As promised (or at least foretold), I watched Jeopardy! today with my dad and mom. I don’t know why I was more nervous than usual about the show recording properly on their VCR. I guess I’ve just been burned (plenty of times), and missing the show is an awful feeling for me. I also couldn’t get it out of my head that I had said yesterday I was going to blog about today’s episode, and I didn’t want to come across as a flake if I wasn’t able to do it. So I recorded Jeopardy! in two places in their house, and on two channels. Thankfully, it worked. I thought if it didn’t, at least I could explain how I tried. I have gone to great lengths in the past so I wouldn’t miss Jeopardy! – even asking an aunt in Los Angeles to record the show for me on my grandpa’s VCR when my power was out for days after a tornado. I have more examples, but…
…back to the show. Today it featured 3-day champ Tom LaPorta, Elizabeth Schmitt, and Aaron Ammerman. My favorite category of the Jeopardy round was Spell Check Hell, even though it didn’t turn out to be a category where you have to spell the answer. (My sisters and I are all former spelling bee champs!) Contestants seem to dread that category on the too-rare occasion that it comes up, but I look forward to it. Do you guys like it? Are there other categories you like to see? My dad’s favorite category in the Jeopardy round was Astronomy, and he was bummed when there was a clue remaining in that category when the round had to end. (I know the feeling.)
All three contestants found a Daily Double today, and all three got them right. Tom found the one in the Jeopardy round, in Movie Tag Lines. That was lucky for him; I remember he said he was a movie fan on a previous episode. It was no surprise, then, that he seemed confident and wagered everything on this clue: “This 2009 comedy proclaimed, ‘Some guys just can’t handle Vegas.'”* After that, he was 200 from Elizabeth’s lead.
Aaron found the first Daily Double in the Double Jeopardy round, in Where Am I?, a category of video clues by the Clue Crew. It was a close game: Tom had 5200, Aaron had 4600, and Elizabeth had 5000. Aaron breezily picked up 2000 on this clue: “[Jimmy:] I’m at Tsukiji – a seafood market that’s known as a kitchen for 12 million people in this capital city.”*
Elizabeth (by process of elimination) found the third Daily Double, in International Rhyme Time. She had 7800, Tom still had 5200, and Aaron had 8600. She nailed this clue: “Hotel foyer where British policemen like to gather.”* (My mom said something like, “I’ve been to Hobby Lobby.”)
At the end of Double Jeopardy, Tom was in third place (unusual for him) with 8800, still a strong showing. Aaron led with 15000, and Elizabeth had 12900. The category was Awards and Honors. Did you notice that Mr. Trebek described the category as “Awards and Trophies” just before he read the clue? Good thing it was part of the clue and not the response: “A trophy named for this author is awarded to anyone who breaks the record for sailing a yacht around the world.”* I guessed right on this one. Did you guys? (I often wonder how I compare to other people watching, so I’d love to hear from you!) Tom missed it and lost everything. Elizabeth missed it and lost 5001. Aaron got this one right, and added a whopping 11000 to his total. That drew a “Hello!” from Mr. Trebek. I like how Aaron pumped his fist like an athlete when the camera was zoomed in on him.
For those of you who get an episode of Jeopardy! on Saturday nights (turns out it is not just those of us near Omaha!), I intend to record tomorrow’s episode. On two VCRS.
*The Hangover, Tokyo, bobby lobby, Jules Verne