Friday, December 29, 2017 Game Recap and Discussion [SPOILERS]

[Archivists]

Game Recap for Show #7665, 2017-12-29

WE ASKED: Stan Lee.

CONTESTANTS
Gwynedd Stuart, a writer and editor from Los Angeles, California
Henry Ayoola, a Ph.D. student from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Travis Rojakovick, an equity analyst from Nashville, Tennessee (whose 1-day cash winnings total $18,450)

OPENING REMARKS
Alex: Thank you, Johnny. And thank you, ladies and gentlemen. The player who wins today's game will be the last Jeopardy! champion of 2017. Will it be Gwynedd, Henry or Travis? Let's start finding out. Good luck. Here are the categories...

JEOPARDY! ROUND CATEGORIES
PAINT THE TOWN RED (5/5)
6-LETTER WORDS (4/5)
LIFE IN 1977 (4/5, including 1 correct Daily Double)
"F"OOD FOR THOUGHT (3/5)
MATH (4/5)
STAN LEE (5/5)

THE RIGHTS & THE WRONGS
Henry: 11 R, 1 W
Gwynedd: 7 R (including 1 rebound), 0 W
Travis: 7 R (including 1 rebound and 1 DD), 1 W

Clues revealed: 30
Triple Stumpers: 5
Jeopardy! Round Potential Lach Trash: $3,200



SCORES AT THE FIRST BREAK
Travis: $3,200
Henry: $2,600
Gwynedd: $800

CONTESTANT INTERVIEWS



Alex: Gwynedd Stuart is a writer from Los Angeles. How'd you meet your husband? You're a writer. Make it a good story.

Gwynedd: Okay. So, I met my husband in a karaoke bar. Okay. I'll set the scene. So I'm up on stage, when he walks in the door, and I'm on stage singing "Against All Odds" by Phil Collins.

Alex: That would get my attention also. Obviously it got his.

Gwynedd: Yeah. "Take a look at us now."

Alex: All right. Good for you.




Alex: Henry Ayoola from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. A PhD student who is a micros--what are you?

Henry: Microscopist.

Alex: What does a microscopist do?

Henry: So essentially what I do is I look--

Alex: In a microscope.

Henry: Yes. I look at very small things, all the way down to the size of atoms, in a microscope.

Alex: What are you looking for?

Henry: Well, people that are making things for nanotechnology don't really know what they've made until they look at it in the microscope, so that's where I come in.

Alex: Good for you.




Alex: Travis Rojakovick from Nashville, Tennessee. A big Bob Dylan fan. How big a fan?

Travis: Seen him 23 times.

Alex: Hello.

Travis: And yeah, I consider him the greatest artist of the 20th century, and yeah, I wish I'd seen him more.

Alex: Good for you. Good thoughts.

JEOPARDY! ROUND DAILY DOUBLE
Travis found the Daily Double on the 23rd clue. Travis had $3,600, Henry had $4,400, and Gwynedd was at $2,200. Travis wagered $2,000.

LIFE IN 1977 $600: The American Cancer Society organized the first "Great American" one of these

TRIPLE STUMPERS IN THE JEOPARDY! ROUND
MATH $800: They're not exchanging mail, but the angles seen here are this type

"F"OOD FOR THOUGHT $200: It's basically a thin, sweet wafer that's folded around a small piece of paper

"F"OOD FOR THOUGHT $800: Essential to Cajun cooking, this seasoning is made from the ground, dried leaves of the sassafras tree

6-LETTER WORDS $600: Profession of George Woolf, sadly killed in a fall at Santa Anita

LIFE IN 1977 $800: This glass & metal cultural centre named for a French president opened in the Beaubourg area of Paris

SCORES AT THE END OF THE JEOPARDY! ROUND
Henry: $6,400
Travis: $5,000
Gwynedd: $3,400

[Archivists]

DOUBLE JEOPARDY! ROUND CATEGORIES
ANIMAL GROUPINGS (5/5)
BEGINS WITH A SILENT LETTER (2/5, including 1 missed Daily Double)
ENTERTAINING ORGANIZATIONS (4/5)
LITERARY SETTINGS (2/5)
HERE'S THE NAKED TRUTH (4/5)
NO MORE COVER-UP (4/5, including 1 correct Daily Double)

THE RIGHTS & THE WRONGS
Travis: 11 R (including 1 rebound and 1 DD), 1 W (including 1 DD)
Henry: 7 R, 0 W
Gwynedd: 3 R, 2 W

Clues revealed: 30
Triple Stumpers: 8
Double Jeopardy! Round Potential Lach Trash: $9,200



FIRST DOUBLE JEOPARDY! ROUND DAILY DOUBLE
Travis snagged the next Daily Double on the 19th clue. Travis had $11,800, Henry had $11,200, and Gwynedd was at $4,200. Travis wagered $2,000.

BEGINS WITH A SILENT LETTER $1600: A male servant; the word has been used to mean a rascal since around 1200
(Travis: What is a... valet?)

SECOND DOUBLE JEOPARDY! ROUND DAILY DOUBLE
It was Travis who snatched up the last Daily Double of the game on the 28th clue. Travis had $13,400, Henry had $14,800, and Gwynedd was at $4,200. Travis wagered $3,000.

NO MORE COVER-UP $1200: Attempts to hide this 1986 accident lasted 2 days before Swedish monitoring stations detected radiation

TRIPLE STUMPERS IN THE DOUBLE JEOPARDY! ROUND
BEGINS WITH A SILENT LETTER $400: These breeches named for a body part were all the rage in late 18th-century men's fashion
(Gwyneed: What are knickers?)
(Alex: No.)
(Gwynedd: Or knickerbockers?)

BEGINS WITH A SILENT LETTER $800: The book of Matthew says, "A prophet is not without" this, "save in his own country"

LITERARY SETTINGS $1200: "The Handmaid's Tale":
The repressive Christian republic of this

LITERARY SETTINGS $800: "The Hunger Games":
This country with 12 districts

LITERARY SETTINGS $2000: In a Samuel Butler satire:
Colleges of Unreason are found in this title land

ENTERTAINING ORGANIZATIONS $400: As president, Cheryl Boone Isaacs built a more inclusive AMPAS, short for the Academy of these

HERE'S THE NAKED TRUTH $2000: "O" my, said viewers at the Salon of 1865 on seeing this very un-romanticized nude by Manet

NO MORE COVER-UP $1600: A 1977 article in Mother Jones magazine reported that Ford knew that this car had fuel tank problems in crashes

SCORES ENTERING FINAL JEOPARDY!
Travis: $18,400
Henry: $14,800
Gwynedd: $4,200

FINAL JEOPARDY! CATEGORY
BROADWAY

VENUSIAN MONOLOGUES/MARTIAN CHRONICLES
Four-fifths for first place. Shore's Conjecture.
Travis: Wager $11,201 to cover Henry. Or, you could try out a Shoretegic bet of $2,801.
Henry: Try wagering $6,399, which is as much as you can put up against Travis without being usurped by a doubled score on the part of Gwynedd.
Gwynedd: You just can't cover a rational wager by Henry, nor can you win on a Triple Stumper. Improve your situation by wagering everything but a few bucks--and then getting Final right!

FINAL JEOPARDY! CLUE
Following a show's success in 2011, this group began advertising, "You've seen the play...now read the book"

FINAL SCORES
Gwynedd: $4,200 - $599 = $3,601 (Who is the church of Jesus Christ + Latter-Day Saints) (3rd place: $1,000)
Henry: $14,800 - $0 = $14,800 (Who is Queen) (New champion: $14,800)
Travis: $18,400 - $11,201 = $7,199 (Who is the Authors [illegible]) (2nd place: $2,000)
(Alex: [To Travis] What did you put down?)
(Travis: What is the Authors Guild?)
...
(Alex: The clue referred to The Book of Mormon.)

Total Potential Lach Trash: $12,400

GAME DYNAMICS


CORYAT SCORES
Travis: $17,200, 18 R (including 2 DDs), 2 W (including 1 DD)
Henry: $14,800, 18 R, 1 W
Gwynedd: $4,200, 10 R, 2 W
Combined Coryat: $36,200

BATTING AVERAGES
Henry: 18/58 = .310
Travis: 18/61 = .295
Gwynedd: 10/58 = .172
Team: 46/63 = .730

MISCELLANEOUS INTERESTING CLUES
6-LETTER WORDS $800: The vicuña is closely related to this South American animal, prized for its fleece

STAN LEE $200: (Stan Lee presents the clue.) In a Reddit Ask Me Anything I revealed that the superhero I would most like to be is this one, because he's rich, handsome, glamorous, the women love him & he's got boats & planes & an iron costume--man!
(Gwynedd: Who is Iron Man? ...Or [*]?)

STAN LEE $600: (Stan Lee presents the clue.) In my first published comic book story back in 1941, I introduced this character's famous shield throw, which he still employs today

STAN LEE $1000: (Stan Lee presents the clue.) In 1961 I teamed up with Jack Kirby & told the story of this group of astronauts who gained superpowers after being bombarded by cosmic rays

LIFE IN 1977 $1000: Life in New York City got scarier during the killing spree of David Berkowitz, known by this nickname
(Travis: What is Silent Sam?)

PAINT THE TOWN RED $200: Ruddy Spasskaya Tower adorns this Moscow fortress that has come to represent Russia's executive branch
(Alex: With less than a minute now.)

PAINT THE TOWN RED $400: The walls seen here line this taboo imperial palace complex in Beijing
(Henry: What is Tiananmen Square?)

PAINT THE TOWN RED $600: At night, omnipresent lights give a crimson tinge to a certain district in this European city

PAINT THE TOWN RED $800: Resplendent red roofs line Dubrovnik in this Adriatic country

PAINT THE TOWN RED $1000: The blushing walls of Red Fort can be found in this Indian city, also home to the Taj Mahal

ANIMAL GROUPINGS $1600: Those are orcas, so you're looking at this 3-letter group

ENTERTAINING ORGANIZATIONS $2000: American Humane certifies movies & TV shows with this 4-word trademark in the end credits
(Gwynedd: What is SPCA?)

CORRECT RESPONSES
a Smokeout
corresponding angles
fortune cookie
filé powder
a jockey
the Pompidou Centre
a knave
the Chernobyl nuclear disaster
knee breeches
honor
Gilead
Panem
Erewhon
Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
Olympia
the Pinto
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
an alpaca
Tony Stark
Captain America
the Fantastic Four
the Son of Sam
the Kremlin
the Forbidden City
Amsterdam
Croatia
Agra
a pod
"No Animals Were Harmed"

[theFJguy]

FINAL JEOPARDY! CATEGORY
BROADWAY

FINAL JEOPARDY! CLUE
Following a show’s success in 2011, this group began advertising, “You’ve seen the play…now read the book”

Travis Rojakovick: 18400-11201=7199
Henry Ayoola: 14800-0=14800 (New Champ)
Gwynedd Stuart: 4200-599=3601

Correct response:

Spoiler

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (or Mormons or LDS) (Travis – Author’s Guild) (Henry – Queen) (Gwynedd – Who is the Church of Jesus Christ & Latter-Day Saints) Trebek: Sorry you’re off by just one tiny little word.

Daily Doubles
Travis: 3600+2000
Travis: 11800-2000
Travis: 13400+3000

Coryats
Travis: 17200
Henry: 14800
Gwynedd: 4200

Combined: 36,200

Scores at the end of the Jeopardy! Round:
Travis: 5000
Henry: 6400
Gwynedd: 3400

[MarkBarrett]

The stage effect? “F”OOD FOR THOUGHT $200:

It’s basically a thin, sweet wafer that’s folded around a small piece of paper

Crickets.

The stumper for the Samuel Butler place was advantage Learned League players since that came up recently.

After the FJ! category was revealed Alex said, “Oh, Travis is not happy.”

Travis made the traditional wager from the lead even though it seemed the category was not a good one for him. Henry must not have liked the category either as he bet nothing although I thought a 3601 was possible thanks to Alex tipping off that one player was not happy.

Gwynedd’s response not being taken made no difference as 4200+599=4799, so still 3rd place either way. She had multiple shortcuts available for her response and instead took the long route and stumbled.

I read the clue more than once to make sure it was the group wanted and not the play title. It does not happen often, but my correct response was not mentioned as Alex only gave the longer name for the group. That’s fine as it’s still a 5/5 week.

[econgator]

Or you could have just went with Mormons and not worried about cramming it all in ...

and I'm surprised Gwynedd didn't pronounced her name as Gwyneth.

[xxaaaxx]

I would've just written Mormons or LDS Church. If ever forced to write the entire name, I might've made the save and/of mistake she did (also I should look up why it's 'of' and not 'and', that phrasing sounds weird). That wager though...

[Ironhorse]

I went with "LDS Church" and I'm counting it correct.

[econgator]

(also I should look up why it's 'of' and not 'and', that phrasing sounds weird).

I believe it's because members of the Mormon Church call themselves saints and they live in the latter days, so ... it's the (Church of Jesus Christ) of (Latter Day Saints).

[heppm01]

At 37 letters that is longer than the recent Sgt. Pepper response that triggered so much discussion.

I knew Hamilton was too recent but couldn't for the life of me remember what production was well-received before it. Tried to tackle it from the "group" angle and didn't get very far. Definitely a big "oh yeah!" when it was revealed.

[opusthepenguin]

At least that unfortunate stumble didn't cost Gwynedd the game. She could've gotten FJ right just by crossing out the first half of her response. Or by writing more sloppily.



Just put in a bit more of a scribble on that ampersand/plus sign thing and the judges will take it as an "of". I mean, look at the first "of". It looks more like "OFF" or "OFE" or "OÆ". But they were willing to accept that as "of". And they were willing to accept the last scribbled word as "saints." I'm sure they wanted to give it to her but just couldn't. She clearly knew the correct response. I hate it when that happens.

Spoiler

Happened yesterday too.

Interesting that the players were told to write "Who" rather than "What" as their question word. That could've steered Gwynedd to the understanding that "Who are the Latter Day Saints" or "Who are the Mormons" would be fine. Her response goes better with a "What is" than a "Who". Not that I fault her for not picking up on that. Definitely one of those things you notice after the fact.

[opusthepenguin]

There seems to be an edit right near the end. I think Alex re-recorded the word "of" and they looped it in. But why? At first I thought he said the wrong word--possibly "and" because he was quoting Gwynedd's response. But if you turn the sound off and lip read, he's clearly saying "of". They just didn't sync the audio very well.

[Ironhorse]

At first I thought the issue was that they weren't accepting her answer due to "Saints" being crossed out; I didn't realize that it wasn't actually crossed out.

The fact that Gwynedd clearly knew the answer aside, I was surprised this one was a triple stumper.

[Category 13]

Travis made the traditional wager from the lead even though it seemed the category was not a good one for him. Henry must not have liked the category either as he bet nothing although I thought a 3601 was possible thanks to Alex tipping off that one player was not happy.

From his expression post reveal, I can tell Travis was very tempted to wager venusian, but bit the bullet. From his position, I would have wagerd 3599 all day long on any category I wasn't strong in. > Henry struck me as intellegent enough to not wager more than 7600.
In Henry's position, I would have wagered 6399.

[thenextofken]

I said "Mormon Church" and am counting it correct. Even though he mentioned the book name, I was surprised he didn't say that would've been acceptable.

[DBear]

Seriously, J! writers, WTF is wrong with you? First, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and now this?

[opusthepenguin]

I couldn't think of "knave". Like Travis, the best I could do was "valet". But at least I didn't pronounce the final T. This was a silent letter category after all. (The silent letter was supposed to come first, but, you know, you do the best you can with what your mind offers up.)

What happens in a silent letter category if the contestant offers up the correct word but pronounces the silent letter?

Predicted the Erewhon stand and stare. This makes 7 times that book has triple-stumped, including one time where the category was "ERE"Y WORDS. It's been gotten 5 times, including one time where the category was ANAGRAMS, one time where the category was "E"-BOOKS, and one time by Ken Jennings. It's also been offered as a wrong response once when they were looking for a work by Thomas More.

FUN FACT 1: Erewhon is "nowhere" spelled (almost) backwards.

FUN FACT 2: The word "Utopia" was created out of Greek words meaning "not" and "place" so, roughly, "nowhere". So Samuel Butler was cribbing from More some 450ish years later.

I don't mind too much when Alex announces that the game is or isn't a runaway. But drawing attention to Travis' unhappiness with the category seems unfair. That's up to his opponents to notice or miss. I wonder if it affected Henry's wager. If so, I don't think he made the most of his insider info. He should've planned for the possibility that Travis, hating the category, would also wager $0. Henry should've wagered $3601. That takes him ahead of Travis on a get if Travis wagered $0. But it keeps him well ahead of Gwynedd's doubled score. And it gives him as much as possible on a miss in case Travis wagered less than the shutout.

[davey]

Seriously, J! writers, WTF is wrong with you? First, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and now this?

As others in the thread have suggested, it's entirely Gwynedd's fault for going with the long response.

[DBear]

Seriously, J! writers, WTF is wrong with you? First, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and now this?

As others in the thread have suggested, it's entirely Gwynedd's fault for going with the long response.

Is it? After it was revealed that Sgt. Pepper's would not suffice, are we sure they would take LDS or the Mormons? I'm not.

[davey]

Seriously, J! writers, WTF is wrong with you? First, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and now this?

As others in the thread have suggested, it's entirely Gwynedd's fault for going with the long response.

Is it? After it was revealed that Sgt. Pepper's would not suffice, are we sure they would take LDS or the Mormons? I'm not.

Nobody wrote Sgt. Pepper's in that game, so as far as I know we can't say it wasn't acceptable.
In any case, a title is different from a universally accepted name (or abbreviation) for a religious movement.
And Gwynedd wrote enough, anyway. She wrote wrong.

[Ironhorse]

Seriously, J! writers, WTF is wrong with you? First, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and now this?

As others in the thread have suggested, it's entirely Gwynedd's fault for going with the long response.

Is it? After it was revealed that Sgt. Pepper's would not suffice, are we sure they would take LDS or the Mormons? I'm not.

Nobody wrote Sgt. Pepper's in that game, so as far as I know we can't say it wasn't acceptable.
In any case, a title is different from a universally accepted name (or abbreviation) for a religious movement.
And Gwynedd wrote enough, anyway. She wrote wrong.

Wilbur claimed on Twitter that he was told by the judges that Sgt. Pepper's wouldn't have been accepted.