Jeopardy! Season 35 (2018-2019)

[Trey]

51 minutes ago, Bastet said:

I did not, however, know the duck-billed platypus is venomous. 

I learned that fairly recently.  Could it have been on Jeopardy! within the last few months? Because that's where I'm quite likely to learn something.

[Sharpie66]

I think I learned about the platypus’s venomous side from Steve Irwin.

[illdoc]

Look's like Eric tried to get away with another "half answer" ("Grant's tomb" instead of "Who is buried in Grant's tomb?")! Toddler level FJ---there are only 3 "Old English literature" choices--Faerie Queen, Canterbury Tales, and of course, your "go-to first choice" Beowulf! 

[Browncoat]

I could not for the life of me come up with Grendel.  I feel certain that "the monster from Beowulf" would not have been accepted, though you never know!

Alex must have been beside himself with a whole French category! 

Meanwhile, Hairik is getting more annoying, and even slower at picking clues, in addition to not starting at the tops of categories.  Too bad he didn't continue writing Beowulf!  I was rooting hard for middle woman tonight, despite her not knowing "The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe".  I guess she couldn't hear me yelling.

In addition to "The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe", I also got genes and commutative, though I will admit that commutative was a guess.

Wasn't Patrick Healy the private detective from "There's Something About Mary"?

[PaulaO]

I preguessed Beowulf when I saw the category but had to read carefully the clue to parse our Grendel.  I would have spelt it Grindel.  Wonder if that would have been accepted.

[lb60]

Ugh!

[Sharpie66]

1 hour ago, illdoc said:

there are only 3 "Old English literature" choices--Faerie Queen, Canterbury Tales, and of course, your "go-to first choice" Beowulf! 

Actually, The Faerie Queen is modern English and The Canterbury Tales is Middle English. The only really well-known OE literary work is Beowulf. (Fun fact-most if not all of OE poetic works comes from just four surviving manuscripts.)

FYI, I haaaate stupid answers categories.

I just got The Lion, the witch, and the wardrobe, Einstein, Spain, and FJ-Grendel. 

[Kimmmmmm]

Good for Erik!!!!! Actually, I liked all three contestants...first time in a while...

[Jesse]

10 hours ago, tvaddict44 said:

Well I finally realized why Erik's name was bugging me.  I should have realized the crossword connection at once.  His  puzzles are hard - usually later in the week.  There was a contestant a few years ago who made his living with puzzles - does anyone remember his name?  Erik's hair is just too bizarre - I can't look at him when I'm watching the game...

Joon Pahk, right? A Hometown Hero for me!

[ClareWalks]

I know nothing about old English literature, but I recognized "grendel" as a monster from Final Fantasy 8. This is, obviously, embarrassing, but I figured I'd admit it to you guys in case someone else had the same thought.

[Moose135]

I had no idea on FJ - I never read Beowulf, my only guess was Jabberwocky, but it was a complete guess.

[Writing Wrongs]

2 hours ago, Browncoat said:

Alex must have been beside himself with a whole French category! 

As soon as I saw the category, I said, "Shit."

[Bastet]

I really appreciate the archive folks this week, because between football and the World Series, I’m not going to be watching much, but still want to keep up.

Alex must have been in heaven with the En Francais category.  I was surprised to get all of those; I guess I’ve picked up more than I thought on my travels (I studied Spanish, and know a little bit of German from family).

I also got all the country songs, but the Hank Williams classic is Your Cheatin’ Heart, not Your Cheating Heart.

Genes was a little bit surprising as a TS, but only a little; definitely not on the level of someone getting a Stupid Answers clue wrong.  Guessing the United States instead of Mexico for Durango & Zacatecas surprised me, too.

I pre-called Beowulf based on the FJ category, but once the clue wanted a character rather than a book I had no guess -- I’ve never read it, or heard much of anything about it, I just know it exists as pretty much The example of Old English Lit. 

I don’t always do all that well in literature categories, because I read non-fiction almost exclusively, so it’s down to what I read in school, the little bit I read now, and what I pick up by cultural osmosis.  But, while I didn’t know FJ, I knew all but one in Literary Openings (I missed the DD just as the contestant did), so I came away happy.

[peeayebee]

2 hours ago, Browncoat said:

Alex must have been beside himself with a whole French category! 

And he really restrained himself by not doing an Austrian accent for the Schwarzenegger clue! That was the only TS I got.

I also got Grendel. I've never read Beowulf, as far as I remember, but in college we had to read "Grendel," a much more recent book. That's where I learned about Grendel.

[Sharpie66]

Thanks for pointing out the Hank Williams’ correct title, Bastet! That bothered me, too.

When the FJ category popped up, I was psyched. I was an English lit major who seriously considered going on to get a PhD in early English Lit (I even took a semester of Latin as an elective in preparation and wanted to audit a language course of Old English). Grendel and his mom are great literary monsters.

[GenerationX]

The 300+ hours I studied French for our trip to France back in 2014 continues to pay off, as I swept Alex's favorite category.

Yesterday's FJ was an instaget, but I guessed "Beowulf" on today's.  D'oh!  It was an instaget for Mrs. GenX, though, and she swept the literary opening lines category, too.

Erik is growing on me.  And Crossword Puzzle Creator is one of my dream jobs.

[YoureSoUrban]

Oh. More of Young Sheldon. Great.

Erik is growing on me too.  I do the NY Times puzzle and will have to start checking to see when he's created one.

I'm shocked and amazed Alex didn't pronounce Lodz the proper way then take the opportunity to lecture the contestants about it.

Genes was the only TS I got; I had no idea on FJ. It's been eons since I read Beowulf and don't remember a single thing about it...

[Mystery Author]

Quote

Maybe John Travolta a little bit, too, but that would depend on the contestants’ ages, I guess, as to whether Urban Cowboy is “before their time.” 

Not before mine. I was an extra in the movie (so was my car, which sat in the parking lot of Gilley's and earned $30 a day, the same amount I earned).

I sang with Charlie Daniels, but (alas) ended up on the cutting room floor. I collected autographs for my kids. Debra Winger said she didn't give autographs. As a sideline I hand-painted T-shirts with copyrighted "Little People." I made a tee for John, with a bunch of Little People and wrote

LOVE

THE EXTRAS (no comma).

Then, everybody wanted one, including Director James Bridges and Mickey Gilley. I'd paint the tees at night and dry them with a hair dryer. I never slept.

Miss I Don't Give Autographs ordered a shirt and paid me with a check.

It bounced.

I have it framed. Next to a snapshot I took of Debbie.

PS- Patsy Swayze, Patrick Swayze's mom, taught Travolta how to do the two-step for the movie.

[Prevailing Wind]

Winger's a prize bitch, isn't she? I looked through the index of her autobiography and Tim Hutton wasn't listed. How do you have an autobio and leave out your first husband & the father of your kid?

[Toothbrush]

I am ok with Hairick, but would have been happy with any of Monday or Tuesday's contestants winning. At least he seems to have given up his penchant for acting like he's just guessing on all of his responses. The starting in the middle of categories is always annoying, but I can let that slide for now. 

ID a menorah from a picture? Come on Jeopardy writers! That was as lame as the Alex & the pie schtick. 

Monday's TS I got were Isle of Man, checker cab, moccasin, space cowboy, John Travolta, Gene Autry. FJ was an instaget.

Tuesday's TS were The Lion, Witch, & the Wardrobe (Traci's DD; she must not have heard me yelling the answer either @Browncoat ), Einstein, & Ah-nuld. I also pre-guessed Beowulf, but got Grendel once the clue was read. 

Great story @Mystery Author

On 10/22/2018 at 8:20 PM, Mindthinkr said:

 Frankly I think his profession makes him a ringer. 

I agree

On 10/22/2018 at 8:58 PM, catrice2 said:

 probably because I used to watch that show that came on A&E a long time ago about old homes. 

America's Castles? Best real estate porn show ever! We took a vacation to Newport, RI because of that show. 

16 hours ago, tvaddict44 said:

Well I finally realized why Erik's name was bugging me.  I should have realized the crossword connection at once.  His  puzzles are hard - usually later in the week.  There was a contestant a few years ago who made his living with puzzles - does anyone remember his name?  Erik's hair is just too bizarre - I can't look at him when I'm watching the game...

I've only done one that I was aware was his, and I didn't find it too difficult. But I have probably done others that he created that I didn't find easy.

12 hours ago, PaulaO said:

I love Erik's hair.  

He does have awesome hair. 

[peeayebee]

What a great story, @Mystery Author, and a great experience! Can you spot yourself in the movie? And your car? I'm sorry to hear about Debra Winger's personality. I still love her as an actress.

[zoey1996]

I got Einstein, but was surprised none of the contestants knew it.  I'd recently watched the Nat Geo "Genius" series about Einstein, and that certainly helped me with the answer.

Like some others, I knew Beowulf, but couldn't come up with Grendel.  I looked up Old English Literature on wikipedia.  There are a number of examples, including sermons and narrative history works, but Beowulf is the most prominent example.

[M. Darcy]

Oops, I misread the clue and said Beowulf instead of Grendel.  

Pride and Prejudice question!!! 

[Lois Sandborne]

19 hours ago, PaulaO said:

I love Erik's hair.  How does one grow an Afro like that?  Does it require shaping, or do you just let your hair run wild? (serious question BTW).

Serious answer: of course the length just grows, but afros do require some shaping, whether with just hands/a pick, or with clippers.  For my taste, Erik's could use a bit more shaping, but he's never asked me what I think.

I pre-called good old P&P for that literature first lines category (and was surprised to see Grapes of Wrath in there too).  Just once, I want the writers to stretch out and give us the opener from any other Austen novel.  Emma's is great, though it mentions her name.  Northanger Abbey has a good one too.

For FJ, I said Beowulf first; it took me until almost the end of the music to correct myself to Grendel.

I too was willing Traci to get The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, and the later DD that she only risked $4,000 on. I think she got that one right, but I was so upset at her wimpy wager I almost went back and did the math to see if it might've made a difference to the final total.

Edited October 24, 2018 by Lois Sandborne

[DrSpaceman73]

Erik and his afro are growing on me.   He is pretty good.  Although I no longer do crosswords (no time) and I never pay attention to WHO writes them.  The only one I know is Will Shortz and that is because he is a fellow Hoosier and Indiana University grad.  I believe he did the very first individualized major at IU, or at least was one of the early ones for that program, creating his own major in "enigmatology". 

Come on missing Einstein?  The year gave it away.

I knew FJ was from Beowulf but couldn't come up with Grendel. 

I did get The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe.  I think the contestant knew it but just couldn't come up with the book name. 

[Clanstarling]

11 hours ago, ClareWalks said:

I know nothing about old English literature, but I recognized "grendel" as a monster from Final Fantasy 8. This is, obviously, embarrassing, but I figured I'd admit it to you guys in case someone else had the same thought.

I trudged through Beowulf in college, remembering little except how much I hated it. I knew it probably wasn't Beowulf and came up with Grendel at the last minute, after seeing Angelina Jolie in my mind for some reason. So FF8 seems a better connection to me.

10 hours ago, Bastet said:

I also got all the country songs, but the Hank Williams classic is Your Cheatin’ Heart, not Your Cheating Heart.

I grew up with the song (and Hank) playing in our house all the time, but I'll spot them that one. The difference between Cheatin' and Cheating is really just a pronunciation difference, even if it is the official title.

1 minute ago, DrSpaceman73 said:

Come on missing Einstein?  The year gave it away.

Oddly, it was the year that confused me. I think I might not have parsed the clue accurately.

9 minutes ago, M. Darcy said:

Pride and Prejudice question!!! 

And I naturally said "Sense and Sensibility" because I cannot keep them straight.

[Trey]

4 minutes ago, DrSpaceman73 said:

I did get The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe.  I think the contestant knew it but just couldn't come up with the book name. 

Yes. She did finally come up with the Chronicles of Narnia so she was probably trying to chase down the title in her mind.

Erik seems to have lost his annoying mannerisms so I am liking him better now.  And he is a very good player.

My ts's were The Lion. The Witch, and The Wardrobe, genes and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Not an instaget FJ but I did get it.

[Driad]

11 hours ago, Writing Wrongs said:

14 hours ago, Browncoat said:

Alex must have been beside himself with a whole French category! 

As soon as I saw the category, I said, "Shit."

You mean "Merde," non?

The way they write "funny" clues, "Old English" might have meant anything "before their time" so I was glad it was really "Old."

[TaraS1]

I could have sworn the middle contestant said "Great Expectation" instead of "Great Expectations" so I was just waiting for them to come back and ding her on that, but maybe I misheard.

[Prevailing Wind]

Quote

America's Castles? Best real estate porn show ever! We took a vacation to Newport, RI because of that show. 

Have you seen the film "Winchester" ?  I got the DVD from Netflix solely on the basis of America's Castles.  It and Hearst Castle are on my list if I ever get out to California.

In 11th grade English class, for some unfathomable reason, Mrs. Glasser decided (during the Beowulf unit) that Ronnie Gorman shall foreverafter be called "Grendel."  Nobody knew why she picked on Ronnie - he was a nice, good kid. Why would you call him a monster's name?  But it certainly did cement "Grendel's the villain" in my mind. Perhaps that's what she was going for. <shrug>  I hope that somewhere along the line, she apologized to Ronnie for using him like that.

[Clanstarling]

23 minutes ago, Prevailing Wind said:

Have you seen the film "Winchester" ?  I got the DVD from Netflix solely on the basis of America's Castles.  It and Hearst Castle are on my list if I ever get out to California.

In 11th grade English class, for some unfathomable reason, Mrs. Glasser decided (during the Beowulf unit) that Ronnie Gorman shall foreverafter be called "Grendel."  Nobody knew why she picked on Ronnie - he was a nice, good kid. Why would you call him a monster's name?  But it certainly did cement "Grendel's the villain" in my mind. Perhaps that's what she was going for. <shrug>  I hope that somewhere along the line, she apologized to Ronnie for using him like that.

I haven't seen the movie, but I have done the tour. Hearst Castle too. Both worth seeing. 

[catrice2]

Honestly don't think being a puzzle writer gives him an advantage at all. Teach their own but I can't find him as annoying as some others that have been on the show and in all fairness to him I think he is guessing it'sat somesome of the answers. I also don't think he will make a 5-day Champion so let him earn money while he can because you won't have to worry about him in the Tournament of Champions

[SHD]

7 minutes ago, catrice2 said:

Honestly don't think being a puzzle writer gives him an advantage at all. Teach their own but I can't find him as annoying as some others that have been on the show and in all fairness to him I think he is guessing it'sat somesome of the answers. I also don't think he will make a 5-day Champion so let him earn money while he can because you won't have to worry about him in the Tournament of Champions

I agree, I don't think him being a puzzle-writer gives him more of an advantage than any contestant who is a puzzle-doer.  He does seem to have some weaker areas of knowledge, but I feel that's true of any contestant.  He's a good player and smart with his bets. I can see how he might tick some of the annoying boxes for some people, but I don't have a problem with him.

[proserpina65]

On ‎10‎/‎21‎/‎2018 at 9:12 AM, YoureSoUrban said:

Mileage varies but I don't see music fandom and the historical representation of an ethnic group as comparable.

But it's not a historical representation of an ethnic group.  It's a category on a game show.  I'll admit I get a bit tired of them going for the same group of answers rather than branching out a bit, but I feel that way about a lot of categories.  For example, when I saw the FJ category of "Old English Literature", I immediately said "Beowulf", because it and "The Canterbury Tales" are just about the only old English literature to ever get mentioned on Jeopardy.  (Although there was once a reference to the Venerable Bede.)

 

On ‎10‎/‎21‎/‎2018 at 8:06 PM, Browncoat said:

And I will sit over here in my lonely little corner, all by myself, not particularly caring for Hairik. 

I don't mind him, but I was kind of hoping the woman in the middle would win.

 

On ‎10‎/‎22‎/‎2018 at 1:47 PM, AuntiePam said:

Come sit by me.  The hair put me off right away.  He's not sporting the afro because it looks good, but because it gets attention.  I feel the same way about tats and piercings.  Do it if it looks good, not because you want to be noticed.  The hair matches his attitude. 

Eh, it's his hair.  It grows that way, and he's fine with it.  Whatever.

 

On ‎10‎/‎22‎/‎2018 at 8:41 PM, Kathira said:

I got Checker cab (seriously, people, there was a picture of one!), water mocassin, Citizens United, Drugstore Cowboy, Space Cowboy, John Travolta and Mussorgsky. Combine that with Mar-a-Lago for a good night for me. I thought a couple of the categories, like Down_____ and 3-Letter Words really played to Eric's strengths as a crossword puzzle writer. He was lucky he racked up the points there. And also that the other contestants fell apart as badly as he did at the end.

I didn't get Citizens United but did get the rest.  And pointed out to the tv that the original owner of Mar-a-Lago was Marjorie MERRIWEATHER Post, for whom the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, MD is named.

 

On ‎10‎/‎22‎/‎2018 at 10:08 PM, catrice2 said:

See now I have Steve Miller on the brain and I can't stop singing different things especially some people call me Maurice

Some people call me the space cowboy, some call me the gangster of love

 

On ‎10‎/‎22‎/‎2018 at 10:52 PM, Bastet said:

got most of the TS, but two of them are clues I literally could have sat here until I perished from dehydration and malnutrition and not come up with, as I’d never heard of them – the Feast of Lupercalia and Modest Mussorgsky.  (I am bad with composers.  And ancient Roman festivals, apparently.)

I love Mussorgsky, especially Pictures at an Exhibition.

15 hours ago, Sharpie66 said:

Actually, The Faerie Queen is modern English and The Canterbury Tales is Middle English. The only really well-known OE literary work is Beowulf. (Fun fact-most if not all of OE poetic works comes from just four surviving manuscripts.)

From a linguistic and literary standpoint, that is very true.  But from a Jeopardy standpoint, if it pre-dates Shakespeare by much, it'll probably get classed as old English.

[proserpina65]

13 hours ago, GenerationX said:

It was an instaget for Mrs. GenX, though, and she swept the literary opening lines category, too.

I loved that category.

3 hours ago, DrSpaceman73 said:

Come on missing Einstein?  The year gave it away.

Not to me.

[PaulaO]

14 hours ago, Writing Wrongs said:

As soon as I saw the category, I said, "Shit."

nevermind

Edited October 24, 2018 by PaulaO

[Sharpie66]

1905 was the year Einstein published a series of articles on different topics, one being the first to lay out his special theory of relativity, and another getting him his eventual Nobel Prize.

[Driad]

1 hour ago, proserpina65 said:

I love Mussorgsky, especially Pictures at an Exhibition.

Same here, including the piano solo but not Ravel's orchestration.  I prefer Gortchakov's orchestration, which sounds more Russian. [/snob]

If we are doing Jeopardy! tourism, there is a restaurant called Grendel's Den near Harvard.

[Browncoat]

I don't mind Hairik's hair -- it's the slow picking (and responding) and the not starting at the tops of categories that bug me most about him.

[bad things are bad]

On 10/23/2018 at 2:30 PM, saber5055 said:

I cannot, but would if I could. Maybe if I got a certain kind of perm

The 70s called, they have just the perm for you :) My dad got one right after he got out of the Air Force...it was Mike Brady bad. 

 

2 hours ago, proserpina65 said:

I got Checker cab (seriously, people, there was a picture of one!)

My best friend in college was from Kalamazoo and her dad drove Checkers; she inherited one to drive at school. Yes, they actually sold cars to actual people, not just cabs! Best legroom in the back seat you'd ever find. 

Alex must have been in French heaven (ciel?) with the en Francais category. 

[saber5055]

4 hours ago, catrice2 said:

Honestly don't think being a puzzle writer gives him an advantage at all.

Word. It's no more advantage than being a tenured professor or a bar-trivia champion. Or a software person, like Ken Jennings. Or a poker player like Alex Jacob. Or a bar owner like Austin Whose-It.

3 hours ago, proserpina65 said:

But it's not a historical representation of an ethnic group.  It's a category on a game show.

Thank you.

3 hours ago, proserpina65 said:

Eh, it's his hair.  It grows that way, and he's fine with it.  Whatever.

And thank you again.

Obviously, none of you posters have seen the 2005 movie Beowulf & Grendel starring the Oh-So-Handsome Hotness named Gerald Butler. That DVD is in my extensive Butler Collection.

What was up with Trebek skipping his accent for the Schwarzenegger clue. Because of that, I missed answering. Sure, he does accents for FJ but not this clue?

Edited October 24, 2018 by saber5055

[illdoc]

Re FJ: Do I get points for saying "Ooh! There was a question about a South Africa capital that had to do with flowers as a (FJ?) question a year or two ago. The answer is that (not that I remember what that was)"? No? Darn. But at least Eric is gone. I think the new champ will be a one-and-done, however.

[saber5055]

Wow, @illdoc, you get extra credit for remembering. This is from today's TheJeopardyFan and in spoilers because it's not time to post about the show yet. It didn't say when Lisa's first game was though, and I didn't research that.

Spoiler

Interestingly, the last time “African Cities” was the Final Jeopardy category (Lisa Schlitt’s first game), Bloemfontein was also the correct response!

[Browncoat]

Hooray for Hannah!  Though I'm kicking myself for not being able to pull FJ from my brain -- I knew we'd had it as a question fairly recently, but just could not come up with it.  Boo, hiss.  I am making up for my perfect week last week by bombing this week.

Hairik needed so many BMS tonight -- almost every name he gave, in fact.  I wanted Hannah to just say "Cyrus" and see if Alex would give her Miley.  Somehow I doubt it.

Surprised no one even bothered to guess Ahab after Ishmael was ruled incorrect -- who remembers any other names from Moby Dick?  Not I!  I also got Ross, Will Rogers, "I Got You, Babe", and chariot races.  I understand Rock's confusion about that last.  I initially thought races of people, too.

[Sharpie66]

I completely blanked on FJ, but I nailed the Byzantium category! As soon as I saw “Nico riots,” I was yelling “Chariots!” at the screen. I ended up getting Ross Ice Shelf, Will Rogers, I Got You, Babe, Chariot races, Justinian, and my home state of Illinois.

[Mindthinkr]

^^^ Good memories Illdoc and Saber and anyone else who remembers that this was not the first time we have had this FJ answer (which I didn’t get so I feel even more stupid now). 

I ran the Let it “Be” category. I also had Will Rogers, I Got You Babe, and chariot races. 

I almost thought that they weren’t going to give Hannah’s answer of Cape Good Hope. Isn’t it the Cape of Good Hope? 

Erik was getting sloppy with his enunciation. It annoyed me. (Ex: Silander vs philander) 

Edited October 25, 2018 by Mindthinkr
Added information

[Driad]

4 minutes ago, Browncoat said:

who remembers any other names from Moby Dick?

Starbuck!

[Browncoat]

2 minutes ago, Driad said:

Starbuck!

I might remember that if I drank coffee.  :)

[lb60]

I'd like to thank all those who liked Erik or said he was growing on them, because you jinxed him.  Ha!!

<evil laugh>

Yay, Hannah!

Tonight I got Ahab, I Got You, Babe, and chariot races.

Not a clue for FJ.  

[PaulaO]

I knew the FJ! had been used previously.  I didn’t know the answer then and I didn’t know it today.  I will miss Erik.  I liked his smile.  And his hair.