Final Jeopardy: TV History (12-12-25)
Here are some more clues from the 12/12/2025 Jeopardy! game. Please don’t put the answers to these clues in the comments so people who missed the game can have a chance to answer them. It is okay to refer to them by category and clue value or by part of the clue.
CITIES BY HISTORIC EVENTS ($200) Napoleon’s occupation in 1812, the Khodynka Tragedy
NOVELS ($1200) This recent bestseller by Shelby Van Pelt is partly set at an aquarium that’s home to Marcellus, a giant Pacific octopus
MOVIE LINES ($1200) Spoken in an Oscar-winning role in this film: “The nation believes that when I speak, I speak for them. But I can’t speak.”
($2000) 1983’s “Sudden Impact” is the film in which Clint Eastwood’s Dirty Harry makes this invitation to an armed robber
BYE, PHOENICIA ($800) Linguists call the Phoenician alphabet an abjad, meaning all 22 letters were this type
The players missed these 2 clues in RHYME TIME:
($800) A burn mark from a flaming light stick
($1200) Bony framework made of a glutinous protein
RHYME TIME ANSWERS: show
The Daily Box Scores are released at 8 pm Eastern
SNEAK PEEK CATEGORY: “M.C.”
($200) One theory suggests this Yuletide salutation goes back to a letter sent by a 16th century English bishop
($400) The covert Cold War-era MK-Ultra Program sought to develop means of using this technique on human subjects
($600) Around 1930, these tests were entrenched in the American school system; scantron sheets came later
($800) Now used to describe any product in tip-top shape, this term stems from the world of numismatics
($1000) A desktop fixture for years, this icon that allows users to access local drives was renamed when Windows 8.1 was introduced
ANSWERS: show
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Good for Trey, he had a near runaway and was the best player tonight. Will had too many wrong responses but it didn’t matter. FJ: TV History and 1964 should have been a giveaway for me, but I was stumped. Never did watch those animated shows, but I did eventually see the Grinch. My wife loved it so I watched it with her.
This being a Friday and Will’s 5th show, that tells me he recorded all 5 in one day and was likely mentally pooped today.
DD #1: that was pretty darned easy, and I was shocked to see Will not get it. #2: I said Ye Olde Curiosity Shop which I hope was acceptable since they didn’t ask for an exact title. I went to the one in London long ago but that’s not its name. #3: I figured it was Lake Erie which is closer to Niagara Falls.
Guessed the country of Sulawesi. Thought for sure someone would get Eastwood’s classic line.
I was wondering if they would have accepted my Dirty Harry response. I put the word ‘punk’ in vetween the right two phrases!
I only viewed part of today’s game due to an interruption. Anyways, that $5 DD wager of Will’s had to be the lowest that I’ve seen in years. However, that turned out to be a good bet regardless. The FJ had stumped me, but as for the Rudolph The Red Nose Reindeer song, Gene Autry was actually the one who created and marketed it (he must have sold millions of those 78 RPM records back then).
Actually, Rick, it was Johnny Marks’ brother-in-law, Robert May, who created Rudolph in 1939 in a Montgomery Ward booklet for children. Johnny Marks adapted it to music 10 years later and Gene Autry’s recording made the song famous. Gene Autry wrote “Here Comes Santa Claus”
Well VJ, then this begs the question as to how Gene Autry managed to obtain the rights for the song. Perhaps Gene modified the original lyrics so as to skirt around the copyright? What I do remember was that Gene didn’t like the song to begin with, but his wife encouraged him on. Anyways, it was Gene Autry who was ultimately credited with the song. In fact, I’m sure that he must have sold plenty of gold records with that No. 1 hit.
Hmmmm………………I just ordered an original 10″ 78RPM shellac record of Gene’s 1949 hit. Well, I sure enjoyed the song when I was a kid, and even adults can appreciate it. In fact, I’ll play the record on my 1963 Zenith AM/FM/PHONO Stereophonic wood floor console. Yes, that wood floor console is an all tube model, and just the right medium for a record of that era.
Rick, I’m not disputing that Gene Autry made a bundle, I’m just saying he didn’t get a songwriting credit for Rudolph. When you get the record, you’ll see for yourself that the songwriting credit goes to Johnny Marks (“J. Marks”) and the vocals credit goes to Gene Autry.
According to Christmas Made These People Very Rich, Marks’ estate continues to receive royalties from the many Christmas songs he wrote.
Your Marks-manship is of the highest caliber.
That ends the regular play games in 2025. We are likely to see Will again in the 2027 postseason but Trey will be back after the postseason run likely in February to defend his title. Second Chance begins on Monday.