Here's my picture with Alex:
Friday, 24 October
Well, it had to end sometime, right? I once again gained the lead going into the final, and I thought the category, "the Internet", was favorable. If you missed it, the clue was: It is named in honor of a Monty Python sketch that used the word more than 100 times in 2 1/2 minutes. Unfortunately, I had never seen the infamous "spam" sketch, though I know all about it now. (Lovely spam! Wonderful spam!) I probably should have known it otherwise, but I started thinking of websites that might fit the description, and Yahoo was all I could come up with, even though I was pretty sure it wasn't right. (And I didn't think there was a knightswhosayni.com, or at least it wasn't famous enough for them to ask about it.) But, it was a great run, and winning 4 games was far beyond my expectations going in.
If you want to see the answers and questions from any of the shows, I've included links here (and below) to a recap of each of the games. Thanks to Ronnie O'Rourke (a former Jeopardy! champion herself) for archiving each of the games. The 10/23 show is archived here
When I get some time, I'll post some more stuff here about the experience, some "behind-the-scenes" information, and so forth. I also hope some of you will consider trying out for the show...they post information about contestant searches on jeopardy.com, and you can also get an audition if you're ever in LA for any reason. Just taking the test and being at the tryout was a lot of fun!
Thanks to everyone for the e-mails, calls, etc...I'm glad you enjoyed the shows!
Well, it had to end sometime, right? I once again gained the lead going into the final, and I thought the category, "the Internet", was favorable. If you missed it, the clue was: It is named in honor of a Monty Python sketch that used the word more than 100 times in 2 1/2 minutes. Unfortunately, I had never seen the infamous "spam" sketch, though I know all about it now. (Lovely spam! Wonderful spam!) I probably should have known it otherwise, but I started thinking of websites that might fit the description, and Yahoo was all I could come up with, even though I was pretty sure it wasn't right. (And I didn't think there was a knightswhosayni.com, or at least it wasn't famous enough for them to ask about it.) But, it was a great run, and winning 4 games was far beyond my expectations going in.
If you want to see the answers and questions from any of the shows, I've included links here (and below) to a recap of each of the games. Thanks to Ronnie O'Rourke (a former Jeopardy! champion herself) for archiving each of the games. The 10/23 show is archived here
When I get some time, I'll post some more stuff here about the experience, some "behind-the-scenes" information, and so forth. I also hope some of you will consider trying out for the show...they post information about contestant searches on jeopardy.com, and you can also get an audition if you're ever in LA for any reason. Just taking the test and being at the tryout was a lot of fun!
Thanks to everyone for the e-mails, calls, etc...I'm glad you enjoyed the shows!
Thursday, 23 October (The
Wednesday, 10/22 game is archived here.)
Well, I get my chance to be a 5-time champion tonight, even though that's no longer the limit on contestants. I was fortunate to get a big lead early in the game yesterday (on Tom Cruise movies and Opera), because there was some pretty tough material in the second round. There was a nice baseball category, though Dick beat me to the buzzer on a couple of them and I almost blew one by not reading the clue correctly (Name 2 of the 5 cities...).
Final Jeopardy category: 20th Century Notables. The clue: Einstein said of him, "Generations to come will scarcely believe" one such as he "walked the Earth in flesh & blood". I knew I had heard the quote before, but couldn't remember if it was about a good person (i.e., Gandhi) or a bad person (i.e., Hitler). I was pretty confident that I had figured it out, but this obviously wasn't the case. Again, fortunately I had a big enough lead that it didn't make a difference.
Well, I get my chance to be a 5-time champion tonight, even though that's no longer the limit on contestants. I was fortunate to get a big lead early in the game yesterday (on Tom Cruise movies and Opera), because there was some pretty tough material in the second round. There was a nice baseball category, though Dick beat me to the buzzer on a couple of them and I almost blew one by not reading the clue correctly (Name 2 of the 5 cities...).
Final Jeopardy category: 20th Century Notables. The clue: Einstein said of him, "Generations to come will scarcely believe" one such as he "walked the Earth in flesh & blood". I knew I had heard the quote before, but couldn't remember if it was about a good person (i.e., Gandhi) or a bad person (i.e., Hitler). I was pretty confident that I had figured it out, but this obviously wasn't the case. Again, fortunately I had a big enough lead that it didn't make a difference.
Wednesday 22 October (The
Tuesday, 10/21 game is archived here).
Hopefully nobody had a heart attack while watching Tuesday's game...it was quite a nail-biter! I failed miserably at "Science Puns" and went way in the hole early in the first round, while David jumped out to a big early lead. He made a big wager on a Daily Double in "Next to Brazil", and wasn't able to come up with the right response. After this, Parker went on a run and took a big lead of her own. I fought my way back, as did David as he hit a big Daily Double near the end of the game. Going into the very last clue on the board, worth $2000, Parker had $9000, I had $8600, and David had $8300. Whoever got this clue would have the ever-important lead going into Final Jeopardy! I was able to beat David to the buzzer on that one and get the lead. Final Jeopardy category: In the Medicine Cabinet. The clue: This product's website features chemistry experiments like "the effect of temperature on rate of reaction". I was the only one to come up with "What is Alka-Seltzer?" and took away the win once again!
Hopefully nobody had a heart attack while watching Tuesday's game...it was quite a nail-biter! I failed miserably at "Science Puns" and went way in the hole early in the first round, while David jumped out to a big early lead. He made a big wager on a Daily Double in "Next to Brazil", and wasn't able to come up with the right response. After this, Parker went on a run and took a big lead of her own. I fought my way back, as did David as he hit a big Daily Double near the end of the game. Going into the very last clue on the board, worth $2000, Parker had $9000, I had $8600, and David had $8300. Whoever got this clue would have the ever-important lead going into Final Jeopardy! I was able to beat David to the buzzer on that one and get the lead. Final Jeopardy category: In the Medicine Cabinet. The clue: This product's website features chemistry experiments like "the effect of temperature on rate of reaction". I was the only one to come up with "What is Alka-Seltzer?" and took away the win once again!
Tuesday, 21 October (The Monday,
10/20 game is archived here.)
I was the big winner again on Monday, though I'm now 0-for-2 on Final Jeopardy. So, I'll be back at it on Tuesday's show.
You may have noticed Alex's comment about technical difficulties at the beginning of the show...it was a somewhat frustrating day (before the taping started). Having won the last game of the previous day, I was excited to get back to the studio the next morning. After meeting the other contestants, filling out paperwork, etc., they tell us that one of their hard drives is broken and the game board won't work. So, all the contestants come out to the audience and they show us a video of the 4000th episode spectacular (or whatever number episode it was). Computer problems still not fixed. Then Johnny fields questions from the audience for a while. Another video. Then, they send us to lunch and boot out the first session audience, because it's already about 12:30 pm by this point. (Taping usually starts around 11 AM.) We come back from lunch, and the problems still weren't fixed. Harry Friedman (the producer) fields questions from the audience. Then, they bring ALEX out, in jeans, to talk to the audience. Then some computer guy comes in to talk to Harry, and they let us know that they might not be able to fix it at all that day. Contestants back to the green room, and the contestant coordinators try to calm us down....we'll fly everyone back for another taping, etc., etc. People are (justifiably) mad because their friends and relatives flew out to LA from all across the country. Then, around 2:30, Glenn finally knocks on the door..."rehearsal in 10 minutes". What's worse is that Kevin and Lynne were the two contestants left over who didn't play the previous day. So, they had to sit through all 5 tapings the previous day, and then through all of this, and then play the first game...I don't know that the Jeopardy! experience was quite so great for them.
Monday, 20 October (The Friday, 10/17 game is archived here.)
If you missed the show on Friday, I was the proud winner of $7,199. It was a close game the whole way through between Katie and I, and unfortunately the third contestant, Arlen, had a tough time on the buzzer and ended up in the red. I had the lead going into the Final, which neither of us got correct, but Katie bet it all and I ended up with the victory!
This means I will be on the show again today (Monday) as the returning champ, so hopefully you get a chance to watch. More info to come later.
Friday, 17 October
Well, the day has finally arrived...actually, some of my relatives in Michigan saw it last night, though I don't know why.
The show made some rules changes at the start of this season, most notably the removal of the 5-time limit on returning champions. If you've been watching this week, you saw that Sean Ryan (from State College, PA) became the first 6-time champion in Jeopardy! history. However, he was taken down last night (Thursday), by Katie Durham, who is the returning champion that I will be playing against. Katie actually went to St. Olaf College, in Northfield, MN, the town where I was born. Small world, eh?
Enjoy the show tonight!
