Jeopardy! Season 32 (2015-2016)

[pandora spocks]

Talia actually drove me completely nuts. I thought the dancing woman from last season was bad, but at least I could watch her games. I actually would not have been able to watch tomorrow if Talia had won today.

 

Her cutesy reply of toast cut like soldiers made me wish fervently for her defeat.  The whole game was tedious.  Even Revolutionary War Before and After couldn't redeem it for me.  I looked up Oscar-nominated songs for 1999 and couldn't find the South Park one listed.  I erroneously guessed Prince of Egypt for FJ. 

[Driad]

 

On the question about Wolf Hall, I think Alex should have asked for Cromwell's first name, because Oliver is better known than Thomas.

[lurk3000]

I couldn't wait to check the board here to see what you thought of Talia. Damn. Even Alex made a comment about putting down the signaling device.

[mojoween]

It does amuse me that Toy Story is apparently also a movie about censorship.

Edited September 17, 2015 by mojoween

[ClareWalks]

Talia was friggin' WEIRD. 

 

The fact that nobody knew "Blame Canada" made me weep for my generation. These people are mid-30s, they should remember that movie. I may be biased though because I know all the words to that damn song.

[GreekGeek]

Add me to the "Talia drove me nuts" list. There was also that endless story about getting flowers at the Kremlin.

 

I'm surprised I got "Blame Canada," because I've seen 1.5 episodes of South Park over the years and I never saw the movie. I dimly remembered seeing it performed at the Oscars, though. Robin Williams sang it, if memory serves.

[teebax]

And she dotted the "i" in her name with a heart. Ugh.

Did she actually think "toast cut like soldiers" was a legit breakfast dish? Hubs and I had to go back and make sure that's what she said. She was brutal.

I'd never heard of that breakfast,so her answer really confused me.

I found her annoying.

I didn't get FJ, but I slapped my forehead when the answer was revealed. How did I forget that already? I was thinking of the Three Six Mafia song, but thought the year was too early for it to be right.

[dcalley]

I looked up Oscar-nominated songs for 1999 and couldn't find the South Park one listed.

Oscar years can be tricky because the ceremony takes place in the year after the nominated movies came out, so maybe you need to look at 2000. Wikipedia says "Blame Canada" was part of the 72nd Awards.

[YoureSoUrban]

Thank goodness the summer Jeopardy detox is over and I can resume my habit. I had actually forgotten the season started this wekk so thank goodness for DVR presets.

Talia was unreal. She distracted me from a lot of the responses.

I didn't remember anything in Blame Canada being censored but I figured South Park had to be the film they were talking about.

[peeayebee]

Heh, I just realized that while I got FJ immediately, I got it for the wrong reason.  I was thinking the clue said  "Wealth of Nations" which is obviously Adam Smith but it actually said "great nations".  

Isn't it funny that "The Wealth of Nations" was actually a category tonight?

 

Yes, Talia did not have a good night. The Kremlin flower story, the signaling buzzer, the fidgeting, everything. 

 

I haven't seen the South Park movie or the TV show, but I got 'Blame Canada.'

 

The TS's I got were Rooty Tooty Fresh and Fruity, Romania, and Children's Hospital (which I have also never seen).

[junemeatcleaver]

I think part of Talia's problem was that she was very nervous.  She seemed to calm down some once she started to get clues right.

[trow125]

I'm glad the new season has started but I agree that it was a rather boring game.  Maybe we really do need a weird arm waving, dancing, swaying contestant to liven things up.  

Well, anyone who was hoping for a weird arm waving, swaying contestant certainly got their wish with Talia. I suspect Alex was also very glad she didn't win. I can't remember the last time I felt so embarrassed for a contestant. I wonder if a clip of her appearance will show up on "The Soup" this Friday.

 

I was kind of hoping somebody would incorrectly answer "Uncle F---er," another song from the "South Park" movie, because I'm curious what would happen if somebody wrote a profanity in FJ.

[Trey]

 

M. Darcy, on 16 Sept 2015 - 2:28 PM, said:

    Heh, I just realized that while I got FJ immediately, I got it for the wrong reason.  I was thinking the clue said  "Wealth of Nations" which is obviously Adam Smith but it actually said "great nations". 

Isn't it funny that "The Wealth of Nations" was actually a category tonight?

I even made a note of that to mention it here!

 

I did not know that Trivia was a minor goddess so I liked learning that.

 

I did not think of South Park, The Movie, so of course I didn't get FJ. 

Edited September 17, 2015 by Trey

[Prevailing Wind]

I forgot "fresh," so I yelled out, "Rooty-Tooty Hot & Frooty"  I was as red as IHOP strawberry compote.

[shoregirl]

I was kind of hoping somebody would incorrectly answer "Uncle F---er," another song from the "South Park" movie, because I'm curious what would happen if somebody wrote a profanity in FJ.

That was the only song from South Park that came to my head. I knew it wasn't right but I completely blanked on Blame Canada.

[mojoween]

I don't understand how you can hear "steam" and not come up with Robert Fulton. I thought Whistler was an odd answer.

[ZaldamoWilder]

Talia actually drove me completely nuts. I thought the dancing woman from last season was bad, but at least I could watch her games. I actually would not have been able to watch tomorrow if Talia had won today. And I was only half-watching! It was like she wanted everybody to know that she knew the answer and it was all because of the signaling device that she wasn't doing better. But then she would get chances to answer and say things like "toast cut like soldiers".

 

I had no idea for FJ. I didn't even know South Park made a movie. I was disappointed that nobody recognized Romania on a map, though.

 

This. Well you guys, to be fair, if we're expecting things like good sportsmanship and the ability to fucking stand still from these contestants, we might need to consider that our bar is a tad high.  

 

Because I think it's absolutely one of the best what-did-she-just-say things I've ever heard on television, I'm ordering toast cut like soldiers the next time I go to breakfast and dare my waiter to tell me it's not a thing. 

 

It's been months and I've only just been able to put Arthur Chu in my rearview.  Though, his renovated personality was better.  I want to forget Talia just as thoroughly but today the twitterverse is talking about how she made Alex say the words Turd Ferguson in FJ and it's almost enough to balance out the overgrown baby tantrums and LP storytelling.  Almost.

[Totale]

I want to forget Talia just as thoroughly but today the twitterverse is talking about how she made Alex say the words Turd Ferguson in FJ and it's almost enough to balance out the overgrown baby tantrums and LP storytelling.  Almost.

 

I must be too old, I didn't get that reference at all.  I would have gotten at least to the South Park Movie if I remembered it was about censorship, but frankly didin't have the impression that was the case.  I do recall Stephen Sondheim being quoted somewhere as saying that was the best movie musical he'd seen in years or a decade or something, and if that quote is accurate it might have made for a better clue.

[sugarbaker design]

Because I think it's absolutely one of the best what-did-she-just-say things I've ever heard on television, I'm ordering toast cut like soldiers the next time I go to breakfast and dare my waiter to tell me it's not a thing.

 

 

My mom's Irish, so I knew what she was talking about.  She would cut toast into thin strips and we would dip them in our soft boiled eggs.

[proserpina65]

Another FJ where I couldn't believe no one got the answer!  I didn't remember the South Park movie being about censorship, but I sure remember Robin Williams' performance of Blame Canada at the Oscars.

And she dotted the "i" in her name with a heart. Ugh.

Did she actually think "toast cut like soldiers" was a legit breakfast dish? Hubs and I had to go back and make sure that's what she said. She was brutal.

Hey now, toast soldiers are a traditional Brit breakfast dish, served with soft-boiled eggs!

 

And on a serious note, french toast seemed obvious to me.  And Talia was indeed the pits.  I thought her story would never end and was hoping the resolution was that the KGB had arrested her.  Right there on Jeopardy.

[proserpina65]

The TS's I got were Rooty Tooty Fresh and Fruity, Romania, and Children's Hospital (which I have also never seen).

 

It made me very sad that no one got Rooty Tooty Fresh and Fruity.

[HelenBaby]

I've been around Trebek in a non Jeopardy setting and you couldn't meet a more laid back & funny guy. I'm sure he found her stupid answer funny. And don't get me wrong, I loved that skit every time it was on SNL. But the amount of support & attention she's getting on Facebook & Twitter is ridiculous. She was a horrible contestant. When I was on the show there was a woman just like her in the contestant pool. And she did just as poorly as this chick did. I can't believe the amount of virtual high fives she's getting. But here I am talking about her for the second time. God I hate myself!

[3 is enough]

Talia was a ditz for sure, but I have to wonder how much of her performance on the show was due to nerves.  As someone who has taken the online test 3 times and never received a call back, I have to credit her for getting as far as she did.

 

I knew from the little shoulder shrug and pout during the opening she was going to be interesting. And that dress was tight, sheer, and distracting.  Someone should have told her to wear black underneath it.

 

But the Turd Ferguson answer was good, I'll give her that.

[saber5055]

Oh, gosh, I came here to post about those soldiers cut out of toast, but everyone has been here before me so, never mind. I can't believe all these posters, where have you guys been all year? Dancing Jennifer didn't bring out the posts like Twisting Talia has. So, she has achieved something with her Jeopardy! appearance.

 

I hate I missed iHop's Rooty Tooty Fresh and Fruity since iHop used to give members of its eclub a free one on that person's birthday, so I've eaten plenty of them. (Now they just give a free pancake stack. Bummer.) But for some reason I had Denny's in my mind and was trying to come up with the name of its skillets.

 

No one could find Romania, even when shown a freaking MAP? The heck.

 

ETA: I did get a laugh out of "noble gas" given for an answer instead of "noble rot" in the "Vine" category. Noble gas was a FJ a while back (I THINK it was FJ). Anyway, I had never heard of noble gas then, so got a kick out of it being a wrong answer yesterday. I've never heard of noble rot, but at least now I've heard of noble gas. So there's that!

Edited September 17, 2015 by saber5055

[ZaldamoWilder]

I said rooty tooty hot and fruity.  So much for my supposed devotion to breakfast foods.

 

My mom's Irish, so I knew what she was talking about.  She would cut toast into thin strips and we would dip them in our soft boiled eggs.

 

Hey now, toast soldiers are a traditional Brit breakfast dish, served with soft-boiled eggs!

 

Shout out to the entire U.K. - born Londoner checking in.  Yeah it's a super British thing to have for breakfast.  Anybody remember marmite and blood sausage? (I just threw up in my mouth a little).  I'd just never heard of the strips being cut into soldiers lol.   Frankly I was more surprised that there's a man who voluntarily deals with that for life.   Lid for every pot.

 

And on a serious note, french toast seemed obvious to me. 

 

Me too, because I never get the answer to anything on Jeopardy unless it deals with pop culture text speak or medical conditions.  I'm still quite proud of the time one of the DD's was this five letter term for swelling and on a lark (without finger counting and everything) I blurted out Edema.  

 

And Talia was indeed the pits.  I thought her story would never end and was hoping the resolution was that the KGB had arrested her.  Right there on Jeopardy.

 

The Russians are still kind of vigilant, I'm sure they watched the promos and decided Teaneck N.J. should probably keep her.

[proserpina65]

proserpina65, on 17 Sept 2015 - 11:15 AM, said:

 

And Talia was indeed the pits.  I thought her story would never end and was hoping the resolution was that the KGB had arrested her.  Right there on Jeopardy.

The Russians are still kind of vigilant, I'm sure they watched the promos and decided Teaneck N.J. should probably keep her.

True.  Even Putin wouldn't want her.  Carson Putin, that is.

 

And on that note, I was a little annoyed that they didn't make Audrey specify WHICH Gandhi.  I know it's spelled differently, and they were different genders, but for consistency's sake they should require a first name when there's more than one historic personage with the same last name.

 

[ZaldamoWilder]

And on that note, I was a little annoyed that they didn't make Audrey specify WHICH Gandhi.  I know it's spelled differently, and they were different genders, but for consistency's sake they should require a first name when there's more than one historic personage with the same last name.

 

Yeah, thank you for mindrewinding to this.   Is it because based on how the question is asked, there's only one possible answer?  Like, I could've sworn the question was gender specific - something like "when he instituted a hunger strike"......

[peeayebee]

But the amount of support & attention she's getting on Facebook & Twitter is ridiculous. She was a horrible contestant. 

Amen. I love Turd Ferguson as much as the next guy, but I'm sure she planned on including the name somehow in FJ if she couldn't come up with the answer. Anyway, it's hard for me to appreciate the reference when she did everything in her power to irritate me.

 

Yes, she seemed nervous, so I feel sorry for her. Yet there wasn't really anything redeeming about her appearance. Maybe it's good that she's getting kudos for her FJ answer.

 

Hey now, toast soldiers are a traditional Brit breakfast dish, served with soft-boiled eggs!

 

My mother was English, and we sometimes had soft-boiled eggs with toast cut into strips, but I don't remember her ever calling them toast soldiers.

 

I don't understand how you can hear "steam" and not come up with Robert Fulton. I thought Whistler was an odd answer.

 

Whistler was an odd answer, but I think it was just a Hail-Mary, and it came to her because of a tea kettle whistle. That's my assumption.

[Athena]

In Britain, it's common to call them Egg & Soldiers. It was a typical breakfast for much of the 20th century. It hasn't been as popular these days, but it's not uncommon.

[proserpina65]

Yeah, thank you for mindrewinding to this.   Is it because based on how the question is asked, there's only one possible answer?  Like, I could've sworn the question was gender specific - something like "when he instituted a hunger strike"......

I checked on J! Archive, and it was gender specific.  But then, I'm the person who would always require a first name, every time the answer is a person's name.

[Mondrianyone]

I know about toast soldiers from reading way too many British mysteries, but I think it's a bit of a stretch to refer to toast cut into strips as a "dish."  That would make my mother eligible for a James Beard Award for slicing my grilled cheese on the diagonal. 

 

As someone said above, as soon as I saw the little shoulder lift and cute pout in the contestant intro, I had that automatic uh-oh feeling.  And we weren't wrong.

 

It might've been an interesting experiment to see how long that story about the flower delivery would've gone on if left uninterrupted.

[secnarf]

"Toast cut into soldiers" and "toast soldiers" don't seem like the same thing to me. To be fair, I've never heard of either, though I have had soft-boiled eggs with toast cut into strips. But saying "toast cut into soldiers" makes me picture pieces of toast cut into the shape of little soldier-men, whereas I can see how one might call the strips of toast "toast soldiers".

I think my dislike for Talia might be biasing me against her answer, though.

[proserpina65]

"Toast cut into soldiers" and "toast soldiers" don't seem like the same thing to me. To be fair, I've never heard of either, though I have had soft-boiled eggs with toast cut into strips. But saying "toast cut into soldiers" makes me picture pieces of toast cut into the shape of little soldier-men, whereas I can see how one might call the strips of toast "toast soldiers".

I think my dislike for Talia might be biasing me against her answer, though.

When I heard her answer, I immediately thought of toast soldiers, a term I know only from various Brit mysteries I've read over the years.  If I'd never heard the term at all, I might've gone the same route you did.  Either way, the answer was wrong, and Talia was an annoying idiot.

[just prin]

Turdy Talia is a Jeopardy casting head's bad dream! And to make things worse, she's getting tons of press from people who didn't cringe through her entire show as all of us did. Ewwwwww!!

[mojoween]

The amusement of the SNL skit wore off on me WAY before SNL stopped trotting it out so the Turd Ferguson answer just pissed me off. It doesn't even make SENSE, in the context of the category. I hate that places like Entertainment Weekly are like "teehee look at what this funny contestant did on Jeopardy!, isn't that a RIOT?" At least there are smart people commenting on posts on FB about how frakking irritating she was, which outweighs their enjoyment that she got Alex to say it.

[Ritalin Smoothie]

Could someone on this board enlighten me as to what possible medical condition (other than Tourette's) may cause a person to tremble/shake uncontrollably?  Seriously though, when I saw Talia last night jerking wildly, my first thought was that she had some phyiscal issues.  I also remember another constestant from an earlier season who was holding the buzzer behind his back but still visibly swayed from one side to another.  He annoyed a lot of posters on the forum with his appearance back then, but I susptected that he was trying to control his trembling by keeping his arms behind his back but couldn't manage to do so completely for the entire episode. 

[peeayebee]

I just think it was nerves + being a fidgety person. 

 

I know about toast soldiers from reading way too many British mysteries, but I think it's a bit of a stretch to refer to toast cut into strips as a "dish."  That would make my mother eligible for a James Beard Award for slicing my grilled cheese on the diagonal. 

Oh, you mean sandwich hats!

[Trillium]

Ok so the toast answer wasn't the weirdest answer ever, but it's like saying "yokes and whites mixed together" for scrambled eggs.

Nerves don't explain the "hi mom" or the heart dotted i, so I'm going with she's just annoying like that.

[trow125]

Turdy Talia is a Jeopardy casting head's bad dream! And to make things worse, she's getting tons of press from people who didn't cringe through her entire show as all of us did. Ewwwwww!!

I wanted to see if I could find a clip to send my mom, a big Jeopardy fan who missed last night's ep as she's traveling, and I dug up this HuffPo article:

Lavin may have lost the game, but she says her consolation prize was worth it. "I won the Internet, which is way better than many thousands of dollars."

 

UGH. I really, truly hope that all the attention she's getting doesn't prompt other people to start acting like idiots.

[mjc570]

I tried to be sympathetic to Talia for several reasons - I'm a bit of a full-figured gal myself, I liked her voice and I would probably be even more nervous than she clearly was.  But her total appearance was just so distracting that  I really didn't enjoy the game as much as I would have liked.  It's not a live show - couldn't they have edited her endless anecdote?    I wasn't too impressed by Audrey, either, although she has managed to win twice now. At least she has no (to me) annoying mannerisms or atrtitude.

[saber5055]

Lavin may have lost the game, but she says her consolation prize was worth it. "I won the Internet, which is way better than many thousands of dollars."

 

 

I wonder if she has been reading here. I'd rather have thousands of dollars than the ire of you guys. Or let me put it this way: If I had won thousands, you guys could say anything. But losing and then being an idiot on tv? I'd say that's no "win," however one looks at it. How the frak did she ever make it on the show anyway, when reasonably intelligent people can't get it done?

 

She makes those other people we ranked on look good though, no? Jeopardy should have a "worst contestants week." She'd be in the left-hand primo position.

It's not a live show - couldn't they have edited her endless anecdote?

 

 

Consider this: Perhaps they did.

Edited September 17, 2015 by saber5055

[secnarf]

Surprising TS: Medicine Hat being in Alberta, O Sole Mio

I had absolutely no idea for FJ though.

The new champ did quite well, though I liked Audrey and am sad to see her go. Actually, I would have been happy if any of the contestants today had won.

[pandora spocks]

Why did the cameras focus on a tattoo of the new champ's ankle at the end of the show?

[Browncoat]

Grrrr!  Thursday night football pre-empted my Jeopardy!

[atir]

I was so hoping someone would answer "spotted dick" for the British breakfast question.

I knew y'all would be talking smack about Talia. You guys are the best!

[mojoween]

If I knew who Mathew Brady was, I may have been able to come up with FJ. Alas, I do not.

Alex, the average Jeopardy! watcher knows what a sternum us, so it's really between you and yourself as to why you felt the need to tack on "the breastbone" after Natalie was right.

Natalie was taking no prisoners. I liked her. I notice Audrey really toned down the "What. Is." portion of her answers, it only slipped out a few times. I should have liked her because New York, but I live in Syracuse so fuck Rochester. No offense WNYers, I know you're out there!

[opus]

Where was the Rolling Stones drum stick??

[HelenBaby]

I liked Audrey all right until she missed the Elmer Gantry question. I guess I just assumed since she claimed to love old movies she'd have known that it was from the Sinclair Lewis book. After that, she was dead to me.

I am impressed by the new champ, though. Hope she continues to kick ass.

[rubaco]

Natalie was taking no prisoners. I liked her.

 

Wasn't her personal anecdote basically, "I like coffee?" Admittedly I wasn't paying full attention, but… seriously, come up with something better. Anything better. 

[mojoween]

One of the PTV writers tweeted that he is going to be on in December. That is very cool.