Game Show Board Games: Family Feud

With Thanksgiving around the corner, it seems appropriate to pull out a game that has been something of a family tradition for quite some time. In fact, this is arguably the start of my game show board game collection right here.
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Game Show Board Games: Card Sharks

Card Sharks is one of those shows that's due for a proper revival. It's now been 13 years since the most recent version was on the air (which, itself, is about how long it had been between the most recent version and the one that came before it). This version of the board game is dubbed the 25th anniversary version, despite coming out just a touch early (in 2002. The show premiered in 1978). It's actually a bit unusual among game show board games in my collection, in that it was sold without any version of the show currently on the air.
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Jeopardy! Turns 50

Yesterday came and went without much fanfare, but Jeopardy! reached a milestone. Fifty years have passed since the airing of the first episode.

Now, if you've been watching the current version with Alex Trebek recently, you might think I've made a bit of a typo. The Trebek version has been celebrating the show's thirtieth anniversary this year. But that's just the amount of time that's passed for the current version. Before Trebek took the reigns of America's preeminent quiz show, the show had a previous life — several lives, actually — starring Art Fleming.

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Game Show Board Games: Password

Dating back to 1961, Password is probably the game show with the deepest roots to have a version aired within the past decade. The first board game version came out in 1962, followed by many, many editions over the years to come. I won't swear that my version is a "first" edition, although it does have the 1962 copyright and does not indicate a later edition as many later editions did.
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Game Show Board Games: TV Scrabble

As the show itself regularly announced, "it's the crossword game you've played all your life, but never quite like this!" Scrabble has certainly not been the only game show to spin out of a popular pre-existing board game, but I daresay that it was one of the more successful, lasting for nearly six years in its original run (and earning a second run a few years later that admittedly only lasted a few months). Oddly enough, the game was changed so significantly from the original Scrabble that a separately-sold "TV" version was pretty much a necessity if one was to try to play this version at home. Just having a regular Scrabble set just wouldn't cut it.
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Game Show Board Games: Match Game (1974 2nd edition)

"Get ready to match the stars!"

NBC did a version of The Match Game in the 1960's, but that's not the version that anyone remembers. The iconic version of Match Game is the version that started on CBS in 1973 (with the year proudly displayed after the name—Match Game '73—and changing each year as appropriate until the daytime network version was cancelled), which itself spawned a pair of successful syndicated versions (Match Game PM and The Match Game, the latter of which continued on for some time after the daytime version's end). Similarly, there were several home game versions of the NBC game, but I've neither seen any of those nor cared enough to spend much time searching for them. It's the iconic '70s version that I made the effort to add to my collection.
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Game Show Board Games: The New Tic-Tac-Dough (70s version)

Last week, I featured the 1950's version of the Tic-Tac-Dough board game.  This week, I'm discussing the 1970's version, which like the original version, seems to have come out roughly around the time of the show's premiere (1978, in this case, although the copyright actually says 1977 for some reason). The game play of the new show was rather similar to the original version, although they changed pretty quickly from shuffling only after both contestants had been asked a question to shuffling after each question. Also, center-box questions on the show became routinely two-part questions, as opposed to merely "more difficult" than other questions (although like the original, extra time was allowed for the contestant to consider a response).
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Game Show Board Games: Tic-Tac-Dough (1950s version)

I've featured a few game show board games on this blog in the past, and it's high time I got back to doing a few more. This time, I'm going to feature the oldest such game in my collection: a 1956 or 57 (my sources differ on the year) edition of the game created for the original Tic-Tac-Dough. Jack Barry (later known to my generation as the host of The Joker's Wild before his death in 1984) is featured on the cover, and was indeed the original host of Tic-Tac-Dough. But since Barry was only host of the show for a few months in 1956, it seems reasonably likely that he had already moved on by the time this game would have been available.
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Reflections on Survivor - Why I Still Watch After a Decade

I don't watch Survivor as much as I used to. Back during the second season (I didn't see any of the first), Survivor was appointment television, and I joined a group of my friends around the television set every week to watch, and to talk about what we all thought would happen next week.

(Spoiler alert for the final episode of the season follows! You have been warned!)
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Game Show Board Games: The $25,000 Pyramid

On the comparatively rare occasions when I am with a group of friends playing board games at their house, it seems that Taboo is almost always requested.  I usually am pretty happy to join in, because I know the truth: Taboo is pretty much the same game as one of my favorite game shows, which in the 1980's I knew as The $25,000 Pyramid!

Yes, Taboo adds the wrinkle of not being able to say certain obvious words, rendering it a bit more difficult, but Pyramid was popularizing the idea of trying to get your teammate to say the correct word or phrase based on definitions you give them for a good decade-and-a-half by the time Taboo (and the later, similar game, Catch Phrase) had begun to be marketed to the public.

Pyramid captures the gameplay of the game show quite nicely (although it's rather difficult to have teammates trade off in the middle of a round, given the fact that all clues for that round are visible on the side of board available to the players giving them), if perhaps it doesn't capture the snazzy feel of the set with the rotating trilons anything near as well.  Instead of a digital timer, you are given an hourglass with bright pink sand in it (a fairly common element in board games with a timed element).  The hourglass is remarkably well-calibrated to the expected 30-second time limit required for the regular game.  Unfortunately, only one hourglass is provided, requiring someone to flip it over in the middle of the 60-second "Winner's Circle," which is more than a little unfortunate.  As anyone who's watched the show can attest, this round can be quite intense, and one really can't expect the players to be paying attention to the clock when they're trying to win the round!

The producers of the game were wise enough to realize that gameplay for the daytime $25,000 Pyramid and the nighttime $100,000 Pyramid is more or less identical, and thus advertise that you can play either version you want on the sides of the box and in the rules.  Unfortunately, they also decided to cram both numbers at the top of the paper pyramid board provided, which further detracts from the visual feel of the game, with the top prize proudly (and singularly!) on display at the top.

Still, these are minor quibbles.  The game plays like a Pyramid game should, and that's what really matters.  If you're able to pick up a version of this game, I highly recommend it, and would especially suggest pulling it out for your next party (perhaps using a stopwatch rather than that hourglass, though)!

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Weekly Twittercast: "You Bet Your Life"

Game shows have been a part of American culture for a rather long time.  Thanks to the fact that so many older programs, especially those made for radio before the 1970's, have fallen into the Public Domain, it is relatively easy to enjoy some of these pieces of game show history even today.

You Bet Your Life was a game show that was more about the "show" than the "game" part.  Premiering on radio in 1947, and eventually being broadcast on both radio and television in 1950 (indeed, the very same episodes aired in both media, thanks to the simple format), the show starred movie legend Groucho Marx.  Groucho had a skill for improvisation that was unmatched, and many of the Marx brothers most famous comedies were largely ad-libbed.  This skill was put to good use on You Bet Your Life, which featured Groucho and three pairs of contestants in each show.  The contestants were often (but not always) selected from the studio audience, and often were not people who knew each other, but who fit "categories" requested by the producers.  One pair, for example, featured a "hobo" alongside a "job analyst."  Groucho and the couple would chat for a few minutes, before eventually playing the perfunctory game, whereby the contestants would answer a series of questions, betting a portion of their existing winnings (starting with $20, at least in the earliest episodes) to try to accumulate the highest total at the end of four questions.  The couple with the highest total then attempted to answer a single question at the end of the show for an escalating jackpot (starting at $1000).

A highlight of the show was the "secret word."  Always a very common word, the idea was that if the couple should say the word during the course of their conversation with Groucho at any point during the episode, they would win an additional cash prize of $100 (I can't tell that this ever changed).

Although cash prizes were given away, there was no mistaking that this show was really about the humor that would come from Groucho's conversations with the contestants.  For example, while interviewing a couple that had been married for 50 years, Groucho and the husband (obviously retired at 77 years old) had this exchange:

Groucho: "What sort of work do you do now?"
Mr. Thacker: "I don't work."
Groucho: "You're a bum?"

Other game shows have been known as much for the humor they generated as they have been for big cash prizes.  The 1970's classic Match Game, for example, would never have been a hit if not for the antics of the celebrities and the double-entendre jokes (mild by modern standards.  In fact, this is why some suggest that the show couldn't work today.  I disagree, but do feel that the more recent attempts to revive Match Game didn't understand that there is a boundary between what's funny what's going too far into the risque) often tossed in.

Over the past couple of weeks, I've started something of an experiment with my Twitter account.  Every Monday night, at 8:00 pm (Eastern Daylight Time, 5:00 pm Pacific), I am posting an MP3 link to the episode of You Bet Your Life that originally aired exactly 60 years previously.  A "Twittercast," if you will.  I am already prepared with "anniversary" episodes for the next month or so, but of course I may not have existing episodes to do this indefinitely (at least, not while retaining the "60th anniversary" element).  Still, I think that this is could be an interesting experiment in reliving a moment of broadcast history.  If you'd like to keep up-to-date when a new 60th anniversary episode of You Bet Your Life is made available, feel free to subscribe to my Twitter account @NicodemusLegend.

Game Show Board Games: The Joker's Wild

Of all the game shows I watched when I was a child, The Joker's Wild was always my favorite.  I'm not entirely sure that I can explain why.  Perhaps it was the "pure trivia" nature of the game (although certainly simplistic compared to Jeopardy! questions today.  But I started watching game shows in the few years between the end of the original Jeopardy! and the beginning of the current version, so I wouldn't have known that yet), maybe it was the hosting (Jack Barry at first, making his big comeback from the game show scandals of the '50s--something else I didn't know anything about at the time--and Bill Cullen in the couple of years after Barry's sudden death), but I'm guessing it was probably the fact that the game centered on a "slot machine" with three spinning wheels that determined the categories.  I've always been a sucker for game shows with wheels!

Naturally, when I grew up, I had to add to my game show collection the board game version of The Joker's Wild, produced by Milton Bradley in three editions (plus a child's version, patterned after the children's spin-off Joker! Joker! Joker!) starting in 1973 (the year after The Joker's Wild premiered).  I suppose that this game duplicates the mechanics of the actual gameplay as well as could be expected for an affordable home game using 1970's technology.  The main board looks enough like the slot machine from the actual game, but instead of three separately spinning wheels, the categories are determined by a deck of playing cards.  Instead of actual category names (as seen on the show), the cards have numbers on them, intended to correspond to one of 5 categories as read from a little booklet (although I do like that the booklet of categories is separate from the booklet of questions and answers, allowing players to see the categories for themselves without spoiling the game).  But I have to confess, cards are a poor substitute for actual wheels.  And the odds of getting matching categories out of the cards just has to be different than the odds of the same result from independently spinning slots... but I digress.

In the main game, a player "spins the wheels" (i.e. deals three category cards) to see what categories are available, and asks for a question corresponding to one of the displayed categories.  If the category (number) shows up only one time among the three cards, the question is worth $50.  If it shows up twice, it's worth $100, and if all three cards/slots have the same category, the question is worth $200.  Also, there are jokers interspersed in the deck, which are (as the name of the game suggests) wild, allowing the player to increase the value of a category listed on the other card(s), or giving the player the chance to go "off the board" with a different category, worth the value of however many jokers are available.  If all three of the cards/slots are jokers, the player can choose any category he/she likes, and will win the game with a correct answer.  In all cases except for a "three jokers" scenario, if the player gets an answer incorrect, his/her opponent gets a chance to answer, and if correct, gets the value of that question.  The first player to reach $500 (after ensuring that both players have had an equal number of questions) wins the game and gets to play the bonus round.

Bonus rounds are perhaps a bit superfluous in a home game, since prizes are seldom actually given away when playing at home.  Still, it does help to create the feel of the game show.  Unfortunately, the board game duplicates an early version of the bonus round that I never actually saw as a child (being born in 1974, the game had evolved a bit before I was old enough to remember watching).  However, I would argue that I like the way the cards emulate the slots better in this round.  You are given three separately-colored decks of cards, each corresponding to one of the three slots on the slot machine.  The cards in each deck are exclusively images of jokers, plus one "devil" per deck.  The player starts the bonus round by playing one card from each deck.  If all three cards show jokers, all is well, and the player is awarded $100.  The player can stop right there and take the winnings (again, this is a bit of a moot point at home, where it's just play money), or risk that money to try again with the next card in each deck.  Another set of three jokers increases the players' winnings to $400, and the player can stop there or risk it all to try again.  A result of three jokers one more time increases the winnings to $1000, and the game ends.  However, if a devil appears at any time, on any of the three decks, the bonus game is over and the player wins nothing.

I value this board game more for it's nostalgia factor than for it's actual gameplay.  If I really want to play a game, I prefer to use one of a number of (mostly unofficial) computer versions I've found on the web.  These can more accurately duplicate the feel of spinning slot machine wheels for random categories.  Go Jokers!


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Game Show Board Games: Jeopardy! (Parker Brothers version)

Given that Jeopardy! has a history dating back more than 45 years, it's probably no surprise that there have been a lot of home versions produced.  Of the board game versions (that is, not counting any fully-electronic versions or various versions one might play on one's television set), I think the 1999 version by Parker Brothers is definitely the best.

It's not necessarily the one that most closely duplicates the actual gameplay.  Other legitimately "board game" versions had incorporated electronic buzzers at least as early as 1987, which certainly made the answer to the question "who buzzed in first?" much clearer than the little clickers that this 1999 version comes with (visible on the left-hand side).  The thing that makes this version stand out to me is the fact that this version actually incorporates six categories per round.   

Since the television version of Jeopardy! has always had six categories per round since the show's beginnings in 1964, the fact that no version had included a board with six categories previously may come as a surprise (TYCO did a couple of versions of Jeopardy! in the mid-1990's that used six individual category stands, rather than a single board.  This allowed for the correct number of categories, but had a rather different aesthetic and play pattern entirely.).  But take a moment and do the math on those dates.  It took board game designers 35 years to make a Jeopardy! board with space enough for six categories!  For some reason, all previous versions of the board game--and all versions made since--have used boards that only had five categories per round!  (Pictured here is the 9th Milton Bradley edition, which I believe is from 1972.)

Of course, game play for all these versions (excepting the TYCO versions) is more or less the same.  Pick a category and dollar amount (it's worth noting that both of these versions use outdated dollar amounts since the television show adopted its current dollar values in 2001), remove the corresponding tab to reveal a clue.  Click (or buzz) in first to be recognized by the "host" and give your response in the form of a question.  Correct questions add that dollar value to your total, incorrect questions require you to forfeit that much money.  Daily Double tabs are hidden on the board (one for the first round, two for the second) to allow you to bet however much money you want out of your current total (or up to the highest value on the board, provided you don't have that much) to respond to a clue without competition from the other contestants.  Then, after the second round is completed, all contestants wager how much of their totals to risk on a "Final Jeopardy!" clue that all must answer by writing their response on a piece of paper.

Actually, "Final Jeopardy!" is one more aspect that the Parker Brothers version of the game "gets right" that others generally haven't.  If you'll notice in the picture above, the Parker Brothers version has a dedicated space for "Final Jeopardy!" at the bottom of the board, below the rest of the spaces.  In most other versions of the game, the "Final Jeopardy!" tab is taken from one of the second-round clues, revealed in advance so that no one would pick that clue before that round is over.  The fact that I care about such things is, no doubt, just a side-effect of my generally over-zealous attention to detail.  But I think that the fact that I'm not "cheated" out of 11 full answers-and-questions per game is worth caring about!

EXTRA: If using all that funny-colored play money is too unwieldy for you, perhaps you might want to use the "Jeopardy! Challenger."  This little hand-held device from 1987 is basically just a glorified calculator designed to help fans keep their own score while watching the show.  My grandma found this one for me a few years back, and this seems like the best time I'm ever likely to have to mention this interesting and hard-to-find collectible, although, to tell the truth, I generally just use a pen and paper, anyway (both for watching the show and for keeping score on the board game versions).

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Game Show Board Games: Blockbusters

Transformers aren't the only thing I collect.  I'm also proud to have a collection of quite a few game show board games.  This is, in part, an outgrowth of my love for game shows in general, but I also started collecting these in part due to a series of Thanksgivings and other family gatherings where we played these games together.  A number of them came from my grandmother, herself a game show fan for obvious reasons.

The Blockbusters game comes from Milton Bradley, and has a copyright date of 1982 on the box.  Although I was first familiar with the board game through a copy my grandmother owned, the one I have didn't come from her, but rather is something I located a number of years ago on eBay.  The show itself ran on NBC from 1980 to 1982 and starred game show legend Bill Cullen.  The show was revived in 1987 with Bill Rafferty, but to this day I've never seen an episode of that version.  Blockbusters sought (in some way) to answer the question "are two heads really better than one?" and featured a solo player competing against a team of two players in a game that combined trivia knowledge and strategy.

The board game more or less faithfully duplicates the mechanics of the actual show.  Players compete on a game board of connected hexagons, each one containing a different letter.  Players capture hexagons by answering trivia questions with answers that begin with the letter for space.  For example, if the letter "R" was chosen, a question might be "What 'R' is the first name of Supreme Court Justice Bader Ginsburg?" (answer: Ruth)  A correct answer changes that hexagon to the player's color.  The "solo player" is assigned red, and seeks to create a path of connected red hexagons from top to bottom, a task that can be completed in as few as four moves.  The team of two players tries to complete a path of white hexagons from left to right on the board, which requires at least five moves (the extra space needed in an effort to balance out the existence of two players on the team).  The first player/team to win two games would win the match.  The 1987 version of Blockbusters eliminated the "two heads are better than one" bit, and alternated top-bottom and left-right so that no player (both players being "solo players") was disadvantaged by needing an extra hexagon to win (with a tiebreaker match played on a 4-by-4 board), but I never really felt that this worked especially well with hexagons.  (Of course, I've never seen that version, so what do I know?)

One significant difference between the board game and actual show regards the bonus round, called the "Gold Run" (originally "Gold Rush."  Don't ask me why they changed it.  Anyway, the board game calls it "Gold Run.").  After winning a match, the player (or one member of the team, in the case of a team of two players) would try to connect a path from left to right (using gold hexagons for correct answers) within 60 seconds.  In the show, most of the hexagons in "Gold Run" would have multiple letters, denoting multiple-word responses (such as, for "WUD," "What Bugs Bunny often says."  Answer: "What's up, doc?").  However, the board game only gives you three reversible boards, all containing single letters, so you have to use the same questions as you would for the regular game (using the handy question book provided).

It really must be emphasized that these "differences" are really very minor, and this is a very enjoyable game to bring out to play with friends.  I've also used this game with students when tutoring, since the trivia format lends itself well to whatever subject is at hand.  Unfortunately, fewer and fewer people I run into these days have ever heard of the game, which obviously diminishes the nostalgic fun felt by those of us who remember Blockbusters from the 1980's.  Still, I think that the game play itself is quite solid, and easy to learn and enjoy for anyone willing to give it a shot.

This is "Cyber Monday."  Are you looking for treasures like this on eBay--or elsewhere online--to give as Christmas presents?  Might I suggest signing up for an account with Big Crumbs?  They have partnerships with tons of sites online, and you can earn a percentage of your purchase back in cash.  This is above and beyond any sales you might get from the site itself.  All you have to do is visit the site through the Big Crumbs link after signing up for an account.  You can also support this site by signing up for Big Crumbs using the link here as your referral.  Check it out, and happy holiday shopping!

Are You Smarter Than a Devastator?

I started work on this over two years ago, not too long after completing the Family Feud photocomic.  Unfortunately, I was never able to get very far in the picture-taking (and editing!) process.  Rather than let it continue to gather dust, and while the game show Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader? is still on the airwaves enough that people will get the joke, I'll post the script with such images as I've prepared.  Enjoy!

---

Alpha Trion: Welcome to Are You Smarter Than a Devastator? I'm your host, Alpha Trion! Let's meet our class!

(Introduce each Devastator in turn: Generation One, Classics, Micromaster, Action Master, and Universe Devastators are all shown.)

(Frame shows Wheelie running into the studio)
Alpha Trion:  And here's our first contestant. Wheelie!

Wheelie: Wheelie say, it's time to play!

(Categories and Grade Levels are displayed)  Alpha Trion:  All right, you're going to work your way up to our top prize of 1 million Energon cubes by answering questions from these categories.

Alpha Trion:  And, of course, you get to chose one of our Devastators to help you out! Who will it be?

Wheelie: Wheelie here to have some fun. So it's got to be G1!

Alpha Trion: All right, now choose your first category.

Wheelie: Because this is introduction, let's chose Level 1 Destruction

Alpha Trion: OK. Here's the question: What is the best way to destroy an Autobot stronghold?

(next frame) Alpha Trion: G1 Devastator has his answer locked in. What's your answer, Wheelie?

Wheelie: Though it seems unwise to state, sneaking through the access gate!

Alpha Trion: I'm sorry, but that answer is incorrect. The correct answer is “Smash it!” But G1 Devastator can still save you, if he wrote “Smash it.” Let's see Devastator's answer!

(Badly scrawled word “SMASH!” appears on screen)

Alpha Trion: Congratulations! G1 Devastator has saved you, and you now have 1,000 Energon cubes, what will you do ne--? (Alpha Trion is interrupted by Devastator smashing Wheelie, screaming “Smash! Smash!” Wheelie is flattened)

(Alpha Trion looks down at Wheelie's clearly unconscious form.) Oh, dear! I guess we'll have to bring out a substitute contestant to pick up where Wheelie left off. Let's introduce... Waspinator!

(Waspinator takes place at podium)

Alpha Trion: Waspinator, which Devastator would you like to have help you on this question?

Waspinator: Wazzzzzpinator choozzze Micromazzzter Devazzzzstator!

Alpha Trion: OK, and what category would you like to choose?

Waspinator: Wazzzzpinator choozzzzzzes Level 2 Pulverizzzation!

Alpha Trion: Here's the question. How should you make sure that an enemy target is completely destroyed?

(next frame) Alpha Trion: Devastator has locked in his answer. What do you think?

Waspinator: Wazzzpinator not like this! Wazzzpinator want to copy Greenbot's answer!

Alpha Trion: OK. You're using one of your cheats, and you'll be locked into whatever answer Devastator gives. Let's see it.

(Another badly written “SMASH!” appears on the screen!)

Alpha Trion: That's correct! “Smash it” is once again the answer! You now have 2000 Ener-- (interrupted by Devastator yelling “Smash! Smash!” and swinging at Waspinator, knocking off his head.)

(picture of Waspinator's head lying on floor) Wazzzpinator hatez this game....

(Alpha Trion looks down again) Oh, no! Not again! Well, we'll just have to bring in another substitute contestant. Let have a round of applause for Grimlock! (Grimlock appears at podium in T-Rex mode)

Alpha Trion: Welcome to the game Grimlock. Which Devastator would you like to play with?

Grimlock: Me, Grimlock, choose Universe Devastator!

Alpha Trion: And what category will you be playing with?

Grimlock: Me, Grimlock, like Level 4 Tactics

Alpha Trion: OK. Here's the question: You are badly outnumbered, but your enemies are no match for your own personal strength. How do you survive this battle?

Grimlock: Me, Grimlock, want to peek at Devastator's answer!

Alpha Trion: OK. That's your last cheat. Let's see what Devastator wrote down.

(Answer appears in calligraphy script: “I would chose a melee defense, taking hold of one of my enemies' fallen bodies, and swinging it around my own body in rapid fashion, thereby eliminating many other enemies all at once as his form connects with theirs.”)

Grimlock: Me, Grimlock, think something wrong with Devastator. Me choose own answer. Me, Grimlock say, 'smash through them.'

Alpha Trion: That's correct! You now have 5,000 Energon Cubes!

Grimlock: Me, Grimlock, not as dumb as me look!

Alpha Trion: That's all the time we have for today! We'll see you next time! (last frame shows Universe Devastator saying “Well, of course, you can smash through them if you want to be crude about it, but my way would be much more efficient at dispatching a greater number of opponents with a minimum of--” Grimlock interrupts--“Me, Grimlock, think you talk too much!”)

Useless Knowledge?

I'm currently enjoying a book written by Ken Jennings (who has won more matches on Jeopardy! than any other human being, several times over) called Brainiac. Besides being something of a memoir of Jennings' experience of auditioning for—and later playing—Jeopardy!, Brainiac is a discussion of the fascination many people have with trivia.

Among other things, "trivia" is often described as "useless knowledge." One aspect of "trivia" that seems to hold true in this vein, that Jennings discusses, is that one can be absolutely brilliant, yet not be able to use that knowledge in a way that earns a decent living. Indeed, it seems that the ability of anyone to do so is a fairly recent phenomenon:

You might think that trivia would have existed since the dawn of time... You certainly wouldn't be surprised to hear that renaissance men like Leonardo da Vinci or Benjamin Franklin enjoyed general-knowledge question-and-answer games with friends as they sat around their studio or laboratory....

But they didn't. Trivia as we know it today is a purely twentieth-century invention....

Robert L. Ripley [Ripley's Believe It or Not!] was the world's first true trivia celebrity. (pp. 55-59)

Having professed my love of game shows on this blog before, I'm sure it's no surprise to say that I'm a fan of trivia. And I'm sure that anyone who reads my Friday Transformer features (especially if they aren't actually Transformers fans) would probably agree that quite a bit of that trivia is "useless knowledge." Sure, some people can make a living off of their love of Transformers, but it's not the kind of thing that most of us can get a sustainable job at. For most of us, myself included, it's a hobby.

My dad would no doubt be shocked to hear me say this, but I think that a lot of my love of trivia comes from him. Now, Dad is not a fan of game shows (or of Transformers), and considers himself less-than-academically inclined. But he knows more about steam locomotives, especially from the Virginia and Truckee railroad or from the logging railroads of the Northern California mountains, than most of the people that work in those information-providing tour guide positions at museums dedicated to the purpose. I know, because I've been there when Dad's mentioned some bit of information the tour guide didn't know on quite a number of occasions. Dad's also quite the expert on Model A Fords.

Now, although I certainly know a bit about trains and antique cars just from having grown up around them, I didn't quite inherit those particular interests. I like game shows and Transformers, and am interested in matters of Christian faith and theology. And although I've been around enough people in pretty much all those fields to know that there are those who know quite a bit more about each of those areas than I do, I don't think it's unfair to say that I know more on those topics than the average person.

The question then becomes, how to put that knowledge to profitable use? I've heard it said that a great vocation is where one's passion and the world's need meets. Well, who really needs to know about Transformers? Or about game shows? Those of us with faith could certainly make an argument for the world's "need" for sound Christian teaching, but I don't think that even most believers would try to argue that there's much money in it. Likewise, with my dad, I'd be willing to bet that he'd drop everything and move to Northern California to volunteer with the El Dorado Western Railway Foundation (for which he cast that replica #4 number plate so prominently displayed in their sidebar) if he didn't actually need to... well... earn a living.

So, we make do as best we can. Dad's doing fairly well as a piping designer and model maker, and I'm still working at Fuller Theological Seminary, helping others who are looking for ways of using their Christian passion to connect with the world outside. I'm certainly not getting rich off of it, especially these days, but I do find that I'm able to do this job specifically because of some of my sometimes "trivial" knowledge, so at least it's hardly "useless." Perhaps that's enough.

Who Wants to Go to Seminary?

In honor of the 10th anniversary of the game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, I've been presenting a couple of sketches that I've written spinning off of the show. You can find the first here. I created this one to be performed at the annual (most of the time) "Fuller Follies" program, where students and staff at the seminary gather to poke good-natured fun at our school, often using parodies and sketches. Having already done the PowerPoint work for "Is That Your Final Answer?", it seemed the most natural thing in the world to do a Fuller version. As before, alongside the script, you'll find images that were part of the PowerPoint presentation I put together designed to go with the sketch, in which I also incorporated sound effects from the show (just click on the thumbnail for a larger version). I wanted to create as much of the sense of the show as I could. Feel free to use these sketches if you like, just please give me credit as the writer. I'm even happy to send the PowerPoint files if you want them.

"Who Wants to Go to Seminary?"
by Mark Baker-Wright

(NOTE: The first scene, where the "fastest finger" question is played to select a contestant, is virtually unchanged from the original version. Only the logo and name of the "show" are different. There's no point in recopying all that here.)

Host: Well, Andrew, welcome to the show. I understand that you've been a student at Fuller for a few years now.

Andrew: That's correct, and I've enjoyed my time here.

Host: Well, we're glad to have you here. Now, as you know, I'm going to ask you a series of questions. If you think you need help, you have three lifelines you can use. You can phone anyone in the country for 30 seconds. You can eliminate 2 wrong answers, leaving one wrong answer and the correct one, and you can ask the audience for help. Are you ready?

Andrew: Yes, sir.

Host: All right, then, let's play.

(Question music plays)

Host: Here's your first question. (Question with answers appears on overhead, matching host's question)

Host: What is the biggest problem at Fuller? Is it A. No Social Life. B. No Parking. C. Too Much Homework. Or D. Cost of Tuition.

Andrew: (confused look) I don't know. I like a few of those answers. (Looks at host) I think I'd like to use a lifeline.

Host: OK, Andrew, which one?

Andrew: I'd like to ask the audience.

Host: (turns to audience) OK. Audience, Andrew needs a little help here. Make your selection. Use your keypads to select A,B,C, or D.

(pause a couple of seconds while playing "audience music" for audience to "choose." Then post next slide, with these numbers next to answers: A. 25% B. 25% C. 25% D. 25%)

Host: Well, apparently the audience isn't much help at all. They're evenly split between all four!

Andrew: (looks at board thoughtfully) No, I'm afraid that won't help at all. I'd better use another lifeline.

Host: OK. You know you've only got two left. Which one do you want to use?

Andrew: I'd like to phone my mother.

Host: OK, then. Our friends at the phone company will get your mom on the phone for us, and we'll see what she has to say.

(Phone rings, then Mom's voice over speakers)

Mom: (voice only) Hello?

Host: Hello, is this Andrew's mom?

Mom: (voice only) Yes.

Host: Hi, I'm calling from "Who Wants to Go to Seminary?" I'm here with Andrew, and he needs your help.

Mom: (voice only) OK.

Host: Now, Andrew is going to read you a question with four answers. You try to give him the right answer. Now, the next voice you hear will be Andrew's. Andrew, your time starts now.

(time sound starts playing while Andrew talks to his mother)

Andrew: Hi, Mom. “What is the biggest problem at Fuller?" Is it A. No Social Life. B. No Parking. C. Too Much Homework. Or D. Cost of Tuition?

Mom: (thinks for a second - voice only) Well, you know, Andrew, I don't know how many times I've told you that you need to find some nice girl and settle down. I think you've been wasting too much time driving in circles in that parking lot to look for someone! Or maybe it's because you can't seem to get your nose out of those books or stop writing papers. Have you considered asking someone out for a bite of pizza? You know, dinner is an excellent way to get to know someone. Maybe if Fuller didn't charge so much that you couldn't afford to go out once in a while, you wouldn't be....

(That should take more than 30 seconds. Both Mom and the technician should pay attention to the time's up sound (buzzer three times in a row), which should cut off the response whenever it hits. Andrew looks as though he's sorry he chose Mom to ask this question to, and as he hears the time's up sound, he realizes he's gotten no help at all.)

Host: (watching Andrew's continued confusion) Well, Andrew, I'm not sure where your Mom was going with that.

Andrew: She wants grandchildren. (Pause for a brief chuckle.) I know it's still my first question, but if I miss this, then I can't move any further either. I think I'll have to take the 50-50.

Host: All right, Andrew. Computer, could you please eliminate two of the answers, leaving Andrew with one wrong answer, and the correct answer?

(Overhead changes to eliminate C and D while "50-50" sound plays, leaving only A and B.)

Host: Well, the correct answer is either "No Social Life" or "No Parking." What do you think?

Andrew: (clearly perplexed) I'm not sure. I really need to think about this.

Host: Take all the time you need.

(While Andrew is thinking, one of the seminary security guards walks down toward the stage from the audience. NOTE: Yes, we got one of the real security guards to do this!)

Guard: (addresses contestant) Excuse me, but do you drive a car with the license plate Alpha-Charlie-Sigma-Oh-Oh-Four-Five?

Andrew: (looks up, confused) Uhhh, yes....

Guard: I'm afraid that you're illegally parked. You'll have to come with me.

Host: (stands up to stop guard) You can't do that! We're in the middle of a game show!

Guard: (turns to host) Is your license plate Delta-Franklin-Franklin-Three-Seven-Two-Six?

Host: (oops!) Oh. Yeah, I guess it is.

Guard: Your car has been parked for five hours in a two-hour tow away zone. I'm afraid you'll have to come with me, as well.

(Guard escorts both Andrew and the host--still protesting--off the stage as the End Theme music plays)

END

Is That Your Final Answer?

As you may know, the game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, and Regis Philbin has been hosting a two-week return of the program to prime time on ABC since last Sunday. In honor of this anniversary, I'm presenting a couple of sketches I've written spinning off of the show (the first is probably not most properly called a parody, but the second certainly is). Alongside the script, you'll find images that were part of the PowerPoint presentation I put together designed to go with the sketch, in which I also incorporated sound effects from the show (just click on the thumbnail for a larger version). I wanted to create as much of the sense of the show as I could. Feel free to use these sketches if you like, just please give me credit as the writer. I'm even happy to send the PowerPoint files if you want them.

Here's the one I did first, as the last sketch produced as part of my church drama internship in 2000. It's a bit simplistic in terms of gospel message, and definitely more "preachy" than I think a drama ought to be, but I still stand behind the theology of it. I'll showcase the parody on Wednesday.

"Is That Your Final Answer?"
by Mark Baker-Wright

(logo for "Is That Your Final Answer?" appears in overhead)
Host (from offstage): Live, from Southern California, welcome to "Is That Your Final Answer?"
(theme music plays. Host walks out and addresses the audience. Applause plays in background.)

Host: Thank you. Thank you very much. Last time, we sent off a contestant with our biggest prize ever, so now it's time to find a new contestant. (Address "possible contestants.") Players, I'm about to ask a question with four answers. Use your keypads to select A,B,C, and D, in the correct order. The first person to do so correctly will be our next contestant. All right? Here's the question:

(Question appears in overhead screen above host)

Host: Put the following gospels in the order in which they appear in the Bible, starting with the first.

(Pause for a split second, then the answers appear in the overhead screen, below the question. The host then reads the answers out loud. The answers read: A. Luke, B. Matthew, C. John, D. Mark. Play "fastest finger" music as answers appear.)

(Host waits for music to end while players "select answers.")

Host: Okay, the answers, in the correct order, were:
(Overhead screen changes to show answers in correct order, as follows)
Host: B. Matthew, D. Mark, A. Luke, and C. John. All right. Now who had the fastest response?

(Overhead screen changes to show a list of names and times. Andrew Liebler will be marked out in green.)

Host: Andrew Liebler. Congratulations! (Andrew Liebler stands up victoriously) Come on up and let's play "Is That Your Final Answer?" (theme music plays as host and Andrew take their seats facing each other.)

Host: Well, Andrew, welcome to the show. I understand that you're a member of your local church, and lead your church softball team.

Andrew: That's correct, and I'm really glad to be here.

Host: (laughs mildly) Well, that's good to hear. Now, as you know, I'm going to ask you a series of questions. If you think you need help, you have three lifelines you can use. You can phone anyone in the country for 30 seconds. You can eliminate 2 wrong answers, leaving one wrong answer and the correct one, and you can ask the audience for help. Are you ready?

Andrew: Yes, sir.

Host: All right, then, let's play.

(Question music plays)

Host: Here's your first question. (Question with answers appears on overhead, matching host's question)

Host: What is the best way to get into heaven? Is it A. Obey Allah. B. Be as good as you possibly can. C. Trust in Jesus Christ alone. Or D. All paths are equally valid.

Andrew: (confused look) I don't know. I like a few of those answers. (Looks at host) I think I'd like to use a lifeline.

Host: OK, Andrew, which one?

Andrew: I'd like to ask the audience.

Host: (turns to audience) OK. Audience, Andrew needs a little help here. Make your selection. Use your keypads to select A,B,C, or D.

(pause a couple of seconds while playing "audience music" for audience to "choose." Then post next slide, with these numbers next to answers: A. 10% B. 30% C. 23% D. 37%)

Host: Well, apparently the audience is pretty split on this one. The best response is 37% for D.

Andrew: (looks at board thoughtfully) No, I'm afraid that's not much help. I'd better use another lifeline.

Host: OK. You know you've only got two left. Which one do you want to use?

Andrew: I'd like to phone my mother.

Host: OK, then. Our friends at the phone company will get your mom on the phone for us, and we'll see what she has to say.

(Phone rings, then Mom's voice over speakers)

Mom: (voice only) Hello?

Host: Hello, is this Andrew's mom?

Mom: (voice only) Yes.

Host: Hi, I'm calling from "Is That Your Final Answer?" I'm here with Andrew, and he needs your help.

Mom: (voice only) OK.

Host: Now, Andrew is going to read you a question with four answers. One of them is the right answer. Now, the next voice you hear will be Andrew's. Andrew, your time starts now.

(time sound starts playing while Andrew talks to his mother)

Andrew: Hi, Mom. “What's the best way to get into heaven?" Is it A. Obey Allah. B. Be as good as you possibly can. C. Trust in Jesus Christ alone. Or D. All paths are equally valid?

Mom: (thinks for a second - voice only) Well, you know, Andrew, I never have quite understood your need to go to church all the time, but I'm sure that Obey Allah can't be right. I'm not sure that I care for the fundamentalist tone of that third answer, but the last one sounds a bit TOO loose. So I guess I'll have to answer B. "Be as good as you possibly can."

(That should take about 30 seconds, and the time's up sound should hit pretty quick after Mom's done talking, it's part of the timing sound. Andrew looks as though he'd like to ask Mom another question, but he hears the time's up sound, informing him that Mom is no longer on the line.)

Host: (watching Andrew's continued confusion) Well, Andrew, your Mom likes B. Do you want to go with that answer?

Andrew: I don't know. I know it's still my first question, but if I miss this, then I can't move any further either. I think I'll have to take the 50-50.

Host: All right, Andrew. Computer, could you please eliminate two of the answers, leaving Andrew with one wrong answer, and the correct answer?

(Overhead changes to eliminate A and D while "50-50" sound plays, leaving only B and C.)

Andrew: OK. I tend to agree with my Mom that C. seems a bit too fundamentalist, so I'm going to go with B.

Host: OK, Andrew. Is that your final answer?

Andrew: Yes. That's my final answer. (Answer B lights up orange)

Host: (Waits a moment) I'm sorry, Andrew. That's not correct. The correct answer was C (lights up green while "wrong answer" sound plays), "Trust in Jesus Christ alone."

(Both people stand up. Andrew is shaken by his failure)

Host: I'm sorry you didn't do better, but thanks for playing "Is That Your Final Answer?" with us. (shakes hand. Andrew walks off stage.)

(end game siren plays)

Host: Well, that’s all the time we have for now, so I leave you with the question: "Is That Your Final Answer?"

(End Theme music plays as host walks off)

END

BotCon 2009 Exclusive Feature: Razorclaw

The third set of "BotCon souvenirs" has nothing to do with the "Wings of Honor" story whatsoever. It's called the "BotCon Anniversary Pack," in honor of the 25th Anniversary of the Transformers franchise and the 15th Anniversary of BotCon, which also happened to be the 5th BotCon put together by Fun Publications. Both of the figures in the set were featured in previous BotCon stories, although no figures were made of these characters at the time. Even back then, it was clear enough that the characters were patterned off of existing molds such that exclusive toys could be made, and there have been a significant number of fans asking for these figures. Razorclaw was featured in a cameo at the end of the BotCon 2006 story, "Dawn of Future's Past."

BotCon Razorclaw is a redeco of Cybertron Leobreaker, transforming into a mechanical lion, an homage to the original Razorclaw, one of the Generation One Predacons from 1986. BotCon Razorclaw's Tech Specs suggest that, as the Decepticons were facing defeat at the end of the war against the Autobots, Razorclaw forged a new team of Predacons to continue the fight. These new Predacons are intended to be the faction that was featured in the Beast Wars line. Razorclaw disappeared at about that time (apparently believed to be assassinated), only to re-emerge some time after the Beast Machines series (at the end of the "Dawn of Future's Past" story) vowing that the Maximals would "again tremble before (his) might." What happens next has never been told, and it's rather uncertain that this story ever will be finished, but at least fans finally have the toy they've been asking to get for about three years now, complete with the "post-Beast Machines" Predacon symbol created specifically for Razorclaw in that cameo.

Razorclaw has been given a remolded head, which completes the homage (unfortunately, mine's missing a couple of paint applications on one side of the head!). A few months before the convention, Hasbro released another repaint of Leobreaker with a remolded head, Leo Prime, causing fans to wonder (when rumors of a Razorclaw exclusive began to surface) whether Fun Publications would use the Leo Prime head (which has a number of general similarities to the original Razorclaw head, but which is clearly a "Prime" design), or "waste" the effort to create a "similar" head, as BotCon 2008 Blurr and the BotCon 2006 Arcee repaints Chromia and Flareup are often accused of having. Pete Sinclair made a comment online indicating that he didn't like the Leo Prime head for Razorclaw, but it wasn't revealed until the convention itself that Fun Publications actually didn't know Hasbro's intentions for Leo Prime at the point when plans for Razorclaw were being made. If they had, there would undoubtedly have been a lot pressure to use the Leo Prime head instead of one created specifically for Razorclaw, and Pete indicated being glad that they didn't have to make that decision, preferring the head created for Razorclaw quite a bit.

Razorclaw comes with a Cybertron-style "key," but this one is painted up with a "Golden Disk" pattern in a similar fashion to other figures in the BotCon 2006 set, and is therefore called a "Golden Disk" key. Plugging this key into Razorclaw's arms will activate spring-release claws.

Although the "BotCon Anniversary Pack" was a convention exclusive, Fun Publications made 2000 sets, and these did not all sell out before the end of the convention. Remaining sets can still be ordered from the Transformers Club Online Store for the same price as they were sold for at the convention itself (minus California's 9.25% sales tax, but plus shipping).

EXTRA: Members of the Fun Publications staff went to see a taping of The Price is Right when they were out here for the convention, and one them got called up on stage! The episode aired today, and you can catch it at CBS.com tonight, and for the next couple of weeks.

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Engaging Players & the 2009 Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions

Unlike last year, I didn't get to see the Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions live this year, and so I had to see what happened on TV like everyone else. I have to admit, I was actually disappointed in the outcome, having become something of a Larissa Kelly fan over the past few months. That's nothing against winner Dan Pawson, who truly deserved his victory by getting that last Final Jeopardy! response correct (and who, I thought, was most gracious in winning). I just found Kelly a more engaging contestant. Perhaps that's why she has her own Wikipedia entry, despite a fairly contentious discussion a few months ago debating whether or not she was considered "notable" enough for the online encyclopedia (the final verdict was, "Yes, she is, by virtue of being the all-time highest winning female contestant in non-tournament play, and the third all-time highest non-tournament winner overall.").

As I understand it, the producers of Jeopardy! had a concern when they changed the rules a few years back so that winners could stay on the show, so long as they kept on winning. The concern was that a particularly brilliant, but particularly boring, player could stay on the show for too long, and viewers would lose interest. Indeed, many shows choose their contestants specifically based on their personalities. That is to say, "boring" players are weeded out, without regard to how well they might actually play the game. The nature of Jeopardy! means that such "personality-based selection" is at least secondary to demonstrated ability to answer trivia questions (which, in the case of Jeopardy!, is mostly done online these days). Even so, I can understand the potential for concern. Not all players are equally likable, and although I don't think a potential contestant should be denied the chance to prove themselves on such a basis, I certainly concede that Jeopardy! (and any television show) simply must retain viewers if they are to survive. If the show goes off the air, then nobody will have the chance to play!

I don't know how much "likability" plays into Jeopardy! contestant selection. Perhaps it doesn't matter at all. I certainly wouldn't want to argue that it should take higher priority over the online exam. Still, I'm always glad when a Larissa Kelly or a Ken Jennings comes along: a person who can win big, while still being a fun person to watch. May we see more in the upcoming season!