Reston Native Plays Jeopardy, Sadly Gets No Question About Landlocked HOAs

Yet another Restonian has taken the stage on Jeopardy, everyone's favorite teevee show of obscure trivia. Our favorite correspondent, The Peasant From Less Sought After South Reston, weighs in with a recap:

"Today's Jeopardy categories are: Planned Communities - Earth Tones - Charrettes - Cathy Hudgins - Massive Overdevelopment - Willie Reston East Metro"

Alas, no, nary a Reston-themed subject in the mix, but we are still hopeful that Reston's own Scott Simpson will prevail in tonight's Jeopardy. Scott, a Foreign Service officer who by definition must be well-rounded, is up against current champ Rich Blashka and fellow newcomer Kelly Lasiter.

In the first round, Scott gets off to a somewhat slow start but then comes roaring back a couple of minutes in as he knocks out a string of correct answers in categories as diverse as video games and Shakespeare. At the first commercial break his $4,000 puts him in the lead. When Alex Trebek interviews the contestants afterwards, he notes that Scott has served in some dangerous countries, and Scott lists among his overseas assignments Libya, Afghanistan, and Australia. No doubt the first two are indeed very hazardous; not sure about Oz, though, unless those 'roos have gone rogue. At the end of round one, Scott is in the lead with $6,200 to Kelly's $5,000 and Rich's $4,600.

Double Jeopardy features a Trebekian potpourri of categories from "Italian Composers" to "Cowboy Talk" and, ironically enough, "Oz". In the category "When Walls Fell", Scott does extremely well, making us think he has just taken himself out of the running for the job of Ambassador to Mexico (Build that wall, Scott! Not the exact opposite!). But since he also scores well in the category of Italian composers, maybe the job of cultural attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Rome is his for the asking. An incorrect daily double answer by champ Rich, combined with a correct answer by Scott on the other daily double, extends Scott's lead, and with only one category left, he pulls far ahead of his two competitors. At the end of the second round, Scott has $19,000, Kelly $11,400, and Rich $10,200. Scott's total is subsequently upped even more to $21,400 when the judges accept an answer previously marked against him.

The final Jeopardy category is "Landlocked Country Names", and given Scott's worldwide career, we figure it's Reston for the win. But it's a tricky question: "One in Europe and one in Africa, these two countries have the same two letters at the start and end with the same four letters." Only Kelly comes up with the correct answer of Switzerland and Swaziland, giving her a winning amount of $22,800. Scott ends up in second place with $19,999 and ex-champ Rich a distant last with $200.

Swaziswitzerland notwithstanding, we are proud of Scott for playing a very good game, even if there is no tickertape parade awaiting him on a victory lap through Reston Town Center in a RIBS bus.