Jeopardy! Season 41 (2024-2025)

[bad things are bad]

21 hours ago, Grizzly said:

Phooey, Juveria didn't hear me yelling "Haymaker"!

You and me both :(

[ams1001]

March 6:

60% / 30% / 44%

Jeez, what a bad game. In J I ran Wordles Defined, missed two in Canadiana, Also a Boat, Women in Sports, and What's for Lunch?, and four in Speech! In DJ I missed two in Magma, three in Plays and Adverbs, four in College Seals and Hip-Hop & Religion, and failed Geography. Had no clue for FJ.

TSes: (J had 3; DJ had 5) I got shakshuka, steamers, and Hadean eon.

Thank goodness this thing is over.

[dgpolo]

FJ was an instaget for me. Becket has always been a favorite film of mine and I read up on the events after seeing it.

[Browncoat]

No clue for FJ tonight, and the only TS I got were schooner and steamers.

 

[SomeTameGazelle]

1 hour ago, dgpolo said:

FJ was an instaget for me. Becket has always been a favorite film of mine and I read up on the events after seeing it.

The idea of penance made me think of Edward the Confessor but when I looked up his dates they were too early as he was pre-Norman.

I got steamers.

I really enjoy both Juveria and Matt and how much fun they are having with Ken. I especially liked Matt's thank you to his girlfriend for improving his anecdotes. I may have seen a tiny bit of red when Ken joked with Juveria about taking up knitting (instead of some other hobby less mocked for being the sphere of little old ladies) but he probably didn't mean it quite that way.

Glad that Juveria had a much better game today than yesterday and I would have been happy to see her win today but Matt played a great game as well. Roger made a great recovery toward the end and I would not have been surprised if he had pulled off the win but really I was rooting for Matt or Juveria to win the JIT.

[30 Helens]

I was rooting for Matt to win the tournament, but I was hoping Juveria would win yesterday’s game. At least she made a decent comeback after the previous day’s less than stellar performance. I enjoyed the gameplay between these three and would have liked to spend one more day with them. 

Did I hear correctly that this was Matt’s first tournament win? That surprised me. 

You know what didn’t surprise? The fact that I had no idea for FJ. Do we get normal games and normal clues now? Please?

[chessiegal]

29 minutes ago, 30 Helens said:

Did I hear correctly that this was Matt’s first tournament win? That surprised me. 

You know what didn’t surprise? The fact that I had no idea for FJ. Do we get normal games and normal clues now? Please?

Yes, Ken did say this was Matt's first tournament win. And yes, we are back to regular play today, March 7, with returning 7 game champ Laura Faddah.

[SomeTameGazelle]

54 minutes ago, chessiegal said:

Yes, Ken did say this was Matt's first tournament win. And yes, we are back to regular play today, March 7, with returning 7 game champ Laura Faddah.

Matt was eliminated in the semifinal of the TOC in 2022, losing to Sam Buttrey.

He came 3rd in the first Masters (behind Mattea; I was glad for him that he managed to beat James once though) and last in the second Masters (which I didn't actually watch all the way through).

[laredhead]

I'm glad that regular Jeopardy is resuming, but I have enjoyed the interaction between some of the players in the TOC.  The ones who have played against each other recently, or who have become Jeopardy connection friends show less nervousness, and engage in a bit of banter that I like.  I'm glad that Matt won since he has never won a TOC. 

[possibilities]

I think it's interesting to see that the players who were extremely dominant in regular games (like Matt and Amy) are not at all so dominant in the tournaments. I get that, when you play dominating players against each other, it changes the dynamic, but I think it's interesting to see it, and to see how each of them handles that situation.

[Katy M]

I started out saying Outer Limits and then kind of against my better judgement changed it to Amazing Stories.  See, sometimes you do have to change your first answer AND go against your gut.

I got the missed clues of Ruth, squirrel, Grace Coolidge (but only after he said Coolidge), Bucharest/Budapest, Gus Grissom and salinity.

I got the entire partial category of B Bible boys right. 

[ams1001]

March 7:

73% / 54% / 63%

In J I missed one in Animals in Children's Books, "G-U" (I had 'gun-' but not '-runner'), Star Wars, and Rogue One, and two in Nacho Business and Secret Service Protection. In DJ I missed one in Alphanumerics and Earth Science, two in Hoosier (well, one and a half; I got Pence but not Quayle) and Heart in my Song, and three in European Capitals and Bible B Boys. Had no clue for FJ.

TSes: (J had 5 + the DD; DJ had 5 + both DDs + four clues left over) I got squirrels (DD), Grace Coolidge (okay, only her first name after he gave me the last name), salinity, and exfoliation (didn't know there was a geological definition of the word but "loofah" in the clue got me there)..

Yay for Laura! But I liked Omar and was glad he at least got out of the red in time to play in FJ.
 

[Browncoat]

It took me most of the think time, but I managed to get FJ and write it down.  Yay, me!  And yay, Laura!  I am glad she won.

The only TS I got were squirrels, gunrunner, and salinity.

[Bastet]

I wound up missing the finals, but since Juveria lost, I'm okay with not seeing it.  Boo!

I managed to vaguely recognize returning champ Laura, and was rooting for her to continue her streak, so at least there's that.

I was surprised no one guessed Ford just based on the year.  I just knew Gus Grissom was going to be a TS, and was preemptively sad.

I missed two in GU, but had a pretty good first round; I only ran rogue, but I got all but Qdoba in nachos (and now I want nachos), all but pig in animals (thanks to the monkey TS, I now have Pippi Longstocking's song in my head), all but the Mad Max movie in wars, and all but Grace Coolidge in Secret Service.

I know this will shock everyone, but I was terrible in the Bible category; I only got Ark of the Covenant, and only after Roger spotted Ark.  If not for that, I'd have kicked ass in DJ; I missed two in songs, but ran the rest.

As predicted based on the category, I had no idea for FJ.

[ams1001]

2 minutes ago, Bastet said:

I know this will shock everyone, but I was terrible in the Bible category; I only got Ark of the Covenant, and only after Roger spotted Ark.

Same. I did think ark, but I was thinking of the boat, which I knew didn't make sense since that was Noah, but once he said ark and Ken paused before asking for the BMS, I added 'of the covenant.'

[SomeTameGazelle]

It has probably struck me before that Budapest and Bucharest sound similar, but I was stumped by the suggestion that there could be two non-identical words that start with the same letter and rhyme. It's my own fault, expecting more than the last syllable to rhyme.

Omar made a few unnecessary mistakes starting with forgetting he needed to name the animal instead of the author. I'm glad he made it out of the hole but also happy Laura won.

I did know that Mr Nilsson was a monkey but Ken, that's probably less what Pippi is known for than her improbable physical strength and red braids.

Edited Saturday at 04:33 AM by SomeTameGazelle

[30 Helens]

Half way through the show, I turned to Mr. Helens and said “I’m so glad regular games are back so we can play again, instead of just sitting here like dummies.” And play we did! I didn’t keep track, but I think one or both of us got at least 80% of the clues right. And we both got FJ! So that was satisfying.

I felt bad for Omar digging such a hole for himself, even though I hate when people guess wildly and dig a big hole for themselves.  I cheered for him when he went on a semi-tear at the end, and when he made it into the black I shouted “Now be quiet so you can play the final!” He didn’t listen, but at least his next guess was a correct one.

Good for Laura for escaping the curse of a long hiatus.

[Cotypubby]

I got FJ instantly, kinda surprised none of them knew it. 

[laredhead]

11 hours ago, 30 Helens said:

I felt bad for Omar digging such a hole for himself, even though I hate when people guess wildly and dig a big hole for themselves.  I cheered for him when he went on a semi-tear at the end, and when he made it into the black I shouted “Now be quiet so you can play the final!” He didn’t listen, but at least his next guess was a correct one

I said the same thing to him, but he didn't listen to me either.  He didn't seem to be understanding the question for a couple of his answers.  I'm glad he was able to recover enough to at least participate in FJ.

[GreekGeek]

Is anyone else annoyed that Matt’s one word answers were always accepted but “Coolidge” required a first name?

[SomeTameGazelle]

36 minutes ago, GreekGeek said:

Is anyone else annoyed that Matt’s one word answers were always accepted but “Coolidge” required a first name?

It's got nothing to do with Matt -- most prudent contestants (including Friday's Roger Ghaman) know that in most cases a surname will be ruled correct and it's safer not to risk adding a first name that might be incorrect. Most of the time it makes sense when they require a more specific first name but sometimes their decision  whether to ask for it or not seems arbitrary. I seem to recall previous First Lady categories where they said upfront that they would require both names but I'm not sure they are completely consistent ... have they accepted just Obama for Michelle Obama, for example?

[dgpolo]

20 minutes ago, SomeTameGazelle said:

It's got nothing to do with Matt -- most prudent contestants (including Friday's Roger Ghaman) know that in most cases a surname will be ruled correct and it's safer not to risk adding a first name that might be incorrect

I did think it a little funny that Roger tried it with Kennedy, I think there's enough Kennedys to always add the first name (or do the initials JFK, RFK) even though they had a pic.

[The Wild Sow]

1 hour ago, GreekGeek said:

Is anyone else annoyed that Matt’s one word answers were always accepted but “Coolidge” required a first name?

Yes!  There were two Mrs. Wilsons, since Ellen Wilson died during Woodrow's first term, and he married Edith a little over a year later.  But there was only ONE Mrs. Coolidge.  I knew it was Grace but why would they need that?  The Coolidges didn't have any daughters, so the First Lady was the only "she" in the family.

[possibilities]

My theory is that they want to make sure you know the Lady's actual name, and aren't just knowing what the President's year or other identifying clues are. 

[gonzosgirrl]

I enjoyed Matt and I'm happy he won, though it would have been equally nice if my Canadian girl had triumphed. I haven't been a consistent watcher in quite a few years, possibly the time of Ken's original run. Is Matt the one who annoyed a lot of people by using 'what' all the time, instead of 'who' (when appropriate)?

I don't recall another player who appeared as unflappable as Roger. He never seemed to rush an answer, even scaring me by how long he was taking to finish the response at times.

[ams1001]

4 hours ago, gonzosgirrl said:

Is Matt the one who annoyed a lot of people by using 'what' all the time, instead of 'who' (when appropriate)?

Yep. I don't mind it; I like Matt.

[Katy M]

I said Madagascar.

I got the missed clues of fox, enigma, and Song of Solomon.

I got the entire category of command right and plaque wrong.

And, also, Harvey and Sabrina, LOL.

[Browncoat]

I didn't have a clue for FJ tonight.  

But I did get the TS of plates, fox, enigma, and Greta Gerwig.

[ams1001]

March 10:

53% / 70% / 62%

Jeez…it may as well be a tournament. In J I missed one in 3 Consonants/3 Vowels and Go Green, two in Parts of the Book and Teeth, three in Around the Globe, and (unsurprisingly) all five in Baseball Hall of Fame Plaques.

Did much better in the second round…ran Note of Command, missed one in Australian History, Celebrity Mentors, and Miscellan-"E", and three in Parts of the Book and Take Me to Church (and now I have that song stuck in my head…🙄).

I had zero confidence with the FJ category but I got it right!

TSes: (J had 5; DJ had 3) I only got enigma.

I like Harvey; he has my kind of sense of humor. "I wouldn't recommend [being diagnosed with Parkinson's] as a preparation strategy..." Guess it worked out for him!

[possibilities]

I'm excited about Harvey's win. Crush those stereotypes! And dispatching a multi-game winner makes his win even better at doing that.

 

[SoMuchTV]

17 minutes ago, Browncoat said:

I didn't have a clue for FJ tonight.  

My working plan is, anything to do with Africa that might be remotely related to the US (e.g. flag with blue upper left) = Liberia. Has worked for me more often than not so far. 

And whoa, Harvey came to play!  

[dgpolo]

31 minutes ago, Browncoat said:

I didn't have a clue for FJ tonight.  

My brain sort of went..... I haven't a clue, no way will I get this one. Blue square in the corner, hunh, like ours...Oh!! Liberia!

[kathyk2]

I wanted Harvey to win based on his introduction. After learning about his Parkison's disease I want him to be around for a long time.

[ams1001]

1 hour ago, SoMuchTV said:

My working plan is, anything to do with Africa that might be remotely related to the US (e.g. flag with blue upper left) = Liberia. Has worked for me more often than not so far. 

And whoa, Harvey came to play!  

That was pretty much my thinking. I looked up the flag after and it's very similar to the US flag. Only 11 stripes and one star, and the blue square is smaller.

[Bastet]

I would have liked Laura's run to continue, but she's already in the ToC and I'm happy for Harvey, so really I just wish he'd have come along several games later.

The Greta Gerwig TS was a bummer, but none of them surprised me.

I ran teeth and the vocabulary category, but that was it for the first round.  I got all but Ozzie Smith in baseball, but missed two each in the rest.

I did really well in DJ, though.  I missed two in churches, but ran Australia, commands, and mentors and got all but One Hundred Years of Solitude in books and all but Eddas in E.

FJ was an instaget; for some reason I have amassed a pretty decent mental scrapbook of world flags, and that's one I know.

[SoMuchTV]

I don’t normally post about TSs I get, but against this competition, I can pat myself on the back for fox, enigma, and Greta Gerwig. 

[SomeTameGazelle]

1 hour ago, ams1001 said:

That was pretty much my thinking. I looked up the flag after and it's very similar to the US flag. Only 11 stripes and one star, and the blue square is smaller.

I thought of Liberia and then proceeded to talk myself out of it on the grounds that there is no need to represent Africa when you're part of it, searching around the Caribbean for a country that might want to reclaim its African ties. I was considering Barbados without being able to picture the flag when they revealed that Liberia was correct. 

[shapeshifter]

2 hours ago, dgpolo said:

My brain sort of went..... I haven't a clue, no way will I get this one. Blue square in the corner, hunh, like ours...Oh!! Liberia!

Mind meld! Did you instaget "fox" too?
I assume every librarian would:

 

2 hours ago, kathyk2 said:

I wanted Harvey to win based on his introduction. After learning about his Parkinson's disease I want him to be around for a long time.

Yes, but it seems like Harvey's going to mop the floor with all contestants more than Matt Amodio or Amy ever did, for months, if not years.
Although, I noticed towards the end today, his voice was doing that thing my Dad's did. I'm amazed he can control the buzzer so well with Parkinson's. Maybe he has been accommodated with a modified buzzer?

43 minutes ago, Bastet said:

I would have liked Laura's run to continue, but she's already in the ToC and I'm happy for Harvey, so really I just wish he'd have come along several games later.

I wonder if they were worried that if they waited too long, Laura would be gone, and they wanted to have a strong player for Harvey's introduction to the audience?

[30 Helens]

8 minutes ago, SomeTameGazelle said:

I thought of Liberia and then proceeded to talk myself out of it on the grounds that there is no need to represent Africa when you're part of it, searching around the Caribbean for a country that might want to reclaim its African ties.

This was also my line of thinking, except for the part where Liberia ever occurred to me.

And now, the karaoke stylings of Harvey Silikovitz:

 

[Prevailing Wind]

9 hours ago, dgpolo said:

My brain sort of went..... I haven't a clue, no way will I get this one. Blue square in the corner, hunh, like ours...Oh!! Liberia!

Exactly what my brain did.  Yay for us!

 

[chessiegal]

9 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Maybe he has been accommodated with a modified buzzer?

I sincerely doubt it. Where do you draw the line? Oh gee, I have severe arthritis in both my hands, give me a special buzzer. I think that's taking ADA too far. He's sitting in a chair, which is available to all contestants, no need for a reason. I think the FCC would frown on a special buzzer, and if I were another contestant, I would be lodging a formal complaint. If you can't handle the normal buzzer, then you shouldn't be competing. 

[MrAtoz]

10 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

I wonder if they were worried that if they waited too long, Laura would be gone, and they wanted to have a strong player for Harvey's introduction to the audience?

Who's going to play next is chosen randomly--the names are literally picked out of a box--right after the preceding game ends. At least that's how it was done when I was there, and I can't imagine it's changed all that much. I would think that the producers weighing in on which particular contestant should play against the current champion would be too much like collusion.