...I had an idea this morning. What if I published every morning at the same time, Monday through Friday, for you to leave your comments on that day's episode whenever you want? And I'd stick in my recap when the show airs for me (and on evenings that I can). Does that interest you? Let me know here, in a tweet or on the Facebook page.
On with the ToC. Today I saw a bunch of contestants who lost last week, in casual clothes: Sarah McNitt, John Pearson, Andrew Moore and Jim Coury. I saw in the same row as Andrew and John, and I was surprised they didn't opt to sit with the still-alive contestants. Jim was not sitting with them, either. Mike Lewis was not around today, and Rani Peffer was the alternate. Lewis was the first one out the studio door the day before, and he was gone in a flash.
Today the Jeopardy! staff hustled us all through the process of being seated. Jared Hall's family, including mother, brother and girlfriend, were seated in the row behind me. We were not on the same side as the still-playing contestants. This fact led to an almost heated debate involving me, Ben Ingram's mom, and Jared's extended family. Let me tell you, they sure had strong feelings! I remained unconvinced - the contestant side is better.
Sandie Baker's husband was in front of me. In no time the show was starting...only to come to a grinding halt as soon as Johnny said "This! Is! the Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions!" No one seemed to know what was going on, but nobody seemed troubled. I looked around trying to figure it out, but nothing was obvious. After an eternity, some smiley, oblivious people sauntered in and sat in the folding chairs that had been set up at the end of each row. By the way, I've never seen that before. Even Trebek said later, "Oh, we have chairs in the aisle!" Then when the show restarted, Johnny forgot to say it was the Tournament of Champions in his intro. It had to be rerecorded. I was on the end of the aisle not counting the folding chair, so I gave the lady next to me meaningful looks and tried to impress on her what their being late had done. She continued to look completely at sea. Later she said they were all in town for the National Day of Prayer Summit, and that their bus had been stuck in traffic. Whatever.
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| Jared Hall |
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| Julia Collins |
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| Terry O'Shea |
I've been sort of dreading today's episode, and it has nothing to do with the outcome! I admit Julia's scratchy voice stressed me out in the studio audience! I wondered how she could go on if she won today, or even if she could get through this episode or if she would hesitate to ring in, unsure of her voice. I forget who but somebody told me later they hadn't noticed her voice, which I don't understand. Trebek sure noticed, and commented during her interview. Speaking of interviews, some of Jared's was cut! :-( I remember Trebek asking him how many donuts he got free.
Jared found the Daily Double of the round in Bordering the Red Sea.
Terry 0
Jared 800 (3 right)
Julia 3000 (5 right)
Jared wagered 1000 on this clue: "This Red Sea port in Yemen gave its name to a candy made with milk chocolate & coffee." Jared didn't get it.
At the first break:
Terry 0
Jared 1600 (2 right)
Julia 4600 (2 right)
Terry came alive then. At the end of the round:
Terry 3000 (6 right)
Jared 2600 (3 right and one wrong)
Julia 5600 (2 right and one wrong)
Pam Mueller, Cliff Galiher and Keith Williams, all college champs, stood to be recognized by the audience. Brad Rutter and Jerome Vered were present too. You know how Trebek introduced Double Jeopardy by asking if Jared was going to go for the middle clue? He told us in the audience that he doesn't think the Forrest Bounce works. Also during this break, Trebek got the standard question, "What's your favorite restaurant in Los Angeles?" He always says he doesn't have one, but he names his kids' favorites. Jerome could tell you what they are, because he helped Trebek remember!
I wondered just now why I made a note of Jared's girlfriend wearing black and white - must've been because of the category In Black & White!
Jared found the first Daily Double of the round in Great American Novels.
Terry 3000
Jared 4200 (2 right)
Julia 6800 (One right)
Jared wagered it all on this clue: "'At Auschwitz, tell me, where was God?' is a query from this 1979 novel." He was wrong. :-( Then he negged on the next clue, worth 2000, and Terry picked it up.
Jared found the next Daily Double too, in The 19th Century!
Terry 5000 (One right)
Jared 1200 (2 right and one wrong)
Julia 7200 (One right)
Jared risked 2000 on this clue: "His industrial oxidation process was perfected around 1856, allowing the mass production of steel." He was right. Phew!
At the end of the round:
Terry 8200 (4 right)
Jared 7600 (4 right and one wrong)
Julia 12000 (6 right and one wrong)
The Final Jeopardy category was The Other Side of the Globe. This was the clue: "This capital city, which at 12,330 miles is farthest from Madrid, is named for a soldier who spent time in Madrid." Jared didn't have a response but he didn't lose anything. Terry was wrong and lost nothing, either. Julia was right, to the delight of the audience. She added 4500 and has made it to the finals!
One year ago: Q & As with Rico Vazquez and James Brown
Two years ago: On the Decay of the Art of Strategy
Three years ago: You must remember this...
Four years ago: An apt Final Jeopardy response
