Warning: This page contains spoilers for the December 9, 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 1970s Movies) for Friday, December 9, 2022 (Season 39, Game 65):
A 1975 premiere of this comedy advertised free coconuts for the first thousand in the audience
(correct response beneath the contestants)
Today’s Jeopardy! contestants:
Matthew Ott, an accountant originally from Boston, Massachusetts
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Ellen LaBerge, a lawyer from Syracuse, New York
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Sriram Krishnan, a consultant from Falls Church, Virginia (1-day total: $21,800)
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Andy’s Pregame Thoughts:
The champion’s carousel continues since the defeat of Cris Pannullo earlier this week, though Sriram Krishnan played very well at the $2,000 level of the board on yesterday’s game. That would normally bode well, but he also only took 31 attempts, according to yesterday’s box score. We’ll see what happens today! Today’s challengers are Ellen LaBerge and Matthew Ott.
One thing that amused me: Double Jeopardy! today has a “State Postal Abbreviation Words” category—one of this week’s episodes on Jeopardy! Radio Classics on TuneIn had a “Decode the Postal Codes” (“Scar” being South Carolina and Arkansas) category, which I assume will be similar.
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(Content continues below)
Correct response: What is Monty Python and the Holy Grail?
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.)
According to Eric Idle, Donald Rugoff, the then-owner of New York City arthouse cinema Cinema II, “paid for two out-of-work actors to dress in Authurian robes and run up and down 5th Avenue, shouting, ‘Free coconuts to the first 1,000 guests who come to the 11 a.m. screening of Monty Python and the Holy Grail”. Then, “the next day, we were woken at 8 a.m. and told, ‘There are 2,000 people surrounding Cinema II waiting for free coconuts! We were trapped there all day, because after they saw the film, they wanted their coconuts and then we had to sign the coconuts. And it’s virtually impossible to sign a coconut.”
In case it comes up: I wouldn’t be surprised if the show accepted just Holy Grail—the Yahoo article I linked to certainly shortened it to that!
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:
Game Recap:
Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: Places Named For People; Put In A Good Word; Table Talk; Song Title Titles; She Blinded Me; Science!)
This was a very evenly-matched opening round; Sriram, unfortunately, fell back to $0 on the Daily Double and was in third after 30 clues; Matthew led on the strength of doing better in the middle and bottom of the board.
Statistics at the first break (15 clues):
Matthew 5 correct 0 incorrect
Ellen 3 correct 0 incorrect
Sriram 4 correct 1 incorrect
Statistics after the Jeopardy round:
Matthew 7 correct 0 incorrect
Ellen 9 correct 0 incorrect
Sriram 9 correct 2 incorrect
Double Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: History; Russian Writers; “P”otpourri; Company Name Origins; TV Final Episodes; State Postal Abbreviation Words)
Matthew and Sriram got to the Daily Doubles; Matthew went a little more aggressively. Sriram, however, played very well in the second half of the round, jumping into the lead going into Final! Scores going into Final were Sriram at $14,200, Matthew at $11,600, and Ellen at $7,800.
Statistics after Double Jeopardy:
Sriram 20 correct 3 incorrect
Matthew 13 correct 2 incorrect
Ellen 15 correct 3 incorrect
Total number of unplayed clues this season: 12 (0 today).
Matthew and Ellen got Final correct today—that means Matthew is your new champion! He’ll be back on Monday to defend his title!
Tonight’s Game Stats:
Looking to find out who won Jeopardy! today? Here’s the Friday, December 9, 2022 Jeopardy! by the numbers:
Scores going into Final:
Sriram $14,200
Matthew $11,600
Ellen $7,800
Tonight’s results:
Ellen $7,800 + $7,000 = $14,800 (What is “Monty Python & the Holy Grail”?)
Matthew $11,600 + $11,597 = $23,197 (What is Monty Python and the Holy Grail?) (1-day total: $23,197)
Sriram $14,200 – $10,000 = $4,200 (What is Bananas?)
Scores after the Jeopardy! Round:
Matthew $5,000
Ellen $4,600
Sriram $1,000
Opening break taken after: 15 clues
Daily Double locations:
1) PUT IN A GOOD WORD $800 (clue #19)
Sriram 2600 -2600 (Ellen 3400 Matthew 3600)
2) TV FINAL EPISODES $2000 (clue #8)
Matthew 7800 +3800 (Sriram 3800 Ellen 7800)
3) COMPANY NAME ORIGINS $1200 (clue #12, $21600 left on board)
Sriram 5000 +2000 (Ellen 7800 Matthew 10400)
Overall Daily Double Efficiency for this game: -11
Clue Selection by Row, Before Daily Doubles Found:
J! Round:
Sriram 2 3 4 3 5 2 4*
Ellen 3 3 3 4 5
Matthew 5 1 4 3 4 5 5
DJ! Round:
Sriram 3 2 5 3 1† 3 3*
Ellen 4 1
Matthew 4 5* 2†
† – selection in the same category as the first Daily Double
Average Row of Clue Selection, Before Daily Doubles Found:
Matthew 3.80
Ellen 3.29
Sriram 3.07
Unplayed clues:
J! Round: None!
DJ! Round: None!
Total Left On Board: $0
Number of clues left unrevealed this season: 12 (0.18 per episode average), 0 Daily Doubles
Game Stats:
Matthew $9,800 Coryat, 13 correct, 2 incorrect, 22.81% in first on buzzer (13/57), 1/1 on rebound attempts (on 4 rebound opportunities)
Ellen $7,800 Coryat, 15 correct, 3 incorrect, 29.82% in first on buzzer (17/57), 1/1 on rebound attempts (on 3 rebound opportunities)
Sriram $16,000 Coryat, 20 correct, 3 incorrect, 35.09% in first on buzzer (20/57), 0/1 on rebound attempts (on 5 rebound opportunities)
Combined Coryat Score: $33,600
Lach Trash: $12,200 (on 11 Triple Stumpers)
Coryat lost to incorrect responses (less double-correct responses): $8,200
Sriram Krishnan, career statistics:
41 correct, 5 incorrect
2/3 on rebound attempts (on 11 rebound opportunities)
33.33% in first on buzzer (38/114)
2/3 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $1,400)
0/2 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $18,300
Ellen LaBerge, career statistics:
16 correct, 3 incorrect
1/1 on rebound attempts (on 3 rebound opportunities)
29.82% in first on buzzer (17/57)
0/0 on Daily Doubles
1/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $7,800
Matthew Ott, career statistics:
14 correct, 2 incorrect
1/1 on rebound attempts (on 4 rebound opportunities)
22.81% in first on buzzer (13/57)
1/1 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $3,800)
1/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $9,800
Matthew Ott, to win:
2 games: 39.317%
3: 15.459%
4: 6.078%
5: 2.390%
6: 0.940%
Avg. streak: 1.648 games.
Today’s interviews:
Matthew has a son named James, named after “Sweet Baby James”.
Ellen thinks Jeopardy! is her Olympics.
Sriram has won many other competitions at work.
Andy’s Thoughts:
- The “State Postal Abbreviation Words” was harder than the equivalent category from 2001; that being said, it amused me that the first clue played was the same correct response as my example.
- Today’s box score: December 9, 2022 Box Score.
Final Jeopardy! wagering suggestions:
(Scores: Sriram $14,200 Matthew $11,600 Ellen $7,800)
Sriram: Standard cover bet over Matthew is $9,001. (Actual bet: $10,000)
Ellen: If Sriram and Matthew both make cover bets, they’ll fall to $5,199 and $7,599, respectively. Limit your bet to $199. (Actual bet: $7,000)
Matthew: Standard cover bet over Ellen is $4,001. (Actual bet: $11,597)
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I feel like this one is pretty easy as long as you know the answer.
that applies to every Jeopardy clue there has ever been.
(and actually, this would be on the more difficult end of the spectrum for FJ clues that you know the correct response to, as it requires a fair amount of writing)
I hear you can find them just laying about in Mercia🤣
Yeah, I’ve seen it a few times🙄
As have I. The year, comedy, and “coconuts” made this one a tip-in for me. I first saw it on either HBO or Cinemax in the early 80s, when I was about 12. Since then, I would say I’m somewhere on the order 50 viewings, minimum, including on a big screen at a university film society screening in January 1991.
Wow😲, I’ve only seen it about 20 times. Six of those were during the initial theater run.
A 5-ounce bird could not carry a one-pound coconut.
Supposing two swallows carried it together….
I actually have a pc game of Monty Python. This one was pretty easy when you think about it. Comedy and coconuts were a dead giveaway here for me. happy to see Ellen and Matt get final todaay
Since I’d never liked any Monty Python stuff I’d seen before ‘Holy Grail’, I’ve never watched it, so I didn’t stand a chance. My first guess was ‘The Blue Lagoon’, but I quickly thought that wasn’t [called] a comedy (and the date was 5 years later). Then the only possibility I could think of was maybe ‘Bananas’ (which was 4 years earlier.
I haven’t seen Holy Grail in forever (“She’s a witch! BURN HER!”), and didn’t come up with it. I think I might be too young and American for the easy association some of you speak of. I put down Animal House though I wasn’t confident on the year. Ah well, can’t get them all.
Another one and done victory for the champions following Chris’ departure. However, these games have been good.
As for this movie, I have not seen it in some time. So my memory of it has failed me. But great that at least two contestants knew the correct response.
At my age, this one was fairly easy.
That said, would not have been surprised if someone had responded with “Cast Away” due to the possible association with coconuts even though the year was way off (circa 2000). 🙂
Re Company Name Origins: How many years has it been? Ken just cannot forget his nemesis.
I had forgotten that. Thanks for the reminder.
Ken’s joke about H&R Block refers back to his mistake at the end of his initial run, I believe.
That makes more sense now. I didn’t pick up on it at the time.
This one was a no-brainer for me! I, along with my fellow Monty Python-obsessed friends, was at this showing at Cinema 2!! It was the first of many, many times that we saw it in the theater!!
Pretty bad miss for me, as I had the horse association, but couldn’t pull Holy Grail, so I said Blazing Saddles.
Five different champions for the week. Must be a long time since that’s happened.
What horse connection?
As Ken said after the first response was revealed: “the clip-clop of horses’ hooves in the movie are coconuts striking each other”.
Ahhhh! Thanks!
Not really.
Champions for the week of June 27–July 1, 2022:
Joe Feldmann
Pete Chattrabhuti
Halley Ryherd
David Bzdak
Eleanor Dixon
Well, as the Smiths said, six months is a long time.