Monday, December 25, 2017 Game Recap and Discussion [SPOILERS]

[Archivists]

Game Recap for Show #7661, 2017-12-25

CONTESTANTS
Charlie Harless, a procurement analyst from Washington, D.C.
Natalie Ballas, a dentist from Tualatin, Oregon
Donna Brown, a customer service representative from Seattle, Washington (whose 1-day cash winnings total $45,600)

OPENING REMARKS
Alex: Thank you, Johnny Gilbert. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. On Friday, this turned out to be a very happy holiday season for Donna, winning more money than any other contestant on our program in this, our 34th season.

Donna: Really?

Alex: You set a record for this year, yeah.

Donna: I did?

Alex: Natalie and Charlie, welcome. Here we go into the Jeopardy! Round. Let's take a look at the categories, shall we?

[Before Double Jeopardy!, Alex corrects himself.]
Alex: As we get older, our memory tends to fade a little. I've just been informed that I forgot a Jeopardy! champion from earlier this season named Austin Rogers who won over $60,000 in a game. So Donna, I misled you at the beginning of this program. My apologies.

Donna: It's okay.

Alex: Yeah. Boo hiss.

JEOPARDY! ROUND CATEGORIES
DOONESBURY POLITICAL SYMBOLS (3/5)
MOUNTAINS NAMED FOR PEOPLE (4/5)
BROTHERS (4/5)
ONE-WORD BOOK TITLES (5/5, including 1 correct Daily Double)
THE CITRUS BOWL (4/5)
THE BEST VOCABULARY (5/5)

THE RIGHTS & THE WRONGS
Natalie: 11 R (including 1 rebound), 1 W
Donna: 10 R (including 1 DD), 3 W
Charlie: 4 R (including 1 rebound), 1 W

Clues revealed: 30
Triple Stumpers: 5
Jeopardy! Round Potential Lach Trash: $3,400



SCORES AT THE FIRST BREAK
Natalie: $3,400
Donna: $1,400
Charlie: -$200

CONTESTANT INTERVIEWS



Alex: Charlie Harless is a 2-time NCAA champion.

Charlie: Yes indeed.

Alex: In what area?

Charlie: I was a manager for the women's basketball team at the University of Tennessee under coach Pat Summitt.

Alex: Oh. Hall of Fame.

Charlie: Absolutely. Hall of Fame person, Hall of Fame coach.

Alex: Yeah. Good for you. Okay.




Alex: Natalie Ballas from Oregon. Owns a dental practice in a building that may be haunted?

Natalie: Yes, it's--

Alex: Who says it's haunted?

Natalie: Well, all of my staff who's been there a bit longer than I have. Things just kind of go missing after the weekends. Things are open when they used to be closed. Things move operatories.

Alex: Well, instead of thinking of it as being haunted, maybe you should consider the fact that your coworkers are thieves.

Natalie: We thought of that, but I don't think they would do that.

Alex: Okay. Good. Nice of you to step in and stand up for them.




Alex: All right, our champion, Donna Brown.

Donna: Hi.

Alex: Your mom--

Donna: My mother.

Alex: Was a contestant on...

Donna: Sale of the Century.

Alex: And she was pregnant with you at the time.

Donna: Yes. I had already been on TV before I came on TV. I know, right?

Alex: It's gonna be one of those days, isn't it?

Donna: One of those Christmases.

Alex: Yes, all right.

JEOPARDY! ROUND DAILY DOUBLE
Donna found the Daily Double on the 19th clue. Donna had $3,000, Natalie had $4,200, and Charlie had a deficit with -$200. Donna made it a True Daily Double, wagering $3,000.

ONE-WORD BOOK TITLES $600: Astrophysicists build a machine to talk back to aliens from Vega that have reached out to Earthlings

TRIPLE STUMPERS IN THE JEOPARDY! ROUND
DOONESBURY POLITICAL SYMBOLS $200: This president, with a healthy appetite and rapidly changing views, was a symbolic foodstuff
(Donna: Who is Nixon?)
(Natalie: Who is Taft?)

THE CITRUS BOWL $1000: The bite-sized Nagami & Meiwa

BROTHERS $600: On "Game of Thrones", Gregor Clegane is "The Mountain" & his brother Sandor is known as this

DOONESBURY POLITICAL SYMBOLS $600: An asterisk under a Roman warrior helmet indicated this president

MOUNTAINS NAMED FOR PEOPLE $1000: The presidential range in the White Mountains, mainly in this state, has peaks named for Washington, Jefferson & Adams
(Donna: What is Vermont?)

SCORES AT THE END OF THE JEOPARDY! ROUND
Donna: $8,600
Natalie: $5,400
Charlie: $1,000

[Archivists]

DOUBLE JEOPARDY! ROUND CATEGORIES
TITANIC (5/5, including 1 correct Daily Double) (Alex: Now, this year is the 20th anniversary of the film...)
MY HEART WILL GO ON (5/5, including 1 correct Daily Double)
I'M THE KING OF THE WORLD (2/5)
ROSE (4/5)
"JACK" (3/5)
THERE IS ROOM ON THAT BOARD! (3/5)

THE RIGHTS & THE WRONGS
Donna: 11 R, 0 W
Natalie: 7 R (including 1 DD), 2 W
Charlie: 4 R (including 1 DD), 1 W

Clues revealed: 30
Triple Stumpers: 8
Double Jeopardy! Round Potential Lach Trash: $12,000



FIRST DOUBLE JEOPARDY! ROUND DAILY DOUBLE
Charlie snagged the next Daily Double on the 10th clue. Donna had $11,400, Natalie had $5,800, and Charlie was at $4,200. Charlie wagered $3,000.

TITANIC $2000: The single highest grossing day for "Titanic" was this holiday, a Saturday 58 days after the film's December opening

SECOND DOUBLE JEOPARDY! ROUND DAILY DOUBLE
It was Natalie who snatched up the last Daily Double of the game on the 14th clue. Donna had $11,400, Natalie had $8,200, and Charlie was at $7,200. Natalie wagered $5,000.

MY HEART WILL GO ON $1600: If your heart goes to someone else, it must fit neatly into this 2-word structure formed by 24 bones

TRIPLE STUMPERS IN THE DOUBLE JEOPARDY! ROUND
"JACK" $1600: In a thriller by Frederick Forsyth, an assassin has this nickname
(Alex: And that would be [*]. Day of [*].)

"JACK" $2000: The sport of birling developed in the camps of these people
(Alex: Birling is log rolling, so we're talking about [*].)

I'M THE KING OF THE WORLD $800: This czar was known as the "Father of the Russian Navy"; the birth happened at the end of the 1600s

I'M THE KING OF THE WORLD $1200: David Kalakaua, the last king of Hawaii, was succeeded on the throne by this sister
(Natalie: Who is Kamehameha?)

THERE IS ROOM ON THAT BOARD! $1600: We need another body on this alliterative committee to figure out who much to pay the CEO

THERE IS ROOM ON THAT BOARD! $2000: If you're the vice president or chief justice, there's a spot for you on this D.C. institution's Board of Regents

ROSE $1200: It was called the Battle of Flowers when it was first held on January 1, 1890
(Natalie: What is the War of the Roses?)
(Charlie: What is the Rose Bowl?)

I'M THE KING OF THE WORLD $1600: This portrait is one of many Velazquez did of the fourth Spanish king of this name

SCORES ENTERING FINAL JEOPARDY!
Donna: $21,400
Natalie: $12,400
Charlie: $6,000

FINAL JEOPARDY! CATEGORY
AUTHORS

VENUSIAN MONOLOGUES/MARTIAN CHRONICLES
Crush for first place.
Donna: Wager $3,401 to cover Natalie, but no more than $9,399 so as not to fall behind Charlie's doubled score.
Natalie: You have the hope of surpassing Donna if you come up with the correct response. Bet at least $9,001 to force Donna to wager to win; but if you're intent on holding on to second place, wager no more than $399 to protect your second place position from being usurped by Charlie.
Charlie: Unfortunately, your score is less than the difference between the scores of the first and second place players, so unless they both blunder, you're competing for second place and have no hopes of first. Wager as much as you desire, but remember, you'll have better chances of advancing to second place if you have a larger sum left over on a Triple Stumper.

FINAL JEOPARDY! CLUE
A prefatory poem he wrote to one of his novels tells of "the dream-child moving through a land of wonders wild and new"

FINAL SCORES
Charlie: $6,000 + $2,500 = $8,500 (Who is Lewis Carroll?) (3rd place: $1,000)
Natalie: $12,400 + $0 = $12,400 (Who is Lewis Carroll?) (New champion: $12,400)
Donna: $21,400 - $10,000 = $11,400 (Who is C S Lewis?) (2nd place: $2,000)
(Alex: [To Charlie] Thinking of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.)

Total Potential Lach Trash: $15,400

GAME DYNAMICS


CORYAT SCORES
Donna: $19,000, 21 R (including 1 DD), 3 W
Natalie: $9,000, 18 R (including 1 DD), 3 W
Charlie: $5,000, 8 R (including 1 DD), 2 W
Combined Coryat: $33,000

BATTING AVERAGES
Donna: 21/59 = .356
Natalie: 19/59 = .322
Charlie: 9/59 = .153
Team: 49/63 = .778

MISCELLANEOUS INTERESTING CLUES
ONE-WORD BOOK TITLES $200: James Joyce's 15 stories about the metropolitan Irish around 1900
(Donna: What is Ulysses?)

ONE-WORD BOOK TITLES $400: The ex-Mrs. Butler rekindles her romance with Rhett
(Charlie: What is Gone With the Wind?)

DOONESBURY POLITICAL SYMBOLS $400: Here's this 1990s Speaker of the House, funny pages style

DOONESBURY POLITICAL SYMBOLS $800: Reagan was depicted as Ron Headrest, a play on this virtual '80s character played by Matt Frewer

DOONESBURY POLITICAL SYMBOLS $1000: Rather than draw a caricature, Garry Trudeau used a feather in place of this one-term vice president

MOUNTAINS NAMED FOR PEOPLE $800: The name of this Oregon mountain honors a British admiral

"JACK" $800: Here's a statue of this mythical creature

I'M THE KING OF THE WORLD $400: His reign lasted 72 years

ROSE $800: The pinkish hue of the precious metal with this name is achieved by increasing the copper-colored alloys in the mix

CORRECT RESPONSES
Contact
Bill Clinton
kumquats
the Hound
George W. Bush
New Hampshire
Valentine's Day
your rib cage
the Jackal
lumberjacks
Peter the Great
Lili'uokalani
the compensation committee
the Smithsonian
the Tournament of Roses Parade
Philip
Lewis Carroll
Dubliners
Scarlett
Newt Gingrich
Max Headroom
Dan Quayle
Mount Hood
the jackalope
Louis XIV
rose gold

[dhkendall]

Thought of Peter Pan for Final and never looked back.

[Ironhorse]

My first thought was Stephen King, thinking of Dreamcatcher and his use of young, supernaturally gifted protagonists. My wife immediately shouted out the correct answer before I had a chance to consider anything else and I knew she was right.

C.S. Lewis wasn't a bad guess.

[opusthepenguin]

Fortunately for Natalie, there was a wagering sweet spot right around the $6000 mark where she could keep Charlie locked out while still going for the prize.

Unfortunately for Natalie, there was no way for her to win against a good wager by Donna unless Donna missed AND Natalie got it right.

Fortunately for Natalie, Donna missed AND Natalie got it right.

Unfortunately for Natalie, she didn't understand her situation and bet $0.

Fortunately for Natalie, Donna didn't understand HER situation and overwagered.

Unfortunately for Natalie, that means she won around $6000 less than she should have.

Oh well. They both played well and were a pleasure to watch. Charlie was fun too.

[xxaaaxx]

Watching this one thanks to the reddit guy. WABC has wall-to-wall NBA hoops, and I don't see J! listed anywhere.

Fortunately for Natalie, there was a wagering sweet spot right around the $6000 mark where she could keep Charlie locked out while still going for the prize.

Unfortunately for Natalie, there was no way for her to win against a good wager by Donna unless Donna missed AND Natalie got it right.

Fortunately for Natalie, Donna missed AND Natalie got it right.

Unfortunately for Natalie, she didn't understand her situation and bet $0.

Fortunately for Natalie, Donna didn't understand HER situation and overwagered.

Unfortunately for Natalie, that means she won around $6000 less than she should have.

Yeah, that about sums it up. I am not a fan of a wager like that winning the game, but when the leader bets a nice round number from a crush...oh well.

Near-instaget FJ, the quote just sounded like it was talking about Alice, and then I noticed that the clue just came out and said land of wonder, and I was home free.

Hope everyone has a safe and merry Christmas. Or a pleasant Monday

[LucarioSnooperVixey]

35 R
FJ:
LT: Kumquat, George W. Bush, New Hampshire, Jackal, Peter the Great, Liliuokalani, Rose Parade, Philip

[Bamaman]

The Wagering Vikings got a nice Christmas gift today.

No interruptions here, I knew instantly who they wanted. Remembering his name took a bit longer, but got it in time.

[Cat Hammarskjold]

WDTN cut in after the Steelers game with four clues to go on the first board. FJ was an instaget.

[teapot37]

I got stuck on L Frank Baum and never got off him.

[MinnesotaMyron]

Started in Narnia, but got the correct answer in time.

[theFJguy]

FINAL JEOPARDY! CATEGORY
AUTHORS

FINAL JEOPARDY! CLUE
A prefatory poem he wrote to one of his novels tells of “The dream-child moving through a land Of wonders wild and new”

Donna Brown: 21400-10000=11400
Natalie Ballas: 12400+0=12400 (New Champ)
Charlie Harless: 6000+2500=8500

Correct response:

Spoiler

Lewis Carroll (Donna – C S Lewis)

Daily Doubles
Donna: 3000+3000
Charlie: 4200+3000
Natalie: 8200+5000

Coryats
Donna: 19000
Natalie: 9000
Charlie: 5000

Combined: 33,000

Scores at the end of the Jeopardy! Round:
Donna: 8600
Natalie: 5400
Charlie: 1000

[MarkBarrett]

Alex’s opening once again had him giving credit to Donna for the highest one-day total of S34 and it was the 2nd segment when Alex finally had to acknowledge that Austin Rogers went over $60K.

“JACK” in quotes still was not enough to help the players on the Forsyth character or the guys who do birling.

The FJ! clue had me spending 25 seconds trying to figure out the best guess as in the mix I had Maurice Sendak, Charles Dickens, Lewis Carroll and C.S. Lewis. I would have been mad if it turned out to be Baum as I did not have the sense to even think to add him in there.

In working out who to rule out I got rid of Sendak as I had no idea about any novels he may have written. Today being Christmas had Dickens in play, but I was not feeling “dream-child” for the author. C.S. Lewis and the Narnia books did not quite seem to fit the clue’s wording either. Going off “wonders” I took a guess and got something nice in the stocking instead of coal.

Natalie’s gift was better with the pay day and the chance to play again.

Donna: Do you have any details to share about your mom’s appearance on $OTC that she has told you? That was a great game show hosted by one of the best, Jim Perry, and it brought a smile to me to hear it mentioned today.

[MarkBarrett]

If any mods are around could you please move theFJguy post up to the third slot? Thanks.

[twelvefootboy]

Oh, Donna - you flew too close to the sun!

We were looking forward to a long run of your amazing charisma! Your really know some stuff and seem to be pretty sassy with the buzzer as well. Great episode to watch and Natalie made good use of a DD before you blew her awaytook charge.

On FJ, I at first thought - this is hopeless!, and then focused on the "dream" TOM and went to Lewis Carroll. Then, I focused on "dream", and switched to L. Frank Baum. Ugh...

Merry Xmas to all! Except for the Eagles who just got a gift interception that is .

[MarkBarrett]

Oh, Donna - you flew too close to the sun!

We were looking forward to a long run of your amazing charisma! Your really know some stuff and seem to be pretty sassy with the buzzer as well. Great episode to watch and Natalie made good use of a DD before you blew her awaytook charge.

On FJ, I at first thought - this is hopeless!, and then focused on the "dream" TOM and went to Lewis Carroll. Then, I focused on "dream", and switched to L. Frank Baum. Ugh...

Merry Xmas to all! Except for the Eagles who just got a gift interception that is .

Yeah and then they got an even giftier fumble.

[MattKnowles]

I was 4/4 on big clues today so that's good. I did pretty poorly on the Doonesbury category and the Best Vocabulary category. I've been confused by Doonesbury my entire life and I've only now realized that all the random pieces of junk are actually symbols for politicians.

I missed jackalope even when spotted "Jack" and a picture. I missed "The Jackal" by Frederick Forsythe and I was thinking of the Forsyte Saga by John Galsworthy and Jack the Ripper and couldn't pull anything. Question for the experts here: is "The Jackal" a real or fictional character? It looks like the book is loosely based on failed assassin Jean Bastien-Thiry but I can't tell if the nickname was acquired until the work of fiction came out.

I don't know if I've ever heard of birling before. I missed Molly Brown even when spotted unsinkable, oops. I knew who they were going for with Liliukalani but that's just a really hard name to remember and I couldn't pull it. I looked up Marjorie Post after the show and it looks like she built Mar-a-Lago which is interesting.

Metal alloy clues are a wheelhouse for me and I didn't know what rose gold was. Happy to learn something new.

I thought the show had especially good clue writing today. There were a lot of clues I missed but where I knew the answer or learned something new.

[Bartleby]

I got stuck on L Frank Baum and never got off him.

Yeah, I Baumed out on this one too. Sometimes I over complicate what the clue writer is going for and couldn't get past "one of his novels" to imply an author who wrote many novels and completely overlooked "land of WONDERS" as the big tease out.

[summerbabe]

My first thought was Stephen King, thinking of Dreamcatcher and his use of young, supernaturally gifted protagonists. My wife immediately shouted out the correct answer before I had a chance to consider anything else and I knew she was right.

C.S. Lewis wasn't a bad guess.

Oh, phew! I blanked entirely. I’m glad it was still a reasonable guess.

[chmmr]

There were a lot of options, went with Carroll because he seemed most likely to write poetry.