Jeopardy! Season 40 (2023-2024)

[ams1001]

May 17:

83% / 60% / 70%

Finally, an actually-good round this week! In J! I ran four categories! - I'm a Fun Guy, Passports, Enter the Literary Character, and Franklin (man, Michael Douglas is almost 80!?). Missed two in Words from Film and three in Baseball.

Not so great in DJ…missed one in "GN"owledge and Chapters in Biographies, two in Cast Members in the Reboot and Fungi, and three in State Name Stuff and 6-Letter Words.

Had no clue for FJ. Never read the book or saw the movie.

TSes: (J had 4; DJ had 10 + 1 DD) I got Phoebe Caulfield, tourist passport, West Virginia/Arkansas, Laura Ingalls Wilder (DD), One Day at a Time, and gnashed.

Got all the DDs, too.

The "GN"owledge category made my mind go here...

Edited May 17 by ams1001

[Browncoat]

Not quite an instaget FJ for me, but I got there via, "Oh, wait -- that movie with Sean Penn and the murdered girl!"  

I also got the TS of slacker, Laura Ingalls Wilder, One Day At A Time, and gnashed.  

Michael Douglas is sounding rough.

[possibilities]

My hair is close to the same as Grant's. Now I have to consider that I might look like Al Yankovich.

I felt terrible for Rachel on that DD, and not getting a chance to ring in again. Also, she has the same name as an actress who plays a major role in the current iteration of "All Creatures Great and Small"-- it's irrelevant, but I was thinking about it during the show.

 

Edited May 18 by possibilities
weird formatting glitch

[30 Helens]

I was rooting for Rachel. I respect a gutsy move.

I loved Mystic River the movie, and really loved Mystic River the book. Dennis Lehane fan here. FJ was an instaget.

On 5/16/2024 at 6:28 PM, ams1001 said:

I noticed Grant seems to be taking a page out of Matt Amodio's playbook with starting his responses with "what's"...

I never really noticed that before tonight, but after a few of those I felt compelled to yell at him, "You're no Matt Amodio. Knock it off." I don't know why it didn't work.

As for Grant's looks: I'm about to make myself sound even older than I actually am, but... Tiny Tim?

[possibilities]

25 minutes ago, 30 Helens said:

Tiny Tim?

Oh my God! Yes! He really does look like TT.

I'm pretty sure I don't look like Tiny Tim, though. 

[Prevailing Wind]

9 hours ago, Browncoat said:

Not quite an instaget FJ for me, but I got there via, "Oh, wait -- that movie with Sean Penn and the murdered girl!"  

I recently re-watched it because of my decision to watch EVERY Clint Eastwood movie I could.  During my binge, I decided he's a much better director than he is actor.

I think Grant is more Weird Al than Tiny Tim. He takes better care of his hair than TT did.

[Browncoat]

6 hours ago, 30 Helens said:

As for Grant's looks: I'm about to make myself sound even older than I actually am, but... Tiny Tim?

I can totally see that.

10 hours ago, possibilities said:

My hair is close to the same as Grant's. Now I have to consider that I might look like Al Yankovich.

It's as much his long face as it is his hair.  

[blueray]

11 hours ago, possibilities said:

I felt terrible for Rachel on that DD, and not getting a chance to ring in again. Also, she has the same name as an actress who plays a major role in the current iteration of "All Creatures Great and Small"-- it's irrelevant, but I was thinking about it during the show.

 

Omg! I was watching it with my in-laws and at first I was like "is this a repeat?" and they confirmed they only record new episodes (we were watching DVR). As I knew I heard her name before, but didn't recognize her or the other people. Anyhow, that is why her "name" seemed familiar, even if she didn't. And I also felt bad for her too, though I thought when she got the DD she should bet like 3,000. To put her in striking distance of the other two as it didn't need to be a knock out that late in the game. And hope to do well in finale jeopardy.

[possibilities]

I have been looking at photos of Yankovich and TT and I have concluded that they look very much alike (just looking at faces) and that I look like neither-- my hair is way puffier than theirs-- and that Grant looks like both of them. It's remarkable to me how the hair of the celebs is flatter than mine-- maybe they use more product? But why would they want to look like that? I guess Yankovich is going for a bit of a wacky persona, and maybe they do have genuinely more curly locks than puffy texture. But Grant also has less stringy/flat and more puffy hair than they do-- it's truly his face shape more than his hair alone, I think, that gives him the resemblance.

This ends my fixation on Jeopardy hair.

(I love my hair now, but it took a long time for me to figure out what to do with it, so I think about hair a lot, actually)

---

I'm a nosy person so I also want to know the story behing Grant's chair.

 

 

[PaulaO]

Like Rachel, I said Willa Cather.  I originally said Laura Ingalls Wilder but figured that was too easy.  I didn’t quite understand the wording of the clues in that category.  First was the book title, then chapter?

[possibilities]

I was certain it was Willa Cather! She does have a book called O Pioneers! So it wasn't crazy to go to Cather, even if it was wrong.

That was a good clue in the sense that it was tricky, and challenging... so I can't complain. And if I'm going to be wrong, I'd rather be wrong with Willa Cather than Laure Ingalls WIlder.

[Clanstarling]

16 hours ago, Browncoat said:

Michael Douglas is sounding rough.

I was taken aback, but listening closely, I wondered if he just had a cold or allergies - the stuffy sound combined with the gravel of old age.

11 hours ago, 30 Helens said:

I loved Mystic River the movie, and really loved Mystic River the book. Dennis Lehane fan here. FJ was an instaget.

Loved the book, I saw the movie, and loved Lehane. Never even got close.

2 hours ago, possibilities said:

I'm a nosy person so I also want to know the story behing Grant's chair.

I saw some article last night that said he has arthritis in his back (I think) and sitting standing (thanks @chessiegal) for long periods is painful. Walking around as a grocery clerk, however, is fine.

Edited May 18 by Clanstarling

[chessiegal]

9 minutes ago, Clanstarling said:

I saw some article last night that said he has arthritis in his back (I think) and sitting for long periods is painful. Walking around as a grocery clerk, however, is fine.

What I read is that standing for long periods is painful.

Quote

Grant responded on Reddit that he was suffering from “spinal arthritis” and producers gave him a chair so he could play his best. “They give if you ask,” he wrote.

 

[30 Helens]

15 minutes ago, Clanstarling said:

I was taken aback, but listening closely, I wondered if he just had a cold or allergies - the stuffy sound combined with the gravel of old age.

Michael Douglas had throat cancer some years ago… I assume the tumor and/or the treatment took a toll on his vocal chords.

[Clanstarling]

5 minutes ago, chessiegal said:

What I read is that standing for long periods is painful.

 

Oops, my mistake. I meant standing (really I did), but wrote sitting. Good catch!

Just now, 30 Helens said:

Michael Douglas had throat cancer some years ago… I assume the tumor and/or the treatment took a toll on his vocal chords.

True, but I've heard him speak since then. In this preview of Franklin, his voice doesn't sound nearly as bad : https://youtu.be/YPG4I2jPSRE?si=AoWwAc4LPEk_55ZN

[laredhead]

6 hours ago, blueray said:

And I also felt bad for her too, though I thought when she got the DD she should bet like 3,000. To put her in striking distance of the other two as it didn't need to be a knock out that late in the game. And hope to do well in finale jeopardy.

I know people seem to love to say 'I want to make it a true daily double' or something like that, but I would never do that.  I'm not a good gambler, and would always want to have something even as small as $100 so that I could participate in the final clue.  Also I would probably need $$ for a ride to the airport.

[chessiegal]

12 minutes ago, laredhead said:

Also I would probably need $$ for a ride to the airport.

Rachel came in 3rd - $2,000. That should get her to the airport. 😉

[Driad]

Luckily the contestants do not bet the money in their pockets. AIUI it takes a while for their winnings to arrive, so they have to pay their own way to the airport.

[Bastet]

I watched with friends, so didn't keep track, but know I did pretty well.  I was the only one who got FJ.  I figured it had to be a river that was forming the partial border, but was pretty sure there was no book and movie named after the Charles, so was initially stumped as I pondered ___ River titles of that era, and then Mystic River popped into my head.  I'm sure it helped that the film came up semi-recently in another thread.

[HyeChaps]

I have been telling myself for a while that, if I was ever on Jeopardy, I would use the Amodio “What’s” method. 
I use it all the time. Makes sense. 

[Driad]

If the correct reply is itself a question, is that enough? Or would you have to say "What is 'Who's on First?'"

[Bastet]

33 minutes ago, Driad said:

If the correct reply is itself a question, is that enough?

Yes, that has happened.

[ams1001]

3 hours ago, Driad said:

If the correct reply is itself a question, is that enough? Or would you have to say "What is 'Who's on First?'"

It is! 

[Katy M]

I said 12 Angry Men, but have to admit i didn't think it was right.  Mostly because I assumed the play itself is way older than 2004 (I saw the original movie and I'm pretty sure it was in black and white) and didn't know if they were talking about a new play or a revival.

 

I got the missed clues of bass and June 25th.

I got the entire categories of kids lit and deep space right.

[ams1001]

May 20:

67% / 57% / 61%

In J I ran Kids' Lit, missed one in Words that Should Rhyme and Sandwich Potpourri, two in Doja Vu, and three in Grouper and Garfield. In DJ I missed one in Dino Movies, Come & Go, and Deep Space Night, two in Turkmenistan, and three in It's A Date. Did not get FJ.

TSes: (J had 7; DJ had 5 + 1 DD) I got Hawaii and sea bass.

[Browncoat]

I did get FJ, but it was at the last second.  Partly because I was navigating to sweepstakes.jeopardy.com to enter to win a trip to Iceland.  

I only got the TS of Hawaii, bass, and 123123.

[Kimmmmmm]

Sooooooo disappointed. Was rooting for Greg and then the lady.

[PaulaO]

Perhaps Grant (and Troy) is sitting because he is so tall.  He’s about even with the other players now.

[ams1001]

9 minutes ago, PaulaO said:

Perhaps Grant (and Troy) is sitting because he is so tall.  He’s about even with the other players now.

Apparently he has arthritis in his back and standing in one spot for too long gets painful. Troy has some health issues, too, from what I saw (an article about him and his wife from several years ago mentions a heart condition).

Edited May 21 by ams1001

[Bastet]

6 minutes ago, PaulaO said:

Perhaps Grant (and Troy) is sitting because he is so tall.  

It was posted upthread Grant said somewhere he is sitting because arthritis in his back makes standing for an extended period uncomfortable.  (Troy never said why he opted to sit, AFAIK; he has a heart condition, but we don't know if that has anything to do with it.)  Producers have clarified if any contestant asks for a chair, they get it, no questions asked.

I cannot believe the 1,2,3 1,2,3 TS.

I missed two in Doja, but got all but Jumanji in kid lit and all but Five Easy Pieces in sandwiches and ran the rest of the first round.

I missed three each in dino movies and saints (which, in both cases, is better than I'd anticipated) and two each in dates and two in come & go, so I did not do as well in DJ, but I ran Turkmenistan and space.

FJ was one of the most insta of instagets I've ever had.

[30 Helens]

I was also wondering about Grant and his chair, not that it's any of my business. When his height was mentioned today, I noticed that he was about level with the other contestants when seated. Which led me to conclude he must be crazy tall, if they couldn't even find booster stands tall enough to elevate the others! But now it makes sense.

FJ was a total guess, but an educated one, I suppose. I just tried to think of a play that would only have male characters, and 12 Angry Men came immediately to mind. Although, I believe there have been gender-swapped productions with all women jurors.

[shapeshifter]

2 hours ago, Bastet said:

I cannot believe the 1,2,3 1,2,3 TS.

I swear, @Bastet, you and I could've waltzed around the Jeopardy! podiums several times counting “1,2,3. 1,2,3…” before it became a TS.
No wonder there were 2 clues left on the board.

 

I have issues similar to Grant, except I cannot sit, but when I do, I wind up leaning like he does, so I'm on team Grant. 
But he's young to be so afflicted. 😞

 

I got FJ pretty quickly by doing the math and not being burdened by any great knowledge of theater.

[possibilities]

Amy was sittin gon Masters tonight. I like that they just let people who want a chair have one. But the fact that the chair swivels would completely undo me, if I had to sit in one. The motion would completely distract me!

 

[Driad]

I hope the chairs can be adjusted to swivel or not.  On Downton Abbey, at one point the Dowager Duchess visited someone's office and sat in a chair that turned out to be a swivel chair.  

[proserpina65]

On 5/18/2024 at 10:51 AM, PaulaO said:

Like Rachel, I said Willa Cather.  I originally said Laura Ingalls Wilder but figured that was too easy.  I didn’t quite understand the wording of the clues in that category.  First was the book title, then chapter?

Yes, Prairie Fires is the name of the book and the others were chapter titles.  Although Pioneer Girl was the title given to Laura Ingalls Wilder's original autobiographical manuscript when it was published a few years ago.  It's the first version of what eventually became the Little House series, after some serious editing.

I've read both and own a copy of Prairie Fires.

On 5/20/2024 at 1:52 PM, HyeChaps said:

I have been telling myself for a while that, if I was ever on Jeopardy, I would use the Amodio “What’s” method. 
I use it all the time. Makes sense. 

I hate it.  I mean, at least use "Who's?" when it's a person/group.

[Katy M]

FJ was an instaget and I never even saw the movie.

I got the missed clues of Mauna Kea (after Mauna Loa), blackout, skittish, basic, and Daisy Jones and the Six (but to be fair I also answered that for the question before and would have used it for any answer I didn't know int he category).

[ams1001]

May 21:

53% / 53% / 54%

Ugh. Terrible but consistent. In J I missed one in the New York Times, two in Expensive Graduation Gifts and Broadway Summaries, and three in the rest. In DJ I missed one in Organization with Alliteration and TV, two in "I" is the Only Vowel, three in Chemistry and 19th Century Britain, and four in Band Books (not familiar with any of the books; heard of the couple that are TV shows (Station Eleven and Daisy Jones) but never saw them, and Ricky Ricardo was just an obvious guess).

FJ was an instaget. I was too young (not quite 5) when the movie came out and I have never actually seen it, but what other movie has spooky twins?

TSes: (J had 8; DJ had 7 + 1 DD) I got Apple, blackout, La Leche League (DD), and Euphoria.

I like Grant; sorry to see him go. I liked his plans for his money. I could go for some Italian food, too.

I feel mean but I'm glad Sam didn't win; the way she sort of swallowed her words was getting on my nerves.

[Kimmmmmm]

Happy for Chris!!! But I did like Grant's honeymoon story.

[Browncoat]

Archive game for me tonight, but FJ was an instaget, despite, like @Katy M and @ams1001 never having seen the movie.

I also got the TS of Mauna Kea, Apple, Daisy Jones and the Six, basic, and La Leche League.

2 hours ago, Kimmmmmm said:

But I did like Grant's honeymoon story.

I did record the show, so maybe I'll watch this part. 

2 hours ago, ams1001 said:

I feel mean but I'm glad Sam didn't win; the way she sort of swallowed her words was getting on my nerves.

But maybe I won't watch the whole show.

[ams1001]

4 minutes ago, Browncoat said:

But maybe I won't watch the whole show.

Well, it looks like she only rang in 5 times. She got them all right, at least...but I noticed it and it's definitely something that would really bug me if she stuck around too long. She didn't really seem to do it during the talk show portion*, though.

*Stealing that phrase from After Midnight.

[BradandJanet]

What was Grant's honeymoon story? I was out of the room during the interviews? 

[possibilities]

I knew La Leche League, but points to Grant for coming up with a guess on the fly.

[30 Helens]

I feel bad for Grant for not securing that tournament spot, but like Ken said, he'll probably be back anyway. Especially if they play one anytime soon-- to build the roster, they'll be asking 2- and 3-time winners! I liked Chris, though, so I'm good with his win.

FJ was the insta-iest of instagets.*  I feel like I should recommend the movie to those who haven't seen it, because it is so iconic, but I can't say I really liked it that much. Even at the time, a lot of it read more camp than scary. This is a case where the book was much better.

*although I would have been tempted to say "The Shinning". In Groundskeeper Willie's voice.

[ams1001]

9 hours ago, BradandJanet said:

What was Grant's honeymoon story? I was out of the room during the interviews? 

He said they got married in 2021 when things were still a little iffy covid-wise, so they spent their honeymoon in, if I recall correctly, "beautiful Tombstone, Arizona." (He lives in Prescott, which google tells me is about 4 hours away.) He said he'd like to take his wife to Italy, where she has some ancestry, and he could eat some food.

Side note, Facebook fed me a stupid article about why Grant was sitting, and he's quoted saying he's 6'4" ("I'm too tall for my own good." 😄)

Edited May 22 by ams1001

[proserpina65]

I've never seen The Shining, but those creepy twins are pretty iconic so FJ was an instaget.

Yeah, Grant's probably good for the TOC.  Heck, if there aren't enough 5 game winners, we might even get another tournament of non-winners who could have a shot of making the TOC.  (I seriously hope not, the last TOC was a travesty, imo.)

[Clanstarling]

On 5/20/2024 at 10:29 PM, shapeshifter said:

I swear, @Bastet, you and I could've waltzed around the Jeopardy! podiums several times counting “1,2,3. 1,2,3…” before it became a TS.
No wonder there were 2 clues left on the board.

I was shocked that my musician husband didn't get it and I did.

11 hours ago, 30 Helens said:

FJ was the insta-iest of instagets.*  I feel like I should recommend the movie to those who haven't seen it, because it is so iconic, but I can't say I really liked it that much. Even at the time, a lot of it read more camp than scary. This is a case where the book was much better.

I hated the movie (loved the book,  it's always an iffy proposition to see the movie if you loved the book) My daughter's fella loved the movie, and she was really worried when we got into a discussion about it (respectful discussion on both parts, how unusual these days). So yeah, instaget for me too. Again, surprised that the mister didn't get it - even though he read the book and saw the movie.

[Bastet]

I watched at my parents' house last night, so I didn't keep track, but I did very well except for that band books category, in which I was even worse than the contestants.  (Me, after missing the first three they uncovered in that category, all TS:  I don't know any of these.  My mom:  Neither do they.)  The only one I got was Ricky Ricardo.

But FJ was another instaget -- two in a row.  Which means I'll have no clue for tonight's.

[opus]

3 hours ago, Bastet said:

But FJ was another instaget -- two in a row.  Which means I'll have no clue for tonight's.

Which is exactly how it went down for me.

[Katy M]

I got FJ.  Not confidently, but I got it.

I got the misssed clues of thistle, Dome of the Rock, and hourglass.

I got the entire categories of rock and weeds right.  And the entire category of TV wrong.

[ams1001]

May 22:

63% / 67% / 64%

Better than last night, at least. In J I ran Weeds and Rock Me, missed one in Ends in "ITE", two in Puerto Ricans (completely blanked on the capital 🙄), and four in Drama of TV (never watched any of them but Tony Soprano was pretty obvious through cultural osmosis) and Amadeus. In DJ I ran Begins with a Silent Letter, missed one in Medical Crossword Clues, two in Already in the Form of a Question, Treaties, and Books from the Last Few Years*, and three in Fictional Movie Sports Teams.

(*I've even read one of the books, The Midnight Library; I also read one of Jesmyn Ward's books some months ago but it wasn't the one they asked about. I liked it and looked on the library site to see what other titles she has. But with gulf coast and 2005 disaster in the clue I would have gotten it, anyway.)

Did not get FJ. Not surprised.

TSes: (J had 4 + the DD; DJ had 7 + 1 DD) I got thistle, Dome of the Rock (DD), 49th Parallel, hourglass, Wherefore art thou Romeo? (DD), roller derby, and Why hast thou forsaken me? (since the response they accepted was determined after the fact to be wrong).

"This is why I bet 200." 😄

I liked everyone tonight so I'm good with the new champ.

I did as instructed and googled: The Scary Ham 
Also found Ellen's website: http://ellenklages.com/writing-type/non-fiction/

Edited May 22 by ams1001