Adam Takes the Stage

For anyone who follows Jeopardy—and there are plenty who do—you will already know that there is a potential long-term champion occupying the Alex Trebek Stage at Sony Pictures Studio, Adam Remsen.

Adam has survived 9 days of competition, some runaways, some down to Final. He has accumulated $192,805 in money and has the look and the making of a long-haul champion.

Adam is a lawyer and a theater producer from Memphis, Tennessee, who, to me, bears an uncanny resemblance to Donald Rumsfeld, the former Secretary of Defense and originator of the best philosophical twist of logic involving knowns and unknowns.

Adam has admitted to Ken Jennings he has never missed watching an episode of Jeopardy for 15 years! Talk about training and waiting for a call to the big leagues.

Like anyone who gets to keep the position at the first podium, Adam has answered some clues that leave me shaking my head, Who the hell could know that? He starts off slow, sometimes in the red, but buzzes in so fast he gets on a roll, that by the break he is spading dirt and burying the opponents. Few seem to even be in his league. A few Daily Doubles here and there, but never outright gambles, sweeten his pot. But he misses as well, but sustains no significant damage.

Jeopardy clue writers love burying anything in a twisted clue involving opera, astronomy, the Bible, or Greek mythology. If ever I needed to study for an appearance (never happening) I would try and bone up on those categories.

I always see if I know the answer to the daily Final clue that the NYT puts in its Arts Section. The clue for yesterday's match went:

OPERA CHARACTERS

Her aria "un del di vendremo" says "one fine day we will see...a strand of smoke over the far horizon...& then the ship appears"

The middle contestant was not around for Final Jeopardy due to finishing in the red. She was flanked by two high-powdered buzzer beaters with the right answers.. The remaining contestant, Wayne Kobylinski, has $12,200 to Adam's $24,000, Not a runaway for Adam. 

I'm sure in simulated games the potential contestants play they are schooled in the tactic of expecting their opponent(s) to wager double their score anticipating that the leader will trip on the Final clue and go down. The doubling contestant will then, if correct, have more money than the leader's final score.

Thus, Adam bets $1,401 to Wayne's all in $12,200. Even if Wayne is correct, his total won't exceed Adam's if Adam also gets it right. And Adam's right answer will add enough money to beat Wayne's final score by a dollar. In chess there is the Queen's Gambit. This one needs a name of some kind. The "Alex Gambit?"

Wayne blanks out and rushes an answer, "Aida" that he's sure is wrong. It is.

Theater impresario Adam answers "Cio-Cio-San" Correct, Adam is now a 9-day champion.

Jennings smile warmly and tells the audience it's from Madame Butterfly.

Piece of cake for the theater guy. He even spells it correctly.

Oscar Hammerstein II being brought up by his operatic father, turned Madam Butterfly into "South Pacific."

Adam's game has the distinction of finishing with 11 Triple Stumpers. I always wonder if the writers of the clues get a bonus if they craft an unanswerable clue. Some of them are really out there.

Okay, double digit streak for Adam? He's already earned a seat in the Tournament of Champions by virtue of the 5th win.

I have no data on this, but I suspect the streaks between 10 and 20 get busted often. Ten is like making full Colonel, but never making Brigadier General.

Today's clue? Another well worn category, Astronomy, hidden under the category "Partnerships."

After measuring the transit of Venue in 1761, this pair of astronomers was recommended by the Royal Society for a job in America.

You've got that one on the tip of your tongue, right? Everyone can name two astronomers who came to America and formed a partnership. Yeah, sure. Another reason I'll never be a contestant.

Probably not you either.

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