User:DoctorWho42/Talia Lavin

Talia Lavin is a The New Yorker fact checker and American game show contestant who appeared on the syndicated game show Jeopardy! on September 16, 2015. While she did not ultimately win, Lavin's Final Jeopardy! answer "What is the love ballad of turd ferguson p.s. hi mom :)" achieved Internet fame for referencing the popular Saturday Night Live sketch Celebrity Jeopardy!

Jeopardy!
In mid-August, Lavin flew to Los Angeles for the episode taping. According to an interview with Fusion, Lavin was in the Sony Pictures studio from 8 AM to 2 PM although the actual taping lasted 25 minutes.

In September 16, 2015, the Jeopardy! episode featuring Lavin as a new contestant was broadcast. She competed against two opponents. Kevin Butterfield, a history professor at University of Oklahoma, was also another new contestant. The returning champion was Audrey Watkins-Fox, a mortgage coordinator.

First Round
During the first round, Salon reported Lavin made faces at her buzzer. During the commercial breaks, the talent handlers asked Lavin about the buzzer.

Second Round
Before the second round began, Trebek quipped "Two of the contestants figured out how to master the buzzer in our opening round."

Final Jeopardy
For the Final Jeopardy! round, the category was "Oscar-Nominated Songs". Host Alex Trebek read off the clue to the contestants:
 * "This song from a 1999 animated film about censorship had a word censored from its Oscar performance"

None of the contestants knew the answer. The correct response was "Blame Canada" from South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut. However, Lavin wrote with a light pen her answer on the lectern's electronic display wagering all $600 won so far:
 * "What is the love ballad of turd ferguson p.s. hi mom :)"

According to Fusion, Lavin's second choices were "Fuck tha Police" and "Suck it, Trebek". The decision to write "Turd Ferguson" as a joke lasted 30 seconds.

"Turd Ferguson" was a reference to the Saturday Night Live sketch Celebrity Jeopardy!. Celebrity Jeopardy! would parody the same-named special event wherein Will Ferrell would play host Alex Trebek. In Celebrity Jeopardy!, Burt Reynolds (played by Norm Macdonald) would insist on the name because "it's a funny name".

In the end, Lavin finished in third place with a total sum of $0. Butterfield received second place with $2,000. After the show, Trebek asked Lavin who "Turd Ferguson" was and later responded "Oh, I haven’t watched those sketches in a long time." Lavin received $1,000 as a consolation prize from Aleve.

Reaction
Lavin's Final Jeopardy! answer received several positive reviews, while some were critical of Lavin's buzzer technique.

The A.V. Club's William Hughes said Lavin "struggled with the buzzer throughout the game." The Atlantic's Megan Garber proclaimed "Talia Lavin made Jeopardy! history." CNN's Lisa Respers said "If there is a trolling hall of fame, Talia Lavin deserves to be inducted" and lamented "While she lost $600, taking her to a balance of zero, Lavin won the Internet's heart." The Daily Beast's Emily Shire said "Lavin broke the Internet--or at least made a sizable dent, especially by Jeopardy! standards. Not since IBM’s Watson computer handed human contestants’ asses to them on a silver platter had the 50-plus-year-old game show earned so much national attention."

The Daily Dot's Michelle Jaworski stated "Lavin [...] might not have won Jeopardy! last night, but she won over the Internet with a troll move that some people have been waiting to see for ages." Fusion' Molly Fitzpatrick said "Talia Lavin's uniquely dramatic buzzing style quickly became a subject of fascination on Twitter" but Lavin's answer "catapulted [her] to full-blown internet stardom." The Huffington Post's Bill Bradley said it was "the greatest Jeopardy! response ever." People's Julia Emmanuele called Lavin "our new hero."

Salon's Scott Eric Kaufman reviewed the episode stating "Talia Lavin spent the majority of the episode vigorously fiddling with her buzzer and providing hilariously off-kilter answers, including a 'Final Jeopardy!' question for the ages." Tulsa World called her answer "memorable." Uproxx's Ashley Burns said "It was truly, without a doubt, one of the finest moments in the history of this or any other game show, and Talia deserves every last second of her incoming internet fame." USA Today's Mary Bowerman said Lavin "may have pulled off the best practical joke of all time on Jeopardy!" and lamented "while she may not have won the game, she won the hearts of many on the Internet."

Personal life
Lavin was a Fulbright Fellow. In the past, she wrote for The Huffington Post and The Times of Israel. She currently works as a fact checker for The New Yorker.