Jeopardy! Season 39 (2022-2023)

[Katy M]

11 minutes ago, possibilities said:

I knew Nixon had a dog named Checkers, but I didn't know the dog was supposed to indicate anything about his honesty. That makes no sense to me!

Checkers was a political gift.  He'd been criticized.  He gave the "Checkers" speech saying his daughter loved the dog. OK, I don't really know what he said in the speech, but the dog was considered an iffy gift.

[Trey]

This is an informative Wikipedia article:

Checkers Speech

So, basically, back in 1952 he was already telling people "I am not a crook".

Edited October 18, 2022 by Trey

[853fisher]

37 minutes ago, possibilities said:

I knew Nixon had a dog named Checkers, but I didn't know the dog was supposed to indicate anything about his honesty. That makes no sense to me!

Nixon was running for VP in 1952 but his place on the ticket was in doubt after it was reported that he had used a fund established by private backers for campaign travel, political mailers, and so on.  This was not illegal at the time but many perceived that the funders might expect favors.  The RNC bought a half hour of television time for Nixon to defend himself, in an early example of the medium being used for a direct political appeal.

Nixon emphasized that the fund had been used entirely for legitimate campaigning with no quid-pro-quo or benefit to him personally, but stated he had received one unrelated gift he would not return: Checkers the cocker spaniel, who had been sent to the Nixons by a Texas businessman after Pat mentioned on the radio that their daughters hoped to have a dog one day.  Nixon had just been discussing his modest upbringing and lifestyle, and delivered a line about how he was proud that Pat wore "a good Republican cloth coat" rather than the mink those who found the fund inappropriate speculated she would buy with it.  This segment was supposed to show that Nixon was a relatable, honest "man of the people."

The whole production was a lot of emotion and not much substance, but it was received very well.  And that's ... more than anyone thought they would read about the Nixons' dog today! ;) 

Edited October 18, 2022 by 853fisher

[chessiegal]

50 minutes ago, possibilities said:

I knew Nixon had a dog named Checkers, but I didn't know the dog was supposed to indicate anything about his honesty. That makes no sense to me!

From Andy Saunders on his The Jeopardy Fan! website:

Quote

In September 1952, six weeks before that year’s presidential election, Richard Nixon was in danger of being dropped as Dwight Eisenhower’s running mate after being accused of improprieties regarding a fund created to reimburse Nixon for political expenses. As part of that fund, a supporter had given a black-and-white cocker spaniel, named Checkers by Nixon’s children. In order to defend himself, Nixon delivered a joint radio and television address from the El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles. In the speech, Nixon said, “you know the kids love the dog, and I just want to say this right now, that regardless of what they say about it, we’re going to keep it.” The speech greatly boosted Nixon’s popularity, he was retained on the ticket, and the Republicans won that 1952 election in a landslide.

Checkers passed away in September 1964 at the age of 12; the obituary is still available at the New York Times website.

[Mindthinkr]

I feel weird about running the skin category Strahan did and also got spread, Out of Africa, czar, Diana, chemistry and relativity. I had no idea for FJ. I probably didn’t even understand the clue so when it was shown I thought “Huh?”. 

[SoMuchTV]

I wonder if we'll be seeing Ken and Mayim as celebrity contestants on Pyramid?  Surely they have something they can promote!

(Or was Ken already on?  I think I'm thinking of Password.)

[853fisher]

11 minutes ago, SoMuchTV said:

I wonder if we'll be seeing Ken and Mayim as celebrity contestants on Pyramid?  Surely they have something they can promote!

(Or was Ken already on?  I think I'm thinking of Password.)

Ken has been on Pyramid and did quite well.  Mayim has not, and neither has been on Password.  (It's neither here nor there for J!, but I hope if Password is renewed it gets an order for more episodes or Jimmy Fallon steps back from being a player on every single one - nothing against him, but there are so many other people I would like to see do it!)

[Bastet]

I finally had a chance to check the archive for last night's game, and I don't recognize any of the second chance contestants by name, but am too lazy to look up their pictures.

The Out of Africa TS surprised me, as did the third contestant not chiming in with kaleidoscopic.

I was terrible in the musicians category; I only knew two of those songs (and one of the artists, Migos, I'd never even heard of).  If not for that, I'd have had a good first round, as I only missed three other clues across the whole thing.

Blowing the actors category entirely, I would love to say it was only pop culture that did me in in DJ, too, but I was almost as bad in science prizes, only getting one.  In fact, I didn't run a single category.  I got all but one in "If" but missed two each in the others.

FJ came to me pretty quickly, at least.

[DrSpaceman73]

Not sure how I feel about a second chance tournament.  Mostly it's not the tourney......that's fine. It's then putting them in the tourney of champions?  Seems unfair to a whole lot of other actual winners. 

[shapeshifter]

32 minutes ago, DrSpaceman73 said:

Not sure how I feel about a second chance tournament.  Mostly it's not the tourney......that's fine. It's then putting them in the tourney of champions?  Seems unfair to a whole lot of other actual winners. 

Yeah. It does seem they should have scheduled it so the Second Chancers who go on to participate in the TOC would have won at least 3 games rather than 2. 
I can rationalize that they would have already won 1 game if they hadn’t been up against a Buzz Saw like Amy or Matt.
But I’m not sure winning 2 games against other Second Chancers = winning 3 more random games to equal the 4 total required to *maybe* go to the TOC if there aren’t too many 5 streakers. 
IDK.
🤷🏻‍♀️ 

[853fisher]

I think they missed a trick by not providing more on-air context for the contestants.  Not every viewer has easy access to, or frankly interest in, the podcast or other sources beyond the broadcast.  I know the program is pretty tightly timed, and Ken has so far at least alluded to most contestants' original games during the interviews, but I'm sure there's room for something more consistent.

They're trying so hard to "make Jeopardy a sport," why not build a stat or two and some hype into a snappy intro for Johnny Gilbert to read?  "His two True Daily Double wagers and impressive 25/60 correct responses left him just $1000 away from toppling superchamp Amy Schneider.  Here for his second chance is John Smith."  I think something like that right at the start would be great.

From the producers' point of view, I think that would increase the audience's investment in the players.  I remember hardly anyone in the tournament (not a criticism of them - just the reality of what I retain from daytime TV a year ago), so I find myself not really caring about their "second chance" more than any players' attempts generally. At least try to jog my memory a little, or evoke the emotions of what I don't remember.  It feels like a wasted opportunity.

Edited October 19, 2022 by 853fisher

[ams1001]

77% / 60% / 67%

J!: Ran Celebrities (of all things), missed three Places and one each in everything else.

DJ: Bleh. Missed one each in Egypt and French Lit, two in Speeches and Hello/Goodbye, and three in the others. (Thought I'd do better in Broadway…)

FJ: I had no clue. I did guess some kind of tree, but I assume that wouldn't be enough.

TSes: geosynchronous, center of gravity, Abe Lincoln, Victor Hugo
 

28 minutes ago, 853fisher said:

They're trying so hard to "make Jeopardy a sport," why not build a stat or two and some hype into a snappy intro for Johnny Gilbert to read?  "His two True Daily Double wagers and impressive 25/60 correct responses left him just $1000 away from toppling superchamp Amy Schneider.  Here for his second chance is John Smith."  I think something like that right at the start would be great.

That would at least give us some idea of why they were chosen for a second chance.

[Grizzly]

Perhaps Jeopardy could not schedule tournaments during election season. Got pre-empted for a debate in a congressional district that isnt mine. I'm too lazy to go find the episode.

[Katy M]

I said ivy.  I knew it was wrong.  Maybe I should answer "what is not ivy" and call it right?  Would that work? No? OK.

The only missed clues I got were span and chanson.

I got the entire category of celebrities which is weird because that's not usually my good category.  

Fairly goo dnight, but not great.

[dgpolo]

Do you think they would've accepted 'Newton's tree?' I had an awful game, no concentration at all.

[CAM]

7 hours ago, 853fisher said:

I saw reports elsewhere that a handful of affiliate stations showed an episode from the "Daytime Jeopardy" rerun package instead of the correct new episode.  I'd be disappointed if this happened - sorry!

9 hours ago, dgpolo said:

Depends on what you mean by 'different'?

Guess my area was one of those unlucky stations, after searching it looks like I saw an episode from March 14th...annoyingly my TV guide had it tagged as a new episode and part of the Second Chance.

Oh well.

[Browncoat]

I struggled with FJ -- first I thought it must be an oak tree.  But I couldn't think of a connection, and I also thought maybe a tree was too big. Yeah, I don't know.  I finally settled on rose, but mostly just to have something to say.  I'm 0/2 so far this week!

The only TS I got were geosynchronous, bow + arrow, center of gravity, and peace out.

[CriticalMass]

I hope Erica left her lovely new glasses for Molly to wear for her next game. The squinting was too, too much. 

[Mindthinkr]

I kept lost Molly thinking that she was related to Jennifer Garner, except the contestant has way exaggerated facial expressions. She was also so serious, but I can’t fault her for concentrating and try to do well. 
I didn’t do well, just a few TS’s and also said Mendel’s peas for FJ. 
 

[annzeepark914]

The whole game, I kept envisioning Molly Shannon playing Molly in a SNL Jeopardy skit. But, I'm glad she won. I felt bad for her, losing her mother earlier this year. All three of them played well.

One irritating thing that Ken does (maybe Alex did this too) is say to a contestant (who gave a wrong response, then does an "aww geez" gesture just before someone else gets it right), "So & So, I know that's what you were thinking".  Well, maybe they were just embarrassed that they didn't know the answer or they thought of something--but who knows if it was correct? This really bugs me.

[ams1001]

3 minutes ago, Mindthinkr said:

I kept lost Molly thinking that she was related to Jennifer Garner, except the contestant has way exaggerated facial expressions. She was also so serious, but I can’t fault her for concentrating and try to do well. 

I kept thinking she looks like Hilary Swank.

[M. Darcy]

I got FJ immediately- I’ve seen the apple tree at Cambridge University. 

[Prevailing Wind]

8 hours ago, possibilities said:

I knew Nixon had a dog named Checkers, but I didn't know the dog was supposed to indicate anything about his honesty. That makes no sense to me!

I vaguely recall it was about whether he was taking bribes/gifts and he said Checkers was a gift but he wasn't gonna give it back. There was also something about Pat not having a fur, but a Republican cloth coat.  I DO know our family had a black & white cat named Checkers, probably named after Julie & Tricia's dog.

[Bastet]

I vaguely remember Erica by face, but not the circumstances of her first appearance.  Seeing the picture of Jessica in the intro, as last episode's winner, the same was true.  The only ones I recognized in full context when this tournament was announced were Sadie (who ran out of time writing Harriet Tubman) and Pam (who played a really great game against Amy Schneider).

I think the interviews should be about their original game, to remind us why they're getting a second chance and hear how they felt about their game.  I didn't see last night's game and skipped the interviews in tonight's in favor of making a drink, so I don't know how it's been handled, but if I was producing this tournament, I'd have made that a specific and universal thing in this semi-final round.

Ah, look - unlike when the contestants were announced, the show's website now has a page explaining why they were chosen.  Only this week's contenders are up so far, and I've only watched a few of them, but some of the reasons as presented in these short videos are stupid!

Anyway, onto this game -- it was nicely matched throughout.

The center of gravity TS really surprised me; I'd have figured at least one contestant would get that in any category, never mind one that tells them it has to contain left, right, or center.  Lincoln surprised me a bit, too, as did no one tossing out Victor Hugo as a guess between the info in the category and the clue and with the French authors J! usually asks about.

I ran celebrities, _&_, and left/right/center in the first round.  I got all but one in Americana, and missed two each in the rest.

Alas, I didn't run anything in DJ.  For the second game in a row.  <sigh>  But, unlike last night's game, at least I didn't blow anything.  I got all but one in measuring and phrases (I should have run that one, but couldn't spit out salutations in time) and missed two each in the rest. 

I joined the contestants in being stumped - as Ken said, no pun intended - by FJ.  I didn't get as far as deciding it was a tree, let alone which one.

[Cotypubby]

I said apple right away for FJ, but more as a joke answer, I didn’t think it was actually right! 😆 Couldn’t think of anything else though so I stuck with it.

Molly kept reminding me so much of someone and I can’t remember who it is! Her expressions, tone of voice, and facial shape are so similar to someone and it bugging me so much that I cant place it.

[UsernameFatigue]

2 hours ago, Mindthinkr said:

I kept lost Molly thinking that she was related to Jennifer Garner, except the contestant has way exaggerated facial expressions. She was also so serious, but I can’t fault her for concentrating and try to do well. 

 

Molly's exaggerated facial expressions reminded me of Iain Armitage playing Sheldon on Young Sheldon. It was amazing how similar several expressions were. 

[possibilities]

They ARE telling us about the games that led these people to be 2nd chancers. Ken talks about each one when he interviews them. 

Thanks for all the info about the Nixon/Checkers story!

[bad things are bad]

Tuesday's game was a much better one than Monday's IMO. Hope that level of play continues!

[laredhead]

Bastet, thank you for finding the Jeopardy website post about why the TOC second chance contestants were chosen.  The names are in alphabetical order, and I noticed that none of them have last names beginning with the letters from A to E.  I thought that was interesting.  So, people whose last names begin with those early alphabet letters must not be good Jeopardy players - LOL.  I'd never make it in that case. 

[ams1001]

9 hours ago, Cotypubby said:

I said apple right away for FJ, but more as a joke answer, I didn’t think it was actually right! 😆 Couldn’t think of anything else though so I stuck with it.

I might have gotten it if I'd listened to the latest Disappearing Spoon podcast episode before the game, which is about apples and reminded me that the apples we eat are grown from grafts and not seeds and are therefore clones. Alas, I listened to it this morning.

[DrSpaceman73]

I thought of apples and Newton but I thought the apple tree thing was a myth and/or apocryphal so talked myself out of it. Went with peas. 

Also thought of checkers on that FJ but the dates confused me thought 1952 was too early. 

Also my god that one woman on the right, forget her name, looked so stiff last night standing there like a soldier or robot upright and her hand in exact precise buzzing position. It made me uncomfortable just watching her. 

[ams1001]

9 minutes ago, DrSpaceman73 said:

I thought of apples and Newton but I thought the apple tree thing was a myth and/or apocryphal so talked myself out of it. Went with peas. 

Apparently he did see an apple fall and it got him thinking about why things fall downwards, but the part about him getting hit on the head is a myth.

[Trey]

Not a good game for me last night.  My only ts was bow and arrow.

I noticed that Nixon's Checkers speech did not make it into the Presidential Speeches category.

Did not get FJ, guessed rose bush.  Was there something in the clue that led you to Newton's apple tree? Otherwise you could have guessed anything. I suppose the apple tree was a "landmark of science" while assorted vegetation was not.

Edited October 19, 2022 by Trey

[ams1001]

16 minutes ago, Trey said:

Was there something in the clue that led you to Newton's apple tree? Otherwise you could have guessed anything. I suppose the apple tree was a "landmark of science" while assorted vegetation was not.

I guess Cambridge might point you to Newton and thus apples.

[DrSpaceman73]

Yes Cambridge is what would make one think of Newton. 

[Prevailing Wind]

1 hour ago, Trey said:

I noticed that Nixon's Checkers speech did not make it into the Presidential Speeches category.

He was Eisenhower's VP at the time of the speech.

[Trey]

1 minute ago, Prevailing Wind said:

He was Eisenhower's VP at the time of the speech.

Ah, yes.  Good point.

[Clanstarling]

12 hours ago, UsernameFatigue said:

Molly's exaggerated facial expressions reminded me of Iain Armitage playing Sheldon on Young Sheldon. It was amazing how similar several expressions were. 

Yep, that's what we said almost immediately. I like her, but she is definitely focused on the game and not visibly emotional.

44 minutes ago, Prevailing Wind said:

He was Eisenhower's VP at the time of the speech.

They were candidates, as Ike wasn't pres until 1953, and the Checkers speech was before the election. Yes, I'm being incredibly pedantic, I apologize in advance.

I did ok in the categories, almost ran a number of them. I thought "apple" at first  but my mind got tangled up with the "original one" so I thought it was some kind of new, or hybrid plant developed by a scientist. Since the colleges didn't mean anything to me, I didn't get it. Sigh...

[shapeshifter]

So I'm the only one whose first thought for FJ was Dolly the sheep, right?
This "sticking with your first guess" thing doesn't always work.
I would have written "What is     ?"

[ams1001]

9 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

So I'm the only one whose first thought for FJ was Dolly the sheep, right?

No, you are not. But then I realized it had to be some kind of plant.

[Trey]

24 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

So I'm the only one whose first thought for FJ was Dolly the sheep, right?
This "sticking with your first guess" thing doesn't always work.
I would have written "What is     ?"

Dolly the sheep was my first thought too but the clue indicated a plant of some sort, which I didn't get.

[shapeshifter]

1 minute ago, Trey said:

Dolly the sheep was my first thought too but the clue indicated a plant of some sort, which I didn't get.

I wasted valuable seconds pondering whether one could say sheep "grow."

And "one of these" was probably intended to be a hint at a tree, but it did nothing to steer me away from a sheep to a tree.

• "Clones of an original one of these grow outside the math faculty at Cambridge University & in the President's Garden at M.I.T."

Perhaps I was also led astray because I call my grandbaby "Lambchop," and he does a lot of "growing."🐑👶

And the category of LANDMARKS OF SCIENCE didn't help to steer my thoughts back to vegetation either. 

[cinsays]

I was surprised that Hudson was accepted as the correct question without Jennifer. There are a lot of other Hudsons, even another actress Kate.

[proserpina65]

21 hours ago, DrSpaceman73 said:

Not sure how I feel about a second chance tournament.  Mostly it's not the tourney......that's fine. It's then putting them in the tourney of champions?  Seems unfair to a whole lot of other actual winners. 

I don't like it all since I can see only one contestant who deserved a second chance: the one who had her answer of Harriet Tubman ruled incomplete even though it was complete, just sloppy.  The rest just lost to other people, some to big champions, some just games where they had a big total and blew FJ.  To me, that's part of how the game works and not deserving of a second chance.

I wasn't going to watch, but since it's Ken, not Mayim, I decided to go ahead.

21 hours ago, Bastet said:

The Out of Africa TS surprised me,

I wasn't sure that was the book title but I said it anyway.  Maybe the contestants thought the same?

4 hours ago, DrSpaceman73 said:

Yes Cambridge is what would make one think of Newton. 

Not me.  The connection meant absolutely nothing to me.

[Packerbrewerbadger]

Not sure why, but I am finding these 2nd chance games boring.  Agree that only Harriet Tubma………. Contestant is only one who deserves another chance. 

[PaulaO]

I’m gonna say that the producers made up the second chance tournament so that other players had a chance to compete against people who aren’t Amy, Matt, and Mattea.  It doesn’t have anything to do with players who actually deserve a second chance because nobody does.  You either win or you didn’t.  Anyway, the final 2 games in the ToC will be Amy, Matt, and Mattea and I predict Matt to win the whole thing.

[30 Helens]

12 hours ago, possibilities said:

They ARE telling us about the games that led these people to be 2nd chancers. Ken talks about each one when he interviews them. 

Not enough to make me remember them. I agree with @853fisher that we need more context. Although, honestly, there may not be anything the producers can do to make me remember some of these people, short of re-running their games. Every TOC, there are champions I don’t remember, and they were on my screen for at least 5 days!

Two FJs in a row I have blown. I am aware of the Checkers speech and it even flitted through my mind for a brief moment, but for some reason I thought it happened later, in the ‘60s. I had no clue for Tuesday’s. 

21 hours ago, DrSpaceman73 said:

Not sure how I feel about a second chance tournament.  Mostly it's not the tourney......that's fine. It's then putting them in the tourney of champions?  Seems unfair to a whole lot of other actual winners. 

I had the same thought, but then my husband pointed out they’ll have to win several games in order to get there. By my calculations, 4? (Maybe just 3 if you count the 2-day final as 1.) And winners of the College Tournament also get in. I would feel better about it if all the “special” entrants had to win 5 games like everyone else, but that would mean a longer tournament.

I have to wonder if some of these 2nd Chancers who don’t do well end up regretting their decision to return. Before, they could comfort themselves with the thought that “if not for Matt/ Amy/ whoever, I could have slayed”. This kind of takes that away. (Even though nobody who is smart enough to qualify for this show should ever feel inadequate.)

[illdoc]

2 hours ago, 30 Helens said:

Although, honestly, there may not be anything the producers can do to make me remember some of these people, short of re-running their games. E

Which they did.

[ams1001]

Eh...73% / 63% / 69%

J!:    Tuned in a couple minutes late and had to catch up. Ran Writers' Middle Names and Eating Idioms, missed one in Computing and TV, two Holidays, and four Places in History.
    
DJ:    Ran Buttes, missed one Parent Company, two Science & Nature and Adjectives, and three in the others.
    
FJ:     Not an instaget and I wasn't too confident, but I came up with it pretty quickly. 
    
TSes:     Virtual Private Network, Andre Braugher, Ms. Marvel, Margaret Wise Brown, colloquial, and Kimberly-Clark
 

[30 Helens]

1 hour ago, illdoc said:

Which they did.

When? If they had reruns featuring the second-chancers, I missed that. (And with my memory, if it didn’t happen just before the tournament, I’d probably forget them again.) Maybe before each bracket starts, they should do an episode featuring the best clips from people who will appear in that bracket. That might help to develop rooting interest.