Favorite Quiz Bowl related movie/series/episode

[Bigfoot isn't the pr]

Personally, I am quite fond of the King of the Hill episode where Bobby joins the quiz bowl on the virtue of his trash knowledge. Anyone else have favorites?

[David Riley]

I like that one, too; also the "Boy Meets World" episode where Topanga and company match wits with the "Einstein Academy".

And let us not forget "Mean Girls". . .

[Stained Diviner]

As the father of three small children, I am partial to the Fairly Oddparents episode where Timmy knows everything until the Championship Match, when Cosmo and Wanda don't allow him to use his superpowers. Fortunately, the final question is about video games, something Timmy is an expert on even without his powers. That episode inspired me to write a question on the medulla oblongata, which is one of the answers Timmy gives when he is supersmart.

(In case anybody is wondering, I wrote this of my own volition. I am not going to claim in a few hours that somebody hijacked my account.)

[cvdwightw]

That episode inspired me to write a question on the medulla oblongata

Did you make sure to note that it was the true reason alligators get mad?

I think we tried to list all the ones we could think of in the college Discussion section a while back.

[Tegan]

"Family Ties" had an episode where ditzy Mallory had to be recruited to join Alex's TV team ... Alex spends most of the episode deridinger her lack of knowledge, when of course he has a "Deer in the headlights" moment when the show actually tapes leading tohilarious consequences.

For those too young "Family Ties" was the show Michael J. Fox was on in the 1980s ....

[AndyShootsAndyScores]

For those too young "Family Ties" was the show Michael J. Fox was on in the 1980s ....

Oh, that was the name of the show.

I also enojyed the Boy Meets World and The Fairly Oddparents episdoes, but another one that comes to mind is the Hey Arnold! episode where Phoebe and Helga end up squaring off in the finals of their school. Anyone else remember Hey Arnold?

[Byko]

Does anyone remember the show Head of the Class from back in the late 80s? I remember one episode in which Fillmore took on a team of Soviets and, in a let's-try-to-solve-the-Cold-War moment, when nobody got the last question right and the match ended in a tie, they agreed to leave it a tie.

Now there's a show that I wish they'd air re-runs of.

[MiltonPlayer47]

There was an episode of Step by Step where Dana and Cody coached a team of misfits who would be competing against a private school in a televised quiz bowl competition. I think the actor who played the original black ranger on the power rangers was on the underdog team.

If I remember correctly there was also an episode of Pinky and the Brain where the Brain went on a Jeopardy! style show and answered every question.

[Sen. Estes Kefauver (D-TN)]

What about the episode of Golden Girls when Bea Arthur tries out for Jeopardy? Bea Arthur is hott.

[Byko]

What about the episode of Golden Girls when Bea Arthur tries out for Jeopardy? Bea Arthur is hott.

How frightening it is that I remember that one! The lesson: making fun of other competing contestants for confusing Pentecost and Pentateuch doesn't help one's chances to get on the show!

[ezubaric]

Does anyone remember the show Head of the Class from back in the late 80s? I remember one episode in which Fillmore took on a team of Soviets and, in a let's-try-to-solve-the-Cold-War moment, when nobody got the last question right and the match ended in a tie, they agreed to leave it a tie.

Now there's a show that I wish they'd air re-runs of.

Ah, when they do it on TV it's solving the cold war. When two teams from NJ do it at ACF Fall, it's a travesty.

[Bigfoot isn't the pr]

For those too young "Family Ties" was the show Michael J. Fox was on in the 1980s ....

Oh, that was the name of the show.

I also enojyed the Boy Meets World and The Fairly Oddparents episdoes, but another one that comes to mind is the Hey Arnold! episode where Phoebe and Helga end up squaring off in the finals of their school. Anyone else remember Hey Arnold?

Yeah, I remember Hey Arnold. The only thing I remember from that episode is one of the questions was "What is the capital of Montana?". I also remember the episode where Helga's sister Olga wins the spelling bee by properly spelling Guam

[Sen. Estes Kefauver (D-TN)]

Wasn't Olga the hot sister? Helga was a hardcore beezy, but I emulate her because I have a gum statue of Chris Ray in my closet with some candles and love notes.

Oh, I got banned from the missouri board today. it was funny.

[Red-necked Phalarope]

Yeah, I remember Hey Arnold. The only thing I remember from that episode is one of the questions was "What is the capital of Montana?". I also remember the episode where Helga's sister Olga wins the spelling bee by properly spelling Guam

I'm pretty sure that was 'qualm'. (Not 'qualx'.)

There's also the episode of Spin City where the guy that Richard Kind played won on Who Wants to Be A Millionaire by random guessing, but that's a bit beyond the scope of this topic...

[David Riley]

There was also a Head of the Class episdoe. not with Howard Hesseman but the British guy, where the class is stranded on a field trip and challenge the mechanics at a service station, who beat them hands down.

[ecks]

Oh, I got banned from the missouri board today. it was funny.

What!? Where was that?

[NoahMinkCHS]

Anybody remember the TV version of The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes with Kirk Cameron? If imdb is to be believed, it probably wasn't that good, but since it came out around the same time I was first exposed to quizbowl in elementary school, I remember it fondly because an college quizbowl TV show features prominently.

[swwFCqb]

For those too young "Family Ties" was the show Michael J. Fox was on in the 1980s ....

Oh, that was the name of the show.

I also enojyed the Boy Meets World and The Fairly Oddparents episdoes, but another one that comes to mind is the Hey Arnold! episode where Phoebe and Helga end up squaring off in the finals of their school. Anyone else remember Hey Arnold?

Actually, I remember that episode too. I think the winning answer was the chickadee, correct? Anyways, I enjoyed watching that show a lot.

[Sen. Estes Kefauver (D-TN)]

Oh, I got banned from the missouri board today. it was funny.

What!? Where was that?

In the All-Purpose districts thread, in response to Coleman Mitchell's last response. Brandon then posted his response seconds after Bill deleted my post. I dropped a few swear words and called Coleman a retard, among other things. I thought it was pretty accurate, though. They modified my suspension so I can post on Tuesday.

[Golden Tiger 86]

Yeah, I remember Hey Arnold. The only thing I remember from that episode is one of the questions was "What is the capital of Montana?". I also remember the episode where Helga's sister Olga wins the spelling bee by properly spelling Guam

I'm pretty sure that was 'qualm'. (Not 'qualx'.)

There's also the episode of Spin City where the guy that Richard Kind played won on Who Wants to Be A Millionaire by random guessing, but that's a bit beyond the scope of this topic...

No, I think Helga blew that one on purpose (Olga had blown in it earlier, and her dad---who bore an UNCANNY resemblence to Jack Arnold from "The Wonder Years"---reminded her over and over about it).

I also remember the episode where Helga forced Phoebe to lose the school-wide quiz bowl thing just so she could outshine Olga. Thanks to guilt and an appearance in a dream from Arnold, she "got sick" on the way to the tournament and Phoebe ended up winning the whole thing.

[No Sollositing On Premise]

My favorite item that could be considered a part of this category is the short story General Knowledge, Private Information by George MacDonald Fraser, in the short story collection McAuslan in the Rough. It's about a quiz bowl competition between two rival British Army platoons stationed in post-WWII Africa. It's pretty awesome.

[Tegan]

Murphy Brown did an episode where her newsteam was on a local Washington college show. They were rather convinced that they needed no preparation to win because their generation was far smarter than anything this generation could throw at them.... until they showed up to "practice" and got embarassed.

I know they battened down the hatches to practice, but I don't recall if they managed to win.

[Lapego1]

Drake and Josh, where Drake just does quizbowl to impress the babes, or "babe" in this case being the only girl on the team. The question that would decide the match was "Name any three noble gases". Drake gets the answers throughout the match in a feed from Josh, though repeatedly negs due to radio interference with a local fast food drive-thru. He still manages to come out with that last one after a strangely extended pause from both teams (and gets the "babe" in the end, who was very nerdy in my opinion).

[AndyShootsAndyScores]

Yeah, I remember Hey Arnold. The only thing I remember from that episode is one of the questions was "What is the capital of Montana?". I also remember the episode where Helga's sister Olga wins the spelling bee by properly spelling Guam

I'm pretty sure that was 'qualm'. (Not 'qualx'.)

There's also the episode of Spin City where the guy that Richard Kind played won on Who Wants to Be A Millionaire by random guessing, but that's a bit beyond the scope of this topic...

No, I think Helga blew that one on purpose (Olga had blown in it earlier, and her dad---who bore an UNCANNY resemblence to Jack Arnold from "The Wonder Years"---reminded her over and over about it).

I also remember the episode where Helga forced Phoebe to lose the school-wide quiz bowl thing just so she could outshine Olga. Thanks to guilt and an appearance in a dream from Arnold, she "got sick" on the way to the tournament and Phoebe ended up winning the whole thing.

Yes, the word was "qualm." Yes, Helga blew it on the same word (qualm) that Olga won it on. And yes, the chickadee was the final answer. Man, I thought it was bad enough for me to remember the Hey Arnold! plot, let alone question topics.

Also, Olga was the hot one.

[swwFCqb]

Yeah, I remember Hey Arnold. The only thing I remember from that episode is one of the questions was "What is the capital of Montana?". I also remember the episode where Helga's sister Olga wins the spelling bee by properly spelling Guam

I'm pretty sure that was 'qualm'. (Not 'qualx'.)

There's also the episode of Spin City where the guy that Richard Kind played won on Who Wants to Be A Millionaire by random guessing, but that's a bit beyond the scope of this topic...

No, I think Helga blew that one on purpose (Olga had blown in it earlier, and her dad---who bore an UNCANNY resemblence to Jack Arnold from "The Wonder Years"---reminded her over and over about it).

I also remember the episode where Helga forced Phoebe to lose the school-wide quiz bowl thing just so she could outshine Olga. Thanks to guilt and an appearance in a dream from Arnold, she "got sick" on the way to the tournament and Phoebe ended up winning the whole thing.

Yes, thw word was "qualm." Yes, Helga blew it on the same word (qualm) that Olga won it on. And yes, the chickadee was the final answer. Man, I thought it was bad enough for me to remember the Hey Arnold! plot, let alone question topics.

Also, Olga was the hot one.

Although she was a cartoon character, I totally agree with you. Is that weird if I think cartoon characters are hot?

[AndyShootsAndyScores]

Is that weird if I think cartoon characters are hot?

Of course not.

[Stained Diviner]

It's not really Quiz Bowl, but in The High School Musical Gabrielle helps win the State Academic Decathlon Title (actually a much cooler version of Academic Decathlon than the real thing, involving chemistry labs and solving problems head-to-head on a chalkboard) while Troy wins the State Basketball Title. Both get interrupted so they can try out for the musical, and in the end they end cliques at their school.

It makes me wonder what they will accomplish in the sequel. Find Osama? End Global Warming? Maybe she'll take up Basketball and lead Rutgers to the National Title?

[David Riley]

Another one. . .

On Burt Reynolds'/Marilu Henner's sitcom Evening Shade, Herman Stiles [played by the late Michael Jeter] is shown practicing with his team. They never show an actual match, but they definitely went to central casting for nerds, methinks.

[Important Bird Area]

the short story General Knowledge, Private Information by George MacDonald Fraser, in the short story collection McAuslan in the Rough... It's pretty awesome.

What laszlow said.

[MiltonPlayer47]

If spelling bees are included in this topic, there was an episode of Full House where Stephanie lost her school spelling bee because she could not spell "mnemonic."

There was an episode of Family Matters where Eddie used Steve's transformation chamber to become a nerd so he could go on a quiz show and win money. Steve found out about it and went on the show, and there was a question where the answer was Edward Hopper, and Steve and Eddie both starting giving random facts about his life.

[wd4gdz]

The Day After Tomorrow!

[grapesmoker]

There was that one episode of the Simpsons where Lisa went to ICT, heard a tossup on Best Buy, and threw Donald Taylor at the moderator.

oh wai....

[cvdwightw]

There was that one episode of the Simpsons where Lisa went to ICT, heard a tossup on Best Buy, and threw Donald Taylor at the moderator.

Did she neg with "Gateway" after it became bleedingly obvious?

I swear I've seen that one before...

[jonpin]

How about Better Luck Tomorrow? Sure it was allegedly Academic Decathlon, but as I recall they showed people with buzzers during tryouts/practices.

[No Sollositing On Premise]

There was an episode of Family Matters where Eddie used Steve's transformation chamber to become a nerd so he could go on a quiz show and win money. Steve found out about it and went on the show, and there was a question where the answer was Edward Hopper, and Steve and Eddie both starting giving random facts about his life.

Holy ****, I totally remember that. And then they both miss a Tyra Banks question for the win, lose all their money, and then the loser third contestant wins everything because he didn't buzz in on a question for the entire game (everyone starts with ten points). Great stuff, but the Frazier short story just kicks its ass.

[theMoMA]

Really surprised no one has mentioned the episode of the UK Office "The Quiz."

[Kyle]

It's not really Quiz Bowl, but in The High School Musical Gabrielle helps win the State Academic Decathlon Title (actually a much cooler version of Academic Decathlon than the real thing, involving chemistry labs and solving problems head-to-head on a chalkboard) while Troy wins the State Basketball Title. Both get interrupted so they can try out for the musical, and in the end they end cliques at their school.

It makes me wonder what they will accomplish in the sequel. Find Osama? End Global Warming? Maybe she'll take up Basketball and lead Rutgers to the National Title?

I read somewhere that in the sequel they are going to be lifeguards. Having been a lifeguard for five summers (my summers are very much like Baywatch, I promise), I can tell you what should happen in the movie. Gabriella should use her Academic Decathlon intelligence to figure out how to keep track of the pool chemicals and then should add the right amount of chlorine to keep the pool from being shut down by the health department. Then she should sing a song about how quickly the sun renders inactive the sodium hypochlorite if your cyanuric acid concentration is low. I would watch that.

[xXWinter_FoXXx]

What was that one show about the alien guy names Lloyd, I think it was like Lloyd in Space or something like that where the brain guy's friend got disabled and he had to fill in.

[cvdwightw]

I thought that was a debate team thing. I could be wrong though.

[xXWinter_FoXXx]

I thought that was a debate team thing. I could be wrong though.

Oh yeah, it was... nevermind. :p