Thank you.
What was really frustrating about Final Jeopardy was that I felt that I should know the answer, that it was kicking around in my brain somewhere, but I just wasn’t able to dredge it up in time.
No, I made the trip out by myself.
It’s really, really hard to prepare, because you have the sense that you’re supposed to master All Knowledge Ever Known By Anyone Anywhere, or at least I did. In my head, I had this whole list of lists that I ought to be memorizing, but never got to (all VP’s! African Capitols! Constitutional Amendments by Year! English Monarchy! Major Wines!) I did review the list of US state capitals (I last memorized 'em in fifth grade, and had gotten rusty), major world rivers/mountains/lakes (I actually got one from that), and other map stuff. Also, when I’d tried out for the college tournament in 2000, my family thought this was very funny and bought me How to Get on Jeopardy and Win, and while it’s out-of-date, oddly focused, and has errors that I definitely noticed (meaning there are certainly ones that I missed), I studied that for lack of anything better. My Final Jeopardy question actually covered something in there, so my 1500 or so flashcards from that book ended up being worth something, rather to my amazement.
After Friday’s show airs, could y’all come back here and report as to whether you knew the Final Jeopardy before the answers were revealed? Nobody I’ve asked yet has known it, including a friend getting a PhD in, very broadly speaking, that area of study.
I watched the show last night and I think you did very well Kat. The guy to your left bugged me though maybe he was just nervous. The way he kept skipping around, which I know you can do, seemed to trip up the show just a tad.
Gila I’ll be watching on friday to see how well you do. What lectern will you be behind?
He was really fishing for Daily Doubles. And unsuccessfully.
Would you believe that I’m not sure anymore? My real name is Gila, and I’m the only female, so it should be pretty easy to figure out which one is me 
Another “great job” KittenKat!
I missed the final question also, and I even thought to myself, ‘Hmmm… didn’t we all come out of Africa? Erm… Pee Wee’s Big Adventure??’
Thanks. Yeah, I’m not crazy about players who jump around the dollar amounts like that.
Check out this clip to see Gila.
Thanks, Astroboy! (I loved the original Astroboy when I was kid)
Oh man. Now I can’t wait for Friday’s show to see why Alex is freaking out stomping on invisible cockroaches in front of Gila.
You know, I was hoping that nobody would ever, ever see that Hometown Howdy. You should see how many times I had to retape it because I kept stumbling over my own words.
The funny thing is that I had never heard of Astroboy when I made this username many moons ago.
Okay, so I’m not in the right country now (I didn’t even get a holiday on Monday), and I’ve seen what the final question/answer was from other posts (I think), but what was the clue?
And congrats to both of you for getting on. I’m still in the “always a bridesmaid category”.
The clue was something like: “This theory of human migration, like the movie of the same name, is generally accepted now.” I know that’s not exactly how it was phrased, but something like that…
GilaB - I have a DVR and DVD burner and would be happy to make you a copy of your show. Just send me a PM with your address and I’ll send it.
StG
Thank you thank you thank you! I’ll go PM you now.
It was something like, ‘This theory of human evolution shares its name with an Oscar-winning movie of the 1980’s.’ I didn’t realize that the theory was actually referred to by the name, ‘Out of Africa,’ although I knew that there was a theory describing that migration pattern, so I thought it was a really terrible question.
A theory of the origin & spread of humankind is called this, also the title of an Oscar-winning movie of the 1980s
Saw it last night, and didn’t know about this thread.
I actually thought that was one of the easiest final jeopardy question ever.
But Human Evolution is an avocation for me, and that’s also one of my favorite movies.
Congrats, Kat. Good job!
Kat, I watched last night, and was rootin’ for you! You rocked on the Purple ! You looked lovely, and did well. Kudos!
Gila, I’ll watch on Friday and root for you, too. Fingers crossed.
Not sure if this was mentioned before upthread or elsewhere (yes, I usually only skim threads), but is there a specific kind of “Jeopardy dress code” or something? I noted that most of the men in the “hometown howdy” link above were in ties and collars and the women in casual-yet-slightly-formal dress. Do they give suggestions or tell you how to dress or is it just up to you? Is there a limit on the amount or type of jewelry one can wear? I remember plenty of the folks on “Rock-n-Roll Jeopardy” weren’t exactly wearing ties and jackets, if you know what I mean.
Also, how do you receive your prize money? Do they cut you a check right there and then or does it come in the mail? Is it in installments or in one lump sum? Can you really win thousands of bucks just for answering questions on a gameshow?
(confession: it was always a dream of mine to be on Jeopardy).