I would say the biggest difference, nay, the key difference, is that IAWL actually has actual divine intervention.
George asks God for help, and he gets it.
John just says goddamn a lot. He does everything by himself.
OK, I haven’t questioned the FJ wagering for a while, but IMO there was some questionable strategy yesterday, 12/20.
To recap, going into FJ:
Ray (defending champ) : $20,100
Kim: $14,800
Jason: $10,800
FJ was a triple-stumper.
Jason bet $10,000, finished with $800
Kim bet $5,000, finished with $9800
Ray bet $9,600, finished with $10,500
Ray’s bet was enough to cover a double-up by Kim, which was probably the correct bet. ($9601 would have been the ‘optimal’ bet for that strategy.)
Kim, however, did not bet all of her money. That being the case, her bet should have been small enough to ensure that if both she and Ray were wrong, she would finish ahead of Ray (assuming that Ray would bet as he did.) So, if she assumes Ray would bet $9501 and misses, he would finish with $10,599, and her bet should have been no more than $4200. Had she bet that amount, she would have finished with $10,600, and won the game.
Jason’s only chance to win the game was if both Ray and Kim missed FJ. His bet should have been zero. Had he done so, he would have won the game.
Note that Kim’s bet probably should have been less than $4000, which would have ensured that she stayed ahead of Jason if he bet nothing.
So, again, in my opinion, both the second and third place finishers made questionable bets, both of which cost them the game.
Yes, I’ve frequently commented on this. You’d think people smart enough to get on the show would have a little more sense when it comes to betting.
On Friday, Ray had a lockout with $23,600, Elizabeth had a lock on second with $8,800, and Neal had a lock on third with $400.
The only reason for anyone to bet anything was for Ray to increase his win. He could have bet anything from $0 to $5,999 and still be guaranteed the win. His slightly cautious bet of $4,400 left almost $1,600 on the table.
But for no good reason, Elizabeth decided to bet $8,700 and do herself out of the $2,000 second-place prize. I imagine she’ll be hearing about that for a while.
I think the best advice for anyone going on Jeopardy is to spend more time learning about betting strategies, and less memorizing various random facts. The odds of needing to know any random fact you might cram are minuscule. The chances you’ll need a good betting strategy are practically 100%.
Yes, very bad betting strategy.
But they might have been influenced by the FJ category “Classic Songs”. I know I would just shrug my shoulders and bet it all with that category. However, [plot twist] the FJ was rather tricky and involved a Christmas standard.
I guessed, “Shut up, you little brats!”, but that’s not even a song.
Does anyone else find the current champ annoying as hell? Especially the way he wiggles around. He seems so smug.
I don’t find him annoying, but I do find the constant shifting from side to side distracting.
Interesting that he mentioned that his last project was working on “The Handmaid’s Tale.” I knew it was filmed in southern Ontario, in places I know (and some I know very well), and if that’s an example of what he can do, he very good at his job.
I was surprised she missed the classic children’s book FJ. It was practically spelled out in the clue.
I find him smoking hot. 
Interestingly, it’s not listed on his IMDb page.
Found this from IMDb
Brian
I don’t care for it either, but my annoyance level goes up to the max because it always reminds me of The Former Guy (who has a similar habit of doing that little-girl twisting from side-to-side).*
* meaning no disrespect to little girls. It’s just a movement that’s often stereotypical of them.
I find a lot of contestants have some quirky motions that are either annoying or distracting. Most of them never win, so I forget about them the next game. Reason number 3 I don’t want to be on Jeopardy. I’m sure I’m annoying, too.
At least he’s not “What’s…Amodio.” Or that Rogers dude (no not aaron, austin)
I don’t even noticed any of these quirks until I come to this thread and see people complaining about them.
I hadn’t even noticed the swaying, but while I’m normally an advocate of politeness, I don’t like his use of “please” absolutely every time he selects a clue. It’s superfluous, and on Jeopardy one should be striving to keep things moving as quickly as possible lest time for the round run out with clues left on the board.
Dammit, now I’ll be listening for it.
Maybe it’s Ken keeping the game going, but according to thejeopardyfan.com, there have only been 12 unplayed clues thus far this season.
I got that one from the category alone.
And it’s the second time I got the FJ from the category where the question was Charlotte’s Web!
Is this 12/22 episode the first time a FJ response could have conceivably been referring to one of the contestants?
I guess D.B. Cooper might have been another.
That’s another one for the list of Jeopardy writers’ pet topics: Charlotte’s Web. Harlem Renaissance poet = Langston Hughes, arm of the Mediterranean Sea = the Adriatic Sea, classic children’s’ book = Charlotte’s Web.
“And now the final clue”. I am watching old EPs of Jeopardy on Pluto TV, and for years, nay decades I guess, when there is only one clue left, the contestant is supposed to shut up so Alex can say the phrase. Everyone now and then the contestant forgets this rule; Alex always interrupts and talks over them. But I have noticed lately on the new shows, the contestant does this, and Ken let’s him say “X category for $200”. My first thought when I saw this was that Ken was just forgetting to say the phrase, but it has happened enough to think the producers have decided to make this change.
And why not? My theory, which I have just developed, is that the phrase was originally created for the viewers, Alex was like a sports announcer calling the last play of the game. And when Jeopardy was new, and I have just watched the first EP with a very fast-talking Alex, it was a reminder to the viewer. But after 40 years, hell after 1, it is obvious to the viewer that there is only 1 clue left. And why interrupt the contestant’s ryhthm?