I would’ve thought that there was more overlap between Jeopardy players and Tolkien geeks; but none of the 3 were particularly comfortable with the Middle Earth category (which I ran).
I was looking forward to that category – none were hard IMHO.
Would be happy to have a board game fan win (she does have a BGG account, but is not very active), but I guess I ca be happy a “Brian” won.
Brian
I couldn’t believe she said “Mordor” instead of “Mount Doom” but then knew “mithril.”
I might have said “Hobbiton” instead of “The Shire” if I was on stage under pressure and blurted something out without reading the clue closely enough.
“Mordor” is better than “Sauron”
Brian
:
I don’t mind an occasional question here or there that requires the contestants to know a particular book, but I don’t think it’s fair to have a whole category on something many have not read. (and yes, I’ll include the Bible, although I tend to do well on those for some reason)
Exception for questions that you could know without reading, such as what river Huckleberry Finn rafted down.
Your point is valid; however, the 5 questions could have been answered by someone who’d only seen the movies without reading the book.
I made this mistake too.
Same criticism. Not every well rounded smart person can be expected to have seen those movies. Not every question is knowable for every contestant, of course, but the writers seems to assume some works are universally known and a whole category can be created around it.
[This is a minor, not major, peeve of mine. ]
Like, say . . . American football?
Regarding Middle Earth, the contestant gave herself a bit of a figurative head slap as soon as the said Morodor. I said the same thing but was able to correct my answer to Mt. Doom before time was up. And I also responded Hobbiton and didn’t quite get to the Shire before time. Of course, I’m not really playing Jeopardy!.
I read LOTR once, about 40 years ago, and saw each of the movies once upon their release. Still, I got every answer except “Mithril.” The Mt. Doom clue included the word “peak,” which made it easier. If it had been worded as “place,” say, I probably would have said Mordor as well.
And, I must brag that I nailed both of the last two FJs (John Grisham and Maginot Line), on which the contestants were collectively 1 for 6.
I said Mordor but got it correct as the “second guess”, but I got “sitting on a mine in the Maginot Line”. Didn’t get the FJ author at all. Never read any of his books, nor seen the moves.
For the record, I didn’t mind the LotR category. It’s no more a stumper to some that “football” or “pop music after 2020”. Some people know some things, some people know others. A few people know everything, but they are rare.
I got the Maginot Line (would have killed on that episode), but my guess for the author was Tom Wolfe.
The guy who won today makes me a bit nervous, with his emotional outbursts.
Not to mention his resemblance to Adolph Hitler.
I was thinking Bernie the undertaker.
I thought Oliver Hardy.
His suit jacket is the worst-tailored piece of clothing I’ve ever seen in public.
Let’s face it, that mustache is never coming back in style.
I don’t understand the mustache comments. It’s a run-of-the-mill mustache that covers the entire upper lip, not the toothbrush variety like Chaplin, Hardy, or Hitler.
Whether or not it’s stylish, I can’t say. I still wear shirts that I bought in the '70s. But at least he doesn’t have a metal booger or neck tattoos 
And he was much more even keeled on yesterday’s show. Good showing, too with an above average total.