After Jeopardy! had their full category blowout of Hammett clews in January, who knew what might happen?
Could that have been it, a swansong to send him off into the used-up clew pile by an exhausted clew crew?
Months began to trickle by, and then as I was watching one of the shows where Jeopardy! expands its empire, Hammett came back in swinging.
I’ve never had much interest in College Jeopardy! or Kid’s Jeopardy! or Math Nerd Jeopardy! or Sports Jeopardy! (well, no interest in math or sports, but it’s hard to see Hammett showing up, unless they have him betting on a big game, which he did).
Jeopardy! Masters, however, I’ll watch that one, see some of the champs of yesteryear return to the podiums.
On Friday May 17, 2024 — S2E7 of the Semifinals — the category was Book Noir.
The amount was $200. The puzzler:
“Chapter 2 of ‘The Maltese Falcon’ has a 100-word description of this man rolling a cigarette.”
Answer: “Who is Sam Spade?”
Of course.
As long as Jeopardy! has clews there’ll always be Sam Spade.
