WWTBAM Bored

Molly Bergman
Grand Rapids, MI
Stay-at-home mom

Molly "can't believe [she's] here." Her husband Jason and dad Paul are in the audience; at home are her 16-month-old twins Mia and Anthony (they show the kids' very cute picture).

Meredith: "They're moving around now, huh?"
Molly: "Yeah, it's kinda like...one moves this way, the other moves that way. Which one's going to get hurt less...OK, I'll go after the other one."

Molly is also playing for her mom, Carol, who was a daily watcher of the show, but passed away a couple of months prior to taping.

Her category tree:

Roots
The Fat Lady Sings
Call Me
Richard Belzer
Ancient Art
Precious Gems
Sold American
Brand Identity
Prey for Us
It's Kosher
Skyscrapers
Involuntary Acts
It's My Life
Talk to the Animals
Zip Codes

$100 (Zip Codes): Saks Fifth Avenue's flagship store has its own ZIP code, 10022-SHOE, for a department that sells what?
A. Jewelry B. Footwear
C. Luggage D. Odor-Eaters

Spoiler

B. Footwear (8)

$200 (Talk to the Animals): "To neigh, as a horse, especially in a gentle tone" is the American Heritage Dictionary's definition of what verb?
A. Whinny B. Bleat
C. Crow D. Gobble

Spoiler

A. Whinny (8)

$300 (It's My Life): What is the last name of the singer who wrote the autobiography "I, Tina"?
A. Ross B. Franklin
C. Turner D. LaBelle

Spoiler

C. Turner (8)

$500 (Involuntary Acts): People commonly use muscles in the stomach, chest, throat and eyelids when performing what involuntary act?
A. Salivating B. Blinking
C. Blushing D. Sneezing

Spoiler

D. Sneezing (7)

$1,000 (Skyscrapers): In its exhibitions, NYC's Skyscraper Museum has regularly displayed photos of which of these iconic buildings?
A. The Alamo B. Monticello
C. The Chrylser Building D. The White House

Spoiler

C. The Chrysler Buidling (5)

$2,000 (It's Kosher): In 2008, Jewish Living magazine went "from Bordeaux to the Napa Valley" for an article that ranks "15 Great Kosher" what?
A. Wines B. Beers
C. Chocolates D. Cheeses

Spoiler

A. Wines (23)

$4,000 (Prey for Us): According to the American Sheep Industry Association, what animals are the leading predators of sheep in the U.S.?
A. Eagles B. Bears
C. Coyotes D. Snakes

Molly chooses to ATA (20):

ATA Results

A. Eagles - 0%
B. Bears - 3%
C. Coyotes - 92%
D. Snakes - 5%

Spoiler

C. Coyotes (16)

COMMERCIAL BREAK

There is no additional banter after the break.

$8,000 (Brand Identity): Russell Brand, the host of MTV's 2008 Video Music Awards, is a famous British what?
A. Painter B. Comedian
C. Athlete D. Chef

Molly isn't sure, and decides to PAF (12). Waiting by the phone are her brother-in-law, Scott, a pharmacist from Grand Rapids, MI; and her brother, Joe, a lawyer in Miami, FL. Molly chooses to call Scott.

PAF

Molly spells Russell Brand's name to Scott, then reads the rest of the question. After about a 10-second pause, Scott (obviously looking it up online) says "Comedian? Yes, comedian, actor, newspaper columnist". Meredith says, "Well, that just suddenly came to him, didn't it?" Molly replies, "Funny, huh?" Meredith: "Well, however you get it!"

Spoiler

B. Comedian (9)

$16,000 (Sold American): In the midst of its infamous 2008 collapse, investment bank Bear Stearns was acquired by what other financial institution?
A. Merrill Lynch B. Goldman Sachs
C. JPMorgan Chase D. Deutsche Bank

Molly chooses to ATE (19).

ATE discussions

Joel: All right, who bought Bear Stearns? Uh, this was just a little while ago. Merrill went under, it wasn't Deutsche Bank....Goldman and JP are still standing, but I'm pretty sure that JP did it. Yeah, it's JP. It could be B, but I'm leaning towards JP.

Molly decides to DD (14). Her first answer is correct.

Spoiler

C. JPMorgan Chase (14)

COMMERCIAL BREAK

Meredith introduces the on-deck contestant, Jack Frost from East Northport, NY, a tugboat operator.

$25,000 (Precious Gems): Believed to curse those who possess it, the Hope diamond is the largest diamond in the world of what color?
A. White B. Pink
C. Canary yellow D. Deep blue

Molly wants to say D., but doesn't want to risk it. She leaves with $16,000.

Spoiler

D. Deep blue (0)

Finally someone from Michigan (and the WEST side of the state!)

I would need ATA on the pop culture question-I've never heard of Russell Brand.

I did know what color the Hope Diamond is, though. I was screaming D at the TV.

BBTranscriptTeam wrote:$500 (Involuntary Acts): People commonly use muscles in the stomach, chest, throat and eyelids when performing what involuntary act?
A. Salivating B. Blinking
C. Blushing D. Sneezing

Spoiler

D. Sneezing (7)

Isn't this kind of a crappy question? Does one really use muscles in the stomach (organ) to sneeze? I'd guess they were referring to the diaphragm, so abdomen would have been a better choice than stomach.

BBTranscriptTeam wrote:Molly Bergman
Grand Rapids, MI
Stay-at-home mom

Molly "can't believe [she's] here." Her husband Jason and dad Paul are in the audience; at home are her 16-month-old twins Mia and Anthony (they show the kids' very cute picture).

Baby hook.

BBTranscriptTeam wrote:Roots
The Fat Lady Sings
Call Me
Richard Belzer
Ancient Art
Precious Gems
Sold American
Brand Identity
Prey for Us
It's Kosher
Skyscrapers
Involuntary Acts
It's My Life
Talk to the Animals
Zip Codes

A $100,000 Richard Belzer question? Hmmm, I wonder what that could be.

$16K: I knew it wasn't Merrill Lynch or Deutsche Bank. I would also ask the expert. With this being a current events question, it's probably the only type of question that Joel Stein is qualified to answer.

BBTranscriptTeam wrote:$25,000 (Precious Gems): Believed to curse those who possess it, the Hope diamond is the largest diamond in the world of what color?
A. White B. Pink
C. Canary yellow D. Deep blue

A dream question for me, as I have actually seen the Hope Diamond up close and personal. I have a picture of it in my Washington D.C. album on my MySpace page.

BBTranscriptTeam wrote:Molly Bergman
Grand Rapids, MI
Stay-at-home mom

There certainly has been a rash of stay-at-home moms on the show (I believe the current streak is three in a row).

BBTranscriptTeam wrote:$16,000 (Sold American): In the midst of its infamous 2008 collapse, investment bank Bear Stearns was acquired by what other financial institution?
A. Merrill Lynch B. Goldman Sachs
C. JPMorgan Chase D. Deutsche Bank

Molly chooses to ATE (19).

ATE discussions

Joel: All right, who bought Bear Stearns? Uh, this was just a little while ago. Merrill went under, it wasn't Deutsche Bank....Goldman and JP are still standing, but I'm pretty sure that JP did it. Yeah, it's JP. It could be B, but I'm leaning towards JP.

Molly decides to DD (14). Her first answer is correct.

Spoiler

C. JPMorgan Chase (14)

I was torn between Chase and Goldman Sachs. Might as well use ATA because we're getting to dollar values where its usefulness diminishes.

BBTranscriptTeam wrote:Meredith introduces the on-deck contestant, Jack Frost from East Northport, NY, a tugboat operator.

Uh, oh, not a good sign.

BBTranscriptTeam wrote:$25,000 (Precious Gems): Believed to curse those who possess it, the Hope diamond is the largest diamond in the world of what color?
A. White B. Pink
C. Canary yellow D. Deep blue

Molly wants to say D., but doesn't want to risk it. She leaves with $16,000.

Spoiler

D. Deep blue (0)

Introducing the next contestant is almost a guarantee that she'd miss this question (I know that it's done in the editing, but still...). I was thinking it was either C or D, so it's time to Double Dip.

Oh, and note to Joel Stern - time to change your shirt, buddy, in order to preserve the illusion that the shows aren't all taped at once. Which brings up the question for hermillion - did TPTB ask you to wear different garments for different contestants?

earendel wrote:Which brings up the question for hermillion - did TPTB ask you to wear different garments for different contestants?

They didn't make any comments about clothing at all. I wore a shirt/jacket combo, and changed jackets during the break between shows 3 & 4 on my own. I think Confessor was the only one who actually noticed.

herjosie wore the same outfit for all of her appearances. She wanted to put on her princess costume, but I thought it was too formal for the event.

hermillion wrote:

earendel wrote:Which brings up the question for hermillion - did TPTB ask you to wear different garments for different contestants?

They didn't make any comments about clothing at all. I wore a shirt/jacket combo, and changed jackets during the break between shows 3 & 4 on my own. I think Confessor was the only one who actually noticed.

Hmmm. Having Meredith and the carry-over contestants change costumes is such an automatic part of the routine, I wonder if any of the APs remembered about this for the experts? Or, with all the fuss that setting up the Skype connection must have already been, did they decide that asking the experts to go change clothes would be a bit much?

$8,000 (Brand Identity): Russell Brand, the host of MTV's 2008 Video Music Awards, is a famous British what?
A. Painter B. Comedian
C. Athlete D. Chef

E. Dickhead

earendel wrote: ...snip of text...

Introducing the next contestant is almost a guarantee that she'd miss this question (I know that it's done in the editing, but still...). I was thinking it was either C or D, so it's time to Double Dip.

...snip of text...

Actually for the shows I watched being taped, the contestant intro is done in real time not in editing. The rule appears to be to introduce the on-deck contestant on the first question after all lifelines have been exhasted (I think there have been some minor violations of this rule). Without any lifelines it is usually the last or one of the last questions that a contestant sees but it is no guarentee that it will be their last one.

---Jay

frogman042 wrote:

earendel wrote: ...snip of text...

Introducing the next contestant is almost a guarantee that she'd miss this question (I know that it's done in the editing, but still...). I was thinking it was either C or D, so it's time to Double Dip.

...snip of text...

Actually for the shows I watched being taped, the contestant intro is done in real time not in editing. The rule appears to be to introduce the on-deck contestant on the first question after all lifelines have been exhasted (I think there have been some minor violations of this rule). Without any lifelines it is usually the last or one of the last questions that a contestant sees but it is no guarentee that it will be their last one.

---Jay

What I meant was that the decision to include the introduction of the "on-deck" contestant was made in editing because although it may be done in real time, it isn't shown every time. As a rule, when I see that I know that the person in the Hot Seat is going to miss the next question.