Final Jeopardy: French History (11-9-11)
The Final Jeopardy question (11/9/2011) in the category “French History” was:
“I told my plans to no one. I was not killing a man, but a wild beast that was devouring the French people’.”
The contestants in the first semi-final match of the Jeopardy! tournament were: Erin McLean, Tom Nissley; and Justin Sausville. Justin and Erin, you may recall, both earned Wild Card spots, while Tom was the winner of the first quarter-final match ($16,403), but Justin actually had the highest money score ($18,599), so Justin got to choose first.
Tom got the Daily Double in the Jeopardy! round, in the category “Twins.” He was in second place at this point, and chose to bet it all. He could only come up with one of their names (and only because he knew the name of one grandmother) so it was back to square one, but not for long. He quickly got back in second place and stayed there.
These twins & recent First Daughters were named for their grandmothers. show
Justin finished first with $6,400; Tom had $4,400 and Erin had $1,000.
In Double Jeopardy, Tom got the first Daily Double in “Operatic Costumes”, which were being dramatically modeled by Alex Trebek. “It’s not my category,” Tom said. “But you want to see me in something, don’t you? — Something fitting,” Alex rejoined. Tom got it RIGHT with a lucky guess and picked up an extra $1,000.
The costume worn by this character may not seem to go with his title profession, but in this first scene, he sings “Largo al factotum” and explains that he is also the apothecary, the gardener and the wood-maker. show
Tom cleaned up in the “Before, During and After” category. Most impressive! He continued his strong play and got the last Daily Double (and last clue on the board) in “Mascots”. He only felt like risking $2,000 of his $24,200. Bingo! He got it RIGHT.
Haakon & Kristin, mascots of this city’s Olympics, were named for a Norwegian prince & princess. show
Tom finished in the lead with $26,200; Justin was next with $10,400; and Erin was last with $5,400. Based on Tom’s $3 bet in his initial game, we’d bet he makes a really small Final Jeopardy wager if he bets anything at all.
All the contestants were smiling as the camera passed over them, but only TWO got Final Jeopardy right.
WHO IS CHARLOTTE CORDAY?
Yes, it was 23-year-old Charlotte who did in Jacobin leader Jean-Paul Marat in his bathtub on July 13, 1793. Marie-Anne Charlotte de Corday d’Armont wasn’t exactly lionized for the deed. Four days later, she lost her head to the guillotine and thus, did not make it to her 24th birthday on July 27th. Marat had already celebrated his 50th birthday in May. Charlotte did come to be thought of as a heroine posthumously and was even nicknamed “The Angel of Assassination.”
Erin bet $5,398, but wrote down “Joan of Arc,” so she ended up with $2.
Justin bet everything but a dollar, so he ended with $20,799.
Tom bet more than we thought: $1,001. He finished with $27,201.
Stellar game, Tom. He comes back in the finals to vie for $250,000.
