People on Reddit yesterday were speculating on his last game all the players should throw Final just to write “we love you Alex” or some tribute to him instead of an answer. Then someone suggested they just add on a “shout-out” ala Holzhauer, but several people attested as a fact that the show created a new rule specifically banning that due to Jame’s constant shout-outs. However, a losing contestant wrote one yesterday without any consequence, and Alex even mentioned it was sweet of him to do.
So is there any truth to this being a rule? How would it be enforced and what possible penalty would there be?
I apologize if this question has been asked before, but I wouldn’t know for what to search.
How does Alex know/remember who has control of the board? After the 1st commercial and the contestant interviews, or after multiple wrong answers to a single clue, Alex looks at something to determine who gets to pick the next clue, but I have yet to detect any flag or light for him to see.
Alex keeps a master sheet on which he ticks off clues that have been used, and presumably notes who answered correctly. Low-tech, but it seems to work. If there’s any confusion, he might be prompted, with that bit simply edited out of the show.
That’s funny, because I had heard there were such lights, but I always assumed (because I hadn’t noticed them) that they were only visible from Alex’s POV, and couldn’t be seen on camera. Now I see them all the time.
Spoiler & question for today’s (Monday January 6) episode:
[spoiler]Today’s episode was a runaway going into Final Jeopardy, with the leader having about $19,800, the second-place player about $9,600, and the last-place player having $2,000. The second-place player bet everything but $1 and missed the question. The third-place player also missed the question but only wagered a trivial amount, meaning that he moved into second place, taking home $2000 instead of the measly $1000 prize for third place.
What was the woman with $9,600 thinking when she made her wager?[/spoiler]
My recollection is that the rule is that everything you write is now considered to be part of your answer. Writing the correct answer and adding a shout-out will turn it into an incorrect answer. There’s no penalty for adding a shout-out to an incorrect answer.
A reminder that the Jeopardy! tournament with Brad Rutter, James Holzhauer and Ken Jennings starts tonight at 8pm on ABC. And from Vulture, here’s an explanation of how the tournament will work, “Each tournament episode will consist of a set of two back-to-back games, hence the hour-long running time. The player with the most combined winnings from these two games wins the ‘match.’ The play will then continue on each successive night until either Jennings, Holzhauer, or Rutter wins three matches — that means the tournament could end as quickly as three days or last as long as seven.”
No comments on the GOAT yet? (There is another thread, but THIS is the **Jeopardy! ** thread.)
I enjoyed it, mainly because it wasn’t a runaway for James, as many (including me) might have expected. A few random thoughts:
The special GOAT dressing of the set (done mostly with lighting, AFAICT) is very nice. It has a serious and impressive feel that seems appropriate.
I feel a little sorry for Brad, who struggled to keep up with the other two.
It was very exciting to see how closely matched Ken and James are. Ken himself was unsure about how well he might do against James in an interview I cited last spring, long before the GOAT was even thought of.
The new version of the Final Jeopardy theme music (which we learned from the special last week is officially titled “Think”) is horrible.
Alex looked somewhat worse than he does in the regular games that are airing this week. His makeup seemed heavier than usual, but even so his face seemed to have an unhealthy grayish cast. And for a few weeks now, in the regular shows, his voice has been weaker and rougher than usual. I’m worried about him,and now expect him to retire sooner rather than later. Does anyone know when they finish taping this season?
I enjoyed the GOAT very much! I think Ken is going to win. I felt sorry for Brad, who was a little slow on the buzzer. These questions are HARD! I only got a few of the $200/$400 clues. I got one that none of them knew, though!
As an aside - should we rename this thread again, to just “The Jeopardy Thread”?
Reading an article (paywall warning), I learned (as I didn’t remember this) that Brad Rutter’s regular season winnings (twenty years ago) was only $55,000 (this was when you could only appear five times), plus two cars. I think that was before they doubled the dollar amounts, but still, it seems like such a small amount.
I digress: When they wanted to keep “Who Shot J.R.” a secret, they filmed multiple endings. When they wanted have Patrick Duffy secretly return to Dallas, the film crew thought they were filming Duffy’s shower scene as a soap commercial. When Diane Chambers left Cheers, they filmed the real ending after the audience had had exited the stage.
Back to Jeopardy: During the Holzhauer era, there was rampant speculation as to when he would fall. However, rumors on normal sites (like SDMB) did not surface until a few hours before the show’s regular broadcast. I know that a weeks worth of shows are shot in advance on the same day. How far in advance? Surely someone in the audience will spill the beans. When are the shows released to the stations for broadcast? Do the affiliates get them the day of the broadcast or in advance?
When I was on the show in 2005, they taped in March for a July broadcast.
One way they keep the results secret is that you don’t collect your money until after the show airs. They tell you that you can tell your spouse/family members the outcome, but if the results show up in your local paper, there’s a good chance you won’t get paid.
I would think it even trickier because the tournament could be anything from 3 to 7 days. Surely the Network has to make plans for what will be broadcast when Ken sweeps it in three?
That’s funny, because I expected them to be a lot harder. I didn’t feel that this material was much more difficult than regular season stuff. The first six words of the Book of John? Easy peasey. I wouldn’t have been able to dredge up Morgan le Fay, however. And Ken and James got a few of the more obscure Shakespeare clues right off the bat.
Anyone else want to weigh in on the relative difficulty of the clues?
That sounds awesome.