Jeopardy! Season 36 (2019-2020)

[peeayebee]

Isaak Walton!!!!

The only TS I got was Othello.

Like so many others, I said La Marseillaise, although I actually said Les Marseilles, which I guess would have been wrong even if it was right. 😄

But I said it reluctantly, just to put something down. I was thinking it actually wasn't the French national anthem but was an island nation, because of Baptiste, but I couldn't think of the nation. Turns out I was thinking of Batista of Cuba.

[Driad]

I first thought of La Marseillaise too, but I thought it was from about the time of the French Revolution, so 1880 seemed much too late.  O Canada was my second guess, but I'm glad I stuck to it.

[DrScottie]

3 hours ago, Kathira said:

Yup, Helen would have won if she had been smart and bet 0. Always bet 0 when the other two players have to bet to defend against each other. It was a good game. I biffed FJ, too.

Exactly. For Helen to win, the other two contestants need to be wrong anyway and bet big so there's no reason for her to bet anything.  Colin could have won too if he hadn't made such a big bet. The person in second doesn't have to go all in, but the person in first has to bet against that as no one wants to have lost by not betting enough. A smaller wager and he is the winner.  When up against a giant like Jason, just try for the win as opposed to the big payday and hope for easier opponents the next game. 

Being of French-Canadian ancestry, I should have gotten "O Canada."  

[Sharpie66]

Woohoo—I got FJ!! And that was after wincing in anticipating a blank stare when I saw the category. I knew Le Marsailles (sp?) went back to the French Revolution, and after ruling out any Caribbean island nations, I settled on O, Canada. 

[Cotypubby]

I knew it would be the Canadian anthem just by the category because I did not remember a Canada-related question coming up already in the game, and they always have at least one. Something to remember for future games.

(Of course, I then couldn’t remember the actual name of the anthem and just said “The Canadian National Anthem!” 🙄)

[ChicagoCita]

I eliminated La Marseillaise thanks to music appreciation class in 8th grade, when we had to listen to and dissect the 1812 Overture. The French side in the battles is represented musically by La Marseillaise, and I was pretty sure 1812 was written prior to 1880.  (Turns out it was written in 1880, so that was some lucky dicey logic on my part. 😉 )

Thanks, Mr. Persson, I remembered something you taught us 48 years later.

Edited September 18, 2019 by ChicagoCita

[PaulaO]

La Marseillaise was too obvious and 1880 was too late.  That’s how I, the Geographic Idiot, came up with O Canada.

[Mindthinkr]

I got the Star of Bethlehem (Halley’s comet) and Caesar. When I saw what the FJ category was,  I said O Canada. Then when I saw the clue I couldn’t come up with anything else, so I stuck with it. So I’ve finally gotten a FJ, even if by accident (blind guess), but I’m taking it. 

[DrSpaceman]

How can such smart people be so bad at game theory and figuring what to bet on FJ. 

Champ should have lost this one.  As mentioned 3rd place should have bet nothing AND the second place person should have bet like $4000-$5000, enough to win if he gets it right and the champion misses it AND enough to win if they both get it wrong.  Then he is still ahead of the 3rd place person as well, she was far enough behind she wasn't going to catch him even if she got it right and didn't matter in this scenario.  Betting all his money was just stupid.  He had to have the champ miss FJ to win, if they both get it right, he is going to lose.  Should have bet in the middle and he would have won easily

Just gave away the chance to dethrone the champion. 

And I missed FJ.  I didn't even know the name of the wrong answer everyone chose.  Best I could say is "French National Anthem". 

[MrAtoz]

Like others, I knew from the 1880 date that it couldn't be La Marseillaise.  I started thinking about Haiti, or some of the Francophone countries in Africa, but at some point I finally went, "Duh, Canada!"  Maybe it would even have been in time to write down the response! 🙂

Edited to add:  As they point out on TheJeopardyFan.com, the songwriter mentioned in the FJ clue had the title "Sir," which was another hint pointing you away from France and toward a country with a British connection.

Edited September 18, 2019 by MrAtoz

[peeayebee]

2 hours ago, MrAtoz said:

... at some point I finally went, "Duh, Canada!" 

Or "Eh, Canada."

[MegK]

Did anyone else notice on Monday that "Nobel" Prize was written as "Noble" Prize in Final J? I was surprised — I don't think I've ever seen a typo on Jeopardy before.

[Bazinga]

4 hours ago, Mindthinkr said:

I got the Star of Bethlehem (Halley’s comet)

I don't think "the star the Magi followed" should have been ruled correct.  It has a name - The Star of Bethlehem, or Christmas Star.   A vague description is not an acceptable response in such a case, IMO. 

[Toothbrush]

Tuesday really showed how important hitting DDs (& answering correctly), and smart FJ wagering are to the game.

My FJ thought process was like many others': "La Marseillaise too obvious & too old, what is the name of Haiti's NA?, Sir - English - O Canada!"

[M. Darcy]

3 hours ago, Bazinga said:

I don't think "the star the Magi followed" should have been ruled correct.  It has a name - The Star of Bethlehem, or Christmas Star.   A vague description is not an acceptable response in such a case, IMO. 

I thought so too.  Of course, my answer would have been that Jesus star. 

[Browncoat]

1 hour ago, Toothbrush said:

Tuesday really showed how important hitting DDs (& answering correctly), and smart FJ wagering are to the game.

My FJ thought process was like many others': "La Marseillaise too obvious & too old, what is the name of Haiti's NA?, Sir - English - O Canada!"

I never got past Haiti to Canada, and have no idea what Haiti's national anthem is. 

[Driad]

19 hours ago, lb60 said:

I somehow got FJ after figuring La Marseillaise was too obvious.

Although the "too obvious" answer is often the one they want, a bit too often for my taste.  Remember James H. said he read children's nonfiction books.

[ABay]

I thought O, Canada but discarded it as being too early. Now they'll never let me live there.

Shout out to @M. Darcy's nemesis!

[Toothbrush]

1 hour ago, Browncoat said:

I never got past Haiti to Canada, and have no idea what Haiti's national anthem is. 

I have no idea either. Even with a gun to my head I couldn't have come up with it! I'm glad I was able to tie the author having an English title to a British Commonwealth country in time.  

[illdoc]

"The Mooch"?!!!!!! That's acceptable?????

[Katy M]

I said Fat Boy.  I honestly thought they were called Fat Boy and Little Boy.  I have been working off erroneous information my whole life.  I had a horrible night.  If anyone sees my brain laying around, please return. I'm convinced I've lost it.

[SpiritSong]

I don't like it when the show gets too rigid, but they are now leaning in the other direction. I thought it was ridiculous to accept The Mooch instead of Scaramucci's real name. And I totally agree about "star the magi followed" being way too vague.

Knew exactly what they wanted for FJ but could not come up with the name until it was revealed, and then I was all Of course!

[Browncoat]

At last!  I got FJ!  I admit it wasn't an instaget, but I did get it way before the music ended. 

The only TS I got was sit. 

[Sharpie66]

I got at least one TS but I can’t remember what is right now. But even better, I got FJ—thank you, not-so-great John Cusack film called “Fat Man and Little Boy.” (I prefer the made-for-cable film “Hiroshima,” which only covers from FDR’s death to Japan’s surrender. For more in-depth Manhattan Project stories, read Richard Feynman’s “Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman!”)

[chessiegal]

4 minutes ago, Sharpie66 said:

For more in-depth Manhattan Project stories, read Richard Feynman’s “Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman!”)

A must read! I had a physics professor in grad school who worked on the Manhattan Project - no big deal because he said they had no choice.

Jason started off slow tonight.

[opus]

47 minutes ago, illdoc said:

"The Mooch"?!!!!!! That's acceptable?????

That happened last season too. My reaction then was the same as yours now.

[PBnJay]

1 hour ago, illdoc said:

"The Mooch"?!!!!!! That's acceptable?????

Moochie was a character played by Kevin Cocoran on Spin & Marty, a Walt Disney series. He was commonly called "Mooch."

[PaulaO]

Minnie the Mooch?

[Bastet]

Lite-Brite!  I had a lot of fun with that as a kid, and haven't thought about it since.

Sit (siéntate) was a mildly surprising TS.  I can read Spanish pretty well (my verbal skills have devolved to rudimentary, though), so I translated all of them easily, but the clues were obviously not predicated on being able to do so and I thought someone would at least guess that one, especially with two wrong guesses ruling out other simple commands.  (“Trae el palo” not leading anyone to "fetch (bring) the stick", on the other hand, I correctly predicted.)

I was also mildly surprised no one at least guessed Geronimo.

I loved the classic metal and real-life metaphors categories (although I think that one belonged in the first round).  In fact, I loved the game in general; I’d missed quite a few episodes this season already, so it was a nice welcome back to only miss a couple of clues.

But count me in on calling bullshit on “The Mooch” being accepted for Anthony Scaramucci.  That should have yielded a BMS prompt.  The clue didn’t ask for a nickname, so they wanted the name.  If the nickname was all Jason could remember, and he couldn’t be more specific when asked, it should have been up for grabs for the next person to ring in.  He probably knew the name, but make him prove it.

Edited September 19, 2019 by Bastet

[peeayebee]

2 hours ago, Katy M said:

I said Fat Boy.  I honestly thought they were called Fat Boy and Little Boy. 

I started out by thinking of the characters in the movie. I pictured Sydney Greenstreet's character and was trying to remember his name. I thought it began with G. (Looking at the IMDB page now I see that it's Gutman, so my brain works a bit.) Then I abandoned that and looked at the year. Oh... the bombs. Any character named A-Bomb? Wait! Fat Boy! And then at the last minute I realized it was Fat Man. Yay me.

The only TS I got was Geronimo.

[saber5055]

6 minutes ago, peeayebee said:

I started out by thinking of the characters in the movie. I pictured Sydney Greenstreet's character and was trying to remember his name. I thought it began with G. (Looking at the IMDB page now I see that it's Gutman, so my brain works a bit.) Then I abandoned that and looked at the year. Oh... the bombs. Any character named A-Bomb? Wait! Fat Boy! And then at the last minute I realized it was Fat Man. Yay me.

Your brain works fast. Before I got through reading your post above, time was up. Gutman could be an other name for Fat Man though. I have seen that movie many times but needed more time to work through the clues.

I easily recognized Geronimo, and got a kick out of the Espanol for your Spaniel category. I got the TS of "sit." Even though none of my dogs know that command. So two TSs -- that I remember anyway. I wasn't paying very close attention.

[lb60]

Given the year, I figured they were looking for something to do with the atomic bomb. That's as far as I got. 

I did get sit, so there's that.

Edited September 19, 2019 by lb60

[Sharpie66]

If I was the third one to ring in, I would have gotten “sit,” otherwise, nope. Geronimo was the one TS I got.

[DrScottie]

3 hours ago, Browncoat said:

The only TS I got was sit. 

My high school freshman year Spanish teacher would often begin the class with ¡Cállense y siéntense! Shut up and sit down. Come to think of it, it was the first thing she said to us on the first day of school. I ran that Spanish category. 🙂

1 hour ago, Bastet said:

I loved the classic metal and real-life metaphors categories (although I think that one belonged in the first round).  In fact, I loved the game in general; I’d missed quite a few episodes this season already, so it was a nice welcome back to only miss a couple of clues.

I agree. I liked the categories too. 

[Cotypubby]

Today’s FJ was basically just a 50/50 choice. I don’t know how you were supposed to know it was one over the other. I got it, but it was just picking one of the two. “Fat Man, Little Boy, Fat Man, Little Boy... I’ll say... Fat Man?”

[Mystery Author]

My rescue dog, Pirata, was born in Mexico, so I ran the Espanol for your Spaniel category :)

[Minaboo]

5 hours ago, Sharpie66 said:

For more in-depth Manhattan Project stories, read Richard Feynman’s “Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman!”)

Love love love this book!

[Driad]

Doesn't the name "spaniel" refer to their supposed Spanish origin?

[saber5055]

10 hours ago, DrScottie said:

My high school freshman year Spanish teacher would often begin the class with ¡Cállense y siéntense! Shut up and sit down. Come to think of it, it was the first thing she said to us on the first day of school. I ran that Spanish category. 🙂

If dogs were asked to pass the butter, tell me their names and how to get to the library, I would have aced that category with my high-school Spanish too.

40 minutes ago, Driad said:

Doesn't the name "spaniel" refer to their supposed Spanish origin?

Ed McMahon voice: "You are correct, sir!"

[saber5055]

8 hours ago, Mystery Author said:

My rescue dog, Pirata, was born in Mexico, so I ran the Espanol for your Spaniel category :)

When trained police and protection dogs are imported from Germany, their new American trainers have to learn German to communicate with the dogs. So, I "si" how this worked for you!

[peeayebee]

18 hours ago, saber5055 said:

Gutman could be an other name for Fat Man though.

Certainly intentional, wouldn't you say? 

6 hours ago, saber5055 said:

If dogs were asked to pass the butter, tell me their names and how to get to the library, I would have aced that category with my high-school Spanish too.

 I considered changing my name because I learned how to say, "Mi llamo Paco."

Edited September 19, 2019 by peeayebee
correct spelling - mi, not me

[saber5055]

26 minutes ago, peeayebee said:

 I considered changing my name because I learned how to say, "Me llamo Paco."

¡Hola Paco! Como estas?

[Driad]

2 hours ago, saber5055 said:

When trained police and protection dogs are imported from Germany, their new American trainers have to learn German to communicate with the dogs.

The Internet said (so it must be true, right?) that handlers use the language in which the dog was trained so that bad guys won't know how to give orders to the dog.  Presumably the dog is trained to ignore an order from a stranger, but it might make the dog hesitate for a moment.

[saber5055]

21 minutes ago, Driad said:

The Internet said (so it must be true, right?) that handlers use the language in which the dog was trained so that bad guys won't know how to give orders to the dog.  Presumably the dog is trained to ignore an order from a stranger, but it might make the dog hesitate for a moment.

I had to think on this a bit. Dogs can learn words in different languages; my dogs all have multiple names they answer to. But it's funny to me that a perp taken down by a dog that has a death bite-grip on his arm could come up with the correct command for "LET ME GO!" in any language. But the Internet does have a valid point. Thanks!

[bad things are bad]

15 hours ago, PaulaO said:

Minnie the Mooch?

Scara-mooch, scara-mooch, does he do the fandango? 

[Toothbrush]

20 hours ago, lb60 said:

Given the year, I figured they were looking for something to do with the atomic bomb. That's as far as I got. 

I did get sit, so there's that.

Both go for me too. It was instaget for hubby, but he is a WWII geek. 

[ABay]

6 hours ago, Driad said:

The Internet said (so it must be true, right?) that handlers use the language in which the dog was trained so that bad guys won't know how to give orders to the dog.  Presumably the dog is trained to ignore an order from a stranger, but it might make the dog hesitate for a moment.

This was a plot point in Person of Interest. The military dog that joined the team, Bear, only responded to commands in Dutch.

Damn, I loved that show.

[Katy M]

I got FJ.  I was slightly afraid that that was too early, but couldn't think of anything else.  I knew it was way too late for Play-Doh and Legos to be invented, though.

I got Centennial.  I love Michener.

[Browncoat]

21 minutes ago, ABay said:

This was a plot point in Person of Interest. The military dog that joined the team, Bear, only responded to commands in Dutch.

Damn, I loved that show.

I did, too, right up until they killed off a certain character.  I quit watching after that.

FJ today was an instaget, although I really thought I was wrong.  I didn't think Rubik's Cube was that old!  I don't think I had one until the early 80s. 

I also got the TS of crossventilation and ground fault, and the missed DD of Centennial.

[Katy M]

Oh yea, crossventilation.  I said contrafenestration.  Too many letters, but you gotta give me creative points on that one.