Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions

[ams1001]

March 6:

67% / 60% / 64%

J! was okayish...Missed one in Olympic History, Middle X, Waits, and Measures, two in Islands, and four in Shakespeare (I thought of Taming of the Shrew for the DD but I didn't get to the character in time).

DJ was relatively not terrible compared to how I've been doing lately. Missed one in Movie Taglines, two in Unusual Words, The Arts, Occupations, and The Heavens & Earth, and three in 1924.

I got FJ! Again! I don't know what the The Fire Next Time is about but I was fairly sure it was by James Baldwin which, along with the reference to "celebrating freedom," led me to something to do with the end of slavery so I guessed 1863 and added 100.

TSes: (J had 1 + the DD; DJ had 5) I got Promising Young Woman and Thanksgiving (a guess; never heard of the movie, and almost certainly wouldn't watch it, I just thought of a holiday known for leftovers).

LOL: "Henry VIII has a type." Also, Kenderella. Troy's wife might regret that one.

The game dynamics graph is crazy:

 

40 minutes ago, PaulaO said:

Did Troy sit in a chair during his original run?  At times he looked like he was going to tip over.  I wonder if he injured his back prior to taping.  He could take on Yogesh and win. Fingers crossed.

I googled and found an article from January 2023 that mentioned him sitting, but didn't say why.

Edited March 7 by ams1001

[Katy M]

I said 1876.  It was logical.

Guess I didn't get any missed clues and I sure as heck didn't run any categories.  I did at least get one right in each one, so small victory.

[possibilities]

I'm not sure Sean's statement will mollify the people whose locale he insulted, since he didn't seem to feel sorry about it. 

That was a total blow out game, though, either way. 

Does Deb spell their name D.E.B. ? Is that a reference to the movie?

Edited March 7 by possibilities

[Browncoat]

I also said 1876, but it was just a WAG.  Oh well.

I only got two TS -- Katherina and Promising Young Woman.

[annzeepark914]

What movie???  Yup...Sean better stay far away from LI.

Great game. Got my hopes pinned on Troy now.

[possibilities]

13 minutes ago, annzeepark914 said:

What movie???

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0367631/

 

I found some articles about Troy. None of them say why he is sitting, but this one had some interesting info about him. His wife was a Chase champion. 

https://www.tvinsider.com/gallery/jeopardy-troy-meyer-genevieve-sheehan/#2

 

[secnarf]

23 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Congrats to philosophy prof Ben Chan!

I'm okay with my wrong FJ guess of Plutonium because:

1. Same first letter as Promethium.
2. Having recently watched Oppenheimer, a god of the underworld (Pluto) seems appropriate for 1940s research that involves uranium.
3. It was at least first synthesized and identified in 1941, so same decade.

Thanks for this - I had also guessed Plutonium but didn't want to look up how badly I was off by. This makes me feel better about it!

Today I initially said 1876, but didn't think that made much sense. I then decided on "100 years after the emancipation proclamation" but didn't know the year of that.

[SoMuchTV]

1 hour ago, possibilities said:

Does Deb spell her name D.E.B. ? Is that a reference to the movie?

I noticed that as well. Their last name starts with B, so maybe Deb/DEB is a nickname based on initials?

[ams1001]

25 minutes ago, SoMuchTV said:

I noticed that as well. Their last name starts with B, so maybe Deb/DEB is a nickname based on initials?

Tonight they wrote it as D.E.B.; I did an image search and in another game it's written as "DEB" without the periods. The Jeopardy website just writes it as "Deb" in their writeups.

[ams1001]

lol... from J! post on Instagram

[Bastet]

Good grief, another game in this ToC that doesn't go the way I want it to -- I've been a fan all along and was hoping for Deb to win this one ( @possibilities, Deb uses their, not her, so you may want to edit your post so as not to unintentionally offend by misgendering someone) and I played like crap.  But kudos to Troy on a fantastic performance that even those he left in the dust could not help but cheer.

I only ran Olympics in the first round, but I got all but one in everything else except Shakespeare, in which I missed two.  (As an aside, being reminded of The Taming of the Shrew's ending, I'm tempted to grab my DVDs and watch the far superior version done by Moonlighting.)

But, holy cow, DJ was not my round!  I got all but one in occupations (I'd never heard of cordwainer [neither has this site's spellcheck, apparently]), but sucked in the rest -- I missed three each in words and arts, and missed all but one each in the rest.  (At least the one film I knew was Promising Young Woman, the TS.)

I did get FJ, at least, so that was a nice palate cleanser after eating shit throughout DJ.  I did not specifically know the quote or even the book it's from, but knew it had to be referring to the 100th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, so after a brief moment of "Wait, 1860-what?" panic it came to me and I knew the correct response was 1963.  I'm not surprised only one knew it, even in a ToC, but I am a little surprised - and a little bummed - two of them didn't even seem to understand it had to relate to slavery.

[shapeshifter]

I didn't remember Troy, but he was playing on a Matt Amodio level.
I could see him winning the whole enchilada. 

 

Regarding FJ of:

• AMERICAN LITERARY HISTORY 
  "The country is celebrating 100 years of freedom 100 years too soon", says "The Fire Next Time", published in this year

I started with recalling the bicentennial of 1976, and realized the math was wrong for the clue (200 years, not 100 years) and if I corrected the math to 1876…got nothing.
But then 1863 came to mind as a result of having watched many episodes of Finding Your Roots, and I actually read Baldwin in the 1960s as a teen, so, last minute millisecond: 1963.

Edited March 8 by shapeshifter

[possibilities]

38 minutes ago, Bastet said:

( @possibilities, Deb uses their, not her, so you may want to edit your post so as not to unintentionally offend by misgendering someone)

Thanks-- I didn't know. I've edited my post.

 

[SoMuchTV]

41 minutes ago, Bastet said:

I'm not surprised only one knew it, even in a ToC, but I am a little surprised - and a little bummed - two of them didn't even seem to understand it had to relate to slavery.

I definitely got the feeling it related to slavery, and I thought 1876 was a little too on the nose, but I didn’t get the connection to the year of the emancipation proclamation so 1876 was my best guess. 

[Bastet]

5 minutes ago, possibilities said:

Thanks-- I didn't know.

You're welcome, and that's what I figured -- something that should be pointed out and edited rather than reported and removed, so I'm glad my comment came across in the spirit it was intended.

I've noticed that when an episode features a non-binary contestant, Ken tends to subtly indicate their preferred pronouns to the audience by framing his remarks in a way that naturally uses the pronoun - rather than "you" or "[Name]" - once and often twice to help avoid unintentional misgendering among viewers.  It's something I appreciate, because he's smooth about it.  He didn't do it tonight, though, so if you didn't remember from their previous games, there was nothing to put it fresh in the mind.

[30 Helens]

So it’s agreed, we all nominate Troy as the People’s Champion in our Trial by Combat against Gregor Clegane Yogesh?

[Cotypubby]

47 minutes ago, Bastet said:

He didn't do it tonight, though, so if you didn't remember from their previous games, there was nothing to put it fresh in the mind.

He did, when reading Deb’s FJ answer he said “And their response was-“

I knew FJ was referring to the end of slavery but I couldn’t remember the year. I said 1965. At least I was on the right track.

[Bastet]

38 minutes ago, Cotypubby said:

He did, when reading Deb’s FJ answer he said “And their response was-“

Thank you, good to know -- guess I better clean the wax out of my ears.

[possibilities]

I didn't hear it, either!

Things go by fast sometimes.

In my community, people typically put their pronouns after their names (on their name tags, or they say them when they introduce themselves). If you don't say, people just guess. 

So far, people haven't gotten offended by mistakes, they just give the correction and it's fine. It's only been a problem when someone is obviously being hostile and deliberately misgendering someone. I think most people understand and can tell the difference between a deliberate slight and an honest goof.

Edited March 7 by possibilities

[proserpina65]

On 3/5/2024 at 7:32 PM, ams1001 said:

Finally the one I was rooting for won! But I liked everyone (even sort of remembered Justin and Emmet once they started playing).

Yeah, me too.  It was reassuring that at least one regular season juggernaut made it to the semis.

I was rooting for Deb last night but Troy was a freaking machine and bet big when he needed to do so.  Good for him.

On 3/5/2024 at 7:35 PM, Katy M said:

I said Thorium.  At least it wasn't completely stupid.

I said Plutonium.  Also wrong but not totally crazy either, I guess.

I also missed last night's FJ.  Said 1876 even though I knew that couldn't be correct.  The book title was vaguely familiar, but not enough, obviously.

On 3/5/2024 at 8:11 PM, SoMuchTV said:

Well, I wild-guessed titanium. I’m not going to research any further and find out how far off I was. 

Prometheus was one of the Titans, so not too far off in the ancient god respect.

[proserpina65]

10 hours ago, Bastet said:

I'm not surprised only one knew it, even in a ToC, but I am a little surprised - and a little bummed - two of them didn't even seem to understand it had to relate to slavery.

I didn't get that, so I don't blame them for not getting it either.

[PaulaO]

10 hours ago, 30 Helens said:

So it’s agreed, we all nominate Troy as the People’s Champion in our Trial by Combat against Gregor Clegane Yogesh?

I do like Troy but I also like Ben.  ABY!  

[Clanstarling]

15 hours ago, possibilities said:

I'm not sure Sean's statement will mollify the people whose locale he insulted, since he didn't seem to feel sorry about it.

Yeah, that was kind of a non-apology, wasn't it?

I was pulling for Deb, but Troy was a cheerful powerhouse - so I'm not disappointed.

So we have two new reaction emojis now - a new Thank You and an Anger one. Not sure I like adding anger. That seems counter to the new changes on the site. But I suppose I can be angry about something - and not at someone.

Edited March 7 by Clanstarling

[possibilities]

I find the new emojis hard to see or distinguish from each other. I had no idea what they meant until I floated my cursor over them and the word popped up.

I noticed after the fact that the announcement section of the site ran a poll to choose them, but the choices were very similar. I think anyone who cares about this stuff should go on over to the announcement forum and monitor for future polls, just in case they want to change some of the other reactions.

I feel like the Tournament was kind of in the doldrums for a while, but it's picked up in intensity this week. 

 

[Driad]

Seeing an announcement (about a different show), I wished for a "Meh" emoji.

[Clanstarling]

42 minutes ago, possibilities said:

I find the new emojis hard to see or distinguish from each other. I had no idea what they meant until I floated my cursor over them and the word popped up.

I noticed after the fact that the announcement section of the site ran a poll to choose them, but the choices were very similar.

I didn't notice the announcement, I would have responded. Oh well.

14 minutes ago, Driad said:

Seeing an announcement (about a different show), I wished for a "Meh" emoji.

That would be perfect! I'd also like a "yummy" icon (or something like that) but that's mostly for the Jeopardy Contest forum, so I don't think it'd be a winner (though maybe the cooking show forums followers would help).

[ams1001]

13 minutes ago, Clanstarling said:

I didn't notice the announcement, I would have responded. Oh well.

I didn't either; I just looked and at least I can say I would have voted for the ones they chose. The other anger option was a little too angry, I think.

[SoMuchTV]

Responding to the emoji conversation in Small Talk...

[The Wild Sow]

I'm just catching up on Jeopardy from Tues. & Wed.  Anyone know why Ben and Emmett were twinning in ill-fitting blue jackets (denim blue?  cornflower?  steel blue?)  It was a little distracting!

Justin's "50-year-old voice from a 21-year-old face" is always something I find strangely adorable.

Make that a 19-year-old face!  I'm no cradle robber but a deep voice/young face is kind of my kryptonite 🥰

[Katy M]

I said The Spartans.

I got the missed clues of Cezanne and Audobon.

I got the entire category of old paints right, which is weird because I'm not that much of an art buff.

[ams1001]

March 7:

30% / 60% / 44%

Holy crap. I have definitely achieved a new low. Missed two in Material World, three in Books by Characters and Unusual Nicknames, four in Sports Mascots (I'll thank Ted Lasso for my correctly guessing Manchester, or maybe it's just the only British soccer team I can name off the top of my head [I assumed a clue about a team from England was about soccer]) and Before & After, and all five in Getting Historical.

I did twice as well in DJ! (That's really not saying much.) Ran Gitalong Old Paint (pleasant surprise, since I don't usually do that well in art, and there were even two TSes in the category!), missed two in Boy Genius, Baker, and The Tallest One, and three in Ends in Double Letters and Bridgers.

Didn't even get FJ, and I was doing so well this week, too. I also guessed the Spartans.

TSes: (J had 2; DJ had 6 + 1 DD) I got Beet Wellington (managed to come up with the original dish and then the obvious pun for a veggie version right at the last second), Cezanne, and Audubon.

Yay, Ben! At least Ike can say he made it all the way to the TOC semifinals and only lost one game!

[annzeepark914]

I was pulling for Ike or Jared (cannot handle Ben's OTT sweetness... sorry). But!!! If Ben can do the job...I'm going to be pulling for him big time 😁. So, I'm looking at Ben & Troy right now as our saviors. 

[Browncoat]

Another FJ, another blank stare from me.  I couldn't even come up with Spartans!

I did get the TS of brocade, Audubon, and Oregon, though.

I was impressed by how well Ike did!  Congrats to Ben! 

[dgpolo]

2 minutes ago, Browncoat said:

Another FJ, another blank stare from me.  I couldn't even come up with Spartans!

I said Trojans, but really the mention of Aeschylus just reminded me of the song Brush Up Your Shakespeare from Kiss Me Kate which has stayed in my head since. The line says "So to win their hearts one must quote with ease Aeschylus and Euripides" so that wasn't any help really.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8Zzl_HH4XQ

I did get Brocade, Audubon and Cezanne.

[alias1]

I was impressed with how well Ike did, too.  And if he had wagered zero in FJ he would have won. 

[Prevailing Wind]

10 hours ago, Clanstarling said:

But I suppose I can be angry about something - and not at someone.

There's Yogesh...

[30 Helens]

TOCs are always difficult for me, but this year’s seems especially hard. Long stretches of silence here in the Helens household, and by FJ we’re just stuffing our faces with donuts.

I was rooting for Jared tonight. Shame about that DD, but good on him for going for it. I also would have very pleased with an Ike win, and after a shaky start he nearly pulled it off! If nothing else, he represented the “dumb” celebrities well. I don’t know what it is about Ben, he seems like a nice guy but I just can’t work up any enthusiasm for him. I may have to change that, though, if He Who Shall Not be Named makes the finals.

 

 

[HyeChaps]

Quote

I'm not sure Sean's statement will mollify the people whose locale he insulted, since he didn't seem to feel sorry about it. 

NOT MOLLIFIED.  Glad he's gone.

[annzeepark914]

Something that contestants are doing now is really bugging me. It's their "Oof! I knew that" reaction when their response is wrong and the correct response is given either by another contestant or Ken. Yeah...sure. How do we know they're not really trying to cover up their not knowing? 

[chessiegal]

All those "oh, I knew that" seem genuine to me. They are when I say them at home.

[proserpina65]

16 hours ago, Katy M said:

I said The Spartans.

I said The Flies, although I now realize that was Sartre.  Oh well, I liked the idea of Aeschylus fighting flies for years.

That was a tighter match than I expected but that made it exciting to watch.

[Bastet]

I'm glad Ben won; I'm rooting for Emily to win the whole thing, but if one of the men wins I want it to be Ben.  Here's hoping I continue to like the semifinal results more than I did the quarterfinals.

I was watching with friends so didn't keep track, but it was another game - typical of this ToC - where I did reasonably well in the first round and then largely took a vow of silence in DJ.  I had no idea on FJ, but neither did any of my friends or one of the contestants (and the other two guessed wrong), so I'm in good company, at least.

Edited March 8 by Bastet

[SomeTameGazelle]

On 3/6/2024 at 8:44 PM, secnarf said:

 

Today I initially said 1876, but didn't think that made much sense. I then decided on "100 years after the emancipation proclamation" but didn't know the year of that.

I said 1962. 😞

Edited March 8 by SomeTameGazelle
Oops

[Quickbeam]

18 hours ago, 30 Helens said:

TOCs are always difficult for me, but this year’s seems especially hard. Long stretches of silence here in the Helens household, and by FJ we’re just stuffing our faces with donuts.

I was rooting for Jared tonight. Shame about that DD, but good on him for going for it. I also would have very pleased with an Ike win, and after a shaky start he nearly pulled it off! If nothing else, he represented the “dumb” celebrities well. I don’t know what it is about Ben, he seems like a nice guy but I just can’t work up any enthusiasm for him. I may have to change that, though, if He Who Shall Not be Named makes the finals.

 

 

Could be the Green Bay connection. It isn’t pretty! 

[PaulaO]

Stop with the “cute” quips after answering. So tired of contestants doing this.

[ams1001]

March 8:

63% / 57% / 59%

Better than last night, at least. In J I ran Paper, missed three in Trail and two in everything else. In DJ I missed one in Film Bros, three in the Middle Ages and South of the Equator, and two in everything else.

Did not get FJ (I could only think of Corinth but was pretty sure that's not in Turkey). But I did get all three DDs…

TSes: (J had 3 ; DJ had 2 + 1 DD) I got albumen paper and Prussian Blue (DD).

Lucky bracelet? Why, Emily, why?!

Was there hugging? I looked up and they were all standing together between the first two podiums before Emily went back to her own.

Tonight's graph is even crazier than Troy's game...

Edited March 9 by ams1001

[Katy M]

Not often (or ever) that I get to say this in a TOC, but final was an instaget.

I got the missed clue of cornflower.

Not too bad of a night.  Not a good night, but again, for a TOC, not bad at all.

[Prevailing Wind]

I am gobsmacked that I got FJ, when I missed so many in the rest of the game.

[annzeepark914]

Thanks a lot, Emily. Lucky bracelets? 🧐

[Browncoat]

As usual, I did not get FJ.  Nor did I get any TS!  But I was distracted by something shiny, so there's that.  I might have gotten Prussian blue, but Ken said it so fast that I can't count it.

How nice.  They all have lucky friendship bracelets.