Jeopardy watch....

[Skydog]

Boo, hiss. My least favorite contestant won TOC.

[rsvman]

Boo, hiss. My least favorite contestant won TOC.

Not a big surprise. He won 3 of the last 4 games.

[75Crazie]

Yes, but they were also a missed FJ by Troy from going into a deciding seventh match. All in all, a relatively even and entertaining championship.

[budwom]

yeah, good finalists, Ben had some good bets until he didn't. Troy's sweater proved to be not lucky, keep this stuff in mind as you look for your lucky clothing for Friday's game.

[luburch]

Troy dropped the ball on two consecutive FJs after playing the best game. Felt bad for him.

[rsvman]

Troy dropped the ball on two consecutive FJs after playing the best game. Felt bad for him.

The second one was dead easy, if you are an infectious diseases doctor like myself. Not so easy for the lay person, though.

[Skydog]

Rogesh (was that his name?) seemed to be the quickest with the buzzer, maybe due to him smashing it with two hands. His buzzer gesticulations were annoying as h-e-double-hockeystick!

[aimo]

Rogesh (was that his name?) seemed to be the quickest with the buzzer, maybe due to him smashing it with two hands. His buzzer gesticulations were annoying as h-e-double-hockeystick!

Along with his little mumblings at every question.

[rsvman]

Rogesh (was that his name?) seemed to be the quickest with the buzzer, maybe due to him smashing it with two hands. His buzzer gesticulations were annoying as h-e-double-hockeystick!

I actually think he was at a disadvantage with the way he hit the buzzer. Both of the other players won a game before he got on the board. He was frantically trying to buzz in on nearly every question but the rarely beat the other two.

During his first run he had the same problem. He might have won more games then Holzhouser if he could buzz in better.

Maybe playing a bunch of games back-to-back something finally clicked (pardon the pun) for him.

If I have one major criticism of Jeopardy, it sometimes becomes more about how well you time the buzzer than about what you know or don't know. I would love to see a variant where all three players are in their own soundproof room and they can run the board in any fashion they want; then bring them all together for Final Jeopardy. Let the person with the most knowledge and the best strategy win the game, rather than the person who times the click best.

[Indoor66]

I actually think he was at a disadvantage with the way he hit the buzzer. Both of the other players won a game before he got on the board. He was frantically trying to buzz in on nearly every question but the rarely beat the other two.

During his first run he had the same problem. He might have won more games then Holzhouser if he could buzz in better.

Maybe playing a bunch of games back-to-back something finally clicked (pardon the pun) for him.

If I have one major criticism of Jeopardy, it sometimes becomes more about how well you time the buzzer than about what you know or don't know. I would love to see a variant where all three players are in their own soundproof room and they can run the board in any fashion they want; then bring them all together for Final Jeopardy. Let the person with the most knowledge and the best strategy win the game, rather than the person who times the click best.

Well that sounds rather boring. Every format has it's foibles.

[rsvman]

Well that sounds rather boring. Every format has it's foibles.

Why? They would obviously show them all as they worked through the questions and keep running totals. I think itlmight be even more interesting.

Think about it this way: when you were in school, how would you have felt about your math or history class if you only got credit for a correct answer if you came up with the answer the fastest?

[Indoor66]

Why? They would obviously show them all as they worked through the questions and keep running totals. I think itlmight be even more interesting.

Think about it this way: when you were in school, how would you have felt about your math or history class if you only got credit for a correct answer if you came up with the answer the fastest?

I think your second point is clearly an apples and oranges situation. School is not a Jeopardy contest of quick recall and quick action. We will have to agree to disagree in the issue.

[Skydog]

Why? They would obviously show them all as they worked through the questions and keep running totals. I think itlmight be even more interesting.

Think about it this way: when you were in school, how would you have felt about your math or history class if you only got credit for a correct answer if you came up with the answer the fastest?

For fairness they would do away with the buzzers. But Jeopardy is entertainment and for entertainment we need some suspense. The buzzer & the DDs add a bit of randomness to the game, making it more unpredictable and increasing the drama.

That being said -as I’ve mentioned before - buzzer reaction time isn’t completely random. It is correlated with age and gender and favors younger males. The Jeopardy process (inadvertently) favoring males is not ideal.

[budwom]

In my version they will penalize players for continually shaking their buzzer once someone has buzzed in correctly. Disturbs my aura.

[Skydog]

In my version they will penalize players for continually shaking their buzzer once someone has buzzed in correctly. Disturbs my aura.

Think how frustrating it is as a player when you know the answer and punch the buzzer and repeatedly nothing happens. It has to feel like your buzzer is broken even though your brain knows it isn’t.

[budwom]

Think how frustrating it is as a player when you know the answer and punch the buzzer and repeatedly nothing happens. It has to feel like your buzzer is broken even though your brain knows it isn’t.

I can imagine the frustration for sure, but once you have pressed it ten times, you'd think it would dawn on you that you weren't quick enough.

[rsvman]

I can imagine the frustration for sure, but once you have pressed it ten times, you'd think it would dawn on you that you weren't quick enough.

Or you were too quick.

The buzzer won't let you buzz in until a certain point... lf you know the answer and try to buzz in, but you hit the buzzer a fraction of a second too soon, it locks you out. There is also reportedly a lag time between each buzz, so that you can't immediately buzz in after your initial buzz-in was rejected.

[brevity]

Or you were too quick.

The buzzer won't let you buzz in until a certain point... lf you know the answer and try to buzz in, but you hit the buzzer a fraction of a second too soon, it locks you out. There is also reportedly a lag time between each buzz, so that you can't immediately buzz in after your initial buzz-in was rejected.

Yeah, buzzing in on Jeopardy! is a little bit like collecting a rebound in basketball -- it can be definitive, or there can be some fumbling before someone comes up with possession. Contestants should probably keep clicking until someone's name is called.

Buzzer dexterity has always been an important part of Jeopardy! and it seems to skew toward a youth advantage. People who are quick of mind but slow on reflexes should probably pursue a different game show. Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? got rid of the Fastest Finger qualifier, so aside from the 30 seconds to Phone a Friend, there's no longer a speed component to that show. Master Minds on Game Show Network takes on different formats each round; the 3rd round requires you to buzz in first, but the 1st, 2nd, and 4th rounds do not.

The soundproof room idea sounds a lot like Twenty-One. I don't remember the movie Quiz Show well enough to know if the two contestants get asked the same questions.

[Skydog]

Lucky (and skilled) Amy! In tonight’s first game of the Invitational Finals Victoria, thanks to a massive 14k DD bet, had a clear runaway going until a last minute Amy run came down to the the final $400 question. Amy got it to put her at $15,000, just barely in range of Victoria’s $29,600. Then to her credit Amy was the only one to get FJ correct. I felt bad for Victoria. Amy will be hard to stop now.

[MChambers]

I agree that Amy has a big advantage getting the first win, but Victoria is awfully strong. I think she’ll bounce back in the next game.