Jeemie wrote:Not everybody in the universe is enamored of the Olympics. I think you're being quite harsh.
And the Plus One is essentially the Phone a Friend with the PAF being right there in the studio with you.
The reason he/she has probably been unhelpful is because the contestants probably don't do good quality control on the Plus Ones they pick.
Just like the PAF's effectiveness depended on good quality control (even if your PAF was Googling, he/she had to be a good fast Googler).
The Plus One is like the PAF, but with far greater restrictions and burdens. We on the Bored know all the details about the burdens of being a PAF that the general audience never did understand (the five, later three, PAFs being preselected and having to make themselves available by a land-line phone for a several hour taping window, etc.). Now there's one and only one Plus One, who must be preselected by the contestant, give up a day or more work, and bear all the costs of travel to CT.* (Not so much of a burden for the still predominantly Where Else contestant pool, but still...) What that all adds up to is the Plus One is almost a family member or close friend, and almost never someone chosen for their trivia skills.
*Even Bob of Many Numbers might have a hard time volunteering to be a Plus One, these days.