J! in the Media

This is where all of the games are discussed.

Moderators: alietr, trainman, econgator, dhkendall

Post Reply
Golf
Watches Jeopardy! Way Too Much
Posts: 2727
Joined: Thu Jan 10, 2013 12:27 pm

Re: J! in the Media

Post by Golf »

squarekara wrote: Thu May 23, 2019 12:51 pm For all his prep and focus, James absolutely deserves every dollar he's earning. But gameplay aside, Robin's overall experience was clearly marred by behavior backstage that affected not only her, but other contestants, and even staff. That's a shame.
If there was improper behavior that affected her, then yes, that's a shame. Totally agree. But has her statement been corroborated by at least one other person who was there? I'm just not going to take her word alone as gospel on possible bad behavior.
shambolic

Re: J! in the Media

Post by shambolic »

Golf wrote: Thu May 23, 2019 1:07 pm
squarekara wrote: Thu May 23, 2019 12:51 pm For all his prep and focus, James absolutely deserves every dollar he's earning. But gameplay aside, Robin's overall experience was clearly marred by behavior backstage that affected not only her, but other contestants, and even staff. That's a shame.
If there was improper behavior that affected her, then yes, that's a shame. Totally agree. But has her statement been corroborated by at least one other person who was there? I'm just not going to take her word alone as gospel on possible bad behavior.
I mean, haven't others on this board aired some grievances about James before his run even began? I'm not saying he's for sure a jerk (I obviously have no firsthand knowledge of the situation), but Robin is hardly the first person to allege as such.
davey
Watches Jeopardy! Way Too Much
Posts: 6030
Joined: Thu Jan 12, 2012 10:55 pm

Re: J! in the Media

Post by davey »

There are at least 3 edits in that interview. Berman says "I recently spoke to....," so it wasn't aired live. I wonder if she ever got more specific with her objections? Because the way it stands they're just vague.
User avatar
hbomb1947
Still hoping to get on Jeopardy! while my age is in double digits
Posts: 2434
Joined: Fri Jul 01, 2011 8:31 am

Re: J! in the Media

Post by hbomb1947 »

Golf wrote: Thu May 23, 2019 1:07 pm
squarekara wrote: Thu May 23, 2019 12:51 pm For all his prep and focus, James absolutely deserves every dollar he's earning. But gameplay aside, Robin's overall experience was clearly marred by behavior backstage that affected not only her, but other contestants, and even staff. That's a shame.
If there was improper behavior that affected her, then yes, that's a shame. Totally agree. But has her statement been corroborated by at least one other person who was there? I'm just not going to take her word alone as gospel on possible bad behavior.
I noticed that she didn't give any specifics. I don't know Robin, and this is just my opinion, but it came across to me from what she said in the interview that she didn't like that James assiduously prepared for J! for a year instead of just going into it like something fun (although it's evident to me that he has had great fun playing). She also said in the segment that James showed disrespect for the game, which I took to mean that she didn't like his style of play that has led to him steamrolling over most of his opponents. So she may have been predisposed to view everything he said and did in the green room in a negative light, especially retrospectively after she lost to him. Some of his other opponents, such as Adam Levin (who was interviewed on the very same segment) and Kevin Bohannon have had only positive things to say about James. I've also got to believe that if James was acting disrespectful to the staff, Maggie et al. would have put a stop to that fast.
Last edited by hbomb1947 on Thu May 23, 2019 2:11 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Follow me on twitter, even though I rarely tweet! https://twitter.com/hbomb_worldwide
User avatar
Le Master
Loyal Jeopardista
Posts: 112
Joined: Sat Jul 16, 2011 2:00 am

Re: J! in the Media

Post by Le Master »

James made some remarks to Robin that made her feel bullied. The ones she has said publicly are:

"Why'd you even try out if you didn't want to play?" when he overheard her saying she didn't want to play first the day of taping.

"How's that MATH coming?" 15 minutes after her telling them that her husband is a math professor and gave her homework to practice when the group was learning to wager.

I completely believe her that he said these things. And I don't see any reason to believe she made them up even if no one else corroborates. I just don't know if everyone would have taken the comments personally. They seem more socially awkward to me given how she described the context.
User avatar
hbomb1947
Still hoping to get on Jeopardy! while my age is in double digits
Posts: 2434
Joined: Fri Jul 01, 2011 8:31 am

Re: J! in the Media

Post by hbomb1947 »

Le Master wrote: Thu May 23, 2019 2:10 pm James made some remarks to Robin that made her feel bullied. The ones she has said publicly are:

"Why'd you even try out if you didn't want to play?" when he overheard her saying she didn't want to play first the day of taping.

"How's that MATH coming?" 15 minutes after her telling them that her husband is a math professor and gave her homework to practice when the group was learning to wager.
Where did she say these things?
Follow me on twitter, even though I rarely tweet! https://twitter.com/hbomb_worldwide
User avatar
Le Master
Loyal Jeopardista
Posts: 112
Joined: Sat Jul 16, 2011 2:00 am

Re: J! in the Media

Post by Le Master »

hbomb1947 wrote: Thu May 23, 2019 2:21 pm
Where did she say these things?
I included links.
seaborgium
Undefeated in Reruns
Posts: 8941
Joined: Fri Jul 01, 2011 9:31 am

Re: J! in the Media

Post by seaborgium »

hbomb1947 wrote: Thu May 23, 2019 2:21 pm
Le Master wrote: Thu May 23, 2019 2:10 pm James made some remarks to Robin that made her feel bullied. The ones she has said publicly are:

"Why'd you even try out if you didn't want to play?" when he overheard her saying she didn't want to play first the day of taping.

"How's that MATH coming?" 15 minutes after her telling them that her husband is a math professor and gave her homework to practice when the group was learning to wager.
Where did she say these things?
On Reddit and Twitter, obviously.
User avatar
This Is Kirk!
Jeopardy! Champion
Posts: 6562
Joined: Mon Dec 17, 2012 1:35 am
Location: Seattle

Re: J! in the Media

Post by This Is Kirk! »

Not really "the media" but further evidence of James' ubiquity: a local brewery (Stoup) has a beer out called Holz-Sour :)
holz-sour.PNG
holz-sour.PNG (209.02 KiB) Viewed 6035 times
User avatar
gnash
Jeopardy! Champion
Posts: 1678
Joined: Fri Jul 01, 2011 9:24 am

Re: J! in the Media

Post by gnash »

Le Master wrote: Thu May 23, 2019 2:10 pm James made some remarks to Robin that made her feel bullied. The ones she has said publicly are:

"Why'd you even try out if you didn't want to play?" when he overheard her saying she didn't want to play first the day of taping.

"How's that MATH coming?" 15 minutes after her telling them that her husband is a math professor and gave her homework to practice when the group was learning to wager.

I completely believe her that he said these things. And I don't see any reason to believe she made them up even if no one else corroborates. I just don't know if everyone would have taken the comments personally. They seem more socially awkward to me given how she described the context.
Those comments can be received in various ways, so it's not advisable to make them to strangers if you don't want them to dislike you (especially if you are about to give them an objective reason to dislike you), but they are not clearly disrespectful or offensive in a way that would reasonably prompt a moderator (such as a contestant coordinator in the green room) to intervene.

I would say making a vague accusation on TV that someone was disrespectful in the green room, without mentioning any specifics, is more inappropriate.

And the TV hosts' comments at the end of the segment (after the guests were gone) were far, far more inappropriate.
User avatar
AndyTheQuizzer
Lots and Lots of Interviews
Posts: 2594
Joined: Fri Jul 01, 2011 11:01 am
Location: St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
Contact:

Re: J! in the Media

Post by AndyTheQuizzer »

squarekara wrote: Thu May 23, 2019 12:01 pm I don't think anyone giving a firsthand account of personal experience deserves to be attacked.
This.
Andy Saunders
J! Archive Founding Archivist
Publisher - The Jeopardy! Fan
User avatar
AndyTheQuizzer
Lots and Lots of Interviews
Posts: 2594
Joined: Fri Jul 01, 2011 11:01 am
Location: St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
Contact:

Re: J! in the Media

Post by AndyTheQuizzer »

This Is Kirk! wrote: Thu May 23, 2019 1:01 pm It is, but have any other contestants made similar allegations? Some people may rub certain people the wrong way while others may have found their behavior perfectly acceptable.
Why should other contestants have to in order for Robin to be believed?
Andy Saunders
J! Archive Founding Archivist
Publisher - The Jeopardy! Fan
User avatar
opusthepenguin
The Best Darn Penguin on the Whole JBoard
Posts: 10319
Joined: Thu Aug 11, 2011 2:33 pm
Location: Shawnee, KS
Contact:

Re: J! in the Media

Post by opusthepenguin »

OntarioQuizzer wrote: Fri May 24, 2019 12:27 pm
This Is Kirk! wrote: Thu May 23, 2019 1:01 pm It is, but have any other contestants made similar allegations? Some people may rub certain people the wrong way while others may have found their behavior perfectly acceptable.
Why should other contestants have to in order for Robin to be believed?
Because she's alleging a character flaw in someone else? I think we can believe that this is how she recalls her experience. But like Kirk, I'm unwilling to generalize from a single report and say that James H. is not a good guy. I wouldn't "believe", in that sense, a single contestant's testimony against Robin either.
User avatar
gnash
Jeopardy! Champion
Posts: 1678
Joined: Fri Jul 01, 2011 9:24 am

Re: J! in the Media

Post by gnash »

OntarioQuizzer wrote: Fri May 24, 2019 12:27 pm
This Is Kirk! wrote: Thu May 23, 2019 1:01 pm It is, but have any other contestants made similar allegations? Some people may rub certain people the wrong way while others may have found their behavior perfectly acceptable.
Why should other contestants have to in order for Robin to be believed?
That's a complete non sequitur. Where did This is Kirk say he didn't believe Robin?
User avatar
This Is Kirk!
Jeopardy! Champion
Posts: 6562
Joined: Mon Dec 17, 2012 1:35 am
Location: Seattle

Re: J! in the Media

Post by This Is Kirk! »

And, honestly, if negative comments toward contestants are edited from this site, how come negative comments toward James seem to be exempt?
User avatar
alietr
Site Admin
Posts: 8980
Joined: Thu Jun 30, 2011 1:20 pm
Location: Bethesda, MD

Re: J! in the Media

Post by alietr »

I've never said negative comments aren't allowed, but insults certainly aren't.
User avatar
floridagator
Watches Jeopardy! Way Too Much
Posts: 2192
Joined: Sat Mar 16, 2013 3:39 am

Re: J! in the Media

Post by floridagator »

https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/as ... -1.5118295

This interview by a contestant from 1991 about his experience says things that are no longer true. He went away from the game with scented trash bags and Gitano jeans. Now, of course, losers get $1000 or 2000. Plus scented trash bags. ;)

He also got the bum's rush to the back door. Apparently that doesn't happen anymore either. (Someone on this board corrected me when I said it did. It happened to a guy I know.)
I'd rather cuddle then have sex. If you're into grammar, you'll understand.
User avatar
OrangeSAM
(Unranked)
Posts: 2161
Joined: Sat Jul 02, 2011 9:00 pm

Re: J! in the Media

Post by OrangeSAM »

floridagator wrote: Sat May 25, 2019 8:47 pm https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/as ... -1.5118295

This interview by a contestant from 1991 about his experience says things that are no longer true. He went away from the game with scented trash bags and Gitano jeans. Now, of course, losers get $1000 or 2000. Plus scented trash bags. ;)

He also got the bum's rush to the back door. Apparently that doesn't happen anymore either. (Someone on this board corrected me when I said it did. It happened to a guy I know.)
Ah, if only I could still fit into those jeans.
OCSam
Austin Powers
Watches Jeopardy! Way Too Much
Posts: 1783
Joined: Tue Nov 15, 2011 8:09 pm

Re: J! in the Media

Post by Austin Powers »

Falco comes off poorly. You lost; stop with the sense that you were good enough that you were supposed to win a couple of games. Move on with your life.

It’s interesting how little the country cares about JH’s personality flaws, yet a small group of fans - almost all former contestants - can’t see anything other than those issues.

They’ll claim this is justified, due to violations of etiquette by JH years ago. But that stuff happened years ago and, really, who cares? No one seems to have been materially hurt and the folks mostly talking about it are the offended. The two most insulted are recognized as great trivia players and the reason those allegations never took root is that no one at the time believed them.

Maybe nothing seems terrible these days due to all the terrible news, but I am not surprised that no one gives a rat’s ass that JH was mean to Ms. Falco in the green room.

There’s an interesting underlying tension. Those that bash JH act like they want to be on the show “just for fun,” and that his approach seems mercenary. That’s the gist of Falco’s complaining that JH was able to organize his life around prep.

But at the same time, this micro-community can’t stop talking about how they were on the show. Half of these folks have Alex in their Facebook profile photos.

Appearing on the show is clearly an ego boost for these folks. I’d further speculate that it serves in their minds as a validation of their intelligence. Especially a kind of intelligence that is likable and considered attractive enough to be palatable for TV. I can’t help but think that Ms. Falco very much dreamed that she was going to be able to tell others she was a Jeopardy Champion, that she met Alex and that Maggie LIKED her.

JH wrecks all that. He’s way, way more talented than just about everyone, ever. I don’t see how that can be disputed at this point. That has to sting some even if folks act like it doesn’t. And he does it without frankly being that TV friendly. No stories about he was offered a dowry of camels for his hand in marriage while visiting Egypt, for example.

And his mercenary approach really cuts through the idea that the show is supposed to be a daily parade of thoughtful bookstore owners, schoolteachers, etc, who reflect America as it Should Be. Turns out it is just a game show, and being a game some play to win.

It’s reflective of nothing more than that, and that’s not a problem. Folks are allowed to dislike JH, but it would nice if they admitted the zeal behind their feelings reflects larger issues of their own self-importance and how it relates to the show. I think it’s unfair to JH to act like he takes the show way too seriously when there are more than a few people out there who have their self-image wrapped up in appearing on Jeopardy, too.
User avatar
Volante
Harbinger of the Doomed Lemur
Posts: 9254
Joined: Thu Jul 14, 2011 11:42 pm

Re: J! in the Media

Post by Volante »

This has been reminding me of an article about the first season of Survivor

http://sirlingames.squarespace.com/arti ... vivor.html
A four person voting alliance was not something Rich stumbled into; it was his plan all along, starting before he ever set foot on the island. Not a single other player had even considered such a thing. The other players reacted in classic scrub fashion to Rich’s plan, calling it “no fun.” I was just waiting for someone to call it “cheap.” The other players were bound up by their own made-up rules of honor—rules the game has no knowledge of. The game knows nothing but winning and losing. One player said, “It’s no fun to sit around and get picked off one by one by an alliance. If that’s the way the game is going to be, then I don’t want to play.” Good. Get off. Why did you show up in the first place if not to win?
The best thing that Neil Armstrong ever did, was to let us all imagine we were him.
Latest movies (1-10): Everything Everywhere All at Once (10), Ruby Gillman: Teenage Kraken (6), Black Sunday /1960/ (6), Marcel the Shell with Shoes On (7)
Post Reply