Jeopardy! Season 31 (2014-2015)

[MortysCleaningLady]

I thought it looked gray, unfortunately. 

 

I did as well.  It's gotten plenty of news coverage today but I definitely don't see shaved.  I didn't think it was the most fun category ever.  You get the First Lady, don't you bring your A game clues for her?

 

And small voice, I think Gautum is a hoot.  Apparently, I'm the only one (besides his Mom) who enjoyed him.

[Bastet]

I did as well.  It's gotten plenty of news coverage today but I definitely don't see shaved.

 

I've been surprised to see so much chatter about it; bald never crossed my mind, and I just thought her hair was graying.

[mojoween]

Yay, Jacqueline rocks. I really liked her. Tim was kind of goofy for my taste.

I see why Gautam was such a snot about the Grammys category, since he didn't know any of the answers. It's fine if something is not a strong subject for you, but you don't have to be so hauty about it.

Also, his FJ wager was weird.

[CarpeDiem54]

I looked at several pictures and videos of Mrs. Obama from yesterday's game. I don't see any ponytail. Her hair looks like it's extremely short, very thin and gray. Actually, I thought she looked nice. I was just shocked that it looked liked she'd basically shaved her head.

Yay, Jacqueline! I'm so glad she won - smart, pleasant, no DD hunting and no weirdness. Tim was a bit goofy but seemed okay. Of course, almost anyone would be better than that smug, arrogant, yammering asshat Gautam. I dislike rooting against a contestant. I thought I'd give him another chance but he was worse today than yesterday.

[YoureSoUrban]

 

I dislike rooting against a contestant. I thought I'd give him another chance but he was worse today than yesterday.

So true, and Tim was off on a goofy roll too. Thank goodness neither of them won. 

FJ was so easy it could have been a $400 clue.

[HelenBaby]

Anyone notice that Gautum turned to look at Jacqueline every single time she beat him on the buzzer? So glad she won.

[peeayebee]

I'm ashamed to say that I didn't get FJ. I consider movies to be my strong suit, but I blew this one. I got off on the wrong foot by thinking that the role being a legal assistant meant that it was not the lead. I got confused as to how a secondary character could make $20 million on that film. Then I fixated on the word "crash" in the clue, thinking it was referring to the movie Crash. I didn't think that movie came out in 2000, but I went ahead and guessed Sandra Bullock anyway. (I couldn't remember what her character's occupation was in that film.)

 

The two TSs I got were the one about "For Colored Girls" (which we read in college) and "Evergreen" (which coincidentally came out while I was in college). 

 

I'm glad Jacqueline won.

[Bastet]

FJ was so easy it could have been a $400 clue.

 

Since I, too, thought it was too easy for a FJ clue (it had legal assistant, the year, and the salary -- big name, money-making female star from 2000 in a legal-themed movie is going to lead most contestants to Julia Roberts), I didn't mind Alex's "I'm sure you all got it" -- objectively, it's obnoxious, but I was so annoyed by that clue, I let it slide.  By tomorrow, I'll have come around to finding it churlish.

[chessiegal]

Anyone notice that Gautum turned to look at Jacqueline every single time she beat him on the buzzer? So glad she won.

 

Yes, and it annoyed me because it reminded me of Chu. But then 1 time I noticed the camera showing him looking to his left when no one rang in, so I think he must have looked that way often? we just didn't see it on camera?

[secnarf]

Yay, Jacqueline! I'm so glad she won - smart, pleasant, no DD hunting and no weirdness. Tim was a bit goofy but seemed okay. Of course, almost anyone would be better than that smug, arrogant, yammering asshat Gautam. I dislike rooting against a contestant. I thought I'd give him another chance but he was worse today than yesterday.

This exactly.

"This keeps happening to me, Alex". As if he's jumping all over the board for no reason.

And as soon as Tim started editorializing while the clock was still ticking, he irritated me, though he did somewhat redeem himself later on.

I'm still glad Jacqueline won though.

[Trey]

I didn't see Tuesday's game but I read all your comments about Gautum so I really laughed when Tim started off by talking too much too.  I'm glad Jacqueline won. Besides not talking too much she seems to be pretty sharp.

 

I'm not all that good with movie themed questions but FJ was an easy one for me.

[shoregirl]

I'm not all that good with movie themed questions but FJ was an easy one for me.

I thought it was ridiculously easy. That could have been a first round question for a low amount of money.

[how55]

I guessed Julia Roberts, but for the wrong movie. The Grisham timeline was off in my brain and I remembered she was in Pelican Brief (1993).

Edited March 26, 2015 by how55

[DXD526]

If Gautum had won again yesterday, I wouldn't be able to watch today. The only time I've skipped Jeopardy!, ever, was during Arthur's run, because he annoyed me so much, the show wasn't fun to watch (I've since read some of Arthur's blogs and enjoy his writing and it seems like he's a decent guy, but what an annoying player). But I found Gautum so irritating yesterday that he would have made me do the almost-impossible and skip the show until he was defeated.

 

And what was up with Tim giving a 10-minute explanation prior to his answer, then running out of time to give an answer? I can't remember anyone ever doing that before. Weird. 

 

Fortunately, Jacqueline won. I hope she sticks around a while. She has a broad range of knowledge and was really quick on the buzzer. And was able to be so without murdering the buzzer, unlike Gautum. It was funny when he was pressing away like a maniac, only to be beat on the draw by Jacqueline, who stood there serenely! I had to laugh every time he scowled and looked over at her. He won't be missed.

[junemeatcleaver]

If a player is going to board jump and hunt for Daily Doubles, they should be more dominate and risky players.  At least Arthur took chances and dominated most of his run, Gautum was just an average player who bid $1000 whenever he found those DDs he was desperately trying to find.

[secnarf]

I'm so glad Al lost. Partially because I like Jacqueline, and partially because on one of the "strait" clues he forgot to say "what is" and Alex (and the judges) didn't catch it. He almost did it a second time too, but corrected himself. That really irritated me.

[opus]

I'm so glad Al lost. Partially because I like Jacqueline, and partially because on one of the "strait" clues he forgot to say "what is" and Alex (and the judges) didn't catch it. He almost did it a second time too, but corrected himself. That really irritated me.

So I was right? Thought it happened, but then thought no way it could happen.

[possibilities]

I thought Michelle Obama looked gorgeous. I was admiring her bone structure. Having had a shaved head and big earrings myself in the past, it's definitely a deliberate look, but I thought it was gutsy of her to display it given the kind of scrutiny she usually gets for the alleged crime of wearing a sleeveless dress or otherwise not being sufficiently bland. I didn't notice the pony tail at all. The close cut natural look is really appealing and I wish more women felt like they could do it, and forgo the wigs, processing, and other hassles involved in mainstream acceptable 'dos.

 

Gautam didn't annoy me except when he commented on finding the DD when he didn't know anything about the category. Why was he hopping if he didn't want that to happen? But it didn't bother me too much. I took it sort of like if you do something silly and smack yourself in the head afterward, indicating you suddenly realize how ill-considered it was to do. I also think the looking to the side when someone out-buzzes you is a habit of looking at whoever is speaking. I don't think it's "stink-eye"--  I actually take it as politeness.

 

I found the pre-amble to answering, thus running out of time, to be an endearing quirk-- but was glad he got past it. I like when contestants show a little personality. It makes them easier to identify with, because I'm pretty sure I'd be a bundle of nerves and not be able to pull off the robotic efficiency some players demonstrate-- though I admire that, too.

 

I enjoyed the dream about the show being taped in water. Funny!

 

Has Alex ever broken down and laughed at a clue before?

[peeayebee]

... on one of the "strait" clues he forgot to say "what is" and Alex (and the judges) didn't catch it. He almost did it a second time too, but corrected himself. That really irritated me.

I had to replay that because I thought surely he mumbled "What is," but he didn't. Very strange that no one called him on it.

 

I didn't know turmeric was added to American mustard to give it the bright yellow color. I thought the color came from mustard itself. 

[Bastet]

I was really surprised by turmeric as a TS; I hate mustard (because I hate the vinegar that is its main ingredient), but I know that, so I had the impression it was more common knowledge than it apparently is.

[peeayebee]

Alex has these weird hesitations before saying a response is correct. It's not that the response is an alternate answer that he has to check with the judges. 

[proserpina65]

Okay, well, I did not Remember the Maine.

I was really surprised by turmeric as a TS; I hate mustard (because I hate the vinegar that is its main ingredient), but I know that, so I had the impression it was more common knowledge than it apparently is.

I love mustard in its many varieties, and yet, I have no idea what is in it.  So not only did I learn about the turmeric from Jeopardy, I learned about the vinegar from you.  Thanks, Bastet.  :-)

[HelenBaby]

The answer to FJ came to me immediately so I was surprised when two of the three didn't get it. But I was glad Jacqueline won so there's that.

I always assume that if I know FJ then it's easy.

[Etta Place]

I knew my husband (for whom history is not a strong topic) would get the Maine, because we've watched Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid a few times. When they're talking about the idea of ending their lives of crime and joining up with the military, they have this exchange:

 

Butch: "Remember the Maine!"

Sundance: "Who could forget it?"

[DXD526]

Two WTF moments in last night's show: Al blatantly (don't know how the judges missed it) neglecting to say "what is" before one of his answers (and almost doing it again later), and then in a DD when Alex read the question, then said "Remember the category" before Al gave his answer. Since when does Alex coach the players? That was almost like giving a clue, IMO. I don't remember him ever doing that before. Between Alex and the judges, lots of weird stuff going on these days...

[Moose135]

OK, so I've been around aviation my whole life, so FJ was an insta-get for me, but seriously, how do you come up with Amtrak or Greyhound when the clue refers to a Hebrew prophet???

[ottoDbusdriver]

OK, so I've been around aviation my whole life, so FJ was an insta-get for me, but seriously, how do you come up with Amtrak or Greyhound when the clue refers to a Hebrew prophet???

 

I didn't get the right answer, but even I knew it wasn't Amtrak or Greyhound.

 

Did Alex just fill in an answer yet again for Michael in the middle position ?

 

In the National Anthems category clue dealing with Romania and New Hampshire, the answer given was "What is Free ?" and Alex filled in "Live Free" and credited him correctly.  WTF ?

 

Contrary to Alex's opinion, I'm pretty sure that Jacqueline came to play as well, not just the guys, but both guys smoked her ringing in and got most of their answers correct. So she really didn't have a chance.

Edited March 28, 2015 by ottoDbusdriver

[secnarf]

 

 

Did Alex just fill in an answer yet again for Michael in the middle position ?

 

In the National Anthems category clue dealing with Romania and New Hampshire, the answer given was "What is Free ?" and Alex filled in "Live Free" and credited him correctly.  WTF ?

 

I think "Free" was the answer they were looking for, and then Alex added in "live free" because that explains why New Hampshire was referenced in the clue ("live free or die").

[ottoDbusdriver]

Per the Wikipedia entry for the Romanian national anthem, there is no official English translation of the national anthem, but the closest thing I can find in that link is a line in the alternate translation -- "Life in Liberty or Death" or in the literal translation -- "Life in Freedom or Death".  There is nothing like "either free or die" in the literal, poetic or alternate translations.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deșteaptă-te,_române!

[secnarf]

"Live free or die" is the New Hampshire motto (or something like that, it's on the license plates :P), not from the Romanian national anthem. I can't remember the exact clue, but it gave part of the Romanian national anthem and then said that people from New Hampshire could relate or something along those lines. So "live free" wasn't the answer, it just explained why New Hampshire was mentioned in the clue, and "free" was the actual answer. That's how I interpreted it, anyways.
 

[MortysCleaningLady]

I'm probably alone here, but the new champion looks like a grown up version of Axle Hecht from The Middle to me.  And yet, I find him likeable.  Odd.

 

El Al was kind of hard, I thought.  Of course, I'm kind of old and remember when Jeopardy was always hard.  Those were the days!

[ottoDbusdriver]

"Live free or die" is the New Hampshire motto (or something like that, it's on the license plates :P), not from the Romanian national anthem. I can't remember the exact clue, but it gave part of the Romanian national anthem and then said that people from New Hampshire could relate or something along those lines. So "live free" wasn't the answer, it just explained why New Hampshire was mentioned in the clue, and "free" was the actual answer. That's how I interpreted it, anyways.

 

I'm going to have to wait for the clue to go up on J-Archive, because its's the wording of the clue that has got me confused what it was asking for.

[Hpmec]

Hebrew...1948....transportation....surprised that no one came up with El Al or anything associated with Israel. Greyhound and Amtrak? Really?

[Bastet]

My mind went to air travel first for some reason, so my thought process was basically a quick, "Okay, Israeli airline ... El Al."  I got it really fast for something I didn't just know, but instead reasoned my way to.  I like that kind of clue.

 

The Romanian national anthem clue was just looking for the missing word in the quoted lyrics -- free.  The bit about people from New Hampshire being able to relate (or however that part was phrased) was just a secondary hint to get you there, since more people know the NH "Live Free or Die" motto (thanks to the license plates, if nothing else) than the Romanian national anthem lyrics.

Edited March 30, 2015 by Bastet

[mjc570]

I enjoyed tonight's game, which really hasn't been the case for a while - either I didn't like contestants for some reason, too easy clues or just general irritation with the show. I thought all 3 contestants had a good base of knowledge, the bets were gutsy and the categories were interesting. I also though FJ was pretty easy - 1948 - Old Testament, but if you didn't know whenthe state of Israel was established, I can see that it might be difficult. Amtrak was an especially ridiculous answer.

[peeayebee]

OK, so I've been around aviation my whole life, so FJ was an insta-get for me, but seriously, how do you come up with Amtrak or Greyhound when the clue refers to a Hebrew prophet???

I didn't think the two guys were serious. They didn't know the answer but didn't want to leave it blank. That was my take.

 

I should have gotten FJ. I know this is stupid, but while I initially thought El Al, I decided that 1948 was too early for an airline to be established. 

[Pallida]

Because I'm silly and come here immediately after watching recorded jeopardy, the exact wording of the clue was:

Romanians would get along with New Hampshirites, as they sing of being "either" this "or dead"

 

Two WTF moments in last night's show: Al blatantly (don't know how the judges missed it) neglecting to say "what is" before one of his answers (and almost doing it again later), and then in a DD when Alex read the question, then said "Remember the category" before Al gave his answer. Since when does Alex coach the players? That was almost like giving a clue, IMO. I don't remember him ever doing that before. Between Alex and the judges, lots of weird stuff going on these days...

 

 

The clue actually included (Remember the category) in it.  I wasn't looking at the screen when he read it, was annoyed by his editorializing, then looked at the screen and saw it wasn't an ad lib.

Edited March 28, 2015 by Pallida

[RockShrimp]

Been friends with Eric (seeing his first name is so weird... No one calls him that) since college, he definely wasn't serious about his FJ answer. I'm so bummed- the two misspeaks on his part probably swung a lot of the game. Still, one of the best games I've seen in a while.

[proserpina65]

OK, so I've been around aviation my whole life, so FJ was an insta-get for me, but seriously, how do you come up with Amtrak or Greyhound when the clue refers to a Hebrew prophet???

I wasn't in the same room as my tv and mis-heard the year, so I also guessed Greyhound, although that did seem wrong to me.  I might've gotten the right answer if I'd had the right year, but then again, maybe not.  I just wasn't thinking about airlines at all.

[ChicagoCita]

I do a lot of interstate driving and I see quite a few moving trucks with Bible verses on them, so I was desperately trying to think of the names:  Covenant? Golden Movers?  Didn't even think of 1948=Israel.

Edited March 30, 2015 by ChicagoCita

[zoey1996]

I'm probably alone here, but the new champion looks like a grown up version of Axle Hecht from The Middle to me.  And yet, I find him likeable. 

I like Axl Heck!  Even when he's annoyingly obnoxious, he's still funny.  Having seen the actor in Frozen River, I enjoy seeing him in other things.

[opus]

-The water thing was funny.

-Yay women authors. I never would have got that from the she pronoun in the clue.

Edited March 30, 2015 by GaryE

[ottoDbusdriver]

Everyone ended up with decent totals going into FJ, but Michael steamrolled to a runaway -- that early true DD in the Jeopardy round was a lucky break, but shingles seemed a little too easy for a DD.  Good game otherwise.

 

I guessed Amy Tan for FJ as well, so I don't feel so bad.

[Prevailing Wind]

I thought of Tan first, too, but then I decided the way it was worded, the clue was probably referring to a "Western" woman - one who wouldn't be expected to write an Asian cook book...and completely blanking on Pearl S. Buck's name, I blurted out Edna Ferber.  Whaaa????

[possibilities]

Every time the answer is a man, I'd like to see the clue specify "Male"-- we could have "Male Authors," "Male Scientists," "Male Politicians," and so on. Fun times!

 

They could have just said "This author..." for tonight's FJ. Why did it matter that it was a woman?

 

I think only a westerner would write about an "Oriental" anything.

 

Alex asking about a woman traveling alone in the dangerous world was too much for me. There are so many other things you could ask someone who's story was that she'd been to 50+ countries. But he just wanted to know if she was scared?

[Bastet]

I think I'm glad I missed tonight's game.  Prefacing various professions with "Female" (or, worse yet, "Woman") drives me nuts, and as a woman whose preferred method of travel is to explore alone, the whole "OMG, really, you go by yourself?!" response - which I have yet to ever see directed at a man - bugs me on an even more personal level.

[Browncoat]

My thought process for FJ last night went like this: "Amy Tan! No, wait, Pearl Buck! No, no, Amy Tan!" Oh well.

And on behalf of myself and all the other women who frequently travel alone, screw you, Alex.

[Prevailing Wind]

I mentioned once to a bank teller I was about to go on a Road Trip by myself and she asked if I was taking my gun with me.  I don't have a gun.  But I have a helluva lot of fun by myself looking at weird crap from RoadsideAmerica.com.  LOL.

 

I like to think that Alex thinks he's asking a question that a LOT of the audience may have...not necessarily one he thinks needs answering. But the Jeopardy! audience isn't that stupid, Alex.  Get a grip.

[proserpina65]

Grown-up Axel is nice enough, but I hate runaway games.  I get bored when it's obvious that only one contestant has any chance of winning.  And the whole 'women authors' thing doesn't bother me - it's just a way of narrowing down the category imo; that said, I wouldn't mind seeing the male equivalent category title sometime.  As to Alex asking about women traveling alone, I see that as more a function of his age than anything else.  My parents are (in my dad's case 'was') of the same generation, and believe me, I got all kinds of questions when I decided to travel across Europe by myself 20 years ago when the world was arguably a safer place.  My mother would probably freak out if I suggested going somewhere outside of the US or Canada by myself now, so I kind of understand where he's coming from.  (Not that I wouldn't do it if I had the chance.)

 

I thought the FJ was incredibly simple, and didn't even consider another author.  Maybe if "Oriental" hadn't been in the clue, Amy Tan might've sprung to mind, but that's just such an older Western term that Pearl Buck seemed obvious.

Edited March 31, 2015 by proserpina65

[DXD526]

So if a category is just "Authors", can we assume all the answers are men?

 

On the clue where the answer was "battered", Michael gave an incorrect answer, and the woman contestant (can't remember her name) also was wrong, then Alex told her she gave the same answer Michael just did. I thought one of them said "drenched" and the other "dredged". It annoyed me that he heard wrong and then scolded her for it, especially since he'd just gotten done being all amazed that a little ol' girl would travel all by her lonesome. It was a particularly annoying game for Alex.