[sterlingice]

Sorry, finally caught up with this on DVR last week and the board today.

I loved Ken's final answer- he really is the perfect Jeopardy champion. He's friendly and affable with just a little nerdiness and self-deprecation. He's definitely a geek but not really socially awkward- he really was a great find that helped the show out during his streak.

I only saw parts 2 and 3 as I forgot to DVR part 1. Part 2 was kindof frustrating to watch because Watson just destroyed Rutter and Jennings on buzzer speed. And you could tell it was purely on buzzer speed.

Part 3 was much more compelling as Ken just said "eff it, I'm buzzing in on everything so I beat the computer to the punch. I likely know the answer anyways". It led to some awkward moments where it took him the 5 seconds to answer just to process the question but he got it right almost all of the time so it was a smart gamble. I'm surprised Rutter didn't start doing the same but it seemed like he stayed more reserved. If Ken had been able to find one or both of the Daily Doubles in Double Jeopardy, he might have had a chance but when Watson found both, the comeback was over.

At the end of the day, it led me to believe that if given the same buzzer, the results would have been: Brad then Ken then Watson. The humans still knew more answers, it seemed. So, I think the final tally would be that Brad Rutter is the best Jeopardy player, Ken was the smartest player- think a coach that makes good halftime adjustments and has to settle for "Second Best Jeopardy Player in the World", and Watson had the quickest buzzer. That's not to say Watson wasn't smart- even if you have the fastest buzzer in the world, it doesn't help if you don't have the answers. But it had an unfair advantage that fundamentally altered the way the two best Jeopardy players in the world played the game.

SI