All Episodes Discussion: The Daily Double

[Roaster]

That Jen Fiero (the librarian from MI) is a realy cutie-pie.

 

(I root for the best looking contestants.)

[YoureSoUrban]

I feel bad Andrew blew FJ. He seemed to have the broadest knowledge of the 3.

Shocked Midnight Cowboy was a TS, esp. when they were given Hoffman and Ratso Rizzo.

[CarpeDiem54]

I was shocked no one knew Midnight Cowboy, too.  I managed to get all of the FJs this week.  A couple (like ethereal) were pure lucky guesses.

[peeayebee]

I feel bad Andrew blew FJ. He seemed to have the broadest knowledge of the 3.

I was very surprised he didn't get FJ. Like you said, his knowledge base seemed very broad. He was very impressive during the game. You just never know what will do in a contestant.

 

Shocked Midnight Cowboy was a TS, esp. when they were given Hoffman and Ratso Rizzo.

Yes. Ratso Rizzo is one of his most iconic roles. Seems like this should have been a lower valued clue too.

[Trey]

Andrew was pretty impressive but I'm pleased enough that Jen won.  The lady at the far end seemed to have a hard time getting into the game. 

 

I too was very surprised no one got Midnight Cowboy.  Another one I though easy but was a ts was "emollient" from the word "mollis". 

 

DH was calling questions to me about FJ and interrupting my train of thought so I didn't get FJ - although I'm not too sure I would have come up with it anyhow.

[Totale]

That Jen Fiero (the librarian from MI) is a realy cutie-pie.

 

(I root for the best looking contestants.)

 

Me, too. I also root for all the librarians, although my wife is pissed that I refer to them all as "Marion".

[pandora spocks]

According to the email that I received from Jeopardy!, the upcoming week will be the last week of regular games.  The Teen Tournament will begin July 21-August 1. No doubt there will be repeats of various tournaments until the new season.

 

I always abhor this time of year. 

[Sharpie66]

Nellie Bly was a TS??? I am such a fan of hers, I am very disappointed right now. And I got FJ, for once!,

[M. Darcy]

I got FJ immediately but I admit it was because The Divine Comedy is the only Italian literature I could think of.

[Tabasco Cat]

New week and a new champion. Unremarkable champions lately. Not getting too many FJ either.

 

So next week is the Teen Tournament? Is that a repeat of the last one or a new one? If it's a repeat I'll watch to see the Bartlett lose (if he was even on this past season, I can never keep the tournament contestants straight from year to year).

[possibilities]

When I was growing up, the next door neighbors had 4 kids, all of whom they named with "Ben" names. Watching tonight's episode, I was seriously trying to figure out if the winner was one of the kids I grew up next to, but the names he gave didn't exactly match. Also, I think he might be too young. My neighbors were: Benson, Benedict, Benjamin, and Benita.

 

Either way, he had a really broad range of knowledge and I was impressed by his playing.

[peeayebee]

I didn't get FJ. Like Jen, I just took a wild stab with 'great.' Ben-Hur was impressive.

 

Seems that lately contestants have been answering 'Mandarin, Chinese.' I know that one variety of Chinese, but I wonder if just saying 'Chinese' would be ruled incorrect.

[Bastet]

Nellie Bly was a TS???

 

That had me shouting at the TV.

[Totale]

Nellie Bly was a TS???

 

Cards on the table, I got it because I watched Drunk History last week.

[Gilmel]

I made an educated guess on "Divine" for Final Jeopardy and was happy to see that was right.

[Sharpie66]

Stuff You Missed in History Class had a good podcast on her and the whole genre of stunt journalism here: http://www.missedinhistory.com/podcasts/nellie-bly-stunt-journalism/

[Prevailing Wind]

The statue of Anne Frank reminded me of that "Bird Girl" statue in the cemetery in Savannah that was on the cover of "Midnight in the Gardens of Good and Evil."  All she needed were her elbows bent, holding two bird baths...

 

I'm glad Ben-Hur won. I like him.  Even if he's not a poster here.  ;-)

[peeayebee]

Do you know something I don't know? (Well, I'm sure you know a lot that I don't know, but… you know.)

[teebax]

The statue of Anne Frank reminded me of that "Bird Girl" statue in the cemetery in Savannah that was on the cover of "Midnight in the Gardens of Good and Evil."  All she needed were her elbows bent, holding two bird baths...

 

I'm glad Ben-Hur won. I like him.  Even if he's not a poster here.  ;-)

Although there were some TS's I didn't understand, I thought he had a broad range of knowledge and was happy to see him win.

[Trey]

I was rooting for Virginia, the opera singer from Toronto, but she did give a couple of not well-thought-out answers so I wasn't too surprised or disappointed that she lost.

 

I'm sorry to see Jen go but Ben-hur is quite likeable and certainly earned his win.

 

For FJ, my mind kept kicking around Dante's Inferno but I know that is only part of it - somehow I couldn't come up with the one more step to The Divine Comedy:)

[opus]

Ah, the luck of the FJ draw. Easy one today.

[peeayebee]

I was second-guessing my answer for FJ. Way too easy.

 

Sorry Ben-Hur didn't last longer, but Ed's pretty strong too, aside from a couple of hiccups like President Muir. (Even I said, "President," after he gave his answer.)

 

I was surprised no one got Yukon River. I don't know much about Alaska, but I got that. Odd that Ben-Hur said Kodiak for the small island when it's actually the largest one, and he didn't buzz in on that.

[Etta Place]

I imagine it was once burned, twice shy on that Kodiak answer.

 

I was also surprised about the Yukon River, and had the same reaction about the Muir answer. At least he won, so he can be more good-natured about the inevitable ribbing he'll get about President Muir.

[YoureSoUrban]

Bummed about Ben-Hur's brief championship. It was fun to watch someone likable with broad knowledge. But man, Alex can be so fickle. He was all kee-keeing with Ben-Hur yesterday and at the beginning of today's show but as soon as he saw he wasn't going to pull off the win he dropped him like a hot rock.

That FJ was crazy easy.

Edited July 16, 2014 by YoureSoUrban

[CarpeDiem54]

FJ was a $400 clue.  I'm sorry Ben-Hur didn't win.  There's something about Ed that bugs me.

[Tigershark]

 

Sorry Ben-Hur didn't last longer, but Ed's pretty strong too, aside from a couple of hiccups like President Muir. (Even I said, "President," after he gave his answer.)

I actually said John Muir.  I think I was paying more attention to the conservationist part rather than the President part of the clue.  

 

FJ was crazy easy tonight.  There have been some easy FJs lately.  The evolution one was pretty easy as was the one about the "wardrobe malfunction."

[Marathonrunner]

Pleasant shows lately - easy to watch contestants - a mix of tough & easy questions - a good way to end the season

FJ - what government person said smoking is bad for your health - seriously??

[teebax]

FJ was insultingly easy. That must really tick off contestants who aren't in first place. I mean, there's no chance for them to win unless the leader made a wagering error.

[irisheyes]

Today's FJ was a gimme too.  Are the clue writers on summer vacation?

[opus]

I knew the FJ answer, but didn't see it as a " Hey, EVERYBODY knows that" type of question.

Edited July 17, 2014 by GaryE

[ottoDbusdriver]

There were a surprisingly high number of TS during the Jeopardy round -- and the TS clues weren't even all that difficult.

[peeayebee]

I struggled with FJ but then Tim Allen popped into my head when time ran out.

 

I don't know how I got Hess. Somehow I remembered that those toy trucks had 'Hess' on the side.

 

I like the new champ. 

[YoureSoUrban]

 

There were a surprisingly high number of TS during the Jeopardy round -- and the TS clues weren't even all that difficult.

Lots of wrong answers too, and they left a lot of clues on the board. What a strange game, kind of painful-to-watch, but I did like Jerome. I blew FJ thinking it was Jerry Seinfeld.

[gwlisa]

I really didn't understand the lady's strategy of board jumping tonight. It was early in round one and the DD had already been revealed. She kept jumping despite that.

[Abstract]

That was the most unimpressive Jeopardy episode I've seen since I started watching again this spring.

I got FJ immediately because that's one of those factoids that's been stuck in my brain ever since it happened (and I can't believe 1994 was 20 years ago!).

[ae2]

I know it makes us all feel good when we get a question that contestants don't get or struggle with, but the constant claiming that "this question was super easy" or "that FJ was a gimme" is disparaging to many people and very annoying. I wish we could all accept the fact that the knowledge even a Jeopardy contestant has is not so expansive that they know everything, and there are many reasons why they might even know an answer but not get it correct. These aren't basic math problems that everyone learns in second grade. 

 

I think if you claim a question was easy you should have to qualify why it seemed easy to you. For example, The Divine Comedy question from this week - it is one of the most renowned pieces of Italian literature. So if you start working your way through Italian works you would eventually get to it and come up with "divine." As for me, I got stuck on The Prince for some reason, and kept trying to think of an alternate title with an adjective in it. I didn't get to Inferno until time ran down and didn't have time to come up with the correct response.

 

(And in what world was the Tim Allen FJ a gimme? That was a perfect FJ question that required the contestant have a broad knowledge of American TV, movies, and books from 20 years ago.)

 

As for skipping around on the board - many contestants seem to do this without seeming to understand the purpose of it. The idea is that it gives you a slight edge, since you are jumping between categories you will have a few extra moments to get your mind on track with that category. It also can throw off the other contestants expecting to go down the category. I'm not so sure it makes a difference, but some of the biggest winners have done it in the past, so others try to emulate.

[Etta Place]

Exactly. Everyone has holes in their knowledge. For example, I couldn't believe that no one knew that Joe Montana went to the Chiefs. I mean - the Broncos?! Come on! But ... I lived for 20+ years in 49er territory, and I like football.

 

I would say there are a few FJs that are essentially gimmes if you live in the US, the Surgeon General question being one of those, but they happen a lot less often than people saying "that was a gimme!" occurs. I generally consider it a gimme if my husband reads the question and says "Really? Is it really ___? That's too easy!" My husband isn't a dummy by any stretch of the imagination, but he's not particularly good at teasing out the small hints in Jeopardy clues.

 

As for the Tim Allen question, for me it was the Christmas movie part that triggered the answer. And I didn't get the Divine Comedy for the same reason as @ae2, I got stuck on The Prince and kept trying to make that work/clear it out of my head to think about other things.

[peeayebee]

With the Christmas movie part, I got stuck on Chevy Chase. I knew the time was wrong and that Chase was not in a sitcom nor had written a book, but I had a hard time pushing that out of my head. Then Bill Cosby took his place. Again, though, the timing was wrong, and I knew he never had a Christmas movie. I ran out of time before I came up with Tim Allen.

[DXD526]

I was surprised that not only was the Hess truck a triple-stumper, but three wrong answers! I remember seeing commercials for it every winter; they issued a new truck every year and I had a friend whose parents gave him the new one every Christmas. I wonder if he saved them and if all those trucks are worth anything?

[teebax]

 

I know it makes us all feel good when we get a question that contestants don't get or struggle with, but the constant claiming that "this question was super easy" or "that FJ was a gimme" is disparaging to many people and very annoying. I wish we could all accept the fact that the knowledge even a Jeopardy contestant has is not so expansive that they know everything, and there are many reasons why they might even know an answer but not get it correct. These aren't basic math problems that everyone learns in second grade.

I think that's a fair point. There have been times when I didn't get FJ right and then came online only to find out I'm apparently a moron for not knowing something! I didn't get Tim Allen, probably because I spent most of the 90s avoiding him. I was just never a fan. I can see why others would think it was easy, but not everything is easy for everybody. I thought the football category, although enjoyable, was super easy. But I'm a former sports writer, so that's right in my wheelhouse.

 

Regarding this FJ, the book and number 1 show part of the clue led me to wonder about Seinfeld. I didn't think Seinfeld was correct, but I was hoping he'd done some voice work in a Christmas movie I missed. I know he wrote at least one book and had a number 1 show. Tim Allen never even crossed my mind. 

 

I don't agree that we need to qualify why we think something was easy but it'd be nice if we cut down on the, "I can't believe someone didn't know something" talk. I don't think there's anything wrong with asking why a question like the one about the surgeon general should be an FJ question. Or why we're seeing more clues that are, basically, here's a picture; tell us who this is. 

[ottoDbusdriver]

Or why we're seeing more clues that are, basically, here's a picture; tell us who this is.

 

A good example of this was in the Space Objects category the other day, when they showed a picture of the Earth with a reddish planet beside it in a larger orbit, and asked to identify the planet.

[Gilmel]

I didn't get Tim Allen. I had no idea he'd written a book back then, nor did I realize that The Santa Clause was that old. So I was stuck on that one. I kept thinking Seinfeld, but was pretty sure he'd never been in a Christmas movie.

[ottoDbusdriver]

I didn't get Tim Allen. I had no idea he'd written a book back then, nor did I realize that The Santa Clause was that old. So I was stuck on that one. I kept thinking Seinfeld, but was pretty sure he'd never been in a Christmas movie.

 

You don't remember Seinfeld starring in 'Festivus: The Movie' ?  I'm kidding, of course, that never happened.

[Sharpie66]

I was working at a bookstore twenty years ago, so I immediately got the FJ just from seeing that book all the time (it was big around the same time as Al Franken's "Rush Limbaugh Is a Big Fat Idiot" book).

[6 MeowMeowBeenz]

You don't remember Seinfeld starring in 'Festivus: The Movie' ?  

 

 

and the saying #nineseasonsandamovie :)

[mjc570]

While I agree that not everyone knows everything, that we each have areas of strength and weakness, I do believe that there just are some common areas that most people of at least some education (either formal or self taught) and/or experience should know.  I can't think of any off hand, but those are the type of TS questions that are surprising to me.  AFter all, these contestants had to go through a considerable process even just to appear on the show, so I do expect them to demonstrate a greater degree of knowledge than me or your typical person on the street.  Of course, it may be that the particular area that they are most knowledgable in may not come up; but there are enough categories in each round that I would think someone could at least give a good guess.

 

Of course, it's easy for me to say that I could have gotten a prticular TS - after all, I am not dealing with the pressure, and the physical aspects of appearing on the show.  Everyone (ie. my husband and son) says I should try out, but with my (lack of) reflexes, I'd probably never ring in properly.  I have the utmost respect for the contestants, even when they obviously screw up.

 

I would never have gotten last night's FJ, although in hindsight it seems obvious.  All I came up with was Arnold Schwarzenegger.

[CarpeDiem54]

I got Tim Allen because I'm in Denver and he's from here so I remember the big fanfare about the book, I liked the TV show and the movie.  Likewise why I knew the Joe Montana answer being a long time Broncos fan and football fan in general.

 

I totally suck in the Shakespeare, opera and chemistry categories.  If I get any of those answers correct it's because of a lucky wild-ass guess.  So if I got on the show and they had those questions I'd be standing there like a doofus staring at the buzzer in my lifeless hands.  I guess it's just the luck of the draw. Some categories I run and some are hit or miss.  I sometimes surprize myself when I get the $1000 question in a category that I've been totally clueless on all of the other answers.  Although some things, like the Surgeon General, I would assume would be general knowledge.

[gwlisa]

I consider a DD or FJ really easy (and too easy) if it's in one of my weakest areas - like the Bible, Shakespeare, or science - yet the question comes to me really easily. Although I got it right, I didn't consider the Divine Comedy question easy at all, even though I'm stronger in literature than most other categories.

 

I was pretty excited to get Double Indemnity correct - the answer was something about a film with a clause in a life insurance policy. I had to think for a second but pulled it out of the back of my brain. And it was before my time, Alex!

[peeayebee]

Coincidentally, there was a story on the radio today that mentioned "mole" in chemistry, which was the answer to the DD that Jerome missed.

 

There are certainly some things that we consider common knowledge, but of course it's not always clear cut. I'll never forget years ago when my brothers, father, and I were just talking casually, and Babe Ruth came up, and my dad didn't know who that was. (My father was from Poland.) My brothers and I started out laughing at him until we realized how upset our dad was. He said something like, "I never heard of him, so why is that my fault?" and tossed out some example of a fact that he knew but we didn't.

 

After that I've tried hard not to laugh at people who don't know something which I believe they SHOULD know. Our experiences, interests, cultures, and ages affect what we're exposed to. I admit, though, that in my head I am sometimes in disbelief when someone is ignorant about something.

 

I'm not sure what it is that people SHOULD know, what is considered common knowledge. I know this isn't right, but I kind of feel like "I'll know it when I see it."

Edited July 17, 2014 by peeayebee

[possibilities]

Watching Jeopardy has taught me that what to me is common knowledge, obvious, and "too easy" is not always the same as what other people regard in the same way. I have started to take it as an interesting comment on how we all live in different pockets of the culture.

 

Wrt the Surgeon General, I knew that one and was surprised it was FJ-worthy. But then when I think about it, the most recent Surgeons General have been very low profile. Koop and Elders were controversial and spent a lot of time talking to the media. I don't even know the name of the current SG or of one still exists. So maybe it's one of those things where they were thinking: do people even remember that we have a SG now? Maybe they thought it was the sort of thing that might trip someone up because they'd think it came from the CDC or something like that.