Here’s today’s Final Jeopardy (in the category European Landmarks) for Wednesday, March 3, 2021 (Season 37, Game 113):
Of the principal architects working on it from the mid-1500s to the 1980s, like Pierre Lescot & Hector Lefuel, none were foreigners
(correct response beneath the contestants)
The Jeopardy! community is mourning the loss of Brayden Smith, who passed away on February 5. The Brayden Smith Memorial Fund has been established, dedicated to furthering the educational aspirations of Southern Nevada students.
Today’s contestants:
Tim Everhart, an attorney originally from Brockton, Massachusetts
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Melis Sahin-Collins, a data analyst from Redondo Beach, California
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Jon Spurney, a musician & screenwriter originally from New York, New York (2-day total: $60,002)
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Andy’s Pregame Thoughts: It’s very clear that on this show, the hand that rocks the signalling device is the hand that rules the game of Jeopardy!. Jon managed to rock the signalling device yesterday, getting in first 30 times. Melis and Tim are going to have their work cut out for them if Jon gets anywhere close to that on today’s show. If Jon wins in a runaway, though, then the writers will have dodged a bullet when it comes to today’s Final Jeopardy!; see my “more information” write-up as to why.
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(Content continues below)
Correct response: What is the Louvre?
More information about Final Jeopardy: (The following write-up is original content and is copyright 2021 The Jeopardy! Fan. It may not be copied without linked attribution back to this page.)
The Louvre is the world’s largest art museum and a major Paris landmark.
And now, my very major issue with this clue: I.M. Pei designed the now-famous pyramid in the Louvre’s courtyard in the 1980s; France’s President at the time, François Mitterand, came under massive criticism among the French for hiring Pei unilaterally to design it, as Pei is not French. Obviously, by some readings and interpretations of this clue (including mine), “to the 1980s” includes the 1980s, and thus, the clue is flawed as it currently reads. If the intent of the clue was to exclude I.M. Pei’s pyramid, the clue needed to read “mid-1500s prior to the 1980s”; if the word “prior” does not fit on the Chyron, then other words in the clue need to be abbreviated or the clue needs to be thrown out. It is very clear that Jeopardy!’s clue quality has decreased significantly when the show’s writers are unable to collaborate as well because of COVID guidelines. The excuse is starting to wearing thin, though; the writers have had a year now to figure it out.
Having written this write-up prior to seeing the game, I certainly hope that there was nothing riding on this Final Jeopardy.
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Looking to find out who won Jeopardy! today? Tonight’s results are below!
Scores going into Final:
Jon $14,200
Tim $14,200
Melis $2,000
Tonight’s results:
Melis $2,000 – $0 = $2,000 (What is Arc de Triomphe?) (1-day total: $2,000)
Tim $14,200 – $14,200 = $0 (What is the Sacre Couer?)
Jon $14,200 – $14,200 = $0 (What is Notre Dame?)
Scores after the Jeopardy! Round:
Melis $4,400
Jon $3,800
Tim $2,600
Opening break taken after: 16 clues
Daily Double locations:
1) TITLES & HONORIFICS $600 (clue #4)
Tim 600 -1000 (Jon 600 Melis 0)
2) MEGALITHS $1200 (clue #10)
Tim 10200 +4000 (Jon 3800 Melis 4400)
3) SCIENCE $1600 (clue #21, $6800 left on board)
Melis 5600 -4000 (Jon 9400 Tim 14600)
Overall Daily Double Efficiency for this game: -132
Unplayed clues:
J! Round: None!
DJ! Round: None!
Total Left On Board: $0
Number of clues left unrevealed this season: 154 (1.36 per episode average), 2 Daily Doubles
Game Stats:
Melis $6,000 Coryat, 9 correct, 3 incorrect, 17.54% in first on buzzer (10/57), 0/1 on rebound attempts (on 5 rebound opportunities)
Tim $12,400 Coryat, 15 correct, 3 incorrect, 28.07% in first on buzzer (16/57), 0/0 on rebound attempts (on 4 rebound opportunities)
Jon $14,200 Coryat, 23 correct, 3 incorrect, 42.11% in first on buzzer (24/57), 2/2 on rebound attempts (on 3 rebound opportunities)
Combined Coryat Score: $32,600
Lach Trash: $13,200 (on 11 Triple Stumpers)
Coryat lost to incorrect responses (less double-correct responses): $8,200
Jon Spurney, career statistics:
71 correct, 10 incorrect
4/4 on rebound attempts (on 7 rebound opportunities)
42.11% in first on buzzer (72/171)
2/2 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $4,400)
2/3 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $18,667
Melis Sahin-Collins, career statistics:
9 correct, 4 incorrect
0/1 on rebound attempts (on 5 rebound opportunities)
17.54% in first on buzzer (10/57)
0/1 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: -$4,000)
0/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $6,000
Tim Everhart, career statistics:
15 correct, 4 incorrect
0/0 on rebound attempts (on 4 rebound opportunities)
28.07% in first on buzzer (16/57)
1/2 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $3,000)
0/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $12,400
Melis Sahin-Collins, to win:
2 games: 18.003%
3: 3.241%
4: 0.584%
5: 0.105%
6: 0.019%
Avg. streak: 1.220 games.
Andy’s Thoughts:
- Mike Richards said after this Final that I.M. Pei was the first foreign architect to work on the Louvre; this cements in my eyes that this Final Jeopardy! clue was worded improperly and misleadingly and that both Jon and Tim should be returned to the show. Once again—”to the 1980s” can be read to mean “includes the 1980s”. Note this should not detract from the fact that Melis won this game fairly—sometimes, you catch a fortuitous break.
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I totally agree! It was obvious that the clue indicated the landmark was in France. Note that all three contestants also got that right. So then it was a process of illumination. The Louvre was NOT an option due to Pei. The clue’s wording also definitely implied that construction began and stopped with the dates mentioned in the clue. It should have read something like “Until the 1980s, all the lead architects working on this landmark, like so and so, were not foreigners.” Or any other wording that would not be deceptive. If the writers couldn’t figure out how to wrote a well worded clue they should have scrapped it and gone with another answer. The contestants and audience at home shouldn’t be suffer for their bad clue writing abilities. It’s final jeopardy not final fake-out. The game is supposed be challenging not a game of the house using trickery against the players.
I don’t think Alex would have approved.
I was more disoriented by the word “chyron” . . .
Did he say they were tied at 13,200? Also, I wouldn’t have known the final Jeopardy answer, but I thought I understood the clue until he mentioned the foreign architect in the 80’s, then I was doubting if I had understood the clue.
Did anyone recall what the question was that asked about an active volcano? Mt St Helens and Mt Ranier are active volcanoes, but what in the question eliminated Mt St Helens as the correct answer?
The “also known as Tahoma” part of the clue.
Another factor that eliminated Mt St Helens was the height of the volcano. Mt Rainer is the only mountain in Washington (or Oregon) that is higher than 14,000.
I wonder if Jon and Tim got a do-over, if they would put them on at the same time (with the current champion), in a sort of “Thunderdome” (“Three enter; only one gets out!”). I don’t know what rules govern this, but it’s interesting to consider!
I got it wrong (French scholar), as did my wife (grad of SUNY-Fredonia, whose campus was partially designed by I.M. Pei), who is an artist. We both thought Notre Dame; whereas the Louvre didn’t come to my mind, at all, that was her second choice.
IMHO this is a bad FJ. The Louvre, while a great museum, is not a landmark. Quick, what does it look like? Its just a building with other offices in it on a street in Paris. Except for Pei’s pyramid in a courtyard, there is nothing distinctive about it. Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Sacre Cour, Notre Dame, Opera House, Obelisk in Place de la Concorde, THOSE are landmarks…
I agree with this. There are concerns about the wording the question but it’s tough to consider the Louvre as a whole as a European landmark. The glass pyramid maybe, but not the museum as a whole. I think of a landmark as visually striking or unique. The Louvre looks like many other large museums and government buildings throughout Paris. Museums rarely come to mind as a landmark unless it has a very unique design.
I diagree. Regardless of what you think of the architecture of the facility, it’s history and contents alone make it a true landmark. I totally agree with the concerns raised about the years, but not regarding it being a landmark.
Concerning the years–for them, or anyone, to claim that “the mid-1500s to the 1980s” doesn’t include the 1980s, is like someone saying that Amazon’s “A to Z” guarantee doesn’t cover purchases of aprons or zithers, as it excludes A and Z and only covers B through Y, inclusive.