Thursday, April 20, 2017 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

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twelvefootboy
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Re: Thursday, April 20, 2017 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by twelvefootboy »

This Is Kirk! wrote: Thu Apr 20, 2017 11:22 pm I would have never come up with Melissa McCarthy, but I think she's funny as hell and I'm glad to hear she's raking in the bucks. On an interesting trivia side note Melissa and Jennifer McCarthy are cousins.
What Kirk said - she is a hoot!
goatman wrote: Thu Apr 20, 2017 9:27 pm ... Truly useless FJ clue IMHO. When thoughtful persons watch this show we hope to learn something, not just be stumped by useless trivia. ........... :x If the show doesn't reform soon it's losing traditional viewers. IMHO content has become pretty dull and tediously silly. Come on, more stupid logos?! Again with the Pop music lyrics? Enough already! If TPTB read this take heed!
ya think so? I complain about negbait (to me) and sometimes mis-direction, but in my short time of paying attention by virtue of this board, it seems like the FJ clues are remarkably consistent and true to a few basic principles:

1) almost everyone has heard of the solution which keeps from turning off the tv viewers
(the recent artist from LA is an exception for me)
2) the topics vary randomly and across wide swaths
3) there's usually a clever twist, or a surprise ending - i think tonight's qualifies as a surprise ending
4) even when you've got it, there's still a residue of doubt during the think music
5) you learn something about the topic, even if you thought you already knew a lot about it. Like that damn college named after a town person. only a few people would know that calhoun was the progenitor (wrong use, but dammit i'm trying to get rid of some unused words)

About the FJ - no Amy Adams for me, I ain't one of the cool kids. I racked my brain to think of that Avengers character and finally got to Scarlett Johanssen, also known as Jarlet Johanssen and Scarlett Scohanssen, but yeah, well..

I said "flea" for that latin critter name. I'm not sure if the whole clue would have made me more enlightened, I just Pavlov'd to fleas, thinking it was a rat trap. So, it's bacteria on fleas on rats, eh? What a vector...
Disclaimer - repeated exposure to author's musings may cause befuddlement.
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Re: Thursday, April 20, 2017 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by This Is Kirk! »

I think this was a very difficult FJ and probably not a good one, but I disagree with goatman's basic premise that somehow pop culture is lesser trivia. I'm not particularly good at pop culture overall, but I don't see why it's any less worthy than other categories that are for whatever reason considered more cerebral.
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Re: Thursday, April 20, 2017 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by davey »

Kenny wrote: Thu Apr 20, 2017 9:20 pm I only know McCarthy via SNL, so I wouldn't have gotten this FJ if you gave me 30 minutes.

Bible is in my wheelhouse but that bottom clue was YEKIOYD (Paul's letter to Romans)
I presume we were supposed to notice that the recipient of the letter had a Latinate name, and make the leap to Romans. I didn't.
The highest-paid actress and she still moonlights on weekends??... :)
Has anyone yet claimed this FJ? I didn't come close, but I wasn't surprised once I heard it. I agree that one further piece of TOM would have been fair.
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Re: Thursday, April 20, 2017 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by IronNeck »

This Is Kirk! wrote: Fri Apr 21, 2017 12:11 am I think this was a very difficult FJ and probably not a good one, but I disagree with goatman's basic premise that somehow pop culture is lesser trivia. I'm not particularly good at pop culture overall, but I don't see why it's any less worthy than other categories that are for whatever reason considered more cerebral.
goatman's post is actually quite thought-provoking. Would the modern Jeopardy audience prefer more clues about corporate logos, pop song lyrics, recent books that no one (and I mean no one, not even critics) have read, and pure trivia of the kind they despise in Quiz Bowl?! Maybe. Or perhaps like goatman, they would prefer more questions about literature, foreign culture, history, classical music, science, etc.

It's difficult to say.

I do think it's noteworthy that there have been dozens of game shows with far more pop culture-oriented clues since 1984. Virtually none of them are still around, and most weren't particularly well-received.

I don't have a very strong preference either way; there are things I dislike about the Quiz Bowl format, and if I were writing the clues for the show, it would likely be very different from goatman's ideal, too.
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Re: Thursday, April 20, 2017 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by davey »

goatman wrote: Thu Apr 20, 2017 9:27 pm Another Amy Adams. Truly useless FJ clue IMHO. When thoughtful persons watch this show we hope to learn something, not just be stumped by useless trivia. OTH: Get on "For the World is Hollow and I have Touched the Sky" a Trek episode in which a lost race of spacefarers marooned inside an asteroid have a fake sky painted on the 'ceiling' of their tiny world and the penalty for mountain climbing is death... title line spoken by old man met by landing party who on his deathbed says he touched the sky, so he knows the world is hollow. Wayy cool and thought-provoking story, UNLIKE THIS FJ! :
On the other hand, one could hypothesize that readers of Forbes are at least as thoughtful as those who obsess over old TV shows... ;)
The FJ is as much about business as pop culture.
Last edited by davey on Fri Apr 21, 2017 12:49 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Thursday, April 20, 2017 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by This Is Kirk! »

IronNeck wrote: Fri Apr 21, 2017 12:26 am
This Is Kirk! wrote: Fri Apr 21, 2017 12:11 am I think this was a very difficult FJ and probably not a good one, but I disagree with goatman's basic premise that somehow pop culture is lesser trivia. I'm not particularly good at pop culture overall, but I don't see why it's any less worthy than other categories that are for whatever reason considered more cerebral.
goatman's post is actually quite thought-provoking. Would the modern Jeopardy audience prefer more clues about corporate logos, pop song lyrics, recent books that no one (and I mean no one, not even critics) have read, and pure trivia of the kind they despise in Quiz Bowl?! Maybe. Or perhaps like goatman, they would prefer more questions about literature, foreign culture, history, classical music, science, etc.
I think one of the keys to Jeopardy's continued success is they'd done a good balancing act between the two.
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Re: Thursday, April 20, 2017 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by Lefty »

9021amyers wrote: Thu Apr 20, 2017 8:46 pm I was expecting a pedantic user to have already said something along the lines of, "it obviously wasn't going to be Amy Adams, because alliteration doesn't count with vowel sounds."
Thing is, "Amy Adams" starts with two different vowel sounds. I certainly wouldn't say it obviously wasn't going to be, because I don't have nearly that much faith in Jeopardy's writers. I also realize that it does alliterate according to Opus's Beowulf rules.

I had no problem at all coming up with oodles of names, among them Helen Hunt, Vivian Vance, Courteney Cox, Barbara Billingsley, Diana Dors, Farrah Fawcett, Jennifer Jones, Lillie Langtry, Kate Capshaw and various Kardashians, but none that offered half a prayer.
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Re: Thursday, April 20, 2017 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by dinghammer »

hbomb1947 wrote: Thu Apr 20, 2017 9:22 pm I couldn't even come up with an alliteratively named actress within the 30 seconds, let alone one who could have plausibly been the second highest-earner.
Brigitte Bardot was the only one I could think of, and I knew she couldn't be right. I thought of several more after the fact, so this seems like a very YEKIOYGELAGTCAWAANOYD (You Either Know It Or You Get Extremely Lucky And Guess The Correct Actress With An Alliterative Name Or You Don't) clue.

SPY is excellent, btw.
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Re: Thursday, April 20, 2017 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by IronNeck »

This Is Kirk! wrote: Fri Apr 21, 2017 12:42 am
IronNeck wrote: Fri Apr 21, 2017 12:26 am
This Is Kirk! wrote: Fri Apr 21, 2017 12:11 am I think this was a very difficult FJ and probably not a good one, but I disagree with goatman's basic premise that somehow pop culture is lesser trivia. I'm not particularly good at pop culture overall, but I don't see why it's any less worthy than other categories that are for whatever reason considered more cerebral.
goatman's post is actually quite thought-provoking. Would the modern Jeopardy audience prefer more clues about corporate logos, pop song lyrics, recent books that no one (and I mean no one, not even critics) have read, and pure trivia of the kind they despise in Quiz Bowl?! Maybe. Or perhaps like goatman, they would prefer more questions about literature, foreign culture, history, classical music, science, etc.
I think one of the keys to Jeopardy's continued success is they'd done a good balancing act between the two.
Oh, absolutely. But as they say in economics, past successes are not a predictor of future events. They have done a fine job of balancing the two for over 30 years. But who is to say they will continue to do so?

Personally, I think attempts by the show to stay hip and relevant with pop culture are ill-advised.
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Re: Thursday, April 20, 2017 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by This Is Kirk! »

IronNeck wrote: Fri Apr 21, 2017 1:57 am
This Is Kirk! wrote: Fri Apr 21, 2017 12:42 am
IronNeck wrote: Fri Apr 21, 2017 12:26 am
This Is Kirk! wrote: Fri Apr 21, 2017 12:11 am I think this was a very difficult FJ and probably not a good one, but I disagree with goatman's basic premise that somehow pop culture is lesser trivia. I'm not particularly good at pop culture overall, but I don't see why it's any less worthy than other categories that are for whatever reason considered more cerebral.
goatman's post is actually quite thought-provoking. Would the modern Jeopardy audience prefer more clues about corporate logos, pop song lyrics, recent books that no one (and I mean no one, not even critics) have read, and pure trivia of the kind they despise in Quiz Bowl?! Maybe. Or perhaps like goatman, they would prefer more questions about literature, foreign culture, history, classical music, science, etc.
I think one of the keys to Jeopardy's continued success is they'd done a good balancing act between the two.
Oh, absolutely. But as they say in economics, past successes are not a predictor of future events. They have done a fine job of balancing the two for over 30 years. But who is to say they will continue to do so?

Personally, I think attempts by the show to stay hip and relevant with pop culture are ill-advised.
I think you're probably right especially since it seems like these kind of categories end up with lots of stand and stares.
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Re: Thursday, April 20, 2017 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by BigDaddyMatty »

Coryat: $30,800
42 R/2 W
DD: 2/3
FJ: :(
LT: "Dog Days Are Over"; "Good Riddance"; Star Trek

Another Amy Adams here, and another "would have rejected Melissa McCarthy even if I had thought of her." Frankly, it's amazing that a heavy-set, 46-year-old comic actress who just 10 years ago was a sidekick on a quirky dramedy is today the second-highest-paid woman in Hollywood.

I heard "Dog Days Are Over" for the first time in months on my drive home from work tonight.

That Bible category was tough.
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Re: Thursday, April 20, 2017 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by IronNeck »

BigDaddyMatty wrote: Fri Apr 21, 2017 3:00 am Another Amy Adams here, and another "would have rejected Melissa McCarthy even if I had thought of her." Frankly, it's amazing that a heavy-set, 46-year-old comic actress who just 10 years ago was a sidekick on a quirky dramedy is today the second-highest-paid woman in Hollywood.
Agreed, although it's a very similar career arc to, say, Steve Carell. A guy who by his early 40s was little more than one of the Daily Show correspondents. And not even the funniest and most memorable one. And then suddenly became among the most highly-paid actors in the world. (One link claims he is THE highest paid actor in 2017)

Jury is out on who is more one-dimensional and overrated between Carell and McCarthy. I'll take Rob Corddry and Jenny McCarthy on Singled Out over either one.
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Re: Thursday, April 20, 2017 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by badgerfellow »

davey wrote: Fri Apr 21, 2017 12:26 am
Kenny wrote: Thu Apr 20, 2017 9:20 pm I only know McCarthy via SNL, so I wouldn't have gotten this FJ if you gave me 30 minutes.

Bible is in my wheelhouse but that bottom clue was YEKIOYD (Paul's letter to Romans)
I presume we were supposed to notice that the recipient of the letter had a Latinate name, and make the leap to Romans. I didn't.
The highest-paid actress and she still moonlights on weekends??... :)
Has anyone yet claimed this FJ? I didn't come close, but I wasn't surprised once I heard it. I agree that one further piece of TOM would have been fair.
From a scan of the posts, I have seen only one who thought of it in time and didn't dismiss it, but at the very end. Nice job DBear!
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Re: Thursday, April 20, 2017 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by badgerfellow »

IronNeck wrote: Fri Apr 21, 2017 3:23 am
BigDaddyMatty wrote: Fri Apr 21, 2017 3:00 am Another Amy Adams here, and another "would have rejected Melissa McCarthy even if I had thought of her." Frankly, it's amazing that a heavy-set, 46-year-old comic actress who just 10 years ago was a sidekick on a quirky dramedy is today the second-highest-paid woman in Hollywood.
Agreed, although it's a very similar career arc to, say, Steve Carell. A guy who by his early 40s was little more than one of the Daily Show correspondents. And not even the funniest and most memorable one. And then suddenly became among the most highly-paid actors in the world. (One link claims he is THE highest paid actor in 2017)

Jury is out on who is more one-dimensional and overrated between Carell and McCarthy. I'll take Rob Corddry and Jenny McCarthy on Singled Out over either one.
If you haven't seen it, you should check out Foxcatcher then and tell me what you think of Carell in that movie. Far departure from his normal there. Little Miss Sunshine was pre Office, but also a much different role than most that Carell portrays.
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Re: Thursday, April 20 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by John Boy »

MinnesotaMyron wrote: Thu Apr 20, 2017 3:41 pm
MarkBarrett wrote: Thu Apr 20, 2017 2:24 pmWould it have been the crime of the century for the clue to hint at her comedic background, TV stardom, or something else to spice it up?
Agreed. "Alliterative funnywoman" doesn't give it away too hard, I don't think. And I think another clue is called for, especially with Amy Adams as a very tempting wrong guess.

Going to TV as a clue wouldn't have helped me. I hit on Kaley Kuoco (misspelled), and would have stayed there on a TV hint.
I would have gone years without imagining Melissa McCarthy. Wow. All I could come up with was Meryl Mreep. My wife said Glenn Glose.


And I was so pleased to see three first-rate wagers, and to see the new champ not throw away his chance by foolishly going all-in from second place. I look forward to his defense tonight.
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Re: Thursday, April 20, 2017 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by davey »

badgerfellow wrote: Fri Apr 21, 2017 7:26 am
IronNeck wrote: Fri Apr 21, 2017 3:23 am
BigDaddyMatty wrote: Fri Apr 21, 2017 3:00 am Another Amy Adams here, and another "would have rejected Melissa McCarthy even if I had thought of her." Frankly, it's amazing that a heavy-set, 46-year-old comic actress who just 10 years ago was a sidekick on a quirky dramedy is today the second-highest-paid woman in Hollywood.
Agreed, although it's a very similar career arc to, say, Steve Carell. A guy who by his early 40s was little more than one of the Daily Show correspondents. And not even the funniest and most memorable one. And then suddenly became among the most highly-paid actors in the world. (One link claims he is THE highest paid actor in 2017)

Jury is out on who is more one-dimensional and overrated between Carell and McCarthy. I'll take Rob Corddry and Jenny McCarthy on Singled Out over either one.
If you haven't seen it, you should check out Foxcatcher then and tell me what you think of Carell in that movie. Far departure from his normal there. Little Miss Sunshine was pre Office, but also a much different role than most that Carell portrays.
I like Steve Carell, and I thought his performance in Foxcatcher was terrible in a pretty bad movie. His Oscar nomination was for the prosthetic nose...
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Re: Thursday, April 20, 2017 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by davey »

BigDaddyMatty wrote: Fri Apr 21, 2017 3:00 am Coryat: $30,800
42 R/2 W
DD: 2/3
FJ: :(
LT: "Dog Days Are Over"; "Good Riddance"; Star Trek

Another Amy Adams here, and another "would have rejected Melissa McCarthy even if I had thought of her." Frankly, it's amazing that a heavy-set, 46-year-old comic actress who just 10 years ago was a sidekick on a quirky dramedy is today the second-highest-paid woman in Hollywood.
Isn't that kind of the point? What makes it newsworthy and more than pop-culture knowledge. She's been written about lately as the top earner for 2017.
Still a miscalculated clue, evidently.
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Re: Thursday, April 20, 2017 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by Elijah Baley »

This Is Kirk! wrote: Fri Apr 21, 2017 12:42 am
IronNeck wrote: Fri Apr 21, 2017 12:26 am
This Is Kirk! wrote: Fri Apr 21, 2017 12:11 am I think this was a very difficult FJ and probably not a good one, but I disagree with goatman's basic premise that somehow pop culture is lesser trivia. I'm not particularly good at pop culture overall, but I don't see why it's any less worthy than other categories that are for whatever reason considered more cerebral.
goatman's post is actually quite thought-provoking. Would the modern Jeopardy audience prefer more clues about corporate logos, pop song lyrics, recent books that no one (and I mean no one, not even critics) have read, and pure trivia of the kind they despise in Quiz Bowl?! Maybe. Or perhaps like goatman, they would prefer more questions about literature, foreign culture, history, classical music, science, etc.
I think one of the keys to Jeopardy's continued success is they'd done a good balancing act between the two.
Exactly. And I'm assuming that they mix it up for the audience that they're trying to attract. A lot of folks watching like to be able to get clues correct, too, and if they only had clues that were for "folks of a certain age," they wouldn't get younger viewers. (I'm assuming that's also why they do various versions of tournaments for kids, teens and colleges). Plus, between The Song of Roland and Melissa McCarthy, I suspect that I know which I'm going to hear more about in a conversation with co-workers, nieces and nephews, etc. :)

For this FJ, I think it should have been reversed, i.e., they give you MM as the second highest paid actress for the year and ask for the highest paid.
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Re: Thursday, April 20, 2017 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by Elijah Baley »

BigDaddyMatty wrote: Fri Apr 21, 2017 3:00 am Coryat: $30,800
42 R/2 W
DD: 2/3
FJ: :(
LT: "Dog Days Are Over"; "Good Riddance"; Star Trek

Another Amy Adams here, and another "would have rejected Melissa McCarthy even if I had thought of her." Frankly, it's amazing that a heavy-set, 46-year-old comic actress who just 10 years ago was a sidekick on a quirky dramedy is today the second-highest-paid woman in Hollywood.
That's the beauty of the movies - talent comes in all shapes and sizes and ages. One year's hot actress could be Cate Blanchett - or Jessica Tandy - or Cher.
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Re: Thursday, April 20, 2017 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by mxc_takeshi »

35 right.

Logo (5), Europe (4), Rock (4), Letter (1), Black (4), Bible (1)
Disguise (1), Books (3), Chinese (3), Psychology (4), Computer (3), "LINE" (2)

Lach Trash: Good Riddance, Star Trek

I had no guess; had I thought of Amy Adams, I would've felt pretty confident about it.
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