I’m reporting from Chicago this week! The list of contestants:
Jody Carlson of Fairfax, VA
Bill Hawkins of New York, NY
Andy Hermann of Los Angeles, CA
John Leavy of Austin, TX
George McAleese of Washington, DC
Christina Rodriguez of Carterville, IL
Laurel Schultz of Durham, NC
Amanda Steadman of Winnipeg, MB Canada
On Friday last week, Judy Arginteanu became a 2-time champion. I just noticed that she, like many recent contestants it seems, is from Minneapolis! Am I really gonna have to update the ToC list today? Her opponents:
 |
| Judy |
 |
| Richard Hansen of Reno, NV |
 |
| Michael Ellis of Columbus OH (I watched his howdy – I’m surprised they let him say “tonight”!) |
My second time through, I made sure on my paper to leave plenty of room for contestant negs on my little sheet. There were loads of triple-stumpers too. Since, then, you know this game’s gonna hurt a little bit, I’ll deliver you some good news – Drew Scheeler has asked me if he can write The Experts Show recaps, when the new season starts a week from today. I’ve of course said YES.
Richard found the Daily Double at the bottom of Quoth the Politician. He’d gotten 3 right and had 1400. Judy had gotten one right and had 600. Michael still had 0. Richard wagered everything on this clue: “He said, ‘Since they whose duty it was to wield the sword of France have let it fall..I have taken up the broken blade.'” I said the right thing but changed my mind. Richard didn’t get it right, either.
At the first break but after Richard’s Daily Double, Michael had gotten 4 right and one wrong, and had 1600. Richard had gotten 5 right and had 3800. Judy still had 600. At the end of the round, Judy had gotten one right since the break and had 1600. Michael had gotten 4 right and had 4400. Richard had gotten 8 right and one wrong, and had 7000.
Michael found the first Daily Double of Double Jeopardy, in Music & History. He’d gotten 4 right in the round and 2 wrong, and had 7200. Richard had gotten 4 right and 3 wrong, and had 6600. Judy had gotten 4 right and had 5200. Michael wagered 2500 on this clue: “This character from a minstrel show song lent his name to segregation laws enacted after Reconstruction.” Michael got it right.
Judy found the last Daily Double in It’s National Park Week. This time she made faces but didn’t carry on quite like she did last week. She’d gotten 2 right since Michael’s Daily Double, and had 8800. Michael had gotten 3 right and had 12900. Richard had gotten 2 right and had 8200. This was Judy’s clue, on which she wagered 4000: “Appropriately Apollo 14 astronauts trained at the Idaho monument with this 4-word name.”
Judy must’ve been thinking “4-letter.” She only gave part of the park’s name, so she was wrong. She got one more of the last 2 clues wrong, and ended the round with 3200. Richard still had 8200 and Michael still had 12900.
The Final Jeopardy category was Best Actress Oscar Nominees. This was the clue: “Her nomination in 1987 was the first best actress nomination for a science fiction film.” I got this right, and so did all three contestants. Judy added 1502. Richard added 4701, so at that moment he led Michael by a dollar. Michael added 3501 though, making him the new champion.
My Coryat today was 16400, and I had one neg worth 1600. The contestants bounced around so much I had to track my Coryat again while blogging, to be sure. It wasn’t easy, and I hope I still have everything right! I’d messed up the first time through and had to rewind.