As I’d hoped, I watched the show with my parents tonight. You know I love watching the show with them, but as I watch, it feels like I’m recapping what happened in our house rather than happened on the show! (Maybe I should open a “Stuff My Dad Says” account on Twitter. On second thought….) That satisfies me, but probably no one else reading this. Well, except for my dad, of course. I’ve read that blogs should primarily be for the author’s enjoyment, but my enjoyment comes from knowing people are reading this and responding. So I love doing this, but it really is for you. Mwah!
Speaking of my parents, as I said in my last entry, I have been thinking about a Jeopardy!-related nickname for my mom, since I have “Jeopar-daddy” for my dad. I’ve come up with “Jeop-pretty,” which is apt, but is it too easy? I’d still like your ideas.
I did not remember any of tonight’s contestants (and I even wrote that down!), until Mr. Trebek said one-day returning champ Brian Levinson was a writer as well as a “performer.” (Something tells me this guy writes a blog!) I vaguely remembered him then, and then Mr. Trebek reminded us he imitated Sean Connery on the previous show. Brian performed again today, as when he impersonated Christopher Walken during his interview and he responded to this clue in Rock and Roll in a British accent: “One of my all-time favorite bands is this Johnny Rotten/Sid Vicious group that lasted only 3 years in the 1970s.”*
As usual, my dad griped about the categories, especially in the Jeopardy round. After they were announced in the Jeopardy round, he said, “Whatever happened to Chemistry and Geography?” After Mr. Trebek read the Double Jeopardy categories, my dad commented that they were a little bit better, and he even readjusted his position on the loveseat in order to focus more. My dad would probably want me to tell you that he kicked butt today. I wish you could’ve seen his reaction after this clue in Entombment: “This explorer’s Puerto Rico tomb says the valiant lion’s ‘deeds surpassed the greatness of his name.'”* His eyes about popped out of his head and he seemed to almost jump off the loveseat. I can’t help but laugh about it, even now!
I almost swept Spoof Films today, except for this 1000 clue: “This 2000 horror film had the tagline ‘No mercy. No shame. No sequel’; the sequel’s tagline was ‘We lied.'”* Since I was sweeping the category, I put up a prayer and guessed Scream, but I really knew it was wrong.
Brian almost swept Authors’ Middle Names except for this 2000 clue: “C.S. Lewis.”* Then he swept Rock and Roll. By that time he had 17800, while his nearest opponent, Mark Raabe, had 6600. And by the time Brian found the second Daily Double, he had 21000 while Mark had 7400 and Pam Winters had 5800. Brian wagered only 400 on this clue in “E”gad: “The name of this herb, thought by many to shorten the length of a cold, is from the Greek for ‘hedgehog.'”* He got it right.
Did you guys notice Brian’s and Mr. Trebek’s different pronunciations of “Guyana” in response to this clue in The 20th Century?: “In May 1966 this small South American country became independent, with Forbes Burnham as its first P.M.” Not even two weeks ago, they took Jeff Johnson’s money away for not pronuncing that word to their satisfaction. I thought they’d do it this time, but no! (?) Weirder still, my dad actually said, “Ghana!” in response to that clue! Talk about (?). That one’s never been thrown into that mix!
At the end of Double Jeopardy, Brian had stymied the competition to the point of no return. He had 27800, Mark had 10600, and Pam had 5800. This was the clue in Island Chains: “Before an 1867 sale, this island group was known as the Catherine archipelago.”* Brian and Mark got it right. Brian wagered nothing, but of course it didn’t matter. Bravo to this “performer.”
*the Sex Pistols, Ponce de Leon, Scary Movie, Staples, echinacea, the Aleutians