Transcript 9/24/2010 - Mario Cantore (carryover contestant)

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Mario Cantore
Comedian/Actor

Topic Tree: (randomized)
- One Name Wonder
- Money Talks
- Be Brave
- Stamp Collecting
- No Place Like Sports
- Advertising
- Variety Show
- Friendly Skies?
- TV Debuts
- Big Beasts

Mario has already banked $39,000 and has his two Jump the Question lifelines. He comes onstage acting like a prizefighter. He says it's "very scifi, thrilling and scary...it's different." He says he watches the show every day when he's not working, which is almost every day.

Question #6 (No Place Like Sports)
Dorothy of "The Wizard of Oz" must follow what two sports leagues to root for teams named "Lions" and "Tigers" and "Bears"?

A - NHL and NBA
B - NBA and MLB
C - MLB and NFL
D - NFL and NHL

Mario says "This is like a gay straight question...When I saw 'Wizard of Oz' I thought 'Yea' but then I saw sports and said 'I'm screwed'." Meredith asks him to give her a chance to read the answers. After she does Mario says "All I'm hearing is letters and bluriness." He chants, "Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!" and repeats the first part; someone from the audience shouts out "oh my!" and the camera pans over to where it came from. Mario says his father was a bookie and bet on sports. He mentioned the

Spoiler

Chicago Bears

but doesn't know what sport they play. He finally decides to use one of his JTQ lifelines. The crowd boos and Mario shouts, "I'm not taking any chances!" He does want to guess, however, and when the answer is revealed he asks,

Spoiler

"What is the MLB?"

Meredith and the crowd tell him what it is.

Spoiler

Answer: C (MLB and NFL)
Value: $500
Bank: $39,000 (no change)

Question #7 (Stamp Collecting)
In 2010, Gene Autry, Tom Mix and Roy Rogers appeared on a U.S. stamp in a collection called what "of the Silver Screen"?

A - Detectives
B - Cowboys
C - Knights
D - Gangsters

Spoiler

Answer: B (Cowboys)
Value: $25,000
Bank: $64,000

commercial break

Meredith comments that the fact that Mario knows nothing about sports means nothing because he has

Spoiler

$64K

in the bank.

Question #8 (Be Brave)
What American author is credited with popularizing the Spanish word "cojones" as a synonym for bravery?
A - Hunter S. Thompson
B - Jack Kerouac
C - J.D. Salinger
D - Ernest Hemingway
Meredith cautions Mario that this is a family show, then asks what he knows about cojones. The audience roars with laughter. Mario thought the word was Italian, then does an imitation of the Jersey Shore actor "The Situation". He doesn't think he knows this, but he tries to work through the answers. He eliminates

Spoiler

Salinger and Hemingway

but he could be completely wrong. Rather than risk it he uses his second JTQ. When the answer is revealed Mario says he never would have guessed that.

Spoiler

Answer: D (Ernest Hemingway)
Value: $3000
Bank: $64,000 (no change)

Question #9 (Money Talks)
Which of these Latin phrases does not appear on the back of a current $1 bill?

A - Regnat populus
B - E plurbus unum
C - Annuit coeptis
D - Novus ordo seclorum

Mario says he knows that

Spoiler

E plurbus unum

is there. He thinks the answer is

Spoiler

A

. Meredith reminds him that if he answers incorrectly he gets the $10,000 that every contestant gets for this special week but if he walks away he earns $32,000 for the Alzheimer's Foundation. Mario says if it was his money he'd mess with it. He doesn't want to walk away but he's going to, "Renee".

Spoiler

Answer: A (Regnat populus)
Value: $
Bank: $32,000 (half of the $64,000)

When Meredith tells him the answer he looks heartbroken and lies down on the "Hot Podium".

[earendel]

Mario Cantore
Comedian/Actor

I don't know who this guy is, but - and I can't believe I'm saying this - he makes me yearn for the days of TDC®. His endless unfunny (to me) rants about each question are a waste of air time. If I were a person prone to profanity I'd be shouting "STFU" at the screen.

Question #8 (Be Brave)
What American author is credited with popularizing the Spanish word "cojones" as a synonym for bravery?
A - Hunter S. Thompson
B - Jack Kerouac
C - J.D. Salinger
D - Ernest Hemingway
Meredith cautions Mario that this is a family show, then asks what he knows about cojones. The audience roars with laughter.

Then why ask the question, Meredith?

Spoiler

Answer: D (Ernest Hemingway)
Value: $3000
Bank: $64,000 (no change)

My first thought would have been Hemingway also, but Thompson is a good distractor. In the old days the dollar value of the question might have given a hint.

Whew! It was exhausting just watching him.