Jeopardy! Season 38 (2021-2022)

[PBnJay]

@opus, your avatar shows pretty well in the Light (Default) view that I use. You just need to scoot over to your left a bit to be perfect. Your new look is my favorite even if it is sad.

Edited September 20, 2021 by PBnJay

[853fisher]

The Ringer has a nice article from Claire McNear about Matt and recent contestants.  Nothing earth-shattering but interesting bits of color.

In other news, the contestant lineup on the show's website is as sloppy as ever.  We have an "Roi Trainer" and an "Emt" this week, along with Matt, who is still a "Phd Student."  That and a few other things that have come up recently, like the lack of special characters including hyphens in double-barreled surnames, point to something like code pulling from a database with certain rules, and no human review.  But that doesn't account for the "Postdoctural Researcher" playing today.  The end of the world?  No, but come on, this is Jeopardy!  Let's step up the QC a little bit.

[dcalley]

39 minutes ago, 853fisher said:

In other news, the contestant lineup on the show's website is as sloppy as ever.

Argh! Last week they put up a photo of Daniel Lee from a previous season instead of Daniel Lee from this season.

[shapeshifter]

Hurray!

https://www.j-archive.com/showseason.php?season=38

[opus]

3 hours ago, PBnJay said:

@opus, your avatar shows pretty well in the Light (Default) view that I use. You just need to scoot over to your left a bit to be perfect. Your new look is my favorite even if it is sad.

I tried to scoot. That's the best my technical capabilities allowed me to do.

[Bastet]

Yay for the archive being back on track, since I'll be watching football tonight.

I laughed so hard I scared my cat at Ricky Martin instead of Ricky Nelson.

I wish needing to give both names had been part of the challenge in the Alliterative People category.

I correctly guessed gecko, but had no idea they make that sound.  Interesting, and I think that's a rare bit of trivia that will stay in my mind after learning it from this show.

I'm surprised no one got nada, but I guess neither of them realized Carlo's mistake and instead thought it was something else entirely, so they had no guess.

I was not off to a good start; I only ran common bonds and Spanish in the first round, missing one in ventriloquism and two each in the rest. 

It didn't get any better in DJ, where I only ran lakes and food, and missed four gods, three greats, and one each in B and pop stars.

I capped it off by having no idea for FJ.  I did see that movie once long ago, but don't remember anything about it other than "I'm not bad, I'm just drawn that way".

[ams1001]

I'm only at the first commercial break, but Mayim seems to have taken a note on the giggling, at least.

[chessiegal]

Mayim did a much better job than her previous stint.

I miss the GEICO gecko.

[ams1001]

J! - Ran Common Bonds and Books & Authors, got three each in the other categories for 73%. 

DJ - Ran Starts with B and Food Fights Back. Missed 1, 2, 3, and 4 clues in the other categories for 67%.

No DDs for me tonight...

FJ - Got it at "80s Movies" and "the Dip"... Final score 70%.

I still don't like Mayim for other reasons, but her hosting style was infinitely better than her first go round. If she keeps that going, I can get used to her.

Edit: Forgot to check my TSes! I only got Baboon (but there were only three in the game, so...)

Edited September 21, 2021 by ams1001

[DrSpaceman73]

Ricky Martin on Ozzie and Harriet!!!

Funniest answer in a long time. 

[Browncoat]

Instaget FJ for me tonight.  I love that movie.  It's one of my all-time favorites.  

Was "nada" a TS?  I got it, but that might be the only one.  

Darn end girl for not knowing Roger Rabbit!

[Katy M]

I had high hopes.  that other contestant did will in pop stars and pop culture is not Matt's forte, but alas it was not to be.

I didn't get FJ, nor did I have a viable guess.  Don't even remember what I did say.  I saw Roger Rabbit, but I can't say it made a lasting impression on me.

i got the missed clues of nada and baboon.

I got the entire categories of common bonds, food and starts with B right.  I had a good night.

[SoMuchTV]

I was moderately annoyed that my local station showed a promo (maybe 90 minutes before j! aired) showing Mayim saying something like “ooh, it’s not a runaway!”  I’m maybe 7-8 on the spoiler-phobe scale. If I were a 10, I would have been extremely annoyed. 

And hey, looks like Mayim borrowed a blazer from Steve Harvey! (That was meant to be an equal opportunity shallow fashion snark. Hope it didn’t offend anyone!  Maybe we need a “fashions of jeopardy!” thread.)

All that aside, I thought Mayim did perfectly well. 

Edited September 21, 2021 by SoMuchTV

[Katy M]

I noticed that Mayim was filling out a lot of Matt's answers.

[Browncoat]

Just now, Katy M said:

I noticed that Mayim was filling out a lot of Matt's answers.

Yeah, she needs to stop that and start asking him to be more specific.  I also noticed she corrected one of his "What's" to "Who is".

[ams1001]

5 minutes ago, Browncoat said:

Was "nada" a TS?  I got it, but that might be the only one.  

It was.

[Prevailing Wind]

I was happily surprised at Bialik's hosting skills. If she keeps this up, I wouldn't mind her as a permanent host.

Carlo needed to stop his crazy-ass guesses. Ricky Martin. There was one before that was almost as out there.

[ams1001]

4 minutes ago, Prevailing Wind said:

Carlo needed to stop his crazy-ass guesses. Ricky Martin. There was one before that was almost as out there.

Mozart who wrote Send in the Clowns?

[shapeshifter]

Mayim seems to have a new stylist. Much better, IMO.

Whew! I just really want Matt to best Ken Jennings and James Holzhauer in some way.
Or top a million.

I did run FOOD FIGHTS BACK

 

32 minutes ago, Katy M said:

I noticed that Mayim was filling out a lot of Matt's answers.

31 minutes ago, Browncoat said:

Yeah, she needs to stop that and start asking him to be more specific.

I'm 99.99% sure none of Matt's responses required a BMS. 
And so long as no clues are left on the board, I don't mind Mayim filling in the extra stuff.

Edited September 21, 2021 by shapeshifter

[ProudMary]

To this point, I've remained silent on Mayim's performance as host. Her giggling bothered me but I thought it was something that was fairly easily corrected. That did seem to be the case tonight. I never thought her fashion choices were nor should have been a consideration in whether or not she was right for the hosting position. In my opinion, she had manifested only one trait that I had found problematic: Condescension. On several occasions, when there was a clue that she considered very easy, yet turned out to be a TS, she'd say, "Aw, come on guys." It's not the host's place to do that and she didn't do that tonight. If she continues this way, then I'm fine with her moving forward.

Buzzy's still my #1 choice. He's excellent, better than Mayim at contestant interviews, and has a Jeopardy! connection that's important to me, but the Mayim we saw tonight would be an acceptable second choice IMO.

I got the TS of Mick Mulvaney. FJ was an instaget for me.

[kathyk24]

Matt's weakness seems to be pop culture. He's too smart to not give complete answers. He should have been more specific on the McCarthy and Picasso clues.

[ams1001]

52 minutes ago, SoMuchTV said:

I was moderately annoyed that my local station showed a promo (maybe 90 minutes before j! aired) showing Mayim saying something like “ooh, it’s not a runaway!”  I’m maybe 7-8 on the spoiler-phobe scale. If I were a 10, I would have been extremely annoyed. 

I normally don't care about spoilers for regular shows (I often read the episode threads for shows like Grey's Anatomy or A Million Little Things before I watch the show if I don't get to watch in real time) but when someone I like has a good streak going I don't want to know ahead of time!

17 minutes ago, ProudMary said:

In my opinion, she had manifested only one trait that I had found problematic: Condescension. On several occasions, when there was a clue that she considered very easy, yet turned out to be a TS, she'd say, "Aw, come on guys." It's not the host's place to do that and she didn't do that tonight. If she continues this way, then I'm fine with her moving forward.

Buzzy's still my #1 choice. He's excellent, better than Mayim at contestant interviews, and has a Jeopardy! connection that's important to me, but the Mayim we saw tonight would be an acceptable second choice IMO.

Agreed on the condescension point (though Alex did a little of that kind of thing; she just came across as obnoxious when she did it), and also would still prefer Buzzy. 

[saber5055]

 

Since some didn't agree with my statement that the new curtains are a shout out to Art Fleming days, did anyone notice the quick clip of the curtains opening to reveal the Jeopardy board in the opening segment?

I guess no one noticed that Tracy answered "Lake of the Ozarks" when the clue was the lake was named for THIS MOUNTAIN RANGE. No, Tracy, the mountains are not Lake of the Ozarks, they are just Ozarks.

Then she answered Soldier Boy for the rapper when his name is Soulja Boy. The pronunciation is not the same, and it's way more different than Berry/Barry.

I loved the FJ category but I guess seeing a movie 33 years ago in the theater means certain details don't stay with me. Plus I was obsessing over why TJF had capped "Dip" instead of just writing "dip." I kept wondering if it was some French Onion dip someone doctored up or something. I didn't remember anyone eating chips and dip in Roger Rabbit but then again, that was 33 years ago.

Pay no attention to that man in front of the curtain!

 

[853fisher]

I thought FJ would be easy for the contestants. I'm a bad poor judge of what others know in my areas of interest / expertise sometimes.  I guess it's not quite in that list of Disney movies "everyone" has seen since it's not a "kids' movie."

I liked the anecdote about McKinley but thought it was odd to refer to him as her "patron saint of trivia."  I certainly wasn't offended but I was taken aback.  The function she was describing didn't seem to match the usual meaning of "patron saint" and it seemed a rather casual appropriation of a term belonging to an established religious / spiritual tradition, which I find a bit tasteless, even when not malicious.  For the same reason, I prefer not to use "spirit animal" outside the context of Native American traditions.  It happens that may confirmation saint, Thomas Aquinas, is the patron of learning among other things closely related to trivia, so maybe that's why I took notice.  Maybe someone else can get into my brain and explain what I mean better.  I swear I'm not a zealot!

1 hour ago, ams1001 said:

I still don't like Mayim for other reasons, but her hosting style was infinitely better than her first go round. If she keeps that going, I can get used to her.

This is how I feel, expressed more succinctly than I would have.  Also, I understand why some of us are rightfully leery of too many fashion comments.  I just just say that I loved her jacket.  I'd buy one in that color.

1 minute ago, kathyk24 said:

Matt's weakness seems to be pop culture.

He's acknowledged this in a few interviews and said he spent a lot of time over the summer watching Netflix and listening to Top 40, but I guess Roger Rabbit isn't included there. ;)

[ams1001]

4 minutes ago, 853fisher said:

This is how I feel, expressed more succinctly than I would have.  Also, I understand why some of us are rightfully leery of too many fashion comments.  I just just say that I loved her jacket.  I'd buy one in that color.

I liked her jacket, too. Her outfit was a little more subdued tonight. I also noticed she was not wearing high heels. I don't blame her.

I think my parents still have our VHS of Roger Rabbit. I'll have to check next time I'm there.

[dcalley]

15 minutes ago, saber5055 said:

Then she answered Soldier Boy for the rapper when his name is Soulja Boy.

I heard "soldier" too, and it reminded me of the gangster/gangsta overrule. https://www.jeopardy.com/jbuzz/behind-scenes/judges-table-whose-paradise-it 

From today:

I can't wait until his name's no longer attached.

[possibilities]

As soon as I saw the FJ category, I knew I had no shot and didn't even bother. 

Is this Matt's first non-runaway game?

 

[853fisher]

4 minutes ago, possibilities said:

Is this Matt's first non-runaway game?

I think it's his 5th.  He also had a 6th that was a "lock-tie," meaning the 2nd place contestant had exactly half his total going into Final.  It's the first non-runaway of this new season.

[ABay]

1 hour ago, ams1001 said:

Mozart who wrote Send in the Clowns?

There is a connection in that Mozart wrote A Little Night Music (Eine Kleine Nachtmusik) and Sondheim borrowed the title for the musical that features Send in the Clowns. The plot he borrowed from Ingmar Bergman.

Edited September 21, 2021 by ABay

[Mindthinkr]

1 minute ago, ABay said:

There is a connection in that Mozart wrote A Little Night Music (Eine Kleine Nachtmusik) and Sondheim borrowed the title for the musical that features send in the clowns. The plot he borrowed from Ingmar Bergman.

Where do you learn these things? 

[ABay]

Liner notes.

[Cotypubby]

57 minutes ago, saber5055 said:

Then she answered Soldier Boy for the rapper when his name is Soulja Boy. The pronunciation is not the same, and it's way more different than Berry/Barry.

I heard her say “Soulja” with no R…

[Phebemarie]

I have a theory about why this game was not a runaway which is probably 100% wrong.  When Mayim was introduced, there was a cut to Matt whose expression could be described as 'star struck'.  He was also a bit more ingratiating during his contestant interview.   I think he may have been a bit distracted.  Maybe he's a fan.  

Of course, the conflict backstage and all the media attention may have also had a bit to do with Matt's game play tonight.  🙂

[ams1001]

lol...

 

[Cherpumple]

Speaking as someone who owned way too many velour shirts in the late 90s, I loved Mayim's blazer and thought the purple on purple combo looked great on her.

FJ was an instaget for me. I just watched the movie again last week, and had to fast forward through the scene of the cute little shoe getting "Dipped" because the childhood trauma of it is still too strong.

3 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

I'm 99.99% sure none of Matt's responses required a BMS.

I would have asked for one on the "Ramses" response. And I'm not happy with the response of "Ferdinand" for Archduke Franz Ferdinand. Ferdinand isn't his surname, it's just one of his many middle names, and I've always heard him referred to with both names together (never just "Franz"). Would they accept "Antoinette" for Marie Antoinette? I don't know.

[DrScottie]

29 minutes ago, Cherpumple said:

Speaking as someone who owned way too many velour shirts in the late 90s, I loved Mayim's blazer and thought the purple on purple combo looked great on her.

FJ was an instaget for me. I just watched the movie again last week, and had to fast forward through the scene of the cute little shoe getting "Dipped" because the childhood trauma of it is still too strong.

I would have asked for one on the "Ramses" response. And I'm not happy with the response of "Ferdinand" for Archduke Franz Ferdinand. Ferdinand isn't his surname, it's just one of his many middle names, and I've always heard him referred to with both names together (never just "Franz"). Would they accept "Antoinette" for Marie Antoinette? I don't know.

I would think you wouldn't get credit if you called the band Franz Ferdinand just Ferdinand. I certainly see your point. Just Ferdinand to me makes me think about Queen Isabella's husband, not the Austrian Archduke.

As for Ramses, perhaps it was because the category was specifically about the "Greats" so the particular regnal number isn't necessary. Maybe like Richard the Lionheart is Richard I. 

[Katy M]

5 hours ago, DrScottie said:

I would think you wouldn't get credit if you called the band Franz Ferdinand just Ferdinand. I certainly see your point. Just Ferdinand to me makes me think about Queen Isabella's husband, not the Austrian Archduke.

As for Ramses, perhaps it was because the category was specifically about the "Greats" so the particular regnal number isn't necessary. Maybe like Richard the Lionheart is Richard I. 

A band name is different than a person's name, but Ferdinand isn't Franz Ferdinand's last name (that would technically be Habsburg), so that one bugged me.  As for Ramses, that one didn't for the reason you mentioned.  In cases where there is more than one king of a name, they generally accept the number or the descriptor if there is one.  Since the descriptor was the category title, it counted.

[HyeChaps]

For FJ, one either knew it or didn't; there didn't seem enough to make a good guess.

(Unlike the one with the moon astronauts)

[ams1001]

I feel like if the category is "alliterative people" you should have to give both names to illustrate the "alliterative" part. I always thought that was the rule but maybe it's just that most people do give both names and Matt is just being different so it's noticeable.

[shapeshifter]

53 minutes ago, Katy M said:

but Ferdinand isn't Franz Ferdinand's last name (that would technically be Habsburg

FWIW, Wikipedia lists his full name as:
Archduke Franz Ferdinand Carl Ludwig Joseph Maria of Austria
(without "Habsburg")

If the Wikipedia entry of "Archduke Franz Ferdinand Carl Ludwig Joseph Maria of Austria" was listed as the correct question/answer on the card Mayim was given, she would likely not expect him to give the entirety of that name, and so she would likely not feel comfortable asking for more.
Even assuming that she had prepped ahead of time and seen the card, she probably would have been expecting a "correct" question to just include "Archduke Ferdinand" or possibly "Archduke Franz Ferdinand."
--Or at least I would.🤷‍♀️
Oops.
 I just realized the category was ALLITERATIVE PEOPLE, which implies a response of "Franz Ferdinand," but then again, the clue is "His assassination sparked a war to end all wars," so "Ferdinand" does identify the alliteratively named person who fits that specific clue.🤷‍♀️

Or what @ams1001 just posted:

28 minutes ago, ams1001 said:

I feel like if the category is "alliterative people" you should have to give both names to illustrate the "alliterative" part. I always thought that was the rule but maybe it's just that most people do give both names and Matt is just being different so it's noticeable.

But I can also imagine a player saying "Who was the Archduke of Habsburg" and a guest host with the Wikipedia text on the card saying "that is incorrect," and then at the break saying that the judges have ruled it as correct because that does identify the ALLITERATIVELY named person of Franz Ferdinand.

Have there been any of those later judge rulings since Alex passed? I can't recall.
I wonder if Alex would have foreseen all of this and decided they should not use that clue?
Or: Would Alex have told them to change the category to: ALLITERATIVE NAMES rather than PEOPLE?

I guess if Mom was still alive and still able to use her vocal chords she would object to just "Ferdinand" being accepted, but she would also probably not blame Matt because he's such a nice young man. 
(🍎=me 🌳=Mom)

Does anyone here have a few decades of watching experience (or have such a grandparent) who would care to weigh in?

Or maybe we just need to accept that it's not going to be quite the same anymore?

Edited September 21, 2021 by shapeshifter

[DrSpaceman73]

1 hour ago, HyeChaps said:

For FJ, one either knew it or didn't; there didn't seem enough to make a good guess.

(Unlike the one with the moon astronauts)

All I could think was the Batman movie from the 80s, which at least was the right time frame.  

There were some clues in the 'answer' though, in retrospect. The mixture mentioned could make you think of films and cartoon characters.  Though I didn't catch onto that. 

[Clanstarling]

16 hours ago, opus said:

I tried to scoot. That's the best my technical capabilities allowed me to do.

I don't know if it will work, but make a copy of your avatar, then crop a little from the left side of the image. Do it a little at a time, and see if it helps. I do a fair bit of cropping to get images to work the way I want them too.

13 hours ago, chessiegal said:

Mayim did a much better job than her previous stint.

I miss the GEICO gecko.

I also think Mayim was much better this time - and I didn't hate her stint. But her stint did lower her on my list (Buzzy is still number one). After last night, though, I'd be cool with her being the host.

BTW I noticed that they did announce her as host, which makes me wonder how they'll announce Ken.

12 hours ago, Browncoat said:

Yeah, she needs to stop that and start asking him to be more specific.  I also noticed she corrected one of his "What's" to "Who is".

I think his tactic threw her a bit, she was a little slow at reacting a couple of times in the beginning, and then was fine.

1 hour ago, ams1001 said:

I feel like if the category is "alliterative people" you should have to give both names to illustrate the "alliterative" part. I always thought that was the rule but maybe it's just that most people do give both names and Matt is just being different so it's noticeable.

You know, I made it through the entire category (didn't get everything right) without remembering it was alliterative people. LOL.

56 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

Does anyone here have a few decades of watching experience (or have such a grandparent) who would care to weigh in?

Or maybe we just need to accept that it's not going to be quite the same anymore?

I have a few decades of watching, but I'm kind of easy. Except when I'm not. I never know what's going to incense me or when I'll shrug my shoulders. Hypocrites R Me.

[ams1001]

6 minutes ago, Clanstarling said:

BTW I noticed that they did announce her as host, which makes me wonder how they'll announce Ken.

I suspect whoever is hosting that day will be announced as "the host" going forward. It's accurate; they're the host for that game.

8 minutes ago, Clanstarling said:

I have a few decades of watching, but I'm kind of easy. Except when I'm not. I never know what's going to incense me or when I'll shrug my shoulders. Hypocrites R Me.

Same. Sometimes an answer will bother me; also sometimes someone will make a comment here that changes my mind.

I always feel like J! has been on my whole life and then some, but I turned 9 a few weeks after the first episode in 1984. My parents put it on most nights when I was a kid if we were home (and still do); I watched when I could when I was in college and after I graduated and moved back home I got into watching regularly if I wasn't working. For a while some years ago I watched The Daily Show and Colbert Report when they were rerun at 7/7:30, but when Comedy Central changed that schedule I went back to watching J! and have been pretty consistent ever since (that was before I moved into my current place, which was almost 10 years ago).

 

[Prevailing Wind]

1 hour ago, shapeshifter said:

Or maybe we just need to accept that it's not going to be quite the same anymore?

I think we should wait until the Richards Reign is completely over before we resign ourselves to anything. Remember, the man has NO INTEREST in trivia; it wouldn't bother him that the alliterative aspect of the name is not important in a category of alliterative names..

[Katy M]

1 hour ago, shapeshifter said:

Archduke Franz Ferdinand Carl Ludwig Joseph Maria of Austria
(without "Habsburg")

Of course not.  Nobody ever lists the last name of a Royal.  It's not Queen Elizabeth Windsor.  But, unlike Parton for Dolly Parton, or Carson for Kit Carson, Ferdinand simply isn't the last name.  Someone said they thought Matt does this to save time, so hopefully Mayim keeps supplying the full name and he'll realize this wastes time and he'll just start giving the entire response.

If there were a Gilligan's Island clue, would he say Ann for Mary Ann?  Would that be correct? 

[Grundoon59]

I will admit to being slightly grouchy this morning but as a Stephen Sondheim fan, I have to object to him being a What and not a Who ( I know this is a Matt quirk but it is really starting to irk me as being a little disrespectful although I am reasonably sure he does not mean it to be so). 

Also I have a problem with Send in the Clowns as his "best" song.  Most prevalent in pop culture?  Quite possibly but "best"?  I can think of dozens of other candidates. 

I am with @Abay - liner notes are a great source of information - I have read almost all of them for almost all the albums I have (not as much fun with a CD but it can be done).  Don't get me started on digital music and you kids get off my lawn!

Edited September 21, 2021 by Grundoon59
Typo

[shapeshifter]

19 minutes ago, Katy M said:

Someone said they thought Matt does this to save time, so hopefully Mayim keeps supplying the full name and he'll realize this wastes time and he'll just start giving the entire response.

I did wonder if she thought she could manage Matt into changing his strategy, which, given the stakes of the game, made me more annoyed at her than him. Either he's right or he's wrong. 

[M. Darcy]

Sigh. There was a chance. 

[shapeshifter]

As a Matt fan, I thought his comment at the end of this very short clip was cute. 
I wonder if non-fans might like him a little more for it? Or not?

 

[RobC1116]

I'm surprised no one caught the mistake Matt made in the southern California Lake clue. I listened three times to make sure: he said, "Saltlon Sea." It's "Salton Sea." The judges should have flagged that as incorrect.