Monday, September 29, 2014 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

[Archivists]

Game Recap for Show #6906, 2014-09-29

CONTESTANTS
Elisa Korb, a professor from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
Alan Lange, an actuary from Sarasota, Florida (whose 1-day cash winnings total $36,400)
Catherine Hardee, a hotel front desk clerk and recent college graduate from Kinston, North Carolina (whose 4-day cash winnings total $95,201)

OPENING REMARKS
Alex: Thank you, Johnny. And thank you, ladies and gentlemen, Well, now, we're just two weeks into our new season, and already we've established a new record--the first time, the earliest of co-champions. Alan and Catherine were fantastic on Friday. Elisa, you're the rookie. Good luck to you and to our returning co-champions. Here we go. The first round of play is the Jeopardy! Round with one Daily Double, and today these are the categories...

JEOPARDY! ROUND CATEGORIES
WHAT WOMEN WANT (5/5)
STATE CAPITAL NICKNAMES (5/5, including 1 correct Daily Double)
MIDDLE J (5/5) (Alex: The letter J will come up in the exact middle of each correct response.)
2014 BESTSELLERS (4/5)
SONGS ON THE MOVIE'S SOUNDTRACK (5/5)
THE CHICAGO BOARD OF TRADE (5/5) (Sarah: We explore some of the technique and mystique of this economic nerve center.)

THE RIGHTS & THE WRONGS
Catherine: 14 R (including 1 DD), 0 W
Alan: 8 R (including 1 rebound), 0 W
Elisa: 7 R, 1 W

Clues revealed: 30
Triple Stumpers: 1
Jeopardy! Round Potential Lach Trash: $1,000



JEOPARDY! ROUND DAILY DOUBLE
Catherine found the Daily Double on the 13th clue. Catherine had $4,400, Alan had $600, and Elisa was at $1,200. Catherine wagered $2,000.

STATE CAPITAL NICKNAMES $800: "Arkopolis"

SCORES AT THE FIRST BREAK
Catherine: $6,600
Alan: $1,600
Elisa: $1,200

CONTESTANT INTERVIEWS



Alex: Our newcomer on the program today, Elisa Korb, has a dog with a very special talent. I want to hear about that.

Elisa: Yes, my dog enjoys wearing clothing, so whenever we go to a pet store, she actually finds the aisle where the clothes are hanging up, pulls them off the rack, holds them in her hand, and tries--well, her mouth, not her hand--and tries to get me to buy them. And she gets very angry if I take her clothing off of her. Very, very high-maintenance dog.

Alex: Do you buy the clothing?

Elisa: Of course, I do. I indulge her.

Alex: She has got you very well- trained, doesn't she?

Elisa: She does, she does.

Alex: Good.




Alex: Our co-champion, Alan Lange, an actuary from Sarasota, Florida, who is also a soccer referee.

Alan: Yes.

Alex: Tough job.

Alan: Yes, it is. Go out there and stand in the middle of 22 kids running around, and blow the whistle when they misbehave.

Alex: As we discovered in the World Cup games this year, there are a lot of people who fake injuries, but that doesn't happen with the kids, does it?

Alan: It's happening more and more, unfortunately.

Alex: They watch the pros and they learn?

Alan: And they learn.

Alex: Kick in the leg and they grab themselves by the head and go "Ohh! I'm hurt"?

Alan: Yeah, or they run by someone, and feign tripping when the ball's gotten too far from them.

Alex: Put an end to it. You're a referee.




Alex: Catherine Hardee... once slept in the Tower of London. You have something in common with Anne Boleyn. So, tell me, how was that?

Catherine: Well, it was short, actually. I was very jetlagged. We'd flown all night and not gotten any sleep, and we toured London all day, ended up at the tower in the afternoon. We sat down on a bench, my mom and I, outside the jewel house, and I fell asleep on her shoulder.

Alex: Oh, you didn't spend the night there?

Catherine: No, I didn't say I spent the night. I said I slept there. I was woken up by a rain shower.

[Laughter]

Alex: Right.

TRIPLE STUMPERS IN THE JEOPARDY! ROUND
2014 BESTSELLERS $1000: In 1972 her first book was called "Mmmmm"; after stints at Gourmet & the New York Times, her first novel is "Delicious"

SCORES AT THE END OF THE JEOPARDY! ROUND
Catherine: $9,000
Alan: $5,200
Elisa: $3,200

[Archivists]

DOUBLE JEOPARDY! ROUND CATEGORIES
HIPPO CAMPUS (3/5, including 1 missed Daily Double)
PREMIUM CABLE (5/5)
ALLITERATIVE WORD PAIRS (3/3)
CANDLES (5/5)
HISTORICAL HAIKU (5/5, including 1 correct Daily Double)
"CAT" PEOPLE (5/5)

THE RIGHTS & THE WRONGS
Catherine: 12 R (including 1 rebound and 1 DD), 2 W (including 1 DD)
Elisa: 10 R, 1 W
Alan: 4 R, 0 W

Clues revealed: 28
Triple Stumpers: 1
Double Jeopardy! Round Potential Lach Trash: $1,600



FIRST DOUBLE JEOPARDY! ROUND DAILY DOUBLE
Catherine snagged the next Daily Double on the 14th clue. Catherine had $11,800, Alan had $9,600, and Elisa was at $9,600. Catherine wagered $4,000.

HISTORICAL HAIKU $1200: Post-Lenin, a pall/From the non-peachy Georgia/Total Bolshevik

SECOND DOUBLE JEOPARDY! ROUND DAILY DOUBLE
It was Catherine who snatched up the last Daily Double of the game on the 27th clue. Catherine had $21,800, Alan had $10,400, and Elisa was at $13,200. Catherine wagered $5,000.

HIPPO CAMPUS $2000: Geography taught us young bulls that this country whose capital is Lusaka probably has the most hippos
(Catherine: What is Botswana?)

TRIPLE STUMPERS IN THE DOUBLE JEOPARDY! ROUND
HIPPO CAMPUS $1600: Excitement in Bible class as we learn this creature that "drinketh up a river" in Job is thought to have been a hippo
(Catherine: Who is Leviathan?)
...
(Alex: It's not Leviathan, it's [*]. Back to you, though, Catherine.)

SCORES ENTERING FINAL JEOPARDY!
Catherine: $18,800
Elisa: $13,200
Alan: $10,400

FINAL JEOPARDY! CATEGORY
AGATHA CHRISTIE
(Alex: Ooh, a great author.)

VENUSIAN MONOLOGUES/MARTIAN CHRONICLES
Two-thirds for first place. Stratton's Dilemma.
Catherine: Wager $7,601 to cover Elisa.
Elisa: You ought to wager to cover Alan, but since you cannot win on a Triple Stumper if you do so, you should choose between wagering $0 and maximizing your winnings by betting all $13,200. You are in Stratton's Dilemma, calling for a wager of more than $7,600 (to shut out Alan) or less than $2,000 (risking the possibility of being passed from behind by Alan). Go with the smaller bet if you believe a Triple Stumper is more likely than a singleton miss by Catherine.
Alan: Considering that you're going to lose on a Triple Stumper by at least $800, you need to bet either $2,801, and play for a win if Elisa tries to two-thirds Catherine, or bet at least $8,401 to cover Catherine's $0 bet (though, from this position, a wager of all $10,400 is acceptable and perhaps preferred).

FINAL JEOPARDY! CLUE
In the 400-page book "Agatha Christie A to Z", entries beginning with this 6-letter word start on page 224 & end on 238

FINAL SCORES
Alan: $10,400 - $3,000 = $7,400 (What is Poison?) (3rd place: $1,000)
Elisa: $13,200 + $13,200 = $26,400 (What is Murder?) (New champion: $26,400)
Catherine: $18,800 - $7,601 = $11,199 (What is Poirot?) (2nd place: $2,000)
(Alex [after reading Elisa's response]: Yes, "Murder on the Orient Express" and "Murder on the Nile." Lots of murders with Agatha Christie)

Total Potential Lach Trash: $2,600

GAME DYNAMICS


CORYAT SCORES
Catherine: $19,800, 26 R (including 2 DDs), 2 W (including 1 DD)
Elisa: $13,200, 17 R, 2 W
Alan: $10,400, 12 R, 0 W
Combined Coryat: $43,400

BATTING AVERAGES
Catherine: 26/61 = .426
Elisa: 18/58 = .310
Alan: 12/58 = .207
Team: 56/63 = .889

MISCELLANEOUS INTERESTING CLUES
WHAT WOMEN WANT $800: Before bed, a cup of this herbal tea from Celestial Seasonings; that's the logo seen here

THE CHICAGO BOARD OF TRADE $200: (Sarah starts us off.) The traders here are buying & selling week contracts for later delivery; for example, a cereal company may buy wheat at a locked-in price for delivery many months later; giving rise to this type of commodities' contracts

THE CHICAGO BOARD OF TRADE $400: (Sarah continues our tour in Chicago.) He was the first U.S. President to appear here on the floor of the Chicago Board of Trade; he ended his remarks on the state of the economy by saying, "Maybe I could learn a few new hand gestures"

THE CHICAGO BOARD OF TRADE $600: (Sarah continues our tour of the Chicago Board of Trade.) Historical events have an impact on commodities' prices, as could be seen in March 2014; when corn reached a 6-month high, because of the Russian occupation of this peninsula through which corn is exported

THE CHICAGO BOARD OF TRADE $800: (Jimmy takes his turn.) CNBC reporter Rick Santelli's 5-minute outburst from the floor of the Chicago Board of Trade in 2009 attacking government bailouts is credited with sparking this political movement
(Elisa: What is Occupy Wall Street?)

THE CHICAGO BOARD OF TRADE $1000: (Jimmy wraps up the category and the round for us.) Chicago has long been the center of the American grain trade; in 1930, an aluminum statue of this Roman goddess of grains was placed atop the Chicago Board of Trade building to symbolize the city's agricultural roots

CANDLES $1600: 5-letter type of candle lit by the bride and groom using 2 separate candles, after making their vows

"CAT" PEOPLE $2000: Much of our knowledge of 19th-century Native Americans comes from paintings & drawings by him

ALLITERATIVE WORD PAIRS $800: Childlike angels with thighs irritated from rubbing together
(Elisa [laughs]: Chubby cherubs? I'm sorry--what are chubby cherubs?)
...
(Alex: [*], yes. Their legs are sore because they rub together.)

HIPPO CAMPUS $1200: In cinema studies we critique Jada Pinkett Smith's work as Gloria the Hippo in this animated movie series
(Alex: With less than a minute to go, you're right again.)

ALLITERATIVE WORD PAIRS $2000: A coddled & overindulged caver
[End-of-round signal sounds.]

CORRECT RESPONSES
Little Rock
Ruth Reichl
(Joseph) Stalin
Zambia
Behemoth
"Murder"
Sleepytime
a future
George H.W. Bush
the Crimea
the Tea Party
Ceres
a unity candle
George Catlin
chafing cherubs
Madagascar
a spoiled spelunker

[jeff6286]

Agatha Christie
In the 400-page book "Agatha Christie A to Z", entries beginning with this 6-letter word start with page 224 & end on 238.

Spoiler

What is murder? Alan said poison; Catherine said Poirot.

Catherine Hardee: $18,800-$7,601=$11,199
Elisa Korb: $13,200+13,200=$26,400...now a 1-day champion with $26,400
Alan Lange: $10,400-$3,000=$7,400

[floridagator]

Alan needs to go down in the Hall of Shame for his tie bet. He had the chance to squash Catherine like a bug on Friday but instead saw her eat his lunch today.

I have said it before and say it again: Jeopardy! and College Bowl players again and again show themselves to be masters of regurgitating knowledge but are completely flat-footed when it comes to figuring something out. When I saw that FJ today was the kind that relies on figuring out the answer rather than memorized trivia, I predicted that it would either be a TS or at most one player would get it correct. I was right.

At the end of last season, I (and others) said that the writers were out of steam for the season which led them to produce lame categories. That was only a partial explanation because we're already seeing silliness aplenty on the board early this season. Widowed waitresses? Chafed cherubs? Really. It's time for some fresh horses in the writing stable.

[SwanShadow]

I've said it here (and at the previous "heres") at least a dozen times:

Always, always, always play to win.

Did I mention always?

Always.

[Tigershark]

It's time for some fresh horses in the writing stable.

I haven't seen the episode yet, but I did see today's FJ on Jeopardy.com. Today's FJ is very, very similar to a FJ that I missed when I was a contestant. And that episode aired only three months ago. I get that there will be similar clues over the course of 31 seasons, but within 3 months is ridiculous. I believe this episode taped a few weeks after the air date, and if any of the contestants had seen and remembered that show, this would have been an instaget.

[nightreign]

It was an instaget for me, though I don't think it was because of the other episode. I was surpised only one person got it, but the lights do strange things to people.

[Austin Powers]

Nice work, dummy.

[Bamaman]

A person who won $36,400 in one game is the dumbest contestant in history? How much have you won on the show? I agree offering a tie to a strong three day champ is ill advised, but I'd hardly call him the dumbest ever. He wagered much better than the lady in the lock-tie game a while back.

So is Catherine done or is she on the list for the next TOC in Season 32?

My thinking on FJ....Has to be a word starting with a letter in the middle of the alphabet. How about murder? (Counts letters). That works. Wait, what about mystery? (Counts letters). Nope, murder it is!!!!

[opusthepenguin]

What a bogus crock of *&%#$.

Negging "chubby cherub" was bogus. "Pick an Agatha Christie word a bit past the middle of the alphabet" was bogus.

Oh, and hey, upthread doofi. I don't know if you noticed, but Catherine didn't win. You'll have to make a pretty complex argument to show that offering her the tie on Friday resulted in Alan's downfall today.

[countyguy]

Only seen the FJ segment of the show, but I wonder if Alan's answer of "poison" was because of remembering the FJ three months ago. That was the exact thought process that led me to "poison", even though I felt it was a little sketchy because it seemed a little late in the alphabet, but, for all I knew, Agatha Christie wrote about a lot of things later in the alphabet than "poison".

[heelsrule1988]

Ughhhhhh Catherine you gotta get that! Even *I* got FJ right.

[Golf]

Catherine had multiple opportunities to put the game away. Should have gone TDD on the free money category with state capitals, or made a properly aggressive wager on the first DD in DJ, and then by whiffing on a basic world capital. Then going to a $2k clue at the end wasn't great either. And in the end poor game play cost her lots of money.

Kinda cool FJ clue in my opinion, pretty sure there will be a lot of negs with Marple.

[Golf]

Ughhhhhh Catherine you gotta get that! Even *I* got FJ right.

The only thing worse than this logic is your average Coryat.

Alan needs to go down in the Hall of Shame as the dumbest contestant in history.

It says you are a "valued contributor", but I think I can only agree with half of that.

[Abraxas]

This was an exciting game and a totally unexpected finish! The lone challenger beat the two returning co-champions; how often does this happen? I precalled "rajah" in the "Middle J" category. I got 30 clues correct including FJ which was instant for me.

[xxaaaxx]

Well, this thread has gotten off to a hostile start...

I don't know if you noticed, but Catherine didn't win. You'll have to make a pretty complex argument to show that offering her the tie on Friday resulted in Alan's downfall today.

Yeah, no, gotta disagree here. She didn't win (study those world capitals folks!), but she was clearly the dominant player today, especially towards the end. That tie was a terrible move, and he paid for it by finishing a distant third.

Instaget FJ. Since I don't assume all J! players are morons, I was actually surprised this was a single get.

Definitely not the ending I was expecting So when was the last time a challenger took out co-champs?

[legendneverdies]

The world capital DD is an African capital that seems to usually be reserved for the TofC.

[econgator]

I was actually surprised this was a single get.

That's the most shocking thing of all. It took me literally 1 second to get this clue.

[eboettch]

Bummed for Catherine; I also had "Poirot" but crossed it out for "murder" because I thought the clue writers would have specified "name" if they wanted a character. "Murder" seemed way too easy, though, and had me second-guessing it up to the reveal. ("Marple" didn't really enter serious contention for me, mostly because it's always "Miss Marple.")

[Jeff-thecdboy]

I think this contestant from a few years back knows exactly what Alan went through these last two days:

http://www.j-archive.com/showplayer.php?player_id=4725