Wednesday, May 21, 2014 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

[TryphonTournesol]

I must be the only one who wasn't mortified by Sirina's wager. She clearly was uncomfortable in that category

Then why'd she go back to it? It really seemed like she had conceded the game at that point.

I do think she had pretty much conceded the game, but to be fair, weren't there barely any clues on the board by that point? I only recall a handful in two categories; she may have liked the look of the other one even less.

[bleezy]

These last two games have been pretty bad. Julia's a great player, but I feel like I could also have beaten much of her recent competition. Pulsar, Svengali (this was on Seinfeld!), Royal Society, the Monopoly properties and many other clues have been very easy and yet no one seems to get them. Like an earlier poster I'm starting to get frustrated because I know someday I'll get a call from J! and the questions won't be nearly this easy.

I do like watching Julia play; she is very congenial and very smart but she has also gotten exceptionally lucky, more so than Arthur.

[tgs]

Had they tied for second, the one leading going into FJ gets $2,000 and the other gets $1,000. I think that is a dumb rule (they don't break a tie for first) and both should get $2,000. But I got jumped on last time I said a rule was dumb, so I won't comment further.

Again, I will agree with you: it is a dumb rule. Give them both the 2K, for goodness sake.

Give both of them nothing so they'll play for the win.

There's no functional difference between $2,000 apiece and $0 apiece. If TPTB like $3,000 worth of consolation prizes, they should give $1,500 per loser. So long as the consolation prize is obviously smaller than the expected value of winning, equal amounts eliminate incentive to play for second, which would be good for the game.

[Onairb]

Sirina was quite a puzzling (to put it nicely) player to watch. She suffered from Full Category Name Pleasitis, had a long story, and gift wrapped a win for Julia by making a worthless wager.

Without knowing the last two clues in both unfinished categories, I'm positive I would have run Heisman(I had all 3 that were played), and probably would have gotten at least one of the spy novel clues (I'd gotten 2 out of 3). However, the length, and ultimate pointlessness, of Sirina's anecdote created a rip in the space-time continuum, sucking those four clues into the void, and the life out of the game.

[Onairb]

This is getting ridiculous. I think I might stop watching the show until she loses. She's clearly much, much smarter than she lets on (even I can't deny a 9-game streak, much less 13), but these monochrome sweaters, awkward faux-laughing noises, and demeanor which makes her come across as an unintelligent woman are bothering me more by the day. I never would have thought I'd be rooting against a 5-day champion (again, much less a 13-day champion) as I am one who tends to support people who are good at games, but I also never thought I'd have this negative of a reaction to a game show contestant.

Congratulations on making the haters like me irrelevant, I guess.

We'll really miss your input after the many thousands of insightful posts you've given us, offering perspective on three decades of episo...wait, what?

[Blue Lion]

What led to Hillary Clinton on $200?

"November 8, 2016". It's an open secret that she wants to run for president, and many pundits have already conceded her the Democratic nomination.

[Sage on the Hudson]

Skydiving was totally over my head.

Not for long.

[yclept]

I was going to type this morning that his wasn't Julia's best showing....then I realized she locked out her two opponents with ease. I guess the problem with this game was the awkward silence at times in DJ, but in the end, another demolition.

If one doesn't like a contestant on a show like Jeopardy, can't one still watch for the sake of the trivia? Perhaps I am asking that of a troll.

I like to celebrate great Jeopardy champs. I thought it would be years before we saw another Chu streak, and it turns out one came a few months later. But it could be years before we see another Julia-like streak, so why not just embrace the Jeopardy history that is being made? The string of 1-day, $12,000 winners will come back soon enough I am sure. Of course, that in itself is quite an accomplishment.

[DHicton]

It always amuses me the way non-Saskatchewanians pronounce Saskatchewan. It's our little shibboleth.

For the record, we say "suss-KATCH-uh-w'n" or even sometimes "s's-KATCH-w'n" (IPA: /sə.ˈskætʃ.ə.wən/ or /s.ˈskætʃ.wən/).

If you say "SASS-KATCH-e-WAHN" or some variant, you'll probably hear, "Guess yer not fr'm around here, arya?"

[Bamaman]

The Canada category was Teen Week material. Only clammed on the new territory because I can never remember how to pronounce it.

[doihavetoreally]

Will echo the sentiments that it wasn't a great game to watch, congrats to Julia.
Other champs have posted about the issue of fatigue from game #1 to game #5 of a day. I like to acknowledge this aspect as I see this receiving less attention than luck/contestants etc.

[opusthepenguin]

Maybe I'm just getting tired of all the people here who say that Julia only wins because all of her opponents are idiots. I just don't agree with that.

Oh dear. Is Phyllis E. Strawman posting again? You should really just put her on your Foe list so you won't see her posts. That's what the rest of us do. Don't assume we share her opinions just because we don't contradict her. This is honestly the first time we've seen the claim you mention.

I think a lot of people are saying a slightly toned-down version of this.

There's the one yahoo upthread who posted after my comment. Maybe Austin.

Many of us are pointing out that Julia leaves a higher than average amount of lach trash for a superchamp. That suggests her opponents are not of the highest caliber. I don't see anything wrong with remarking that this has surely contributed to her streak.

Maybe I'm just getting tired of seeing a reasonable position caricatured by people who decline to engage with it on the merits. It's twitter-twaddle.

[opusthepenguin]

Skydiving was totally over my head.

Ha! Good one.

[opusthepenguin]

I do like watching Julia play; she is very congenial and very smart but she has also gotten exceptionally lucky, more so than Arthur.

I am so sick of you haters saying Julia is dumber than dishwater and she only wins because her opponents are dumber than pond scum.

[opusthepenguin]

Will echo the sentiments that it wasn't a great game to watch, congrats to Julia.
Other champs have posted about the issue of fatigue from game #1 to game #5 of a day. I like to acknowledge this aspect as I see this receiving less attention than luck/contestants etc.

We've brought it up a few times over the course of Julia's streak. She is truly amazing in her consistent level of play regardless of the day or the categories. If we don't notice it as much as we should, it's her own fault. She makes it look easy.

[Spaceman Spiff]

I went with Royal Society for FJ, but was worried that there was more to the name I was missing.

I thought the first round board very easy, but the DJ board quite a bit harder.

Same here on the FJ. I figured it had to be "Royal something," then threw down "Society," tried to find something to add, but didn't think of anything else and just left it that way.

One of those "better lucky than good responses.

[Bamaman]

I think pond scum is smarter than dishwater.

[Spaceman Spiff]

It always amuses me the way non-Saskatchewanians pronounce Saskatchewan. It's our little shibboleth.

For the record, we say "suss-KATCH-uh-w'n" or even sometimes "s's-KATCH-w'n" (IPA: /sə.ˈskætʃ.ə.wən/ or /s.ˈskætʃ.wən/).

If you say "SASS-KATCH-e-WAHN" or some variant, you'll probably hear, "Guess yer not fr'm around here, arya?"

To tell the real outsiders, ask them to pronounce the provincial capital

[skullturf]

Will echo the sentiments that it wasn't a great game to watch, congrats to Julia.
Other champs have posted about the issue of fatigue from game #1 to game #5 of a day. I like to acknowledge this aspect as I see this receiving less attention than luck/contestants etc.

We've brought it up a few times over the course of Julia's streak. She is truly amazing in her consistent level of play regardless of the day or the categories. If we don't notice it as much as we should, it's her own fault. She makes it look easy.

Very true. Her consistency is impressive.

She's never had more than $30,000 at the end of a game, but she had seven games in a row where she finished the game with more than $20,000 -- and she didn't appear to be tired or burnt out whatsoever after any of her games.

If you just look at any one of those games in isolation, the numbers might not blow you away compared to some other flashier champs, but that's just an illusion created by looking at one game in isolation. Julia's consistency is amazing.

If a hockey team regularly wins games by scores like 2-1, over and over again, then they must be a good hockey team. They are probably disciplined and consistent and stick to the fundamentals. Such a team might not indulge in a lot of dramatic risky plays, but wins are wins.

[zakharov]

It always amuses me the way non-Saskatchewanians pronounce Saskatchewan. It's our little shibboleth.

For the record, we say "suss-KATCH-uh-w'n" or even sometimes "s's-KATCH-w'n" (IPA: /sə.ˈskætʃ.ə.wən/ or /s.ˈskætʃ.wən/).

If you say "SASS-KATCH-e-WAHN" or some variant, you'll probably hear, "Guess yer not fr'm around here, arya?"

To tell the real outsiders, ask them to pronounce the provincial capital

If you can do it without snickering, are you granted honorary citizenship?