Transcript 03/17/2009 Rich Gangel

[BBTranscriptTeam]

Rich Gangel
San Francisco, CA
Retired

Does some stretching with Meredith before the questions begin

Topic Tree:

In the Doghouse
Down Under
Counting Cards
War Heroes
The Mother Country
For Openers
Papered Pets
TV Dads
Headliners
Know Your ABC's
Oldies But Goodies
Loaded Questions
KP Duty
Sweet Charity
Something Fishy


$100 (Something Fishy):
Which of these well-known islands lends its name to a type of tiny, anchovy-like fish that is often packed tightly in a can?
A. Ireland B. Sardinia
C. New Guinea D. Mackerel-gascar

Spoiler

B. Sardinia [:08]

$200 (Sweet Charity):
In the charity event "Ante Up for Africa," celebs such as Adam Sandler and Don Cheadle played what game?
A. Golf B. Chess
C. Poker D. Tennis

Spoiler

C. Poker (:10)

$300 (KP Duty):
Which of these kitchen items most closely resembles a hemisphere?
A. Salad fork B. Cookie sheet
C. Spatula D. Cereal bowl

Spoiler

He goes with spatula, final answer, then says "Oh, no, I did it. Oh God (in despair)" then a more matter-of-fact "Oh, Well"

D. Cereal bowl (:05)

Llama


Commercial break

[Snaxx]

TDC ®

[Kazoo65]

Another case where the contestant is ruined by TDC*.

I wonder if the clock will be back next season.

[ontellen]

Absolutely. It took me a few seconds to actually process what they meant by a hemisphere when it related to kitchen utensils. Not something you think of everyday. I hate the clock. That was what I always thought was the true beauty of this show plus the 4 possible answers. How many times have you known the answer on J and not been able to think of it but if the 4 answers are provided, you know it right away.

[Brit Canuck]

What this show needs is a "Stop The Clock" lifeline. Ideal for questions like this with big words in them like 'hemisphere', or questions requiring you to remember obscure nursery rhymes from your early childhood, or a question about math, or a question about the difference between a catcher and a shortstop (that came up a few weeks ago, luckily, the contestant got it right, but two of the answers made sense to me), or a question about "Thirty Days Hath April". Fifteen seconds is not enough time to think about questions like that, and you end up burning more valuable lifelines on impulse, just to stay in the game - or taking the risk and losing, as two contestants have now done in as many weeks.

When used, a 'Stop The Clock' lifeline would eliminate the clock for one question only. Time remaining on the clock when the lifeline is used would not be banked towards the time limit for the Million Dollar Question, but the contestant would have unlimited time to answer that one question, after, of course, *thinking it out*. Ideal for one of those tricky first tier questions that require you to take your time and think for a moment.

Anyone else thinking we need something like that?

[ulysses5019]

What this show needs is a "Stop The Clock" lifeline. Ideal for questions like this with big words in them like 'hemisphere', or questions requiring you to remember obscure nursery rhymes from your early childhood, or a question about math, or a question about the difference between a catcher and a shortstop (that came up a few weeks ago, luckily, the contestant got it right, but two of the answers made sense to me), or a question about "Thirty Days Hath April". Fifteen seconds is not enough time to think about questions like that, and you end up burning more valuable lifelines on impulse, just to stay in the game - or taking the risk and losing, as two contestants have now done in as many weeks.

When used, a 'Stop The Clock' lifeline would eliminate the clock for one question only. Time remaining on the clock when the lifeline is used would not be banked towards the time limit for the Million Dollar Question, but the contestant would have unlimited time to answer that one question, after, of course, *thinking it out*. Ideal for one of those tricky first tier questions that require you to take your time and think for a moment.

Anyone else thinking we need something like that?

You'll get a "yes" vote from Rich.

[NellyLunatic1980]

TDC ®

What he said.

[gsabc]

Don't know what the bowls in your house look like, but ours resemble very flat domes, not hemispheres. Put two together and you get an ovoid, not a sphere.

I suppose since the other choices are flat, it's the only answer possible here. Still, IMO a badly worded question for this level. Replace "hemisphere" with "dome", and it's more appropriate.

[Estonut]

I suppose since the other choices are flat, it's the only answer possible here. Still, IMO a badly worded question for this level. Replace "hemisphere" with "dome", and it's more appropriate.

How, exactly, would "dome" be more appropriate? Sometimes, a bonehead is just a bonehead.

From M-W on-line:

Main Entry: 1dome
Pronunciation: \ˈdōm\
Function: noun
Etymology: French, Italian, & Latin; French dôme dome, cathedral, from Italian duomo cathedral, from Medieval Latin domus church, from Latin, house; akin to Greek domos house, Sanskrit dam
Date: 1513
1archaic : a stately building : mansion
2: a large hemispherical roof or ceiling
3: a natural formation or structure that resembles the dome or cupola of a building
4: a form of crystal composed of planes parallel to a lateral axis that meet above in a horizontal edge like a roof
5: an upward fold in rock whose sides dip uniformly in all directions
6: a roofed sports stadium
7: a person's head
— dom·al \ˈdō-məl\ adjective

[gsabc]

I suppose since the other choices are flat, it's the only answer possible here. Still, IMO a badly worded question for this level. Replace "hemisphere" with "dome", and it's more appropriate.

How, exactly, would "dome" be more appropriate? Sometimes, a bonehead is just a bonehead.

From M-W on-line:

Main Entry: 1dome
Pronunciation: \ˈdōm\
Function: noun
Etymology: French, Italian, & Latin; French dôme dome, cathedral, from Italian duomo cathedral, from Medieval Latin domus church, from Latin, house; akin to Greek domos house, Sanskrit dam
Date: 1513
1archaic : a stately building : mansion
2: a large hemispherical roof or ceiling
3: a natural formation or structure that resembles the dome or cupola of a building
4: a form of crystal composed of planes parallel to a lateral axis that meet above in a horizontal edge like a roof
5: an upward fold in rock whose sides dip uniformly in all directions
6: a roofed sports stadium
7: a person's head
— dom·al \ˈdō-məl\ adjective

Maybe it's only me, but when I think of a dome, I don't think of a full half-sphere. I think of something rounded but flatter than a hemisphere. Yeah, he probably rushed it because of TDC, but still ...

[Estonut]

Maybe it's only me, but when I think of a dome, I don't think of a full half-sphere. I think of something rounded but flatter than a hemisphere.

So you're talking about a shape like a cutting a third of an egg from the large end. Many capitol domes, though, are pointier (less flatter than a hemisphere), like a third of an egg from the pointy end.

[earendel]

Rich Gangel
San Francisco, CA
Retired

Does some stretching with Meredith before the questions begin

Stretching?? What is this, morning aerobics??

$300 (KP Duty):
Which of these kitchen items most closely resembles a hemisphere?
A. Salad fork B. Cookie sheet
C. Spatula D. Cereal bowl

Spoiler

He goes with spatula, final answer, then says "Oh, no, I did it. Oh God (in despair)" then a more matter-of-fact "Oh, Well"

D. Cereal bowl (:05)

Maybe instead of stretching the body Rich should have stretched his brain.

[owenziligation]

Another case where the contestant is ruined by TDC*.

I wonder if the clock will be back next season.

Well, don't get your hopes up. As much as I hate the clock, I don't see it being gone for a while. The clock is shown through the show's current theme and usually when they have a new theme, they keep it for about 3 seasons. So for that reason, I just don't see the clock being gone until then. I'm probably being ridiculous here but that's my logic.

And as for Rich, I didn't look like he was rushing at all. To me, it looked like he was taking a few seconds to think the question through, locked in the incorrect answer, then sat there all calm with the answer locked in until Meredith told him he was wrong and Rich said "Oh, no. I did it," because he was leaving with nothing.

[tanstaafl2]

I suppose since the other choices are flat, it's the only answer possible here. Still, IMO a badly worded question for this level. Replace "hemisphere" with "dome", and it's more appropriate.

How, exactly, would "dome" be more appropriate? Sometimes, a bonehead is just a bonehead.

What Estonut said. Clock or no clock that is just a brain fart and you just have to live with it.
I can sympathixe because I can easily do the same thing and have (Not confuse a spatula for a hemisphere, I mean have a brain fart), but I probably won't. It just wasn't that hard or badly worded to me.

[MarleysGh0st]

What Estonut said. Clock or no clock that is just a brain fart and you just have to live with it.

Agreed. However, if not for TDC, Rich could have taken a deep breath and recovered from that brain fart.

[ghostjmf]

And now we're back to "let me entertain you". He was a likeable guy. But he should have been listening. There's enough time to go back to being "likeable 1st" after you've won some money.

[takinover]

What this show needs is a "Stop The Clock" lifeline. Ideal for questions like this with big words in them like 'hemisphere', or questions requiring you to remember obscure nursery rhymes from your early childhood, or a question about math, or a question about the difference between a catcher and a shortstop (that came up a few weeks ago, luckily, the contestant got it right, but two of the answers made sense to me), or a question about "Thirty Days Hath April". Fifteen seconds is not enough time to think about questions like that, and you end up burning more valuable lifelines on impulse, just to stay in the game - or taking the risk and losing, as two contestants have now done in as many weeks.

When used, a 'Stop The Clock' lifeline would eliminate the clock for one question only. Time remaining on the clock when the lifeline is used would not be banked towards the time limit for the Million Dollar Question, but the contestant would have unlimited time to answer that one question, after, of course, *thinking it out*. Ideal for one of those tricky first tier questions that require you to take your time and think for a moment.


Anyone else thinking we need something like that?

I would rather that than Ask the Expert.