The Jeopardy! All-Star Games

[M. Darcy]

Brad just never loses! Though of course it was a team effort. 

Heh I SO misunderstood FJ. I didn’t get that it was the numbers of the amendments - I thought it was how many amendments dealt with those issues. D’oh. 

[Browncoat]

Once again, Brad wins, and still has never lost to a human!  Smart wagers by Team Ken and Team Brad -- Brad couldn't be beaten, and by betting nothing, Team Ken assured second place.  I am not sad about the outcome.  I like both Ken and Brad.

But apparently I need to brush up on my constitutional amendments.  I knew 1 and 21, but couldn't remember 13.  How clever of the clue writers to make it be the season number, too.

I got the TS of clue, which I think the contestants overthought.  It seemed a little too simple, and I didn't think I was right, either.  I also got lightning rod.

And as much as I enjoyed seeing Colby get his ass kicked (and Austin, too, for that matter), I will be glad to get back to regular games tomorrow.

Edited March 6, 2019 by Browncoat

[secnarf]

28 minutes ago, M. Darcy said:

Brad just never loses! Though of course it was a team effort. 

Heh I SO misunderstood FJ. I didn’t get that it was the numbers of the amendments - I thought it was how many amendments dealt with those issues. D’oh. 

That's what I thought at first too, and had to reread it once to understand what they meant.

Just to add to the ironing thing - my mother used to iron and vaguely explained to me how when I would watch her as a child, but she rarely irons now and instead has taught me the 'wrinkle test' she performs before buying clothes (basically grab a fistful of the fabric and scrunch it up and then see if it stays wrinkled).

[Katy M]

I was one off.  the amendment to repeal prohibition just is not that important to me:)

[ABay]

In spite of getting the amendments wrong, except for 1, I still got the right number. If Matt had written 1+ 14 + 20 = 35 would be still have been ruled correct?

[Fex]

11 minutes ago, ABay said:

In spite of getting the amendments wrong, except for 1, I still got the right number. If Matt had written 1+ 14 + 20 = 35 would be still have been ruled correct?

Ooh, great question. I would guess yes, but he'd be the butt of jokes for a looong time!

I knew 13 and 21, but blanked on religion. Seems like I should have known it, in retrospect.

I'm taking it personally that they didn't get Nova Scotia... but I have no idea how well-known Peggy's Cove is outside of Canada (or even outside NS). Have any of the non-Canadians here heard of it?

Fun tournament, but I will be happy to see regular games again.

[ABay]

I've been to Peggy's Cove! Nova Scotia is beautiful, and the difference between the east and west is amazing. Some people might know Peggy's Cove because of a plane crash near there in the late 90s.

[junemeatcleaver]

Yeah, yeah it was a team, but Brad really is the best there is, the best there was, the best there ever will be.

[zoey1996]

I really enjoyed FJ today, with Colby’s team betting an amount that, if it was correct, would give them Jean Valjean’s prisoner number, which it did!

[Prevailing Wind]

I got Nova Scotia, but it was pure guessing.

[Bastet]

I know the Constitution like some folks know their bible, and I'm good at math, so I'd have bet the farm on FJ and come up big.  I consider all three to be pretty well-known amendments, so I wasn't surprised to see the contestants get it right; unless one of them was slow to come up with one and ran out of time, I couldn't really see it going any other way.

What a fun two-day final.  Brad landing on both DDs in DJ – and getting them right – was huge and I figured game over.  I love Larissa, so I'm glad to see that team win.

Monica cracks me up with the buzzer; she reminds me of me with the joystick back in my Texas Instruments/Atari videogame days.

I liked the whiskey (and water) clue, as that’s what I was drinking during the game.

The clue TS was surprising, not because I’d have thought one of the three would know the original definition, but because I’d have thought the modern one – in a clue only worth $600 – would have led at least one of them to guess it.  Meese kind of surprised me, with the M spotted, but then not; so many people devoted their lives to opposing the ACA, it can be hard to keep track.

[opus]

2 minutes ago, Bastet said:

Brad landing on both DDs in DJ – and getting them right – was huge and I figured game over.

Yeah, that was basically the difference.

[peeayebee]

1 hour ago, Katy M said:

I was one off.  the amendment to repeal prohibition just is not that important to me:)

Oh my, it is EVERYTHING!  *drink*

19 minutes ago, Prevailing Wind said:

I got Nova Scotia, but it was pure guessing.

Same here. 

Glad the tournament is over. I basically enjoyed it but the non-playing parts weren't all that interesting to me.

[Enigma X]

I am glad Brad’s team won. I enjoyed the tournament.

[GenerationX]

I like how Brad just outplayed everyone, particularly the big personalities in the tournament.  His teammates were solid, too.

I appreciate that the show tried a change of pace with how the tournament and episodes were structured.  It's like when the Weather Channel runs shows or documentaries about historical weather events.  Yeah, it's related and kind of interesting, but I just want to know what to expect in the next week.  The All-Star Tournament extended interview and backstage strategy sessions were related and kind of interesting, but I just wanted to get to the questions.  So, I'm OK with this tournament as a one-off, but I don't see it as a regular annual thing without some editing.

[catrice2]

The problem was that I enjoyed individual people and not whole teams.  I think it would have been better if teams were assigned at random.  

[Toothbrush]

Only TS I got was clue, and I think it was a TS only because the players overthought it.

I pre-guessed FJ. Once the category was revealed I figured the most logical number they would be going for is 35 since this is their 35th year. 

All in all I enjoyed the tournament, and I'm sure it was fun for all involved to change things up for a milestone year, especially since AT will most likely have retied by year 40. It was nice to see some of my favorite players again, even if it meant having to put up with a few I could live without. Congrats to Team Brad!! 

5 hours ago, Katy M said:

I was one off.  the amendment to repeal prohibition just is not that important to me:)

It's one of my favorites!!! 

[bybrandy]

I was one off on prohibition repeal, too.  However, when my initial math was 34 I did think, "Hey, I bet it is 35".  

[DrSpaceman]

10 hours ago, Katy M said:

I was one off.  the amendment to repeal prohibition just is not that important to me:)

I only know it because there was a string of Liquor stores named The 21st Amendment where I grew up

I always thought it was a national chain, but maybe I was wrong. 

Brad wins again.  The two daily doubles for $15k in DJ really made the difference.

I thought after yesterday's game Ken's team should have made a bigger wager on FJ though.  Left them playing catch up today and just never could. 

Melissa was awful with the signaling device.  And I know they can't just put her in FJ twice and leave her out of the jeopardy/double jeopardy rounds, but Matt being used in FJ and not in one of the first two "ringing in" rounds really hurt them in the final game. 

It was interesting, I enjoyed it more than I thought I would.  Once in 35 years I can put up with it. 

[Ailianna]

9 hours ago, Bastet said:

Brad landing on both DDs in DJ – and getting them right – was huge and I figured game over. 

9 hours ago, opus said:

Yeah, that was basically the difference.

You could see Ken shake his head when Brad hit the second DD, and knew if Brad got it right, he would be essentially impossible to catch.

8 hours ago, GenerationX said:

I like how Brad just outplayed everyone, particularly the big personalities in the tournament. 

I don't think Brad outplayed Ken--the DD were huge.  But outside those pieces which are essentially lucky finds, they were close in the number of questions answered correctly (though Ken answered more correct questions), closein money amounts, and essentially, as Team Ken noted in the beginning team meeting, the two teams were neck and neck.  

In fact, several people answered more questions correct than Brad, including Alex Jacobs, Matt Jackson and Larissa Kelly.  This is not to knock on Brad-he's a machine, he's smart and quick and very knowledgable.  But there is an element of luck involved in J! too and Brad certainly had that going for him today too.  Yesterday Brad also got the (only) DD in the round he played against Ken.  It's impossible to overlook the impact of the DD, between who gets it, what category it's in, and what the wager is, even before the issue of knowing the answer.  

I enjoyed the tournament, but I think the outcome doesn't necessarily reflect who is the best player, since not only are all of those factors part of it, but the team aspect played huge.  I would still someday like to see Alex Jacobs play Ken and Brad.  Make it more podiums and add Matt Jackson and Larissa in, and I'm all there.  (Not to say some of the other players, like Dave Madden) aren't amazing too, but those 5 are the ones I'm most blown away by.

I'm honestly not sure where Monica and Leonard came from (I know--student tournaments), in that they hadn't been part of any of the big multiple season tournaments from recent years, and their tournament years were some time ago, but they turned out to be good players.  I liked Leonard a lot, and if he comes back, I look forward to seeing him.

[proserpina65]

Yay, Team Brad!  I enjoyed this final, and would've been fine with Ken's team winning.  They were clearly the best two teams.  Although his bold betting when hitting those two Daily Doubles was a major factor, Brad really won this tournament on the day teams were chosen.  He picked two great teammates, whereas Ken picked one great one and one weaker one, and then didn't utilize Matt well last night; he should've played either of the first two rounds (whichever one he didn't play the night before) and not FJ.

If TPTB decide to do something like this again, they need to rethink the format, because all the non-game time was a drag.  Still, I ended up enjoying the tournament.

I had a lot of wrong answers last night, particularly in DJ.  And no, I didn't get FJ.  For some reason I thought it was the 14th amendment, which gave me 36 instead of 35.  It was like my worst possible category, government + math.  Although the math itself was easy.

[proserpina65]

12 hours ago, Browncoat said:

I got the TS of clue, which I think the contestants overthought.

I did get that one, basically because of a novel I read set in Sicily which involved many, many references to Theseus, Ariadne and the labyrinth.  (The title of the book was The Lady of the Labyrinth.)

Edited March 6, 2019 by proserpina65

[DrScottie]

8 minutes ago, opus said:

11 minutes ago, Bastet said:

Brad landing on both DDs in DJ – and getting them right – was huge and I figured game over.

Yeah, that was basically the difference.

At that point, I quoted Bill Paxton's famous line in "Aliens" Game Over, Man.  

It was a fun tournament, but I was surprised at some of FJ questions especially the Art of War one. That's a college tournament question, not one for the All-Star ToC. 

[Katy M]

Monica was complete deadweight for team Ken.  I think she was the worse player in the entire tournament.  I think Larissa was the best of the non-captains.  She did great.

[proserpina65]

11 hours ago, Fex said:

I'm taking it personally that they didn't get Nova Scotia... but I have no idea how well-known Peggy's Cove is outside of Canada (or even outside NS). Have any of the non-Canadians here heard of it?

I haven't heard of it, but lighthouse + maritime province screamed Nova Scotia to me.  I ran the lighthouse category.  And did terrible in the star category.  I didn't get Edwin Meese.  I mean, I've heard of him, but would never have remembered what position he held.  Again, government, very bad category for me.

48 minutes ago, Ailianna said:

I don't think Brad outplayed Ken--the DD were huge. 

Brad might not have outplayed Ken in the game, but he definitely out-strategized him, both with his team choices and with how he utilized them.  Ken really screwed up by not putting Matt in for the Jeopardy round last night.  He really needed Matt's machine-like playing quality in that round rather than Monica's whatever that was.

55 minutes ago, Ailianna said:

I would still someday like to see Alex Jacobs play Ken and Brad.

So would I.  That was the only sad thing, imo, about Buzzy's team losing the wild card game, no chance to see Alex face off against both Brad and Ken.

[M. Darcy]

I wonder if anyone answering FJ would get 34 or 36 and then think wait...its the 35th Anniversary of J! and then change their answer to that.   Probably not in the brief time you have to answer the question.  That's something you probably get when overthinking an answer. 

Edited March 6, 2019 by M. Darcy

[MrAtoz]

1 hour ago, Ailianna said:

I'm honestly not sure where Monica and Leonard came from (I know--student tournaments), in that they hadn't been part of any of the big multiple season tournaments from recent years, and their tournament years were some time ago, but they turned out to be good players.  I liked Leonard a lot, and if he comes back, I look forward to seeing him.

Monica won the 2012 College Championship.  One could be forgiven for not remembering her; she looks very different now than she did then.  I remember her largely because she was so visibly thrilled about winning.  She kept shaking her head as if she couldn't believe it was really happening, which I found rather endearing.

Leonard won the 2013 Teen Tournament.  His winning Final Jeopardy response ("Who is some guy in Normandy, but I just won $75,000!"--he had a runaway victory) greatly amused Alex and went viral.

It seems to me that both Monica and Leonard were included largely because their reactions to winning were in some way funny and/or memorable.  But they both turned out to be pretty good players, Leonard in particular, despite not having the long runs that the other All-Stars did.

I enjoyed the tournament, on the whole.  I suspected Brad's team would win--Brad always wins, somehow.  If they hadn't had the 5-day limit during his initial run, he might still be the returning champion to this day! 🙂

[Enigma X]

46 minutes ago, proserpina65 said:

So would I.  That was the only sad thing, imo, about Buzzy's team losing the wild card game, no chance to see Alex face off against both Brad and Ken.

I agree.

[proserpina65]

27 minutes ago, MrAtoz said:

I suspected Brad's team would win--Brad always wins, somehow.  If they hadn't had the 5-day limit during his initial run, he might still be the returning champion to this day! 🙂

Hey now, that's my line!  lol

Brad has still never lost to another human being.

Edited March 6, 2019 by proserpina65

[Julia67]

Yay for Team Brad!  The finish was exciting, but I would have been fine with Team Ken or Team Brad winning.  I, too, would like to see a Ken-Brad-Alex match.  Didn't care for Matt.  I think a large rock would have been more exciting.  Yeah, he was smart, but if they were looking for "interesting", they missed it with him.  He didn't even seem to have any camaraderie with the other players.  I am surprised Ken picked Monica.  She seemed lovely but was a definite liability during games.  

Question: does anyone know if each contestant got 1 million or do the three winning team members split the prize money?

[Katy M]

1 hour ago, proserpina65 said:

Ken really screwed up by not putting Matt in for the Jeopardy round last night.  He really needed Matt's machine-like playing quality in that round rather than Monica's whatever that was.

Who played final the first night?  I honestly dont' remember, but I know Ken played first, so if Matt played final in the second game that meant that Monica would have had to play final the first, right?  So, putting her in the first round was far preferable than putting her in double.  She was just complete dead weight. I've no doubt that she's smarter than me, but she had no business being in that tournament.

[MrAtoz]

30 minutes ago, Julia67 said:

I am surprised Ken picked Monica.  She seemed lovely but was a definite liability during games.  

Question: does anyone know if each contestant got 1 million or do the three winning team members split the prize money?

I can't find it now, but someone upthread noted that Monica beat Ken when they both appeared on the short-lived game show 500 Questions in 2016.  People who can beat Ken Jennings at trivia are in short supply, so he probably figured he should snap her up for his team.

The teams split the winnings.  I think that was mentioned at some point.  Which means that Brad, Larissa, and Dave are splitting $1,000,000 three ways.  Who do you suppose gets the extra penny? 🙂

[Neveragain]

5 minutes ago, MrAtoz said:

The teams split the winnings.  I think that was mentioned at some point.  Which means that Brad, Larissa, and Dave are splitting $1,000,000 three ways.  Who do you suppose gets the extra penny?

My guess is Uncle Sam, the same one who is going to get the first 37.5%!

[opus]

16 minutes ago, MrAtoz said:

Which means that Brad, Larissa, and Dave are splitting $1,000,000 three ways.  Who do you suppose gets the extra penny? 🙂

They should give it to Austin 🙂

[Katy M]

20 minutes ago, MrAtoz said:

The teams split the winnings.  I think that was mentioned at some point.  Which means that Brad, Larissa, and Dave are splitting $1,000,000 three ways.  Who do you suppose gets the extra penny?

I vote Larissa gets it.  Or they give it to Monica for making their win easier than it should have been.

[peeayebee]

9 hours ago, Toothbrush said:

I pre-guessed FJ. Once the category was revealed I figured the most logical number they would be going for is 35 since this is their 35th year. 

You smart! I never had the anniversary in my head at all. Ever. (I need to pay more attention.)

14 hours ago, Fex said:

I'm taking it personally that they didn't get Nova Scotia... but I have no idea how well-known Peggy's Cove is outside of Canada (or even outside NS). Have any of the non-Canadians here heard of it?

I've only heard of Cabot's Cove.

2 hours ago, proserpina65 said:

I haven't heard of it, but lighthouse + maritime province screamed Nova Scotia to me. 

I think that's how I got it, too.

[ABay]

13 hours ago, junemeatcleaver said:

Yeah, yeah it was a team, but Brad really is the best there is, the best there was, the best there ever will be.

Hey, Brad is no Bret Hart!

[proserpina65]

1 hour ago, Katy M said:

Who played final the first night?  I honestly dont' remember, but I know Ken played first, so if Matt played final in the second game that meant that Monica would have had to play final the first, right?  So, putting her in the first round was far preferable than putting her in double.  She was just complete dead weight. I've no doubt that she's smarter than me, but she had no business being in that tournament.

Ken played the Jeopardy round the first night, Matt played DJ and Monica FJ, so Ken definitely had to put her in one of the non-FJ rounds.  I still think I'd have put Matt in the Jeopardy round on night two, rather than Monica, but she would've had to play DJ, so you're right, Ken's team was screwed either way.  He made a bad choice by picking her for his team in the first place.

[DoubleUTeeEff]

1 hour ago, MrAtoz said:

Who do you suppose gets the extra penny?

I wondered the same thing and figured it would go to the team captain. 

I would have been happy with a Team Ken or Team Brad win; I was just glad Colby's team came in last place. He was more annoying than I remember. Did he get worse?

I enjoyed the tournament. I like it when really good players compete against each other no matter what the gimmick is for getting them together. 

[Katy M]

37 minutes ago, proserpina65 said:

Ken played the Jeopardy round the first night, Matt played DJ and Monica FJ, so Ken definitely had to put her in one of the non-FJ rounds.  I still think I'd have put Matt in the Jeopardy round on night two, rather than Monica, but she would've had to play DJ, so you're right, Ken's team was screwed either way.  He made a bad choice by picking her for his team in the first place.

Also, now that I've thought about it, I think Monica got the FJ right, but they didn't let her bet anything, probably because they had no confidence in her.  Knowing that may have even more negatively affected her performance last night.  Who knows?  I do kind of feel sorry for her because, like I said, she really had no business being in that tournament, and being that outmatched id demoralizing to say the least.  And, I'm not saying she's stupid, she was just a bit out of her league.    Hopefully she'll just be able to brush it off, and hopefully Ken and Matt don't/didn't make her feel bad about it.

[Browncoat]

1 minute ago, Katy M said:

Also, now that I've thought about it, I think Monica got the FJ right, but they didn't let her bet anything, probably because they had no confidence in her.  Knowing that may have even more negatively affected her performance last night.  Who knows?  I do kind of feel sorry for her because, like I said, she really had no business being in that tournament, and being that outmatched id demoralizing to say the least.  And, I'm not saying she's stupid, she was just a bit out of her league.    Hopefully she'll just be able to brush it off, and hopefully Ken and Matt don't/didn't make her feel bad about it.

Monica got FJ right on Monday, and bet $7500.

[Katy M]

3 minutes ago, Browncoat said:

Monica got FJ right on Monday, and bet $7500.

OK, see, this is why they'll never choose me to be on Team USA for the Memory Olympics.  But, now I feel better, because it tuns out she wasn't complete dead weight.  She did her job on Monday.

Now, it's coming back to me  I remember Ken saying they need to bet a middle amount so that they would be covered either way.  I think if he or Matt had been doing it, he would have wanted to go higher, because they weren't in all that strong of a position to be betting low.  I remember thinking that at the time, but understood that they were afraid they wouldn't get it right, because FJ hadn't been going so great so far in the tournament.  

Edited March 6, 2019 by Katy M

[Trey]

3 hours ago, Katy M said:

She was just complete dead weight. I've no doubt that she's smarter than me, but she had no business being in that tournament.

Poor Monica!  I suspect that they were trying to get more women into the tournament so she got invited.  I wonder if they invited Lilly Chin but she couldn't make it.

[Kimmmmmm]

Wonderful...now I just hope I never have to see any of these "All-Stars" again

[saber5055]

[Ailianna]

2 hours ago, Trey said:

Poor Monica!  I suspect that they were trying to get more women into the tournament so she got invited.  I wonder if they invited Lilly Chin but she couldn't make it.

She was the female alternate--if one of the women couldn't make it, she would be substituted.  There was also a male alternate, John Pearson.  The rules.

[Driad]

Too bad, I liked Lilly Chin and would have been pleased to see her.

IIRC, Alan Lin is the one who said he would like to write clues for Jeopardy.  Please hire him, we need better clues!

Edited March 6, 2019 by Driad

[DrSpaceman]

I was more satisfied with the tournament that I thought I would be.  It was a nice brief diversion from the usual game.

Here is how I would have changed it though :

I mentioned before, you take 9 teams, not 6, play 3 games, the winners of those games are in the finals. 

For the finals, there are 3 teams of 3 players each.  Instead of a two game final, you do a 3 game final. 

Each player on the team plays one whole game straight, start to finish. 

Of course cumulative totals.  Most at the end of the 3 games is the winner. 

That would be my preference.

OR.......... I will even give an alternative

A two game final, BUT........

Lowest scoring team is out after the first game. 

So you start with 3 teams, play a game.  Lower score is out.  Down do two teams. 

Then you have one game head to head for the winner, basically.  You can do cumulative totals or just one game totals for the winner

[saber5055]

1 hour ago, DrSpaceman said:

Here is how I would have changed it though : 

You are hired.

[Neveragain]

Alex trebek was just diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer?  Oh no. No. How terrible, awful.  He’s being really brave about it but of course it’s really worrisome.

Edited March 7, 2019 by Neveragain