Jeopardy! Masters

[annzeepark914]

3 hours ago, possibilities said:

Here's the thread

 

Oh, geez...I love these photos of dad & daughter. I'm so glad he was there, seeing his wonderful Mattea competing with the "other Jeopardy best". 

[shapeshifter]

19 hours ago, Bastet said:

Esperanza TS pretty much blew me away; neither of them figured out he'd just used the O instead of the A?! 

I assumed they were trying to remember her last name?
But I can't see the clue right now.

 

19 hours ago, Bastet said:

I had no idea for FJ, and was so thoroughly bummed when it was clear Mattea didn't either. 

Even before I noticed that Mattea looked tragically disappointed over their loss, I saw James' face showed disappointment on Mattea's behalf too. He knew he didn't need that win, and clearly, his villain persona is not who he is.

 

So sad about Mattea's loss. 😔

[ams1001]

I got Matt's missed DD of Red Maple!
(Helps that my parents have one in their front yard.)

Also got the TS of baseball = ~1 cup (thought that one was pretty obvious...) and Car 54 Where Are You?

Sam yelling "Bring It!" from the audience on the last clue was one of my favorite moments of this whole thing (and there have been a lot of great moments).

Loved Matt's FJ response and Mattea hugging Andrew.

I just wanted to give Mattea a hug. 

[WAnglais1]

Leo Bloom Day popped into my head on the first FJ. The second one? No clue at all. 

These folks are great, but I'm tired of James. I know that's the role he wants to play, but whatever. When he gets into the lead, I FF through stuff. Dude has another freaking show. Ugh. 

Mattea appears to have had a great relationship with their dad. I'm always a bit jealous of people who did with either parent. 

Edited May 24, 2023 by WAnglais1

[Lady Lucy]

Though Mattea bugged me during their initial run, they have grown on me. So, I was very happy they are moving on to the finals. 

 

[annzeepark914]

Ok...they're young and I am not 😒.TS-Nat King Cole. Another one was "Car 54 Where Are You?" (have to admit I never watched this show). 

Edited May 24, 2023 by annzeepark914

[Magnumfangirl]

Why didn't they use total score to break the tie?  What they did made Andrew and Mattea's FJ wagers irrelevant.

[secnarf]

1 hour ago, shapeshifter said:

Even before I noticed that Mattea looked tragically disappointed over their loss, I saw James' face showed disappointment on Mattea's behalf too. He knew he didn't need that win, and clearly, his villain persona is not who he is

Yes, I noticed too how upset Mattea looked, I thought they knew they had lost. Even reading their Twitter comments during the game, I thought that was it. Their excellent performance in yesterday's game gave them enough correct responses to get through, though, and that would have been their first episode taping since his death.

I had wondered about how James was going to do in this last game also - he didn't need to answer a single question, but I couldn't see him throwing the game (and I'm sure there would be legal issues if he tried). But it is a bit awkward for him! He has always been extremely gracious towards the other contestants, far from a villain.

I said this before, but I am really surprised at how close to airing this was filmed. But I wonder how big the gap was between the first seven games and the back three - even with Mattea's father's death - since Sam (and hopefully Amy?) were still in the audience for the semifinals at least.

2 minutes ago, Magnumfangirl said:

Why didn't they use total score to break the tie?  What they did made Andrew and Mattea's FJ wagers irrelevant.

They had set the rules up front - all of the various tiebreaker tiers were posted online. You can't change the rules part way through.

[Thalia]

27 minutes ago, secnarf said:

- since Sam (and hopefully Amy?) were still in the audience for the semifinals at least.

I saw Amy sitting next to Sam in one audience shot tonight. 

I'm blanking on the last nighttime tournament they had (teachers maybe?), but as much as I love this show 90 minutes of Jeopardy! a day was too much for me.  But this time -- probably because I know and love the players and their relationship with Ken and each other -- I've really enjoyed spending my evenings with them. 

I'm beyond pleased that Matt is still in the game.  I'm happy for Mattea (and having lost my father late last year, I'm glad for more than one reason) but was shocked when Andrew was eliminateed.  

[Magnumfangirl]

58 minutes ago, secnarf said:

They had set the rules up front - all of the various tiebreaker tiers were posted online. You can't change the rules part way through.

I know, but I still think total score for the three games would have made the wagering in FJ relevant for a tiebreaker.

[LennieBriscoe]

KARMA. Yep, didn't get either FJ tonight!

But then, no Master did, either, for Game #1! I guessed a Henry, but not the correct one---Henry Percy, AKA Hotspur. [Note: 3rd "UK-affiliated" FJ in a row.]

Game #2, still kicking myself, for once upon a time I taught about Gotterdammerung, the myth! Instead, I went with "Fidelio," doubly wrong because I thought it was by Mozart, haha! 

I'll miss these crazy kids when they're gone. 

[crashdown]

 

I'm not crying. You're crying! (Man, this tournament . . .)

[SomeTameGazelle]

1 hour ago, Thalia said:

 

I'm blanking on the last nighttime tournament they had (teachers maybe?), but as much as I love this show 90 minutes of Jeopardy! a day was too much for me.  But this time -- probably because I know and love the players and their relationship with Ken and each other -- I've really enjoyed spending my evenings with them.

It was the College tournament last year and it was overload for me too. I was skeptical about the Masters but all of the pieces (except the DD reveal gimmick) came together in a really appealing way so that I loved it and some nights I watched it before regular Jeopardy.

[Bliss]

Mattea's reveal about their Dad... wow, they are so strong to continue to play!... and their placement in the finals made my day! (It's been 19 years since my Dad transitioned - I was with him when he passed - and I still talk to him every day!)

[SomeTameGazelle]

40 minutes ago, crashdown said:

 

I'm not crying. You're crying! (Man, this tournament . . .)

I love the fact that so many of Andrew's anecdotes have been about the times he was hanging out with other Jeopardy champs. And that Mattea's first reaction to the tiebreaker announcement was to comfort him.  

[crashdown]

15 minutes ago, SomeTameGazelle said:

I love the fact that so many of Andrew's anecdotes have been about the times he was hanging out with other Jeopardy champs. And that Mattea's first reaction to the tiebreaker announcement was to comfort him.  

The chemistry among all of them (including Ken) is just off the charts--they all really love each other, and it's just made for wonderful television. I don't think the Jeopardy PTB will ever be able to replicate exactly this magic in another tournament again. Sometimes, the stars just align and something really special happens on TV. Who would have thought that it would happen in a gimmicky prime time Jeopardy tournament?

[30 Helens]

16 hours ago, PaulaO said:

I don’t mind if it’s all about James.  I find his humor self-deprecating and love his banter with Ken.  

Same. He shouldn’t be vilified because he’s good at the game. Isn’t that why they’re all here?

11 hours ago, seacliffsal said:

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]).

Yes, and I’m sure it was planned that way. Although Mayim is the “official” host of primetime tournaments, I assume this was scheduled to happen when Mayim was hosting the regular games precisely so Ken could do this. He is a part of this family in a way that Mayim could never be, simply because she has never had the experience of playing the game. Ken’s presence made all the difference in setting the tone for this, and I’m glad the J! schedulers thought it through.

I’m pleased with the final 3. Originally, I was rooting for any combination of Sam, Amy, James and Matt, so I’ve been pulling for Matt in the semis. (James didn’t need my support.) I thought he was out of it until that last game, so it made me happy to see him pull that off. And I’m glad Mattea made the finals, as well. I was moved by their tribute to their dad, and what an even better tribute to go all the way in an endeavor that undoubtedly gave him a lot of pride.

 

Edited May 24, 2023 by 30 Helens

[Leeds]

10 hours ago, 3 is enough said:

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.

I wish the producers hadn't chosen to do this.  Mattea was obviously very affected by talking about their Dad, and despite Ken encouraging them to "regroup" or whatever word he used, they only had a very few seconds to do so before the round started.  I'm only speculating of course, but it seemed to me that they were off their game in the second round with few successful buzz-ins.  I was glad they made it through, but I cried when she hugged Andrew.

 

[SomeTameGazelle]

27 minutes ago, Leeds said:

I wish the producers hadn't chosen to do this.  Mattea was obviously very affected by talking about their Dad, and despite Ken encouraging them to "regroup" or whatever word he used, they only had a very few seconds to do so before the round started.  I'm only speculating of course, but it seemed to me that they were off their game in the second round with few successful buzz-ins.  I was glad they made it through, but I cried when she hugged Andrew.

 

Mattea's tweets are specifically about the fact that they wanted to use that opportunity to talk about their dad. I don't think the producers pressured them to do it.  

[Leeds]

On 5/23/2023 at 9:45 PM, SomeTameGazelle said:

Mattea's tweets are specifically about the fact that they wanted to use that opportunity to talk about their dad. I don't think the producers pressured them to do it.  

Thanks for the information.  I don't do Twitter so I really appreciate your filling me in.

Edited May 28, 2023 by Leeds

[opus]

14 hours ago, PaulaO said:

I still can’t stand Mattea with their limp hand gestures.

I’ll take the hand gestures over any of James’s attempts to smile.

[Prevailing Wind]

I haven't been watching.  I have discovered the ABC channel on Roku and they're streaming the Masters, so I've started from the beginning.  I had no idea this was available.

 

[Prevailing Wind]

Good grief!  Does EVERY board have to have a Judeo-Christian religion category??

[Trey]

I am so ticked!

The station I usually watch this on didn't show it for some reason so I supposed there just wasn't a game.  If I had known there was I could have caught it on the American station.

Only reason I suspected there was a game was because my news station had a crawl that Mattea had made it into the finals.  Figured they were either pre-mature or I had missed a game.

So, thanks for all your posts giving me an idea of the feelings and the drama.  Would have loved to have seen the tiebreaker.

Just found Mattea's talk about their Dad on Youtube and also the tiebreaker announcement so I guess I saw the bits that mattered most. (to me anyhow)

[Evenshorter]

So happy that Mattea made it into the finals! I know they have a lot of critics on this forum, but to be able to play as they did after speaking about their father, I give them soo much credit. As a mom it broke my heart for them, but as a fan of the show, I'm so excited to see them in the final 3. Still think it's James' game to lose, but won't be able to watch tonight because it's the Survivor finale. I'm going to get spoiled on one of them, so I'm watching Survivor "live".

[kathyk24]

Does anyone know what the ratings are for the tournament? The Final episode will be against Survivor. I think James will win he's been so focused during the last few games.

[Bastet]

Yes, Mattea!  I am so glad they made it in.  Heading into that final game, I had Andrew's score in my head incorrectly, so when it became clear Mattea could not get any points for this game, I thought he was in and was thoroughly bummed -- if it had been Andrew instead, I'd have rooted for Matt in the finals, but nowhere near as enthusiastically as I'm going to root for Mattea.  I don't know how well they're going to be able to function under the circumstances (for all the "heroic" stories about someone going out and winning big in memory of someone they've just lost, who'd be so proud of them if they could see it, it's more common for someone to be simply unable to get their brain working on the level it typically is), just like in this game, but I'm thrilled they have the opportunity.

I wasn't home last night, so watched this when I got into bed, which was silly as I knew I'd have very little brain power left, but I wanted to see Mattea's interview segment about their father, knowing how important it was to them to use what might be their last game of the tournament to acknowledge his death in the time between games, his role in their life, and the wonderful support of the J! folks at the worst moment of their life.

Despite my brain already being half asleep I did get some TS.  But the archive hasn't been updated yet for me to check what they are.  Those I can remember: One cup (I cannot believe none of them came up with that!), Nat King Cole, and Car 54, Where Are You?, but I know there were a couple of others.  I didn't get either FJ, though.

I loved Sam getting to do the final "Bring it!" from the audience (and the shot of Amy sitting right there with him; I have no doubt Andrew will make it three and they'll all watch the finals together).

[SoMuchTV]

1 hour ago, kathyk24 said:

Does anyone know what the ratings are for the tournament? The Final episode will be against Survivor. I think James will win he's been so focused during the last few games.

I don't know about ratings, but I'm planning to watch Masters then FF through ads on Survivor (the season finale).  Thanks, YouTubeTV DVR!  But even without it, I would still have manually recorded Survivor for the same results.

[ProudMary]

3 hours ago, kathyk24 said:

Does anyone know what the ratings are for the tournament? The Final episode will be against Survivor. I think James will win he's been so focused during the last few games.

They seem to be very good. Last night's episode tied with The Voice's season finale. 

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/ratings-jeopardy-ties-voice-finale-154546844.html

Also, ratings for the first week's Jeopardy! Masters' episodes compared favorably to those of the G.O.A.T Tournament back in January, 2020. Importantly, ratings grew over a seven day period. 

https://www.thewrap.com/jeopardy-masters-premiere-ratings-viewership-abc/

[ams1001]

I know J! Masters is #1 in the ratings in my house! 

18 hours ago, SomeTameGazelle said:

It was the College tournament last year and it was overload for me too. I was skeptical about the Masters but all of the pieces (except the DD reveal gimmick) came together in a really appealing way so that I loved it and some nights I watched it before regular Jeopardy.

I think a big part of it is that they've all played the game before (against each other, even; James is the only one who wasn't in last year's TOC, right?), knew each other, and had Ken hosting, who is more familiar with the game than anyone, while the College Championship was just another tournament made up of strangers playing for the first time and had an "outsider" hosting (don't remember how much Mayim hosted before that tourney). It just makes for a more relaxed and fun atmosphere, even while they are serious competitors playing to win. I definitely felt the overload with an hour and a half of games during the College tournament, but not with this, because it was just so much fun to watch.

11 hours ago, Prevailing Wind said:

Good grief!  Does EVERY board have to have a Judeo-Christian religion category??

They seem to be getting a little overloaded with the anagrams lately, too. (There's one in the regular game again tonight.) I hate them because I kind of suck at anagrams and I almost always need more time if I'm going to have any hope of figuring them out.

[ams1001]

2 hours ago, Bastet said:

I loved Sam getting to do the final "Bring it!" from the audience (and the shot of Amy sitting right there with him; I have no doubt Andrew will make it three and they'll all watch the finals together).

Looks like they had front row seats!

(from a J! Facebook post)

 

[Bastet]

14 minutes ago, ams1001 said:

I definitely felt the overload with an hour and a half of games during the College tournament, but not with this, because it was just so much fun to watch.

I was hoping that would be the case for me, but, while I've enjoyed it more than the college tournament due to my familiarity with these contestants and the caliber of play, I've had the same degree of "an hour and half of J! over a two hour span of my night is too much" fatigue. 

Edited May 24, 2023 by Bastet

[annzeepark914]

I don't think I've ever before enjoyed Jeopardy as much as I've enjoyed this Masters Tournament--basically because of these contestants (even James 😯). Loved that picture of Andrew, Sam & Amy. Bring it, indeed.

[ams1001]

27 minutes ago, annzeepark914 said:

Loved that picture of Andrew, Sam & Amy. Bring it, indeed.

Sam looks like a proud dad.

[ams1001]

Of course James drew the trophy for his name screen. 😂

[annzeepark914]

Hmmm ..I got three TS's: Wagner Group, Waltz (not totally correct but I'm claiming it anyway) and Cable. I was really shocked that these three contestants didn't know about the Wagner Group.  

[possibilities]

I'm glad the show made the donation to a charity chosen by the winner. I wish they had publicized that aspect of the tournament more before tonight. If they did, I somehow missed it entirely.

 

[ams1001]

My TSes tonight:

Game 1: Wagner Group, waltz, Mongolia, cable knit

Game 2: bands, South Carolina

Wow, that was a low-scoring game for the guys. Both under 10K.

Not at all surprised James won. I was rooting for Sam, then Matt. Then I was rooting for Mattea before the response was revealed because I realized they could beat James. (He was sweet to tell them how proud their dad would be.) 

 

Did he said they'd be back next year? We're doing this again?

Edited May 25, 2023 by ams1001

[kathyk24]

I won't spoil the ending but I was so happy that I knew both final jeopardy questions. I was thrilled that one of my favorite shows Cold Case was an answer.

[secnarf]

Oh Mattea! If you had only wagered a couple thousand less. They did incredibly well and should be very proud, but it has to hurt to come down to the wager. With the runaway game in the second round though, it does make it tricky.

I'm not at all surprised James won, and I do think overall he was the best player (I think the only two games he lost were to Matt and Mattea). Mind you, once I realized that Sam and Amy's pictures were on the bottom of the screen in the intro, and James' was on top, I was pretty sure he would win - and that was only solidified when Andrew was the next to go.

27 minutes ago, kathyk24 said:

I was thrilled that one of my favorite shows Cold Case was an answer.

Me too! I thought for a second nobody was going to get it, but Matt came through.

 

[ProudMary]

36 minutes ago, ams1001 said:

Did he said they'd be back next year? We're doing this again?

Yes. Ken said that the three finalists would be back for next year's Masters Tournament. 

[SomeTameGazelle]

James panicking when he realized he had forgotten to mention his stepmother was rather adorable.

I too would not have known any better than to guess the Castro for that clue, Matt.

I couldn't quite think of either FJ. I got as close as thinking of Salaam for the first and knew that they wanted Arthurian legends for the second but couldn't come up with the author's name. I did wish that Ken had said more about the track that James was on with T.H. White. I knew why Ken mentioned the date being wrong but I wanted to be sure that everyone knew that date aside the response was not out of left field.

 

[Bliss]

Fantastic tournament! I enjoyed every moment/banter/laugh. Ken was actually glowing.

So proud of Mattea! 24 years old, I believe, and going through their deepest grief of their life! They came sooooo close to winning the trophy... I was literally on the edge of my seat (I'd also guessed Chaucer for FJ)... and personally, I would have loved JDA getting that $100,000 (one of my daughters has T1 diabetes... horrid disease) - hopefully, having Mattea's promotion may spawn some donations.

Great job, J! I look forward to next year's tournament.

 

[kathyk24]

6 minutes ago, Bliss said:

Fantastic tournament! I enjoyed every moment/banter/laugh. Ken was actually glowing.

So proud of Mattea! 24 years old, I believe, and going through their deepest grief of their life! They came sooooo close to winning the trophy... I was literally on the edge of my seat (I'd also guessed Chaucer for FJ)... and personally, I would have loved JDA getting that $100,000 (one of my daughters has T1 diabetes... horrid disease) - hopefully, having Mattea's promotion may spawn some donations.

Great job, J! I look forward to next year's tournament.

 

I wanted James to win but after Mattea's dad died I wanted Mattea to win. I think Jeopardy should make donations to each contestant's charity the show gave away millions after Alex died. My one nitpick was not asking for all three names in that category.

[possibilities]

10 minutes ago, kathyk24 said:

I think Jeopardy should make donations to each contestant's charity t

I wished that, too. It was especially noticeable since they gave less to the charity than to the contestants.

[Cotypubby]

1 hour ago, secnarf said:

Oh Mattea! If you had only wagered a couple thousand less. They did incredibly well and should be very proud, but it has to hurt to come down to the wager.

Yeah but Mattea was wagering on James betting everything and getting it right.

Edited May 25, 2023 by Cotypubby

[chicagofan]

24 minutes ago, kathyk24 said:

 My one nitpick was not asking for all three names in that category.

Yes! Yes! Yes!

[Leeds]

Loved Ken's Santos joke.

[30 Helens]

2 hours ago, ams1001 said:

Did he said they'd be back next year? We're doing this again?

Yes, they are not letting this group go. I’m sure Amy, Sam and Andrew will be back, too, for whatever scenario they can work out. (To be clear: I love them all, and I’ll watch whenever they appear, but it doesn’t mean I’m immune to the cynical ratings grab of it all.) 

41 minutes ago, kathyk24 said:

My one nitpick was not asking for all three names in that category.

I said the same thing. If there is a “three names” category, the responses should require all three names. I complained about this exactly 5 times.

5 hours ago, ams1001 said:

They seem to be getting a little overloaded with the anagrams lately, too. (There's one in the regular game again tonight.) I hate them because I kind of suck at anagrams and I almost always need more time if I'm going to have any hope of figuring them out.

This always frustrates me because if they would just leave it on screen a bit longer (as long as the contestants have), I would have a chance of solving it. Whyyyy make it harder than it has to be?

Congratulations to James. I’m glad it wasn’t a runaway, so no more fuel to the conspiracy theories. But it was well deserved. Congrats also to Mattea for an impressive showing. I’m guessing Matt will need a little more family therapy, but he should be proud of his effort.

[Bastet]

"I don't get to say this very much, but George Santos is correct."  HA!!!

Boo to the final result, but good for Mattea having great games, and under terrible circumstances.  I did not get to see the final FJ, as I had to watch tonight's games via the ABC app (long story) and it decided to crap out on me right after that FJ category was revealed!  (The tantrum I threw would impress an exhausted toddler.)  So I don't know the specifics, and just know from reading online that James won. 

I kicked ass in the first game.  They had a whopping 13 TS and I got six of them (Wagner, adamant, pro se, waltz, Northern Cross (only after James clued me in, but it counts), and systemic.  I also got FJ, and did well overall (but missed at least two in horror movies, which is typically a great category for me [and I expected a BMS prompt on "Jason" for the Friday the 13th clue, but I guess for that little money they don't require Voorhees]).

I did fairly well in the second game, too, better than I've done in any second game so far, so I guess I saved myself up for the finals.  They had 8 TS and I got all but two of them (I didn't note which ones I didn't get, just which ones I did, as that's usually the smaller list -- Black Power, the Haight District, bands, Pollard, "You and Me Against the World", and South Carolina).  I had to look up FJ, thanks to the shitty app, but I did not get it.

I liked Mattea's sympathetic reaction to Matt missing his DD.

Speaking of DDs, while I always remark on TS that surprise me, I hardly ever classify a missed DD as surprising, since any given contestant no matter their qualifications can always have a knowledge gap or brain fart on any given clue no matter its difficulty -- I generally only react when none of the contestants comes up with something I'd expect at least one of three J! contestants to know/correctly guess.  But I was surprised James didn't come up with the Warren Commission's report for his DD.