Final Jeopardy: Movie Music (7-17-26)
The Final Jeopardy question (7/17/2026) in the category “Movie Music” was:
The main theme heard in this movie uses a motif that’s an alternating pattern of an E & an F, gradually becoming insistent
11x champ Caleb Groen, a law & policy student orig. from Thousand Oaks, CA, has now won $322,167. In Game 12, he’s taking on these new challengers: Andy Strange, a project test engineer from Erlanger, KY; and Angharad Rebholz, a middle school teacher from Hopewell, NJ.
Round 1 Categories: Missouri Loves History – Superstitions – Colorful Phrases – Literary Number, Please – 2020s Hit Songs – Lingo of the Attention Economy
Caleb found the Jeopardy! round Daily Double in “Colorful Phrases” under the $800 on the 7th pick of the round. He was in the lead with $4,000, $3,200 more than Andy in second place. Caleb bet $3,000 and said White Fang. That was WRONG.
Jack London’s “John Barleycorn” tells of a drinker who sees “blue mice” & these, significantly larger show
Caleb finished in the lead with $6,800. Angarad was in second place with $2,800. Andy was last with $400. All clues were shown.
Round 2 Categories: It Happened One Night – 4-Letter Synonyms – World Cities – In Between – Astronomy – Celebrity Podcasts
Caleb got the first Daily Double in “World Capitals” under the $1,600 clue on the 3rd pick of the round. He was in the lead with $8,000 now, $5,200 more than Angarad in second place. Caleb bet $3,000 and said Lusaka. That was WRONG.
It’s the African capital where locals shouted “Ali, Bomaye” before a heavyweight bout in 1974 show
Andy got the last Daily Double in “In Between” under the $1,200 clue on the 14th pick of the round. In second place with $6,800, he had $7,000 less than Caleb’s lead. Andy bet $4,000 and he was RIGHT.
Henry VIII is buried next to this wife who came between Anne Boleyn & Anne of Cleves show
Caleb finished in the lead with $24,200. Andy was in second place with $12,400. Angarad was last with $1,600. All clues were shown.
ALL of the contestants got Final Jeopardy! right.
WHAT IS “JAWS”
nofilmschool.com relates how John Williams’ iconic “Jaws” theme was almost rejected by Steven Spielberg, who thought it was a joke when he first heard the E and F notes. He was expecting grandeur, not simplicity. However, a test audience helped change Spielberg’s mind. “It was music set to psychology. The audience’s nervous system sensed danger in addition to hearing it.” Spielberg later said that the “Jaws” theme was “responsible for half the film’s success.” In 1976, John Williams won the Oscar for Best Music, Original Dramatic Score
Today marks the 5th time “Jaws” was the correct response to the Final Jeopardy! clue. The last time was on June 16, 2025.
Angharad bet $600 and finished with $2,200.
Andy bet $12,000 and and finished with $24,400.
Caleb bet $601 and won the game with $24,801 for a 12-day total of $346,968. That’s a $145,968 leap from the $201,000 he began the week with. The real question now is will Caleb finish out Season 42 with us?
A triple stumper from each round:
LITERARY NUMBER, PLEASE ($1000) Set way in the future, Arthur C. Clarke’s “____: The Final Odyssey”
CELEBRITY PODCASTS ($1600) An appearance by this comedian on “Club Shay Shay” led to a diss track from Ludacris
2 years ago: Only ONE of the players got this FJ in “19th CENTURY WOMEN”
The National Park Service says there are more statues of her, often with her infant son, than any other American woman show
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Caleb has pulled off another clean sweep week and is tied with Adam Remsen for the 3rd longest winning streak of the season. Caleb has also bumped Adam out of the top 3 TOC exhibition match 2027 meaning that Adam has to play a quarterfinal game along with 10 game champion Trsitan Williams.