the first ever pop culture showdown, which was called pop culture showdown two-thousand diggity seven

Congratulations to Aaron, the Champion of Pop Culture Showdown Two-Thousand Diggity Seven.

Aaron defeated Zack by a score of 15-13 in a riveting contest. There were some kinks in the process, but all-in-all, I think both contestants lost points on my mistakes more or less equally. To see both contestants, who I view as omniscient in pop culture matters, stumped on several questions illustrated to me the vast ocean of useless information with which we can fill our brains if we only apply ourselves.

Thanks to Cora for showing us the Google gadget, and thanks to the Bombjacks for the Special Halftime Show (see transcript).

Here is the transcript, lightly edited to remove emails:

***

11:51 AM Alan has joined

Aaron has joined

11:52 AM Scott has joined

Zachary has joined

Scott: here I am

me: hello everyone

Aaron: I appear to be here as well

me: zack?

Zachary: Present.

11:53 AM Beau has joined

me: murray? "present"

themickell has joined

Beau: ah themickel

me: good to see you. excitement is in the air

Aaron: Quite a turnout so far

me: anyone know where captain emus is?

themickell: Greetings
I imagine this is how it felt just before the very first Olympics

11:55 AM Beau: and the first special olympics

themickell: lol

me: by way of announcement, we have our next match scheduled. themickel and sorro (beau) will compete to challenge today's winner for the title.
their match will be next week

themickell: That's right...
Better start watching Baywatch Sorro

11:56 AM Beau: how many mitch baywatch questions will we have?

me: none
okay, enough horsing around

themickell: Does that mean we're starting?

me: in a minute

11:57 AM or four to precise
to be precise
so today we are going to have 30 questions. you all sent way less than i hoped
but it's okay

Aaron: boo to everyone

Beau: yeah, i definitely dropped the ball

themickell: I am hanging my head in shame

Beau: what can i say, it was donarudoson's fault

me: there are three additional tie-breaker questions
let me state now, there may not be perfect balance between the years, and the four rough fields of film, TV, video games, and music
i know there will be less video game questions probably
so, uh, no crying

Beau: are we spectators only, or do we get to heckle or whatnot? what's the watcher's rights?

me: 2. I will post a question, and the moment it appears in the window, the players are free to respond.
3. The first player to respond wins two points if his answer is correct (I will use male pronouns throughout the rules, not for convenience, but because there is no way a woman could win this, owing to inherent, gender-based pop-culture knowledge inferiority).
4. If the first player to respond is incorrect, and the second player is correct, the second player wins one point.
5. Each player has two chances to answer a question. Therefore, if neither player responds correctly the first time, they each have another chance to respond again.

no heckling, as it may interfere with questions and answers. there will be a halftime, and it may be entertaining

Beau: ok

12:01 PM me: do you understand the rules, players?

Scott: BE AGGRESSIVE!

Zachary: Yes.

Scott: B-E AGGRESSIVE

me: scott, you are warned!!!

12:02 PM JK LETZ __B FRIENDZ

Aaron: One question: If both contestants answer incorrectly, is there some sort of signal that it's time to answer again? Or do we just keep firing answers out as fast as we think of them?

me: good question. after one try each, i will ask for the second response by saying "2nd response"

12:03 PM also, in questions where a list is required, the entire answer must come at once, not piecemeal

Julie has joined

12:04 PM me: hello julie

Aaron: Yes, hello Julie

Julie: hello derek.
and Aaron

Alan: and alan!

Scott: I should mention that heckling can be done via each spectator's status message

Julie: and alan, of course

me: okay, there's a lady in the room, good thing it smells nice in here
12:05 PM nice suggestion on heckling.

Julie: well hopefully I'll be heading to bed soon

me: okay, are we ready?

Aaron: yes, ready

Zachary: Yeah.

me: ok just a sec

12:06 PM alright. here we go

1. Q. In the movie poster for the film "My Blue Heaven",what mechanical device is Steve Martin holding on to?

Aaron: lawnmower

me: yes

next question

2. Q. How many colored stickers are contained on a standard Rubik's Cube?

12:07 PM Aaron: 54

me: yes
sorry i have to check something
related to the next question
12:09 PM ok i am skipping to q4, just in case. feel free to boo me

Aaron: boo

Zachary: boo

me: thank you

4. Q. What is the name of the animated show that aired from 1978 to 1985 and whose five main protagonists formed a team called G-Force?

Aaron: battle ofthe planets

Zachary: Gatchaman

12:10 PM Aaron: name here or in japan
?
me: aaron is correct, the question was for the USA

Aaron: Science Ninja Team Gatchaman in Japan, no?

Zachary: True, so incorrect regardless.

me: i should point out here, any question which may have multiple national answers should be assumed to be for the USA
i should have specified that

12:11 PM ok here we go

5. Q. Who was the founding guitarist for the band Judas Priest?

12:12 PM 10 seconds

Aaron: Tommy Iommi

me: time up
wrong

Aaron: That's Sabbath

12:13 PM me: ok, we need to figure out how to time things, i realize. if you don't care, i will just say 10 seconds after a reasonable amount of time
ok?

Zachary: Sure.

Aaron: that's fine by me

me: alright

Aaron: It may vary depending on the question
Since some answers take longer

12:14 PM me: ok here we go

6. Q. When you jump on the flag at the end of a level in Super Mario Bros., what numbers give
you a bonus if the clock is stopped on them?

Aaron: 3, 7, 9, 0

me: yes

12:15 PM 7. Q. What is the name of the movie that served as the debut for Nintendo's Power Glove?

Zachary: THe Wizard

Aaron: the wizard

me: yes

Aaron: pouts

me: ?

Aaron: I'm pouting, nothing to see here

12:16 PM me: ah. btw, capitals are entirely optional

Zachary: I'm just a stickler for correctness, it does slow you down, though.

me: haha ok
here wo go

8. Q. List the four characters you can choose to be on Super Mario Bros. 2, and list along side each character which ability it has that exceeds the others.
12:17 PM Zachary: Princess, long jump, Luigi , air control, Mario, balanced, Toad, quick grab
Aaron: luigi - jumping, princess - floating, toad - strength, mario all around good guy

me: zack is correct

Aaron: I think so too

me: ok, is anyone keeping score?

12:18 PM i want to verify my own

Alan: you can just go over the chat transcript

me: ok cool
12:19 PM here we go

9. Q. What element of the video for Power Station's "Some Like it Hot" was controversial?
Aaron: naked people?
me: no
10 seconds
ok

12:20 PM A. A Transsexual Model

Aaron: A naked transsexual model?

me: nope
ok here goes

10. Q. What year did Johnny Carson last host the Tonight show as its regular host?

12:21 PM Aaron: 1991

me: no

Zachary: 1993

me: no
10 seconds

Aaron: 1992

me: yes

12:22 PM that is 1 pt

Zachary: Weren't you supposed to prompt for the second response?

Aaron: I was waiting for the signal to answer again. Should we just wait for the second wrong answer then go for it?

me: oh that is right
okay, i messed that one up

12:23 PM in the future, if two wrong responses are made, automatically begin 2nd response
sorry, no points for that one

12:24 PM ok here goes

11. Q. What two comedians joined Saturday Night Live in 1985?

Aaron: joe piscopo, eddie murphy

12:25 PM me: sorry. no

12:26 PM 10 sec
2nd?

Aaron: dennis miller, dana carvey

me: wrong. dennis miller and jon lovitz
and sorry about the waits there

12:27 PM here goes

12. Q. What woman did Vanna White succeed as hostess (eye candy) on Wheel of Fortune?
10 seconds
12:28 PM A. Susan Stafford

here goes

Aaron: by the way, what was the judas priest answer?

me: oh yeah. KK Downing or Kenneth Downing
12:29 PM ready?

13. Q. Who directed Star Trek: Insurrection?

Zachary: Jonathan Frakes

Aaron: jonathan frakes

me: yes
zack wins
the question
next
here goes

14. Q. Name a member of the group Ace of Base.

12:30 PM Aaron: Benny, Bjorn, Agnetha, Frida
me: incorrect. that contains names not in the group

12:31 PM Zachary: Bjorn

me: 2nd response?

no

Aaron: agnetha

me: incorrect
10 sec

Zachary: Benny

me: no
Jonas Berggren, Jenny Berggren, Linn Berggren, Ulf Ekberg
here we go

12:32 PM 15. Q. What song won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1980?

Aaron: Up where we belong

me: no
2nd response?

Aaron: where you're going to (theme from mahaogany)

12:33 PM me: no
10 sec

A. Fame

Aaron: I AM going to live forever
me: okay it's halftime
sorry about the flaws in the system

Zachary: I am humbled by these questions.

me: this is a first time thing after all

12:34 PM Aaron: The most important thing is to kep it fair so that the winner doesn't have to live with any taint

me: this showdown has been brought to you by wikipedia

Alan: i'm impressed about the battle of the planets answer. i thought i was the only one on earth remaining who remembered it, unless you count the freaks on wikipedia.

me: does everyone feel that things are more or less fair so far?
haha awesome al

Scott: seems pretty fair

12:35 PM Aaron: If you go back in the wikipedia history, you'll see I've actually edited the battle of the planets article on wikipedia

me: haha

Aaron: so, i am one of the freaks

me: that is fantastic

Scott: I suppose the only flaw, inherent in all quiz games, is that the method for delivering the answer can become really important when both know the answer

Alan: ok, don't look at the calvin and hobbes article... :)
12:36 PM me: right. typing is surely a skill that helps, as a penchant for capitalization may hinder

Zachary: True, I expected it to disadvantage me more, as like Derek, I type by the method devised by Messrs Hunt and Peck.

me: haha

Aaron: The answers you know are coming in pretty fast, zack
12:37 PM I think because you're in Japan, the questions must come to you a millisecond faster
me: any heckling, peanut gallery?haha

Scott: hmm
12:38 PM I was disappointed to see Aaron miss the Judas Priest one
I figured it was a sure thing

Aaron: Me too, I blanked

Scott: but oh well

Aaron: I'm pretty well versed in 80s metal, normally

Alan: i just think derek needs to smooth out his game show host patter.

Scott: agreed

12:39 PM me: i am pretty proud of the fact that neither of you are getting all the answers. that was a man goal toady
agreed

Alan: don't we need some brief interviews with the candidates at this point?

Scott: right

Zachary: Can we know the current score, or do we have to wait for it to be announced at the end?

Alan: s/candidates/contestants

Aaron: I like when it says Beau, Derek

me: scott, can you tally the current score? my count has aaron at 9 and zack at 6...

12:40 PM Alan: scott's tally will have the full weight of the law behind it

me: i got busy and thinnk i may have missed one somewhere
too bad cap'n isn't here. he's already barred

Scott: wait, how many points for a correct answer?

Beau: he got banned?

me: 2 for initial, 1 for second

barred. legally.

Scott: and you didn't give points to Aaron for his second response initially

12:41 PM me: beh?

Alan: pre-disbarred. :)

Aaron: no points for the tonight show one

me: alright, then, while scott tallies, we have a special halftime show for you. please watch http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cTHM1InRYk

Scott: I have 8-6

me: alright

12:42 PM we will make a careful official tally at the end

Aaron: That was awesome

Beau: great halftime show

Scott: very nice

12:43 PM Alan: except for bombjack's wardrobe malfunction there

me: i hope you liked it. special thanks to the bombjacks

Scott: I believe no points have been awarded for second chance answers, and aaron has answered 4 correctly, zack 3

me: ok great
nice close match boys

Zachary: That's closer than I thought it was.

12:44 PM me: things are about to HEAT UP IN THE SECOND HALF!

Alan: ::does the wave::

Scott: jazzdancerzzzzzzzz

me: doe wave when it gets to japan
does
okay are we ready to get going again?

Aaron: ready

Zachary: Yeah.

Scott: yeah

me: alright
here goes
12:45 PM 16. Q. What is the first name of the commander of Voltron Force?
10 sec
A. Keith

12:46 PM hello?

Aaron: hello?

me: am i online?

Aaron: I see you

Zachary: Waiting for the next question, and yes you're online.

Aaron: I'm just stumped into silence

me: i had a computer slowdown, plus i was shocked no one knew that

12:47 PM ok good. here goes.

Aaron: I have no excuse

Zachary: Neither do I.

me: ok here goes

17. Q. Name 5 of the 15 top grossing films of 1984
12:49 PM 10 seconds

Aaron: 48 hours, road warrior, rocky iii, ..

me: no
ok 2nd response
12:50 PM 10 seconds
time up

A. Ghostbusters, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Gremlins, Beverly Hills Cop, Terms of Endearment, The Karate Kid, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, Police Academy I, Romancing the Stone, Sudden Impact, Footloose, Splash, Purple Rain, Amadeus, The Terminator

12:51 PM Zachary: In the case of questions with lists, do you have to meet the questions requirement, or just outdo the other player?

me: ready for next zack?
you must meet the requirement

Zachary: ok, ready.

me: here goes

18. Q. Who won Best Actor in 1984?

12:52 PM Aaron: Ben Kingsley

me: no
10 sec

A. F. Murray Abraham (Amadeus)

12:53 PM here goes

19. Q. What duo recorded the 1982 album Pac Man Fever?

Zachary: Buckner and Garcia

Aaron: buckner agn sfg
aggh

me: correct
here goes

20. Q. When was the game Frogger first introduced?

Zachary: 1980

Aaron: 1982

me: no, and no
2nd

Aaron: 1981
Zachary: 1981

12:54 PM me: aaron gets it

21. Q. On what video game console was the first Resident Evil game released?

Zachary: Playstation

Aaron: playstatin

me: yes
zack gets it
here goes

22. Q. What is the full name of "The Nanny" on the eponymous television series?
12:55 PM 10 sec

Aaron: Fran johnson

me: no
2nd
10 sec

A. Fran Fine
12:56 PM jeez, ladies, maybe we should tone these down for you. sorry, heckling from he announcer
ok here goes

23. Q. What actress divorced Lenny Kravitz in 1993?

Aaron: lisa bonet

me: yes
12:57 PM here goes

24. Q. What is the name of the thing that Link must gather in the Legend of Zelda, and how many fragments is it found in?

Aaron: triforce

me: no

Aaron: triforce - 4

me: i need both answers
aaron is wrong on both

12:58 PM let me clarify - he is wrong on both occasions he responded
10 sec

Zachary: triforce, 8

me: correct
12:59 PM that was hairy, and i may have messed it up with my answer, but as a correct second response i award one point

Zachary: I will admit I was confused by your phrasing.

me: are we ready?

Aaron: ready

Zachary: Yes.

me: here goes

25. Q. What hit album did Suicidal Tendencies release in 1988?
1:00 PM 10 sec

A. How Will I Laugh Tomorrow When I Can't Even Smile Today
here goes

26. Q. What is the name of the character Frank Zappa played on the TV series Miami Vice?
1:01 PM 10 sec

A. Mr. Frankie, a criminal boss
here goes

27. Q. What was the occupation of the protagonists in The Abyss?

1:02 PM Aaron: oil drileers
me: yes
here goes

28. Q. What music group is most famous for having fought Napster?

Aaron: metallica

Zachary: Metallica

me: aaron gets it
here goes

29. Q. What three television shows aired successively on ABC on Tuesday nights in 1989-90?

Aaron: family matters, who's the boss, perfect strangers

me: no

Aaron: not in that order
either

me: 2nd response?
1:04 PM Aaron: perfect strangers, family matters, dynasty?\

me: no

Zachary: Full House, Family Matters, Perfect Strangers

me: no

A. Who's the Boss, The Wonder Years, Roseanne
come on, that was TGIF stuff guys

Aaron: TGIT?

1:05 PM me: ok here goes

30. Q. What Sega mascot did Sonic the Hedgehog replace in 1991?

Zachary: Alex Kidd

me: yes

alright, scott, what is the tally?

Scott: haven't been keeping track
I'm studying while I periodically check in...

1:06 PM Julie has left

me: i have aaron 15, zack 13 tentatively
what a match
can both contestants please count their points so we can come to agreement on the official results. i know it's a pain...

Alan: i concur with derek's tally

1:08 PM themickell has left

Aaron: I believe your count to be correct

Beau: it was quite close, congrats to aaron, king of the world of pop culture showdowns

Zachary: I also agree about the final score.

me: Great job, guys. I was very impressed by both contestants, though I think both were somewhat humbled.

Aaron: I'm very proud to have won, but humbled to find that Zack is a much more formidable opponent than I had hoped

me: Congratulations, Aaron, you are the Champion of Pop Culture Showdown Two-
Thousand Diggity Seven.

Aaron: I'm embarrased to have missed some of the ones that I did

me: [applause]

Zachary: I was lucky that there were video game questions, and am impressed with Aaron's knowledge.

Scott: congrats to you all. some of those were very difficult, and you both represented yourselves very well

1:10 PM Alan: all contestants will receive a year's supply of rice-a-roni and a copy of the home game.
but i am disappointed derek didn't use my other question

me: aaron, any words as champion?
which one al?

Alan: and that i came up with another question during this showdown
the billy joel one

Beau: there are no losers in pop culture showdown two thousand diggity seven

me: send it to me. there is an other coming

1:11 PM Alan: ok

Aaron: That was a lot more tense and a lot less fun than I had thought, since I was on the edge of my seat the whole time
I can't wait to be a spectator at the next one

me: Zack?
any words (you were typing haha)

1:12 PM Zachary: I was also surprised how tense it was, but it was fun. I expected to be beaten soundly, but acquitted myself decently, if I say so myself.

Aaron: Yeah, in a rematch, I would strongly suspect that Zack has it in him to win
1:13 PM I fear the eventual day

me: it is certainly in the future i think. we have two titans of the field, but today aaron reigns supreme. good night and god bless
i will post the trascript (sans emails) on the blog later

1:14 PM Scott: alright, congratulations Derek on a successful pop culture showdown
this was meaningful for me

Aaron: Thanks Derek for doing this. Good game, Zack

Beau: we don't have to send 4.95 to transcripts c/o the cheeth?
it was fun to watch
i look forward to playing next week

Alan: i enjoyed it

me: i couldn't have done it without my country's inane culture

Scott: ok, goodbye.

Scott has left

me: yes, send 4.95 to Derek, PO Box 4345 Livingston, NJ

1:15 PM Zachary: Thanks for putting this on, and not just leaving it as some fanciful idea. Good game.

me: good job man. have a good one

Aaron: goodbye everyone

Aaron has left

me: bye everyone

Beau: bye

Beau has left

Zachary: bye

Zachary has left

1:16 PM Alan: don't bother about me, i'm just sweeping up the confetti.
this was fortuitous for me since i didn't really do anything to join. my gmail tab was flashing and somehow i had gotten into the group chat.

***

That's it. Next week, will will have a contender match between themickel and Sorro to see who challenges for the title. I definitely see a rematch between Aaron and Zack in the future, though. I don't see either of them losing to anyone I can think of.

Also, what happened to you, Captain Emus? We missed you.