Final Jeopardy: Names on the Map (5-14-14)
The Final Jeopardy question (5/14/2014), in the category “Names on the Map” was:
Visited by Jacques Cartier in 1534, it was later renamed for Queen Victoria’s father, the Duke of Kent.
The last match Battle of the Decades semi-finals features Roger Craig (00s) Pam Mueller (90s), and Colby Burnett (00s).
Crazy Coincidence: It must seem so to Colby to find himself playing against Roger Craig in the last match of the BotD semi-finals. In the last match of the Teachers Tournament semi-finals, Colby lost everything on the Jeopardy! round Daily Double after saying he was going to “Roger Craig this.” Obviously, he recovered and went on to win that Tournament and the 2013 TOC, and now here he is — playing against Roger Craig.
Round 1: Colby found the Jeopardy! round Daily Double in “Books of the Latin Vulgate Bible” under the $600 clue. He was in the lead with $1,800, $200 more than Roger in second place. It was early so he bet it all (without any mention of Roger Craig-ing). All he could come up with was Jacob and that was WRONG.
A New Testament guy: “Jacobi”. show
Roger finished in the lead with $5,200. Pam was second with $2,800 and Colby was last with $3,600.
Round 2: The very first clue Pam chose was the $1,200 clue in “World Literature” and that was the first Daily Double. So the scores were the exact same as above. This, she said, was her first chance to say “Let’s make it a true Daily Double.’ She did and she was RIGHT.
In Ariosto’s chivalric romance “Orlando Furioso”, Orlando is this great king’s nephew. show
Roger found the last Daily Double in “Presidential Firsts” under the $2,000 clue. In third place with $3,200, he had half of Pam’s lead. “I’ve always wanted to say this,” he joked, “Let’s make it a true Daily Double,” and he got it RIGHT.
He was commander-in-chief the first time the U.S. formally declared war. show
Roger finished in the lead with $18,000. Colby was next with $11,600 and Pam was in third place with $7,200.
NONE of the contestants got Final Jeopardy! right.
“Today most Islanders are descendants of Europeans; however, PEI’s first residents were the Mi’kmaq. The Mi’kmaq first lived here about 2000 years ago. They called the Island ‘Epekwitk’, meaning “resting on the waves”. European settlers pronounced the name as ‘Abegweit’…. The French called the Island “Île Saint-Jean.’ To the British, who later occupied the area, the Island was known as ‘St. John’s Island.’ The Island was renamed in 1799 as ‘Prince Edward Island’ in honour of Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, the father of Queen Victoria.” (Tourism: PEI)
Pam wrote down “Madison.” Maybe she was hoping that was the name before it got changed? She lost her $5,605 bet and finished with $1,595.
Colby thought it was New Brunswick (named after the German birthplace of Victoria’s grandfather, George III). He lost $7,501 and finished with $4,099.
Roger came up with Alberta (named after Victoria’s 4th daughter). He lost $5,201 so he won the match with his remaining $12,799.
So the Ken Jennings, Brad Rutter, Roger Craig finale in the Battle of the Decades will take place over the next two days, whether you were hoping for that finish or not!
2 years ago:: ALL of the players got this FJ in “American Literature”.
In 2011, in the preface to the 75th anniv. edition, Pat Conroy called this novel “The last Great … Victory of the Confederacy.” show
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I think that, over all, Jeopardy has, at long last, done the right thing. In some way, I think they owed it to their viewers to bring back all of the players whose reign was truncated after five wins. In many ways, having qualifying tournaments from only those in a certain decade seems appealing, but many newer viewers might be lost. Of course, the producers had their say: like it or not, they have to keep the show monetarily successful and I also find their seeding annoying. Therefore, personally, I won’t be watching the next two days: I also don’t care which of the three win. I will, however, check this site to see the answer/questions and to read your comments.
Keeping the show “monetarily successful” and keeping the show “relevant” to its core audience is the fine line that Jeopardy must tread.
In part I’m amazed that the show has gone on as long as it has with, on the whole, very little tinkering from the producers. One can only hope that the decision makers at Jeopardy will continue to hang onto the fact that the integrity of the game is what makes it so appealing to so many of us.
[Side note: The integrity of the game is what I think has been at issue in the minds of some of us when we’ve wondered of late if Jeopardy has been placing too much emphasis on celebrity contestants. Clearly, Ken Jennings has been a boon for the game, but there is a danger in hyping individual players over the beauty of the game itself.]
I agree that Ken Jennings has been good for the game, but not as much for his tournament play. Your valid points are the reason that I will return on Monday to watch the formidable Julia. Mine is just a small bit of commercial disobedience.
The big money maker on Jeopardy Friday 16 June 2014 will not be the person who will win $1 million. It will be the sponsors of the show and Sony which owns Jeopardy! Be assured that these various tournaments are not about loyal viewers like us who have watched Jeopardy for decades. As vj correctly explained they are about bringing in new viewers. Jeopardy has been around since the days of Art Fleming for a good reason….clever marketing strategy.
I was wondering what’s supposed to happen on June 16 until I realized you meant May 16.
I still don’t get it. It seems to me the tournaments would be of more interest to regular viewers who know who the competing characters are. Why would a non-Jeopardy fan give a hoot about Ken Jennings or Brad Rutter?
Of course, what totally escapes me is why anyone would find it exciting to see which millionaire wins another million — especially if you’re home watching because you’re unemployed!
Good points. Thanks for picking up on my mistake. I’m definitely referring to 16 May 2014. After such an awful winter I guess I’m trying to rush in summer. 🙂
Another reason more people might tune in is to see how challenging the boards are for these top players.
Yesterday, Eric commented that he would be in favor of “an emeritus status where players who have won a million or more can only play each other, with most of the proceeds going to the charity of their choice” and said he thinks every one of the players would return.
And that might be so, but I wonder if they would play their best if that was the case? I’m thinking of the way the celebrities play when they are playing for charity – some of them don’t seem to give a crap if they win or not.
Obviously, you make a good point. To be clear, I am in favor of a status which places these players in an exhibition environment for maybe one or two games, not weeks. This scenario seems doubtful (much as many things of which I favor). I do, though, think the players would try to win, much as they tried to beat Watson.
Also, and certainly not on a lesser note, thank you VJ for all of what you do for this site.
you’re welcome, Eric. I appreciate all my commenters and readers.
I would definitely favor a one-week tournament format! I even had a poll somewhere on here last year that had that option.
PS – Found it – it was in the Alex Trebek Favorites post, a collection of things Alex had mentioned in Season 29. The poll got 5 votes. LOL.
I second Eric’s thank you vj. You really do a lot for this site.
I enjoy this website too! Jeopardy is in my opinion one of those redeeming institutions that makes one feel just a little bit better for the prospects of humanity!
Anytime we can get together and talk Jeopardy, I’m all in.
🙂
So the Jeopardy producers’ dream came true, and the guy who won the most money, the guy who won the most games and the guy who won the most in one game will go head to head.
Here’s the problem, Jeopardy producers: I couldn’t care less who wins another million dollars.
Let’s say Brad beats Ken. So?
Let’s say Ken beats Brad. So?
Let’s say there’s a mild upset and Roger beats both Brad and Ken. So?
It means absolutely nothing in my life. I’ve watched Jeopardy since its first episode in 1964 when I was 14 (yes, I’m 64 now) because I like to see how much I know in the various categories. I literally couldn’t care less who wins or loses, unless it’s someone I can’t stand like Arthur Chu or it’s someone who’s nice to look at and I hope I can continue to look at for a while. 🙂
Well and there you have it. I also don’t like the tournaments much, but they aren’t really aimed at everyday viewers, I guess. They want to attract viewers who don’t watch Jeopardy all the time — just like the lotteries come up with games with bigger prizes to get people who don’t play the lottery a lot to play more. Or more frequent games — in Texas, they have Pick 3 drawings 4x a day!
Maybe I am being harsh but that was a lackluster match. Roger cannot go into the finals against Ken and Brad buzzing in first and expecting to come up with an answer at some moment in the time allowed which isn’t much time. His error rate in the 1st half was atrocious. Yes I realize he holds the Jeopardy record for the most money earned in one game but he was not at his lucid best tonight. With the rapid fire pace of Ken and Brad he’d better have some V-8 real quick although my words may come back to haunt me but I doubt it.
I don’t think you’re being harsh. I truly hate it when Roger buzzes in and tries to figure out the answer! And I fear he is going to do it as much as possible.
agree with you on Craig, he does buzz in without actually knowing the answer and then stretches the response out with an answer that often appears to take too much time. Borderline cheating.
My son insists this is valid strategy, not cheating. Well, hopefully we will get to see if knowledge trumps Craig’s “strategy”! I hope he gets his butt kicked. 🙂
Your son is right in that the strategy is within the rules, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they enforced the time limit to the most stringent degree.
Strange Final Jeopardy wager amount for a player as generally adept as Colby had been –not that it would have mattered as it turned out, in any case.
Here is my take: It was pretty much a foregone conclusion that Roger was going to bet the standard requirement to cover double Colby’s 11,600 (23,200) which meant Roger’s 5,201 was completely predictable. Subtract 5,201 from Roger’s 18,000 given his answering incorrectly (the only possible route to a win for Pam and Colby, obviously) and the minimum target total is 12,800 (to beat Roger’s 12,799).
For Colby, his most rational wagering amounts would then be either 1) a standard doubling of Pam’s 7200 (plus the requisite dollar, of course) resulting in a wager of (14,401 – 11,600) 2,801, or 2) simply aiming for Roger’s eventual 12,799 by wagering (12,800 – 11,600) 1,200.
Interestingly, had Colby gotten his 1800 DD correct (a not too difficult “James” for Jacobin) he would have had (11,600 + 3,600) 15,200 to play with in Final. That being the case, he could have simply stood pat allowing Roger to “fall on his sword” with his incorrect Final result.
That would have been a more interesting outcome in my opinion!
agree totally.
Your analysis seems to be based upon the calculation that it was more likely that Pam would have the only correct answer than Roger betting nothing. That is probably true. However, Colby (as with most competitive people) could never forgive themselves if they responded with the correct question and still lost. Thus, the 1200 wager was not an option. Further, it would be insufficient to only cover Pam’s doubling, as this could only be done with a correct response. The same scenario could lead to an all-out lead. Thus, Colby wagered rationally.
My analysis did not include Pam standing pat as she would have had no chance to win with that strategy (Pam @ less than Roger with a loss). Therefore, Pam needed to bet enough to cover Roger with a loss or Colby pat, whichever was greater. She did that.
Roger’s only risk in betting the amount he did was if he and Colby missed and Pam got it right (if Roger misses and Colby hits, no bet was safe). This scenario seems less likely than standing pat and Colby getting it right and overtaking him. Colby’s scenario was stated earlier and based upon rational expectations.
Eric,
Couple of thoughts…
1) Colby had already shown that he was willing to forego “wagering to cover” when, in his first BotD match (Mar. 31st) he had a 200 point lead in Final and yet he only wagered 199 in order to avoid falling below his pursuer (Celeste DiNucci) in the case that they BOTH had incorrect responses. He clearly chose that strategy in light of a category, Literature and Opera, that he felt might prove difficult for both himself and Celeste. He chose wisely in that case, and won the match by 1400 pts.
2) In the two betting scenarios I proposed, I placed the (slightly) more desirable first, followed by its less palatable option second. Still, that second option is a valid one and it works fine in the case of a (not too uncommon in Final Jeopardy) triple stumper scenario.
Correction: I mean, wagering option two works if Roger and Pam submit incorrect Final responses –i.e. it is a perfectly valid wagering strategy.
Bottom line though is that it helps your situation when trailing in Final to be within 2/3 of the leader’s total, and to have at least double third place’s total. That opens the door for the “stand pat” strategy which will likely get you a win (under the stated conditions) roughly 40 (plus or minus ~10) percent of the time.
Colby and the dumb girl from Princeton should not have been on TV. This is a major tournament and the last 2 game losers should be home.
i wish i were as dumb as colby and pam…..
That so-called “dumb” girl as you refer to Pam is a Phi Beta Kappa, has a law degree from Harvard, and about to finish her doctorate at Princeton. Be careful.
it was a triple stumper alright, but even if colby had wagered nothing, roger was too far ahead. so we do have our “dream” final…..
i am somewhat surprised that nobody got fj though! well, european history…. which would have been maybe a better named category than “names on the map”. or “british history”?? that would have narrowed it down. but since nobody got it once the clue was revealed i guess it did not matter. they would not have gotten it anyway……or maybe somebody would have thought of victoria and her father??
at least i hope we will see a close and exciting 2 day final.these finalists should guarantee it.
looked like Roger got her husband and father mixed up or thought they had the same name
yeah, funny enough victoria’s husband and son were born “edward”, though the son “albert edward” and was the only monarch of the house of saxe-coburg and gotha as edward VII.
it’s difficult for a european (unless british history is his/her hobby or profession), so i don’t blame them….
will be fun to watch how the 3 giants will fare over the next 2 episodes….
luckily for roger his dd was really easy. i guess sometimes it’s an advantage to be good AND lucky?!