I’m back in blogging mode after having been gone to Baltimore/D.C./New York for several days. Even though I had to watch both new and rerun episodes after I got back, Jeopardy! was on my mind: I got to see both Beau Henson (lunch) and Vince Gatton (coffee) in New York City on Monday. (Click here to see a picture of me and Vince.)
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| Our third attempt. We were successful only after Beau held the camera with me! |
Actually me and Vince’s picture took way more than 3 tries, but it was because we couldn’t figure out which direction his eyes should be aimed to look normal!
To be honest, I’m not sure how much to say about either rendezvous! There was plenty of interesting conversation but I don’t want either guy to be surprised that something he said is published here. I’m even afraid to ask if they mind me saying particular things they said! I have a feeling a lot of it will come up in future posts though. And I’ll be less likely to worry if you ask us questions here and we answer ’em. I do hope you like the pictures! Both were gentlemen and I appreciate their willingness to go out of their way for us to get together.
Now speaking of Beau, who still has a chance (admittedly remote) of making the next ToC, David Menchaca lost his 6th game on Thursday. (Last reminder that he’ll be answering questions here. I’d look for it Monday evening, but after this past week, who knows?) And Margaret Swanson (see the comments in that same post) won her third episode on Monday, but had not earned as much money as Beau did in his three wins. I had not expected to be able to blog about any of her episodes, but due to a series of events I couldn’t plan (both David and Margaret’s extended runs, both delayed and miscommunication, getting called off work tonight, etc.), I am able to blog about her last episode. Did she make it four wins and overtake Beau on the ol’ ToC list? Find out below…
The contestants:
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| Jim Abbott of St. Augustine, Florida (Did you half-expect to see the one-handed pitcher?) |
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| Jon Shoup of Charlottesville, Virginia |
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| Margaret Swanson of Somerville, Massachusetts (like another champ we know!) |
Mr. Trebek described Charlottesville as a “beautiful, beautiful city.” (Did you also notice he said sometimes episodes end in tears…for children?) Well I was just in Charlottesville this past week, at Monticello and also a local Chick Fil-A. If you haven’t gone to a Chick-fil-A, don’t. (You’re welcome.) I do recommend Monticello, but bring $24 for admission.
You know this game started out on the right foot for me when Health & Nutrition. The whole category was left when Mr. Trebek gave the less-than-a-minute warning, and we didn’t see one of the clues. I got the four right we saw!
The game started out well for Jon too, who had gotten 5 clues right and had 1 neg when he found the first Daily Double in Speech! He had 1600 at the time. Jim too had gotten 1 right and had 400. Jon wagered on this clue: “In 1862 he told the Prussian diet, ‘The great questions of the time’ will be decided by ‘iron and blood.'” Jon and I missed it, but only he lost 1000. 😉
By the first break, Mr. Trebek felt the need to say, “Poor Jon, he’s been up, he’s been down, he’s been up, he’s been down…” Jon had just guessed “Bela Lugosi” for the second (still wrong) time in The Scream Actors Guild. Jon had also gotten 2 right though since his Daily Double and had 600. Jim had gotten 1 wrong and 4 right and had 1800, and Margaret had gotten 3 right and had 2000.
Jim put on glasses after the break. He got 4 more right and 1 neg, and ended the round with 3000. Jon got 6 more right and had 3800. Margaret had 3 more right and 1 neg, and had 3800. I swept Last Name’s the Same.
Jon endeared himself to me when this happened:
I was proud to get this triple-stumper in Other Red, White, & Blue Flags:
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| Brittanica says the white disc on this landlocked Asian nation’s flag , seen here, honors the Japanese. |
When Jon found the first Daily Double in Travels with Charley, he had gotten 7 more right and 1 wrong and had 9800. Margaret had gotten 4 right and 1 neg and had 5400. Jim had gotten 3 right and 2 wrong and had 3000. Jon wagered 2200 on this clue: “Prince Charles traveled to Aberystwyth, where he learned this language to prep for a 1969 investiture.” Jon and I got it right.
I was a little surprised when Margaret said “Revelations” in response to this clue in Antonyms of Bible Books: “‘Concealment.'” It seems like this has happened a few times before. Jim picked it up.
We had a minute to go and seven clues left. Margaret found the next Daily Double in John Steinbeck with 3 clues after that one. She’d gotten 2 right and the 1 neg since the last Daily Double, and had 8200. Jon had gotten 2 more right and had 15200. Jim had gotten 4 more right and had 6600. Margaret wagered 2000 on this clue (I’d probably not have wagered that much.): “‘Jody put out his bruised hand again, and…’ this title animal ‘let his nose be rubbed.'” She didn’t get it right. The next clue was a triple-stumper, and the last two clues were left hidden. This made the game a runaway then for Jon.
The Final Jeopardy category was Historic U.S. Cities. This was the clue: “A 1905 treaty named for this U.S. city ended a foreign war 7,000 miles away & was actually signed at Kittery, Maine.” I didn’t get this one. Neither did Margaret, who lost 5800. Jim got it and added 5801. Jon missed it but it didn’t matter of course. He lost 14179 but got to play again today. Andy will recap today’s episode, tomorrow.
My Coryat today was the magical 28000 (but 30200 without negs). Now for the updated ToC list:
1. Monica Thieu $100,000 (College Champion)
2. Patrick Quinn $100,000 (Teacher’s Champion)
3. Jason Keller $213,900 (9 wins)
4. Joel Pool $116,800 (6 wins)
5. Dave Leach $98,054 (6 wins)
6. David Menchaca $116,503 (5 wins)
7. David Gard $84,700 (4 wins)
8. Dan McShane $62,001 (4 wins)
9. Patrick Morrison $80,701 (3 wins)
10. Francis Lansangan $78,401 (3 wins)
11. Joey Falco $53,999 (3 wins)
12. Beau Henson $51,203 (3 wins)
13. Margaret Swanson (3 wins)
14. Claudia Gray $45,202 (3 wins)
15. Dan Adkison $37,400 (3 wins)
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16. Jacob Silverman $35,998 (3 wins)
My recent Coryats:
6-21-12: 15400 (19400 without negs)
6-22-12: 19200 (25600 without negs)
6-25-12: 30400 (32800 without negs, and I had at least 1800 worth in Double Jeopardy, not counting 3 in the Peas category, where I should’ve buzzed in.)
originally 10-2-08: 23400 (26200 without negs)
originally 10-3-08: 21200 (24800 without negs. I blogged about this one when it was a weekend rerun almost two years ago.)
originally 10-6-08: 14000 (22000 without negs. I know.)
originally 10-7-08: 28000 again (but 31800 without negs)