The Jeopardy! All-Star Games

[secnarf]

27 minutes ago, saber5055 said:

I feel like I should get an asterisk for knowing the TS propofol. (How I know that is none of your business.) Brad's team is rocking it, he was wise to pick two players who write quiz questions for a living. I felt sorry for Colby and his team. I hope they do better in the next round. It's not over yet. But yeah, Larissa on ON FIRE with that buzzer and her answers.

FJ = Wow, two out of three super brainiacs didn't get it. Burn.

Well now I am curious as to what the story is! I knew propofol because I am a pharmacist 😉

FJ was an instaget for me. All those JetPunk quizzes are paying off!

Austin is the only contestant on there that annoys me, though to be fair I don't actually remember a few of them. I did actually like Arthur Chu - he was an excellent player, and that is why I watch.

[Grundoon59]

I am glad that the players are enjoying the Tournament (and certainly understand why they would) and am impressed with their knowledge base but so far I haven't found it as enjoyable as a regular show would be for me as a viewer.  Hopefully I will enjoy it more as the Tournament goes on.

I did feel bad for Alan (my favorite on team Colby) since he seemed to feel  he had let them down by being beaten to the buzzer. 

[saber5055]

20 minutes ago, ClareWalks said:

The only saving grace was that, with this format, there was plenty of time.

That, plus his playing was so BEAUTIFUL. The extra time gave me plenty of opportunity to imagine him as my boyfriend. So, I'm not complaining, it was all good for me.

[Fex]

I really liked seeing the strategizing, and that there was lots of time for the piano playing in the clues. No risk of not clearing the board! I also enjoy the good-natured trash talking.

I was cautiously optimistic that this tournament could be fun, and so far I'm happy. I always like seeing smart, impressive, players. And I'll be even happier when there's an entire game in an episode!

[Bastet]

I loved the audience enjoying the Ann Richards quote.

Larissa was on fire; if she’d landed on that politicians DD, she’d probably have given her team a huge lead heading into FJ.  I’m glad they wound up with one after FJ, and am surprised only one got it.  I know, I know, even J! contestants suck at geography, but this is the all-stars championship.  One couldn’t even come up with a single country and one didn’t pay attention to all the words in the clue.

Coming up with the lyric “land that I love” has no place in DJ, ever, and certainly not in this championship.  Identifying Beethoven’s Fifth was also ridiculously over-valued.  I spent that entire category grumbling at the pianist; like many here, I was irked by the slow reading of the clue.  It was like a parody of slow clue reading!

Only two TS, I think; propofol surprised me, but I think they just couldn’t pull it from their brains, probably picturing a jumble of letters starting with p and scrambling to bring it into focus but running out of time.

I liked seeing bits of the wagering strategy sessions before we got to FJ.

[chessiegal]

8 minutes ago, Bastet said:

Coming up with the lyric “land that I love” has no place in DJ, ever, and certainly not in this championship. 

Thank you. That was one I thought did not belong in this tournament.

[lb60]

2 hours ago, saber5055 said:

I feel like I should get an asterisk for knowing the TS propofol.

I also got that and was very impressed with myself, since none of the brainiacs knew the answer. However, the rest of the game I was pretty much saying, "How in the hell do they know that?"

Larissa was very impressive.

I started with Morocco for FJ (mostly because it was the only seven letter country I could think of). I couldn't think of another country, so settled on Nigeria and Namibia.  Fail, but at least they start with the same letter and have seven letters.  I'm settling for small victories during this tournament.

[biakbiak]

I got propofol instantly because I am currently sick so that means being curled up on the couch watching stored episodes of Law and Order and one was where it played an important part and they also used the nickname.

FJ was also an IG.

Edited February 22, 2019 by biakbiak

[saber5055]

7 minutes ago, lb60 said:

at least they start with the same letter and have seven letters.

Good For You! *drink*  I came up with two pairs that started with the same letter, then I spent all my time counting one, two, three ... on my fingers for each of them. None had seven letters, of course. But it was a valiant try. Or so I told myself.

[Brookside]

2 hours ago, SHD said:

So far I haven’t noticed the all-star questions being noticeably harder than regular Jeopardy.

Totally agree.  It's as if they're champions because they can buzz in quickly, not because they know what I feel should be obscure trivia

[Enigma X]

Showing my simpleness (and possible crudeness) here but the piano guy reminded me of Bronson Pinchot, and I was laughing every time he was on the screen because it seemed like an SNL skit to me at times.

Edited February 22, 2019 by Enigma X

[Kathira]

2 hours ago, ClareWalks said:

I came up with Somalia for FJ immediately and couldn't for the life of me think of Senegal. I actually took a college course all about Africa 15 years ago and memorized all the countries, but several have changed since then and I haven't bothered to keep up. My brain erased all the info.

I was dying over here! The only saving grace was that, with this format, there was plenty of time.

I was the same. I got Somalia, but then I was sunk. And yeah, the pianist was killing me. Worse than the actors in that Geico commercial with the slow talking soap opera actors. I also got propofol. I think it was involved with Prince's death as well as Michael Jackson. Or was it fentanyl? Bad stuff, either way.

[j5cochran]

30 minutes ago, saber5055 said:

Good For You! *drink*  I came up with two pairs that started with the same letter, then I spent all my time counting one, two, three ... on my fingers for each of them. None had seven letters, of course. But it was a valiant try. Or so I told myself.

Same here! I came up with Ethiopia . . . . . . and then Eritrea . . . . . . and before I could count the letters in Ethiopia, time was up.

[theatremouse]

Hershey Felder is an insufferable ass and I was not pleased to have to sit through him for an entire category.

[peeayebee]

3 hours ago, saber5055 said:

I feel like I should get an asterisk for knowing the TS propofol.

I almost knew it. I was like, "Propurall?"

Geography is definitely not my strong suit, so I'm very proud that I got FJ. I pictured the east coast of Africa and came up with Somalia, then Senegal came to me almost immediately. Wow. I guess I CAN still learn at this age.

I'm not enjoying Dave's fist-pumping. Ugh. BTW, how long ago was he on Jeopardy? 

[Abstract]

54 minutes ago, Enigma X said:

Showing my simpleness (and possible crudeness) here but the piano guy reminded me of Bronson Pinchot, and I was laughing every time he was on the screen because it seemed like an SNL skit to me at times.

So it wasn’t just me. I kept thinking he looked like Balki, and his whole presentation was just over the top.

Larissa was awesome. I’ve never seen her play before. I guess Brad can add team picking ability to his other Jeopardy talents.

Any sort of geography question would be my worst nightmare for FJ.

[GenerationX]

I'm fine with the format change for the tournament, but mostly because I didn't get a chance to watch the first show yesterday and watched the first two shows back-to-back today.  That made for a more satisfying experience.

I don't actively dislike any of the competitors.  They all seem game and enthusiastic.  Some of the contestants were new to me, such as Alex and Larissa, both of which were very impressive.

I would have liked to see the show give the teams the category names for all three rounds before they chose who played which round.  That would make for more strategizing.

I got the first TS and FJ.  I wasn't sure if it was Somalia or Eritrea in the east, but when I scanned western Africa in my head, the only potential match was Senegal.

[Alice Mudgarden]

The category with Hershey Felder was pure torture for me. Each clue felt like it took 9,000 years.

[biakbiak]

I know they often have long categories but I wonder if they made Felder’s clues like that because they had time to feel.

[Toothbrush]

I didn't mind having only the Jeopardy round Wednesday, but DD & FJ seemed chopped up to me for some reason. 

Only TS I got was propofol. Dr. Toothbrush said Somalia for FJ but couldn't come up with a 2nd country. I said Nigeria & Namimba, but honestly had no recollection of where either is located on the continent. Just went by same 1st letter & 7 letters. I realize Dave Madden figured he had this, but he looked Smuggy McSmuggerson after his opponents' FJ answers were found to be incorrect. Turned me right off. 

Yay for Larissa - she rocked! I felt bad for Team Colby, but loved Pam's dress & necklace. 

15 hours ago, saber5055 said:

There are regular people who watch this show for entertainment and have never heard of Brad or Colby or, heaven forbid, Ken Jennings.

Say it isn't so! 

7 hours ago, clubsauce said:

Buzzy has somehow evolved into a ventriloquist dummy.

We said the same thing!! I loved the way Buzzy dressed during his previous appearances, but his bowtie was too big, too busy, & too bright.

7 hours ago, ClareWalks said:

I came up with Somalia for FJ immediately and couldn't for the life of me think of Senegal. I actually took a college course all about Africa 15 years ago and memorized all the countries, but several have changed since then and I haven't bothered to keep up. My brain erased all the info.

I pretty much wasn't even going to bother once I saw the category, but since my go-to African country, Nigeria, fit the criteria I decided to scan my brain for the second. Of course I was wrong..lol Dr. Toothbrush also got Somalia. The maps of both Africa & Europe are so different than when I first had to write in each country on a world map in 9th grade, circa 1987. I'm old 😎

5 hours ago, Bastet said:

Coming up with the lyric “land that I love” has no place in DJ, ever, and certainly not in this championship.  Identifying Beethoven’s Fifth was also ridiculously over-valued.  I spent that entire category grumbling at the pianist; like many here, I was irked by the slow reading of the clue.  It was like a parody of slow clue reading!

All of this. But I did learn that Tchaikovsky was gay, a factoid I did not know prior to this game. 

[Minaboo]

6 hours ago, j5cochran said:

Same here! I came up with Ethiopia . . . . . . and then Eritrea . . . . . . and before I could count the letters in Ethiopia, time was up.

Me, too! I was so proud of myself as I confidently waited for one of the all-stars to reveal the obviously correct answer. Then my husband asked me how to spell Ethiopia...

[mertensia]

I got hung up on Eritrea and my mind circled it endlessly and refused to think of a single other country. And I aced two courses on Africa in college. 

I was amused by the "how the teams trained" bit.

[The Wild Sow]

Somalia was an instaget for me -- easternmost country on the mainland?  Gotta be the one on the horn!

I had to do patient screening during an Ebola scare a few years ago, and ask if they had travelled to any of several countries in western Africa.  One of those was Senegal, so I figured that was a pretty safe bet.

I could NOT pull Propofol out of my brain though.  I kept getting stuck on Fentanyl and Versed.  We used to use that combo to sedate severely claustrophobic patients when I worked in MRI.  

[DrSpaceman]

7 hours ago, j5cochran said:

Same here! I came up with Ethiopia . . . . . . and then Eritrea . . . . . . and before I could count the letters in Ethiopia, time was up.

I thought of the exact same countries, one with the wrong number of letters. 

Also hated the piano category for the slowness of the clues.  I always hate those guess clue categories.  Not only do they read them slow, but they tend to make the "clues" needlessly long, going on for a whole paragraph when you don't need that much information to get the answer. 

Beethoven's fifth :  all you need is play the opening, and say like "One of the most famous openings of classical music"  That's it.  Takes like 5 seconds tops 

[Abstract]

Beethoven’s Fifth needs the word “Symphony” after it to be a complete answer. I was surprised there wasn’t a BMS given.

[proserpina65]

12 hours ago, ClareWalks said:

I came up with Somalia for FJ immediately and couldn't for the life of me think of Senegal. I actually took a college course all about Africa 15 years ago and memorized all the countries, but several have changed since then and I haven't bothered to keep up. My brain erased all the info.

I was dying over here! The only saving grace was that, with this format, there was plenty of time.

I got Somalia quickly too, because I knew it was on the Horn of Africa, then it was a matter of coming up with another African country which started with 's'.  I knew it wasn't Sudan, South Sudan or South Africa, so Senegal was the only one left.  I took a politically geography class in college, and had some vague memory of the map from that class, but really only knew about Senegal from watching the Amazing Race and World Cup soccer.

Sorry, Ken, but this isn't a minor change; it's huge and cumbersome, and I hope they never do it again.  But at least it's only two weeks.

[proserpina65]

9 hours ago, theatremouse said:

Hershey Felder is an insufferable ass and I was not please to have to sit through him for an entire category.

I had absolutely no idea who he was, but he definitely looked like Bronson Pinchot parodying a classical pianist.

[peeayebee]

8 hours ago, biakbiak said:

I know they often have long categories but I wonder if they made Felder’s clues like that because they had time to feel.

Do you mean "time to fill"? That makes more sense to me, but I kinda like the idea that the music was played to make us feel. 🙂

4 hours ago, Toothbrush said:

I loved the way Buzzy dressed during his previous appearances, but his bowtie was too big, too busy, & too bright.

Or too Buzzy.

Quote

All of this. But I did learn that Tchaikovsky was gay, a factoid I did not know prior to this game. 

The way the clue was written surprised me, and I admit I wasn't positive what it was implying.

[Katy M]

12 hours ago, Tabasco Cat said:

Pam didn't even read the clue correctly.

Or she might not have known the answer and that was the best she could do even though it didn't fit exactly.  I always say better to guess something than leave it blank.

[Julia67]

13 hours ago, Browncoat said:

And could that pianist speak any more slowly?  Oprah is a speed talker by comparison!

This made me CRAZY!!  But, then I wondered if they did that on purpose to use up some time.  It was awful!

[Julia67]

7 minutes ago, Katy M said:

Pam didn't even read the clue correctly.

I felt REALLY bad for her because I imagine her teammates were NOT happy, and she looked genuinely embarrassed and mortified at the same time. 

[Toothbrush]

32 minutes ago, peeayebee said:

Or too Buzzy.

The way the clue was written surprised me, and I admit I wasn't positive what it was implying.

Too Buzzy 😂

I googled Tchaikovsky and according to wikipedia his relationships with other men were well-known, so I'm pretty sure that's what the clue was implying. Not that there's anything wrong with that TM Seinfeld

[zoey1996]

I find myself really enjoying the tournament.  I even liked the music clues, though I have no idea who the pianist is.  

Also had no idea for FJ.  I'm usually not great with geography anyway, but definitely very little knowledge of Africa.  I'd need to look at a map, even then probably I'd be wrong.

[Ailianna]

13 hours ago, Fex said:

I really liked seeing the strategizing, and that there was lots of time for the piano playing in the clues. No risk of not clearing the board! I also enjoy the good-natured trash talking.

I was cautiously optimistic that this tournament could be fun, and so far I'm happy. I always like seeing smart, impressive, players. And I'll be even happier when there's an entire game in an episode!

I'm enjoying the whole thing so far.  I like seeing really good players, and I like having a chance to interact with these really great players (so to speak), and I like the strategizing.  I was wondering which player made the FJ wager, and then they answered it.   And I'm not saying I would like this format all the time, or with regular players, but I know who all these players are, to various degrees, and they are all really good.  I think this is a chance to celebrate the people who make this game exciting, and I'm enthusiastic about the rest of the tournament.  I just wish I didn't have to wait to see each next part!

[saber5055]

12 hours ago, peeayebee said:

I'm not enjoying Dave's fist-pumping. Ugh. BTW, how long ago was he on Jeopardy?  

Dave Madden won 19 games in 2005. That was the second-longest winning streak at that time. It's been suggested online that team captains thought he was "too old" to be a good player now. But Brad did his research in choosing him for his team as Dave has created and runs all kinds of academic quiz bowls and bees. I'd fist pump too if I had just put my team closer to one million. Either that or faint dead away.

3 hours ago, peeayebee said:

11 hours ago, biakbiak said:

I know they often have long categories but I wonder if they made Felder’s clues like that because they had time to feel.

Do you mean "time to fill"?

It all depends on what you do while this show is on.

7 hours ago, Toothbrush said:

The maps of both Africa & Europe are so different than when I first had to write in each country on a world map in 9th grade, circa 1987.

I know, what's up with that? All those countries keep changing their names. I have an old globe, the kind every school room always had, and it's fun to look at since many of those countries are something else now.

5 hours ago, DrSpaceman said:

I always hate those guess clue categories.

Every clue category is a guess clue category for me.

Edited February 22, 2019 by saber5055

[Enigma X]

Dave was a bit bland to me before the fist bump. He showed some personality. If someone more arrogant would have done it, I would have hated it.

[Kimmmmmm]

32 minutes ago, Enigma X said:

Dave was a bit bland to me before the fist bump. He showed some personality. If someone more arrogant would have done it, I would have hated it.

Dave IS the same smug, arrogant prick he was on his first run....he and that other asshat, Brad, can jump off a cliff together.

[Enigma X]

I like Brad. I have always liked Brad. I can’t say that I remember Dave during his original run, and he never bothered me in the tournaments I have seen him in.

[SHD]

16 hours ago, Tabasco Cat said:

Let's get some of our best champions to play an All Star tournament! Then she's reduced to "Hi Grandma!"

To be fair, I think the team decided that she should bet nothing. No one wants to write a wrong answer, and if she had written the correct answer, it would've been a gut punch to the team that she could've upped their scores and it would have made it obvious they made a bad choice to bet nothing. So I kind of get why she opted to say "hi" to Grandma.

3 hours ago, Katy M said:

Or she might not have known the answer and that was the best she could do even though it didn't fit exactly.  I always say better to guess something than leave it blank.

In most cases I agree, but when it clearly asks for 7-letter names and you know what you wrote isn't 7 letters, it seems silly to put something down just for the sake of it. Though in this case I really do think she misread the clue because she looked SHOCKED.

[Lois Sandborne]

I thought Dave's fist pump looked extremely goofy, but he was clearly caught up in a moment.

I was excited for this tournament, but it is feeling a bit of a non-event so far. The format isn't helping. It is kind of fun to predict the team strategies though.

There was so much filler and so many commercials in both episodes so far. I don't blame anyone who whined about it on Twitter, no matter how salty it made Ken. I hope the eps with a full game are more balanced, but I bet they will still be commercial heavy, since this is a special! event!

Larissa was amazing racking up all that money. It was smart putting her on DJ with her buzzer speed. She's the main reason I'm rooting for Team Brad at all, and with him on DJ tonight, they should be a lock for the final match. 

And finally: I like Brad, but I never saw his original run. I love Julia. I love Larissa. I like Ken. Buzzy and Alan have grown on me. Colby will never be able to endear himself to me. I loathe Austin and Matt, and it's going to be hard to watch if they're in a round together.

[Katy M]

I don't mind the format at all.  I mind the filler. 

and as for Ken being all "Jeopardy fans can't handle the least amount of change" does he really think most Jeopardy fans tune in for contestant interviews and such. I obviously don't speak for all Jeopardy fans, but I think a lot of us like trivia, the clues, and the game and don't really care that much about the contestants.  I'm not begrudging the normal interview stuff, because if you can make it on the show, you deserve your moment in the sun, but I want to play.

Edited February 22, 2019 by Katy M

[saber5055]

26 minutes ago, Katy M said:

I think a lot of us like trivia, the clues, and the game and don't really care that much about the contestants.

It's popular on the American Ninja Warrior and Titan Games threads to complain about too many contestant back stories when all those viewers want to see are the competitions. I'm in the minority on those threads too, since I like learning about people and what they have done as much as what they will do. I'm enjoying this tournament, seeing many favorites back on my teevee and finding out what they've been up to.

33 minutes ago, Katy M said:

I want to play.

Looking forward to seeing you on the show when you pass the online test! We will all be rooting for you.

[Katy M]

1 hour ago, saber5055 said:

Looking forward to seeing you on the show when you pass the online test! We will all be rooting for you.

I've taken the test 3 or 4 times.  I don't think it's happening.  LOL.  But, I'll keep trying.  

[proserpina65]

3 hours ago, Enigma X said:

I like Brad. I have always liked Brad. I can’t say that I remember Dave during his original run, and he never bothered me in the tournaments I have seen him in.

I think we're in the minority, but that's okay.

[proserpina65]

2 hours ago, Lois Sandborne said:

I like Brad, but I never saw his original run.

I remember his original run very well.  He's from Lancaster County, PA, which is just across the state line from me, so that's probably why he stuck in my brain the way few other pre-Ken Jennings era contestants did.  Frank Spangenberg (it was the mustache) and Chuck Forrest (creator of the infamous Forrest bounce around the board) are the other ones who did.  Yep, I'm old.

[graybrown bird]

I'm enjoying the tournament, more so the second day.  Was amazed and gratified that I got yesterday's FJ.  Generally clueless about geography, I owe my new-found knowledge to a recent read of Tim Marshall's book:  "Prisoners of Geography: Ten Maps that Explain Everything about the World."  Title is a bit of an exaggeration but the book really helped me get a handle on big chunks of the world often in the news. I now have a better sense of how each relates to the rest of the planet. 

[JudyObscure]

3 hours ago, Katy M said:

I don't mind the format at all.  I mind the filler. 

and as for Ken being all "Jeopardy fans can't handle the least amount of change" does he really think most Jeopardy fans tune in for contestant interviews and such. I obviously don't speak for all Jeopardy fans, but I think a lot of us like trivia, the clues, and the game and don't really care that much about the contestants.  I'm not begrudging the normal interview stuff, because if you can make it on the show, you deserve your moment in the sun, but I want to play.

That's it for us.  I like seeing these great players again but the chit chat is taking up so much time and then they play faster than most people when they get going so there's less time for the players at home to get their answer in.  We're a family of three adults and we have different areas of expertise, I can usually get most of the literature questions, my son can run any sports category and my husband can get almost everything else.  So we miss getting our nightly fix of playing along and feeling smart for a brief moment in time.

Sorry, Saber. Change is why we can't have nice things.

[ABay]

I like Brad.

I record the show so I can fast forward through the tedious chatter, and I'm ok with changing the format and trying something new once in a while.

On the other hand, Dave's fist bump really put me off him. What a douche. That's what I get for looking at the screen.

[Tabasco Cat]

The answer to the "3-2-1 Area Code" clue was NOT Cape Kennedy. Cape Kennedy was only so named between 1963 and 1973, The correct answer, the Kennedy Space Center (KSC), is not the same thing as what was known as Cape Kennedy (Cape Canaveral). Come on, producers! This was billed as top-shelf Jeopardy!

[illdoc]

I always thought that the statue was named "Winged Victory", not "Nike". If so, she should not have been given credit for it.