Wednesday, May 30, 2012 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

[Archivists]

Game Recap for Show #6388, 2012-05-30

CONTESTANTS
Rene Cardenas, a business process analyst from San Jose, California
Susan Bowyer, a consultant originally from Ripley, West Virginia
Richard Block, an editor and writer from Diamond Bar, California (whose 1-day cash winnings total $12,001)

OPENING REMARKS
Alex: Thank you, Johnny. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. Richard became champion yesterday by knocking off a 6-time champ. But he didn't win a lot of money, $12,000 I guess, and that's because the game was a runaway for him, and he didn't want to take a chance by wagering in Final Jeopardy! Let's see what happens today, though, as he defends for the first time. Susan and Rene, welcome. Good luck. Here we go, Jeopardy! Round. It's where we always begin, and here are the categories for today...

JEOPARDY! ROUND CATEGORIES
OED TOP SOURCES (4/5, including 1 missed Daily Double) (Alex: The Oxford English Dictionary.)
"AA", "BB" OR "CC" (5/5) (Alex: We're not talking about batteries.)
SCENTSATIONAL! (4/5)
ALFRED (4/5)
LORD (3/5)
TENNESSEAN (0/2)

THE RIGHTS & THE WRONGS
Rene: 7 R, 0 W
Richard: 8 R, 3 W (including 1 DD)
Susan: 5 R, 1 W

Clues revealed: 27
Triple Stumpers: 6
Jeopardy! Round Potential Lach Trash: $4,400



JEOPARDY! ROUND DAILY DOUBLE
Richard found the Daily Double on the 15th clue. Richard had $1,400, Susan was scoreless, and Rene was at $2,600. Richard made it a True Daily Double, wagering $1,400.

OED TOP SOURCES $800: William Shakespeare is second; this historical novelist with the same initials is third
(Richard: [whispering] Um... historical novelist with the same--um, William... uh...)
(Alex: Richard?)
(Richard: I... blech.)

SCORES AT THE FIRST BREAK
Rene: $2,600
Richard: $0
Susan: $0

CONTESTANT INTERVIEWS



Alex: Rene Cardenas is from San Jose, California, and in his younger days, I assume, he, uh, caused some damage at a hotel in Buenos Aires. What did you do?

Rene: Well, Alex, my, uh, youth soccer team uh, and I traveled to Argentina to go on a tour, and when we arrived in Buenos Aires, we encountered a strange-looking bathroom appliance. It looked like a-a sink at shin level, and we'd never seen one, and so we didn't know what it was. We turned it on, and it was like we had struck oil. There was a spurt of water that went about 8 feet to the ceiling and completely flooded the room. So we had to move to another room. We later learned that it was actually a bidet, and we learned what it's used for.

[Laughter]

Alex: Okay. You thought it was for cleaning your football cleats. I know.




Alex: Susan Bowyer is from Ripley, West Virginia. You have a master's in something I'm not familiar with, bio--

Susan: Biodefense. It's the study of creepy diseases. Um, I study potential biological weapons and emerging infectious diseases. And hopefully, keep us all safe.

Alex: Okay.




Alex: Richard Block is our champion. He's from Diamond Bar. You like to... rebuild old bicycles. Now what are we talking about?

Richard: Yeah.

Alex: Really old bicycles?

Richard: Um, the oldest bicycle that I've gotten my hands on so far is the one I ride whenever I ride one, which is a schwinn that's about... [blows air] ten years older than I am, so--

Alex: Wow. But it's fun, isn't it?

Richard: Yeah, I--

Alex: And it keeps you in shape.

Richard: Like to think so. I hope so.

Alex: Okay. All right. Good.

TRIPLE STUMPERS IN THE JEOPARDY! ROUND
LORD $800: The official with this ancient title is no longer Speaker of the House of Lords but still heads the Justice ministry

LORD $1000: Child soldiers are much of the Lord's Resistance Army revolting against the Museveni government in this African nation

TENNESSEAN $200: Born in Pall Mall in 1887, he was one of the USA's most decorated soldiers of World War I

TENNESSEAN $400: After a religious conversion, a steamboat captain of this last name built an auditorium in Nashville
(Susan: Who is Rylan?)
(Alex: Say it again.)
(Susan: Rylan?)
(Alex: No.)
...
(Alex: The [*] Auditorium, for a long time, home of the Grand Ole Opry.)

ALFRED $1000: Impressionist painter Alfred Sisley was famed for his depiction of this, as in "Early" this "at Louveciennes"
(Richard: What is Morning?)

SCENTSATIONAL! $1000: This classic men's cologne from Geoffrey Beene comes in a pouch of the same-named material
(Richard: What is English Leather?)
...
[The end-of-round signal sounds.]

SCORES AT THE END OF THE JEOPARDY! ROUND
Rene: $3,800
Susan: $2,000
Richard: $800

[Archivists]

DOUBLE JEOPARDY! ROUND CATEGORIES
ALFRED, LORD TENNYSON (3/4)
HERE'S WHAT'S HAPPENING AT 11 (4/5, including 1 missed Daily Double)
THE WORLD SCIENCE FESTIVAL (5/5, including 1 correct Daily Double) (Alex: ...which opens today in New York.)
A REAL COMEDIAN (4/5)
ANAGRAMS (3/5)
CROSS WORLD CLUES "P" (5/5)

THE RIGHTS & THE WRONGS
Rene: 12 R (including 1 rebound), 1 W (including 1 DD)
Susan: 7 R, 0 W
Richard: 5 R (including 1 DD), 1 W

Clues revealed: 29
Triple Stumpers: 4
Double Jeopardy! Round Potential Lach Trash: $6,400



FIRST DOUBLE JEOPARDY! ROUND DAILY DOUBLE
Richard snagged the next Daily Double on the 11th clue. Richard had $3,600, Susan had $6,000, and Rene was at $7,000. Richard wagered $2,400.

THE WORLD SCIENCE FESTIVAL $2000: Biologist Edward O. Wilson told a rapt WSF audience about the chemical "vocabulary" of these colony insects

SECOND DOUBLE JEOPARDY! ROUND DAILY DOUBLE
It was Rene who snatched up the last Daily Double of the game on the 17th clue. Richard had $6,000, Susan had $7,200, and Rene was at $10,200. Rene wagered $600.

HERE'S WHAT'S HAPPENING AT 11 $2000: Mussolini signed the Lateran Treaty on behalf of Victor Emmanuel III; Cardinal Gasparri signed on behalf of this pope
(Rene: Who is Pius IX?)

TRIPLE STUMPERS IN THE DOUBLE JEOPARDY! ROUND
A REAL COMEDIAN $2000: The initials that serve as his last name are an approximate phonetic spelling of his Hungarian last name

ANAGRAMS $1200: Unfortunately, these were discounted from the tax returns

ANAGRAMS $1600: It'll take you a picosecond to come up with this type of surgery involving small tubular cameras

ALFRED, LORD TENNYSON $1600: In 1886 Tennyson published a new volume containing a poem that revisited this hall "Sixty Years After"
[The end-of-round signal sounds.]

SCORES ENTERING FINAL JEOPARDY!
Rene: $13,200
Susan: $10,400
Richard: $8,000

FINAL JEOPARDY! CATEGORY
PRESIDENTIAL RESTING PLACES

VENUSIAN MONOLOGUES/MARTIAN CHRONICLES
Three-quarters for first place. Stratton's Dilemma.
Rene: Wager $7,601 to cover Susan.
Susan: You ought to wager to cover Richard, but since you cannot win on a Triple Stumper if you do so, you should choose between wagering $0 and maximizing your winnings with a wager of all $10,400. You are in Stratton's Dilemma, calling for a wager of more than $5,600 (to shut out Richard) or less than $4,800 (risking the possibility of being passed from behind by Richard). Go with the smaller bet if you believe a Triple Stumper is more likely than a singleton miss by Rene.
Richard: Think about risking $2,400, thereby beating Rene on the Triple Stumper (should Rene wager to cover Susan's doubled score).

FINAL JEOPARDY! CLUE
Only 3 sites have the remains of 2 presidents: 1 at Quincy, Massachusetts, 1 at Arlington & 1 in this state capital

FINAL SCORES
Richard: $8,000 - $2,400 = $5,600 (What is Albany?) (2-day champion: $17,601)
Susan: $10,400 - $10,300 = $100 (What is Columbus, OH?) (3rd place: $1,000)
Rene: $13,200 - $8,000 = $5,200 (What is Boston) (2nd place: $2,000)
(Alex: No, the correct response is [*], where Monroe and Tyler are buried.)

Total Potential Lach Trash: $10,800

GAME DYNAMICS


CORYAT SCORES
Rene: $13,800, 19 R, 1 W (including 1 DD)
Susan: $10,400, 12 R, 1 W
Richard: $9,000, 13 R (including 1 DD), 4 W (including 1 DD)
Combined Coryat: $33,200

BATTING AVERAGES
Rene: 19/59 = .322
Richard: 13/60 = .217
Susan: 12/58 = .207
Team: 44/63 = .698

MISCELLANEOUS INTERESTING CLUES
"AA", "BB" OR "CC" $200: To shrtn. a wd. or phrs. by omtng. ltrs.
[Alex reads the clue as "To shorten a word or phrase by omitting letters".]

"AA", "BB" OR "CC" $1000: It's the land promised by God to Abraham
(Alex: Yes, with less than a minute to go.)

A REAL COMEDIAN $400: This fiery redhead seen here is on our "A" list

THE WORLD SCIENCE FESTIVAL $400: Held annually in NYC, the WSF was co-founded by Brian Greene, a physics prof. at this nearby Ivy League school
(Richard: What is Cornell?)

HERE'S WHAT'S HAPPENING AT 11 $1200: 11/11/11 was very unofficially named in honor of a musician in this movie comedy
(Alex: And you're smiling. You liked it. Go again.)
(Susan: Yes, I did.)
[NOTE: Alex accepted Spinal Tap as shown without asking for or adding more. The full name of the movie is This Is [*].]

ALFRED, LORD TENNYSON $800: Prime minister Robert Peel helped Tennyson with a pension & in 1850, the poet received this salaried title
(Alex: You are right, with less than a minute to go.)

CORRECT RESPONSES
Sir Walter Scott
the Lord Chancellor
Uganda
Alvin York
Ryman
Snow
Grey Flannel
ants
Pope Pius XI
Louis C.K.
deductions
endoscopic
Locksley Hall
Richmond, Virginia
abbreviate
Canaan
(Kathy) Griffin
Columbia
Spinal Tap
Poet Laureate

[jeff6286]

Presidential Resting Places
Only 3 sites have the remains of 2 Presidents: 1 at Quincy, Massachusetts, 1 at Arlington & 1 in this state capital.

Spoiler

What is Richmond, VA? (home of Monroe of Tyler) Richard said Albany, NY; Susan said Columbus, OH; Rene said Boston, MA.

Rene Cardenas: $13,200-$8,000=$5,200
Susan Bowyer: $10,400-$10,300=$100
Richard Block: $8,000-$2,400=$5,600...now a 2-day champion with $17,601

[TenPoundHammer]

Alvin York at $200? Really? Seemed rather out of place at $200, judging from the TS.

And yes, I got Lach Trash on Ryman entirely from "auditorium".

I somehow got Walter Scott in my head on the OED Daily Double, but clammed since I wasn't sure who he was. Never heard of whatever Bible they named at $400.

I knew "earth pig" = "aardvark" entirely from Cerebus. No lie.

Was it just me, or did Rene seem like he would rather be anywhere else? He was monotonous and sighing a lot, and his expression looked like he was trying to hide a scowl. Also, it took him forever to select the next clue — you could drive a truck through all those damn pauses.

Discounted->deductions cost me a 5/5 in Anagrams. Unlike the other 4, it just didn't seem to have the contrivance of a usual Anagrams clue. So of course I'm frantically trying to make anagrams of every word BUT "discounted".

Briefly considered Richmond due to a lot of presidents coming from VA, but discarded it since it just didn't seem right. Just didn't seem "presidential" enough to me.

[Austin Powers]

OH THANK GOD RENE LOST. I was about to die from his pauses between questions. And usually he just picked the next category down! Except when he went to the top of a new category, guaranteeing we'd never get to see all the tough clues!

I thought this was a lackluster game but I don't blame the players, outside of Rene's interminable pausing (no, seriously, someone needed to cattle prod him). The board had some wonky questions. Half the DJ board felt way too easy (Patagonia for $2000?), the other half way too hard. I know Alfred Sisley, but it's news to me that he's known for his snow scenes; I would have pegged him as a bridge and shoreline man. The "Lord Chancellor" question patly assumed that we'd know what that office does, when someone might have gotten it if they had just mentioned Thomas More or Thomas Wolsey.

I did like the anagram category, however, though it played much tougher than most such categories. However, I thought this was an odd board, a definite dropoff from some great quality boards over the last 1.5 weeks.

On FJ I wrote Richmond initially, since I knew it was a capital and Tyler was there and lots of presidents come from the state, but I decided that Jackson and Polk must be buried in Nashville and went with that. As it turns out, Jackson's home, the Hermitage, is just about ten miles outside of Nashville. I mean it's sorta Nashville from my recollection but I guess not.

In summary (blink) (pause) (blink), weird game.

[Johnblue]

Odd contestants with mostly easy questions. I got Richmond instantly although I wasn't sure which 2 are buried there.

[StevenH]

Yeah, I knew it was only a matter of time before the good boards came to an end. Tonight was the night that it happened.

I actually thought of Richmond for FJ but the clue implied to me that the correct response would be a city that is farther away from Arlington National Cemetery. I guessed Columbus first and then switched to Albany at the last second. I seem to remember there being a similar SHC question either last year or the year before.

[alamble]

I am a little surprised that Susan's response of "What is Spinal Tap?" in DJ! wasn't negged, as, if memory serves, the clue asked for the title of the film, did it not?

[bpmod]

If I have enough time, after waiting for what seemed an eternity, to shout at the TV "Pick the next #&$%@$#% clue, already!!" before he was able to so pick, EVERY SINGLE TIME, my only conclusion is that he wasn't very quick at picking clues.

I hate to say I'm glad somebody lost, even when I am, but, I'm glad he lost.

Oh, and WKBW had to spoil the entire episode by running a scroll across the top that some jury was deadlocked on somebody's DWI charge. WTF?

Brian

[jeff6286]

Woohoo! Proper wager for the win by 3rd place player! The significance may have been lost on some of the audience, since Rene wagered $399 more than the MSB, so Richard didn't get to win by a dollar, but I was still thrilled to see it.

Should Susan's "What is Spinal Tap" have been accepted? Isn't the title of the movie "This is Spinal Tap"? I even pre-called a Spinal Tap clue in the 11 category, but when it came up, I was so confused by the 11/11/11 bit that I didn't even think of it.

Agreed that the seemingly interminable pauses by Rene were quite frustrating, and it started after the very first clue of the game. I was hoping a giant buzzer would sound and he would immediately be yanked off the set and replaced with a faster-moving player. How did he even get on the show? Was he able to keep the practice game moving perfectly well at his tryout, only to totally freeze up once he was under the studio lights? Nothing personal, if you're reading this Rene. I'm sure it was a case of nerves or something, but we take our Jeopardy seriously around these parts.

*ETA* beaten to the punch by alamble on the Spinal Tap question.

[Bamaman]

I was ticked they didn't finish the Tennessee category. A category basically about famous people and they stay in a perfume category? I was shocked Sgt. York was a TS.

For the science category, they put "colony" in a bottom row clue and make it a Daily Double? Why not just give someone money?

Agreed on Rene's pacing, though I liked his contestant story.

My FJ thought process....Probably somewhere in the east. Albany? Maybe. A quick trip to Sacramento yielded nothing. I then flew to Atlanta, but Carter is still alive and no one else is there. Richmond? We had a boatload of them from Virginia early on, pretty sure Tyler is there, I'll go with that and hope it works out.

Great bet by Richard. If Rene had made the MSB, Richard still wins a by a dollar. That's the right bet, but in his shoes with that category I'd have been tempted to go all in on FJ. I liked her bet as well. She can't win on a TS if she makes the MSB, go why not go big?

[TenPoundHammer]

Agreed that the seemingly interminable pauses by Jose were quite frustrating, and it started after the very first clue of the game. I was hoping a giant buzzer would sound and he would immediately be yanked off the set and replaced with a faster-moving player. How did he even get on the show? Was he able to keep the practice game moving perfectly well at his tryout, only to totally freeze up once he was under the studio lights? Nothing personal, if you're reading this Jose.

I'm sure you mean Rene.

Like the goat from Animalympics.

[ihsh]

I didn't notice Rene's long pauses at all....

Maybe that was because I only watched DJ!?

[jeff6286]

On FJ I wrote Richmond initially, since I knew it was a capital and Tyler was there and lots of presidents come from the state, but I decided that Jackson and Polk must be buried in Nashville and went with that. As it turns out, Jackson's home, the Hermitage, is just about ten miles outside of Nashville. I mean it's sorta Nashville from my recollection but I guess not.

Wow, that is a tough miss and some fairly tempting negbait for that clue, with Jackson being just outside the city, especially if you know Polk is buried in Nashville. My own miss was a little closer to home, going for Indianapolis, because I knew the Benjamin Harrison Home is in the city, and was fairly certain that he was likewise buried here. William Henry Harrison I was less sure of, but I knew he had some ties to the state, and there is a state of him from the War of 1812 at the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument in downtown Indianapolis, so I took a shot. I thought maybe they wanted us to infer that John and John Quincy Adams were both buried in Quincy, MA, so maybe another pair of related Presidents were also buried in the same city, leading me to the Harrisons. I was correct that Benjamin is bured in Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis, but WHH is buried in North Bend, Ohio. He did serve as Governor of the Indiana Territory, but didn't appear to have any significant ties to Indiana after it achieved statehood.

By the way, does anyone know which two Presidents are buried in Arlington National Cemetery? I certainly didn't before looking it up. Well, I think I knew one, but wouldn't have had a clue on the other.

[bpmod]

but we take our Jeopardy! seriously around these parts.

Fixed that for you.

Brian

[econgator]

By the way, does anyone know which two Presidents are buried in Arlington National Cemetery? I certainly didn't before looking it up. Well, I think I knew one, but wouldn't have had a clue on the other.

If I hadn't been to Arlington just 2 years ago, I wouldn't have known the other one. JFK is easy -- the Eternal Flame and Bobby's and Jackie's grave right next to him -- but the other isn't all that obvious.

[Austin Powers]

I'd like to say that the "other" President buried at Arlington has been an FJ before.

And yeah I knew Polk was buried in Nashville proper. In some other universe, Polk is the answer to the unrevealed $800 in the Tennesseans category in the J round and I stick with Richmond as a result. Thanks again, Rene; I hope whatever message you were blinking in Morse Code helps the FBI find wherever you are being held captive.

[Paucle]

I am a little surprised that Susan's response of "What is Spinal Tap?" in DJ! wasn't negged, as, if memory serves, the clue asked for the title of the film, did it not?

Just got back from dinner. Has Rene picked yet?
And I'm on the alamble/ jeffs bandwagon. "This Is..." is part of the movie title.
Penciled in the Capital of the state that has birthed the most PsOTUS and couldn't think of a reason to erase it.

[bpmod]

By the way, does anyone know which two Presidents are buried in Arlington National Cemetery? I certainly didn't before looking it up. Well, I think I knew one, but wouldn't have had a clue on the other.

If I hadn't been to Arlington just 2 years ago, I wouldn't have known the other one. JFK is easy -- the Eternal Flame and Bobby's and Jackie's grave right next to him -- but the other isn't all that obvious.

I was just at Arlington one month ago. I still don't know who the other president is, but this is the first indication I've had that there are not more than two. I've always assumed there were lots there.

Brian

[Austin Powers]

And yes great bet by the champ. I'm happy that the others bet appropriately so his bet could rewarded.