Jeopardy! Season 34 (2017-2018)

[Mondrianyone]

43 minutes ago, Browncoat said:

Unfortunately, I'll probably miss tomorrow night, and maybe Friday.  Stupid basketball.

Watch on YouTube, @Browncoat.  Our reception keeps getting blizzarded out, so that's what I have to do.  Yesterday some lovely person posted that day's game the very same night.

[Browncoat]

4 minutes ago, Mondrianyone said:

Watch on YouTube, @Browncoat.  Our reception keeps getting blizzarded out, so that's what I have to do.  Yesterday some lovely person posted that day's game the very same night.

Thanks for the tip, @Mondrianyone!

[Mondrianyone]

You're welcome.  When it's not snow around here, it's usually girls' HS and college basketball.  But at least they care enough about girls' basketball to televise it, so it's hard to get too mad.

[Roaster]

A Stephen Hawking reference on the day he died.  How fitting.

All three contestants were good.   But that FJ was elementary-school level.

[SeanC]

FJ was insultingly easy (and yet one of them got it wrong).

[Browncoat]

I had to guess for FJ -- I wasn't sure if a state had to have at least two representatives, but I ended up going with the lowest possible number, which of course is three.  Government would not be one of my dream categories!

I have ridden the ride Zach was talking about, and I loved it so much that I rode it multiple times -- we'd get off and just circle back around to get back in line.  It was so bad that the ride operators asked our names and greeted us each time we got back to the front of the line. 

Too bad Alex couldn't have inserted a comment about Stephen Hawking, but it was terribly coincidental to have a clue about him on the day he died.

I don't remember too many TS, but I did get Maundy Thursday and Streetfighter, though Streetfighter was a guess -- it was the only video game I could think of that had the word "street" in it.

[saber5055]

So ... (ha ha) the power went off to my house just before FJ. Would someone be so kind to tell me the clue and how the game finished?

Meanwhile, for the entertainment of those who think Zach Dark is a Radar O'Reilly twin, here is Trebek posing with Zach who is wearing his Radar outfit.

[Jesse]

3 hours ago, Cotypubby said:

Was that two days in a row where the answer was asking what the Latin word "mensa" meant? Weird.

That's what I thought! "Didn't we just learn that from Jeopardy??" It was at least very recent.

I also think contestants should pay more attention to Hamilton by now, since the writers have clearly been obsessed with it.

[teebax]

Oh my God, they killed Hawking. Those bastards! 

It's amazing how frequently that happens. It is almost like the Sports Illustrated curse. 

I had What's new on the Rialto, Cromwell, Bacchus, Street Fighter, and continental drift. FJ was an instaget to the point where I wondered if it was a trick question. 

Edited March 15, 2018 by teebax
My tablet sucks.

[CarpeDiem54]

Aw, I'll miss Radar Zach, but Peter seems okay.  Flirting, acting cutsey, and winking at Alex doesn't help you win if you don't know the answers, Allison.

I got Cromwell and Maundy Thursday.

Finally!  An FJ that was an instaget.

[catrice2]

I'm glad the champ is gone...I was going to be a little peeved about the Hawking, Hawkings ( or Hawkins) situation. 

So here on this board recognized MIke Teevee  from the Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory as the contestant yesterday?  That was one of my favorite movies and I confess I did not know that was him! 

[saber5055]

31 minutes ago, Jesse said:

I also think contestants should pay more attention to Hamilton by now, since the writers have clearly been obsessed with it.

Except when Hamilton is really Groundhog Day.

[Mondrianyone]

56 minutes ago, saber5055 said:

So ... (ha ha) the power went off to my house just before FJ. Would someone be so kind to tell me the clue and how the game finished?

So . . . do you want someone just to tell you, or do you want to see for yourself?  (Clearly I'm pimping out YouTube full-time today.)

[teebax]

I forgot to mention I expected a correction on "Dancing in the Street." I thought it was "streets," no? 

[saber5055]

Thanks Mondrianyone. I took your YouTube advice so "now I know." I follow a Washington Post reporter on twitter so I thought I knew the answer, but ya'll can add me to the dumb*sses who missed it. Irritatingly, the video was followed by a commercial for a multi millionaire running for Illinois governor, so now I know YouTube tracks IPs to match them to advertisers. Plus this guy is buying YouTube time. Geez. And he's not even Russian. I don't think.

Meanwhile, I did get Maundy Thursday (all those years of Sunday school) and Street Fighter.

[tallykat]

I completely freaked out at the start of the show. My daughter’s name is Allison Berke—pronounced the same, spelled differently. And her husband works in cyber security. 

I see we now have Kevin Spacey as our Jeopardy champion. 

TS for me were Cromwell (DD), Bacchus, Maundy Thursday, and continental drift. 

FJ was an instaget. 

I groaned when I saw the British Monarchy but I did surprisingly well. Or it was surprisingly easy. 

I loved the “Perfect for Jeopardy” category! I wish the contestants could have gotten what they were going for. Every now and then an “answer” that’s already a question comes up. I wonder if I would have the presence of mind to not add the “What is” in front. 

Edited March 15, 2018 by tallykat

[catrice2]

No, I think it is Street

[GenerationX]

Had to watch a replay of the show on YouTube due to preempting in Chicago.  Everybody looked short and fat, because I could not get my old laptop's screen resolution aligned right when connected to our TV.  The new champ's purple shirt matched the studio background color exactly, too, though that could've been due to my set-up.

Got Maundy Thursday.  Almost ran two categories, but Mrs. GenX beat me to the punch on the big $ questions in both.

[saber5055]

15 minutes ago, tallykat said:

Every now and then an “answer” that’s already a question comes up. I wonder if I would have the presence of mind to not add the “What is” in front.

Trebek irked me when he chastised that woman for turning a question answer into a question/question answer. It's difficult enough to solve the clue and buzz in first without having to evaluate that it's a question so one doesn't need to add "What is." Nuts to that! I'm adding it regardless of the answer. But Trebek was actually getting cranky about it. And to that, I say: "What is ... Get over it Trebek."

Just now, GenerationX said:

The new champ's purple shirt matched the studio background color exactly, too, though that could've been due to my set-up.

LOL at this! It was the same color on my teevee too, because I thought if he took off his jacket, he would be just a floating head as his torso disappeared into the background. That would have been cool!

[Kimmmmmm]

It is "Dancing in the Street"

[Bastet]

1 hour ago, teebax said:

I forgot to mention I expected a correction on "Dancing in the Street." I thought it was "streets," no?

No, singular. 

The new champ performed very well. 

I said frameless, instead of rimless, for the glasses.  I guess that’s shower doors, not eyeglasses.

Continental drift was my surprising TS for the night.  Not shocking, given general science knowledge, but still a little surprising.  I got a few others (bacchus, Chernow, and one or two others I'm blanking on), but that was the only one that I was surprised no one else got.

I thought Prince George and, especially, changing of the guard were too easy for DJ.  I thought the same of the FJ clue; isn’t the electoral college process a fresh hell in all our minds?

I’m glad the South American capitals category wasn’t entirely made up of “what’s the capital of this country?” clues.

“Easy for me to say” when the contestant stumbled over “Marlboro Man” – which I also had to say carefully to spit out – gave me a chuckle.

Edited March 15, 2018 by Bastet

[peeayebee]

2 hours ago, saber5055 said:

Meanwhile, for the entertainment of those who think Zach Dark is a Radar O'Reilly twin, here is Trebek posing with Zach who is wearing his Radar outfit.

That's real, not photoshopped?

 

42 minutes ago, GenerationX said:

The new champ's purple shirt matched the studio background color exactly, too, though that could've been due to my set-up.

I didn't notice that, but Alex's ties are usually color-coordinated with the background.

I got zero TSs, and I didn't get FJ right either. I feel ignorant reading here that it was a no-brainer.

[Conotocarious]

Nobody knew Ron Chernow? Everyone goes on and on about Hamilton and no one knows who wrote the book that inspired the damn thing?

His book about Alexander Hamilton was incredible. Grant even more so. I have read nearly all his books and he’s a must for the history buff.

Edited March 15, 2018 by Conotocarious

[saber5055]

1 hour ago, peeayebee said:

That's real, not photoshopped?

It's both, so to speak. It's a real photo of Zach with Trebek. I took the hat, glasses and uniform (with Teddy) from three different photos of Radar. Here's the original Radar-less Zach.

ETA: I just noticed Trebek's tie matches the background. Something new to watch for. Thanks Peeaye.

Edited March 15, 2018 by saber5055

[Brookside]

2 hours ago, Conotocarious said:

Nobody knew Ron Chernow? Everyone goes on and on about Hamilton and no one knows who wrote the book that inspired the damn thing?

His book about Alexander Hamilton was incredible. Grant even more so. I have read nearly all his books and he’s a must for the history buff.

 

Who wrote the book for Wicked, The Book of Mormon (the musical, not the original), Urinetown, Hello Dolly?  Just throwing out a few shows there that even theatre buffs wouldn't be able to give names to, whether author, composer, director, or even original players.  You obviously love Chernow, but not everyone knows him.

Edited March 15, 2018 by Brookside

[Toothbrush]

Dr. Toothbrush & I both gasped when the Stephen Hawking clue was uncovered. It's uncanny how often that happens!

I will miss Zach, even though he was a little shouty at times, but good comeback for Peter. Poor Allison disappeared for a bit in DJ.

TS I got were Cromwell (Peter's missed DD), Bacchus, Maundy Thursday, continental drift. FJ was an instaget.

@saber5055 - well done photoshop of Alex, Zachdar(k) O'Reilly, and teddy! 

3 hours ago, Bastet said:

I said frameless, instead of rimless, for the glasses.  I guess that’s shower doors, not eyeglasses.

Continental drift was my surprising TS for the night. 

“Easy for me to say” when the contestant stumbled over “Marlboro Man” – which I also had to say carefully to spit out – gave me a chuckle.

We said frameless also, which I think would have been accepted. 

Dr. Toothbrush said continental shift, which I do not think would have been accepted because I know it to be a term related to shift work.  

I chuckled at Zach stumbling over Marlboro Man too, since I had trouble pronouncing it myself. 

3 hours ago, peeayebee said:

I didn't notice that, but Alex's ties are usually color-coordinated with the background.

I love seeing whose clothes match the background. Today it was Alex's tie and Peter & Allison's shirts. 

[EllenB]

I said Continental Shift too, and then felt it was wrong but the brain wouldn't let go of it.  I think I grabbed the general sound first and would have had to go through the damn alphabet to get back on track.

 

The Chernow book was a huge non-fiction best-seller.  It's also not the same as a musical "book" for a show.  But "Hello, Dolly" is a musicalized version of The Matchmaker", a play by Thornton Wilder, who is probably best known for "Our Town.". And that's my Cliff Claven moment for the day. 

[Prevailing Wind]

I couldn't think of Chernow - I said the other one, David McCullough.  And I suppose most of us would know L. Frank Baum for the inspiration for Wicked.

[Conotocarious]

Chernow’s book is a historical biography. It has nothing to do with musicals except that it is credited as inspiring the play Hamilton. I knew that as someone who enjoys historical biographies. I know nothing about Hamilton the play. I’ve never even heard a song. So being a theater buff has nothing to do with it. Also Grant was released in October and is much more recent. It’s not theater knowledge, it’s an author of historical biographies question. And it shouldn’t have been terribly difficult for anyone on Jeopardy.

48 minutes ago, Prevailing Wind said:

I couldn't think of Chernow - I said the other one, David McCullough.  And I suppose most of us would know L. Frank Baum for the inspiration for Wicked.

Yeah but you had the right idea. An author’s name associated with historical biographies. McCullough is a great guess. 

[peeayebee]

8 hours ago, saber5055 said:

It's both, so to speak. It's a real photo of Zach with Trebek. I took the hat, glasses and uniform (with Teddy) from three different photos of Radar. Here's the original Radar-less Zach.

Wow. I'm impressed with your skills. 

 

1 hour ago, Prevailing Wind said:

I couldn't think of Chernow - I said the other one, David McCullough.  And I suppose most of us would know L. Frank Baum for the inspiration for Wicked.

The play Wicked was based on the book Wicked by Gregory Maguire. That book was of course inspired by The Wizard of Oz. Although I read Maguire's book several years ago, I admit I had to google his name.

I couldn't think of Chernow either. I've heard about his book on Grant and that it's fantastic, so it's definitely on my must-read list.

[Driad]

Re Marlboro Man, some people refer to cemeteries as Marlboro Country.

[DrSpaceman]

The way the FJ was asked made it easy, it was a very leading question. 

To make it harder they should have just gone with the simple question "Washington DC has this many votes in the Electoral College, the fewest possible".  Then I would have had to think about if they have only one or three, since they technically don't have any Senators (they have two "shadow senators" that are elected but do not have any voting power in the Senate and are not officially seated in the Senate) and just have one representative.  Despite having no actual senators they still get two EC votes for two senators. 

But the way the question was asked, it was obviously three. 

And yes again the Jeopardy curse with Stephen Hawking. 

[Writing Wrongs]

On the news this morning they were talking about how Paris was in Willie Wonka playing some kid who shrinks himself to be on tv (I've never watched it). They were amused that he didn't bring it up during his interview portion.

[saber5055]

2 hours ago, peeayebee said:

Wow. I'm impressed with your skills. 

I'm blushing. But thank you Peeayebee. It's part of what I do for a living.

Side note: Hamilton the play happened sort of by coincidence. Lin-Manuel Miranda bought the book to read on vacation and he was so impressed by it, he turned it into the play. He had been invited to the White House and asked to perform songs from his current play, In The Heights, but he sneaked in some Hamilton rap to test out on the Obamas and it was roundly applauded. (Second side note: I have a huge crush on Mr. Miranda.)

20 minutes ago, DrSpaceman said:

Then I would have had to think about if they have only one or three, since they technically don't have any Senators (they have two "shadow senators" that are elected but do not have any voting power in the Senate and are not officially seated in the Senate) and just have one representative.  Despite having no actual senators they still get two EC votes for two senators.

I knew this about Washington D.C. senators not having voting power but knew nothing about the electoral college. So I said ZERO for FJ.

Okay, go ahead, point and laugh everyone.

[opus]

4 hours ago, peeayebee said:

Wow. I'm impressed with your skills. 

Adding my agreement. I immediately knew it wasn't real, but I also immediately knew it was very well done.

[dcalley]

2 hours ago, DrSpaceman said:

The way the FJ was asked made it easy, it was a very leading question. 

To make it harder they should have just gone with the simple question "Washington DC has this many votes in the Electoral College, the fewest possible".  Then I would have had to think about if they have only one or three, since they technically don't have any Senators (they have two "shadow senators" that are elected but do not have any voting power in the Senate and are not officially seated in the Senate) and just have one representative.  Despite having no actual senators they still get two EC votes for two senators.

And the one representative is a delegate with very limited voting abilities (procedural and committee only). Thus the slogan below:

Credit: Qpqqqq - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0

Edited March 15, 2018 by dcalley

[saber5055]

46 minutes ago, dcalley said:

And the one representative is a delegate with very limited voting abilities (procedural and committee only). Thus the slogan below:

Best slogan ever. So much better than "Land of Lincoln" IMO. Although now that I think about it, that slogan would work for Illinois too.

[DrSpaceman]

Illinois should be "No governor in prison for 5 years!"

[saber5055]

10 minutes ago, DrSpaceman said:

Illinois should be "No governor in prison for 5 years!"

Or, "No governor in prison for less than 5 years!"

[peeayebee]

5 hours ago, saber5055 said:

I knew this about Washington D.C. senators not having voting power but knew nothing about the electoral college. So I said ZERO for FJ.

Okay, go ahead, point and laugh everyone.

I'll stand with you. I ended up saying One, but I considered Zero. 

[Browncoat]

Woo hoo!  I found when my local station showed Jeopardy!  Thank you DVR "record new episodes" feature!  I found it for tomorrow night, too, but padded it just in case basketball runs long.  But that never happens, right? [/sarcasm]

Anyhoo, FJ was an instaget for me tonight, possibly because I was addicted to the Summer Olympics two years ago (I get addicted to the Winter Olympics, too).  And it was a good game, although middle girl struggled, and wasn't happy about it.  Not too many TS that I remember, but I managed promenade, Gibson, Caesar Augustus, and Dada.  I will freely admit that Dada was a complete and utter guess -- I don't even really know how I pulled it out of my, um, hat.  Art categories are either super easy or super hard for me.  There's no middle ground.  I did love the Science category, though.

[SuperCam1]

was rooting for Amy loved her tatoo sleeve and she was a great player sucked she  could not finish it out but congrats to Peter on the win.

Edited March 15, 2018 by SuperCam1

[CarpeDiem54]

Yay, Peter (who's blue shirt matched the blue background)!  I didn't like either of the other contestants.  Tracey got very aggressive with the buzzer until she was almost lunging over the podium to mash it by the end of the game.

I wish they'd completed the State Holidays category in the J round.

I only got Virginia and Sadaam Hussein.

For FJ I guessed Switzerland.

[Mondrianyone]

I'm gonna put on my grouchy old bat hat and say I don't think Peter's answer for FJ should've been accepted.  I remember someone here telling me a while back that Alex tells the contestants during the break which interrogative word they should write for FJ before the clue is revealed.  So if they're already spotting you the first word, how hard is it to write the verb--"is," for Pete's sake, two letters!--to make a complete question?  "What Ukraine?"  The one by Romania?

I think we were all alive when Saddam Hussein was captured and swabbed for DNA.  Again, already spotted the last name, you seriously can't come up with that?

If my lawn weren't buried in snow, I'd be chasing people off it.

Edited March 16, 2018 by Mondrianyone
grouchy ≠ sloppy

[CarpeDiem54]

Oh, that reminds me - I didn't like Amy's answer of Weird Al.  Weird Al Carson?

Sorry.  I borrowed @Mondrianyone's grouchy old bat hat.  It fits perfectly, by the way.  ?

Edited March 16, 2018 by CarpeDiem54

[Mondrianyone]

Gimme back my damn hat!

[CarpeDiem54]

2 minutes ago, Mondrianyone said:

Gimme back my damn hat!

I already did!  I said I just borrowed it.  Sheesh!  ?

[Mondrianyone]

See how well it works?  You're already very grouchy.

[DrSpaceman]

Had no idea on FJ.  I also guessed Switzerland.  I didn't know the Danube went that far east to the Ukraine. 

But they asked a Simpsons question, and one about my favorite episode of the series and the best song of the series. 

"Stop!  The human is about to escape.  Get your paws off me you dirty ape!" 

I love legitimate theater. 

[teebax]

Amy won me over by making Alex eat his words about her being too young for 80s music. Shut it, Alex. 

I only remember getting Saddam Hussein, but I think I got at least one other TS. I missed FJ, but should've known it.