Jeopardy! Season 35 (2018-2019)

[solarfire]

I don't enjoy watching beat downs.  But that's just me.  Obviously.  I want my regular show back and I don't see anything wrong with expressing my opinion about that. I watched a Jeopardy rerun over the weekend that had regular people and it was competitive.  That's what I enjoy.

[SpiritSong]

4 hours ago, solarfire said:

So James can get off this show, can we just give him his $10 million or $50 million or whatever and leave it at that?  Or how about giving him his own Jeopardy show so us regular humans can watch and play again?

I don't understand this complaint. Who wins or loses on the show has absolutely no bearing on my playing along at home. Most of the time, the champion, or even the losers, know more of the answers than I do. I may or may not know final jeopardy. Since I haven't accumulated any actual money (though I do sometimes keep count to see how much I would if I were actually playing) I freely bet it all if it's a DD or FJ I think I may know. Basically, I'm playing against myself, not the contestants on the show.

I admire James for his breadth of knowledge and his boldness in risking so much of his winnings on the DDs and FJ, but that fact that he keeps winning doesn't affect my enjoyment of the show at all. It actually enhances it. I still get the fun of playing along, and get to daydream that I'm as special a player as he is, though I know I'm not.

[solarfire]

Quote

I don't understand this complaint. Who wins or loses on the show has absolutely no bearing on my playing along at home. 

But that's the thing.  I can't "play along" because he usually answers the questions in a nano-sec, long before I have a chance to answer, even if I know the answer. So I end up passively watching a blow out instead of "playing along".  Maybe that sounds stupid or silly to some, but I guess we all watch for different reasons.  Blowouts is not one of mine. I'll shut up now.

[JudyObscure]

5 hours ago, suebee12 said:

Everyone who is on the show has an equal chance to win so why are there such "haters"? If you don't like James, don't watch the show( I don't think anyone is having their arm twisted to force them to watch) and let those of who do like him, enjoy his spectacular run.

Wishing the James-run would end is not the same as hating him and it's certainly not saying that the other contestants don't have an equal chance.  I like James and I've enjoyed watching such a phenomenal player, just as I enjoy watching a great basketball player, but would not enjoy watching  LeBron James dominate a game night after night.  It would become boring.  Not unfair.  Boring.

As for playing at home, we are used to getting most of the questions right (my husband answering about 90%, and my son and I getting the other 10%)  but now we don't have time to get our answers in, even when we know the category.  The contestants can see the whole board and their eyes can look up at the category name when James suddenly asks for a 1000 dollar clue in a new category. He says the name (or part of it) but we often can't hear him.  It's very frustrating not to even be able to figure out what is being asked.

It's true no one is twisting our arm to watch, but no one is twisting your arm to read this thread.

[suebee12]

8 minutes ago, JudyObscure said:

It's true no one is twisting our arm to watch, but no one is twisting your arm to read this thread. 

That is true, and I decided last night after reading the comment about "regular humans" , that I am only going to read the media section of Jeopardy so I can catch the news. Reading all of the jabs, etc, has taken the fun out of reading this thread! I'm not sure why folks feel they can't answer the questions because of James because I certainly have time to and if I know the answer I can yell it out! Remember, we don't have to wait for Alex to finish the answer.

15 minutes ago, JudyObscure said:

Wishing the James-run would end is not the same as hating him

No, it isn't but there are many who state exactly that, some jokingly and others not so jokingly. I, personally, am enjoying his run so I will do without having to read all the "I want James gone" posts. So while I will miss reading many of the comments, it will be easier on me not to read all the negativity. I think this is the first time I have ever left a forum because of this...I don't agree with all comments but I have never felt so uncomfortable reading things written about a contestant who is just playing the game in his own style. So I will leave quietly, waving goodbye.

[Clanstarling]

As for not getting the answers before James - at home we slacken the rules, and answer before Alex is done reading, which can sometimes lead to the wrong answer when you read it too fast. But because of this, James doesn't beat me to the answer - I just suck on my own. 😛

I kind of hate, however, that James' run is causing this forum to be a little less supportive and polite than it's been. It's my comfort forum, as it were. And I'm not enjoying it as much as I did.

[Trey]

56 minutes ago, Clanstarling said:

I kind of hate, however, that James' run is causing this forum to be a little less supportive and polite than it's been. It's my comfort forum, as it were. And I'm not enjoying it as much as I did.

Ditto!

I would prefer that comments be more about the clues and answers, less about the contestants. 

[mostlylurking]

3 hours ago, suebee12 said:

Remember, we don't have to wait for Alex to finish the answer.

And we don't have to say "what is..."...I just yell them out when I know!  Drive my husband crazy.  James isn't stopping me!  Lol.

[GenerationX]

If one of us wants to think for a few more seconds, we just pause the show.

[Booney]

11 hours ago, solarfire said:

I don't enjoy watching beat downs.  But that's just me.  Obviously.  I want my regular show back and I don't see anything wrong with expressing my opinion about that. I watched a Jeopardy rerun over the weekend that had regular people and it was competitive.  That's what I enjoy.

Different strokes and all that jazz, but I'm dreading the eventual return to the "regular show." I hope I'm wrong but if I had to wager, I'd bet that future contestants will return to the old style of playing - start at the top, work your way down, and bet timidly on DDs. For me, that will seem deadly boring after watching James' style of play. I'm not looking forward to it.

[Katy M]

For whatever it's worth, I remembered reading this a few months back, so thought I'd look for it now and share it:

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/alex-trebek-hates-jeopardy-player_n_5be9f516e4b0caeec2bc979f

[Toothbrush]

1 hour ago, Booney said:

Different strokes and all that jazz, but I'm dreading the eventual return to the "regular show." I hope I'm wrong but if I had to wager, I'd bet that future contestants will return to the old style of playing - start at the top, work your way down, and bet timidly on DDs. For me, that will seem deadly boring after watching James' style of play. I'm not looking forward to it.

I'm ready for some competitive games, but hope that future contestants will adopt some of James' strategies. 

[DrSpaceman]

1 hour ago, Katy M said:

For whatever it's worth, I remembered reading this a few months back, so thought I'd look for it now and share it:

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/alex-trebek-hates-jeopardy-player_n_5be9f516e4b0caeec2bc979f

For him I am sure it makes his job easier if they follow up and down the categories in some orderly manner rather than jumping around.  I don't know his system for keeping track of the questions to be asked, but I am sure there is some orderly way he does it made easier by an easy to follow pattern

It has never bothered me much as a viewer though. 

But we all have our quirks.  I can't stand it on Wheel of Fortune when a contestant buys more than two vowels in a row. 

[LadyintheLoop]

It took two good challengers to bring James down. One couldn't have done it.

Edited June 3, 2019 by LadyintheLoop

[helpmerhonda]

 I know that it wasn't, but I choose to believe that Kit was a shout out to.....US!!
 

Seemed like an odd bet to me, but what do I know.

Edited June 3, 2019 by helpmerhonda

[SoMuchTV]

5 minutes ago, helpmerhonda said:

 I know that it wasn't, but I choose to believe that Kit was a shout out to.....US!!

Haven't seen it yet, but I guess we can speak freely now. So, Kit-gate?  Is James among us??? Not it!

[opus]

I  don’t see the newspaper every day, but this morning was a day I bought it, and this was on the front page

[JudyObscure]

CBS news spoiled me just before the show.  They've already received my hate mail.

Well I've been saying it would take a young woman to beat him.  If he had any weakness it was pop culture that leans toward women.

Goodbye James, thanks for all the excitement and entertainment!

[mwell345]

Just now, JudyObscure said:

CBS news spoiled me just before the show.  They've already received my hate mail.

Well I've been saying it would take a young woman to beat him.  If he had any weakness it was pop culture that leans toward women.

Goodbye James, thanks for all the excitement and entertainment!

FOX had it on their home page early this morning.  Didn’t even need to click and read the article- the headline said it all.

they heard from me too, not that it matters to them.

[SoMuchTV]

Oh I think I like her. I guess that means she'll be gone tomorrow..

it seems like James has met his match(es?) on buzzing-in skills.

[pennben]

What a fantastic run!  He is now my second favorite contestant. I don’t want to know what it would take to surpass Cindy Stowell in my rankings. 

I think the best comparison, in sporting terms, that I’ve seen is a comparison to Jack Nicklaus & Tiger Woods—-Jack would win, Tiger would demolish. They were both amazing, but ooof, no one had been Tiger before Tiger. Jack’s likely to hang onto the records, but no one will forget Tiger. Same with Ken and James. 

We wont know until next season whether James cracked the mold or broke it, but I am very much going to miss for now the beauty and efficiency he played this game with like no one else before. 

ALSO, go Emma, stay brave and true to your thesis-writing strategy  Extremely well done!

Edited June 3, 2019 by pennben

[Conotocarious]

I want to like her but she seems vaguely awkward and boring. 

Also, James’ daughter making Alex a get well card was the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.

Edited June 4, 2019 by Conotocarious

[opus]

Best (TV watching) day of @lb60’s life?

[Trillium]

I was spoiled by our local radio station this morning. No warning, just blurted it out during the news brief.  So I knew all day. Mr Trillium hates spoilers so I didn’t tell him and was working on my James poker face while we were watching our local news, then Jeopardy airs immediately after. Well 8 freaking minutes before the end of the news, the anchor says “James run comes to end tonight”. F you media outlets and the dick that leaked the clip. 

That said it was a great game and James seemed absolutely thrilled for Emma. AT seemed very touched by the card from his daughter. It was an epic game all around. Obviously this is not the last we see of James, and I’m interested to see how people take him on in the TOC. 

Edited June 4, 2019 by Trillium

[Never Again]

Sigh. The exciting, stirring affair is over, now back to the humdrum marriage of starting at the top clue, betting $2000 on daily doubles and winning with $19,000...but it was glorious fun while it lasted!

Urgh but I would have been a lot happier if he had just beaten Ken’s earnings and Ken could have kept the 74 game streak,  but now Ken keeps both.  Darn.

Thank you James, I had a blast, and congratulations to Emma for an excellent win and also for making my brother so happy,  he couldn’t wait to see the end of James! 

Looking forward to a tournament of James, Brad and Ken. Someone please make it happen!

[irisheyes]

10 minutes ago, Conotocarious said:

I want to like her but she seems vaguely awkward and boring. 

Also, James’ daughter making Alex a get well was the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.

Alex seemed genuinely touched. And genuinely shocked at the end of the game. 

[PaulaO]

I got misty eyed at the card James’ daughter made for Alex.  As much as I loved KIT Marlowe, I don’t think that should have been accepted as correct.  Oh yeah, you KNOW James is one of us.

[Browncoat]

I was inadvertently spoiled by an article on Slate about half-way through the game tonight.  I hate being spoiled, but I will be glad to get back to games that aren't constant runaways.  I prefer a little competition to my competitions!  I don't think that previous contestants haven't been competitive in knowledge, just that James bet so much on the DDs that they didn't have much of a chance.  No DDs left, and someone ahead by way more than is left on the board = no one else can possibly catch up = boring to me.

I suspect I'll just have to learn to live with people starting at the bottoms of categories (which hurts my OCD head).

The get well card was very cute.

And, as usual, I was clueless for FJ.  I think my 4/5 last week was a total fluke.

[Katy M]

I got FJ, but I was guessing.  I actually changed my answer from Ben Jonson, because for whatever reason that's the first name that came to my head, but I thought Marlowe sounded better.

I actually saw an article about today's game earlier, but I only glanced at it and I thought it said that James had surpassed Ken Jennings' winnings.  So, I was pretty shocked when she got the answer right.

I got the single TS of cigarettes.  I couldn't believe nobody ont he show got that.  the guy that rung in looked like he was waffling on what to say.  I wonder what thought process was going through his head.

I also got pretty exicted because I think I pronounced prokofiev correctly. And I got Andorra right and I thought that was a hard clue.  Because who knows stuff about Andorra?  Not me, generally.

Some people think James threw the game.  

24 minutes ago, SoMuchTV said:

Oh I think I like her. I guess that means she'll be gone tomorrow..

it seems like James has met his match(es?) on buzzing-in skills.

It's weird, but the people who beat the really good players usually do seem to be one-hit wonders.

[ByaNose]

I was sorta spoiled but didn’t know how it played out. First, I was trying to figure who he lose to but quickly figured it out. She got the daily doubles & answers. She beat him at his own game. His final wager was lame. In the end, he didn’t beat Jennings in total or wins.

[M. Darcy]

1 minute ago, Katy M said:

Some people think James threw the game.  

Those people are starting to piss me off - it’s taking away from her victory. She got both daily doubles - and got them both correct -  in round 2. She won on her own. 

And why would he throw the game before he beat Ken’s record? He only needed one more win for that.  

[Prevailing Wind]

I thought Alex was gonna cry at the end. He seemed genuinely sad that James lost.  But I'm glad it happened while AT is still around. I'd hate for him to leave the planet not knowing the outcome.

[Julia67]

3 minutes ago, ByaNose said:

His final wager was lame. In the end, he didn’t beat Jennings in total or wins.

I was upset to read the spoiler on the Jeopardy! Facebook page of all places.  Read lots of comments wondering if James lost on purpose out of respect for Ken Jennings?? His performance did seem "off" tonight for sure.  It was a great run!  Best of luck to you, James!  Thanks for the memories!

[lb60]

 

 

 

 

 

Too soon?

Too much?

My long national nightmare is over!

I did get cigarette, making me smarter than all three jeptestants. ;-)

I was spoiled for FJ, but I wouldn't have had a clue.

Good on you, Emma!  May your reign be long, unless you start to annoy me. heh

[ByaNose]

2 minutes ago, Julia67 said:

I was upset to read the spoiler on the Jeopardy! Facebook page of all places.  Read lots of comments wondering if James lost on purpose out of respect for Ken Jennings?? His performance did seem "off" tonight for sure.  It was a great run!  Best of luck to you, James!  Thanks for the memories!

Winnings like these are great for the summertime (anytime actually) and, I did want him to go a little deeper in the summer but alas it was not meant to be. He provided a lot of excitement and he’ll be back soon enough whenever the Tournament of Champions happens.

[Trillium]

8 minutes ago, ByaNose said:

I was sorta spoiled but didn’t know how it played out. First, I was trying to figure who he lose to but quickly figured it out. She got the daily doubles & answers. She beat him at his own game. His final wager was lame. In the end, he didn’t beat Jennings in total or wins.

His wager was smart. Obviously she was going to make sure she bet enough to beat him if they both get it right. If she got it right, it wouldn’t matter if he’d went all in, she’d still win by $1.   He hedged his bet that if they both got it wrong, he’d win. Nate,  who almost beat him did the same thing. 

[SHD]

23 minutes ago, PaulaO said:

 As much as I loved KIT Marlowe, I don’t think that should have been accepted as correct.  Oh yeah, you KNOW James is one of us.

But it was correct. Christopher Marlowe was also known as Kit Marlowe.

[MrAtoz]

18 minutes ago, PaulaO said:

As much as I loved KIT Marlowe, I don’t think that should have been accepted as correct.  Oh yeah, you KNOW James is one of us.

Kit was genuinely Marlowe's nickname. I doubt it was a shout-out, and I had no problem with it being accepted. I'm pretty sure I've called him Kit Marlowe myself a few times.

It looked to me like Alex was tearing up at the end, as some other folks have mentioned. If I recall correctly, these episodes were recorded around the time he announced his cancer diagnosis, so I imagine he was dealing with a lot of emotion at that time.

So how many people were spoiled about the results? I was, and I frankly suspected that would happen. He's been such big news for so long that I just knew that when he lost, it wouldn't stay under wraps.

[secnarf]

9 minutes ago, Prevailing Wind said:

I thought Alex was gonna cry at the end. He seemed genuinely sad that James lost.  But I'm glad it happened while AT is still around. I'd hate for him to leave the planet not knowing the outcome.

I also thought Alex sounded like he was about to cry at the end.

Of course, I did say on Friday to my family (before any of this leaked out) that Alex jinxed James by saying we could see how much more money he will win on Monday (or something along those lines that implied James would win).

Mostly I'm just crushed that he was a game away from Ken's record and didn't end up getting there. He was so close. It all seemed to come down to the daily doubles - he sort of blew the first one by getting it as the first clue so he couldn't take advantage of it, and then Emma got the other two.

[Ailianna]

For all of you who were spoiled by news outlets--a woman I've never seen before walked up to me in the grocery store on the way home and said "The Jeopardy! guy lost."  No idea why she would say that to me, or to any total stranger, but I was not happy about it.  I've been waiting for James to be done, not because I don't like him, since I think he's actually probably a really great person to have as a friend and he seems genuine, but because it feels like Alex and the show were sucking up to him (he's the contestant--he doesn't need his ego stroked).  I thought it was very classy of him to go right to Emma and shake her hand and congratulate her.

I knew cigarettes or at least was sure that was it, but I also debated sin tax, although I think that's a lot older.

[Jesse]

I realize there were leaked clips and whatever, but I think it was the Washington Post reported this morning via a station that plays Jeopardy at 9:30am. So it's not like it was all nefarious, in a world where news can get around the country instantly.

Anyway, back to the regular game!

[pennben]

To this day, some talk about Ken throwing his last game. No need to listen to those folks nor the folks saying the same about James.  

@Ailianna, as much as you were annoyed by a stranger walking up to give you spoilers, producers are more distraught by losing the ratings cow that had folks talking about the show to strangers in markets again:)

[Halting Hex]

42 wins short of Ken.  Over eight weeks short, all told.

Day-um, Jennings.  That's amazing.  I'll even forgive your shilling for IBM after this.

I had FJ, but I would have said "The Swamp" on the Republican book titles, so I'd have been dead.  And I thought Emma should have been more aggressive on that DD bet, but what do I know?  $3000 bought her enough space, it seems.  Congratulations.

Edited June 4, 2019 by Halting Hex

[Halting Hex]

11 minutes ago, SHD said:

Christopher Marlowe was also known as Kit Marlowe.

"Kit" is a common English diminutive for "Christopher", to this day.  Kit Lambert, the manager of The Who, was the first who came to my mind.

[DoubleUTeeEff]

I feel lucky because I remained unspoiled. Guess I should be thankful I had a busy day at work although it didn't feel like it at the time. My heart was actually beating a little faster at the end there. I don't know how Emma kept a straight face!

My predictions of how James would lose was 100% wrong. All it took was a good player who got lucky with the Daily Doubles. And adopted James' strategy, of course. Hope she goes on to win more money but her take today was good.

5 minutes ago, Ailianna said:

I knew cigarettes or at least was sure that was it, but I also debated sin tax, although I think that's a lot older.

A tax on cigarettes is a sin tax, no? Cigarettes is a pretty specific answer if that's what they were expecting. I don't know if they would accept sin tax. It was just a $400 clue though.

[Katy M]

4 minutes ago, Halting Hex said:

I had FJ, but I would have said "The Swamp" on the Republican book titles, so I'd have been dead.  And I thought Emma should have been more aggressive on that DD bet, but what do I know.  $3000 bought her enough space, it seems.  Congratulations.

Like I said when someone said that about Nate.  It's easy to say that from home, but they don't know that they're going to know the answer. if she had bet a lot and gotten it wrong, she wouldn't have won.  She did the huge bet when she had to and luckily it paid off.

And, unlike Nate's situation, she knew there were no more daily doubles for him to catch up on.

Edited June 4, 2019 by Katy M

[GenerationX]

It was disappointing to see James lose, but Emma played an outstanding game - correct on every response and quick on the buzzer.

[mojoween]

I haven’t watched in weeks and weeks because I found James smug and boring and also didn’t see the leaked clip.

However, I still knew about tonight because apparently if the show airs in four markets in Alabama at 9:30 in the morning it’s ok for everyone on Twitter to talk about the results.  Which never usually happens, so it was pretty clear what was going down today.  Jerks.

[ByaNose]

Yeah, Alex seemed genuinely horrified that James lost. He sort of groaned in shock.  

[Tabasco Cat]

I'm incredibly bummed out right now. How could James get to within 1 game of topping KJ's regular-season winnings record and blow it?!?!?

Not looking forward to the conspiracy theories that will surely follow now. Mine is (not really) that James lost on purpose.

Congrats to the new champ, by all means, but a huge CONGRATULATIONS to James. Jeopardy James forever.