New old games in the J! Archive

[DBear]

Courtesy of the National Archives of Game Show History I added 9/30/86: https://j-archive.com/showgame.php?game_id=7688

TOYS OF THE '60s and later...

Spoiler

J14 ...not that kind of vibrator!

[MinnesotaMyron]

Just as good was the TS clue at DJ24 as I laughed knowing even the "Spring" was not going to help those guys as the clue was stale even in 1986.

We welcome her to the J-Canon all the same. I managed to pull her last name from some dusty corner of my brain, but no way was it in time.

Sighting of the super-rare, non-"What is/Who is" FJ response.

[Bamaman]

Courtesy of the National Archives of Game Show History I added 9/30/86: https://j-archive.com/showgame.php?game_id=7688

Player pics of Jim Flowers, Jonathan Oren and Tom Rutledge:

Spoiler

BASEBALL NICKNAMES, TOYS OF THE '60s and later... TELEVISION for the FJ! category? Yes, please. Just as good was the TS clue at DJ24 as I laughed knowing even the "Spring" was not going to help those guys as the clue was stale even in 1986.

Alex acted like he had never seen the shaka in his life.

You can by Jim's pic why he reminded me of Eric Backes with the wide arms.

You need to shave off the extra apostrophe in J19.

[MarkBarrett]

Courtesy of the National Archives of Game Show History I added 9/18/87: https://j-archive.com/showgame.php?game_id=7690

Player pics of Douglas Goodman, Babette Heistand and Tom Bendycki:

Spoiler

The writers had a little fun in the TV category and later with the DJ! Round categories.

[Bamaman]

I think DJ13 will play easier on here than it might have a week ago.

[MarkBarrett]

Courtesy of the National Archives of Game Show History I added 9/6/88: https://j-archive.com/showgame.php?game_id=7693

Player pics of Buck Janes, Rosanne Messineo and Dave Prechtl:

Spoiler

[DBear]

a rare top row DD makes an appearance

[AndyTheQuizzer]

I'm moved the June game to November and will put the following game there as well since I've been convinced it's the better place.

We came pretty close—TuneIn is currently airing Ron/Penny/Michael as Episode 51 (11-19-1984).

[MarkBarrett]

Courtesy of the National Archives of Game Show History I added 6/19/90: https://j-archive.com/showgame.php?game_id=7694

Player pics of Dan Capone, Karen Blank and Eric Terzuolo:

Spoiler

1990 type boards right up Eric's alley.

Archivists do not have Eric's 2nd game.

[Robert K S]

From Tunein, we have show #44, aired 1984-11-08, John Genova game 2, featuring as a worthy challenger one Gregory Proops, a retail sales clerk whom I understand subsequently made a career for himself in race announcing.

I believe that archivists have John Genova games 1 and 3 (from Tunein) but not games 4 and 5.

This game is one of the earliest in the Archive not to have the "bong" sound when a player rang in. I think it must have been retired either between shows #25 and #26 or between shows #30 and #31?

There is no rhyme or reason as to the audience's applause. They don't applaud for every clue, but many. They applaud as enthusiastically at $200 gets as at $1000 gets. The applause placement doesn't coincide with lead changes or anything of significance in terms of gameplay. It really seems that someone in the audience knows a correct response, starts clapping when one of the players does as well, and then it catches on virally. Really slows the game up. (It is not just sweetening in post.)

Roberta got away with neglecting her phrasing in Double Jeopardy! ("Thumb!") with nary a scold from Alex. Alex also gave John "another shot" at the last clue of the Double Jeopardy! Round despite his first response being wrong.

Gregory Proops had a lot of good gets and was leading at the end of the Jeopardy! Round and the Double Jeopardy! Round. But he also had some disastrous misses, which, had he gotten them right, would have given him the lock(-tie) he needed to return, given his failure in Final Jeopardy! From where I sit today, I couldn't have named the cad war minister behind the Keeler affair, either, even though there was a short-lived Andrew Lloyd Webber musical about it in 2013 (Stephen Ward). But maybe, from the lead, I wouldn't have tried to ring-in on high-value clues with only guesses, either.

Apparently, in these early days, the light pens did not shut off with the sounding of the tympani, because Alex chides a player for continuing to write after the time expiry (we know not who, without the video--but I think it's probably Gregory).

But now let's talk about whether Gregory's Final response, had it been legibly and correctly completed, should have been acceptable. I've read the Constitution dozens of times and couldn't have told you where, if anywhere, it has a requirement that either the House speaker or the president of the Senate must sign a bill before it is passed to the president for ratification/veto. Article I, section 7 has the relevant text, and it just says, "Every Bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and the Senate, shall, before it become a Law, be presented to the President of the United States". Presumably, there are House and Senate rules that fill in the gaps, but these can change from time to time (the Constitution, too, I suppose, but not so much). This official website says that the president pro tem. of the Senate can sign legislation. Gregory had the wrong name for this role, and didn't write it legibly, so in no way is he being invited back, but I'm curious as to whether anyone has any insight as to whether this clue has more than one correct response.

One of the clues in the J! Round category TV TRIVIA had a factoid that is easily disproven today by a trip to YouTube. Mary Tyler Moore was not, in fact, shown only from the waist down in her (uncredited) breakout role.


For anyone interested, here is Gregory's interview segment in its entirety, in which he is evidently the secret originator of a ToC-level category name.

Spoiler

Alex: Hi. Let's meet the players right now, and the man at the end, Gregory Proops, plays in a rather unique band. Can you tell me about that?

Gregory: It's an a cappella heavy metal band, Alex.

[Laughter]

Gregory: We, uh... we do a little air guitar, a little air drums, and, uh, generally have a good time.

Alex: Do you get in the sauce a lot?

Gregory: [Chuckles] Uh, um. Yeah. Before, during, and after.

Alex: Before, during, and after. Well, it's a pleasure having you with us on the program today.

Gregory: It's a pleasure being here, Alex.

Alex: Good.

[MinnesotaMyron]

Those wrong guesses will get you every time. Gregory should try to find a game where the points don't matter.

[seaborgium]

I had "president of the Senate" for the second part, but that works!

[MarkBarrett]

From a TuneIn recording here is 6/25/91: https://j-archive.com/showgame.php?game_id=7696

Don't miss what happened at DJ29.

[econgator]

I had "president of the Senate" for the second part, but that works!

Probably, but ...

I could also see where they might not accept it. When acting as President of the Senate, the VP has little power to do anything other than cast a tie-breaking vote. So, s/he can only sign the bill as VP (unlike the President Pro Tempore, who does have authority to sign legislation).

[Robert K S]

I had "president of the Senate" for the second part, but that works!

Probably, but ...

I could also see where they might not accept it. When acting as President of the Senate, the VP has little power to do anything other than cast a tie-breaking vote. So, s/he can only sign the bill as VP (unlike the President Pro Tempore, who does have authority to sign legislation).

Can you explain your thinking here? If the veep signs a bill, isn't it in capacity as president of the Senate?

[Robert K S]

From a TuneIn recording here is 6/25/91: https://j-archive.com/showgame.php?game_id=7696

Don't miss what happened at DJ29.

Should've been tough cookies for Mark, who had two chances to skip to the bottom row after DJ!27.

[Golf]

From a TuneIn recording here is 6/25/91: https://j-archive.com/showgame.php?game_id=7696

Don't miss what happened at DJ29.

Wow. Not too often you're given a gift that you attempt to screw yourself with. Especially on national TV.

[jeopardyfan87]

From a TuneIn recording here is 6/25/91: https://j-archive.com/showgame.php?game_id=7696

Don't miss what happened at DJ29.

If only that had happened on the last day of the 1985 Tournament of Champions and Bruce Fauman would have gotten that Daily Double at DJ30.

[seaborgium]

From a TuneIn recording here is 6/25/91: https://j-archive.com/showgame.php?game_id=7696

Don't miss what happened at DJ29.

If only that had happened on the last day of the 1985 Tournament of Champions and Bruce Fauman would have gotten that Daily Double at DJ30.

Bruce needed his score to be more than $8,700 higher going into that last FJ to have a lock, which he needed since Jerry Frankel had a sole get on FJ. Given he had $7,100 to work with, that last DD couldn't have saved him the tournament (though it might have improved his payout if he would have gotten it right.)

[seaborgium]

From Tunein, we have show #44, aired 1984-11-08, John Genova game 2, featuring as a worthy challenger one Gregory Proops, a retail sales clerk whom I understand subsequently made a career for himself in race announcing.

I just realized, if John had made a properly strategic bet from second place ($1,600 to catch up to Gregory and guarantee not being surpassed by Roberta), and his subsequent games' earnings were the same, his 5-day total would have been $46,000 even, and he would have missed out on the UToC (and fellow S1 5xer Ron Black with his $47,401 would have nabbed the last spot).

If they ever delved into past seasons for a Second Chance competition, I'd root for Greg to be included. If any S1 contestant who never won has remained sharp enough to be competitive on J! nearly 40 years later, he's got to be one.