Jeopardy! #34: A Winner Every Game

Link to previous thread.

Ken's comments are scripted, so it's not him personally fawning over any of the contestants. It's a show and they're trying to excite viewers about the game is all.

I knew Coolidge was sworn in by his father and Taft was Chief Justice after he was President. I also knew Coolidge was a VP who filled half a term before winning a full term. So easy.

I wish they'd go back to the 5-day maximum. I'm completely over these multi-week winners.

Yeah, I knew it was Coolidge because I recalled that his father swore him in.

I don’t disagree R4. I get tired quickly of people steamrolling over the sacrificial contestants who encounter these multi-week winners. But the producers will not easily give up the hype that these contestants create.

Okay ... I got Final, but adding "project" was confusing at first. Also got Zambia/Gambia and davenport. My biggest issue came early on: isn't the mustard brand pronounced Ghoul-dens, rather than Gull-dens as Ken said it?

I thought final was easy.

I also thought the final was obvious. I was surprised that no one answered correctly.

Has anyone been to Mai Tai Island?

It’s just up the way from Martini.

I got Final too. I can't believe I missed Niger and Nigeria though.

I thought FJ was Margarita........I know. I know.....

I guessed Manhattan, but totally agree that the clue as worded is confusing because "Development of Substitute Materials" bears the name "Manhattan Project" not "Manhattan".

I blanked on Final but did know Niger and Nigeria as well as davenport.

While known as the “Manhattan Project” today, the actual code name was just “Manhattan.”

[quote] Development of Substitute Materials remained as the official codename of the project as a whole, but was supplanted over time by "Manhattan".

How many times are those writers going to use the Isle of Manhattan as an answer? Don't they ever replace these clowns?

I like having a different champion each day.

What about the Isle of Greece?

LMAO @ Ken's aside to the contestant who answered H&R Block, "I didn't know that one." For those who don't remember, H&R Block was the answer to Final Jeopardy on the day Ken lost his original 75-day run when he didn't know the answer.

The guy who guessed POSE must be gay. No straight man knows what Pose is.

I had a crush on Cris. I could never tell if he was stacked or just fluffy.

R21 I liked Cris too and thought he had a striking resemblance to Jesse Metcalfe. Would love to see him without a shirt on to see if he has Jesse’s man titties, and would love to fondle them if he does have them.

Will Cris actually buy his Jersey dream house for him and Heather, or squander his winnings at the poker tables in Atlantic City?

I thought tonight's winner Matthew was gay for sure (Pose!) until he mentioned his wife and baby. Sweet guy, anyway, and I won't mind seeing him again next week.

Matthew has a nice voice and eyes.

Ken Jennings is creepy. Passing over LeVar Burton was a big mistake.

I am very disappointed that Cris Pannullo has a girlfriend. He's too cute to be straight.

It's rare to see Cris smile even when he wins...and he won a lot!

Ken Jennings is creepy but I always found Alex creepy too. I have been watching Classic Concentration with Alex hosting and he is really handsy. There was a cute straight truck driver that was on for a week and you could see him tense up every time Alex put his hands on his back or shoulders.

How excited are we about the upcoming three-week teen reunion championship in February?

R29, Alex was a totally different person when he hosted CC. He wore loud sweaters, made misogynistic asides even about his former wife and flirted with the showcase model who was the show’s producer’s daughter.

Had no idea of FJ; never seen a Monty Python film.

R32, My guess was “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest”, though it’s not a comedy.

Coconuts made me think of George of the Jungle.

I guessed Bananas too

Since MP & the Hily Grail is one of my favorite movie, the FJ answer was obvious to me. And giving away coconuts to movie goers is a typical MP gag.

Someone in the previous thread said it seems like all photos of Thomas E. Schneider have been scrubbed from the internet, but the one at the link below sure looks like Amy. (Esp. the eyebrows.)

That's definitely the former Amy at r37. No doubt about it. Good work, Miss Marple!

My TIVO jumped too far and spoiled FJ so I have no idea whether I would have got it. I’ve seen it a million times. I have a “Run Away!” Tee shirt and I like to say “Ni!”. Counting against me is I had no idea MPATHG was so old.

Sean is cute. Very surprised no one got FJ.

I didn't get final. All I could think of was in loco parentis which I knew was wrong.

FJ was tough because the clue pointed to medicine but the answer had nothing to do with it.

Oh, great. We have another buzzer wizard as champ - this one as bland as unsalted mashed potatoes and about the same color. You could see the heavy makeup on Sean's face, but he was still pale as a ghost. Is he sick or something?

Very surprised that no one got FJ, especially after that phrase was repeated ad naseum prior to and during Cheatolini’s first impeachment. Plus, the meaning — “this for that” — was the essence of the clue.

No idea for FJ, but Frankenstein, Kidnapped, and Athos were in my wheelhouse.

Sean is a cutie. He looks like a virgin who just dropped out of 1958. A cross between Jason Walton and Richie Cunningham. I am curious about how well he hangs on.

There are tons of pics online of Amy pre-transition, R38. Video too.

R37, why the sad face, pussycat? You’re about to become a rich lady.

I'll miss daddy Matthew.

I have a feeling Sean will be sticking around for a long time.

Sean is probably good for about 15 episodes.

Nice that he was allowed to leave the Village of the Damned to be on Jeopardy.

As much as I liked daddy Matthew, shallow me was was happy to see sweet, polite, harmless Sean win yesterday.

Plus he gets extra points for the Long Island wisecrack.

Didn't know the answer to FJ until the very last second.

Sean looks like he could be Ken's smarty-pants kid.

Hot Opie won again!!!

Interestingly, Sean doesn't seem to be so obsessed with finding the DDs like Cris was. He may have to learn about that the hard way.

His gay voice has me anticipating mention of a girlfriend any time now ...

They couldn't count to 7 in the time allotted??? I really don't get that!

Knew Trumpet of the Swan and Las Meninas, but ... Maja?

Sean - cute as a button in his sweater. I think he needs ...direction.... to help him find who he really is and what he really needs. Ahem.

FJ was not only easy, I can't even think of another man who might be a wrong answer.

Yes Final was incredibly easy as evidenced by all three writing their answers immediately.

This is the second time that Frederick Douglass has been the answer to Final this season. I recall Douglass was also the answer back about 4 or 5 months ago. Seems like the clue said something about someone advised him to include a double letter when he selected his last name or something along those lines.

Sean has a very 1950s vibe about him... as though he just stepped in from the set of "Leave it to Beaver."

Actually, Sean would be perfect casting for Archie in a 1950s TV version of the comic books.

We can just see him in an argyle sweater vest and saddle shoes.

R60, I've seen him naked.

More Tin Tin to me minus cowlick.

Studly cantor alert!

This place is all a twitter about Sean, but I find him repulsive. I don’t really know why. He’s seems completely harmless, but like a serial killer at the same time. Similar to that closeted meteorologist from Minneapolis. No thank you, sir.

Just like Cris, he has a job that could mean almost anything. What is a non-profit membership associate?

He takes orders for Shriner’s Hospital, R65. I saw him that commercial with Caleb in his classroom. Sean was introduced as “my non-profit membership associate, and future molester.”

I thought Cleveland at first, but came up with Wilson in time; also got Samuel Johnson and Northwest Passage (River Styx made me laugh).

The studly cantor seemed gay to me " Enough with the religion, it's all about the music!" I like champ, hope he makes it to T o C.

You know those people who call you and solicit money for the New York Philharmonic?

Then he really needs the $$!

R68 I was going to say you must not understand the DL demographic, but I suppose these Jeopardy threads....

I was rooting for Mr. Tall, Dark and Handsome.

Cherubic Sean looks like he'll be around for a while, although I admit I was rooting for his manly opponent Dan.

Hot Opie beat PinkyStud. All of the women are on a losing streak.

Hey we're of one mind there R72.

Obviously I meant R71 above.

Apparently I'm still in a flutter

Dan and Mollie were both quite photogenic. I blindly guessed Theodore Roosevelt.

I remembered Wilson was married while President, and couldn’t think of anyone later.

I was certainly rooting for Dan. He's dreamy as Marcia Brady would say.

But Sean is certainly nice to look at too. I do hope Sean is able to at least tie his cousin's record.

I thought Grover Cleveland for Final.

Dan Rosen, we hardly knew ye!

Dan made me hard - down there.

I always love those guys like Dan whose pecs seem to pop out from a starched dress shirt.

I need Dan to tutor me for my bar mitzvah, even though I’m 70 years old and not Jewish.

Dan as cantor.... helps R82 to prepare for his bar mitzvah, with results!

^^ oops

That was ADORABLE on every level, r84! Love Shaun.

Am I the only gay who's never see the original video? Thanks for posting.

To me, the new champ has a combo wholesome/creepy vibe that channels a bit of Norm McDonald.

R65, he most likely takes phone calls from members of some association – professional or charitable – with questions about their membership status and benefits. In other words, he is a customer service agent, just like Cris. What’s the deal with these adult males in menial clerical jobs? I guess that’s how they have time to bone up for Jeopardy.

I see Sean went to JC Penney and bought a suit and tie.

Did anyone catch Cris Pannullo on the Jeopardy podcast? Holy Geez he sounds gay off script...He talks about another contestants hair and glasses which only makes Cris sound gayer. LINK

It's only been 10 minutes but I already miss Sean.

It has happened before that when a previously casual contestant suits up, they often lose that night. Had no idea of final, but I did know about Legionnaires disease.

FJ was easy, everyone has seen Die Hard. I'll be watching it next weekend along with Lethal Weapon. Even if Mel Gibson is an asshole he was good in that. "This is a real badge, I'm a real cop and this is a real fucking gun". One of my all time favorite scenes.

New champ knew his pop culture. Probably gay. Would. a straight man know. Anna May Wong?

Never seen Die Hard ... just sayin'

I’ve never seen the movie, but FJ was easy because of this absurd debate about whether Die Hard is a Christmas movie.

R93, Given his age, the fact that he works in set design and that there was no other well known Asian actress from that era, I would say yes.

Set designers (and scenic artists, which is what he actually is) are not necessarily gay. Costume designers, OTOH....

Do you think Sean returned the suit?

Mel Gibson was not in Die Hard.

I thought of Die Hard, but I thought it must be wrong. Then I thought is there ANY other Action Holiday movie? I couldn't think of any. I still miss Sean.

Tonight's game was quite good.

Sorry to see Sean go, but i do like Ray a lot.

I knew Legionnaire's Disease, but I guess you probably had to have lived through the 70s to know that.

Final seemed incredibly easy to me. What other action movie is set during Christmas? .

R101 . . .

LOL R102. You consider that an action movie? (BTW the film plays better as an MST3K episode.)

R99 - no one said Gibson's in Die Hard. R92 was quoting Lethal Weapon.

FJ was the easiest one in a while.

While I'll miss Sean, I do like Ray.

Sean was a boy.

Ray is a man!

Dan was essentially my dream husband: tall, built, handsome, Jewish, smart, great smile. I’m so sad he didn’t win.

R105, And circumcised.

I can see Grampa Champ is gonna get on my nerves.

Good guess for FJ from Ray; my guess was too bad to bear repeating. I thought all three Dailly Doubles were pretty hard too.

It looked like Ray was doing the twist on his podium through the entire game.

I always wonder about contestants like Ray, who can't keep still onstage.....does it bug the contestant next to them? I would think it would be very distracting. And do the producers ever step in and request the contestant hold still? Evidently not.

FJ... volcano, world heritage sites... I mean what other country could it be? Indonesia really? Easy FJ.

Yeah, Ray needs to stand still... won't be sorry to see him lose.

I guessed Indonesia because of Krakatoa. It's a huge, varied country.

R111 Name one "world heritage site"?

I thought FJ was sort of easy after I thought about it.

I thought of Mexico then settled on Italy after they mentioned the lagoon

I was shocked that two of them couldn't get "tornadoes" for the Fujita scale, and even Elizabeth had to think and seemed unsure of the answer.

Really? Every news story about a tornado mentions the scale and describe "EF3" or "EF5", etc. I think the clue even mentioned "EF", or else referred to "enhanced Fujita".

Yeah, not a Ray fan. I’ll be glad to see him leave — sooner rather than later, please.

Oh god, Ray. The swaying and swinging back and forth is very annoying. However, he has a pomposity about him that annoys me even more. When they announced his previous earnings, he kind of looked around at the other contestants like “Yeah, yeah, I mean, isn’t that amazing?”

He’s a tad too…proud for my tastes. I hope he loses tonight.

I guessed "Mounds" for FJ.

Beginning of the show....Hot Andrew....Please WIN!!!

Damn...Andrew lost...Can I please have a HOT CHAMPION for X-Mas?. Is that too much to ask? Big girl came to win. And Grampa Champ is working my nerves. He seems like the type who isn't going to take risks with FJ numbers which means he will be sticking around.

[quote] However, he has a pomposity about him that annoys me even more.

Yes, absolutely. In addition to the constant and annoying swinging around, he answers questions with a note of condescension that punctuates the end of each answer.

That Ray is even more pompous than Ludlow!

That is correct, Alex.

[quote] That Ray is even more pompous than Ludlow!

And there’s another one of him. Hope the twin doesn’t make it on the show. One is enough.

I didn't get FJ, there's too much candy out there to think about and so little time to answer.

How in the world did she know Milk Duds????

I got Milk Duds immediately. It’s one of those that either comes immediately, or you’re screwed.

I would have scored the recent Olivia Newton-John category a couple weeks back.

Well, I thought Hershey's Kisses and Mounds were much more logical (and clever) answers.

When hot suited Andrew mentioned his wife, I was glad he lost. Obese attorney lost it for me when she started her interview with "Me and my (friend) ..."

Had no idea of final, but did know about Philippines, Hue, Goa and Chicago.

Hot Andrew didn't seem straight to me. The wife chat is always a boner killer but then I remember how many closeted husbands there are out there.

Oh come on, "hot" Andrew wasn't all that.

I guessed Milk Duds because it was a favorite movie candy of mine a long time ago. Was really surprised I was right. (And r128, using "Me and" as the subject of a sentence drives me nuts. Yet I hear smart people doing it all the time.)

All high quality problems I suppose (I mean Ukraine, Somalia, Riverside), and I get to sit on the sofa watching a quiz show, but Ray really makes this unwatchable. Stop rocking. Stop smirking. Stop with the vocal register.... etc.

Andrew seemed a bit on the puny side to have been a professional baseball player.

Ray reminds me of a folk singer from the 1960s

[quote]Ray reminds me of a folk singer from the 1960s

Not in a good way. And baseball players can be small. There is that crook on the Houston Astros who is barely 5 foot.

I liked Ray after his first win on T, but he's really overstayed his welcome.

I wanted easy-on-the-eyes Andrew to win (regardless that he was straight), but he didn't have a chance in hell.

I would have been surprised if that large lady [bold]didn't[/bold] get the candy question.

"Me and" doesn't drive me crazy to the extent that it does with you guys.

R134, Only shortstops are small.

Are you punning R136 or are you serious?

If you’re serious, check out Oneil Cruz from the Pirates. Or even Cal Ripken.

Actually, R125, Milk Duds came to me just as the music stopped. I never would have had the time to write it down.

I can’t help it. I just want to punch Ray in the face. I’ve never punched anyone in the face.

I didn't get Milk Duds, but would love a box or two of them right now.

Don’t get the Ray hate, he seems nice and I like him. Gentle, reassuring voice too.

I wish the producers would put a stop to Ray's washing machine agitator movements. They're so...agitating.

Could he have Parkinson's?

R142, There have been players in motion worse than Top Loader Ray.

I also don't get the hate for Ray. He's not my fave of all time but I find him very courteous and low-key. And obviously very smart in many different areas. Yes. he swivels but the producers should step in there. He's probably not even aware he's doing it.

It’s the arrogance, not the swivel.

Perhaps we’re misreading him. He is foreign.

I think people are being ageist about Ray.

You may be right, r167. My objection to him is that he's boring.

I thought of Runts, aren’t those misshapen little candies?

They’d not misshapen; they’re shaped like tiny fruits.

I thought of turtles.

Then which candy am I thinking of?? 🤔

My husband also guessed turtles, r151.. But then I reminded him that turtles is not a brand name.

I generally root for the older contestants, R147. The young or hot don't instantly appeal to me. The way Ray responds to the clues mildly annoys me, but it's not that big of a deal to me. I find the swaying distracting. I don't know if it's due to a condition he may have or if it's a way to self-soothe.

R153, shame on me for thinking they were a Russell Stover brand name. Now, I find out Russell Stover doesn't even call their turtles "turtles". They're called "pecan delights".

The original and classic turtles are apparently from DeMet's, a brand I am otherwise not familiar with, except that the Demet's Chocolate Turtles box is quite evocative.

... then again so is the Russell Stover Pecan Delights box. Or any Russell Stover box of this shape and size. My grandmother always had Russell Stover chocolates at Christmas for guests.

This reminds me how much I loved Buns, a candy not easy to find near me.

You’re thinking of Nerds, R152.

I was Team Kim all the way.

My FJ guess was the same as Ray’s.

Oh my goodness, thank you R152!!

Yes, Nerds.

Awesome.

😬

I got FJ right. It just came to me, just like Milk Duds did. My partner said “Yankee Doidle.” Poor, sweet dingbat. 🥸

That was boring ... tomorrow is another day.

I guessed the same as Ray for FJ too. Guess I get a lump of coal.

I was going through all the postwar Christmas songs but didn't think fast enough to get to "Here Comes Santa Claus" in time. Of course as soon as I heard the answer, I could hear Gene Autry singing the song and felt like an idiot.

Autry also recorded the first version of "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer". That was in1949, although the song is based on a story published in 1939. Who knows? This could be tomorrow's FJ!

Michael was sexy, soft spoken and smart.

FJ was pretty easy.

The lady with the chattering teeth might as well have gone out for a quick bite to eat.

I didn't think FJ was that easy because of the descriptive phrase "golden" in the clue. I never think of spider web strands as golden, even if covered in dew or whatever they're covered in. My mind went to blonde hair.

Grampa Champ is slipping. He won't be able to hang on much longer. He can pack up his snobby attitude and go back to the retirement home. I need a cute contestant.

I was hoping Michael would win, but the washing machine agitator did it again.

I blanked out on FJ even though I've read the book.

The middle contestant was so irrelevant, at times I forgot she was even there.

Ray always seems a little behind in the first 1/4 of the game but then he gets his energy back and there's no stopping him. Sorry, bitches!

I liked soft-spoken Michael. I'm terrible at bugs and sports teams, but got Charlotte's Web. I don't think "golden" was in the FJ clue.

The title object of this book “never looked more beautiful…each strand held dozens of bright drops of early morning dew”

Michael is so handsome. He was sexily soft spoken too. I was rooting for him

R169 = Wrong. Gramps is starting to crack. He ONLY won because the runner up didn't bet it all. I called it on Cris and I am calling it on Gramps. By this time next week he is gonna be gone.

I was rooting for Michael. Really liked him. He seems like a good candidate for the next Second Chances tournament.

Final seemed quite obvious to me.

For me, the big event of the evening was the fact that I learned about the Latin roots of the word shiitake. Ha Ha!

R174, For me, it was Ken describing Clyde Tolson as J. Edgar Hoover’s “very, very close friend”, with a smirk.

Considering the rarity of any Jeopardy champs lasting longer than 2 weeks, predicting that Ray will be gone by next week is hardly earth-shattering, r172. The odds are naturally against him.

Another great win for Ray tonight (though the middle cutie put up quite a fight)!

Nobody knew nova? Or Whitney Houston??

R177, Mrs. Menopause knew “nova”.

Mrs. Menopause looked like she stepped right out of a Depression era farmhouse in 1932.

My local station skipped Jeopardy. Apparently Snownado 2022 was more important. Sorry to hear Ray is still in this. Cris and Hot Opie spoiled me. We need more cute champions.

he seems nice enough but he really needs to stop that fucking swaying back and forth while answering questions like a toddler does waiting for mommy to get him a snack

Ray has passive aggressive snobbery. Not as bad as Alex Trebek--but then again Trebeks arrogance was immeasurable. He wouldn't even step aside so the show could find a replacement until he was in box in the ground. But I love the show. I cannot wait for Mayim to return.

Ray’s smugness was over the top last night. He is so impressed with himself. Maybe for Christmas, he should ask Santa for some humility.

I truly don't see that smugness or passive aggressive snobbery. I find Ray totally low key and easy going.

R184 If you have recording, look at Ray's look to the other contestants at the very end after FJ. Insufferably smug.

I've looked and I don't read it as smug. He always seems to me to be acknowledging them both as competitive colleagues who've just played a fair and grueling game. He's the winner, how should he look at them, r185? He's not obligated to look at them at all.

I stopped watch Jeopardy a while back because I just couldn't stand watching Ken Jennings every time. I watched it twice this week to see if my feelings have changed, but they have not.

Ken needs to mix up how he describes a contestant hitting a daily double. It’s always, “The answer there is the Daily Double.” Trebek mixed up the language.

“Oooooooh! It’s the Double DEE?”

R184, I don't see it either, but I do find him overly reserved and detached without the insouciant wit that should go with that particular style. Or maybe he's just really, really Canadian?

Not that we want contestants jumping up and down and squealing like it's Wheel of Fortune, but Ray is neither intense nor relaxed and funny. A witty remark or a look of worry and concentration (like Cris P.) would go a long way to making him seem more human.

Also, the swiveling is really annoying. How far ahead is the show taped? Would he already have seen himself on TV when the current episodes were filmed? Because surely when he saw how it looked, he would tell himself to stop that nonsense!

Ugh - they gave a Canadian final answer.

I missed it. Did Ray win again? If so my Christmas is ruined.

Yes, he will return.

R193 = Thanks. But this is why I DON'T believe in Santa. How much snobbery and rocking back and forth am I expected to put up with?

Maybe it's my imagination as I'm a Ray fan, but his swiveling seems a little more under control lately, Still there, just subtler. Maybe the producers said something to him.

Watch Ray after another contestant hits a Daily Double. When the woman got one wrong yesterday, he visibly grinned and nodded his head. Today when the male contestant got an easy DD correct, he rolled his eyes and nodded like “anybody would know that.”

Good game, but the wrong answers to FJ were really out there. Isolde? Bronte?

Merry Christmas DL Jeopardy fans.

R197, At least no one guessed Mary, of little lamb fame.

Judge Judy would scream at Ray ‘Stop rocking back and forth. You’re making me sea sick.’

I'm always astounded at how much the Canadian contestants know about US culture, politics, history etc

Could be that they study U S history specifically with an eye towards being on the show? It's interesting when Canadian contestants are "scooped" by Americans on Canadian questions, which happens often enough.

Bobby was dreamy. Bet he has a nice slightly hairy chest too....Still tired of Grampa...

Bobby was cute but for every right answer he seemed to have a wrong one.

I found the way FJ was worded very tricky and I had no idea.

The "40 year reunion" in the FJ clue made me think the TV program had been running 40 years and somehow Dolly appeared in its first year as well as its last.

And I think even if I'd guessed correctly, I would have mixed up the order of the 2 names in the title. I guess that wouldn't have been acceptable?

Duh.

Ray continues his Reign of Snobbery as Ken Jennings eggs him on.

Just FF and delete the obsessed Ray hater. I notice that in the Ignored section that her only comments are in multiple Jeopardy threads.

Done! Bye-bye Ray hater.

Thanks, r206.

FJ took a while but then I couldn’t remember the names of the characters.

I knew it was Jane and Lilly.

Some of the categories were bizarre.

Bobby was adorable and even though he missed plenty I gotta say at least he took the chances. Ray looks like the guy who comes to DL so he can correct my grammatical errors--and after he corrects my grammatical errors, he thinks I have learned a life lesson that only HE could have taught me--and that I am lucky to have Ray in my life.

He knows quite a lot about different things, but as with other multi-day champions it's also about the quality of the opposition. In other words, I'm definitely no super genius, but I know things they should have known.

[quote]but I know things they should have known.

It's often occurred to me while watching Jeopardy that "knowing the answer" from the sofa might be very different from "knowing the answer" under the studio lights. I see some of the failed contestants and imagine their thinking, "I can't believe I did this bad... I was so nervous."

I can't help but think one's reflexes come into play, too, as to who presses the buzzer first. I'm shocked how they all seem so relatively calm.

When I said they should know the answer, those were obvious to me fairly quickly. I'm amazed they di so well under pressure usually.

[quote] "knowing the answer" from the sofa might be very different from "knowing the answer" under the studio lights.

Oh, I think it definitely is. I get a fair number of correct responses, but I also either don’t know or get wrong a fair number as well. I’ve had a few friends on Jeopardy over the last few years, and there is no way that I’d want to do that on national television. I’m decent shouting out the answers in front of the TV, but getting the right answer while working that buzzer against two other people — no thanks.

I think I would perform much better on Jeopardy than I would having to speak in front of a crowd, R214. It’s so fast, I wouldn’t have time to get nervous. And I’ve always performed well in sports situations under pressure. Now only if they would pick me. You could yell Grampa at me too.

What's Ray's unusual accent? Canadian Mid-Atlantic?

Go Ray!

Doctor Ray and the Multiverse of Arrogance. ......By the way---My FJ guess was Paddington the Bear.

I got “Grace and Frankie” immediately, but thought tonight’s FJ was Pinocchio.

We know he has a daughter, but has Ray mentioned a wife?

I guessed Raggedy Ann (is there even a book?). My husband got it right.

Canadian Parthogenesis, R220.

Ray looks like the guy whose everyday language includes words like "guttersnipe", "bodacious", and "discombobulate". And is more than happy to spell out every word out to the clerk at Walmart, should the occasion arise.

The Velveteen Rabbit was my favorite story when I was a kid, so I got the answer while the clue was being read.

I'm pulling a Susan Dey by not commenting on Ray.

“On, Wisconsin,” seemed pretty obvious.

I still don’t like Ray. I’m hoping that someone takes him down soon.

Ray looks like the guy who wants to negotiate the menu prices with his waitress, because he thinks salmon should be cheaper during peak seasons, and dares the waitress to prove him wrong.

Ray’s poor identical twin brother. Everyone is going to think that he’s Ray for the rest of his life!

That was quite a comeback for Ray. I found some of the civil war and science questions really hard. Ken's pilot voice was worthy of Peter Graves.

I loved that pilot voice. It reminded me of the old Southwest Airlines commercials. It’s utter shit what they were allowed to do, btw.

I guessed Pooh at first but thought it too obvious. I don’t think I’ve ever read the Velveteen Rabbit but that description did sound familiar.

*shows picture of an avocado*

Ray: What is an avocado?

*smug look* *sways some more*

It seems every game Ray has a slow start but then he rallies before DJ and there's no stopping him. And unlike Cris Pannullo, he doesn't even to get every DJ to win or achieve big money.

Suck it Ray haters!

Ray's accent is a thing - or at least it was. It's called Canadian Dandy. I've noticed a lot of Jeopardy contestants have ... unique ... elocution and prosody. It probably comes with being on the spectrum, which also probably makes one a better Jeopardy contestant.

Sounds like Standard Canadian to me, just less pronounced. No mention of a wife, just the daughter.

Ray is divorced. Wow, what a concept. Is that really so difficult for some of you to comprehend?

I always note how, in the wide shots as the episode goes to a commercial, Ray can be seen nodding to his left, acknowledging his opponents. I think he's one of the most modest champs I've ever seen on the show. Other than his swiveling, which seems somewhat controlled lately, I really don't get the hate here.

I don’t hate Ray R234, but I don’t think you’re great at reading people. Modest is even in Ray’s vocabulary.

Isn’t ^^^^^^

Runaway Ray!

It's interesting that Ray is such a Rorschach test for DL's Jeopardy club. How anyone can not see the Smugness is unfathomable to me... perhaps I am too close to him in culture to not see it in him (in my genes). Nothing wrong with him... it's just fucking annoying.

I do think he's 1) very good at this game and 2) been lucky several times. I can't think of times when I thought James (or Amy) were "lucky"....

Who is James?

R239, Holzhauer.

James Holzhauer, R239. Amy was lucky at times, R239, as seen that she had to fight her way through the T o C rather than steamrolling through.

Ray is reminiscent of Amy's rallying later, seemingly luring the others into a false sense of security.

Gee, he's divorced? What a surprise.

Ray’s age is a definite plus when he’s pitted against much younger contestants.

This is getting ridiculous. GET BETTER PLAYERS.

Yeah R244. No competition at all. How in the hell do these people get on the show.??

Actually, I’ll answer that. I think the biggest factor now in getting on the show is your picture and social media presence, which you’re asked to provide after you take the online test. If you’re borderline on the online questions, a winning smile and desirable demographic will get you on the show. Apparently if you dye your hair purple and have a nose ring, you’re guaranteed.

I hardly think ANY of the contestants of late are people with big social media presences.

I finally realized who Ray reminds me of - William Schallert, the lovely actor who played Patty Duke's dad on her 1960s TV show. He was also Dobie Gillis' college professor before that.

This is ridiculous. Get better contestants. I understand that during the pandemic they had a smaller pool of candidates from which to choose. But that shouldn’t be an issue any longer.

Those 2 DJ questions were really hard tonight. It wasn't the contestants' faults they both missed them.

Not Ray, of course, He nailed his.

I knew Bloemfontein, for what it's worth. I did guess Sucre incorrectly though.

These opponents were never going to make it.

The Sun calls Ray a "know it all" and calls out his swaying. I agree. Maybe he is swaying to distract the other players? Whats next? Shadow puppets during the reading of the question?

R246 = I think the show tells the contestants to shut down their presence online. Jeopardy knows the DL Stalkers pounce. LoL

Ray looks like the guy who goes to caviar tastings and then complains that none of them are to his standards.

I don’t understand all the “Ray hate”.

Not terribly surprising considering that you also fail to understand that the period goes INSIDE the quotation mark at the end of that sentence, R254.

R255, It absolutely does not, you ignorant cunt.

It absolutely does.

“British publishers tend to put the comma or period after the quotation mark. But the British usually use the narrower, single quotation mark as the primary quotation mark. There is less of an aesthetic penalty to placing a comma or period after a single quotation mark, since the mark of punctuation isn’t stranded as far from the previous word.”

British usage is usually to put the comma or period inside the quotation marks if it belongs to the quote but outside if it does not.

*He said, 'I don't get why people hate Ray.'

*I don't get the 'Ray hate'.

American usage is usually to put the common or period inside the quotations marks always, even when the punctuation is not a part of the quote.

R254 is correct in British English and technically incorrect in American English, but some Americans do follow British practice because it's more logical.

R259, Thank you.

Always love a DL detour to the niceties of British v American punctuation. Anyone care to debate the Oxford comma? (I'm for it.)

Swing and sway with Agitator Ray.

R254, so you feel better now, baby?

Has Smug Ray™ worn anything other than that black jacket?

He needs better competitors.

You could say that about any of the champions, r265. And it seems to me that Ray has had more close games, where he wasn't the clear winner at FJ, than Cris or Mattea or Ryan (was that his name?).

Thing is, it's not a matter of Ray buzzing in immediately and cutting them off. These challengers have had plenty of opportunities to ring in themselves.

I can’t stand Ray, but I do have to give credit where credit is due. He pronounced Susan Sarandon’s last name correctly and then Ken said in incorrectly (the way most people do).

Good game tonight, don’t miss it.

Very exciting game.

Great game and no one can say Ray didn't have fierce competition tonight.

Good competition R271, but the questions were noticeably easier than last night. I enjoyed the anxious girl in the middle.

I can’t believe that Ray couldn’t come up with Henry David Thoreau for that Daily Double. That was ridiculously easy.

R272, She was extremely nervous in the beginning, then loosened up

I try extremely hard to not let my personal feelings affect my game watching (though I still miss you everyday, Clay), but I cannot stand Ray anymore. He is zero fun to watch. No emotion except for the smug? smile and the endless rocking,

Oh, fuck.

On the plus side, it's the closest he's come to losing.

I quite like Ray.

Ray looks like the guy who returns to the restaurant because he realizes he overtipped the waitress by $1.27. And then says it's not about the money, it's the principle. Then he proceeds to tell the Manager about the soda/ice ratio issue that he isn't even complaining about.

Ray looks like the guy who used to show up at a CL hookup after using a photo of a male model to trick guys. Then when you call him out on it he just say "everyone uses fake pix. Can I still suck you off"?

R272 - I got a kick out of Anxious Girl getting a huge grin on her face after Ray got the first DJ answer wrong.

Tonight was one of he better games in a while.

At least it was a suspenseful game.

Emily’s constant buzzer gnashing was hard to watch.

I'm a "jeez Ray is tiresome" guy, but I though he played like a champ tonight, deserved the win.

I guessed Aurora for FJ, wouldn't that have been accepted?

I thought the questions were hard, and all three contestants were great players. I guessed Ralph Waldo Emerson instead of Thoreau, and Athena instead of Eos.

Yes, Aurora is correct as well.

Indeed, R280, I once met a guy whose pic looked 40, while he looked his real 70. I thought of Athena as well, with her chariot.

In defense of Ray, they did a good job with the haircut.

Guessing that Ray's hung

The Great Ray has won over $300,000 so far. How does that total compare to other champs?

The Ageless Diana Ross . . . too funny.

I want to post here only to suggest that someone tell the military lady that she needs a makeover so that people don't assume she's a man in a wig.

r172, who said on 12/22/22 that Ray was getting tired and would be gone in a week.......would you care to come back here and eat a little crow?

R291 = It was me. I will pass on the crow. Ray looks like the guy who keeps a list of the contestants he has gone up against so he can write them detailed notes about every question they missed, and how happy he is to do it because he feels it is his responsibility to make them better people.

Ray looks like the guy who asks to speak to the manager at Little Ceasars because he hand counted the toppings of the 100 pepperoni pizza and found there were only 94. But he is willing to negotiate a settlement before this whole thing gets any uglier than it already is.

Good game, but FJ was too easy.

All you eggheads just need to admit it, Ray makes it all look too easy.

I don’t think anyone is saying that he isn’t a skilled player. He’s just very annoying and smug.

*constant swaying

Although, if he were seated, I’m sure he’d still find some way to sway!

Enough of these super-champions. We just had the odious Cris Pannullo for 22 games, and now Ray. They need to bring back a cap on the number of days a champion can be on the show.

How was Chris odious?

To me Chris was husband material.

I fully agree, R298! Qualify for the ToC and then go away for a year.

Cris was good looking, but I wasn't losing sleep over him, Tyler Rhode was more my type.

That's right, he did spell it 'Cris' a... is that the way it is properly spelled in Italian? Hell, I don't even know if he is Italian, is Pannullo an Italian name?

Ray looks quietly pissed when one of his opponents get ahead of him.

R302, No, Rose, it’s Scandinavian.

The smugness you charge Ray with as well as the rocking might just be his nervousness. Scratch a smug bastard and underneath you’ll find a frightened child!

I loved Cris, but my cousin stopped watching when he was on because she thought he was so smug and annoying with his facial contortions and thumbs up at the opening. I don't mind Ray, but found Mattea and Jonathan almost unwatchable. I guess smugness is in the eye of the beholder.

I didn't mind Mattea during her championship run, but as a T o C "they"? Hell no!

R301, I agree. They should re-institute the cap on maximum number of games. I wish we could have polls within threads because it would be interesting to poll the participants in the Jeopardy DL threads on this topic.

Maybe someone who feels differently (likes the long-term champs) would speak up to explain why they like it.

I assume the ratings must go up during the long runs or the producers would have put the cap back on, right? A lot of people complain about the endless runs, and not just at the DL, but they continue.

So, is Mayim back tomorrow?

This has always been one of the more civilized threads on DL but long-term champs really bring out the vultures.

Block the vultures R310. They're really just hate trolls. And when you look at their posts in your Ignored tab, you discover that they never have anything interesting or intelligent to say.

I wonder how many prospective contestants become eligible for the show but lose interest when they discover they have to get there and stay there at their own expense.

You can ignore someone without blocking them.

I'm shocked to hear that, r312. How can such an enormously successful TV show be so cheap? Was this always the case going back to its origins?

R312 is incorrect. Sony flies you to LA, puts you up in a hotel, arranges transportation to and from the studio, and provides lunch at the commissary. It is true, however, that you are on your own for breakfast and dinner. If you are a one-time contestant, you go home the same say you lose. If you want to stay on, you have to pay for it.

r315 is wrong. Sorry, SONY does not pay for the trip to LA for first timers. It does not cover the hotel either, but you get the SONY corporate rate. Only if someone becomes a repeat champion long enough that they have to fly back home and return does SONY cover the cost. It does pay for a shuttle. How generous.

R315 is a cornucopia of misinformation.

Yeah R315, you couldn’t be more wrong. The only way they pay airfare or hotel is if you’re a returning champion for a second week. Where do you get this “information?”

R318, How soon after the first week would the second week be taped?

I like Ray, find his voice soothing and his manner low key. And he doesn’t twist and sway as he used to. I don’t get the hate and hostility here. There have been far more objectionable champions.

Who is encouraging the contestants to tell painfully long and boring stories when it's chat time? A fun fact told in one or two sentences is more than sufficient.

And someone needs to take Ken aside and tell him his jackets are too tight.

I’ve always disliked the interview portion of the show and FF through it when I DVR Jeopardy!.

If they never did the interview portion of the show how would we know anything at all about faves like Cris Pannullo?

Am I sensing that Cris P. ceased to be a DL fave by the time he was finally defeated? It seemed to me like he'd really worn out his welcome. Or would that be typical of any longtime champ?

R324, All of the boring Heather references turned me off of Cris.

I liked hot Cris all the way through and kind of wish they would hire him for a Vanna White role, standing around and offering a radiant smile and thumbs up when a contestant gives a correct answer.

R326, I endorse that idea. Especially if Cris is shirtless.

R324, Cris hadn't worn out his welcome for me, in that I would have been happy to see him go on. But I also wasn't heartbroken that he lost. He'd had a good run, and we knew it couldn't go on forever. I didn't mind the references to his girlfriend at all, but the mystery of why they are still not married after 10 years was never solved.

R326, I have to wonder where that thumb has been.

Smug A-Whole.

My guy Ray!

How anyone could listen to his little anecdote about taking his daughter to the Paris sewers as fans of Les Miz and think he isn't genteel and modest is beyond me.

Once again, he had fierce competition and didn't have the luck of DJs.

Oh, goddamn. Can’t wait for Ray’s luck to run out. We’ve come so very close. Smug and condescending, the little story about Les Miz notwithstanding.

I found that rather pretentious, R330.

I was rooting for Denise, especially after the other guy (forgot his name already) told the story of surviving brain surgery, she turned to him and sincerely said something sweet to him.

Meanwhile, old Captain Smuggo had the look of, so what, wait until the audience hears about [bold]my [/bold]Les Mis swamp tale.

R333, She said “Congratulations” to Chris.

FJ was pretty obvious.

Yeah, even I thought of the Mona Lisa.

Ken Jennings needs to get over his slobbering. I don't need YOU to proclaim Ray a "super" champion. I actually find Ray to be a mere mortal, unlike Ken.

Another reason to hate Ray: His saying "please" after every request for the clue.

Modest R330?

Ray’s eyebrows when Ken was revealing his FJ response/bet says otherwise. Go back and rewatch that.

I don’t hate Ray. He seems like he would be a very interesting guy, but modest he ain’t.

Chris was kind of cute and a pretty good player going up against two better ones. Another exciting finish. Surprised Ray didn't get Columbus.

I really came to like the woman in the middle. Was really excited that she might win.

R340, Would you hire her to defend you?

Maybe, maybe not r341, but how does that matter in my enjoyment in watching her play?

[quote]Another reason to hate Ray: His saying "please" after every request for the clue.

Canadian.

DL fave Margaret Shelton said "Please" after requesting every clue. Every time. Without fail.

She was from Mississippi.

[quote] DL fave Margaret Shelton said "Please" after requesting every clue.

It was completely fine when she did it. Her “please” wasn't accompanied by a heavy dose of condescension.

I like the intros that Only Connect does. One sentence that contains a silly fact about the contestant. For example (thank you, Internet):

-Michael Cannon, a French and History graduate who once hosted Angela Lansbury’s 90th birthday party, which was not attended by Angela Lansbury.”

-“Andrew Burford, a Black Country ombudsman who once ate his own height in sandwiches.”

-Mickey Alexander, a medical student with an interest in Victorian literature, who has seen Bruce Springsteen perform 16 times and has touched him once.”

-Captain Jonathan Elliott, a scout leader who while wearing his uniform, was once mistaken for a member of the Hitler Youth.”

OK, so these aren't that funny, but it recognizes that people tuning into an intelligent game show probably don't really care that much about the bios of the contestants. Save that for the idiot shows.

Some people will really want to watch tonight's' game...

Is the program that comes on before Jeopardy in most media markets, and in a few afterwards, an idiot show?

Does Ray swivel and swivel and screw himself into the stage??

Or does he get viciously slapped by an audience member???

🙀

All this hatred for Ray.

Haven't seen so much hate since this time last year when the anti-trans folks were bitching about Amy Schneider.

Ken Jennings = "Ray, after 13 games we will be seeing you in the Tournament of Champions".....

Ray (snobbishly smirking) = "I know"....

That is correct, Alex R351.

FINALLY!!!!!!!! Yay Lloyd Sy!!

Lloyd is definitely autistic. He couldn’t look at Ken. I don’t think I could take many episodes of his eccentricities.

I will miss Ray's calm and serene presence.

But he made.......what? Almost $400,000, so good for him!

And if he drove some DL creeps on this thread crazy?

Good on him!!

Were DAR, taquitos, Tacoma, battery and tract all that difficult? I got those right away. Final seemed a give away.

R355/R356 sounds like a pain in the ass straight woman.

Got excise and tract quite easily too. Ray was off tonight.

[quote]Haven't seen so much hate since this time last year when the anti-trans folks were bitching about Amy Schneider.

Apparently you've forgotten Mattea Roach (flapping those T-rex hands) in the Spring

Did Lloyd wink at the camera during his intro?

I have a feeling that if Lloyd wins a few more games, he will become one of the most hated champions ever. Worse than Matt Jackson.

Good game, although FJ was pretty easy. Ray was a worthy champion, and it was time for him to go. New champ is kind of interesting: I predict he'll last several games at least.

Ray was last seen on the airplane asking the Stewardess to keep all of the autograph seekers away from him during the flight. He then ordered that his Coca Cola only be served in a crystal Waterford Flute.

Two more days of Lloyd and you'll all be begging Ray to return.

Lloyd's look-at-me quirkiness, including the $5 Daily Double bid, is giving me Mattea flashbacks.

Isabel Allende pops up almost as often as Ernest Hemingway and Toni Morrison.

Claire was an excellent player: I hope she gets a second chance.

The $5 bet was smart, since he ended up not knowing the answer. Had he gone for a Daily Double, he might not have been able to make up the loss.

You could clearly see the bits of corn in that picture of corn chowder. Ray jumped the gun because he wanted to do a Boston accent with “chowdah.” Several show-offy mistakes (Gulliver instead of Lilliput, showing off that NOW is the right time for Gulliver) that cost him the game.

R366 - Claire certainly was excellent (having accumulated $22,400) but Denise from the day before was even more impressive at $32,000.

Surely she'll be coming back if Jeopardy does a round of second chance games the way they did this past season.

If he only had $5 of confidence, why pick the clue?

To keep the other 2 players from getting the DJ, r370?

R371 Which is what he did, and is why he won, eh?

He had no reason to think the DJ was in that category.

R373, The DD, not DJ, could be in any category.

But why, when you have a choice, pick a category you don’t think you can answer?

R375, TO KEEP THE DD FROM AN OPPOSING PLAYER!!!

But he didn’t know he was picking the DD!!

It was the first clue called in that category.

He was sampling the category to see what it was like. He had no idea the Daily Double would be under it under he called the category.

No, he didn’t and no he wasn’t, R378. The corn chowder clue had already been revealed in “Kid Cuisine” when Lloyd found the DD in that category.

I thought FJ was tricky. I guessed Russia. Well-deserved win for Lloyd.

I was in the right neighborhood for FJ, but for some weird reason I inversely thought Panama. (I'll blame that on post-covid brain fog.)

I'm glad the blonde with the odd facial expressions didn't have a chance because it seemed every time someone got a correct response, you could hear her saying, "Hmmm," as if she suddenly just learned something new.

The blonde resembled Sarah Michelle Gellar.

I also guessed Russia for FJ.

Lloyd has more tics than a dog in July.

Patrick is the whole package . . . sexy, smart and personable.

Patrick can climb on top of me and do his business. I'm assuming he's not gay, though, since he didn't know Linda Evans. I can't believe no one knew Linda Evans!

Patrick is making me say “Cris, who?”

[quote]I can't believe no one knew Linda Evans!

[bold]I[/bold]would have known who she was.

You beat me to it, R384. That one was like "We need some questions for the fags in the audience."

Guessed "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" for final, but had serious problems with Borgnine being considered for the role. Then again, I'm old enough to remember McHale's Navy.

Patrick has a wedding band on... He knew who Debbie Reynolds is. No STRAIGHT guy has that kind of information. I predict a husband story might be coming up soon.

He applauded Lloyd after the show with a rather genteel, delicate way. I'm guessing gay.

Patrick is so sexy and confident and has such a great deep voice that is a turn-on. I would love it if he were gay. I’m a D.C. gay and have definitely never seen him out.

I never thought that Lloyd had long-term potential. We just needed someone to take Ray out and then maybe hang around for three games tops.

After Lloyd and Ray could we please have a rule about standing in place and automatic elimination for swaying? Thank you. If you are going to allow swaying you gotta let the players tap dance and twirl too. Same concept.

The new champion is muy guapo.

Didn’t think of The Godfather in time. I was still subtracting 50 from 2022. 😛😛

Felt bad for the woman.

I knew as soon as the show was over that I could count on disappointment expressed here that nobody got the Linda Evans clue.

I just hope that wherever she is Miss Evans also knows that he here on datounge she is remembered.

[quote]If you are going to allow swaying you gotta let the players tap dance and twirl too.

Well if we're going to have tap dancing and twirling, I'm insisting Patrick has to go-go dance.

Who is Linda Evans?

I just did a little research and unfortunately Patrick is straight.

From the article linked below:

"Last spring, Patrick took the free online test on the 'Jeopardy!' website. He had done so a half-dozen times before, but this time he got the call. He is married to the former Liz Anderson, a trademark attorney in Washington. She quizzed him with flashcards in the months before his appearance. Then she went with him to Los Angeles for the taping, in November, as did her parents and Patrick's mother, plus the best man from their wedding."

Sounds like they don't trust Patrick to be on his own in LA.

We've been down this road before with somewhat queer-appearing straight contestants.

Curious, in what way is he "queer-appearing?"

Will Linda Evans get her own category soon, a la Diana Ross?

The CHASE is back!!!...ABC!!

R396, At least they didn’t guess she was 95 years old.

Is that Brad Rutter? If so, he looks a lot better there than he did the last time I saw him on that special tournament of champions.

R388, He knew Debbie Reynolds because as he said in his interview segment, his father took him to a Debbie Reynolds show when he was seven years old and she began performing directly for him.

Maybe his father was gay!

R406, That’s Patrick Curran.

I was around when they were casting The Godfather. NO ONE ever seriously considered Larry Olivier, and Sergio Leone certainly wasn't brought up as a possible director. Who writes these ridiculous answers?

R410, I have read over the years that Olivier was briefly “considered”.

Never read the same about Ernest Borgnine.

R410 they made Sergio an offer and he turned them down what the hell are you talking about?

R410 Coppola himself has said he considered Lawrence Olivier and there's even handwritten proof of it dumbass.

Borgnine ended up getting the last laugh that year when he got the coveted role of Mike Rogo in "The Poseidon Adventure."

R414, Any man who could endure even a brief marriage to Ethel Merman, could play Don Corleone.

They didn’t cover this in that series that chronicled how the movie came to be?

I only saw the first episode, which was free for some reason. Wish I could have seen it all.

Roberta Flack, I feel your pain.

I was so hoping to hear Patrick respond “hung”, rather than Reuben.

They really need a category that explores all the stars that were considered for Fanny in FUNNY GIRL before they settled on you-know-who.

Yes, and Beanie could read those clues.

Not the brightest bunch tonight, including Patrick.

I miss Ray.

Tough questions, I thought.

No idea on FJ.

Why did the middle lady keep crouching down? Was her microphone too low?

Yes, they hardly distinguished themselves in the first few minutes of the game tonight when all three found themselves in negative territory. Patrick at least got up to 20,000 before FJ, but there were quite a few where no one knew the right answer.

Did YOU recognize Roberta Flack?

Oh yes, Patrick can get it with that voice.

The middle player reminded me of Mason Reese.

[quote] Did YOU recognize Roberta Flack?

Yes, and I was screaming her name at the TV. But it didn’t seem to work.

Patrick = "WE" hear the Star Spangled Banner play at 8 a.m. every morning.....Didn't say "wife" or "gf"....Interesting....

He’s married. To a woman.

R428 - he's married, as I posted @ R399.

Patrick is boring and not very bright. You queens will all tire of him soon.

R431, Patrick cannot compare to my Matty.

Any thoughts on this suggestion for contestants to sit rather than stand? The pro-chair side has some good arguments. They sat all through the 1960s and 70s so there is precedent.

(Sorry for the tabloid link.)

Ray had spinal issues. Sitting is a great idea; Ken can stand tall and loom over the contestants.

WTH? Married? To a woman? No thank you. I would have rooted for Rueben had I not been led into a false sense of homosexuality by Patrick and my vivid imagination. Booo!!!....

Rueben improved as the game went along & it was nice to see him get Bligh.

R434, they'd probably have the contestants sit on tall chairs to keep visual continuity with the current practice and avoid exactly the "looming over" effect of the host that you mention.

On the other hand, I've known people with back issues who can't stand for long periods, either. It's a tough schedule either way, but I'm sure Ray was happy to go through it, since it was the result of a long string of victories.

Hello Connor!!! Yummy...

But I hate the way Connor shimmies with his shoulders.....

Handsome...NOW we have a winner!!

Is his choir The Gay Men's Chorus?

This new guy sounds exhausted already I'm tired of him.

Was she wearing fake gag ears?

R439, ha ha, but Connor doesn't have much in the way of shoulders to shake. He has Actor's Head-Body Syndrome - big head on narrow shoulders and scrawny body. Also, he lacks Patrick's deep, sexy voice, and his face is way too expressive.

Connor is handsome, though. Time will tell if he bearable. Maybe he'll calm down with the grinning and shimmying.

Connor is our Betty Grable . . .

I'll miss Patrick's BDE, but Connor's second Daily Double wager was very bold and he deserved that win. I missed flavor of the month AND the Pantheon.

I guessed A la Mode. Isn't that the same as Flavor of the Month? Would my answer have been accepted?

R447, No.

I thought FJ was very awkwardly worded, but still obvious.

I am excited to see hot Connor have a winning streak.

I guessed a la mode also. There were several I knew that they didn't last night.

No one knew “The Big Sleep”?

Just wait until there's a category on Musical Theatre. Connor, you've got that one!

I am going to miss Patrick. A lot. That voice made my dick hard.

At last - a real gay champ.

I don't mind his version of the shimmy because it's way subtler than Ray's simmy-on-steroids.

Plus he's gay and I find him attractive.

R454, Perhaps he’d be willing to leave you a voice mail every so often.

He reminds me of Matt Doyle but with BDE. And of course, he's a member of the NYC Gay Men's Chorus.

Did the producers tell him not to mention the name of his choral group?

Zaddy Connor..

I didn't even have a guess for FJ. I'm glad Max! didn't win.

I was shocked none of them got Final. Anyone else get Bausch & Lomb?

I guessed Eurydice. Hated Max! too,

FJ was impossible!

It was not "impossible" with the 1000 sunrises (hint! hint!)

I'm still watching it so I don't know who wins but I really hate Connor because he seems exhausted by every single response he HAS to give.

I liked Max!. He was handsome and seemed virile, but Connor is a very good player. We'll probably see him around for quite a while ... or he'll lose tomorrow. With Jeopardy, you never know.

Oh, "Max!"

Everything about his hair was too intense for me.

In fact his eyebrows were to his face as that exclamation point was to his name.

Max was such a douche, I could smell the vinegar through my Zenith 18” black and white.

I loved to hate watch Max! and I could have really enjoyed seeing a winning streak from him but not at the expense of Connor. Watching Ray dribble thru weeks taught me to enjoy the hot ones (Connor) when they come along.

Max! would be a handful as a friend.

I got FJ.

I was rooting for Connor, but did find Ken's comment to Max about his incorrect America's Cup answer to be pointlessly bitchy.

^yes! I was shocked.

R472, I’ve listened to the exchange three times and cannot comprehend Ken’s remark to Max!.

Regarding bitchy remarks, I've been wondering whether the LDS thing has worked to suppress any same-sex interest there?

R475 maybe he just offers to soak with them and that makes it okay and not gay at all.

I actually didn't interpret Ken's remark about the America's Cup as bitchy. I thought he was hinting to Max that sometimes it's wiser not to buzz in if you don't know the answer.

What did Ken say to Max?

R478, he said calm the fuck down or we’ll bring back Ray.

The trophy given to the winner of the America’s Cup is the America’s Cup.

Elite Masters Tournament.

Milk it!

James, Amy, Matt, Mattea, Andrew He and Sam Buttrey. That will be fun to see them go up against each other.

But no Brad Rutter? Why isn't he in this competition?

I assume this will air during February sweeps or May sweeps.

I wish Cris Pannullo was part of that competition but I guess they can't use him until he works his way through the next Tournament of Champions of the past year.

Rutter is probably committed to The Chase

Isn't Holzhauer on The Chase, too?

He wasn't on the last episode.

Andrew He = ugh Not a fan of James, either. But should be interesting to watch.

Had no idea of final, though did know about maquiladoras, What Color is Your Parachute and Lancaster, PA. Would've preferred Andrew to Yogesh, who unfortunately reminds me a bit of Matt Jackson.

Yogesh is a bit of a showboat.

Sheesh!

Yogesh just ran away with it all, holy cow! 😲😳

Thought of Mariah for FJ.

I'm watching it now and I'm fearful that one of these two ugly dudes is going to replace Connor even though I wasn't totally with him I really don't want either of these ugly idiots to win.

Yogesh is a machine.

James was the ugliest part of The Chase. Nasty, pompous, and a total jerk. I can only hope he's off the show for good.

So was the fat guy.

Y'all better buckle down and enjoy Yogesh. Looks like he'll be around awhile.

Miss me now, bitches?

Someone needs to pull a Gilooly on Yogesh. That bitch is so quick on the buzzer.

I was very disturbed by the way Yogesh held his buzzer practically in the face of the middle contestant.

They should have played "Express Yourself" after FJ and got everyone dancing.

Yeah, Yogesh is annoying, and unfortunately he appears to have the capacity to be around for a while. Ugh.

Yogesh is going to drop the Jeopardy ratings to an all time low....FYI....I think James Holzhauer is off The Chase for good (thank goodness).

Yogesh is evil. I can tell.

I agree, R500. The look on his face after he had won was rather scary. I can’t even fully describe it. I had to turn off the television immediately.

You just know that Ken/Jeopardy! is going to be pushing this fake feud between Yogesh and James H. Honestly, I’m shocked that they are even contemporaries. Yogesh looks like he’s in his ‘50s at the youngest.

Yogesh. Ugh.

[quote]The look on his face after he had won was rather scary.

IS there a look on Yogesh's face?

I can't think of a contestant looking that emotiveless since, like, ever.

It was watching an android playing the game.

I cannot wait until Yogurt gets cocky and loses it all on a DJ wager. Then misses FJ. It may take weeks, but there will be a contented sigh across America.

I didn't watch the show, so I don't know if it was mentioned, but Yogesh is part of an online trivia league. He's VERY good, as in gets 90+% of questions (that are harder than most on Jeopardy) good. Granted, there isn't a buzzer involved with that, but he has a shit ton of knowledge. Better hope someone gets a better buzzer game going 'cause this man will be on awhile otherwise.

You know he’s been trying to get on Jeopardy for years. I wonder why they decided to let him on now.

R506, The producers appear to favor long lasting champions.

Yogesh didn't look like he was having much fun, eh? He looks like a man on a mission, and if that mission isn't achieved, SOMEBODY will pay!!

Yogesh stole my heart.

While chanting Hum Na Shaba!

I'm not at all a fan of James, but the malicious tone of Yogesh's story said a lot about him as a person. Luck is luck, the next Mattea or Amy could just as easily show up soon to defeat him.

I’m not going to be able to tolerate Yogesh for very long. One episode was already stretching the limit for me.

I’m going to miss Connor who I found highly fuckable.

So, Yogesh has a blog...

"I could write a whole essay about why abuse of power goes unpunished in academia (short answer: hierarchy) but I think quizzing provides a more direct analogue to what Ms. Packard and Ms. Bly worked so desperately to draw our attention to. Just as we use terms like "crazy" and "lunatic" to designate the mentally ill as not worthy of care, so we deploy the term "trivia" in the US.

Why else are complaints about outright civil rights violations classified as though they were complaints about a quizmaster only accepting "Czechia" and not "Czech Republic"? Why else would my reports of blatant racial discrimination be met with delegitimizing and demeaning comparisons to Comic Book Guy? Why else is Bridgetown Brian still in business, and Christopher Short still in a position of power at GWD, and their racist apologists routinely called "the best" and inexplicably praised for "promoting inclusion"? Why else do people care so much about "microaggressions" and gatekeeping in sports, but actual racialized violence and racist exclusion in quizzing is met with calls to "get over it" because it's all "literally trivial"? (Yes, that's what they say.)

It's amazing to me that White progressives — people more in love in with language policing than with their own significant others, and possibly more sexually stimulated by the former than the latter as well — are still okay with "trivia," a term that literally serves no purpose today except to perpetuate White supremacy. Nothing will make me happier than the day we stop using it."

Mayhaps they should have done some digging on this Yogesh ass before allowing him on the show, R512. He’s going to end up being a very problematic contestant if he keeps winning.

[quote] So, Yogesh has a blog...

Oh, wow. I hope a super champ comes along very quickly to knock this guy off the show.

Ugh.

I might actually take a break from Jeopardy if he wins again today.

R515, See ya!

So far, I like Yogesh.

I was impressed by his knowledge as well as his skill at buzzing in. So often, ringing in is what trips up the newbies.

I look forward to seeing how far he will go.

Yeegads! I can see Kyle’s toupee from space!! It looks like he stole it from a 1950s tv actor.

Yogesh is going to destroy the Jeopardy Empire if he gets a winning streak going. No one will root for him and televisions will switch channels en masse. Ray was the Evil Dictator type. He wanted to rule the Jeopardy Kingdom. But Yogesh? He is bringing this whole thing down, brick by brick!

I really thought Kyle had a chance there for the longest time.

I had no idea on FJ but my husband guessed The Unicorn Tapestry and I thought he was a genius. Until Mogesh came up with the correct response.

Some of you don't really get The Chase, do you? The Chasers are supposed to be cocky assholes!

I got FJ.

I despise Yogesh. He’s an arrogant ass.

I knew Final. Mona Lisa? Really??

Another show-off interview with the champ ... yawn.

The misery of Yogesh continues.

Yogesh looked like he wanted to kill Kyle during the latter’s initial run in the beginning of the game.

To me, there seems to be negativity (from the past) he needs to let go.

BTW, rumor is that next week Troy Meyer might be on. He'll definitely be on this season. He's another "elite" level trivia competition guy at the same level as Yogesh. If true, interesting that the producers would schedule two juggernauts so close together.

He just loves to tell people he is intellectually superior than some Jeopardy legends. I can’t imagine him at a social engagement.

No wonder he doesn’t smile much.

Yogesh has won over 70K in two days, that's impressive.

How many want Yogesh deep inside them?

If Yogesh is a certified trivia champion and has participated in tournaments, is that fair?

Isn’t it like having a professional dancer as a “Dancing With the Stars” contestant?

Yogesh has cracks that were revealed last night. He didn’t seem to know much about cocktails and drinks so that’s a category to look out for. I also see him being a fail with sports-related categories.

Opponents need to attack these categories first and also only do true daily doubles. The only way to beat Yogesh is to have a runaway.

r532, very perceptive. His weakest category on that online trivia league is food/drink. His 2nd weakest is bus/econ. 3rd is games/sports.

Not understanding this connection in my own brain, but Yogesh makes me think... has A.I ever played Jeopardy/Trivia? I mean it makes no sense, right? The A.I. would instantly super-Google anything. But Yogesh seems a bit more A.I.ish than any of the other champs - James, Amy... et.al. very human and full of character.

I predict Yogesh will be with us at least four more weeks.

Damn!

Simple FJ. Dammit!

[quote] I predict Yogesh will be with us at least four more weeks.

Blech!!!!!🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮

You may well be right. But, I hope that you are wrong. Very, very wrong.

R512, wow. Yogesh doesn't just sound like a race-obsessed crank in that blog, he sounds somewhat demented. Don't they do background checks on potential contestants?

Giving him the benefit of the doubt - could this particular entry have been a bad-day, drunk-blogging example? Is he usually more pleasant and upbeat?

Damn!!! So very close to getting rid of this creepy guy.

I had no idea of final, so can't fault the challenger for missing it. At least this shows that the champ is not another James H with runaways galore.

I'm going to say that I get the impression that the more people are exposed to him, the less they like him.

I hate when he says "ok" when he gets a wrong answer—in a petulant tone that suggests, "if you say so."

"Freelance Writer" = Unemployed.

I liked Micheal. He was fabulous. I was rooting for him. Yogesh is a weird player with the ebb and flow. He does poorly then runs the table then goes back to not ringing in. It was mentioned earlier and I have to say I support sitting podiums for the players now. First Ray shimmering and now Yogesh hand gestures. It is too distracting.

Michael was a terrific player. I can't really hold it against him not having Tom Clancy in his wheelhouse...

I think he says “ok” as in “Yes, I confirm I made a mistake.”

I got Clancy, but I might gave written “John Clancy.”

But why does he need to say. anything at all?

[quote]But why does he need to say. anything at all?

Oh, where to begin?

[quote] I think he says “ok” as in “Yes, I confirm I made a mistake.”

Yes, but he says a lot more than OK. He mumbles something after a number of his answers. Some are completely unintelligible, but I believe that most are to show off how damn smart he thinks that he is.

They are trying to coach him into being more human, and Ken is trying to help. Yogesh loved his introduction.

I thought of Tom Clancy immediately, but there's a reason a big gay guy like Michael would never have read any of Clancy's works. NO HOMOSEX!

Michael's plastic surgery, suit handkerchief, and answering in French were just a little too precious for my tastes. But I would have preferred him over morose Yogesh. Grim weeks to come.

Reading Yogesh’s blog entry makes me think he’s the type of brainy guy who thinks himself into being a libertarian arch conservative because he hates “the libs” so much for their ‘hypocrisy” and “hidden racism.”

Agreed R552 that the pocket square did gild Miss Lily.

R552, you took the words right out of my mouth. How dare you?

I was pulling for Michael despite the silly pocket square and theatrical style, fully prepared to turn on him as soon as he defeated Yogesh. But then he foiled my plan by missing one of the most obvious FJ's in some time.

Grim weeks indeed, but with Jeopardy, nothing is certain.

Michael was great with the Fabergé and Oscar speeches categories. Those were very gay-centric. Yogesh doesn’t know her Oscars…

Does anyone know about the selection process after the Anytime test? Not everyone who passes gets an invite to the Zoom test. I imagine it's not truly random in that if you're female or from a certain zip code you have better chance of being "randomly" selected since they are probably looking for diversity, but anyone know?

Anyone who knows is not allowed to talk about it.

I don’t think they ever claimed the selection process is random.

R557 I got an email about a month after I took the anytime online test, inviting me to do a timed test while logged into zoom. Somebody was there from Jeopardy, presumably watching the test takers. I forget how many of us there were in the zoom meeting.

If you do well enough during the zoom bullpen testing, you are invited for a smaller zoom test with 15-20 other potential contestants. If you pass whatever criteria they have during this one, you get an email asking to do another online zoom with an even smaller group. This time you have timed answers and you use a pen to show you pushing the signaling device. Somebody calls on you if they see you first.

If you "pass" that, you get an email saying that you are now being considered for taping, but that chances are that you will not be called. If you are not called within eighteen months, you can restart all over with an anytime online test.

I believe that just 400-450 people are told they are in the candidate pool each year, and, of them, a smaller number actually tapes a show. I forget where I read that almost one million people took the anytime online test last year.

Good game today

R561, Yes, don’t miss it.

I wish Jimmy had been one of my high school teachers.

Ha!!

R563, From the web site of the school in San Diego where Jimmy teaches.

Jimmy with shorter hair.

Yeah, Jimmy’s a no for me, dog.

Oh, thank goodness!!!!!!

It was (mercifully) brief, Yogesh. See ya.

He must have been very unhappy at not making the tournament of champions automatically.

The new champion looked thrilled. In FJ I also said cars, not sure why that was not acceptable.

The new champ seems very agreeable. I approve.

Yogesh looked pissed. He probably took a dump in the dressing room and wrote another manifesto on the walls in feces.

Jimmys hair turned me on. No joke.

I knew that the answer was Model T Fords, but I’m not sure why “cars” was incorrect.

Yogesh Story = "My Idol was THRILLED to meet ME!"....What is it with these snobby know it alls these past few weeks?

Yay, Katie!!!

She looks like a Mennonite. 🙂

I also said cars. Don’t understand why that was wrong.

I predict big girl will have a few episodes of victory and then gone by Friday.

To those who are not understanding why cars wasn’t correct. It’s no different than saying “South America” when the answer is Brazil. Cars were available before 1908. The cost they referred to was specifically for Model Ts, which originally sold for $600. And you could get them in any color you wanted….as long as it was black.

I was gonna say that Jimmy would be 100x hotter with shorter hair but r566 proves me wrong. However, I still think he'd look hotter with the right short Brad Pitt-ish haircut.

R575, what got me was when Ken replied to Yogesh Raut's story-- something to the effect of 'Oh she recognized you from your tournament ..."

And Yogesh was all "AND my podcast AND my blog!"

AS FUCKING IF!

OH and Yogesh Raut is only 38!

He looks 54! What an old crank already!

Wow -- that is a rough 38.

I guessed cars too; I thought they would all bet big for FJ, but they were smart not to. I spent the game objectifying Jimmy and his hair: if teaching gets old, he can always move on to lucrative shampoo commercials.

Yogesh looks like the guy who is going back to review EVERY question during his tenure. He knows there was something fishy going on and he plans to get to the bottom of it!!

I don't think it was a coincidence that there were such strong contestants the last several days. I think they wanted to get rid of him as quickly as possible.

👋👋👋

I got Model T.

R586: I'm not so sure that it works that way. I thought the contestant rota is fairly fixed in advance rather than having them swapped around at the last minute.

This is the former Jeopardy champ Yogesh talked about meeting. I didn't start watching Jeopardy regularly until a few years ago and hadn't heard of her.

I’m so glad Katie won, but that legal category where she surged ahead with the DD was very easy.

R591. I went to grad school with her in the 80s at Northwestern. Nice, smart person.

Katie looks like she was BORN in the ‘80s, R592. Did she attend grad school as an infant?

Where’s Johnny Gilbert?

What was her major, r591?

Yay for Natalie Greene!

Jimmy lives in a 5 bedroom house worth $1.8 million on the water with a dock. His father is an oncologist in the the Bay Area. (Look up that address.)

I knew he came from money with his anecdote about being in Prague with his family as a child.

Catholic school? And a wife? Not concerned about any of the likes of us, is he?

^That’s quite a conclusion to jump to.

Katie will always have a special place in our collective hearts.

R597, It must a pretty progressive Catholic school for them not to object to Jimmy’s Farrah Fawcett hair.