TV

Jeopardy! recap for Fri., Jul. 9

Introducing today’s contestants:

  • Kathryn, an executive assistant & office manager, has been to over 100 concerts;
  • Tom, a software project manager, is from the home of Jack Daniel’s ; and
  • Jen, an early literacy librarian, whose family created parade floats. Jen is a one-day champ with winnings of $42,001.

Jen missed both of her DD opportunities while Kathryn scored on hers, and Tom made a crucial mistake that helped Kathryn hold the lead into FJ at $11,200 vs. $10,400 for Tom and $8,600 for Jen.

DD1 – $400 – EPONYMOUS FOOD – John Montagu, 11th Earl of this, has opened restaurants in the U.S. bearing his yummy hereditary title (Jen lost $3,000 from her score of $4,400.)

DD2 – $800 – LOST & FOUND – A center of worship for this Greek god, the city of Helike, found in 2001, has been called “the real Atlantis” (Kathryn won $1,000 from her total of $5,400 vs. $8,000 for Jen.)

DD3 – $1,600 – REJECTED ELEMENT NAMES – William Ramsey’s son suggested novum for this noble gas, but William wanted a Greek name & called it this (Jen lost $3,000 from her score of $9,200 vs. $10,800 for Tom.)

FJ – 1980s BESTSELLERS – The title of this 1985 novel by a Canadian author partly alludes to the similarly named stories in a 14th century work

Jen didn’t get the title the FJ clue wanted exactly right, but it was ruled to be acceptable and the other two players missed. Jen the librarian obviously loved the category, as she bet it all, doubling up to win with $17,200 for a two-day total of $59,201.

Wagering strategy: The percentage play for Jen would have been to wager $5,000 or less, which would have left her enough to win if everyone missed and Tom bet just enough to cover a double-up by Jen.

Triple Stumper of the day: When shown a photo of Jean Harlow, no one could identify the two-word term for her hair color as “platinum blonde”.

Cluereader corner: There was an unusual amount of clarification for the clue in which Tom was penalized for giving an incorrect response when he didn’t correct himself before Gupta ruled against him. Not only did the guest host explain the initial ruling, he stated before FJ that the judges had reviewed it to confirm it was proper.

Up next to guest host: George Stephanopoulos, as all remaining hosts for the season will be there for just one week.

Correct Qs: DD1 – What is Sandwich? DD2 – Who is Poseidon? DD3 – What is neon? FJ – What is “The Handmaid’s Tale?” (Jen wrote “A Handmaid’s Tale”, which under the rule regarding the first word in titles is acceptable.)