# Tonight's Final Jeopardy (6/14/07 - Spoilers) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 15, 2007, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonights-final-jeopardy-6-14-07-spoilers/408071 "2007-06-15T00:29:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![thwartme](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@thwartme](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thwartme)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2007, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonights-final-jeopardy-6-14-07-spoilers/408071/1 "2007-06-15T00:29:54Z")
I was watching tonight’s (June 14) Jeopardy, and I think Final Jeopardy may have been incorrect. I’m not sure if this was a rerun or not, but the final category was “Fiction”. I’m about to reveal answer and question, so if you don’t want tonight’s Final Jeopardy spoiled for you, stop reading now. The answer was (I’m going from memory here, so I’m probably paraphrasing) “This 1953 novel includes the following recipe, 'Three measures of Gordon’s, one of Vodka, shake it until cold.” The answer, of course is Ian Fleming’s Casino Royale, the first James Bond novel. The trouble is that the recipe is incorrect, or at least incomplete. The recipe, as written by Fleming is as follows: > [@](#): > > “Three measures of Gordon’s, one of vodka, half a measure of Kina Lillet. Shake it very well until it’s ice-cold, then add a large thin slice of lemon-peel” I could see myself over-thinking things, and the small but significant differences in those two versions of the recipe causing me to think, “Oh, it can’t be Casino Royale, it must be something else that coincidentally uses a similar recipe.” Am I being too picky, or is Jeopardy just plain wrong here? Thanks, thwartme ---
**Author:** ![descamisado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@descamisado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/descamisado)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2007, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonights-final-jeopardy-6-14-07-spoilers/408071/2 "2007-06-15T00:33:50Z")
My guess, between the choices you laid out, is that you’re being a little picky. Like you said, the recipe is from the book, just incomplete. I do think they should have been a little more diligent though. ---
**Author:** ![jackelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@jackelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackelope)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2007, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonights-final-jeopardy-6-14-07-spoilers/408071/3 "2007-06-15T00:36:05Z")
I watched it (and got the answer, though I haven’t read the book). As I recall, the clue said something along the lines of _This novel first gave a recipe as three parts gin, one part vermouth_. I.e., it wasn’t in quotation marks, so didn’t need to be verbatim. At last I don’t _think_ it was in quotes. My wife says she specifically remembers that it was NOT in quotes, so I think it’s fine in that case. Tomorrow, one should be able to look [here](http://www.j-archive.com/showseason.php?season=23) and find today’s questions. ---
**Author:** ![SkipMagic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skipmagic/32/20706_2.png) [@SkipMagic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkipMagic)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2007, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonights-final-jeopardy-6-14-07-spoilers/408071/4 "2007-06-15T00:43:12Z")
I gots me a request for a spoiler warning, so I done did stick one in the title. ---
**Author:** ![thwartme](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@thwartme](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thwartme)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2007, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonights-final-jeopardy-6-14-07-spoilers/408071/5 "2007-06-15T01:12:34Z")
Thanks, SkipMagic. Well, maybe I am being picky, and maybe not being in quotes excuses different phrasing, but I think leaving out the Kina Lillet entirely is rather glaring. Surely leaving out an entire ingredient means it’s no longer the same recipe? If I leave the mushroom out of my mushroom omelette, then I haven’t got a mushroom omelette, have I? thwartme ---
**Author:** ![Eureka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/74df32/32.png) [@Eureka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eureka)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2007, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonights-final-jeopardy-6-14-07-spoilers/408071/6 "2007-06-15T01:42:04Z")
[QUOTE=thwartme] If I leave the mushroom out of my mushroom omelette, then I haven’t got a mushroom omelette, have I? [/QUOTE] I’m not sure that the missing ingredient from the Final Jeopardy clue is as important as the mushroom in the mushroom omelet. (Then again, I’m not a consumer of alcoholic beverages, so my opinion may not count for much). And I had no idea until the first answer which hinted at Bond appeared, at which point I thought “Duh!” So I vote, you are being picky. Especially since the information which the contestants needed to come up with was the name of the novel, not the name of the drink. (or the ingredients of the drink–had the question/answer been reversed, then it would be cruel but reasonable to demand that the Kina Lillet be included). ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2007, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonights-final-jeopardy-6-14-07-spoilers/408071/7 "2007-06-15T01:46:43Z")
I think the clue was fair; I got it right away and I’m not very bright. The anchor of the clue isn’t all the specifics, it’s that it gives you enough to know the drink is a shaken martini. So you know it’s a martini, and that the book was written in 1953; what famous shaken-martini-drinking character would have first appeared around that time? James Bond is probably the most famous martini drinking character ever. It’s a fair clue; the martini and year of publication is enough to lead you to Bond, and then you just have to know Casino Royale was the first Bond book. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2007, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonights-final-jeopardy-6-14-07-spoilers/408071/8 "2007-06-15T02:06:22Z")
It disturbed my daughter that I went to my bookshelf and pulled out my copy even before Alex finished reading the clue. After all these years she should be accustomed to such things… ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2007, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonights-final-jeopardy-6-14-07-spoilers/408071/9 "2007-06-15T20:57:04Z")
According to J-Archive, the clue did not feature any quotation marks, so it is not a direct quotation, nor was it implied to be one. Since most people (including myself) are more familiar with the movie Bond to the book Bond, the clue as used is meant to infer the famous movie-Bond quotation “Vodka martini- shaken, not stirred.” So, in my opinion, it’s not as egregious as, say, “This cartoon character introduced in 1949 has the middle name of Ethelbert,” which had a reference to something that didn’t appear in any cartoons he starred in, but in a '70s comic book story- even though I did get that one right, despite the fact I’m not a…super genius. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2007, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonights-final-jeopardy-6-14-07-spoilers/408071/10 "2007-06-15T21:15:13Z")
I didn’t know about the Jeopardy archive and a it turned out I was complaining about a question I thought incorrect but it turned out on careful reading, it wasn’t. Good site - I’ll bookmark it. ---
**Author:** ![Airblairxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Airblairxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airblairxxx)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2007, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonights-final-jeopardy-6-14-07-spoilers/408071/11 "2007-06-15T21:24:35Z")
**You people are killing me.** [QUOTE=mobo85] So, in my opinion, it’s not as egregious as, say, “This cartoon character introduced in 1949 has the middle name of Ethelbert,” which had a reference to something that didn’t appear in any cartoons he starred in, but in a '70s comic book story- even though I did get that one right, despite the fact I’m not a…super genius. [/QUOTE] Which character was it? ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2007, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonights-final-jeopardy-6-14-07-spoilers/408071/12 "2007-06-15T21:35:46Z")
[QUOTE=Airblairxxx] Which character was it? [/QUOTE] Wile E. Coyote ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2007, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonights-final-jeopardy-6-14-07-spoilers/408071/13 "2007-06-15T21:37:15Z")
[QUOTE=Airblairxxx] Which character was it? [/QUOTE] So, you’re saying you’re not a…supergenius? Oh, I’ve got Acme Industries Customer Support on the line for you. Should I patch through the call? ---
**Author:** ![Mtgman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5a626/32.png) [@Mtgman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mtgman)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2007, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonights-final-jeopardy-6-14-07-spoilers/408071/14 "2007-06-15T21:41:04Z")
[QUOTE=Captain Amazing] So, you’re saying you’re not a…supergenius? Oh, I’ve got Acme Industries Customer Support on the line for you. Should I patch through the call? [/QUOTE] I’ll take it on my teletype. Enjoy, Steven ---
**Author:** ![ThisSpaceForRent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thisspaceforrent/32/345_2.png) [@ThisSpaceForRent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThisSpaceForRent)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2007, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonights-final-jeopardy-6-14-07-spoilers/408071/15 "2007-06-15T21:53:01Z")
[QUOTE=DrFidelius] It disturbed my daughter that I went to my bookshelf and pulled out my copy even before Alex finished reading the clue. After all these years she should be accustomed to such things… [/QUOTE] My kids don’t even think about making me “cite” these days…but your reply made me chuckle… thanks, tsfr ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2007, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonights-final-jeopardy-6-14-07-spoilers/408071/16 "2007-06-15T22:06:25Z")
My mind was boggled when I took the WAG “Casino Royale” and turned out to be right! I mean it wasn’t completed wild-assed, I did figure it was a James Bond book but still. ---
**Author:** ![thwartme](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@thwartme](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thwartme)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2007, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonights-final-jeopardy-6-14-07-spoilers/408071/17 "2007-06-15T22:29:54Z")
[QUOTE=mobo85] According to J-Archive, the clue did not feature any quotation marks, so it is not a direct quotation, nor was it implied to be one. Since most people (including myself) are more familiar with the movie Bond to the book Bond, the clue as used is meant to infer the famous movie-Bond quotation “Vodka martini- shaken, not stirred.” [/QUOTE] I guess this just a matter of interpretation, then. I don’t look at the ‘Answer’ part of a Jeopardy game as a ‘clue’. I think it’s an answer to the question. Q: What is Casino Royale? A: It is a “1953 novel (which) contains the famous recipe 3 measures of Gordon’s, 1 of vodka; shake it until it’s ice-cold” Only it doesn’t. That’s not the recipe that’s in the book. But if, as you say, it’s a ‘clue’ and not an answer, then fine. I guess it works. I mean, I knew the answer … er, question … they wanted, as did one of the contestants, so … fine I guess. ---
**Author:** ![Alan\_Smithee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2acd7d/32.png) [@Alan\_Smithee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alan_Smithee)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2007, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonights-final-jeopardy-6-14-07-spoilers/408071/18 "2007-06-15T22:54:24Z")
I **don’t** think this was a very appropriate clue. (And although I would like to think of the clues as answers–that is the show’s conceit, after all–too many of them just don’t work that way.) To me the problem is just what **mobo85** (_Doperus nonsupergiusii_) identified to defend it: they altered the recipe to evoke the more familiar line from the movies. This has two problems. First, it makes the question much, much easier. By making it sound more like a shaken vodka martini, they allowed anyone with a passing knowledge of pop culture to make an educated guess that would turn out to be correct. That would be fine in a first-round Jeopardy clue, but the Final Jeopardy clue is supposed to be challenging and rely on real knowledge, not pop culture familiarity. Even worse, by changing the recipe they not only reward ignorance, they potentially punish knowledge. As **thwartme** pointed out, a contestant who actually knew the recipe from the novel might eliminate _Casino Royale_ as a possible answer, since it is reasonable to expect that a clue in Final Jeopardy will be a precise as possible. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2007, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonights-final-jeopardy-6-14-07-spoilers/408071/19 "2007-06-15T23:15:07Z")
Speaking from the clue-writer’s POV – how the hell would you get the entire recipe on the teeny square available for the text? I vote for “gist version for reasons of brevity yet clarity.” IOW – take a 'lude, dude. ---
**Author:** ![Alan\_Smithee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2acd7d/32.png) [@Alan\_Smithee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alan_Smithee)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2007, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonights-final-jeopardy-6-14-07-spoilers/408071/20 "2007-06-15T23:50:38Z")
[QUOTE=twickster] Speaking from the clue-writer’s POV – how the hell would you get the entire recipe on the teeny square available for the text? [/QUOTE] Simple,you replace “shake until it’s ice-cold” with “half a measure of Kina Lillet.” Perfectly clear, easily recognizable to anyone who knows the novel (or the recent movie) but at an appropriate level of difficulty, and it neither misleads nor lets a nitpicking contestant challenge it as inaccurate. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonights-final-jeopardy-6-14-07-spoilers/408071.md?page=2)