I’m continuing to post my outfit recaps both here and on Twitter — I’ve enjoyed posting here because I can be a bit more wordy! I’m also including a few fun behind-the-scenes questions I asked some of the semifinalists.
Mattea Roach
This was one of my favorite Mattea outfits during their original run! I really like the windowpane pattern of this blazer, it’s very subtle but professional and a nice contrast with the white mockneck top. As always, the glasses and Scorpio earrings round out the ensemble.
Eric Ahasic
Wow, green is a fantastic color on Eric!! He has not worn this sweater on the show before and I *might* have gasped when I saw the preview of this outfit. He’s even wearing a tie under this sweater!
When I asked Eric how he decided on his outfit for semifinals, he gave me some unexpected behind-the-scenes tidbits.
You'll love this one - I originally wore my blue sweater with the white speckles, & even decided to include my blue tie with it. I figured I should have at least one shot of me with a tie up there. When I got downstairs, Tyler was wearing almost the exact same thing, so we were joking that wardrobe would make one of us change. Once we got to the studio, there was a guy running wardrobe who I hadn't met before and HE REJECTED MY SWEATER!! He asked if I had worn it on the show before & I was like "uh yeah, twice (and everyone loved it!)". So I had to change into a green sweater I brought as a backup.
Andrew He
Very nice look from Andrew - he wore this blazer in his very first Jeopardy game with a black tie. Tonight he has paired it with an ice blue tie and even added a pocket square! Fantastic unique color combo.
A few days ago, I asked Andrew about his outfit selection process, before seeing this episode, and he said he had such a tough time deciding what to wear he actually couldn’t remember which outfit he had eventually settled on! But this was the outfit he was “pretty confident” he had worn, so his memory must be better than he thinks. He said he chose the burgundy jacket from his first episode “for good luck” and it seems to have worked for him!
Ken Jennings
I like when Ken’s ties have identifiable shapes because it helps me keep them straight in my records! This one has repeating paisley-ish shapes on a maroon background. I think this is the second time he has worn it this season.
Q&A with the Semifinalists
I caught up with Eric & Andrew to ask a few questions about how they had spent the evening & morning between quarterfinal and semifinal taping.
How did you spend the rest of your day after your quarterfinal win?
Eric: I went right to the audience after my win, & I was really looking forward to watching the last quarterfinal and especially the Amy/Matt/Mattea exhibition. The exhibition was such a joy to watch & all three of them looked like they were having the absolute greatest time on stage.
We didn't get out of the studio & back to the hotel until probably around 8. A bunch of us went out to a restaurant that night & it was great being able to just hang out & not think about the tournament, even though a couple of us semifinalists were there & obviously still playing.
Yeah I didn't sleep at all that night - maybe an hour or two but that was it. It wasn't nerves but more like the night before a trip you're super excited for. I was just reliving my quarterfinal game & the experience from the entire taping day. (Oh yeah, the crows nesting in the Culver Hotel sign that started cawing at 4 AM didn't help either!)
The excitement about getting to play Jeopardy again had me all ready to go that morning, despite the lack of sleep.
Andrew: I watched all of the non-exhibition tapings from the Wheel of Fortune studio. We were given the option to join our guests in the Jeopardy! studio audience, but it was a pretty easy call for me to hang back with the contestants-only gallery. On some level, my brain registered that Tuesday was perhaps the last day this whole group would be in the same room together, so I felt an emotional pull to stick around there. Aside from that, how often would anyone get to play couch Jeopardy! (out loud! wrong answers only! starring Sam Buttrey!) with this kind of crew? I've honestly been nostalgic about it for weeks now.
I had a nice dinner with quite a few ToC people that night, maybe around 20 of us including guests, at Father's Office in Culver City. I can't recall what I ordered (this will be a theme) but I do remember eating shoestring fries off of Brian's order. Post-dinner, there was a bit of FOMO since lots of folks kept the night going at the rooftop bar of another hotel, but I knew I had good reason to rest up. No flashcards or anything, though I definitely fell asleep listening to my "flashcard studying" playlist.
Andrew mentioned his FOMO on the late night rooftop hangout… I was there! Part of the impetus for these interviews was that when everyone was hanging out I realized the semifinalists still had Jeopardy! to play and wondered how they were spending that evening.
When did you find out who you would be playing against in the semis, and what was your reaction? Was there anyone you were/were not hoping for?
Eric: We didn't know until right before the next match started, just like with a normal game. I was in the third semi final so obviously I knew who I was playing right after they announced the second game. It was kind of cool to just have the three of us left on the Wheel of Fortune stage watching the second semifinal, we were still just hanging out and keeping it light even though we had to go head to head in half an hour.
I didn't have a preference either way on who I might play. Obviously I knew it was going to be a battle with Amy/Matt/Mattea, as well as the 5 other semifinalists - all of whom had won impressive games the day before.
Andrew: So on Tuesday (quarterfinals tape day), immediately after winning my game, I was something like 90% certain I'd be matched up against Amy in the semis. I figured The Powers That Be might want to cash in a rematch while they still had the chance, but I got less sure as I talked to other contestants who were sharing their own bracket predictions over lunch. And then I talked myself back into it, since all the other possible rematches had fallen off the table! All in all, I was very much visualizing playing Amy the next day.
My reaction upon hearing I'd have to face Mattea and Eric was... mostly unchanged? I'd already steeled myself for a tough one and each of the seeded champions made me nervous in slightly different ways. With Mattea specifically, I was concerned about category randomness. The two of us are mostly unaligned in our strong and weak subjects; a bad board for me would likely be a good one for them, and vice versa. So I just needed to make a mental note, something like "don't auto-concede anything if stuff like FILMS OF THE GOLDEN AGE or A MUSICAL JOURNEY WITH QUESTLOVE pops up". This was also my worry going up against Jonathan, and I'd say our QF board was a bit more favorable for him! As for Eric, the tape says all you need to know. I felt we'd be a classic mirror matchup with the outcome super contingent on finding and converting Daily Doubles.
What did you have for breakfast on the day of semifinal taping?
Eric: Oatmeal, Trader Joe's iced coffee, & a couple bananas. It's a long day at the studio & you'll crash if you don't eat, so I'd always bring a couple extra bananas & trail mix to eat during breaks.
Andrew: I normally never eat breakfast, but this particular day called for a banana.