Jeopardy! Masters

[SomeTameGazelle]

53 minutes ago, secnarf said:

Is Sam the only one who hasn't won a game? I want him to win at least one.

Amy hasn't won any in the Masters.

[secnarf]

5 minutes ago, SomeTameGazelle said:

Amy hasn't won any in the Masters.

Aww I could have sworn she did. I really do want everyone to win at least one. They're all such good players.

[chicagofan]

2 hours ago, annzeepark914 said:

Well...I got 2 out of 3 FJ's tonight so I don't feel too bad. I said Dolly Madison (either never heard of lemonade Lucy or forgot). So, do we get one more night of Sam & Amy or two? 

Two more quarterfinal nights tomorrow and Wednesday. Then the two lowest scoring players are eliminated. The semifinals are next Monday and Tuesday.  Then one more player is eliminated before the final on the 24th.

[Bastet]

Bleh.  Not my night, in terms of my own performance and of the games not going my way in terms of the contestants' performances.

There was no way for the first game to go my way with Amy and Mattea up against each other as I want them both to get all the points.  At least if one of the two of them had won, it wouldn't have been so bad.  I don't dislike Matt - and kudos to him on that late DD wager - but I sure as shit don't want him winning over either of those two, let alone both.  (As an aside, I thought he said "deprecated" instead of "deprecating" in the Tech Talk clue, but the archive says he said it correctly, so I guess that was my hearing letting me down.)

The second game, the only way I'd be happy is if Sam won, so, yeah - not my night.

I did not get a single TS in either game (even though both had more of them than seems typical for this tournament).  I knew FJ in the first game, but only got as far as "Lemonade Lucy" in the second; I couldn't remember whose wife she was. 

I only did okay overall in both games.  Part of it is the caliber of the contestants of course, but part of it is that, while regular J! airs at 7:00 just as I finish up working for the day, with my mind still firing on all cylinders, this starts at 8:00, when I'm already into brain rest mode.  I've had a couple of drinks, I've prepped what I need to make dinner afterward, I'm out of the zone.

Andrew's DD wager of "2000 plus all of James's [non-existent] points" was funny, but Sam won the night with "I'll take Stuff Only Old Guys Would Know -- Oh, wait, that's not up there".

[Trey]

I was already bummed about Hannah losing in regular Jeopardy! so Mattea and Amy losing in Game 1 made things even worse.  And James winning in Game 2 did not add anything.

If I got any ts's in these games I don't remember them and I didn't get either FJ although I did remember Lemonade Lucy. Time ran out before I got to the Hayes part of the answer.

Edited May 16, 2023 by Trey

[chicagofan]

Last night's games were pretty much par for the course for me this tournament - not that great. Although I actually got 1 more correct in DJ in the second game than in the J round which is the first time that's happened. For me, part of the problem is that even if I might know the correct response, these contestants ring in so quickly, respond correctly and move on before I can pull the correct response out of my old, tired brain.

Halfway decent J round in the first game. Ran "Musical Theater" and got 4 right in "The Western Hemisphere" and "Nicknames". DJ round, not so good although I did get the TS of Chim-Chim Cheree. Got FJ, part of my trifecta yesterday.

One thing that bugged a little was that I didn't think that Matt should have gotten credit for Hawks in the Oscar category. The clue said that the honorary Oscar went to this alliterative man so it should have required both the first and last names, Howard Hawks. YMMV.

Did about the same in both rounds of the second game. No TSs in the J round since there weren't any, but got Stratford-Upon-Avon in DJ. Then wrapped things up by getting (Lemonade) Lucy Hayes in FJ.

[3 is enough]

Just read that Mattea’s father died of a brain aneurysm on May 2.  He was only 57.  Apparently it happened while Mattea was in LA for taping.  I don’t know if this will affect the tournament. 
So incredibly sad.  They were very close to their dad.

Edited May 18, 2023 by 3 is enough
Changed to reflect Mattea’s preferred pronouns.

[SomeTameGazelle]

4 hours ago, 3 is enough said:

Just read that Mattea’s father died of a brain aneurysm on May 2.  He was only 57.  Apparently it happened while Mattea was in LA for taping.  I don’t know if this will affect the tournament. 
So incredibly sad.  She was very close to her dad.

My mother absolutely adores Mattea and I feel like I don't want to have to break the news to her, at least until the Masters is over. 

[Bastet]

On 5/16/2023 at 9:22 AM, 3 is enough said:

Just read that Mattea’s father died of a brain aneurysm on May 2.  He was only 57.  Apparently it happened while Mattea was in LA for taping.

Spoiler

Everything we've seen so far was filmed in the middle of March, so if they were taping in early May, I take that to mean they're one of the finalists and those games were filmed after a break.

What an awful thing to happen in the midst of that!!

Edited May 18, 2023 by Bastet

[ams1001]

Has James actually answered any of the final jeopardy clues?

[chitowngirl]

5 minutes ago, ams1001 said:

Has James actually answered any of the final jeopardy clues?

Yes, when it’s not a runaway game. I’m thinking specifically of the game when he and Matt were tied going into FJ

Edited May 17, 2023 by chitowngirl

[annzeepark914]

While watching the latest game, I had an epiphany. James is truly master of his Jeopardy domain. How does he know so many arcane facts (& can recall them in split seconds)? 

[SomeTameGazelle]

1 hour ago, chitowngirl said:

Yes, when it’s not a runaway game. I’m thinking specifically of the game when he and Matt were tied going into FJ

That was game 4. He did in game 5 as well which was a runaway. 

Andrew did a tremendous job recovering from his Daily Doubles. I am however really mad at the science clue in which the physicist Spiros Michalakis, whom I can only assume has Greek heritage, claimed that tele- is from the Latin. It's Greek! (The -portation part is definitely Latin.)

[SoMuchTV]

1 hour ago, annzeepark914 said:

While watching the latest game, I had an epiphany. James is truly master of his Jeopardy domain. How does he know so many arcane facts (& can recall them in split seconds)? 

That, but also he seems to be master of the buzzer. There seemed to be quite a few clues where one or both of the other contestants were trying to buzz in (and sometimes even I knew it) but he was able to buzz in first and get the points. 

[j5cochran]

On 5/15/2023 at 6:06 PM, laredhead said:

James seems to have the best buzzer skills.  I have been hoping that any of the others would give him a better challenge.

 

My friend Tim and I were discussing James' mad buzzer skillz. We decided that he's actually an android, powered by ChatGPT!

Edited May 17, 2023 by j5cochran
Spelling is our freind!

[Bastet]

Ugh, James wins again, Andrew is a lock for the semis, and Sam is mathematically eliminated.  Mattea put another point of distance between her and Matt, and Amy picked up one desperately-needed point, so those were mildly positive, but I am enjoying this tournament less and less the more it goes on.

It's neat to learn that Buzzy is in the audience, though.  He bugged the shit out of me back in the day, but I mellowed on him when he guest hosted.

I thought Matt was going to pull a muscle while trying to ring in.

I only got one TS in the first game, knowing Mike DeWine is the governor of Ohio.  But I did get FJ, after initially being in the wrong part of the world.  I had an okay game overall, despite my annoyance at Ken's use of "myself" instead of "me" (a pet peeve) tainting DJ.  Also, adding a picture of Golda Meir at this level of competition was ridiculous.  And I kept hoping one of the Hans Zimmer clues would be about Thelma & Louise.

I also only got one TS in the second game -- bagpipes.  I didn't get FJ, though.  A pretty "meh" game in general for me.  My big accomplishment was I clearly heard "incandescence" at the time.

Edited May 17, 2023 by Bastet

[ECM1231]

3 hours ago, annzeepark914 said:

While watching the latest game, I had an epiphany. James is truly master of his Jeopardy domain. How does he know so many arcane facts (& can recall them in split seconds)? 

My head was spinning from this last game. His speed is astounding! 

Who's Buzzy?

[annzeepark914]

17 minutes ago, ECM1231 said:

My head was spinning from this last game. His speed is astounding! 

Who's Buzzy?

I recently saw a reference to Buzzy and *think* he might be a contestant from a while back who now works for Jeopardy. Not positive about this, though.

[Bastet]

26 minutes ago, ECM1231 said:

Who's Buzzy?

Buzzy Cohen

[kathyk24]

17 hours ago, 3 is enough said:

Just read that Mattea’s father died of a brain aneurysm on May 2.  He was only 57.  Apparently it happened while Mattea was in LA for taping.  I don’t know if this will affect the tournament. 
So incredibly sad.  She was very close to her dad.

It's so tragic. I don't know how she'll be able to concentrate. I'm sure her fellow contestants will support her.

[rubaco]

I get that James is just playing the villain, and all of the anecdotes about his good deeds are fantastic to hear (plus he constantly gives props to his wife)... but I'm now officially annoyed with his game play. How are the others supposed to feel when he writes "Is there no one else?" It's not cool or funny. 

i started out excited about this tournament, but now I'm not even giving it my full attention.

[laredhead]

Matt's buzzer skills need sharpening.  I don't remember him being that animated  during his championship run.  It's sort of like he's playing Wii Jeopardy.  I think he's expending more energy and wasting time with those body twisting motions trying to ring in.

I really wanted Sam to win at least one game. 

[Trey]

Speaking of Buzzy, was that belt James was carrying the other night given to him by Buzzy? 

1 hour ago, rubaco said:

How are the others supposed to feel when he writes "Is there no one else?" It's not cool or funny. 

I didn't like that either.  Most of his remarks are humourous enough but that one rankled.

I did get Caracas in the first game FJ but had nothing for game 2.

Amy is having to work hard to get her points- she's earned them all by coming in second in so many games.  I am hoping she gets the fourth spot over Matt. And, of course, I hope Mattea at least maintains her third spot although I would love to see her beat out Andrew.

As much as I like Sam I don't think his past Jeopardy! experience really qualified him to be in this tournament.

[Lady Lucy]

Speaking of Buzzy, is there a reason none of the "older" great champions were not included in this tournament? 

 

[Madding crowd]

James is my favorite and I think everyone else is in on his jokes. I also think it’s fine he is not answering some of the final questions so he isn’t building up too many points.  He is doing that for his fellow players.He and Amy are my favorites but I like them all, even Matt who I think is standoffish and Matteo who has calmed down the chatter.

[ams1001]

4 hours ago, Madding crowd said:

James is my favorite and I think everyone else is in on his jokes. I also think it’s fine he is not answering some of the final questions so he isn’t building up too many points.  He is doing that for his fellow players.He and Amy are my favorites but I like them all, even Matt who I think is standoffish and Matteo who has calmed down the chatter.

FTR, I wasn't complaining about James not answering; I think his FJ jabs at Ken are hilarious. I love how much fun they're having with this. Also agree on Mattea; I was one of those majorly annoyed during their regular games but they have not gotten on my nerves at all during this tournament. I said in the beginning that it was going to be too much Jeopardy (but I'd watch anyway), but I'm really not finding that to be the case. Maybe because I'm not trying to keep score during the Masters games so I am also more relaxed about it.

My favorite is still Sam, though, and I'm sad he's not higher up on the scoreboard.

Edited May 17, 2023 by ams1001
corrected pronouns

[possibilities]

Andrew's personality didn't come through to me at all in his prior competitions, but during this tournament, I am finding him amusing and likable. I wonder if the show has provided them all with coaching, or if they've all just gotten more relaxed due to the frequency of past appearances.

[SoMuchTV]

3 hours ago, Madding crowd said:

James is my favorite and I think everyone else is in on his jokes. I also think it’s fine he is not answering some of the final questions so he isn’t building up too many points.  He is doing that for his fellow players.He and Amy are my favorites but I like them all, even Matt who I think is standoffish and Matteo who has calmed down the chatter.

 

3 hours ago, ams1001 said:

FTR, I wasn't complaining about James not answering; I think his FJ jabs at Ken are hilarious. I love how much fun they're having with this. Also agree on Mattea; I was one of those majorly annoyed during  her regular games but she has not gotten on my nerves at all during this tournament. I said in the beginning that it was going to be too much Jeopardy (but I'd watch anyway), but I'm really not finding that to be the case. Maybe because I'm not trying to keep score during the Masters games so I am also more relaxed about it.

My favorite is still Sam, though, and I'm sad he's not higher up on the scoreboard.

One more FTR - I'm pretty sure "the  points don't matter" - points after FJ don't come into the rankings at all (I posted a clip somewhere upthread). He only writes the snarky responses when he already has a runaway (which is always? or was there one that wasn't?)

Completely agree on the observation that Mattea has done a very good job of toning down their comments, and that Sam can come tell dad jokes to me any day.

[shapeshifter]

On 5/16/2023 at 12:11 AM, Bastet said:

Sam won the night with "I'll take Stuff Only Old Guys Would Know -- Oh, wait, that's not up there".

After the Writers Strike is over, would it be possible to have as a category: "Stuff Only Old Guys Would Know"? 
I'm not sure what clues would populate that category — which I guess is why it's such a good Dad/Sam joke. 

Speaking of such jokes by the Masters, on my huge screen, I notice every one of James Holzhauer's joking jabs at Ken is concluded with what I can only describe as a look of sincere love and adoration. 

[CynicalGirl]

3 hours ago, possibilities said:

Andrew's personality didn't come through to me at all in his prior competitions, but during this tournament, I am finding him amusing and likable. I wonder if the show has provided them all with coaching, or if they've all just gotten more relaxed due to the frequency of past appearances.

I agree, not only Andrew, they are all very likeable this time around and I can't help but think there is some coaching/script involved. But also, during regular Jeopardy, there's not much time for that since they don't exactly have a chance to bond--for 2 players it's one and done. These players have all had time to get to know each other.

[ams1001]

I'm gonna miss Sam.

[chicagofan]

And Amy - they were the ones I was rooting. Now Go Mattea.

[ams1001]

I thought of Planet of the Apes!

But I didn't know it was a book and I never heard of the author even if I did.

[chitowngirl]

I love the camaraderie between the players. They’ve had so much time together and it shows.

It would have been interesting to see Brad Rutter, but perhaps he thought his time was over. Perhaps he couldn’t commit to the time it would take to tape this. 🤷‍♀️ He’s still the overall money winner and will be for some time. 

[SoMuchTV]

Well, I hope Amy and Sam get to watch the rest of the series from the luxury box, with bottomless snacks and libations. 

[secnarf]

On 5/16/2023 at 12:22 PM, 3 is enough said:

Just read that Mattea’s father died of a brain aneurysm on May 2.  He was only 57.  Apparently it happened while Mattea was in LA for taping.  I don’t know if this will affect the tournament. 
So incredibly sad.  She was very close to her dad.

Mattea uses they/them pronouns.

The tournament started airing May 8 - that is pretty tight if they were still taping on May 2. I really hope this didn't happen while Mattea was away - it takes an already difficult time and makes it that much worse.

The obituary their family wrote is lovely.

 

[SomeTameGazelle]

I really love seeing how these 6 Masters seem to enjoy the game and each other. Matt saying that Sam was his best Jeopardy friend was very sweet. 

Although I really like Amy and Sam I was cheering for redemption for Matt and Mattea who did not make it to the finals in the TOC. 

 

[Bastet]

Yikes; last night Sam (my #3) is eliminated from contention, and tonight Amy (my #1) joins him.  And Mattea (my #2, and a close one at that) loses ground by picking up no points while Matt (my #4, but a distant one) grabs three to move ahead of her.  I'm not happy.

I had a decent first game, and got four of their six TS -- Montevideo, boursin, highbrow, and David E. Kelley.  It was funny how much they dreaded the Emmy category, as I ran the hell out of that thing; I watched a lot of TV and paid a lot of attention to entertainment media (I worked in the music industry at the time) so knew about a lot of things I didn't watch back then.  I did not get FJ, though.

I got a kick out of Kit Carson making an appearance, and found it mildly amusing that Field of Dreams had been an answer in the regular game tonight, too.

I would be "Kids today!" aghast at Mattea's guess of Mariah Carey as the Divine Miss M. if not for her hilarious That was so embarrassingly stupid style reaction when the correct answer was revealed.

I liked Matt's FJ response, and loved Sam using his interview to give the writers a shout-out (shut it, Ken, with your agreement when you're going to host the final episode in the middle of the WGA strike [the scripts are already written, so it's not like he's working with scabs, I will give him that, but, fundamentally -- don't cross picket lines, especially when money is not an issue for you!])

In the second game, I experienced a glitch for a few clues in a row in the first round, so I don't know how they or I did on those.  In the rest, I was pretty "meh" as is typical for the 8:30-9:00 block; my brain has well and truly punched out for the day by then.  They seemed to have a lot of TS (for contestants of their caliber), but I only got three: Lightning (the P-38), the Red Car, and Chattahoochee. 

I liked Amy's FJ response.  I didn't get Andrew's (apparently it was a Simpsons thing, and I've only ever watched the X-Files episode Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny did back in the day).

I think for the semi-finals and finals I should perhaps watch at lunch the next day when I'm refreshed, but I tend not to watch things if I don't watch during their original airing, so I'll probably continue to watch even though my brain declares itself off the clock at 7:30 (work day ends at 7:00, regular J! ends at 7:30, and after that my mind is apparently in Emergency Only mode in terms of reaching into its recesses).

[opus]

17 minutes ago, Bastet said:

I didn't get Andrew's (apparently it was a Simpsons thing

Here you go 

 

[opus]

Sam gives a shout out to the writers tonight!

And I think my proudest Jeopardy moment of the year is knowing who wrote Planet Of The Apes.

[possibilities]

I honestly thought FJ was about Hugh Lofting, who wrote the Doctor Doolittle books. I am not a Jeopardy Master.

LOOOOOVED Sam's homage to the writers.

[30 Helens]

Kit Carson Kressley… bwaahaha!

9 hours ago, ams1001 said:

I said in the beginning that it was going to be too much Jeopardy (but I'd watch anyway), but I'm really not finding that to be the case. Maybe because I'm not trying to keep score during the Masters games so I am also more relaxed about it.

Same here. I play regular Jeopardy, then watch this for the enjoyment of seeing the players and their interactions without trying too hard to score points myself. Same game, but totally different experience.

I have really enjoyed all the participants, as well, despite not being a fan of either Andrew or Mattea prior to this. Again, I think it’s due to the more relaxed atmosphere letting their personalities really shine. That includes James— nothing he has said or done seems mean spirited or pompous to me. It’s all in fun. I noted before that it’s fun seeing the obvious affection he and Ken have for each other. But they all seem to share that mutual affection, to at least some degree, and that’s what makes this so enjoyable. I loved Matt’s tribute to Sam tonight.

I am sorry that both Sam and Amy are done, but I’m sure we will see both again. New Jeopardy can’t resist a rematch!

I knew the Planet of the Apes author, but I went through all kinds of tongue twister trying to land on the precise name. Buille… Bolle… Buillion… I may have said Boulle in time, but I’m not sure. 

[HyeChaps]

Quote

I honestly thought FJ was about Hugh Lofting, who wrote the Doctor Doolittle books. I am not a Jeopardy Master.

I thought it was the author of the Babar books.

[Trey]

2 hours ago, HyeChaps said:

I thought it was the author of the Babar books.

Me, too.  But I couldn't remember his name so it didn't matter anyhow.

[illdoc]

Question: I saw that at the end of game 2, they mentioned that Amy got $75K for finishing in 5th place. I missed the last couple of minutes at the end of game 1. Did they mention how much Sam got for finishing 6th? I assume $50K.

[Trey]

3 minutes ago, illdoc said:

Question: I saw that at the end of game 2, they mentioned that Amy got $75K for finishing in 5th place. I missed the last couple of minutes at the end of game 1. Did they mention how much Sam got for finishing 6th? I assume $50K.

No, they didn't mention it that I recall.

This whole tournament seemed to be set up just for James, since all the others had faced each other fairly recently.

I have been enjoying the tournament even if my favourites didn't do as well as I had hoped.  The semi-finals and finals should be very interesting.

[Cotypubby]

31 minutes ago, illdoc said:

Did they mention how much Sam got for finishing 6th? I assume $50K.

Yes, at the end of his game they said he won the 6th place $50,000 prize.

[shoregirl]

James posted a nice tribute to both Amy and Sam. 

 

[Trey]

1 hour ago, Cotypubby said:

Yes, at the end of his game they said he won the 6th place $50,000 prize.

Thanks. Somehow I missed that. Must've sneezed then.

[shapeshifter]

15 hours ago, chitowngirl said:

I love the camaraderie between the players. They’ve had so much time together and it shows.

I'm sure the producers of the show see this warm camaraderie among the players too and will want to continue to do more of these rematch events. Maybe something with teams of champs competing against each other, with team members switching for different rounds/days?
I can imagine Sam making a joke about being picked last but getting picked first by Matt.

13 hours ago, SomeTameGazelle said:

I really love seeing how these 6 Masters seem to enjoy the game and each other. Matt saying that Sam was his best Jeopardy friend was very sweet.

OMG!!! I occasionally get a tear in my eye when watching TV, but when Matt talked about what Sam meant to him, and then Sam hugged Matt, I burst out with an audible sob!😭

 

Edited May 18, 2023 by shapeshifter