skin-related "cutis" and the "fowl" clue, or that it could perhaps be a regional term, but it turns out it's a condition by which too much keratin causes acne-like bumps to appear.  I didn't know that!  Pam reported on another board that there was a brief stop while the judges researched it and confirmed it was not related to cold or fear as required by the clue.

I found FJ quite difficult.  I knew they wanted either "twin" or "sister" cities.  "Jumeaux" are twins in French, so I inferred correctly that "jumelées" meant twinned, and made the wrong choice.  Upon reflection, "sister" definitely seems more common in US English.  I think "X twinned with Y" is common in the UK, and I might also have thought "twin cities" sounded right because of Minneapolis / St Paul.  So, they got me!

23 hours ago, Browncoat said:

The only TS I got was Stanley Kowalski, and was surprised it was a TS.  Maybe they didn't know his last name and weren't sure if just "Stanley" would have been accepted?  I suspect it would have been.

I think so too.  Ken said, "Stella's husband in 'Streetcar,' Stanley.  Stanley Kowalski."  The last name sounded like a parenthetical to me.

[ams1001]

November 30:

73% / 60% / 66%

Pam was kinda scary. I loved that Krys went all in on the French pronunciation of Hercule Poirot. I also liked the story behind Amy's pearls; that was sweet.

Not too bad in the first round; ran Fill in the Phrase, missed one Sweet Read, one Sounds Serious, and one Hair, two action movies and three Black on the Map. Got the DD but neither of the two TSes (I've never seen it but I knew the movie was 300; I didn't know the character's name. I have seen Gladiator but I couldn't think of it).

In DJ I ran Science, missed one TV, two Women and Ends in Ex, three Mythology, and four Civil War. Got only half of one DD (also only came up with apex), and my only TS was Beauregard which was a total guess based on the phrase "ill regard" in the clue. I have never heard of the guy. If I'd had to give his first name/initials I'd have been out of luck.

Did not get FJ; never heard of that organization either.

[Katy M]

I hadn't the foggiest on FJ.  I got Amnesty International stuck in my head and it would make room for nothing else.

I got the entire category of fill in the phrase category right.  OK night.

[M. Darcy]

Whew - that was a stressful game. I’m not going to say I’m happy at the end result because if I ever say I like a contestant, they will then lose. 

No clue at all for FJ. 

[Prevailing Wind]

Man, Pam was intense. I hope it was just nerves on her part. I don't think I could have watched more than one show with her.

[shapeshifter]

I finally broke my losing streak and got the FJ of "Sister Cities." 
Lately I've been coming up with an obviously wrong response and then figuring I don't have time to come up with the correct one, but this time I pushed through.

I also yelled the TS of "Selena Gomez!" and then silently chastised them for having not seen Hulu's recent Only Murders In The Building in which Gomez costars with Martin Short and Steve Martin.

I only ran FILL IN THE PHRASE, but just missed the last one in SPLITTING HAIRS, so, not the most intellectual categories to excel in, but Mom and Dad were really big on being hip to the popular lingo (while also being grammatically correct and having perfect pronunciation), and having every hair in place was crucial too, heh. 

I wonder what Pam is like when she's your dentist.

[Irlandesa]

Sister Cities was an Instaget for me once they gave the French translation even though the French translation wasn't exact.  It was enough for me to know what they were talking about given the category. 

I did get a kick out of the clue including the French words for "Twin Cities" when one of the contestants is from a suburb of the Twin Cities.

Pam really did look like she was going to take it all for a bit there.  Her aggressive play annoyed me at first but I did get used to it. 

Shallow:  But I thought Amy looked especially lovely today. It was a nice top for her. 

[kathyk24]

I thought Pam was on the spectrum. Her speech and lack of affect made me wonder.

[SoMuchTV]

I saw the FJ category and said, oh that’s gotta be like sister cities and stuff. When the clue came up, no idea. Heifer international maybe? D’oh!