Jeopardy! recap for Thur., Jul. 19 – Please welcome today’s contestants:
– Michelle, a stay-at-home mom from South Carolina, likes designer purses (maybe she should try The Price Is Right next);
– Justin, a paralegal from North Carolina, was married by a “Dudeist” priest; and
– Ryan, a student from Washington state, whose sister tells him to shut up every day. Ryan is a six-day champ with winnings of $127,397.
With eight clues remaining, it looked very bleak for Ryan, who had just $3,400 and trailed Justin by $11,000 with no DDs remaining. Ryan then launched an astonishing rally, getting seven out of eight to take the lead into FJ with $14,600 vs. $11,200 for Justin and $11,400 for Michelle.
DD1 – TRAIL MIX – The complex of roads known as this Communist leader’s trail was a major supply route for North Vietnam (Justin won $800)
DD2 – WORLD HISTORY – The ancient world had two important cities named Thebes; one in Greece and one in this land (Justin won $1,000)
DD3 – THE ABCs OF THE CIA – If you know what CIA stands for, you’re two-thirds of the way to knowing DCI, as in head honcho, is short for this (Justin won $1,000)
FJ – 1970s MOVIES – Earning its director the first of many Oscar nominations, the 1977 film had the working title “Watch the Skies”
Everyone was correct on FJ, so Ryan’s huge late rally did indeed win the game for him, as he could only have been victorious from the leading position. Ryan added $14,500 for a total of $29,100 and seven-day earnings of $156,497.
Note that Justin’s very modest wagering on all three of his DDs likely cost him the lead going into FJ, from which position he probably would have won. Also, Justin didn’t make the percentage play by betting nearly everything from third place instead of wagering for a possible Triple Stumper.
Book blunders: No one knew the author of “The Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man” is James Joyce, or that the Fitzgerald novel about a vindictive Hollywood producer is “The Last Tycoon”.
One more thing: Because of an edit that apparently involved Ryan singing his initial response and the show wanting to avoid paying royalties, Ryan’s opponents were denied a rebound chance on the clue about “You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling”.
Correct Qs:
DD1 – Who is Ho Chi Minh?
DD2 – What is Egypt?
DD3 – What is Director of Central Intelligence?
FJ – What is “Close Encounters of the Third Kind”?