Fraters Libertas

Double Jeopardy!

We now have two Jeopardy! Power Player correspondents providing updates on the action. For a straight-forward recap from Thursday let's start with newcomer Timothy:

Al Franken started with control of the board. One of the categories was "Presidents on SNL" (that's not quite how it was phrased; I hope you have other correspondents). He graciously took only the first answer for 200 before moving to another category, but Keith Olberman foolishly elected to return at his first convenience, at which point Franken cleaned up the topic, including the first daily double (which, you'll be happy to learn, he made a true daily double), to enter the first commercial break at Franken - $2400, Gretchen - $200, and Keith - $400.

When I returned, they were going into Final Jeopardy and the scores were Franken - $8000, Gretchen - in the hole, and Keith - $7200, so that SNL plant was important.

The Final Jeopardy question was in the category "Americana": "Aaron Burr's daughter and son-in-law went here for their honeymoon, starting a long tradition". For some reason, Gretchen was still in the game with $1800, apparently because Jeopardy is no longer the unforgiving Coliseum of Intellectual Champions it used to be. All contestants got the right answer, Niagara Falls, although, as Franken helpfully pointed out, Keith spelled it like Viagra. Gretchen bet nothing, hoping for a three-way flame-out. Franken can do math, and bet enough to clinch the win assuming Keith got the answer right.

Regular reader and self proclaimed Jeopardy! freak, Shawn shares his opinions on the action:

Gretchen Carlson finished third, Olbermann second.

Al Franken might win the game, finishing with the most amount of money. Ended up with $15,201 which was more than even the esteemed Anderson Cooper did. But to a Jeopardy! fan, Franken is a big loser.

Jeopardy! has rules and decorum. Okay, it's a celebrity edition, they're playing with Monopoly money for charity, so who cares, right? When it's this egregious, I do.

Franken had to make an editorial comment after each and every question, or try to be funny. Why? The object of the game is to move through the answers and questions in a quick, orderly fashion. It could have been done, as it was throughout the week, without any of this pap that he had. Also, prior to the first commercial break, every time Franken gave a correct question, the audience, or a contingent in the audience, would applaud. There was no applause for correct answers from Olbermann or Ms. Carlson. Besides, applause after each question is verboten. The offenders must have been properly admonished at the break, as it did not continue. Or, perhaps, and this is how I like to think of it, the guilty were beaten and then forcibly removed from The Hall and tossed on their asses into the street.

Tomorrow is Russert, Whitman and Smiley. My money is on Russert.

The way Air America is going Franken might soon be appearing on the regular edition of the show. Bad checks don't pay the bills.