Warning: This page contains spoilers for the September 21, 2023, 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 First Names in Science) for Thursday, September 21, 2023 (Season 40, Game 9):
First name of the paleontologist who in 1990 noticed some large vertebrae jutting from an eroding bluff in South Dakota
(correct response beneath the contestants)
Today’s Jeopardy! contestants:
Deanna Bolio, a community outreach supervisor from Campbell, California |
Rob Kim, an attorney from Portland, Oregon |
Pam Sung, a physician-scientist from Amherst, New York |
Andy’s Pregame Thoughts:
Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of this week, Deanna Bolio, Rob Kim, and Pam Sung took full advantage of their second chance on the Alex Trebek Stage. Now, they’re playing in a 2-day total point final, with the winner advancing to a Champions Wildcard competition later this fall. Of the three players, I definitely think Deanna had the best performance overall in the quarterfinals, but anything can happen in these two-game finals! As a reminder, today’s final scores get added to tomorrow’s in order to determine the overall winner.
In good news for Jeopardy! fans, it sounds like negotiations went well yesterday between the WGA and the AMPTP; those negotiations continue today. If the strike ends, though, I fear that the show has backed itself into a corner scheduling-wise this season regarding the number of major episodes landing on dates that will see widespread pre-emptions. Having looked at the number of potential returning players for Season 39’s Champions Wildcard (and the Tournament of Champions), my calendar mapping currently shows Second Chance finals on both Christmas Day and New Year’s Day, and worse, the Jeopardy Invitational Tournament preliminary rounds happening squarely in the middle of March Madness. (I’m currently predicting that if there were a Game 7 of the Tournament of Champions final, it would end just before the start of the tournament). Of course, I’m only speculating based on what I think the schedule could be. And I still don’t see regular play resuming until April, with around 80 regular-play games (give or take, depending on how many games the ToC goes) in Season 40.
(Content continues below)
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Correct response: What is Sue?
More information about Final Jeopardy:
(The following write-up is original content and is copyright 2023 The Jeopardy! Fan. It may not be copied without linked attribution back to this page.)
On August 12, 1990, a group of paleontologists were about to leave the Cheyenne River reservation, where they had collected fossils. However, a flat tire prevented their departure. While the truck was being fixed, Sue Hendrickson began some previously unchecked cliffs, where more bones were discovered. It was then discovered that these bones belonged to a Tyrannosaurus rex, and later examination of the site revealed that over 90% of the animal’s bones had been preserved. The specimen was later named Sue after Hendrickson and now permanently resides at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago.
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Game Recap & Tonight’s Game Stats:
Looking to find out who won Jeopardy! today? Here’s the Thursday, September 21, 2023 Jeopardy! by the numbers, along with a recap:
Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: European Geography; World Soccer; 21st Century Bartlett’s Quotations; Chinese Food; From “S” To “Y”; Past History)
Deanna got out to the best start, picking up 10 correct in the round, including the Daily Double! Pam and Rob were tied for second, but well behind.
Statistics at the first break (15 clues):
Deanna 5 correct 0 incorrect
Pam 6 correct 1 incorrect
Rob 3 correct 2 incorrect
Today’s interviews:
Deanna studied etymology in preparation.
Rob was on a plane when he got re-Called and almost deleted the voicemail.
Pam is hoping that Second Chance will be good practice for whoever advances to Champions’ Wildcard.
Statistics after the Jeopardy round:
Deanna 10 correct 0 incorrect
Rob 7 correct 3 incorrect
Pam 9 correct 3 incorrect
Scores after the Jeopardy! Round:
Deanna $8,200
Rob $2,200
Pam $2,200
Double Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: Welcome To Fantasy Island; Johnny Gilbert Goes Country; Taking A Star Turn; A Trip To Mumbai; The AKC Describes The Dog; Past History)
Being well behind wasn’t any problem for Pam; she picked up 12 correct in the round and both Daily Doubles! This gave her a good-sized lead going into the first of two Final Jeopardy clues in this two-game final!
Statistics after Double Jeopardy:
Pam 21 correct 3 incorrect
Deanna 16 correct 1 incorrect
Rob 12 correct 5 incorrect
Total number of unplayed clues this season: 0 (0 today).
Scores going into Final:
Pam $18,000
Deanna $12,200
Rob $6,200
Deanna was the only player correct in Final—she’s now leading, but anything can happen tomorrow!
Tonight’s results:
Rob $6,200 – $2,800 = $3,400 (What is Louis?)
Deanna $12,200 + $4,000 = $16,200 (What is Sue?)
Pam $18,000 – $8,000 = $10,000 (What is Lucy?)
Other Miscellaneous Game Statistics:
Daily Double locations:
1) 21st CENTURY BARTLETT’S QUOTATIONS $1000 (clue #19)
Deanna 4800 +2400 (Pam 2000 Rob 2200)
2) TAKING A STAR TURN $2000 (clue #7)
Pam 7000 +2000 (Rob 4200 Deanna 6600)
3) WELCOME TO FANTASY ISLAND $1600 (clue #19, $8800 left on board)
Pam 13400 +3000 (Rob 5800 Deanna 9400)
Overall Daily Double Efficiency for this game: 101
Clue Selection by Row, Before Daily Doubles Found:
J! Round:
Pam 5 4 5 4 2 1 5 3
Rob 5 4 3 3 4
Deanna 3 4 3 4 2 5*
DJ! Round:
Pam 5 4 5 4 5* 5 4 5 1 3 4*
Rob 4 3 3†
Deanna 3 2 3 3 2
† – selection in same category as Daily Double
Average Row of Clue Selection, Before Daily Doubles Found:
Deanna 3.09
Pam 3.89
Rob 3.63
Unplayed clues:
J! Round: None!
DJ! Round: None!
Total Left On Board: $0
Number of clues left unrevealed this season: 0 (0.00 per episode average), 0 Daily Doubles
Game Stats:
Deanna $10,800 Coryat, 16 correct, 1 incorrect, 22.81% in first on buzzer (13/57), 3/3 on rebound attempts (on 8 rebound opportunities)
Pam $16,600 Coryat, 21 correct, 3 incorrect, 35.09% in first on buzzer (20/57), 2/2 on rebound attempts (on 6 rebound opportunities)
Rob $6,200 Coryat, 12 correct, 5 incorrect, 29.82% in first on buzzer (17/57), 0/0 on rebound attempts (on 4 rebound opportunities)
Combined Coryat Score: $33,600
Lach Trash: $13,000 (on 11 Triple Stumpers)
Coryat lost to incorrect responses (less double-correct responses): $7,400
Player Statistics:
Pam Sung, career statistics:
61 correct, 9 incorrect
4/6 on rebound attempts (on 16 rebound opportunities)
33.33% in first on buzzer (57/171)
3/4 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $5,000)
1/3 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $15,933
Rob Kim, career statistics:
52 correct, 16 incorrect
1/1 on rebound attempts (on 9 rebound opportunities)
36.26% in first on buzzer (62/171)
2/2 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $5,000)
1/3 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $9,533
Deanna Bolio, career statistics:
61 correct, 6 incorrect
7/7 on rebound attempts (on 20 rebound opportunities)
31.58% in first on buzzer (54/171)
3/3 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $6,400)
1/3 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $15,400
Andy’s Thoughts:
- Because anything earned tomorrow can be doubled in Final Jeopardy, Deanna has an “effective” lead of $3,100 over Pam, and $6,400 over Rob.
- Due to the fact that betting is essentially a Daily Double here, no Final Jeopardy! suggestions will be given.
- Today’s box score: September 21, 2023 Box Score.
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I knew that there was a T. Rex in Chicago named “Sue”. But I missed this one because I didn’t know that she had been named after an actual person—her discoverer! (Andy’s write-ups are always so informative.)
I also knew about Sue – didn’t know it had been named for the discoverer, but guessed as such given we only needed a first name and this would ‘make sense’. 4 for 4 this week.
Oooh, that makes so much sense for why they only said first name. Silly me, I figured that Jack Horner (renowned dinosaur paleontologist & technical advisor for ‘Jurassic Park’) was who they were probably going for.
In the Denver metro area , J! will be seen at 6 pm on KWGN channel 2 tonight only due to the ballgame being shown on channel 31.
Other affected markets:
Baltimore — 11:35 pm
Cincinnati — 12:05 am
New Orleans — 1:00 am
Mobile, AL — 1:00 am
Green Bay — 10:35 pm
Syracuse, NY — 6:30 pm (1 hour earlier than usual)
Lake Charles, LA — 10:00 pm
Marquette, MI — 6:30 pm (1 hour earlier than usual)
Nashville, Kansas City, and Beaumont, TX all air Jeopardy! before Giants vs. 49ers starts, and thus are unaffected.
I wonder how far back they went for that Johnny Gilbert category. That sounded like late 90s/early 2000’s Gilbert to me
I had a Sue t-shirt when she was first on display.
The Sue t-Shirt was on display but I would love to buy that t shirt somewhere if it is available.
Sue t-shirt
https://store.fieldmuseum.org/collections/shirts
I remembered the story from back when it was reported on and that the name came from its discoverer. I’m glad they didn’t need her full name!
Being that TNF airs on the FOX network locally tonight (and soon), that certainly does not affect those that want to watch Jeopardy! on our local ABC 7 station.
Yay! Today’s Final! clue was definitely in my wheelhouse. Living in downtown Chicago, Sue the T-rex is just a stone’s throw from my house. He/she is quite massive & really worth seeing for visitors. (Scientists have not determined Sue’s gender.)
I feel like there was a Sue clue (ha!) for a Daily Double recently.
This was an easy get for me. Hearing/reading thr answer, I immeidately said “Who is Sue?” knowing about, but never seeing in person “Sue the T-Rex.” Sometimes paying attention to scientific/cultural headlines in Chicago pays off. (I’m also glad that “Sue’s” discoverer’s last name was needed. Read/heard it when a story about “Sue” comes out, but never retained the human Sue’s last name.
on talks between AMPTP and WGA progressing; that is good news, as for the NCAA basketball tourney preempting some important Jeopardy events because of the scheduling of Second Chance, Champions Wild Card, and, the like. That is the chance Sony felt it must take when talks between the writers and the production companies weren’t progessing
Being from the Chicago area and having a kid who loved dinosaurs definitely gave me an edge on this one. We visited Sue many times while my son was growing up. I texted the clue to him (now in college) and he got a big kick out of it. I’m not surprised it was a tough one for two of the contestants.