Friday, July 24, 2015 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

[Archivists]

Game Recap for Show #7120, 2015-07-24

Scott Lord game 5.

CONTESTANTS
Sam Suarez, a postdoctoral researcher from Cary, North Carolina
Tracy McCarthy, a customer service manager from Vista, California
Scott Lord, a construction attorney from Santa Monica, California (whose 4-day cash winnings total $93,402)

OPENING REMARKS
Alex: Thank you, Johnny. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. Well, in his own quiet but very impressive manner, Scott Lord has won every game this week. And, Sam and Tracy, the challengers, are not here to pay tribute to him. They're here to beat him. Will it happen? Let's find out in this half-hour. Here we go. Categories in the first round today are...

JEOPARDY! ROUND CATEGORIES
APOSTOLIC NAMES (5/5)
STATE CAPITALS (5/5)
TRANSPORTATION (4/5)
NOT CHESS AGAIN! (4/5, including 1 correct Daily Double)
TV ROLES (4/5)
DOUBLE D WITH ANOTHER D (5/5) (Alex: That'll be three "D"s at least in each correct response.)

THE RIGHTS & THE WRONGS
Sam: 14 R, 1 W
Scott: 8 R (including 1 DD), 2 W
Tracy: 5 R (including 1 rebound), 2 W

Clues revealed: 30
Triple Stumpers: 3
Jeopardy! Round Potential Lach Trash: $2,000



SCORES AT THE FIRST BREAK
Sam: $6,200
Scott: $0
Tracy: -$800

CONTESTANT INTERVIEWS



Alex: Sam Suarez is from Cary, North Carolina, and he's about to make Johnny Gilbert feel really, really good. Tell the folks why.

Sam: When I was very young, about 3 years old, our bath time was usually right before--right before Jeopardy! would come on, so we would come out, and our mother would wrap us in towels, me and my brother, and I would always start off--the first thing I would say, when Jeopardy! would come on, "...and now the host of Jeopardy!--Alex Trebek" wrapped in just a towel, and it was--it was very cute.

[Laughter]

Alex: Well, what--I'm sure it was, but what a lot of you viewers do not know is that Johnny, when he introduces me at the beginning of each program, is over there wearing just a bath towel also.

[Laughter]

Alex: We don't show that.

[Laughter]




Alex: Tracy McCarthy from Vista, California...

Tracy: Hi.

Alex: ...born in a hallway. What happened?

Tracy: Well, my mom--I was the third of three, and she knew I was coming, but they kept telling her, "No, no, no. You know, she's not due yet", and, uh, she went into labor. She called her friend because my dad was sick, and she wouldn't come to pick her up because she was watching an episode of Mary Hartman that had just started.

[Laughter]

Tracy: So, finished the episode and made it to Santa Monica Hospital just in time to be born in hallway with just my mom and a nurse.

Alex: [Chuckles] A comedy of errors indeed.




Alex: Scott Lord is a construction attorney from Southern California. What do you do, exactly? I don't know what a construction lawyer is.

Scott: I represent all parties that might be involved in construction litigation, from the owners to the contractors to the subcontractors, architects, engineers.

Alex: "He didn't build the wall the way it showed up on the plans, therefore..."

Scott: Oh--yeah, that would be the least of their problems.

Alex: [Laughs] Oh, really? Okay.

[Laughter]

JEOPARDY! ROUND DAILY DOUBLE
Scott found the Daily Double on the 19th clue. Scott had $800, Tracy was in the red with -$800, and Sam was at $6,200. Scott wagered $1,000.

NOT CHESS AGAIN! $600: In a set of standard Staunton-style pieces, not bishops but these pieces are topped with crosses

TRIPLE STUMPERS IN THE JEOPARDY! ROUND
TRANSPORTATION $200: In 1911 Eugene Ely made the first airplane landing on one of these, the USS Pennsylvania
(Scott: What is an aircraft carrier?)
(Tracy: What is a battleship?)
...
(Alex: The danger on our program sometimes is if you give us too much information. The response here was just [*]. It was not an aircraft carrier nor a battleship at that time.)

TV ROLES $1000: Alex O'Loughlin plays this iconic role on the reboot version of "Hawaii Five-O"
(Tracy: What is Danno?)
(Scott: Who is Lord?)

NOT CHESS AGAIN! $800: White moves first & looks to increase his advantage; black replies & seeks to gain this, part of Wyoming's state nickname

SCORES AT THE END OF THE JEOPARDY! ROUND
Sam: $8,000
Scott: $2,600
Tracy: $2,400

[Archivists]

DOUBLE JEOPARDY! ROUND CATEGORIES
THE SECURITIES & EXCHANGE COMMISSION (4/5, including 1 correct Daily Double)
IN WEBSTER'S DICTIONARY (5/5)
WATER SCIENCE (5/5)
"A"+ IN HISTORY (4/5, including 1 correct Daily Double)
W. SOMERSET MAUGHAM (4/5)
POP CULTURE (5/5)

THE RIGHTS & THE WRONGS
Scott: 10 R (including 1 rebound and 1 DD), 1 W
Tracy: 9 R (including 1 rebound and 1 DD), 0 W
Sam: 8 R (including 1 rebound), 2 W

Clues revealed: 30
Triple Stumpers: 3
Double Jeopardy! Round Potential Lach Trash: $5,200



FIRST DOUBLE JEOPARDY! ROUND DAILY DOUBLE
Tracy snagged the next Daily Double on the 16th clue. Scott had $8,600, Tracy had $5,600, and Sam was at $9,600. Tracy wagered $3,000.

"A"+ IN HISTORY $1600: Flourishing between 3000 & 1100 B.C., Cycladic & Minoan were 2 of the cultures named for this sea

SECOND DOUBLE JEOPARDY! ROUND DAILY DOUBLE
It was Scott who snatched up the last Daily Double of the game on the 18th clue. Scott had $10,600, Tracy had $8,600, and Sam was at $9,600. Scott wagered $1,000.

THE SECURITIES & EXCHANGE COMMISSION $1200: The sec regulates this type of 5-letter material that allows shareholders to vote without being present

TRIPLE STUMPERS IN THE DOUBLE JEOPARDY! ROUND
W. SOMERSET MAUGHAM $2000: Maugham's first novel had the alliterative title "Liza of" this London district

"A"+ IN HISTORY $1200: The pact known as this document of Mudros marked the defeat of the Ottoman Empire

THE SECURITIES & EXCHANGE COMMISSION $2000: She brought down John Gotti; "You don't wanna mess with Mary Jo", said President Obama, in nominating this current SEC head

SCORES ENTERING FINAL JEOPARDY!
Sam: $14,400
Tracy: $13,800
Scott: $13,600

PREFINAL REMARKS
Alex: Look at those scores, folks. What a way to end the week. One of these players is gonna wind up, I hope, with a lot of money. Depends on your wagers and what you know about this subject...

FINAL JEOPARDY! CATEGORY
NATIONAL AIRLINES

VENUSIAN MONOLOGUES/MARTIAN CHRONICLES
Four-fifths for first place. Stratton's Dilemma.
Sam: Wager $13,201 to cover Tracy.
Tracy: You ought to wager to cover Scott, but since you cannot win on a Triple Stumper if you do so, you ought to choose between wagering $0 or maximizing your winnings with a bet of all $13,800. You are in Stratton's Dilemma, calling for a wager of more than $13,400 (to shut out Scott) or less than $12,600 (risking the possibility of being passed from behind by Scott). Go with the smaller bet if you believe a Triple Stumper is more likely than a singleton miss by Sam.
Scott: You ought to try wagering between $201 and $12,400. This will top a $0 wager by Tracy while still beating Sam and Tracy on the Triple Stumper (should Sam wager to cover Tracy's doubled score and Tracy wager to cover your doubled score).

FINAL JEOPARDY! CLUE
This small land's airline advertises a "stopover": 7 nights at no extra travel charge to break up a Boston-Brussels trip

FINAL SCORES
Scott: $13,600 + $1,000 = $14,600 (What is Icelandic Airlines) (93403-day champion: $14,600)
Tracy: $13,800 - $13,800 = $0 (What is Air Belgium) (3rd place)
Sam: $14,400 - $14,000 = $400 (What is Air Belgium) (2nd place)
(Alex: [To Scott] We will accept that. [*]air, or [*], the name of the country, we would have accepted also.)
...
(Alex: [To Sam] Remember, when you're traveling from America to Europe, you fly very far north because of the circle route.)

Total Potential Lach Trash: $7,200

GAME DYNAMICS


CORYAT SCORES
Sam: $14,400, 22 R, 3 W
Scott: $13,400, 18 R (including 2 DDs), 3 W
Tracy: $12,400, 14 R (including 1 DD), 2 W
Combined Coryat: $40,200

BATTING AVERAGES
Sam: 22/58 = .379
Scott: 19/60 = .317
Tracy: 14/59 = .237
Team: 55/63 = .873

MISCELLANEOUS INTERESTING CLUES
NOT CHESS AGAIN! $200: In doing this, a player moves a rook either 2 squares to the left or 3 to the right
(Scott: What is castle?... [*]?)

STATE CAPITALS $1000: (Kelly of the Clue Crew reports from the Parthenon in Nashville, TN.) The Parthenon in Nashville boasts one of the world's largest sets of doors made from this metal--24' high & 7' wide
(Sam: What is gold?)

STATE CAPITALS $600: The only house Abraham Lincoln ever owned is located at Jackson & 8th Streets in this capital
(Alex: Right, with less than a minute to go.)

DOUBLE D WITH ANOTHER D $1000: Type of gently treated egg seen here

POP CULTURE $400: In the new movie "Pixels", aliens send our own video game characters to menace Earth, including this one seen here
(Alex: And that movie opens today.)

WATER SCIENCE $400: Mineral water from natural springs usually has a high level of carbonate of this chemical element
(Scott: What is carbon dioxide?)

W. SOMERSET MAUGHAM $1200: "The Hairless Mexican" & "The Traitor" are 2 of Maugham's stories drawn from his exploits as a spy in this war
(Sam: What is the Spanish-American War?)

POP CULTURE $1600: The title of this sitcom about the Huang family is a slighting phrase about immigrants
(Sam: What is Off the Boat?)

IN WEBSTER'S DICTIONARY $1600: "A bay or recess in the shore of a sea, lake, or river"
(Alex: ...with a minute to go.)

IN WEBSTER'S DICTIONARY $400: "The student usu. of the highest rank in a graduating class"
[Alex reads "usu." as "usually".]

CORRECT RESPONSES
kings
a ship
Steve McGarrett
equality
the Aegean
a proxy
Lambeth
Armistice
Mary Jo White
Iceland
castling
bronze
Springfield
coddled
Pac-Man
calcium
World War I
Fresh Off the Boat
inlet
valedictorian

[jeff6286]

National Airlines
This small land's airline advertises a "stopover": 7 nights at no extra travel charge to break up a Boston-Brussels trip.

Spoiler

What is Iceland? (Icelandic Airlines or Icelandair also acceptable.) Tracy and Sam both said Air Belgium.

Sam Suarez: $14,400-$14,000=$400
Tracy McCarthy: $13,800-$13,800=$0
Scott Lord: $13,600+$1,000=$14,600...now a 5-day champion with $108,002

[floridagator]

All three contestants were fairly equally matched, as the scores at the end of DJ proved. Scott, who finished DJ lowest, becomes a five-time champ for knowing FJ, and for no other reason. FJ was instaget for me. I've heard those offers from Icelandair many times.

So now Scott sets off to try to become a super-champ. I think he's had only one monstrously impressive finish and the rest were kind of dependent on the misfortunes of others.

[Elijah Baley]

All three contestants were fairly equally matched, as the scores at the end of DJ proved. Scott, who finished DJ lowest, becomes a five-time champ for knowing FJ, and for no other reason. FJ was instaget for me. I've heard those offers from Icelandair many times.

So now Scott sets off to try to become a super-champ. I think he's had only one monstrously impressive finish and the rest were kind of dependent on the misfortunes of others.

Is my memory so faulty?? Scott was behind once this week, right? And he had correct responses for Final Jeopardy every day? That's a pretty impressive performance in my book.

[MinnesotaMyron]

All three contestants were fairly equally matched, as the scores at the end of DJ proved. Scott, who finished DJ lowest, becomes a five-time champ for knowing FJ, and for no other reason. FJ was instaget for me. I've heard those offers from Icelandair many times.

So now Scott sets off to try to become a super-champ. I think he's had only one monstrously impressive finish and the rest were kind of dependent on the misfortunes of others.

Is my memory so faulty?? Scott was behind once this week, right? And he had correct responses for Final Jeopardy every day? That's a pretty impressive performance in my book.

He was also behind on Tuesday.

[astrohip]

I'm surprised this was only a one-get. My first, and really only thought, was Iceland. What other small island lies in between Boston and Brussels, and would have an airline interested in promoting tourism. I briefly considered Bermuda, but it didn't make sense for multiple reasons. Iceland it is.

Really surprised the leader missed it.

[MitchO]

When his bet was revealed, I said to my gf "Nope, that's not right. You're betting that TWO other people both get the FJ wrong?"

And then it happened. We got it right here, briefly considering Isle of Man.

[xxaaaxx]

Not sure why you would want to stop in Iceland for a week while on the way to Belgium, but after picturing the flight path in my head, there was nothing else it could be.

I need to see that 'ship' clue again. I'm trying to decide if there was some obvious bit of naval trivia that they missed or if the writers were just being evil.

[Abraxas]

What an exciting game! Sam had a great start and I thought he would run away with the win, but then the other two caught up. All three contestants had at least $13,600 going into FJ. Scott, who was in third place going into FJ, was the only one to get FJ, and he won for the fifth time. Congratulations to him. I had 37 correct responses including two triple stumpers: equality and Lambeth. Instaget FJ.

[jpr281]

Scott goes out of his way to go to SEC for $1200 and hits the DD then only wagers $1000.

[Leander]

I'm surprised this was only a one-get. My first, and really only thought, was Iceland. What other small island lies in between Boston and {already forgot the other place, and deleted the recording}, and would have an airline interested in promoting tourism. I briefly considered Bermuda, but it didn't make sense for multiple reasons. Iceland it is.

Really surprised the leader missed it.

I think the other possible option was Ireland, lying between Boston and Brussels, but I was generally familiar with the route, and vaguely remember stopover offers for Iceland, so that's what I went with. I was surprised two answered Belgium. Also surprised all three gave an airline, not the country as requested.

[TenPoundHammer]

I always love it when they show Johnny on-camera.

I have my own Johnny Gilbert story: at my McDonald's, we sell a burger called the Daily Double, and every time someone orders one, I shout "This… is… Jeopardy!" in my best Johnny Gilbert. My head manager happened to behind me when one went out, and jokingly told me "Don't do it, I don't wanna hear it." So I shouted "Wheel! Of! Fortune!" instead. Then later, another Daily Double was ordered, and a shift manager began to shout out "This… is…" before the head manager ran over and pretended to kick her. I promptly finished her sentence with "…Sparta!"

====

Transportation for $200 was an extremely inelegant clue IMO. All they wanted was ship, but "USS" + "plane" inclined the players to guess some variation of "aircraft carrier" which turned out to be too specific.

NHO "castling". I've played chess (badly) many times, but nothing in that category was familiar to me.

Ran Double D, but had only 3 other gets in J!

WLT "Tahiti" on W. Somerset Maugham for $400? That category seemed insanely YEKIOYD.

I absolutely hate any time they have a clue on airlines, because it just seems to have no "gain" to me. General "book learning" things like math or science, sure — who doesn't have a need for those? (My newfound love of science has largely stemmed from me learning what transhumanism is. ) History? Still not terribly interested, but I at least get why it'd be beneficial to learn new things in that department. But to me, airlines are one of the few "who cares?" things. I just don't see the application in learning airline history. When I get the call from Wheel (which should be any day now), I'm most likely flying whatever will get me there for not too much money, and I don't care what name is on the plane.

I saw no way to figure out this FJ! at all. I have no idea how you possibly get Iceland out of it.

[mfc248]

Not sure why you would want to stop in Iceland for a week while on the way to Belgium, but after picturing the flight path in my head, there was nothing else it could be.

I need to see that 'ship' clue again. I'm trying to decide if there was some obvious bit of naval trivia that they missed or if the writers were just being evil.

Having answered "aircraft carrier" myself and looking it up, it's the latter. The ship on which Ely landed was an armored cruiser. The Navy didn't commission its first aircraft carrier until 1922.

[GhostStalker]

I saw no way to figure out this FJ! at all. I have no idea how you possibly get Iceland out of it.

Iceland is halfway between Boston and Brussels, since the flight pattern is smack dab over the North Atlantic. Not that hard to come up with.

Surprised that only Scott was able to get it, and that his safe $1000 paid off. Would've been a good opportunity to dethrone him, but now he's gonna be in the ToC. Shame about his challengers though.

My cousin did the week long layover in Reykjavik a couple months back, and he told me it was amazing. Guess I'll just have to live vicariously through him...

[immaf]

For the $2000 clue in Webster's Dictionary, I said "suffocate" instead of "asphyxiate". I negged it, but I'm not sure I should have. Judges?

[StevenH]

This was an excellent game, and it was awesome to see good FJ wagers from all three contestants!

I precalled "Anschluss" as the bottom of the board clue in the "A in History" category.

The FJ category was not one that I was confident about, but luckily it turned out to be more of a geography clue than a business/industry clue. Unfortunately, that did not help me, as I never even thought of Iceland. This was a big time forehead slapper.

[Spaceman Spiff]

FJ was an instaget. We flew on Icelandair onour vacation last year, but didn't realize this perk until we set up our itinerary, otherwise we would have spent some time there.

[whatisbishkek]

I couldn't believe both challengers missed that easy FJ and both responded with... the country that Brussels is in.

What is the rule on questionably legible FJ responses? Because it seemed awfully generous to say that Scott actually wrote "Airlines." Of course, he would have won with a wrong response anyway. I was also puzzled that all three contestants wrote down an airline when the clue clearly asked for a place.

[mxc_takeshi]

30 right.

Ap (4), State (4), Transportation (2), Chess (0), TV (4), DD-D (4)
SEC (1), Webster (4), Water (2), A+ (3), Somerset (0), Pop (2)

Lach Trash: "ship"

Instaget FJ.