Final Jeopardy: Science Fiction (6-2-25)
The Final Jeopardy question (6/2/2025) in the category “Science Fiction” was:
Referring to what’s wrongly believed to be a meteorite, “The Falling Star” is the title of chapter 2 of this 1898 novel
2x champ Geoff Barnes, an analyst from Washington, D.C., has won $38,401 so far. In Game 3, he is up against: Kyle Rahe, a restaurant server from Houston, TX; and Abbi Klein, a psychotherapist from Brooklyn, NY.
Round 1 Categories: & We’re “Off” – Book Characters – Fashion Designers – Connect 4 – Explorers & Exploration – The Celeb’s Dining Establishment
Geoff found the Jeopardy! round Daily Double in “Connect 4” under the $800 on the 14th pick of the round. He was in the lead with $2,800, $600 more than Kyle in second place. Geoff bet $2,000 and took a shot at it with calendars but that was WRONG.
Julian, Dinaric, Bavarian, Maritime show
Kyle finished in the lead with $5,600. Geoff was second with $1,800 and Abbi was last with $1,600. All clues were shown.
Round 2 Categories: Uncanny Valley – Art & Artists – Holding Out for a Hero – A Latin Turn of Phrase – Too Weak – Notice
Kyle found the first Daily Double in “Art & Artist” under the $2,000 clue on the 5th pick of the round. He was in the lead with $6,400, $3,800 more than Geoff in second place. Kyle bet $2,000 and he was RIGHT.
One of her favorite views to paint was Pedernal Mountain & she had her ashes scattered on it after she died show
Kyle found the last Daily Double in “Uncanny Valley” under the $800 clue on the 9th pick of the round. He was in the lead with $8,800, $6,200 more than Geoff in second place. Kyle bet $4,000 and said the Great Rift Valley. That was WRONG.
Pharaohs of the 18th, 19th, & 20th dynasties rest royally among about 60 known tombs in this area west of the Nile show
Kyle finished in the lead with $5,200. Geoff was second with $4,200 and Abbi was last with negative $400 and out of the game at this point. 4 clues worth $4,000 were not shown.
Only ONE of the contestants left in Final Jeopardy! got it right.
WHAT IS “THE WAR OF THE WORLDS”?
H.G. Wells wrote “The War of the Worlds” between 1895 and 1897. Although it appeared in serial form in 1897, the first hardcover was published in 1898. Wells’ reputation as a science fiction writer was already established with the success of “The Time Machine” (1895), followed, among other works, by “The Island of Doctor Moreau” (1896) and “The Invisible Man” (1897).
In Chapter 2 of “The War of the Worlds”, the Martians land on earth in a cylinder that is mistakenly believed to be a meteor. The Martians are also believed to be dead inside “the Thing”. That was another mistake.
Geoff got it right. He bet $2,200 and finished with $6,400.
Kyle went with “The Time Machine”. He lost $3,201 and finished with $1,999. That made Geoff a 3-day champ with $44,801 in winnings.
A triple stumper from each round:
FASHION DESIGNERS ($1000) Billy Joel’s song “Big Shot” namechecks this American designer who was frequently seen at Studio 54 back in the day
HOLDING OUT FOR A HERO ($1600) A national hero of this country, Owen Glendower appears as a foe of the English in Shakespeare’s “Henry IV, Part 1”
2 years ago: TWO of the players got this FJ in “ACRONYMS”
It was originally a code word used by telegraph operators; Barack Obama used it in his Twitter handle show
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I’m always a bit quizzical when one person says “underwhelming” and another says “exciting”.
I don’t have much more, at ALL, to add. I do, however, agree with Howard.
Pretty underwhelming game with loads of misses and stumpers, but IMO these clues were tough. I winced when Kyle uttered “From Here to Eternity” as Latin for “Where are you going?” I knew that one.
SciFi not my thing, but that was a legit clue, I suppose. Blew all the DDs. Got the Unzipped designer from his photo; Cebuano island group (total guess); Bekaa Valley country; the plugged leak. Abbi blew the $800 Notice clue by not giving a letter as her response.
It was another exciting game, and Geoff became a 3-day champion. Congratulations Geoff! As for me, I didn’t do well at all during the game, and then went with ‘A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur’s Court’ for FJ. Oh well! I suppose that there is always tomorrow
Kyle’s score going into Final was 5,200. Today was the first game since March 7, 2025 when we had unplayed clues. I wish Abbi took a shot at that 1600 clue in the Hero category. Had she gotten it, she would have been around for FJ! and to be in score contention and possibly a chance for a potential victory.
The most likely reason she didn’t buzz in on that clue, Kevin, is because she wasn’t sure about it and didn’t want to go deeper in the hole.
Some of those stumpers were ridiculously easy. The clues on some others were clunky, like the “legend” with the water. I didn’t even realize it was referring to a person. Watching Kyle lose his lead was awful but in the end, it didn’t matter when he missed FJ!