Andy here as Julia Collins’ run continues!
Some of my readers want me to write more controversial things here. It’s a tough call for me on that one, to be honest! After all, it is incredibly difficult to get on Jeopardy!, and nobody who gets onto the show could be considered stupid by any means whatsoever!
Today’s contestants:
J! round categories:
PIN THE TALE ON THE DONKEY
DOUBLE DOUBLE VOWELS
OOO, SORRY
ASIAN HISTORY
GROUPIES
WE’RE WITH “THE” BAND
Julia didn’t get off to as hot of a start in this round; Manuel got the most amount of money in the first category, WE’RE WITH “THE” BAND. A surprising Triple Stumper early, under GROUPIES $200 (Continuing the work of the G8, this organization met for the first time in December 1999).
The last clue before the break also surprised me Triple Stumper-wise (OOO SORRY, $600): In 1998 the German parliament formally said “We’re sorry” for the 1937 bombing of this Basque “Holy City”.
Scores after 15:
Julia $3,400
Manuel $1,600
Maggie $1,600
Maggie is part of a Celtic rock band known as Mother Grove!
Julia admitted that she was unemployed — Alex suggested that she wait a bit before trying to find a job, especially because she’s won nearly $400,000! Think of the taxes!
Back to the game, our two challengers had a good time on the buzzer, but it was Julia who played the first Daily Double under DONKEY $600! It was the 28th clue of the round. Scores:
Julia $5,000
Manuel $4,800
Maggie $2,600
Julia bet $1,200. Her clue: Not quite Rocinante, the mount used by this character is a brown donkey. She said the same thing I did — giving the main character’s name, not the squire — and she fell to $3,800.
Manuel and Maggie also took negs en route to the turn, leading to scores after 30 of:
Manuel $4,000
Julia $3,800
Maggie $2,400
DJ! round categories:
GOVERNMENT & POLITICS
BIBLICAL NEXT OF KIN
MLB TEAMS EN FRANCAIS
STATES ENDING IN “IA”
NEW WORDS & PHRASES
LOS ALAMOS
As evidence of how good Julia is on the buzzer: She went 6/6 on the $400 clues!
MLB TEAMS EN FRANCAIS were difficult! I only went 3/5!
Maggie, when she did have control, did try some Daily Double hunting. The problem is, she didn’t get enough luck on the buzzer in order to get control enough! The first Daily Double was the 18th clue of the round, found under NEW WORDS & PHRASES $1600. Manuel got to play it with scores at:
Julia $12,200
Manuel $6,400
Maggie $2,000
Manuel bet just $3,000. You’re not going to beat Julia Collins without going for it at this point. Ugh.
His clue: Get in touch with this, defined by Random House as “the juvenile aspect of a person’s psyche”. His correct response put him at $9,400.
The trivia gods disapproved. Manuel did not ring in for the rest of the game. Maggie had some bad luck in the LOS ALAMOS category, being unable to name Curiosity as the 2012 Mars rover (she was asked to be more specific on “Mars Rover”).
A few Triple Stumpers on the way to the house, but we did get through all 30!
That means there’s one more Daily Double to play! Julia got to play it, under LOS ALAMOS $2000! Scores:
Julia $16,600
Manuel $9,400
Maggie $800
Julia bet $2,300. Her clue: The lab’s 3D visualization theater uses 33 digital projectors to study complex physical systems. For example, the asteroid impact that created the Chicxulub crater on this peninsula, leading to the extinction of the dinosaurs.. Julia gave a correct response putting her at $18,900 — and into a lock position by $100 with one clue to play!
The final $2,000 clue (BIBLICAL NEXT OF KIN): Brother of Shem & Ham, son of Noah. It fell for a Triple Stumper. Manuel didn’t even take a guess.
And that’s why Julia has won 18 games now. Because she plays the game that much better than her opponents do.
Scores going into Final:
Julia $18,900
Manuel $9,400
Maggie $800
FJ! category: OPERA
FJ! clue: In a bit of foreshadowing, the title character’s dad has committed suicide before the action of this 1904 opera
Maggie 800 – 0 = 800
Manuel 9400 + 5000 = 14400
Julia 18900 + 0 = 18900 (18-day champion, $391,600)
Jeanie will have the recap as she goes for #19 — a win which will tie David Madden for second all time if she gets it!
ToC update:
1. John Pearson (November 2013 Teacher’s Champion)
2. Jim Coury (May 2013 College Champion)
3. Terry O’Shea (February 2014 College Champion)
4. Julia Collins $391,600 (18 wins)
5. Arthur Chu $297,200 (11 wins)
6. Ben Ingram $176,534 (8 wins)
7. Drew Horwood $138,100 (8 wins)
8. Jared Hall $181,001 (6 wins)
9. Sandie Baker $140,200 (6 wins)
10. Andrew Moore $137,803 (6 wins)
11. Jerry Slowik $121,800 (5 wins)
12. Joshua Brakhage $103,205 (5 wins)
13. Rebecca Rider $101,600 (5 wins)
14. Sarah McNitt $89,398 (5 wins)
15. Rani Peffer $68,701 (5 wins)
—
16. Mark Japinga $112,600 (4 wins)
17. Mike Lewis $102,800 (4 wins)
18. Carlos Ross $89,774 (3 wins)
19. Adam Holquist $76,299 (3 wins)
20. Sara Garnett $75,403 (3 wins)
21. Salvo Candela $66,195 (3 wins)
22. Neal Pollack $60,798 (3 wins)
23. John Anneken $60,112 (3 wins)
24. Tim Anderson $56,001 (3 wins)
25. Stuart Anderson $51,601 (3 wins)
26. Bill Tolany $44,200 (3 wins)