Warning: This page contains spoilers for the December 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 From Page to Stage) for Thursday, December 21, 2023 (Season 40, Game 74):
The opera based on this 1993 memoir was staged at a prison for the first time in 2023, at Sing Sing with a chorus of 14 inmates
(correct response beneath the contestants)
Today’s Jeopardy! contestants:
Michael Vaz, a tutor from Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
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Karen Morris, a veterinary student from Christiansburg, Virginia
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Iris Masucci, a pharmacist from Rockville, Maryland
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Andy’s Pregame Thoughts:
Today is the third semifinal of Winter 2024’s first week of Second Chance. One of Iris Masucci, Karen Morris, and Michael Vaz will be facing off against Jason Carpenter and Juveria Zaheer in the week’s final. Of today’s three players, I think Karen is probably the most memorable, having gone viral for an unsuccessful Daily Double late in her initial appearance on the show. I’m sure she’s very much looking forward to the possibility of redemption!
I’ll be honest: I was hoping for UNION ACTIONS to be a category about organized labor; if J6 is any indication, it’s a category about the Civil War instead. That feels like a morning disappointment to me.
Another reminder that I have started a Sunday mailbag column where I answer fan & viewer questions regarding the show. If you have a question, feel free to send it to mailbag@thejeopardyfan.com!
(Content continues below)
My friends over at Geeks Who Drink have introduced a daily trivia game—Thrice! Existing to make daily clever trivia content accessible to a wide audience, it's a daily challenge that tries to get you to the answer via three separate clues. It has a shareable score functionality to challenge your friends and new questions every day will give you a new daily social ritual. You can find it at thricegame.com.
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Correct response: What is Dead Man Walking?
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.)
As part of the Metropolitan Opera’s fall 2023 staging of Jake Heggie’s 2000 opera Dead Man Walking (libretto by Terrence McNally), based on Sister Helen Prejean’s 1993 memoir of the same name, a chorus of 14 inmates joined a group of Met singers in a one-night-only performance of the opera at Sing Sing Correctional Facility in Ossining, New York.
The original work arises from Prejean’s work as a spiritual advisor to two convicted murderers on Death Row in Louisiana, and her subsequent realization that the death penalty was morally wrong. Following the publication of her memoir, she served as the National Chairperson of the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty and has served as a national leader in the fight against capital punishment in the United States.
We have many new offerings at The Jeopardy! Fan Online Store! Here are our current featured items, including our new Masters Season 3 Player List T-shirt:
Game Recap & Tonight’s Game Stats:
Looking to find out who won Jeopardy! today? Here’s the Thursday, December 21, 2023 Jeopardy! by the numbers, along with a recap:
Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: A Very Hallmark Christmas Movie; Book Tock; Triply Alliterative; Union Actions; Say, “Buster”; Legend Dairy)
The opening segment today saw Iris miss the Daily Double, but she still led after 15 clues. After the break, Karen jumped out of the negative and played well enough to lead after 30 clues.
Statistics at the first break (15 clues):
Iris 5 correct 2 incorrect
Karen 1 correct 1 incorrect
Michael 3 correct 2 incorrect
Today’s interviews:
Michael was a judge at the World Series of Board Games.
Karen heard from John Ratzenberger after her appearance.
Iris was at work when she got The Call.
Statistics after the Jeopardy round:
Karen 10 correct 1 incorrect
Iris 7 correct 2 incorrect
Michael 7 correct 2 incorrect
Scores after the Jeopardy! Round:
Karen $3,600
Iris $2,800
Michael $2,000
Double Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: Folklore & Legend; Sampling; First Ladies’ Maiden Names; Philosophy; Words & Their Changing Meanings; Eur”O”s)
Iris got to the round’s first Daily Double and gave a correct response just in time. Unfortunately, Michael ran into some Americana on his and fell to $0. Karen played well enough in the round to have a $2,700 lead going into Final!
Statistics after Double Jeopardy:
Karen 17 correct 3 incorrect
Iris 13 correct 3 incorrect
Michael 15 correct 5 incorrect
Total number of unplayed clues this season: 0 (0 today).
Scores going into Final:
Karen $10,400
Iris $7,700
Michael $2,000
Final Jeopardy today was a Triple Stumper, and Iris made a perfect bet to the dollar to advance to the final!
Tonight’s results:
Michael $2,000 – $0 = $2,000 (What is ?)
Iris $7,700 – $2,300 = $5,400 (What are the chances of a 3rd chance tourney?) (Finalist)
Karen $10,400 – $5,001 = $5,399 (What on earth???)
Other Miscellaneous Game Statistics:
Daily Double locations:
1) TRIPLY ALLITERATIVE $1000 (clue #3)
Iris 600 -1000 (Karen 0 Michael 0)
2) WORDS & THEIR CHANGING MEANINGS $1600 (clue #3)
Iris 4000 +2500 (Karen 5200 Michael 2000)
3) FOLKLORE & LEGEND $2000 (clue #13, $17200 left on board)
Michael 4800 -4800 (Iris 9300 Karen 9200)
Overall Daily Double Efficiency for this game: -138
Clue Selection by Row, Before Daily Doubles Found:
J! Round:
Iris 3 4 5*
Karen
Michael
DJ! Round:
Iris 4* 5† 3 4 5 3
Karen 3 3 2 2
Michael 4 4 5*
† – selection in same category as Daily Double
Average Row of Clue Selection, Before Daily Doubles Found:
Iris 4.00
Karen 2.50
Michael 4.33
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:
Iris $7,800 Coryat, 13 correct, 3 incorrect, 21.05% in first on buzzer (12/57), 0/2 on rebound attempts (on 5 rebound opportunities)
Karen $10,400 Coryat, 17 correct, 3 incorrect, 33.33% in first on buzzer (19/57), 0/1 on rebound attempts (on 3 rebound opportunities)
Michael $6,800 Coryat, 15 correct, 5 incorrect, 31.58% in first on buzzer (18/57), 0/1 on rebound attempts (on 2 rebound opportunities)
Combined Coryat Score: $25,000
Lach Trash: $14,600 (on 13 Triple Stumpers)
Coryat lost to incorrect responses (less double-correct responses): $14,400
Lead Changes: 10
Times Tied: 6
Player Statistics:
Iris Masucci, career statistics:
30 correct, 6 incorrect
1/4 on rebound attempts (on 12 rebound opportunities)
23.68% in first on buzzer (27/114)
2/3 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $4,500)
0/2 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $11,800
Karen Morris, career statistics:
38 correct, 9 incorrect
2/3 on rebound attempts (on 7 rebound opportunities)
35.09% in first on buzzer (40/114)
1/2 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: -$4,000)
0/2 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $13,300
Michael Vaz, career statistics:
37 correct, 9 incorrect
1/3 on rebound attempts (on 7 rebound opportunities)
33.33% in first on buzzer (38/114)
2/3 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $800)
1/2 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $11,000
Andy’s Thoughts:
- Kudos to Iris for her Final Jeopardy wager.
- Today’s box score: December 21, 2023 Box Score.
Final Jeopardy! wagering suggestions:
(Scores: Karen $10,400 Iris $7,700 Michael $2,000)
Iris: Limit your bet to $2,300 and hope for Karen to get Final Jeopardy incorrect. (Actual bet: $2,300)
Karen: Standard cover bet over Iris is $5,001. (Actual bet: $5,001)
Michael: You have no chance unless Karen overbets. Bet whatever you like. (Actual bet: $0)
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I was as mystified as to the correct respone as was today’s contestants. Since I don’t consider myself to be smarter than the contestants, there is nothing more to say, except to go long with your last comment, Andy. There are things some people know, and, other don’t. That happens to me often while watching Jeopardy. Today’s Final Jeopardy was one of those occurences that it happens to the contestants on stage.
Had no clue that it had been made into an opera. What I do remember about the movie (watching on DVD) was that I had to turn on the closed captioning in the end because I couldn’t understand what Sean Penn was saying through his crying.
I do not know much about Opera or classical music. In one recent concert of Rhiannon Giddens, I took the opportunity to tell her that all I know about Opera is what I learned from her Podcast, the Aria Code. I even occasionally get Jeopardy clues because of that. Today is one of those days.
The latest season of that Metropolitan Opera podcast started with Dead Man Walking.
https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/aria-code/articles/death-faith-and-redemption-heggies-dead-man-walking
I started watching Jeopardy again this week after my strike observance, and it has been great so far. Thanks for your page.
I haven’t seen the episode yet so I don’t know what the contestants guessed but I was thinking Orange is the New Black.
That was my only guess, too, even though I knew it wasn’t right!
The civil war answer about Missionary Ridge was given a wrong question. Missionary Ridge is at Chattanooga while cemetery ridge is at Gettysburg
Deb:
You misheard the clue. It said Cemetery Ridge.
Great to see Iris, Karen, and Michael back. FJ played out very interesting tonight. We don’t very often see one play for the FJ triple stumper for the win technique, but it worked perfectly for Iris tonight. Jeopardy is a game that has so many intricacies and that’s what makes it fun. Smarts first and foremost. DD wagering strategies. Buzzer skills. And lastly, FJ betting where one must think of what they should wager, but also play a rock, paper, scissors kind of game and try to think what you’re opponent(s) might bet.
As for FJ, I could only come up with “The Green Mile.” I guess an incorrect guess is better than no guess.
Here’s to a fun Day 1 Final tomorrow night.
She wasn’t playing for a triple stumper – she made sure to have Michael locked out so she only needed Karen to miss the clue to guarantee a win.
Ah yes MarkO, thank you for pointing that out for me. 🙂 Guaranteeing a win based on Karen betting to cover. Smart strategy. Thank you for replying to my comment and correcting my mistake. I always appreciate corrections to any oopsies that I make. 🙂