Kareem, do you like movies about gladiators?

October 16, 2009 1:57 PM

Epic fail for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, but a fun one. The Hall-of-Fame NBA center bricks a Celebrity Jeopardy question seemingly gift-wrapped for him. Kareem wouldn't be a Jeopardy pushover -- he's the author of several history books, but the night's win went to Michael McKean. You know, Lenny.
posted by Cool Papa Bell (39 comments total)

You'll rue the day you crossed me, Trebek!
posted by threetoed at 2:04 PM on October 16, 2009 [3 favorites]

Who is Lewis Alcindor?
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 2:11 PM on October 16, 2009 [1 favorite]

Mike and Mike reckon that Kareem thought that the question was about "who said that?". While it is patently obvious that was not the question, I will also give Kareem the benefit of the doubt coz I always go with what Mike says. Or Mike.
posted by Nick Verstayne at 2:12 PM on October 16, 2009 [1 favorite]

Well, he's also besties with Christopher Guest and Harry Shearer, not exactly a dull bunch.
posted by Diablevert at 2:14 PM on October 16, 2009 [1 favorite]

"We have clearance, Clarence."
"Roger, Roger. What's our vector, Victor?"
posted by schleppo at 2:26 PM on October 16, 2009 [2 favorites]

Michael McKean is pretty much my hero. One of the first bands i was ever in, Morris Fletcher, was named after his character on the x-files episodes dreamland 1 and 2 (and he was on a lone gunmen and i think 1 other x file, but i could be wrong).
posted by djduckie at 2:34 PM on October 16, 2009

Normally to defeat him you have to kick out all the windows.
posted by Artw at 2:35 PM on October 16, 2009 [2 favorites]

"Is it Ghostbusters 2?"
posted by joe lisboa at 2:39 PM on October 16, 2009 [3 favorites]

A bit of a derail: I'm surprised to see 4chan lingo making its way onto the blue and into mainstream use. When do I start saying that this epic fail was epic lulz?
posted by battlebison at 2:45 PM on October 16, 2009

Have you missed several years worth of fail blogs?
posted by Artw at 2:46 PM on October 16, 2009

and i think 1 other x file

McKean has a cameo, as Fletcher I think but not explicitly identified as such, in season five or six, when Mulder and Scully head with the Gunmen off to a security conference. Scully ends up basically roofied, and has a brief cigarette-centric flirtation with Fletcher before Frohicke yanks her away from the crowd of conventiongoers she's charming.

Michael McKean is awesome, and the two-parter he's in earlier on is silly and has some problems but is very fun regardless.
posted by cortex at 2:55 PM on October 16, 2009

Could it be ABBA?
posted by Mental Wimp at 3:11 PM on October 16, 2009

Dreamland is the only body-swapping story in TV, movies, or print that I have found anything but asinine. Anyways, I wouldn't expect anything less on Jeopardy from David St. Hubbins, metalheads tend to be trivia dumps as it's a compulsion that lends itself to obsessive gathering and cataloging of data. Yes I am aware that David St. Hubbins doesn't exist.
posted by mediocre at 3:16 PM on October 16, 2009 [1 favorite]

I am so completely jealous of Michael McKean. Good lord, the man is in Spinal Tap AND the Folksmen, he gets to hang out with Harry Shearer and Christopher Guest (who presumably brings Jamie Lee Curtis with him), and he's also married to one of my longest-running crushes, the beautiful and talented Annette O'Toole?

Talk about leading a charmed life. Sheesh.
posted by mr_crash_davis mark II: Jazz Odyssey at 3:29 PM on October 16, 2009

McKean has a cameo, as Fletcher I think

That is Season Six's "Three of a Kind." He also appeared in the Season Nine's "Jump the Shark" and the "All About Yves" episode of The Lone Gunmen.

/your friendly neighborhood X-Files nerd
posted by Rangeboy at 3:32 PM on October 16, 2009

"Jump the Shark"

Oh god, that's right. Credit due the writing staff for self-awareness, anyway.
posted by cortex at 3:42 PM on October 16, 2009

Mike and Mike reckon that Kareem thought that the question was about "who said that?".

I agree with that. The problem with Jeopardy is that the producers seem determined to turn the show into a reading comprehension contest rather than a general knowledge quiz. So instead of "He was the first man to break the sound barrier," you get monstrosities like "You'll have 'the right stuff' if you can name this first pilot to break the sound barrier, played by Sam Shepard in the 1983 movie based on Tom Wolfe's novel." Like: dude, what are you even asking?

(Oh, and the category would be something like “Famous Chucks.”)
posted by Ian A.T. at 3:47 PM on October 16, 2009 [2 favorites]

Credit due the writing staff for self-awareness, anyway.

A couple of seasons too late, I would argue.
posted by Rangeboy at 3:54 PM on October 16, 2009

This dude at my job came to work as Kareem in Airplane! last Halloween. It was pure awesomeness: pilot's uniform on the upper half of his body, gold shorts, knee braces, and sneakers on the lower.
posted by jeremy b at 4:06 PM on October 16, 2009 [2 favorites]

Was it the end of "jump the shark" where the lone gunmen died? That was fucking tragic. it was like, sure they are heroes, but at what cost? :(
posted by djduckie at 4:06 PM on October 16, 2009

I'm surprised to see 4chan lingo making its way onto the blue and into mainstream use.

You're only two months behind the new york times.
posted by empath at 4:10 PM on October 16, 2009

Seems like as good a place as any to bring this up: say
Happy 99th Birthday to UCLA's legendary coach, John R. Wooden!!
posted by Davenhill at 4:15 PM on October 16, 2009 [1 favorite]

Earliest use of "full of fail" that I can find on metafilter -- May 2007
posted by empath at 4:18 PM on October 16, 2009

Earliest "Epic Fail" - July 2007
posted by empath at 4:21 PM on October 16, 2009

Earliest "failboat" - june 2007
posted by empath at 4:22 PM on October 16, 2009

I agree with Nick Verstayne (and Mike. or Mike.)

That question was phrased somewhat confusingly (as I read it; didn't watch). I think Kareem just instantly thought "Oh, an Airplane reference" = slam dunk.
posted by mrgrimm at 4:55 PM on October 16, 2009

Man, Kareem never really tries until the playoffs.
posted by Horselover Fat at 5:25 PM on October 16, 2009 [1 favorite]

A true WTF moment (to use another one of them intarweb catchy-phrases), but for a full half-hour-minus-commercials, it's weak sauce (is that another one of 'em?) compared to when Andy "I Got Nothing to Do, Conan" Richter thoroughly PWN3D (another... aw fuggeddaboudit) Wolf "I Got Nothing to Say, CNN" Blitzer last month. But if somebody can find an excuse to do a Jeopardy! post once a month., I have no objection.

And as a lo-o-o-ng time Laker fan (I got the autograph of other-guy-on-the-starting-team-with-West-Wilt-and-Elgin Happy Hairston in a supermarket 35 years ago), I have seen Kareem blow a slam dunk on the court more than once; too bad Chick Hearn isn't around anymore to declare that 'the mustard slipped off the hot dog'.
posted by wendell at 5:30 PM on October 16, 2009 [1 favorite]

I dunno who Lenny is, but that David St. Hubbins guy totally owned that Jeopardy round.
posted by rokusan at 6:01 PM on October 16, 2009

I fail to see the epicness in this fail.
posted by juiceCake at 6:05 PM on October 16, 2009

I think Weird Al wrote a song about this once.
posted by giraffe at 6:07 PM on October 16, 2009 [1 favorite]

McKean got his comedy start alongside Harry Shearer and David L. "Squiggy" Lander as part of "The Credibility Gap", not quite following in the radio tradition of "The Firesign Theater" but awesome in their own way. For an earful of McKean, Shearer, Lander and radio-newsman-voiced Richard Beebe (.), here's some audio from Harry's site, plus a pre-Spinal-Tap musical memory masher (Jackson 5 in German jibberish!)

"The Who's on first, Guess Who's second, and third? YES!"
posted by wendell at 6:09 PM on October 16, 2009

I dunno who Lenny is

Not LENNY!
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 6:16 PM on October 16, 2009 [1 favorite]

To complete the 4-channity, Kareem completes a full facepalm upon realization of his epic fail.
posted by Ghidorah at 6:51 PM on October 16, 2009

In the summer of '05 I got a Netfilx subscription (3 at a time!) and started with X-Files Season 1 disc 1. I finished the final season 9 disc in the summer of '07. There were a handful of super awesome episodes, a great many good ones, some meh ones, and another handlful of total stinkers (and a few that were worse than that).

It's all a bit of a blur, but dreamland was one two of the best episodes. Fantastic!
posted by xorry at 6:52 PM on October 16, 2009

So what would have happened had Soledad O'Brien actually finished the game with -$200? Would she have to give Trebeck the money?
posted by randomination at 9:36 PM on October 16, 2009

The problem with Jeopardy is that the producers seem determined to turn the show into a reading comprehension contest rather than a general knowledge quiz.

There's that and the intrusion of multiple ad placements masquerading as an entire category. The ones where the correct response is a product brand name (or some such variation on that theme.) There's at least one of these categories per-show now. I guess they need to pay for that new, fugly set.
posted by Thorzdad at 7:47 AM on October 17, 2009

The problem with Jeopardy is that the producers seem determined to turn the show into a reading comprehension contest rather than a general knowledge quiz. So instead of "He was the first man to break the sound barrier," you get monstrosities like "You'll have 'the right stuff' if you can name this first pilot to break the sound barrier, played by Sam Shepard in the 1983 movie based on Tom Wolfe's novel." Like: dude, what are you even asking?

This sort of thing has always bothered me in another way, too: It flies in the face of the premise of the show.

The ostensible hook of the show is that you see an answer and ask a question with that answer as its answer. This is fine in theory:

"Who is Chuck Yeager?"

"The first person to break the speed of sound."

"Oh. Neat! Thanks."

But no, instead it's:

"Who is Chuck Yeager?"

"You'll have 'the right stuff' if you can name this first pilot to break the sound barrier, played by Sam Shepard in the 1983 movie based on Tom Wolfe's novel."

"Uh... what?"

posted by Flunkie at 1:46 PM on October 17, 2009 [1 favorite]

just answering to the user..Lew Alcindors is the great kareem
posted by andyg at 2:38 AM on November 11, 2009