2025-2026 Second Chance competition week 2, final game 1.
Guy Branum — a writer and comedian from West Hollywood, California
Michelle Tsai — a tutor originally from Honolulu, Hawaii
Melanie Hirsch — an attorney from Silver Spring, Maryland
| Player | First Commercial | End of Jeopardy! | End of Double Jeopardy! | Final | Coryat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Melanie | $5,400 | $5,600 | $6,000 | $12,000 |
$5,600
13 R (including 1 DD), 4 W |
| Michelle | $2,000 | $4,800 | $24,600 | $19,200 |
$18,000
18 R (including 2 DDs), 1 W |
| Guy! | $4,200 | $6,000 | $8,000 | $16,000 |
$8,000
22 R, 3 W |
| HISTORY ON TV | ON THE BOOKSHELF | FAST FOOD | GIVE ME A RING | THE MOVIES | HOMONYMBLY YOURS |
|
$200
[24]
On Nov. 24, 1963 in Dallas, Jack Ruby shot this man dead on live television
Oswald
Guy!
|
$200
[30]
This French author's many adventure tales include "From the Earth to the Moon" & "In Search of the Castaways"
(Jules) Verne
Guy!
|
$200
[29]
This restaurant makes the impossible possible with its plant-based Impossible Whopper, which you can have your way, of course
Burger King
Guy!
|
$200
[28]
Idiomatically, before you threw in the towel when you quit, you threw this object "in the ring" when you entered the contest
your hat
Guy!
|
$200
[22]
Liam Neesonplays Frank Drebin Jr., son of Leslie Nielsen's character, in the 2025 version of this film
The Naked Gun
Guy!
|
$200
[21]
As a verb it means to grow weary; as a noun, it refers to a part of your car
tire
Melanie
|
|
$400
[23]
America learned of this disaster from Al Michaels & Tim McCarver, covering the World Series at Candlestick Park in 1989
the (Loma Prieta) earthquake
|
$400
[26]
This man's ghost shows up in "A Christmas Carol" to warn his ex-partner about the error of his ways
Marley
Guy!
|
$400
[25]
In 1980 this fast food chain literally blew up its clown mascot, who'd be replaced by a guy with a giant ping-pong ball head
Jack in the Box
Michelle
|
$400
[27]
I went down, down, down to this seismic belt in the Pacific; it's 25,000 miles of volcanoes & such
the Ring of Fire
Michelle
|
$400
[20]
Inthisfilm & its sequel, Emily Blunt plays a mom who keeps her kids safe while not having a whole lot to say aloud
A Quiet Place
Michelle
|
$400
[19]
As a noun it's a breed of cold-weather pooch; as an adjective, it can refer to one's burly physique
husky
Guy!
|
|
$600
[5]
With the world watching, these two countries put on a rare united front walking under a singleflagat the 2000 Olympics
North & South Korea
Guy!
|
$800
[1]
This 1949 novel features a daily rally called the "Two Minutes Hate", in which Party members vent anger at their enemies
1984
Guy!
|
$600
[7]
If you're craving Mexican food, try this spot's Cravings Value Menu, replete with offerings like Cheesy Fiesta Potatoes
Taco Bell
Michelle
|
$600
[11]
E-ring is the only one with exterior views in this building that has 6 ZIP codes of its own
the Pentagon
Michelle
|
$600
[15]
Rolling Stone named this Spike Lee film in which he played Mookie the greatest movie of the 1980s
Do the Right Thing
Melanie
|
$600
[16]
A great result after a horseshoe throw, it can also refer to someone sneakily brought into a game who's way better than most
a ringer
Michelle
|
|
$800
[2]
Some thought TV under-covered the USA's "longest war", but cameras caught the final departure in 2021 from this capital's airport
Kabul
Melanie
Michelle
|
DD
$1,000
[4]
Anthony Swofford's experiences in the First Gulf War led to his memoir called this, also the nickname of a Marine
Jarhead
Melanie
|
$800
[8]
There's treasure to be had for you & your parrot at this dining spot, including the fish & shrimp platter with hush puppies
Long John Silver's
Melanie
|
$800
[10]
A series of concentric dark & brightcirclesmade by the interference of light are rings named for this 17th century British scientist
Newton
Melanie
|
$800
[13]
Unlike in the novel, James Caan's character Paul Sheldon gets to keep both of his hobbled feet in this film
Misery
Guy!
|
$800
[17]
In one sense, it means to squander; in another, it's a deep-fried corn treat familiar to Southern cuisine
a fritter (to fritter)
|
|
$1,000
[6]
Millions learned what sexual harassment is from the 1991 hearings when this woman accused Clarence Thomas of it
(Anita) Hill
Guy!
|
$1,000
[3]
In this Alice Sebold novel, a murder victim keeps watch over her family, her killer & the detective trying to solve the case
The Lovely Bones
Melanie
|
$1,000
[9]
The queso guacamole chicken burrito is just part of the "insanity" at this restaurant with a Spanish name
El Pollo Loco
Melanie
|
$1,000
[12]
Wagner finished hitting for the "Ring" cycle with this opera in which Valhalla burns
Twilight of the Gods ( Götterdämmerung )
Melanie
|
$1,000
[14]
Dustin Hoffman played the roles of Michael Dorsey & Dorothy Michaels in this film, but only got one Oscar nomination for it
Tootsie
Guy!
|
$1,000
[18]
It can refer to cutting something into 2 parts, say with an axe, or to cling together
cleave
Michelle
|
| PEOPLE & PLACES | THE KAISER'S COLLEGE OF MUSICAL KNOWLEDGE | SCIENCE & NATURE | PLAYING THE NUMBERS | COMEDIANS ON TV | TOUGH 8-LETTER WORDS |
|
$400
[23]
After European, New Zealand's largest ethnic group at 17% of the population is this indigenous people
the Maori
Melanie
|
$400
[30]
Dedicated to Wilhelm I, Brahms' "Triumphlied" from 1872 celebrates the German victory over this nation
France
Guy!
|
$400
[29]
Argon-40 is an example of this, one form of a chemical element
an isotope
Guy!
|
$400
[28]
"Four score & seven years ago" is this many years ago, which would have been a much less memorable way of putting it
87
Guy!
|
$400
[19]
Both featuring standups, "EHC" is "Everybody Hates Chris" & "ELR" is this sitcom that ran for 9 seasons
Everybody Loves Raymond
Guy!
|
$400
[25]
Not the cherubim, but this other order of angels that guards God's throne has a name related to Hebrew for "to burn"
seraphim
Melanie
|
|
$800
[22]
A sabra is a native of this country
Israel
Michelle
|
$800
[27]
John Philip Sousa said Wilhelm II's favorite march was this Sousa one whose Latin title is the Marine Corps' motto
"Semper Fidelis"
Michelle
|
$800
[11]
The first part of this organ in humans is called the duodenum
the small intestine
Guy!
|
$800
[26]
This...! Is...! Your score in a perfect game of 10-pin bowling!
300
Guy!
|
$800
[18]
Hebrought a certain glow to his role as wrestling show director Sam Sylvia
(Marc) Maron
Guy!
|
$800
[24]
Sometimes, you pour wine into one of these vessels to help deal with the sediment inside
a decanter
Melanie
|
|
$1,600
[21]
Tenzing Norgay, a member of this mountain-dwelling group, was right there on Everest's peak with Hillary
Sherpas
Melanie
|
$1,200
[6]
Near where the Main & the Rhine combine is this city where Wilhelm I enjoyed "Don Giovanni" to open a newopera housein 1880
Frankfurt (on the Main)
Melanie
|
$1,200
[3]
This bloodsucker is also known as the tik-tik fly
the tsetse (fly)
Michelle
|
$1,200
[4]
Counting up from 1, it's the first prime number made up of consecutive digits
23
Michelle
|
$1,200
[17]
He closed the show on the "Kings of Comedy" tour before getting his own sitcom as a sometimes abrasive uncle
Bernie Mac
Guy!
|
$1,200
[15]
As an adjective it can mean not concrete or specific; as a noun, it's a summary of a technical article
abstract
Guy!
|
|
$2,000
[20]
The John Randle Centre, a lively & colorful museum in Lagos, celebrates the history & culture of this people
the Yoruba
Guy!
|
$1,600
[7]
His "Kaiser-Walzer", or "Emperor Waltz", celebrates the amity between 2 kaisers, Wilhelm II & Franz Joseph
(Johann) Strauss II
Melanie
Michelle
|
$1,600
[1]
The song of this bird, a symbol of North Dakota, goes"chup" & "weet"
the Western meadowlark
Michelle
|
$2,000
[10]
In newspaper production-speak, this number was used to indicate the end of an article
30
|
$1,600
[16]
Her Netflix special "I'm Every Woman" helped lead to a streaming sitcom from Chuck Lorre Productions
Leanne Morgan
Guy!
|
$1,600
[14]
This synonym for a bog also refers to any situation you find it hard to extricate yourself from
quagmire
Michelle
|
|
DD
$3,000
[9]
Outside of India Canada has one of the largest populations of followers of this religion founded by Guru Nanak
Sikhism
Michelle
|
$2,000
[8]
In 1896 Wilhelm II sent this newish orchestra of his capital city to Russia for the coronation of Nicholas II
Berlin Philharmonic
Michelle
Guy!
|
$2,000
[2]
It's the last phase of both mitosis & meiosis
telophase
Guy!
|
DD
$6,400
[5]
"A readjustment of the frontiers of Italy" was 9th on a list totaling this number of proposals in 1918
14
Michelle
|
$2,000
[12]
Louie Andersonwon an Emmy for playing Christine, the patient mom of Chip & Dale, on this show
Baskets
Melanie
Michelle
|
$2,000
[13]
"F" is for this type of person prone to weaving amazing tales for an audience, or he could just be a liar
a fabulist
Melanie
|
In this work, "the boys and girls would venture to come and play at hide-and-seek in my hair"
Gulliver's Travels