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| Posted by: Team Member |
6/14/2007 |
I'm sitting at my in-laws' house; my sister-in-law is getting married on Saturday so the house if filled with in-laws. Right now everyone is crammed in to the living room watching the TV game show Are you Smarter than a Fifth Grader? I don't like these new game shows--they're like a cross between reality TV and a classic game show.
The first of these new breed game shows I can remember is Who Wants to be a Millionaire? I watched this Regis Philbin show on a couple of occasions, but I couldn't stomach a steadfast following. I just didn't have the patience for it. This wasn't the steady moving environment of Jeopardy! where Alex Trebek asked a question and then it was answered. Millionaire allowed the contestant to dictate the pace of the game rather than the game host or the game rules. The contestant can take as long as they want to answer the question, and the contestant and game show host interact with each other more than on a traditional game show. Here's an example:
Regis: What was the world's first billion-dollar corporation? (A) Microsoft (B) Union Pacific (C) Standard Oil (D) US Steel
Contestant: Let's see...My grandfather's second cousin on his mother's side worked at Union Pacific his whole life and all he got for it was a bad back, so I know they didn't make much money. And...Well, I know Microsoft makes a lot of money, but Oil has always made a lot of money. Hmm...I just don't know.
Regis: Well, you have two of your lifelines left. You already used "phone a friend" but you still have "poll the audience" and "Fifty-fifty" where we'll remove two of the incorrect answers. So, you can use two of your remaining lifelines and that could help narrow down the field.
Contestant: Oh, I just don't know. I mean, I don't want to use all of my lifelines so early in the game because I know I'll need them later, but if I don't make it passed this question then the lifelines won't matter. Could I talk to my mom in the audience?
Regis: I don't know. Judges? [looks off camara] It doesn't look like we can let you talk to your mom in the audience. But, why don't we take a break here and introduce your family in the audience.
Contestant: Sure. I have with my today my mom who is just the most wonderful, sweet person in all the world. And my younger brother, Al Pacino, no relation to the actor, who is a student at the University of Southern California Technical Institute where he is training to be a priest.
Regis: Great! What a wonderful, wonderful family. It just brings happiness to my inner being to see a strong, supportive family. So, let's get back to our game. What are you going to do, answer the question or use a lifeline?
Contestant: Well, My grandfather's second cousin on his mother's side worked at Union Pacific his whole life and all he got for it was a bad back, so I know they didn't make much money. I don't think it was US Steel because Microsoft makes so much money. I mean, you always hear about Microsoft and oil, so I think it's either Microsoft or Standard Oil. I...I think I'm going to go with Microsoft.
Regis: Microsoft?
Contestant: Yeah, I'm pretty sure it's Microsoft.
Regis: Final answer?
Contestant: [Pause followed by an emphatic stated] Final answer.
Regis. Oh, I'm so sorry! The correct answer is US Steel.
Here's a similar scenerio, only on Jeopardy!
Alex: What corporation formed by Andrew Carnegie, Elbert H. Gary and J.P. Morgan became the world's first billion-dollar corporation in 1901?
Contestant: [after ringing in and being acknowledged by the host] US Steel
Alex: Correct. You now have control of the board.
In the second scenerio, I was in no way involved in the contestant's thought process. I didn't have to hear why they knew the answer or how they reached the answer. I wasn't introduced to family members, nor did I have to endure pointless banter between contestant and host.
But, thank goodness that in the time it's taken me to write this post, Are you Smarter than a Fifth Grader? has ended.
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