Jeopardy! Season 34 (2017-2018)

[Mondrianyone]

I personally know a lot more Jews than Klingons, but I guess it never hurts to be intergalactically inclusive.  ;o)

[ProudMary]

On 1/28/2018 at 11:56 AM, saber5055 said:

Yes, Rachel was doing Forrest Gump. Unfortunately, that encouraged Trebek to do the same. So, for that I blame her. Amelia Bedelia was a pretty good guess for FJ if someone was grasping at straws. I thought FJ was asking for authors, so I was struggling to come up with one that fit the clue. It's double hard to come up with the right FJ answer when you don't listen to/read the clue correctly.

As soon as she did it, I yelled at the television,  "Dear Lord, don't egg him on!"  I'm sure all of us here knew what would be coming next. /eyeroll

[saber5055]

You guys make me laugh. Question: If Van Gogh's name was pronounced in the Dutch (or Klingon) way, would it be ruled correct or incorrect? I guess we'll never know ... Meanwhile, because I usually skip the contestant interviews, what was the story about Rachel's bare feet?

[jaybird2]

this is the worst game of all time!!

[BryroseA]

I’m genuinely not sure I’ve ever seen a slate of contestants get so many WRONG answers (not just don’t know, but flat out wrong.) Yikes. 

 

I may have started cussing at the TV somewhere around the Treaty of Versailles ending the Revolutionary War. 

Edited January 30, 2018 by BryroseA

[harrie]

14 minutes ago, BryroseA said:

I’m genuinely not sure I’ve ever seen a slate of contestants get so many WRONG answers (not just don’t know, but flat out wrong.) Yikes. 

 

I may may have started cussing at the TV somewhere around the Treaty of Versailles ending the Revolutionary War. 

Paris, Versailles -- at least Maria was in the right country.

[GreekGeek]

Ryan almost lost me when he thought "petit pois" were carrots, but he redeemed himself. I thought it was amazing that no one came up with the "Texas School Book Depository" after the first contestant said only part of the name. And how in the world did anyone think Andy Griffith was born in Pennsylvania--though in fairness to Jennifer (I think it was she who said it), there is a Mount Airy Lodge there. I also got Lindsay Vonn, Neil Armstrong, the Hannibal, MO and Princess Grace missed DD's, The Ice Storm, and the Ballet Russe. Very easy FJ once again.

[saber5055]

Dan Zak is a Washington Post journalist I follow on Twitter. He just posted this:

[catrice2]

I do not know what I just watched.....this episode was tragic. 

Edited January 30, 2018 by catrice2

[illdoc]

The horror...the horror!

[saber5055]

Quote

Paris, Versailles -- at least Maria was in the right country.

Hey, there is a Paris and a Versailles in Kentucky.

[secnarf]

Omg. That was painful. I was surprised that nobody got Texas Schoolbook Depository, but gave them the benefit of the doubt.

After the guess of Lindbergh for a very obvious Neil Armstrong (Apollo + Ohio) I was done. Though in all fairness, I think the episode in which only one contestant was around for FJ was worse than this one. Somehow, they all scraped through!

Got too many TS's to count, but then for FJ I said the flag. A "draft card" didn't even occur to me. After that game, with all three of them getting it, I felt pretty dumb.

[Spunkygal]

I am beyond giddy that they did not give AT the satisfaction of finishing the French fruit and veg category. I think they showed only two clues. But of course he did get to read the ballet clues....

[Kathira]

The Treaty of Paris, Neil Armstrong, Princess Grace, The Ice Storm, yeah, that was bad. On the plus side, I am in love with Ryan. If he was blond, he would be the spitting image of an old boyfriend of mine crossed with my husband (35 years ago, but still). What can I say, I have a thing for pencil-neck geeks. LOL And he's going to Iceland to study medieval Viking history. He's perfect.

[Browncoat]

It honestly would not have hurt my feelings if they had all lost.  Jennifer killed me with the wink at the beginning, though I did appreciate her family dressing as characters from Monty Python for a con.  Ryan lost me when he didn't start at the top of the category.  And of course they all lost me with their boneheaded guesses.  I'm inclined to call foul for the reversal of open marriage and Italian Greyhound.  A Whippet is an entirely different breed.

My first thought for FJ was American flag, too, but I knew it was wrong.  I had to do a little thinking to come up with something else people would burn in the 60s, but did come up with draft card. 

I couldn't keep track of all the TS and missed DDs, but I do remember these that I got:  Akita, North Carolina, Hannibal, The Snowy Day, and The Ice Storm.  I currently have postage stamps that honor The Snowy Day.

Here's hoping tomorrow's game doesn't suck quite so hard.

[Driad]

From a competition to write punny book titles and authors: “Drilling for Mercury” by Hg Wells.

[lb60]

I love when contestants are sooooooo confident in their answer, only to be shot down by Alex. Cracks me up every damn time. I'm evil like that.

Anyway.....that was brutal.

I got Hannibal, North Carolina, Princess Grace, Lindsay Vonn, and The Ice Storm.

FJ=Instaget

[M. Darcy]

I went with American Flag - the year should have clued me to Draft Card. But it was before my time. Heh barely but it was. 

[Conotocarious]

The dog breed category was kind of hard this time around. 

[ClareWalks]

Between the terrible gameplay and the way-too-ample opportunities for Trebek to assault our ears with his French accent, this was the Worst. Episode. EVER.

[saber5055]

I thought the Dog Breed category was a piece of cake, even though the clues (and some answers) were incorrect. There is no such breed as an "English Greyhound." It's just "Greyhound." And the clue did not state "What breed was derived from the Greyhound" (which is a Whippet), it asked what breed resembles the "English Greyhound," so Italian Greyhound is an acceptable answer. Trebek did not correct Ryan's pronunciation of "Samoyed," which is SAMMY-ed, not sam-OYE-ed, Is Trebek ill today? There also is no breed as a "Wire Haired Fox Terrier." The correct name is "Wire Fox Terrier." And Winking Jennifer, Airedales are solid brown/black, not white with spots.

The TS of Akita was a no-brainer for me, although Japanese Chin did come to mind, until I remember Japan is all about protection/guard dogs.

Lindsey Vonn is all over the news, now and before, from dating Tiger. And no one could come up with her name after grasping at straws (and wrong answers) all game through?

I can't believe Hannibal was a TS. Hokey smokes. That was a no-brainer grade-school-level clue/answer. But I guess not knowing where Andy of Mayberry lived (Pennsylvania! LOL! Yes, lots of moonshine stills and southern accents there.) is in the same lower-brain level.

Maria looked pretty close to being around in the '60s, in spite of Alex AGAIN saying "None of you were around then." Draft card was an instaget. Maybe because I remember watching kids burning theirs on the tv news. And in real life.

[jaybird2]

1 hour ago, saber5055 said:

Hey, there is a Paris and a Versailles in Kentucky.

i know, i lived in versailles but they pronounce it versales.

[Mondrianyone]

A few years ago, I went to a Halloween party as the Texas School Book Depository (my husband went as the Grassy Knoll), so that TS felt like a personal slight. 

I can't remember a game where I screamed as many answers at the TV as this one.  How easy is the qualifying test anyway?

[DrScottie]

That was just pathetic. I'm honestly surprised all of them were around for FJ. 

I got FJ despite not being around then. My father, who enlisted in the Air Force, had told me about a bunch of guys his age burning their card. 

Just too many TS to list, but I got a lot of them. 

[Kathira]

21 minutes ago, jaybird2 said:

i know, i lived in versailles but they pronounce it versales.

Because of course they do. And the capital of South Dakota is pronounced Peer. I live in Rochester, NY, where we have a suburb called Charlotte, pronounced sherLOTT, and another called Chili, pronounced CHAI-lai (rhymes with jai-alai). No one really knows why.

Edited January 30, 2018 by Kathira

[CarpeDiem54]

Crikey!  That was painful.  Again with the judging.  Open marriage and free love aren't the same thing.  And Whippets aren't Italian Greyhounds.

I got Texas School Book Depository, Lindsey Vonn, North Carolina, Neil Armstrong, Hannibal, MO. (DD), Princess Grace (DD), and 1Q84.

I guessed the American flag at first for FJ then quickly changed it to draft card.

[saber5055]

Jaybird2, I've been to Versailles, Ky., many times and yes, it's pronounced Ver-sales. When I saw it written in harrie's post, I never gave it a thought about the difference in how it's said, France vs. Kentucky. I guess I ruined my own joke!

[M. Darcy]

I did know Akita thanks to Rent.....and the OJ trial (apparently Nicole Simpson’s dog - which was an Akita - was at the scene of the murders  and was a witness). 

Edited January 30, 2018 by M. Darcy

[AuntieL]

I grew up near Versailles PA (about 40 miles southeast of PGH). We also pronounce it Ver-sales. To be honest, pronouncing it the French way would feel pretentious. I got Princell Grace, Lindsey Vonn, Hannibal, NC and a couple others I can't remember. I very confidently said the flag for FJ; I forgot about draft cards. If ever I was on Jeopardy I'd need to brush up on dog breeds. 

[peeayebee]

1 hour ago, saber5055 said:

Trebek did not correct Ryan's pronunciation of "Samoyed," which is SAMMY-ed, not sam-OYE-ed

I have to admit that I didn't know how to pronounce this breed. I say sa-MOI-ed. I guess now I know. :)

 

Quote

There also is no breed as a "Wire Haired Fox Terrier." The correct name is "Wire Fox Terrier."

I got this wrong. I just said wire terrier.

I got irritated by all the wrong answers at the beginning, but then again, I didn't know some of them either. What I did get was North Carolina, Hannibal, Grace Kelly, and The Ice Storm. I couldn't remember The Snowy Day. Instead of Armstrong I said John Glenn.

And I said American flag for FJ. I had a feeling that was wrong, but I didn't even try to think of anything else.

[DrSpaceman73]

I thought it was a cross for FJ.  Didn't think of a draft card. 

[jaybird2]

1 hour ago, saber5055 said:

Jaybird2, I've been to Versailles, Ky., many times and yes, it's pronounced Ver-sales. When I saw it written in harrie's post, I never gave it a thought about the difference in how it's said, France vs. Kentucky. I guess I ruined my own joke!

you didn't ruin it....here i thought i was the only one to know about 'versales' lol.  do you remember the abandoned and half completed'castle' on the main road to versailles from lexington.  i always thought that was fitting.

[Bastet]

5 hours ago, BryroseA said:

I’m genuinely not sure I’ve ever seen a slate of contestants get so many WRONG answers (not just don’t know, but flat out wrong.) Yikes. 

 

I may have started cussing at the TV somewhere around the Treaty of Versailles ending the Revolutionary War. 

Holy balls, I have tuned in maybe three times in the past year or so (for a variety of reasons, and I do hope to add this show back into my routine at some point), and each time it has been to a giant clusterfuck of stupidity.  I hope I have just happened to catch anomalies, and this isn't an indication of how far the quality of contestants has fallen.

FJ was a total instaget, but given the contestants' performances, I expected some "flag" and "book" answers.  Color me surprised they had a rudimentary grasp of American history (I think my shock was earned, given the Treaty of Paris TS) and did, indeed, come up with the obvious.

But I have to out myself as saying I had no clue where Mayberry/Andy Griffith existed; I fucking hated that show and couldn't ever get through more than a few minutes at a time.  I also didn't know a single one of the "freeze frame" films the contestants came up with, but did know The Ice Storm that was a TS (great performances in that film!).  And Ur I totally pulled out of my ass; I truly had no idea I knew that.

[YoureSoUrban]

If I were Ryan I wouldn't be too thrilled with that win. He had virtually no competition and still spent a good amount of the Jeopardy round in the red. I hope he's a one and done.

Quote

I went with American Flag - the year should have clued me to Draft Card. But it was before my time. Heh barely but it was. 

Same here. I figured I came up with it too quickly to be right but had no clue about when draft cards came out.

High point of an otherwise tedious game -- Haruki Murakami made Jeopardy! I didn't even mind it was a TS.

[Miss Chevious]

Is it just me or have they been picking contestants from the bottom of the barrel lately? 

Tonight I got Akita, Neil Armstrong, Hannibal, Ballet Russe and was dismayed to see no one knew Mayberry was in North Carolina. Thanks to syndicated reruns, the Andy Griffith show is always on somewhere and has a huge following. 

I also thought of flag first for FJ, then changed to draft cards. 

[Mystery Author]

Quote

Open marriage and free love aren't the same thing.  And Whippets aren't Italian Greyhounds

THIS!

Open marriage is...well, a marriage that's open. Free love is totally different (says this girl of the 60s) and Whippets aren't Italian, French or even Swedish Greyhounds.

Oh, and it's "Wire Haired Terrier"...there's no "Fox."

The 3 Jeptestants must have thought they were playing at home, where a wrong guess doesn't matter.

How could they NOT know Grace Kelly, or as AT would say, Princess Grace.

Speaking of AT, he never got a chance to finish the fruit in French category. Heh!

I said bra for FJ.

Only kidding.

[Toothbrush]

God that was painful! 

Dr, Toothbrush & I groaned when the Fruits & Vegs in French category was announced <sarcasm>So sad that it wasn't completed, but so glad that AT was able to speak en francais in the Ballet Companies category in DJ<endsarcasm>

TS I got were Treaty of Paris (really???), Akita, NC, Armstrong (Lindberg - oy! The first moon landing was before my time too, but certainly not before Maria's), Hannibal & Princess Grace (Jennifer's missed back-to-back DDs), The Snowy Day, The Ice Storm.  Oh, also got Vonn; by default as she is the only skier I can name. I knew FJ was not the American flag but could not think of anything else. Dr. Toothbrush came up with draft card at the last second. And yet the 3 braintrusts all got it. Go figure!

[DrScottie]

1 hour ago, Bastet said:

And Ur I totally pulled out of my ass; I truly had no idea I knew that.

While Wikipedia does mention that there are quite a few single and double letter place names, Ur is the only one that Jeopardy! would use. 

4 minutes ago, Mystery Author said:

Open marriage is...well, a marriage that's open. Free love is totally different (says this girl of the 60s) and Whippets aren't Italian, French or even Swedish Greyhounds.

To quote the Wiki: "With his wife Jane's consent, Wells had affairs with a number of women, including the American birth control activist Margaret Sanger, adventurer and writer Odette Keun, Soviet spy Moura Budberg and novelist Elizabeth von Arnim." 

As for the dogs, you're right. We've learned that Jeopardy! judges need to watch that adorable Purina Dog Show after Thanksgiving. 

4 minutes ago, Toothbrush said:

And yet the 3 braintrusts all got it.

Braintrust is not a word I would associate with last night's episode so I can only presume that's being used sarcastically. 

[Tunia]

The only redeeming factor to tonight's pathetic display was the wonderful $200 clue regarding the largest ever gathering on the National Mall in January, 2009.  Facts are facts!

Edited January 30, 2018 by Tunia

[ChicagoCita]

So, possibly a dumb question: Does Alex speak fluent French (or French-Canadian), or is he just in love with the accent?

(All the Midwestern place names: it was explained to me that having no CNN, radio, or motion pictures from which to learn standard pronunciations, the settlers just said what felt right to them. In addition to the ones mentioned, there's Cairo, Illinois (pronounced like Karo syrup) and Athens, Kentucky (pronounced with a hard A, so it rhymes with Aikens). I rather enjoy them, as it drives people insane to hear them "mangled.")

[Clanstarling]

10 hours ago, peeayebee said:

Instead of Armstrong I said John Glenn.

Me too. John Glenn's my go to astronaut from Ohio, which is so wrong because there are quite a few (or at least, quite a few graduated from Purdue.)

12 hours ago, Mondrianyone said:

A few years ago, I went to a Halloween party as the Texas School Book Depository (my husband went as the Grassy Knoll), so that TS felt like a personal slight. 

I want to see what that looked like - can't imagine it. 

3 hours ago, ChicagoCita said:

So, possibly a dumb question: Does Alex speak fluent French (or French-Canadian), or is he just in love with the accent?

According to Wikipedia, he grew up in a bi-lingual French-English speaking household. His mother was a "Franco-Ontarian". So I'd say he probably is fluent and knows how to pronounce the words, at least in the Franco-Canadian accent (which my daughter, who is fluent and went to France to study the language, says is different). Probably like Brits and us, but I don't know.

[Mondrianyone]

47 minutes ago, Clanstarling said:

I want to see what that looked like - can't imagine it.

If I knew where they were, I'd post a picture.  I still will if they pop up after our house renos are all done.  Everything's currently in boxes of chaos.

They were sort of conceptual.  I made myself a tunic using fabric with a brick-wall print on it, and then I copied some images of book spines lined up beside one another.  I heat-transferred them onto little rectangles of muslin and then appliquéd those onto the brick fabric, with gray satin stitching for the window frames.  So all the windows had rows of books in them.  Except for one, where I put a photo of Lee Harvey Oswald's face.  My husband had a kind of sandwich sign made of two Astroturf doormats that hung from straps over his shoulders, front and back, and he carried a toy rifle, since he's convinced that the Grassy Knoll was really where the shots came from.  This was a huge hit with our friends, because he'd been obsessed with the Kennedy assassination for the previous few years, and if you gave him the slightest opening, he'd launch into some endless rant about why Oswald didn't do it.  Fortunately, I could usually talk him down, so we still had friends.  And the worst of it is now past.

[teebax]

I'm chiming in to add my name to the list of posters who felt annoyed watching that game. I didn't think the questions were any harder than usual. I am glad Ryan finally got his act together in Double Jeopardy, but it was a painful game to watch.

My gets were Texas School Book Depository, Treaty of Paris, Akita, Lindsay Vonn, North Carolina, Hannibal, and Princess Grace. Final Jeopardy was an instaget for me. When I watch games like this I get even more irritated that I can't seem to get on the show. I'd have cleaned their clocks!

[DrSpaceman73]

9 hours ago, Miss Chevious said:

Is it just me or have they been picking contestants from the bottom of the barrel lately? 

Tonight I got Akita, Neil Armstrong, Hannibal, Ballet Russe and was dismayed to see no one knew Mayberry was in North Carolina. Thanks to syndicated reruns, the Andy Griffith show is always on somewhere and has a huge following. 

I also thought of flag first for FJ, then changed to draft cards. 

Technically they asked where Mount Airy is, the real place of birth of Andy Griffith, not Mayberry, the fictional city where the Andy Griffith character lived.

But Pennsylvania is still a stupid answer.  And its NC for both of them, so even if they got mixed up, would have been correct. 

He and the character both were obviously from the south, so that makes Pennsylvania just a bad guess.

I wonder if they would have accepted my made up town guess on the Mark Twain clue of "Sawyerville". 

[DoubleUTeeEff]

8 hours ago, Mystery Author said:

I said bra for FJ.

I guessed American flag for FJ but when Alex said it could be one of two things, I seriously thought to myself, surely not a bra??? When draft card was revealed, it was an OF COURSE moment.

[peeayebee]

1 hour ago, Clanstarling said:

According to Wikipedia, he grew up in a bi-lingual French-English speaking household. His mother was a "Franco-Ontarian". 

Thanks. I never even though about Alex growing up in a bilingual household. That makes sense.

[Clanstarling]

1 hour ago, Mondrianyone said:

If I knew where they were, I'd post a picture.  I still will if they pop up after our house renos are all done.  Everything's currently in boxes of chaos.

They were sort of conceptual.  I made myself a tunic using fabric with a brick-wall print on it, and then I copied some images of book spines lined up beside one another.  I heat-transferred them onto little rectangles of muslin and then appliquéd those onto the brick fabric, with gray satin stitching for the window frames.  So all the windows had rows of books in them.  Except for one, where I put a photo of Lee Harvey Oswald's face.  My husband had a kind of sandwich sign made of two Astroturf doormats that hung from straps over his shoulders, front and back, and he carried a toy rifle, since he's convinced that the Grassy Knoll was really where the shots came from.  This was a huge hit with our friends, because he'd been obsessed with the Kennedy assassination for the previous few years, and if you gave him the slightest opening, he'd launch into some endless rant about why Oswald didn't do it.  Fortunately, I could usually talk him down, so we still had friends.  And the worst of it is now past.

That sounds hilarious. Best we ever came up with was Mr. Clean and his mumu wearing wife who did all the real cleaning.

[Toothbrush]

9 hours ago, DrScottie said:

Braintrust is not a word I would associate with last night's episode so I can only presume that's being used sarcastically. 

You presume correctly. 

[PaulaO]

Strother Martin from Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid: "Morons.  I've got morons on my team."

[bad things are bad]

Quote

So I'd say he probably is fluent and knows how to pronounce the words, at least in the Franco-Canadian accent (which my daughter, who is fluent and went to France to study the language, says is different)

It's weird, I feel like Alex has a classical French accent, although of course he's not speaking in full sentences. One of the guys who reports to me lives in Ontario but is a Quebecois who spoke French growing up. He'll talk to one of my coworkers who actually IS French and the accent differences are discernible to me. French Canadian sounds Canadian, I think, but I'd be hard-pressed to describe what I mean by that :)