Thursday, February 27, 2014 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

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Spaceman Spiff
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Re: Thursday, February 27, 2014 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by Spaceman Spiff »

FJ was a half-second get, and then a 29-second sanity check to think of what else it could be. Given the start of the time period mentioned (which coincided with the time the dam went into operation) and all of the water machinations out west, it was fairly obvious.

(Those of us in the east don't always appreciate the constraints on the water systems in the west; folks are amazed when I mention that rain barrels are illegal in Colorado because the rain that falls on your roof belongs to someone else, not you!)
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I had trouble because I always envision him as a child actor first for some reason.
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Re: Thursday, February 27, 2014 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by El Jefe »

dhkendall wrote:
Woppy T wrote: For one thing, he lost his glasses, perhaps turning from Clark Kent to Superman. So any future opponent may need Kryptonite.
That was the funniest thing I have read on the board all week
Speaking of the superhero riff, Kotaku hosted an awesome comment framing this properly this week too:

http://kotaku.com/those-crazy-jeopardy- ... 1516866370
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Re: Thursday, February 27, 2014 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by Leander »

If Arthur (and other players) continue to play the board from bottom to top, would TPTB start placing DDs in the top two rows to try to preserve some drama in the games, and would this be perceived to be unfair?
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Re: Thursday, February 27, 2014 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by zakharov »

Leander wrote:If Arthur (and other players) continue to play the board from bottom to top, would TPTB start placing DDs in the top two rows to try to preserve some drama in the games, and would this be perceived to be unfair?
Preeeeeetty sure this would violate the federal law against rigging game shows.
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Re: Thursday, February 27, 2014 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by boson »

Leander wrote:If Arthur (and other players) continue to play the board from bottom to top, would TPTB start placing DDs in the top two rows to try to preserve some drama in the games, and would this be perceived to be unfair?
This is the obvious "solution" if TPTB really want to stop daily-double hunting: use a random number generator to locate the daily doubles, and tell the contestants you are doing that. Then there is as much chance of finding the DD in the $200 or $400 as there is in the fourth row of the first column. The Forrest bounce would still be as effective, but the bouncing solely for DDs would stop.

I think the powers that be don't want to have DDs on too easy questions, so they are unlikely to do this.
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Re: Thursday, February 27, 2014 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by elmwood »

We were away when Arthur started his run, and have only been watching him this week and I have to say we are most impressed by both his knowledge base and his strategy - the bouncing doesn't bother me at all. We may have missed this but in the brief contestant interview section has there been any further information about his work as a voice over artist - he does have a quite lovely, resonant voice?
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Re: Thursday, February 27, 2014 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by morbeedo »

ArthurChu wrote: The really crappy thing about competition is that those who fear losing most can't escape it except by inflicting it on others. But that's life.
Hey Arthur, private message me if you're interested in selling your flashcards :)
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Re: Thursday, February 27, 2014 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by morbeedo »

bomtr wrote:
morbeedo wrote:
MarkBarrett wrote:Nitch, nish or neesh?
Neesh, like quiche, or caniche (en français).
First pronunciation is nitch.
Right, just like the first pronunciation for chaise longue is "chase lounge" :geek: Both are acceptable, I guess. It's just one of those words.

Sidebar: I was watching a few months ago and they were asking for the title of a Mallarmé poem. The contestant correctly answered "The afternoon of a faun" but in the heat of the moment, I could only come up with the French title, 'l'après midi d'un faune'. Since I studied French lit., I always have to translate French titles back into English. For example, I'd come up with 'Du côté de Chez Swann' for the first volume of 'A la recherche du temps perdu' before getting 'Swann's Way'. Do the powers that be @ Jeopardy allow you to respond in a foreign language if the original title is in that language? Or would I need to first buzz in, then take the extra second to translate into English before spitting out the answer?
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Re: Thursday, February 27, 2014 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by morbeedo »

opusthepenguin wrote:
morbeedo wrote:Is 'Queen Mary' a sufficient answer for the clue "queen of Scots"? I thought Alex would have asked for a more specific response, i.e. Mary Stuart, as opposed to Mary Tudor, or Mary I (aka Bloody Mary).
Yeah, that was a weird one. In a circular way, I guess one could argue that "Mary, Queen of Scots" is a perfectly acceptable designation for Mary Stuart. So if they spot you "Queen of Scots," all you need to do is supply the "Mary". But that's kind of like ringing in on a clue in FAMOUS BUCHANANS and expecting credit for "Who is Buchanan?"
I think I blurted out "Mary Tudor", which is absolutely wrong, so the safe bet would be Mary! I'm terrrrrrible on English history - I'm watching the Tudors on Netflix now and some of this is starting to sink in. So James VI was king of Scotland before he was James I, king of England and Ireland?? Oy!

How specific do you need to be in FJ? During 80s week, the answer to one FJ was - SPOILER ALERT - Shirley Jackson, and both players who got it right only wrote Jackson (the winner actually crossed out - no, obliterated - Shirley because he "wasn't sure"). Alex condescended, "Yes, we'll accept that." Where do they draw the line? Smith? Jones?
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Re: Thursday, February 27, 2014 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by zakharov »

morbeedo wrote:
opusthepenguin wrote:
morbeedo wrote:Is 'Queen Mary' a sufficient answer for the clue "queen of Scots"? I thought Alex would have asked for a more specific response, i.e. Mary Stuart, as opposed to Mary Tudor, or Mary I (aka Bloody Mary).
Yeah, that was a weird one. In a circular way, I guess one could argue that "Mary, Queen of Scots" is a perfectly acceptable designation for Mary Stuart. So if they spot you "Queen of Scots," all you need to do is supply the "Mary". But that's kind of like ringing in on a clue in FAMOUS BUCHANANS and expecting credit for "Who is Buchanan?"
I think I blurted out "Mary Tudor", which is absolutely wrong, so the safe bet would be Mary! I'm terrrrrrible on English history - I'm watching the Tudors on Netflix now and some of this is starting to sink in. So James VI was king of Scotland before he was James I, king of England and Ireland?? Oy!

How specific do you need to be in FJ? During 80s week, the answer to one FJ was - SPOILER ALERT - Shirley Jackson, and both players who got it right only wrote Jackson (the winner actually crossed out - no, obliterated - Shirley because he "wasn't sure"). Alex condescended, "Yes, we'll accept that." Where do they draw the line? Smith? Jones?
It depends if there's other notable people in the "answer space" who share the same last name. In KenJen's first game, he answered "Who is Jones?" to a clue where the correct response was Marion Jones, the track star. He got it since there aren't really other potential responses named Jones, but they had to confirm with the judges.
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Re: Thursday, February 27, 2014 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by ArthurChu »

All the plaudits have been used up. Awesome job, Arthur.

Perhaps if Ken spawned the KJL club, Arthur's opponents may become known as the ACL. Heck, that already means disaster anyway, so it sorta fits.

#3 all time. Wow. To realize that he would need another six wins at this pace to surpass Madden's total, and another 76 or so to equal KJ, is a real testament to the records set by those two. Which of course detracts zero from the superb job we've witnessed from Mr. Chu.
Yep. All I've done so far is nudge aside Tom Nissley to become the highest-scoring of the "mere mortals" in Jeopardy history. Still got a ways to go to catch up to Jeopardy's Michael Jordan, David Madden (and a ways beyond that to catch up to Ken Jennings, who is Jeopardy Jesus).
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Re: Thursday, February 27, 2014 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by morbeedo »

Onairb wrote:
heelsrule1988 wrote:I might as well stop hating and just respect... this guy is the real deal. His strategy may bug me to death, but isn't a dominating champ like him what I always long to see?
This.
As far as Arthur's 'gameplaying strategy'..those who have been on the show, or are in the pool, or are making an effort to be on, are entitled to their opinions, even if the order in which clues are selected is nitpicky.
To those who just watch and bitch that Arthur 'irritates' them with his clue-hopping...who cares about the gameplaying strategy of someone who will never be on the show..especially those who wouldn't be able to see the clues because their cranial-anal inversion is too chronic?
As an actor, M. Chu should know better than to step on someone else's line! ;) I was very confused when the first round ended with clues still on the board, because the pace up until then was dizzying. Alex could barely get a word in edgewise: "And you're out of the..." "SITCOMS FOR $800!!!" For me, this is the most annoying part of watching these recent games.
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Re: Thursday, February 27, 2014 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by bpmod »

morbeedo wrote:Alex could barely get a word in edgewise: "And you're out of the..." "SITCOMS FOR $800!!!" For me, this is the most annoying part of watching these recent games.
Just shows that what one viewer likes, another doesn't. This is by far my favourite part of Arthur's run so far.

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Re: Thursday, February 27, 2014 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by georgespelvin »

Leander wrote:If Arthur (and other players) continue to play the board from bottom to top, would TPTB start placing DDs in the top two rows to try to preserve some drama in the games, and would this be perceived to be unfair?
Ironically, the fact that the DD in the J round has been in one of the upper rows the last two days has HELPED Arthur immensely. Because of this, he found the DD late in the round and was able to make a lot of money by making it a TDD and responding correctly. If Arthur happened to find the DD in a $1000 clue on the first try, he can only wager the value of the clue. If that happened, it actually would make the game more level until DJ. This might be why David Madden did not (IIRC) have as many locks--because he often found the first DD early when it could not help him amass a lot of money, and because (again IIRC) he underbet on them anyhow.
Last edited by georgespelvin on Fri Feb 28, 2014 11:24 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Thursday, February 27, 2014 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by This Is Kirk! »

zakharov wrote:
Leander wrote:If Arthur (and other players) continue to play the board from bottom to top, would TPTB start placing DDs in the top two rows to try to preserve some drama in the games, and would this be perceived to be unfair?
Preeeeeetty sure this would violate the federal law against rigging game shows.
How's that rigging? They place the DDs wherever they want now. I see no reason they couldn't decide to start altering where they place them.
Last edited by This Is Kirk! on Fri Feb 28, 2014 11:18 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Thursday, February 27, 2014 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by georgespelvin »

I guess that we are starting to hear the first rumblings about Jeopardy going back to the five day limit. Ten years ago, when Ken Jennings had his record setting run shortly after the five day limit was removed, such comments had some validity. However, since David Madden's streak ended in 2005, well over eight years ago, the most any player has won is nine games. This, during a period of time when some of the greatest champions of all time have played (if you don't believe me, take a look at the lineup for the last Battle of the Decades taping). If Arthur does get to 10 games and beyond, he'll be the first to do it in eight and a half years. You don't pass laws to prevent a future Babe Ruth, Michael Jordan or Wayne Gretzky from appearing because such individuals are so rare. On the rare occasion they do appear, you marvel at them because they don't appear again for a long time. I enjoyed watching Roger Craig, Dan Pawson, Tom Nissley, Stephanie Jass, Larrisa Kelly, et al. try to go as far they could go instead of knowing after, say game 3, that they would be on for just two more games and then they would be gone until the ToC.

Don't get me wrong, I hate it when a champion goes on a long streak of runaways. I hated it when Ken did it and I hate watching Arthur start to do it. Nothing against Ken or Arthur, I just like competitive games (also, as you know, I sometimes blame the opponents when they are oblivious to strategy like Sofi). However, the overall structure of the game is sound as it is. I suspect that when Arthur eventually loses be it Friday, next month, next season, whatever, he'll go down the Ken Jennings' way--missing highly wagered DDs and missing FJ.
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Re: Thursday, February 27, 2014 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by zakharov »

This Is Kirk! wrote:
zakharov wrote:
Leander wrote:If Arthur (and other players) continue to play the board from bottom to top, would TPTB start placing DDs in the top two rows to try to preserve some drama in the games, and would this be perceived to be unfair?
Preeeeeetty sure this would violate the federal law against rigging game shows.
How's that rigging? They place the DDs wherever they want now. I see no reason they couldn't decide to start altering where they place them.
If it came out that they were altering the game specifically to stop one player, it seems like it would be shady. That said, I Am Not A Lawyer.
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Re: Thursday, February 27, 2014 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by georgespelvin »

MarkBarrett wrote:
The FJ! category had me ready to consider things across the oceans if necessary. The clue was kind in narrowing the focus. Hoover Dam? Makes the most sense to me. The timing and location seemed good.
And you are from San Francisco? It just proves what people say about folks in the North not knowing about folks in the South. I would have thought that would have been an instaget for you. :lol:
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Re: Thursday, February 27, 2014 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by georgespelvin »

zakharov wrote:
This Is Kirk! wrote:
zakharov wrote:
Leander wrote:If Arthur (and other players) continue to play the board from bottom to top, would TPTB start placing DDs in the top two rows to try to preserve some drama in the games, and would this be perceived to be unfair?
Preeeeeetty sure this would violate the federal law against rigging game shows.
How's that rigging? They place the DDs wherever they want now. I see no reason they couldn't decide to start altering where they place them.
If it came out that they were altering the game specifically to stop one player, it seems like it would be shady. That said, I Am Not A Lawyer.
Except for the fact that putting DDs in the upper rows would not necessarily stop Arthur. As I noted above, in the last two days the DD in the J round was in an upper row, Arthur found it late, made it a TDD and, because he found it late, gained a lot of money. Moreover, now that contestants are starting to at least semi-follow Arthur's strategy (which I think is the best thing to do, go for higher end clues and DD hunt, but don't leave categories if that will fry your brain), putting the DD in the top rows as a matter of course would mostly help the contestants that aren't playing strategy and aren't likely to win anyway against Arthur.
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Re: Thursday, February 27, 2014 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by Sherm »

There is so much luck involved on a game to game basis that it is so difficult to compare players over time. We really don't have a lot of data on anyone, except Jennings. There is a fair amount on Madden and Rutter, but it's not even real fair to use a lot of the Rutter data, because we know he was playing against superior competition in a lot of those games.

There is a huge advantage in getting the buzzer timing down, and as a result. First games for the megachamps are crap shoots.

If Jennings doesn't know FJ! in his first game, he loses.

If Tom Nissely doesn't know FJ! in his first game, he loses.

If Arthur doesn't know bildge on a all in DD! mid way in the second round, he loses.

If Regina Sutton doesn't miss, not one, but two daily doubles in DJ!, Brad Rutter loses.

If Teresa Grasso knows that the victoria cross is made from metal taken from the Crimean War, Dave Madden loses.

Once they get the buzzer down the number of questions these champs get right jumps upward a fair amount. I only looked at ten games for Jennings and Madden (and Arthur only has 6 in the Jarchive complete), but here are the average number of correct answers for some well known names during the first run of games.

Jennings 34.1
Rutter 28.8
Craig 28.4
Madden 26.4
Jass 26.3
Arthur 25.0

I remember some people giving Stephaine Jass a bit a heat on here about her conservative betting, and that is what sets Arthur apart from everyone. He bets the same way Hans Brinker from hell skates. Evenutally, its likely to burn him, but when you are nailing the answers on daily doubles, and willing to bet it all up front, it's driving a stake through the heart of the competition.
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