Jeopardy! Season 41 (2024-2025)

[Trey]

Oppenheimer was my first response for FJ but I very quickly switched to Marie Curie, didn't even think it might be Pierre.

Kit Carson shoutout to us.

I am very familiar with the Oscar Wilde quote and was surprised that none of the contestants knew it.

[Clanstarling]

14 hours ago, ProudMary said:

I'm very sad that XTC was a TS. So was Ken!

I was reading too quickly, and thought Ken was a TS! LOL

[proserpina65]

On 12/10/2024 at 7:27 PM, ams1001 said:

Had no clue for FJ.

That FJ was one of my nightmare categories and I did as well with it as I would've imagined.

Last night, however, I had a really good game.  FJ was an instaget.  I ran 5 categories (Political Oopsies, which was quite unexpected, On The Ropes, True Tales Of Transportation, Historic Objects and Asian Americans).  Also got all but one clue in Rhyming Last Names, TV Show Taglines and Triple "T"s Me.  And I got a whopping 12 stumpers: Cold Cash, sheepshank, Casey & Basie, temptation, petticoat, librettist, New Mexico, Campbell, Grand Coulee Dam, I.M. Pei, XTC and Exodus.

On 12/10/2024 at 10:36 PM, ams1001 said:

I guessed North Island.  😑

I've watched a lot of things about New Zealand since the summer of 2020, so I knew Christchurch & Dunedin were on the South Island.  Auckland & Wellington are the largest cities on the North Island, with Auckland being the largest city in the entire country.  For future reference. 🙂

15 hours ago, Bastet said:

I got all but Olivia Rodrigo in Asian Americans (I have got to learn who she is; they seem to ask about her a lot)

Only reason, imo.  Her music is bland and amateurish.

9 hours ago, Browncoat said:

Instaget FJ for me, from just off the east coast of Macquarie Island, where today we visited colonies of two types of penguins -- King Penguins and Royal Penguins.  There were also weaner elephant seals all over the beach where we landed, and they were so curious and friendly!  Or more like hungry and looking for their mothers.  But, as their name implies, they have been weaned, and they're on their own.  They'd come right up to us, though, sniffing our boots and booping our legs, then looking up at us with these sad, puppy-dog, liquid brown eyes.  I could see my reflection in them.  

But we are now getting ready to motor north, through what is promising to be quite  the storm system.  The crew has bolted plywood or something to my window to protect it from high waves.  Eek!  I preemptively took Dramamine!

I'm loving your updates!

[Good Queen Jane]

18 hours ago, ProudMary said:

Kit Carson sighting. 🙂

That’s the second in a month. I think the writers are pandering to us. Or making up for Women Writers.

[Bastet]

Since I'll be watching football tonight, I just checked the archive.

I only ran ancient wonders in the first round, but did okay; I got all but Alibaba in stocks, all but Reese Witherspoon in blondes, and all but the Arkansas in bridges (giving myself credit for Eiffel; I looked up a picture of the bridge, and I definitely would have figured it was Eiffel had I seen whichever one they used).  I missed two each in dodge and America.

I was terrible in poetry (unsurprising), only knowing immortality.  And I missed three in birds (seeing the pictures wouldn't have helped).  But I ran the rest of DJ (giving myself credit for a couple of the films, but most of them I knew even without being able to see).

I got FJ, but it took me long enough the Think music might have run out had I been watching.  Eh, I'll give myself credit anyway.

[ams1001]

December 12:

43% / 63% / 53%

Ugh. In J I missed one in Part of a 7 Ancient Wonders Name, two in America Before 1800, three in Dodgepodge and Blondes, and four in Bridges and Stocks. In DJ I missed one in Abbreviated Magazines, Top Row of the Keyboard Words, and Columbia 100th Anniversary, two in National Birds, and three in Poetry and Georgia.

Didn't get FJ (I also guessed Dick Van Dyke Show for no other reason than it was the only 60s show that came to mind, probably because I saw a story yesterday about him having to evacuate his home because of the Malibu wildfire and one of his cats getting loose in the process; I just googled and saw he was able to go home and the cat is fine).

TSes: (J had 5 + the DD; DJ had 10) I got Mason & Dixon (DD), barn swallow, pique, purty, and rainbow.
 

[Katy M]

Well, I knew FJ as soon as Ken gave the extra clue after the music stopped, but that doesn't count.  

I got the missed clues of silver skates, (Maging prom?, seriously my handwriting needs serious help), Southwest, barn swallow, unbowed and rainbow.

[SoMuchTV]

My immediate thought when I saw FJ! was,  they made Rob Petry’s ottoman into a flask?!?! but fortunately I’m old enough to remember there were other sitcoms in the 60s.  And wasn’t distracted by Granny’s moonshine jug. 

[shapeshifter]

I Dream of Jeannie's bottle was an instaget, but would it have been wrong if I included "the bottle"?

My instaget TSs were unbowed, barn swallow, and silver skates.

[Quickbeam]

Often, as with I Dream of Jeannie, I think the contestants are just too young. For fossils like my husband and myself, it was ridiculously easy.

[Browncoat]

And indeed the seas were rough earlier, and I blame the 10-12 meter (that's about 32 to about 40 feet) swells for my inability to get Thursday's FJ.  The ship only has six decks above water! I am kind of glad they bolted whatever it is to my windows -- it isn't plywood, it's concrete-ish.  Either way, I could barely hear the waves crashing into my window all night and half the day today.  At least the Dramamine worked.  I slept well, although I hate that side effect, and ate well, too.

Tomorrow (Saturday for me, Friday for you) is another sea day, but it's meant to be much calmer, so maybe I'll be able to concentrate better.  No penguins today, except the ones carved out of eggplant in the dining room.

[30 Helens]

8 hours ago, Quickbeam said:

Often, as with I Dream of Jeannie, I think the contestants are just too young. For fossils like my husband and myself, it was ridiculously easy.

I think you’re probably right, as I haven’t seen Jeannie in syndication in a very long time, and I haven’t run across it on any streaming service, either. The concept of a woman being so subservient to her “master” and living in constant fear of displeasing him is probably a little problematic for current times.

Still, I am old enough to remember the show, but it never occurred to me. I am surprised to learn that the bottle was actually a whiskey decanter— based on its looks, I always assumed something more girly, like a perfume bottle.

But if the clue had been about controversy over a 1960’s character’s bared midriff, I would have aced it! (They made Barbara Eden hike up those harem pants to a more respectable level.) The Dick Van Dyke Show had its wardrobe controversies, too— Mary Tyler Moore and those racy capri pants! I’m sure June Cleaver was clutching her pearls over all of it.

[chessiegal]

10 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

I Dream of Jeannie's bottle was an instaget, but would it have been wrong if I included "the bottle"?

Yes, it would have been wrong. They asked for the name of the show - I Dream of Jeanie.

Quote

A prop central to the title character on this ’60s sitcom began as a special Christmas edition whiskey decanter

 

27 minutes ago, 30 Helens said:

as I haven’t seen Jeannie in syndication in a very long time

It airs on one of the retro tv channels every weekday, I don't remember which one, but I see it listed as I'm scrolling through the on-screen guide. The only trivia I know about the show is Robert Conrad was considered for the lead role at one point.

ETA: It airs weekdays on the antenna tv channel from 1 to 2 pm ET, 2 episodes.

Edited December 13 by chessiegal

[Shrek]

15 minutes ago, chessiegal said:

Yes, it would have been wrong. They asked for the name of the show - I Dream of Jeanie.

 

 

I instantly said the show title but had to reread the clue several times to check that it was the show they wanted as the clue was either a little confusing or I was being particularly dense when watching. 

I even went & reread it again before writing this.

I've seen whiskey decanters that looked just like it in the last couple of years.

[illdoc]

Had to do an archive game (J! is on at 3:30 here and I have jury duty until next Friday if they don't settle--I can post now since opening statements are in 3 hours and I don't have to be back until then). My FJ was "Get Smart!", thinking maybe the shoe phone was a flask. Jeannie's bottle was so obvious once revealed (and I never even thought of the ottoman!)

[Prevailing Wind]

I pre-guessed Archie Bunker's chair in the Smithsonian and got so hung up on that, once the clue was revealed, I was stunned into immobility.  (And I never watched that show, so it's not readily available in my brain.)

[proserpina65]

As someone who lives 5 minutes from the Mason-Dixon line, I'd have had my Maryland residency revoked if I'd missed that one.  I was surprised that Alex didn't get it, but maybe the reference to Mason and Dixon as astronomers threw him off since I guess most people would've thought they were surveyors by profession.

Not a terrible game for me, but not a particularly good one either.  I said The Dick Van Dyke Show for FJ even though I didn't think that was right.  I Dream of Jeanie seems obvious in retrospect but clearly I was thinking of someone drinking from the decanter.  I ran 3 categories (Ancient Wonders, Abbreviated Magazines and Columbia 100th Anniversary) and got all but one clue in 3 others (Dodgepodge, Blondes and Keyboard Top Row).

I did get 6 stumpers/missed DDs (the aforementioned Mason & Dixon, Southwest Airlines, barn swallow, mute swan, Silver Skates and pique) but there were 17 total, I think, so even that wasn't very good.  For some reason I always say "Emmanuel" instead of "Ebenezer" for MLK's church, or I'd have gotten that one.

17 hours ago, Bastet said:

I was terrible in poetry (unsurprising), only knowing immortality. 

So was I, despite that usually being a good category for me.  And I missed immortality because I honestly couldn't remember past "he kindly stopped for me" even though I knew that poem.  I also missed unbowed, saying "not bowed" instead - maybe I've blocked that word out of my mind after the worst GOT episode ever (Unbent, Unbowed, Unbroken)?

Side note: when I was a kid, my parents had a LP of Robert Goulet reading The Silver Skates which I absolutely loved.  Not sure where it is now, but it's the reason I will always know that book.

17 hours ago, ams1001 said:

(I also guessed Dick Van Dyke Show for no other reason than it was the only 60s show that came to mind, probably because I saw a story yesterday about him having to evacuate his home because of the Malibu wildfire and one of his cats getting loose in the process; I just googled and saw he was able to go home and the cat is fine).

Thank you for including that info.  I definitely would've gotten obsessed with whether the cat was okay.

4 minutes ago, Prevailing Wind said:

I pre-guessed Archie Bunker's chair in the Smithsonian and got so hung up on that, once the clue was revealed, I was stunned into immobility.  (And I never watched that show, so it's not readily available in my brain.)

All in the Family was a 70s show.  I've seen episodes of I Dream of Jeanie in syndication but it didn't dawn on me at all.

[ams1001]

40 minutes ago, proserpina65 said:

Thank you for including that info.  I definitely would've gotten obsessed with whether the cat was okay.

That's why I googled first; I needed to see if they knew if anyone had found the cat.

[ProudMary]

I did get FJ, but it wasn't an instaget.

My thought process: "OK, '60s sitcoms. The Addams Family. No, they used that one last week. The Munsters. No silly, stop thinking about weird families! Bewitched. No, but still a different kind of weird. I Dream of Jeannie. YES, JEANNIE'S BOTTLE!"

I finished writing down the last letter just as the final note of the FJ theme finished.

[ams1001]

December 13:

87% / 67% / 75%

Wow, I had a pretty great first round! Ran Technology and Word Addition and missed one each in the rest.

Not so great in the second round, which that can mostly be blamed on two categories. I ran TV Movies: Real Life Edition, missed one in Animal/Vegetable/Mineral and "T-W-A", two in Delta, and three each in Waltzes & Sonatas and Airlines.

I did not get FJ and I'm mad about that. (I said Pratchett.)

TSes: (J had 5; DJ had 6) I got Thomas Paine, nanobots, coaxial cable, miniature, quartz, and marmoset.

 

Edited December 14 by ams1001

[Katy M]

I got FJ, but I was in no way confident in my answer.

I got the missed clues of Thomas Paine, Andrew Jackson, coaxial, miniature, tightwad and quartz.

I got the entire categories of word math and TWA right.

[opus]

I missed FJ but I knew from the category the answer was going to be a man.

[Browncoat]

Instaget FJ for me, still in the Southern Ocean, but rapidly nearing Stewart Island just south of the South Island of Aotearoa New Zealand.  The seas are almost flat compared with yesterday -- swells of 1-3 meters all day today, so not too bad.  The smaller swells allowed them to take the protective cover off my window, so I can see out again!  Yay!  And from the weather reports, it should be fairly smooth until the end of the voyage, just over a week from now.

[shapeshifter]

I had to read through the FJ clue twice to get it, but then I confidently declared, "It has to be Douglas Adams!" with plenty of time to spare. When I finished the last of his books, I was very sad he couldn't have lived to write many more.

My insta-TS's were Thomas Paine, coaxial, and miniature [golf].

The current champ has a great TV presence. 

 

3 minutes ago, Browncoat said:

Instaget FJ for me, still in the Southern Ocean, but rapidly nearing Stewart Island just south of the South Island of Aotearoa New Zealand.  The seas are almost flat compared with yesterday -- swells of 1-3 meters all day today, so not too bad.  The smaller swells allowed them to take the protective cover off my window, so I can see out again!  Yay!  And from the weather reports, it should be fairly smooth until the end of the voyage, just over a week from now.

You must've loved the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy books too?
My penguin-loving oldest daughter would love to be on your trip. She never gets motion sickness, and she ran a marathon in Antarctica about a year ago, in large part to see the penguins.

[Ancaster]

2 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

You must've loved the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy books too?
My penguin-loving oldest daughter would love to be on your trip. She never gets motion sickness, and she ran a marathon in Antarctica about a year ago, in large part to see the penguins.

I'm sorry, all I can see now is someone in running gear chasing after penguins, who are desperately waddling away.

[Browncoat]

7 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

You must've loved the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy books too?

I always know where my towel is!  

[Clanstarling]

On 12/13/2024 at 6:19 AM, 30 Helens said:

But if the clue had been about controversy over a 1960’s character’s bared midriff, I would have aced it! (They made Barbara Eden hike up those harem pants to a more respectable level.)

Yep, the waistline had to be above the belly button. LOL.

I was thinking Pratchett for FJ, but Adams shoved him out of the way just in time.

[DrSpaceman73]

Middle guy last night....look i don't care what you wear on the show. Personal taste.  But maybe shave and brush your hair 

My dad used to work with Barbara Edens husband. 

[30 Helens]

Mr. Helens thought of Hitchhiker’s Guide, but didn’t know the author. I’ve never read it, so all of your jokes are flying over my head. I guessed Kurt Vonnegut, just to say something.

14 hours ago, Ancaster said:

I'm sorry, all I can see now is someone in running gear chasing after penguins, who are desperately waddling away.

Or maybe they were in the marathon, too? It could be Antarctica’s version of running with the bulls. 😉

[Ancaster]

1 hour ago, DrSpaceman73 said:

Middle guy last night....look i don't care what you wear on the show. Personal taste.  But maybe shave and brush your hair 

 

My thought too.  But they must have hair and makeup people to look after these things, no?

[Prevailing Wind]

3 hours ago, 30 Helens said:

Mr. Helens thought of Hitchhiker’s Guide, but didn’t know the author. I’ve never read it, so all of your jokes are flying over my head. I guessed Kurt Vonnegut, just to say something.

I was stunned at the Frank Herbert response.  Dune is comical?

 

[Driad]

Ram Murali's novel is Death in the Air.  My library has that and another book with the same title, nonfiction(?) about the London smog.  The London book is available so I borrowed it.

[Bastet]

I watched with friends last night, so didn't keep track, but I had a really good game.  The two I was watching with are both big sci-fi fans, so FJ was an instaget for them, but I had no idea (it is very much not my jam; my exceptions can be counted on one hand).  I didn't even know who any of the other names other than Asimov were.

None of us could believe miniature was a TS -- you don't even need to look at the anagram, just come up with the word meaning small that would come before golf.  Maybe that was the problem; they fixated on trying to unscramble the letters rather than just paying attention to the clue?

[ProudMary]

1 minute ago, Bastet said:

None of us could believe miniature was a TS -- you don't even need to look at the anagram, just come up with the word meaning small that would come before golf.  Maybe that was the problem; they fixated on trying to unscramble the letters rather than just paying attention to the clue?

I couldn't believe that was a TS, either. I absolutely suck at anagram categories and even I had that one immediately!

[chessiegal]

I can't believe I didn't get Doug Adams. Hitch Hiker's Guide is one of my favorites and the funniest book I've ever read. 🙁

[ams1001]

14 hours ago, Bastet said:

I watched with friends last night, so didn't keep track, but I had a really good game.  The two I was watching with are both big sci-fi fans, so FJ was an instaget for them, but I had no idea (it is very much not my jam; my exceptions can be counted on one hand).  I didn't even know who any of the other names other than Asimov were.

I'm not a sci-fi person, either, but Hitchhiker's Guide is one of my exceptions (though it's been years; I at least get the towel reference)...but I didn't think of him. I also know Herbert wrote Dune, but I am almost certainly never going to read it. I've also never read Pratchett (which was my guess).

[Quickbeam]

FJ was an instaget for my house; Adams died so young it was a big blow to the sci-fi community. Plus he was really truly hilarious for a sci-fi writer. RIP. 

[SomeTameGazelle]

1 hour ago, ams1001 said:

I've also never read Pratchett (which was my guess).

I was pretty sure Pratchett had died more recently than 2001 and also that his work would be more fantasy than SF. So I went to Douglas Adams. My father guessed Asimov but I assured him that that Asimov didn't approach Monty Python closely enough even if he had died prematurely.

[proserpina65]

I did pretty well, if not great, with Friday's game.  Ran Technology (which surprised me), Word Addition (another surprise), Literary Character and Airlines.  Got all but one clue in People In History (should've run this one, but something about the Thomas Paine clue confused me), You Don't Know Him From Adam (I knew who they wanted but couldn't come up with Adam Scott's last name), TV Movies (same thing with Claire Danes) and "T-W-A".  And I got 5 stumpers: Andrew Jackson, coaxial cable (Yay for being an old person!), miniature, nanobots and marmoset.

I was really surprised no one got miniature.  I usually suck at scrambled words categories, but come on people, small golf!!

FJ was an instaget.  Funny science fiction = Douglas Adams, always and forever.  Although Carla's initial guess of Terry Pratchett wasn't terrible because his work definitely contains a lot of humor.  Although he was more of a fantasy writer.

Carla screwed up her wagering.  If she'd bet everything, she'd have won.

On 12/13/2024 at 7:28 PM, ams1001 said:

I did not get FJ and I'm mad about that. (I said Pratchett.)

Not an entirely off-base answer, although he died much more recently.  But Adams' work was much more in the absurdist vein one associates with Monty Python.

On 12/14/2024 at 1:33 PM, Ancaster said:

My thought too.  But they must have hair and makeup people to look after these things, no?

Back when I was on the show, we were told to do our own hair but there were professionals who did our makeup.  (Only time anyone has ever managed to adequately hide the dark circles under my eyes.)  Personally I had no problem with how Ram looked, but to each, their own.

On 12/14/2024 at 6:36 PM, Bastet said:

None of us could believe miniature was a TS -- you don't even need to look at the anagram, just come up with the word meaning small that would come before golf.  Maybe that was the problem; they fixated on trying to unscramble the letters rather than just paying attention to the clue?

That's all I could think.  Me, I just needed small golf.

[ProudMary]

1 hour ago, proserpina65 said:

Personally I had no problem with how Ram looked, but to each, their own.

I'll take it a step further. I like the reigning cham, but I was pulling for a Ram victory because he also seemed to be a very good player with a wide range of knowledge, but mainly because I found him very attractive. 😉

[possibilities]

2 hours ago, proserpina65 said:

coaxial cable (Yay for being an old person!),

I got that one, too... and didn't realize it was no longer in use and that knowing what it is means I'm old! 

 

2 hours ago, proserpina65 said:

I had no problem with how Ram looked

Me, either. It's not my look, but I gather it's actually fashionable in some places-- the rugged, ruffled look. Casual debonair.

 

[chessiegal]

6 minutes ago, possibilities said:

2 hours ago, proserpina65 said:

coaxial cable (Yay for being an old person!),

I got that one, too... and didn't realize it was no longer in use and that knowing what it is means I'm old! 

 

The clue didn't say they are no longer in use. Coaxial cables are still in use - they connect my tvs to the cable tv outlets, and our internet router, which is what the clue says they are used for.

Clue: "Used to carry high frequency signals for TV & Internet connections, it's the type of cable seen here."

[ams1001]

December 16:

67% / 50% / 57%

Not starting the week out too well. In J I missed one in Man-Agrams, Communication, and State Holidays, two in 3 Consecutive Vowels and Songwriting, and three in All Over the World. In DJ I missed one in TV Foursomes (never even heard of The Girls on the Bus), two in Outdoor Cats, Starts with H, and Kaboom!, three in World War I, and completely failed Best Books of the 21st Century (I knew three of them but couldn't get them out of my brain, though the Percival Everett movie title I would have gotten from the picture, if my brain was working, not from the book title or author; I have his James on hold at the library and am looking forward to reading that). 

Had absolutely no clue for FJ and didn't even understand the clue.

TSes: (J had 6 + the DD; DJ had 8 + 1 DD) I got semaphore, snow leopard (DD), caracal, and thunder sheet.

The Lion King, which I saw in the theater as an adult, was 30 years ago. Thanks for making me feel old, show (along with the letter I got tonight from my benefits department informing me that I can make a "catch-up" contribution to my 401(k) because I will be turning 50 next year).

Edited December 17 by ams1001

[SoMuchTV]

1 hour ago, ams1001 said:

Had absolutely no clue for FJ and didn't even understand the clue.

Same here! The Mr. apparently knew what they were talking about. Weird what you know and what you don’t. Out of the blue (for me) j! was preempted by football. Found a couple options on YouTube. One has everyone sounding like they’d snorted helium balloons, the other looked like it was recorded on my 1980 vcr. Powered through, though. 

[ams1001]

2 minutes ago, SoMuchTV said:

Same here! The Mr. apparently knew what they were talking about. Weird what you know and what you don’t. Out of the blue (for me) j! was preempted by football. Found a couple options on YouTube. One has everyone sounding like they’d snorted helium balloons, the other looked like it was recorded on my 1980 vcr. Powered through, though. 

They preempted Wheel of Fortune here, which I don't watch anyway.

[Browncoat]

I was completely clueless for FJ.  I didn't quite understand the clue, either.  And I can't even blame high seas!  We are currently in relative calm, anchored just offshore at the town of Kaikoura.  We had a short bus tour out to a fur seal colony, and then were turned loose in town.  We were meant to go on a smaller catamaran out to look for whales, but the sea outside this protected harbor is a little rough for a smaller boat.  Nothing like what we've had, though!

[Bastet]

Archive game for me as I'm watching football.

I almost ran the entire first round, but I missed two in holidays and Garage Band in songwriting. 

I only ran kaboom in DJ, though.  I got all but Helios in H and all but caracal in cats (seeing the picture wouldn't have helped), but missed two each in WWI and books (three in books, really, but I'm giving myself credit for Allison Bechdel, as I'm readily familiar with what she looks like, so I feel confident whatever picture they used is something I'd recognize her from) and three in TV.

I had absolutely no idea for FJ.

[SomeTameGazelle]

44 minutes ago, Bastet said:

I had absolutely no idea for FJ.

We paused and discussed and debated for a long time, and my best guess was Scylla and Charibdis.  

[30 Helens]

Well, it was Geography, so you know I had little to no hope. All I saw were a bunch of words I didn’t recognize, and that they were looking for a pair of mountains. Fingers crossed that tomorrow’s FJ is about Maya Angelou, or Margaret Mead. (😉 @possibilities)

For some reason, when the contestants were introduced, Matt struck me as someone who looked like he could be a multi-day champion. Then he said “yeti cat” and it was all over.

[Achilles765]

Well everyone. Root either for or against me as I will be competing on this Wednesday’s episode!