Jeopardy! Season 34 (2017-2018)

[PaulaO]

I always cheese on Matthew Henson's last name.  I want to say Perry but I know that is wrong.  I'll be darned if I came up with Henson last night.  Also got Althea Gibbs since she is one of my heroes.  Peter O'Toole's eyes were everything in LoA...

[Toothbrush]

5 hours ago, Clanstarling said:

I did, and he said he's unsure of how he feels about his comment being out here- because it was a little mean. He's a sweet guy.

Okay, I'm clueless about banking. So what is a banker? I looked it up on Merriam Webster and got a circular definition (banker:  - one who engages in the  business of banking) (banking: the business of a bank or banker) It doesn't seem like that (very) limited definition precludes Ryan from being called a banker for being the fault manager (did I hear that right?).  I don't actually recall hearing him being referred to as a banker (at least by his own words), but I do miss things sometimes.

Mr. Clanstarling sounds very sweet. His comment is mild compared to what many of us have said about Ryan (and many others).

Ryan has been introduced as a banker during his run, and Thursday he told Alex is the vault teller, and manages the cash for bank, which actually sounds like a cool job. Most people would likely think of a personal banker or someone on a high level when they hear the word banker.  I'm an actuary, and worked for a bank in the early 2000s. I should have called myself a banker - sounds much sexier than actuary :) 

4 hours ago, surreysmum said:

As for Alex, he gets all sorts of passes from me just for still being so involved and articulate after all these years, and for being a generally nice expatriate Canadian gentleman. Even if he is a bit given to social awkwardness... 

I give Alex a huge pass too (most of the time). I don't think he means to come across as misogynist or rude (when he does). I think he is a product of his time, and also a mix of social awkwardness and having had to make small talk with perfect strangers for 50 years. Like Queen Elizabeth. As fabulous as I am sure I would look in a tiara :-) meeting and talking to God knows how many people in a day's work would be hell for me. 

2 hours ago, PaulaO said:

I always cheese on Matthew Henson's last name.  I want to say Perry but I know that is wrong.  I'll be darned if I came up with Henson last night.  

I can remember his last name but never his first. I always want to say Jim :-) 

Edited February 2, 2018 by Toothbrush

[saber5055]

Quote

Tom Landry was run out of town by that dick Jerry Jones 30ish years ago, so if you don’t know football, you are going to have no idea who he coached, especially if you’re younger.

And the Purple People Eaters were forty years ago.

You can be taught art history in school, but football is generally not taught to the masses.  So if you don’t watch, offsetting penalties or a fair catch has absolutely no meaning to you.

I have to defend the clueless players from yesterday. It doesn't matter WHEN Landry or the PPEaters were. If it did, Trebek would have said "You are too young to remember this" like he does when categories are The Sixties or even The Eighties for some. Yet we expect players to know that happened in Egypt a thousand years ago. There has always been one sports fan on a panel who runs a sports category and then gets applauded and Trebek tells that person how great he/she is. Yesterday we just didn't get a sports person. No harm, no foul.

Animal categories are always left to the end as most contestants know nothing about farm life, farm animals or any animals except maybe dogs and cats since "normal" people can own them.

I would have stood there through the Football category too, except for the Landry/Cowboys clue. So it's good I wasn't there, I would have ruined Trebek's fun and snark. I also was around for the Purple People Eaters and I have never heard of the Vikings called that. And I'm not that far from Minnesota.

[saber5055]

To be fair, I DO know all the words to the song, "Purple People Eater" (1958).

[dcalley]

3 hours ago, DoubleUTeeEff said:

I neither like nor dislike Ryan but I will say that I liked that he immediately shook the other contestants hands after the game. I think it's up to the winner to reach out to his or her competitors after winning, so I appreciate when I see that. A lot of people just sit up there on the stage like they are by themselves.

To be fair to the people who stand in place, they are likely standing on boxes. Ryan, I think, is tall enough that he has no box and is just standing on the floor, so it's easy for him to move about. Those on boxes would have to look and turn away to descend to the floor, and they were probably told "Don't move!" by production, who wants them to stay safe and always be on their marks, facing the camera. I bet the players congratulate each other plenty once the cameras have stopped rolling and they're back on even ground.

[saber5055]

Yes, I thought about those other two contestants falling off of their boxes when Ryan came around to shake hands at the end of the game. I thought it very odd that the winner walked around to "congratulate" the losers. I can hear him now: "Good game, guys, thanks for being dolts so I can win again. Thanks for being losers. I'm the smartest person in the room. Again." It did not put Ryan in a good light with me.

[Mystery Author]

Quote

Dr. Toothbrush said he looked liked a gangster. 

And Mr. Author INSISTED -- quite seriously -- that he was wearing the costume from his melodrama.

For those who speed through the bios, Justin said he met his wife while playing the hero in a melodrama (his wife was the hero-ine, rhymes with wine).

[tallykat]

A few thoughts:

There was a "Canadian Cities" category a couple of years ago that stumped the contestants. They also left this category until the very end. A few guesses though. https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/jeopardy-contestants-get-entire-canadian-cities-category-wrong-1.2404973 I think Alex was a little miffed.

Quote

10 minutes ago, Mystery Author said:

For those who speed through the bios, Justin said he met his wife while playing the hero in a melodrama (his wife was the hero-ine, rhymes with wine).

 

I think he was saying this for emphasis. The play was in a Western town, as I recall. My take was he was adding a western twang for effect, like saying "bucket of flowers" for "bouquet."

[Clanstarling]

3 hours ago, Toothbrush said:

Mr. Clanstarling sounds very sweet. His comment is mild compared to what many of us have said about Ryan (and many others).

Ryan has been introduced as a banker during his run, and Thursday he told Alex is the vault teller, and manages the cash for bank, which actually sounds like a cool job. Most people would likely think of a personal banker or someone on a high level when they hear the word banker.  I'm an actuary, and worked for a bank in the early 2000s. I should have called myself a banker - sounds much sexier than actuary :) 

I told the mister his was probably the nicest mean thing said about Ryan.

2 hours ago, saber5055 said:

To be fair, I DO know all the words to the song, "Purple People Eater" (1958).

I don't know all the words, but it was my favorite song as a kid. 

IIRC, the Purple People Eaters weren't the whole Viking team - they were the defensive line. 

[DoubleUTeeEff]

2 hours ago, dcalley said:

To be fair to the people who stand in place, they are likely standing on boxes. Ryan, I think, is tall enough that he has no box and is just standing on the floor, so it's easy for him to move about.

Oh, that is really good behind the scenes TV-magic type info! I should have realized since most people are close to the same height. I guess that means when you see a tall person on Jeopardy, they are really really tall. I will try not to judge the people who stare straight ahead after the game from now on. ; ) Still, I will give Ryan points for good sportsmanship.

[dcalley]

Here are a couple of photos showing the platforms: one and two.

[Barb1959]

I don't  think I have ever seen so many just plain guessing in the last few days...

[illdoc]

"Richard Rodgers" and "State Song" immediately had "Ohhhhh Klahoma where the wind comes sweeping cross the plains" (which, admittedly, might not quite be the lyrics) come into my mind so FJ was an Instaget. Colorado?????? New York??? (I'll assume the new champ was thinking of "New York, New York"). For a second there, I thought Ryan was going to win when the second contestant got it wrong, but fortunately she bet well, assuring a Ryan defeat.

[PaulaO]

The new champ tosses her head so much I thought she was going to neigh.  Evangelist Billy from the 1950s was a $2,000 clue???  And nobody knew Van Halen?  WTF?  DLR is not amused.

[opus]

As the worlds preeminent Valerie Bertinelli fan, I'm smugly happy no one got Van Halen.

[Kathira]

Oklahoma! OK! It was one of those where I had to squinch up my whole face to think, but I got it in plenty of time to write it down. I like the new champ, Jenny. She seemed really genuinely happy whenever she knew the answers.

[Browncoat]

As glad as I am that Ryan is gone, and even though she didn't bother me too much today,  I have a feeling Jenny's going to annoy me on Monday.  And Ryan's little fist pump when middle girl missed FJ?  Not cool, Fonzie wanna-be.  Not cool.

I can't believe two of them missed FJ!  I also can't believe it took me as long as five seconds to come up with the right answer -- and now I'll have OOOOOOOOOOOOK!-lahoma! running through my head for the rest of the night at least.

Hey, look!  A Women Authors category!  I think I ran that one (Cleary? For "Are You There, God?"  Inconceivable!), getting the TS of Kristin Hannah (or was that a missed DD?), along with other TS of Loyola, Van Halen, and Xavier.

[SuperCam1]

Congrats to Jenny!!

Ryans bad guessing finally bit him in the behind today. 

Edited February 3, 2018 by SuperCam1

[Miss Chevious]

Ryan was counting on pulling ahead in the DJ round, but it didn’t work out for him today. I got Schism, Xavier and Kristen Hannah and Oklahoma popped into my head immediately for FJ. Isn’t Woody Guthrie from Oklahoma? that’s what I thought anyway. 

[lurk3000]

Just came in to do the usual "no one got _______?!"

Van Halen?!

[saber5055]

Ryan The Boxer during his intro ... ouch. Ryan and Caitlin could have been sister/brother. Caitlin also looked just like Kate McKinnon in costume. Not that that's a bad thing! (I liked Caitlin, would have been happy if she won, and I'm a big McKinnon fan.) I noticed Ryan starting each category at 400 today.

I got the easy Berlin, Ryan's missed DD. So yeay for me.

LOL at Ryan missing "If wishes were horses, beggars would ride." Maybe because I have horses.

Beatrix Potter is on this show all the time. She's an auto-answer for me in any kid lit/woman author category. Has there ever been a Man Authors category?

I liked that Jenny was so happy. I hope she doesn't start to bug me. If she stays around. I do have to say, as much as he irritated me, I was sort of sorry Ryan lost today, although now I don't have to suffer him in ToC. And he congratulated the winners at the end, shaking their hands as they stood on their boxes. So, he did a flip flop after I ranked on him for congratulating the losers yesterday.

Arlo Guthrie took me right to "City of New Orleans" for FJ, so I said Louisiana, although I didn't have a clue how the other guy fit in. Then when time was up and Trebek said "Broadway," I was all DUH, "Oklahoma." Of course.

Edited February 3, 2018 by saber5055

[Browncoat]

1 minute ago, saber5055 said:

Arlo Guthrie took me right to "City of New Orleans" for FJ,

Arlo is Woody's son, and I'm going to go see Arlo in concert in a couple of weeks!  Woody was indeed born in Oklahoma. 

Can everyone else see their own "like" hearts?  Mine seem to have disappeared for me.  I guess we can't like our own posts anymore (or see how many likes we have!).

[saber5055]

Now I can't remember if FJ said Woody or Arlo. In my mind, it was Arlo. But of course, in my mind the answer was Louisiana, so what do I know.

Browncoat, my "like" hearts have disappeared too. So rats, now that I can't like myself, I'll get no likes. Wah!

I checked: I can still see how many "likes" I have in Safari, but not in Firefox, which is the browser I'm currently in. However, I am no longer able to "like" myself in Safari. I guess it's a trade off.

Edited February 3, 2018 by saber5055

[Kimmmmmm]

3 minutes ago, saber5055 said:

Arlo Guthrie took me right to "City of New Orleans" for FJ, so I said Louisiana, although I didn't have a clue how the other guy fit in. Then when time was up and Trebek said "Broadway," I was all DUH, "Oklahoma." Of course.

Me, too!!!! Only heard Guthrie and thought of Arlo...

Jenny already bugs me...and Caitlin had that upspeak thing going on...I had no problem with Ryan and was hoping he'd win.

[CarpeDiem54]

The National Nightmare is over!  No TOC for you, Wanker Boy.   Hopefully Jenny will stop swaying and giggling.  At least she beat Ryan, so congrats to her.

BTW Jeopardy! writers - It's Mount Medvednica or Medvednica Mountain outside of Zagreb.  It's not a hill.  They hold World Cup Ski races there when there's enough snow.

I got Edinburgh, Berlin (DD), Mother Cabrini, and Van Halen.

FJ was an instaget.

[AuntieL]

I got Edinburgh, Ascuncion, Berlin and FJ. And now I have Ooooooooooooklahoma in my head. 

[dcalley]

1 hour ago, Browncoat said:

And Ryan's little fist pump when middle girl missed FJ?  Not cool, Fonzie wanna-be.  Not cool.

I saw it as a "darn" or "shucks" move because she had $1 more than him, so he knew he had lost. He wasn't celebrating her wrong answer IMO.

For the next ToC, Ryan's total is higher than either 5-timer so far. If not enough people win 5+ games, he might make it. https://thejeopardyfan.com/toc-tracker

[Sharpie66]

1 hour ago, saber5055 said:

 

Arlo Guthrie took me right to "City of New Orleans" for FJ, so I said Louisiana, although I didn't have a clue how the other guy fit in. Then when time was up and Trebek said "Broadway," I was all DUH, "Oklahoma." Of course.

As a big Steve Goodman fan, I have to comment—Arlo didn’t write City of New Orleans, Steve did.

[CarpeDiem54]

7 minutes ago, dcalley said:

For the next ToC, Ryan's total is higher than either 5-timer so far. If not enough people win 5+ games, he might make it. https://thejeopardyfan.com/toc-tracker

Don't harsh my mellow!

[dcalley]

(I am not rooting for that to happen, @CarpeDiem54. His guessing bothered me a lot.)

[lb60]

Not sure how you don't immediately connect Richard Rodgers to Oklahoma.

On the other hand, I'm the genius who failed to connect the visual of Oregon and Idaho to Ore-Ida.

However, I did run the football category.

It's been a confusing week!

I don't like the new champ!  Too giggly for me.  

#FlyEaglesFly

Edited February 3, 2018 by lb60

[saber5055]

Well first, Ib60, one has to know who Richard Rogers is. I did know Ore-Ida, having eaten a lot of tots in my day. So there's that!

Nuts, I don't know who Steve Goodman is either. I'm such a loser.

Carpe, your "Don't harsh my mellow" made me LOL. So thanks for that.

I will agree it's been a confusing week.

Edited February 3, 2018 by saber5055

[peeayebee]

I was a little perplexed about Jenny smiling all the time. She was just tickled pink.

I got Edinburgh, Xavier, and FJ. Richard Rodgers + State = Oklahoma. I didn't know what song of Guthrie's was about Oklahoma, but I stuck with it.

Bugged me that there was no BMS for Johnson since there were two President Johnsons.

I've never heard of Kristin Hannah. 

[BuckeyeLou]

The new champ seemed rather overly 'smiley" (maybe I'm feeling grumpy tonite), maybe she was nervous, but she looked like she was ready to break into laughter at any minute.  Also, Oklahoma seemed so obvious to me.... I guess my age is showing, but I thought everyone knew the song "Oklahoma" :)

[Sharpie66]

I know Kristin Hannah as just another romance author. I never thought she had a big enough name for Jeopardy. 

(If you have seen the Chicago Cubs winning at Wrigley Field in the past decade or so, you’ve heard Steve Goodman singing his song “Go Cubs Go”—he was a great singer/songwriter in the ‘70s/early ‘80s who died too young from leukemia. His other great Chicago songs are “Lincoln Park Pirates” and “A Dying Cub Fan’s Last Request.”)

[DrSpaceman73]

The baffling one that is just inexcusable is not knowing Tom Landry and the Cowboys

There are some characters and people that just transcend the game in all sports due to various reasons.  Tom Landry is one of those characters.  The Cowboys.  The hat.  The stoic demeanor on the sideline. 

Even non-golf fans knows Tiger, Arnold, Jack.  Non-basketball fans know Jordan.  I am not big into soccer, but I know Pele, David Beckham, a few others. Everyone knows the Stones and Beatles, you don't have to be a music fan. 

Tom Landry is one of those handful of figures in pro football. 

As for tonights game, it worked out for the new champ, but that betting for FJ still annoyed the hell out of me. 

[Clanstarling]

2 hours ago, Browncoat said:

Arlo is Woody's son, and I'm going to go see Arlo in concert in a couple of weeks!  Woody was indeed born in Oklahoma. 

Can everyone else see their own "like" hearts?  Mine seem to have disappeared for me.  I guess we can't like our own posts anymore (or see how many likes we have!).

If you've never seen Arlo in concert, you're in for a treat. He's such a great story teller, and a much better singer than he was in his youth (not saying he was bad, just that he improved with age).

My "like" hearts disappeared too. But my likes show up - without the heart - in Chrome.

[DrSpaceman73]

45 minutes ago, peeayebee said:

I was a little perplexed about Jenny smiling all the time. She was just tickled pink.

I got Edinburgh, Xavier, and FJ. Richard Rodgers + State = Oklahoma. I didn't know what song of Guthrie's was about Oklahoma, but I stuck with it.

Bugged me that there was no BMS for Johnson since there were two President Johnsons.

I've never heard of Kristin Hannah. 

Yes, you have to "BMS" for PUPPETS, but not for WHICH president Johnson???  How many kinds of puppets are there?  Hand, marionette?  And I think most would assume if you generic "puppets" you mean marionette's, even if its not specified. 

[YoureSoUrban]

Quote

Ryan The Boxer during his intro ... ouch. 

Ouch indeed. I bet those twig arms were pretty sore during the first break. But he's gone now and didn't become a 5x winner so he'll never be back and I can enjoy my show again so that's all that matters!

For TS I got Fujimori, Van Halen, Metallica, and Xavier. FJ was an instaget. I liked Caitlin but I just knew she was going to blow FJ because she had a few weird answers. I wouldn't call them guesses since she seemed pretty confident she was right. I'm surprised Jenny missed it though since she was strong throughout the game.

[Toothbrush]

Thank you plastic baby Jesus in my king cake! Jenny sways and is giggly, but hopefully she will calm down Monday.

TS I got were Edinburgh, Berlin (Ryan's missed DD), Loyola, Cabrini, Van Halen, Xavier. FJ was an instaget.

How was Johnson not a BMS? 

7 hours ago, dcalley said:

Here are a couple of photos showing the platforms: one and two.

Cool peek behind the podiums!

5 hours ago, saber5055 said:

But of course, in my mind the answer was Louisiana, so what do I know.

In case it ever comes up, the official state song of LA is "You Are My Sunshine", which was written by Jimmie Davis, a governor of the state during WWII & I think again in the 50s or 60s.  

1 hour ago, YoureSoUrban said:

Ouch indeed. I bet those twig arms were pretty sore during the first break.

LOL!

[Mystery Author]

Quote

I didn't know what song of Guthrie's was about Oklahoma, but I stuck with it.

Woody didn't write a song about Oklahoma. He was born there. His real name was Woodrow Wilson Guthrie.   Love me some Woody!

I played Ado Annie in Oklahoma (so FJ was easy-peasy).

I'm just a girl who can't say no ;-)

[Kathira]

3 hours ago, Mystery Author said:

Woody didn't write a song about Oklahoma. He was born there. His real name was Woodrow Wilson Guthrie.   Love me some Woody!

Actually, he did. Alex mentioned it. In addition to being born there, he wrote a song called "Oklahoma Hills" which is the state folk song. Oklahoma has more than one state song, which was part of the clue. I never heard of it either, but I did know he was born there and that along with the obvious show tune put me over the top mentally to the answer.

And, should it ever come up in a Jeopardy queston, Oklahoma also had a state rock song, at least for a while. It was  "Do You Realize??" by The Flaming Lips. They're from Oklahoma, too. LOL

Sadly, New York's state song is that stupid "I Love New York" which was written for an ad campaign. There are so many great New York songs, although I suppose they all refer to New York City rather than the whole state.

Edited February 3, 2018 by Kathira

[Browncoat]

8 hours ago, Clanstarling said:

If you've never seen Arlo in concert, you're in for a treat. He's such a great story teller, and a much better singer than he was in his youth (not saying he was bad, just that he improved with age).

This will be my fourth -- in two of the other three, he performed "Alice's Restaurant", which was extra awesome.

[Clanstarling]

1 hour ago, Browncoat said:

This will be my fourth -- in two of the other three, he performed "Alice's Restaurant", which was extra awesome.

Lucky duck, we've just seen the one. He performed Alice in ours too - agree on the extra awesome. Can't wait for him to come around our area again.

[Prevailing Wind]

Quote

As a big Steve Goodman fan, I have to comment—Arlo didn’t write City of New Orleans, Steve did.

Quote

Nuts, I don't know who Steve Goodman is either. I'm such a loser.

You MUST go to YouTube, then. I particularly like his funny songs, i.e., "Vegematic." I also find myself singing, "Men Who Love Women Who Love Men."  He was a brilliant singer/songwriter and gone WAY too soon. When asked to sing "Winter Wonderland," he started off, but soon forgot the lyrics and came up with "Oh how absurd, when don't know the words, to sing Walkin' in a Winter Wonderland." 

I didn't think Jenny was giggly or swaying; I just enjoyed the fact that she seemed to be having such a good time. She certainly was smiley!

ETA: I don't have the heart anymore, but I do see the numbers. The green box is gone (YAY!!). I'm on Firefox.

Edited February 3, 2018 by Prevailing Wind

[saber5055]

Quote

Thank you plastic baby Jesus in my king cake!

LOL at this. If king cake had been part of FJ, my answer of Louisiana would have been, could have been, correct. (Say in Harry Caray voice.)

Thanks for the Steve Goodman lessons. I do know, and sing, his "Go Cubs Go," my favorite song ever. I know he's been talked about on the radio station I listen to, WGN in Chicago, but the name just did not sink in. Nor did I know he wrote Guthrie's "Spirit of New Orleans." But now I do, so bring it on as a Jeopardy clue.

Agree wholeheartedly about Johnson needing BMS and puppet not needing BMS.

[Fex]

This morning, I watched the Disney animated Robin Hood with my nephew, and Robin said "faint heart never won fair lady".

13 hours ago, DrSpaceman73 said:

The baffling one that is just inexcusable is not knowing Tom Landry and the Cowboys

There are some characters and people that just transcend the game in all sports due to various reasons.  Tom Landry is one of those characters.  The Cowboys.  The hat.  The stoic demeanor on the sideline. 

Even non-golf fans knows Tiger, Arnold, Jack.  Non-basketball fans know Jordan.  I am not big into soccer, but I know Pele, David Beckham, a few others. Everyone knows the Stones and Beatles, you don't have to be a music fan. 

Tom Landry is one of those handful of figures in pro football. 

Your post made me look him up, to see if he was familiar and I was just forgetting the name. Nope! Maybe if he'd been coaching when I was a teenager or older, I would have heard of Tom Landry. Or if he was popular in trivia games or crosswords (which is how I know those golfers and Pele). The only NFL people I know are players who host SNL, haha.

[saber5055]

DrSpaceman, I agree with your post that Fex quoted above. I hate football with a passion, but knew Landry and the Cowboys. I hate golf even more, but I know Tiger, Arnold and Jack. I know several basketball names even though I've never watched a pro game, plus Pele and Beckham are well known to me as well. Some names/things I just "absorb" whether I like the sport or not. I do watch multiple newscasts every day and listen to the radio, plus I am interested in pop culture. And Landry/Cowboys were certainly part of pop culture at the time.

However, I did miss the Viking's Purple People Eaters ... I must have been busy that year.

[Clanstarling]

2 hours ago, Prevailing Wind said:

I didn't think Jenny was giggly or swaying; I just enjoyed the fact that she seemed to be having such a good time. She certainly was smiley!

 

That was my take too. Though I actually liked Ryan, I was happy the match went to someone who was having a good time. I will enjoy watching her.

17 minutes ago, saber5055 said:

However, I did miss the Viking's Purple People Eaters ... I must have been busy that year.

Decade. ;) Though to be fair, I had to look that up, and the only Viking I'd recognize in a clue is Fran Tarkenton. I was more a quarterback and wide receiver girl.

Edited February 3, 2018 by Clanstarling

[saber5055]

Clanstarling, I know Fran Tarkenton's name but did not know he played for the Vikings. But if he appeared in the category "Famous Frans" and the clue had to do with football, I'd say Tarkenton.

Jeopardy writers: Take note.

Edited February 3, 2018 by saber5055