Final Jeopardy: TV Characters (12-6-24)
The Final Jeopardy question (12/6/2024) in the category “TV Characters” was:
On TV in the 1960s & the 2020s, this character has a first name that’s partly from Latin for “death”
New champ Dave Bond, a ret. grant writer from West Henrietta, NY, won $25,000 yesterday. In Game 2, he competes against: Zach DeBoer, a graduate student from Winston-Salem, NC; and Erin Adams, a historian & educator from Springfield, TN.
Round 1 Categories: Pick Your Battles – A “Barrel” of Fun – Scientific Discoveries – You’re Going to Houston – Cash Considerations – A Player to Be Named
Dave found the Jeopardy! round Daily Double in “Scientific Discoveries” under the $1,000 clue on the 19th pick of the round. He was in the lead with $4,000, $200 more than Zach in second place. Dave made it a true Daily Double and he was RIGHT.
Identified in the 1970s, these pain relieving proteins in the brain were named to reflect their similarity to morphine show
Dave finished in the lead with $8,400. Zach was second with $6,000 and Erin was last with $4,800. All clues were shown.
Round 2 Categories: Literary Landmarks – In the Kitchen – Gendered Language – “A” for Art – Lakes – 2024 DNC State Roll Call Songs
Erin found the first Daily Double in “Literary Landmarks” under the $1,600 clue on the very 1st pick. The scores were the same as above. Erin bet $2,200 and she was RIGHT.
In St. Petersburg a monument marks the site where this great poet was killed in an 1837 duel show
Zach got the last Daily Double in “2024 DNC State Roll Call Songs” under the $1,200 clue, with 6 clues left after it. In last place with $6,400, he had $8,400 less than Dave’s lead. Zach bet $2,000 and he was RIGHT. He was also sorry he didn’t bet more!
“Kiss” & “1999” repped this state show
Dave finished in the lead with $16,400. Erin was next with $13,000 and Zach was in third place with $12,000. All clues were shown.
TWO of the contestants got Final Jeopardy! right.
WHO IS MORTICIA ADDAMS?
“Mortuus” is the Latin word for dead and English words containing “mort” usually have something to do with death, like mortician. In fact, Charles Addams, creator of the Addams Family, was punning off the word “mortician” when he came up with Morticia for the Addams Family matriarch.
Addams personally picked actress Carolyn Jones to play Morticia in the 1960s TV series. Over the course of the series, Carolyn Jones also played Morticia’s sister, Ophelia Frump and Thing’s fiancée, Lady Fingers. In 2022, Catherine Zeta-Jones played Morticia in 2 episodes of Season 1 of “Wednesday”, a Netflix series about the daughter in the Addams Family.
A similar clue came up in a TV MOMS category in April 2023: Carolyn Jones played this macabre TV mom in the 1960s; Catherine Zeta-Jones plays her on “Wednesday”
Zach thought it was Moriarity. He lost $2,000 and finished with $10,000.
Erin got it right. She bet $7,000 and finished with $20,000.
Dave got it right, too. He bet $10,000 and won the game with $28,400. Dave’s 2-day total is $51,400.
A triple stumper from each round:
LITERARY LANDMARKS ($2000) To this “H.H.” 19th century poet, add “House” & you’ll get a building that’s an attraction in Düsseldorf
“A” FOR ART ($1600) Early 20th century critics of Robert Henri derisively labeled his realist style of painting this, after a grotty urban sight
2 years ago: TWO of the players got this FJ in “1970s MOVIES”
A 1975 premiere of this comedy advertised free coconuts for the first thousand in the audience show
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Finally, a good, exciting game to end the week. Dave was more “alive”, so, I can totally see nerves having an effect.
VJs comment on Romance languages made me think of the origins – all the Romance languages began as accented Latin! That’s the evolution, much the same as if someone went back in time 1000 years, to Britain, and started talking. You might get a word here or there, but, generally, not be understood, nor they understand you.
And FJ reminded me of something. When I was a kid, 50 years ago, I never got the joke where Morticia asks, “Do you mind if I smoke?” Then, one day, it just struck me, and I started to laugh uproariously. So, there’s that.
Slightly slow start for Erin, but she was a strong player. Good game overall.
Zach’s wager on the last DD, which wasn’t tough as it turned out, was kind of wimpy.
If you know the Latin or French root for “death,” then FJ wasn’t too difficult.
Not a lot of stumpers in this high-scoring game. Thought one of them would know what goes hand-in-hand with a livestock show.
As for me, I used the Spanish word for death so the name of the character came instantly.
The main Romance languages are all quite similar for that word
take this quote from West Side Story
Bernardo esta muerto! – Spanish
Bernardo est mort! – French
Bernardo è morto! – Italian
Bernardo esta morto! Portuguese
Yes, whenever a Latin word or phrase comes up in the Jeopardy game, I can often decipher the Spanish equivalent. If one indeed had at least a basic knowledge of any of the above languages, then the FJ would have been a no brainer.
I almost mentioned Spanish, but knew that word wasn’t quite as close to the character’s name as the French.
The DDs in today’s game were killers. Well, I’m not altogether an art aficionado, a music connoisseur, nor an avid sports fan, but at least the FJ was far kinder. In any case, I’m looking forward to next week’s games.
Well, I hope they all go watch “Young Frankenstein” now 🤣🤣🤣 Hilarious film!