OPHIRA EISENBERG, HOST:
Right now, we're about to get down to business with Nick Hudak and Curtis Dunn. They are our first two fabulous contestants.
(APPLAUSE)
EISENBERG: Nick, you're a trivia guy.
NICK HUDAK: I generally like to think so.
EISENBERG: Do you watch any "Jeopardy?"
HUDAK: I do. My father actually was on "Jeopardy." He did very well until the very end, and then we lost. But we won a lovely refrigerator and a signed home edition.
EISENBERG: Wow. And you could hold that against him for the rest of your life, so that's good too.
HUDAK: It's like we put it on the tape where it was like Tom goes to L.A. and gets his - kicked.
EISENBERG: Well done.
(LAUGHTER)
HUDAK: Refrigerator, he gets his refrigerator kicked.
EISENBERG: Curtis, are you a trivia buff?
CURTIS DUNN: I guess. I'm here.
(LAUGHTER)
EISENBERG: Yeah, well do you have any specialty?
DUNN: Oscar trivia.
EISENBERG: Interesting.
DUNN: Academy Award trivia.
EISENBERG: All right, do you watch "Jeopardy?"
DUNN: Yeah.
EISENBERG: Because "Jeopardy" is the bane of all quiz shows. Why, do you ask? Because they program contestants to answer every answer in the form of a question. We're going to embrace that. In this game, which is inventively called, Answer in the Form of a Question. See what we did there?
(LAUGHTER)
EISENBERG: The answer to each clue is a famous question. So I will ask you that, and after that, Jonathan will ask you a follow-up question that does not have to be answered in the form of question, and either of you can buzz in. Ready?
DUNN: Yeah.
EISENBERG: Let's do it. A season of TV series "Dallas" ended with this cliffhanger.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
EISENBERG: Nick?
HUDAK: Who shot JR?
EISENBERG: Correct.
(APPLAUSE)
DUNN: I knew it.
(LAUGHTER)
EISENBERG: I like that. I like that about you.
JONATHAN COULTON: You stay strong, Curtis. It's still early.
EISENBERG: It's a good attitude.
DUNN: Thank you.
(LAUGHTER)
DUNN: Thank you.
COULTON: Here is your follow-up question. Either one of you may buzz in for this. Who shot JR?
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
COULTON: Nick?
HUDAK: No one. It was a dream sequence.
COULTON: No. That is an excellent guess but it's not true.
EISENBERG: Interesting.
COULTON: Somebody actually did shoot JR. Curtis, do you know what it is?
DUNN: Give me a hint.
(LAUGHTER)
COULTON: No, I'm not going to give you a hint.
EISENBERG: I love it when they ask.
DUNN: I have no idea.
COULTON: It was Kristin Sheppard.
DUNN: Kristin Sheppard.
COULTON: Yeah, no on gets that one. I get that one. One point for me.
EISENBERG: No one gets that one. Okay. What famous television advertising campaign featured a boy asking a turtle and an owl this question about candy?
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
EISENBERG: Curtis?
DUNN: How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop?
EISENBERG: That is correct.
(APPLAUSE)
EISENBERG: Word for word.
COULTON: Here is your follow-up question. How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop?
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
COULTON: Curtis?
DUNN: One, two, three, ack.
(LAUGHTER)
COULTON: Yes.
(APPLAUSE)
COULTON: That is correct. You even did the accent of the owl.
DUNN: Yeah, there you go.
EISENBERG: The title of this Edward Albee play references a song from the Disney cartoon, "The Three Little Pigs."
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
EISENBERG: Curtis?
DUNN: "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?"
EISENBERG: You got it.
(APPLAUSE)
COULTON: You guys are very good at this, and it's a little boring.
(LAUGHTER)
COULTON: Pretend it's hard. Here's your follow-up question here. At the end of the play, the character of Martha answers, "I am" to the question who's afraid of Virginia Woolf. In the 1966 film adaptation, who played Martha?
EISENBERG: Oh, they're both looking like are you kidding, that's a question?
COULTON: They're pretending it's hard.
EISENBERG: I have a hint. This actress is also not afraid of marriage or divorce.
(LAUGHTER)
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
EISENBERG: Nick?
HUDAK: Elizabeth Taylor.
EISENBERG: There you go.
(APPLAUSE)
EISENBERG: Abbott and Costello demonstrate poor communication skills in this sports themed comedy routine.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
HUDAK: Who's on first?
EISENBERG: Nick. That is correct. We are tied up. This is every exciting. I know. It's okay, you only have 14 more questions.
(LAUGHTER)
COULTON: Your follow-up question: who's on first?
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
COULTON: Nick?
HUDAK: What?
(LAUGHTER)
(APPLAUSE)
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
COULTON: I just want to say, before we go to Curtis for the answer, I just want to say that would have made it an amazing comedy routine.
(LAUGHTER)
COULTON: If that was the answer. Curtis, who was on first?
DUNN: Who?
COULTON: Yeah, that's right.
(APPLAUSE)
EISENBERG: This animated live action 1988 movie featured the immortal line, "I'm not bad, I'm just drawn that way."
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
HUDAK: "Who framed Roger Rabbit?"
EISENBERG: Nick, you got that perfectly right. Well done.
(APPLAUSE)
COULTON: So it turns out that Judge Doom did actually frame Roger Rabbit. What actor played Judge Doom?
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
COULTON: Nick?
HUDAK: Christopher Lloyd.
COULTON: That's correct.
(APPLAUSE)
EISENBERG: In the 80s, a super group of singers and celebrities known as Band Aid came together to record this song to support famine relief.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
EISENBERG: Nick?
HUDAK: "Do They Know It's Christmas?"
EISENBERG: That is correct.
(APPLAUSE)
COULTON: When the song "Do They Know It's Christmas" was recorded in 1984, what country's people did they refer to? And did they, in fact, know it was Christmas? That second question is a joke.
(LAUGHTER)
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
COULTON: Curtis?
DUNN: Haiti.
(LAUGHTER)
COULTON: You know what, he's young, so I'm going to let this slide.
EISENBERG: Yeah, it's okay, it's all right.
DUNN: I wasn't even born.
HUDAK: So there's no cost for me to buzz in.
COULTON: No cost.
EISENBERG: No.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
EISENBERG: Uh-oh, that was $5.
HUDAK: South Africa.
EISENBERG: South Africa is a good idea.
COULTON: No, I'm sorry. I'm sorry; it is Ethiopia.
EISENBERG: Well done, Nick, you'll be joining us for our Ask Me One More final round at the end of the show. So, good luck with that. How about another hand for both our contestants: Curtis, who was fantastic, and Nick, who's moving on?
(APPLAUSE)
EISENBERG: We learned a lot in that one game.
COULTON: We did learn a lot. We learned a lot and we had a lot of fun. That's the thing about this show.
EISENBERG: But I think it's time for a tune. What do you feel like playing?
COULTON: Well, you know very well that earlier today, I suggested that I play "Do They Know It's Christmas."
EISENBERG: Yeah.
COULTON: And everybody was like, no; you shouldn't play that because it's a terrible song.
(LAUGHTER)
COULTON: So instead, I'm going to play this song, the title of which is a question.
(SOUNDBITE OF SINGING)
COULTON: Darling, you got to let me know, should I stay or should I go? If you say that you are mine, I'll be here until the end of time. So you got to let me know, should I stay or should I go?
Always tease, tease, tease. You're happy when I'm on my knees. One day is fine, next is black. If you want me off your back, come on and let me know. Should I stay or should I go?
Should I stay or should I go now? Should I stay or should I go now? If I go, there will be trouble. If I stay, it will be double. So come on and let me know, do they know it's Christmas time at all?
(APPLAUSE)
EISENBERG: Sneaky. Thank you, Jonathan Coulton.
COULTON: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.