Jeopardy! Season 39 (2022-2023)

[Athena]

Jeopardy! Season 39 will premiere September 12, 2022.

Please remember the basic rules of this forum and thread. Posting about the day's episode should happen after 7PM ET. Before that, it is considered spoilers so please tag it.

Celebrity Jeopardy! has its own forum.

As always, be civil to your fellow posters and no politics. 

Thank you! 

[853fisher]

I look forward to “seeing” everyone again!  I missed the show and the commentary during rerun season.

I’m glad that Ken is now introduced as simply “the host of Jeopardy” - I assume there was some kind of contractual issue last year.  For me the audience doesn’t make a big difference either way, so I’m glad that the people who work on the show and many fans are happy it's back, but it just doesn’t excite me and makes me wonder what I’m not getting.

Here’s a silly Pier 39 story for extra local color.  Dianne Feinstein, President of the Board of Supervisors when it opened, promised the developers she would cut the ribbon in a bikini if they made a certain deadline.  They did, and she turned up in an old woolen suit from Sutro Baths over a turtleneck.  To me that still counts as being a good sport!

Edited September 12, 2022 by 853fisher

[illdoc]

TWELVE?!!!!! She'll never live that down! (Q: The entryway at this London address features a Georgian era glossed-black door with lion's head knocker & a 10. Her A: What is 12 Downing Street?).

[Bastet]

It's football season again, too, so Mondays and Thursdays will be archive games for me.

Luigi might as well have been playing by himself; not only did he land on all three DDs and get them all right, all told he rang in on 36 of the clues, getting all but two right.

I was slightly surprised by the unsheltered TS, but then figured they might have first thought of unhoused, realized that wasn't long enough, and ran out of time.

I got nothin' on 12 Downing Street, with 10 right there in the clue, though; that's just a good old-fashioned brain fart.

Nice to start the season with a rhyme time category; I love those.  I had fun with Chump Change, too.  I missed two in writers and one (the Bible clue, of course) in 39, but got everything else in the first round.  (I was a little worried about the Cobra Kai category, as I've never seen the show, but I've seen the film - and know REO Speedwagon - so it wound up being easy.)

In DJ, I ran words (giving myself credit for safe cracker, which I know I'd have identified from the picture) and the little bit of finance they got to, and got all but one in roads (it's possible I could guessed snake if I'd seen the picture, but none of them did, so I'm going to figure I wouldn't have either).  I missed two in discoveries, but knew them both - prions and geodesic dome - I just couldn't spit them out.  I flat-out missed another two in Canadian and Sirs.

At first I drew a complete blank on FJ, knowing it was something I'd never read, but then it came to me in an oh, that has to be it moment.

Edited September 13, 2022 by Bastet

[PBnJay]

Luigi played a great game, a summer off only helped to sharpen him up it seems. I also love how his last name is pronounced so I hope he sticks around for a while. Cool for the other two to be on the first show of S39 and with Ken now an "official" host. So kudos to them as well.

[Trey]

I am so glad the show is back.  Those reruns were very boring.

Only one ts for me, racquetball, but I am pleased to start off the FJ contest with a get, an easy one to be sure, but that's fine with me.

[ams1001]

We're back! With The Host, Ken Jennings!

77% / 56% / 67%

(I debated if I wanted to keep score; I'll let you guess which side of me won.) In J! I ran Doors, missed one each in World Capital Rhymes, Writers, and Ralph Macchio, and two each in 39 and Chump Change. There were no TSes in the first round! Nice start for the season (better start than I managed). In DJ I ran Discoveries and missed at least two in everything else. Got all three DDs, my only TS was Snake (Alley), and FJ was an instaget. I like Luigi; glad he's sticking around for another day.

How do you get 10 Downing Street wrong when you are spotted the 10?

Ralph Macchio is almost 61 years old.

Fun fact: My uncle (by marriage) was part of the group that won the Nobel for discovering Buckyballs. ⚽
 

[ams1001]

13 minutes ago, Bastet said:

(it's possible I could guessed snake if I'd seen the picture, but none of them did, so I'm going to figure I wouldn't either)

I guessed it from the picture and the word "critter" in the clue (didn't include "Alley" though I'm assuming they would have accepted just Snake). Not sure what other critter this could look like (except maybe a worm or eel, I guess):

[saber5055]

1 minute ago, ams1001 said:

I guessed it from the picture and the word "critter" in the clue (didn't include "Alley" though I'm assuming they would have accepted just Snake). Not sure what other critter this could look like (except maybe a worm or eel, I guess):

I also said "Snake" but the part that got me was, I've been to Burlington, Iowa more times than I can count on both hands and all my feet and I've never heard of nor seen Snake Alley. I thought for sure the pic had to be in San Francisco, not some town so close to me. Go figure.

9 minutes ago, ams1001 said:

How do you get 10 Downing Street wrong when you are spotted the 10?

If I were on Jeopardy! with lights and cameras and Ken Jennings, I wouldn't even be able to remember my name.

[ams1001]

2 minutes ago, saber5055 said:

If I were on Jeopardy! with lights and cameras and Ken Jennings, I wouldn't even be able to remember my name.

Saber! You're back!!

[Trey]

29 minutes ago, ams1001 said:

Ralph Macchio is almost 61 years old.

And looking pretty good!

[Browncoat]

Woo hoo!  A good start to the season with an instaget FJ.  

What a great first round -- no TS!  And not too many in the second round, but I did get a few, including Sir Patrick Stewart, snake, Interstate 10, racquetball, and L'anse aux Meadows, although I probably wouldn't have been able to pronounce that last one.

SMH at 12 Downing Street.

[dcalley]

1 hour ago, 853fisher said:

Here’s a silly Pier 39 story for extra local color.  Dianne Feinstein, President of the Board of Supervisors when it opened, promised the developers she would cut the ribbon in a bikini if they made a certain deadline.  They did, and she turned up in an old woolen suit from Sutro Baths over a turtleneck.  To me that still counts as being a good sport!

Today I learned about the Sutro Baths; thanks!

[PaulaO]

After the game and my happiness at Ken being announced as the host, I did a bit of Googling.  There were articles from June saying Ken and Mayim will be co-hosts???  I hope those articles were wrong.

How many 19th century novels feature bell towers?  Only one.

[shapeshifter]

7 minutes ago, PaulaO said:

How many 19th century novels feature bell towers?  Only one.

Yeah. I knew a lot more questions/answers than I did last season, including FJ.
Am I getting better at this, or are the clues getting easier?
Or maybe I just had a good night?

[ams1001]

21 minutes ago, PaulaO said:

After the game and my happiness at Ken being announced as the host, I did a bit of Googling.  There were articles from June saying Ken and Mayim will be co-hosts???  I hope those articles were wrong.

Nope, not wrong. From what I've read, Ken is hosting through the end of the year, though (including the Second Chance Tournament and the TOC [starting October 17th and 31st, respectively]). After that Mayim will host starting in January but I don't know what the schedule will be for regular games (she's also doing the Celebrity and College tournaments which will be in prime time, plus she has her sitcom).

21 minutes ago, PaulaO said:

How many 19th century novels feature bell towers?  Only one.

Add in French names and what else would it be?

[30 Helens]

3 hours ago, ams1001 said:

I guessed it from the picture and the word "critter" in the clue (didn't include "Alley" though I'm assuming they would have accepted just Snake). 

But would they have accepted “Snake Something”? (my answer 😉)

I was expecting a correction on the “Hudson’s Bay” answer. That is the name of the company, but the clue asked for the name of the body of water. Ken did correct him verbally, but he still got the ruling…? 

Happy to be back amongst my favorite group of online smarties.  I missed you guys this summer!

[shapeshifter]

19 minutes ago, 30 Helens said:

I was expecting a correction on the “Hudson’s Bay” answer. That is the name of the company, but the clue asked for the name of the body of water. Ken did correct him verbally, but he still got the ruling…? 

I thought the same, but, according to Wikipedia, either is acceptable for the name of The Bay:  "…sometimes called Hudson's Bay (usually historically), is a large body of saltwater in northeastern Canada…" (wikipedia.org/wiki/Hudson_Bay).
And, at least since Alex died, frequently it is accepted when players add back a descriptive term (like "Bay") from the clue. 

[possibilities]

I said serpent instead of snake. I don't know what's wrong with me.

[Bastet]

4 hours ago, ams1001 said:

(didn't include "Alley" though I'm assuming they would have accepted just Snake).

Yes, as the clue sought "this alley" so all you needed was Snake.

Thank you for the picture.  Already knowing the answer, I can look at that and say of course I'd have guessed snake as the critter had I seen it.  But all three of them whiffed it, and they weren't prone to TS, so who knows.  Maybe if it had been an overhead view, showing more curves, rather than one looking down from the highest point would have helped them.

[853fisher]

7 hours ago, saber5055 said:

I've never heard of nor seen Snake Alley. I thought for sure the pic had to be in San Francisco, not some town so close to me.

The photo definitely evoked the famous curvy block of Lombard St, and its more discreet cousin on Vermont St.  That one has one fewer turn but is steeper, and has never taken off with tourists because it's in a less convenient location and was therefore never landscaped and marketed in the same way.  They do have a fabulous low-key locals event: an annual "race" down the block on tricycles.  All this is to say that, by the time I stopped thinking fondly about those two blocks, it was too late to think "I know it's neither of those, but I guess it's shaped like a snake."

5 hours ago, dcalley said:

Today I learned about the Sutro Baths; thanks!

I'm so glad you did.  I think it's one of the most fascinating places in local history.   What I wouldn't do to spend just one day there!  Maybe I'll set the time machine to a few weeks after those wool one-pieces ceased to be mandatory. ;)

Edited September 13, 2022 by 853fisher

[South]

8 hours ago, Bastet said:

It's football season again, too, so Mondays and Thursdays will be archive games for me.

Luigi might as well have been playing by himself; not only did he land on all three DDs and get them all right, all told he rang in on 36 of the clues, getting all but two right.

I was slightly surprised by the unsheltered TS, but then figured they might have first thought of unhoused, realized that wasn't long enough, and ran out of time.

I got nothin' on 12 Downing Street, with 10 right there in the clue, though; that's just a good old-fashioned brain fart.

Nice to start the season with a rhyme time category; I love those.  I had fun with Chump Change, too.  I missed two in writers and one (the Bible clue, of course) in 39, but got everything else in the first round.  (I was a little worried about the Cobra Kai category, as I've never seen the show, but I've seen the film - and know REO Speedwagon - so it wound up being easy.)

In DJ, I ran words (giving myself credit for safe cracker, which I know I'd have identified from the picture) and the little bit of finance they got to, and got all but one in roads (it's possible I could guessed snake if I'd seen the picture, but none of them did, so I'm going to figure I wouldn't have either).  I missed two in discoveries, but knew them both - prions and geodesic dome - I just couldn't spit them out.  I flat-out missed another two in Canadian and Sirs.

At first I drew a complete blank on FJ, knowing it was something I'd never read, but then it came to me in an oh, that has to be it moment.

Dang, Bastet!  That was every fucking thing I was going to say!

[South]

8 hours ago, illdoc said:

TWELVE?!!!!! She'll never live that down! (Q: The entryway at this London address features a Georgian era glossed-black door with lion's head knocker & a 10. Her A: What is 12 Downing Street?).

The poor dear.  Even as an American, I know the front door of #10… when I see it.  Frankly, if  someone were to ask me, “South, name a door anydangwhere in the world that might have the number 10 upon it.  I’d be golden.  Crappy nerves.  She had to have known.

[Prevailing Wind]

5 hours ago, possibilities said:

I said serpent instead of snake. I don't know what's wrong with me.

Nothing is wrong with you. I said serpent, as well. I've been to the Serpent Mound in Ohio, so things "shaped" like that turn on the "serpent" button in my mind...and just about the only way to describe that street is "serpentine." ...which then takes me to Alan Arkin & Peter Falk running from assassins. "Serpentine! Serpentine!"

[GreekGeek]

1 hour ago, South said:

The poor dear.  Even as an American, I know the front door of #10… when I see it.  Frankly, if  someone were to ask me, “South, name a door anydangwhere in the world that might have the number 10 upon it.  I’d be golden.  Crappy nerves.  She had to have known.

All I could think of was Buckingham Palace, because of all the coverage of the Royal Family in the news. It wasn't my night-- I thought of Alligator Alley instead of Snake. (Alligator Alley is a road in Florida between Naples and Fort Lauderdale.) And I did not know that "Hudson's Bay" is an acceptable alternative name.

FJ was easy.

I hope Luigi gets some better opponents soon. I like him but I don't like runaways. I was happy when he pulled way ahead of Tim though, since I found Tim annoyingly slow to pick clues and answer.

I didn't keep up with J! news after S38 ended, so didn't know about the Second Chance Tournament. I've seen lists of the contestants' names but not how they were selected beyond the fact that they were on since the last ToC. I personally would love to see the second chance go to those who went up against a Matt or Amy and never were able to show what they could do, rather than those who lost in a close game to a lackluster champ.

[PBnJay]

12 hours ago, 30 Helens said:

I was expecting a correction on the “Hudson’s Bay” answer.

Same here, but Ken hesitated just a bit before ruling so my thought was judges okayed it in his earpiece.

I also looked up the Sutro Baths thanks to Fisher's post. So DCalley and I are ready for that Jeopardy category.

[PBnJay]

I was glad the player from Riverside, Illinois rang in first to answer "Lake Michigan." Well done!

[Bastet]

12 hours ago, South said:

Dang, Bastet!  That was every fucking thing I was going to say!

Think of all that typing I saved you.  You wanna do next Monday's, and I'll just reply with "ditto"?

[853fisher]

Oh no, April!  What a shame.  She shared on Reddit about her wagering mistake, which she realized before the clue reveal but too late to fix.  Luis and Justin also left very gracious comments.  It's an interesting behind-the-scenes look. I loved seeing her get wind behind her sails after her successful DD and I hated to see the wheels fall off at the end - forgive the mixed metaphors.

Oh well.  I love that kind of game, tightly contested and well played by everyone.  Luigi had the highest Coryat score and I think he has potential to continue doing well.  Fascinating to see the royal family show up and no doubt recent coverage will have reminded some of the second-last female sovereign.  (The third-last before Queen Victoria was Queen Anne.)

I'm just really glad to see the show back and running smoothly!

[Trey]

I'm glad there is a reasonable explanation for April's wager.  She wasn't the April Fool after all.  I thought she looked very distressed during the FJ reveal.  What a shame.  I loved her blazing ahead during the double jeopardy round and I would have liked to see her win. But it was not to be.

I don't think there were too many ts's in this game unless I missed a lot.  The only one I got was eyeteeth.

I was afraid for a few seconds that Jeopardy! might have caused Queen Elizabeth's death (her being 96 notwithstanding) so I am glad it wasn't them.

[ams1001]

Didn't keep score tonight. Don't know if I ran anything but I got the TSes of Louis Sachar, bang on the drum, and eye teeth.

No FJ. So much for my perfect season...

Ken's comment on the NFL category not going viral was funny.

Edited September 13, 2022 by ams1001

[HyeChaps]

So, there's the first contestant for next year's Second Chance Tournament.

[BuckeyeLou]

Interesting to see The Royal Family show up as FJ, knowing this was taped awhile ago & yet here we are, hearing about a Queen Consort.  I am a lover of British History, so I knew the answer.  Also, April confusing Peyton Manning for Tom Brady, made me laugh(no way a Colts fan would confuse those two, lol)

[ams1001]

5 minutes ago, BuckeyeLou said:

Interesting to see The Royal Family show up as FJ, knowing this was taped awhile ago & yet here we are, hearing about a Queen Consort.  I am a lover of British History, so I knew the answer.  Also, April confusing Peyton Manning for Tom Brady, made me laugh(no way a Colts fan would confuse those two, lol)

In her post on reddit that 853fisher shared above, she said she was looking at the clue board and not the the video monitor on the side.

[stonehaven]

I ran three categories in the first round...and none of them music(my wheelhouse!). So, yeah, my 51 year old mind still has it!!!! Woohoo!!!!

The second round I ran the music category so, yeah, nothing's really changed....

So glad this show is back....and glad Ken is hosting. Great contestants today!

[DrSpaceman73]

Tom brady is far worse than 12 downing Street. 

20 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

I thought the same, but, according to Wikipedia, either is acceptable for the name of The Bay:  "…sometimes called Hudson's Bay (usually historically), is a large body of saltwater in northeastern Canada…" (wikipedia.org/wiki/Hudson_Bay).
And, at least since Alex died, frequently it is accepted when players add back a descriptive term (like "Bay") from the clue. 

I was trying to find the question...werent they asking the name of the hudson bay company not the bay itself?  That's why I was expecting it to be wrong. 

[chessiegal]

16 minutes ago, DrSpaceman73 said:

I was trying to find the question...werent they asking the name of the hudson bay company not the bay itself?  That's why I was expecting it to be wrong. 

No. Here's the clue:

Quote

Founded by a royal charter, the company named for this body of water employed "voyageurs" who explored Canada by canoe

They were looking for the name of the body of water.

[possibilities]

I think it's hilarious that no one remembered Bill Clinton's presidency.

I felt really bad for the contestant (Tyler?) Justin who got "vaccination passport" rejected. 

I love knowing that Luigi helps asylum seekers and people fleeing DV. 

Did anyone catch what April was fingerspelling during the introduction? It went by too fast for me to catch it. She seemed very nervous all game, but I liked how she rallied after her DD and how she kept going with enthusiasm even before that.

I like that they've done away with the [in my opinion extremely annoying] host commentary at the beginning of each game. That was really irritating me a lot last season. But I laughed that they are still trying to make a big deal about things like Luigi getting such a big score yesterday-- no one else has done that... since Mattea did it (i.e. not really that long ago). The current production team seems to feel very desperate to create drama.

Edited September 14, 2022 by possibilities
fix name of contestant

[saber5055]

16 minutes ago, possibilities said:

I think it's hilarious that no one remembered Bill Clinton's presidency.

Heh, I didn't either and I've even met him IRL and we chatted a bit.

Big thanks to Luigi for not letting Irish Wolfhound become a TS that I did not get. I stopped on Irish Terrier and my brain went down a (hound-sized) rabbit hole and I never even made it to Irish Water Spaniel much less the Wolfhound. My brain did not improve during my sabbatical.

I really enjoyed April. She was a ton of fun with a lot of moxie. (Moxie!) It really was a good game today. And yes, I laughed at Ken's remark about the football category. That's exactly why he's the GOAT host. JMHO of course.

I caught April's ASL intro too, but of course did not know what she signed. I was thinking maybe she would have talked about it in her interview.

[zoey1996]

And we’re back! Welcome back, everyone! I was wrong for last night’s FJ, but was correct tonight!

Since I moved, Jeopardy! comes on at 3:30, so I’m recording and watching around 6:30 central time. 

[dgpolo]

37 minutes ago, possibilities said:

I think it's hilarious that no one remembered Bill Clinton's presidency.

My memory is not what it once was, this was one of two clues tonight that I got a picture in my mind of the answer but the names wouldn't come. I saw Clinton and knew it was him but could not bring the name to the forefront. The other was Holes, I saw the cover of the book with the red letters on the blue background and was trying to bring up the author but it wasn't in time.

[ams1001]

1 hour ago, DrSpaceman73 said:

Tom brady is far worse than 12 downing Street. 

I was trying to find the question...werent they asking the name of the hudson bay company not the bay itself?  That's why I was expecting it to be wrong. 

FWIW, Wikipedia does have it listed as Hudson's Bay Company.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hudson's_Bay_Company

For the Bay itself, it says "Hudson Bay ... sometimes called Hudson's Bay (usually historically)..."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hudson_Bay

[bad things are bad]

7 hours ago, PBnJay said:

I was glad the player from Riverside, Illinois rang in first to answer "Lake Michigan." Well done!

I figured the guy from Kazoo should have gotten it!

[dcalley]

19 hours ago, 853fisher said:

I'm so glad you did.  I think it's one of the most fascinating places in local history.   What I wouldn't do to spend just one day there!

I thought that I would have loved it too, but then I watched the video that Edison shot of people going down the water slide, and it was way too crowded for me!

20th CENTURY SONG, 21st CENTURY AD: "Carnival Cruise Lines: Todd Rundgren singing about doing this all day"

My brain: I know this isn't it, but doing drugs all day!

Reason: Royal Caribbean used to use Iggy Pop's "Lust for Life" (a song about addiction) in its ads.

[secnarf]

I could have sworn we learned it as Hudson's Bay in school, but I could just be very affected by the marketing for the HBC rebranding.

[Driad]

They are still cutting off a lot of contestants' "What is ..." at the beginning of responses, possibly even more than last season. At this rate some viewers will forget that contestants are supposed to say that.  Isn't there another way to fit in an extra commercial?

[opus]

1 hour ago, possibilities said:

I think it's hilarious that no one remembered Bill Clinton's presidency.

Before their time 

™️Alex Trebek

[Bastet]

Thanks for posting the info from April on that bizarre FJ wager (and how she managed to say Tom Brady for Peyton Manning); I had been hoping she'd win given her performance on and after the DD halfway through DJ, and was utterly puzzled by the wager.  It's lovely that the contestant coordinators led her through some breathing exercise to try and calm her down before she had to play FJ -- nothing anyone could do about the wagering mistake at that point, but they could give her that moment.  Even given that, she looked ill after the game, as just about anyone would after shooting themselves in the foot like that.  So it's also nice to learn the audience supported her afterward, realizing what had happened.

The Bill Clinton TS was surprising, but my mind also immediately jumped ahead to Coolidge; I realized I'd skipped Clinton before Luigi was even ruled incorrect, and I'd have bet and lost that one of the other two would also realize the mistake.  Eyeteeth going unanswered surprised me, too; I guess no one says "I'd give my eyeteeth for that" anymore?

Add me to the list who got a laugh out of Ken telling the contestants they would not be going viral; every time a football category comes up, I think of that infamous game and Alex's great reaction.

I came within one of running the first round, but I didn't know the dog breed in alphabetically.  Obviously, I knew it had to be an Irish Something, but I can only rattle off maybe a dozen breeds, and the only Irish one is a setter and that obviously wasn't it, so I ran out of time to guess something that would fit.

I had a great DJ as well, even though I missed three each in holes and European -- I ran synonyms, science, and songs (boo to no one knowing Roxy Music), and got all but the Potters in first drafts.

My great-game high crashed when I saw the FJ category.  But, when the clue was revealed, Victoria was the only queen I could think of other than Elizabeth who was Queen because she was the monarch, not because she was married to the king, so that's what I went with.  Yay for no burden of knowledge.

And yay for the knowledgeable folks in the Royals thread, as I've picked up a decent bit skimming that as I next unread topic my way through the Everything Else section.  (Not the J! curse at work in FJ, since Queen Elizabeth wasn't referred to, but the timing of her death - and Camilla becoming Queen Consort - means there was lots of recent chatter about titles to penetrate my skimming.)

[possibilities]

5 minutes ago, Bastet said:

Eyeteeth going unanswered surprised me, too; I guess no one says "I'd give my eyeteeth for that" anymore?

I kept thinking "fangs" and I knew that was not what they wanted. Too many vampire stories in the zeitgeist.

[shapeshifter]

3 hours ago, saber5055 said:

Big thanks to Luigi for not letting Irish Wolfhound become a TS that I did not get. I stopped on Irish Terrier and my brain went down a (hound-sized) rabbit hole and I never even made it to Irish Water Spaniel much less the Wolfhound. My brain did not improve during my sabbatical.

2 hours ago, Bastet said:

I came within one of running the first round, but I didn't know the dog breed in alphabetically.  Obviously, I knew it had to be an Irish Something, but I can only rattle off maybe a dozen breeds, and the only Irish one is a setter and that obviously wasn't it, so I ran out of time to guess something that would fit.

And here we have perhaps the first example of "The Burden of Knowledge" for Season 39:

Quote

In “the biz” we call this the “burden of knowledge” - when you know a lot about a subject and miss obvious answers cause you have to sift through so much. It is my excuse for doing poorly in pop music questions!

I, OTOH, with my scant knowledge of dog breeds, did quickly declare "Irish Wolfhound!" having {ahem} "dated" 2 roommates (not at the same time) who owned and bred Irish Wolfhounds in 1970.
(It was a different time)

Edited September 14, 2022 by shapeshifter