So it only took me, let’s see, nearly 2 weeks to get that next day’s post up…many apologies about the wait. You’d think it wouldn’t be that difficult to get a short post up about a Jeopardy! episode (one that I even took notes on), but I guess it’s harder than it looks. (Add to that the fact that I took a short trip of my own last weekend, up to Utah, and you’ve got a recipe for a long-delayed recap.) I’ll try to keep this short, and probably fail miserably, but let’s give it a (bulleted, as my last post was) shot.
- The handy-dandy J! Archive tells me that Tuesday, September 27th played host to the following three contestants: Susan Miller, a college student from Stow, OH (and the beloved Jeopardy! boardie I was excited to watch this episode for), Joe Iriana, an exterminator from Wells, ME, and the returning champion Matt Douma, a standardized test scorer from Minneapolis, MN, whose 1-day cash winnings at the time amounted to $14,100.
- The
Anaheim AngelsLos Angeles Angels of Anaheim, who I inexplicably but passionately love (they spring train here in AZ, and a game when I was little where they played my dad’s favorite team, the Mariners, and I got a pennant flag to put up in my room, might have been a factor…I liked their logo), were the subject of the first clue in Baseball Logos. I got it right, and was very excited. I actually ended up sweeping Baseball Logos (I switched from the Cleveland Indians to the Atlanta Braves on the $800 clue at the last second), which is strange for me, since I’m definitely not a sports enthusiast. It does help, I guess, that baseball’s always been a fave of mine. - My notes say “shoulda pulled the trigger on homeopathy.” That must have to do with the $1000 clue in “There’s No Place Like ‘Home’.” (Thank goodness for the Archive, because after this long it’s hard to remember the details…oops. :))
- Very interesting interview segment subjects: talking like a pirate, an asthmatic Siamese cat, and standardized test scoring. You may not see the likes of that combo again, really.
- I almost swept Fast Food (I do enjoy it very much, to be honest), but I said Whataburger for Arby’s. Which is strange, since I’ve certainly eaten at the latter more than the former (and I like Arby’s better, for sure).
- Geoffrey Canada, president of the Harlem School Zone, was a reader for the $800 clue in Education, and he was probably one of the more…ahem, deliberate clue readers I’ve seen. (My notes were a bit more blunt: “Geoffrey Canada was slooow.” He could give Oprah’s notoriously lethargic clue-presenting skills a run for their money. Sorry I’m nitpicking, it’s just better as a viewer–and probably as a player–when the clues are read more efficiently.)
- At the end of the Jeopardy! round, Matt had more than twice the scores of his opponents combined…he was at $7800, while Sue was trailing with $2000, and Joe with $1500.
- I made short work of the $400 clue in Celebrities’ Favorite Movies, as it was about “North by Northwest,” sadly one of the few Hitchcock films I’ve seen (and I haven’t seen it in years, to tell you the truth), but one I very much enjoyed. (I think the only other of his films I’ve had the chance to see is “Rear Window,” which was terrific. I need to remedy this Hitchcock-viewing deficiency…)
- Matt swept the Before & After category, which is quite impressive, seeing as that category’s usually an interesting one, but often pretty difficult to get a grasp of when you’re under the pressure-cooker situation of being a contestant.
- I was a bit thrown off guard at the end of the round by Alex’s product placement spiel for Aleve, but I guess they’re making that a regular thing now (having the consolation prizes explicitly sponsored). I haven’t been able to catch the show in a while, so I’m not sure if they’re still doing that, but that’s what I’ve heard.
- At the end of the DJ! Round, Matt had a lock (awww, Sue!) with a whopping $32800, with Joe at $7900, and Sue at $7600.
- The Final Jeopardy! clue was in the category of English Writers, and went thusly: “English poet Thomas Hoccleve, a contemporary of this man, called him the ‘firste fyndere of our fair langage’.” My guess was Alexander Pope. It actually turned out to be Geoffrey Chaucer. I suppose the spelling should have tipped me off that it wasn’t Pope…my first thought was actually Robert Burns due to that. (I hated reading “The Canterbury Tales” in high school English, to be frank, so that might have been a factor in me not thinking of Chaucer. :))
- Matt garnered $40,000 for a 2-day total of $54,100 (since it’s been a while after that game, I guess I can safely reveal he lost the next day, and finished with that total plus $2,000 for 2nd place on his third game). Joe’s final score was $15,600, and Sue’s was $8,000, so they each went home with $2,000 and $1,000, respectively. All 3 players answered Final Jeopardy! correctly.
That’s the game! That also concludes my last guest post here at The Jeopardy! Fan…Jeanie’s back and ready to take over once again. I apologize for my very sporadic appearances and countless delays, but it’s been fun moonlighting here for a little while. (If you’ve somehow enjoyed my writing, I recommend possible psychological help, but if you insist, you can find me at my music blog, Harmony Avenue, or my Tumblr, which I actually think may be finding its footing and will hopefully have some more actual posts soon. :)) To close, the Coryats from this game:
9-27-11: Matt $26200 Joe $9400 Susan $7600 Me $17200
And now back to you, Jeanie!