Thursday, May 1, 2014 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

[Archivists]

Game Recap for Show #6829, 2014-05-01

Julia Collins game 9.

CONTESTANTS
Michelle Flaherty, a shelter advocate and caregiver from Natrona Heights, Pennsylvania
Marlon Morris, a sales representative from Maywood, Illinois
Julia Collins, a supply chain professional from Kenilworth, Illinois (whose 8-day cash winnings total $170,610)

OPENING REMARKS
Alex: Thanks, Johnny. Hi, folks. For those of you who don't keep statistics about these kinds of things, I'll begin today by telling you that Julia has now won more games on Jeopardy! than any other woman. Marlon and Michelle --yeah, you know how good you're gonna have to be today to replace her. But good luck to all three of you. Here we go. And now the categories.

JEOPARDY! ROUND CATEGORIES
PLAYING AT THE CASINO (4/5)
MULTIPLE MEANINGS (3/3, including 1 correct Daily Double)
LAW ENFORCEMENT TV (4/5)
SCRAMBLED MAMMALS (2/4)
THAT'S "SUPER"! (4/5)
THE NEW YORK TIMES: COOKING (4/5) (Alex: And all of the clues in that category will be given by Melissa Clark from the New York Times.)

THE RIGHTS & THE WRONGS
Michelle: 12 R (including 1 DD), 0 W
Julia: 8 R, 1 W
Marlon: 1 R, 2 W

Clues revealed: 27
Triple Stumpers: 6
Jeopardy! Round Potential Lach Trash: $5,200



SCORES AT THE FIRST BREAK
Michelle: $2,800
Julia: $2,000
Marlon: -$1,000

CONTESTANT INTERVIEWS



Alex: A bit of information here about Michelle Flaherty. Got out of jury duty by doing what?

Michelle: I told them I was going on Jeopardy! I made it through all the questions where they ask you if you could possibly be on the jury. I was certain I was gonna be chosen. The final one was, "Is there any other reason that you possibly could not be chosen for this jury?" And I went back to the room with the judge and the lawyers and said, "Oh, well, they asked me to be on Jeopardy! and the judge was nice enough to say, "Well, we can't let her miss that."

Alex: [ laughs ] Okay.




Alex: Marlon Morris chased a woman just to get a date.

Marlon: I did.

Alex: And then what happened?

Marlon: Well, I saw this incredible vision approaching me as I was waiting in line outside a major Chicago retailer to pay for my Bulls gear, because the Chicago Bulls had won their sixth championship the night before. She got more and more pretty as she walked closer. Finally, she passed me, and she was getting away from me. Meanwhile, I'm only about third in line, so I threw my stuff down and took off after her, asked her out for lunch right then and there. And unfortunately, she was just coming back for lunch, so I said, "Well, you have to eat dinner at some point, don't you?" So yes, she did. We had dinner, and the rest, of course, is history.
[ applause ]

Alex: You smooth-talking devil, you. [ laughs ] Way to go.




Alex: Julia Collins is our champion. Now, what do you want to devote some of your monies to?

Julia: So, I like to cook, but I love to bake, and I want to learn how to do the fancy baking things, like french macarons, decorate cakes, so I want to take baking classes.

Alex: Any thought of opening a bakery yourself?

Julia: Depends how good I am at the fancy stuff.

Alex: Okay. That's a good answer.

JEOPARDY! ROUND DAILY DOUBLE
Michelle found the Daily Double on the 27th clue. Julia had $2,600, Marlon was in the red with -$1,800, and Michelle was at $6,000. Michelle wagered $2,000.

MULTIPLE MEANINGS $1000: A long-billed game bird, or to shoot at something from a hidden position
...
[End-of-round signal sounds.]

TRIPLE STUMPERS IN THE JEOPARDY! ROUND
THE NEW YORK TIMES: COOKING $1000: (Melissa Clark of the New York Times presents the clue.) To add flavor to soups & stews & for easy removal from the pot, try tying your herbs together or wrap them up--you're making a bundle commonly known by this 2-word French name

PLAYING AT THE CASINO $1000: A 5-card stud spin,off, this 3-word game sees the player getting dealt 3 cards; the dealer's 2 are community
(Marlon: What is Texas hold 'em?)

LAW ENFORCEMENT TV $400: "Criminal Minds" features the profilers of this government agency

THAT'S "SUPER"! $1000: Antares, the brightest star in the constellation Scorpius, is classified as a red one of these
(Marlon: What is a supernova?)
(Julia: What is a red dwarf?)

SCRAMBLED MAMMALS $1000: A sharp dresser:
upper icon

SCRAMBLED MAMMALS $800: What's gnu?
edible stew

SCORES AT THE END OF THE JEOPARDY! ROUND
Michelle: $8,000
Julia: $2,600
Marlon: -$1,800

[Archivists]

DOUBLE JEOPARDY! ROUND CATEGORIES
PLAYING AT THE CASINO (5/5)
19th CENTURY FRANCE (5/5, including 1 correct Daily Double)
POINTY ON THE MAP (3/4)
AUTHORS' FICTIONAL PLACES (4/5, including 1 correct Daily Double)
KHAN TEST (4/5)
ON THE "Q...T" (3/5) (Alex: Each correct response in that category will begin with a "Q" and end with the letter "T.")

THE RIGHTS & THE WRONGS
Julia: 11 R (including 2 rebounds and 2 DDs), 2 W
Michelle: 8 R (including 1 rebound), 2 W
Marlon: 5 R (including 1 rebound), 2 W

Clues revealed: 29
Triple Stumpers: 5
Double Jeopardy! Round Potential Lach Trash: $5,600



FIRST DOUBLE JEOPARDY! ROUND DAILY DOUBLE
Julia snagged the next Daily Double on the 6th clue. Julia had $6,600, Marlon was in the red with -$2,600, and Michelle was at $6,400. Julia wagered $1,500.

19th CENTURY FRANCE $1600: In June 1830 French troops seized this North African capital from the Ottomans & Berbers

SECOND DOUBLE JEOPARDY! ROUND DAILY DOUBLE
It was Julia who snatched up the last Daily Double of the game on the 18th clue. Julia had $10,100, Marlon was in the red with -$600, and Michelle was at $12,400. Julia wagered $3,500.

AUTHORS' FICTIONAL PLACES $2000: The city of Casterbridge

TRIPLE STUMPERS IN THE DOUBLE JEOPARDY! ROUND
AUTHORS' FICTIONAL PLACES $400: Brobdingnag
...
(Alex: The author is [*]. Think of Gulliver's Travels.)

POINTY ON THE MAP $400: This peninsula has a pointy northeastern tip on the Strait of Hormuz
(Michelle: What is the Sinai Peninsula?)

ON THE "Q...T" $2000: It's a circular arc of 90 degrees
(Marlon: What is a...?)

ON THE "Q...T" $1200: In "The Compleat Angler", Izaak Walton urged, "be" this "and go a-angling"

KHAN TEST $1600: Engineer Fazlur Khan is known for his "bundled tube" structural system for this Chicago landmark
...
[End-of-round signal sounds.]

SCORES ENTERING FINAL JEOPARDY!
Julia: $16,400
Michelle: $14,000
Marlon: $2,200

FINAL JEOPARDY! CATEGORY
U.S. STATES

VENUSIAN MONOLOGUES/MARTIAN CHRONICLES
Four-fifths for first place. Shore's Conjecture.
Julia: Wager $11,601 to cover Michelle, but no more than $11,999 so as not to fall behind Marlon's doubled score. If you're a fan of shoretegic wagering, you might risk $7,201.
Michelle: Since you're within 4/5ths of Julia's score, you should wager between $4,801 (venusian) and $9,200 (martian), beating Julia's maximum safe bet of the difference between your scores.
Marlon: Too bad for you, Marlon, your score is less than Julia's score minus Michelle's score. Unless they both commit an egregious wagering error, you've no hope of moving into first place. 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
Other than Q, these 2 letters appear the least in the names of states, each appearing only once

FINAL SCORES
Marlon: $2,200 - $0 = $2,200 (What are 'F' and 'K' ?) (3rd place: $1,000)
Michelle: $14,000 - $9,599 = $4,401 (What are Z + X ?) (2nd place: $2,000)
Julia: $16,400 + $11,700 = $28,100 (What are Z and J ?) (9-day champion: $198,710)

Total Potential Lach Trash: $10,800

GAME DYNAMICS


CORYAT SCORES
Julia: $15,000, 19 R (including 2 DDs), 3 W
Michelle: $13,000, 20 R (including 1 DD), 2 W
Marlon: $2,200, 6 R, 4 W
Combined Coryat: $30,200

BATTING AVERAGES
Michelle: 20/59 = .339
Julia: 20/60 = .333
Marlon: 6/58 = .103
Team: 46/63 = .730

MISCELLANEOUS INTERESTING CLUES
THE NEW YORK TIMES: COOKING $200: (Melissa Clark of the New York Times presents the clue.) You can make it from other herbs & nuts but this sauce traditionally calls for pine nuts & fresh basil, pureed with olive oil & garlic

THE NEW YORK TIMES: COOKING $400: (Melissa Clark of the New York Times presents the clue.) For Valentine's Day or any other day, you can take chocolate ganache, roll it into balls, then coat the balls in cocoa powder, & you'll have these fancy candies

THE NEW YORK TIMES: COOKING $600: (Melissa Clark of the New York Times presents the clue.) In my "A Good Appetite" column I shared that the trick to making this basic sauce & condiment at home is to add a little bit of water to the egg yolks before dripping in the oil; I find it makes for a stronger emulsion

THE NEW YORK TIMES: COOKING $800: (Melissa Clark of the New York Times presents the clue.) In the Times' Diner's Journal, I told readers to get real & get this gadget that sounds like a musical instrument; you can evenly slice up potatoes, cucumbers, whatever in just a couple of minutes and it's so easy

THAT'S "SUPER"! $400: It's the product and the corporation whose logo is seen here

PLAYING AT THE CASINO $1600: A superstar of country with 75 mil. album sales, she is "still the one" to have an extended run at Caesars in Vegas
(Michelle: Who is Faith Hill?)

19th CENTURY FRANCE $800: Attending the 1867 Paris World's Fair, Jules Verne became fascinated with a navy exhibit on a submersible & wrote this novel
(Marlon: What is "A Thousand Leagues Under the Sea"?)

PLAYING AT THE CASINO $400: In 2013 the Mohegan Sun said, "welcome to paradise" to see this pop-punk trio; I hope they had the time of their lives
(Julia: Who are the Black Eyed Peas?)

POINTY ON THE MAP $800: If you find yourself in Skagen, you're near the tip of Denmark and only 40 miles from this country

ON THE "Q...T" $1600: (Kelly of the Clue Crew presents the clue from Los Alamos, NM.) This prefabricated corrugated steel hut was developed for the U.S. Navy by the George A. Fuller company in 1941 to serve as inexpensive and quickly-assembled offices, barracks, and storage facilities

KHAN TEST $800: At its peak in the early 13th century, his empire stretched from the Caspian Sea to eastern China
(Julia: Who is Kublai Khan?)

CORRECT RESPONSES
snipe
bouquet garni
Let It Ride
FBI
supergiant
porcupine
wildebeest
Algiers
Thomas Hardy
Jonathan Swift
Arabian Peninsula
a quadrant
quiet
the Sears Tower
J and Z
pesto
truffles
mayonnaise
mandoline
Super Glue
Shania Twain
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea
Green Day
Sweden
a Quonset hut
Genghis Khan

[jeff6286]

U.S. States
Other than Q, these 2 letters appear the least in the names of states, each appearing only once.

Spoiler

What are Z and J? Marlon said F and K; Michelle said Z and X.

Julia Collins: $16,400+$11,700=$28,100...now a 9-day champion with $198,710
Michelle Flaherty: $14,000-$9,599=$4,401
Marlon Morris: $2,200-$0=$2,200

[xxaaaxx]

Wasn't J Z the answer a couple of weeks ago? The writers are getting lazy.

FJ would've been a little dicey if I hadn't started with Q J X and Z (like high value Scrabble tiles), but I quickly eliminated X and never had to go any further.

Rarified air now...at least it wasn't another runaway

[heelsrule1988]

This girl is off the charts. Much more difficult FJ than you'd think, and she nails it. Wow!

[UniquePerspective]

Little humiliating for me, got Z almost immediately, but gravitated towards F because I didn't think of California in time. Sad times at Ridgemont times.

Alex seemed...especially surprised at that wager. It's pretty much what she had to do, even a pinch towards the small side. Not sure I get why he was shocked? Was it because it's typically a lock for her?

[esrever]

Julia continues to greatly impress. Michelle gave Julia great competition up until FJ. Congrats to Julia on yet another win!

Picked up Lach trash: "Let It Ride", "FBI", "porcupine", "Arabian Peninsula", "quadrant", "quiet"

Didn't get FJ. I guessed X and Z instead.

[Linear Gnome]

Little humiliating for me, got Z almost immediately, but gravitated towards F because I didn't think of California in time. Sad times at Ridgemont times.

I got Z and B--as far as I can tell, there are only two B's. Tough clue, and another impressive performance by Julia, but there were a lot of stand-and-stares. The one I shouted loudest was "quadrant!".

[Leander]

My first thought for FJ was X with New Mexico but realized it was wrong. I went to the other end of the country to get the J, but never went back west to Arizona for the Z and ran out of time.

[Bamaman]

Julia keeps rolling along. I missed FJ, had F instead of J.

[StevenH]

Michelle was another very good player who I imagine could have won a few games. I loved her story about jury duty, but I am disappointed that she didn't mention anything about band camp.

I felt like Julia should have wagered more on both DDs.

I got very lucky and guessed correctly on FJ. If I had thought of "x" then I might have gone with it in place of "j."

[Blue Lion]

Loved watching that game.

For FJ!, I also went through Scrabble point values. Besides Q, the other 10-pointer is Z. The next highest-scoring letters are J and X, with 8 apiece. That gave me a 50-50 chance, but I guessed wrong on X.

[The Talking Mime]

Another impressive win by Julia. I hope she wins again tomorrow to break the $200K mark and to make it ten straight.

I'll classify this FJ as a half-instaget. Knew Z right away, but it took a moment to come up with J as the other letter.

[lisa0012]

Working backwards through high-valued Scrabble letters, it didn't take long to hit the right ones.

[NoName84]

Started with X and Z, changed to the correct response in time.

[mdude04]

My mistake in FJ was thinking that it had to be a trick question. I didn't immediately jump to high value Scrabble tiles (I.e. rare letters) since that seemed too obvious. I went with B, and got J at the last second. That's when I realized J was probably the tough one, but by then it was too late. With more time, I definitely would have gotten it

[immaf]

I said X right away (not realizing that it was wrong) then took a little while to get J. Sigh.

[jeopardyhopeful]

Wow. Julia is impressive. She was challenged today but came through in the clutch. Am I correct in that she is now in a tie for fourth place all-time regular season wins, behind only Ken Jennings, Dave Madden, and Arthur Chu?

[mdude04]

Wow. Julia is impressive. She was challenged today but came through in the clutch. Am I correct in that she is now in a tie for fourth place all-time regular season wins, behind only Ken Jennings, Dave Madden, and Arthur Chu?

I believe so. The double-digit win club only consists of those three

[skullturf]

I had a mediocre J round, but a superb DJ round.

The J round had some of those non-academic categories on which I tend not to excel. I got the first three in the cooking category, which is acceptable for me, and I got only two of the five in Law Enforcement TV. There are huge gaps in my television knowledge.

Two of my better categories in the round, Multiple Meanings and Scrambled Mammals, went unfinished. I got all the revealed clues in those, with the exception of "porcupine". (Maybe if "sharp" had been in quotation marks?)

I had one of my best DJ rounds ever, missing only two. In Playing at the Casino at $1600, I was unsure between Faith Hill and Shania Twain. I might have gone for the rebound on the show (as Julia in fact did), but I was hesitant, and didn't count it as a get at home.

The other one in the DJ round I missed was "Q...T" at $1600. I'm honestly not sure that I've ever even heard of a "Quonset hut" before, and had to make a couple of guesses on the spelling to even look it up just now. Oh well. Like I've said before, I learn at least one new fact (and usually several) in every single episode of Jeopardy! I watch.

I managed to get this FJ, and I'm pleased with the way I did. Certainly these types of clues, that have more of a "think on your feet" element than most, can be scary.

The way I approached it was not to try to go through the names of tons of states. I started by just thinking about rare letters, like letters that are worth a lot of points in Scrabble.

Aside from the Q mentioned in the clue, I thought the "obvious" ones to consider were J, X, and Z. I thought to myself that they would probably only ask the clue if the correct answer was some of the really "archetypical" rare letters. So I decided not to spend any time thinking about more "middle-of-the-road" letters like B or F or P.

New Mexico and Texas both entered my mind, so I eliminated X, and wrote down J and Z. I happened to think of New Jersey and Arizona. I then started to contemplate running through states in my head, but thought "You know what? If it's not Q and it's not X, there's a very good chance that it's the most 'obvious' other rare letters."

But I definitely appreciate that this was tricky. It's not at all obvious that the letter B, or the letter P, appear more than once in the list of state names. (Can you quickly name two states containing a B? Can you quickly name two states containing a P?)

I just had a very strong hunch that what the writers "expected" us to do was what I did: "not Q" --> "other rare letters like J, X, Z" --> "eliminate one of those by just 'noticing' Texas and New Mexico".