Thursday, July 19, 2018 Game Recap and Discussion (SPOILERS)

[Archivists]

Game Recap for Show #7809, 2018-07-19

Ryan Fenster game 7.

CONTESTANTS
Michelle Mueckler, a stay-at-home mom from Elgin, South Carolina
Justin Moody, a paralegal from Durham, North Carolina
Ryan Fenster, a banker from SeaTac, Washington (whose 6-day cash winnings total $127,397)

OPENING REMARKS
Alex: Thank you, Johnny. A lot of numbers there for Johnny to come up with. A big total of $127,000 and change. Justin and Michelle, you know you've got your work cut out for you today, but who knows? It all depends on the category. So let's find out what they are in the first round of play. Remember, there's one Daily Double. Here are the categories...

JEOPARDY! ROUND CATEGORIES
WORD PUZZLES (5/5)
AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL NOVELS (4/5)
TRAIL MIX (4/5, including 1 correct Daily Double)
CLASSIC SONGS' FIRST LINES (4/5)
I READ THE NEWS TODAY (3/5)
O'BOY (5/5)

THE RIGHTS & THE WRONGS
Justin: 9 R (including 1 rebound and 1 DD), 2 W
Ryan: 9 R (including 3 rebounds), 3 W
Michelle: 7 R, 2 W

Clues revealed: 30
Triple Stumpers: 5
Jeopardy! Round Potential Lach Trash: $3,600



SCORES AT THE FIRST BREAK
Ryan: $2,000
Justin: $1,400
Michelle: $0

CONTESTANT INTERVIEWS



Alex: Michelle Mueckler is a stay-at-home mom from South Carolina who has started a collection of designer purses. So you're hoping to win a lot of money on Jeopardy! because designer purses are expensive, aren't they?

Michelle: They are. I think my kids have already spent many times over what I'm hoping to collect to give them someday. So, yes.

Alex: Do you have a favorite designer of ladies' purses?

Michelle: I would probably say Chanel, but I've got a quite a collection of Louis Vuitton going on.

Alex: Okay, good for you.




Alex: Justin Moody is a paralegal from Durham, North Carolina, who was married by a kind of priest that I've never heard of.

Justin: A Dudeist priest.

Alex: A Dudeist?

Justin: A Dudeist priest. It's a religion based on the film The Big Lebowski. My wife, Megan, and I got married in a small town near a winery. We didn't know any of the clergy there. Her best friend's father was an ordained Dudeist priest and performed our ceremony.

Alex: Okay. Right on, dude. Way to go.




Alex: Ryan Fenster is our champion. He has won $127,000 and change, and yet your sister goes to great lengths to keep you humble.

Ryan: Yes, indeed.

Alex: What does she do?

Ryan: She tells me to shut up everyday.

Alex: Oh!

Ryan: And actually, this has been happening--we had a friend, a mutual friend, who said, "Ryan's like the smartest guy in the room, but he never let on. How is he so humble?" She said, "Easy. I tell him to shut up all the time."

JEOPARDY! ROUND DAILY DOUBLE
Justin found the Daily Double on the 19th clue. Ryan had $2,200, Justin had $2,400, and Michelle had nothing in the bank. Justin wagered $800.

TRAIL MIX $800: The complex of roads known as this Communist leader's trail was a major supply route for North Vietnam

TRIPLE STUMPERS IN THE JEOPARDY! ROUND
I READ THE NEWS TODAY $400: A 40% price jump in basic goods like eggs helped begin protests vs. the govt. on Dec. 28, 2017 in Mashhad in this nation

I READ THE NEWS TODAY $1000: In 2018 the U.S. east coast faced 50+ MPH winds, snow & temps. colder than Mars due to this 2-word type of "ordnance" storm

CLASSIC SONGS' FIRST LINES $1000: "You never close your eyes anymore when I kiss your lips"
(Ryan: What is "You Lost That Lovin' Feelin'"?)
(Alex: Oh, you're so close. It's not "you", it's "you've". Y-O-U-apostrophe-V-E.)
[Justin and Michelle are not given a chance to ring in, suggesting that Alex initially ruled Ryan's response correct before going to commercial.]

TRAIL MIX $1000: Take a hike on the John Muir Trail, which starts in Yosemite National Park & ends at this highest U.S. peak not in Alaska
(Ryan: What is Mount Shasta?)

AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL NOVELS $200: "A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man" is a portrait of him, its author
(Justin: Who is Hemingway?)

SCORES AT THE END OF THE JEOPARDY! ROUND
Justin: $5,600
Michelle: $2,600
Ryan: $1,000

[Archivists]

DOUBLE JEOPARDY! ROUND CATEGORIES
GOD BLESS AMERICIUM (5/5)
FROM BOOK TO TV (3/5)
ENTITLED (5/5)
MIDDLE "AGE" (4/5)
WORLD HISTORY (5/5, including 1 correct Daily Double)
THE ABCs OF THE CIA (5/5, including 1 correct Daily Double)

THE RIGHTS & THE WRONGS
Ryan: 10 R (including 2 rebounds), 0 W
Justin: 10 R (including 1 rebound and 2 DDs), 2 W
Michelle: 7 R, 1 W

Clues revealed: 30
Triple Stumpers: 3
Double Jeopardy! Round Potential Lach Trash: $4,400



FIRST DOUBLE JEOPARDY! ROUND DAILY DOUBLE
Justin snagged the next Daily Double on the 2nd clue. Ryan had $1,000, Justin had $6,000, and Michelle was at $2,200. Justin wagered $1,000.

WORLD HISTORY $800: The ancient world had 2 important cities named Thebes: one in Greece & one in this land

SECOND DOUBLE JEOPARDY! ROUND DAILY DOUBLE
It was Justin who snatched up the last Daily Double of the game on the 15th clue. Ryan had $3,400, Justin had $9,800, and Michelle was at $7,000. Justin wagered $1,000.

THE ABCs OF THE CIA $800: If you know what CIA stands for, you're 2/3 of the way to knowing DCI, as in head honcho, is short for this

TRIPLE STUMPERS IN THE DOUBLE JEOPARDY! ROUND
FROM BOOK TO TV $1600: Kelsey Grammer played a vindictive Hollywood producer in Amazon's adaptation of this Fitzgerald novel

FROM BOOK TO TV $2000: Aidan Turner plays this Winston Graham title hero fighting injustice in Cornwall on PBS's "Masterpiece"

MIDDLE "AGE" $800: Keen, ardent, impatiently longing

SCORES ENTERING FINAL JEOPARDY!
Ryan: $14,600
Michelle: $11,400
Justin: $11,200

FINAL JEOPARDY! CATEGORY
1970s MOVIES

VENUSIAN MONOLOGUES/MARTIAN CHRONICLES
Three-quarters for first place. Stratton's Dilemma.
Ryan: Wager $8,201 to cover Michelle.
Michelle: You ought to wager to cover Justin, but since you cannot win on a Triple Stumper if you do so, you should choose between wagering $0 and maximizing your winnings with a wager of all $11,400. You are in Stratton's Dilemma, calling for a wager of more than $11,000 (to shut out Justin) or less than $5,000 (risking the possibility of being passed from behind by Justin). Go with the smaller bet if you believe a Triple Stumper is more likely than a singleton miss by Ryan.
Justin: Consider risking between $201 and $4,800. This will top a $0 wager by Michelle while still beating Ryan on the Triple Stumper (should Ryan wager to cover Michelle's doubled score).

FINAL JEOPARDY! CLUE
Earning its director the first of many Oscar nominations, this 1977 film had the working title "Watch the Skies"

FINAL SCORES
Justin: $11,200 + $11,199 = $22,399 (What is Close Encounters of the 3rd Kind) (3rd place: $1,000)
Michelle: $11,400 + $11,400 = $22,800 (What is Close Encounters of the Third Kind) (2nd place: $2,000)
Ryan: $14,600 + $14,500 = $29,100 (What is Close Encounters of the Third Kind) (7-day champion: $156,497)

Total Potential Lach Trash: $8,000

GAME DYNAMICS


CORYAT SCORES
Ryan: $14,600, 19 R, 3 W
Michelle: $11,400, 14 R, 3 W
Justin: $10,800, 19 R (including 3 DDs), 4 W
Combined Coryat: $36,800

BATTING AVERAGES
Ryan: 20/58 = .345
Justin: 20/61 = .328
Michelle: 15/58 = .259
Team: 55/63 = .873

MISCELLANEOUS INTERESTING CLUES
O'BOY $600: "Give War a Chance" is among the contrarian works of this political satirist
(Michelle: Who is Roy Blount?)

O'BOY $800: Bernardo O'Higgins was "Supreme Director" of this country from 1817 to 1823, then lived in exile up north in Peru
(Justin: What is Argentina?)

O'BOY $1000: Here's this ex-governor of Maryland debating Hillary Clinton during the Democratic primaries

I READ THE NEWS TODAY $200: In December of 2017, fans of the AHL's Bears of this Pennsylvania chocolate town broke their own record tossing 25,000 teddy bears for charity

CLASSIC SONGS' FIRST LINES $800: A Tom Petty classic:
"She's a good girl, loves her mama, loves Jesus and America too"
(Michelle: Who is Mary Jane?)

AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL NOVELS $800: Thomas Wolfe's "A Story of the Buried Life" is called do this, "Angel"
(Alex: Less than a minute now.)

WORD PUZZLES $200: A legal doctrine over turned in the 1950s

WORD PUZZLES $1000: This familiar phrase originates from Tennyson's "The Charge of the Light Brigade"

WORD PUZZLES $800: What a celebrity might say to the paparazzi
(Ryan: Uh, quit looking at me?)

WORD PUZZLES $600: Game of stones

WORD PUZZLES $400: I've got a few in the closet

WORLD HISTORY $400: It took 12 years, 1847-1859, to find out what became of John Franklin, who died searching for this Arctic passage
(Michelle: What is the Northeast Passage?)

WORLD HISTORY $2000: Around 1310 Pope Clement V, moved the papacy from Italy to this French city & it stayed there for almost 70 years
[ERRATUM: The comma after "Pope Clement V" is not grammatically correct.]

THE ABCs OF THE CIA $400: (Alex presents from CIA headquarters in Virginia.) It's the "U" in a UAV, this kind of aerial vehicle--like the Insectothopter, one of the CIA's early miniaturized drones that was also a listening device

GOD BLESS AMERICIUM $1200: The americium used in these devices that keep you safe at home is itself safe, though radioactive
(Ryan: What's a fire detector--[*]? [*]?)
(Alex: [*]. We'll accept that.)

GOD BLESS AMERICIUM $1600: Americium was discovered in 1944 at the National Lab of this school where the first chain reaction was also achieved
(Justin: What is Berkeley?)

GOD BLESS AMERICIUM $2000: Because of the initial difficulty in isolating americium, scientists jokingly called it this hell of "Paradise Lost"
(Justin: What is inferno?)

CORRECT RESPONSES
the Ho Chi Minh Trail
Iran
bomb cyclone
"You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'"
Mount Whitney
James Joyce
Egypt
the director of central intelligence
The Last Tycoon
Poldark
eager
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
P.J. O'Rourke
Chile
(Martin) O'Malley
Hershey
"Free Fallin'"
look homeward
separate but equal
cannon to the left of them, cannon to the right of them
quit following me
dominos
pullover sweaters
the Northwest Passage
Avignon
unmanned
smoke alarm
(University of) Chicago
pandemonium

[theFJguy]

FINAL JEOPARDY! CATEGORY
1970s MOVIES

FINAL JEOPARDY! CLUE
Earning its director the first of many Oscar nominations, this 1977 film had the working title “Watch the Skies”

Ryan Fenster: 14600+14500=29100 (7x = $156,497)
Justin Moody: 11200+11199=22399
Michelle Mueckler: 11400+11400=22800

Correct response:

Spoiler

Close Encounters of the Third Kind

Daily Doubles
Justin: 2400+800
Justin: 6000+1000
Justin; 9800+1000

Coryats
Ryan: 14600
Justin: 10800
Michelle: 11400

Combined: 36,800

Scores at the end of the Jeopardy! Round
Ryan: 1000
Justin: 5600
Michelle: 2600

[MarkBarrett]

Justin was 3/3 on DDs including two in the second slot. He added a total of +2800 to his score. He was third going into the FJ! round. His Daily Double strategy did not work in his favor.

Scoreboard with 8 clues left:

Spoiler

What a comeback!

Alex after think time, “You had a bit of a choice here.” Joining the players I made the right choice. If Alex felt the other choice was GL then not gonna happen as I know enough not to go that way.

It’s a good clue to solve on the early side with so much to write. Justin took a slight shortcut with the ordinal number while no one dared go with only two words.

A week ago the FJ! category was 1970s BESTSELLERS. What’s next Thursday? 1970s MUSIC?

For 1960s Music I was able to recognize in the J! round that I READ THE NEWS TODAY then O’BOY was a Beatles reference as I could hear John Lennon singing it. As to the song? Nope, didn’t have

Spoiler

”A Day in the Life”

[AndyTheQuizzer]

Alex after think time, “You had a bit of a choice here.” Joining the players I made the right choice. If Alex felt the other choice was GL then not gonna happen as I know enough not to go that way.

That was my thought on the second choice.

[MarkBarrett]

Alex after think time, “You had a bit of a choice here.” Joining the players I made the right choice. If Alex felt the other choice was GL then not gonna happen as I know enough not to go that way.

That was my thought on the second choice.

Yeah, director GL leading towards SW has to the be reverse of Alex's coin. We'll probably get a bite here on that from someone before the thread dies. We'll see. If someone has a third choice beyond blank page it should be a left field interpretation of the title.

[Elijah Baley]

Alex after think time, “You had a bit of a choice here.” Joining the players I made the right choice. If Alex felt the other choice was GL then not gonna happen as I know enough not to go that way.

That was my thought on the second choice.

Yeah, director GL leading towards SW has to the be reverse of Alex's coin. We'll probably get a bite here on that from someone before the thread dies. We'll see. If someone has a third choice beyond blank page it should be a left field interpretation of the title.

I really can't imagine what Alex thought might be another reasonable choice here. What a weird, only-vaguely-possibly-related working title that would have been if that was, in fact, what he was thinking about.

Edited to add that I feel bad for Justin - even with timid DD wagering (come on, Justin!), he was still in a position to be leading going into FJ before a couple of untimely negs. I wonder if he was aware of the scores going into that last minute? And how visible are the scores to contestants; I've seen folks squinting over to their right (left?) but I'd hope that the scores would be very easy to read.

[Robert K S]

Mental note, Richard Donner was never nominated for an Oscar

[econgator]

It’s a good clue to solve on the early side with so much to write. Justin took a slight shortcut with the ordinal number while no one dared go with only

Timid wagering definitely cost Justin the game.

Can't say I have ever heard of the word "cager" used in relation to basketball.

I'm guessing they would have taken Close Encounters. Not sure about CE3K.

I got as far as, "Well, it's not Star Wars ..." and couldn't think of another 1977 film.

[xxaaaxx]

Mental note, Richard Donner was never nominated for an Oscar

Damn shame, given his body of work.

3 DDs hit, 3 correct answers, 3rd place. Bleargh. I can't imagine having so little confidence while leading for most of the game. And then all of the high value clues left over for Ryan to scoop up, with Justin doing his best Ryan impression with the bad negs.

From flatlined to the lead in the blink of an eye; I honestly have no idea what to make of Ryan anymore, other than the man knows how to close out a game!

Near-instaget FJ. Even with the famous year, Star Wars never crossed my mind.

[Elijah Baley]

REMOVED

I don't see how that comment would elevate the discussion around here. How long did you have to work on that sad little insight?

(And I'm not likely to call in the press tomorrow to say that I really meant "wouldn't.")

[DBear]

not my boards tonight. Everything they didn't know, I didn't know either except for Mt. Whitney.
Easy peasy final. 1977 was a very good year.

[Cyric29]

For 1960s Music I was able to recognize in the J! round that I READ THE NEWS TODAY then O’BOY was a Beatles reference as I could hear John Lennon singing it. As to the song? Nope, didn’t have

Spoiler

”A Day in the Life”

I know all the lyrics to that song, and wouldn't get the title if spotted the first two words.

What was with that wierd edit before the first break, Ryan gave incorrect answer, Alex corrects without giving anyone a chance to ring in....just saving time?

[MarkBarrett]

...

What was with that wierd edit before the first break, Ryan gave incorrect answer, Alex corrects without giving anyone a chance to ring in....just saving time?

Ryan has a couple of moments a game. The explanation is here: https://www.reddit.com/user/emileautouri

[Ironhorse]

I guessed CE3K with a low level of confidence, but was pleasantly surprised.

I followed Gonzaga basketball the year Adam Morrison and JJ Redick were hand in hand for player of the year. Seemingly every game, Gonzaga would get in a hole deep in the second half and pull themselves out of it... just like Ryan.

[JMoody]

Hi all,
Just watched the episode and man I didn't realize how timid I was with my Daily Doubles. I think my mindset was such that I didn't want to risk it all and potentially lose it and have to come from behind with two great players like Ryan and Michelle, especially after starting the game in the hole. Of course after the Daily Double in the CIA category I *really* wish I'd have gone for a true Daily Double. To answer questions I saw in the thread, we do see our scores above the stage and I'd glance up every now and again. I misread the first of the two Americium questions and, knowing that Californium and Berkelium fall close to Americium on the Periodic Table that it was a good guess, completely overlooking the bit about the first nuclear reaction. The last one I just shouldn't have rang in on and got a little buzzer happy.

As for what Alex's other guess was for FJ, when he came up to us afterwards, he said he thought it might have been "E.T.," not realizing that E.T. came out in 1982.

[opusthepenguin]

Justin got the Charge of the Light Brigade clue backwards. He was given

THEM CANNON
CANNON THEM

and said "cannon to the left of them, cannon to the right of them." The clue and the Tennyson source both say right then left, not vice versa. I was surprised Alex gave it to him and a little surprised they didn't take it away later. I suppose one could argue that the clue asked for "this familiar phrase" and as a familiar phrase, the directions can be offered in either order. But only one of those two familiar phrases originates from the Tennyson poem and thus fulfills all conditions of the clue.

Further complicating matters, the phrase is actually "cannon to right of them, cannon to left of them" with no definite articles. But I agree it would have been cruel to require that level of exactitude. So maybe once they decided to allow a little slop, they figured a little more wouldn't hurt.

[alietr]

As for what Alex's other guess was for FJ, when he came up to us afterwards, he said he thought it might have been "E.T.," not realizing that E.T. came out in 1982.

Welcome, Justin. Sorry it didn't work out better for you. You fought the good fight.

I knew ET came later, but that's what I thought the other one was. I briefly entertained it, but was pretty confident of CE3K.

[JMoody]

Thanks alietr! If they ever did a second chance tournament I'd gladly sign up! In prepping for the show I worked with literally everything but Daily Double wagering strategy. I was much more concerned about FJ wagering strategy.

[opusthepenguin]

Hi all,
Just watched the episode and man I didn't realize how timid I was with my Daily Doubles. I think my mindset was such that I didn't want to risk it all and potentially lose it and have to come from behind with two great players like Ryan and Michelle, especially after starting the game in the hole. Of course after the Daily Double in the CIA category I *really* wish I'd have gone for a true Daily Double. To answer questions I saw in the thread, we do see our scores above the stage and I'd glance up every now and again. I misread the first of the two Americium questions and, knowing that Californium and Berkelium fall close to Americium on the Periodic Table that it was a good guess, completely overlooking the bit about the first nuclear reaction. The last one I just shouldn't have rang in on and got a little buzzer happy.

As for what Alex's other guess was for FJ, when he came up to us afterwards, he said he thought it might have been "E.T.," not realizing that E.T. came out in 1982.

Cool! That never would have occurred to me.

Yeah, it is tough to make yourself bet optimally on DDs. I know that just from sitting on the couch and feeling all risk-averse even when I know the "right" thing for a contestant to do. I have to imagine that effect gets magnified a bazillion times when you're actually up there wagering real fake money.

Really appreciate your checking in and giving us some insider scoops. Sorry things didn't go your way. You played well and I loved your contestant story.