And so it begins, the second week of the Jeopardy! Teen Tournament (and the first week of shows back at DAR Constitution Hall in Washington!)
Your first group of semifinalists:
Eliza Scruton
Ben Greenho
Catherine Briley
Your J! round categories: THEY NAMED A SCHOOL FOR ME, BOOKS, THEME PARK FUN, ECONOMICALLY SPEAKING, BAD KISSERS, “HOLD” EVERYTHING
After some time flipping back and forth between BOOKS and BAD KISSERS, Catherine found the game’s first Daily Double in the former category in the $800 slot. Her and Eliza were tied at $1200 with Ben not on the board. Cathrerine, showing undue formality, stated: “Mr. Trebek, I think I’d like to make this a true Daily Double.” The clue: This H.G. Wells story says the title figure has “goggling spectacles and (a) ghastly bandaged face”. Her correct response doubled her score to $2,400.
Catherine seemed to have most of the buzzer mojo early on; at the opening break (though curiously after only 13 clues), your scores sat at Catherine $3,600 Ben $1,800 Eliza $1,800.
Things I did not know that I learned in tonight’s interviews: that Michelle Obama grows arugula.
A costly neg for Catherine in the THEME PARK FUN category (at 600): The Smokey Mountain River Rampage is featured at this theme park named for country singer Parton; the miss and subsequent rebound by Eliza let Eliza back into the game.
Your scores at the end of the J! round: Catherine $6,800 Eliza $5,200 Ben $3,000.
DJ! round categories: THEATER, B.C.-ING YOU, POP CULTURE, MEDICAL CONDITIONS, THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE, “V”OCABULARY
Ben went straight to Theater to open the Double Jeopardy! round and went 4/4 before finding the Daily Double at the bottom of the category. He’d just taken the lead at $7,000 and got much too conservative for my liking on his bet (at just $1,000). Even Alex noticed, saying “you were doing so well in theatre” The clue: “This long-running musical is based on a 1911 horror novel by Gaston Leroux”. Ben realized immediately that he knew it, and a huge opportunity was wasted.
More deep thoughts from Andy: would “Stonehenge” be a good name for a rock & roll group?
Ben found the game’s final Daily Double at the bottom of B.C.-ING YOU. He had $12,400 to Catherine’s $15,200 and Eliza’s $5,600. He grimaced, and bet only $2,400. The clue: A popular TV & movie subject, this gladiator led a slave revolt that ended with his death in battle in 71 B.C.; his correct response left him $400 short of the lead. If this were the NFL, I’d be certain to read about Ben’s conservative strategies in TMQ on Tuesday morning, likely with Gregg Easterbrook stating that he was writing “game over” in his notebook.
Errata: THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE $1200 clue read:
Canada has a sort of equivalent song to “This Land Is Your Land”; its chorus begins, “From” this British Columbia island.
Here are the lines in question:
This land is your land / This land is my land / From Bonavista To Vancouver Island, / From the Arctic Circle, / To the Great Lake waters, / this land was made for you and me.
Not sure what the writers were smoking today, but Bonavista is a lovely town in Newfoundland. I have friends from there. But there’s no line that says “from Vancouver Island” in that song. Sorry.
Considering that your scores were as follows going into Final Jeopardy!:
Catherine $18,000
Ben $17,600
Eliza $6,400
Ben: If you’re reading this, you really should protest if you haven’t already, as the $1200 clue you negged on has no correct answer.
FJ! category: ON THE PERIODIC TABLE
Clue: Of the 5 elements with 4-letter names, it’s the only one that is not a solid at room temperature
Eliza 6400 + 6400 = 12800
Ben 17600 + 7600 = 25200
Catherine 18000 + 17601 = 35601
Your first finalist is Catherine Briley!
I’d say Ben has a pretty good case for a protest here, though. Let’s see if we see him on a future tournament at some point!