I did something a little weird today – I was out and got home four minutes into the show. I’m at my parents’, and they don’t have DVR, so I decided to start watching the show then and watch the beginning on the VHS tape later. (This is also why the contestants are not looking straight ahead in their pictures, as usual.) Did it affect my results…?
First, you may remember I was going to try something new one of these days…Well, I decided today not to do it! Since I can’t blog and watch the show in the same room here, and since I now have a memory card for my phone and a card reader, I was going to put videos of notable clues on the blog rather than write them all down. I changed my mind just as I was poised to record the first one, thinking maybe it wouldn’t be appreciated by the peops at Jeopardy! After all, it seems that whole episodes of Jeopardy! cannot be readily and publicly accessed on the Internet. I also thought that recording and sending each clue is as big of a pain in the butt as writing them down. My dad has talked about getting wifi ever since he was dazzled by it at our fantasy baseball draft. (My blogging partner Andy knows something about this, as he participated from Canada while the rest of us were in the Midwest!) I’m hoping that day will cone!
Anyway, today’s contestants:
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| Chuck Todd |
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| Lewis Black |
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| Clarence Page |
Short answer to the question in the first paragraph: Probably, but not much. I clammed/negged on four clues in the Jeopardy round, and they all came after the break (duffel, garment, Dr. No, and Turow). BUT I don’t think I’d have gotten those last three anyway. It may have helped, though, if I’d noticed the spelling of Super Packs.
Chuck found the first Daily Double in The Daily Rundown, a category I swept. (There was a day of the week associated with each clue.) He only had 800 while his two opponents each had 0. Chuck wagered 1000 on this clue: “Thursday, November 26, 1863 was proclaimed as ‘a day of’ this ‘and praise.'” Chuck answered “remembrance,” and took a second look at this clue when Mr. Trebek pointed out the date. Chuck looked thoroughly embarrassed, but he got the 1000 back on the very next clue in the same category: “Jason Voorhees is the hockey-masked psycho in this film franchise; don’t go in the basement!”
Also before the first break, Clarence said “blackfeet” but I said “blackfoot” in response to this clue in Fade to “Black”: “The Siksika are part of this Native American Confederacy.” It seems they are both acceptable.
At the first break, Chuck had 1800, Clarence had 800, and Lewis was in the hole 800.
Like yesterday, one of today’s interviews was a highlight: Clarence’s. He said when talking about his charity, American Institute for Stuttering, that he himself used to stutter. Mr. Trebek said if he hadn’t said that, no one would know. And it’s true.
Like yesterday, there were 14 clues left in the Jeopardy round when Mr. Trebek gave the one-minute warning. Nine clues remained at the end. Chuck had 2400, Clarence had 3000, and Lewis had 400.
Chuck found both Daily Doubles in the Double Jeopardy round, too. The first one was in Stop the Presses. He had 4400, Clarence had 5000, and Lewis had 1600. Chuck wagered “half of it” (random?!) on this clue: “A phone-hacking scandal forced this British tabloid to close in 2011.” I would not have gotten this, but Chuck seemed to know it right away.
This next clue, I pre-called when I saw the category (still Stop the Presses): “The web preserves the final edition of this ‘news’paper; it says ‘our time chronicling the life of Denver and Colorado…is over.'”
In this round, there were “only” five clues left at the one-minute warning, and we actually saw four of them! One of them was the Daily Double. As noted, Chuck found it, after fielding a softball about the U.S Constitution. He had 15400, Clarence had 7000, and Lewis had 6400. There were 3 clues on the board besides this one. I probably wouldn’t have risked the lock, although of course anything could’ve happened with those three clues. Then again, he had more than twice as much as his opponents for a reason. What would you have wagered? He wagered 3000 on this clue, still in Constitution: “He was emperor when Japan’s ‘the emperor…shall not have powers related to the government’ was written.” I got it right, somehow! So did Chuck. He ended the round still with 18400. Clarence had 9000, and Lewis had 8000.
The Final Jeopardy category was Sporting Events. This was the clue: “First held in May 1875, it is the oldest continuously held major sporting event in the United States.” This was a triple-stumper, and I got it right! I’m starting to think, though, that a guy who had seen this episode taped said something about it at the unofficial J! reunion. Coincidentally, he was going to this sporting event the following weekend. He gets around: He went back to his home in Canada between the reunion and the sporting event, and he tells me he’s gonna be in Nebraska next month!
Chuck and Lewis both responded with “the U.S. Open,” and Clarence said “baseball.” ? Lewis lost all 8000, Clarence lost 2000, and Chuck lost 300. So yesterday’s winner, Chris Wallace, still has the highest total of the week.
These are the triple-stumpers I got today:
- In The Daily Rundown: “In the 90s, she took wing with the album “Tuesday Night Music Club” and the hit “All I Wanna Do.”
- In Page Turners: “Ann Charles sets creepy novels in this morbid-sounding South Dakota city.”
- In The New York Times Movies: “Manohla Dargis titled the review of this 2011 drama ‘Finding the Humanity in the F.B.I.’s feared enforcer.”
- In Constitution: “Article 47 of this European nation’s constitution says ‘the confederation shall respect the autonomy of the cantons.”
Tomorrow’s contestants: ANDERSON COOPER (the biggest name of the week?), Thomas Friedman, and Kelly O’Donnell. I don’t know O’Donnell.
I watched three more recent weekend reruns today. My results:
- Originally 10-29-10: 22800
- Originally 11-24-10: Unfortunately, the Kentucky Derby coverage ran long and covered the first three categories of this one. I got 7/15 in the Jeopardy round, and 19/30 in the Double Jeopardy round.
- Originally 11-25-10: 31600
When I played these the first time (original posts here and here), I was still using my Jeopardy Challenger and not the Coryat method (but I was considering it!), so I can’t really compare.