PTBAM Transcript 8/19/09 - Richard Mason

[BBTranscriptTeam]

Tonight's Ring of Fire:

Donald Leake - Pennington, NJ
Jenni McKay - Wesley Chapel, FL
Richard Mason - Santa Monica, CA
Chales Patton - Saxapahaw, NC
Patty Bain Bachner - Great Falls, VA
Megan Toth - Farmingdale, NY
Scott Six - Los Altos, CA
Terri Pfahler - Upland, CA
Chris Maslowski - Hamden, CT
Michael Sivertz - Center Moriches, NY

FFQ: Put these Broadway musicals in the order they premiered, starting with the earliest
A. Wicked B. Cats
C. The Phantom of the Opera D. Rent

Spoiler

B. Cats
C. The Phantom of the Opera
D. Rent
A. Wicked

Donald Leake -
Richard Mason - 3.96s
Patty Bain Bachner - 6.54s
Scott Six - 4.73s
Chris Maslowski - 7.41s
Michael Sivertz -
Terri Pfahler -
Megan Toth -
Chales Patton -
Jenni McKay - 4.84s


Richard Mason
Santa Monica, CA
Roboticist

Richard feels like destiny has led him to this place. Regis asks if destiny is going to give him a million dollars, to which Richard replies, "it will disappoint me greatly if destiny doesn't give me a million dollars!" Regis asks Richard to explain his job as a roboticist:

Regis: You are a...
Richard: Roboticist. For the last few years I've been building robot cars for a race put on by the Defense Department.
Regis: What, are they driven by a robot, or...
Richard: Ideally, you just type in the coordinates and they just drive there without any other human intervention....it's experimental....
Regis: Do they stop at a red light?
Richard: We haven't perfected the red light yet...
Regis: And the Defense Department wants this?
Richard: Well, yeah, they'd like to have trucks driving by themselves down the road, so if a bomb goes off nobody gets hurt.
Regis: Well, I approve of that, I think that's a great idea.

Richard's category tree:

Bottoms Up!
Making Headlines
In the Middle
On the Road
The Gift of Giving
American Hero
Voice Work
Step It Up
Historical Hoax?
'60s Radio
Word is Born
Sitcom Math
Well, Duh!
Southern Lingo
Safety First

$100 (Safety First): Many states have safety laws requiring children to wear helmets while doing what?
A. Taking baths B. Riding bicycles
C. Crossing the street D. Borrowing dad's Miata

Spoiler

B. Riding bicycles (7)

$200 (Southern Lingo): As any U.S. southerner knows, a "washateria" is what type of business establishment?
A. Laundromat B. Florist
C. Video store D. Bookshop

Spoiler

A. Laundromat (9)

$300 (Well, Duh!): The British Supreme Court concluded in 2009 that the snack treats Pringles are, legally, what?
A. Chocolate cookies B. Pretzels
C. Cheese crackers D. Potato chips

Spoiler

D. Potato chips (10)

$500 (Sitcom Math): The title of the classic sitcom "Three's Company" refers to what three people?
A. Two men, one woman B. Two women, one man
C. Three women D. Three men

Spoiler

B. Two women, one man (8)

$1,000 (Word is Born): Which of these words appears frequently on Nintendo's Web Site, but does not appear in Merriam-Webster's dictionary?
A. We B. Whee
C. Wii D. Wee

Spoiler

C. Wii (9)

COMMERCIAL BREAK

Coming out of commercial, a clip is shown of Regis repeatedly teasing former contestant Dan Doody about his name, culminating in "Who wants to be a millionaire? Doody Do!" Dan's in the audience, and Regis apologizes to him for possibly making him more nervous in the hot seat by all the teasing, and he's regretted it ever since. Dan says it hasn't bothered him at all, and he does introductions of people on stage in Seattle, and when he gets on stage, people say, "Hey! It's Dan Doody!" so he thinks Regis was ahead of the curve on that.

Regis mentions that Richard's wife and son are with him in NYC, but Richard says that while they're in the city, they're out having fun while he's sitting with Regis.

$2,000 ('60s Radio): What hit 1967 song features backup singers who belt out the lyric "Sock it to me, sock it to me, sock it to me, sock it to me"?
A. Respect B. Light My Fire
C. Penny Lane D. Ruby Tuesday

Richard thinks he knows, but decides to ATA (19):

Spoiler

A. Respect - 83%
B. Light My Fire - 10%
C. Penny Lane - 2%
D. Ruby Tuesday - 5%

Richard goes with the audience.

Spoiler

A. Respect (14)

$4,000 (Historical Hoax?): The 2009 headline "Vocal Minority Insists It Was All Smoke and Mirrors" ran atop a news account of the 40th anniversay of what?
A. JFK assassination B. Cuban missle crisis
C. Watergate scandal D. Moon landing

Spoiler

D. Moon landing (23)

$8,000 (Step It Up): Which of these D.C. landmarks does not have a series of steps leading up to its entrance?
A. Washington Monument B. Lincoln Memorial
C. U.S. Capitol D. U.S. Supreme Court

Richard says,

Spoiler

"I don't think the Washington Monument has an entrance, so I'm going to say Washington Monument, final answer."

Spoiler

A. Washington Monument (20)

$16,000 (Voice Work): Entertainment Weekly's 2008 list of "Horrible Movie Accents" included Tom Cruise's Irish brogue in what film?
A. Magnolia B. Eyes Wide Shut
C. Far and Away D. Cocktail

Spoiler

C. Far and Away (24)

$25,000 (American Hero): In 2009, pilot Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger III became a national hero when he landed what type of plane in New York's Hudson River?
A. Embraer 195 B. Boeing 737
C. Airbus A320 D. McDonnell Douglas DC-10

Richard chooses to PAF (18). Standing by are Richard's friends Dwight (Bridgeville, PA, right down the street from your humble transcriptionist); Patrick (Culver City, CA) and Rob (Bloomington, MI). Richard calls on Rob:

Richard: Chesley Sullenberger, S-U-L-L-E-N-B-E-R-G-E-R, landed what type of plane in the Hudson River? Was it an Embraer, a Boeing, an Airbus or a McDonnell Douglas? (18)
Rob: Boy, I remember that story. I think it was

Spoiler

an Airbus A320

(12)
Richard: OK, are you certain of that? (7)
Rob: Yes, I think so.

Richard goes with Rob's answer.

Spoiler

C. Airbus A320 (16)

COMMERCIAL BREAK

Regis comments that it's unusual that Richard is here, and his wife and baby are out having a good time, exploring New York. Richard says it was a baby issue, that they figured it was better to take her out and show her a good time, to which Regis responds, "Wait, excuse me, how do you show a baby a good time in New York?" Richard tells Regis he has to broaden his mind, that there are educational experiences. Regis asks, "Yeah, but what are you gonna do, she's a baby!? Show her the Statue of Liberty?" Richard says there's no time like the present.

$50,000 (The Gift of Giving): What gift did Michelle Obama give to France's first lady, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, when they met in 2009?
A. Louis Vuitton duffle bag B. Gibson acoustic guitar
C. Flowers from the White House garden D. William Butler Yeats poetry book

Richard answers incorrectly (

Spoiler

"I would think surely it was flowers from the White House garden"

) and leaves with $25,000. Before the next FFQ, Regis comments that "Once again, no one [is] going to the greatest trivia player of all time, Ken Jennings."

Spoiler

B. Gibson acoustic guitar (22)

[The Real Todd Rundgren]

Oh wait, nevemind!

[NellyLunatic1980]

$16K: Not sure on this one, as I've seen only one of these movies ("Cocktail"). ATA.

$25K: I knew that Sully would be a WWTBAM question sooner or later... but I still couldn't remember what kind of plane he flew. PAF.

$50K: I knew that Carla Sarkozy is a singer, so B seemed to be the most logical answer. In the HS, though, I probably would've asked KenJen to buy some time and, hopefully, get a confirmation of B.

[NellyLunatic1980]

Oh wait, nevemind!

Sorry. Wrong Mason.

[tanstaafl2]

$16K: Not sure on this one, as I've seen only one of these movies ("Cocktail"). ATA.

$25K: I knew that Sully would be a WWTBAM question sooner or later... but I still couldn't remember what kind of plane he flew. PAF.

$50K: I knew that Carla Sarkozy is a singer, so B seemed to be the most logical answer. In the HS, though, I probably would've asked KenJen to buy some time and, hopefully, get a confirmation of B.

It did seem truly odd, especially given how the cast usually trash lifelines at the drop of a hat, that he would leave this one on the table on what appeared to be a total guess on his part.

Not that anything is very surprising on this show nowadays.

[hbomb1947]

$8,000 (Step It Up): Which of these D.C. landmarks does not have a series of steps leading up to its entrance?
A. Washington Monument B. Lincoln Memorial
C. U.S. Capitol D. U.S. Supreme Court

Richard says,

Spoiler

"I don't think the Washington Monument has an entrance, so I'm going to say Washington Monument, final answer."

Spoiler

A. Washington Monument (20)

Spoiler

This is an example of being right for the wrong reasons. Of course the Washington Monument has an entrance; that's how you get inside to take the elevator to the top. It's not a very grand entrance or anything, but a door is still an entrance.

[Estonut]

$8,000 (Step It Up): Which of these D.C. landmarks does not have a series of steps leading up to its entrance?
A. Washington Monument B. Lincoln Memorial
C. U.S. Capitol D. U.S. Supreme Court

Richard says,

Spoiler

"I don't think the Washington Monument has an entrance, so I'm going to say Washington Monument, final answer."

Spoiler

A. Washington Monument (20)

Spoiler

This is an example of being right for the wrong reasons. Of course the Washington Monument has an entrance; that's how you get inside to take the elevator to the top. It's not a very grand entrance or anything, but a door is still an entrance.

What a stupid question. They wouldn't ask that crap on Jeopardy!

[Bob78164]

$16K: Not sure on this one, as I've seen only one of these movies ("Cocktail"). ATA.

$25K: I knew that Sully would be a WWTBAM question sooner or later... but I still couldn't remember what kind of plane he flew. PAF.

$50K: I knew that Carla Sarkozy is a singer, so B seemed to be the most logical answer. In the HS, though, I probably would've asked KenJen to buy some time and, hopefully, get a confirmation of B.

It did seem truly odd, especially given how the cast usually trash lifelines at the drop of a hat, that he would leave this one on the table on what appeared to be a total guess on his part.

Not that anything is very surprising on this show nowadays.

Mason was a Phone Game player. And Ken said on his own message boards that he would not have known the answer to that question. --Bob

[tanstaafl2]

$16K: Not sure on this one, as I've seen only one of these movies ("Cocktail"). ATA.

$25K: I knew that Sully would be a WWTBAM question sooner or later... but I still couldn't remember what kind of plane he flew. PAF.

$50K: I knew that Carla Sarkozy is a singer, so B seemed to be the most logical answer. In the HS, though, I probably would've asked KenJen to buy some time and, hopefully, get a confirmation of B.

It did seem truly odd, especially given how the cast usually trash lifelines at the drop of a hat, that he would leave this one on the table on what appeared to be a total guess on his part.

Not that anything is very surprising on this show nowadays.

Mason was a Phone Game player. And Ken said on his own message boards that he would not have known the answer to that question. --Bob

Whether KJ would have known it or not still doesn't make it any less surprising to me that the contestant (the title he earns in my book since he wasn't cast via audition) wouldn't use it since it seemed clear he did not know it himself. And many of the phone game contestants seem to have had a propensity for burning lifelines when it appeared they knew the answer. No doubt the pressure of the hot seat and TDC.

Still it seemed odd not to use a lifeline on this one to me. Perhaps to me alone. But odd just the same.

[Jeemie]

What a stupid question. They wouldn't ask that crap on Jeopardy!

Wednesday night on Jeopardy!, they had a clue about Katy Perry!

Now, it was College Jeopardy!, but still...