Friday, December 8, 2017 Game Recap and Discussion [SPOILERS]

[Archivists]

Game Recap for Show #7650, 2017-12-08

CONTESTANTS
Ben Raphel, a healthcare data analyst from Boston, Massachusetts
Laura Miller, an attorney from Arlington, Virginia
Kyle Becker, a research scientist from Nashville, Tennessee (whose 4-day cash winnings total $63,802)

OPENING REMARKS
Alex: Thanks, Johnny. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. He won big in his first appearance on our program on Monday. He won big yesterday. He's been a tough champion to dislodge. Laura and Ben, fair warning, but good luck. Here we go. It could happen. It all depends on the categories...

JEOPARDY! ROUND CATEGORIES
THE FOOD CHAIN (5/5)
STATELY BODIES OF WATER (4/5, including 1 correct Daily Double)
HAMMER (4/5)
FROM B TO C (4/5)
I SING THE BODY (5/5)
ELECTRIC (4/5)

THE RIGHTS & THE WRONGS
Kyle: 10 R, 1 W
Laura: 8 R (including 1 rebound), 1 W
Ben: 8 R (including 1 rebound and 1 DD), 1 W

Clues revealed: 30
Triple Stumpers: 4
Jeopardy! Round Potential Lach Trash: $3,200



JEOPARDY! ROUND DAILY DOUBLE
Ben found the Daily Double on the 2nd clue. Kyle had no money, Laura was scoreless, and Ben was at $200. Ben wagered $1,000.

STATELY BODIES OF WATER $400: The bay of Green Bay lies at its northwestern corner

SCORES AT THE FIRST BREAK
Laura: $3,000
Ben: $1,800
Kyle: $0

CONTESTANT INTERVIEWS



Alex: Ben Raphel is from Boston, and he was once featured in The Boston Globe because you went on a blind date.

Ben: That's right. The Boston Globe has a little section they do every Sunday called "Dinner with Cupid." And you get $100 to go on a blind date with someone. So I went with a woman to a really nice sushi restaurant in the area, and was able to spend $100 on very nice sushi.

Alex: And did anything develop from that blind date?

Ben: It did not, but my current girlfriend says that she read the article before we started dating.

Alex: Oh, okay. Good.




Alex: Laura Miller is an attorney from Arlington, Virginia, who once worked in her aunt's upholstery shop, where she mainly stripped.

Laura: Yes.

Alex: Oh, wait a minute, I'm misreading it. Where you mainly stripped furniture.

Laura: Stripped furniture. But it's a great thing to drop into conversations when I talk about my past as a stripper.

[Laughter]

Alex: Uh-huh.

Laura: And I like watching people's faces.

Alex: And what did you have to do to get it--vent all of your frustrations, all of your anger out by ripping out?

Laura: Yes, pretty much. You rip out all the old stuff, the tacks and everything, and so then you get a clean surface. Start over again.

Alex: You're left with a wooden frame.

Laura: Mm-hmm.

Alex: Good beginning.

Laura: Yep.

Alex: Great way to start.




Alex: Kyle Becker is our champion. He's been with us all week and was once involved with the Boy Scouts. Were you a Scout?

Kyle: Yes, I was.

Alex: And what was the project?

Kyle: In 2008, we did a nationwide service project at five different national forests. Constructing new trails, removing invasive species, and the like. And I was in the crew that got the opportunity to attend all five sites on staff.

Alex: All right. That's a great organization. Good for you.

TRIPLE STUMPERS IN THE JEOPARDY! ROUND
STATELY BODIES OF WATER $800: Prince William Sound is a large inlet of this even larger inlet of the Pacific

FROM B TO C $600: In the name of a rodeo riding event, it follows saddle

HAMMER $800: Judas Priest's song "Between The Hammer &" this is an idiom for equally unpleasant choices
(Ben: What is nails?)

ELECTRIC $1000: This phenomenon of zero resistance occurs in certain metals cooled to near absolute zero

SCORES AT THE END OF THE JEOPARDY! ROUND
Laura: $5,200
Kyle: $4,200
Ben: $4,200

[Archivists]

DOUBLE JEOPARDY! ROUND CATEGORIES
ASIAN CULTURE (3/5, including 1 correct Daily Double)
14-LETTER WORDS (5/5, including 1 correct Daily Double)
STATE DEPARTMENT HISTORY (4/5)
WRITERS & WRITING (2/5)
FOSSIL FUELS (5/5)
STAGE NAME'S THE SAME (5/5) (Alex: Give us the same last name that both people use professionally.)

THE RIGHTS & THE WRONGS
Ben: 10 R (including 1 DD), 2 W
Kyle: 9 R (including 1 DD), 2 W
Laura: 5 R (including 2 rebounds), 0 W

Clues revealed: 30
Triple Stumpers: 6
Double Jeopardy! Round Potential Lach Trash: $10,000



FIRST DOUBLE JEOPARDY! ROUND DAILY DOUBLE
Ben snagged the next Daily Double on the 15th clue. Kyle had $7,000, Laura had $6,000, and Ben was at $13,000. Ben wagered $3,000.

ASIAN CULTURE $1200: Depicting stories of daily life & from folklore, water puppetry in this country began in the Red River delta in the 11th century

SECOND DOUBLE JEOPARDY! ROUND DAILY DOUBLE
It was Kyle who snatched up the last Daily Double of the game on the 30th clue. Kyle had $10,600, Laura had $9,600, and Ben was at $15,600. Kyle wagered $2,000.

14-LETTER WORDS $2000: The Great Depression gave rise to this, the study of income & output on a national scale

TRIPLE STUMPERS IN THE DOUBLE JEOPARDY! ROUND
STATE DEPARTMENT HISTORY $1600: Created in 2009, the AVC is the department bureau that deals with "Arms Control, Verification &" this

ASIAN CULTURE $1600: The woman here is performing the legong, a traditional dance of this Indonesian island
(Ben: What is Java?)

ASIAN CULTURE $2000: The first non-European to win a Nobel Literature Prize, Rabindranath Tagore wrote mostly in this Asian language

WRITERS & WRITING $1200: Born in 1812, this writer of limericks was the 20th of 21 children

WRITERS & WRITING $1600: Paula Hawkins' follow-up to "The Girl on the Train", it concerns a creepy "drowning pool"

WRITERS & WRITING $2000: The title of a work by Aldous Huxley inspired the name of this 1960s L.A. rock band

SCORES ENTERING FINAL JEOPARDY!
Ben: $15,600
Kyle: $12,600
Laura: $9,600

FINAL JEOPARDY! CATEGORY
PRIMETIME TV ACTRESSES

VENUSIAN MONOLOGUES/MARTIAN CHRONICLES
Evenly spaced scores with two-thirds for first.
Ben: Wager $9,600--wagering any more risks falling behind Kyle's wager of $6,600.
Kyle: While wagering all $12,600 may be a rational possibility, your more optimal choice is to wager $6,600.
Laura: Wager $9,600.

FINAL JEOPARDY! CLUE
On the beat since 1999, she plays the longest-running female character currently on TV in a primetime non-animated series

FINAL SCORES
Laura: $9,600 + $9,599 = $19,199 (Who is Mariska Hargitay?) (2nd place: $2,000)
Kyle: $12,600 - $3,001 = $9,599 (Who is ?) (3rd place: $1,000)
Ben: $15,600 + $9,601 = $25,201 (Who is Mariska Hargitay?) (New champion: $25,201)
(Alex: [To Laura] An important word in the clue was "beat." Had to do with police work. And you came up with "Who is [*]?" The star of Law & Order: SVU.)

Total Potential Lach Trash: $13,200

GAME DYNAMICS


CORYAT SCORES
Ben: $13,200, 18 R (including 2 DDs), 3 W
Kyle: $12,600, 19 R (including 1 DD), 3 W
Laura: $9,600, 13 R, 1 W
Combined Coryat: $35,400

BATTING AVERAGES
Kyle: 19/59 = .322
Ben: 19/60 = .317
Laura: 14/58 = .241
Team: 52/63 = .825

MISCELLANEOUS INTERESTING CLUES
STATELY BODIES OF WATER $600: Cities located on its banks include Fort Smith & Little Rock
(Kyle: What is the Mississippi River?)

FROM B TO C $400: Quarterback Jameis Winston, or any other member of the NFL's Tampa Bay team
(Laura: Who's a Buccaneer? Or [*]?)

HAMMER $400: Legend says this sport originated when Celtic hero Cu Chulainn swung a chariot over his head & let it go
(Laura: What is Thor's hammer?)
(Alex: The hammer--)
(Laura: Or the hammer of Thor?)
(Alex: No.)

FROM B TO C $800: Seen here are two pairs of this pear

ELECTRIC $400: An oscilloscope displays wave forms to show voltage and this electric flow measured in amperes

STAGE NAME'S THE SAME $400: Funnyman directory Melvin Kaminsky & funnyman director Albert Einstein
(Alex: Mel and Albert [*]).

STAGE NAME'S THE SAME $800: '70s TV star John Sanford & "Beat Shazam" host Eric Bishop
(Alex: Redd and Jamie.)

STAGE NAME'S THE SAME $1200: Guitar whiz Lester Polfuss & (acting) meth whiz Aaron Sturtevant
(Alex: Les and Aaron [*]).

STAGE NAME'S THE SAME $2000: Screen legend Lucille LeSueur & Broadway legend Michael Dumbell-Smith
(Alex: Joan and Michael.)

14-LETTER WORDS $400: It's observing a potential military opponent to assess his position & strengths
(Kyle: What is surveillance?)

FOSSIL FUELS $800: Crude oil is found in underground areas called these, just like water stored in large artificial lakes
(Ben: What are reserves?)
(Kyle: What are aquifers?)

FOSSIL FUELS $1200: Fossil fuels include not only oil and coal, but also this partially carbonized moss found in bogs

CORRECT RESPONSES
Lake Michigan
the Gulf of Alaska
bronc
the anvil
superconductivity
Vietnam
macroeconomics
compliance
Bali
Bengali
Edward Lear
Into the Water
The Doors
Mariska Hargitay
the Arkansas River
Buc
the hammer throw
Bosc
currents
Brooks
Foxx
Paul
Crawford
reconnaissance
reservoirs
peat

[theFJguy]

FINAL JEOPARDY! CATEGORY
PRIMETIME TV ACTRESSES

FINAL JEOPARDY! CLUE
On the beat since 1999, she plays the longest-running female character currently on TV in a primetime non-animated series

Kyle Becker: 12600-3001=9599
Laura Miller: 9600+9599=19199
Ben Raphel: 15600+9601=25201 (New Champ)

Correct response:

Spoiler

Mariska Hargitay (Kyle – Who is?)

Daily Doubles
Ben: 200+1000
Ben: 13000+3000
Kyle: 10600+2000 (Clue 30 with Ben 15600 & Laura 9600)

Coryats
Kyle: 12600
Laura: 9600
Ben: 13200

Combined: 35,400

Scores at the end of the Jeopardy! Round:
Kyle: 4200
Laura: 5200
Ben: 4200

[MarkBarrett]

Kyle needs a November 2018 TOC to boost his chances to make the TOC. If it is another 2-year span then he will drop down the list step by step and be left out.

Kyle’s wager on DD3 left him in 2nd place for the FJ! round. On a more difficult clue it would have worked out for him.

9600-12600-15600 would have been a hoot if the scores had landed at:

15600-9600=6000
12600-6600=6000
9600-3600=6000

Not that Rob Riggle is real famous, but Ben must have heard the comparison previously in his life.

On a 4/4 FJ! week the category I want on a Friday is something TV. Thank you writers. Even though I don’t watch the show I was done before the music began. If the clue had asked for her character’s name then that would have been tough for me to get in 30 seconds without some kind of hint.

Thank you to the players for not making the response into some kind of spelling error controversy that lights up social media.

Today’s 35,400 Combined Coryat is the high for the week after three games higher than that last week.

[MinnesotaMyron]

If there are enough "Angie Harmon" incorrect guesses for FJ, I'd like to see it as a poll choice. Otherwise, "1", for me.

[doihavetoreally]

On a 4/4 FJ! week the category I want on a Friday is something TV. Thank you writers. Even though I don’t watch the show I was done before the music began. If the clue had asked for her character’s name then that would have been tough for me to get in 30 seconds without some kind of hint.

On the other side of spectrum - I don't want to see pop culture FJ. I immediately got to the character's name and eventually landed on the correct last name. No way I am putting the first name too.

Kind of Blah game for me -- Ben seemed strong on pop culture, so I wasn't surprised he got FJ.

I'll be surprised if Kyle makes it to TOC. His $ amount is low too.

[Cat Hammarskjold]

Poll request for "I know this had to be someone on Law and Order: SVU but have no idea who has been on the show that long".

[OSXpert]

"Who is the lady from Law and Order?"

Judges? Judges?!

[TenPoundHammer]

I ran the B to C and Food Chain categories.

Stately bodies threw me because I keep thinking that "bodies of water" only applies to lakes and oceans.

Almost refused to say "Body Like a Back Road" because that song sucks.

NHO foggy bottom or whatever the top word was in 14 letter.

Only Garrett in stage names

Lach Trash on the Doors, whom my mom was listening to in the car

No guess on FJ!

[econgator]

On a 4/4 FJ! week the category I want on a Friday is something TV. Thank you writers. Even though I don’t watch the show I was done before the music began. If the clue had asked for her character’s name then that would have been tough for me to get in 30 seconds without some kind of hint.

Took me a few seconds to come up with Hargitay. Her character would have been impossible, having never seen the show.

Big, fat 0-fer in the song category. Not sure I've heard of any of those songs.

[xxaaaxx]

FJ would've been super-instaget no matter what, but 'on the beat' felt like one hint too many. Therefore, as someone who watches way too much TV (but not SVU anymore), I'm curious how many wouldn't have gotten it without that extra hint.

[Vowela]

I immediately realized the character FJ! was referring to... then spent the next thirty seconds trying, and failing to remember the actress' name .

How is a tie broken for who goes first in Double Jeopardy! when there's a tie? Unless I'm misremembering, which is possible, the other contestant should have started DJ! if they used the same tiebreaker method for the end-of-game 2nd/3rd place tiebreaker.

[heppm01]

Was it just me or did that stage names category fly by? I "knew" them all after the responses but it would have taken me several seconds on each to come up with them on my own.

[Category 13]

Kyle skrewed the pooch on his final wager. If Laura wagered zero, he would have lost by a buck on a TS. Thinking Venusian, he should have trimmed it to 3000 and clinched a tie-breaker in the unlikely event Ben wagered zero. He needed to bet exactly 6600 and trust his fate to a tie-breaker if he wanted to guard against Laura doubling up.
Meanwhile, 3001 (Kyle's wager) would have been much better suited for Laura. Her wager was much worse than Kyle's.

[DBear]

Wrote down "Who is Melissa Hargitay." Streak ends at 10.

[AndyTheQuizzer]

How is a tie broken for who goes first in Double Jeopardy! when there's a tie?

Closest contestant to Alex.

[Peter the accountant]

A better day than yesterday, that's for sure. And the player's scores seemed to agree.

R: 29, W: 2 costing 2400
FJ!: nope
Coryat: 19,200
LT: Anvil (a lucky educated guess), superconductor.

The J! round was pretty much my dream board. 21 of my 29 right answers were on that board. And that's after staring at the music category.

FJ! - I couldn't have got that one even if spotted "She plays Olivia Benson on L&O:SVU, Mariska Harg _ _ _ _". Never watched a single episode. NHO of the actress. Checked her film and TV credits (after watching J!, of course) and recognize almost nothing on it. The best I could do is recognize that L&O exists. I did figure out that it was a cop show, but that rises to the level of elementary school logic. Nothing to brag about there. The least embarrassing thing I could do is leave it blank. I realize that I'm going to be in the small minority on this one. Might not be much more than me and Kyle.

Bummer to see Kyle go. He had a quiet way about him. But Ben was far and away the best player in the game today.

Kyle's wager seemed off. By my math, he was pretty much locked in to a $6600 wager. I suspect he was calculating his wager only against Ben, forgetting that Laura was close enough to be a factor in his wagering.

Those last two bits combine to make me wonder if Kyle was getting both mentally and physically tired. This was likely his fifth game of the taping day. He had a math slip in Thursday's FJ wager, then a mediocre performance in this game.

I'm looking forward to next week to see if Ben can keep up the good work.

[LucarioSnooperVixey]

34 R
FJ:
LT: Gulf of Alaska, Bali, Bengali, Edward Lear

[teapot37]

Glad to see Ben do so well. He was in one of my game groups before he moved to Boston a couple of years ago. He also used to be the host at our pub trivia night.

Guess I gotta get him crap for not getting that Rabindranath Tagore question, though.

[Ironhorse]

Poll request for "I know this had to be someone on Law and Order: SVU but have no idea who has been on the show that long".

Yeah, I was picturing Olivia Benson but had no idea what the actress's name was.