Jeopardy #25 -- New Thread for New Season

Will Matt Amodio continue his winning streak after months of down time between taping episodes? We'll find out on Monday.

I like Mayim, but would be fine with Buzzy if she can't do a longterm fulltime commitment.

I'd forgotten how totes adorbs Sam was (as the saying goes) until the TOC reruns. Nabir is cute and funny, ditto Veronica. I know I trash Jennifer a lot, but she gave off that bored, "Oh, just let me [italic]win[/italic] already!" vibe regularly.

Maybe replaying the Tournament of Champions was a good idea.

I've said all along I would be happy with Buzzy or Mayim as host. Could live with Ken too.

Also, David Faber did a great job during his week. I could live with him too.

I’d love to live with David Faber!

Yes!!

Buzzy, Buzzy, Buzzy

🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳

NO to Buzzy!! He’s so fugly.

Yes to Buzzy!!!! He did a great job.

Have the Burton fanatics and SJWs calmed down yet?

So does Mikey Richards week air this week? Awkward.

Yes, with Mayim taking over a week from today. It will be especially awkward if he starts with a gushing entrance about how honored he is to replace Alex. Things should be edgy enough as at the time he said he was incredibly nervous.

It will be interesting to see if the producers cut out all of Mike Richards nonsensical blather about being honored to have the job (for 24 hours).

They've got to edit out any kind of speech Mike may have made, and hopefully they also have Mayim or the new (temp?) producers give a short intro to episode 1, along the lines of "thank you for watching as we continue to look for a full-time host although no one can ever truly replace Alex," yadda yada.

They just edited it out and moved on. Good choice.

It's a shame because he's good at this.

What's … Matt … A … mo … di … o … is … so … a … noy … ing … ?

That's too many syllables, R16. He was keeping track of the 7.

Is it him, or just that the opponents weren't enough of a challenge?

Mike has a wonky eye.

I kept thinking his butt plug was shorting out......

It's him. Both opponents were good. Meanwhile, I guessed Pennsylvania for FJ.

Did they crank up the blue neon in the set? I reached for my sunglasses.

I knew that FJ was Rhode Island because the colony was founded by Roger Williams based on religious freedom. Which is why it was strange to see Matt puzzling over his answer — which ultimately he got right anyway.

His opponents did a very credible job, but they just couldn’t overcome Matt’s strategy of building up a huge lead early. Plus, he benefitted greatly from uncovering all three DJ answers. Plus, he had weeks to rest up from the 18-game run.

Buzzy is pretty cute.

The new Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune sets are God fucking awful. The last tacky remnants from Mike Richards' time as executive producer before he was unceremoniously kicked out of his job.

Yes. Sets are awful.

Matt seemed so much more relaxed. Liking him.

The new set looks like they're standing in front of a curtain.

Mike was fawning over Matt like a stage door fan.

Guessed Rhode Island for FJ.

Alex's son is hot.

Matt is still annoying as fuck and I cannot wait until the day when someone finally beats him.

I hate how Matt blows when the announcer says how much money he’s won so far. That’s just one of his many annoyances.

Yes, new set is not good, but the new Wheel of Fortune set is much worse.

I guessed Maryland for Final.

Looks like Matt actually did buy some new clothes during the break from taping. Glad he's spending some of his winnings.

Mike is quite good as host. I was reminded of why I liked him so much during his earlier two-week stint. Seemed completely calm and in control of the game without dominating the game. And he didn't have to use cards to bring up topics to talk about with the contestants.

Wonder how nervous Mike was during this taping on Aug. 19, knowing The Ringer story came out less than 24 hours before.

Variety TV critic discusses Mike's first episode as host and the way the didn't discuss this changing of the guard.

Men's Health columnist (!?!?) discusses the awkwardness of having Mike hosting for a week

I don’t feel any on air explanation to Jeopardy! viewers is necessary.

Regular viewers certainly don't require one and occasional viewers surely are aware of all the drama this summer since it was heavily covered by television newscasts and social media.

Besides—what could they say?

I was reminded how much I loathe Matt.

It's funny that Maryland kept repeating in my head for FJ, even though I knew Roger Williams' story of going down to Rhode Island after having been expelled from Massachusetts.

I'm one of those who hadn't minded Matt, but the counting to seven each time he answered that one set of questions was [italic]really[/italic] weird. I'm also not a fan of his new poodle-like haircut he has - or perhaps he had it before and I simply forgot about it.

As for Mike: he previously was my favorite guest host (with my runners up being Mayim, Robin Roberts & Buzzy). This was partly it was because of his looks (because, after all, I am shallow), but it was also because of his ease & comfort with the guests. During his original run, I remarked I was impressed that he didn't need to have cards when interviewing any of the contestants. And last but not least, I found his lisp charming.

Sorry for not editing that post @ R35 before posting.

When I'm half awake, I sound like DL's poster from North.

I could understand Maryland, being originally a haven for a disliked religious minority. I've been to the synagogue at Newport, RI.

R33 Trigger warning: Mike Richards' episodes were prerecorded, so we have to air them for continuity sake. If you are offended by Howard Stern type shock jocks, a new host will be on next week.

R29 The Wheel of Fortune set isn't the only problem. So is the cheesy, tacky music and sound effects. It sounded canned and corny. The glass on the set was also smudged and dirty. Mike really did degrade the shows he was producing to low rent trash like The Price is Right. I felt his performance last night was worse than during his initial run, so in hindsight, I'm glad he won't be the permanent host.

I meant to ask about WOF earlier... did they change the final spin because Pat's daughter was afraid of his being too close to the contestants (who might kill him)?

can't watch WoF anymore knowing Sajak is a psycho right winger

Daniel started off weak but came on strong in DJ.

When Matt lost out on both DDs in DJ, I thought he might be vulnerable.

FJ was an easy one, 1969 made it obvious.

Oh, god, the WOF music is absolutely awful!

Matt's poodle haircut was inspired by Lucy Ricardo.

Damn, I was really hoping Daniel would stay close in the DJ round, but Matt still managed to pull away . Daniel was sexy and smart.

I really like how they're now showing the Final Jeopardy category with the clue while the contestants are writing. No more having to rewind to remind!

"what's Parton" FUCK OFF Matt. He's so damn annoying. There's no excuse why he can't phrase questions properly at this point

He doesn't want to and he doesn't have to, so you should probably just get over it.

I also like the fact they're showing the Final category along with the clue.

Was rooting for Daniel to pull off an upset and oust Matt.

Had no clue on Final but it hindsight it was quite obvious due to the 1969 clue.

Really liking Mike as host. Comes off as warm and congenial. He does an especially good job chatting with the contestants. Too bad he didn't think to delete those RanDumb podcasts.

Agree the new music on Wheel of Fortune is awful.

That dude beside Matt tonight was weird as shit.

I dislike it, too, R42.

Here's hoping yesterday was a canary in the coal mine that Matt is vulnerable. I missed a bit of the interview, did the guy say he read the entire Bible in both English and Korean?

My issue with Mike, R48, is that he arrived on the scene telling the audience that he was "helping out" with the rotation when he had set himself up (lobbied) to be included. Also, his saying he wasn't at all interested in that trivia stuff (paraphrased) doesn't reflect well either. Agree that he does a decent job on screen as a host.

I believed that he transcribed the Bible in two languages, r50, to give his parents a Korean translation. I couldn't believe that he didn't do better in the Old Testament category.

That's even wierder - the Bible has been around in Korean for a very long time. Agreed he should've blasted through that category.

So I just spotted a rebel thread about Matt. How can this happen?

He did it as a punishment, I think, he did not seem very happy about it, even when prodded by Mike, he would not admit that he was glad he did it

OK, transcribed from existing text as a demand from his fundie dad makes sense, rather than translated. If it was such a painful experience, is there nothing else he could've discussed instead?

Just once... I want to see Matt time out rather than those beat-the-buzzer always-right "guesses"!

Matt's shirt and tie today look like they came in a box together from the Geoffrey Beene Collection.

Is Nick trans?

Matt spelled Tolkien wrong as well, but Mike did not mention it

Wow Nick's voice was the most feminine man's voice I've ever heard.

R59, Thank you.

Whatever Nick was, it was alluringly sensual. I wonder how many women change sex knowing they may experience male pattern baldness? That’s probably a “sign me up!” Attribute.

I was thinking along the same lines, R57.

I seem to recall that James' downfall had to do with finally not being able to build up a huge lead via daily doubles. Seems as though that's the only way Matt might not make it.

I got my hopes up again with Maureen, who like Daniel yesterday, started out great but got steamrolled by Matt in the second round. I agree with R62 that Matt can be dethroned if one of his opponents can keep those daily doubles out of his hands.

I have to give it to Matt though. Three quarters of a million dollars and twenty games won is really impressive. He'll most likely surpass Julia Collins' record tomorrow and has a good shot at beating James' record as well.

I wonder what he's gonna do with all that money.

I guessed Anthony Burgess. Lots of hard questions for me tonight. Matt's opponents were both pretty good.

Yes R63, his opponents need to get those Daily Doubles before he does. Maybe it’s me, but it seems like the DDs have all been incredibly easy during Matt’s run....almost unfairly so. For example, the Mayo Clinic one today. Way too easy.

Wow! Matt bought a tie with some of his winnings. I believe this is the first time we've seen him wearing one.

I was rooting for Maureen to stay neck and neck with Matt and then beat him in the end. Nick was also quite good. Shame that Matt got all the Daily Doubles.

Yes, the game that James Holzhauer finally lost was one where he did not find the Daily Doubles.

I knew Tolkien for Final even before Mike finished reading it.

I'm continually impressed at how seamlessly Mike has fallen into the host role and what a good job he's doing with it. Shame those podcasts were his downfall.

New Wheel of Fortune music is so awful, I couldn't even watch the full episode. Ended up fast forwarding through everything to get to the end of the episode to watch the Bonus Round.

R66, The brightness of the WOF set is more annoying than the music.

I thought the James River question was a giveaway as well, R65. He wore a tie once before, R66, a purple one. A several day champ a while back wore a tie after not wearing one for a long time, and promptly lost; I was hoping that'd rub off on Matt. My wish was granted that he did finally not come through just once on a delayed guess.

Agreed that the new WOF is just "off" in general, R66.

C.S. Lewis was the first name that came to mind for FJ and then I quickly changed it to Tolkien when I read the question more carefully.

I don't think the Jeopardy folks get their money until after they play and lose their last game.

R70 but would certainly feel more free with the resources they had... or, like, running up the credit cards.

Also, what is going on with Matt's hair? It seems like he's almost bald in the back, but not male-pattern bald. Chemotherapy? Trichotillomania?

"Matt, here at Sony we love how you're playing the game. We're certainly not going to tell you how to do it. But we just wanted to remind you that our viewers tune into Jeopardy to see some competition. They like a bit of a tussle. So a little excitement early on would really help draw them in. Wakarimasu ka?"

R71 - I noticed yesterday at the end of the show that the hair on his right side looked funny as compared with his left side.

I think during the credits he may have turned to one of the contestants and that's when I noticed it.

I get to go first with the Team Ken update!

Wonder if Matt'll still be there by then?

Just a reminder that the reason the WOF and Jeopardy sets and music are so awful this season is because of Mike Richards. He [italic] was [/italic] executive producer on both shows. He made the mess that Sony will have to clean up, aesthetic wise.

Ken and Mayim for the rest of the year.

Good R76. Now let's get on with the game and put this hosting business on the backburner for a while. I'm so over it.

Shoulda been Buzzy.

Maybe Buzzy will step in for next year?

The ad for tonight’s game that ran on WJLA in DC, makes it seem as if Matt could lose tonight. He was apparently in the red at some point during the game.

In the red? Heavens!

Eventually, Matt is going to blow a heavily wagered DD.

Yeah, well, he came close tonight — but won in the end.

Or get shut out of them by bad luck, R82.

Hosting update

I would never have recognized Ken from that picture - especially in a pink sweater.

Ken Jennings owes Mike Richards, big time.

wow Matt really died and lived by the daily doubles today. He started the second round in the red but of course he drew both double jeopardys and got them right which padded his score out of reach. He might have lost otherwise. So sick of him

When Matt bet it all and lost on the first Daily Double, I was screaming, "YES, YES!"

When he finished the first round in the red, I was praying one of the others could pull ahead and defeat him.

Alas, it was not to be. But it give us hope that someday soon, he will do down.

Had no idea on Final. Have never heard of Malala.

r86, yes, between the pink sweater and slicked back hair, that does not look like Ken Jennings.

And yes, r87, Ken definitely owes Mike a lot.

Hopefully when Michael Davies takes over as the interim EP, the firs thing he'll do is change the WOF music and lighting back to the way it was last season. Once again, I could not watch the full WOF episode due to the horrid music, so I FFed to the end to watch the Bonus Round.

I've decided that WOF set and music now resembles something from a third rate "live action" video game. Not sure they would change it anytime soon.

I had heard of Malala, but was thrown because I associate Urdu with Pakistan rather than Afghanistan. I'm good at geography, frustrating that the challengers couldn't buzz in with easy answers like the capital of Hungary.

I think it's a mutual thing for Matt and Mike - definite "get a room" chemistry.

By the time of Mike's fifth and final show, does anyone think he had any idea it would be his last?

From show #1 to show #5, Mike's drama would have been trending on social media all that day.

He must've had an idea by then "Just let me get through today..."

Mom and I were in a panic 😱 when Matt was in the red 😧

It was a great game. Glad Matt won again.

Let him get his million, then he can lose.

FJ was easy.

She was everywhere for a while.

Team Matt.💪

I've realized that now at 70 I am beyond a Jeopardy contender. I knew the figure, the history, the importance of Malala immediately, but could not retrieve her name.

I think proper nouns, names, are becoming hardest to recall. On the other hand it could just be the debilitating impact of Google and just-in-time searching have on the brain.

I sense that Matt is getting more and more reckless with his DDs - why not? He has enough $ already, I'm guessing he's gone within a week.

Matt must be single. 20 something shows in and he never talks about any Significant other.

Is Matt the one who loved it being light all night on Sweden?

Rapscallion Matt Amodio would be an ideal Billy Bigelow for the musical Carousel.

So, Matt made it through the Mike Rogers extremely abbreviated era. On to Mayim.

FJ seemed pretty easy. Jackson was the obvious choice. The Federalists had long since faded away, the Democrat-Republicans split during JQ Adams’ term, and there was little organized opposition to the Jacksonian Democrats, hence the rise of the Whigs.

So... Matt's quite the theater maven! What'll he buy grandpa with his winnings?

Maybe his fans will shut up now.

Mike's goodbye on Friday where he thanked the Jeopardy! team for continuing the legacy may have been recorded later and spliced in.

Wish-washy piece of shit, after his deluded, crazed fans caused as much trouble as they possibly could.

Damn, what is is about crazy fans and their sense of entitlement.

^^wishy-washy^^

Amazing how tired I have become of Matt. It's happened just in the past few days, I was liking him for a long time, but now I'm ready to see him retired. Now I find myself rooting for Matt to lose big on the Daily Doubles.

Fingers crossed that next week will be his last. Let him win $1 million and then get bumped off.

Final was super easy.

Matt isn't going to lose until he draws an opponent who gets to the daily doubles first. The other day when he bombed out in the first round was a fluke. I'm rooting for anyone over him at this point.

Oh Levar, are we finally done hearing from you??? Thank god. You sucked as guest host.

Surprised they went with Ken Jennings. At this point, were they looking for the least controversial possibility? Doesn't Ken have some social media baggage in his past?

Ken's only there for three months, not a permanent replacement.

Does anyone watch The Chase? Jennings, Rutter, et al are encouraged to be super obnoxious. Not looking forward to Jennings taking over.

He was fine while he hosted briefly earlier, R112.

^This

R112 - when was Rutter ever obnoxious?

R103 It was obvious after hearing the rumors of agents telling their clients to avoid the show like the plague that Levar wasn't going to jockey for the job anymore. Frankly, if they don't go with Buzzy, Miyam or Ken at this point, I don't see how they can get anyone take the job. Too much controversy and baggage for it to be worth it.

I think Aaron would be interested.

That's a shame R116, that Sony screwed this up so badly that now the show is anathema. What a way to honor Alex's legacy.

As for Matt, I wonder who would win in a showdown between him and James. My money is on James.

Since he carried over to this season, we won't see Matt for an extra year of TOC after his eventual loss (which happened to Jason Z. a while back).

I want to know more about Grandpa, who took Matt to see Hamilton.

Take him, or just pay for it?

why does Matt always get the Daily Doubles. I suspect cheating.

R122 He runs the board, i.e. he gets answers right and answers quickly and always choses the "geography" where DDs lurk. He has a strategy and it's been working.

It's because he starts the game picking clues at the bottom of the board and goes hunting for the DDs. By the time he uncovers the DD, he's akready amassed a sizable chunk of money which he then doubles and effectively ends the game in the first half of the second round. Plus, he's fast on the buzzard. It's the same strategy James Holzhauer used to win, but James was more of a robotic assassin than Matt.

Matt usually has amassed $10K before the first commercial break. And forget this BS about the buzzers being rigged, etc. His control of the board increases his odds of hitting the DJs. They all start from the same place.

He's just a very very smart guy; some of his answers are astonishing. He deserves his winnings.

Good lord, he’s not cheating. The DDs are most often toward the bottom of the board. He starts down there (1) to amass a large amount of money to bet on the DD, and (2) because that is where he has the best chance of finding the DD. In the first round he makes it a true DD, and in the second round he bets between $2,000 to $4,000 on the DD. His strategy has paid off thus far.

His great strength is in things related to geography, but the breadth of his knowledge is pretty amazing. He recalls some very obscure facts.

In the early days of his run, he steamrolled over his two competitors, who were pretty much blindsided by what he was doing. It now seems that they’ve given him a few tougher competitors so that the games are not total blowouts.

And, yes, at some point his good fortune will run out.

I meant to say he ends the game in the first half of the first round ( brain fart).

You're right R125. He's a really great player and absolutely deserves his winnings. I don't enjoy him though and the "what is?* phrasing for a person is like nails on a chalkboard.

R127, Notice that he writes "Who is" in FJ, at least he did on Friday.

It's debatable but I think term limits should come back. Maybe cap it at 12 games with a $100,000 bonus thrown in.

These long runs just change the nature of the program too much.

I bet they increase ratings.

Well, to date they've been lucky that the long-term winners have had personalities that, even if they don't particularly engage viewers, don't drive them away, either.

But there's a risk that at some point Jeopardy will get stuck with a long-term winner viewers will actively dislike, and ratings will fall. A term limit is good insurance against that possibility.

Merv Griffin died years ago, but his former wife Julann is still alive at 92.

Merv always credited her with coming up with the idea for the Jeopardy! game.

It would be interesting to know her reaction to what's been transpiring since Alex's death.

Anyine know when and what caused term limits to be removed?

There are definitely pros to term limits, but one thing I like about the existing rules is the opportunity for players to set and shatter all sorts of records which is pretty exciting. There would be no Ken Jennings, Julia Collins or Jadon Zuffranieri if there were limits. It's pretty cool to see how much people can accomplish and how much money they can win just based off their knowledge and strategy. It also makes the Jeopardy! Hall of Fame more interesting.

I wish they'd go back to paying the 2nd and 3rd place contestants what they earned rather than the $2000 and $1000 prizes. It's not like the show can't afford it, and FJ wagering would be much more interesting.

R135, Totally agree. They should be given what they earned.

R134 Only seven contestants have gone past 12 games. I liked Julia and Jason, but 12 games of them were enough.

I think contestants that lose to trivia titans should be allowed to compete again after the titans fall. How many trivia nuts are there in America anyway?

I think that everyone should win equal amounts of money and get the same number of chances to compete so that it's more fair!

I'd think that the possibility of retiring as a winner not condemned to ultimately walking off as a loser would help attract strong contestants.

The first episode of Mayim's two week stint is airing tonight for the Saturday night reruns. Sigh, we'll miss you Alex.

I had a bit of a crush on Jason, R137, and I found Julia to be a really cool person that I might actually like to know in real life. But, I grew to dislike James, and am thoroughly sick of Matt.

Seeing Mayim's show last night reminded me of what a normal game is supposed to look like.

R131 champion Austin almost made me stop watching until he was beaten.....it was painful.

Funny, I really liked Austin and appreciated his good sportsmanship during his initial run and in his tournament appearances. Nevertheless, I can totally understand how his personality grates on some people's nerves. It's really an acquired taste, LOL.

It sounds like most of you guys are in favor of term limits.

His area of expertise is artificial intelligence, so maybe he’s created an Alexa chip that can be planted in your ear that feeds him the correct answers. He often looks like he’s straining to hear something when stalling with his answers.

[quote]I had a bit of a crush on Jason, [R137], and I found Julia to be a really cool person that I might actually like to know in real life. But, I grew to dislike James, and am thoroughly sick of Matt.

I was in awe of James, watching him so expertly clear the board and win game after game. Even though he clearly lacked some social skills, I was rooting for him the whole time. Was very disappointed when he was defeated.

I was turned off by Jason almost from the start, but didn't dislike him. I was not rooting for him lose, but was not upset when he was defeated.

After initially admiring Matt, I have now come to dislike him. He's just annoying with his "Aw shucks" expressions at the beginning and end of each game. And the long pauses to come up with the answer definitely give the appearance of waiting for someone to feed him the answers, as r145 suggests. I am actively rooting for him to lose. Will be so happy to see him go down.

America is waiting for this!

What's Matt losing?

R146, What turned you off about Jason? He seemed a pretty unassuming guy.

so glad Mike's run is over on the show

It bothers me that a 46-year-old man's career and reputation are destroyed by some silly remarks he made on a podcast years ago.

Mike’s pussy stinks! End.

Matt got reallllly lucky that the female contestant also didn't know Who Framed Roger Rabbit was the answer for FJ - otherwise he would have actually lost tonight. As a kid of the 80's, I knew the answer right away.

Yes, R150, the cancel culture - which has enforcers on both the right & the left - is seemingly incapable of not painting with a full brush.

Anyone else laugh out loud when Carlo said Mozart composed Send in the Clowns?

Yes, R154!

Kind of obvious Matt's tiring, all we need is someone good in his stronger categories like geography.

Anyone catch Mayim saying “Correct. WHO IS…” after Matt’s typical “What’s…”? LOL

Why was Mike Richards still listed as Executive Producer on tonight's first show with Mayim?

I like Mayim, but I think Brad Rutter should be given a chance to host. He is quite personable and huge former winner on the show as well. I also liked Buzzy. Ken is all right, but I really recall getting bored with him as I am with Matt for just being there for a long time. "Oh, him again?"

I do like Johnny Gilbert's now starting off every show with "From the Alex Trebek stage", now that they've stopped with the memoriam card at the end of the show.

So, we’re getting Mayim & Ken the rest of the season and that’s it?

I think Brad, for whatever reason, is unavailable.

R158: Mayim will be on for the next three weeks, and then Ken through the end of 2021. January 2022 onward = To Be Determined.

R157: I seem to recall that there's a small window between his quitting as host and losing EP job not long after that.

To be fair, Mozart did write Eine kleine Nachtmusik, but he did not write Send in the Clowns...

I thought sure that it was Vivaldi that wrote Senda In Da Clowns.

Unlike Carlos, I couldn't get FJ, so I can't mock him for any of his wrong answers.

Feels quite comfortable with Mayim as host.

Matt was smiling at her quite often. This was the first time Matt has had a female host, so I guess the smiling was a male socialization thing making him smile at females. Or maybe he was flirting with her (although I doubt he knows how to flirt).

Was really rooting for the woman to take Matt down. If only she'd known Roger Rabbit, she would have won.

I instantly knew Final was Roger Rabbit. Acetone, benzene & turpentine are the ingredients in the chemical solution which dissolves film. Thus, the Dip was what they threatened to use to kill various Toon characters in the movie.

Mike is still listed as EP because he was still EP for the three days worth of taping that Mayim did. He was fired immediately after she taped those three days.

I could have thought for days on end and not remembered Roger Rabbit.

I didn't know Final either, R162 and R164.

I inferred that she hinted at the challengers at the outset not to be intimidated by the champ.

I had no idea re FJ either - but then I watched only about a half hour of Roger Rabbit when I saw it on cable back in the '80s. (I gave up on seeing the rest because I found it exhausting.)

Someone on the Matt Amodio thread said Carlos would need to move to Albuquerque and forge a new identity in order to live down the ordeal of the Mozart and Ricky Martin answers.

And I thought, "Albuquerque? Nothing less than Liechtenstein or Andorra is what he deserves."

Mayim's outfit made me think of the secular teachers from my Catholic grade school years - right down to the flat shoes.

My first thought on seeing her was, "OMG, it's Miss Delmonico!"

BTW, when you go to the Jeopardy website, you can see pics of the week's contestants.

For the first time that I can remember, there is no image for one of them - Melissa John Giusti, appearing tonight.

R166, And if Carlo is looking for a roommate, he could give a call to the infamous "filibuster/calzone" contestant.

R166, Here she is . . .

I thought Carlo was kinda cute.

I sort-of knew the answer, but I would have written “Who Killed Roger Rabbit?

In my mind, I was so sure Who Framed Roger Rabbit was released in the summer of 87.

Matt needs to be cancelled for that shirt and tie combo. Horrible.

The previous tie, which Mike gushed over, was wide enough I wondered if Grandpa had loaned it to him?

Tonight, for the first time I was utterly bored watching Matt steamroll the other two players and felt like changing the channel.

Anyone else wonder if the challenger had a funeral to attend that day?

I almost wonder if Matt is thinking "Won't someone just bear me already?" Interesting that he blew the computer science question like that.

Yeah, very surprised that Matt didn’t recall Alan Turing.

These two challengers reminded me some of the early ones that Matt steamrolled over.

Mayim is doing a great job.

Yep, he's a PhD student in computer science, how could he have missed the Turing question?

He's so inherently annoying one forgets that what's he's doing is quite remarkable.

Second day in a row I missed a rabbity FJ.

Mayim already seems bored with steamroller Matt.

Mike and Matt had a little romance going. Mayim is not having it.

Final Jeopardy missed opportunity:

The dip used to kill characters in this 1988 film consisted of acetone, benzene & turpentine, ingredients of paint thinner.

What is Beaches?

Yawn! Boring game. I'm so ready for Matt to be defeated.

Tonight was the first time after 25 games that they've specifically mentioned he's at Yale. I think its also the first time that they've said he was in computer science.

Weird that he is now smiling after giving each answer, sort of like the smile will help get his response ruled correct. He did NOT do that with the male hosts. Must be something about male socialization causing him to smile hopefully at the female host.

Even though I've never read the books, Beatrix Potter was what instantly came to mind for Final.

[quote]Final Jeopardy missed opportunity: The dip used to kill characters in this 1988 film consisted of acetone, benzene & turpentine, ingredients of paint thinner. What is Beaches?

Mayim would have cracked up over that. But I doubt most people would have made the connection.

[quote]He's so inherently annoying one forgets that what's he's doing is quite remarkable.

So true. Only other people to get this far have been Ken Jennings and James Holzhauer.

And he's fast approaching James' 32 game record. I sure hope Matt's gone before he hits game 32. I really don't want to see him surpass James record.

Matt is not receiving anywhere near the same media attention that James Holzhauer and other longtime Jeopardy! contestants have.

When James was on his streak, David Muir was featuring it on the ABC Evening News nearly every evening.

The challengers barely buzzed in at all, seemed fairly lifeless in general.

Well, a subjective, unlikely observation: the challengers during this run seem really weak. Some with astonishingly clueless answers. There have been only a couple that seem really prepared to be good jeopardy players. Again, it's likely that many of these less-than-stellar players haven't been able to blossom and show their smarts because Matt just is quick and runs to board.

But... James would beat Matt 88% of the time.

I still enjoy watching him.

He's grown a bit more likeable, but it's high time for my suspenseful games.

WOF OT: If it came on after Jeopardy here (as I understand it does in NYC), absent a cute contestant, I'd switch it off. Was it really Rogers who came up with the new look - like something out of a really cheesy ancient video game graphic?

R188, Forgotten already.

James Holzhauer was getting lots of media attention in 2019 because of his long run as champ AND because he was breaking records for largest amounts scored each day.

James H has all 10 of the highest scoring days in Jeopardy history. See link below. James was often winning over $100,000 a game. That's was extremely newsworthy.

That's also why when James was defeated after 32 games, he left with $2.46 million.

Meanwhile, Matt at 25 games, hasn't even broken $1 million. He's at $893,000 currently.

It may be that I'm just soooooooo tired of him, but now it seems like Matt smirks with each correct answer. Probably a nervous thing, but I kinda take it that way.

All I could think of for Final was something to do with World Trade Center.

"Atlas Shrugged"?

R192 That was my point up thread... some of these opponents for Matt are not the brightest pennies in the pocket.

That reads better as “shiniest pennies in the pocket.”

Only reason this game was at all interesting was because Matt bet it all and lost the first Daily Double. Alas, he still built up enough to handily win the game. Fingers crossed he goes down by the end of the week.

r191 The smile I have been mentioning is the same smirk you are talking about. Matt has only just started doing it now that Mayim is host.

I, too, guessed World Trade Center for Final due to the three decades in existence reference.

Finally got around to looking it up, coming away with still no reason why two of them guessed the Appian Way?

I think Matt will start getting bigger press once he goes over the $1 million mark, which will be sometime this week. Also, is he Italian or Jewish, or some combo? Does anyone know?

Not a peep about Matt's private life, except for Grandpa.

Brad was very much the same in that regard.

I think Double Jeopardy should pay TWICE (double) what is wagered.

Locusts seemed like such an obvious answer to FJ that I’m surprised Matt went back and crossed it out for frogs.

That was amazing, R201.

Notice that unlike James he isn't able to buzz in all the time with correct answers. He does seem to know a bit more obscure stuff, along with a certain amount of luck.

I went with frogs. I didn’t think locusts were kosher.

Matt was interviewed on this evening's local news on the Boston station that airs Jeopardy!.

He was sitting in the dining room of a home in front of a china cabinet.

Interview was brief, main takeaway was his admission that popular culture is his weakest area.

I need you guys to tell me in advance if Matt won or not

Locusts/frogs. No way he thought the answer was frogs. I think he knew he only bet 1k and would win no matter what. He's a dark and devious soul who is just playing with us.

Refused to watch with MR as host, I'm satisfied with the outcome. I don't care what he said 20 years ago. He's the executive producer and gave himself the hostess job to collect all the money. Greedy bitch.

He's been gone for four days now.

Mayim and Matt's lack of fashion sense is tragically similar.

[quote] I think he knew he only bet 1k and would win no matter what.

Thanks for the insight.

Was really rooting for Guhan. I thought he could pull it off.

Mayim's wardrobe has improved since her two week guest stint, but still needs work. She still seems to be going for the school marm vibe. Presumably when she's the permanent host, the show will arrange to get her wardrobe donated like they do Vanna's dresses on Wheel.

A plague of frogs? Have never heard it phrased that way, although it obviously can happen. Have only heard of a plague of locust. That's why I picked locust for Final.

There were ten plagues in Egypt. Frogs were number two and locusts were number eight. I thought it was frogs too, because eating frogs is not uncommon.

With honey?

Why wasn't Martha Stewart considered for Guest Host?

She would dress better than Mayim, and gives great sarcastic face.

I have heard of frogs, but locust struck me immediately as the answer they wanted.

Mayim looks more like an empty nester who's recently opened an arts and crafts center for something to do then a nun to me. But, then again I'm not Catholic. Showing my incredible lack of gay male fashion sense, I feel she looks better this way and then she did during her initial run where she made an attempt to "dress up" instead.

Matt and Guhan's reddish sweaters were impressively non-coordinated; Matt's monochrome effect struck me as "matchy-matchy" but I suppose his idea of complementary colors would come from a kindergarten fingerpaint box. (Insert Meow Mix jingle here)

I don't dislike him as a person, but I want to wipe those annoying smirks off his face. Guhan was a good example of a challenger looking to take him down, rather than being intimidated.

True Daily Double that late in the game was ballsy.

Matt has currently earned $955,201.

If he wins tonight (Friday), he could go over the $1 million mark.

Well R217, it’s a done deal. Unfortunately.

R218, Thanks for the spoiler alert, asshole.

I wondered whether a million was the point at which he'd subconsciously decide that's enough, so the "miracle" last-minute answers might start fading?

Yeah, I'm sure he'll give up now.

Mayim Blech, or whatever her name is, looks like she has poo on her head today.

R219, apparently it’s not wise to read about TODAY’S episode before you have seen it...

First of all... within a nanosecond of setting eyes on Troy, my first thought was "My DL peeps will be all about him!" Sorry, but he personifies the dread term "totes adorbs" (not to mention that he was making a point of not being intimidated by Matt).

Funny story about the princess phone question as when I was a youth we had a problem with our phone in the living room. Phone company guy brought a powder blue model princess instead of the black one which had malfunctioned. My normally mild-mannered dad sent him away snarling, "This isn't Lana Turner's boudoir!"

Tonight, I made a point of keeping track of Matt's correct responses. I would have gotten most, though granted not all, of them correct. Unlike Wile E. Coyote, I'm no super genius, so it must have been down to the opponents.

Oh Rebecca. No, just no.

But, R225, she knew the Rebecca question!

R225, It must be incredibly humiliating to be led offstage during the final commercial break because you bottomed out.

Rebecca should be damn glad Alex wasn’t still around R227.

[quote]Troy, my first thought was "My DL peeps will be all about him!" Sorry, but he personifies the dread term "totes adorbs"

"The most wildest act I saw..." No, not adorbs. Adorbs must speak properly.

Don't be a fogey, R229 - talk modern!

I'm so sick of Matt's faux suspense shit: "Whew, I almost blew FJ by writing 'Titanic'!" I'm glad Myam didn't bring it up.

Who the hell hears "enemy vessel warnings" and think frickin' Titanic?

R231 I do think he's toying with us. I still think he guessed frogs for the FJ yesterday although he knew it was locusts, because he knew his bet was 1k, the smallest he ever bet on FJ.

r231, absolutely, and he couldn't even commit to the toying. He had to put a strike-through over the correct answer to make it clear that he knew it all along anyway.

I forgive Troy for "most wildest" because his sexy voice counter-balanced his grammatical slip. (And I'm sure it was just a slip, because he is a "Written Communications Specialist", whatever the hell that means.) He has a bit of young Peter Sarsgaard about him, and is sharply dressed, unlike everyone else on that stage. I like Matt and his million, but abandoned him in a split second to cheer for the eye-candy. Please sign my online petition to make Troy the new permanent host of "Jeopardy".

R234, And make poor Johnny Gilbert have to pronounce that name every show?

I think Troy should replace Johnny Gilbert too.

I got where Matt was coming from with frogs. Sometimes, the answer seems so obvious I second guess myself.

I think Matt has been deliberately tanking in the first round this entire week so that he can make “miraculous” recoveries. He went 25 games without missing a Daily Double and then at least 3 in the first round this week....but NO misses in the Double Jeopardy round. My proof is the cosmetics question about E.L.F Cosmetics. The question was the company is an acronym for three areas their cosmetics are used. And he said EARS, lips and face. Seriously!!??

He also had a very easy one again yesterday and huffed and puffed and said nothing. This guy is a narcissistic ass and he needs to be gone yesterday. He’s mentally ill.

I'm getting tired of always going from the bottom of the board up so he can scoop up loot to double down on.

I actually found myself sort of rooting for Matt to break the $1 million mark tonight. Good going. That's quite an accomplishment. One that will be in the record books for a long time.

Now its time to retire, Matt. You've overstayed your welcome. Besides, I really don't want you to break James H's record of 32 games.

Titanic? Please! WWI hadn't even started in 1912 when it sank. Well, at least he didn't put down the Edmund Fitzgerald.

Lusitania was so easy

My prediction is that soon enough he'll blow a big bet blurting out something like "The Eyes of Laura Moore (March, etc.)!" not correcting in time, so a challenger will win.

Now that Matt has hit One Million, will he be forced to leave? Hope so.

There hasn't been a limit for a while. Not likely to be re-instated either, as they see this as a big draw. Matt at least has a goofy personality; James I found very cold.

R243, Matt has no personality. He appears to have Aspergers and is an empty vessel. James was a pain in the ass, but I think he just decided to play a villain. It is all an act.

R244, One has to wonder how much time Matt has spent alone to have amassed such a vast array of knowledge.

Was it Matt who loved the late nights in Sweden? He has friends - that's how he got his one and only injury via the evil tree! He also described himself as a terrific baseball player.

R246 I loved Mayim's response to the "hurt myself in the apple tree" story. "Such a wild guy!" You could hear the eye-roll in her voice.

Not a problem often faced, but if you are on the show over 20 times the "human interest" story at the opening must be a challenge. "And then I stepped on the ping pong ball!"

My partner and I were talking about that this week R247. I said at this point I would just say, “I pass” when it got to me.

I’m tired of the Matt hate. Lighten up.

He's far better than Arthur Chu or Matt Jackson, I'll grant him that.

But he lacks Alex Jacob's smoldering sexiness.

You're weird (and wrong), r238. I've never heard of E.L.F.

R252, you’re going to tell me that if you were asked, you wouldn’t guess eyes, lips and face?? Sure, Jan.

I happen to be a big fan of ear gloss, so I would have got it wrong, too.

I just caught up with MEN'S HEALTH article, and its riddled with errors and nonsensical statements. Sad what passes for journalism today.

I'm not R252, but I did answer EARS , lips, face too. Dumb but true.

Ok R256, maybe it wasn’t as obvious as I thought. Rock your ear gloss, boys. 🙀

When his run is over, Matt could end up being the new poster boy for Asperger's syndrome.

r244, your father really used the word "boudoir"?

Yes, that was an exact quote, R259.

So, Titanic was the right answer tonight.

Yikes! Matt's tie.

How much longer must we endure him?

Final was super easy.

Team Miyam, she is excellent as host. Hire a stylist for Miyam.

I was wondering whether Matt had been given the tie from Grandpa? Last night's show was all down to the inferior challengers; I made a point of keeping track of Matt's correct answers, and I knew most though not all of them myself.

How could not one of them identify Maya Angelou?

Someone posted this on the Matt Amodio thread . . .

Former Jeopardy! champions should act like former Presidents.

They don't comment on the one currently in office.

R264 Matt has been pretty amazing, but it does seem that the quality of challengers has been pretty weak. Not only not being fast enough on the button, but some of the wrong answers have been a hoot.

You longterm, hyper-vigilant Jeopardy experts... do you think they consider the strength, appearance, appeal of the three contestants for each show? Match making? Etc.

Covid travel has surely made a difference for the past year. Canadians are off the table, along with many Americans skittish about travel in general.

They still regularly have Canadian categories, keeping with Alex's wishes and as another way to salute him. He really was well-loved.

I hope everyone has noticed the fleeting glimpse of me during the new intro.

R271 = [bold]THE[/bold] Art Flaming???

HA! I am back!

9-28.....Player Stu Selonick is hot. He doesn't need Jeopardy he needs OnlyFans. Pic on link for anyone who missed this dreamboat. Sexy and Smart!!

^^^ Player Stu has an old inactive FB...He is a writer in LA. And adorable.

Yes, indeed, quite adorable!!

You guys would really want him for a peenpal?

Stu is hot but he looked pissed until the end of the show

Is Stu gay?

I think that he looked pissed because he realized he was getting steamrolled. And then at the end he realized that there wasn’t much to be done and he lightened up.

R279 = Yeah he did look pissed.....Stu had a really 80s hot vibe about him with that mustache. He also looked pissed halfway thru the episode after CurlyTop got back to back Daily Doubles. Stu could make so much money in porn---no joke.

Thing is: Matt knew those answers for which Stu failed to ring in.

My Gaydar says Stu is gay. VIDEO of Stu talking about his writing (5:45 mark). Definite Gay. Adorable. A shame Mayim slobbers all over CurlyTop. You would think she would be more gay friendly since she put CheyANNE Jackson on her "Call me Kat and Boring" tv show, as her girly love interest. Thankfully nobody cared about the old lesbian playing.

I feel Mayim has had enough of Matt.

I want Stu inside me, quite deeply.

Lori looks like David Byrne.

I don't even enjoy watching anymore. I really find Matt to be annoying. Why isn't he able to answer the questions in the proper form?

You bitches are just jealous of my Matty.

Troy and Stu were back-to-back, and much needed, injections of hotness into The Matt Amodio Show. Stu has a touch of young Lee Horsley about him. FJ must be one of the easiest ever.

so sick of him

If we have to have a multi-week winner, why couldn't it be eye candy like Stu instead of eye repellent Matt?

Can't believe they used such an easy question for Final.

Funny the different ways posters here interpret the host‘s attitude — some think she’s finished with Matt, others think she is slobbering over him.

Mayim certain seems to be friendlier with Matt than in her first week. Maybe all his smiles after every answer last week won her over.

I bet he smiles at her so much because he can’t believe that he’s actually meeting and working with someone from the Big Bang Theory, probably one of his favorite shows.

I don't know if anybody has already phrased this point in this way, but how ironic is it that someone with such vast, encyclopedic knowledge in so many areas that he has retained his place as JEOPARDY! champion for many weeksm, and has now won more than $1 million dollars, apparently doesn't understand the difference between "who is" and "what is?"

Somewhere, he's addressed that, R295, thiugh you'll have to search for it yourself.

Thanks, R296. I'm well aware that lots of people have brought up this little quirk of Matt's, are are annoyed by it, but I didn't know he himself had addressed it. If someone does have quick access to his comments about this and wants to post a link, that would be great.

In the USA Today article below, Matt addresses his delay in responding after buzzing in.

However, no mention of the "What is" vs "Who is"

Here's the story where Matt addresses his standardized "What's" response.

Thanks, R299. His reasoning may sound like it makes sense at first hearing (or reading), but to me, it really doesn't. Matt reads and hears a question, buzzes in as soon as he knows the answer, and then, AFTER buzzing, in all he has to do is figure out whether "what is" (or "what's") or "who is" (or "who's") is the correct form of speech, which should not be terribly difficult for him and would not slow down his response time for even a split second. If he's saying he needs 100 percent of his brain power to focus on coming up with the correct response, rather than using maybe .001 percent of that brain power to use the correct form of the question, I think that's pretty silly.

On a related note: Has JEOPARDY! ever had a category where, for example, the correct form of the question would actually be "Where is?" You know, maybe a category like "U.S. States" where one of the answers might be "Located between New York and Massachusetts" and the answer would be "Connecticut?"

[quote]"As for his repeated use of "What's..." instead of alternatives such as "Who is...", that's part of his effort to limit "unnecessary moving parts" that might undermine his play, he says.

Sounds like word salad to me. Anyone have a summary of why he as it's so long then almost always dramatically blurts out the correct answer just in time?

R301 meet R298

Why the hell does anyone care?

R303

Solipsism (/ˈsɒlɪpsɪzəm/ ; from Latin solus 'alone', and ipse 'self') is the philosophical idea that only one's mind is sure to exist. As an epistemological position, solipsism holds that knowledge of anything outside one's own mind is unsure; the external world and other minds cannot be known and might not exist outside the mind.

Thanks, R304. Also, what kind of asshole would come to a JEOPARDY! thread and insult people for discussing the details of the playing style of one of the most successful champions in the show's history? That's beyond solipsism, it's rank stupidity.

No R300. What Matt is clearly doing is blindly clicking his buzzer whether he knows the answer or not. Then he immediately says “what is” and uses the rest of his time to let the answer come to him. Most of the time it works, but there have been a few times where he failed. Technically, there is nothing wrong with playing the game this way, but ask any Jeopardy contestant and they’ll tell you it’s poor sportsmanship to game the system like this. It works for him because his knowledge is very broad, but trust me...it would work for nearly every other contestant if they decided to play that way.

I’m sorry. I don’t like Matt. I’ve been a fan of the show since it was relaunched with Alex. Matt is the epitome of every bad contestant behavior. He’s arrogant (yet pretends to be modest) and he acts like he’s the only one up there on that stage. The whole show has become about him, and he’s loving it. He needs to go.

R306 If that's true, how do other contestants every buzz in first, and they do, of course. So some "lap time" must occur for Matt... indeed there are times when none of the three buzz at all. So Matt's response must be, to a degree at lease, dependent on the cue - he must read it before he buzzes, which, of course, is how you pay the game.

You have good points R307, but I do believe it’s plainly obvious that a good majority of the time Matt does not have the answer immediately and uses the timer to let it come to him. Jeopardy is a unique game in that “answers” are written in a coded way that you can figure out the “ question” without truly knowing it. How many times have you gotten FJ correct because of one special word in the clue or a date? You don’t really know the answer, but you’re intelligent enough to follow the clue.

How dare Matt play the game to win! Such arrogance!

Matt's "What is . . ." is the equivalent of a politician's "I'm glad you asked that question . . .".

The atmosphere in the green room must be interesting during Matt's marathon.

Does each new player feel "I'm the one who's going to beat him" or are they resigned to feeling like sheep being led to slaughter?

Honey, R309, apparently you’re too stupid to understand. Ssshhh...adults are speaking. 🙄

[quote]What Matt is clearly doing is blindly clicking his buzzer whether he knows the answer or not. Then he immediately says “what is” and uses the rest of his time to let the answer come to him.

I think that might be what happens sometimes, but not nearly as often as you think. Speaking for myself, there are very few times when I don't know the answer by the time I finish reading the clue (and it is read to us) but then I come up with it during the next few seconds, and I assume that's true for most people. I suppose the annoying way that Matt often pauses before giving his answer supports your theory, but I think (though of course I'm not sure) he does that not because he doesn't immediately know the answer, but just to be a dick.

Yeah R313, being a dick was right up there on my list too. 🙀

Hey Matt has won over a million dollars and counting. Who gives a fuck how he answers the question? Sounds like we have some knit picky Bitches here.

[quote]Hey Matt has won over a million dollars and counting. Who gives a fuck how he answers the question?

It's only natural that people are going to discuss details of the quirky way he plays the game, especially BECAUSE he's so successful. You bitch.

[quote] there are very few times when I don't know the answer by the time I finish reading the clue (and it is read to us)

You must be quite the genius, getting all the answers right away!

Some folks seem to feel he's "bonding" with Mayim with that smiling, but it's become as bad as Matt Jackson and Ryan-from-PA ("Sorry all you girls who have been stalking me, but I'm taken.") when they've congratulated themselves openly.

Looks like we’ve got Matt Amodio right here on our little forum.

So Matt, what’s the real story? Did you and your grandpa have sleepovers?

Hey, asshole at R317, you cut out the most important part of my quote, so I'll reproduce it with special emphasis this time: "There are very few times when I don't know the answer by the time I finish reading the clue (and it is read to us) BUT THEN I COME UP WITH IT DURING THE NEXT FEW SECONDS."

What I meant -- and what I wrote -- is that, in most cases, EITHER I know the answer right away OR I don't come up with it at all. Having a few seconds to think about it only rarely helps me come up with the answer. And I would think the same goes for most people, including Matt Amodio.

GET IT?????

It was a reflection of your written English since your statement is contradictory. If there are very few times where you don't know the answer by the time they finish reading the question, then there would be almost no instances where you would need any extra time ever. What you wrote is not what you meant to say.

R320, I think my meaning was clear through punctuation and syntax. Here again is exactly what I wrote but with upper-case letters added for emphasis:

"There are very few times when I don't know the answer by the time I finish reading the clue (and it is read to us) BUT THEN I COME UP WITH IT DURING THE NEXT FEW SECONDS."

I suppose there is some room for misinterpretation there, so here:

"There are very few times when, if I don't immediately know the answer by the time I finish reading the clue (and it is read to us), I can then come up with it after thinking about it for a few seconds."

Better?

What's stop fighting, you're both pretty.

R306 here. I’m watching today’s episode. I can count at least a half dozen times now where Matt did NOT know the answer when he buzzed in, but let it come to him. A couple of times, he seemed shocked that it did come to him.

Is it possible for someone to Gillooly him while it’s being recorded??!

Why?!! Why??!

🙀

WoF OT: "How could I have missed 'interior designer'!" cried very good looking Daniel in perfect gay voice.

Anyone else catch that?

[quote]Yes, I have a strategy where I form all of my questions with a “what’s” at the beginning – then, I can focus on the rest of the clue. Other people have been very upset about me being robotic instead of forming a question differently each time. I was glad that Jeopardy! said this was perfectly within the rules. I’ve watched Jeopardy! every day of my life, so I knew it was OK.

Funny, having to use various pronouns never slowed ME down.

I LOVED Matt Jackson!

Does it annoy the shit out of anyone else but me how, when a champion's total winnings end in a single dollar amount, such as "12,501," Johnny Gilbert announces it as "twelve thousand, five hundred and one DOLLAR" rather than "DOLLARS?" He did that tonight with Matt, but it's unquestionably incorrect, and so incredibly stupid.

I think this must be a ridiculous rule of the show, because later tonight, when Matt Amodio still ended up with a dollar amount ending in 1 for his total winnings, I'm pretty sure Mayim ALSO stated it as "one million [whatever] and one DOLLAR."

WHAT THE FUCK? How can a game that's so concerned with being meticulous about correct information insist on something so ridiculously wrong that I'll bet even most seven-year-olds would catch it?

I listened carefully tonight R237, and I though Mayim said “dollarS.” Difficult to hear because her voice dropped.

I didn't know that creature was created by Medusa's blood.

R328, I didn't hear it clearly either, which is why I only said I was "pretty sure." But leaving Mayim out of it for a moment, why the hell do you think Johnny Gilbert always does this? Do you think it's his own dumb idea, or someone else's? Either way, it's SO wrong.

Mayim said two things of interest today: “it is a joy watching you play,”and “dollars.”

Daniel is smart and has a fun personality.

If he had managed to keep those DJ DDs away from Matt, he might have won.

Poor Adrianna was practically near tears by FJ.

She clearly said "dollars" tonight (Wed). I noticed it because I thought it sounded weird, even if technically correct.

I wonder if it would throw Matt off his game if someone answer "Why is" or "How Is" -- would that be acceptable? I should think so if they are allowed "what" instead of "who" as long is it's a question.

He almost always bets double on the first Daily double in the first round if he finds it. Depending on how close someone might be in Double, he'll sometimes do a true daily double on the first, though sometimes like $5,000 or $6,000, usually rarely doing a true daily double on the 3rd one if he finds it. The thing is, if others were better at using the buzzer and were reasonably aggressive (and there were some who looked like they did have the answer if they got in soon enough), he could be defeated. I just think he's got a photographic memory and and also, the kind of memory like Marilu Henner (who can recall exactly what happened on a certain date she was alive). I think James Holzhauer has a similar skill set and probably Brad and Ken, or at least photographic.

Matt is too smart for mortal competitors. Bring in the droids.

I had no idea for that hard FJ...

Tonight’s FJ was difficult. I was impressed that Matt knew the answer.

The buzzer is one of the big keys to his success. He has the advantage of having done 31 shows, while his competitors each time are just getting used to using the damn thing.

Art Fleming (not Flaming, but thanks for playing in advance), the original host, said in an interview years ago that they used to let players buzz in before the clue was finished being read. Is that fairer? I mean, so you have to read faster, but still that's a skill that can be cultivated, too. It seems like milliseconds after the host finishes the clue that you have to decide to ring in, otherwise you're locked out for a few seconds.

[quote]She clearly said "dollars" tonight (Wed). I noticed it because I thought it sounded weird, even if technically correct.

You think "one million, three hundred thousand, four hundred and one dollars" sounds "weird," but "one million, three hundred thousand, four hundred and one dollar" sounds right? I guess you've been watching this show and listening to Johnny Gilbert for too long.

Tomorrow, Matt gets the chance to tie James H's record. If he wins, which he likely will, I'll be disappointed. Hate to see James dethroned from second place.

Had no idea on Final.

R339, And will James then congratulate Matt or post more immature shade?

Mike Richards was still listed as EP on Wednesday's credits.

He's also listed as one of the writers

The writer with the Robert Frost/Jack Kerouac obsession is still pounding them out.

They were both correct responses in recent days.

Yeah, Matt is most likely gonna tie James' record today (unless my post manages to jinx him).

[quote]Yeah, Matt is most likely gonna tie James' record today (unless my post manages to jinx him).

Fingers crossed it does!

[quote]Mike Richards was still listed as EP on Wednesday's credits.

Mayim taped three weeks worth of episodes in three days. Mike was still EP during that time. Mike was fired after Mayim finished taping those episodes. So, you'll likely see his name in the credits until the end of next week.

He's also still listed in the credits as EP of Wheel. No idea how far in advance Wheel shot its episodes, so he could be listed as EP of Wheel for a few more weeks.

Thanks, R346, that's what I figured.

R338 Your ear is off. It's that "and" that confuses, particularly when phrased forcefully with a pause. "Five thousand one dollars." But "Five thousand. AND ONE dollar."

Johnny says everything forcefully with perfect studio phrasing. He's done this longer than almost anyone on this board has been alive. And you're going to tell him he's wrong?

Well, STEP RIGHT DOWN!

R348, there's nothing wrong with my ear, and anyway, I don't think the difference between "five thousand one" and "five thousand AND one" has anything to do with it.

The grammatical rule is that when referring to more than one of a thing, an "s" is added to the noun. Examples: "One car, two cars." "One house, five houses." "One dollar, twelve dollars." By your idiotic reasoning, "499 dollars" is correct and "500 dollars" is correct, but "501 dollars" is wrong, and it should be "501 dollar" just because the last number is 1.

It seems the problem here is that both you and Johnny Gilbert are fools when it comes to this topic.

R349 You're the sort of blind rule-bound fool that would object to ordinary newspaper headlines because they're not written the way you write common English.

Point is, studio announcing -- like headline writing -- has its own grammar.

But Johnny is waiting to hear from you.

R350, there is a difference between (1) using different style of speech for different purposes, and (2) breaking clear, obvious, simple grammatical rules for no reason whatsoever.

I guess if Johnny Gilbert suddenly decided to start saying "This are JEOPARDY!" instead of "This is JEOPARDY!," you would have no problem with it because you feel he has that prerogative as a studio announcer. Do you know how idiotic that makes you sound?

I've tweeted "Jeopardy" about this idiotic habit Johnny has with Saying "dollar" instead of "dollars" and received a reply telling me I was absolutely right but Johnny Gilbert is a legend.

HUH?

One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish.

R351 How silly can you get. Because Johnny doesn't say that. He does follow the grammar, of studio announcing. And we all know the grammar ourselves, even if we don't use it.

AND NOW. ENTERING THE STUDIO. OUR FIRST CONTESTANT. A PILE DRIVER. FROM. OCELIAVILLE OHIO. MATT JENNINGS.

R352, thanks for that info. You've saved me the trouble of writing to them.

R354, I really don't think saying "five hundred and one dollar" rather than "five hundred and one dollars" is the accepted grammar of studio announcers in general. Please point me towards any other studio announcer who does that. And even if you can do so, they're STILL wrong.

JFC you pains in the asses...Johnny Gilbert is possibly even older than you bitches. Let it go!

Hmmmm......yes, Art Fleming is the former host.....but I, Art Flaming, have been posting on Jeopardy threads for many years.

Sorry to confuse you.

R355 The phrasing dictates the grammar. So another announcer might well say "FIVE THOUSAND and one DOLLARS" and he'd be right, too.

I'm afraid this is all too subtle for some of the minds here.

It was nice to see Johnny Gilbert on camera the other day, even for a moment

[quote] I didn't know that creature was created by Medusa's blood.

As I was watching, I was thinking, if I were one of the other two contestants, knowing that there was no shot in hell I would win, I would have gone out with a bang and written "Who is Ivanka Trump"?

I wonder what would happen in a case like that. If they would edit it out...

R359 Me too. Particularly since I'd read that with Covid and his age he'd been doing the broadcasts from his home for a time. I think Don Pardo did this on SNL for a while. (Announcing and voice performing generally seem to offer a true life-long career.)

At this point, R360, I want one of the contestants getting crushed to just start buzzing in on every question and shout out ridiculous answers.

What is Dorothy Zbornak?

What is tapioca pudding?

What is Matt Amodio’s poodle head?

How entertaining would that be?

Mayim needs to be taken aside and given a gentle reminder that as the host she needs to remain a bit more neutral. She's giving off a bit of a fangurl vibe. Complimenting Matt on his brilliant play yesterday was way across the line.

[quote]Mayim needs to be taken aside and given a gentle reminder that as the host she needs to remain a bit more neutral. She's giving off a bit of a fangurl vibe. Complimenting Matt on his brilliant play yesterday was way across the line.

Please! Mike Richards was fawning over Matt much more during his week as host.

And Alex turned into a total fanboy by the end of James Holzhauer's reign, practically drooling over him. And Alex talked about James for weeks on air after he lost. Several contestants looked at Alex like he was a looney when he did that.

Let's talk about Mayim...

For our Southern California members, is the outfit she had on considered trendy, because I found it disturbingly freakish.

She wanted to know more about where to get great nachos. Don't they usually involve lots of meat and cheese?

(once again I knew many of Matt's correct answers)

[quote] She wanted to know more about where to get great nachos.

I thought that she was just making small talk; I didn’t think that she was serious. But, who knows.

I thought that keeping a log of nachos was odd.

R343, Yet another Jack Kerouac correct response this evening.

Why did Mike Richards get canned from Jeopardy but still producer of WOF? Also these questions are ridiculously easy this season. The Chase has harder questions.

[quote]The phrasing dictates the grammar. So another announcer might well say "FIVE THOUSAND and one DOLLARS" and he'd be right, too.

That makes absolute zero sense.

[quote]I'm afraid this is all too subtle for some of the minds here.

Or....it's far too stupid for some of the minds here to give it a moment's consideration.

[quote]Why did Mike Richards get canned from Jeopardy but still producer of WOF?

He got canned from both. His name still appears because they decided not to take his name off of shows that were recorded while he still had that job, but I'm sure it will disappear in a few weeks.

It's official. James has tied James H.'s record.

*Matt*

Even the Scarecrow could have guessed the answer to FJ.

R365 She dresses like the rabbi's wife. Conservative, not Reformed.

Mayim. This is advice from a friend. You are a beautiful woman. But your clothes make you look dowdy. And fat.

What has Jeopardy done? Given you Alex's late wardrobe advisor?

Trust me. Channeling Mamie Eisenhower is not a good fashion statement in 2021.

Just be thankful Joan Rivers isn't around to critique you.

According to Upstairs at the White House, which I recently read, Mamie Eisenhower was a lot of fun, and she spent an awful lot of time and effort on her wardrobe, despite our regarding it being dowdy

uh oh....DREW CAREY just defended Michael Richards and said he will have a "great second act"....WTF?.....Course Drew also defended dirtbag Bob Barker..

I get that part, R373. However, last night's outfit was eye-popping, not in a good way!

Yikes! Mayim decided she would give Matt some competition in the Worst Dressed category!

Please, Jeopardy officials, if she gets the permanent gig, arrange for her to get her wardrobe donated like Vanna does on Wheel. The school marm/rabbi's wife look she is going for is ATROCIOUS!

Wizard of Oz was the only thing I could possibly think of for Final. Was there even a second possible answer given the 1900 clue? Usually, Final has at least two possible answers that come close to being correct.

Shrek was written in 1990, so it wasn't a real possibility.

When her "Shrek" response was revealed, I nearly did a Danny Thomas spit take.

R378, For a moment, I thought it might be "Jack and the Beanstalk" because of the word "homegrown" in the clue.

I thought it was Alice in Wonderland

R378 Yes, I could understand a contestant drawing a blank but it is hard to think of a competing homegrown American classic. Br'er Rabbit?

r382 Br'er Rabbit has pretty much been cancelled in recent decades. Based on 19th Century folk tales, the first Uncle Remus book was published in 1881.

r381 Alice in Wonderland is British. Came out in 1865.

Michael Richards or Mike Richards? They've both had very public unfortunate career mishaps.

It’s just insider ass-kissing.

The lady in the middle was obviously being funny with her Shrek answer.

She didn't seem to have an obvious sense of humor at any other time.

Tom Sawyer was the first thing to pop into my head. I'm not sure why Wizard of Oz didn't occur to me.

Mayim was once on What Not to Wear. Maybe Stacy ad Clinton need to revisit.

Okay, a show of hands, please. How many of you want Thomas deep inside them?

Thomas is a homosexual.

Congrats to Matt on beating James H’s consecutive win streak!!! Way to go.

09/30. MB wore a double-breasted suit with a high neck chartreuse satiny blouse.

She can look better than this. Deserves to, as she is an excellent Jeopardy host!

Way too fem for me, sorry. Matt is far more attractive, it's his personality that's at issue.

If necessary, Mayim should just wear that same sensible outfit for the rest of her run this month; it's as though she had an intervention!

I got the final question before she finished reading the clue based on the date. Once again it seems as though we had two woeful challengers. I'm assuming that most of the regular datalounge viewers would have done better than they did.

^^^^^^ sarcasm [ˈsärˌkazəm] NOUN the use of irony to mock or convey contempt.

The San Francisco Earthquake/Fire - 1906 - The year Nancy Pelosi was born.

R390 Thomas may be a homosexual, but I doubt he has ever been “deep inside“ anyone.

R397, Please see R395.

Too subtle for me ha ha

I got it.

Well, Matt is now the second longest winning Jeopardy champ. Congrats to him.

Wonder if the reason James H. sent shade Matt's way via Twitter last week was because he learned he'd been dethroned and needed to point out that he's still won double the amount of money that Matt won in the same amount of time.

At least Mayim had a decent outfit today. Likely one of the Jeopardy PA's pulled her aside after taping Thursday's show and did an intervention. Maybe it was Mike Richards who did it.

Yes, I got San Francisco on Final purely because of the 1906 date.

Opps, above comment at r401 is from me, Johnny Gilbert.

I got San Francisco because of that bizarre fireman-worshipping statue at Coit Tower.

The two challengers have been like potted plants so far.

I could have predicted the outcome before the first question of the first round was asked.

If an injury has to be done to Mike and Elizabeth, it should be so severe that their vengeance need not be feared.

At least Mike and Elizabeth will have something to show their grandchildren.

I must say, Matt was better dressed today than ever before.

Can't say the same about Mayim. Won't someone please stage an INTERVENTION! Doesn't the girl have any gay friends who can give her some fashion tips?!

Felt sorry for Mike and Elizabeth being so completely steamrolled like that. At least they answered a few questions and had some money on the board.

Had no idea on Final.

I just wish MB was less condescending when a correct answer is offered. Her hollow enthusiasm reminds of a kindergarten teacher.

R408-She had ONE gay friend in NPH. When she runs off with Matt, she'll have two.

[quote]I just wish MB was less condescending when a correct answer is offered. Her hollow enthusiasm reminds me of a kindergarten teacher.

Agreed. It's like she's saying "Good boy, little Matthew! You are SO SMART!!!!!!!!!"

We need a psychic to tell us when this will end.

Even hitting only one DD tonight, Matt was able to power through.

Anthony is smart and played well, unfortunately he was playing Matt.

Yeah, Matt hit only one DD and yet he still walked away with $50K and the win. Some of the questions that he got tonight were difficult — though FJ was not.

I didn't get FJ --guessed "You are what you eat"-- and found many other questions super hard. Anthony was a great player, but Matt has a system that's hard to crack.

I think it didn't help that the woman in the middle was a "potted plant" of a contestant. Seems the only way he might go is to have one contestant who's about as strong as he is with the geography and literature areas, and a third player who's good at Pop Culture, which he says is his weakest area.

I thought it was me feeling that the questions were more difficult than usual. If that were the writers at work on him, it's the wrong way to go about it. I missed final by a mile, desperately guessing vim and vigor.

I had FJ but decided it was too long to write and went with “you are what you eat.” I feel stupid.

I liked Anthony. Got excited when he found the first Daily Double, began hoping he might be able to take down Matt. Alas, it was not to be.

Had no idea in the world about Final. All three must have known that instantly because it would take a little while to write down a phrase as long as "An apple a day keeps the doctor away." Not much time to ponder on it, then write it down in the 30 seconds.

Had she been a better player, and between them blocked that third Daily Double from Matt, I think we would have seen a highly competitive final that was anyone's game.

One thing not well observed in Matt's run... games are only not close, they are REALLY not close. When was the last FJ where either of the other two contestants had more than 50% of Matt's total? (e.g. they had zero chance) Kind of removes the suspense, eh?

I got FJ - but is this the longest FJ answer ever? An eight word sentence.

I noticed from a back shot that Matt has a hump back.

R420, it's 10 words if you include "what is"

[quote] When was the last FJ where either of the other two contestants had more than 50% of Matt's total?

It was a few weeks ago at the start of Mayim’s current run as host, because she commented on it. But that’s one of the only times that I recall. Almost all the rest have been runaway games.

Just crown me smarter than Matt right now!! 😁 My little squirrel brain came up with FJ today. Not even Matt did.

What do I win???!!!

Boring with one contestant dominating the entire game

Yes, I’m surprised that Matt missed FJ today, because Thermidor seemed to be the only logical answer.

Challenger Casey Brown had an incredibly annoying voice. Thank goodness that she didn’t win.

I knew final immediately, truly surprised Matt didn't. Once again, I knew enough of the answers he got right that they should've also.

Matt Amodio on a 2009 quiz show.

Boring game. David in the middle didn't even get to ring in once in Double Jeopardy.

I guessed August for Final, although I thought it might be aout, the French word for August.

I will admit, I was impressed that Matt knew all those books of the Bible.

I was pretty sure they were going to reverse their decision on “on the bias” and award David the points, but I was surprised to see that Matt also had his points restored.

Matt’s team did not win!

They do that if someone later rang in on that question with a wrong answer, because if they'd credited the first person originally instead of retroactively, the second contestant would not have been able to ring in and miss it. Complicated to explain, but makes sense.

I would've answered bias as well.

Too funny . . . Matt revealed that he's been wearing clothes left behind by previous contestants.

Poor Maddie, we hardly knew ye.

What a smarmy nerd at R428.

'Girls, mommy bought me a guitar, please touch my dingdong.'

He thought he was hot shit, you can tell by that head swivel; reminded me of Napoleon Dynamite talking about bo staff skills.

He doesn't really talk to the other contestants at the end, just Mayim, as the losing contestants awkwardly look on.

Matt didn't know Hindus have funeral pyres?

At this point, I'm so tired of him that I'm considering not watching the show until he's gone.

R436, I always see Matt turn to engage the other contestants after Final Jeopardy, and when they come back from the commercial break for the closing credits, everyone seems to be part of the conversation. After reading your post, I thought I might have imagined it, but even tonight Matt was clearly enjoying whatever it was Tyler was telling them.

Yes, they almost always show Matt turning to chat with the contestants at the end of the game. Matt is clearly the center of attention and obviously dominates these post game conversations, but the others do at least attempt to participate.

After our many comments about his wardrobe since he started, I got a chuckle hearing Matt's clothes are hand-me-downs from a former contestant. Now I'm wondering which of the outfits he's worn on the show were the few new things he bought.

Had no idea on Final.

Nor did I, but if I did I would have misspelled it too.

I'll guess that the recent snazzy shirt and tie combination was new.

He's probably a nice person I just don't like him as a Jeopardy contestant.

The "biathalon" answer was proof that Jeopardy officials do look at the contestant's answers before they are revealed to the audience.

Mayim would not have known to disqualify "biathalon" because of the extra syllable on her own. She had to have been give the instructions from the judges on how to rule before the reveal to the audience.

R442, And they also know the FJ wagers before they're revealed.

Here's an example of what we don't hear during the credits.

I knew FJ but I have no idea how I would have spelled it. I like to think correctly.

[quote]At this point, I'm so tired of him that I'm considering not watching the show until he's gone.

Agreed. Somehow, the show has really become quite boring in a way that it wasn't when Ken Jennings and the other all-time champs were in the midst of their winning streaks.

When Ken was doing it in 2004, we were witnessing something we'd never seen before.

When James was going it in 2019, we were witnessing someone who was winning record-high amounts almost every game, often over $100,000 per game. The top 10 dollar amounts won in a single game were all won by James.

Now a mere two years later, we're seeing Matt doing something we've already seen done by people who had much more on-screen personality.

I disagree; Matt has more personality than James did.

I couldn’t stand James H. I still can’t. He’s so damn smug and arrogant. I like Matt a whole lot more.

He was talking to his fellow contestants tonight.

I'm sorry, the other day I saw him talk to Mayim at the end and the other two contestants were there looking, I imagined, anguished. I ran to Datalounge to bitch about it. My frustration is really bubbling up and I don't like the person Matt is making me become.

[quote] My frustration is really bubbling up and I don't like the person Matt is making me become.

I guessed zebra too. I think Matt has two brains.

How dare Max even attempt to impersonate our beloved Johnny Gilbert.

I liked Max and his Johnny Gilbert impression.

Matt was actually color coordinated with his shirt and tie. Didn't know he was capable of doing that! Wonder if this was one of the outfits he purchased or if it was a hand-me-down.

Had no idea on Final. First thing that popped to mind was a giraffe, but I figured that was wrong since surely the British first saw the giraffe before the late 1700s.

Had no idea of final, but then again I don't think of the animal as being particularly sinister. My association with platypuses would be the strange puppet family on Mister Rogers Neighborhood who spoke with Scottish accents!

Based on the width of the tie, I'd say it was definitely not a recent purchase, more likely from Grandpa's closet.

R451 you need serious help. Damn.

I assumed 451 was mocking us, R457.

What happens if this constant has an unbeatable stretch that goes on for years? Ha! What a nightmare.

I guess "Southern Hemisphere" immediately put me in mind of Australia because my 1st thought was platypus for that reason alone. I dismissed it, however, and went with koala as the "stitches" in the answer made me think of a teddy bear more than it did nature's version of Frankenstein's monster. Of course, teddy bears didn't exist in 1799 (neither did the Frankenstein story for that matter), but that logic took longer than 30 seconds to sort through.

I didn’t know the platypus was Australian. I went to an Australian zoo. I saw kangaroos and koalas, echidnas and wallabies, emus and cassowaries, but not one platypus.

The platypus saw you R461. 🙀

To be entirely honest, the echidna never came our of its burrow, but it was there.

Thank you, R458.

R457, I think you're looking for a website called reddit. This isn't it.

Welp.,...Matt clearly took a dive. Good bye and good riddance.

Fuck you. You know no one else has seen it. You rush here to post a spoiler. A grease fire would be ashamed to roast you.

Honey R466, this isn’t the 1800s where you have to wait for the Pony Express to find out who won American Idol.

Oh...and you know what this thread is discussing. You’re an adult (presumably). If you don’t want to know something don’t click on a thread that’s sole purpose is to discuss that exact thing.

🙄

Oh bullshit. You know full well that no one expects spoilers BEFORE the episode airs.

How the fuck do you think I know the results R468?????

The show doesn’t air at the same time everywhere, jackass! The stupidity is strong in you, honey.

That was weird. Who doesn't know that there are no Alps in Poland. Very weird.

By the way, I intentionally made my post vague and will be back to discuss later.

I apologize to R465. I didn’t know Jeopardy aired in the afternoon in some markets. You might have waited, but this is not a grease fire offense.

I don’t think he took a dive. I think he got flustered after falling behind. It’s also possible they either coached the opponents on buzzer strategy or made some kind of technical adjustment in the buzzers. When Matt could not pick off any clue he wanted, he got emotional and missed out on the daily doubles.

He’s no doubt on the spectrum. That’s why having a formulaic response like “What is . . “ and never using a first name was important for him. He had a process that worked. When it didn’t work, he melted.

To R471s buzzer point, it was painful watching the woman in the middle repeatedly try to buzz in on Friday.

I used to think that the only time they 'didn't work' was when people buzzed in too soon, but now I'm not sure.

Ever since the scandals in the 1950s, game shows are regulated. I doubt there's any funny business with the buzzers.

I'm going to go with it being a case where the opponents just weren't intimidated by him so rang in early. I wasn't paying that close attention, but where it there were instances where they rang in first and it was obvious Matt tried to but they beat him out? I don't believe that he would have embarrassed himself so much by guessing Poland if he knew the correct answer, which I got before she finished reading the question.

When Mayim was talking to Johnathan about reading Shakespearean versions of Star Wars on Zoom with his friends, I thought I saw Matt make a smirky face.

It's a ridiculous hobby, don't get me wrong, but when dorks shade other dorks it's peak dork.

Fucking TVLine had the damn news early this afternoon.

I clicked just to see if anything interesting was happening and there it was, in big print, top story.

Assholes 😡🤬😡🤬😡

Regarding his fame story, I think a viewer must have approached him in the store and said "hey Matt" and snooty Matt was all "do i KNOW you?" so today he was trying to play it off legit with his boring names/faces story.

Then Mayim was like "Welcome to fame, asshole."

Like she'd know.

R477. I just unfriended someone on FB who posted it before it aired in my market. Dumb bitch.

MARY! Buuuuurn. Unfriended her on Facebook, wow!

Guess you two won't be meeting up for bridge this weekend!

I’m not sure I will be watching anymore

Hate the ugly frau hosting so my viewing will be limited as well.

Especially now since she openly stated she wanted the job. Fuck that.

He really did deflate like a balloon as the gane went on. I think maybe he just ran out of steam. THe winner is altogether too chipper.

I see the "actor from Florida" as a potential one day wonder.

I've never understood how the buzzers work. Sometimes you'll see contestants frantically trying to buzz in and not being able to, but I'm not sure why. Is it that another contestant beats them by a split second? Is it that if you press the device too hard and repeatedly, it locks you out? Sometimes it seems like there are contestants who really do know the correct answer but they don't get to give it because their timing on the buzzer is not as good as one or both of the other contestants. Is that what happens sometimes?

The buzzer issue has been addressed today in the other thread, R485.

I can't believe some of you old whores are sad he lost!

Goodbye to Matt. Congrats on breaking records. Thanks for finally letting someone else win.

Interesting that he lost on the first show that Michael Davies is listed as EP. Not sure how much time passed between taping Mike Richards' last shows as EP (they taped three weeks worth of shows that week) and taping this one with Michael Davies as EP. Likely at least a week. Perhaps longer.

Maybe Matt lost his mojo during that down time. Maybe he decided that he was content to have set a new record and was tired of playing. Maybe he was embarrassed that he was in third place going into Final for the first time in his run. Anyway, as good as Matt has been with the most obscure geography questions, it's clear he just gave up and didn't even try on Final. No way Matt would think the Alps were in Poland.

Austria was the only possible answer as its the only country with both Alps and the Danube.

Maybe he had a stroke.

Maybe it was heatstroke.

New York Times story on Mayim wanting to be permanent host.

Matt doesn't look the least bit upset to have lost. He sounds relieved if you listen to what was said while the credits were rolling.

What is wrong with wanting this gig and speaking openly about it? Lavar Burton did this too and dataloungers were spitting mad, shrieking about wokeism, tokenism and entitlement but ignoring his 5 decades working in the entertainment industry. I missed his turn as guest host so I can't speak to his skill as host. IMO, Mayim is excellent as host. The only bad thing I can speak of is her terrible dress sense.

R488/R489, Maybe he missed Grandpa.

Sounds like the beginning of a Handjobs story

Matt blew it intentionally in Double Jeopardy, the same way James blew it in his last appearance. Halfway through the first round, in both cases, you knew they just gave up.

He got to $1.5M and then called it a day. If couldn’t be more obvious.

His ridiculous answer in FJ was done so that you would understand he threw the entire game. And some of you thought the guy was modest. 🙄

If Matt wanted to "throw the game" intentionally from the beginning, there are others ways he could have done so, and he wouldn't have given correct answers to many of the questions. Also, some of his wrong answers were still reasonable guesses. I do agree that "Poland" as an absolutely ridiculous response to FJ, and I have no explanation for that. If he DID give an intentionally wrong answer to make it clear that he had decided to throw the game at that point, I think that's a shitty thing to do.

Well, R497, we and Twitter are all talking about it. If that was his intention, it has certainly worked. Either way, I’m happy he’s gone.

R498, I'm sure some people would have speculated that Matt finally losing was due to him throwing the game even if there was no evidence of that at all.

I too am happy he's gone, not because I disliked his personality or because I was so annoyed by this "what" answers (questions), but because I think the games had become boring and even annoying due to any lack of serious competition.

I don't think that was deliberate; he wouldn't have embarrassed himself on purpose like that period more that during the first round comma he had been through it before and came back strong later on, so just let things happen. Somewhere towards the end of the game it sunk in that he wasn't going to save himself. Those "voices" in his head were silent, causing a knowledge block/meltdown.

Oh it was deliberate. The camera panned to the new champ after he was able to ring in a few times in a row, and the look he gave was "I know Matt's *letting* me ring in, so I'll just go with it."

I don't think it was deliberate, each missed question knocked him a little more off his game and when double daily doubles happened, that was it.

He just got flustered. It was first day back from a break. Who knows what happened in his life.

Truly surprising that after several weeks of personal stories Matt never once mentioned a girlfriend past or present?

He had the hots for Mayim.

1. Michael Jackson is alive

2. Who and why the fuck would you name your kid Robinson-Genette? Did his parents hate him from the get-go?

He seemed a bit trans-ish, although a nice person. Early on, with all those errors, I wondered how he made it onto the show; but then he rallied.

Obvious that it wasn't a fluke that the new champ was able to dethrone the old one. So nice to be done with "What's.................... (correct answer just at the buzzer)?" I was curious about this Penguin family, but unlike the lady, I had no idea myself, guessing Forbes.

I hope all the Matt haters are pleased. That was excruciatingly boring, borderline cringe because of Jaye Davidson on the right.

R508, Does anyone know what the hell he was talking about during his interview?

Matt had to get back to his thesis.

No! I was hoping Mayim would translate what he was saying since she knows about that phenomenon.

I was in the middle of mopping my floor and I backed it up three or four times to get to understand what the fuck he said. Some long word + "Chimera".

I asked Alexa what it meant and she gave some bullshit answer like she knew but she didn't really. Now I'm off to look it up.

Basically he's twofer. A two-in-one.

Then he accused one in eight of us of being the same thing.

Karma chimera

In other words: he's his own twin?

I've gotten so used to Matt being there, I kind of missed not seeing him today.

I was embarrassed for Robinson-Gissette during the first half of the game, and his delicate persona didn't help matters much. Could you imagine if the poor thing were up against Matt?

I had no idea about FJ.

R509, I was just assuming that he was telling us that he's on the spectrum, or some other explanation for his weird behavior. How many times did he try to start speaking before Mayim acknowledged him?

By the way, when's the last time the board wasn't cleared?

R513, Is he a hermaphrodite?

I got Harper because of the magazine part of the clue, not the brothers' names. Penguin was an odd guess.

I got Harper because i'm . . . me.

X 2.

I guessed Collier.

Well, Robertson-Gisette looked to be trans or non-binary. And Jonathan looks like he could be a lesbian.

I had no idea what Robertson-Gisette was talking about. I rewound the tape twice to listen to it, but frankly the only word that sounded familiar was zygote. So I figured he/she/they was talking about two fertilized eggs being merged into one. Expected Mayim to translate, but alas she did not.

I guess Robertson-Gisette was suffering from nerves at the start of the game. Felt really sorry for him/her/them to have missed so many so early. Was glad to see he/she/they bounce back and get out of the red.

Seemed weird to see them start the game at the $200 question and then go straight down the category. Have gotten so used to Matt picking all the $1000 clues first and then all the $800 clues, etc. I much prefer it when they go straight down a category. So much easier for me as a viewer to keep up that way.

Harper was what came to mind as Mayim was reading the Final clue. Figured that was wrong, but then I thought about it and realized there is Harper Collins books and Harper's Bazaar magazine, so decided to keep that as my answer.

With four DNA sources rather than the usual two, could he be XXXY? I took biology in high school and college, but am still no scientist.

I don't know if they had Saturday Matt-less repeats in your area, R523? But, those reminded me what a normal game would look like.

No, r515, but he could be his own wife.

I guessed Doubleday.

R523, Jonathan looks like Fortune Feimster!

I think I have some form of PTSD as I'm still trying to get used to what a normal game sequence looks like.

R527, Or a female gym teacher. All that's missing is a whistle around the neck.

That quote was was a total Yogi-ism, and they were both catchers. One of the easier FJs

Maybe, but who remembers Yogi Berra anymore?

Three nice contestants who seemed to be enjoying themselves. The Shakespeare sweep really helped Jonathan take the lead, Bilal does look like Aziz, and Mary reminds me of Marilynne Robinson.

I would have liked Mary a lot more if her speech wasn't often so terribly affected and over-inflected.

Good game. Very nice to see a "normal" gay play with them (more or less) going down each category from $200 to $1000.

Yes, Jonathan could easily get a job as a stand-in for Fortune Feimster.

I'm not a sports person, but guessed Hank Aaron for Final.

Weird that Mayim talked about loving Luke and Laura on General Hospital.

Mayim was born in 1975, meaning she was only 6 years old when Luke and Laura got married in 1981 on what was the highest rated episode ever of a soap opera.

It's certainly possible for Mayim to have been watching GH during the height of Luke and Laura mania in 1980-81, but 6 seems a little young to be into soap operas. Maybe her mother or grandmother got her started watching the show when she was very young.

For FJ, my mind immediately came up with Casey Stengel, who said things like, "Never make predictions, especially about the future."

For me FJ was so easy, it felt like one of those $200 questions you'd see in round one. (My two favorite Yogi-isms are, "When you come to the fork in the road, take it" and "No one goes there anymore; it's too crowded."

Several decades ago when I was on jury duty for the first time, there was a flurry of talk on the elevator I had just gotten on because Yogi had just gotten off. (I didn't see him.)

Actor from Florida is growing on me, and he gets major bonus points for flat out refusing to give us a sample of his Irish accent.

I liked it that the South Asian guy, rather than arguing about it, just knowingly signed a fake "celebrity" autograph.

I thought Jonathan would crash right after taking out Matt, but he's doing pretty well.

Me too. He seems pleasant enough.

R541, I find him annoying.

I don't know much about military stuff, but was surprised that Ray wears a uniform after he's retired? More to the point, anyone else catch the fact that his big interest was theater which is where he met his wife? Hint, hint...

At first I thought electors for final, but got the correct answer before time was up.

For FJ, I started with delegates to the Constitutional Convention, then looked at the date and realized that was wrong. I moved to Congressmen, and then finally settled on the right answer, Senators.

I thought senator right away.

Saw the year and figured that’s what it was.

R543, Mr. C…

My brother still wears his uniform for formal or important occasions, despite being retired (from the military) for over ten years. None of us are the slightest impressed or amused by it anymore. I think it’s because he doesn’t have a suit.

My guess for FJ was so off I won't embarrass myself by repeating it, but God will get all three of them for not knowing Maude...

R547, Archie Findlay?

Mayim laughed at the Asian girl's FJ response.

R549, Yes, that was rude.

Well, Jonathan is proving himself to be a worthy successor to Matt. Four games now. Good going.

My first thought for Final was delegates to Constitutional Convention, but I, too, decided the date was wrong and noticed the "first two" clue and settled on U.S. Senators.

I just watched Final Jeopardy again, as I didn't catch any laugh the first time. Listening specifically, I caught it, but it really wasn't that big of deal as though she'd rolled her eyes or something.

I had forgotten that none of the brainiacs were aware that Raleigh was the missing North Carolina triangle city, which I thought a very easy question (Chapel Hill would've been harder).

It's good to have Matty home again.

We're seeing Hamilton tonight for the third time.

Grandpa Amodio, is Matty using some of his $1.5 million to take you on a vacation to the Polish Alps?

Jonathan reminds me more and more of Roy Clark on Hee Haw.

Has anyone looked him up on IMDB yet?

The contestant who Mayim laughed at looked like she was going to cry. Her answer wasn't THAT bad.

The Asian contestant's answer wasn't that bad. Several of us here on DL thought the same thing. Likely many at home did too.

I don't think Mayim was giggling at the answer. I think Mayim was giggling at was the fact she put in 3 question marks and a smiley face after her answer.

When I saw the three question marks and smiley face, I smiled at it. Don't think I've ever seen a contestant put three question marks at end of the answer before.

No one got FJ, I couldn't place the quote either.

I didn't get final either. Was hoping Connie could make it.

As someone with a Nantucket connection, I was surprised they didn't know Elin Hilderbrand. Felt that sea cow was an acceptable alternative to dugong, waiting for them to give retroactive credit.

I've never read the "Just So" stories, but I'm aware of the title and I knew they were written by Kipling, so I got Final Jeopardy.

I'm glad Connie didn't win. She came across as a sourpuss through most of the game, and though I wasn't sure what she meant by her comment about that Biblical question, it made it sound like she might be a religious zealot.

Yeah R561, Connie was the sourest fucking ass I’ve ever seen on Jeopardy. Bitch, nobody was forcing you to be there. Who was she....Roxanne Gay’s mom?

I liked Curmudgeon Connie.

I thought her retort to the God answer was the opposite of religious. If she were super Christian, wouldn't she have known the answer?

"When I saw the three question marks and smiley face, I smiled at it."

🤢🤢🤮

Connie is more a DLer than any fraud failure who says they smile at smiley faces and exclamation marks.

I didn't get Elin Hilderbrand either, but "Just So Stories" was at my public library when I was a kid so that was easy for me.

Good game. I like it when the games are competitive.

I, too, thought the judges would ultimately rule sea cow response as correct.

I liked Connie. She didn't bother me at all.

Wow! Jonathan is now a five-game winner, meaning he will definitely be back for the Tournament of Champions. I feared me might just be a one-day wonder when he defeated Matt. Glad he's showing some staying power.

I knew Just So stories for Final before Mayim even finished reading the clue. That's how my mother always referred to the Rudyard Kipling stories when she read them to me. At least Connie answered another of Kipling's stories with her Jungle Book answer.

Ironically, Jonathan will be facing Matt again for TOC.

I've never read any Kipling, but my dad had fond memories of a summer camp in New England called Mowgli.

Was gratified seeing Connie somewhat repelled by the idea of religion.

Do you guys really think Connie responded to that question that way because she's repelled by the idea of religion? I'll have to see if I can watch that moment again, but I thought she meant the opposite.

R569, Connie's comment was simply a reaction to the category in general, i. e. it wasn't her strong suit and she wished to switch to another, that's all.

I found Connie refreshingly unique and knowledgeable and her telling of watching the original Jeopardy! with her grandmother was touching.

A manatee is a dugong is a sea cow. It was in my Time-Life book, "The Sea".

[quote]Connie's comment was simply a reaction to the category in general, i. e. it wasn't her strong suit and she wished to switch to another, that's all.

I didn't take it that way. It was right after Mayim gave the answer (or, rather, question) to that particular question (or, rather,answer) when Connie said, "I don't like that one."

R572, "that one" meaning the category. Duh!

“Just so” came to me like a fever dream.

I felt like Connie said that because she thought the question was low-grade blasphemous.

[quote]I felt like Connie said that because she thought the question was low-grade blasphemous.

Yeah, I got a similar feeling, even though I didn't fully understand the question/answer. That's what I meant about her maybe being a religious zealot, because I don't think anyone else would have felt it necessary to make that comment.

[quote]I felt like Connie said that because she thought the question was low-grade blasphemous.

That's about how I read it. I think she disliked the while category.

Why are so many of you reading so much into a contestant merely switching to another category after the first clue?

[quote]Why are so many of you reading so much into a contestant merely switching to another category after the first clue?

Because of her comment, which seemed to be directed at the religious content of the question.

She got the answer wrong, so she wasn’t picking a new category.

R580, ????

R580, that's not how it happened.

If Connie were a zealot don't you think she'd have been proudly buzzing in and getting the answers right?

She was referring to the category.

I knew Longfellow wrote about The Village Blacksmith, as well as African Grey Parrot, but there were some I missed, like Final. Guessed Mad Anthony (Fort) Wayne, though knew Gary was decades later.

Maybe Mayim should borrow some bow ties from the WOF guy?

I'm on board with Mayim staying.

OMG 😳

Did anybody read about the hack that happened at Sinclair??

My local station must have been affected because I can’t watch Jeopardy!!

Of all the things they could be showing, they’re giving an episode of CHiPS 😱😱😱😳

What happened at Sinclair? Jeopardy aired in my area, an interesting game. Fun.

Just saw the other Sinclair station, the Fox affiliate is also down!

So can’t see 9-1-1 or Bob ❤️ Abishola

There was a hack this weekend, apparently it hasn’t been resolved.

I saw this article

Wow, I’m reading that some stations were affected starting yesterday.

Luckily, I was able to see the Cowboy-Patriots game yesterday.

There were a lot of tough questions for me, including FJ (another Gary...). I did get Delroy Lindo and "My Life as a Dog". I thought Adam was going to make it a closer game, but the categories worked well for Jonathan to run off with the lead.

I guessed Andrew Jackson.

Reminder: You can watch each day's full episode of Jeopardy on YouTube.

Here's Monday's episode.

Good game.

My high school English teacher would be ashamed no one knew Longfellow wrote the Village Blacksmith. Wonder if any of the contestants would have known that Longfellow also wrote the Song of Hiawatha.

I initially thought Andrew Jackson for Final. Then changed my answer to Gary.

Who was Gary?

"Gary, Indiana, was founded in 1906 by the United States Steel Corporation as the home for its new plant, Gary Works. The city was named after lawyer Elbert Henry Gary, who was the founding chairman of the United States Steel Corporation."

So, not a hero touring the country in 1825.

Nope, but that didn't stop me from guessing Gary...

Does any high school teacher of English lit still teach Longfellow?? I'm not surprised none of the contestants knew that one.

I got Longfellow right away, but as a point of general knowledge, rather than having ever read anything by him.