Wednesday, December 20, 2017 Game Recap and Discussion [SPOILERS]

[Archivists]

Game Recap for Show #7658, 2017-12-20

CONTESTANTS
Justin Bourassa, a high school English teacher and coach from Medford, Massachusetts
Remy Timbrook, a children’s librarian from Oakland, California
Kate O’Connor, an insurance salesperson from Florence, New Jersey (whose 2-day cash winnings total $40,200)

OPENING REMARKS
Alex: Thanks, Johnny. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. Our champion, Kate, started slowly in yesterday's match. She was in the red at one point but came on strong and then came up with the correct response in Final to win close to $20,000. Remy and Justin, good to have you with us, and good luck to all of you. Now, let's go to work in the Jeopardy! Round, and today you get to deal with these subjects...

JEOPARDY! ROUND CATEGORIES
'TIS THE SEASON (2/4)
JOY TO THE WORLD (5/5)
JINGLE SELLS (5/5)
SILVER & GOLD (4/5, including 1 correct Daily Double)
SANTA CLAUS IS COMIN' TO TOWN (5/5)
WE WISH YOU "A" MERRY CHRISTMAS! (5/5)

THE RIGHTS & THE WRONGS
Justin: 13 R (including 1 rebound and 1 DD), 0 W
Kate: 10 R, 0 W
Remy: 3 R, 1 W

Clues revealed: 29
Triple Stumpers: 3
Jeopardy! Round Potential Lach Trash: $2,000



SCORES AT THE FIRST BREAK
Justin: $4,400
Kate: $3,000
Remy: $1,600

CONTESTANT INTERVIEWS



Alex: Yesterday we had a Jordan here. Today, it's a Justin. Justin Bourassa from Medford, Massachusetts, who is an English teacher and coach. Who, I guess, is a fan of Jane Austen? Am I right?

Justin: I was a fan of making a couple extra dollars a weekend when I worked and studied abroad in Bath, England. So--

Alex: Doing what?

Justin: They hired me to dress up, and--you know, topcoat, top hat--and hand out pamphlets at the Jane Austen Centre.

Alex: So you were Mr. Darcy.

Justin: I was. And I would say [British accent] Morning.

Alex: Thank you for welcoming me to the room.




Alex: Remy Timbrook, children's librarian. My daughter went out looking for a home to buy this year, and while she was looking, we were on the street, and I saw something for the first time that I thought was marvelous. It was a little--on a post, a Little Free Library in front of a house.

Remy: Yes.

Alex: You have one in front of your house.

Remy: I do. Mine is not shaped like the little house. Mine's shaped like a honeycomb.

Alex: So how does it work? People walk by and...

Remy: Leave a book. Take a book.

Alex: Ah. They have to leave one, though.

Remy: They don't have to. If they have one later, they can bring it back.

Alex: Okay. Well, then, I think it's such a marvelous idea. It encourages people to read.




Alex: Kate O'Connor is our champion. She is from New Jersey. She's won, as you heard at the beginning of the show, over $40,000, and she knows exactly where she's going to spend that money, or at least part of it.

Kate: I'm taking my husband, for our tenth anniversary, to Hawaii.

Alex: Terrific.

JEOPARDY! ROUND DAILY DOUBLE
Justin found the Daily Double on the 23rd clue. Kate had $4,200, Remy had $600, and Justin was at $7,800. Justin wagered $2,000.

SILVER & GOLD $800: Olympic gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Games were inlaid with this gem

TRIPLE STUMPERS IN THE JEOPARDY! ROUND
SILVER & GOLD $200: Gymnast Viktor Lisitsky won 5 silver medals for this country, but no gold or bronze
(Alex: We have less than a minute to deal with the last category.)

'TIS THE SEASON $800: Graceful gazelle of the Kalahari noted for its leaping ability

'TIS THE SEASON $1000: To go out of consideration, or collapse next to a Longfellow inn

SCORES AT THE END OF THE JEOPARDY! ROUND
Justin: $10,200
Kate: $4,800
Remy: $1,000

[Archivists]

DOUBLE JEOPARDY! ROUND CATEGORIES
BYE, PHOENICIA! (2/5)
AUTHORS' BIOGRAPHIES (3/5, including 1 missed Daily Double)
MIND YOUR GRAMMAR (5/5, including 1 correct Daily Double)
FICTIONAL CHARACTERS' MOST-HATED MOVIES (4/5)
"S"CIENCE (4/5)
NONSENSE & STUFF (3/5)

THE RIGHTS & THE WRONGS
Remy: 10 R (including 1 rebound and 1 DD), 1 W
Kate: 5 R (including 1 rebound), 1 W
Justin: 6 R, 3 W (including 1 DD)

Clues revealed: 30
Triple Stumpers: 8
Double Jeopardy! Round Potential Lach Trash: $11,600



FIRST DOUBLE JEOPARDY! ROUND DAILY DOUBLE
Remy snagged the next Daily Double on the 4th clue. Kate had $4,400, Remy had $2,600, and Justin was at $11,000. Remy made it a True Daily Double, wagering $2,600.

MIND YOUR GRAMMAR $1600: Parataxis is the joining together of phrase or clauses without the use of these grammatical uniters

SECOND DOUBLE JEOPARDY! ROUND DAILY DOUBLE
It was Justin who snatched up the last Daily Double of the game on the 25th clue. Kate had $10,800, Remy had $8,800, and Justin was at $13,400. Justin wagered $2,000.

AUTHORS' BIOGRAPHIES $1600: Chapter 5 of Philip Nel's book about this author is "The Disneyfication of" him: "Faithful to Profit, One Hundred Percent?"
(Justin: Who is... Mann?)

TRIPLE STUMPERS IN THE DOUBLE JEOPARDY! ROUND
FICTIONAL CHARACTERS' MOST-HATED MOVIES $1200: Olaf the Snowman confessed he found this 1962 David Lean epic "hard to watch"
(Alex: Oh, and it was probably the funniest clue. [*]. All in the desert. He would've been melting.)

"S"CIENCE $1200: A fundamental elementary particle, this flavor of quark is the third lightest
(Justin: What is subatomic?)

NONSENSE & STUFF $400: I say "phooey!" to this word for nonsense that rhymes with phooey

NONSENSE & STUFF $2000: Foolish chatter can also be called this other double "T" word

BYE, PHOENICIA! $1200: In 64 B.C. Phoenicia was absorbed into this province just north of Judea

BYE, PHOENICIA! $1600: The word for the good book comes from this Phoenician town that was captured by Crusaders, who named it Gibelet

AUTHORS' BIOGRAPHIES $2000: "A Rather Haunted Life" is the subtitle of a book about this "Hill House" novelist

BYE, PHOENICIA! $2000: Sailing for this empire at the Battle of Salamis, Phoenician ships fared poorly & there was many a beheading
(Remy: What is the Ottoman Empire?)

SCORES ENTERING FINAL JEOPARDY!
Justin: $11,400
Kate: $10,800
Remy: $10,400

FINAL JEOPARDY! CATEGORY
EUROPEAN COUNTRIES

VENUSIAN MONOLOGUES/MARTIAN CHRONICLES
Four-fifths for first place. Stratton's Dilemma.
Justin: Wager $10,201 to cover Kate.
Kate: You ought to wager to cover Remy, but since you cannot win on a Triple Stumper if you do so, you ought to choose between wagering $0 or maximizing your winnings with a bet of all $10,800. You are in Stratton's Dilemma, calling for a wager of more than $10,000 (to shut out Remy) or less than $9,600 (risking the possibility of being passed from behind by Remy). Go with the smaller bet if you believe a Triple Stumper is more likely than a singleton miss by Justin.
Remy: You ought to try wagering between $401 and $9,200. This will top a $0 wager by Kate while still beating Justin and Kate on the Triple Stumper (should Justin wager to cover Kate's doubled score and Kate wager to cover your doubled score).

FINAL JEOPARDY! CLUE
This country's last 3 queens abdicated in favor of their children

FINAL SCORES
Remy: $10,400 - $1,100 = $9,300 (What is Spain?) (2nd place: $2,000)
Kate: $10,800 + $10,800 = $21,600 (What is The Netherlands?) (3-day champion: $61,800)
Justin: $11,400 - $10,201 = $1,199 (What is Portugal?) (3rd place: $1,000)
(Alex: [To Kate] Wilhelmina to Juliana to Beatrix to Willem-Alexander.)

Total Potential Lach Trash: $13,600

GAME DYNAMICS


CORYAT SCORES
Justin: $12,200, 19 R (including 1 DD), 3 W (including 1 DD)
Kate: $10,800, 15 R, 1 W
Remy: $9,400, 13 R (including 1 DD), 2 W
Combined Coryat: $32,400

BATTING AVERAGES
Justin: 19/60 = .317
Kate: 16/58 = .276
Remy: 13/59 = .220
Team: 48/63 = .762

MISCELLANEOUS INTERESTING CLUES
JOY TO THE WORLD $600: In the late 1700s, navigators could find longitude with a new compact type of this instrument, named for covering one-sixth of a circle

JOY TO THE WORLD $1000: Following World War II, this man's leadership spurred the recovery of a continent and blocked the spread of Communism

SILVER & GOLD $1000: At the first Olympics in 1896, winners received a silver medal & this natural symbol of peace
(Remy: What's a laurel branch?)

SILVER & GOLD $400: In 2010 German Winter Olympian David Moeller injured himself doing this to his silver medal
(Alex: Broke a tooth.)

'TIS THE SEASON $400: Frank Sinatra Dr., Gerald Ford Dr. & Dinah Shore Dr. are a short drive from the airport of this California resort city
[The end-of-round signal sounds.]

MIND YOUR GRAMMAR $400: Nouns not masculine or feminine are termed this gender
(Kate: What is neutral?)

"S"CIENCE $400: This late-Jurassic creature was probably not popular for horsie rides

NONSENSE & STUFF $1200: As food, it comes in a honeycomb type; as an opinion, it's nonsense

NONSENSE & STUFF $1600: Per the City of London, "Residential waste shall mean garbage and" this
(Justin: What is refuse?)

AUTHORS' BIOGRAPHIES $1200: "Eden's Outcasts" tells how her dad's transcendentalist utopia failed and how her writing paid the bills

CORRECT RESPONSES
jade
the USSR
a springbok
fall by the wayside
a conjunction
Dr. Seuss
Lawrence of Arabia
strange
hooey
prattle
Syria
Byblos
Shirley Jackson
the Persian Empire
the Netherlands
a sextant
(General George) Marshall
an olive branch
biting it
Palm Springs
neuter
a stegosaurus
tripe
rubbish
Louisa May Alcott

[theFJguy]

FINAL JEOPARDY! CATEGORY
EUROPEAN COUNTRIES

FINAL JEOPARDY! CLUE
This country’s last 3 queens abdicated in favor of their children

Kate O’Connor: 10800+10800=21600 (3x = $61,800)
Remy Timbrook: 10400-1100=9300
Justin Bourassa: 11400-10201=1199

Correct response:

Spoiler

Netherlands (Remy – Spain) (Justin – Portugal)

Daily Doubles
Justin: 7800+2000
Remy: 2600+2600
Justin: 13400-2000

Coryats
Kate: 10800
Remy: 9400
Justin: 12200

Combined: 32,400

Scores at the end of the Jeopardy! Round:
Kate: 4800
Remy: 1000
Justin: 10200

[MarkBarrett]

Justin showed some skills with the light pen. He did not get a chance to show Ken Jennings creativity with something different for day 2.

Ah, the John Goodman spider movie. For that type of movie it’s well done and a fun viewing experience.

MIND YOUR GRAMMAR had no TS clues, so the players done good. There was only the hiccup with a miss by Kate that was rebounded by Remy.

Yay for Remy getting the Pixar movie with the Patton Oswalt voice. She had a smile and a small chuckle for recognizing the coincidence of her getting that one.

For the FJ! clue I wrote Denmark in knowing that place has a queen. The history prior to her? No idea. I switched to the correct response in being able to name three queens. The Iberian detour of Kate’s opponents was not going to happen for me.

If Kate ends her run with four wins and a wait-and-see position for the TOC she is doing her part to augment her total to the max.

Justin ended the J! round with 10200 and had 11400 for the FJ! round. Ouch.

Kate has played 1/9 Daily Doubles. No way it goes to 1/12, so I expect her to find one tomorrow.

[Elijah Baley]

My guess is that this FJ doesn't poll well; I could see people justifiably thinking that the lack of any date reference opens the clue up to include any European country that has or had a monarchy. Which is probably what resulted in the responses by Justin and Remy.

[StevenH]

Netherlands was my first instinct on FJ, then I thought of Monaco, but luckily I stuck with my first instinct.

[heppm01]

Would have liked to have seen another path to solve that FJ. My process of elimination did not eliminate enough...

[Bamaman]

Netherlands was my first instinct on FJ, then I thought of Monaco, but luckily I stuck with my first instinct.

Monaco is a principality and thus would not have a king or queen. I also believe it does not permit female monarchs.

I got this right away and thought their succession of abdications was well known.

Bad guesses on the movies for me,,,Fahrenheit 451 for the snowman and Twister for the Wicked Witch.

[TenPoundHammer]

Ran "A" Merry Christmas, Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town, Jingle Sells, and Grammar.

I saw no way to figure out USSR in that top box. Explain the TS?

Neutral/neuter seemed like negbait unless you've studied a foreign language.

Lach Trash: strange, hooey. Also got the Dr. Seuss DD.

Terrible FJ! clue. This was ridiculously YEKIOYD.

[opusthepenguin]

I saw no way to figure out USSR in that top box. Explain the TS?

Easy. The contestants saw no way to figure it out either.

[TenPoundHammer]

I saw no way to figure out USSR in that top box. Explain the TS?

Easy. The contestants saw no way to figure it out either.

Was this another one of those infernal "go with what it sounds like" clues? (Also, would they have accepted "Russia"?)

[LucarioSnooperVixey]

30 R
FJ:
LT: USSR, Springbok, Strange, Persian Empire

[teapot37]

And here I thought this FJ was a gimme! I knew the Netherlands has had a bunch of queens recently (I can tell you they are Beatrix and Wilhelmina and Julliana but I can never remember what their order is) and I knew they tended to abdicate.

[DBear]

agree with teapot, instaget FJ.
trash on springbok, strange, hooey, prattle, Byblos, Persia.
Was a date given in the clue where USSR was referenced?

[MarkBarrett]

agree with teapot, instaget FJ.
trash on springbok, strange, hooey, prattle, Byblos, Persia.
Was a date given in the clue where USSR was referenced?

SILVER & GOLD $200: Gymnast Viktor Lisitsky won 5 silver medals for this country, but no gold or bronze

I did one of Hammer's favorites and went for Russia since the name looked Russian and Alex said it with a Russian-sounding accent. It was top box and I wanted to complete the run of the category, so I lived a little and took the chance. If that is a neg and only USSR would be accepted then so be it, but I don't care at this point. I'm counting it.

I checked and his medal years were 1964 & 1968.

[hscer]

Kate has played 1/9 Daily Doubles. No way it goes to 1/12, so I expect her to find one tomorrow.

What is the gambler's fallacy?

(sorry. just messing around)

[MarkBarrett]

Kate has played 1/9 Daily Doubles. No way it goes to 1/12, so I expect her to find one tomorrow.

What is the gambler's fallacy?

(sorry. just messing around)

+1

You mean if red comes up on the roulette wheel six times in a row the bet should not be tripled that black will come up on the the 7th spin?

Surely, if someone loses six hands in a row on blackjack a bettor can't lose another.

[Bamaman]

And here I thought this FJ was a gimme! I knew the Netherlands has had a bunch of queens recently (I can tell you they are Beatrix and Wilhelmina and Julliana but I can never remember what their order is) and I knew they tended to abdicate.

We Juxtapose Belgium

[opusthepenguin]

I saw no way to figure out USSR in that top box. Explain the TS?

Easy. The contestants saw no way to figure it out either.

Was this another one of those infernal "go with what it sounds like" clues? (Also, would they have accepted "Russia"?)

I think they would have accepted Russia, but I'm not sure. As for "go with what it sounds like," Mrs P guessed Poland. This definitely wasn't a top row clue for us. Maybe other people recognize the name Viktor Lisitsky and/or remember the unusual feat of winning 5 silvers but no gold or bronze? Looking it up, it doesn't appear that he lost to the same ultra-famous competitor 5 times, so that's not the right angle.

I dunno. The writers put together 61 clues per game. Some clues are going to be like that.

[morbeedo]

Suspect the players missed springbok because they started at the bottom and didn't understand the category

I was in the audience for this game and gotta say, even on second viewing, I had no earthly clue on the author's biography DD, The Disneyfication of (this man): Faithful to Profit, One Hundred Percent? That's a tough one!

It helps to know your quarks

Kate's an unlikely champion but she's 3/3 on FJ, and sometimes that's good enough. Looking forward to tomorrow's game, when I won't know the outcome in advance