The Dumbest Category Ever

     George McAleese was a two-time champ when the week began. Like I said Friday, I hope I can update the ToC list today.

George McAleese of Washington, D.C.

Larry Krajewski of Safety Harbor, FL

Kathy DeLozier of Louisville, KY

     I had to consult the message boards to see if my response of “Neptune” was acceptable here, in Revenge: “To get revenge on Odysseus, Polyphemus prayed to this sea god, his dad, who made it hard for Odysseus to get home.” My first thought was the correct response, but I over-thought it.
     I’ve seen someone make Larry’s mistake here, still in Revenge: “Jilted on her wedding day, in revenge she teaches her ward Estella to torment men in ‘Great Expectations.'” I didn’t think it was that long ago, though! I was hoping no one would do it today. Kathy picked it up though, and the next clue was the Daily Double. She’d gotten 2 right and had 1800. George had gotten 2 right also and had 600. Larry had gotten the one wrong and was 800 in the hole. Kathy wagered only 400 on the clue! She even said “only.” Here it is, still in Revenge: “Roger Chillingworth seeks revenge for his wife’s adultery in this classic American novel.” Kathy and I got it easily.
     Kathy negged on this next clue, a triple-stumper I got in “On”words & “Up”words: “Written all in capital letters, like this clue.”
     I swept State Facts before the first break, at which time Kathy still led with 2000. She’d gotten one right and the one wrong since her Daily Double. George had 1600, having gotten 3 right, and Larry had 1800 now after getting 4 right.
     So far Larry was selecting clues at an appropriate pace, but we got a taste of what was to come when he dragged his interview on and on. I liked Kathy’s story a lot, though.
     I don’t know about you but I was momentarily confused when that weird music started playing as Mr. Trebek read the first clue in The Sexiest Potpourri Ever. It seems now the Jeopardy! staff realize how lame a category Potpourri is, and they’re trying to make it more appealing. And missing.
     Mr. Trebek gave the less-than-a-minute warning with 7 clues left. It was Larry’s turn to select, and you’d think he was choosing from a menu at a place he’d never been. It took a long. Long. Time. To his credit though, he did go for a higher dollar value, and even switched categories a little later for a 1000 clue. There were 2 clues left on the board. George had gotten 6 right and one wrong and had 5600. Larry had gotten 5 right and had 4800. Kathy had gotten one right and 3 wrong and had 800.
     Larry found the first Daily Double of Double Jeopardy, in This South American Life. He’d gotten 3 right since the round began, and had 8400. Kathy had gotten 4 right and had 3600. George still had 5600. Larry wagered 4000 on this easy one: “In June 1990 Alberto Fujimori beat novelist Mario Vargas Llosa for the presidency of this country.” He and I got it right. A triple-stumper followed, then Larry swept The 20th Century. Kathy and George each had 3600 at that time, and Larry had “a big, big lead” according to Mr. Trebek, with 18400. Ouch.
     I said what George did on this one in Government Agencies: “We live in a world that has walls, & those walls have to be guarded by men with guns, like CBP, short for customs & this.” Poor George; that was his second 2000 neg. Mine too.
     Mr. Trebek gave the less-than-a-minute warning with 7 clues left again. The next clue was the Daily Double, and Larry got it. He’d gotten 8 right and one wrong since his last Daily Double, and had 21200. George had gotten 2 right and the 2 wrong, and had 3600. Kathy had gotten 2 right and had 4400. Here’s the clue, on which Larry wagered 3000, in Science is a 7-Letter Word: “Examples of this type of soft-bodied invertebrate include the snail & the octopus.” Larry got it wrong, and I didn’t have a guess. The next clue was a triple-stumper, and then we had 1988 No. 1 Hits left. It seemed like Larry had a seizure – all he had to was say a value, but he took forever to select! I thought I’d sweep the category, but I didn’t have the chance – we only saw one clue. Larry got it right, and he ended the round with 18600. George and Kathy still had 3600 and 4400 then, respectively.
     The Final Jeopardy category was Magazines. This is the clue: “Celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2013, 5280 magazine is a guide to this city.” Sorry but I can’t believe anyone missed this. I’ve never heard of it but  got it instantly and didn’t have to think twice. “5280” can only refer to one thing. Kathy missed it though, and lost 2801. She said she was thinking of time. George’s correct response was revealed after Mr. Trebek said “This wasn’t your day.” You could hear Kathy go, “Oh!” He added 1601. Larry got it right and added 3000. Here’s hoping the contestant coordinators lit a fire under him for tomorrow’s episode.
     My Coryat was only 18400 (23800 without negs).