Jeopardy! Season 34 (2017-2018)

[Sprockets]

I was surprised none of them  knew about term life insurance.  I guess it's possible to be intelligent and not be planning for the future. . . .

[calpurnia99]

3 hours ago, ABay said:

I got apples, but thought it was New York state. Which does grow a lot of apples in addition to having the Big Apple.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought New York for apples!

[Writing Wrongs]

16 hours ago, CarpeDiem54 said:

Ah, Sam!  Now I remember - the guy who appeared to be playing with himself the entire game.

That was so distracting and hilarious.

[bad things are bad]

Quote

I knew the crop would be apples (hey, Mary Worth got her start as "Apple Mary" during the depression!) -- but was torn between NY and Washington. 

I knew the apple thing, but was torn between NY, WA and Michigan. Wasn't sure if Washington apples were a thing then like they are now, given the difficulties of transport to the East. 

[Driad]

1 hour ago, bad things are bad said:

Wasn't sure if Washington apples were a thing then like they are now, given the difficulties of transport to the East. 

Maybe difficulties of transport were why they developed the hard inedible (in my opinion) Red Delicious apples.  I like all apples except RDs.

[ClareWalks]

Excited to see Andrew Pau again! When I first saw him I thought "Amherst Ohio...professor...I'll bet he teaches at my alma mater." Indeed he does.

[PaulaO]

Forgot how much I liked Andrew.

[Sharpie66]

I got Washington State right off,  but I have been a history buff of the prewar and WWII eras for a long time, so the apple vendors was a gimme for me. (I was suprised they didn’t do better on the Axis category earlier in the week.)

 

Loved the Manga category! I first learned about that genre in my Philosophy of Humor class in the mid-‘80s, when I did a paper comparing Japanese and Chinese cartoon strips and other drawn print media. The explicitness of some of the work really surprised me, but finding out the origins of my old fave Speed Racer was interesting.

[YoureSoUrban]

Quote

Ah, Sam!  Now I remember - the guy who appeared to be playing with himself the entire game.

I cannot tell you how happy I am someone else noticed that! It was so distracting AND uncomfortable.

[illdoc]

Proof that the contestants don't know how the other players did! If Justin had known, he wouldn't have bet anything (knowing that his $16K going into FJ was enough for a wild card). Instead, he bets $7000 and he's out of the semis.

[teebax]

I was happy for Andrew today but confused by Justin's FJ answer and wager. Why would you make it possessive when the Victoria Cross referenced in the clue is not possessive? Also, $16,000 is a good score in the TOC, so I didn't understand why he felt the need to wager anything at all. I liked him, so I'm frustrated he isn't moving forward.

My gets were: Million Dollar Listing, although I've never seen it; Dial M for Murder and Strangers on a Train; Frank Herbert; and Fantastic Voyage. I had FJ correct, but I've never heard of the George Cross. I waffled between Edward and George and settled on George, but it was a coin-flip for me.

[Roaster]

I thouht Andrew would be a strong player in this TOC.

Poor Justin.  If he had wagered 0 in FJ he'd be in the semis as a wildcard.

I had no idea on FJ.
 

[ClareWalks]

I noticed that Andrew didn't say what he was a professor *of* in his intro. Then when he landed on the DD in Classical Music, I was like "here we go, baby." Sneak attack! 

I am kind of confused by the presence of both Sam and Lily in the ToC. I thought they were both in the college tournament, and I thought only the winner of the college tournament made the ToC. Am I all wrong on this?

[Roaster]

There were two college tournaments and two teachers tournaments since the last TOC.

Here's a question: what would you do in Justin's shoes going into FJ?

If you look at past tournaments you can guess the wild-card cutoff will be between $10K and $15K.  Maybe $18K if you are being very conservative.

If you have 16K and bet 7K as Justin did:
1) You are correct and improve to 23K, which is overkill - surely more than you need
2) You are incorrect and fall to 9K, which is probably not going to get you in (based on recent TOCs)

A smaller bet (or 0 bet) is surely preferable.  2K I can see.  But not 7K.
 

[ClareWalks]

1 minute ago, Roaster said:

There were two college tournaments and two teachers tournaments since the last TOC.

Well shut my mouth and paint me red. I totally had no clue.

1 minute ago, Roaster said:

Here's a question: what would you do in Justin's shoes going into FJ?

If you look at past tournaments you can guess the wild-card cutoff will be between $10K and $15K.  Maybe $18K if you are being very conservative.

If you have 16K and bet 7K as Justin did:
1) You are correct and improve to 23K, which is overkill - surely more than you need
2) You are incorrect and fall to 9K, which is probably not going to get you in (based on recent TOCs)

I would have bet 0 for sure (for the reason you said, past precedent with the wild card cutoff), same if I were Andrew. There is no reason to risk anything. 

[Browncoat]

Good game tonight.  I had no clue on FJ, but I did get several TS, including Apple Jacks, Dial M For Murder/Strangers On A Train, Frank Herbert, Triffids, and Fantastic Voyage. 

Justin's wager was a bit brainless.  I guess if he had bet zero, he still wouldn't have knocked Austin out, would he?  I'd much rather Justin be in the semis than Austin!

[RT4]

heartbreaker for Justin but it was no need for him to bet anything since 16,000 is just about a sure lock for a wildcard.

[mojoween]

Oh my Justin noooooo.  I am sad.

The recording cut off just after Buzzy was annoying me so I have no idea who got in as WC.  I’m assuming Austin ugh but I wasn’t paying enough attention all week to keep up on the scores.

[alias1]

I wish they had shown the scores of the wild card players as they announced them.  I might be wrong, but I think Justin would have replaced Lilly Chin if he had kept his $16,000.  Oh well.  I was hoping he'd make it. 

[Fex]

53 minutes ago, teebax said:

My gets were: Million Dollar Listing, although I've never seen it; Dial M for Murder and Strangers on a Train; Frank Herbert; and Fantastic Voyage. I had FJ correct, but I've never heard of the George Cross. I waffled between Edward and George and settled on George, but it was a coin-flip for me.

Are you me? LOL This is almost exactly what was going through my head! Except I also got Triffids. I liked the Science fiction category.

40 minutes ago, Roaster said:

Here's a question: what would you do in Justin's shoes going into FJ?

If you look at past tournaments you can guess the wild-card cutoff will be between $10K and $15K.  Maybe $18K if you are being very conservative.

If you have 16K and bet 7K as Justin did:
1) You are correct and improve to 23K, which is overkill - surely more than you need
2) You are incorrect and fall to 9K, which is probably not going to get you in (based on recent TOCs)

A smaller bet (or 0 bet) is surely preferable.  2K I can see.  But not 7K.
 

This is such an interesting question. I wonder if all contestants think to look up the details of previous tournaments (or remember). It seems like an obvious thing to do, but as we see every day in this thread (surprising TSs), what's obvious isn't universal!

[Miss Chevious]

Only got two TS tonight, Million Dollar Listing and Dial M for Murder/Strangers on a Train. I was too busy looking at that cutie Justin. To think he’d have had a chance to get into next week if he’d only lost his ‘S on George. Such bad luck for him, I agree he shouldn’t have bet anything in FJ. 

[DrScottie]

46 minutes ago, teebax said:

My gets were: Million Dollar Listing, although I've never seen it; Dial M for Murder and Strangers on a Train; Frank Herbert; and Fantastic Voyage. I had FJ correct, but I've never heard of the George Cross. I waffled between Edward and George and settled on George, but it was a coin-flip for me.

Got all those. I knew Stranger on a Train would be wrong. I knew it was George as it had come up before a while ago, but I had trouble remembering whether or not it was possessive, but decided it wasn't.

Justin should have bet nothing. . 

2 minutes ago, Browncoat said:

Justin's wager was a bit brainless.  I guess if he had bet zero, he still wouldn't have knocked Austin out, would he?  I'd much rather Justin be in the semis than Austin!

No, Austin had also $16000.  Justin would have knocked Tim out of the wild card spot. 

2 minutes ago, mojoween said:

The recording cut off just after Buzzy was annoying me so I have no idea who got in as WC.  I’m assuming Austin ugh but I wasn’t paying enough attention all week to keep up on the scores.

2 minutes ago, SierraMist said:

I wish they had shown the scores of the wild card players as they announced them.  I might be wrong, but I think Justin would have replaced Lilly Chin if he had kept his $16,000.  Oh well.  I was hoping he'd make it. 

From the Jeopardy! fan site:

Pranjal - $16,401

Austin - $16,000

Lily - $12,000

Tim -  $11,500

[BryroseA]

Nooooo Justin! I wonder what on earth was going through his head. 

There have been a lot of weird wagering blunders this year. 

[Tabasco Cat]

I'll say that I don't mind Austin making it to the next round. I couldn't stand him during his run. I generally don't judge people by their appearance, but he looked like a schlub during that run. $2 suit from the Salvation Army store and badly in need of a haircut. I thought the other night he looked much more presentable and respectable. And it was fun watching him get his check. I almost want to see him just destroy everyone else next week. A tall order, perhaps. He benefitted from some not-difficult rounds and clearly inferior players before and he's not going to get those in the ToC.

Unlike recent years, there's nobody left in the tournament that I can't stand and will be rooting against. So it should be an interesting week.

[Tabasco Cat]

13 minutes ago, BryroseA said:

Nooooo Justin! I wonder what on earth was going through his head. 

There have been a lot of weird wagering blunders this year. 

Justin's blunder was the ToC equivalent of having a game in the bag during the regular season but not betting enough to win. I don't have an exact count but it seems like there were at least half a dozen of those this year.

[CarpeDiem54]

1 hour ago, teebax said:

I was happy for Andrew today but confused by Justin's FJ answer and wager. Why would you make it possessive when the Victoria Cross referenced in the clue is not possessive? Also, $16,000 is a good score in the TOC, so I didn't understand why he felt the need to wager anything at all. I liked him, so I'm frustrated he isn't moving forward.

My gets were: Million Dollar Listing, although I've never seen it; Dial M for Murder and Strangers on a Train; Frank Herbert; and Fantastic Voyage. I had FJ correct, but I've never heard of the George Cross. I waffled between Edward and George and settled on George, but it was a coin-flip for me.

All of this.  ^^^^  I guess you're my twin!

I really wish all three of these gentlemen could have qualified.  They are what I consider consummate Jeopardy players - smart, normal, no bad mannerisms, no "characters".  

[Sprockets]

These guys sure didn't know their science fiction!  A bit shocking.  

Edited November 11, 2017 by Sprockets
typo

[CarpeDiem54]

28 minutes ago, Tabasco Cat said:

Unlike recent years, there's nobody left in the tournament that I can't stand and will be rooting against. So it should be an interesting week.

I'll take up your slack.  I'll be rooting against both Buzzy and Smug Chewbacca.

[saber5055]

Fresh apples picked from a Washington orchard are DELICIOUS (red and yellow!) and taste nothing like the wooden hard ones sold in Midwestern stores. I couldn't believe the difference when I was in Washington and got real apples. Meanwhile, Alex said "guys" not boys to the firefighting Alex, and she replied "gals." At least that's what I heard, since I'm a stickler for using the correct pairs: boys/girls, guys/gals, men/women. My brain is a radical feminist, and approved of her reply. Of course, my brain has been known to be wrong. On occasion.

[burner]

Sadly missing the show tonight. Is there a list of who's going to the next round? And what was Justin's blunder?

 

(Thanks y'all. Sorry for the lame questions that I'd have answers to if I were able to see the episode.)

[ChromaKelly]

On 11/9/2017 at 8:49 PM, DrScottie said:

Good for Lisa. :) 

I had no clue on FJ and was puzzled by street-corner occupations. Didn't think of vendors / merchants despite the clue being about a fortuitous crop.  I also didn't know about the apples in Great Depression either. I guess I should have read Tom Brokaw's book "The Greatest Generation."

I guessed GA for peanuts because I was thinking about what's commonly sold on street corners, thinking of bag of roasted peanuts. My husband guessed CA for artichokes and then he's like yeah there was a thing with artichokes and I'm sitting there laughing "Hey sonny! Want a nice artichoke?" and he's going for real, there was. So he Googles it and lo and behold, there was some thing with a bumper crop of artichokes in 1935 and Mayor LaGuardia cracking down on artichoke peddlers. Cue The More You Know rainbow.

[DrScottie]

14 minutes ago, burner said:

Sadly missing the show tonight. Is there a list of who's going to the next round? And what was Justin's blunder?

The five winners: Buzzy, Lisa, Andrew, Alan, Jason

Wild cards: Pranjal - $16,401, Austin - $16,000, Lily - $12,000, Tim - $11,500

Justin had $16,000 going into FJ on Awards and Honors. The answer was The George Cross, the award named for Victoria's great-grandson for civilian bravery and heroism. He wrote George's Cross. The possessive made it incorrect.. He had bet $7000 and lost leaving him at $9000 and out. Andrew had $26,800 going into FJ. Had he bet nothing, Jason would have qualified for a wild card spot and that bet wouldn't have beaten Andrew anyway. Unless Jason didn't think $16,000 would be enough although historically it has and it would have been, none of us know why he risked that much. 

[catrice2]

That was just a dumb wager no matter how you slice it.  If they have watched the show he had to figure 16k had a pretty good shot at being a wild card. I would have gambled with that as opposed to beating a guy that I only had a shot at because of a daily double.  I really question some bets this season.  

Here we go!  Austin's big come back story.!   Wonder who he will be up against next week?  How do they choose the three? 

[Toothbrush]

Happy for Andrew, but sad for Justin. He's very handsome despite his hairstyle, not annoying, and has a great smile. Loved Jon's story about taking a lost on Jeopardy/won on Jeopardy picture with Weird Al. 

TS I got were Apple Jacks, Million Dollar Listing, Dial M for Murder/Strangers on a Train, Frank Herbert, Fantastic Voyage. 

I have never heard of the award mentioned in FJ that I can remember, but of Victoria's 2 great-grandchildren who became English monarchs, I figured that it was named after George VI (the current queen's father), and not his brother Edward VIII who abdicated. I doubt I would have gotten it if 'Victoria's great-grandchild' hadn't been a part of the clue. 

My favorites in the semi's are Andrew, Jason, & Buzzy, but I'm not actively rooting against anyone. 

[Conotocarious]

1 hour ago, tvaddict44 said:

  I'd really like to see him take the TOC from Austin...

Why would you assume Austin even has a shot? From what I’ve seen so far, he is a far weaker player than Andrew, Alan and possibly even Lisa. 

[ClareWalks]

I think Austin has a shot just because he's SO good on the buzzer, but yeah he is definitely struggling more than usual in the ToC. Maybe the pressure is getting to him.

[Browncoat]

Or maybe he's not as good as he thinks he is.

[DrSpaceman73]

Agree with everyone, the smart bet at 16000 would have been zero. 

I thought the answer would be Georgian cross, instead of George Cross.  Like Victorian. 

George was just a guess though.  There are only so many male names in the royal family

[Clanstarling]

18 hours ago, Driad said:

Maybe difficulties of transport were why they developed the hard inedible (in my opinion) Red Delicious apples.  I like all apples except RDs.

I always figured the name "red delicious" was a marketing strategy to get people to eat the underwhelming apple.

14 hours ago, teebax said:

I waffled between Edward and George and settled on George, but it was a coin-flip for me.

1940 made it George to me, given they were already at war and Edward was persona-non-grata by that point. But for some reason "George Cross" sounded stupid to me (even though "Victoria Cross" didn't). So I couldn't settle on a name.

10 hours ago, saber5055 said:

Fresh apples picked from a Washington orchard are DELICIOUS (red and yellow!) and taste nothing like the wooden hard ones sold in Midwestern stores. I couldn't believe the difference when I was in Washington and got real apples. Meanwhile, Alex said "guys" not boys to the firefighting Alex, and she replied "gals." At least that's what I heard, since I'm a stickler for using the correct pairs: boys/girls, guys/gals, men/women. My brain is a radical feminist, and approved of her reply. Of course, my brain has been known to be wrong. On occasion.

I've lived on the West Coast for most of my adult life - and am now currently less than a day's drive from Washington. So I get pretty fresh apples (though admittedly not right off the tree).  I've never eaten a red delicious that lived up to anything but the "red" in it's name.  If they taste good right off the tree, then they must have an abysmal shelf life - which makes it odd that they're the go-to apple for transport across the US and the world.  There are lots of other wonderful varieties. 

[Bliss]

I would have answered Georgian Cross (it was a guess, as I've never heard of it, but knew George had to be the root of the answer...) to be consistent with Victorian Cross. At least nobody answered 'Red' Cross! Sorry for the bad joke... it's just Red is one of our Canuck nicknames for Prince Harry.

... wonder if 's will haunt Justin for a while. He wasn't very psychic as I was secretly yelling at him to "bet $0!"

The apple debate? I had the opportunity to pick red delicious apples right from the tree in the Okanogan Valley one year and brought home an entire bushel of them. They lasted a week (I had teenaged daughters at the time which explains most of the consumption). They were truly 'delicious' and the texture and taste were totally different from the store-bought ones. They were crisp, juicy, and tangy-sweet if that makes sense.

My fav apple of all time is the Red Prince which may not be available in USA as there's a very small growing area here in Ontario, Canada. It's a non-gmo apple that is bright red, crisp, doesn't turn brown when sliced, is good for either eating raw or cooked, and when sprinkled with cinnamon makes an excellent snack. Second choice is Honeycrisp. My name is Bliss and I'm an appleaholic.

[Bliss]

Just googled George Cross to see what I could learn... and noticed that it is called the Victoria Cross, not Victorian. I've deleted the J! show from my pvr, so can't check to see - does anyone remember the clue exactly? Maybe it's only in my mind that I was thinking 'Victorian'. I'm often wrong (just ask my kids).

[Bliss]

10 hours ago, catrice2 said:

That was just a dumb wager no matter how you slice it.  If they have watched the show he had to figure 16k had a pretty good shot at being a wild card. I would have gambled with that as opposed to beating a guy that I only had a shot at because of a daily double.  I really question some bets this season.  

Here we go!  Austin's big come back story.!   Wonder who he will be up against next week?  How do they choose the three? 

If my eyes aren't deceiving me, it looks like they've put Andrew, Austin and Lilly together for one of the semi-final games (I think those are the contestants captured in the photo on the J! website)... I have no idea whether it will be Mon/Tue/Wed.

Here are the final tallies (* won their day):

1. Buzzy $30,000 * day 1

2. Andrew $29,000 * day 5

3. Jason $23,000 * day 2

4. Alan $19,610 * day 3

5. Pranjal $16,401 day 1

6. Austin $16,000 day 3

7. Lisa $15,400 * day 4

8. Lilly $12,000 day 2

9. Tim $11,500 day 2

(Interesting that all contestants from day 2 are playing in the semifinals...)

I'd hazard a guess that they'll attempt to mix up the contestants so that there aren't two from the same day, competing against each other again... and I'm assuming they'll split up the top 3 winners so each plays on a different day... but who knows? Maybe they draw straws or names out of Alex's hat. LOL

Since I think they've put #2, 6, and 8 together, I'm going to predict that they'll team up #1 (Buzzy) with #9 (Tim) and #7 (Lisa).

That will leave #3 (Jason), #4 (Alan) and #5 (Pranjal).

Just a wild guess! Sort of how I play the game ;)

[Toothbrush]

3 hours ago, ClareWalks said:

I think Austin has a shot just because he's SO good on the buzzer, but yeah he is definitely struggling more than usual in the ToC. Maybe the pressure is getting to him.

And if he is able to uncover DDs, his gutsy wagers could really help him. Assuming he answers correctly, of course.  

[peeayebee]

16 hours ago, teebax said:

I had FJ correct, but I've never heard of the George Cross. I waffled between Edward and George and settled on George, but it was a coin-flip for me.

Ditto. I nearly put St George's Cross, because St George sounded better than just plain ol' George. But I chose George over Edward. Hey, just googled, and there IS a St George's Cross. It's the red cross on a white background on flags.

 

1 hour ago, DrSpaceman73 said:

I thought the answer would be Georgian cross, instead of George Cross.  Like Victorian. 

Like Bliss said, it's Victoria, not Victorian Cross. And... googling.... There IS a Georgian cross. It's a symbol of the Georgian Orthodox Church. 

I got Paths of Glory/Clockwork Orange, Dial M for Murder/Strangers on a Train, and Fantastic Voyage.

For the Sci-Fi category, I said, "Frank… uh...." and then later, "John… uh...." Herbert and Carter just wouldn't come to me. I also couldn't remember Million Dollar Listing. I never watched it, but I could see that main guy in my mind. I thought it was a surprising clue because I assumed that show was either off the air or no longer popular. Of course since I don't watch it (or any Bravo shows for that matter), what do I know?

[Jesse]

1 hour ago, peeayebee said:

For the Sci-Fi category, I said, "Frank… uh...." and then later, "John… uh...." Herbert and Carter just wouldn't come to me.

Same!

[ChicagoCita]

I have a ton of traditionalist English friends, so I knew the George Cross right away.

St. George's cross often represents England, particularly in international sports. It's a red "plus" sign. The Union Jack combines the crosses of the patron saints of three countries in the United Kingdom, including St George's cross (England), St Andrew's cross/saltire (Scotland), and St Patrick's saltire (Ireland). Poor St David of Wales didn't make the cut, for some reason.

[Trey]

I guess someone wanted it in with the other three crosses - here's of picture of the four crosses in one flag - it is a little busy.

Union Jack with St. David's cross

[burner]

6 hours ago, Bliss said:

I'd hazard a guess that they'll attempt to mix up the contestants so that there aren't two from the same day, competing against each other again... and I'm assuming they'll split up the top 3 winners so each plays on a different day... but who knows? Maybe they draw straws or names out of Alex's hat.

 

It's got to be random, right?

[Roaster]

Who are you rooting for?

I am rooting Andrew Pau because he's old. Well, middle age (like me!) but the oldest contestant left.

Judging from their pics, everyone else remaining is under 40.  I am guessing Tim, Austin, and Jason are late 30s and everyone else is younger.

So I stand in solidarity with Andrew.

My theory is that 30 is the optimal age for Jeopardy!  You're still young enough that your brain and reflexes are fast but you've lived long enough to accumulate a lot of knowledge.

The last two TOC champs were 30 when they won.  Ben Ingram and Alex Jacob.  (Alex turned 31 before the show aired but he was 30 during the filming, I think.)  Ken Jennings turned 30 during his 74-game run.

I am hoping Andrew can buck the trend.
 

[teebax]

9 hours ago, Bliss said:

Just googled George Cross to see what I could learn... and noticed that it is called the Victoria Cross, not Victorian. I've deleted the J! show from my pvr, so can't check to see - does anyone remember the clue exactly? Maybe it's only in my mind that I was thinking 'Victorian'. I'm often wrong (just ask my kids).

It said Victoria in the clue, which is why I guessed George Cross, even though it sounds awkward.