S01.E05: Quarterfinal #4: Aisha Tyler, John Michael Higgins and Matt Rogers

[Athena]

Quote

Quarterfinal #4: Aisha Tyler, John Michael Higgins and Matt Rogers

[SoMuchTV]

I’m liking Mayim’s hair. Is this new? 

[Browncoat]

I feel like this group came to play.  They're mostly doing well!  I love John Michael Higgins, especially in Christopher Guest movies.

Aisha seems to hate her buzzer.  

ETA: How was "Nevermore" a Daily Double in the third round?  That seems far too easy, even for Celebrity Jeopardy.

ETA again: That was a great game!  They had fun, but were still here to play the game instead of dick around like so many of the last group.

Edited October 24, 2022 by Browncoat

[ams1001]

The only one I'm not familiar with tonight is Matt (but he's adorable; I love his smile). 

Aisha better know where the FBI headquarters is!

Did anyone catch the response to the Stuart Little question Johnny asked at the first commercial break? I went to grab laundry out of the dryer and missed it.

I love that Ryan got to do a category. 🙂

This group was fun. A little goofing around but not over the top. I didn't yell "JUST PLAY THE GAME" even once!

Expected Aisha to do well. Wasn't sure what to expect from JMH but wow! Some gutsy DDs. The other two really came from behind in round three.

I know the questions are easier but I got FJ before she even got halfway through reading the clue.

5 minutes ago, SoMuchTV said:

I’m liking Mayim’s hair. Is this new? 

I think so. Pretty sure it was longer in last week's episode.

[Browncoat]

Just now, ams1001 said:

Did anyone catch the response to the Stuart Little question Johnny asked at the first commercial break? I went to grab laundry out of the dryer and missed it.

It was The New Yorker.

[Grizzly]

I loved Matt's enthusiasm! His last DD on poetry was brave. Not sure I would bet that much on poetry. Can't believe they went all in on DDs but the guys got conservative on FJ. Matt could've won if he bet more.

[shapeshifter]

1 hour ago, Browncoat said:

How was "Nevermore" a Daily Double in the third round?  That seems far too easy, even for Celebrity Jeopardy.

They were all easier than the regular show. I actually feel smart watching, LOL, just like when I do the Monday NY Times crossword.😜

1 hour ago, Browncoat said:

That was a great game!  They had fun, but were still here to play the game instead of dick around like so many of the last group.

Exactly!

53 minutes ago, ams1001 said:

The only one I'm not familiar with tonight is Matt (but he's adorable; I love his smile). 

Same!

36 minutes ago, Grizzly said:

I loved Matt's enthusiasm! His last DD on poetry was brave. Not sure I would bet that much on poetry. Can't believe they went all in on DDs but the guys got conservative on FJ. Matt could've won if he bet more.

On Real Jeopardy! they could never have gotten away with those wagers, but, hey, it's for charity. I like it.

If Aiysha had done a True Daily Double on her first DD, she might have won.
And if John Michael Higgins and Matt Rogers had bet differently in FJ, Matt might have won. 

1 hour ago, SoMuchTV said:

I’m liking Mayim’s hair. Is this new? 

Hah! I just cut my hair the same length, which made me revert to thinking of her as a (30th or less) cousin,😉 
but, in my family,
that also means we are going to be frenemies more often than not. 😉  😉 


Mayim was originally hired for these Celebrity and other Special Jeopardy! hosting gigs.
She does well with them, perhaps because the clues and responses are easier and because she's interacting with other actors?

[chessiegal]

I laughed when Michael? commented to Mayim that she seems so smart and knows all the answers, and she laughed and said, of course I do - they are written out for me!

I pre-guessed the Eiffel Tower for FJ!. How easy was that?

[SomeTameGazelle]

1 hour ago, Grizzly said:

I loved Matt's enthusiasm! His last DD on poetry was brave. Not sure I would bet that much on poetry. Can't believe they went all in on DDs but the guys got conservative on FJ. Matt could've won if he bet more.

He knew I think that he could not win if Michael bet to beat him and was correct so he sensibly bet to win if Michael was wrong.

I think Matt understood the stakes -- the worst thing that could happen was you would get only 30K for your charity -- and wanted everyone to go big. I'm glad Michael won but it was exciting to see the big wagers. I was also pleased that they all got FJ correct.

I also enjoyed Michael explaining that he had a friend from college who had been a 2- or 3-day jeopardy champion in the 80s who had advised him on finding and wagering on DDs.

[SHD]

Great game. This is how I want my CJ! games to be. Everyone made a good showing, not a runaway, not a lot of blank stares at harder questions, and fun/not annoying banter. And no grumbling about “my buzzer’s not working”!

[possibilities]

6 hours ago, SoMuchTV said:

I’m liking Mayim’s hair. Is this new? 

I thought the same thing! It looks really good and I don't remember seeing it before, which seems surprising. Did she get it cut between tapings? Don't they tape them all pretty much at once?

4 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Mayim was originally hired for these Celebrity and other Special Jeopardy! hosting gigs.
She does well with them, perhaps because the clues and responses are easier and because she's interacting with other actors?

I agree. I wish they'd just let her do these. She seems like a good fit for them. She's still too shouty for me, but since the players are also like that, it's not so disruptive to the atmosphere or flow of the game.

[ams1001]

11 hours ago, Browncoat said:

It was The New Yorker.

Thank you!

6 hours ago, possibilities said:

Don't they tape them all pretty much at once?

According to the J! Archive, the first four games were taped on 9/11/22 (which was a Sunday), this game says "unknown." Maybe they did it the next week? The regular game tapes five games in a day, but with the longer celebrity games and the sometimes-excessive celebrity shenanigans, frankly I'm surprised they could get through four in one day.

[shapeshifter]

20 minutes ago, ams1001 said:

The regular game tapes five games in a day, but with the longer celebrity games and the sometimes-excessive celebrity shenanigans, frankly I'm surprised they could get through four in one day.

So I'm guessing maybe the shenanigans stop when the director calls "Cut!" and they switch to their professional off-camera modes of looking at their cell phones or whatever?
And/or, as professionals, maybe they are used to pacing themselves and so shoot for a much longer day than the regular contestants?

Probably right now other J! viewers are tweeting questions about this to the celebrities, and we'll soon get a definitive, behind-the-scenes answer.

[ams1001]

24 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

And/or, as professionals, maybe they are used to pacing themselves and so shoot for a much longer day than the regular contestants?

I hadn't thought about that; a lot of them probably are pretty used to long days of taping.

[possibilities]

I would think they prefer getting it all done in one day rather than having to come back if they qualify for future rounds. Scheduling would be easier that way. But the haircut makes me think that's not so.

[shapeshifter]

1 hour ago, possibilities said:

I would think they prefer getting it all done in one day rather than having to come back if they qualify for future rounds. Scheduling would be easier that way. But the haircut makes me think that's not so.

Based solely on scrolling through Mayim's tweets, it *looks like* she cut her hair on or near September 14 (a month before I did, if anyone cares):  
https://twitter.com/missmayim/status/1570116409514139648?s=20&t=pJBeEcZpQJz2PiJOGrGV2A

And, although "S01.E05: Quarterfinal #4: Aisha Tyler, John Michael Higgins and Matt Rogers" still just has "Game tape date: Unknown,"
"S01.E04: Semifinal #1: Ike Barinholtz, Iliza Shlesinger and Simu Liu" shows at the bottom of the J! Archive screen "Game tape date: 2022-09-11" which is also the date for E03, E02, and E01.

So, I conclude that episode 5 was shot at least 3 days after episode 4.

Still, shooting four 1-hour games with lots of chatter that they probably need to edit on the spot sounds pretty grueling for the crew. 

Not all celebrities for each group stay, but this explains why Simu Liu was so bummed that he had to stay for the 4th game after scheduling himself first so he could attend another event; so Kudos to him for not throwing the game?
And Ike was likely more familiar with how the scheduling will pan out if you win, and thought he might, so kudos to Ike for good planning:

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

Edited October 24, 2022 by shapeshifter

[shapeshifter]

But it looks like John Michael Higgins will come back on another day, and not have to stay for a long day, unlike Simu Liu: 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celebrity_Jeopardy!_(2022_TV_series)#Episodes

When did the players on this episode play previously?

[ams1001]

1 hour ago, shapeshifter said:

When did the players on this episode play previously?

Do you mean before this tournament? Aisha did Celebrity Jeopardy in 2009. Don't know about anyone else.

[chessiegal]

Cue the spooky music: I knew I had seen Michael somewhere before and decided maybe I had popped into his game show. But today I was watching the Monk episode Mr. Monk and the Game Show, and Michael played the villain! That's where I had seen him. 😲

[ams1001]

2 minutes ago, chessiegal said:

Cue the spooky music: I knew I had seen Michael somewhere before and decided maybe I had popped into his game show. But today I was watching the Monk episode Mr. Monk and the Game Show, and Michael played the villain! That's where I had seen him. 😲

He's in the Pitch Perfect movies (among many, many other things, but that's the first thing I usually think of).

[Bastet]

I never got around to watching last week's semi-final game, but I have long loved Aisha Tyler so made sure to look this one up today (I really wish they hadn't premiered this show during football season).

I'm bummed she didn't win, especially since she was playing for Planned Parenthood.  (Alas, they still got $30k, plus some in the J! contestant community pledged to each donate $1 for every question Aisha got correct to abortion rights organizations.)

But I've liked John Michael Higgins in many things (especially the Christopher Guest mockumentaries), and that true DD bet when he had $12k was really smart - even though he acted like it was dumb - given how little the other two had at that point; even if he blew it, he could catch up quickly.  Once he got that, I figured the game was his.  But then Matt Rogers made a truly gutsy true DD wager and made things interesting heading into FJ.  Good game. 

"Quantanamo" cracked me up.  As did the way Matt said Trump's name when he incorrectly guessed him for the Twitter clue.  I'm not at all familiar with him, but he made me laugh.  I also liked his reactions when he was surprised to get something right or wrong.  As Mayim said after the game, he was joyful to watch.

Since I was screeching "Really?!  Declaration of Independence!" I loved when Aisha walked away from the podium after that was revealed, saying "The document, not the place -- come on, everybody!"

I also really enjoyed Mayim and Michael's exchange in the DJ interview, about how playing a game in your mind with no stakes is one thing, but actually having to ring in and answer in front of people is different.

As usual, I like how well I do in these celebrity games.  I got everything in the first two rounds correct, and if not for the Music of Today category (a weak point for me) I'd have run the whole damn thing as FJ was another instaget and I got everything in the other TJ categories correct.  Alas, I only got two songs/singers -- "Running Up That Hill" (since it's an old song) and the wild-assed guess of Taylor Swift that turned out to be correct. 

[Bastet]

Since the format is three quarter-final (QF) matches then a semi-final (SF) between those three winners, then onto the next three QF matches and their resulting SF, etc. to get the three finalists, scheduling wise it makes the most sense to tape QF 1, 2, and 3 and their resulting SF on one day, QF 4, 5, and 6 and their resulting SF another day, QF 7, 8, and 9 and their resulting SF another day, and then the finals on their own day.  So everyone coming in would only have to commit to taping on X day (knowing it's at least one game, possibly two if they move on to the SF) and being available to tape on Y day if they make the finals.

Edited October 24, 2022 by Bastet

[DXD526]

I liked Aisha's remark regarding to what she attributes her success, IIRC: No pets, no plants, no kids! 😄

[30 Helens]

Shhh… Don’t tell anyone, but I’m actually enjoying Mayim on this show.  Too bad she’s going to head back to regular Jeopardy soon and erase all that goodwill.

I was rooting for Aisha, and not just because I don’t know the other two. I really like her and I support her charity. But I appreciated the competitive play and solid wagering from all three. I’ve said it before, there’s no reason not to play big when you’re guaranteed $30k regardless. And especially when they throw out gimmes like “nevermore”! I mean.

Oh, and by the way, STUART IS A MOUSE. 

[ams1001]

6 hours ago, 30 Helens said:

Shhh… Don’t tell anyone, but I’m actually enjoying Mayim on this show.  Too bad she’s going to head back to regular Jeopardy soon and erase all that goodwill.

I do think the more lighthearted atmosphere of the celebrity games suits her personality better.

[Clanstarling]

On 10/23/2022 at 5:31 PM, SoMuchTV said:

I’m liking Mayim’s hair. Is this new? 

It is. I thought the longer hair suited her better, but it's not like the short hair looks bad. I think my response to it was more due to waiting for it to grow out last year (?) when it didn't look good (to me).

21 hours ago, Bastet said:

As usual, I like how well I do in these celebrity games.  I got everything in the first two rounds correct, and if not for the Music of Today category (a weak point for me) I'd have run the whole damn thing as FJ was another instaget and I got everything in the other TJ categories correct.  Alas, I only got two songs/singers -- "Running Up That Hill" (since it's an old song) and the wild-assed guess of Taylor Swift that turned out to be correct. 

I got "Running Up That Hill" because I watch Stranger Things (completely tuned out that era of music - I was busy), and Taylor Swift because I'd just read an article about her and it had the name of her new album. Otherwise, I tanked badly in music. But not in everything else - another reason to love celebrity jeopardy!

Edited October 25, 2022 by Clanstarling

[30 Helens]

1 hour ago, Clanstarling said:

I got "Running Up That Hill" because I watch Stranger Things (completely tuned out that era of music - I was busy)

Aw…my favorite era! I don’t watch Stranger Things but I was happy they used that song because it’s one of my all time favorites, and suddenly my radio was playing it all. the. time. (No complaints here.)

[SilverLake0315]

On 10/24/2022 at 12:49 AM, SHD said:

And no grumbling about “my buzzer’s not working”!

Aisha was driving me nuts with the buzzer, though. 

I was rooting for Michael. I just love him. I was a little torn, because Aisha was playing for Planned Parenthood, but they still got 30k and I am not a fan of hers, so win/win I suppose. Ha.

[Bastet]

23 hours ago, 30 Helens said:

I don’t watch Stranger Things but I was happy they used that song because it’s one of my all time favorites, and suddenly my radio was playing it all. the. time. (No complaints here.)

I love how the Stranger Things-induced popularity means it's back on the minds of the J! writers -- it appeared as a clue on the regular series recently, too.  As I noted then, since I don't watch the show, when I heard the song on two or three different radio stations during one drive a couple of months ago, my thought was "Oh, no -- Kate Bush died!"  So I was glad to get home, look that up, and find, nope, people have just rediscovered this fantastic song thanks to a TV show.

[ams1001]

Matt was on Late Night last night and they talked briefly about Celebrity Jeopardy, or, as he called it, Jeopardy for Babies. 😄