Jeopardy! Season 38 (2021-2022)

[Mindthinkr]

When I read trunk I was thinking of big trees so I thought Sequoia. Lol…it’s probably not a city in CA. So no FJ for me. 
I did fairly well with everything else. 

[PBnJay]

1 minute ago, Mindthinkr said:

When I read trunk I was thinking of big trees so I thought Sequoia. Lol…it’s probably not a city in CA. So no FJ for me.

There's Redwood City, California. Closer but still not correct!

[shapeshifter]

After 2 weeks of zero FJs, I finally had an instaget.
Maybe because I did live in Northern California for 20 years,  "They have really, really, really long trunks" did not sound to me like anything anyone would ever say about really tall trees.

I also got the TS of "the ball is in their court."

 

I thought Michelle was a great player but I hated her wagering only $2K for her DD in the category of VICE PRESIDENTS, which she clearly was well-versed in. 
At the time, she had $8,400. Had she gone for a True DD, and had everything else in the game remained the same, going into FJ, she would have had $21,600 (instead of $13,200) against Lawrence's $18,000. If that was the case, she would have also needed to bet big to win, since both Michelle and Lawrence gave the correct response. 
Alas, Michelle was no James Holzhauer with regards to wagering.

 

During the chat portion of the game, once again Lawrence demonstrated why his foray into being a standup comedian did not pan out. Way to make a sailing adventure tedious, Lawrence! 
But that's okay, Lawrence, being a good listener is more important in nursing.

Edited February 10, 2022 by shapeshifter

[Cotypubby]

When I saw the FJ clue my first thought was “oh the elephants at the San Diego Zoo!” but then immediately thought “no, everyone already knows elephants have long trunks, that’s nothing special to notice, they probably mean the really tall tree trunks! Aha, what city is Muir Woods in? Is that part of San Francisco..” and then the 30 seconds ran out, lol. 

[chessiegal]

Add this household that was thinking trees, not animals.

[dgpolo]

1 hour ago, shapeshifter said:

Maybe because I did live in Northern California for 20 years,  "They have really, really, really long trunks" did not sound to me like anything anyone would ever say about really tall trees.

I don't think it's anything anyone would say about an elephant either. Long trunks, yes, really long trunks, iffy, really really long trunks maybe if you're 2 feet tall, but really really really? just no.

[Bastet]

I was surprised by the immigration TS, and by no one guessing "the ball is in their court".

I had a great first round other than the TV category; I've never seen any of those shows, and only managed to get two via cultural osmosis.  I also missed two books, but got everything else in the round.

But in DJ, I only ran pairs.  I mostly did well in the rest, missing one or two, but I was terrible in authors -- I only got one (correctly guessing the France & Switzerland TS based on chateau).

I completely blew FJ, because I was thinking tree trunks, but coming up blank on a city, just thinking of the various state/national parklands filled with redwoods.

2 minutes ago, dgpolo said:

I don't think it's anything anyone would say about an elephant either. Long trunks, yes, really long trunks, iffy, really really long trunks maybe if you're 2 feet tall, but really really really? just no.

Yeah, it sounded like a quote by a five-year-old.

[Leeds]

Anyone else think Jonathon moves his mouth like Wallace from "Wallace and Gromit"?  (Fantastic films for anyone who doesn't know them - funny, charming, clever.)

 

[GreekGeek]

Trees never crossed my mind in FJ. My mind went to the La Brea Tar Pits and prehistoric elephants, especially this scene.

Add me to those disappointed that Michelle, a history teacher, did not bet big on that Vice Presidents DD. 

[853fisher]

Just as a matter of interest, the city most convenient to Sequoia National Park is Visalia.  Take this with a grain of salt, as the source is the Visalia tourism bureau, but that sounds about right.

RE Muir Woods, I wish San Francisco could claim them, but they're north across the Golden Gate in Marin County.  The nearest city there is Mill Valley, where I go to the movies at (what else) the Sequoia.

Fascinating to see how many people thought trees for trunks!  I just got lucky that I vaguely recalled the story.  I thought there was a young child in the video, but it was a 25-year-old.  Interesting.

[The Wild Sow]

Lawrence looks like 

Matthew Lillard. 

Particularly in that SVU episode where he played Carol Burnett’s adopted nephew/lover!

[nokat]

1 hour ago, dgpolo said:

I don't think it's anything anyone would say about an elephant either. Long trunks, yes, really long trunks, iffy, really really long trunks maybe if you're 2 feet t
Call, but really really really? just no.

I got most of if. Not the final. Is anyone watching the Chase?

Edited February 10, 2022 by nokat

[30 Helens]

5 hours ago, 853fisher said:

I thought it was too bad Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler was missed.  

I loved that book when I was a kid. Read it probably 5 times. So seeing it as a clue made me happy, even if the contestants didn’t know it.

4 hours ago, Katy M said:

That's been like 19 years.

So? They can still play! But I guess they’ve already had their second chances, in previous tournaments. I’m intrigued by the idea of a second chance tournament, but I don’t know how they could make it totally objective. I suspect personality will play a large role.

Maybe they should just have a playoff of Amy victims.

2 hours ago, Cotypubby said:

When I saw the FJ clue my first thought was “oh the elephants at the San Diego Zoo!” but then immediately thought “no, everyone already knows elephants have long trunks, that’s nothing special to notice, they probably mean the really tall tree trunks! Aha, what city is Muir Woods in? Is that part of San Francisco..” and then the 30 seconds ran out, lol. 

Get out of my head!!

Seriously, that was almost the same conversation that happened here. I was thinking San Diego Zoo just as my husband blurted it out, but I rejected it and also tried to dissuade him because it was just too obvious— and why would anyone remark on elephant trunks being surprisingly long? Was it a cave dweller who had never seen an elephant before??

So I thought maybe it was a metaphor and tried to think of other long trunk-like things— Cable car lines? Is it San Francisco? —then other kinds of actual trunks— Oh, trees! Redwoods! Sequoias?— and then time was up, and my husband was smirking at me like: Told you.

Clearly, I just overthought it.

[possibilities]

7 hours ago, 853fisher said:

I thought it was too bad Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler was missed. 

I was crushed that no one knew it! That book was one of my favorites. I would have thought J! fans would enjoy the fantasy of living in a museum. I sure did. Also, the plot resolution involved solving a puzzle!!

I was really disappointed not to know what book James wrote. I'm happy for his family to have a baby, but it would have been nice (and less generic) to plug his book. 

For FJ, I thought the long trunks were a reference to surfer's swimsuits, and since I had no idea I joked to myself that it was "Long Beach". I was pretty sure I was wrong. I was certain they couldn't possibly mean elephants because, as others have said, everyone knows elephants have long trunks. 

6 hours ago, ams1001 said:

I like Lawrence but I would have been fine with any of them winning.

I felt the same way. Everyone was interesting. 

6 hours ago, Katy M said:

I said Redwood.  Wrong kind of trunks. Points for creativity?

 

I like it! Trees never crossed my mind, but why not? Certainly better than surf shorts.

[Browncoat]

Tree trunks might be better han surf shorts, but surf shorts got me to the right city!

[GreekGeek]

5 hours ago, 30 Helens said:

 

So? They can still play! But I guess they’ve already had their second chances, in previous tournaments. I’m intrigued by the idea of a second chance tournament, but I don’t know how they could make it totally objective. I suspect personality will play a large role.

Maybe they should just have a playoff of Amy victims.

 

Or Matt victims! I would love to see my former student Daniel Pecoraro get another bite of the J! apple. But I agree the logistics are too complicated.

My two cents on the "Lawrence looks like..." discussion: John Beck.

[Katy M]

5 hours ago, 30 Helens said:

I loved that book when I was a kid. Read it probably 5 times. So seeing it as a clue made me happy, even if the contestants didn’t know it.

I also read and loved that book, but I would never ever ever have been ble to remember the name.

[PaulaO]

I own a copy of FTMUFoMBEF.  When I was in 6th grade, the school librarian read it to the class.  I fell in love with the book.  My immediate guess for FJ! was sequoias but realized they aren’t in a city per se.  Then I thought of the SD zoo.  Mayim drives me crazy with her bebopping and head waving like she’s she’s some nervous show pony.  Stand still! And Lawrence’s stories are too long and too uninteresting.

[illdoc]

Tree trunks here as well!!!

[ams1001]

Really really really long...trunks.

 

[NoReally]

13 hours ago, Katy M said:

I said Redwood.  Wrong kind of trunks. Points for creativity?

Same here. I said Redwood City.

I'd give you points for creativity! 

[Trey]

I thought of elephant trunks and tree trunks.  I wasn't sure there was a city called Redwood in CA  so I went with San Diego and its famous zoo.

I don't have anyone in mind who Lawrence looks like.  When I first saw him I thought he looked like an actor (not anyone in particular, just a person who was an actor).  Whoever said upthread that he looks like he should play Colonel Mustard was spot on🙂

[Clanstarling]

14 hours ago, 853fisher said:

I read FJ somewhere and fortunately it stayed in my mind.  I think it might have been get-able anyway.  The San Diego Zoo does seem to be "the" zoo in California.  They're the one with the pandas, for instance, he said jealously.  But LA or San Francisco might have come to mind first for someone with no clue

My mind went briefly to trees, but then to elephants. Almost said SF (we visited there most often), but then realized San Diego was the really, really, really big zoo in CA.

13 hours ago, Browncoat said:

I got FJ right, but for the wrong reasons.  I thought swimming trunks and surfing, thus beach and San Diego.  Yeah, I don't know either, but it worked for me! 

Whatever gets you there! Now I'm trying to picture reallly, really, really long trunks. 😆

10 hours ago, 853fisher said:

Just as a matter of interest, the city most convenient to Sequoia National Park is Visalia.  Take this with a grain of salt, as the source is the Visalia tourism bureau, but that sounds about right.

It is, actually. It's at the intersections of the two main north/south highways, and the east/west highway you need to take to the park. We spent a lovely time there once, though I'm not fond of camping. Early days in our relationship...

7 hours ago, possibilities said:

I was crushed that no one knew it! That book was one of my favorites. I would have thought J! fans would enjoy the fantasy of living in a museum. I sure did. Also, the plot resolution involved solving a puzzle!!

I was really disappointed not to know what book James wrote. I'm happy for his family to have a baby, but it would have been nice (and less generic) to plug his book.

I loved the book too - I read it as a library student, fell in love with it. And unfortunately, as with most of the children's books I loved, could not get my kids interested in it. Sigh....

2 hours ago, Katy M said:

I also read and loved that book, but I would never ever ever have been ble to remember the name.

For some reason the name is so distinctive it's stayed with me longer than any other long title/name.

I had a pretty good game today, along with FJ, I almost ran two categories, and got many in the others.

BTW, who knew jiffy had an actual unit of time meaning? Not me.

[M. Darcy]

My honest  and immediate reaction when no one knew Mrs Basil E Frankweiler was that all 3 should have been kicked off the show immediately. That’s just a crime not knowing that. 

[Grundoon59]

I agree with you @shapeshifter,  I was surprised at the low DD wager Michelle made especially given the category.  However I have no idea how I would react in similar circumstances should I ever make it to the show.  It might fall into the "is this too good to be true" area where caution might take over.  I have nothing against Lawrence but I was rooting for Michelle since Allen Park is adjacent to the city I live in and I will (almost) always hope for a local to do well. 

[Katy M]

58 minutes ago, Grundoon59 said:

I agree with you @shapeshifter,  I was surprised at the low DD wager Michelle made especially given the category.  However I have no idea how I would react in similar circumstances should I ever make it to the show.  It might fall into the "is this too good to be true" area where caution might take over.  I have nothing against Lawrence but I was rooting for Michelle since Allen Park is adjacent to the city I live in and I will (almost) always hope for a local to do well. 

She wouldn't have won uinless he got it wrong. She would have won if they both got it wrong.  I feel like when you're in the middle, socrewise, you're best hedging your bets a little.  Although I would have gone another $1000 in case he bet 0 for some reason.

Edited February 10, 2022 by Katy M

[Bastet]

2 hours ago, M. Darcy said:

My honest  and immediate reaction when no one knew Mrs Basil E Frankweiler was that all 3 should have been kicked off the show immediately. That’s just a crime not knowing that. 

Send me off to jail, then; I constantly had my nose in a book as a child, but I've never even heard of that one.  I just looked up a summary, and it sounds like something I would have enjoyed.

2 hours ago, Clanstarling said:

BTW, who knew jiffy had an actual unit of time meaning? Not me.

Nor me.  "Jiffy" was my immediate answer to "back in a 5-letter word", but as the clue went on I momentarily second-guessed myself as I had no idea that was an actual unit of time, not just an expression.

[Grundoon59]

2 hours ago, Katy M said:

She wouldn't have won uinless he got it wrong. She would have won if they both got it wrong.  I feel like when you're in the middle, socrewise, you're best hedging your bets a little.  Although I would have gone another $1000 in case he bet 0 for some reason.

I agree about FJ - I was referring more to her wager for the Daily Double in Vice Presidents.  Given how she was doing on the other questions in the category, it could have been a chance for her to bet big and be in a better position for FJ.  But I understand completely that in the heat of the game, it might be hard to risk everything even with a "good" category.  But hey, she did better than I have ever done just by getting there so who am I to judge. 

[MrAtoz]

14 hours ago, 853fisher said:

The nearest city there is Mill Valley, where I go to the movies at (what else) the Sequoia.

I've always wanted to visit Mill Valley.  I know absolutely nothing about it, but it was B.J. Hunnicut's hometown on MASH, and the name sounds so peaceful and idyllic.

[Katy M]

8 minutes ago, Grundoon59 said:

I agree about FJ - I was referring more to her wager for the Daily Double in Vice Presidents.  Given how she was doing on the other questions in the category, it could have been a chance for her to bet big and be in a better position for FJ.  But I understand completely that in the heat of the game, it might be hard to risk everything even with a "good" category.  But hey, she did better than I have ever done just by getting there so who am I to judge. 

Sorry, for some reason I just assumed everyone was talking about FJ.  I guess because during hte game I'm so focused on my own game I'm not paying much attention to the contestants.

[Gimmick Genius]

Lawrence? A young(ish) Neville Chamberlain. (Also, Chamberlain is being played by Jeremy Irons in an upcoming movie about Munich)

[853fisher]

19 minutes ago, MrAtoz said:

I've always wanted to visit Mill Valley.  I know absolutely nothing about it, but it was B.J. Hunnicut's hometown on MASH, and the name sounds so peaceful and idyllic.

I don't get up there as often as I'd like because the bus schedule isn't very convenient, but it is a very pleasant place to visit.  They have various artistic festivals throughout the year and plenty of nice restaurants and shops.  I haven't explored too far beyond the little downtown but there's a lot of natural beauty too.  Things tend to be pretty costly up there, but I guess nowhere's perfect.  Group field trip!

[ProudMary]

For FJ, my first thought was elephants but then I pivoted to tall tree trunks. It's been over 35 years since I visited northern California, and Muir Woods quickly came to mind but that's not really near an "American City." When you have to drive over the Golden Gate Bridge to get there, I don't think one could say it's in San Francisco. Ultimately I wrote down Redwood City, but I knew that was south of SF not north, more suburban, not really known for towering trees and couldn't possibly be the correct answer.

18 hours ago, PBnJay said:

Another irritation was the woman player not betting to win. What, don't people care about becoming the next champ, they just want to appear once?

I wondered about that too.

Also, in the previous day's game, why did Andres bet anything? He couldn't win, he should have been trying to finish second. Had he bet nothing, he would have walked away with $2,000 instead of $1,000. 

[PaulaO]

I got the $2,000 stumper of gar.  Shows up frequently in crossword puzzles.

[853fisher]

All three contestants seemed pretty strong today.  Nick won with slightly fewer correct responses than the other two, but none incorrect.  It will be interesting to see how he does tomorrow.  The boards were pretty good for me, except the College Conference category: I just don't know or care.  Alex would have liked "Amusing Canadians."

For a split second I thought I wasn't going to recall "Princess Anne" so I might've pressed my luck with "the Princess Royal."  I think there's a fair case to be made for accepting that, but I can think of reasons against it too.  Perhaps this is a "live by the sword" moment for he who thinks the judging is often too liberal.

[Kimmmmmm]

Yes, yes, yes! The lip-smacker is gone. Nick is a cutie pie...

[853fisher]

I really wish I found Mayim less intrusive so I could just ignore her.  I also try not to go into the show thinking "I wonder what this jerk will do today."  But she really pushed my buttons today, and unfortunately the crew is in on it too.

I hated the cut away from the clue text I was trying to read to watch Mayim's average Mark McKinney impersonation.  Nobody, even the people who think you are doing well as host, has come to watch you perform, Mayim.  Have they ever done that before with any host?

I also think the laugh track is being overused.  I'm not made of stone, I understand why (for example) Nick's sheepish "It's Raining Men" might prompt some snickers.  I just don't think we need to do be prompted by the soundtrack.  It's not "Big Bang Theory."

What I did find funny: Mayim's outfit.  I never thought I'd be happy to see her behind the podium, but today, it meant one fewer visible color / pattern to fight with the others.  I've seen carnivals with less going on visually.  I don't think any person looks good like that.

[ams1001]

I feel like they're getting a little too creative with the show intros...

73% / 60% / 67%

Ran Go Fish, missed one each in Canadians, War, Gin/Rummy, Add a Letter, and Weather songs. I actually got two of the college conferences which is kinda surprising. Sports is not my strong suit and college sports even less so.

TSes were jihad (the only one in the first round, not counting the missed DD) and Suzanne Collins. I'm tired and haven't eaten dinner yet and I just blanked on a lot of things, especially in the second round.

FJ was an instaget once I focused on the location and figured out what country they were talking about, and based on the year and being on a train I figured the "call" wasn't referring to a phone call.

I was hoping Lawrence would keep going but I'm glad the other guy won because Kelsey was making me anxious. She was kind of intense.

3 minutes ago, 853fisher said:

I really wish I found Mayim less intrusive so I could just ignore her. 

Ugh, me, too. I'm trying, I really am. I actually didn't notice her outfit, since you mentioned it. I guess that's progress. Though I was watching some compilations of funny Jeopardy moments earlier and a few of them involved Alex doing some little physical comedy bits, so it's not unprecedented. It kind of strikes me differently, though, maybe because he wasn't an actor and I feel like Mayim is always acting a part.

[Katy M]

FJ was an instaget.

I got the missed clues of jihad, Suzanne Collins and Kensington.

I got the entire category of add a letter right.

Good night.  Better in DJ than the first round.

[Browncoat]

Instaget FJ for me tonight.  But the only TS I got were Suzanne Collins and Kensington.

Middle woman was a little shouty. 

[853fisher]

One more thing before I press the shut-the-hell-up button on myself: I thought it was exceedingly generous to give Kelsey a chance to BMS on Crusades. That term nearly universally refers to holy wars of the Middle Ages. Meanwhile, nearly every scholar calls what Umar Tal was involved with jihad. I certainly couldn’t find any who had called it Crusades. It was clear she just heard “holy wars” and thought she’d try it. The judges should have just marked that one wrong and moved on.

[Mindthinkr]

Had a great night. I ran weather songs, fish, add a letter and gin/rummy. You know I’d ace the latter. I got Dorgi (probably misspelled, but only my enunciation would count), sloe and Kensington. I did get FJ for a change. 
 

I got confused. I thought I heard Kelsey say sloe before she said juniper. If Mayim had ruled her correct without the big pause I doubt she would have also added juniper. So I’m blaming that loss on the host and her skills or should I say lack of? 

[dgpolo]

7 minutes ago, Mindthinkr said:

I got confused. I thought I heard Kelsey say sloe before she said juniper.

She said 'slew' I think, I thought the judges were trying to decide if that was an acceptable variant or something and she added juniper before Mayim got the thumbs up or down or whatever they do to signal the host.

[Browncoat]

I also heard her say "slew".

[ams1001]

48 minutes ago, 853fisher said:

One more thing before I press the shut-the-hell-up button on myself: I thought it was exceedingly generous to give Kelsey a chance to BMS on Crusades. That term nearly universally refers to holy wars of the Middle Ages. Meanwhile, nearly every scholar calls what Umar Tal was involved with jihad. I certainly couldn’t find any who had called it Crusades. It was clear she just heard “holy wars” and thought she’d try it. The judges should have just marked that one wrong and moved on.

I agree. The medieval history book I read a couple weeks ago had a section about the Crusades and also mentioned jihad and they were not synonymous. Maybe that one's questionable, but we don't get a BMS when it's obviously needed. C'mon, show.

4 minutes ago, dgpolo said:

She said 'slew' I think, I thought the judges were trying to decide if that was an acceptable variant or something and she added juniper before Mayim got the thumbs up or down or whatever they do to signal the host.

She did say 'slew.'

Edited February 11, 2022 by ams1001

[853fisher]

5 minutes ago, dgpolo said:

She said 'slew' I think, I thought the judges were trying to decide if that was an acceptable variant or something and she added juniper before Mayim got the thumbs up or down or whatever they do to signal the host.

I heard "slew" too.  Someone suggested, if you had only read "sloe," you might think it was pronounced like "shoe."  I thought that was a bit of a stretch, but maybe not.  Has a contestant ever spelled their answer?  At any rate, she definitely spoiled it by adding "juniper."

[Mindthinkr]

20 minutes ago, Browncoat said:

I also heard her say "slew".

 

19 minutes ago, ams1001 said:

She did say 'slew.'

 

18 minutes ago, 853fisher said:

25 minutes ago, dgpolo said:

 

I heard "slew" too.

I heard it wrong. Thanks everyone for letting me know what she said. 

[Ailianna]

20 hours ago, 30 Helens said:

I loved that book when I was a kid. Read it probably 5 times. So seeing it as a clue made me happy, even if the contestants didn’t know it.

 

19 hours ago, possibilities said:

I was crushed that no one knew it! That book was one of my favorites. I would have thought J! fans would enjoy the fantasy of living in a museum. I sure did. Also, the plot resolution involved solving a puzzle!!

 

11 hours ago, M. Darcy said:

My honest  and immediate reaction when no one knew Mrs Basil E Frankweiler was that all 3 should have been kicked off the show immediately. That’s just a crime not knowing that. 

I loved this book so much that I'm dragging the conversation back a day. A few years ago, my niece and I did a two person road trip (she was 10) and listened to it in Audible. Four years she still loves it too, although she has stopped telling me I'm exactly like Claudia! Growing up in Idaho, I never thought I'd be able to go there, but it's on our bucket list for our next trip which will be to NYC.

[Cotypubby]

11 hours ago, M. Darcy said:

My honest  and immediate reaction when no one knew Mrs Basil E Frankweiler was that all 3 should have been kicked off the show immediately. That’s just a crime not knowing that. 

I loved this book as a kid, and read it many times, but I couldn’t not remember exactly what her last name was. I answered “Mrs Basil E. Frankenwater.” So I’m not sure if I would have chanced ringing in or not.

[dcalley]

On 1/25/2022 at 1:00 PM, 30 Helens said:

I want to be a Jeopardy clue! Eagerly awaiting that Kids in the Hall category…

There was a @30 Helens shoutout tonight! I hope you didn't miss it!

Edited February 11, 2022 by dcalley