# The Jeopardy thread \[was James Holzhauer\]\[contains spoilers\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** reality-or-game-show\ **Created:** [April 17, 2019, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696 "2019-04-17T21:53:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 109
**Author:** ![gregorio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/fbc32d/32.png) [@gregorio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gregorio)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2021, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/2161 "2021-06-01T19:54:29Z")
She’s in my top three. She has the pacing down and is comfortable in front of the cameras and what audience there is which makes a lot of sense considering her background as an academic and actor. For the record: 1. Buzzy Cohen 2. Mayim Bialik 3. Ken Jennings ---
**Author:** ![Mike\_Mabes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mike_mabes/32/1782_2.png) [@Mike\_Mabes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mike_Mabes)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2021, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/2162 "2021-06-01T20:44:44Z")
some guy on another board wondered why we needed to know she had a degree. I didn’t want to pick a fight, wonder if he would have wondered if it were Jim Parsons? I knew it already, why would viewers not want to know that? He also felt she was a bit smug. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2021, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/2163 "2021-06-01T20:48:38Z")
We don’t _need_ to know it, but it remains an interesting factoid that the actress who plays a character with a doctorate in biochemistry actually has a real doctorate in biochemistry. As you say, why would viewers **not** want to know that? ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2021, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/2164 "2021-06-01T21:47:34Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > As you say, why would viewers **not** want to know that? Because it makes them feel stupid. Moreso that she’s a woman, but even still with guys, too. Hu-mons are an annoying species. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2021, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/2165 "2021-06-01T22:09:31Z")
Mayim Bialik is a huge [advocate for women in STEM fields](https://www.forbes.com/sites/meghancasserly/2013/03/15/mayim-bialiks-big-bang-theory-on-girls-stem-careers-and-role-models/?sh=bdd2ea4f531b). If her saying she has a PhD in neurology encourages young women and girls, good for her and them. If finding out there’s a woman on this Earth who is smarter than them makes guys feel stupid, they can suck it. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2021, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/2166 "2021-06-01T23:01:56Z")
None of them knew where “of the people, by the people” came from 🙄 ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2021, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/2167 "2021-06-01T23:54:31Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > None of them knew where “of the people, by the people” came from 🙄 - Yeah, that was depressing. In all, today’s three were not quite at the top of the rankings of Most Knowledgeable Jeopardy Players, to put it as nicely as possible. (Are they still pulling contestants mainly from Los Angeles? I often miss the show’s opening so don’t know if they’re still using the “originally from” dodge as often as they did during most of the pandemic.) As for Mayim Bialik: I think she’s doing a great job. As others have said, she adds show-business training and know-how to her strong intelligence (which can’t be said for Jennings–he’s got the smarts but not the voice and manner). She and Buzzy are my favorites, at this point. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2021, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/2168 "2021-06-01T23:54:38Z")
Oof they’ve missed some easy ones. ---
**Author:** ![Skinnybones\_Lampshade](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skinnybones_lampshade/32/2872_2.png) [@Skinnybones\_Lampshade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skinnybones_Lampshade)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2021, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/2169 "2021-06-02T01:02:12Z")
Mayim Bialik is my favourite so far. Yes, they did miss some easy ones tonight. One contestant not only didn’t guess that Laura Ingalls Wilder was the author of the “Little House on the Prairie” series, but tried instead to name Louisa May Alcott by calling her something like Louise Mary Albertson (I don’t remember the exact name he tried). That’s the type of thing I’m afraid I’d blurt out if I were ever in a similar contest. I have to hand it to all the contestants for having the guts to be on that show in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2021, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/2170 "2021-06-02T02:18:09Z")
It would have been fun to have a beer or wine with Mayim Bialik after that episode, to hear her unload on what she thought of today’s contestants. I didn’t think you could hear invisible eye-rolls, but I’m pretty sure she had a few today. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2021, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/2171 "2021-06-02T03:06:25Z")
I’m really enjoying Mayim Bialik as host. She’s putting a little personality into the job, and I like her comments after she says “Correct”–they are short, but fun, bits of trivia. I agree that tonight’s contestants were not the cream of the crop. How does any American not know where “of the people, by the people” comes from? Heck, I’m not American, I’ve never lived in the US, and even _I_ know where it comes from. ---
**Author:** ![Arcite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/67e7ee/32.png) [@Arcite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arcite)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2021, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/2172 "2021-06-02T03:07:49Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > None of them knew where “of the people, by the people” came from 🙄 The length of the quote they gave was “government of the people, by the people, and for the people,” but yeah, neither that nor what a shrew looks like. Both of those are even less forgivable, IMO, than not knowing that Beethoven composed an “Emperor” concerto. (Though more forgivable than not knowing the year of his birth.) > [@Skinnybones\_Lampshade](#): > > Yes, they did miss some easy ones tonight. One contestant not only didn’t guess that Laura Ingalls Wilder was the author of the “Little House on the Prairie” series, but tried instead to name Louisa May Alcott by calling her something like Louise Mary Albertson (I don’t remember the exact name he tried). Just went back and checked it on DVR–his response was “who is Mary Lewis Alcott?” ---
**Author:** ![arles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/71c47a/32.png) [@arles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/arles)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2021, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/2173 "2021-06-02T03:13:36Z")
There was an interview in [USA Today](https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/tv/2021/05/31/jeopardy-guest-host-mayim-bialik-alex-trebek-legacy/5248944001/) with Mayim Bialik. My favorite bit was her talking about the trouble she had with her pronunciation. > Blockquote > **Q: What was the most challenging part of hosting?** > _Bialik:_ Reading words in languages that I don’t speak. There’s a lot of clues about things in history that I don’t know about. I don’t know how to pronounce the lakes of Africa off the top of my head. Alex spoke French. It’s a language I do not speak, but there definitely were a lot of clues in French, and I kind of pronounced (things) like a trucker. So definitely had to re-record a lot of pronunciation stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2021, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/2174 "2021-06-02T04:18:31Z")
Updated list of guest hosts. From [jeopardy.com](http://jeopardy.com), [Jeopardy! Guest Host Schedule | J!Buzz | Jeopardy.com](https://is.gd/tiw5eG). Chronologically: 2021-01-04 Ken Jennings 2021-02-22 Mike Richards 2021-03-08 Katie Couric 2021-03-22 Mehmet Oz 2021-04-05 Aaron Rodgers 2021-04-19 Anderson Cooper 2021-05-03 Bill Whitaker 2021-05-17 Buzzy Cohen 2021-05-31 Mayim Bialik ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2021, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/2175 "2021-06-02T04:21:47Z")
There was more than one occasion when I could tell she couldn’t quite believe her ears. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2021, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/2176 "2021-06-02T05:24:46Z")
Mayim’s performance in her second game was WAY better than her first. Less wooden, more relaxed and humorous. And yes, I think I could hear some of her eye-rolls. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2021, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/2177 "2021-06-02T05:33:51Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > I know that Beethoven’s birthday is December 16th, but I didn’t know what year. > **[Peanuts by Charles Schulz for December 20, 1961 | GoComics.com](https://www.gocomics.com/peanuts/1961/12/20)** > > Schroeder walks under the falling leaves. Schroeder stops under a statue of Beethoven. Schroeder stands next to the statue. Schroeder leans against the statue and says, "I hate myself!" How I learned what year Beethoven was born. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2021, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/2178 "2021-06-02T05:38:20Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > Oof they’ve missed some easy ones. Yes, quite a low final score. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2021, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/2179 "2021-06-02T10:33:52Z")
That’s how I learned the date. I remember multiple strips where Schroeder announced that he was celebrating Beethoven’s birthday; don’t know if it was a sequence of strips in a row, or if Schulz came back to that topic in multiple Decembers. ---
**Author:** ![Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mundane_super_hero/32/6304_2.png) [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mundane_Super_Hero)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2021, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/2180 "2021-06-02T10:43:08Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > Mayim’s performance in her second game was WAY better than her first. I’m voicing an unpopular opinion… I only saw her first night. I’m glad her second was much, much better, because her first had me changing the channel. Stiff? She couldn’t be more stiff if they’d dipped her in Bakelite and hung her out to dry. Stiff. Maybe it was first night jitters. Glad she got over it though and turned in a much better performance on night two. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696.md?page=108) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696.md?page=110)