Wednesday, July 31, 2013 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

[DWS]

Normally I'd criticize Skyler's FJ wager, but it was clear from the interview segment that he is a civil war buff, so I'm not surprised he made a huge bet on a wheelhouse category. He made a savvy bet on the math DD, although I suspect it wouldn't have worked out well for him if the next clue (about 5.5% interest), which was a TS, had been the DD. Not sure what the girl was thinking with her bet on the last DD, though it didn't matter. Too bad about the spelling mistake for the middle player, but it also didn't matter in the end.

[bpmod]

First off, the spelling error didn't make a difference in the outcome, so this shouldn't be a big drama. (Of course I feel bad for him, but it didn't cost him anything except the right to be 100% for his career in FJ).

J! is very consistent about the FJ spelling rules. ("Bejamin Franklin".) They can't start bending the rules for "close enough" for two reasons. One, there is a Standards and Practices department that makes sure the game is fair -- which includes enforcing the rules evenly -- and two, when you give a player in a three player game credit for an incorrect answer, you are being unfair to the other two players.

Recently in a knowledge competition, an official ruled one team correct for answers of "Steven Hawkings" and "A Midsummer's Night Dream" in one game. Close enough? Sure they are. But they are also (according to the rules of the game) incorrect, and the other team felt like they had been treated unfairly.

Shocking FJ wager, and his college fund is reaping the benefits, but it would've been a mess if that had backfired.

Everything Michael said... but not as much of a mess as our teen champion might have had a few months ago.

I noticed our Canadian contestant didn't ring in on "the cable channel that is not available anywhere in Canada". I only know about it because that's where the Canadian shows* get aired in the U.S. (ironically).

Brian

[jeff6286]

In other situations, I might be tempted to criticize a player for risking the lock, but that was AWESOME!

I got FJ as well, but when I was 12 (or, heck, when I was 22), I probably didn't know the difference between "The Emancipation Proclamation" and "The constitutional amendment that ended slavery". (Furthermore, I wouldn't have known the number of that amendment.)

I was hoping that I might go 30 for 30 in one round this week, but it hasn't happened yet. I wasn't writing everything down, but I think I went 27 for 30 in the J round. I missed two questions about cartoon characters, and I also didn't know that the biggest ship in Battleship isn't called the "battleship".

I was also seeking the elusive 30/30 in the first round tonight, and was mad at myself for screwing up "The Krusty Krab", where Spongebob works. I said "The Krab Shack". But then the Dr. from Phineas & Ferb came up two clues later, so I was less upset about the first miss, and graciously accepted my 28/30.

While we couldn't see his face, I was imagining Skylar's eyes lighting up like he was Joon Pahk when he hit the Daily Double in a math category. Then with a huge total, they give the Abraham Lincoln fan a Civil War category in FJ? "Why yes Sony, I will take your money, thank you very much", says Skylar.

Definitely a fun game to watch, and with not nearly as many uses of "please" as Monday and Tuesday, they managed to get through all the clues. Way to go kids!

[WilliamPorygon]

J! is very consistent about the FJ spelling rules. ("Bejamin Franklin".) They can't start bending the rules for "close enough" for two reasons. One, there is a Standards and Practices department that makes sure the game is fair -- which includes enforcing the rules evenly -- and two, when you give a player in a three player game credit for an incorrect answer, you are being unfair to the other two players.

Yeah, except the rules and legal paperwork everybody has to sign gives the judges discretion to determine whether something like whether a clear misspelling/mispronounciation of the right answer should be declared wrong or not. I wouldn't have had a problem giving it to him even if I was standing at the podium next to his, and I'm sure there's others that feel the same way I do... but the problem is our society is so litigious these days that if they did I wouldn't put it past another contestant (or their parents in this case) to raise a stink about it and sue over it anyway.

(I do wonder if Skyler would've pulled a Clavin bet if it were adult Jeopardy! He could be savvy enough to realize they're not going to ask about anything incredibly difficult or obscure on kids week.)

[jeff6286]

Holy crap! The Sony board has not one, not seven, not fifteen, but there are TWENTY THREADS started in the last 2.5 hours complaining about the spelling ruling in FJ. Everyone must go check it out before they start deleting and/or merging the threads. It's quite glorious.

https://boards.sonypictures.com/forumdi ... 9-Jeopardy

*Edit* Okay, five minutes later, there are now 25 threads. Come on, people, we can hit 50 by the end of the night! I know it.

[lisa0012]

Holy crap! The Sony board has not one, not seven, not fifteen, but there are TWENTY THREADS started in the last 2.5 hours complaining about the spelling ruling in FJ. Everyone must go check it out before they start deleting and/or merging the threads. It's quite glorious.

https://boards.sonypictures.com/forumdi ... 9-Jeopardy

*Edit* Okay, five minutes later, there are now 25 threads. Come on, people, we can hit 50 by the end of the night! I know it.

Up to 27. Impressive.

I want to qualify that I understand the rules, and why they are there, and can't be changed, and all of that. I just have a little sympathy for the kid. Those are hard words to spell at that age.

[Lumosityfan]

I have only one word: AMAZING!

My mouth was dropping as soon as the 30000 appeared. Now, I knew that he could up to 17400 without losing, but still: 30000?!!!! Not to put too much pressure on him, but maybe we should see how he would do in a teen, college, or adult setting.

Even more about the wager: Like, that's something that only a Craig or a Jennings would even think of doing, especially since 30000 would have put the risk of a successful (not in a good way, however) Clavin situation.

All I can say is congratulations! I'm impressed!

On other terms, I finally got Final Jeopardy! right after 7 in a row wrong! (Yay!)

Also, I have to add concerning Skylar's wager that I think that this ties the biggest wager ever attempted even, regardless of result, in a FInal Jeopardy! and in any wagering situation. (Of course, we all know Mr. Craig's response as the record)

Could someone verify?

[StrangerCoug]

I believe the spelling mistake falls under the "get the consonants right" precedent that I was told about here when I expressed surprise about it in an earlier episode. Jeopardy! appears not to want to put itself on a slippery slope, and I understand that.

I was going to ask about the $66,000 in relation to the highest one-day totals—I knew it wasn't at the tippity top, but I thought it was second behind Ken Jennings. KJ, as revealed in previous comments, had actually been beaten.

[Paucle]

As soon as I saw the category, I thought "Anyone who's memorized the Gettysburg Address is probably going in big on that category." So glad to see I was correct. I liked him a lot.
Too bad for Thomas- he was even re-checking his work during the last FJ notes, it looked like. Situational blindness, I guess.

[BADuBois]

I both loved and hated this game.

Loved it because of Skylar's play. Such enthusiasm and daring... outstanding! (Though he was definitely entering Cliff Clavin territory with his FJ bet...)

Hated the game because of the poor middle kid, Thomas. Yes, it didn't make any difference in the outcome but the judges --- if they do have the discretion as others have mentioned on the board --- should have given it to him. He was practically crying as the end credits rolled... and a once-in-a-lifetime experience is ruined.

[jeff6286]

Too bad for Thomas- he was even re-checking his work during the last FJ notes, it looked like. Situational blindness, I guess.

Yeah, I had trouble finding the error at first. It was clear from Alex's tone that a harsh ruling was coming, but that was a lot of letters to check in order to find where the mistake was. I could certainly understand his mistake, and the fact that he didn't see it when double-checking for errors. How often does anyone ever write the word "Emancipation"? Precipitation seems like a much more common word to come across, so maybe that's where that extra "t" came from.

[Paucle]

Holy crap! The Sony board has not one, not seven, not fifteen, but there are TWENTY THREADS started in the last 2.5 hours complaining about the spelling ruling in FJ. Everyone must go check it out before they start deleting and/or merging the threads. It's quite glorious.
https://boards.sonypictures.com/forumdi ... 9-Jeopardy
*Edit* Okay, five minutes later, there are now 25 threads. Come on, people, we can hit 50 by the end of the night! I know it.

Up to 27. Impressive.

31 now, one of them saying "Bring back Thomas!" Which is 8 different kinds of wrong.

[dhkendall]

Holy crap! The Sony board has not one, not seven, not fifteen, but there are TWENTY THREADS started in the last 2.5 hours complaining about the spelling ruling in FJ. Everyone must go check it out before they start deleting and/or merging the threads. It's quite glorious.
https://boards.sonypictures.com/forumdi ... 9-Jeopardy
*Edit* Okay, five minutes later, there are now 25 threads. Come on, people, we can hit 50 by the end of the night! I know it.

Up to 27. Impressive.

31 now, one of them saying "Bring back Thomas!" Which is 8 different kinds of wrong.

Sony gets paid by the moral outrage on their board, every indignant post automatically gives them money. That's how they can afford to pay Skyler.

[lisa0012]

Holy crap! The Sony board has not one, not seven, not fifteen, but there are TWENTY THREADS started in the last 2.5 hours complaining about the spelling ruling in FJ. Everyone must go check it out before they start deleting and/or merging the threads. It's quite glorious.
https://boards.sonypictures.com/forumdi ... 9-Jeopardy
*Edit* Okay, five minutes later, there are now 25 threads. Come on, people, we can hit 50 by the end of the night! I know it.

Up to 27. Impressive.

31 now, one of them saying "Bring back Thomas!" Which is 8 different kinds of wrong.

My current favorite is "Can the Jeopardy staff let us know if they plan to take corrective action?"

[bpmod]

Holy crap! The Sony board has not one, not seven, not fifteen, but there are TWENTY THREADS started in the last 2.5 hours complaining about the spelling ruling in FJ. Everyone must go check it out before they start deleting and/or merging the threads. It's quite glorious.

https://boards.sonypictures.com/forumdi ... 9-Jeopardy

*Edit* Okay, five minutes later, there are now 25 threads. Come on, people, we can hit 50 by the end of the night! I know it.

Gee, if they'd allow Canadians to post there, it might be up another 10% or so higher.

But maybe not. [tongue-in-cheek]Canadians are a much more forgiving people.[/tongue-in-cheek]

Brian

[MFalk]

but the problem is our society is so litigious these days that if they did I wouldn't put it past another contestant (or their parents in this case) to raise a stink about it and sue over it anyway.

I think J! is less concerned about getting sued (like you said, the paperwork you sign makes it clear that the judges' decisions are final) and more concerned about applying the rules consistently. They don't want to be perceived in a way that makes them seem like they're being arbitrary or playing favorites.

[alietr]

I'm really tempted to start a thread over there titled "Thank Goodness the Judges Got It Right". Then duck and cover.

[StrangerCoug]

I'm really tempted to start a thread over there titled "Thank Goodness the Judges Got It Right". Then duck and cover.

Go for it

[billy pilgrim]

Too bad for Thomas- he was even re-checking his work during the last FJ notes, it looked like. Situational blindness, I guess.

Yeah, I had trouble finding the error at first. It was clear from Alex's tone that a harsh ruling was coming, but that was a lot of letters to check in order to find where the mistake was. I could certainly understand his mistake, and the fact that he didn't see it when double-checking for errors. How often does anyone ever write the word "Emancipation"? Precipitation seems like a much more common word to come across, so maybe that's where that extra "t" came from.

You know, I wasn't sure he didn't think that's the way you spell it.

[Bamaman]

I'm really tempted to start a thread over there titled "Thank Goodness the Judges Got It Right". Then duck and cover.

Do it and I'll pay for you to be boardie of the month.