Warning: This page contains spoilers for the December 6, 2022, game of Jeopardy! — please do not scroll down if you wish to avoid being spoiled. Please note that the game airs as early as noon Eastern in some U.S. television markets.
Here’s today’s Final Jeopardy (in the category Plays) for Tuesday, December 6, 2022 (Season 39, Game 62):
A 1609 story in which an exiled king of Bulgaria creates a sea palace with his magic may have inspired the plot of this play
(correct response beneath the contestants)
Today’s Jeopardy! contestants:
Meghan Mello, an athletic trainer from North Smithfield, Rhode Island
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Andy Tirrell, a political science & international relations professor from San Diego, California
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Cris Pannullo, a customer success operations manager from Ocean City, New Jersey (21-day total: $748,286)
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Andy’s Pregame Thoughts:
Cris Pannullo is now solely #6 all-time in terms of the number of regular season games won on Jeopardy, behind only Ken Jennings, Amy Schneider, Matt Amodio, James Holzhauer, and Mattea Roach. Today, Andy Tirrell and Meghan Mello hope to put an end to Cris Pannullo’s recent dominance on the show. As I’ve said before, the key to beating Cris is to hope that the game’s variance works in your favor. Cris needs to be starved of the Daily Doubles—and the challengers need to take full advantage of them. And then, Final Jeopardy! may also need to work in your favor. That said, I believe that more challengers know how to play against a great player like Cris than they would have even two years ago.
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(Content continues below)
Correct response: What is The Tempest?
More information about Final Jeopardy:
(The following write-up is original content and is copyright 2022 The Jeopardy! Fan. It may not be copied without linked attribution back to this page.)
Essay time! My thoughts on this can be summed up as follows: I’m not the biggest fan of this clue today.
Here’s what Shakespeare Online, a longtime online authority on the subject of Shakespeare, has to say:
“Little more can be said for the second analogous version – a Spanish tale published in 1609 in a collection known as Winter Nights by Antonio de Eslava. Here the sea, absent from Ayrer’s scene, plays a large part. A King of Bulgaria, who possesses magical powers, being driven from his kingdom by the Emperor of Greece, sails with his daughter into the middle of the Adriatic, strikes the water with his wand, and descends into a gorgeous palace at the bottom of the sea.” … “Here again we have clearly only a remote relative of the theme of The Tempest.”
Additionally, we have the following two recent Final Jeopardy! clues: April 16, 2020: “An account of a deposed Duke of Genoa in a 1549 “History of Italy” is a presumed source for this play”, and February 12, 2019: “650 miles off the U.S., it was the site of a 1609 shipwreck of colonists bound for Jamestown that may have inspired ‘The Tempest'”. The fact that Jeopardy! has decided now to use three different “may have inspired the plot” or “presumed source” for The Tempest over the span of four years is getting to be a bit much, and may in fact lead to viewers having less confidence in the material put out by the show—after all, if you’re changing up the “this is the source” story every year, what are your viewers supposed to believe? In other words: pick a lane!
Moreover, for years in auditions, Jeopardy! has strongly suggested that prospective players watch the show as a form of studying for the show. I would say that there is a non-zero chance that a viewer, or even a player, with a good memory, might remember these past Final Jeopardy! clues about The Tempest and may even be talked out of a correct response today. I think that if the show really wanted to use this factoid as a Final, replacing “may have inspired the plot of” with “may have been one of the many inspirations for” would have made a much better clue, as it would have been a nod to the show’s past clues about other inspirations. (Granted, the show’s recent record on these matters hasn’t exactly been pristine.)
In conclusion, while this clue is technically accurate, it could have been so much better, which ultimately disappoints me as a viewer and fan.
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Game Recap:
Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: The Surprisingly Successful League Of Nations; Kids’ Book Titles In Latin; Wouldn’t It Be Rubbery; Radio, Radio; An “Arm”; A Lego)
Cris opened by finding the Daily Double; that kept his score down after 30! Andy, meanwhile, struggled out of the gate and was in a deficit situation for most of the opening round; Megan was in a strong second.
Statistics at the first break (15 clues):
Cris 7 correct 1 incorrect
Meghan 3 correct 0 incorrect
Andy 1 correct 3 incorrect
Statistics after the Jeopardy round:
Cris 15 correct 1 incorrect
Meghan 7 correct 1 incorrect
Andy 3 correct 3 incorrect
Double Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: World Geography; Big Book Royalty; Animals; Blood, Sweat & Tears; Their Top 40 Debut Album; 7-Letter “W”ords)
Cris got to the second Daily Double; unfortunately, a rare miss put Megan into the lead! By the time Andy found the third one, he was leading. Unfortunately, he only bet half his score, which proved crucial as Cris came back and overtook Andy by just $700 going into Final! Scores going into Final were Cris at just $12,600, Andy at $11,900, and Meghan at $4,200!
Statistics after Double Jeopardy:
Cris 27 correct 2 incorrect
Andy 14 correct 5 incorrect
Meghan 9 correct 2 incorrect
Total number of unplayed clues this season: 12 (0 today).
Andy was the only player correct in Final Jeopardy! today—he becomes the giant killer taking down the 21-day champion! Andy returns tomorrow as champion!
Tonight’s Game Stats:
Looking to find out who won Jeopardy! today? Here’s the Tuesday, December 6, 2022 Jeopardy! by the numbers:
Scores going into Final:
Cris $12,600
Andy $11,900
Meghan $4,200
Tonight’s results:
Meghan $4,200 – $0 = $4,200 (What is I had fun t)
Andy $11,900 + $3,499 = $15,399 (What is the Tempest) (1-day total: $15,399)
Cris $12,600 – $11,201 = $1,399 (What is The little mermaid)
Scores after the Jeopardy! Round:
Cris $7,600
Meghan $4,200
Andy -$1,000
Opening break taken after: 15 clues
Daily Double locations:
1) THE SURPRISINGLY SUCCESSFUL LEAGUE OF NATIONS $800 (clue #1)
Cris 0 +1000 (Andy 0 Meghan 0)
2) BLOOD, SWEAT & TEARS $1600 (clue #7)
Cris 10400 -6600 (Andy 2200 Meghan 5800)
3) 7-LETTER “W”ORDS $800 (clue #17, $13600 left on board)
Andy 7400 +3700 (Cris 6200 Meghan 5800)
Overall Daily Double Efficiency for this game: 87
Clue Selection by Row, Before Daily Doubles Found:
J! Round:
Cris 4*
Andy
Meghan
DJ! Round:
Cris 5 4 4* 4 3 2
Andy 3 4 2 3 5 3 4 5 2 2*
Meghan 1
Average Row of Clue Selection, Before Daily Doubles Found:
Andy 3.30
Meghan 1.00
Cris 3.71
Unplayed clues:
J! Round: None!
DJ! Round: None!
Total Left On Board: $0
Number of clues left unrevealed this season: 12 (0.19 per episode average), 0 Daily Doubles
Game Stats:
Andy $9,000 Coryat, 14 correct, 5 incorrect, 29.82% in first on buzzer (17/57), 0/1 on rebound attempts (on 2 rebound opportunities)
Meghan $4,200 Coryat, 9 correct, 2 incorrect, 19.30% in first on buzzer (11/57), 0/0 on rebound attempts (on 4 rebound opportunities)
Cris $19,000 Coryat, 27 correct, 2 incorrect, 40.35% in first on buzzer (23/57), 3/4 on rebound attempts (on 6 rebound opportunities)
Combined Coryat Score: $32,200
Lach Trash: $10,600 (on 9 Triple Stumpers)
Coryat lost to incorrect responses (less double-correct responses): $11,200
Cris Pannullo, career statistics:
664 correct, 50 incorrect
35/38 on rebound attempts (on 88 rebound opportunities)
48.32% in first on buzzer (604/1250)
45/50 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $168,600)
14/22 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $25,036
Andy Tirrell, career statistics:
15 correct, 5 incorrect
0/1 on rebound attempts (on 2 rebound opportunities)
29.82% in first on buzzer (17/57)
1/1 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $3,700)
1/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $9,000
Meghan Mello, career statistics:
9 correct, 3 incorrect
0/0 on rebound attempts (on 4 rebound opportunities)
19.30% in first on buzzer (11/57)
0/0 on Daily Doubles
0/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $4,200
Andy Tirrell, to win:
2 games: 40.214%
3: 16.172%
4: 6.503%
5: 2.615%
6: 1.052%
Avg. streak: 1.673 games.
Today’s interviews:
Meghan goes to adult gymnastics camp twice a year.
Andy has done research in Norway, north of the Arctic Circle.
Cris has a father who has been thrilled about Cris’ run.
Andy’s Thoughts:
- Andy is the first player in regular play to come back from being in the negatives after the Jeopardy! round to win the game since Matt Amodio (in Matt’s 22nd game, ironically enough) on September 16, 2021. Andy is only the 31st player since October 4, 2004, to do so in regular play.
- If there’s any positive to Cris’ streak ending today, it’s that it’s ended with Cris on a winnings total far enough away from any other player, such that there isn’t any debate as to where Cris ranks overall.
- Today’s box score: December 6, 2022 Box Score.
Final Jeopardy! wagering suggestions:
(Scores: Cris $12,600 Andy $11,900 Meghan $4,200)
Cris: Standard cover bet over Andy is $11,201. (Actual bet: $11,201)
Andy: Bet between $1,400 and $3,499 to cover any of Cris’ small range and keep Meghan locked out for 2nd. (Actual bet: $3,499)
Meghan: If Cris covers Andy and is incorrect, he falls to $1,399. Bet between $0 and $2,799 to stay ahead of that. (Actual bet: $0)
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About The Tempest I might asked something like which play (perhaps) mentions Bermuda.
I am by no means a Shakespearian scholar, but The Tempest just jumped out when I read the clue🤷🙂
Am I the only one who thought ‘the little mermaid’
That’s what I thought of as well!
and it turns out Cris did, too…..
The “Ariel” connection 🙂
Well, that is all I could think of, but I was pretty sure that was wrong. I think I have “heard of” all Shakespeare’s plays (and I just mentioned Shakespeare on here recently, maybe yesterday?), but there are a lot of them that I am unfamiliar with and ‘The Tempest’ is one of those (though someone MORE familiar with even just the titles, MIGHT have been able to come up with ‘The Tempest’ without knowing plot and backstory).
Not hard to logically put this one together…
Play + 1609 = Likely pointing to Shakespeare
“Sea Palace” = Obviously something about an island
Therefore, Shakespeare + Island = The Tempest
Agree. I have never even read the Tempest, but the context clues made it a dead giveaway for The Tempest.
Not to mention “with his magic.”
In Act I – PROSPERO: ‘Tis time I should inform thee farther. Lend thy hand,
And pluck my magic garment from me. So:
[Lays down his mantle]
Lie there, my art….
In Act V – a famous phrase, which Mary Stewart used as the title of a novel.
PROSPERO: … the strong-based promontory
Have I made shake and by the spurs pluck’d up
The pine and cedar: graves at my command
Have waked their sleepers, oped, and let ’em forth
By my so potent art. But this rough magic
I here abjure, and, when I have required
Some heavenly music, which even now I do,
To work mine end upon their senses that
This airy charm is for, I’ll break my staff,
Bury it certain fathoms in the earth,
And deeper than did ever plummet sound
I’ll drown my book.
Yup. That’s the math I did, too. All I needed to see was 1609 and the context, thus I figured it had to be a late Shakespeare play, and only The Tempest made sense.
Sucks to see Cris lose on this, but I’m happy for Andy (as someone also named Andy), and hope he can get another few wins to have a rematch with Cris in the TOC.
Sorry to see Cris go. As soon as I saw the Jeopardy! publicity on his thumbs up sign, I imagined his time was nearly up.
Congrats Cris on your outstanding DD strategy!
Congrats to Cris on his DD betting strategy but still he had a good 21 game run. He is now in the tournament of champions. We shall see what Andy can do in the next game. The tempest is a pretty good shakespeare play, which I enjoyed the most
I’m sad to see Cris go and I fear we may have a giant killer very similar to Nancy Zerg in Andy. If Andy loses this week (which I assume he will) I will have to question if he qualifies for the second chance tournament.
I think one of the most sacred requirements for Second Chance is that you had to have lost in your first game, and Andy definitely did not do that.
Wonder if the qualifications will change depending on how many low winning champs we have in the future. But yeah I didn’t think about the not winning requirement.
Its not bad to think of disney characters!👍
The proposed rewording “may have been one of the many inspirations for” inaccurately suggests that there is agreement among scholars that the play in question definitely had “many inspirations”.
Games like this really underscore how tough long runs as champion are. Cris was a very strong player. I would not have guessed that this final would be his undoing. I feel like this after every streak over the last two years. Ken’s streak seems unfathomable.
All you have to do is combine Matt and Amy’s, and you have it by 4! It boggles the mind though that given the recent champions, we went 15 years w/o that middle ground between 20 and 74 games being filled. Ken’s streak seems Dimaggio-esque, and fun fact that trivia nerds know, after his streak was snapped, Joltin Joe hit safely in another 17 straight. Without a bad night, he would’ve had 74 games, just like Ken!
Kens streak was a bit different as he was playing the game mostly top to bottom and never had to necessarily worry about contestants daily double hunting. Oh how the game has changed lately.
Sad to see Cris go, he did an amazing job..
Cris was great, but I personally enjoy rooting for the underdogs (or at least a close game) after they get to double digit wins. After Jeopardy, I didn’t expect Andy to be a factor. He definitely got more confident as the game went on.
Cris clearly was the strongest player overall today, with a Coryat of $19,000 versus $9,000 for Andy T. But Andy S’s “Pregame Thoughts” were prophetic. Today the game’s variance, particularly relating to DDs and FJ, worked in Andy T’s favor.
I don’t think Ken’s streak will ever be broken.
Not with how the game is played now compared to the Ken era.
There are at least two other factors that make the streak tougher. It is now easier to try out for Jeopardy creating a larger pool of contestants although Covid did some limitations for a while. New contestants get to practice using the buzzer making them more prepared than new players in previous years.
Jim:
I believe you mean “more practice”; contestants have always received practice, even all the way back in Season 1.
A good rule of thumb would be if the best you can say is “may”, don’t use the clue. I would say this in general, but especially for FJ. This came up recently with the Zurich clue as well.
Speaking of final, wasn’t “Virent Ova Viret Perna” a past FJ clue? Sounded very familiar.
Yep. Season 36, March 3rd, 2020. The Archive is a great tool for this!
https://andysaunders.link/2020/03/final-jeopardy-3-3-2020.html
I was shocked not only to see Cris lose, but to finish third. Guess that just shows what agressive wagering can do. Specatular wins AND/OR losses.
As for this games Final Jeopardy, I had no clue. The story of theLittle Mermaid (both the original Hans Christian Anderson, and, the Disney version I’m not too familar with) didn’t realy come to mind. But Andy’s expantation of how the Jeopardy writers came up with this clue, does make it SEEM simple.
And I just noticed this, Cris is now the longest-running Jeopardy! champion with all of his opponents making it to Final Jeopardy!