Jeopardy! Season 34 (2017-2018)

[secnarf]

Well, I've never seen a James Bond movie the whole way through, and I first said M, then remembered that M was played by a woman in a recent movie (?the one with the Adele song) so I didn't think that quite fit with the clue; I changed my mind to Q, who I was pretty sure was played by a man. Go figure.

[peeayebee]

I think the only TS I got was Mazatlan.

I, too, said M for FJ. I completely overlooked the "I.T." part of the clue. If I'd paid attention, maybe I would have gotten it right.

I'm not too enamored of Austin, but I'll try to reserve judgment. 

[Mondrianyone]

Oh, buh-rother.  I suspect I may be getting a half hour of my life back five days a week for the foreseeable future.  I will admit to being delighted when Austin swung his arms around and dropped the buzzer.  Nothing says triumphal like having to disappear under the podium.

Dennis might have lost, but he's cemented himself a place in my heart.  My best friend's husband (who was chairman of the English department at a branch of SUNY) used to regale us with the prologue to Canterbury Tales in Middle English (we really knew how to party back then), and it was just beautiful.  So I got all kinds of feelings hearing Dennis the handyman do the same, and so well.  And he wrote "Thank you" on his FJ screen.  For once I had the right first impression of a J! contestant.

[Mystery Author]

I like Austin. I like that he bets gutsy, like $6500 rather than a timid $1000 (or $80 or whatever). I take his arm waving as enthusiasm, like when he managed to spit out Tootsie Roll...and good for him!! I knew I knew it, and if I had spit it out in time, I'd have given a triumphant jerk of my hand/arm too...and probably yelled, YES!"

And I bet Austin would have gotten Ichabod Crane!

[Toothbrush]

I just can't with Austin. Maybe I am too staid, but he is way too OOT for my tastes. A happy medium would be nice. And naturally he skips around and starts in the middle of categories for no reason. I do like his gutsy wagering, and it paid off big time. 

TS I got were Walloons (missed DD), Giblets of Fire, & mother. 

FJ was an instaget. 

4 hours ago, rubaco said:

OK guys, I'm worried. A few times lately, I've seen a Jeopardy teaser commercial

  Reveal hidden contents

in which Alex compares some contestant (whom they never show) to Ken Jennings. Sacrilege! Alex gushes, saying something like "I'm in awe," presumably about how much this person is winning. I just automatically got annoyed by this commercial, because Ken won 70+ games, and we have only just begun this new season, so it seems much too early to trot out such a comparison. Now I feel even more apprehensive, because I have a bad feeling that we were introduced to that contestant today. 

 

Nooooo!!!!! 

3 hours ago, Stacey1014 said:

As for Austin, he's a bit slovenly. He needs a good haircut and a shave. 

I have no doubt that his slovenly appearance is carefully crafted and takes a lot of time, effort, and various grooming products to achieve. 

[trow125]

5 hours ago, blugirlami21 said:

Austin looks like Paul F Thompkins to me. I knew I didn't like him when he started in the middle of the category for no reason. And then there were the hand gestures to boot, I cant.

My husband thought he looked like James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem.

Alex said something about having to bleep him... so he was cursing?? Yikes. I actually think he'd be OK if the contestant coordinators convinced him to tone it down a notch or six.

[mojoween]

I didn't see last night but seeing that Dennis was a one and done (and I think Ivan was too?) now I'm curious how many days in a row is the record for one and dones.

[Clanstarling]

13 hours ago, illdoc said:

My choice was "preemptive strike". 

 As to today's FJ, I admit I said "M" even though as soon as I saw "IT" I was thinking "tech/computers". 

I said "M" too - I went too fast with my minimal Bond knowledge - and missed the "IT" part of the clue. Oh well.

[M. Darcy]

Quote

I first heard of Lighthorse Harry Lee in the musical 1776

I've said it before but most of the American Revolution historyI know is from 1776 and Hamilton. 

Darn it Dennis, you were all sexy with your Canterbury Tales and then you lost :-(  That was a total "Marry Me!" moment. 

[deemac]

Jeopardy didn't do themselves any favors with the boring reruns just before this season.  I learned to turn it off.  Therefore I had no problem turning it off when it was obvious who was going to win.  Not sure when I'll turn it back on again.

[peeayebee]

11 hours ago, Mondrianyone said:

Dennis might have lost, but he's cemented himself a place in my heart.  My best friend's husband (who was chairman of the English department at a branch of SUNY) used to regale us with the prologue to Canterbury Tales in Middle English (we really knew how to party back then), and it was just beautiful.  

That was lovely. I wanted more. I also liked how much he applauded for Austin at several moments, and even looking over at him, which somehow made it even more sincere. 

 

10 hours ago, Mystery Author said:

I take his arm waving as enthusiasm, like when he managed to spit out Tootsie Roll...and good for him!! I knew I knew it, and if I had spit it out in time, I'd have given a triumphant jerk of my hand/arm too...and probably yelled, YES!"

My first thought was Baby Ruth, which of course is wrong. However, after googling, I see that it likely was NOT named after Grover Cleveland's daughter Ruth, but actually Babe Ruth. Snopes on Baby Ruth The more you know. :)

 

8 hours ago, trow125 said:

Alex said something about having to bleep him... so he was cursing?? Yikes. 

When Alex said that, I was surprised. It completely went past me that they had bleeped Austin. Maybe they actually edited out the video as well as audio portions where he did that.

[DXD526]

Austin's hair looked like he combed it with a mix master. He reminds me of Eraserhead.

[PaulaO]

I totally said Baby Ruth and would never have gotten Tootsie Roll.  I love candy, but not Tootsie Rolls.

[bad things are bad]

Wow, I said to my DH last night that the Internet (meaning this board) would hate Austin as much as we did. Looks like 50/50 here.  

He seemed to be trying way too hard to be "quirky". 

[proserpina65]

Ugh, of course the annoying hipster jackass won!

[dcalley]

How often has the show ended with a slow-mo clip like that? For anyone who missed it, it was Austin dropping his buzzer or the part just before that. A conspiracy theorist might think it means something, such as Austin will not be a one and done.

The commercial being discussed:

Spoiler

 

[Pallida]

Thanks for sharing the link to the commercial. I'm cynical though. Maybe it'll be a champion who has several shutouts and then flames out badly and is in the negs.

I actually really enjoyed Austin. Yes, he's quirky, but I found it authentically quirky. I don't mind people working out clues out loud - I talk to myself all the time to work through things. I understand and respect that board hopping can be problematic for some viewers, but it can be a good strategy, and I'd rather see all the clues in a random order than not see them all. (My pet peeve is contestants going to a video category early, leading to not clearing the board.)

[Writing Wrongs]

Future Austin:

[PaulaO]

Instaget FJ!  I didn't know Hahvahd had a famous divinity school, so I answered Yale.  That one I've heard of.  Kind of tuned out Double J because Pasha's trying to out cute Austin made me stabby.

[mojoween]

We did not watch last night and the second the camera showed Austin for the first time tonight my husband says "look at this guy!  I hate him."  And this was before Austin did whatever the hell that weird little finger gesture was.

And yet...somehow Pasha is WORSE.  Be quiet!

Edited September 27, 2017 by mojoween

[Fex]

This game was crazy-town, and not in a good way! They were all so flustered, stuttery, and slow. They had so much trouble selecting clues. And of course didn't clear the board. Agh!

How is it that I still like Austin, but couldn't stand Pasha? Haha.

For the A country daily double, I was yelling Canada at the screen. 

Did anyone else hear someone whispering "what is" at the woman when she hadn't said it? That was kind of nice, in an otherwise annoying game.

Edited September 27, 2017 by Fex

[Browncoat]

No, no, no, no, no!!!!  I didn't want any of them to win -- the woman was too slow, and Pasha and Austin appeared to be having a contest to see who could be more annoying.  I think it was a tie.

I suppose the good thing is that there weren't too many TS (Dream House was the only one I got).

FJ was sort of an instaget -- it took me nearly the whole time to remember who wrote Gatsby (and my first response was Daisy Buchanan!), then once I pulled that out of my brain, it took a couple of seconds to come up with his wife's name.  Although I did manage to say it before time was up, I probably wouldn't have had time to write it down.  I'm pretty sure they wouldn't have accepted "the wife of the guy who wrote The Great Gatsby."

[secnarf]

I enjoyed the countries category - I had called "Canada" and "Kazakhstan" before any of the clues were revealed, so I was laughing during the daily double. Not sure I would have come up with Panama in time, though.

I had never actually heard of Zelda Fitzgerald (nor did I know anything about whether or not F Scott Fitzgerald had married), although the clue immediately reminded me of The Great Gatsby. I despise that book.

I also heard someone whispering "what is" to Jennie when she forgot it.

[Jesse]

Oh my god, Austin is KILLING ME.  

15 minutes ago, secnarf said:

I also heard someone whispering "what is" to Jennie when she forgot it.

Yeah, that must have been Pasha, because Alex said something to him about a mistake being ok in regular Jeopardy.

[CarpeDiem54]

1 hour ago, mojoween said:

We did not watch last night and the second the camera showed Austin for the first time tonight my husband says "look at this guy!  I hate him."  And this was before Austin did whatever the hell that weird little finger gesture was.

And yet...somehow Pasha is WORSE.  Be quiet!

Bawahahaha!  I love your husband!

I knew we were doomed from the start.  Jenny was slower than molasses in January and couldn't remember to phrase her answers as questions (twice) and Pasha was trying to be more cutesy than Austin.  Did I mention that I loathe Austin?

I got Harvard and Dream House.

FJ was an instaget.  One of my Kindles is named Zelda.

[Moose135]

1 hour ago, Fex said:

How is it that I still like Austin, but couldn't stand Pasha? Haha.

It's funny - I hate Austin, but didn't have too much of a problem with Pasha.  YMMV

[Mountainair]

I don't mind Austin but Pasha bugged. Jeopardy! could certainly stand to gain a bit of "fun" and I think Austin is good for that. Two personalities Iike that is overkill though. 

Two Instagets on FJ in a row for me! I've never seen any Bond movies nor did I think I knew anything about the Bond Universe but my first instinct was to say, "Q" for some reason and it was right! I must have heard it from somewhere long ago!

I read Zelda's biography last summer and recently watched Z: The Story of Everything (I think that was the title) on Amazon so that was an Instaget for me as well.

Edited September 28, 2017 by Mountainair

[Kimmmmmm]

1 hour ago, Fex said:

 

How is it that I still like Austin, but couldn't stand Pasha? Haha.

Me, too...Austin is AOK with me...Pasha looked like a high school shop teacher (no offense...to shop teachers)..also looked like he needed to pee really bad.

[YoureSoUrban]

Quote

And yet...somehow Pasha is WORSE.  Be quiet!

I have no idea whether I got any TS because I was staring at Pasha, willing him to burst into flames. And Jennie couldn't get off my TV fast enough.

After some hesitation yesterday, I came around to Austin in the Jeopardy round. He completely won me over with the Napoleon Bonaparte DD.

Edited to add: FJ was an instaget, though I worried "flapper" might be a red herring.

Edited September 28, 2017 by YoureSoUrban

[peeayebee]

Aww, I loved Pasha. His little "Yay!" when he got one early answer correct endeared him to me.

I guess the only TS I got was Trollius and Cressida.

I was pleased to learn that karat and carat are two different words with different meanings. I was regularly confused when answers in my daily online crossword puzzle were sometimes karat and sometimes carat. I thought I was going crazy.

FJ seemed super easy to me, so I was surprised the two contestants got it wrong.

[teebax]

Out of loyalty to my current home town of Tucson I wanted to root for Jennie, but she was definitely too slow. (They drive like that here, too - slow and indecisive. As an east coast native, I can't stand it.  I gotta get out, y'all!)

I knew this board would be amazing after that episode. I am okay with Austin, but Pasha seemed to be playing a character. I am glad he didn't win. I think I secretly root for annoying contestants to be on just because of the epic posts we get here. Sorry, not sorry!

[peeayebee]

9 minutes ago, teebax said:

I am okay with Austin, but Pasha seemed to be playing a character.

Funny, but it seems the opposite to me, that Austin is putting on a character and Pasha was being genuine. 

[Clanstarling]

2 hours ago, secnarf said:

I had never actually heard of Zelda Fitzgerald (nor did I know anything about whether or not F Scott Fitzgerald had married), although the clue immediately reminded me of The Great Gatsby. I despise that book.

I hate the book too - but knew Zelda right off. Not sure why.

9 minutes ago, peeayebee said:

Aww, I loved Pasha. His little "Yay!" when he got one early answer correct endeared him to me.

FJ seemed super easy to me, so I was surprised the two contestants got it wrong.

I liked Pasha too - I liked his energy. Never would have guessed he'd get more hate than Austin. 

[Ailianna]

Regarding the infamous commercial.  I'm not sure it means that there is a mega-champ coming (that's next after super-champ, right?).  Only that they know the big champions bring in eyes so they are suggesting that there could be another one.  I mean, there could always be another one, so...  But I don't think it means anything specific about anything happening this season.

[Toothbrush]

What a clusterf**k game! I think Pasha was more genuine than Austin; he seems the goofy dad type. I also thought it was cute when he said "yay" after climbing out of the red. But 2 of that "on" personality type, coupled with slow poke Jennie who seems to have forgotten which show she was on, was painful. The thing is, question/answer wise it was a great game. Very few TS. The only TS I got were Harvard & Barbie Dreamhouse. For the missed DD I immediately got Panama then said USA knowing it was wrong. Dr. Toothbrush said "you're warm", which led me to Canada. FJ was an instaguess, which turned out to be correct. 

9 hours ago, Pallida said:

I actually really enjoyed Austin. Yes, he's quirky, but I found it authentically quirky. 

I hate to admit that he is growing on me, but I'm still not sure about the authenticity of his quirkiness. He seems to be trying too hard. 

3 hours ago, Fex said:

Did anyone else hear someone whispering "what is" at the woman when she hadn't said it? That was kind of nice, in an otherwise annoying game.

I didn't hear it, probably because I was yelling "what is" too loudly. But yes, that was nice. 

Edited September 28, 2017 by Toothbrush

[Prevailing Wind]

John Larroquette.  It came to me yesterday - that's who Austin reminds me of. Big cheek planes and closely-set eyes.

I *did* like the car story - a 78 Austin because *he's* a 78 Austin.  I was having to do some housework stuff (GIANT hairball on the bedspread, soaked through to the mattress pad - not Stella's fault she couldn't get off the bed in time,) so I missed a lot of the show, but I managed to sit down for Instaget FJ. I read a Zelda biography in the late 60s, early 70s.

[MortysCleaningLady]

Hmmm,.... I wonder if Jeopardy would have given me credit for knowing Final Jeopardy, but forgetting her name.   My answer was "Who is the wife of the guy who wrote Great Gatsby?"

 

And shocked by the Pasha dislike.   How did anyone see past Austin?  I don't know that I'd take Ken Jennings over him, but I definitely prefer Arthur Chu!

[DrSpaceman73]

Austin I find annoying. 

But he is not nearly as annoying as the women they've had on this week that.......are..........just.......slow.  Answer, remember to say "what is.....", pick a catergory.....come one, you've watched the show right??  Pick it up.......

Had to get all caught up for the week last night, can't believe the prior champion, I forget his name, didn't bet enough to win!!!  I get so annoyed when that happens.  Do the math. 

Didn't know Zella Fitzgerald.  I guessed Abigail Adams, which makes no sense.  I did know Coleridge. 

The daily double was in the "double double letter" category.  That's a triple double. 

[bad things are bad]

Quote

John Larroquette

I thought of him and Eugene from The Walking Dead

I'm beginning to think that Austin has a psychological component to his quirkiness...when he kept correcting himself to make sure he said the category name then the amount, I amateur-diagnosed it to be a form of OCD. 

[Miss Chevious]

Not too many TS tonight. I only got Dream House. (Loved playing Barbies as a kid)

For FJ, the second I saw flapper I knew it was Zelda Fitzgerald. 

How in the world did Jenny make it thru to the contestant pool? Slow and forgetting to answer in the form of a question. Double bad whammy.

I've got to hand to Austin for the gutsy DD wager and answering correctly though. But I still want him gone. 

[Pallida]

1 hour ago, bad things are bad said:

I thought of him and Eugene from The Walking Dead

I'm beginning to think that Austin has a psychological component to his quirkiness...when he kept correcting himself to make sure he said the category name then the amount, I amateur-diagnosed it to be a form of OCD. 

I can't explain why, but I really appreciate when the category name comes first. I also like how he shrinks the category names creatively.

[RT4]

I got a feeling Austin is going to be here for awhile.

Edited September 28, 2017 by RT4

[Clanstarling]

7 hours ago, DrSpaceman73 said:

Didn't know Zella Fitzgerald.  I guessed Abigail Adams, which makes no sense.  I did know Coleridge. 

The thought of Abigail as a flapper makes me smile - in a good way. 

[Jesse]

Aw, the Guinness thing was cute!

[Browncoat]

How is it bloody possible that I forgot about bloody football pre-empting Jeopardy! on Thursday nights for the next however long it is?  I've found where my local station is airing it, and have set my DVR accordingly, but I might just come here and see if dipwad, er, I mean Austin won again and decide whether or not to watch.  Or I might just skip to FJ so I can at least play that question.  Grrr.  Stupid football.

[ClareWalks]

Not surprised that Austin is so polarizing here. So many of the great players are. I haven't decided how I feel about his personality yet. But holy shit, that dude can play Jeopardy. I mean holy shit. More than once I just sat there shaking my head with my mouth gaped open.

[mojoween]

Holy cannoli that is NOT how I pictured Johnny Gilbert!  He is pocket-sized!

I knew Chicago 7 and Austin didn't.  Neener.

My county was a clue woot!  I proudly live in Onondaga County NY.  Which the County didn't really have anything to do with the clue but still.

Atlanta in the Northeast?  What the hell lady.

FJ perplexed and confused me.

Edited September 29, 2017 by mojoween

[Browncoat]

4 minutes ago, mojoween said:

Holy cannoli that is NOT how I pictured Johnny Gilbert!  He is pocket-sized!

 

Oooh, now I'll have to watch my recorded version just to see Johnny!

[secnarf]

I got snap and lava, fork (my dad loves to use that against me when we play chess!) and regret(s).

I also said stalemate rather than draw - I think that would have been accepted?

I initially said Brooklyn for FJ - but then changed my mind to Manhattan :( At least I got the right part of the country!

I get how Austin can be annoying but I'm kind of indifferent to him right now. I do tend to root for people to keep winning, though, so I suspect the more games he wins, the more I will *want* him to win.

[whinewithwine]

I've gone from "hell, no" on his first day, to "damn, he's good", today.