July 29, 2002

10:05 PM

So I'm watching Dog eat Dog tonightMostly for the incredibly tasty Brooke Burns. And for the contestant to win, one of the losers had to miss the question "Which 32'd president said 'We have nothing to fear but fear itself?'". Now the guy said he was guessing and answered "Roosevelt", but he didn't clarify, Teddy? or FDR? They said he got it right so the contestant lost. Personally I think a retraction or apology is due.
posted by bitdamaged (20 comments total)

I see dead people.
posted by Perigee at 10:19 PM on July 29, 2002

This is truly a black eye on the entire reality TV game show world. Someone better lose their job over this gaffe.
posted by senorbunch at 10:22 PM on July 29, 2002

Technically they should have asked him to clarify with a first name. As cute as Brooke is, I highly doubt she knows the answers to most of the trivia questions she reads off those cue-cards, this one included. Hey, ya gotta give the dude who answered "Ro osevelt" a little credit. The girl who went before him was asked "What is the largest nation, sizewise, in the Americas?" She hemmed and hawed and finally settled on "Asia."
posted by bonheur at 10:24 PM on July 29, 2002

Heh. Private Eye runs a "Dumb Britain" feature. Two highlights from the current edition:

Anne Robinson: In Asian geography, Vietnam has borders with Laos, Cambodia and which other country?
Contestant: America.

AR: What was the last state to join the USA?
Contestant: Canada.
posted by MiguelCardoso at 10:33 PM on July 29, 2002

You mean "Dog Eat Dog" contestants are stupid!?!?! My whole world view is shattered.
posted by McBain at 10:44 PM on July 29, 2002

Heh. I saw one episode of Dog Eat Dog a few weeks ago. The final question that came to one of the contestants in the 'dog pound' (or whatever the hell the holding pen for the losers is called) was in the category of 'History.'

The question: who served as both vice-president and president without being elected to either office? (You all know the answer, right?)

Her answer: Colin Powell

I had to have my ass re-attached after laughing it off.
posted by Dirjy at 11:17 PM on July 29, 2002

I have a theory that the contestants for "Dog Eat Dog" are chosen from the people on "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire" who get the $100 question wrong.

Asia?!?! To quote Nick Burns, "They teach this kind of stuff on Blue's Clues!"
posted by filmgoerjuan at 11:18 PM on July 29, 2002

Maybe they should have a special "Celebrity Jeopardy" featuring former Dog Eat Dog contestants.

"Here's your audio daily double clue... name this continent: ASIA."
posted by nath at 11:54 PM on July 29, 2002

This must one of those TV shows for cats I heard about.
posted by pracowity at 12:29 AM on July 30, 2002

I think this thread turned in on itself in a puff of logic when it began with the phrase:

So I was watching DOG EAT DOG tonight... :)

(by the way, it's sitting on my TiVo right now, don't spoil it next time!)
posted by jca at 12:55 AM on July 30, 2002

There's a quiz show in Ireland thats famous for its dense answers. It's a speed quiz, but there's still no excuse for answers like these .....

Q: What is Hitlers first name? A: Heil
Q: Name a famous bridge? A: Bridge Over Troubled Waters
Q: Name a bird with a long neck? A: Naomi Cambell

More at: www.oxygen.ie/unilife/unilife_ffwd_gogan.php3
posted by kev23f at 1:50 AM on July 30, 2002

Another beauty from last night's show:

Q: What is the largest country in the Americas?

**much thought**

A: Asia

Host: Sorry, the answer is Canada.

Humanity's finest hour: Whatever, I don't live in Canada!
posted by thewittyname at 3:45 AM on July 30, 2002

Um. Jay Leno has filled airtime for years now with Jaywalking, where he asks people questions that generally bespeak either a basic 8th-grade education, or at least reading the papers. Then he shows the slack-jawed answers he gets. It's kind of nice that he assumes the audience mostly knows the correct answer, though on the other hand it would also be nice to display the real answer for the benefit of those who don't. I'm not sure how those people are supposed to feel. And I wonder how many people are laughing to cover up how dumb they are.

And this has now morphed into a mini-industry, sparking two separate game shows (one died), where asking people on the street questions is the whole point; and possibly contributing to the quiz-show craze (even if both big names were imported).

But frankly, I have no idea why Dog Eat Dog would spend time asking trivia questions of its contestants. We {speaking metaphorically here} want to watch them on the vomit comet. It's all getting overdone to the point where even enthusiasts of the genre are bewildered.

In the end, there's still only one quiz show that counts.
posted by dhartung at 6:13 AM on July 30, 2002

AR: What was the last state to join the USA?
Contestant: Canada.

This, of course, is true, as they joined the Union right after Afghanistan and Iraq in 2012.
posted by rushmc at 6:50 AM on July 30, 2002

dhartung: We {speaking metaphorically here} want to watch them on the vomit comet.

Umm...two words: strip football.

(Now strip football *on* the vomit comet -- that would put the ratings through the roof).
posted by filmgoerjuan at 7:19 AM on July 30, 2002

The only way you could get me to watch one of those idiotic network TV game shows at this point is if contestants got a finger chopped off every time they missed an answer or maybe it could be like the Milgram experiment with higher and higher shock voltages.

Host: No! I'm sorry! Bolivia is part of South America, not Africa. 450 volts for you! Bzzzzzzzzzzt!
posted by mark13 at 9:08 AM on July 30, 2002

I remember watching Family Feud once, and during the speed round the host asked "Name an animal with three letters in its name." The contestant got completely flummoxed and shouted "alligator!!"
posted by Shadowkeeper at 9:34 AM on July 30, 2002

This story comes from Wheel of Fortune. The topic is "phrase". The board reads "_T TAKES ONE TO KNOW ONE". The contestant proudly announces she would like to solve.

"E.T. takes one to know one!"
posted by SiW at 10:00 AM on July 30, 2002

There's a quiz show in Ireland thats famous for its dense answers. It's a speed quiz, but there's still no excuse for answers like these .....

It's amazing that most of the contestants on this quiz should also have featured on Family Fortunes. And made the same gaffes again.
posted by MUD at 11:38 AM on July 30, 2002

ah nuts, some people just never learn.
including me.
posted by kev23f at 1:49 AM on July 31, 2002