Jeopardy! Season 35 (2018-2019)

[Dobian]

Move over Ken Jennings.  I've never seen anything like this guy.  You can't even argue that with only ten games under his belt, maybe he's gotten the luck of the draw and faced some weak competition.  Because he answers these questions so fast it doesn't matter.  Even word puzzle and rhyming kinds of questions he's figured it out before Alex finishes.  You just can't beat that.  The women tonight actually performed quite respectably and would have been in the running in Final Jeopardy against anyone other than this guy.  Some of the prior contestants had that deer in the headlights look right from the start of the Double Jeopardy round.

[Prevailing Wind]

4 minutes ago, Toothbrush said:

How is Miss Stella doing?

I'll take this to Small Talk...

[peeayebee]

FJ didn't take me long to get. In fact, before I read or heard the clue, I somehow though of Atticus Finch, probably just a random 20th century character that popped into my head, so when the part about the surname being a bird was said, I immediately said the correct answer.

Earlier there was the clue where the answer was Thorian, or something like that. Before James said the answer, I thought "plutonium" even though I knew Pluto wasn't a Norse God. Then lo and behold, the next clue was asking for plutonium. I'm psychic!

I finally googled something I was wondering about from an earlier ep -- The clue was "As the mariachis play in Mexico, you might hear 'wiggle your bucket', commanding you to do this." I thought it might be a particular song, but I guess not. Do the mariachis actually say something, in Spanish, like "wiggle your butt"?

[theatremouse]

I don't know why I was surprised Game Informer was a TS, but I was. I think there was another one I thought was easy but can't recall anymore.

[Mystery Author]

Wow. Just WOW. Loving me some James.

[GreekGeek]

8 hours ago, ABay said:

I didn't even hear the next question because yeah, the clue said Greek and Pluto is Roman. Hades is Greek.

Actually the Greeks used both names for him, or at least the Hellenic form of his name, Plouton. It comes from the Greek for "riches." since he was also the god of wealth. When the Romans adopted the Greek pantheon, they focused on his less scary and more attractive aspect. But I agree that the clue was confusing for those who learned the standard Greek names/Roman names list.

That said, I blanked on his name last night and said Titanium.

[nokat]

Call me a conspiracy theorist, but when James is just standing there while the other two are hitting the buttons like crazy, why does he almost always get to answer? They like having a person answer ALL the questions, and I think they give him an edge. 
 

[Katy M]

8 hours ago, SHD said:

James must have an Achilles’ Heel. He can’t just go on winning forever.

I'm going to make a prediction right now that he'll be on for at least one full year, if not longer.  At which point in time, ratings will probably drop and they'll have a hard time getting contestants.

[Ms Lark]

I've quit watching. I'm sure it will be news when he finally fails and then I will watch again. Game of One is no fun. I feel badly for the contestants who have to go up against him. I thought they changed the rules after Ken Jennings to avoid runs like this, but I guess I was wrong!

[DrSpaceman]

11 hours ago, hendersonrocks said:

Totally agree with this, and given the medical fight Alex is in the midst of I am 100% down with anything that brings him joy.

I chortled aloud when James sang "Better Man" - or, I should say, attempted to sing...because that sounded nothing like the actual song, at all. It was charming, though, as was him looking choked up at the end related to granny and his new record.

Yes, the singing was bad

I'd say "Don't quit your day job", but his day job is gambling, not sure that is a "job" really, so, just don't sing. 

Also I always think of that song when mixed up lyrics are brought up.  A friend of mine thought the lyrics were "Can't find a butter man". 

$700K in ten days.  And he is just destroying people.  I think he has plenty of money now for his wife's year of wow. 

Interesting comments by Alex saying he is a celebrity now.  They tape these games ahead of time, these would not have aired yet when he made that statement, so by the time these aired, yes, he is a minor celebrity, but at the time they taped these, no, would not have been yet

I predict they will start making DDs harder to try and stump him and make him stumble.  Though I am not sure how far ahead the clues are written before the shows are scheduled, so I don't know if there is some lag time between when they know he is on and when they can make those changes. 

[Clanstarling]

1 hour ago, Ms Lark said:

I've quit watching. I'm sure it will be news when he finally fails and then I will watch again. Game of One is no fun. I feel badly for the contestants who have to go up against him. I thought they changed the rules after Ken Jennings to avoid runs like this, but I guess I was wrong!

I am getting a little tired of it being a one-sided game onscreen - but since I watch to play from my couch, I never quit watching.

1 hour ago, DrSpaceman said:

Interesting comments by Alex saying he is a celebrity now.  They tape these games ahead of time, these would not have aired yet when he made that statement, so by the time these aired, yes, he is a minor celebrity, but at the time they taped these, no, would not have been yet

It didn't take much to predict he'd be a celebrity by this time last night's episode aired. Not with all the records he's broken. I was taken aback slightly, and then was amused that they made a comment that would make it feel like the episode was live, even though everyone knows it isn't. Well, everyone on this board, anyway.

I was pleased I got FJ. I tried from the Greek side of the clue and decided that didn't work for me, so I started thinking of characters and birds. I'm actually pretty surprised I thought of Finch. I'm not a bird person.

Edited April 18, 2019 by Clanstarling

[SeanC]

James shows how advantages multiply — dominating the board leaves him free to wager huge, huge sums in Final without endangering his win, because nobody else ever has much money.

[Lois Sandborne]

I got the Crimea FJ from remembering the news story, but I originally paid attention to the news story because of Jasper Fforde's Thursday Next books.

Yesterday I was too busy trying to think about Athens's county name, which I never had a hope of knowing, to come up with anything. If I had thought about the bird for a bit, it probably would've come to me.

I don't hate James, although his winning is getting tedious to watch. He doesn't have any tics that actively irritate me, and I think I saw him smiling almost naturally once or twice this week.  I admit I find his job as a pro gambler a little sleazy, but that seems like my issue and not his. I don't think he'll be around for a year; I remember him having weaker games as he was getting past the 5-day mark, so he might be another for whom the taping schedule gets to be too much.  Or, he's found his groove and Jeopardy is now a British-style panel show with James and two rotating guests.

Edited April 18, 2019 by Lois Sandborne

[hendersonrocks]

This interview with James from a few days ago sheds more specific light on why the note to granny and win yesterday was so significant to him.

Quote

When I watched Jeopardy! as a kid, I would primarily watch with my grandmother. She was the most beautiful person the world has ever seen. Her first language wasn’t English, so she couldn’t follow along well, but she wanted to share this experience with me since she saw it was something I really liked. I promised her I’d one day be up on that stage for her. I don’t promise anything unless I intend to fulfill it. To me, it’s fulfilling the promise I made to her 25 years ago. Once I really decided to take this seriously, I wasn’t going to half-ass it. It didn’t matter if I won, but if I went home knowing it was the absolute best I was capable of, that’s all I really cared about.

[DXD526]

I'd like to see how James would do without any DDs. That's where he racks up those huge amounts and puts the games out of reach. Play would be more competitive if he didn't have that. 

[Katy M]

2 minutes ago, DXD526 said:

I'd like to see how James would do without any DDs. That's where he racks up those huge amounts and puts the games out of reach. Play would be more competitive if he didn't have that. 

Wasn't there one day when he only hit one of the DDs.  And, then, of course, one day last week, he bet it all on the first DD and lost it.

[bythelake]

3 hours ago, Ms Lark said:

I've quit watching. I'm sure it will be news when he finally fails and then I will watch again. Game of One is no fun. I feel badly for the contestants who have to go up against him. I thought they changed the rules after Ken Jennings to avoid runs like this, but I guess I was wrong!

Why blame James that he is winning? Why not blame the others who are slower to comprehend the question, slower to ring in, less daring to wager big, and have a smaller scope of knowledge ?

These games are unlike anything ever seen on Jeopardy and I’ve been watching for years.

And, for those throwing shade on his occupation, I would imagine it takes a great deal of skill and time to calculate the odds of a team winning. Last I heard, it is a legal profession.

This is not a popular opinion, but I’m enjoying his games a heck of a lot more than those with smug Ken Jennings, and if Jennings gets the host job, that’s when I stop watching.

[peeayebee]

3 hours ago, DrSpaceman said:

Also I always think of that song when mixed up lyrics are brought up.  A friend of mine thought the lyrics were "Can't find a butter man". 

Me neither.

[SHD]

4 hours ago, Ms Lark said:

I've quit watching. I'm sure it will be news when he finally fails and then I will watch again. Game of One is no fun. I feel badly for the contestants who have to go up against him. I thought they changed the rules after Ken Jennings to avoid runs like this, but I guess I was wrong!

I'm not sure what kind of rules they could change to prevent this. Even if they put a maximum on the number of games one person could play, it would surely be a lot more than what James has played so far, I would think.

[mostlylurking]

I'm actually loving it.  I think it's fun to see a contestant wager huge amounts of money, plus I like his strategy of starting at the bottom of the board and going all the way around.  This makes him much more likely to hit a dd rather than staying with one category, and its working.  Alex pretty much told the other contestants James' strategy but they just see pretty slow to catch on, and not willing to wager big when they do hit on the dd.  I think it's impressive.

[ErinV]

36 minutes ago, bythelake said:

Why blame James that he is winning? Why not blame the others who are slower to comprehend the question, slower to ring in, less daring to wager big, and have a smaller scope of knowledge ?

These games are unlike anything ever seen on Jeopardy and I’ve been watching for years.

And, for those throwing shade on his occupation, I would imagine it takes a great deal of skill and time to calculate the odds of a team winning. Last I heard, it is a legal profession.

This is not a popular opinion, but I’m enjoying his games a heck of a lot more than those with smug Ken Jennings, and if Jennings gets the host job, that’s when I stop watching.

I don't know...with his intelligence, might he be better doing something that actually contributes to society?  His choice, sure, but he can never go home thinking that he made a difference in the world.

[Katy M]

16 minutes ago, ErinV said:

I don't know...with his intelligence, might he be better doing something that actually contributes to society?  His choice, sure, but he can never go home thinking that he made a difference in the world.

He probably pays a lot in taxes:) 

[Trillium]

18 minutes ago, ErinV said:

I don't know...with his intelligence, might he be better doing something that actually contributes to society?  His choice, sure, but he can never go home thinking that he made a difference in the world.

But we don’t know what else he does. It’s quite possible that he does a lot of charity work, donates to worthy causes, is a SAHP, etc. 

I get the impression he chose this vs a traditional career because it’s a way he can make good money, but also gives him the freedom to do what he wants with the majority of his time. I could be wrong. He could spend every waking moment gambling, but that’s not the vibe I’m getting. 

[bythelake]

15 minutes ago, ErinV said:

I don't know...with his intelligence, might he be better doing something that actually contributes to society?  His choice, sure, but he can never go home thinking that he made a difference in the world.

He seems very family oriented. He’s married with a young daughter. He seems to enjoy what he does. How many of us can say that? 

I know nothing about gambling but obviously he’s successful enough to earn a living and support his family. He’s not a blight on society, and his personal life is just that- personal. 

If he cures world hunger then good for him. In the meantime, I’m enjoying his strategy and gutsy moves.

[Biosynth]

I got the Crimea one but I couldn't utter the name fast enough.  I kept thinking Balaklava!  The place where Balaklava is!  LOL. 

I got Plutonium too.

And Atticus Finch.  I was thinking Athens?  Athens Bird?  Finch?  Atticus Finch!

As for James, I'm not so much a fan.  Maybe he's a nice guy, who knows, but he is a professional gambler and probably has a lot of money and doesn't need this jeopardy money.  He seems like the type to want it all to me.  Like a millionaire winning the lottery, you know?   Also, that under bite is driving me nuts.  I liked Ken much better, and Julia too. 

[Writing Wrongs]

5 hours ago, Ms Lark said:

I've quit watching. I'm sure it will be news when he finally fails and then I will watch again. Game of One is no fun. I feel badly for the contestants who have to go up against him. I thought they changed the rules after Ken Jennings to avoid runs like this, but I guess I was wrong!

Is there no cut off point for how much he can win?

I hate his FJ notes and chest bump thing he does.

[Writing Wrongs]

4 minutes ago, Biosynth said:

Also, that under bite is driving me nuts.

He reminds me of Carl from Sling Blade.

[zoey1996]

On 4/17/2019 at 8:06 AM, Kathira said:

I said that, too. Definitely the glass armonica. I've heard one played. They're amazing and eerie. Kind of like a cross between a singing saw and a theremin.

Interestingly, The Kids Are Alright showed one of the musically inclined boys playing a theremin.  This was on the most recent one, Mass for Shut-ins.

[3 is enough]

1 hour ago, Katy M said:

He probably pays a lot in taxes:) 

He lives in Nevada, so no state income tax.  And I may be wrong, but I think for big winnings the casinos take the federal tax off when you cash out, or at the very least give you the proper tax forms.

55 minutes ago, Trillium said:

But we don’t know what else he does. It’s quite possible that he does a lot of charity work, donates to worthy causes, is a SAHP, etc. 

I get the impression he chose this vs a traditional career because it’s a way he can make good money, but also gives him the freedom to do what he wants with the majority of his time. I could be wrong. He could spend every waking moment gambling, but that’s not the vibe I’m getting. 

This.  It is a non-traditional career to be sure, but maybe he is willing to take the risk to have a lifestyle he can enjoy.  He is a young guy.  Seems to me that just like a lot of fellow millennials he has found a way to earn a living without having a traditional 9-5 job.  

I am enjoying his run, but I also enjoyed Ken Jennings, Julia Collins, and the other long run champs. (well, not Matt Jackson and Arthur Chu) However, I do feel for the contestants who are up against him- it must be so disheartening to finally make it on to the show and find out that you have been paired against a record-breaking player.  If his run continues into the new season, all of the incoming contestants will be familiar with him, and maybe then someone will come along who can beat him at his own game, with lots of correct answers and strong wagers.

Edited April 18, 2019 by 3 is enough

[Lois Sandborne]

1 hour ago, bythelake said:

And, for those throwing shade on his occupation, I would imagine it takes a great deal of skill and time to calculate the odds of a team winning. Last I heard, it is a legal profession.

Lots of things are legal and still sleazy.  Tons of people find my profession ( ... the legal profession ... ) sleazy, no matter how good I or thousands of other lawyers might be.  What are ya gonna do.

[peeayebee]

That Vulture interview with James was very good. I thought this part was interesting:

Quote

I like to look in the children’s section of the library to get a base of knowledge of every subject. Often the Daily Double is going to be in a subject I’m not familiar with, so I need at least some knowledge of every category.

Very smart.

[saber5055]

19 hours ago, Fex said:

So.... happy birthday?

Thank you @Fex!

17 hours ago, Trillium said:

I wonder, once he’s done, if others will adopt his riskier style of play. 

I hope so. They'd be dolts if they did not. Play to win, not to appease viewers who want everyone to start at the top and work down, one category at a time.

17 hours ago, hendersonrocks said:

I chortled aloud when James sang "Better Man" - or, I should say, attempted to sing...because that sounded nothing like the actual song, at all. It was charming, though, as was him looking choked up at the end related to granny and his new record.

I also thought that was charming, and funny too, it was unexpected, which made it moreso. It was a surprise, not like past players who danced constantly or mimed constantly or mugged for the camera constantly.

And yes, his tearing up about his late grandmother made me tear up too.

16 hours ago, zoey1996 said:

He just is so cold, so methodical.  Not enough flashes of humanity.

I beg to differ. See my above sentence.

16 hours ago, lb60 said:

He's now invading other shows I watch, because he's just so damn special.

I don't have the slightest inkling of what this sentence means.

16 hours ago, Mindthinkr said:

I just feel so badly for all those people who went through all the channels to go on the show only to come up against this one boy wonder (James). 

Two contestants every game go home without winning. Every game has one winner, two losers. Except remember this: Just making it on this show is an achievement and something to be proud of. There really are no "losers."

15 hours ago, SHD said:

At least the woman on the right kind of laughed about it. The one in the middle seemed bummed.

I thought both laughed, and I got a kick out of that. Just enjoy being on the show, and coming in second or third to James is pretty neat water-cooler talk.

14 hours ago, Toothbrush said:

For now Dr. Toothbrush has taken to calling him Watson. 

Tell Dr. Toothbrush I thought his full name might be James Watson Holzhauer.

6 hours ago, Katy M said:

At which point in time, ratings will probably drop and they'll have a hard time getting contestants.

I respectfully disagree. James is driving ratings up, and media is talking about him and the show. There is no end to people applying to be on this show, Jeopardy will never run out of contestants. And consider this, from a poster on TheJeopardyFan.com:

"James said in an interview that he took the online test 13 times (every year since it’s been offered) and had two in-person auditions before he was invited on the show."

5 hours ago, DrSpaceman said:

Interesting comments by Alex saying he is a celebrity now.  They tape these games ahead of time, these would not have aired yet when he made that statement, so by the time these aired, yes, he is a minor celebrity, but at the time they taped these, no, would not have been yet

Alex knows how media works and when each game will be aired. When there is a movie promo category, he will say at the end,  "XYZ movie opens tomorrow," even thought that episode was taped four months previously. James was a bit hesitant to think of himself as a "celebrity" when Alex said that, if you watch his reaction.

I got FJ strictly by accident. I thought the clue wanted the author. But because of the bird last name, I joked "Harold Finch," because someone made a comment just last week about Harold Finch in another thread I frequent. Then I thought, well, that's a tv show, so what about Attitus Finch. Of course, that's wrong because he's a character not an author. But I'll stick with it just to have an answer.

Surprise. Even wrong answers can be right some of the time.

[saber5055]

1 hour ago, ErinV said:

I don't know...with his intelligence, might he be better doing something that actually contributes to society?  His choice, sure, but he can never go home thinking that he made a difference in the world.

Everyone reading here who has an occupation that contributes to society and makes a difference in the world, raise your hand:

*crickets*

Yeah, that's what I thought.

Edited April 18, 2019 by saber5055

[Katy M]

45 minutes ago, 3 is enough said:

He lives in Nevada, so no state income tax.  And I may be wrong, but I think for big winnings the casinos take the federal tax off when you cash out, or at the very least give you the proper tax forms.

If they're taking the tax out, he's still paying the tax. 

21 minutes ago, saber5055 said:

respectfully disagree. James is driving ratings up, and media is talking about him and the show. There is no end to people applying to be on this show, Jeopardy will never run out of contestants. And consider this, from a poster on TheJeopardyFan.com:

But, he's been on less than 3 weeks. The buzz will wear off once he's been on a year.

[Browncoat]

16 minutes ago, saber5055 said:

Everyone reading here who has an occupation that contributes to society and makes a difference in the world, raise your hand:

I'll raise my hand, thanks.  I work at a community college, and I believe that we here do in fact make a difference in the world and do contribute to society.

[3 is enough]

1 minute ago, Katy M said:

If they're taking the tax out, he's still paying the tax.

Well, yes, of course. 

[illdoc]

18 hours ago, SHD said:

I was sticking with Christopher Robin.

17 hours ago, PaulaO said:

came up with Ichabod Crane

Still better guesses than my "Jonathan Livingston Seagull"!!

[Mindthinkr]

30 minutes ago, saber5055 said:

Everyone reading here who has an occupation that contributes to society and makes a difference in the world, raise your hand:

I was a RN and think that I made a difference in some people’s lives. Sometimes I even saved them from death. 

[zoey1996]

50 minutes ago, saber5055 said:

Everyone reading here who has an occupation that contributes to society and makes a difference in the world, raise your hand:

*crickets*

Yeah, that's what I thought.

I am retired now, but I worked for a non-profit that did good and made a difference. Everyone who is a teacher would qualify.  There are medical professionals who qualify.  I could go on and on.

Edited April 18, 2019 by zoey1996

[EllenB]

I wonder if those who complain about the horrible tedium of James' winning streak feel the same way about a baseball no-hitter?  Or a triple crown winner in horseracing?

[saber5055]

On 4/17/2019 at 9:20 AM, SHD said:

You can't have meant that. Out of 61 questions per game (including FJ) you don't think you can get as many as 10? I'm sure you can.

Thanks for the vote of confidence, @SHD. I did get 24 correct on yesterday's game, counting FJ. That left 37 I did not know. I even missed all but one of President's Dogs. How sad is that? I guess Fala and Barney and Millie were clues in J6, which I did not play.

As for James being shamed because he's a professional sports gambler instead of a Nobel-Prize-winning biophysicist or something that could "save the world," I put myself through college and worked my whole life to support myself. But if I were never born, nothing in the world would be changed. Maybe a few dog-show records would be different, but that's hardly earth shaking or society saving. So count me as big of a slacker as James.

I hope everyone, including James, has been blessed with having an income from something he or she loves, something that makes that person happy. That's all I wish for anyone, including James.

[Etta Place]

Well, I'll be the first to say I don't make a difference in the world - I'm an artist, just a small-timer not making any grand political statements etc. I'm okay with that. Not everyone has to be a philanthropist or otherwise devoted to the betterment of the world. I don't see that a sports bettor is making the world an appreciably worse place so I'm fine with that. As for having plenty of money already and yet still wanting to acquire more on Jeopardy - I don't see that as a crime either. Who knows what he is going to do with it and what effect that will have. 

I am intrigued by his success and the excerpts from the interviews remind me that we only see such a small slice of who a person is on the show.

[Browncoat]

19 minutes ago, Etta Place said:

Well, I'll be the first to say I don't make a difference in the world - I'm an artist, just a small-timer not making any grand political statements etc.

I would disagree, and will argue that artists do make the world a better place.  Musicians, too, for that matter. 

[Jameson3]

This whole James job thing is lame, oh yeah and judgey. Let's not have a listing of every job that someone thinks is better than another. It's more interesting how someone lives their life and how they treat the people that they interact with. Information we do not know about James. 

I'm an RN but I actually only do it for the paycheck lol

[Lois Sandborne]

51 minutes ago, EllenB said:

I wonder if those who complain about the horrible tedium of James' winning streak feel the same way about a baseball no-hitter?  Or a triple crown winner in horseracing?

No, no-hitters are usually pretty ding-dang exciting.  And yet, I do indeed tend to find watching James kind of tedious.  It's going to be okay.

[Writing Wrongs]

I don't mind the same person winning a lot, I would just like it to be more competitive. It's become basically one guy giving all the answers. For me, it's more fun to watch a close competition and wonder who is gonna win. 

But that's just me. Maybe others find runaways every day more exciting.

[Bliss]

I'm no expert; however, in my opinion, James is the best contestant I've ever seen on J!

He's smart, quick, and I am enjoying watching him chew through the categories like a PacMan buzzsaw. (I feel compassion for the other contestants... and yet what a great failure story! "Yep, I lost to James.") HIs smile doesn't bother me, and I don't see the smugness that others see. If anything, I find him refreshing... and his familial loyalty warms my heart. When I get an answer correct and he misses it, my confidence is boosted. LOL. Sad, eh?

I've never liked it when people hop around the board... 400 here, 800 there, etc. Yet, for some reason, it doesn't bother me the way James starts at the bottom and works his way across the board. It's obvious when he starts searching for the DDs. I expect it will be weird to see someone start at the top and work their way down.

Bottom line: it's a "Wow!" reaction to every game.

I'm glad Alex is having this experience 🙂 I think he's somewhat gobsmacked at James' excellence.

[Mindthinkr]

10 minutes ago, Bliss said:

I'm glad Alex is having this experience 🙂 I think he's somewhat gobsmacked at James' excellence.

I’m for anything that makes Alex happy at this point. Pancreatic cancer is a tough diagnosis. I don’t know when they begin filming for next season, but I sure do want to see him host more shows. 

[PaulaO]

Too bad James’ run wasn’t last year.  I would love to have seen him in the recent tournament.

[Thalia]

21 hours ago, SHD said:

The one in the middle seemed bummed.

She didn't only seemed bummed -- I thought she looked pissed.  Add me to those who doesn't like James, or at least doesn't like the attitude he has.  He can't be all bad given his love of family, but there is just ... something. 

My dad, who is 90, likes him and keeps going on about how smart James is and how nobody could have ever gone this far and I keep screaming "KEN JENNINGS.  74 GAMES."

Edited April 18, 2019 by Thalia