Jeopardy! Season 35 (2018-2019)

[SHD]

11 hours ago, chessiegal said:

That would be illegal. This is a FCC regulated game show. You can't do anything to skew a game in favor or against any player.

They could start putting it there just a little more often and no one could point to any misdeeds. I’m not saying they would because I trust the show, but they could. 

[chessiegal]

7 minutes ago, SHD said:

They could start putting it there just a little more often and no one could point to any misdeeds. I’m not saying they would because I trust the show, but they could. 

I sincerely doubt they would jeopardize (pun intended) the wrath of the feds.

Quote

For quite some time there has been a rumor about Jeopardy that the producers tell the contestants which categories they should expect while they are in the greenroom, but that isn’t true at all. The show is so secretive and protective in fact that they have writers create six sets of questions for each week of shows, and then an independent company is hired to choose a random question set right before the episode begins ensuring that no one finds out questions or categories ahead of time.

I think the independent agency they hire would see what was going on.

[SeanC]

As far as the debate about how James’ success affects enjoyment, to begin with, for me the main attraction of the show was always “playing at home”, not the competitiveness of the actual players, so that’s generally unaffected for me by whatever happens.

Second, James isn’t just winning, he’s giving us maybe the best Jeopardy anyone has ever played, in terms of combining near absolute buzzer dominance with broad depth of knowledge and extremely aggressive wagering.  That’s interesting to me in and of itself.

3 hours ago, DrSpaceman said:

I still say the key to beating him is the DD.  And mostly the DDs in the second round.  Someone else has to hit one or both of those and bet big.  And possible then hope he misses FJ as well.  He doesn't seem to miss those often

I think it’s really about the buzzer.  Because we’ve seen him lose everything on Daily Doubles and still win comfortably because he gets to answer most of the questions, so nobody else has a chance to build up much money.

And yeah, as others have already said, everybody needs to be using his start-from-the-bottom strategy.

[halfpint ingals]

We have been talking of James and Jeopardy at work.  Yesterday,  someone talked of his strategy on going for the higher up questions first to get the DD's.  I said it would be funny if it was the first question so all he could do was wager $1,000.  I thought it was ironic it actually happened last night. 

[DoubleUTeeEff]

2 hours ago, MrAtoz said:

What's wrong with that?  Marginalia is a thing.

Billy Collins (US Poet Laureate 2001-2003) wrote a poem about it. Marginalia by Billy Collins

[ByaNose]

I know they tape these shows in blocks but I wonder how many have/haven't viewed James game before playing? Do they view in the Green Room or are they in lock down beforehand? Everyone has been going through the buzz saw with him but it must suck not to have known he plays/played.

[Clanstarling]

1 hour ago, SeanC said:

As far as the debate about how James’ success affects enjoyment, to begin with, for me the main attraction of the show was always “playing at home”, not the competitiveness of the actual players, so that’s generally unaffected for me by whatever happens.

Second, James isn’t just winning, he’s giving us maybe the best Jeopardy anyone has ever played, in terms of combining near absolute buzzer dominance with broad depth of knowledge and extremely aggressive wagering.  That’s interesting to me in and of itself.

I think it’s really about the buzzer.  Because we’ve seen him lose everything on Daily Doubles and still win comfortably because he gets to answer most of the questions, so nobody else has a chance to build up much money.

And yeah, as others have already said, everybody needs to be using his start-from-the-bottom strategy.

I feel the same regarding the reasons I watch Jeopardy. 

As for his wins, for me he's crossed the threshold from "I would like to see more competition" to sitting back and settling in to see just how many records he breaks.

[Prevailing Wind]

My problem with James is just that - MY problem. I keep wanting to stick an S in his last name, making it Holzhauser.  I wonder where that hangup comes from...

[saber5055]

14 hours ago, SHD said:

I wonder if they’re going to start putting more DDs in the $1000 clues to foil James’ strategy.

It doesn't matter, if one thinks about it, where the DDs are. James went into the red getting the DD on his first pick yesterday, betting $1,000 that he did not have, yet he still won handily. In the Double Jeopardy round, he already has money so if he finds the DD first in the $2,000 clues, he can (will) still bet a ton of cash because he has it. I just don't see where the location of the DD means anything in any game.

If the DD had been a $200 clue yesterday, Rebecca might have found it based on her fear of choosing any clue worth more. You know, to actually TRY to win the game.

[MrAtoz]

43 minutes ago, ByaNose said:

I know they tape these shows in blocks but I wonder how many have/haven't viewed James game before playing? Do they view in the Green Room or are they in lock down beforehand? Everyone has been going through the buzz saw with him but it must suck not to have known he plays/played.

Assuming they haven't changed anything since last year, all the contestants for the "week" (really a single taping day) get to sit in the audience and watch the games prior to theirs.  "Monday's" contestants likely will have not seen James before, while the "Thursday" and "Friday" contestants will have gotten to see him play several times.

I'm trying to decide if being a "Friday" contestant would be good or bad.  On the one hand, you've gotten to see him play several games, so you should have a good handle on his strategy by that time.  On the other hand, you've just watched him casually demolish all comers while racking up daily totals that were previously thought to be impossible.*  That's got to be discouraging.

I think he's most likely to lose one of the games later in the week.  For one thing, he'll be more likely to be tired then.  For another, somebody else will have the best chance of having sussed out his strategy.  Even then, it's going to take another contestant who's fast on the buzzer and has a lot of knowledge.  Ultimately the only way to beat him is to answer more high-value questions than he does.

*Remember those innocent days when Roger Craig's single day record of $77,000 seemed insurmountable?  James has scored higher than that six times.

Edited to add: I bet everyone on the Tournament of Champions tracker is hoping that his streak lasts until after the next TOC.  I can imagine them all watching at home, thinking, "I'm going to have to go up against him?"

Edited April 23, 2019 by MrAtoz

[mostlylurking]

As soon as the lady answered correctly for the first time and proceeded to ask for a $200 clue I knew she wasn't going to have a chance.

[ByaNose]

38 minutes ago, MrAtoz said:

Assuming they haven't changed anything since last year, all the contestants for the "week" (really a single taping day) get to sit in the audience and watch the games prior to theirs.  "Monday's" contestants likely will have not seen James before, while the "Thursday" and "Friday" contestants will have gotten to see him play several times.

I'm trying to decide if being a "Friday" contestant would be good or bad.  On the one hand, you've gotten to see him play several games, so you should have a good handle on his strategy by that time.  On the other hand, you've just watched him casually demolish all comers while racking up daily totals that were previously thought to be impossible.*  That's got to be discouraging.

I think he's most likely to lose one of the games later in the week.  For one thing, he'll be more likely to be tired then.  For another, somebody else will have the best chance of having sussed out his strategy.  Even then, it's going to take another contestant who's fast on the buzzer and has a lot of knowledge.  Ultimately the only way to beat him is to answer more high-value questions than he does.

*Remember those innocent days when Roger Craig's single day record of $77,000 seemed insurmountable?  James has scored higher than that six times.

Edited to add: I bet everyone on the Tournament of Champions tracker is hoping that his streak lasts until after the next TOC.  I can imagine them all watching at home, thinking, "I'm going to have to go up against him?"

Thanks for the repsonse. It was so detailed. I wasn't aware that future contestants were in the audience. I thought they were hidden away in the green room. Julia Collins said people do get tired in the later games when they are a winning streak. I will be interesting to see how it plays out.

[suebee12]

This is a long quote but it is an interesting one from Ken Jennings on how a long streak works. This is from an article I posted yesterday:

"There’s two things going on. The first is that you're getting stronger the longer you play. You're getting more comfortable, less stage fright, more buzzer experience. And every day they just keep bringing in the truck full of fresh meat. There’s a very strong home-field advantage the longer you play.

That's honestly one of the smartest things James is doing, going for the high dollar values early. Not just because it enables bigger wagers, but because he’s taking money off the board while he's the most comfortable player, and everybody else is still finding their legs. It’s really, really smart. I've never seen it before.

But the other factor is that it’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon. You’re going to be at Jeopardy! all day. You’re going to be playing all afternoon. Your head’s going to hurt from the mentally taxing aspects of playing a game, your feet are going to hurt from standing on the stage for hours and hours.

I remember going all out on every game when I first started playing, and just being a wreck at the end of the day. After a few weeks of that I realized, I want to have something left in the tank. From that point I wasn’t quite so all-out on every game, because I knew I might be doing it all afternoon."

[bad things are bad]

11 hours ago, Mystery Author said:

However, how many are surprised that I bristled at Rebecca's "funny" (*ahem*) story about how she and her pals WRITE IN BOOK MARGINS? Even worse, they make fun of the book. Haha. NOT!

Mmm....well, if they're making fun of anything Dan Brown or Sydney Sheldon wrote, I'd allow it

[saber5055]

2 hours ago, Prevailing Wind said:

I keep wanting to stick an S in his last name, making it Holzhauser.  I wonder where that hangup comes from...

I read it as "heat houser," an add-on for tractors. James Holzhouser. James Heathouser. Makes sense to me.

[shlbycindyk]

I'm also always wanting to stick an "s" in James last name.  I think it's because I live in North Carolina and we used to have a governor named, James Holshouser. It's spelled differently but sounds the same.  I counted out the woman on the end after she talked about writing in the margins of books.  I'm a writer, plus I love to read, and have a tendency to treat books like they're sacred.  I bet she marks them up with highlighters too!

[Prevailing Wind]

46 minutes ago, shlbycindyk said:

I bet she marks them up with highlighters too!

I hate the ones that "proofread" library books - and they're inevitably wrong in their corrections.

[Browncoat]

I freely admit to writing in the margins of one book.  I've posted about this in the books topic somewhere, I believe.  The main character in the book was on a leaky boat and kept "baling" the water out of the boat.  For pages and pages and pages, every other paragraph talked about how he had to "bale" the water.  I corrected that on every page (in pencil -- I'm not a monster), sometimes (near the end of that part of the story) with naughty words.

I'm still trying to figure out how water can be baled.  What even is a bale of water?  Ice doesn't count.

[SHD]

3 hours ago, saber5055 said:

It doesn't matter, if one thinks about it, where the DDs are. James went into the red getting the DD on his first pick yesterday, betting $1,000 that he did not have, yet he still won handily. In the Double Jeopardy round, he already has money so if he finds the DD first in the $2,000 clues, he can (will) still bet a ton of cash because he has it. I just don't see where the location of the DD means anything in any game.

If the DD had been a $200 clue yesterday, Rebecca might have found it based on her fear of choosing any clue worth more. You know, to actually TRY to win the game.

I feel like it doesn't matter what dollar value they're under, so much as where they would be in James' picking order. It's true that with no help from the DD yesterday he still had a healthy lead going into the second round. But if he had amassed $10,000 before hitting the DD in the first round and bet it all and won, that pretty much eliminates the other players by the end of the first round. I know there's a lot of money to be had in the second round, but statistically with James, they're not going to beat him on the buzzer that often to be able to answer. I guess my thinking was all very James specific.

Ha ha - do they even ever put the DD under a $200 clue? I can't recall if I've seen that!

[saber5055]

5 minutes ago, SHD said:

Ha ha - do they even ever put the DD under a $200 clue? I can't recall if I've seen that!

I think I saw it once, or maybe it was $400. I remember being very surprised, like "That's not suppose to happen." I know clues are suppose to be gradually more difficult as one moves down the category, but if the category is one of your specialties. all the clues are easy. At least they seem to be for James!

[saber5055]

1 hour ago, shlbycindyk said:

I bet she marks them up with highlighters too!

I used a highlighter once in a book, it was a Stephen King and there was a typo. I was gobsmacked, couldn't believe it. I'd never found a typo in a book before. So I highlighted it. Full disclosure: It was (is) my book. I don't pay attention to punctuation in books because Chicago, AP, Oxford. I trust the editors to get their chosen style correct.

@Browncoat, here's hoping the character in that book ended up drowning after unsuccessfully baling water over multiple pages.

[Browncoat]

1 hour ago, saber5055 said:

@Browncoat, here's hoping the character in that book ended up drowning after unsuccessfully baling water over multiple pages.

Sadly, no, but I have successfully put the rest of the book out of my brain.  Other than that egregious error, it was not a memorable book at all.

[secnarf]

6 hours ago, halfpint ingals said:

We have been talking of James and Jeopardy at work.  Yesterday,  someone talked of his strategy on going for the higher up questions first to get the DD's.  I said it would be funny if it was the first question so all he could do was wager $1,000.  I thought it was ironic it actually happened last night. 

It's more than that, though - he goes for the higher value questions first so that a) he has way more money to bet if/when he finds the daily doubles (and he isn't scared to bet it!) b) nobody else has a hope in hell of catching up because all the high-value clues are gone and c) he is more likely to find the DD's first.

Even if he doesn't find or blows the DD(s), he has already taken all the high-value clues and nobody else can catch up. Also, it doesn't help that they're all such timid betters compared to James, as well - if someone else finds a DD they're still not able/willing to catch up.

[saber5055]

24 minutes ago, secnarf said:

Even if he doesn't find or blows the DD(s), he has already taken all the high-value clues and nobody else can catch up.

James could start at the top and work down each category and still end up with all the money and DDs. The man is a machine.

[catrice2]

James is over a million.  Let him celebrate!  I would be happy too!  I can't believe how easy final jeopardy was.  

[Quickbeam]

I am really enjoying watching James. I like his style and the calm he exudes. No wild twitchy buzzer throwing. 

[PaulaO]

I can’t with the runaway games any more.  I will rely on this forum to let me know when it’s safe to watch.  Not that I don’t like James.  One sided matches are just boring.

[Prevailing Wind]

OK, Trebek...do not EVER try a Liverpudlian accent again.

[ABay]

Alex studied at the Dick van Dyke School for Incredibly Bad English Accents. 

[Kathira]

I figured James would make it over a million tonight, but it was still amazing to see. Claudia and Kevin were both good players and on any other night, either of them could easily have won. 

FJ was easy-peasy.

[saber5055]

1 hour ago, Kathira said:

Claudia and Kevin were both good players and on any other night, either of them could easily have won. 

Except for that going up to the $200 clue when the board is almost full, and someone besides James FINALLY gets to choose. At least try to act competitive. You saw what happened to Rebecca yesterday when she did that. Is no one paying attention?

I only lost my game against myself today by one, an improvement over yesterday. But yesterday I also was trying to decide between going to the emergency clinic or just dying at home. So there's that.

My first thought for FJ was Lincoln and Lee, which made me laugh in a macabre sort of way; I changed immediately to Grant and Lee instead.

1 hour ago, PaulaO said:

I can’t with the runaway games any more.  I will rely on this forum to let me know when it’s safe to watch.  Not that I don’t like James.  One sided matches are just boring.

See ya sometime next year.

[Quickbeam]

I think the FJs have been pretty easy all week. Elgin? Was just about the only logical answer.

Edited April 24, 2019 by Quickbeam
Typo

[Browncoat]

Yay, I got FJ tonight!  Of course, if I hadn't, I'd have to move out of Virginia.

[GenerationX]

$75,825/game.

Is there a subject where James is weak?  If there is, I haven't seen it, yet.

[Prevailing Wind]

40 minutes ago, saber5055 said:

I also was trying to decide between going to the emergency clinic or just dying at home.

That was me earlier this evening. What have you got? Mine's an angry stomach. 

[Abstract]

I've resorted to reading spoilers on Reddit every morning. Then I can go about my day calmly till Jeopardy time. 

My children are contemptuous of James for not knowing Panic! At the Disco. 

[Bastet]

I don’t know if starting at the bottom and getting to the lower-value goes later was skewing my perspective (I missed a week of episodes, so it’s still a little new to me), but many of the $200 and $400 clues seemed too easy.  And the Overeaters Anonymous clue shouldn’t have been a DD in DJ (the “Over” clues in general belonged in the first round).

I was as stumped by 21 Pilots and Panic! at the Disco (thank you, @Abstract, for alerting me to the exclamation point) as the contestants were, but Super Scooper going unanswered surprised me; I guessed none of them live someplace with fire season, but I just looked it up (I don't pay attention to the intros) and Kevin lives here in Los Angeles, and he's the one who answered it wrong.  

Over a million dollars in not even three weeks worth of games -- wow!

[Etta Place]

I'm contemplating a strategy of going DD-hunting the second you get a clue right, and when you find it, betting $50. I know, I know ... but hear me out. If you get it, sure you "should have" bet more in hindsight, but if you don't, you haven't lost anything significant. If you could just get control of the board a few times (which contestants do) and be lucky enough with your strategic choice of clues (the strategic part has left much to be desired in most games so far), you could remove all of the DDs and neutralize a big part of James' accumulation of wealth. You still have the buzzer monster to contend with, but there's then a finite amount of money on the board.

Just something I'm kicking around.

[Brookside]

22 hours ago, biakbiak said:

Just how big is this hamster's ego?

[Prevailing Wind]

1 minute ago, Brookside said:

Just how big is this hamster's ego?

Jeez, it's a freakin' JOKE.

[biakbiak]

2 minutes ago, Prevailing Wind said:

Jeez, it's a freakin' JOKE.

And a self depreciating one at that!

[crashdown]

6 minutes ago, Prevailing Wind said:

Jeez, it's a freakin' JOKE.

Totally! I can't understand how anyone can find Ken smug--he's the opposite of that. He's extremely down-to-earth, self-deprecating, and funny. Love that guy!

[saber5055]

5 minutes ago, Brookside said:

Just how big is this hamster's ego? 

Yes, it's a freaking JOKE for pete's sake. It's his tongue-in-cheek response to the big story that James might be bankrupting Jeopardy. Someone even started a GoFundMe to keep Jeopardy from going broke.

And WTH does "hamster" mean?

[catrice2]

1 hour ago, GenerationX said:

$75,825/game.

Is there a subject where James is weak?  If there is, I haven't seen it, yet.

He pretty much knows where he is weak and will not ring in.

[peeayebee]

All I got tonight was FJ.

I'm a bit perturbed that I didn't get 21 Pilots. The songs of theirs I've heard, I've loved. I should have recognized at least one of the titles.

[3 is enough]

Panic! at the Disco are a Las Vegas band, and one of their songs, Vegas Lights, is the goal song for the Golden Knights.  I bet James was kicking himself for missing that one, given the hometown and home team connection.  

I watched a video of James on The Chase.  He was a machine on that show too.  

How many shows are left until the hiatus?  I know the Teachers Tournament will take up 2 weeks of the remaining shows (go teebax!) 

Edited April 24, 2019 by 3 is enough

[Toothbrush]

Catching up after spending the Easter weekend with my parents.

So excited that James has won one million dollars!!! 

 

It's fun to see Alex so excited, but his recitation of James breaking his own records is taking up too much time & one day the 1st round board wasn't cleared. Move it along, Trebek.  

As much as I am enjoying watching James, I was rooting for my fellow actuary, Nate, on Friday. I momentarily thought he might pull it off (or at least prevent a runaway), but no dice (no gambling pun intended, but GFM anyway 🍹). FJ is evidently a group exercise at my parents' house, and they pause the TV  while figuring it out, so even though I am 99.9% sure I would have gotten it correct even without the comments from the peanut gallery, I will have to count it as a miss.  Boo hiss. No clue for Monday's FJ, but Tuesday's was easy. 

@StormWarning - great analogy with the figure skater

On 4/20/2019 at 10:35 AM, DrSpaceman said:

The Kevin Bacon question the other night made me realize he has been in the acting business now for FORTY years.  Which just makes me feel old. 

We had the same takeaway!

On 4/21/2019 at 5:07 PM, saber5055 said:

I didn't see an IRS business code for "Drug Dealer" when I filed my tax return last week, but I'll keep an eye out for it next year. 

My dad is a pharmacist & we joke that he is a drug dealer. Hope you're feeling better. 

On 4/21/2019 at 6:37 PM, 3 is enough said:

As Alex would say, good for you, James!

🍹

On 4/22/2019 at 7:14 PM, Mindthinkr said:

Wow. Imagine being the Queen Mum and watching the rehearsals for your own funeral. Creepy, but she maintained control to the end. I wonder what the horse did or didn’t do that made her replace him. 

Saber, I leave tomorrow so expect your pralines in about a week. I’ll have one for you in the store. You understand...quality control. 

When Diana died and the decision was made to have a public vs. private funeral, the plans for the Queen Mum's funeral were used. Yay for useless trivia taking up space in my brain!

Have a fabulous time in the Big Easy. Hope the weather holds up for you; it was a gorgeous Easter weekend. 

3 hours ago, saber5055 said:

My first thought for FJ was Lincoln and Lee, which made me laugh in a macabre sort of way; 

Only if it were a seance lol 

[lb60]

FJ=instaget.

I can't stand James.

[Mystery Author]

Quote

@Browncoat, here's hoping the character in that book ended up drowning after unsuccessfully baling water over multiple pages.

That character could join the character in the book I just edited. While Browncoat's character was baling water, my author's character was  using reigns to ride horses.

[mertensia]

5 hours ago, GenerationX said:

$75,825/game.

Is there a subject where James is weak?  If there is, I haven't seen it, yet.

They had an animal category he didn't do very well at.