WWTBAM Bored

Erin Harkey
Sunnyside, NY

Guest host Cat Deeley notes that this is her last day and before introducing the contestant gives a recap of the week. She's met lots of nice people, given away a lot of money and there was even a marriage proposal.

On yesterday's show Erin said that her goal was a washer/dryer. Cat asks why and Erin replies that she won't have children until she has her own washer/dryer. She knows that children mean less time and more laundry and she doesn't want to go to the laundromat. She's been married for four years and her husband John is in the relationship seat. John was excited to hear that Cat was the guest host because he and Erin are big fans of "So You Think You Can Dance?" He pulled some strings and came to town early in order to audition in front of an audience. He was told that he had a few moves and hoped that Cat would look at the tape. Then there's a clip of John dancing on the BAM floor. Afterward Cat asks how much John had to drink before doing the dance. She adds that it was evident that John gave it 100%.

Topic tree:
- Experimental
- Time Magazine
- All Together Now
- I Know That Song
- Web Sites
- The Dalai Lama
- TV Hunks
- Mount Rushmore
- Crossword Clues
- In Excess
- Foul Ball
- Give Me Liberty!
- On The Farm
- Familiar Phrases
- The Body Human

$300 - Which of these farms would most likely feature a hatchery?
A - sheep farm
B - pig farm
C - horse farm
D - chicken farm

Spoiler

D - chicken farm (7)

$500 - The Liberty Bell is pictured on the cover of a Rand McNally road map of what U.S. state?
A - California
B - Texas
C - Pennsylvania
D - Florida

Spoiler

C - Pennsylvania (7)

$1K - In baseball, who is the only fielder positioned in foul territory?
A - catcher
B - shortstop
C - center fielder
D - first baseman

After Erin gives her final answer Cat asks if she's a baseball fan. Erin says no. Cat then reminds her that she had three lifelines, but she didn't need them

Spoiler

A - catcher ()

Cat asks if Erin is feeling good, and if she's feeling John's beat. Cat tells Erin that she's earned the "Ask the Expert" lifeline; today's expert, as has been the case all week, is AJ Jacobs, the author of "The Year of Living Biblically". Cat and AJ exchange pleasantries.

$2K - Alluding to the famous orphan played onscreen by Hayley Mills, the term "Polyanna" refers to a person who is excessively what?
A - loud
B - nervous
C - secretive
D - cheerful

Spoiler

D - cheerful (21)

This is one of Erin's mother's favorite movies.

commercial break

Cat says it's safe to say that Erin has her washer/dryer.

$4K - What country was the subject of the 2008 New York Times crossword puzzle clue "Land of Lima and llamas"?
A - Chile
B - Peru
C - Paraguay
D - Colombia

Spoiler

B - Peru (17)

Erin knows that Lima is in Peru.

$8K - On Mount Rushmore, what U.S. president's sculpted face features a mole that's sixteen inches wide?
A - George Washington
B - Thomas Jefferson
C - Theodore Roosevelt
D - Abraham Lincoln

Spoiler

D - Abraham Lincoln (11)

This isn't something that Erin automatically knew, but she does know that Lincoln had a mole and that it was pretty large.

$16K - Before he was McDreamy on TV's "Grey's Anatomy," Patrick Dempsey played uber-nerd Ronald Miller in what 1980s teen flick?
A - Better Off Dead
B - Can't Buy Me Love
C - Some Kind of Wonderful
D - Footloose

Spoiler

B - Can't Buy Me Love (21)

Erin used to watch this movie in her elementary school days.

Cat says that when she said "McDreamy" Erin did a little sigh and so did the women in the audience.

$25K - After being forced from Tibet in 1959, the Dalai Lama established a Tibetan government-in-exile in what city?
A - Katmandu, Nepal
B - Thimphu, Bhutan
C - Ohaka, Bangladesh
D - Dharamsala, India

Erin is pretty sure she knows this. Cat reminds her that there are 7 seconds on the clock; Erin decides to Phone A Friend with 6 seconds left. Her PAF list includes her friend Sara, a homemaker from Mobile, AL; her friend Tom, a sports writer from Birmingham, AL; and her co-worker Joe, from Astoria, NY. She decides to call Joe. Cat asks why and Erin replies that he's a smart guy in science, which doesn't apply to this question. He looks smart, Cat says. Erin notes that Joe is her boss.

Evidently Joe didn't get the word about the substitute host because he answers the phone by saying, "Hi, Meredith." Cat corrects him. Erin paraphrases the question - "What country did the Dalai Lama go to after he was exiled from Tibet?" It appears as if Joe is reading the question aloud to others and doesn't come up with an answer before the time expired.

Once again Erin says she thinks she knows it, but decides to Ask the Expert with 4 seconds remaining on the clock. Cat feeds AJ the question. He looks it over and says he feels OK about this one - not great, but OK. Erin hopes he feels OK about the same one she feels OK about. Cat asks if they are going to tell.

Spoiler

AJ's gut says that his gut says it's A, and Erin gasps. That's not the one she thinks it is. AJ definitely rules out India and doesn't think it's Bangladesh. Cat asks Erin which one she's thinking and Erin replies, "I thought it was India." Cat asks why. Erin responds that she thinks she heard this because of all of the protests and because he was sick. AJ says that if Erin read it, that's probably right.

The clock starts up again and Erin immediately decides to Ask the Audience, so only one second ticks off the clock.

ATA results:
A - 60%
B - 7%
C - 11%
D - 22%

Cat says that the audience could have been influenced by what either AJ or Erin said. Without allowing the clock to start up again, Erin decides to use her last lifeline, the Double Dip.

Spoiler

Erin goes with her own gut and makes D her final answer. Cat tells her that she has one piece of bad news and that's that Erin probably didn't need to have used any of her lifelines had she had a bit more confidence in herself.

D - Dharamsala, India (3)

commercial break

$50K - Experian.com is a popular Web site that offers "fast, free and easy" what?
A - credit scores
B - stock quotes
C - travel planning
D - software updates

Erin looks impassively at the question, then notes that expedia.com is for travel planning.

Cat says that she'll tell Erin the right answer after a commercial break.

Spoiler

A - credit scores (26)

commercial break

Cat says maybe it's time to think beyond the washer/dryer.

$100K - Written by composer John Williams, the familiar theme song of "NBC Nightly News" has what title?
A - The Truth
B - The Mission
C - The Message
D - The Calling

Erin says that she could guess but $50K is a lot of money so she decides to walk away. After the answer is revealed Cat asks Erin if she would have guessed it. Erin replies that she would have chosen something else.


THE HORN!!!!!!

Spoiler

B - The Mission (17)

BBTranscriptTeam wrote: Erin Harkey
Sunnyside, NY

Guest host Cat Deeley notes that this is her last day and before introducing the contestant gives a recap of the week. She's met lots of nice people, given away a lot of money and there was even a marriage proposal.

On yesterday's show Erin said that her goal was a washer/dryer. Cat asks why and Erin replies that she won't have children until she has her own washer/dryer. She knows that children mean less time and more laundry and she doesn't want to go to the laundromat. She's been married for four years and her husband John is in the relationship seat. John was excited to hear that Cat was the guest host because he and Erin are big fans of "So You Think You Can Dance?" He pulled some strings and came to town early in order to audition in front of an audience. He was told that he had a few moves and hoped that Cat would look at the tape. Then there's a clip of John dancing on the BAM floor. Afterward Cat asks how much John had to drink before doing the dance. She adds that it was evident that John gave it 100%.

Memo to TPTB: This is a GAME SHOW!!! Not an audition for a different show, not "The Bachelor" and not "Queen for a Day".

BBTranscriptTeam wrote:$16K - Before he was McDreamy on TV's "Grey's Anatomy," Patrick Dempsey played uber-nerd Ronald Miller in what 1980s teen flick?
A - Better Off Dead
B - Can't Buy Me Love
C - Some Kind of Wonderful
D - Footloose

Spoiler

B - Can't Buy Me Love (21)

Erin used to watch this movie in her elementary school days.

Cat says that when she said "McDreamy" Erin did a little sigh and so did the women in the audience.

Time for a lifeline - ATA. FWIW I did guess correctly from the comfort of my recliner.

BBTranscriptTeam wrote:$25K - After being forced from Tibet in 1959, the Dalai Lama established a Tibetan government-in-exile in what city?
A - Katmandu, Nepal
B - Thimphu, Bhutan
C - Ohaka, Bangladesh
D - Dharamsala, India

Erin is pretty sure she knows this.

Let's count how many times Erin says this just before burning a lifeline. This is one.

BBTranscriptTeam wrote:Cat reminds her that there are 7 seconds on the clock; Erin decides to Phone A Friend with 6 seconds left. Her PAF list includes her friend Sara, a homemaker from Mobile, AL; her friend Tom, a sports writer from Birmingham, AL; and her co-worker Joe, from Astoria, NY. She decides to call Joe. Cat asks why and Erin replies that he's a smart guy in science, which doesn't apply to this question. He looks smart, Cat says. Erin notes that Joe is her boss.

Evidently Joe didn't get the word about the substitute host because he answers the phone by saying, "Hi, Meredith." Cat corrects him. Erin paraphrases the question - "What country did the Dalai Lama go to after he was exiled from Tibet?" It appears as if Joe is reading the question aloud to others and doesn't come up with an answer before the time expired.

Once again Erin says she thinks she knows it, but decides to Ask the Expert with 4 seconds remaining on the clock.

This is two.

BBTranscriptTeam wrote:Cat feeds AJ the question. He looks it over and says he feels OK about this one - not great, but OK. Erin hopes he feels OK about the same one she feels OK about. Cat asks if they are going to tell.

Spoiler

AJ's gut says that his gut says it's A, and Erin gasps. That's not the one she thinks it is. AJ definitely rules out India and doesn't think it's Bangladesh. Cat asks Erin which one she's thinking and Erin replies, "I thought it was India." Cat asks why. Erin responds that she thinks she heard this because of all of the protests and because he was sick. AJ says that if Erin read it, that's probably right.

OK, the "expert" comes up short once again.

BBTranscriptTeam wrote:The clock starts up again and Erin immediately decides to Ask the Audience, so only one second ticks off the clock.

ATA results:
A - 60%
B - 7%
C - 11%
D - 22%

Cat says that the audience could have been influenced by what either AJ or Erin said. Without allowing the clock to start up again, Erin decides to use her last lifeline, the Double Dip.

Spoiler

Erin goes with her own gut and makes D her final answer. Cat tells her that she has one piece of bad news and that's that Erin probably didn't need to have used any of her lifelines had she had a bit more confidence in herself.

D - Dharamsala, India (3)

Using ATA after two other lifelines, especially ATE, is probably not going to get you very much. As Cat pointed out, the audience was probably influenced by AJ's "expert" status.

As for me, no lifelines needed.

BBTranscriptTeam wrote:$50K - Experian.com is a popular Web site that offers "fast, free and easy" what?
A - credit scores
B - stock quotes
C - travel planning
D - software updates

Erin looks impassively at the question, then notes that expedia.com is for travel planning.

Cat says that she'll tell Erin the right answer after a commercial break.

Spoiler

A - credit scores (26)

Was there really a need to do this?
"Travel planning" was a nasty distractor.

BBTranscriptTeam wrote:$100K - Written by composer John Williams, the familiar theme song of "NBC Nightly News" has what title?
A - The Truth
B - The Mission
C - The Message
D - The Calling

Erin says that she could guess but $50K is a lot of money so she decides to walk away. After the answer is revealed Cat asks Erin if she would have guessed it. Erin replies that she would have chosen something else.

Spoiler

B - The Mission (17)

No idea but I still have lifelines to burn. I don't have much hope in the expert and Double Dip isn't any good, either, so it's time to PAF and hope this is easily Googlable.

Two things about this stack I don't recall seeing (and hope never to see again).

1) Burned all four lifelines on one question! And actually had read the answer recently.

2) Revealing the orrect answer "after the break". Would they really hold the contestant through a break to tell them they were going home??

2) Revealing the orrect answer "after the break". Would they really hold the contestant through a break to tell them they were going home?? [/quote]

I'm sure they were trying to end the show without a carryover, since it was Cat Deeley's last day. That was a way to drag it out.

$8K: It's either Roosevelt or Lincoln. I have to ask the "expert".

$16K: No freakin' clue. Ask the audience.

BBTranscriptTeam wrote:$25K - After being forced from Tibet in 1959, the Dalai Lama established a Tibetan government-in-exile in what city?
A - Katmandu, Nepal
B - Thimphu, Bhutan
C - Ohaka, Bangladesh
D - Dharamsala, India

Erin is pretty sure she knows this. Cat reminds her that there are 7 seconds on the clock; Erin decides to Phone A Friend with 6 seconds left. Her PAF list includes her friend Sara, a homemaker from Mobile, AL; her friend Tom, a sports writer from Birmingham, AL; and her co-worker Joe, from Astoria, NY. She decides to call Joe. Cat asks why and Erin replies that he's a smart guy in science, which doesn't apply to this question. He looks smart, Cat says. Erin notes that Joe is her boss.

Evidently Joe didn't get the word about the substitute host because he answers the phone by saying, "Hi, Meredith." Cat corrects him. Erin paraphrases the question - "What country did the Dalai Lama go to after he was exiled from Tibet?" It appears as if Joe is reading the question aloud to others and doesn't come up with an answer before the time expired.

Once again Erin says she thinks she knows it, but decides to Ask the Expert with 4 seconds remaining on the clock. Cat feeds AJ the question. He looks it over and says he feels OK about this one - not great, but OK. Erin hopes he feels OK about the same one she feels OK about. Cat asks if they are going to tell.

Spoiler

AJ's gut says that his gut says it's A, and Erin gasps. That's not the one she thinks it is. AJ definitely rules out India and doesn't think it's Bangladesh. Cat asks Erin which one she's thinking and Erin replies, "I thought it was India." Cat asks why. Erin responds that she thinks she heard this because of all of the protests and because he was sick. AJ says that if Erin read it, that's probably right.

The clock starts up again and Erin immediately decides to Ask the Audience, so only one second ticks off the clock.

ATA results:
A - 60%
B - 7%
C - 11%
D - 22%

Cat says that the audience could have been influenced by what either AJ or Erin said. Without allowing the clock to start up again, Erin decides to use her last lifeline, the Double Dip.

Spoiler

Erin goes with her own gut and makes D her final answer. Cat tells her that she has one piece of bad news and that's that Erin probably didn't need to have used any of her lifelines had she had a bit more confidence in herself.

D - Dharamsala, India (3)

MBFFB® just exploded again.

$100K: I better PAF on this one.

Is it me, or is that $50K question way too easy? Seems like pretty common knowledge if you watch tv, use the internet or have any amount of credit history.

Clem "predicted" there would be something we've never seen on the show before. But what could that have been?

BBTranscriptTeam wrote:On yesterday's show Erin said that her goal was a washer/dryer. Cat asks why and Erin replies that she won't have children until she has her own washer/dryer. She knows that children mean less time and more laundry and she doesn't want to go to the laundromat.

Is it this "I need a washer/dryer so I can have children" hook?

BBTranscriptTeam wrote:She's been married for four years and her husband John is in the relationship seat. John was excited to hear that Cat was the guest host because he and Erin are big fans of "So You Think You Can Dance?" He pulled some strings and came to town early in order to audition in front of an audience. He was told that he had a few moves and hoped that Cat would look at the tape. Then there's a clip of John dancing on the BAM floor. Afterward Cat asks how much John had to drink before doing the dance. She adds that it was evident that John gave it 100%.

Or maybe it was this "Companion's Dancing Audition"?


Or the four lifelines used on the following question?

BBTranscriptTeam wrote:$25K - After being forced from Tibet in 1959, the Dalai Lama established a Tibetan government-in-exile in what city?
A - Katmandu, Nepal
B - Thimphu, Bhutan
C - Ohaka, Bangladesh
D - Dharamsala, India

Erin is pretty sure she knows this. Cat reminds her that there are 7 seconds on the clock; Erin decides to Phone A Friend with 6 seconds left. Her PAF list includes her friend Sara, a homemaker from Mobile, AL; her friend Tom, a sports writer from Birmingham, AL; and her co-worker Joe, from Astoria, NY. She decides to call Joe. Cat asks why and Erin replies that he's a smart guy in science, which doesn't apply to this question. He looks smart, Cat says. Erin notes that Joe is her boss.

Evidently Joe didn't get the word about the substitute host because he answers the phone by saying, "Hi, Meredith." Cat corrects him. Erin paraphrases the question - "What country did the Dalai Lama go to after he was exiled from Tibet?" It appears as if Joe is reading the question aloud to others and doesn't come up with an answer before the time expired.

Eliminating fluff from a question can be a good idea--if you're sure your paraphrasing doesn't eliminate information that can actually be helpful. Personally, I remember "Dharamsala" being associated with the Dalai Lama's headquarters more distinctly than the country alone. Then again, we may get more news coverage up here than in the rest of the country, since his American headquarters is right here in Ithaca!

BBTranscriptTeam wrote:Once again Erin says she thinks she knows it, but decides to Ask the Expert with 4 seconds remaining on the clock. Cat feeds AJ the question. He looks it over and says he feels OK about this one - not great, but OK. Erin hopes he feels OK about the same one she feels OK about. Cat asks if they are going to tell.

Spoiler

AJ's gut says that his gut says it's A, and Erin gasps. That's not the one she thinks it is. AJ definitely rules out India and doesn't think it's Bangladesh. Cat asks Erin which one she's thinking and Erin replies, "I thought it was India." Cat asks why. Erin responds that she thinks she heard this because of all of the protests and because he was sick. AJ says that if Erin read it, that's probably right.

You know, AJ, I'd bet this answer can be found in that Encyclopedia Britannica that you say you've read cover-to-cover!

But bravo for definitely ruling out the correct answer.

BBTranscriptTeam wrote:The clock starts up again and Erin immediately decides to Ask the Audience, so only one second ticks off the clock.

ATA results:
A - 60%
B - 7%
C - 11%
D - 22%

Dang! The audience apparently doesn't share the same opinion we have of AJ's skill as an expert. Or maybe Katmandu was the only city on this list that any of the audience had ever heard of.

BBTranscriptTeam wrote:$50K - Experian.com is a popular Web site that offers "fast, free and easy" what?
A - credit scores
B - stock quotes
C - travel planning
D - software updates

Erin looks impassively at the question, then notes that expedia.com is for travel planning.

Cat says that she'll tell Erin the right answer after a commercial break.

And one more "first" for the road! <grumble>®

MarleysGh0st wrote:Clem "predicted" there would be something we've never seen on the show before. But what could that have been?

BBTranscriptTeam wrote:
Cat says that she'll tell Erin the right answer after a commercial break.

And one more "first" for the road! <grumble>®

Has that ever been done before? This is what I hated most about other "quiz shows" like Duel and Fifth Grader. I was hoping Millionaire would never stoop to it. Someone mentioned that it was probably so Cat didn't have a carryover so I guess it's okay as long as it doesn't become a trend...

That was what I was referring to.

clem21 wrote:

MarleysGh0st wrote:Clem "predicted" there would be something we've never seen on the show before. But what could that have been?

BBTranscriptTeam wrote:
Cat says that she'll tell Erin the right answer after a commercial break.

And one more "first" for the road! <grumble>®

Has that ever been done before? This is what I hated most about other "quiz shows" like Duel and Fifth Grader. I was hoping Millionaire would never stoop to it. Someone mentioned that it was probably so Cat didn't have a carryover so I guess it's okay as long as it doesn't become a trend...

That was what I was referring to.

They've done that in the past. I've been watching the syndicated Millionaire reruns on GSN and they've actually gone to commercial after the contestant said final answer.

Millionaire Fan wrote:

clem21 wrote:

MarleysGh0st wrote:Clem "predicted" there would be something we've never seen on the show before. But what could that have been?
And one more "first" for the road! <grumble>®

Has that ever been done before? This is what I hated most about other "quiz shows" like Duel and Fifth Grader. I was hoping Millionaire would never stoop to it. Someone mentioned that it was probably so Cat didn't have a carryover so I guess it's okay as long as it doesn't become a trend...

That was what I was referring to.

They've done that in the past. I've been watching the syndicated Millionaire reruns on GSN and they've actually gone to commercial after the contestant said final answer.

Really? I can't recall ever seeing that on a first-run show. Could they be re-editing the tapes for GSN?

It did look like a case of trying to stall for the last couple minutes of Cat's guest hosting, but it was a bad precedent to set. Someone (Cat's publicist?) was trying to talk up this week as a possible preview of Meredith's replacement. While I was encouraged by Cat's ability to remember the full name of the show and the full question, "Is that your final answer?", my overall impression was that we were given a foreshadowing of all the gimmicks that would come with her. Marriage proposals on stage, taped stunt videos, cliff-hanger commercial breaks--I fear that nothing we've seen on DoND and 5th Grader would be too cheap a trick to bring into WWTBAM. And Cat would say it's all marvelous!

MarleysGh0st wrote:

Millionaire Fan wrote:

clem21 wrote: Has that ever been done before? This is what I hated most about other "quiz shows" like Duel and Fifth Grader. I was hoping Millionaire would never stoop to it. Someone mentioned that it was probably so Cat didn't have a carryover so I guess it's okay as long as it doesn't become a trend...

That was what I was referring to.

They've done that in the past. I've been watching the syndicated Millionaire reruns on GSN and they've actually gone to commercial after the contestant said final answer.

Really? I can't recall ever seeing that on a first-run show. Could they be re-editing the tapes for GSN?

It did look like a case of trying to stall for the last couple minutes of Cat's guest hosting, but it was a bad precedent to set. Someone (Cat's publicist?) was trying to talk up this week as a possible preview of Meredith's replacement. While I was encouraged by Cat's ability to remember the full name of the show and the full question, "Is that your final answer?", my overall impression was that we were given a foreshadowing of all the gimmicks that would come with her. Marriage proposals on stage, taped stunt videos, cliff-hanger commercial breaks--I fear that nothing we've seen on DoND and 5th Grader would be too cheap a trick to bring into WWTBAM. And Cat would say it's all marvelous!

Meredith did exactly that to many contestants in the first three or four seasons of Syndy BAM.

I watched Friday's show and KNEW there would be grumbles* aplenty when I saw Erin's hubby doing that ridiculous dance. Companions are supposed to sit in the relationship seat and not talk, move, or do anything else to take the focus away from the person who is IN THE HOT SEAT-unless the host asks them to say something encouraging to the contestant.

This show has gotten so far from what it used to be. REGIS wouldn't have a companion dancing on HIS version of BAM!

WWTBAM used to do the we will show you this question right after this thing during the first few seasons. I have FF through much of the past 2 seasons, so I didn't notice if they stopped.

Kazoo65 wrote:
This show has gotten so far from what it used to be. REGIS wouldn't have a companion dancing on HIS version of BAM!

In the later stages of PTBAM, Regis would not have met such ordinary folks as he would be too busy chatting it up with his celebrity pals.

Kazoo65 wrote:I watched Friday's show and KNEW there would be grumbles* aplenty when I saw Erin's hubby doing that ridiculous dance. Companions are supposed to sit in the relationship seat and not talk, move, or do anything else to take the focus away from the person who is IN THE HOT SEAT-unless the host asks them to say something encouraging to the contestant.

This show has gotten so far from what it used to be. REGIS wouldn't have a companion dancing on HIS version of BAM!

The producers let him dance just a few minutes before the first taping of the day began. Also he danced for about a minute or two, but of course due to time restraints they only showed 10 seconds of him dancing. Too bad they didn't show the whole thing he did a really cool spinarooni.