Jeopardy! Season 35 (2018-2019)

[Ailianna]

10 hours ago, saber5055 said:

What was up with the answer of "snake" getting a BMS? Yeah, the snakes were cobras, but still. BMS is so erratic on this show.

The intertwining of cobra and mongoose goes well beyond Kipling though, and mongoose specifically are kept to hunt cobras.  The specificity of them being cobras is very important in the story.  I would have been disappointed (but not surprised) if they accepted just snakes, given how specific the clue was about the story, the character names, and so on.

[Dbolt]

I was confused by whether FJ was asking for the author or the title. The wording on some of the clues is so tortured sometimes. 

[DrSpaceman73]

I have read about vocal fry and listened to examples,  I honestly never hear it in contestants on here.  I guess I am lucky. 

[MrAtoz]

3 minutes ago, DrSpaceman73 said:

I have read about vocal fry and listened to examples,  I honestly never hear it in contestants on here.  I guess I am lucky. 

I'm the same way.  Whatever vocal fry is, I can't hear it.  Even when I listen to clips which supposedly demonstrate horrible examples of it.

I don't want to offend anyone, but I must admit I'm confused that people were confused as to whether the Final Jeopardy clue wanted the novel or the author.  The clue said "this novel," so it was the novel they were looking for.

[Prevailing Wind]

9 hours ago, saber5055 said:

Duh, neither did I. I guess I need to remove her name from "Favorite Authors" list.

Don't. The short story/novella is SO much scarier than the movie. Hitchcock really screwed it up sticking a pretty blonde in there.

[ABay]

I could've sworn "The Birds" was Patricia Highsmith, like "Strangers on a Train".

By cultural osmosis, without seeing or reading A Handmaid's Tale, I got FJ because Canada=Atwood and 1984=dystopia (and too late for Orwell).

[Quickbeam]

Handmaid's Tale was an Instaget for me but I swear there is Canadian Content in the book. And I heard "ill" too. 

[DrSpaceman73]

10 minutes ago, Quickbeam said:

Handmaid's Tale was an Instaget for me but I swear there is Canadian Content in the book. And I heard "ill" too. 

If its like the TV show, it does have Canadian content but it is not based in or on Canada. 

I also heard ill, which confused me. 

[Clanstarling]

13 hours ago, SoMuchTV said:

Oh, Borden and Elsie. I apologize for yelling at my tv twice tonight.

And I, instead of Alex, said "before your time.

12 hours ago, Grundoon59 said:

Also did anyone else hear Rachel say ill instead of ail in the two vowel category? It is also what my closed captions said.  

We heard "ill" - but "ail" never occurred to us, so we were just surprised that it was accepted.

12 hours ago, Browncoat said:

We're still fighting for it in Virginia!

Not just Virginia, sad to say.

5 hours ago, tvaddict44 said:

I was proud for the two ladies who got "The Handmaid's Tale." I have always found Margaret Atwood way too dense to make it through an entire book.  I felt like the clue was misleading in that they were thinking they would choose between Brave New World and 1984.  I knew it wasn't either of those.  Whenever we read 1984 in my English summer school class, I would always ask them when they thought the novel was written.  They were all amazed it was in the late 40's.

1984 threw me. I had it in my mind that I'd read it in the 70's.

11 minutes ago, Quickbeam said:

Handmaid's Tale was an Instaget for me but I swear there is Canadian Content in the book. And I heard "ill" too. 

I thought of Handmaid's Tale - despite being thrown by 1984, but I thought - there are Canadian settings in the book. Afterwards I thought, well, maybe it was just the series. I forget the exact wording, but I took it to mean no Canadian settings at all.

[SoMuchTV]

1 hour ago, MrAtoz said:

I don't want to offend anyone, but I must admit I'm confused that people were confused as to whether the Final Jeopardy clue wanted the novel or the author.  The clue said "this novel," so it was the novel they were looking for.

I was one of the confused ones, but now that I go back and read it on J! Archive, it seems much clearer.  (Also doesn't hurt that I now know the correct response.)  Must've been happy hour in a lot of homes last evening.

[Dbolt]

What was the exact wording for the clue?  I know it said this novel, but I believe it also said this author as well. 

[Driad]

3 hours ago, lmulsman said:

Did anybody else in the Boston area have a really weird broadcast with it freezing and then skipping clues/responses?  I'm wondering if it was the broadcast or my cable box.

We get it broadcast (no cable) and yesterday's show was OK.

[Trey]

34 minutes ago, Dbolt said:

What was the exact wording for the clue?  I know it said this novel, but I believe it also said this author as well. 

Here's the clue, borrowed from JBoard.

Quote

FINAL JEOPARDY! CLUE
The writing of this novel, the author’s first with no Canadian setting, appropriately began in 1984
 

[Trey]

Another good game by the contestants.

My ts's were Borden, explode and thorns.

2 hours ago, ABay said:

By cultural osmosis, without seeing or reading A Handmaid's Tale, I got FJ because Canada=Atwood and 1984=dystopia (and too late for Orwell).

My thought process too.  All the promos for the tv show helped.  They were non-stop for a while there.

[peeayebee]

9 hours ago, Toothbrush said:

I got Borden, and will accept boo instead of bae if my answer of burst instead of explode would be accepted. 

I like burst better than explode. Seems to suit the occurrence better.

 

7 hours ago, tvaddict44 said:

On a somewhat mean thought, I'm glad no one asked me to join Haley's classic book club.  Trust me: Moby Dick is the worst thing I ever had to read in graduate school - right up there with War and Peace and Tristram Shandy.  You can live a long, rich life without reading every classic known to man...

Luckily for me, when I read Moby Dick in college I had an awesome professor who made the book interesting, entertaining, perceptive, and rich. I'm so thankful for him.

 

2 hours ago, MrAtoz said:

I don't want to offend anyone, but I must admit I'm confused that people were confused as to whether the Final Jeopardy clue wanted the novel or the author.  The clue said "this novel," so it was the novel they were looking for.

Yes. I don't think the clue was confusing; you just had to read/listen carefully.

 

2 hours ago, Prevailing Wind said:

Don't. The short story/novella is SO much scarier than the movie. Hitchcock really screwed it up sticking a pretty blonde in there.

I haven't read it, but I was also going to say that the book might be very different from the movie, though I did like the movie.

[saber5055]

I'll step up to declare myself the stoopidest person on this board since I've never heard of Atwood and did not know The Handmaid's Tale was a book. Yes, I know it's a tv show but have never seen an episode and doubt I ever will.

However, I did know FJ was asking for the book's title, not author, so there's that in my defense.

[proserpina65]

14 hours ago, zoey1996 said:

I got Borden and The Birds and couldn't come up with FJ.

I don't hear vocal fry usually, but Rachel's voice was very nasal and had some annoying upspeak as well.

I got Borden.  I did not know Daphne Du Maurier wrote The Birds so I have learned something.  I didn't say 'explode' but I did say 'burst'; think that would've been accepted?  I'm with you on both the inability to hear vocal fry and on Rachel's annoying nasality.  I'm sure she can't help it, but gah!

I had no idea for FJ.  I didn't know Margaret Atwood was Canadian, and the year in the clue did not help at all.  Too bad nice looking guy on the end didn't know it either.

[Browncoat]

I wish I couldn't hear vocal fry.

[MrAtoz]

1 hour ago, saber5055 said:

I'll step up to declare myself the stoopidest person on this board since I've never heard of Atwood and did not know The Handmaid's Tale was a book. Yes, I know it's a tv show but have never seen an episode and doubt I ever will.

It was also a movie, back in 1990, starring the late Natasha Richardson.

[bad things are bad]

Quote

I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought they were looking for the author for FJ.  Not that I could come up with the author, but that's besides the point.

 

I didn't get the answer, and I've read Handmaid's Tale. Maybe if the category had been (Canadian) Women Authors...

[teebax]

For me, I thought the clue was saying "this author" instead of "this book." It's actually a common mistake. We see contestants do it and boardies like me do it too. I did mention it was inexcusable to me when I went back and rewatched. I'm trying to get better about not making those boneheaded mistakes. It happens when I play on J board too, though.

Edited January 24, 2019 by teebax

[opus]

Bummer. Rachael outs herself as a Yankees fan and immediately crashes and burns  :(

[Browncoat]

Instaget FJ for me tonight.  Not that I know much about UK prime ministers -- more like he was the only one I could think of besides Thatcher and May, who were obviously incorrect.

I ran the Poe category, and tried shouting "Fall of The House of Usher" at my TV, but, as usual, the contestant didn't hear me.  I also ran the blowhole category, and was surprised they all missed humpback whale.  Narwhal was a little more challenging, but "monoceros" led me to it fairly easily.  Other TS I got included amphibious, Light and Truth, and wildfires.

Not sad to see Rachael and her vocal fry go, but I'm not a huge fan of Aaron the buzzer-mashing category jumper, either.  Oh well.

[saber5055]

I knew Tony Blair (Bush's Poodle!) was a PM, but my problem with FJ was not knowing this Queen Elizabeth is Elizabeth II. I hold some hostility toward the British royals so I didn't care that I missed FJ.

Again, my specialties of animals and nature are stumpers for Jeopardy players. Narwhal was a no brainer for me, as was amphibious. It's a toad, folks! Plus who doesn't own the CD, "Songs of the Humpback Whale"?

No one? Okay then.

"Fall of the House of Usher" had to be a brain synapse skip. I have those so I commiserate with that player.

Edited January 25, 2019 by saber5055

[Bastet]

The Pi, humpback whale, and amphibious TS all surprised me, but with that last one I think they were expecting “bio” to lead off the word – as I believe it did with all other answers in that category – and thus couldn’t come up with anything.

Upon unveiling the categories, I was annoyed the Potent Poe Tales category wasn’t a Potent Potables category, but being a Poe fan as well as a lush, I wound up loving it.  The missed DD was a bit painful to watch happen.

I ran the “I named it after you” category based on the info within the clues, but I didn’t actually know any of those facts other than Dave Thomas naming Wendy’s after his daughter.  I wonder if any of them will stick in my mind.

FJ was an instaget, but if I'd had to go much further back in the line of modern political history of the UK, I'd have been in trouble; from Thatcher on, I can rattle off the prime minsters, but before that it's basically Churchill or Chamberlain and then a bunch of blank spaces in my brain.  (Go further back and I'll guess Duke of Wellington and then stare blankly when you ask me which one, or if that's wrong altogether, try Earl of Something, so, yeah, "who was leader when" is not my strong suit.)

Edited January 25, 2019 by Bastet

[peeayebee]

2 hours ago, Browncoat said:

Narwhal was a little more challenging, but "monoceros" led me to it fairly easily. 

I don't know why, but narwhal came to me almost immediately. Then when I noticed "monoceros" in the clue, I knew I was right.

The only stumpers I got were the DDs narwhal and Fall of the House of Usher. I said amphibian, not noticing the category was "Bio", so I guess I got that wrong.

Again, FJ seemed too easy. Who else was there to guess but Tony Blair?

[Sharpie66]

I only got Light and truth, Harding, and Tony Blair. I almost overthought it and said David Cameron, but stuck with my first guess. I knew it couldn’t be John Major. If they went further back, I could have come up with Disraeli for first (only?) Jewish PM and Robert Walpole for first putative PM. The BBC series Victoria also familiarized me with another one nicknamed Lord M, but I can’t remember his last name offhand. 

(Outside of the movie The Queen, my favorite footage of Blair is a brief sighting in an episode of the British archaeology show Time Team. He stopped by the dig as they were wrapping up and got a tour of what was in a field in his district—a Roman-era community.)

[Toothbrush]

I won't miss Rachel's vocal fry, but I will miss her outfits. I really liked them, well, what I could see of them anyway. Board hopping, buzzer mashing Aaron is not much better, but his smile when he won was nice. Maybe he'll calm down for his next game(s).

TS I got were pi(e), amphibious, Light & Truth (Nancy's missed DD), Fall of the House of Usher (Rachel's missed DD), Meg Ryan Gossling, EU. I misread Elizabeth II as Elizabeth I & wasn't even going to try because I couldn't think of any relevant 17th century PMs. Until Dr. T said, "how easy", I realized my mistake & at that point it was an instaget. 

3 hours ago, Bastet said:

amphibious TS all surprised me, but with that last one I think they were expecting “bio” to lead off the word – as I believe it did with all other answers in that category – and thus couldn’t come up with anything.

 

I only got it because I had no idea what category they were in (thank you DD hunter Aaron), so answered the question without regard to any qualifiers. I may not have gotten it otherwise for the reason you suggested. 

1 hour ago, Sharpie66 said:

 The BBC series Victoria also familiarized me with another one nicknamed Lord M, but I can’t remember his last name offhand. 

Lord Melbourne, played by the very easy on the eyes Rufus Sewell. 

Edited January 25, 2019 by Toothbrush

[Mystery Author]

Quote

I didn't know that du Maurier wrote The Birds.

I did. Next to Jackson's The Lottery, The Birds is the scariest story I've ever read, MUCH scarier than the movie.

Here's some trivia for y'all. Hitchcock wanted to end the movie with the car driving to San Francisco and, as they approach the Golden Gate Bridge, it's completely covered with birds.

[Mystery Author]

Quote

Plus who doesn't own the CD, "Songs of the Humpback Whale"?

I don't own the CD, but I've read Songs of the Hunchback Whale by Jodi Picoult. Does that count?

[Clanstarling]

14 hours ago, Browncoat said:

I ran the Poe category, and tried shouting "Fall of The House of Usher" at my TV, but, as usual, the contestant didn't hear me.  I also ran the blowhole category, and was surprised they all missed humpback whale.  Narwhal was a little more challenging, but "monoceros" led me to it fairly easily.  Other TS I got included amphibious, Light and Truth, and wildfires.

 

I missed humpback primarily because, though it was the first thing that came to mind, I dawdled looking for the ... hump... Sigh.

I was sad she missed Fall of the House of Archer, because imo it was the easiest one.

13 hours ago, saber5055 said:

I knew Tony Blair (Bush's Poodle!) was a PM, but my problem with FJ was not knowing this Queen Elizabeth is Elizabeth II. I hold some hostility toward the British royals so I didn't care that I missed FJ.yer.

Ah see, when I am hostile, I remember everything. Which is how I got Blair.

11 hours ago, Bastet said:

I ran the “I named it after you” category based on the info within the clues, but I didn’t actually know any of those facts other than Dave Thomas naming Wendy’s after his daughter.  I wonder if any of them will stick in my mind.

They are already gone from mine.

7 hours ago, Mystery Author said:

I did. Next to Jackson's The Lottery, The Birds is the scariest story I've ever read, MUCH scarier than the movie.

I don't think I've read The Birds, but if you think it's right up there with The Lottery, I'll have to seek it out.

[peeayebee]

9 hours ago, Toothbrush said:

Lord Melbourne, played by the very easy on the eyes Rufus Sewell. 

You got that right. ROWR!

 

8 hours ago, Mystery Author said:

Here's some trivia for y'all. Hitchcock wanted to end the movie with the car driving to San Francisco and, as they approach the Golden Gate Bridge, it's completely covered with birds.

Oooo. That would have been very cool. Guess pre-CGI that was impossible to do and look good.

 

1 hour ago, Clanstarling said:

I missed humpback primarily because, though it was the first thing that came to mind, I dawdled looking for the ... hump... Sigh.

I missed humpback because I was saying, "Blue whale. DUH!" 

[Sharpie66]

I should have gotten humpback whales from Star Trek IV, aka, “the one with the whales”.

[Mindthinkr]

12 hours ago, Toothbrush said:

Lord Melbourne, played by the very easy on the eyes Rufus Sewell. 

Hail to the yes. 

[Browncoat]

55 minutes ago, Sharpie66 said:

I should have gotten humpback whales from Star Trek IV, aka, “the one with the whales”.

I just call it the whale movie.  And I may or may not have said, "Captain, there be whales here!" on my recent trip (where we did see lots of humpback whales).

[DrSpaceman73]

I guessed half the non-sports TV show answers/questions before the clue even appeared. 

I always think of the movie Elf with the Narwhals "By buddy!  I hope you find your dad"

I was confused about the FJ question.  I thought they just wanted the first PM elected after Elizabeth was named queen, not the first one BORN after she was made queen. 

[Sharpie66]

(Neat FYI, if you search for “the one with the whales” on Wikipedia, it redirects to the page for Star Trek IV!)

[ErinV]

Omg could this Christopher in the middle talk any sloooower

[Quickbeam]

I LOVE Steve-O! He was so genuinely happy to win. Mr. QB and I agree he didn’t look like someone who would know what portmanteau means.... so fooled us. 

[SoMuchTV]

26 minutes ago, ErinV said:

Omg could this Christopher in the middle talk any sloooower

To me, it sounded like he was  being   very   careful   not   to    misspeak. 

[Quickbeam]

37 minutes ago, ErinV said:

Omg could this Christopher in the middle talk any sloooower

I wondered if he was a former stutterer. Sometimes their techniques slow their speech way down. Or I over thought it. 

[Browncoat]

I waffled between the Marshalls and the Rangers, and chose the wrong one.  Boo, hiss. 

I did not hear Steve-O say "What is" before he annoyingly squeaked out Pikachu.  Not that it mattered in the end.  I'm not a fan, though I was not rooting for Christopher.  I wasn't sure we'd finish the boards.  I guess I mostly rooted for Aaron again.

But I did get a few TS, including cockroaches, carbon dioxide, marionette, lens, and World Book.  We had a set of World Books when I was a kid.  I loved poring through them.

[Prevailing Wind]

I could swear Steve-O didn't say "What is..." in at least two responses.  I thought FJ was easy, even though I just guessed. Didn't know for sure, but it seemed so logical.

[chessiegal]

I couldn't believe no one got carbon dioxide or lens.

[saber5055]

51 minutes ago, ErinV said:

Omg could this Christopher in the middle talk any sloooower

I liked him very much but was sure he was going to get ranked on here, so "good for me." His manner of speaking didn't bother me in the least. And only one clue left on the board between both games, so he hurt nothing. He had a great interview story and Good For Him for making a nice showing today.

I wonder if Steve-O is a fan of Jackass.

I was thinking the Guardian Angels for FJ. Of course it's wrong, no need to point and laugh. The Guardian Angels deserve a clue or two. Or whole category.

18 minutes ago, Browncoat said:

I did not hear Steve-O say "What is" before he annoyingly squeaked out Pikachu. 

I didn't either but figured it got cut in the edit or Trebek would have been all over his case. No harm, no foul.

[lb60]

Thursday: I got pi(e), narwhal, and humpback.  FJ was an instaget.  I was not a fan of Aaron.

4 hours ago, DrSpaceman73 said:

I always think of the movie Elf with the Narwhals "By buddy!  I hope you find your dad"

Same here. I love that narwhal.

Also,

Narwhals, Narwhals
Swimming in the ocean
Causing a commotion
Coz they are so awesome

There used to be a commercial that used that part of the song.  It drove me nuts and amused me at the same time.

Friday: Sorry (not sorry) to anyone who liked/enjoyed any of the contestants tonight.  I thought it was an epic trio of suck.  I would have been happy to see all of them flame out, so we could have an entirely new group on Monday.

I only got carbon dioxide tonight.  I'm just going to blame that on the trio of suck, that's how much they all annoyed me.  I like my Jeopardy to proceed in an orderly fashion.  And for jeptestants not to go by douche-o names like Steve-O. Seriously!! 

I guessed US Marshals for FJ.  Once again, I blame the trio of suck.

Happy Friday, everyone.  lol
 

[peeayebee]

All I got was cockroaches and marionettes. What a combo!

There were others I should have gotten. Instead of lens I said cornea. I couldn't remember the gas (carbon dioxide).

For FJ I guessed US Marshalls, but I really didn't think that was right because I figured the answer had something to do with the land having belonged to Spain. So, yes, Texas Rangers filled that requirement.

I don't like the name Steve-O, but I ended up liking the guy.
 

[Bastet]

Steve-O, really?  But, I must say, he was nowhere near as annoying as his name would suggest.

Aaron’s desperate attempt to ring in on the South Pole clue was entertaining; I’d probably do something just like that.

Thank goodness we could see the Toyota on the grill of the Supra in the photo clue, because otherwise even with the “sup” category, I wouldn’t have come up with it in time – I’m not good at identifying cars by sight.

I am not at all a Muppets fan, yet marionette made perfect sense given the clue and thus came to me right away; I’m surprised that was a TS.  Lens and carbon dioxide were also a bit surprising.  Laws was beyond surprising; it seemed such a “gimme” from the wording, even setting aside my knowledge as a lawyer, but of course I can’t really do that.  So I’ll drop down from stunning, but I still say it’s surprising not one of them deduced it just based on logic.  Maybe they thought it was something more specific and didn’t want to risk being wrong with a guess of just “laws.”

Knowing the two colors at play in color-blindness does not belong in the second round, let alone as a DD.

[SoMuchTV]

1 minute ago, Bastet said:

Knowing the two colors at play in color-blindness does not belong in the second round, let alone as a DD.

for some reason, I was sure it was green and blue. I'm going to have to go and read up.

[SHD]

2 hours ago, Prevailing Wind said:

I could swear Steve-O didn't say "What is..." in at least two responses.  I thought FJ was easy, even though I just guessed. Didn't know for sure, but it seemed so logical.

I certainly didn't hear it before his Super Bowl answer.

Middle guy speaks like Michael Ian Black. I don't watch the interviews - is he an actor or public speaker or something? He has a very trained-sounding voice.