Fifteen of the most memorable recent Jeopardy! champions are returning for the latest edition of the Tournament of Champions, airing November 4-15. The big favorite is of course James Holzhauer, holder of many a Jeopardy! record. Based on their performances in their initial appearances, here is my ranking of who is most likely to emerge victorious. My analysis is based on a mix of playing style, average win total, and gut feeling. Quite frankly, everyone after James is pretty tightly packed.
(I have not included five-game winner Steven Grade in the rankings, because I know him personally, but I will say that I know he has spent plenty of time studying.)
1. James Holzhauer (32 Wins) – It’s not impossible to beat James, but it is improbable, even more so in a tournament format.
2. Josh Hill (7 Wins) – Josh has a tendency to look down before he selects a clue, which makes me think he has a sneaky secret about how strong his chances are.
3. Emma Boettcher (3 Wins) – The James Dethroner has the lowest win total of anyone in the tournament, but the second-highest average per-game earnings.
4. Francois Barcomb (Teachers Tournament Champion) – One of the better recent Teachers Tournament winners.
5. Ryan Fenster (7 Wins) – Hopefully he knows at least one thing about football now.
6. Eric R. Backes (4 Wins) – The four-time curse was very much a real thing, because I believe Eric had the goods to keep going even longer.
7. Anneke Garcia (4 Wins) – The four-time curse was very much a real thing, becauseI believe Anneke had the goods to keep going even longer.
8. Lindsey Shultz (4 Wins) – The four-time curse was very much a real thing, because I believe Lindsey had the goods to keep going even longer.
9. Alan Dunn (5 Wins) – Easily the winner of the best facial hair of this field.
10. Kyle Jones (7 Wins) – Kyle kind of looks like Kirstin Cutts, a four-time winner back in 2017.
11. Rob Worman (6 Wins) – Probably the champion I remember least of this field, so maybe he’ll surprise me!
12. Gilbert Collins (5 Wins) – Does his promise to give his kids 1% of his winnings still apply now that he’s in the ToC?
13. Rachel Lindgren (5 Wins) – She was a solid five-game winner, but an average of less than $20,000 per win gives me a little pause about her chances.
14. Dhruv Gaur (College Tournament Champion) – The college winner always looks strong compared to the other college players, but the step up to the big leagues is a tough one.
Every week, I list all the upcoming (or recently released) movies, TV shows, albums, podcasts, etc. that I believe are worth checking out.
Movies
–Harriet (Theatrically Nationwide) – Recommended to history teachers.
–Motherless Brooklyn (Theatrically Nationwide)
TV
–His Dark Materials Series Premiere (November 4 on HBO) – I might give this fantasy series a shot.
–The End of the F—ing World Season 2 (November 4 on Netflix) – I still have to finish Season 1, though!
–The Little Mermaid Live! (November 4 on ABC)
–CONAN Without Borders: Ghana (November 7 on TBS)
Music
-Cold War Kids, New Age Norms 1
-Jeff Lynne’s ELO, From Out of Nowhere
After a short one-week break (presumably so that the cast could catch up on their sleep), SNL is back with a new Season 45 episode, with Chance the Rapper pulling double duty. He’s hosted before, been musical guest before, but never both at the same time … until now! I don’t know exactly what he’s promoting right now, but he seems like the type of person who releases new music often enough that he’s always promoting something. And they seem to like him at SNL enough that he can stop by whenever he wants to. To give you a sense of where I was at while watching, I made myself pancakes. You might notice that I eat pancakes frequently on the weekends.
For the cold open, Alec Baldwin showed up as Trump again. I wish I could muster more enthusiasm. “Deep State lizard conspiracy” made me laugh, and I enjoyed Fred Armisen’s very silly Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Trump Rally (Grade: More Turkey Puns, Please) Chance the Rapper inserted plenty of rhythm into his Monologue (Grade: 4/5 Second Places) by debuting a little rap (alongside Kyle Mooney) about the second bests of various attractions, as inspired by his hometown of Chicago, the “Second City.” At first blush, this feels like it deserves a place in the Monologue Song Pantheon.
Every week, I list all the upcoming (or recently released) movies, TV shows, albums, podcasts, etc. that I believe are worth checking out.
Movies
–Countdown (Theatrically Nationwide) – Gotta have some new horror every Halloween.
–Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound (Limited Theatrically) – A documentary I enjoyed very much when I saw it at Tribeca.
TV
–The David S. Pumpkins Halloween Special – A holiday tradition!
–BoJack Horseman Season 6 Part 1 (October 25 on Netflix)
–Silicon Valley Season 6 Premiere (October 27 on HBO)
Music
-Grace Potter, Daylight -Kanye West, Jesus is King – This was supposed to come out a month ago. Who can say for sure?!
Every week, I list all the upcoming (or recently released) movies, TV shows, albums, podcasts, etc. that I believe are worth checking out.
Movies
–Greener Grass (Limited Theatrically) – Sounds pretty nuts.
–Jojo Rabbit (Limited Theatrically) – Big Oscar contender?
–Zombieland: Double Tap (Theatrically Nationwide)
TV
–Living with Yourself Season 1 (October 18 on Netflix) – Double the Rudd!
–Modern Love Season 1 (October 18 on Amazon Prime)
–The Simpsons, “Treehouse of Horror XXX”
–Watchmen Series Premiere (October 20 on HBO) – Courtesy of creator Damon Lindelof!
Oh wow, we’ve already reached the third episode of this season of Saturday Night Live. Mr. Host is David Harbour, one of the stars of Netflix hit series Stranger Things, Season 3 of which arrived way back on July 4. But I hope that some people are still making their way through it because TV is so much better when you spread it out. Musical guest is Camila Cabello, who is tall enough to ride this ride. I was attending a wedding as this episode was actually airing, which means I was up way past my bedtime. The matrimonial celebrating was quite intense, but it didn’t rob me of my ability to laugh.
Every week, I list all the upcoming (or recently released) movies, TV shows, albums, podcasts, etc. that I believe are worth checking out.
Movies
–The Addams Family (Theatrically Nationwide) – Probably no MC Hammer, though.
–Jexi (Theatrically Nationwide) – Rose Byrne has made me laugh in the past.
–Parasite (Limited Theatrically)
TV
–Arrow Season 8 Premiere (October 15 on The CW) – Final season alert!
For episode number dos of Season 45, we’ve got host Phoebe Waller-Bridge, who’s here to promote the fact that she’s a funny person, and musical guest Taylor Swift, who’s here to promote the news that she would like to have a long, decades-spanning career, thank you very much. I watched a couple of episodes of Fleabag this week, because it just felt right. Let’s get into the sketches!
For the cold opening, I made myself a plate of pancakes. I was finished with them before the end of the monologue! Anyway, as is so often the case, the opening sketch took place in Washington D.C., that kooky town. It’s in the Office of the Vice President (Grade: 2.5/5 Cabinet Members), and I guess the headline is that Matthew Broderick stopped by to play Mike Pompeo, but I’m most intrigued to know that Ben Carson is still employed by the White House. Then as promised, Phoebe Waller-Bridge strutted on stage to recite her Monologue (Grade: 3/5 Psychopaths), and it’s one of those “a lot of of you probably don’t know me, so here’s who I am” monologues, but based on the level of applause she received, I think a lot of people do know her. And on we go to the first of several recurring bits this episode that very, very closely repeat their original formula. Goofy game show What’s Wrong With This Picture (Grade: Infinity IGetTheJokes!) starts ridiculous, and remains ridiculous, then keeps being ridiculous! Sidenote: Kenan’s host character name, Elliott Pants, sounds like something that would have been right at home on All That.
Every week, I list all the upcoming (or recently released) movies, TV shows, albums, podcasts, etc. that I believe are worth checking out.
Movies
–Joker (Theatrically Nationwide) – Worth checking out to have your own reaction.
–Lucy in the Sky (Limited Theatrically) – Lucy! I’m home, in space!
–Pain and Glory (Limited Theatrically)
TV
–Big Mouth Season 3 (October 4 on Netflix)
–Mr. Robot Season 4 Premiere (October 6 on USA) – The final season unfolds over Christmas.
–Riverdale Season 4 Premiere (October 9 on The CW)
–Nancy Drew Series Premiere (October 9 on The CW)
This is my tenth season reviewing SNL episodes, and it feels like a good time to mix up the format. So that’s what I’m doing for Season 45! Here’s how it will work: I’ll provide my thoughts on all the sketches, while also kind of painting the story of me watching the show.
We kick off Season 45 with a couple of new featured cast members (it was almost three, but getting into that is a whole ‘nother thing), Mr. Woody Harrelson hosting for the fourth time, and young’un Billie Eilish making her musical guest debut. I ran a 10-mile race early on Sunday, so this was one of those times where I went to sleep early on Saturday, watched a couple of sketches early in the morning, and then caught the rest after my race. It’s actually a formula for plenty of laughs!
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