Wednesday, October 16, 2013 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

[Archivists]

Game Recap for Show #6688, 2013-10-16

CONTESTANTS
Jane Wanninger, a lecturer and academic advisor from Nashville, Tennessee
Mat Ahn, a law student originally from North Royalton, Ohio
Stuart Anderson, a JAG originally from New Orleans, Louisiana (whose 1-day cash winnings total $16,801)

OPENING REMARKS
Alex: Thanks, Johnny. Hi, everyone. Welcome to our show. If you were watching yesterday, you'll recall that all three players came up with the correct author in final, but only Captain Anderson came up with the correct novel, "East of Eden." Earned $16,000 and change. Mat and Jane, welcome aboard, and good luck to you. Here we go. The Jeopardy! Round is where we start, as is always the case, and these are the categories today...

JEOPARDY! ROUND CATEGORIES
WHO OWNS IT? (4/5)
FILMOGRAPHIES (5/5)
FIELD OF DREAMS (5/5, including 1 correct Daily Double)
"RAP" IT UP (5/5) (Alex: Each correct response will begin with those three letters of the alphabet.)
FOR THE LAST TIME (4/5)
HO CHI MINH CITY (2/3) (Kelly of the Clue Crew: Ho Chi Minh City -- once the center of imperial intrigue & power, today the most important city in Southern Vietnam.)

THE RIGHTS & THE WRONGS
Stuart: 12 R (including 1 rebound and 1 DD), 3 W
Mat: 7 R (including 1 rebound), 2 W
Jane: 6 R, 2 W

Clues revealed: 28
Triple Stumpers: 3
Jeopardy! Round Potential Lach Trash: $2,600



JEOPARDY! ROUND DAILY DOUBLE
Stuart found the Daily Double on the 3rd clue. Stuart had $400, Mat had $200, and Jane had nothing in the bank. Stuart wagered $1,000.

FIELD OF DREAMS $600: In 1899 he described dreams as "the royal road to knowledge of the unconscious activities of the mind"

SCORES AT THE FIRST BREAK
Stuart: $5,000
Mat: $1,800
Jane: $1,400

CONTESTANT INTERVIEWS



Alex: Jane Wanninger, from Nashville, Tennessee. We'll get to a story about you in a moment, but there was an item in the news recently saying cursive handwriting is no longer being taught or emphasized in our schools. I mentioned that because something happened to you that relates to that.

Jane: That's right. Last time I was in L.A. --the first time I was in L.A. --I was at a hotel bar where my friend works, and a man came up to me and asked if I had ladylike handwriting, and I said, "sure."

Alex: That's a good pickup line.

Jane: I know, right? And then he said, "do you want to be in a movie?" And I said, "this is L.A. Yes." [laughs] And, so, I wound up writing a letter that's featured in a movie, and my handwriting plays that of Kevin Sorbo's mother. So, TV Hercules, I'm his mom.

Alex: Okay. Good for you.




Alex: Mat Ahn is a law student, as you all heard in our introduction, and I think he's thinking ahead now to perhaps clerking for a Supreme Court justice, because what did you do related to one of them?

Mat: I helped create a parody rap video about Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Alex: A rap video about Ruth Bader Ginsburg?

Mat: Yes, so, one of my friends started this blog called "Notorious R.B.G.," based on Notorious B.I.G. And my girlfriend's work decided to make a song, you know, parodying Notorious B.I.G.'s "Juicy."

Alex: Did she like it?

Mat: She sent us an e-mail, and she loved it.

Alex: Two words of advice regarding your law studies -- get serious.

[Laughter]




Alex: Stuart Anderson is our champion, and he's already won some money, and he knows exactly where he's gonna spend that money.

Stuart: Yes, I do.

Alex: On?

Stuart: I'm going to get a pair of lederhosen. I'm going back to Oktoberfest.

Alex: You don't have to wear lederhosen in order to participate and have fun in Oktoberfest.

Stuart: That's correct. I went there last year. And I had a great time without them, but I think it would be a lot better with it, and no one needs them, so I wasn't gonna spend my paycheck on it.

Alex: Well, then, don't wear them.

TRIPLE STUMPERS IN THE JEOPARDY! ROUND
FOR THE LAST TIME $1000: A cousin of Prince Charles, Constantine II was the last king of this country
(Stuart: What is Bulgaria?)

WHO OWNS IT? $1000: Lipton tea, Lifebuoy soap, Pond's beauty products & Vaseline are brands from this company
(Mat: What is Nestlé?)
(Jane: What is Procter & Gamble?)

HO CHI MINH CITY $600: (Kelly of the Clue Crew reports from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.) Built in the 1890s, Ho Chi Minh City's opera house is an outstanding example of the elegant architecture called French this
(Stuart: What is Beaux-Arts?)
...
[The end-of-round signal sounds.]

SCORES AT THE END OF THE JEOPARDY! ROUND
Stuart: $4,400
Jane: $1,800
Mat: $1,400

[jeff6286]

Female Singers
In 2013 she became only the third female singer after Aretha Franklin & Madonna to chart over 40 Top 40 hits.

Spoiler

Who is Taylor Swift? Jane said Mariah Carey; Stuart said Whitney Houston.

Stuart Anderson: $14,400-$4,401=$9,999...now a 2-day champion with $26,800
Jane Wanninger: $9,400-$9,397=$3
Mat Ahn: (-$1,600)

[Archivists]

DOUBLE JEOPARDY! ROUND CATEGORIES
WASHINGTON, NOT D.C. (4/5)
YOU CAN SEE IT ON PBS (3/3)
FAMILIAR PHRASES (5/5, including 1 correct Daily Double)
BALLET (3/4)
AUTHORS' NAMES (4/5)
YEAR HE, YEAR HE (4/5, including 1 missed Daily Double)

THE RIGHTS & THE WRONGS
Stuart: 8 R (including 1 rebound), 0 W
Jane: 7 R (including 1 rebound), 1 W
Mat: 8 R (including 1 DD), 4 W (including 1 DD)

Clues revealed: 27
Triple Stumpers: 3
Double Jeopardy! Round Potential Lach Trash: $6,000



FIRST DOUBLE JEOPARDY! ROUND DAILY DOUBLE
Mat snagged the next Daily Double on the 14th clue. Stuart had $8,800, Mat had $1,000, and Jane was at $4,200. Mat wagered $2,000.

FAMILIAR PHRASES $1600: Meaning "betrayed", it came from the practice of sending slaves to the Deep South, sometimes on the Mississippi

SECOND DOUBLE JEOPARDY! ROUND DAILY DOUBLE
It was Mat who snatched up the last Daily Double of the game on the 19th clue. Stuart had $10,800, Mat had $4,600, and Jane was at $4,200. Mat made it a True Daily Double, wagering $4,600.

YEAR HE, YEAR HE $1200: Todd Beamer gave the heroic command "let's roll"
(Mat: What is... 1944?)
(Alex: No. It has to do with 9/11, [*].)

TRIPLE STUMPERS IN THE DOUBLE JEOPARDY! ROUND
WASHINGTON, NOT D.C. $2000: General W. passed 3 times through what's now Washington in this state's Litchfield County
[Alex reads "W." as "Washington".]
(Mat: What is Ohio?)
(Jane: What is Virginia?)

AUTHORS' NAMES $2000: All things were bright & beautiful for veterinarian Alfred Wight when he wrote under this name

BALLET $2000: Dancers called Robert Joffrey "Mr. Joffrey", but this choreographer & company co-leader was "Jerry"

SCORES ENTERING FINAL JEOPARDY!
Stuart: $14,400
Jane: $9,400
Mat: -$1,600

PREFINAL REMARKS
(Alex: [at the end of the Double Jeopardy! Round] Mat, you were up and down, and unfortunately you weren't able to get yourself out of the hole at the end. But you'll pick up $1,000 for being with us today.)

FINAL JEOPARDY! CATEGORY
FEMALE SINGERS

VENUSIAN MONOLOGUES/MARTIAN CHRONICLES
Crush for first place.
Stuart: Wager $4,401 to cover Jane.
Jane: You have the hope of surpassing Stuart if you come up with the correct response. Bet all $9,400.

FINAL JEOPARDY! CLUE
In 2013 she became only the third female singer after Aretha Franklin & Madonna to chart over 40 Top 40 hits

FINAL SCORES
Jane: $9,400 - $9,397 = $3 (Who is Mariah Carey) (2nd place: $2,000)
Stuart: $14,400 - $4,401 = $9,999 (Who is Whitney Houston?) (2-day champion: $26,800)

Total Potential Lach Trash: $8,600

GAME DYNAMICS


CORYAT SCORES
Stuart: $14,000, 20 R (including 1 DD), 3 W
Jane: $9,400, 13 R, 3 W
Mat: $2,600, 15 R (including 1 DD), 6 W (including 1 DD)
Combined Coryat: $26,000

BATTING AVERAGES
Stuart: 20/59 = .339
Mat: 15/60 = .250
Jane: 13/58 = .224
Team: 48/63 = .762

MISCELLANEOUS INTERESTING CLUES
FIELD OF DREAMS $800: Most dreaming occurs during the stage of sleep known by this 3-letter abbreviation
(Mat: What is [*] sleep?)

FILMOGRAPHIES $1000: "Ted",
"Black Swan",
"Friends with Benefits"
(Jane: Who is Natalie Portman?)
(Stuart: Who is Milan Kundera?)

WHO OWNS IT? $800: Atten-shun! In 1971 this company came out with the strawberry-flavored cereal Franken Berry
(Mat: What is Cap'n Crunch?)
...
(Alex: Less than a minute now.)

HO CHI MINH CITY $200: (Jimmy of the Clue Crew reports from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.) Saigon's cathedral was built in the 19th century using bricks from Marseille & other material entirely imported from France. In 1959, the statue of the Virgin Mary was added, & the cathedral got this name, like another famous French church

HO CHI MINH CITY $400: (Kelly of the Clue Crew reports from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.) Colorful Pham Ngu Lao Street is lined with inexpensive hotels & restaurants that cater to budget travelers, so the neighborhood is called "Khu Tay Balo", or these people's area, for the type of luggage that young tourists often carry

YEAR HE, YEAR HE $1600: Lloyd George signed the Treaty of Versailles
(Mat: What is 1918?)

YEAR HE, YEAR HE $2000: George Orwell completed the manuscript for "1984"
(Mat: What is 1949?)
...
(Alex: Poor Mat. He was one year off on two clues.)

YOU CAN SEE IT ON PBS $2000: Set in early 20th c. England, this 2013 "Upstairs, Downstairs"y drama featured Jeremy Piven as the title "Mr."
(Alex: [*] is correct, and we have less than a minute to go now.)

YOU CAN SEE IT ON PBS $1200: The "What Is It?" segment on "Ask This Old House" shows gizmos like one used to sweep this from inside the house

BALLET $1600: This 2013 ABT presentation takes a Pushkin poem, adds Tchaikovsky music & drops the "Eugene"
[Alex reads "ABT" as "American Ballet Theatre".]
...
[The end-of-round signal sounds.]

CORRECT RESPONSES
Freud
Greece
Unilever
French Colonial
sent down the river
2001
Connecticut
James Herriot
Gerald Arpino
Taylor Swift
REM
Mila Kunis
General Mills
Notre-Dame
a backpack
1919
1948
Selfridge
chimneys
Onegin

[KenJenningsFan74]

Mat Ahn was performing well until he ran into some bad luck with that Daily Double! Wagering it all was a bold move that could have paid off many times over, but once he dipped below -$3,000, it was going to be hard for him to dig his way out of the red before the Final. Stuart Anderson was solid again, with a Crush win this time. If he continues to get stronger, we might see him back for a Tournament of Champions appearance.

[El Jefe]

Mat Ahn was performing well until he ran into some bad luck with that Daily Double!.

For a split-second I wondered why it wasn't an insta-get but then I figured he must have been around 10 when it happened (Not That There's Anything Wrong With That)

Jeffrey

[UniquePerspective]

Interesting for me. I got 11 wrong the first board, and 11 right the second. A couple of stupid misses (Dynasty lead me to China, and I didn't read the number clearly for Babe Ruth). Said Rihanna in the final because of her obscene amount of number 1s.

[TenPoundHammer]

Babe Ruth fails to stick in my mind yet again.

Who Owns It? for $400 was out of date. They were renamed "L Brands" in March. Didn't keep me from running the category, though.

I usually do well in word categories, but I've never heard of rapacious, and didn't know what El Capitan was.

0/5 in Filmography. I've never even heard of James Franco or Mila Kunis.

Those first two Ho Chi Minh clues were very tl;dr. By the time they finally got to "this French church", I had long since tuned out the clue and couldn't get back in time.

====

What was supposed to lead to coal on Washington, Not DC for $800?

3/5 in Authors (missed $800 and $2000), which is three more than I expected.

Davy Jones was my only miss on Familiar Phrases. I kept saying "Jon… Jon…" but it was just too far back to trigger.

Year He was easy, but I was still too slow on $800 and $1600.

====

Holy carp, did I actually precall the right answer?!?

[Austin Powers]

Well I said Beyonce, then crossed it out and put Carey. Whitney Houston is all kinds of wrong. Maybe if it was 2012 it could almost work.

Don't know Todd Beamer? How old are you? Kids these days.

[Bamaman]

Don't know Todd Beamer? How old are you? Kids these days.

He's in law school, so maybe 24 at the oldest. Makes him around 13 on 9/11.

I had Carey for FJ.

Never heard the expression "send down the river", always heard it as sold.

Stuart caught a break nabbing that last $1,600 in ballet. It made the scores $14,400/$9,400, which gave him a crush. Had the last clue chosen been a $1,200 clue and he still got it right, the scores are $14,000/$9,400 and he loses if she bets correctly on FJ.

[ACW]

Don't know Todd Beamer? How old are you? Kids these days.

He's in law school, so maybe 24 at the oldest. Makes him around 13 on 9/11.

I had Carey for FJ.

Never heard the expression "send down the river", always heard it as sold.

Stuart caught a break nabbing that last $1,600 in ballet. It made the scores $14,400/$9,400, which gave him a crush. Had the last clue chosen been a $1,200 clue and he still got it right, the scores are $14,000/$9,400 and he loses if she bets correctly on FJ.

A crush??? EDIT: Ah.

Yeah, it's weird when 9/11 was 12+ years ago.

EDIT: Wow, guess Swift DID have 40+: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taylor_Swi ... hy#Singles

[skullturf]

I had a better game than usual, with my highest Coryat since Friday October 4th.

I was 15 for 15 at the first break, but then I missed the very first clue after the break.

I needed the assist of "Natalie Portman" in order to get "Mila Kunis" correct. I knew it was one of the two.

I negged with "Procter & Gamble" in the J! round, which I imagine a lot of people watching at home also did. A former roommate of mine used to work for them, and I was like, "Sounds believable as a list of some of P&G's products."

I got "coal" in the DJ round (Washington not DC for $800), but I definitely didn't know it. It was just a case of: city or town in northern England where they mine something? Newcastle is in the north of England and is strongly associated with coal. Good enough to take a stab at it in a second-row clue.

Those were a couple of heartbreaking misses by Matt in the "Year He" category. I suffered from almost the same indecision: I wasn't 100% sure whether the Treaty of Versailles was 1918 or 1919 (but was leaning 1919), and I also thought I had heard both of the years 1948 and 1949 associated with Orwell's 1984. (maybe one is when he finished writing the manuscript and one is when it was published?) I went with 1948 because I thought the writers were alluding to the "switching the digits" thing, but 1949 is a good incorrect answer.

I missed FJ. During the break, I tried to think of some famous and successful female singers: Barbra Streisand, Celine Dion, Madonna, Shania Twain, Britney Spears... I thought to myself, "I hope it's not a clue that's just about sales or chart positions; I hope there's also at least some biographical detail about the individual."

Annoyingly, there were almost no biographical hints in the clue. The only thing that came close was the "2013" date, which tends to suggest somebody young and recent.

I first wrote down "Cher" just to write something (her name is short) but figured it was probably someone younger (and I don't remember any recent Cher hits). I then switched to "Adele". I figured, probably the right generation, and she's probably one of the bigger "new" female singers of the past few years. Then, very near the end, Rihanna also came to mind, but I stayed with Adele.

I also briefly thought of Amy Winehouse, who I knew died in 2011 (the week before my brother's wedding) and Whitney Houston, who I was pretty sure died in 2012 (more than one year ago). If the year in the clue had been one of those two years, I might have gone with one of those two singers -- sometimes a performer's premature death will boost their sales.

When the guesses of "Mariah Carey" and "Whitney Houston" were revealed, I still didn't know, and thought both of those had reasonable chances of being correct, but I also thought it was more likely to be someone younger.

And I guess I was correct about that. But maybe it's sour grapes, but this seemed like an unsatisfying FJ to me. Although perhaps I'm just too old.

For me, there wasn't any "Aha!" or "Of course!" when the correct response was revealed. I was just like, "Taylor Swift had 40 popular songs?" (I also feel like Adele and Rihanna aren't quite old enough to have had 40 popular songs.)

To me, it was a bit like "Randomly name a young and recent successful popular singer who is female."

[StevenH]

Milan Kundera for Mila Kunis was one of the greatest incorrect responses, ever.

I actually liked this board. I ran the "guess the year" category but was disappointed when I went 0/5 in the "actors from films" category. I said Lohan for Fey and Wahlberg for Kunis.

The only clue that I didn't know in the "Authors" category in the DJ round was the one on Zane Grey, at $800. Unless I missed a key TOM, that clue was very hard for $800. I was impressed when the female contestant knew it.

I was also surprised by the miss on the "Let's roll" Daily Double.

I had Mariah Carey for FJ, and really thought that I was correct and we were seeing another FJ clue that was just trivia chestnuts. I never would have gotten Swift.

[TenPoundHammer]

I figured Taylor instantly because I know that sometimes, downloads are enough to get a song of hers to jump way up the chart. I think "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" went to #1 almost entirely from downloads. And I know she had some song called "If This Was a Movie" that I had never heard, but got to #10 for a week because of a download spike. Only Top 10 hit I can think of in recent years that doesn't have a Wikipedia article. (Older Top 10s, on the other hand, tend to become less frequent article targets over time. I can't believe "Keep Your Hands to Yourself" didn't have an article until I made one this week.)

[skullturf]

The only clue that I didn't know in the "Authors" category in the DJ round was the one on Zane Grey, at $800. Unless I missed a key TOM, that clue was very hard for $800. I was impressed when the female contestant knew it.

They said it was an author of westerns, which often suggests either Louis L'Amour or Zane Grey. Since Grey is a color, it could figure in a description of a kitchen tile.

I might have had a chance at FJ if they had just added one tiny little hint of a biographical nature. Like if they had said "This Pennsylvanian" or something.

[jeff6286]

Mariah Carey has 35 Top 40 songs, as does Rihanna, making this sort of a garbage clue, in my opinion. Whitney Houston has 29.

[rmfromfla]

Unilever -- formerly known as Lever Brothers.
(going back to the days when boxes of detergent used to have towels or glasses inside as a bonus).

[soxfan99]

Somebody has to post it.

[Golf]

Babe Ruth fails to stick in my mind yet again.

Sounds about like Rosie Perez, but how do you look in a black disco dress?

0/5 in Filmography. I've never even heard of James Franco or Mila Kunis.

Holy carp, did I actually precall the right answer?!?

How the hell call you precall that silly blonde stalker yet never heard of Mila Kunis and James Franco?

[soxfan99]

Don't know Todd Beamer? How old are you? Kids these days.

Had I heard the clue a month ago, I wouldn't have gotten it (was 16 on 9/11). However, it was just in the news when a Republican congressman said, "Like 9/11, let's roll," in reference to trying to stop the implementation of the ACA.

[TenPoundHammer]

How the hell call you precall that silly blonde stalker yet never heard of Mila Kunis and James Franco?

Because I have a 20-year-old sister who, until recently, was a Taylor Swift fan.

And you already know how limited my movie knowledge is. And I hate Family Guy, so I wasn't aware that Mila is the voice of Meg.