Today’s contestants are:

– Ryan, a student from Pennsylvania, got to misfire a Civil War cannon;
– Wendy, a social worker from Oregon, has a four-year-old who’s not too confident about her chances on the show; and
– Charlie, a librarian from Colorado, saw “The Exorcist” on an unexpected first date with his wife. Charlie is a two-day champ with winnings of $56,800.

Ryan doubled up on DD2 to move from third to first, then expanded his lead on DD3 on his way to a runaway at $34,600 vs. $14,800 for Charlie and $12,400 for Wendy.

DD1, $1,000 – GRANNY SMITH – Betty Smith, who gained fame for this 1943 novel, would later plant a Chinese sumac for her children & their children (Wendy won $1,400 on a true DD.)

DD2, $800 – B.C. VIPs – In 399 B.C., he told a jury, “I am not grieved, men of Athens, at this vote of condemnation” (On the first selection of DJ, Ryan won $5,200 on a true DD.)

DD3, $2,000 – BRITISH LITERATURE – In this long 16th century poem, Queen Elizabeth I appears as Belphoebe & is represented by the title monarch (Ryan won $7,000 from his leading score of $16,400.)

FJ – ON BROADWAY – This play opens in Vienna in 1823, 32 years after the death of its title character

Everyone was correct on FJ, as Ryan only wagered $50 to win with $34,650. After the largely strategy-free contests we’ve seen this week, it was refreshing to see Ryan hunt for DDs and play them aggressively.

Triple Stumper of the day: In the category Before & After on the Tube, no one figured out the Alec Baldwin-hosted game show on which Tyrion Lannister & Jon Snow fill in the blanks is “Match Game of Thrones”.

This day in shilling: There was a clue about Twizzlers that consisted of its ad slogan.

Correct Qs:
DD1 – What is “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn”?
DD2 – Who was Socrates?
DD3 – What is “The Faerie Queene”?
FJ – What is “Amadeus”?