Good evening, fellow Jeopardy! fans; Andy here with the recap of the October 1 episode!
Being that it’s a Monday, here’s who is on the show this week:
Erik Dresner, Elmhurst, NY
Jeff Huong, Sandy Springs, GA
Sara Lehmann, Albuquerque, NM
Mike Lonesky, Clinton, NY
Joanna Mang, San Diego, CA
Margaret Minett-Longdon, Winnebago, IL
Brendan O’Connor, San Francisco, CA
Daniel Pasquini-Salazar, Chicago, IL
Michelle Princi, Silver Spring, MD
Rochelle Smith, Moscow, ID
And the week’s returning champion: Brendan DuBois, Exeter, NH (1 day, $23,000)
Today’s challengers for Brendan:
Alex always seems to be tickled when older contestants do well on the show, especially considering that Alex feels he could be like Brendan!
J! Round categories: THE COURSE OF TRUE LOVE, SPORTS PEOPLE, AMERICAN HISTORY “Q” & “A”, COUNTRIES’ BIGGEST CITIES, YOU DESERVE A PRIZE, CHAIN LETTER (the last letter of the correct response to the $400 clue is the first letter of the correct response to the $800 clue, and so on through the chain)
I like the concept of CHAIN LETTER a lot — in fact, every so often at music trivia, I’ll do that with the titles of songs, like “After All (Cher & Peter Cetera), “All Out Of Love” (Air Supply), “Love Potion Number 9” (The Searchers), “Nine In The Afternoon” (Panic! At The Disco) and “Afternoon Delight” (Starland Vocal Band). The only thing I don’t really like — the requirement to take it in order. I just prefer not being restricted by having to take a category in order if I don’t want to.
Brendan got off to quite a hot start, even running COUNTRIES’ BIGGEST CITIES, but it was Rochelle who got to the game’s first Daily Double, under YOU DESERVE A PRIZE $400. The scores were:
Brendan $4,800
Rochelle $400
Joanna $0
Seemingly afraid to bet the full $1,000, she only bet $400. Her clue was: In 2005 this sometime banjo player received the Mark Twain prize for American humor. Her correct response doubled her score to $800.
At the first break, we saw scores of:
Brendan $5,800
Rochelle $1,000
Joanna $0
I’m sure Joanna got a fun pep talk about buzzing in from the contestant co-ordinators at the opening break!
In terms of fun relationship stories (all 3 were about relationships; Rochelle was a witness at an elopement, whereas Joanna and Brendan met their significant others in unusual ways), I hope that I have a fun one of those in case I ever get onto the show!
Getting back to the game, Joanna and Rochelle both found some mojo in the latter half of the round, though I was disappointed that SPORTS PEOPLE was played last. I was doubly disappointed by the $800 Triple Stumper: His account of a shot at the 2012 Masters says all he did was keep it under a tree, make it rise, then hook about 40 yards; just another example of what this man calls ‘Bubba Golf’. I love golf questions and wish there were more of them.
At the end of the Jeopardy! round we had scores of:
Brendan $8,400
Rochelle $3,400
Joanna $2,600
DJ! Round categories: MONOLOGUES, “ED”, DOC, TEA TIME MOVIE, CARNAC-IAN BONDS, THE TONIGHT SHOW STARRING JOHNNY CARSON
The first Daily Double was found under MONOLOGUES $1600 and it was Rochelle’s. Scores:
Brendan $9,600
Rochelle $4,600
Joanna $2,600
Rochelle, showing chutzpah not found in her earlier bet, ventured $4,000. Her clue: In a courtroom: “Darwin moved us forward to a hilltop…we must abandon our faith in the pleasant poetry of Genesis”. Fortunately she was able to conjure up the correct answer to bring her much closer to Brendan’s lead, her score now at $8,600!
The final Daily Double came up quickly as well, under “ED” $1,600. This one was Joanna’s, with scores at:
Brendan $10,400
Rochelle $9,000
Joanna $3,800
Wincing, Joanna came up with a bet of only $2,000. Her clue: Aristotle called it “the best provision for old age”
An important clue in the grand scheme of things, under TEA TIME MOVIE $2,000: In “Tea With Mussolini”, Cher plays a character based on this American art patron who spent a lot of time in Italy. The fact that the subject of this question was a LearnedLeague question (that played at 22%) notwithstanding, it’s important to note the appearance of the actress in question with regards to something later on!
One example of CARNAC-IAN BONDS (at $800): Dame Judi, a serving girl & the tool she may hit you with for calling her that
Overall, I found this a rather fun game to play, especially with the CHAIN LETTER and CARNAC-IAN BONDS. The only thing I didn’t like: Two CARNAC clues went unrevealed. May the bird of paradise fly up your collective noses!
It was Joanna doing quite well on the buzzer in both DOC and CARNAC-IAN BONDS to sneak into the lead on the final question before the end-of-round signal!
Scores going into FJ!
Joanna $14,600
Rochelle $13,800
Brendan $11,200
FJ! category: SINGERS & ALBUMS
FJ! clue: She’s the only artist to have No. 1 albums in 5 consecutive decades, from the 1960s to the 2000s
Brendan 11200 – 3500 = 7700
Rochelle 13800 – 5800 = 8000
Joanna 14600 + 10000 = 24600
All I’m going to say about the wagering: If you’re either betting a round number, or finishing at a round number, there’s a very strong likelihood that your wager is rather sub-optimal and should probably be re-checked.
My thought process on this Final: Well, it’s gotta be Cher. Has to be. Who else has had such a long career? But wait. Cher was mentioned in an earlier clue, and they don’t do that! But I still think it’s Cher. Oh well, I should put something else down — and then scribbled out the correct response at about the 25 second mark, figuring that an Oscar in 1968 would be a precursor to a long career.
I’m quite looking forward to tomorrow’s show; Sara Lehmann, one of tomorrow’s contestants, has already agreed to an interview, so if you can think of any questions for us to ask her during tomorrow’s show, send them in my direction!
See you tomorrow!