Curse the TSA’s sudden but inevitable betrayal!
Ah, I missed the first few minutes of the show, so I guess I missed that.
She went 7-3 on the first round, and was in the lead going into Double Jeopardy. She went 5-4 in the second round, but in her misses were a $3k DJ clue and two $2ks , which is how she went negative.
And honestly, she was no more talkative than a Tournament of Champions contestant usually is. She was positively austere compared to the typical Celebrity Jeopardy player.
It’s not how much she said, but the inanity of what she did say.
This old grouch agrees with you. She was obnoxious.
“Horrified Onlooker”: story checks out! 
To me the issue wasn’t that she was chatty, but that she didn’t confine the chattiness to her own turns. She broke into other people’s turns to urge them to bet more, etc.
The impression is of someone trying to take over the game (though I realize that wasn’t literally what she was doing). It’s sort of an “it’s all about ME” attitude.
Cheerfulness and bubbliness are fine; but what she was doing is pretty annoying.
Good point, a fair distinction. We saw a little of that from James, but in much more judicious doses.
Today, I was surprised that all three contestants were stumped (including one incorrect response) by the Gray Panthers “ageism” clue. I haven’t specifically heard about their agenda, but it just seemed like a very obvious extrapolation from their name.
True, he did let loose a bit in the tournaments. (Not so sure that he did it in his first appearance, though, which might be a fairer comparison).
Agreed.
My wife and I disagree with you guys. We thought she was a hoot, and a breath of fresh air among ordinary dull contestants. We were disappointed that she didn’t get to FJ much less win. We would have been happy to see more of her.
De gustibus!
Two weeks into the new season, and every contestant is from the greater LA area. Oh they try to hide it. Maybe people in the east coast don’t know where Simi Valley is, or can tell the difference between Montclair and Claremont. But they are all “LA”.
Is there a national travel prohibition, do contestants not want to travel, or is it a show-specific choice?
I believe a great many people are unwilling to travel to California, and Jeopardy! wouldn’t want to take responsibility for them getting sick anyway.
There’s also the fact that California has been on a “mandatory self-quarantine upon arrival” list in some states (my daughter returned to Brooklyn this week after a trip home, and was relieved that California had recently been taken off). Contestants might not want the hassle of complying with homecoming restrictions. Alex announced that the pre-shutdown champ had chosen to not return to the state at this time.
They’re not trying to hide it. Didn’t Alex say in the first episode that the reason the champ couldn’t return at that time was because of travel restrictions?
I have not been watching closely, but so far I have not spotted Ken Jennings. I thought he was going to be all over this new season, almost cohosting.
He did a short bit at the start of Monday’s show just to say he was now working on the production staff.
Right. His official title is “consulting producer”.
Huh, okay. Not what I was expecting.