Wednesday, March 5, 2014 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

[Archivists]

Game Recap for Show #6788, 2014-03-05

Battle of the Decades: Battle of the 1990s game 3.

CONTESTANTS
Shane Whitlock, a radiologist from Little Rock, Arkansas
Bob Harris, a writer from Los Angeles, California
Robin Carroll, an instructional designer and curriculum developer from Atlanta, Georgia

OPENING REMARKS
Alex: Okay, Johnny, thank you. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. Two days in a row now, modest wagers in Final Jeopardy! have enabled two women to move on in our tournament --Rachael on Monday, Pam yesterday. What's going to happen today with Robin, Bob, and Shane? I wish you good luck, and we'll start finding out. Here we go, the Jeopardy! Round. And today, these categories are in play...

JEOPARDY! ROUND CATEGORIES
BILL CLINTON (4/5)
HOLIDAYS (3/5, including 1 missed Daily Double)
"HANG" FIVE (5/5)
LOGOS (5/5)
THE FIRST INSTRUMENT HEARD (2/5)
CARSON, DAILY (3/5)

THE RIGHTS & THE WRONGS
Robin: 10 R (including 1 rebound), 5 W
Bob: 7 R, 3 W (including 1 DD)
Shane: 5 R (including 1 rebound), 2 W

Clues revealed: 30
Triple Stumpers: 7
Jeopardy! Round Potential Lach Trash: $6,200



JEOPARDY! ROUND DAILY DOUBLE
Bob found the Daily Double on the 2nd clue. Robin had no money, Bob had $200, and Shane had nothing in the bank. Bob wagered $1,000.

HOLIDAYS $400: In 2011 the 250th edition of a real oldie hit parade marched up New York's 5th Avenue on this date
(Bob: What's, uh...)
(Alex: Say something.)
(Bob: Thanksgiving Day?)
...
(Alex: All right, you're at -$800. Go again, Bob.)
(Bob: I've been there before.)
[Laughter]

SCORES AT THE FIRST BREAK
Robin: $3,200
Shane: -$400
Bob: -$800

CONTESTANT INTERVIEWS



Alex: Being a winner on Jeopardy! can be a life-changing experience. It certainly was for Shane Whitlock. I'm thinking now about your family situation.

Shane: That's right. Uh, my now wife has been a fan of the show for years and an aspiring contestant. And, uh, we met, uh, you know, via, uh, friends who, uh, uh, we know --each know. Mutual friends. And, uh, you know, I-I gave her a lot of great advice, uh, for her tryouts. Um, what I thought was great advice.

Alex: Well, she came --

Shane: And, uh, but we --but we hit it off. And so now we're, uh, yeah, now we're married and we have a 5-year-old son --Declan.

Alex: Good for you. But she came to you for --because she was gonna be on the program, and she just wanted to have some tips, right?

Shane: Oh, yeah. Yeah.

Alex: Okay.

Shane: Yeah, she was looking for some good advice.

Alex: All right.




Alex: Bob Harris is a writer and a former Jeopardy! champion. He has written some fun books, one of them called a Prisoner of Trebekistan. But the book I particular enjoy is The International Bank of Bob...

Bob: Thank you.

Alex: Because it made me aware of an organization that I knew nothing about. Tell the folks.

Bob: Sure. Um, Kiva is a wonderful organization that has a web site --kiva.org, if I can plug them --uh, where, uh, people like you and me can pick, uh, small businesspeople in the developing world --a farmer in Cambodia, fisherman in the Philippines --and, you know, they have a good business going, but they can't go to Citibank for a bridge loan, so that's where you and I come in. And for --

Alex: How much money are we talking about for a loan?

Bob: 25 bucks and up. Yeah.

Alex: $25?

Bob: Yeah, and up. And, uh, they repay vanishingly close to 100% of the time. And so, you know, any money I win here --assuming I win any --uh, you know, I'll go let people in Central Africa use it for awhile, and then it can come back here.

Alex: Good for you.

Bob: Yeah.




Alex: Robin Carroll from Atlanta, Georgia. She took her prize winnings on Jeopardy! to take her whole family... where?

Robin: London.

Alex: Why?

Robin: My oldest daughter Caitlin was a high school freshman at the time. She played clarinet in the marching band. The band had been invited to participate in the new year's day parade --uh, the lord mayor of London's parade. And I thought, "I have the money. Why not?" And it was a fantastic family experience.

Alex: You know, I was there on New Year's Day for one of those parades, and 90% of the marching bands are from the United States. There was only one marching band that was English.

TRIPLE STUMPERS IN THE JEOPARDY! ROUND
HOLIDAYS $1000: It's believed that Imhotep helped create this calendar in which new year is usually September 11
(Robin: W-what is the, um, Babylonian calendar?)
(Shane: What is the Egyptian calendar? Ancient Egyptian calendar?)
...
(Alex: Well, this is unusual.)
[Laughter]
(Alex: All three of you at a negative amount.)

BILL CLINTON $1000: The act Bill signed in his first month in office granting workers time off
(Shane: What's the Family Leave Act?)

THE FIRST INSTRUMENT HEARD $600: In "Prelude To The Afternoon Of A Faun"
(Bob: What's an oboe?)
(Robin: What is violin?)

THE FIRST INSTRUMENT HEARD $800: On "Be My Baby" by the Ronettes
(Robin: What is the organ?)

THE FIRST INSTRUMENT HEARD $1000: In "Pictures at an Exhibition"; it takes a bit longer in "Thus Spake Zarathustra"

CARSON, DAILY $800: On Carson in 1982 he said, "I'm from a predominantly black family, & I have yet to run into a relative named Buckwheat"

CARSON, DAILY $1000: In his last monologue, Johnny said this huge corp. "named me employee of the month...that was a dream come true"
(Robin: What is NBC?)

SCORES AT THE END OF THE JEOPARDY! ROUND
Robin: $2,000
Bob: $1,200
Shane: $400

[Archivists]

DOUBLE JEOPARDY! ROUND CATEGORIES
IN A FRENCH KITCHEN (4/5)
THAT MOVIE'S GENIUS (4/5)
AT"LAS" OF THE WORLD (4/5)
NATURE (2/5, including 1 missed Daily Double)
BRITISH AUTHORS (4/5, including 1 correct Daily Double)
MAKE A FAMOUS PHRASE (4/5)

THE RIGHTS & THE WRONGS
Shane: 11 R, 1 W (including 1 DD)
Bob: 7 R, 1 W
Robin: 4 R (including 1 DD), 1 W

Clues revealed: 30
Triple Stumpers: 7
Double Jeopardy! Round Potential Lach Trash: $11,600



FIRST DOUBLE JEOPARDY! ROUND DAILY DOUBLE
Shane snagged the next Daily Double on the 7th clue. Robin had $800, Bob had $1,200, and Shane was at $2,800. Shane made it a True Daily Double, wagering $2,800.

NATURE $1600: A type of warship, or a soaring bird with a nearly 8-foot wingspan that might follow it
(Shane: What is an osprey?)

SECOND DOUBLE JEOPARDY! ROUND DAILY DOUBLE
It was Robin who snatched up the last Daily Double of the game on the 12th clue. Robin had $2,800, Bob had $1,200, and Shane was at $400. Robin wagered $2,000.

BRITISH AUTHORS $1600: In an 1890 letter, he called himself "a Polish nobleman, cased in British tar"

TRIPLE STUMPERS IN THE DOUBLE JEOPARDY! ROUND
IN A FRENCH KITCHEN $1200: French kitchens use a lot of batter on Candlemas, also known as this day due to the consumption of a specific food

NATURE $1200: The soft underfur of this animal is known as qiviut, & is prized as one of the lightest & warmest wools in the world
(Robin: What is yak?)
(Bob: What's a water buffalo?)
...
(Alex: What is -- my favorite animal -- [*]? I had to get in a plug.)

NATURE $2000: Jellyfish aren't fish but these, part of a phylum of creatures with one saclike body cavity

BRITISH AUTHORS $2000: His novel "Atonement" was turned into a 2007 movie with Keira Knightley

MAKE A FAMOUS PHRASE $2000: Result when a player at each poker table has raised an opponent one fowl
(Alex: Gonna love it -- what is [*]?)
[Laughter]
(Bob: [clapping in the direction of the judges] Give it up to the writers.)
(Alex: Oh, Bob's applauding our writers. Go again.)
(Bob: Nice. Nice.)

THAT MOVIE'S GENIUS $1600: Hugh Jackman is super-hacker Stanley Jobson in this 2001 film; give us the password

AT"LAS" OF THE WORLD $1600: Let's give a hand to this largest city in the Canary Islands

SCORES ENTERING FINAL JEOPARDY!
Shane: $10,000
Bob: $6,000
Robin: $5,600

FINAL JEOPARDY! CATEGORY
4-LETTER WORDS

VENUSIAN MONOLOGUES/MARTIAN CHRONICLES
Crush for first place.
Shane: Wager $2,001 to cover Bob.
Bob: You have the hope of surpassing Shane if you come up with the correct response. Bet at least $5,201 to force Shane to wager to win while also protecting your position from being usurped by Robin.
Robin: Your only hope of a win is that you're the only one to give a correct response, so bet $5,598 or so, leaving a few bucks behind in case someone wagers it all.

FINAL JEOPARDY! CLUE
New research says this word that has become ubiquitous dates back to young men also called "macaronis"

FINAL SCORES
Robin: $5,600 + $5,600 = $11,200 (What is dude?) (New champion: Quarterfinalist)
Bob: $6,000 - $6,000 = $0 (What is stud?) (3rd place: $5,000)
Shane: $10,000 - $2,001 = $7,999 (What is) (2nd place: $5,000)
(Alex: [revealing Robin's response] "Yankee Doodle" got shortened to "doodle," got shortened to "dude." Way to go.)
...
(Alex: [revealing Bob's response] Uh -- oh!)
[Laughter]
(Alex: Wishful thinking, are we?)

Total Potential Lach Trash: $17,800

GAME DYNAMICS


CORYAT SCORES
Shane: $12,800, 16 R, 3 W (including 1 DD)
Bob: $7,000, 14 R, 4 W (including 1 DD)
Robin: $5,200, 14 R (including 1 DD), 6 W
Combined Coryat: $25,000

BATTING AVERAGES
Shane: 16/59 = .271
Robin: 15/59 = .254
Bob: 14/59 = .237
Team: 45/63 = .714

MISCELLANEOUS INTERESTING CLUES
LOGOS $200: The arrow seen here is part of the logo of this retailer

LOGOS $600: The game is afoot at this company, begun in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1860

LOGOS $1000: Seen here is the logo for this cloud computing service that stores your photos, videos, & documents

BILL CLINTON $600: The first statewide office to which he was elected, in 1976 3 years out of law school
(Bob: Uh, what's governor of Arkansas?)

"HANG" FIVE $800: Ray Guy's punts inspired the NFL to create a statistic for this
(Alex: Right. You're on the plus side.)
(Bob: Yay!)

CARSON, DAILY $200: On July 29, 1981 Johnny said these 2 had "a fairy-tale romance. Too bad they had to spoil it & get married"
(Robin: Who are Elizabeth Taylor & Richard Burton?)

IN A FRENCH KITCHEN $800: This french stew is made with eggplant, zucchini, tomato, peppers, & onions -- & hopefully, no rodents

BRITISH AUTHORS $800: She's depicted
in the portrait seen here

MAKE A FAMOUS PHRASE $1600: Mick Jagger fails in his attempt to pick up supermodel Kate
(Bob: What's [*]?)
[Robin laughs]
(Alex: We'll accept that. Yes.)

AT"LAS" OF THE WORLD $1200: California peak -- centerpiece of a national park seen in 1923 & today

AT"LAS" OF THE WORLD $2000: It's the capital of the Isle of Man
(Alex: And that takes you up to $10,000. You have the lead.)
[Bob turns to Shane and applauds.]

CORRECT RESPONSES
St. Patrick's Day (March 17)
the Coptic calendar
the Family and Medical Leave Act
the flute
the drums
the trumpet
Eddie Murphy
G.E.
a frigate
Joseph Conrad
Crêpe Day
the muskox
coelenterates
Ian McEwan
there's a chicken in every pot
Swordfish
Las Palmas
dude
Amazon
Milton Bradley
Dropbox
attorney general
hang time
Diana & Charles
ratatouille
Jane Austen
a Rolling Stone will gather no Moss
Lassen Peak
Douglas

[jeff6286]

4-Letter Words
New research says this word that has become ubiquitous dates back to young men also called "macaronis".

Spoiler

What is dude? Bob said stud; Shane had no guess

Shane Whitlock: $10,000-$2,001=$9,999
Bob Harris: $6,000-$6,000=$0
Robin Carroll: $5,600+$5,600=$11,200...advances to quarterfinals of Decades Tournament

[Austin Powers]

You know, I guessed "dude," since it's a four letter word for a guy, but I am not seeing the connection to Yankee Doodle that Trebek apparently was. Sort of a shitty question.

[UniquePerspective]

I got Lach Trash for once! (Swordfish)

This seemed like another nasty board, because I have a hunch all three would have done better on different boards based on what I've seen today.

I wouldn't have made that connection in 30 seconds, but it makes total sense. I went with "hunk" because I know that word has gone through a ton of different definitions.

[TenPoundHammer]

inb4 mbclev complains about Bob Harris again

====

The interviews were pretty boring today. Shane in particular seemed to disintegrate into total word salad about halfway through.

I thought Borzoi was by far the toughest in Logos. It was my only miss there.

First time I've ever heard the word "Whitsunday".

"Oh, hang-on…, no, that's not right. What do you call someone who hangs on?"

I could've gone 4/5 in First Instrument Heard entirely from WAGs (everything but $600), but I wasn't confident enough in any of them. We all know how I HATE to guess…

====

No lie: I recognized ratatouille entirely from the picture. They have clues on both the food and the Pixar movie so often that I highly believe

"That's not a yak?! What?!?" Literally surprised on that one.

I keep forgetting that snakes are a weak spot in my usually solid animal knowledge.

Blanked on Doyle's name.

Kiping was British?

Searching for Bobby Fischer. I haven't heard that title in about 20 years. I think mom made me watch it a long time ago.

Loved Famous Phrase. Couldn't tell what $400 was trying to say, and have never heard "in the hole" to mean debt. I got $1200 and $1600, and somehow thought "chicken" on $2000 but couldn't get to "chicken in every pot".

====

Wow, did I ever screw this one up. Term that's commonly used. I actually started at "dude" right away, but rejected it because I thought of cowboys, dude ranches, etc. being its origins. I then saw "Macaronis" and went through the first verse of "Yankee Doodle". Hmm. Feather, cap… maybe within the words "Yankee Doodle" itself? "Yank"? No, that's not really common unless you're a Brit. It was staring me right in the face, twice, and I still missed it.

[Golf]

Anybody else think Alex's comment about women winning the last two games with small wagers was a bit of a dig? Not really sure one way or another, but some will certainly take it that way.

Try as he might, Bob just couldn't stick to his Trebekistan maxim of not ringing in unless you're sure.

Anybody else want to admit knowing Swordfish solely because of Halle Berry's first nude scene?

Excellent solve by Robin in FJ to win the game. And proper wagering by all!

[zakharov]

Rough board all around. Very proud that I instagot "dude" somehow.

By the way, have 12 year olds taken over the writing staff? We had "what is boob" yesterday and "what is dude" today...

[xxaaaxx]

WAGged the right answer, then immediately realized the connection with macaroni.

Is it rust? Harder material? A lot of these games have been kinda brutal to watch, and I'm sure it wasn't much better for them up there. I wonder if there are any finalists among the winners so far. My money is still on the champs from the "2000's" but we'll see.

[esrever]

For the third game in a row, the only woman in the game won.

It was strange to see all three of these former champions in the red at the same time.

Picked up Lach trash on "Family and Medical Leave Act", "drums", "trumpet", "Eddie Murphy", and "musk ox"

Didn't get FJ. I was thinking of the song "Yankee Doodle," but I guessed that the word was "yank."

[El Jefe]

You know, I guessed "dude," since it's a four letter word for a guy, but I am not seeing the connection to Yankee Doodle that Trebek apparently was. Sort of a shitty question.

Does 'not seeing the connection' mean you didn't hear him explain it or just don't agree?

YANKLE DOODLE DANDY ---> DOODLE --> DUDE
BOTULPH'S TOWN --> BOTOLPHSTON--> BOSTON
BETHLEHEM --> BEDLAM

Call it what you will- decrepitation, corruption, lingual laziness, abbreviation

I liked the clue and it really would only be shitty if it concerned a dude ranch!

[Leander]

I guess I was in good company coming up with "stud", but I had no idea. I thought macaroni was pointing to something in 18th century British fashion, not simply to Yankee Doodle. Did not think this was a good FJ clue.

[Dr. J]

You know, I guessed "dude," since it's a four letter word for a guy, but I am not seeing the connection to Yankee Doodle that Trebek apparently was. Sort of a shitty question.

Does 'not seeing the connection' mean you didn't hear him explain it or just don't agree?

YANKLE DOODLE DANDY ---> DOODLE --> DUDE
BOTULPH'S TOWN --> BOTOLPHSTON--> BOSTON
BETHLEHEM --> BEDLAM

Call it what you will- decrepitation, corruption, lingual laziness, abbreviation

I liked the clue and it really would only be shitty if it concerned a dude ranch!

There is NOT a direct chronological connection between Yankee Doodle Dandy and "dude," as neat as it may seem. "Dude" doesn't appear until the late 1800s in New York, and it's not at all clear that it's connected to the song, which was popular 100 years earlier.

[El Jefe]

YAY! Finally J! clue writers evidenced knowing something about jellyfish. But is it correct or wrong again?

JELLYFISH AREN'T FISH BUT THESE, PART OF A PHYLUM OF CREATURES WITH ONE SACLIKE BODY CAVITY

A: COELENTERATES

Phylum: CNIDARIA Sub-phylum: MEDUSOZOA

"Coelenterata" is an obscure, outdated term (that does match the sac description) but nonetheless is not worthy of J! any more than a clue which leads you to conclude Brontosauruses are still A Thing.

[lieph82]

Anybody else think Alex's comment about women winning the last two games with small wagers was a bit of a dig? Not really sure one way or another, but some will certainly take it that way.

Try as he might, Bob just couldn't stick to his Trebekistan maxim of not ringing in unless you're sure.

Anybody else want to admit knowing Swordfish solely because of Halle Berry's first nude scene?

Excellent solve by Robin in FJ to win the game. And proper wagering by all!

I don't think it was a dig. Also, Jeopardy! must be relieved that women are making it into the tournament after a rough '80s week. Awesome solve on a clever clue by Robin.

[Austin Powers]

You know, I guessed "dude," since it's a four letter word for a guy, but I am not seeing the connection to Yankee Doodle that Trebek apparently was. Sort of a shitty question.

Does 'not seeing the connection' mean you didn't hear him explain it or just don't agree?

YANKLE DOODLE DANDY ---> DOODLE --> DUDE
BOTULPH'S TOWN --> BOTOLPHSTON--> BOSTON
BETHLEHEM --> BEDLAM

Call it what you will- decrepitation, corruption, lingual laziness, abbreviation

I liked the clue and it really would only be shitty if it concerned a dude ranch!

My immediate inclination was that this was a folk etymology (see "fuck" as originally coming from the title of that Van Halen album and "picnic" as being... well just look it up and talk about it in the "racists hate Arthur Chu" thread).

And, indeed, looking it up, it's a little too cute, and it's probably NOT from the phrase Yankee Doodle, for several reasons.

This is a common problem with etymology questions. In the past, when I have written them, I've either strongly hedged by hinting it's a leading theory or given a couple of different theories about where the word comes from.

[clprez]

There were a number of opportunities for Lach Trash. I got 4 of them.

I even got FJ, although it was just a guess. I didn't get the macaroni connection.

I wonder if Claudia will extend the women's winning streak tomorrow.

[silverscreentest]

Candlemas is also Groundhog Day, so I was very tempted to say that the food eaten was groundhog.

Where I recently heard about this etymology for dude:

http://www.slate.com/articles/podcasts/ ... _dude.html

[Dr. J]

And, indeed, looking it up, it's a little too cute, and it's probably NOT from the phrase Yankee Doodle, for several reasons.

This is a common problem with etymology questions. In the past, when I have written them, I've either strongly hedged by hinting it's a leading theory or given a couple of different theories about where the word comes from.

Too bad the writers weren't as careful as you in their phrasing. They could have said "new research suggests" instead of claiming it straight out, but even that research doesn't really suggest a direct connection to Yankee Doodle. Not great FJ writing.

[El Jefe]

There is NOT a direct chronological connection between Yankee Doodle Dandy and "dude," as neat as it may seem. "Dude" doesn't appear until the late 1800s in New York, and it's not at all clear that it's connected to the song, which was popular 100 years earlier.

I'm not bothered by the difference in years, and these etymologists/authors aren't either:

http://chronicle.com/blogs/linguafranca ... 0/21/dude/

ETA: So at least two shockers- not only did DOODS predate leet-speak but also it's clear from the description that yesterday's DOOD is today's....wait for it....HIPSTER!