Here’s today’s Final Jeopardy (in the category Radio History) for Monday, March 8, 2021 (Season 37, Game 116):
A 1949 broadcast in Spanish of this drama from 11 years before caused mass panic in Ecuador & the destruction of the radio station
(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:
Matt Wierman, an aerospace engineer originally from Lake Mary, Florida
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Justin Yaeger, a high school history teacher from Studio City, California
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Laura Portwood-Stacer, an author & editor originally from Livonia, Michigan (1-day total: $19,400)
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Andy’s Pregame Thoughts: I am going to preface these editorial thoughts by reiterating: This is a fan-operated website. There are many of you who have come in here over the past weeks seemingly unaware of this, and somehow assume that this website is show-operated. It is not.
Today is Katie Couric’s first day as guest host; it is a very historic day, as Katie Couric becomes the first woman to host an episode of Jeopardy!. I am very much looking forward to this; early indications to me have been that Katie has done an excellent job with her hosting duties and that she filled Alex Trebek’s shoes incredibly well.
Unfortunately, this news is clouded by a large number of people who wish to ruin today’s historic occasion because they have been described—quite accurately, I might add—as members of a cult. If you have come to this website to tell me that you are not watching the show over this, you are not welcome whatsoever in this space and your commenting rights will be permanently removed.
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(Content continues below)
Correct response: What is “The War of the Worlds”?
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.)
Orson Welles’ radio play of “The War of the Worlds”, detailing an alien invasion of Earth, has proved to be realistic that it has caused mass panic, with many duped into believing that the events being broadcast were real and not fictional. (Honestly, the theme of “being duped” seems to be fitting overall, considering the cult that many people worldwide have been duped into becoming a part of.) The 1938 broadcast caused panic in the United States, and the 1949 Ecuadorian broadcast was so convincing that it even managed to trick security forces, leading to a massive fire at the radio station where the broadcast originated. The Miami Herald has a good article detailing what happened.
We have many new offerings at The Jeopardy! Fan Online Store! Proceeds from the sale of the “Doctor Oz’s Fast-Acting Snake Oil Elixir” T-shirt are being donated to The Trevor Project:
Looking to find out who won Jeopardy! today? Tonight’s results are below!
Scores going into Final:
Laura $15,600
Matt $11,600
Justin $10,200
Tonight’s results:
Justin $10,200 – $5,100 = $5,100 (What is “The War of the World”?)
Matt $11,600 + $10,014 = $21,614 (What is War of the Worlds?)
Laura $15,600 + $7,601 = $23,201 (What is The War of the Worlds?) (2-day total: $42,601)
Scores after the Jeopardy! Round:
Laura $8,000
Matt $4,600
Justin $3,000
Opening break taken after: 16 clues
Daily Double locations:
1) HISTORY ACCORDING TO HERODOTUS $600 (clue #28)
Laura 6000 +2000 (Justin 3000 Matt 3800)
2) PORT “L” $1600 (clue #22)
Matt 15400 -4000 (Laura 11600 Justin 9400)
3) COMPOSERS $1600 (clue #24, $8000 left on board)
Matt 13400 -3000 (Laura 11600 Justin 9400)
Overall Daily Double Efficiency for this game: -15
Unplayed clues:
J! Round: None!
DJ! Round: None!
Total Left On Board: $0
Number of clues left unrevealed this season: 157 (1.35 per episode average), 2 Daily Doubles
Game Stats:
Laura $14,200 Coryat, 20 correct, 1 incorrect, 35.09% in first on buzzer (20/57), 0/0 on rebound attempts (on 2 rebound opportunities)
Matt $18,600 Coryat, 19 correct, 3 incorrect, 35.09% in first on buzzer (20/57), 0/0 on rebound attempts (on 2 rebound opportunities)
Justin $10,200 Coryat, 13 correct, 1 incorrect, 21.05% in first on buzzer (12/57), 2/2 on rebound attempts (on 2 rebound opportunities)
Combined Coryat Score: $43,000
Lach Trash: $6,000 (on 6 Triple Stumpers)
Coryat lost to incorrect responses (less double-correct responses): $5,000
Laura Portwood-Stacer, career statistics:
41 correct, 2 incorrect
3/3 on rebound attempts (on 8 rebound opportunities)
31.25% in first on buzzer (35/112)
3/3 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $7,000)
1/2 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $16,700
Justin Yaeger, career statistics:
13 correct, 2 incorrect
2/2 on rebound attempts (on 2 rebound opportunities)
21.05% in first on buzzer (12/57)
0/0 on Daily Doubles
0/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $10,200
Matt Wierman, career statistics:
20 correct, 3 incorrect
0/0 on rebound attempts (on 2 rebound opportunities)
35.09% in first on buzzer (20/57)
0/2 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: -$7,000)
1/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $18,600
Laura Portwood-Stacer, to win:
3 games: 55.784%
4: 31.118%
5: 17.359%
6: 9.683%
7: 5.402%
Avg. streak: 3.262 games.
Andy’s Thoughts:
- I thought that Katie did a really good job of responding to contestants’ responses; she seemed more on-the-ball, and to me, there was less dead air than Ken’s or Mike’s rulings.
- The show is also donating an amount equivalent to the consolation prizes to Stand Up to Cancer.
- The total amount donated thus far: $26,201.
Contestant photo credit: jeopardy.com
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I follow the champion on Twitter and she was impressed with Katie.
A few years ago, Radiolab, the NPR show put on by one of their affiliates in NY, did an excellent one-hour or so program on how a broadcast of War of the Worlds in (I think) Quito affected the radio station, the broadcasters and their families in a tragic way. It is worth checking it out and listening to it.
I knew about the US broadcast but not the Ecuadorian broadcast. Was able to put two and two together and hazard the right educated guess, though–which suggests to me that this is a pretty good FJ clue after what was a bit of a rough week for the writers.
One word that tripped me up was “drama”, because I knew The War of the Worlds was originally a novel. I didn’t realize Orson Welles had actually adapted it. So a nice case of learning something new while also getting FJ right. 🙂
Looking forward to watching tonight’s game as Laura looked great on Friday.
One female I would like to see get a shot as permanent host is Brooke Burns. She does an excellent job hosting trivia shows.
I was surprised that she didn’t do The Chase that was recently shown on ABC.
Brooke had already been doing Master Minds on GSN for at least a year when ABC revived The Chase as a weekly prime time show. Master Minds is probably a better gig since it airs daily vs just weekly. I wonder how many game show hosts have a clause in their current contract that would give them a release if Jeopardy ever came calling. Some may also have their eye on Wheel after Sajak retires.
KMOX in St. Louis used to replay this on Halloween night when I was a kid. I’ve always wanted to visit Grover’s Mill, NJ.
Actually, there isn’t much to see there, other than the old mill building and a large historical marker. It’s about 12 miles northeast of Trenton, between Princeton Junction and Plainsboro. We live not too far away from there and went to see it years ago after we first moved to the area.
It’s pretty cool that Katie Couric makes Jeopardy history on International Women’s Day. I’m guessing that is not a coincidence. Looking forward to today’s show, plus seeing all the guest hosts after her. Meanwhile, as a radio fan, today’s FJ was easy for me … for once!
Definitely not a coincidence was Laura’s victory, and over two male players, to boot!
If they all got it right, all had the same answer, why did Justin lose money??
Also, I have absolutely zero idea what you are talking about the “cult” thing, but for goodness sake, what is wrong with people? This site is clearly your opinions and when it comes to opinions, no two are exactly the same and that is totally fine and normal. If I disagree with someone’s opinion, I just shrug and keep scrolling.
Justin’s response was not the same; it was missing the final “S”, and being a title, it needed that final “S”.
I am glad that Katie Couric will be hosting Jeopardy. Looking forward to it!
I really liked Mike’s turn as host. Looking forward to watching all the rest. LOVE your column!
The Miami Herald article Andy references is a good read.
My husband had a doctor’s appointment in Naperville IL today and we saw a campaign poster for Ian Holzhauer running for the Naperville city council. He’s James’ brother.
I’m surprised at how well Katie Couric did. As far as I know, she doesn’t have any game show experience.