Jeopardy! Discussion
#351
DVD Talk Special Edition
Re: Jeopardy! Discussion
Something didn't feel right about James' performance. Anyone know what the Vegas odds were for James to win tonight? It would be interesting to see who bet against James in this episode.
#352
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Jeopardy! Discussion
I'm amazed that any betting is allowed on a pre-taped show, considering quite a few people know who's going to win each episode.
#353
DVD Talk God
#354
DVD Talk Platinum Edition
Re: Jeopardy! Discussion
A few thoughts on this game:
- It was the first taping day after Alex announced his condition, which he actually did in the middle of the previous taping day (for those that don't know, they tape all 5 Mon-Fri games in one day). This would explain why James' daughter had a card for him. I wonder if that threw James off his game, having a day to process that
- The fact is that while not as good as usual, James still played a very good game and only lost because of the daily doubles, he still got more correct answers than Emma
- Both of his competitors were good. It was a record number of correct responses as only one clue was not answered correctly (oddly enough a top row clue from the Double Jeopardy round)
- It's kind of crazy to think that even though James' run was so long, it finished filming before any of it aired (this episode was recorded on March 12, his first episode aired April 4)
#355
DVD Talk Platinum Edition
Re: Jeopardy! Discussion
Also I love the fact that James has a sense of humor about this. His twitter profile picture right now is a still from Weird Al's I Lost on Jeopardy video
#356
Re: Jeopardy! Discussion
^ I saw James' high five to Emma Boettcher on the news this morning. A great run and a lot of fun to watch. I look forward to seeing James again on Tournament of Champions, All-Star Games, etc.
#357
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Jeopardy! Discussion
Apropos of nothing, I think it's great that with all the content out there and all the things that are vying for our time and money, that Jeopardy can still manage to capture the attention of the American populace. I know that James' run only made him a minor celebrity but everyone I talk to seems to not only know about him but have actively made time to try to watch him. I think that's awesome.
#358
DVD Talk God
#359
DVD Talk God
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: Directionally Challenged (for DirecTV)
Posts: 130,270
Received 614 Likes
on
493 Posts
Re: Jeopardy! Discussion
Gotta give her credit. James didn't lose it; she won it. Great timing on the buzzer to prevent him taking control of the board and finding the DDs. Doubled down on her first DD which put her into a lead and she held on. Answered everything she buzzed in on correctly. This was the recipe for an upset. So weird that it happened the game where he was poised to take the $ record.
And I have no problem with his FJ wager. He knew she was going to wager enough to put her ahead by $1 if he went all in, so no point in doing that. Just stay ahead of the 3rd place guy and hope she gets it wrong. Classic game theory. And at some of the conspiracy theories going around about him being tired and wanting to go home.
Unfortunately, all the scuttlebutt yesterday with the spoilers made it kind of a letdown. Then again in today's day and age, I'm surprised it stayed a secret this long.
And I have no problem with his FJ wager. He knew she was going to wager enough to put her ahead by $1 if he went all in, so no point in doing that. Just stay ahead of the 3rd place guy and hope she gets it wrong. Classic game theory. And at some of the conspiracy theories going around about him being tired and wanting to go home.
Unfortunately, all the scuttlebutt yesterday with the spoilers made it kind of a letdown. Then again in today's day and age, I'm surprised it stayed a secret this long.
#360
DVD Talk God
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: Directionally Challenged (for DirecTV)
Posts: 130,270
Received 614 Likes
on
493 Posts
Re: Jeopardy! Discussion
And I loved his tweet re: the conspiracy theory about him throwing it because he wants to go home to be with his daughter:
Sure, I could stick around and play a game that pays me $150,000 per hour, but I'd really rather get toys thrown at my crotch for free
#361
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Jeopardy! Discussion
I was about to post his twitter response too.
It actually a pretty good twitter follow.
Ken Jennings isn’t bad either. He’s pretty funny.
James and his wife posted some kind of cancer challenge to the previous winners.
Something that involves smashing an egg on his head, which they did.
It actually a pretty good twitter follow.
Ken Jennings isn’t bad either. He’s pretty funny.
James and his wife posted some kind of cancer challenge to the previous winners.
Something that involves smashing an egg on his head, which they did.
#362
#366
DVD Talk Hero
Re: Jeopardy! Discussion
Gotta give her credit. James didn't lose it; she won it. Great timing on the buzzer to prevent him taking control of the board and finding the DDs. Doubled down on her first DD which put her into a lead and she held on. Answered everything she buzzed in on correctly. This was the recipe for an upset. So weird that it happened the game where he was poised to take the $ record.
And I have no problem with his FJ wager. He knew she was going to wager enough to put her ahead by $1 if he went all in, so no point in doing that. Just stay ahead of the 3rd place guy and hope she gets it wrong. Classic game theory. And at some of the conspiracy theories going around about him being tired and wanting to go home.
Unfortunately, all the scuttlebutt yesterday with the spoilers made it kind of a letdown. Then again in today's day and age, I'm surprised it stayed a secret this long.
And I have no problem with his FJ wager. He knew she was going to wager enough to put her ahead by $1 if he went all in, so no point in doing that. Just stay ahead of the 3rd place guy and hope she gets it wrong. Classic game theory. And at some of the conspiracy theories going around about him being tired and wanting to go home.
Unfortunately, all the scuttlebutt yesterday with the spoilers made it kind of a letdown. Then again in today's day and age, I'm surprised it stayed a secret this long.
Monday's contestants seem to have been hand-picked to topple James. Emma wrote her Masters' thesis on Jeopardy, having studied its questions. The other guy was apparently a Trivial Pursuit savant that had memorized the entire first edition of the game. And make no mistake, the third place guy answering enough questions kept the scores closer than normal.
James did have the bad luck of hitting the Daily Double on the first question.
#367
DVD Talk Platinum Edition
Re: Jeopardy! Discussion
I don't think the producers wanted James to beat Ken Jennings's all-time money total, which he would have if he won on Monday.
Monday's contestants seem to have been hand-picked to topple James. Emma wrote her Masters' thesis on Jeopardy, having studied its questions. The other guy was apparently a Trivial Pursuit savant that had memorized the entire first edition of the game. And make no mistake, the third place guy answering enough questions kept the scores closer than normal.
James did have the bad luck of hitting the Daily Double on the first question.
Monday's contestants seem to have been hand-picked to topple James. Emma wrote her Masters' thesis on Jeopardy, having studied its questions. The other guy was apparently a Trivial Pursuit savant that had memorized the entire first edition of the game. And make no mistake, the third place guy answering enough questions kept the scores closer than normal.
James did have the bad luck of hitting the Daily Double on the first question.
By that line of thinking the next step would be the producers changing the location of the DD on the fly to make sure Emma hit it. There are laws against this type of manipulation.
#368
DVD Talk Hero
Re: Jeopardy! Discussion
This was always the scenario I envisioned James losing in, one with two strong opponents and them getting a little lucky by stealing the daily doubles.
#369
DVD Talk God
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: Directionally Challenged (for DirecTV)
Posts: 130,270
Received 614 Likes
on
493 Posts
Re: Jeopardy! Discussion
I don't think the producers wanted James to beat Ken Jennings's all-time money total, which he would have if he won on Monday.
Monday's contestants seem to have been hand-picked to topple James. Emma wrote her Masters' thesis on Jeopardy, having studied its questions. The other guy was apparently a Trivial Pursuit savant that had memorized the entire first edition of the game. And make no mistake, the third place guy answering enough questions kept the scores closer than normal.
James did have the bad luck of hitting the Daily Double on the first question.
Monday's contestants seem to have been hand-picked to topple James. Emma wrote her Masters' thesis on Jeopardy, having studied its questions. The other guy was apparently a Trivial Pursuit savant that had memorized the entire first edition of the game. And make no mistake, the third place guy answering enough questions kept the scores closer than normal.
James did have the bad luck of hitting the Daily Double on the first question.
#370
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Jeopardy! Discussion
The producers are legally allowed to pick whomever they wanted to challenge James. But this was not an ordinary panel of contestants. They loaded it up with two top-notch challengers to give James a real fight. The producers have a huge pool of applicants, they are not chosen at random.
This was always the scenario I envisioned James losing in, one with two strong opponents and them getting a little lucky by stealing the daily doubles.
This was always the scenario I envisioned James losing in, one with two strong opponents and them getting a little lucky by stealing the daily doubles.
The questions and answers are set months before taping, the daily doubles are placed months before taping, and the contestants are notified of when they're going to appear on the show a month in advance.
There is no conspiracy here. Why did he run into a very smart competitor? Because everyone on the show is smart, and many are extremely smart. The actual online tests are quite difficult. You can't fake your way on to the show.
#371
DVD Talk Hero
Re: Jeopardy! Discussion
James didn't even get onto the show on the first try either.
I know they tape a bunch at once, are competitors able to watch the shows that haven't aired? Because it definitely seemed like the later contestants were onto his strategy.
I know they tape a bunch at once, are competitors able to watch the shows that haven't aired? Because it definitely seemed like the later contestants were onto his strategy.
#372
DVD Talk Platinum Edition
Re: Jeopardy! Discussion
They tape five shows a day and if you are not in the game you don’t see the taping. His whole run was like six days, taped in March/April so nobody saw him play in advance. They would know his win total and probably put two and two together quickly.
#373
Political Exile
Re: Jeopardy! Discussion
can't tell if it was posted already, but Jeopardy has posted the full episode online:
#374
DVD Talk Hero
Re: Jeopardy! Discussion
Jeopardy's producers have always manipulated the parameters for maximum entertainment. When Ken Jennings was on his run, they actually changed how new contestants were tested for the show by allowing them practice on Jeopardy's buzzer system, because they believed Ken's buzzer advantage was too much of an obstacle to overcome for regular challengers.
This is all public knowledge.
This is all public knowledge.
#375
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Jeopardy! Discussion
Jeopardy's producers have always manipulated the parameters for maximum entertainment. When Ken Jennings was on his run, they actually changed how new contestants were tested for the show by allowing them practice on Jeopardy's buzzer system, because they believed Ken's buzzer advantage was too much of an obstacle to overcome for regular challengers.
This is all public knowledge.
This is all public knowledge.