Jeopardy! Masters

[possibilities]

Maybe they can have a masters play for charity event? Like Celebrity Jeopardy for Jeopardy celebrities.

[ams1001]

5 hours ago, shoregirl said:

James posted a nice tribute to both Amy and Sam. 

lol at his shoutout to Sam's book.

 

[DXD526]

I LOLed at James referring to Amy as Jeopardyamy! 

[Prevailing Wind]

Isn't "Jeopardamy" her twitter ID?

[ams1001]

52 minutes ago, Prevailing Wind said:

Isn't "Jeopardamy" her twitter ID?

Yes, it is.

[DXD526]

I don't Twitter, so didn't know it was her handle. I thought he was paying tribute to how Alex used to call him Jeopardy James, and it cracked me up! 

[sharwoods]

I suspect James wants a rematch against Ken Jennings, but the current game rules stipulate that once a contestant hosts Jeopardy the person cannot return to regular game play.  However, it seems like producer Michael Davies might be willing to change that rule in pursuit of potentially high ratings.  What do you think of this possibility?

[annzeepark914]

47 minutes ago, sharwoods said:

I suspect James wants a rematch against Ken Jennings, but the current game rules stipulate that once a contestant hosts Jeopardy the person cannot return to regular game play.  However, it seems like producer Michael Davies might be willing to change that rule in pursuit of potentially high ratings.  What do you think of this possibility?

Ratings means everything in TV land. But I hope it doesn't happen. I like Ken being the greatest of all time and just want to leave it at that. I don't know how he survived the 74-games-life. We've seen other multi-game contestants begin to waver after a while and then they're beaten by one game champs. Who beat James? I can't remember.

[catrice2]

There are too many variables. We don't know if somebody was feeling. Ill we don't know if they used to tape less shows in A-day. We don't know if he didn't have the same pressures in his personal life that they were facing who knows.I don't know why people always try to compare. I personally think the competition at Ken's time was not as great.They were clearly screening out certain types people and over time people have gotten better with the buzzer, etc.

[ams1001]

47 minutes ago, annzeepark914 said:

Who beat James? I can't remember.

Emma Boettcher; she won three games and just over $98K.

[chicagofan]

And Emma made it to the semi-finals of the TOC.

[seacliffsal]

I have noticed throughout the games that some of the answers/questions are the same that I have seen on the most recent episodes of Weakest Link (please don't judge me for my unwavering love for Jane Lynch...).  It was quite noticeable.  So, it made me wonder if the writers are uses sites or programs to develop the answers/questions that are also accessible to other shows.

I, too, hope there isn't a rematch between Ken and James.  Let the legend live.

[ams1001]

1 hour ago, seacliffsal said:

I have noticed throughout the games that some of the answers/questions are the same that I have seen on the most recent episodes of Weakest Link (please don't judge me for my unwavering love for Jane Lynch...).

There often seems to be overlap in clues between the regular games and primetime tournament games, too. (I, too, watch The Weakest Link, if it makes you feel better.)

[Quickbeam]

James’ story about his grandmother was sweet. I really love the Masters level of play…they really hammer through the clues. 

[chitowngirl]

I like that the interviews are right before Double Jeopardy instead of breaking the flow of the Jeopardy round.

[annzeepark914]

4 minutes ago, chitowngirl said:

I like that the interviews are right before Double Jeopardy instead of breaking the flow of the Jeopardy round.

In regular Jeopardy, I don't watch the interviews because I'm not interested. But in this Masters Tournament, I'm really enjoying the interviews because they've usually been witty & funny. And yes, regular Jeopardy should do the interviews just before DJ. It just works better.

[SoMuchTV]

19 minutes ago, chitowngirl said:

I like that the interviews are right before Double Jeopardy instead of breaking the flow of the Jeopardy round.

 

10 minutes ago, annzeepark914 said:

In regular Jeopardy, I don't watch the interviews because I'm not interested. But in this Masters Tournament, I'm really enjoying the interviews because they've usually been witty & funny. And yes, regular Jeopardy should do the interviews just before DJ. It just works better.

I read somewhere (or maybe heard in the podcast) that they had to move the interviews in the Masters due to the timing/number of ad breaks in an hour show (vs. 30 minutes).  So I guess in regular J!, even if they moved the interviews, they would still need to take that ad break mid-round.

[ProudMary]

9 hours ago, sharwoods said:

I suspect James wants a rematch against Ken Jennings, but the current game rules stipulate that once a contestant hosts Jeopardy the person cannot return to regular game play.  However, it seems like producer Michael Davies might be willing to change that rule in pursuit of potentially high ratings.  What do you think of this possibility?

On the most recent Inside Jeopardy! podcast episode, they were discussing the first week of Jeopardy! Masters. Michael Davies and Buzzy Cohen were lightly stepping around Buzzy's eligibility for a future appearance on Jeopardy! Masters. Buzzy sounded like he definitely wanted in, but Davies has waffled about Buzzy's eligibility. If he's not sure that Buzzy should be permitted to compete, I don't see how Davies could possibly allow Ken to compete!

[SoMuchTV]

3 minutes ago, ProudMary said:

On the most recent Inside Jeopardy! podcast episode, they were discussing the first week of Jeopardy! Masters. Michael Davies and Buzzy Cohen were lightly stepping around Buzzy's eligibility for a future appearance on Jeopardy! Masters. Buzzy sounded like he definitely wanted in, but Davies has waffled about Buzzy's eligibility. If he's not sure that Buzzy should be permitted to compete, I don't see how Davies could possibly allow Ken to compete!

Oh I took the opposite conclusion from that!  As in, Davies isn’t going on record to absolutely rule anything out. 

[ProudMary]

1 minute ago, SoMuchTV said:

Oh I took the opposite conclusion from that!  As in, Davies isn’t going on record to absolutely rule anything out. 

As I said, they were stepping carefully around the topic, but I got the impression that Buzzy had been ruled out from this initial round and was sort of "pushing the envelope." Davies said that he goes back and forth over whether or not Buzzy should be eligible. I suppose that if Davies gives a thumbs up to Buzzy, it would set something of a precedent; but Buzzy was just a guest host and is now Jeopardy! adjacent with his work on the podcast. Ken is an actual host and has had a producer's credit! He's basically the present-day face of the show. If Davies allows Ken to compete, he's throwing the rule out the window! 😄

[SoMuchTV]

2 minutes ago, ProudMary said:

As I said, they were stepping carefully around the topic, but I got the impression that Buzzy had been ruled out from this initial round and was sort of "pushing the envelope." Davies said that he goes back and forth over whether or not Buzzy should be eligible. I suppose that if Davies gives a thumbs up to Buzzy, it would set something of a precedent; but Buzzy was just a guest host and is now Jeopardy! adjacent with his work on the podcast. Ken is an actual host and has had a producer's credit! He's basically the present-day face of the show. If Davies allows Ken to compete, he's throwing the rule out the window! 😄

Actually, I’m not sure I’d expect to see either Buzzy or Ken in the current iteration of Jeopardy! Masters but I wouldn’t put it past the franchise to come up with some kind of format (Exhibition? Charity?) where they or whoever could compete. 

[shapeshifter]

18 minutes ago, SoMuchTV said:

Actually, I’m not sure I’d expect to see either Buzzy or Ken in the current iteration of Jeopardy! Masters but I wouldn’t put it past the franchise to come up with some kind of format (Exhibition? Charity?) where they or whoever could compete. 

Charity seem like it should allow them to compete, but no episodes of L&O-type shows I've watched have discussed such a situation.😉

[Bastet]

2 hours ago, ProudMary said:

If he's not sure that Buzzy should be permitted to compete, I don't see how Davies could possibly allow Ken to compete!

He has already said if Ken ever came to him and asked to compete, he'd find a way to make it work.

[possibilities]

If I was Ken, I wouldn't want to risk playing again and losing. If he stays out of it, he keeps his legendary status, and nothing tarnishes his record. Even if someone surpasses it, he still would be regarded in the same way he is now. But if he plays and someone beats him, somehow that slips a little.

[shapeshifter]

2 hours ago, possibilities said:

If I was Ken, I wouldn't want to risk playing again and losing. If he stays out of it, he keeps his legendary status, and nothing tarnishes his record. Even if someone surpasses it, he still would be regarded in the same way he is now. But if he plays and someone beats him, somehow that slips a little.

Well, not only was his original loss a bit ignominious:
https://youtu.be/M1FFT8HCUIg
but Ken also came in only second in the "Battle of the Decades," losing to Brad Rutter: 
https://youtu.be/n5gBpuqKMYw

Based upon how much Ken demonstrates while hosting Jeopardy!  that he still seems to know about various subjects in history, literature, etc. I think he's still capable of playing and winning. 
And recently he's been involved in the Jeopardy!-like show, The Chase. 
So, who knows? 

 

Edited May 20, 2023 by shapeshifter

[chicagofan]

All of Tuesday's games are now up on the J! Archive. Not a particularly good first game, but I did surprisingly well in game 2 - especially for a Masters game.

Not too good of a J round in game 1. Got 4 in "All the Way from "K" to "K"" and got the TS of choir. But didn't get any in "Movie Music with Hans Zimmer". It didn't help that I had trouble understanding him, but even looking at the clues written down wouldn't have helped. Did worse in DJ, but got 4 in "German Words and Phrases" including the TS of Gemuetlich. Got Weltschmerz, but somehow missed Meister. And I got the FJ of Caracas - knew Venezuela was part of OPEC and somehow decided to go there instead of somewhere in the Middle East.

Game 2 was the best game I've had in this tournament. Got 19 right in the J round - got 4 right in "Hobbies and Pastimes" and "12 Letter Words" and got the TS that wasn't really a TS of incandescent. Reason I say it wasn't a true TS is that James was originally ruled correct for his response of incandescence which has 13 and not 12 letters so Matt and Amy didn't get a chance to respond correctly. DJ brought me back to earth - most I got right in any category was 3, but I did end up with 55% right for both rounds. No FJ though.

[30 Helens]

I don’t need to see Ken play again. We already know all of these people are smart and great at the game; the fun of the rematches (for me, anyway) comes from the banter and the camaraderie, and just seeing all of them again. We get that from Ken every day. 

 

[Bliss]

On 5/20/2023 at 4:13 PM, 30 Helens said:

I don’t need to see Ken play again. We already know all of these people are smart and great at the game; the fun of the rematches (for me, anyway) comes from the banter and the camaraderie, and just seeing all of them again. We get that from Ken every day. 

 

100% Agreed!

This J! Masters is so enjoyable for me, especially the banter. They are ALL brilliant in their own ways. So sad Amy and Sam didn't make the semis... I'll miss Sam's hilarious comments.

I feel for Mattea and their grief.

Edited May 24, 2023 by Bliss
correction of pronoun... my apologies!

[sharwoods]

The first Masters game tonight is James/Andrew/Matt.   Assuming James wins, is the  next game Andrew/Matt/Mattea which would give someone other than James a chance to gain 3 points?   It would be important for someone to place second to James in Game 1 and then win in Game 2 because the chances of anyone but James winning Games 3 or 4 are slim.  I believe it will be extremely close in terms of total points for second, third, and fourth and feel sorry the person eliminated.  

[ams1001]

Decided to keep track of my TSes tonight...actually got two in each game.

Game 1: Dull Skull Hull and quicksand
Game 2: "Washington slept here" and Imagineering

 

[LennieBriscoe]

The first Semi-Final FJ (Literature) was SO FREAKING EASY  I yelled the answer at my TV!! Could not believe the show thought it would in any manner challenge MASTERS!

On to watch Game 2......

ANOTHER easy-peasy FJ! 

Tonight's FJs were both UK-oriented. Maybe that's why I regarded them as simple, being an Anglophile (saw dining table made from "The Golden Hind") who once taught British Lit!

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Hind

 

Edited May 23, 2023 by LennieBriscoe

[kathyk24]

James is amazing I was surprised he struggled in his first game. I was so happy for Mattea I would love to see her make the finals. I think we need to be careful saying something is too easy I had no clue for either Final Jeopardy.

[ams1001]

7 minutes ago, kathyk24 said:

 I had no clue for either Final Jeopardy.

Me, neither.

[dgpolo]

3 minutes ago, ams1001 said:

11 minutes ago, kathyk24 said:

 I had no clue for either Final Jeopardy.

Me, neither.

I had/have no clue about Ulysses except I sometimes remember Joyce wrote it. I was making my way toward Oz but would've needed twice the time. I briefly landed on Anne but knew it was published after 1900, same for Bambi, then Time!

 

13 minutes ago, kathyk24 said:

I was so happy for Mattea I would love to see her make the finals.

Mattea uses they/them pronouns.

[SomeTameGazelle]

1 hour ago, kathyk24 said:

I think we need to be careful saying something is too easy I had no clue for either Final Jeopardy.

For Ulysses I nearly tricked myself by thinking that it was Carl Sagan rather than Carl Jung who had reviewed the book and was trying to think of space-themed books. However I course-corrected (basically by thinking it would be obviously Ulysses if it weren't Sagan and rereading the clue) in time.

For the second game I don't even remember what Final was, just that I could tell Mattea was baffled by it as well. I was impressed with her play overall though, especially coming up with Joule.

[mertensia]

2 hours ago, ams1001 said:

Decided to keep track of my TSes tonight...actually got two in each game.

Game 1: Dull Skull Hull and quicksand
Game 2: "Washington slept here" and Imagineering

 

Scull, not skull.

 

I never would have gotten *Ulysses*.

[Bastet]

They had a lot of TS in the first game.  Of those nine, I got four.  The Esperanza TS pretty much blew me away; neither of them figured out he'd just used the O instead of the A?!  I also got shield laws, Broadcast News, and Stella Dallas -- and, no, Ken that was not at all tough for a TCM nerd. 

I got FJ in that one, and did fairly well overall -- except I could not for the life of me get farther than "Scully's tattoo" for the ouroboros clue.

In the second game, the only TS I got were Washington slept here and produce/produce.  I had no idea for FJ, and was so thoroughly bummed when it was clear Mattea didn't either. 

James's laugh when Ken calling him Holzhauer-San filtered through was funny, and I also enjoyed his pronunciation of "umbrella" for the Rihanna song, and Mattea's "I don't have TikTok" response to Ken.

[bad things are bad]

Holzhauer-san cracked me up as well. Couldn't believe Mattea whiffed on FJ

[Trey]

3 hours ago, bad things are bad said:

Couldn't believe Mattea whiffed on FJ

I know, eh.  And I was shouting it at her!

Her miss really depressed me.  Now it's going to be James, James, James.  I think this whole tournament is about James.  At least Mattea got one point.  Andrew didn't seem to be his usual self.

[PaulaO]

I thought Ulysses was a high school level FJ!  I haven’t been following this tournament closely because I kinda have Jeopardy! fatigue.  I don’t mind if it’s all about James.  I find his humor self-deprecating and love his banter with Ken.  I still can’t stand Mattea with their limp hand gestures.

[annzeepark914]

1 hour ago, Trey said:

I know, eh.  And I was shouting it at her!

Her miss really depressed me.  Now it's going to be James, James, James.  I think this whole tournament is about James.  At least Mattea got one point.  Andrew didn't seem to be his usual self.

He's going to win, no surprise. I find it interesting that lately there are moments (usually in Jeopardy) when he goes quiet as his fellow contestants rack up points. He's way too fast and knowledgeable to not know the info' needed. Then he comes roaring back in DJ.

[sharwoods]

Matt posted on Twitter yesterday that his strategy for the semifinals was to assume that James would earn 9 points of the maximum 16 points available and that if he picked up second place finishes he would advance into the finals because there were only 7 points remaining to split among himself, Andrew and Mattea.  Unfortunately, Matt came in last place in the first two games so his back is against the wall right now.  He needs to win the game today between himself, Andrew and Mattea.

[3 is enough]

Mattea has a thread on Twitter talking about their dad.  Evidently they were in LA taping when they got the news. It sounds like the show may have rescheduled  shooting to accommodate them.They will be talking about him in one of their interview segments tonight.

I have to wonder if it affected their play. I know I would not have been able to concentrate if I had been in their shoes.

[Bastet]

2 hours ago, 3 is enough said:

Evidently they were in LA taping when they got the news. It sounds like the show may have rescheduled  shooting to accommodate them.

I would hope so!  The contestants have made a lot of money off the show, but the show has also made even more money off inventing tournaments to keep bringing this group of recent all-stars back together.  If someone dared shrug "The show must go on" and made Mattea compete in the immediate aftermath of this terrible news rather than telling them to go home, and we'll re-schedule for something later that still lets us make air, I would never watch again.  But I really can't imagine that happening.

Edited May 23, 2023 by Bastet

[possibilities]

Here's the thread

 

[Bastet]

Oh, good, the J! family indeed came through and it played out exactly as it should have:

Quote

I’ll say this on TV tonight but I want to express it again here - I was at the set of Jeopardy when my dad died. Short of being at home with family, I cannot imagine a better place to be when receiving such horrific news

My fellow contestants were beyond supportive in the moment, and so many people on the production side of things moved mountains to make sure I could get home to my family and then come back later in the month to finish out the competition

What a bond they already had with these contestants, and now they'll also always remember they were there for them in the worst moment.

Edited May 23, 2023 by Bastet

[seacliffsal]

I am so sorry to hear about Mattea's dad!  My heart is with Mattea's family.  And, I would imagine that these Jeopardy champions are like a family as they have had many interactions during the past few years.

On another note, while watching last night's games it struck me that there is no way I could envision anyone other than Ken hosting such a tournament/contest.  He is totally at ease amongst all of these other strong players and is able to poke a bit of fun at James that nobody else would be able to do (as well as with Amy when discussing 40 wins [early in the tournament]).

[Athena]

Mattea Roach uses they/them pronouns. Even if they do not see your posts, we want other trans and non-binary people to feel welcome and respected. Please edit posts if you have used the incorrect pronoun. Thank you.

[annzeepark914]

"Do not piss off a Canadian, no matter how friendly they may seem"...James H. 😆  I loved this. I have really enjoyed hearing, reading all these fun, joshing comments from the Masters. Darn...is this the last week? I'm having Masters Tournament withdrawal symptoms already 🥴.

[UsernameFatigue]

It has been difficult watching the Masters tournament since learning of Mattea's father's passing. Seeing how happy they have been during the tapings, and knowing the horrific loss they would soon experience has been heartbreaking. 

I lost my father when I was a dozen years older than Mattea, and my father was a decade older than Mattea's dad. I too was the only girl in the family, and extremely close to my dad. It has been many years since my dad passed, and I still feel the loss deeply. I can only hope that the closeness of family and friends help Mattea cope, as it did me. 

I understand Mattea's difficulty in having their father's death made main stream news. But, at least in Canada, Mattea is much loved and respected. Their father (and mother) raised a very special person.