MollyQMurphy wrote:What can be said? I'm speechless, but looking forward to what y'all have to say.
Ok, I'll say one thing; game theory rules.
Instaget FJ. Also thought of MITIM but the Count was in prison longer (and wasn't masked), so went with that. I do think either could have been a quote in the Dumas original.
Ironically, The Count of Monte Cristo came up on my TD 267--and I STILL went with the wrong answer on FJ. I also derped on the North Platte River (I answered South Platte) even though I'm reading a travel narrative about a trip along the Oregon Trail, which follows--you guessed it--the North Platte River across most of Nebraska.
In the immortal words of golfer Roberto Di Vicenzo, "I'm such a stupid."
There are not many moments in ''sports" when I literally jump off the couch and scream but I had 2 of them today. What an absolutely kickass game! That was beyond crazy. I told my wife before it started that it was probably going to be decided by who got the DD's and how they handled them. Can't wait 'til tomorrow.
By the way, I don't get on the board much anymore but has Alex J. posted on here since he was a contestant back in whenever?
Once again: What a game!
During his original run, Matt was at his best when he was blitzing his opponents once he had control of the board for a few clues, responding and moving on to the next one before the other players wrapped their minds around the clue before it. That Matt was most absent today, whether it be that Alex has the superior reaction time, or the categories just didn't suit him. If that Matt can return tomorrow, this match isn't over yet.
hbomb1947 wrote:
I know it was only a $200 clue, but the North Pole clue doesn't make any sense to me. The clue read, 'This location of Santa's workshop has a zip code, 12997." First of all, to fit within the category, they must have been referring to the town North Pole, Alaska (and surrounding area), whose zip code is 99705 -- not 12997 as given in the clue.
It was a given Alex would go TDD in the J! round. Not so much so in the DJ round, but of course in a comfortable category it's absolutely the correct play.
Watching with some people before the FJ clue I stated Matt would wager $10k minimum because it's a category he should feel comfortable with, Alex very well might wager $0 because I can't see him totally comfortable with it, and Kerry won't wager everything even though it's an absolute must for her regardless of category. The two guys definitely understand how to play the game.
That being said, if Alex would have been comfortable with the FJ category, I'll bet he would have wagered everything.
Thought Matt did an excellent job of fighting back after Alex had him on the ropes from the beginning.
In April, Linear Gnome wrote:I'm going to add my kudos to Alex--there have been players I thought had more raw trivia knowledge, but few, if any, players who did a better job of managing their game play and getting the most out of what they do know.
I just have to say this again. It seems to me that Alex has to be in the running for the best Jeopardy! real-time strategist/game player ever. I am in awe. (And, not surprisingly, I think he's added to his trivia knowledge as well.)
I still think my favorite Alex moment up to now was the triple stumper on "wheelhouse". It worked out well that he'd had the previous correct response so we got to see his reaction.
Win or lose tomorrow, mad props to Alex. Maybe someday Jeopardy! champion, indeed.
I gave the same incorrect response for FJ!. I spent most of the time thinking, "Is it the Man in the Iron Mask or that other one?" but I never identified the other one.
In April, Linear Gnome wrote:I'm going to add my kudos to Alex--there have been players I thought had more raw trivia knowledge, but few, if any, players who did a better job of managing their game play and getting the most out of what they do know.
I just have to say this again. It seems to me that Alex has to be in the running for the best Jeopardy! real-time strategist/game player ever. I am in awe. (And, not surprisingly, I think he's added to his trivia knowledge as well.).
I would say that Alex is up there with Roger Craig (who I previously would have said was the best ever in that department) in skill at managing game play. Alex's style is a little different, but you're right, Alex absolutely squeezes the maximum benefit out of what he knows. (Of course, his unreal consistency on the signaling device helps with that too.) I think Roger has a deeper knowledge base, but Alex still knows a lot of stuff (and I felt going into the tourney that Alex had the best knowledge base of anyone in this TOC). He had some impressive gets tonight.
econgator wrote:Flipped a coin and it came down on the wrong side, but Matt and Kerry had it, too, so I don't feel so bad.
Yeah, that was a terrible FJ. It's not a memorable line and both characters are completely plausible guesses. I've read The Count of Monte Cristo and still ended up going with the other guy. It'll be interesting to see which one wins in the weekly poll.
jpr281 wrote:Was anyone else miffed that they counted Matt's response of "itinerant" for the "vagrant" clue incorrect? I don't remember the exact wording of the clue, but it seems like it should've been accepted.
i·tin·er·ant
noun
1.
a person who travels from place to place.
The clue required it be derived from Old French. Itinerant is from Latin. Terrible clue unless knowing your Old French is part of TOC level play.
I've said it before, and I will repeat myself now - TPTB/writers/whoever is in charge of such things at J! just LOVE "The Count of Monte Cristo." Given the choice between TMITIM and TCOMC - you should probably always go with the latter (unless there is some really compelling reason not to.) With that mantra in mind, it even seemed a little too obvious to me for a TOC final - maybe that's what led to the two TMITIMs.
"And has thou slain the Jabberwock?
Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!"
He chortled in his joy.
Poll request: My SECOND guess on Thursday's FJ was The Count of Monte Cristo.
Here's a helpful fact I just learned for next time. "The Man in the Iron Mask" is not a novel. It's the third section of a novel titled Le Vicomte de Bragelonne ou Dix ans plus tard (The Vicomte of Bragelonne: Ten Years Later).
EDIT: Belay that. The J! Archive has three clues that refer to TMitIM as a "novel". So for J! purposes, you can't rule it out.
One common literary definition of "hero" is "main character" or "protagonist". That arguably applies to the Phantom (also, maybe, to Christine?) But he's not heroic in the modern sense, so I agree that the writers might avoid using the word. That's just a suspicion though, and Phantom is an otherwise terrific guess.
Last edited by opusthepenguin on Thu Nov 19, 2015 10:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Matt hit his DD with $5600 and wagered $5000. Not optimal. It didn't come back to bite him but it does highlight one more area where AJ has the advantage over MJ.
OK, this North Pole discussion has me wondering, how do American kids write to Santa and see where he's located?
Here in Canada, Canadian kids are taught to address their letters to Santa as follows:
Santa Claus (or, in French, Pere Noel)
North Pole
Canada
H0H 0H0
The last line is a Canadian postal code, the first H would indicate an address in Montreal, and the first 0 indicates a rural area. Since there are no rural areas in Montreal, they can use this for Jolly old St. Nick as a special code rather than one geographically-based. Canadian kids don't believe he lives in Montreal, but that he lives at the geographic north pole, and I believe it's taught that that is Canadian territory (hence the "Canada" part of Kris Kringle's address) and that the letters are sent to his workshop at the geographic north pole.
What I gather in the US is that you write to
Santa Claus
North Pole, AK
Zip code starting with 9 like all Alaskan postal codes are?
Do American kids believe he lives in the Alaska town? What was the Jeopardy! clue referring to with another postal code there? I must admit the American treatment of Santa, though very similar to ours, has me baffled on some of the finer points like this.
"Jeopardy! is two parts luck and one part luck" - Me
"The way to win on Jeopardy is to be a rabidly curious, information-omnivorous person your entire life." - Ken Jennings
nlw44 wrote:I've said it before, and I will repeat myself now - TPTB/writers/whoever is in charge of such things at J! just LOVE "The Count of Monte Cristo."
Whoa, no kidding. I just searched the J! Archive and found 54 clues about the Count of Monte Cristo vs. only 16 about the Man in the Iron Mask. It's the Nebraska of French novels.
nlw44 wrote:I've said it before, and I will repeat myself now - TPTB/writers/whoever is in charge of such things at J! just LOVE "The Count of Monte Cristo."
Whoa, no kidding. I just searched the J! Archive and found 54 clues about the Count of Monte Cristo vs. only 16 about the Man in the Iron Mask. It's the Nebraska of French novels.
Which makes Count of Monte Cristo either Born in the USA or maybe Born to Run?
dhkendall wrote:
Do American kids believe he lives in the Alaska town? What was the Jeopardy! clue referring to with another postal code there? I must admit the American treatment of Santa, though very similar to ours, has me baffled on some of the finer points like this.
TIL (through this thread) that there's a tiny hamlet in upstate New York called North Pole, which is within the town of Wilmington (not too far from Lake Placid), which has a tourist attraction that's a replica of Santa's workshop. And it's within the zip code asked for in the clue. The existence of a "North Pole" in that location makes zero sense to me, as North Pole, NY is well below the Arctic Circle (in fact, it's less than halfway from the equator to the actual North Pole, as its latitude is 44.3 degrees north). So rather than the Alaska town that mail addressed to Santa actually gets delivered to and which at least is near the Arctic Circle, the writers were asking about the tiny little place way southeast of there in New York State. I still think it was a silly clue, albeit technically correct.
I am surprised they didn't give Alex credit for answering Frank as the name in the Double Jeopardy category, instead of Curt. It seems to me both answers fit the clue.