Warning: This page contains spoilers for the December 26, 2024, 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 Movies & Their Soundtracks) for Thursday, December 26, 2024 (Season 41, Game 79):
“Catch It” was a tagline for this 1970s film whose iconic soundtrack became one of the bestselling albums of all time
(correct response beneath the contestants)
Today’s Jeopardy! contestants:
Brad Grusnick, a voice actor from Aurora, Illinois
|
Carole Portas Keane, an education researcher originally from Jersey City, New Jersey
|
Laura Faddah, a manager from Memphis, Tennessee (5-day total: $58,400)
|
Andy’s Pregame Thoughts:
We’ve got a 5-day champion on Jeopardy! after Memphis manager Laura Faddah picked up a singleton get on yesterday’s Final Jeopardy clue. Today, she faces off against New Jersey’s Carole Portas Keane and Illinois’s Brad Grusnick.
There seemed to be a lot of Montrealers online yesterday complaining about how American-centric Jeopardy! is. To that—as a Canadian—I say: of course it is! It’s an American program! Imagine me going on Au Suivant and complaining about Québécois content on the show—the complaint would be just as absurd.
(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.
Are you going on the show and looking for information about how to bet in Final Jeopardy? Check out my Betting Strategy 101 page. If you want to learn how to bet in two-day finals, check out Betting Strategy 102. In case the show uses a tournament with wild cards in the future, there is also a strategy page for betting in tournament quarterfinals.
Are you looking for information on how to stream Jeopardy! in 2024? Find out information here on how to stream from most places in North America!
Do you appreciate the work I do here on The Jeopardy! Fan? Would you like to make a one-time contribution to the site? You may do so here!
You can find game-by-game stats here at The Jeopardy! Fan of all 17 players, now including Adriana Harmeyer, that have won 10 or more games on Jeopardy!
You can now listen to Alex Trebek-hosted Jeopardy! episodes from TuneIn Radio without leaving The Jeopardy! Fan — listen now!
Correct response: What is Saturday Night Fever?
More information about Final Jeopardy:
(The following write-up is original content and is copyright 2024 The Jeopardy! Fan. It may not be copied without linked attribution back to this page.)
The soundtrack to the 1977 film Saturday Night Fever, which contained such iconic disco tracks as “Stayin’ Alive”, “A Fifth of Beethoven”, “and “Disco Inferno”, was the best-selling album in music history before it was overtaken by Michael Jackson’s Thriller. The film itself starred John Travolta as Tony Manero, “king of the discos”.
I really enjoyed this Final Jeopardy clue; it’s definitely one where the major clue becomes readily apparent after the correct response is heard—after all, what does one “catch”?
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 26, 2024 Jeopardy! by the numbers, along with a recap:
Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: Bodies Of Water; Destiny’s Other Children; The 18-School Big Ten; Cleaning Up; The Simpsons Character Who Said…; From J To K)
All three players got off to a good start, but Laura took an early lead. At the interviews, the scores were Laura $2,000 Carole $1,200 Brad $800.
Statistics at the first break (15 clues):
Laura 4 correct 1 incorrect
Carole 5 correct 2 incorrect
Brad 4 correct 1 incorrect
Today’s interviews:
Brad is also a novelist who self-describes his works as “gross”.
Carole first tried out for the show 30 years ago in Atlantic City.
Laura does Wordle, Connections, and the Spelling Bee.
Brad, after doing well in the Simpsons category, found the Daily Double. Unfortunately, he fell back to $0 after an incorrect response. He recovered well, but sat third after the round. Laura continued to lead after another three correct responses.
Statistics after the Jeopardy round:
Laura 7 correct 1 incorrect
Carole 8 correct 2 incorrect
Brad 11 correct 2 incorrect
Scores after the Jeopardy! Round:
Laura $4,000
Carole $3,400
Brad $2,400
Double Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: The Gadsden Purchase; Literary Geography; Science News; Differing By A Letter; It’s A Nice Day For…; A “White” Wedding)
Laura found DD2 midway through the round and picked up $1600 with a correct response. Brad went on a bit of a run, but inexplicably selected a $400 clue instead of a $1200 one, leading to Carole finding the last Daily Double; a minute later, a couple of high-value correct responses from Laura cemented a runaway game for Laura.
Statistics after Double Jeopardy:
Laura 21 correct 2 incorrect
Brad 16 correct 2 incorrect
Carole 12 correct 4 incorrect
Total number of unplayed clues this season: 23 (0 today).
Scores going into Final:
Laura $20,400
Brad $9,200
Carole $6,400
Everyone got Final correct; Laura goes for win #7 tomorrow!
Tonight’s results:
Carole $6,400 + $3,000 = $9,400 (What is Saturday Night Fever?)
Brad $9,200 + $0 = $9,200 (What is Saturday Night Fever?)
Laura $20,400 + $600 = $21,000 (What is Saturday Night Fever?) (6-day total: $79,400)
Other Miscellaneous Game Statistics:
Daily Double locations:
1) DESTINY’S OTHER CHILDREN $600 (clue #19)
Brad 2400 -2400 (Laura 2000 Carole 1200)
2) DIFFERING BY A LETTER $1200 (clue #17)
Laura 12400 +1600 (Carole 3400 Brad 3600)
3) THE GADSDEN PURCHASE $1200 (clue #27, $4000 left on board)
Carole 3400 +3000 (Laura 16800 Brad 9200)
Overall Daily Double Efficiency for this game: 1
Clue Selection by Row, Before Daily Doubles Found:
J! Round:
Laura 1 4 1 2 3 2
Carole 1 5 1 2 4 5
Brad 3 3 4 2 5 1 3*
DJ! Round:
Laura 3 5 1 1 2 3 4 5 1 3 5 2 3* 4† 5† 1 2 3
Carole 2 4 3*
Brad 2 4 4 5 2 1
† – selection in same category as Daily Double
Average Row of Clue Selection, Before Daily Doubles Found:
Laura 2.75
Carole 3.00
Brad 3.00
Unplayed clues:
J! Round: None!
DJ! Round: None!
Total Left On Board: $0
Number of clues left unrevealed this season: 23 (0.29 per episode average), 0 Daily Doubles
Game Stats:
Laura $20,000 Coryat, 21 correct, 2 incorrect, 36.84% in first on buzzer (21/57), 1/1 on rebound attempts (on 4 rebound opportunities)
Carole $4,600 Coryat, 12 correct, 4 incorrect, 22.81% in first on buzzer (13/57), 1/2 on rebound attempts (on 3 rebound opportunities)
Brad $11,600 Coryat, 16 correct, 2 incorrect, 29.82% in first on buzzer (17/57), 0/0 on rebound attempts (on 5 rebound opportunities)
Combined Coryat Score: $36,200
Lach Trash: $11,800 (on 10 Triple Stumpers)
Coryat lost to incorrect responses (less double-correct responses): $6,000
Lead Changes: 5
Times Tied: 0
Player Statistics:
Laura Faddah, career statistics:
106 correct, 18 incorrect
9/9 on rebound attempts (on 26 rebound opportunities)
30.95% in first on buzzer (104/336)
4/5 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $4,000)
3/6 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $13,233
Carole Portas Keane, career statistics:
13 correct, 4 incorrect
1/2 on rebound attempts (on 3 rebound opportunities)
22.81% in first on buzzer (13/57)
1/1 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $3,000)
1/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $4,600
Brad Grusnick, career statistics:
17 correct, 2 incorrect
0/0 on rebound attempts (on 5 rebound opportunities)
29.82% in first on buzzer (17/57)
0/1 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: -$2,400)
1/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $11,600
Laura Faddah, to win:
7 games: 47.161%
8: 22.242%
9: 10.489%
10: 4.947%
11: 2.333%
Avg. streak: 6.893 games.
Andy’s Thoughts:
- Especially considering Laura’s tendency to bet conservatively from any spot in Final Jeopardy, I think more aggressive endgame play from Brad would have ended with a victory for him today.
- Today’s box score will be linked to when posted by the show.
Final Jeopardy! wagering suggestions:
(Scores: Laura $20,400 Brad $9,200 Carole $6,400)
Laura: Bet no more than $1,999. (Actual bet: $600)
Carole: If you think Brad will bet small, go all in. If you think he’ll bet to cover you, bet no more than $800. (Actual bet: $3,000)
Brad: Cover bet over Carole is $3,601. If you think Carole will bet small, bet $1,999. (Actual bet: $0)
Become a Supporter now! Make a monthly contribution to the site on Patreon!
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.
Have you had a chance to listen to our podcast game show, Complete The List, yet? Check it out! It's also available on Apple Podcasts.
I live in Indiana, home of the Indiana Fever. One of the catchphrases for the Fever is, “Catch It!” Regardless, I thought this was a fairly easy FJ today.
After I read the clue, I immediately responded with Saturday Night Fever. This movie and album were so popular in 1978.
I would have been flabergasted if the correct response had been anything else but “Saturday Night Fever.” The category, Movies and Their Soundtracks, with the quoted tagline of “catch it,” made this Final Jeopardy answer clue seem like it would be straight forward, and, it was.
I did “get” that it was probably [but not necessarily since “catch a movie” is a common phrase so “catch it” could be a lame tagline for any movie that couldn’t come up with a better one] a movie about a contagion that one might want, but all I could think of was ‘The Andromeda Strain’ and I was pretty sure it didn’t have a big hit soundtrack. [As for being a contagion that one might want, I had ‘The Andromeda Strain’ confused with ‘The Strain’.]
My actual guesses were ‘The Pink Panther’ or the Beatles’ ‘Yellow Submarine’ [each a thing one could catch and both with popular music], but they both turned out to be in the 1960s (with the latter being the closest at 1969).
Except Saturday Night Fever was not in 1970. The clue should have been 70’s. This was totally misleading.
The clue did say 1970s on the air. Any misdirection here is on viewers suffering from reading comprehension issues.
The following year, 1978, and for a few years thereafter, Baseball got in on the act. Their catchphrase for a few years from 1978 and well into the 1980’s was “Baseball Fever — Catch It!” As a baseball fan, I well remember that and always figured that, aside from the obvious connection to catching a baseball, they were also playing off of the tagline of the very popular movie from the year before. All of that made getting this one easy.