Jeopardy! recap for Tue., Dec. 20

 Please welcome today's contestants:

- Jason, a professor, remembers his former students and teaches their children; 

- Kim, a project manager, kept four women away from Madeleine Albright; and

- Ray, a scenic artist, works on "The Handmaid's Tale".  Ray is a three-day champ with winnings of $84,800.

Jeopardy! 

FROM THE PRESIDENT'S MEMOIRS // THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT // WHAT A STEAL! // SPORTS FRANCHISES; PREVIOUS HOMES // CONTRACTIONS // DR. SEUSS BAKING CHALLENGE

DD1 - $800 - FROM THE PRESIDENT'S MEMOIRS - "I ordered our men to open fire on the Spaniards in the trenches" (Ray added "just $1,000" to his score of $5,000.)

Scores at first break: Ray $4,200, Kim $1,200, Jason $1,000.

Scores going into DJ: Ray $6,000, Kim $4,400, Jason $800.

Double Jeopardy! 

MYTHOLOGY // SOUTH AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL // PLANET FEATURES // RECAST FOR TV // WORDS WITH GREEK LETTERS // "OO", SORRY

DD2 - $2,000 - MYTHOLOGY - Typhon, a monster with 100 heads, was the father of these 2 monsters; a 9-headed water snake & a 3-headed hellhound (Kim added $2,000 to her total of $6,000 vs. $8,800 for Ray.)

DD3 - $1,200 - PLANET FEATURES - Like the Sun, Jupiter is composed primarily of these 2 elements (Ray added $4,500 to his score of $14,800 vs. $14,400 for Kim and $10,400 for Jason.)

Ray appeared to be in serious trouble deep into DJ, but got rolling very late, scored on DD3 and held the advantage into FJ at $20,100 vs. $14,800 for Kim and $10,800 for Jason.

Final Jeopardy!

CLASSIC SONGS - The shouts of excited children at a 1946 holiday parade are said to have inspired this perennial favorite

Everyone was incorrect (Ray remembered it, but too late). Instead of trying for the Triple Stumper win, Jason decided to go big, which allowed Ray to hang on, dropping $9,600 to prevail with $10,500 for a four-day total of $95,300.

Final scores: Ray $10,500, Kim $9,800, Jason $800.

Odds and Ends

Triple Stumper of the day: No one knew the "4 1/2 year" president who "had never been able to establish a close relationship with Bobby Kennedy" was LBJ.

Ken's Korner: When Jason gave the name of just the character for a clue wanting the full title "How the Grinch Stole Christmas", Ken remained silent for a few moments. When Jason didn't follow up with the title, Ken said "No". This is a preferable approach to that of the previous game, when in a similar situation, Ken gave a drawn-out "Nnnnnnnn..." before ruling.

Correct Qs: DD1 - Who was Teddy Roosevelt? DD2 - What are Hydra and Cerberus? DD3 - What are Hydrogen and Helium? FJ - What is "Here Comes Santa Claus"?