Thursday, May 15, 2014 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

[Archivists]

Game Recap for Show #6839, 2014-05-15

Battle of the Decades final game 1.

CONTESTANTS
Roger Craig, a data scientist from Brooklyn, New York
Ken Jennings, a writer from Seattle, Washington
Brad Rutter, a Jeopardy's all-time biggest money winner from Lancaster, Pennsylvania

OPENING REMARKS
Alex: Thank you, Johnny Gilbert. Hi, folks. Forget about "March Madness" and the Final Four. This is the Jeopardy! Battle of the Decades. These are the final three. It's somewhat appropriate that these three gentlemen should be competing in the 2-day finals. Roger set the one-day record of $77,000. Ken, as you just heard, won the greatest number of games, and Brad has won the most money. Gentlemen: it's a pleasure spending time with you. Good luck. Here we go. Let's take a look at the categories.

JEOPARDY! ROUND CATEGORIES
CHESS DRAMA (5/5)
OUR FEATHERED FRIENDS (5/5)
A BLANK EXPRESSION (4/5)
PARENTING & CHILDREN (5/5)
U.S. GEOGRAPHY (4/5, including 1 missed Daily Double)
DOCUMENTARIES (5/5)

THE RIGHTS & THE WRONGS
Roger: 9 R, 0 W
Brad: 10 R (including 1 rebound), 2 W (including 1 DD)
Ken: 9 R (including 1 rebound), 2 W

Clues revealed: 30
Triple Stumpers: 1
Jeopardy! Round Potential Lach Trash: $1,000



JEOPARDY! ROUND DAILY DOUBLE
Brad found the Daily Double on the 14th clue. Brad had $3,200, Ken had $800, and Roger was at $1,800. Brad made it a True Daily Double, wagering $3,200.

U.S. GEOGRAPHY $800: The snowy dome of this tallest volcano in the lower 48 states is often shrouded in clouds
(Brad: What is Mount Hood?)

SCORES AT THE FIRST BREAK
Roger: $2,400
Ken: $800
Brad: $0

CONTESTANT INTERVIEWS



Alex: Being a Jeopardy! champion as often as these gentlemen have been, uh, can lead to a lot of interesting situations. You're recognized wherever you go, I'm sure. Roger Craig...what are some of the questions people ask you? Do they inquire about, uh, how to become a contestant and advice on how to play the game?

Roger: Yeah, they ask, uh, "How do you...how do you become a contestant? How, you know, how do you use the buzzer? What is Alex Trebek really like?" And one thing is, uh, to become a contestant you have to audition, and stick at it, so...

Alex: Yeah. Arthur Chu, uh, was using one of your strategies, I believe, uh, when he had his successful run on our program earlier this year.

Roger: At least one, yes.

Alex: Oh, at least one? [laughter] Okay. [Laughs.]




Alex: Ken Jennings, ah, you're recognized wherever you go, but not always as yourself. Because I heard that you were recognized as a different television star.

Ken: I was in an airport the other day, and somebody ran up to me and said, "You're Bruce Jenner!" [Laughter] I was like, I was like, "I'm not." She's like, "No, no, you're Bruce Jenner!" And I was like, "I promise you, ma'am. I'm not. I'm not Bruce Jenner." I guess the nose job did not work, uh... [Laughter]

Alex: Okay.




Alex: Let's go to Brad now. You've won a lot of money, and people, I'm sure, are curious about..."How did you do that?" Did you prepare in a special way, as some of our champions have done in the past? Because they look forward to the games and they say, "Okay. I'm gonna prepare. I'm gonna specialize in this and this and this." What have you done?

Brad: I wouldn't say it's a special way. I mean, there's some stuff that lends itself to memorization that you can make flash cards on and stuff. But I always tell people the best way to prepare for being on the show is just to watch the show. Um, you get a really good feel for what kinda categories the writers like to write about, and uh, you can even get some of that rhythm and timing down on the buzzer.

Alex: I was just going to say...is the rhythm important to you guys, when we're in the middle of the game, and ringing in just right? And as we've noticed on, uh, Conan O'Brien's show, my speech rhythm doesn't vary one iota. So you guys are lucky in that regard.

TRIPLE STUMPERS IN THE JEOPARDY! ROUND
A BLANK EXPRESSION $1000: From Proverbs 11, "He that troubleth his own house shall
___ ___ ___"
(Ken: What is reap the whirlwind?)

SCORES AT THE END OF THE JEOPARDY! ROUND
Roger: $5,000
Ken: $3,200
Brad: $2,000

[Archivists]

DOUBLE JEOPARDY! ROUND CATEGORIES
ELIZABETHAN PLAYS & PLAYWRIGHTS (4/5)
MEDICAL TERMS (4/5, including 1 missed Daily Double)
MISHMASH (4/5)
HISTORIC DAYS (5/5, including 1 correct Daily Double) (Alex: We'll give you a historic date. You tell us the most important event that occurred on that date.)
HATE SONGS (5/5)
SOUNDS LIKE A NEW ELEMENT! (5/5) (Alex: Each correct response will end in the three letters I-U-M. 'Trebekium'. That's an example.")

THE RIGHTS & THE WRONGS
Ken: 12 R (including 2 rebounds), 1 W
Brad: 11 R (including 2 rebounds and 1 DD), 2 W
Roger: 4 R (including 1 rebound), 3 W (including 1 DD)

Clues revealed: 30
Triple Stumpers: 2
Double Jeopardy! Round Potential Lach Trash: $4,000



FIRST DOUBLE JEOPARDY! ROUND DAILY DOUBLE
Brad snagged the next Daily Double on the 11th clue. Brad had $7,600, Ken had $4,000, and Roger was at $8,200. Brad wagered $2,000.

HISTORIC DAYS $2000: December 15, 1791

SECOND DOUBLE JEOPARDY! ROUND DAILY DOUBLE
It was Roger who snatched up the last Daily Double of the game on the 16th clue. Brad had $9,600, Ken had $8,400, and Roger was at $10,200. Roger made it a True Daily Double, wagering $10,200.

MEDICAL TERMS $800: Doctors use this 5-letter term for swelling or bloating in the body due to an excess build-up of fluid
(Roger: What is drop..?)

TRIPLE STUMPERS IN THE DOUBLE JEOPARDY! ROUND
ELIZABETHAN PLAYS & PLAYWRIGHTS $2000: Ian McKellen calls this author's "Edward II" "perhaps the first drama ever written with a homosexual hero"

MISHMASH $2000: In a Whitman poem, this 3-word title precedes "Blow! Bugles! Blow!"

SCORES ENTERING FINAL JEOPARDY!
Brad: $14,000
Ken: $12,000
Roger: -$800

FINAL JEOPARDY! CATEGORY
THE ACADEMY AWARDS

VENUSIAN MONOLOGUES/MARTIAN CHRONICLES
Four-fifths for first place.
Brad: It's a big wager, but you might regret it if you don't cover Ken by wagering $10,001.
Ken: Risk between $4,001 (venusian) and $8,000 (martian).

FINAL JEOPARDY! CLUE
1 of the 2 movies in the last 30 years, one a drama & one a comedy, to win Oscars for Best Actor & Best Actress

FINAL SCORES
Ken: $12,000 - $5,000 = $7,000 (What is ?)
Brad: $14,000 - $4,000 = $10,000 (What is Terms of Endearment)

Total Potential Lach Trash: $5,000

GAME DYNAMICS


CORYAT SCORES
Brad: $17,200, 21 R (including 1 DD), 4 W (including 1 DD)
Ken: $12,000, 21 R, 3 W
Roger: $9,400, 13 R, 3 W (including 1 DD)
Combined Coryat: $38,600

BATTING AVERAGES
Ken: 21/58 = .362
Brad: 21/60 = .350
Roger: 13/59 = .220
Team: 55/63 = .873

MISCELLANEOUS INTERESTING CLUES
DOCUMENTARIES $800: He directed "The Thin Blue Line" & the 2013 Donald Rumsfeld portrait "The Unknown Known"
(Brad: Who is...Pennebaker?)

CHESS DRAMA $1000: Cosmo selected this 22-year-old Norwegian, the new world champ, as one of its sexiest men of 2013

U.S. GEOGRAPHY $1000: Pasca, a Native American word for bread, gave this Gulf coast city its name
(Ken: What's Pensacola?)

OUR FEATHERED FRIENDS $800: Made popular by the movie "Happy Feet", this species was named for the wife of a French explorer

ELIZABETHAN PLAYS & PLAYWRIGHTS $1600: This author of "Every Man in His Humour" was apparently out of humor when he stabbed a man to death in 1598
(Brad: Who is Marlowe?)

HATE SONGS $1200: While serving in the Army during WWI, Irving Berlin was inspired to write the song "Oh! How I Hate to" do this
(Brad: What is peel potatoes?)

HISTORIC DAYS $1600: April 30, 1975
(Ken What is...Camp David...oh, no...[shaking head] Camp David Accords...)
(Brad: What is the evacuation of the Saigon Embassy?)
(Alex: We'll accept that...yes...[*].)

MEDICAL TERMS $1200: (Sarah of the Clue Crew refers to a television monitor.) Charted here, a baby typically receives 23 pairs of chromosomes, one of each copied from each parent. But when there's an extra copy of chromosome 21, this condition is the result

HISTORIC DAYS $1200: May 29, 1453
(Roger: What is...Richard III?)

MISHMASH $800: Tell T.C. & Rick to keep it down! It's time for this TV show whose theme is heard here

HISTORIC DAYS $400: April 14, 1865
(Roger: What is the end of the U.S. Civil War?)

CORRECT RESPONSES
Mount Rainier
inherit the wind
the ratification of the Bill of Rights
edema
Christopher Marlowe
Beat! Beat! Drums!
The Silence of the Lambs & As Good as It Gets
Errol Morris
Magnus Carlsen
Pascagoula
Adélie
Ben Jonson
Get Up in the Morning
the end of the Vietnam War
Down Syndrome
the fall of Constantinople
Magnum, P.I.
the Lincoln assassination

[jeff6286]

The Academy Awards
1 of the 2 movies in the last 30 years, one a drama & one a comedy, to win Oscars for Best Actor & Best Actress.

Spoiler

What is The Silence of the Lambs or As Good as it Gets? Ken had no guess; Brad said Terms of Endearment.

Game 1 of 2 Day Finals
Brad Rutter: $14,000-$4,000=$10,000
Ken Jennings: $12,000-$5,000=$7,000
Roger Craig: (-$800)

note: Roger's score will reset to $0 for Game 2 of the Finals.

[tgs]

Thus far: living up to expectations.

For Roger it was a good decision with a bad result on that DD - to my [limited] knowledge of medical terms, it struck me as a pretty tough clue at the $800 level, even for this tournament. The relatively small totals from Ken and Brad can be undone by a single DD.

I'm surprised both that movie buff Ken didn't wager more on FJ, and couldn't even hazard a guess. At least Brad had the right director.

[MinnesotaMyron]

The choice was all Roger's, of course, but that whispered "Do it" from Ken will go down in infamy.

I had to turn off the tv for a minute after that. Tough to watch.

I suspect that tomorrow's show will be crazy.

[Austin Powers]

Balls

[tgs]

From the files of "What Might've Been," am curious both if Roger knew FJ and what he'd have wagered with about 20 to gamble.

[Bamaman]

I had no chance on FJ, but was shocked neither of them knew it. Recent Oscar winners seems like a must study list for the show.

Gutsy move by Roger, but at least he isn't too far behind. Also, the math won't be too hard figuring out the wagering scenarios with one player having zero and the others having round numbers.

[dhkendall]

At least Roger joins the club heretofore populated only by boardie hansvon (Hans von Walter) by having no money going into FJ on the first day of a two day final. Considering his play today, I still wouldn't rule him out from doing well in the tournament.

Curious, Roger, do you just sit in a special spot in the audience when Final was going on? Or were you backstage or something?

[Bamaman]

Glad Roger overcame his problems from yesterday as he turned in a strong performance aside from that one DD. He showed he more than belonged on the stage with the other two and isn't just a Snider alongside Mays and Mantle.

[Carpe Diem]

The choice was all Roger's, of course, but that whispered "Do it" from Ken will go down in infamy.

I wasn't sure if that was Ken, Brad or both.
(My apologies, but I couldn't help but think of this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ra70O9nps6E .)

[Carpe Diem]

From the files of "What Might've Been," am curious both if Roger knew FJ and what he'd have wagered with about 20 to gamble.

This.

[hanzz]

At least Roger joins the club heretofore populated only by boardie hansvon (Hans von Walter) by having no money going into FJ on the first day of a two day final. Considering his play today, I still wouldn't rule him out from doing well in the tournament.

Curious, Roger, do you just sit in a special spot in the audience when Final was going on? Or were you backstage or something?

There is a very special Chair of Shame that you sit in next to Maggie et al.'s table. Front row seat to all the fun you're not having.

Roger, c'mere. *hug* Though, unlike me, yours was a fiery blaze of glory. Great comebacks have been known to happen on Day 2....

[cf1140]

I was looking forward to seeing some classic Bread and Rutter, but that's not what happened today even though he has a $3,000 lead.

It seemed like Roger was quickest on the signaling device. He still has good odds to win the whole thing.

Instaget FJ. One of the few years I payed attention to the Oscars was the year with As Good as it Gets.

[econgator]

Not quite what I was expecting, but that makes tomorrow all the more exciting.

What was it that Brad said to Ken after Roger missed? I'm guessing something like, "Good job."

Instaget FJ. The Silence of the Lambs is my favorite movie.

[zakharov]

No clue on FJ, but that was fun. Nobody could get in enough of a buzzer groove to run away with it. Should be fun tomorrow.

Roger...ouch dude. I assume the whisperer was Ken but I really couldn't tell. Let this be a lesson, kids: always resist peer pressure!

I really have no prediction for tomorrow. Either Brad's buzzing precision is off or Ken has improved his skills since the last time they met. Since they seem to have about the same knowledge base, it feels like a total coin flip to see who wins.

[Golf]

Roger made the right decision without question going TDD against those two monsters.

Anyone else neg with end of the 100 years war on the 1453 clue?

That FJ should not be a stumper seeing as Silence of the Lambs is one of only 3 films to win all the major awards. Very surprising both missed it considering Oscars should be one of those classic study categories.

[xxaaaxx]

Well that wasn't how I thought it was going to play out...the final should be epic. If Roger hadn't flamed out, he might be going into tomorrow with a 20k lead. I was screaming 'edema' but he didn't hear me from the future.

Instaget FJ, with 'As Good As It Gets' and 'As long as I don't have to name both'. I don't know why Silence of the Lambs didn't come to me with 28 pressure-free seconds to think about it; the resulting forehead slap nearly fractured my skull.

[lisa0012]

So much fun to watch this. Hoping Roger makes a comeback.

Instaget on both movies. I thought it was pretty common trivia. Where's The Call already?

[lieph82]

I was really impressed with Roger today; just bad luck getting a pretty tough clue in the $800 spot. Right decision, wrong time.

Ken and Brad were great as always, though it did seem like they both were guessing a little more than usual. I hope Ken gets a DD with some money to play with tomorrow, because he had control of the board and jumped around a lot today but couldn't find one. I'm not sure about their FJ wagers, though I guess they know each other well enough that each didn't expect a $0 or all-in from the other.

I had both Silence of the Lambs and As Good as it Gets, and I'm not a movie buff, so I'm inclined to think this wasn't too hard, but that could just be the knowledge bias Doug Hicton talks about a lot.