Jeopardy! Season 35 (2018-2019)

[atlantaloves]

Auntie: She looks like Vickie Lawrence on the Carol Burnett show...she has the EXACT same 1970's hair cut.

[SoMuchTV]

Gotta say I liked the little dad joke face she made when Alex commented on her dd wager. (First dd? It's still on now, bit I think we're good with commenting now, right?)

Edited June 4, 2019 by SoMuchTV

[harrie]

Emma reminds me of Kim Darby. 

[Kimmmmmm]

1 hour ago, AuntiePam said:

Emma looks so familiar.  I could swear she's been on the show before but Alex would certainly have mentioned if she was in a Teen or Teacher tournament.  

Who does she look like?   

A 15-year-old boy

[Katy M]

I almost said Spain, but I said Italy instead.

I got the TSs National Geographic Society and Christopher Cross.  

I did not do well on that alphanumeric category. I  got all the vowelless Bible books right.

[Abstract]

I really thought I was okay. So James is a great player. No big deal. Obviously Emma is good too, let's see what she can do, right?

Started off great. Emma ran the first category and was off to a big lead.

And then I heard the one-minute warning for the first time in 6 weeks. Then there was a clue left on the board. Then another one-minute warning in DJ. And so many TS. 

I'm not okay. 

In all the hype about James' board hopping and big DD betting, one forgets about how fast he played and how few mistakes he made. It's all too obvious now that he's gone.

I think board hopping and playing bottom to top is here to stay for awhile. That doesn't really bother me.

Edited June 5, 2019 by Abstract

[Booney]

Alex was in rare form tonight, dissing Emma in an off-handed way. First, in the intro, after he talked about Emma being a “giant killer” and beating James, he brought up Nancy Zerg, reminded everyone that she only lasted one game after beating Ken, and said, “Let’s see what happens tonight.” It sounded smarmier than it reads here. Emma, who is rather expressionless, actually worked up an expression and shot him a not-so-pleasant look. Later in the game, Emma bet it all on a DD and Alex said, “Oh, you’re following James!” to which Emma worked up another expression and gave Alex the stink eye. She seemed peeved that he assumed she was emulating James and not following her own strategy. I’m not warming up to her yet, but the stink eye was definitely her own strategy and well deserved!

[SHD]

So James is gone and we still got all the things people hated about his playing - a runaway game, emotionless answering, starting at the bottom of categories then board hopping looking for DD’s in the second round. Except we also got average scores, an uncleared board and a bunch of TS questions. Still, I’m glad Emma wasn’t a one-and-done “giant killer.”

I laughed at none of them knowing some of those sailing songs that were right in my wheelhouse. Although I did say Austria for FJ because it worked last week - LOL!

[Bastet]

5 minutes ago, Booney said:

She seemed peeved that he assumed she was emulating James and not following her own strategy.

According to yesterday's Vulture interview, she played the strategy she came in with, not something she changed to out of necessity because of James's style of play.  So I'm bummed I won't be home tonight to watch her give him the stink-eye over that comment.

[Conotocarious]

Trying to warm up to Emma. It’s not going well. The toast I had at breakfast was more compelling. Oh well.

[mostlylurking]

Not taking anything away from Emma’s intelligence or her strategy, but unfortunately when someone else had the same strategy and immediately preceded you, they will get the credit and you will be compared. It is what it is. No need for the stink eye. I thought it was a bit disrespectful. Like you’ve been there a day. Let’s take it down a notch.  

[JudyObscure]

I thought Alex was being patronizing.  Others may think she learned it from James, but for him to accuse her of it right in the middle of the game was a bit much.

1 hour ago, harrie said:

Emma reminds me of Kim Darby. 

That's what I've been thinking, she looks even more like her with the True Grit haircut.

[Conotocarious]

3 minutes ago, mostlylurking said:

Not taking anything away from Emma’s intelligence or her strategy, but unfortunately when someone else had the same strategy and immediately preceded you, they will get the credit and you will be compared. It is what it is. No need for the stink eye. I thought it was a bit disrespectful. Like you’ve been there a day. Let’s take it down a notch.  

I agree. I’d also add that Alex had just announced his terrible diagnosis.  I don’t care how annoyed you were, he gets a pass. And he wasn’t even rude, as you pointed out. 

[Annabel11]

Not feeling like Emma has the grace and humility James had. Her answer to being ready to face James was unimpressive. I hope her flame burns out quickly. 

[morriss]

Who does she look like?.....She looks like Dr Shawn Murphy...lol

Edited June 5, 2019 by morriss

[Abstract]

Here's a screenshot of the stink eye. A redditor captioned it as "that face when you're the new squeeze but he won't stop talking about how great his ex is." 

[Bliss]

I couldn't help but compare Emma to James. She's bright, well-read... obviously, she made the audition as she mentioned. I noticed how she started at the bottom and worked her way up categories. Not exactly James' style, but similar enough. I like her confidence and ambitious playing.

Can't help it, though. Missing James a bit... his wit... his hair...

I'll get over it.

[Bliss]

3 minutes ago, Abstract said:

Here's a screenshot of the stink eye. A redditor captioned it as "that face when you're the new squeeze but he won't stop talking about how great his ex is." 

Wow. Can't believe how much that photo reminds me of Vicki Lawrence. Many moons ago.

[dcalley]

Just now, Annabel11 said:

Not feeling like Emma has the grace and humility James had. Her answer to being ready to face James was unimpressive. I hope her flame burns out quickly. 

I imagine she was thrown off by the inaccurate premise of Alex's question. Alex likes to pretend the show is taking place in real time, but in reality Emma knew nothing of James when she got to LA, because James hadn't been on TV yet. She only found out his number of wins and money won shortly before taking the stage.

[opus]

2 hours ago, AuntiePam said:

Emma looks so familiar.  I could swear she's been on the show before but Alex would certainly have mentioned if she was in a Teen or Teacher tournament.  

Who does she look like?   

I reverse image searched using the photo Abstract provided, and the top result was Tucker Carlson.

[GrannySmith]

I just returned from a trip to Spain and England and wondered why Madrid was an hour ahead of London, so Spain immediately came to mind. 

[Bliss]

I may become an Emma-fan if she makes the (Vicki Lawrence) "Mama" face as part of her stink-eye package. She has the lips to do it. Something tells me she has the personality for it, too. (Just be kind to Alex, Emma.)

[Annabel11]

11 minutes ago, dcalley said:

I imagine she was thrown off by the inaccurate premise of Alex's question. Alex likes to pretend the show is taking place in real time, but in reality Emma knew nothing of James when she got to LA, because James hadn't been on TV yet. She only found out his number of wins and money won shortly before taking the stage.

From what I understand the contestants sit in the studio and watch the games. But maybe she didn't have the chance to see him ahead of time like the one guy did who almost best him. 

[Bastet]

9 minutes ago, Annabel11 said:

From what I understand the contestants sit in the studio and watch the games. But maybe she didn't have the chance to see him ahead of time like the one guy did who almost best him. 

She didn't; it was the first game to tape that day, so she hadn't seen him play.  (This per the Vulture interview I linked above.)

She didn't know his number of games and amount of winnings until shortly before taping, and she never saw him play.  After beating James, she had to go pretty quickly to taping this game.  So Alex's "influenced by James, huh?" comment exists in a very different context to her than it does to Alex (or to us, watching these months later) -- thus the reaction.

Edited June 5, 2019 by Bastet

[Browncoat]

<sigh> I guess I'll have to learn to live with people starting at the bottoms instead of the tops of the categories.  I get it, as a strategy, but it doesn't mean I have to like it.

The Parker House rolls gag in the intro to that category made me laugh.

It made me a little sad that Christopher Cross was a TS.  The original Arthur is one of my favorite movies (though I don't think it holds up terribly well -- Dudley Moore was brilliant), and I may or may not still have the soundtrack (on vinyl!) lying around somewhere.  I also got the TS of clover.

For FJ, I thought about Italy and Austria, but ended up choosing Poland.  Spain never occurred to me.  I'm on a streak this week -- no FJ for me!

[SHD]

Just now, Browncoat said:

It made me a little sad that Christopher Cross was a TS.  The original Arthur is one of my favorite movies (though I don't think it holds up terribly well -- Dudley Moore was brilliant), and I may or may not still have the soundtrack (on vinyl!) lying around somewhere.  I also got the TS of clover.

For FJ, I thought about Italy and Austria, but ended up choosing Poland.  Spain never occurred to me.  I'm on a streak this week -- no FJ for me!

Arthur is for sure dated (Alcoholism is hilarious!) but it still holds up better than that Russell Brand remake/reboot disaster.

I’m on the same FJ streak as you!

[Bastet]

I cannot believe there was a “name the people in this picture” clue for John and Jackie Kennedy!  Are you kidding me with this shit?!

On the flip side of picture clues, I was pretty surprised no one recognized Ho Chi Minh (or at least figured it out between clue and picture).  I’ve even seen that exact photo before.  National Geographic Society was one I thought someone would at least guess.  But only two TS (and no wrong guesses) in the first round is pretty good.

It was a good game in general - although none of them are particularly good at song titles - that I unexpectedly did get home just in time to see, yay.

For FJ, I can't decide if I would know that fact if I'd never been to Spain, but I don't think so.

[DrSpaceman]

1 hour ago, Annabel11 said:

Not feeling like Emma has the grace and humility James had. Her answer to being ready to face James was unimpressive. I hope her flame burns out quickly. 

It really was a bumbling and awful answer, even if she really didn't have much forewarning about who she was going up against until she got there.

Also bugs me how she plays with the buzzer in her hand, swings it around lightly. 

She is a good player, solid player.  She really faded in the DJ round for a long time though. 

ANd you see the risk today of betting big on the DD and why its not going to be easy for someone to just use jame's strategy to run away with games like he did.  Missed DD question in the DJ round and its kills you, helps your opponent.  You not only have to be able to get big but consistently get them correct, which he did. 

Had no idea for FJ, I assumed it was Italy. 

[SpiritSong]

1 hour ago, Booney said:

Alex was in rare form tonight, dissing Emma in an off-handed way. First, in the intro, after he talked about Emma being a “giant killer” and beating James, he brought up Nancy Zerg, reminded everyone that she only lasted one game after beating Ken, and said, “Let’s see what happens tonight.” It sounded smarmier than it reads here. Emma, who is rather expressionless, actually worked up an expression and shot him a not-so-pleasant look. Later in the game, Emma bet it all on a DD and Alex said, “Oh, you’re following James!” to which Emma worked up another expression and gave Alex the stink eye. She seemed peeved that he assumed she was emulating James and not following her own strategy. I’m not warming up to her yet, but the stink eye was definitely her own strategy and well deserved!

I like Alex a lot, and I'm very sorry he has pancreatic cancer. My dad died from that, so I know better than most the hell he is going to go through. But he really needs to lay off the comments to and about Emma. I think he liked and was as excited about James' playing as many of us here and disappointed that he lost. But that is hardly her fault.

And I'm sad to see the Emma bashing starting just a day after her first win. Most of us will never know these contestants personally. So can we please lay off the nasty comments about their hair, their smile, their handwriting, their expressions, etc.? We see them for 20 minutes while they're concentrating on trying to win a difficult game against two other contestants. Comments on their strategy or knowledge seem like fair game, but all the rest? It says far more about the commenters than the contestant.

[Abstract]

When I posted the screenshot, it wasn't to bash Emma or make fun of her expression. I honestly can't blame her for giving Alex the stink eye, he was not being fair to her at all. 

She is a better player then I'll ever be, but she didn't play today at the level we've been used to seeing from James, and that's going to take some getting used to. Unless she then turns around and dominates tomorrow. I'm open to having my mind changed.

Argh, just realized bought discount tickets to see Aladdin tomorrow with the kids. Guess I'll be late watching Jeopardy. Yes, I'm the spoiler queen for results, but I try not to get spoiled on clues.

[peeayebee]

I don't see any stink eye from Emma.

I got Christopher Cross. I could not pull Gordon Lightfoot out of my head.

For the DD that Matthew missed, I immediately said clover, but then changed it to alfalfa.

Did not get FJ. I first thought of Italy and Austria, but in my geography-impaired brain I thought they'd be in the same time zone anyway. Spain and Franco never occurred to me.

[Bastet]

31 minutes ago, peeayebee said:

I don't see any stink eye from Emma.

Yeah, it looked like confusion to me, kind of an "um, okay, I have no idea what you're talking about, but can I please have my DD now?" low-key version of WTF, which would make sense because, as I said, she didn't actually know what he was talking about.  1) She hadn't seen James play at all until she played against him, let alone enough to know "all in" DD bets were his MO, 2) his one DD in that game was the first clue, so he could only bet $1000, and 3) and she'd made it a true DD on the first of her two DDs in her first game.  So she'd naturally be taken aback to hear it said doing the same in her second game - which taped shortly after her first - was because she was following someone else's example.

Edited June 5, 2019 by Bastet

[secnarf]

3 hours ago, SoMuchTV said:

Gotta say I liked the little dad joke face she made when Alex commented on her dd wager. (First dd? It's still on now, bit I think we're good with commenting now, right?)

1 hour ago, dcalley said:

I imagine she was thrown off by the inaccurate premise of Alex's question. Alex likes to pretend the show is taking place in real time, but in reality Emma knew nothing of James when she got to LA, because James hadn't been on TV yet. She only found out his number of wins and money won shortly before taking the stage.

51 minutes ago, Bastet said:

She didn't; it was the first game to tape that day, so she hadn't seen him play.  (This per the Vulture interview I linked above.)

She didn't know his number of games and amount of winnings until shortly before taping, and she never saw him play.  After beating James, she had to go pretty quickly to taping this game.  So Alex's "influenced by James, huh?" comment exists in a very different context to her than it does to Alex (or to us, watching these months later) -- thus the reaction.

This was how I interpreted it as well. It seems the episodes were filmed before James' first one aired, and since yesterday was Monday, Emma wouldn't have ever seen James play before then. In Monday's game, he hit the Jeopardy! round DD as the first clue and therefore only bet $1000, and then she hit the other two. How would she have known how James typically handled the DD betting?

27 minutes ago, Bastet said:

I cannot believe there was a “name the people in this picture” clue for John and Jackie Kennedy!  Are you kidding me with this shit?!

I was just listening and completely missed that there was a photo. That is crazy.

As much as I loved watching James, I think Emma is also going to be a good player with a decent run and so I will enjoy watching her as well. She seems a bit awkward but still probably less awkward than I would be 😛

[Halting Hex]

8 hours ago, PaulaO said:

I would have no clue as to ANY sound effects Oscar winners.  Just sayin'

Well, yeah, I was kidding.  Hence the "cheating via Wikipedia" reference.

(I actually did recognize Gary Rydstrom's name, but that's only because it's similar to that of 1970's visual effects whiz Richard Dykstra.  Doubt I could have pulled it out of my memory on my own.)

[kathyk2]

I knew chug a lug and Gordon Lightfoot and Beyond the Sea. I don't blame Emma for being annoyed with Alex. James was awesome but she's the champion now and deserved his respect. I've always been annoyed that he acts shocked when a woman knows a sports question.

[freddi]

When they broke away after the end of the first segment, the camera swung back to show the clue crew/production team facing the stage area -- do they do that often?  I had not seen it before, but I am not a regular watcher.  It was a good reminder of all the eyes that are on the contestants and Alex during the game.

As soon as I saw the sailing/song topic, my mind went to "Sailing," by Christopher Cross -- I did not even need the clue to get to that question!  

I was surprised Emma did not bet around $3000, which she could have lost and still beaten James even if he had bet all of his winnings.  And I guess he knew there was no point to betting all of his winnings, precisely because of that.  

9 minutes ago, secnarf said:

I was just listening and completely missed that there was a photo. That is crazy.

It was a beautiful, young photo in a home, and could have been from around the time they were engaged or newly married.  Not a picture I have seen previously.  

[Halting Hex]

1 hour ago, dcalley said:

Alex likes to pretend the show is taking place in real time

Alex never breaks kayfabe!

[Halting Hex]

7 minutes ago, freddi said:

As soon as I saw the sailing/song topic, my mind went to "Sailing," by Christopher Cross -- I did not even need the clue to get to that question!  

They're lucky I wasn't on the show;  I would have broken into a godawful version of "Come Sail Away" at the appropriate point.

I thought that they were angels

But much to my surprise

They climbed aboard their starship 

And headed for the skiiiiiiiies!

Singing "Come Sail Away"…

(from memory, FFS!  How am I wasting brain cells on that? 🙄 )

[Black Knight]

10 minutes ago, freddi said:

I was surprised Emma did not bet around $3000, which she could have lost and still beaten James even if he had bet all of his winnings. 

If it'd been a different category she might've done something like that, but as a librarian Shakespeare is likely in her wheelhouse and she wasn't going to pass up the big payday.

[SHD]

47 minutes ago, DrSpaceman said:

It really was a bumbling and awful answer, even if she really didn't have much forewarning about who she was going up against until she got there.

I missed this. What was she asked and what did she say?

One thing I thought was really smart (and I think it was Emma), there was a category whose name was kind of confusing (I think the internal rhyming verb or whatever that one was with kowtow and hobnob) and the person actually started at the top to get an easy clue to decipher what the category actually was. 

[Abstract]

13 minutes ago, Black Knight said:

If it'd been a different category she might've done something like that, but as a librarian Shakespeare is likely in her wheelhouse and she wasn't going to pass up the big payday.

She did her undergraduate thesis on Shakespeare. This was her Skylar Hornback moment, and boy did it make good TV!

[theatremouse]

On 6/3/2019 at 6:10 PM, Halting Hex said:

While James had a chance to surpass Ken's $2,520,700 today, it's worth noting that Ken's total is worth $3,410,057.40 in current dollars.  So perhaps it wouldn't have been a record, in one sense of the word, after all.

I'm assuming that's inflation-adjusted? In this context I don't think it makes sense to do so because the point values in the game have not changed.

[Never Again]

48 minutes ago, kathyk2 said:

. I don't blame Emma for being annoyed with Alex. James was awesome but she's the champion now and deserved his respect.

Ok yes but Alex deserves her respect as well.  He’s been doing this since before she’s born, and he announced the day before that he has a terrible advanced cancer, and even though she didn’t realize it she just minutes ago dethroned a 32-day overwhelming champion who seems to be the first to play in that style, so it’s understandable that Alex would comment that she was taking after James, even though she wasn’t. I thought it was exceedingly rude of her to give him that look and that raggy answer.  Read the room, Emma.  There’s a lot going on.  You deserved respect but you were wrong to have such an attitude.  A person who just won their first game is a common event on Jeopardy, yet Alex made quite a big deal about her, frankly.  James was far more supportive of her than she was of him and I think she came off far too haughty for a person who had won one game five minutes before.  And in current time, why does she think yesterday she was being interviewed everywhere by everyone?  Because she won one game?  It’s beating James that made her interesting.  And by the looks of her second game, I’ll be shocked if she goes more than a week or two. 

[Bastet]

On 6/4/2019 at 9:08 PM, Rbonnie said:

I thought it was exceedingly rude of her to give him that look and that raggy answer.  Read the room, Emma.  There’s a lot going on.  You deserved respect but you were wrong to have such an attitude.

What attitude? 

She offered a DD wager consistent with her own strategy and the scores at that point of the game/confidence in the category and dollar value combination (having compiled extensive data on not just where DDs were likely to be found, but how likely she was to get one right depending on placement, per her Vulture interview), wholly ignorant of James's "all in" history and not even having experienced a big DD bet by him in the one game she played (he only landed on the first-round DD, and hit it right off, so could only bet $1000).  So she had no context for Alex's "influenced by James" reaction to her wager as she waited for him to reveal her DD clue, and was naturally confused.

She had, like every other contestant, filled out the requisite form with several tidbits to be selected from and asked about in the interview segment(s), and during her second interview was instead asked about James, the magnitude of whose run she hadn't even had a chance to wrap her mind around given the short span of time between 1) learning how many games/dollars he'd won, 2) playing her winning game, and 3) starting this game (all while trying to focus on, you know, competing on Jeopardy!).  So she fumbled for words to express an answer to a question not among those she'd expected to be asked, and answered it honestly - they all qualified to be here, so they're all capable of winning depending how factors come together, and she was thus confident in her chances.

The horror?

Edited June 6, 2019 by Bastet

[30 Helens]

I have no idea what Emma was thinking, all I know is what I was thinking:

When Alex followed up his congratulatory giant-killer remark with an aside reminding us that she may not actually be all that great because: remember Nancy Zerg!, I thought, “That was pretty rude. To Emma and to Nancy.”

When Alex characterized her DD wager as following James’s lead, I thought, “Yeah, right. Because she would never be capable of strategizing on her own. And because nobody else has ever gone all in on a DD.”

When Alex made her interview segment all about James, I thought, “Why can’t he even phrase the question so it’s about her experience and not entirely focused on James?”

If I had realized this was Alex’s first taping after his cancer reveal, I would have been less critical. But I’ve seen him take jabs at players in the past that likewise seemed a bit condescending or harsh, so this was really nothing new.

I love Alex, and I’ve heard many interviews with him over the years that lead me to believe he is, in fact, a warm and caring and genuinely nice person. But if all I had to go by is what I see on this show, I’d think he’s a bit of a dick.

[Halting Hex]

4 hours ago, theatremouse said:

I'm assuming [my figure for the current worth of Ken's winnings] is inflation-adjusted? In this context I don't think it makes sense to do so because the point values in the game have not changed.

Well, that's why I added the qualifier "in one sense".  Yes, it's true that James is playing the same game as Ken was and so had a chance to surpass his point total.  

But IMO in the sense of "winnings", the money that Ken received went further than an equivalent amount of funds won by James would (due to inflation) and thus I felt it could be argued that James needed to reach the inflation-adjusted figure to have achieved a similar financial impact on his life.  Since Ken didn't win 2520700 "points", after all…he won $2,520,700 (pre-tax).  But JMO.

[Halting Hex]

I'm not thrilled with the "remember Nancy Zerg!" concept, because it diminishes Nancy's achievement in beating Ken, which 149 other players had failed to do.  Greatness in a single moment and sustained greatness are two different things; to diminish one because the achiever failed to accomplish the other is unfair.

Jack Nicklaus won 18 major golf tournaments.  Jim Furyk shot a round of 58.  Is Nicklaus's legacy of greatness any less because he didn't have that one near-perfect round?  (I don't know if Jack ever even shot 62, much less anything lower.)  Does the fact that Furyk didn't come close to Jack's career achievements mean that he didn't shoot the 58?  Of course not.  Nancy Zerg did what she did; let's not diminish it.

And Emma did win her second game, so Alex doesn't have to fear a re-Zerg-ence, after all.  Sure, she only won a lousy $24,000 or so, but everyone's entitled to an off-day.

[Julia67]

I thought the whole Alex-Emma interchange last night was awkward.  Alex shouldn't have mentioned Nancy Zerg or made the interaction all about James.  I can understand Emma's sneer, although I'd be willing to bet she'd like to have a second take on that.  

All that being said, I don't like her.  She has zero personality and she comes off as arrogant and sanctimonious.  Although, to be fair, I thought James was arrogant at first, too, and he grew on me.  But I won't be disappointed if Emma doesn't have the time to grow on me!

[M. Darcy]

He's gone and its still all about James.  Sigh.  Hopefully that will be done with today and he can focus on the 3 contestants actually playing that day. 

Just now, Julia67 said:

I can understand Emma's sneer, although I'd be willing to bet she'd like to have a second take on that.   

I would have been proud to have a sneer at Alex shown on camera.   I did come close to making a snarky remark to him.  

[Julia67]

3 minutes ago, M. Darcy said:

I would have been proud to have a sneer at Alex shown on camera.   I did come close to making a snarky remark to him.  

I probably should have been more clear.  I meant that she'd probably like to take it back because of all the discussion/criticism that has ensued.  She seems like the type of person who would prefer NOT to be in the limelight which, as we all know, isn't gonna happen now! LOL