Final Jeopardy: Opera (12-7-18)
Today’s Final Jeopardy question (12/7/2018) in the category “Opera” was:
In Act I of this opera, a messenger says, “barbarous Ethiopians” have invaded & “are already marching on Thebes”
4x champ Dave Leffler, a retired police officer from Pittsburgh, PA, went over the $100K mark yesterday by $102. Let’s see if he can win Game 5 against these two players: Staci Huffman, a CPA from Nine Mile Falls, WA; and Nick Wawrykow, a grad student from Ann Arbor, MI.
Round 1 Categories: Day One – All About Authors – Get “Hip” – Heels – Faces
Pro Wrestling
Nick found the Jeopardy! round Daily Double in “Authors” under the $800 clue on the 7th pick of the round. He was in second place with $600, half of Staci’s lead. He bet the $1,000 allowance and thought it might be pop. That was WRONG.
Hunter S. Thompson didn’t coin this word; editor Bill Cardoso did, to describe Hunter’s style of journalism. show
Dave finished in the lead with $4,600. Staci was second with $3,600 and Nick was last with $2,600.
Round 2 Categories: The Medical File Of Alex Trebek – What a Countr”E” – It’s Just Grass, Man – Signature Drinks Of Fictional Characters – After The Civil War – A Choice 4-Letter Word
Staci found the first Daily Double in “Countr’E'” under the $1,600 clue on the 8th pick. She was in the lead with $8,000 now, $1,000 more than Dave in second place. She bet $2,000 and she was RIGHT.
The last Russian troops left it in 1994. show
Nick found the last Daily Double in “After the Civil War” under the $2,000 clue, with 9 clues left after it. In third place with $8,200, he had $5,400 less than Staci’s lead. He bet $6,000 and he was RIGHT.
This Union General who lost the 1864 Presidential race was later Governor of New Jersey. show
Staci finished in the lead with $16.000. Nick was next with $14,600 and Dave was in third place with $12,200.
TWO of the contestants got Final Jeopardy! right.
Giuseppe Verdi’s 1871 opera is set in Egypt, “during the time of the Pharoahs.” It opens at the court of the Egyptian king in Memphis. The topic is already about an impending Ethiopian attack when a messenger arrives with news that the Ethiopians are already on the way to Thebes. The Met has a full synopsis.
Not the first time: Back in 2016, Seth Wilson made the same mistake as Dave in FJ but did not lose.
Dave thought it was “Antony and Cleopatra.” He bet and lost it all.
Nick got it right. He bet $6,601, bringing him up to $21,201.
Staci got it, too. She bet $13,201 and won the game with $29,201. Staci Huffman is the new Jeopardy! champ.
A triple stumper from each round:
ALL ABOUT AUTHORS ($1000) Featured in several novels, a writer named Nathan Zuckerman was this author’s fictional alter ego
IT’S JUST GRASS, MAN ($1600) Tom Yum Goon from Thailand is made with prawns & this, cymbopogon citratus
2 years ago: NONE of the players got this FJ in “Printing”
The 3 major western typefaces are Gothic, Roman & this one first used in an entire book in 1501 for a work by Virgil. show
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Dave being a retired cop from Pittsburgh, I wonder if this episode was taped before the synagogue shootings there six weeks ago? The shows from 11/5-11/6 and 11/21-11/23(before and after the Teen tourney) taped on October 9 as per Jboard. This is two weeks after 11/23, and I think J! tapes Tue-Thu or Tue-Wed, so it probably taped between 10/11 and 10/23, pre-shootings.
I hate when a contestant loses on the 5th game. Especially when they’ve been gifted with an FJ like tonight’s. Almost like when someone dies at 99. Sheesh.
Sheesh, indeed.
Did anyone see Stacey’s reaction? It was lovely and priceless. Being a sophisticated Jeopardy champ, she couldn’t go overboard like American Idol or something, but she could barely contain it. Reminded me of the doctor’s description of George Costanza hearing about his fiancee Susan’s death: Restrained Jubliation! 🙂
Staci won as Nick gave up his lead to ring in on the last clue. 45/60 here on this 49th anniversary of the birth of aaaa.
@aaaa
Hau’oli La Hanau from Maui! You are 10 days ahead of me!
I could not believe he rang in with a guess that would put him behind. I wonder if he got nervous and was just not paying proper attention.
Guessing from behind to take the lead is fine but guessing to lose 1st place with the last question was a bad move.
Dave Leffler’s streak ends and Staci Huffman ended her week as the new Jeopardy! champion. Speaking of new, today will be the first episode of Eat Bulaga! in the new home, APT Studios in Cainta, Rizal, after 23 years of staying in the Broadway Centrum. A lot of memories there, but in three hours time, they will be in their new home.
That was a close duel for the lead toward the end there between Staci and Nick.
We actually have had some big lemongrass plants for a while now. They have repelled zero mosquitoes to date.
LINK: 7 more clues from this match
It’s $13,201, and I thought for sure that Dave Leffler would win his 5th game today. Man, 2018 has been a very hard year for a champion to sweep a week, aka, win all 5 games in 1 single day.
I know ever since Kyle Jones and Alan Dunn swept up big wins back in September and October, we have had some four time winners in Alex Schmidt, Mary Ann Borer and now Dave Leffler. Though I think they will be in the tournament of champions, I just hope we get a few more five or six game winners before 2019 starts. At least now the playing field has been nearly leveled let’s hope the four time winners are safe
I don’t know if we’re gonna get any 5 or more time champions before 2019 starts, but we’ll just have to wait and see the remaining episodes of 2018. So, who knows?
@Lou
I wouldn’t hold my breath. J has time till next November and will announce the next ToC as soon as all 4 game winners are eliminated. That will probably the cut off moment, so that all 5 game winners get in and no new one can come in in time to upset the apple cart so to speak. The moment all 4 game winners are eliminated J will make the cut and have only 5 game winners (or more wins plus Dhruv and Larry Martin left, the perfect field of 15 players.) Anyone winning 5 or more games from that point in time will be “eligible ” for the next ToC after 2019. Could be 2020 if there is a strong season or 2 years again, if we have 2 weak seasons back to back, like season 34 was.We might even have a ToC in the middle of 2021 when the 2019 ToC is finished.
Well Dave played well for four days so he must be tired. Congrats to him on winning big so we will see how he performs in the toc in 2019. So now we only have two three time winners left. Let’s see how staci does next week. By the way. John and VJ, you heard of Verdi and his opera aida right? La traviata bad la Donna e mobile are also his works. What other ones did he compose in addition to the ones here?
@Lou
I mentioned some in the CotD, plus you can just google him!
Yes, I know “Aida”, saw it in Vienna at the opera there. (Wiener Staatsoper),
which opened in 1869 as “Vienna Court Opera”. After the Habsburg dynasty was abolished after WWI in 1918 and Austria became a republic it was renamed
“Wiener Staatsoper”= Vienna State Opera in 1920.
Indeed Seth did!!!! What are the chances? It would take me about an hour to dissect what happened today, so I’ll just file it under “S” as in” shock”. Ironically I said in CotD that Aida is common knowledge, just as Shakespeare and what comes up???
We even might not see Dave in the ToC if it’s next November, though he leads all 4 game winners so far.
So HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND EVERYBODY, take a tranquilizer and see you Sunday for the “Clue responses…”
Dave, oh Dave, you were so bright,
now you ride into the night!