Alex Trebek, the inimitable host of Jeopardy! since 1984, suffered a heart attack on December 11, and spent four days in Cedars-Sinai hospital, in Los Angeles.

See You Next Year!

Trebek left a message to his fans on the Jeopardy! site, saying:

“I will be back in the studio on January 14 to tape our Teen Tournament”

I wish Alex Trebek a complete recovery, and I am looking forward to watching him on Jeopardy! next season.

Andrew Rostman, who led for most of the game, went into Final Jeopardy! with twice as much money as Hicton. Rostman also had more than twice as many correct answers as Hicton, 23 to 12. However, Rostman, who was leading before Final Jeopardy, finished third.

Cliff Galiher, who answered all of his 16 questions correctly, before Final Jeopardy! took second place.

Doug Hicton, was the only contestant to answer the Final Jeopardy question correctly. Ironically, he was also the the only Canadian, and the question referred to American history. I got it wrong, now you can try:

Historic Architects

He designed the SC state capitol, which burned during the Civil War, but his most famous building was burned down during the war of 1812.

Answer (requires Javascript)

Questions from this game: http://www.j-archive.com/showgame.php?game_id=2170

Doug will play again on Monday’s semi—finals. Good Luck Doug!

I did not list the winner’s name, or link to his bio. However, the worst part, is where I opined that Thursday’s game is the toughest (what is a better adjective?) Jeopardy! game I have ever seen, without presenting any proof. Two marriages have taught me what my opinion is worth, so I have returned to set everything straight, or as one wife used to say, “Put it in writing.”

Thursday Redux

Christian Haines won Thursday’s semifinal game, of the Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions. I thought it was the toughest Jeopardy! game I have ever seen, and I have been watching this show for over twenty years.

I am not as sharp as I was back then, and there are plenty of times, I think, “I used to know that,” and the answer jogs a distant memory. Other times, it might be a noun (thing) that you cannot describe, but you have heard the word. Occasionally, the response will be a word that you are hearing for the first time in your life.

This game featured a few questions that I barely understood. Several responses were new words to me, more than ever in a game. Some of the questions that I did understand, were about subjects that I have never learned.

I could not blame it on a generation gap either, because I watched it with my twenty–year–old daughter, Audrey, and she was baffled most of time too.

Christian Haines, will play a semi–final game, on Tuesday, November 13^th.
I hope he wins again!

I have no idea, how he managed to acquire, much less absorb, some of the facts he spewed during this quarterfinal game. However, Haines obviously spent many hours learning all of it, and he deserves another chance to use it.

The Most Challenging Game Of Jeopardy! of All Time

Check out: http://www.j-archive.com/showgame.php?game_id=2163
What do you think?

TV for Thinkers

I hope you are watching Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions, which is continuing until next Friday, November 16^th.

The contestants on Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions are previous winners, competing for a $250,000 cash prize. The questions (or answers) are much harder than “regular” Jeopardy! I watched last night’s episode with my daughter Audrey, and we could only answer about six questions between us. There were several questions and responses with names that we heard for the first time in our lives.

Bring Your Family

Try this:

Name a country which is ruled by a Sultan, and has an English language national anthem?

Answer (requires Javascript)

Don’t feel bad. None of the contestants knew that one.

Watch Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions with your family. Give everyone a ballpoint pen, and use it as a clicker. Try to click your pen faster than the contestants “buzz” during the show.

It will be fun. You can all get stumped together.