Jeopardy! Season 40 (2023-2024)

[Browncoat]

Arkansas never occurred to me.  I started with the East coast and the beginning of the alphabet, and got to the correct state with plenty of time to write it down.  Oooh, it's an asterisk!  But it wasn't an instaget.

I also got the TS of Rio de Janeiro, Viola Davis, Jessica Chastain, and Laura Linney.

[BuckeyeLou]

58 minutes ago, Browncoat said:

Arkansas never occurred to me.  I started with the East coast and the beginning of the alphabet, and got to the correct state with plenty of time to write it down.  Oooh, it's an asterisk!  But it wasn't an instaget.

I also got the TS of Rio de Janeiro, Viola Davis, Jessica Chastain, and Laura Linney.

I thought of the 13 original colonies & got Connecticut right away.  And I always get the "Lauras" mixed up, and said Laura Dern :)

[shapeshifter]

FJ was an instaget (with and asterisk!), and my first FJ in 42 FJs, which is perfect since “What is 42?” is the correct response to:

• Douglas Adams famously declared this was the answer to “the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything” in “The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.”

I got FJ because I had recently become obsessed with finding out more about my 1st grade teacher in Cheshire, Connecticut. Thank you, Miss Freeman!

I'm glad Alison will go to the TOC, and especially that she got to tell her story about her voice.

Marko's voice is almost too perfect😉, but I think he too stands a good chance of making it to the TOC.

Sad that Viola Davis was a TS.

Edited April 19 by shapeshifter
typo

[Grizzly]

The new champ is adorkable. 

I did not get FJ despite living here. But knew Viola Davis and Laura Linney.

[ams1001]

April 18:

Chiming in late because I stopped at my parents' to drop off an anniversary card (54 years!) and they got home from dinner not long after so I ended up staying for a while.

83% / 50% / 67%

Good first round, not good second. Again. In J! I ran Start of the Sport and Patience, missed one in Business, Literary Characters, and Crossword Clues R, and two in Second Cities. In DJ I missed one in 9-Letter Words and Patients, three in Books in History, Medals, and Juilliard, and four in Biblical Garb. But I got FJ and it was an asterisk!

TSes: (J had 1 + the DD; DJ had 7) I got Lowe's, Rio de Janeiro (DD), Purple Heart, Jessica Chastain.

1 hour ago, BuckeyeLou said:

I thought of the 13 original colonies & got Connecticut right away.  And I always get the "Lauras" mixed up, and said Laura Dern :)

I did the same thing! For FJ I figured the next one currently in line was unlikely to be the answer so I went to the original 13.  

42 minutes ago, Grizzly said:

The new champ is adorkable. 

Yes. I like him.

Edited April 19 by ams1001

[Bastet]

Well, boo, but Alison had a nice run and I'll see her again in the next ToC.

I had a horrible first round for a regular game.  I ran crossword clues and got all but one in patience, but I almost blew literary characters entirely, only knowing Puck, and missed two each in the rest. 

I got back on a more typical track in DJ; I ran Juilliard and patients and got all but the hackathon TS in words, missing two each in the rest.

And I got FJ.  I still remember all the states in alphabetical order thanks to "Fifty Nifty United States" in sixth grade.  I knew it wasn't Alaska or Arizona, put a pin in Arkansas as a possibility, but figured 1) it was probably an older state than that and 2) FJ wouldn't be so easy as being another "A" state; I had oodles of time left, so kept singing.  Obviously not California or Colorado, but, a-ha, Connecticut!   

[30 Helens]

I am beyond annoyed with myself for missing FJ. Arkansas came to mind first but I rejected it for being too late/west. Alaska and California for the same reason. Then my brain skipped right past Connecticut and went to Delaware, which I was not confident in but time was up. Maybe next time/ week/ month?

Congratulations Vanna Jr.! I like him, and I liked his story. I had to wonder about the middle guy, though… he gets a job offer in the room and then immediately takes time off to go to Jeopardy? Must have been a really good interview!

(edit to add: I realize by Bastet’s post that my brain skipped right past Arizona and Colorado as well. I would have rejected them, but still… oops again!)

Edited April 19 by 30 Helens

[SomeTameGazelle]

9 minutes ago, 30 Helens said:

I am beyond annoyed with myself for missing FJ. Arkansas came to mind first but I rejected it for being too late/west. Alaska and California for the same reason. Then my brain skipped right past Connecticut and went to Delaware

Same! Even though I had mentioned both Colorado and Connecticut in a phone conversation within the previous hour, as if I suddenly had no idea that any state other than California possibly started with C. 

[Prevailing Wind]

15 hours ago, MrAtoz said:

Sung by Murray Head, older brother of Anthony Stewart Head from Buffy, and the original Judas on the Jesus Christ Superstar concept album.

And Hayley Mills' brother in law in the 1966 film, "The Family Way."  I thought he was adorable and she probably married the wrong brother.

[ABay]

The version I was watching flashed FJ so quickly on the screen and then cut to the answers that I had no idea what the answer was.

[Clanstarling]

20 hours ago, MrAtoz said:

Sung by Murray Head, older brother of Anthony Stewart Head from Buffy, and the original Judas on the Jesus Christ Superstar concept album.

My favorite album ever. I saw a community theater performance of it when I was a teen, and have been hooked on it ever since.

16 hours ago, PaulaO said:

Doc Holliday was a bad Ass, nothing like Ashley Wilkes.  Where did the writers come up with that clue.  Insta get FJ!

Yeah, that was a head scratcher.

[SomeTameGazelle]

19 minutes ago, Clanstarling said:

 

Yeah, that was a head scratcher.

Re: Ashley Wilkes being inspired by Doc Holliday, I found this ... It sounds more like Mattie Holliday inspired the character of Melanie and Doc Holliday happened to be her cousin who loved her.

https://victoriawilcoxbooks.com/doc-holliday-stories/doc-hollidays-family-affair/

Edited April 19 by SomeTameGazelle
Name

[proserpina65]

17 hours ago, Katy M said:

I got FJ. 

I knew 1819 was too early for Arkansas to be a state yet, so that led me to the original 13 colonies, and Connecticut is the first of those alphabetically.

17 hours ago, Browncoat said:

I also got the TS of Rio de Janeiro,

I said Sao Paulo, having gotten it and Rio backwards.  The population of Sao Paulo is almost twice that of Rio.  Oops.

[proserpina65]

16 hours ago, BuckeyeLou said:

And I always get the "Lauras" mixed up, and said Laura Dern :)

Me, too.

 

18 hours ago, PaulaO said:

Doc Holliday was a bad Ass, nothing like Ashley Wilkes.  Where did the writers come up with that clue.  Insta get FJ!

The writers apparently did not make that up and it possibly has some basis in fact:

https://www.today.com/popculture/superman-7-trivia-bits-about-gwtw-1c9397936

Edited to note that I'm glad I'm not the only one who googled that.

Edited April 19 by proserpina65

[Quickbeam]

Thanks everyone for putting One Night in Bangkok back in my head. 🧐

[Katy M]

I said harley Quinn, but have to admit didn't really think it was right. But,it still counts.

I got the missed clues of Gila River, 12th Night, mingle and nosy.

I got the entire category of guitar wrong.

 

[ams1001]

April 19

77% / 57% / 67%

Decent first round, bad second. Again again. In J I ran Ordinal Phrases, missed one each in Anatomy, US Geography, Fun Facts, and Bowling, and three in Silence. In DJ I ran Plumbing, missed two in African History, Poets of Love, and The Depths, three in Words, and four in On Guitar.

FJ was an instaget.

TSes: (J had 2 + the DD; DJ had 6 + 1DD) I got Gila River (DD), Twelfth Night, mingle (DD), and tankless water heater.
 

[Browncoat]

Instaget FJ for me tonight.  

I also got the TS of Gila River, Twelfth Night, Our Lips Are Sealed, mingle, and nosy.  I said on-demand water heater instead of tankless, so I need a judge's ruling on whether or not that would have been accepted.  

[ams1001]

1 hour ago, Browncoat said:

I said on-demand water heater instead of tankless, so I need a judge's ruling on whether or not that would have been accepted.  

I say yes. The first line of the wikipedia page for tankless water heating reads, "Tankless water heaters — also called instantaneous, continuous flow, inline, flash, on-demand, or instant-on water heaters."

[Driad]

Could "Harlequin" be accepted for FJ?  The pronunciation could be the same.

[possibilities]

I thought tonight's game was fun. They kept things moving, cleared the board, and still managed to be kind of funny. The bios were fun, too.

Marko putting the ! after his name meant I kept having the impulse to shout POLO! every time the camera allowed me to see the podium, though. 

 

[30 Helens]

6 hours ago, Browncoat said:

 I said on-demand water heater instead of tankless, so I need a judge's ruling on whether or not that would have been accepted.  

I said the same thing, so I say yes.

4 hours ago, Driad said:

Could "Harlequin" be accepted for FJ?  The pronunciation could be the same.

But Harlequin was not the name of the character, so I don’t think so.

I was really hoping Marko would do a Vanna-like arm sweep of the podium during his introduction. 

8 hours ago, Quickbeam said:

Thanks everyone for putting One Night in Bangkok back in my head. 🧐

You’re welcome, Sunshine.

[ams1001]

8 hours ago, possibilities said:

I thought tonight's game was fun. They kept things moving, cleared the board, and still managed to be kind of funny. The bios were fun, too.

It was fun but I'm glad Molly didn't win. I feel like she's one of those players who would get on my nerves after a few games. I'm good with keeping Marko! for a bit, though. I like him a lot.

[Katy M]

10 hours ago, Driad said:

Could "Harlequin" be accepted for FJ?  The pronunciation could be the same.

If Berry and Barry can't be pronounced the same way (when clearly they are), going to have to give a no to this.  Plus, it goes from two words to one, which makes it more than a pronunciation issue.

[Trey]

I say Yes to on demand water heater (because that's what I said too) and No to Harlequin since that is not the character's name.

[PaulaO]

I know nothing about modern day comic books but based on the clue I answered Harlequin.  In my world, Harley Quinn is a mysterious detective created by Agatha Christie.

[Trey]

16 minutes ago, PaulaO said:

In my world, Harley Quinn is a mysterious detective created by Agatha Christie.

In my world too.  I only know of the current Harley Quinn by cultural osmosis.

[dgpolo]

1 hour ago, Trey said:

1 hour ago, PaulaO said:

In my world, Harley Quinn is a mysterious detective created by Agatha Christie.

In my world too.  I only know of the current Harley Quinn by cultural osmosis.

Add me too! I knew Harley Quinn from my grandkids and Harlequin and his diamond patterned costume from Agatha Christie. Also got Twelfth Night, and the missed DD of Gila. Not such a great game for me.

[Bastet]

1 hour ago, Trey said:

I only know of the current Harley Quinn by cultural osmosis.

Same here.  I figured I was doomed based on the category, but I happen to have seen the name "Harley Quinn" written around this site enough to register it (because it always makes me think "Like harlequin, cute".  I have no idea who she is/what she's from, but the diamond-patterned outfits part of the clue successfully led me to harlequin, and then Harley Quinn.

I was as doomed as predicted in the love poetry category, although the missed DD of "mingle" was an instaget; for a second, I could not figure out how Marko went so wrong until I realized just as Ken started to say it that he was trying to rhyme with the wrong line.  I figured the $400 clue had to be Dorothy Parker, but had nothing for the rest.

Bowling was my other bad category, as I've never bowled (I know this is utterly unheard of in some areas; a friend who lives where pretty much everyone has their own bowling ball in a personalized case in the hall closet actually gasped when that came up in conversation).  I figured the first one was strike, and guessed king pin, but I had nothing on the rest.

I didn't keep specific track, but I got most things in the rest of the categories. 

[SoMuchTV]

Quote

Featured in a 2020 film, she gets her name from a 16th c. Italian stock character who often wore diamond-patterned outfits

Since I was not a comic book kid nor am I a superhero movie adult, all I could come up with was Argylle.  Which was a movie (check) and diamond-patterned-related (check) but have no idea if Argylle was an actual character, and I'm pretty sure it came out later than 2020.  Better than leaving it blank?

[ams1001]

2 minutes ago, Bastet said:

Same here.  I figured I was doomed based on the category, but I happen to have seen the name "Harley Quinn" written around this site enough to register it (because it always makes me think "Like harlequin, cute".  I have no idea who she is/what she's from, but the diamond-patterned outfits part of the clue successfully led me to harlequin, and then Harley Quinn.

From what I understand, she's The Joker's sidekick/girlfriend(?), and I know she was played by Margot Robbie in the Suicide Squad movie.

4 minutes ago, Bastet said:

Bowling was my other bad category, as I've never bowled (I know this is utterly unheard of in some areas; a friend who lives where pretty much everyone has their own bowling ball in a personalized case in the hall closet actually gasped when that came up in conversation).  I figured the first one was strike, and guessed king pin, but I had nothing on the rest.

I bowled on a league for four years with my family when I was in middle/high school, and later for a season with some coworkers, so I got three of them based on that, but I'm not familiar with candlepin bowling (I have heard of it, but don't really know anything about it and didn't recognize the pins in the picture). Kingpin was more of an educated guess based on knowing the Woody Harrelson movie Kingpin is about bowling.

[ProudMary]

IMO, the only acceptable answer is Harley Quinn as the clue was specifically looking for the character.

There's something of a Harley Quinn renaissance that's been happening over the past few years.

Harley is currently being played in the DC Cinematic Universe by Margot Robbie, who's terrific in the role. She has appeared as Harley Quinn in three DC films, Suicide Squad (great supporting performance in a disappointing movie), Birds of Prey, where Harley Quinn is the main character leading a group of kick-ass women DC characters, and The Suicide Squad, a completely different and very funny film directed by James Gunn.

The character is also currently being brilliantly voice-acted by Kaley Cuoco in the animated Harley Quinn television series streaming on MAX. It's absolutely hilarious and definitely NOT for children! 

And that ends this nerd-hosted session of Comics 101.

 

[MrAtoz]

Okay, time to put my comic book geek hat on.

Harley Quinn debuted in the 1992 Saturday morning cartoon Batman: The Animated Series. She was the Joker's henchwoman/lover, and was originally only supposed to appear in one episode. She was voiced by Arleen Sorkin, who passed away just last year (RIP). The character was popular enough that she was brought back in multiple episodes, and eventually crossed over into the comic books.

Eventually she realized that her relationship with the Joker was toxic, and broke free of his influence to become, if not exactly a hero, then at least an antihero who wants to overcome her tendency toward violence and criminality. As mentioned, she is played brilliantly by Margot Robbie in the live action movies, and equally brilliantly by Kaley Cuoco in the for-adults-only animated series on MAX.

[proserpina65]

On 4/19/2024 at 5:48 PM, Quickbeam said:

Thanks everyone for putting One Night in Bangkok back in my head. 🧐

I'd just gotten it out of my head when it turned up in a rerun of The Big Bang Theory. 

On 4/19/2024 at 7:31 PM, Katy M said:

I said harley Quinn, but have to admit didn't really think it was right. But,it still counts.

It was an instaget for me because I'm familiar with the Commedia dell 'arte from whence Harlequin comes.  I know about the comic book character only through cultural osmosis.

On 4/20/2024 at 8:51 AM, ams1001 said:

I'm good with keeping Marko! for a bit, though. I like him a lot.

I don't dislike him but I found his prominent adam's apple disturbing in this game.  It reminded me of two X-Files episodes in which people died when giant spore-created creatures(?) burst through their throats.  Once I thought of that, I couldn't unsee it.

17 hours ago, MrAtoz said:

As mentioned, she is played brilliantly by Margot Robbie in the live action movies, and equally brilliantly by Kaley Cuoco in the for-adults-only animated series on MAX.

Isn't she being played by Lady Gaga in the sequel to the Joaquin Phoenix Joker movie?

[MrAtoz]

1 hour ago, proserpina65 said:

Isn't she being played by Lady Gaga in the sequel to the Joaquin Phoenix Joker movie?

I believe so, although I'm not sure that The Joker and its sequel(s) are in continuity with the rest of the current DC films.

[ams1001]

April 22: Happy Earth Day 🌍

70% / 57% / 63%

Decent first round, bad second. Off to a familiar start for the week. In J! I ran Emmy Winning Role, missed one in Also a Basketball Term, and two in everything else. In DJ I ran Libraries, missed one in Octopus, two in Role Almost Goes To, three in Zimbabwe and 6-Syllable Words, and four in Historical Figures. Did not get FJ.

TSes: (J had 2; DJ had 5 + 1DD) I got block grant, Jon Cryer, and Princeton University.

Darn, I wanted Marko! to win.

[Katy M]

I said Margaret Mitchell. And while equally wrong, I feel like it was a better answer than Sylvia Plath.

I got the missed clues of Jon Cryer, Indefatigable and Princeton.  

[Browncoat]

I didn't even have a guess for FJ.  And I feel like my non-answer was still a better answer than Sylvia Plath!

The only TS I got were Jon Cryer and Generalissimo, which was a total guess.

I wanted Marko! to win.  Nam annoyed me from the opening.

[shapeshifter]

I know Zora Mae Houston for Zora Neale Hurston would not fly on Jeopardy!, but do I get anything anywhere for it? 
I am so bad with names.

[ams1001]

13 minutes ago, Browncoat said:

I wanted Marko! to win.  Nam annoyed me from the opening.

Same, but I decided to refrain from including my non-so-nice comment. He seems like a nice guy. The finger guns or whatever he did at the beginning need to go.

[Bastet]

Aw, no one knew Duckie.

Poor Elly is probably not consoled by giving me a chuckle with her Hemingway response, but she did. 

(Marko's Sylvia Plath response, on the other hand, I don't even know.)

I had a great first round -- I ran books (even though I haven't read any of them), bridges (I've been on three of them, but I'm positive I'd have known them anyway), scaries, and basketball, and got all but Moore in same last names.  I missed two in roles, but with a little more time I'd have managed to spit out Squid Game thanks to cultural osmosis (Zendaya I had no shot at).

I only ran Zimbabwe in DJ, though.  I got all but one in octopus and words, but missed two in libraries and three each in roles and historical.

But I rebounded to get FJ.  I figured, given the year, it had to be another Black woman collaborating with Mabley, and Hurston popped into mind pretty quickly, and that worked for both 1931 and best known for a novel but also a playwright, so I was pretty confident I was right.

[30 Helens]

I guess co-opting Marko's exclamation point did the trick. Took a little zip out of Marko's, perhaps. Next person needs to add two of them, for extra power.

I noticed Marko's adam's apple on Friday, only because the stage lights were hitting it in such a way that it appeared to have distinct angles, like a sideways pyramid. I'm glad I didn't envision any creatures poking through, though. (This is not a dis on Marko's appearance, just the unfortunate lighting. I liked and will miss him.)

I'm mad at myself because Zora Neale Hurston flitted through my mind, but I rejected her. I'm not very familiar with her writing and thought she was mostly known for poetry. I really have to start getting out of my own Jeopardy way.

[ABay]

I said Hansberry.

It's always Princeton.

[Trey]

14 hours ago, Katy M said:

I said Margaret Mitchell. And while equally wrong, I feel like it was a better answer than Sylvia Plath.

Ditto.

I've heard of Moms Mabley but not Hurston.

Edited April 23 by Trey

[ams1001]

2 hours ago, Trey said:

I've heard of Moms Mabley but not Hurston.

I read Their Eyes Were Watching God in college, but know nothing of Moms Mabley. So I knew the novel she was best known for when the correct answer was revealed, but that didn't help me figure it out.

[Scott]

This new champion's shtick is going to get annoying really fast...oh wait, it already is!

[proserpina65]

16 hours ago, Katy M said:

I said Margaret Mitchell. And while equally wrong, I feel like it was a better answer than Sylvia Plath.

I got the missed clues of Jon Cryer, Indefatigable and Princeton.  

I also said Margaret Mitchell even though I knew it had to be wrong as hell.

I was thrilled to get Indefatigable correct.  Thank you, Ioan Gruffudd and your flawless cheekbones!

15 hours ago, ams1001 said:

Same, but I decided to refrain from including my non-so-nice comment. He seems like a nice guy. The finger guns or whatever he did at the beginning need to go.

I must've looked away and missed that.  So I didn't find him annoying.  But he better not do it again.

9 hours ago, 30 Helens said:

This is not a dis on Marko's appearance, just the unfortunate lighting. I liked and will miss him.

Totally.  He couldn't help the way the lighting worked.  And I think that's why I didn't notice it in his first game, because he was in a different spot.

2 hours ago, Trey said:

Ditto.

I've heard of Moms Mabley but not Hurston.

I'm familiar with her novel from it being on every single high school reading list when I worked at Borders (or so it seemed anyway), but the name just didn't come to me.  So I said something I knew had to be wrong, but maybe not as wrong as Sylvia Plath.

 

[possibilities]

Polo!

[Katy M]

I said Wells Fargo.  Had no idea even when the answer was revealed.

I got the missed clues of bravo, dancing and Ken Kesey.

I got the entire categories of authors and pro nouns right.

I have a 2011, so if they want to steal my car as the price to being on Jeopardy, they can go for it.

[ams1001]

April 23:

63% / 77% / 69%

Flipping the script! Meh first round, good second! In J! I missed one in Pop Culture and Math, two in Presidents & First Ladies, Words, and What Are You Afraid Of, and three in Italian Products. I did better in Math than in Words…that's just not normal. In DJ I ran Authors and "Pro" Nouns, missed one in The Picture of Someone Named Grey and I'll Remember Late April, two in Song/Ad, and three in Shared Lakes (why can I never remember Chad?!) Did not get FJ (also guessed Wells Fargo; my mind went to banking, not jewelry). 

TSes: (J had 5; DJ had 4 + 1DD) I got coefficient, Ken Kesey, CERN, and United Negro College Fund (DD).

Too bad math professor Marko! wasn't still there for the math category.

Yay! I was rooting for Mark tonight. I started writing this comment between the intros and the start of the game and my first line was, "I will have to stop watching the intros if Nam sticks around." Lianne was too slow.

Edited April 23 by ams1001