I'd like to add my voice in saying that I have absolutely no idea how anyone could ever get "Sesame Street" from that clue. Forget about thirty seconds, I doubt I could get it in thirty hours. Leaving aside the enormous 'moon landing' red herring, what are we supposed to do, just mentally list TV shows that could have conceivably started in 1969 and then pick one at random?
I mean, I already have a rule that, when Jeopardy says "books" or "literature" they tend to mean "children's books" like Harry Potter or The Hunger Games. Should I add a similar rule for TV shows?
(Also, I just checked Youtube and I've never heard that Barry Manilow song. But I recognize the title from Jeopardy mentioning it a lot. I'm guessing one of the writers is a fan?)
I wouldn't call it an instaget, but I got it pretty early on. Doesn't hurt that I was in the target audience range when it debuted and watched it from day one. For those of you looking for the TOM, the year, plus a man carving a letter should lead you to the right answer.
thenextofken wrote: ↑Wed Jun 29, 2022 7:37 pm
I wouldn't call it an instaget, but I got it pretty early on. Doesn't hurt that I was in the target audience range when it debuted and watched it from day one. For those of you looking for the TOM, the year, plus a man carving a letter should lead you to the right answer.
Same here. A show that would have a man drawing a letter. I get it happened the week of the moon landing but that shouldn’t really be a factor. Dallas began nearly a decade later and if a character were drawing a letter in cement it would be an E (for Ewing).
Too bad Pete forgot to study FJ Wagering 101. He could be back tomorrow as a 2X returning champ.
And add me to the list of fans at home to stand and stare at FJ and write...absolutely nothing. Knew it was way too early for Dallas and never found any path to mentally go down. Bad clue.
ldfghjkl wrote: ↑Wed Jun 29, 2022 6:05 pm
(Also, I just checked Youtube and I've never heard that Barry Manilow song. But I recognize the title from Jeopardy mentioning it a lot. I'm guessing one of the writers is a fan?)
I'd say this is just one of those songs that pretty much everyone knows and can hum and sing the first line of. It slipped by you, but I think it would poll extremely high if the question just asked if we were sort of familiar with the song and would be able to identify it if we heard it.
BrigadierSolo13 wrote: ↑Wed Jun 29, 2022 1:52 pm
Should I make on the show in the near future, there is going to be some real mental debate on whether I should underbet every FJ I see.
Without 20/20 hindsight, what is there to latch onto with this clue? The letter "D" is entirely misleading and left me grasping at already weak straws. I ended up putting Dallas just to have something. Is 1969 supposed to be the TOM? If so, I'll do my best to remember it and associate it with Sesame Street.
Other than that, no surprise on a triple stumper.
Sesame Street premiered in 1969. Got it, but much too late for a correct response (initially thought The Brady Bunch, which also premeired in 1969).
Dallas, FWIW did not arrive until 1978.
Also, Dallas is classic 1980s: all big hair, shoulder pads and conspicuous consumption.
It would have been a better FJ clue if they had left out the letter D red herring. To solve it I had to to get off the notion that the show's title began with a D. This would have been better phrasing: "In the opening scene of its July 21, 1969 pilot episode, a man carves a letter into wet cement."
I made the mistake of wondering why the letter was D and why it was in cement, and I thought maybe D was for Democrat and somebody (Meathead?) was taunting Archie Bunker... (All in the Family started in '71.)
Considering children's shows, and a popular one that's so long-lasting, is probably always a good idea for J!
ldfghjkl wrote: ↑Wed Jun 29, 2022 6:05 pm
I mean, I already have a rule that, when Jeopardy says "books" or "literature" they tend to mean "children's books" like Harry Potter or The Hunge
That "rule" wouldn't do you much good for the "literary" category in this game...
And just to be picky about the FJ (because I'm grumpy about the July 21 and "D" info that led nowhere) ...
In the video, the man actually draws two D's to make "DD". So I wouldn't describe that as "a man draws a D."
I mean, you could have a clue saying "This man drew a large 'J' on the Declaration of Independence" and then say, "Yes, he did also draw 'ohn Hancock' immediately after the J, but it's also correct to say he drew a J, isn't it?" You could say that, but you shouldn't.
If you're going to describe such an obscure thing as a scene in a 1969 TV pilot episode, at least describe it accurately. (There, grumpiness expressed!)
Even though I knew it was the wrong year by a good 5 years or so, my only guess was Batman, as writing in wet cement might be the kind of low-level offense the 60s TV Batman might have deterred. I was *never* going to make the assumption that it might have been educational rather than defacement.
Not many people can say they've lost four times on Jeopardy!.