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
|
Justin Yaeger, a high school history teacher from Studio City, California
|
Laura Portwood-Stacer, an author & editor originally from Livonia, Michigan (1-day total: $19,400)
|
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.
PSA: The best way to keep COVID-19 at bay (and keep Jeopardy! producing new episodes) is for everybody to abide by physical distancing guidelines and when you are not able to do so, properly wear a mask. Ensure that your mask covers both your nose and your mouth.
Are you going on the show and looking for information about how to bet in Final Jeopardy? Check out my new Betting Strategy 101 page!
(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
When commenting, please note that all comments on The Jeopardy! Fan must be in compliance with the Site Comment Policy.
If you are going to quote any information from this page or this website, attribution is required.
As good as I thought Mike was as a host, I did notice the dead air between the time an answer was given and Mike confirmed it was correct. I (and probably the contestant too) assumed the answer was wrong and that was the cause for the delay. I’ll have to watch Katie more closely tomorrow to see if she responds more quickly.
Couric was fine. I prefer Jennings though.
The final question was only too easy. Actually, I feared that we were going to have to determine the presidential administration in which the first transcontinental radio broadcast was made.
An excellent job by Katie — she’s a real professional, and it showed!
Justin must have been been kicking himself over the clue about the “curve” and its response of “baseball.” He said during his interview that he’s been to 30 major-league parks!
why did the s count, but not ‘the’.
The rules of the show permit leading articles to be added or removed with impunity (unless ambiguity between titles is created). However, other than that, titles generally need to be exact; removing an S makes it no longer exact and thus, incorrect.
I thought Katie Couric did an excellent job, although I still prefer Ken Jennings because he’s been a part of the Jeopardy! world for several years. I felt sorry for the contestant who forgot the “s” on “Worlds.” But the other male contestant left off “The,” so….
Matt did not leave off “The.” The actual title of Orson Welles’ radio drama was “War of the Worlds,” not “The War of the Worlds.” But you actually see it both ways in print (just do a Google Search) and Laura’s “the” did not change the essence of the answer the way “World” does with “Worlds,” so they will accept that.
About the only time adding or leaving out “The” makes a difference is when the answer is “Invisible Man” (Ellison) or “The Invisible Man” (H.G. Wells). Then you have to get it right. Otherwise, adding or omitting a leading “The” will not result in an otherwise correct answer being ruled wrong.
I’m not a big Katie Couric fan, but I thought she did quite well. She’s a smooth reader who kept the game going at a good pace. She had two problems, one of which is very fixable, the other maybe not so much. First, she seemed far too stiff and unemotional. It’s good when the host can get a bit excited when a contestant does well and sympathize when a contestant had difficulty. Alex was especially good at this. Ken and Mike R. were so-so. This is fixable, though; I suspect Katie was nervous the first time out.
Second, she didn’t seem to have the knowledge to ad lib the way Ken could.
I think Katie will get better from show to show.
As for Ken and Mike, I thought both Ken were quite watchable. Mike was a very pleasant surprise.
But I’m more than a little disappointed they aren’t planning to give Brad Rutter a turn as guest host. He hosted a high school quiz show in Pittsburgh for years, which is how Alex got his start (as the host of Ontario’s Reach for the Top). And Brad is far more theatrical than Ken (and just as knowledgeable).
I would like to see James and Brad take a turn in the saddle. I think Ken did a better job than Alex!
What?!?!?!