Jeopardy! Season 34 (2017-2018)

[GreekGeek]

8 hours ago, saber5055 said:

All I heard on the radio, over and over, and on tv news, over and over, when the time changed last month was it's daylight SAVING time. Period. End of story. If I am to believe all those journalistic professionals that is.

 

Although it's officially "daylight saving," the term "daylight savings" is so common that I'm not faulting the judges for accepting it. Explanation here.

Quote

Only one president was a former actor so the flotus being an actress was pretty much of a no brainer. Although in this case, it was a not-in-brainer. It's not like Reagan was Before Their Time. Or was he?

Since it's been roughly 30 years since Reagan was president, I think this qualifies as Before Their Time. And it's entirely possible for a president who wasn't an actor to marry an actress. I didn't think it should have been a TS though.

[Clanstarling]

10 hours ago, peeayebee said:

For FJ, I was trying to remember all the Shuttle names, which I couldn't do, but I settled on Enterprise. A second before the music ended, I thought, "No! It's Atlantis!" Not only was I surprised that I was wrong, but also that the answer was Challenger.

I had no idea about the trench, but I decided Discovery was appropriate in general terms. Wrong.

 

12 hours ago, Prevailing Wind said:

It's a stupid concept anyway. Pick a time and stick with it. Changing the clocks messes up too many people's body rhythms. Not to mention the cats don't understand why they're getting fed either an hour earlier or an hour later than usual.  I remember "Lion Country Safari" in Florida where an elephant attacked the caretaker 'cause he was an hour late with the food.

Amen. I take meds that are time sensitive, so twice a year I have a week or more where my body adjusts to getting them too early or too late.

3 hours ago, GreekGeek said:

Since it's been roughly 30 years since Reagan was president, I think this qualifies as Before Their Time. And it's entirely possible for a president who wasn't an actor to marry an actress. I didn't think it should have been a TS though.

Indeed. We have one who married a model, and a prince is going to marry one soon. (but that's been done before)

[GalvDuck]

I don't remember the exact wording of the question, so there could have been a differentiating clue in there that I missed, but actually said "Jane Wyman" instead of "Nancy Reagan."  

[proserpina65]

15 hours ago, Browncoat said:

I went through all the shuttle names I could think of, and chose the correct one for FJ, though I'm not sure how or why.  I also got chords, Lucy Hayes, Nancy Reagan, Memorial Day, and one of my favorite books, Island of the Blue Dolphins.

I didn't get FJ, went with Atlantis, but I did get the others.

 

14 hours ago, saber5055 said:

It's not like Reagan was Before Their Time. Or was he?

Probably - he left office in January 1989, nearly 30 years ago.

[Clanstarling]

30 minutes ago, GalvDuck said:

I don't remember the exact wording of the question, so there could have been a differentiating clue in there that I missed, but actually said "Jane Wyman" instead of "Nancy Reagan."  

She was ndeed his first wife. I think the category was about first ladies? I'm bad at remembering, but Eleanor Roosevelt and Lucy Hayes were two other answers. So I'm guessing that's right.

Edited April 12, 2018 by Clanstarling

[proserpina65]

30 minutes ago, GalvDuck said:

I don't remember the exact wording of the question, so there could have been a differentiating clue in there that I missed, but actually said "Jane Wyman" instead of "Nancy Reagan."  

The category was First Ladies, so it could only have been Nancy Davis, Ronald Reagan's second wife.  But good for you for knowing his first wife. ;-)

[GalvDuck]

7 minutes ago, proserpina65 said:

The category was First Ladies, so it could only have been Nancy Davis, Ronald Reagan's second wife.  But good for you for knowing his first wife. ;-)

Ah, that's right...*facepalm*  Wyman definitely wasn't a First Lady. 

Thanks though!  I'm old (50), so he wasn't before my time. ;-)   I definitely remember "Just Say No."  You'd think I would have gone with Nancy anyway, based on that.  

[DXD526]

My first thought was Nancy Davis! And for the Jackie Kennedy clue, Jackie O came to mind immediately. I guess both are technically wrong, since it's the last name that makes it correct. Definitely not before my time! The college tourney really brings out my get-off-my-lawn tendencies.

In the intros, Johnny is pronouncing sophomore as three syllables, with a long 'o' in the middle. I've dealt with many teachers through my job over the years, and I don't remember even one ever pronouncing it that way. It's always two syllables, with a silent 'o'. Johnny's giving me a grammar earworm. 

[proserpina65]

19 minutes ago, DXD526 said:

My first thought was Nancy Davis! And for the Jackie Kennedy clue, Jackie O came to mind immediately. I guess both are technically wrong, since it's the last name that makes it correct. Definitely not before my time! The college tourney really brings out my get-off-my-lawn tendencies.

They'd have to rule you correct for the maiden names.  It's still the same person.  But it's a good thing they didn't require maiden names because I have no idea what Lemonade Lucy Hayes' was.

Edited April 12, 2018 by proserpina65

[Moose135]

22 minutes ago, DXD526 said:

In the intros, Johnny is pronouncing sophomore as three syllables, with a long 'o' in the middle. I've dealt with many teachers through my job over the years, and I don't remember even one ever pronouncing it that way. It's always two syllables, with a silent 'o'. Johnny's giving me a grammar earworm. 

I noticed that too.  One of my old Catholic school teachers, Sister Whatshername, always pronounced it with three syllables, but with more of a soft A, "soph-a-more", so I'm having flashbacks.

[Bastet]

2 hours ago, DXD526 said:

In the intros, Johnny is pronouncing sophomore as three syllables,

I haven't been able to watch this week, but good for Johnny; hearing sophomore condensed to two syllables bugs me.

Edited April 12, 2018 by Bastet

[saber5055]

8 hours ago, GreekGeek said:

And it's entirely possible for a president who wasn't an actor to marry an actress.

Yes, many things are possible. But name one who isn't Ronald Reagan.

2 hours ago, DXD526 said:

In the intros, Johnny is pronouncing sophomore as three syllables, with a long 'o' in the middle.

I will listen for this today. Watch, now there will only be juniors or seniors.

Edited April 12, 2018 by saber5055

[Browncoat]

Good Lord, I think this episode broke me.  From the inanity that was Carsen's opening to the bouncing all over the damn place, not to mention the starting with the highest value clue, I could barely watch.  I will say that at least the least objectionable contestant won -- Rebecca -- and I doubt either of the other two (certainly not the guy) has a chance at a wild card. 

For FJ, I could only think of one museum in France, and fortunately it was the correct choice.

[Kathira]

Well, Rebecca might not have a super life plan for her art and ancient history majors (are there really a lot of job openings for museum curators?), but she can clearly go around winning trivia quizzes. And on a more shallow note, she has beautiful skin. I was impressed that the other two guessed other French museums. The Louvre was literally the only one I could even think of.

[Tabasco Cat]

I've only been paying attention to FJ in this year's college tournament. Was 3 for 3 coming into tonight. But then we get to

Quote

Will Ferrell: Name a museum in France.

... and I'm out until this tourney is over. There's just no "there" there.

[secnarf]

The winner today reminded me a lot of Allison ("Noodle") on Madam Secretary.

Immediately thought of the Louvre because what else would come to mind when you think of a museum in France? I did wonder if that was too easy, but decided it's not too easy in the College Tournament ;)

[catrice2]

Good grief!  These episode have been painful. 

Edited April 13, 2018 by catrice2

[CarpeDiem54]

1 hour ago, Browncoat said:

Good Lord, I think this episode broke me.  From the inanity that was Carsen's opening to the bouncing all over the damn place, not to mention the starting with the highest value clue, I could barely watch.  I will say that at least the least objectionable contestant won -- Rebecca -- and I doubt either of the other two (certainly not the guy) has a chance at a wild card. 

For FJ, I could only think of one museum in France, and fortunately it was the correct choice.

You read my mind.  I actually like Rebecca.  She's the only kid I've liked all week.

I got a ton of TS's, but the one that blew my mind was the Khyber Pass/Afghanistan fail.  Come on!  I learned about the Khyber Pass when I was in junior high school almost a half century ago (damn, I'm old).  The war in Afghanistan certainly isn't before these kids' time because it's still going on.

[saber5055]

I'm with everyone, this tournament is losing me. Good grief, all the TS that were so easy, and I don't mean educated easy, just common-sense-everyman easy. They didn't know Columbia and Rolla are in Missouri? And like Carpe says, the war in Afghanistan has been going on forever, including today, and they couldn't figure out the Khyber Pass? Gah. Then the super-easy-pre-school-level DD of Sherman: "He wouldn't win in Georgia." Good grief squared.

I also couldn't get past the one player being allowed to answer every piece of intestine there is until she came up with the correct answer "within the time limit" according to Trebek. So does that mean players can start naming things and if they eventually name the right answer -- within the time limit -- they get credit? WTH is up with that.

I was going to listen for Johnny to say "sophomore" today but I was so distracted by Dancing Jennifer's doppelganger Carsen, then distracted again by the misspelling of her name (and face it, we are CARSON experts here), that I totally missed it.

College kids don't know the U.S. presidents? Like how hard it is to count to six.

Meanwhile, Trebek got to over pronounce "Serat" and "Louve," so this episode was a win for him.

My last complaint: I'm giving those players the TS of "washout" since that photo of the flooded road was NOT a washout. I live where roads like that are common, and we call that "water on the road." You don't know if the road is washed out until the water goes down. Water was so low on that picture that I would drive right through it. A road that's washed out means it's no longer there.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

[Mondrianyone]

1 hour ago, secnarf said:

The winner today reminded me a lot of Allison ("Noodle") on Madam Secretary.

She reminded me of some classic Old Testament heroine, like Judith doing that unfortunate thing to Holofernes (not that he didn't have it coming).

 

I did listen to Johnny pronouncing "sophomore," and I didn't hear a long o in the middle.  I thought he said "soph-uh-more" with a schwa.  Actually, according to Webster, the preferred pronunciation is just "soph-more," two syllables.  That's how I say it, so it must be right.  ;o)

I was instantly prejudiced against Carsen (oh, please), for her southern sorority-girl persona, so I was very happy she got her ass handed to her.

[SHD]

I don't mind a blowout game every once in a while, but not when the kids are playing. That poor guy who just barely made it out of the hole looked devastated. Not fun to watch.

I really liked the book anagrams category but the girl on the right answering "The Dubliners" when presented with the letters to make "Finnegan's Wake"...man.

[junemeatcleaver]

Quote

I don't mind a blowout game every once in a while, but not when the kids are playing.

This is the College Tournament, not the Teen Tournament.  I'm going to assume the majority of contestants are past the age of 18 which makes them adults.  If they played right and not tried to be cute and start at end of the categories, the other two might have had a chance today.

[peeayebee]

2 hours ago, secnarf said:

Immediately thought of the Louvre because what else would come to mind when you think of a museum in France? I did wonder if that was too easy, but decided it's not too easy in the College Tournament ;)

That was my thinking. The Louvre was too obvious, but then, this IS the College Tournament. Heck, this is how regular Jeopardy is these days.

TSs for me were Afghanistan and indigestion. 

I did not know that Spongebob [Squarepants] was a musical. 

Every time I hear "open sesame" I hear my son saying, "Open centipede."

Two "Good for you's" + four French pronunciations = get snockered.

[Clanstarling]

1 hour ago, saber5055 said:

I also couldn't get past the one player being allowed to answer every piece of intestine there is until she came up with the correct answer "within the time limit" according to Trebek. So does that mean players can start naming things and if they eventually name the right answer -- within the time limit -- they get credit? WTH is up with that.

 

My last complaint: I'm giving those players the TS of "washout" since that photo of the flooded road was NOT a washout. I live where roads like that are common, and we call that "water on the road." You don't know if the road is washed out until the water goes down. Water was so low on that picture that I would drive right through it. A road that's washed out means it's no longer there.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

There was a game show recently, I think it was 500 Questions, where players could do exactly that - spout out answers until the time ran out. It was surprisingly stressful.

I said "under water" which I think worked for the clue, but I must admit, I wasn't paying close attention.

Edited April 13, 2018 by Clanstarling

[CarpeDiem54]

34 minutes ago, SHD said:

I really liked the book anagrams category but the girl on the right answering "The Dubliners" when presented with the letters to make "Finnegan's Wake"...man.

Plus, Faux Carson didn't include "The" in the The Grapes of Wrath answer and they gave it to her.  That pissed me off.

[AuntiePam]

1 hour ago, saber5055 said:

My last complaint: I'm giving those players the TS of "washout" since that photo of the flooded road was NOT a washout. I live where roads like that are common, and we call that "water on the road." You don't know if the road is washed out until the water goes down. Water was so low on that picture that I would drive right through it. A road that's washed out means it's no longer there.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

I get what you mean -- a "washout" photo would show a washed-out road, not a road with water running over it.  But please, don't drive through water over a road.  The level looks low, but you don't know what's below the water, or how high it was a few hours ago. 

I'm hating on these kids too, mainly for jumping around the board.  And for knowing recent pop culture (mostly music) -- I've been clueless all week.

[YoureSoUrban]

On 4/11/2018 at 11:48 PM, teebax said:

I haven't enjoyed these first games so I think I'm bowing out for the tournament. Wake me up when regular Jeopardy returns. I just can't enjoy all the TS that a presumably intelligent college student should get right. 

I'm pretty sure I have enjoyed the college tournaments in the past, so maybe I'm just cranky this week. 

I stopped watching for the same reason and have been relying on you guys for any highlights and snark!  The college students I engage with act like they already know 99% of all there is to know in the universe, so I may tune in for the final just to see the heads of the two runners up explode.

[burner]

I miss Lilly Chin.

[Bazinga]

1 hour ago, CarpeDiem54 said:

Plus, Faux Carson didn't include "The" in the The Grapes of Wrath answer and they gave it to her.  That pissed me off.

 

2 hours ago, saber5055 said:

I also couldn't get past the one player being allowed to answer every piece of intestine there is until she came up with the correct answer "within the time limit" according to Trebek. So does that mean players can start naming things and if they eventually name the right answer -- within the time limit -- they get credit? WTH is up with that.

They also gave Carsen credit for dropping names instead of name-dropping.  The words are the same but the term is name-dropping, never heard of dropping names. 

[Mystery Author]

Quote

I actually like Rebecca.  She's the only kid I've liked all week.

Me, too. I said "Go, Rebecca" following the intros, and I'll say it again. Go, Rebecca! She was calm, cool and, you know, normal.

Quote

but I was so distracted by Dancing Jennifer's doppelganger Carsen, then distracted again by the misspelling of her name (and face it, we are CARSON experts here),

LOL Dancing Jennifer's doppelganger. That was definitely NOT before my time :)

[Pallida]

I have never heard of Rolla, Missouri and wouldn’t have known Columbia, Missouri. I am not a geography moron, but I’ll admit weaknesses regarding the flyover states. (I couldn’t resist the snark by calling them flyover...)

[dcalley]

4 hours ago, CarpeDiem54 said:

You read my mind.  I actually like Rebecca.  She's the only kid I've liked all week.

I got a ton of TS's, but the one that blew my mind was the Khyber Pass/Afghanistan fail.  Come on!  I learned about the Khyber Pass when I was in junior high school almost a half century ago (damn, I'm old).  The war in Afghanistan certainly isn't before these kids' time because it's still going on.

Rebecca's the only one I've liked, too. Although her doesn't-even-border-Pakistan answer of Nepal was frustrating (but better than Bangladesh).

[Prevailing Wind]

4 hours ago, Bazinga said:

They also gave Carsen credit for dropping names instead of name-dropping.  The words are the same but the term is name-dropping, never heard of dropping names.

Frank Langella wrote a book called "Dropped Names" - a bunch of stories of him in show biz with famous people. The Rita Hayworth story is heartbreaking.

As soon as I saw "Where in the Body" I shouted out "Islets of Langerhans" - a fun body part to name. Sure enough, there it was. I only watched yesterday because I was too damn tired to do anything else. Went to bed immediately after. But I doubt I'll be watching the rest of the "championship" (They don't even call it a tournament anymore.)

[peeayebee]

I loved my physiology class. For a while I knew the "geography" of the body so well. Nowadays, I'm lucky I know the leg bone's connected to hip bone.

[illdoc]

10 hours ago, SHD said:

eally liked the book anagrams category but the girl on the right answering "The Dubliners" when presented with the letters to make "Finnegan's Wake"...man.

At least she had the right author!

[Browncoat]

47 minutes ago, illdoc said:

11 hours ago, SHD said:

eally liked the book anagrams category but the girl on the right answering "The Dubliners" when presented with the letters to make "Finnegan's Wake"...man.

At least she had the right author!

No partial credit in Jeopardy!

[Bazinga]

5 hours ago, Prevailing Wind said:

Frank Langella wrote a book called "Dropped Names" - a bunch of stories of him in show biz with famous people. The Rita Hayworth story is heartbreaking.

Does not make the response correct, IMO.

[M. Darcy]

Its kind of weird that two of the kids didn't go with the very obvious answer of Louvre.  Maybe that thought it was too easy an answer so it wasn't right. 

[Clanstarling]

8 minutes ago, M. Darcy said:

Its kind of weird that two of the kids didn't go with the very obvious answer of Louvre.  Maybe that thought it was too easy an answer so it wasn't right. 

I thought of Versailles, but thought it was built for a different king - one of the Louies maybe. So I went with the Louvre, the only one I've been to (in a hurried side trip after a stressful business trip).

[DrSpaceman]

15 hours ago, Kathira said:

Well, Rebecca might not have a super life plan for her art and ancient history majors (are there really a lot of job openings for museum curators?), but she can clearly go around winning trivia quizzes. And on a more shallow note, she has beautiful skin. I was impressed that the other two guessed other French museums. The Louvre was literally the only one I could even think of.

I hate to go on a rant off topic.......but spending probably a quarter of a million dollars on an education to get a degree to plan on being a museum curator?  Just not practical.   Maybe she has scholarships and is not paying that much for a private college, but I hear stories like that and I lose sympathy for millennials in debt over college.  The financial return on a college education should be considered with the costs the way they are anymore and just offhand hers seems like a losing proposition

But she was a great player.  Dominated that game. 

The only French museum I know if the Louvre, so that is what I answered.  I actually may have answered Versailles, though I didn't know if it was a museum, but I see to recall it being an answer already in the last few weeks and didn't think they'd go back to it that soon

[Kathira]

25 minutes ago, DrSpaceman said:

I hate to go on a rant off topic.......but spending probably a quarter of a million dollars on an education to get a degree to plan on being a museum curator?  Just not practical.   Maybe she has scholarships and is not paying that much for a private college, but I hear stories like that and I lose sympathy for millennials in debt over college.  The financial return on a college education should be considered with the costs the way they are anymore and just offhand hers seems like a losing proposition

You're right - Swarthmore isn't exactly an inexpensive school. Maybe if she can hold off Dhruv in the finals, she can win $100,000, which would help. After taxes, it might pay for one year. Dhruv the only other one who's impressed me so far.

I think we've mostly seen contestants from pricey private schools. Georgia Tech is the only public one I recall.

[tallykat]

10 hours ago, Pallida said:

I have never heard of Rolla, Missouri and wouldn’t have known Columbia, Missouri. I am not a geography moron, but I’ll admit weaknesses regarding the flyover states. (I couldn’t resist the snark by calling them flyover...)

I was surprised that college students didn't know this answer but I can't recall where all three were from--was one from New Jersey? I grew up mostly in Memphis, Tennessee, so Missouri was just up the road, so to speak. I even applied to a college there: Washington University, which is always a great piece of trivia because it's neither in D.C. or Washington state. But I also knew Rolla because it was a well-known engineering school in my day--I'm sure it still is--and I knew several people who went there. Columbia, geez, that could have been anywhere!

So I wouldn't necessarily call this a "geography" question as much as I would knowing where certain well-known-for-engineering-if-you-live-nearby universities are. 

[Trey]

I wonder why Harry went to school in Chicago when he's from Princeton, NJ - I hear there's a pretty good school there.

Also I noticed that Harry from New Jersey did not answer the question about New Jersey (Elizabeth, NJ) - of course Harry didn't answer too many questions at all.

Louvre was all I thought of for FJ.

[Browncoat]

6 minutes ago, Trey said:

of course Harry didn't answer too many questions at all.

You may have answered your own question about why Harry didn't stay in New Jersey for college.....

[ABay]

Quote

I hate to go on a rant off topic.......but spending probably a quarter of a million dollars on an education to get a degree to plan on being a museum curator?  Just not practical.   Maybe she has scholarships and is not paying that much for a private college, but I hear stories like that and I lose sympathy for millennials in debt over college.  The financial return on a college education should be considered with the costs the way they are anymore and just offhand hers seems like a losing proposition

You should go to the cheapest university you can find and major in something that bores you stiff so you can have a career you will hate?

Edited April 13, 2018 by ABay

[Bazinga]

1 hour ago, 17wheatthins said:

"Drop names" is in the dictionary...

Stand corrected.  Thanks.

[saber5055]

15 hours ago, Mondrianyone said:

I was instantly prejudiced against Carsen (oh, please), for her southern sorority-girl persona, so I was very happy she got her ass handed to her.

The "ass handed to her" made me LOL and cheered me considerably after that depressing picture you posted. So, thanks and no thanks I guess. And yeah, the Southern Belle act doesn't play with me either.

14 hours ago, junemeatcleaver said:

If they played right and not tried to be cute and start at end of the categories, the other two might have had a chance today.

Plus if they paid attention to past ToC champs, they would know to practice at home with the toilet-roll holder as a buzzer.

11 hours ago, Pallida said:

I am not a geography moron, but I’ll admit weaknesses regarding the flyover states. (I couldn’t resist the snark by calling them flyover...)

Just when I was getting ready to call you out for your flyover snark, you snarked yourself. Dang it. That ruined my fun.

In retrospect, I've been to Rolla and Columbia, Missouri, so I guess I can't expect the hoity-toity coasters to know everything I know. (And thank your lucky stars for that, coasters.)

1 hour ago, DrSpaceman said:

but spending probably a quarter of a million dollars on an education to get a degree to plan on being a museum curator?  Just not practical. 

A friend who graduated U of I with a history degree got a job that paid big $$ assembling tractors in a union factory. So there are always alternatives.

59 minutes ago, tallykat said:

I even applied to a college there: Washington University,

Yeay, Tallycat! Wash U is a very respected school in St. Louis. (It's in Missouri too.)

44 minutes ago, Trey said:

I wonder why Harry went to school in Chicago when he's from Princeton, NJ

My former editor never let any of us forget he had a master's from University of Chicago. To use my own term, it's a very hoity-toity college. Plus maybe Harry just needed to get away and didn't want to go to the "local yokel" school.

1 hour ago, 17wheatthins said:

"Drop names" is in the dictionary...

Geezy pete, every and anything is in the dictionary these days. No wonder Jeopardy judging stinks.

[bad things are bad]

Quote

 So does that mean players can start naming things and if they eventually name the right answer -- within the time limit -- they get credit?

Sure. It's like the Red Light Challenge on Cash Cab

Quote

I wonder why Harry went to school in Chicago when he's from Princeton, NJ - I hear there's a pretty good school there.

I'll allow it. Kids SHOULD go away to college IMO if it's possible. You grow up a lot when you really don't have parents to fall back on.  Plus it's a great thing to shake up your life a bit, and see some other part of the country. 

[DrSpaceman]

48 minutes ago, ABay said:

You should go to the cheapest university you can find and major in something that bores you stiff so you can have a career you will hate?

 

No, but you should go to the cheapest university you can find that has your major and gives you an opportunity to get a job when you finish. 

I don't know here specific situation, like I said, maybe her cost for her private college is low and just like a public university or that was her best financial opportunity. 

But you do have to give some consideration to the cost of the school and future salary when choosing a college and major.  The idea of 1.  Choose what you love and 2.  Go to whatever the "best" school you can get into, no matter the cost, is what leads to financial problems in the future. 

A friend of mine from high had two opportunities for law school :  George Washington University, at a cost of about $100 to $150K total, or an in state school that was either free or about $100K cheaper.  He chose GW.  He regrets it to this day. 

 

That also brings up the other more relevant point I would add about this tournament, which others have alluded to :  they need to up the prize.  $100K isn't paying for college for these kids, assuming that is what they use the money for.  Not for any of them, public or private, not after taxes.  It ought to be $250K or so.  Even if it is more than the tournament of champions prize, I'd rather see kids in school get it and put it to good use early in their lives, save a ton of money later

Edited April 13, 2018 by DrSpaceman

[SuperCam1]

I liked Carsen and loved her intro we need more players like her on the show.

Edited April 13, 2018 by SuperCam1