Beat the Geeks
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| Beat the Geeks | |
 Beat the Geeks Season 1 title card. |
|
| Genre | Game Show |
|---|---|
| Created by | Mark Cronin James Rowley |
| Directed by | R. Brian DiPirro |
| Presented by | J. Keith van Straaten (Season 1) Blaine Capatch (Season 2) with Tiffany Bolton |
| Starring | See below |
| Composer(s) | Jon Ernst |
| Country of origin |  United States |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 130 (1 unaired during original broadcast) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Mark Cronin |
| Producer(s) | Richard G. King Beth Greenbaum |
| Camera setup | Multi-camera |
| Running time | ~22 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | Comedy Central |
| Picture format | NTSC 480i |
| Original run | November 7, 2001 – October 7, 2002 |
Beat the Geeks was a comedy game show which aired on Comedy Central in the United States from 2001 to 2002. The show was rerun on The Comedy Network in Canada and reruns currently air on G4techTV Canada and Prime in New Zealand.
On the show, contestants face off in trivia matches against "geeks" who are well-versed in music, movies, and television, as well as a fourth guest geek with an alternate area of expertise which varies from episode to episode. The object is to outsmart the geek at their own subject; as a handicap, the geeks are given questions of considerably greater difficulty than the contestants. Beat the geeks was taped at Hollywood's center studios on the same stage as Win Ben Stein's Money.
Contents |
[edit] Rules
[edit] First round
In the first season, the three contestants compete against each other to answer eight questions, two from each category; the Geeks do not play in this round. The first four questions (one per category) are worth 5 points each, and the second four are worth 10 each.
The format was changed for the second season, wherein the three contestants compete against each other and the Geeks to answer four questions, one from each category. Each correct answer is worth 10 points. If a contestant submits a correct answer, they go face-to-face with the relevant Geek to answer a followup question which they must ring in to answer. During this face-off, if the contestant rings in and gets the question wrong or the Geek rings in and gets it right, the contestant loses 5 points. However, if the contestant gets the question right or the Geek gets it wrong, the contestant wins another 10 points. In almost all episodes Blaine waited until the first follow-up question to explain this, using the line "here's how the follow-up works: if you beat the geek you get ten points, if he beats you, he knocks you back five."
In both seasons, the player with the fewest points after the round is eliminated. In the event of a tie, a tiebreaker question is used.
[edit] Second round
[edit] Season 1
The remaining two contestants choose which Geek to challenge in order to win the Geek's medal. If the contestants begin the round tied, they are asked a toss-up question to determine who plays first. Otherwise, the player with the most points starts. The Geeks' Medals are worth 20 points, except for the Guest Geek, whose medal is worth 40 points. Once a Geek has lost his medal to a contestant, he cannot be challenged again until the final round.
In the first season, two toss-up questions are asked between the Geek and the contestant for a challenge. If the Geek answers wrong, the player is awarded his medal and 20 points; and if the contestant answers wrong, their opponent may ring in and give the correct answer to "steal" 10 points. If both questions are correctly answered, the Geek-off occurs. In the Geek-off, a question with a list of answers ("name as many... as you can") is first posed to the contestant, who gives as many answers as they can in 15 seconds. Then, a related but harder question is posed to the Geek. If the Geek fails to exceed the contestant's number of correct answers, the contestant wins the medal.
[edit] Season 2
In the second season, a total of four questions are asked for a challenge, alternating between the contestant and the Geek, whose questions are more difficult than the contestant's. If the Geek answers a question incorrectly, they lose the challenge. If the contestant answers a question incorrectly, the Geek must answer it to end the challenge. If the Geek fails, or all four questions are answered correctly, a Geek-off is played as in the first season.
[edit] Third round
The third round is played the same way as the second round, with medals now worth 40 points, and 60 points for the Guest Geek's. The contestant with the fewest points goes first.
At the end of the third round is the "Geek-qualizer". In the Geek-qualizer, a list of titles is read to the contestant, who must decide whether each is related to movies, music, or TV. The list continues until the contestant gives an incorrect answer, fails to give an answer fast enough, or exhausts the list. Then, if they have exceeded their opponent's score, their opponent plays their own Geek-qualizer round with the same rules. The player with the most points after the Geek-qualizer advances to the final round. If there is a tie, a tiebreaker question is asked and the contestant who gives the correct answer moves on to the final round.
In the first season, the Geek-qualizer consists of 15 titles worth 10 points each; in the second season, there are 16 titles worth 10 points each.
[edit] Final Round: Geek to Geek Showdown
In the final round, the contestant chooses one of the four Geeks to challenge. The contestant and Geek alternate questions, beginning with the contestant. Each turn, the player chooses whether to answer a 1 point (easiest), 2 point (harder), or 3 point (hardest) question; the Geek may not choose a point value lower than the contestant's previous question. If answered correctly, they earn the number of points chosen; otherwise there is no penalty. The first player to reach 7 points wins; if the contestant wins they are awarded $5,000 worth of prizes related to the category of Geek they challenged for the Final Round.
[edit] Geeks
[edit] Regular Geeks
The host would mention in every episode that if the Geek's expertise slipped, he would be replaced.
- Marc Edward Heuck - Movie Geek
- Paul Goebel - TV Geek
- Andy Zax - Music Geek (Most of Seasons 1 and 2)
- Michael Jolly - Music Geek (Part of Season 1)
- Michael Farmer - Music Geek (Part of Season 2)
[edit] Guest Geeks (alphabetical)
[edit] Seasons 1 & 2
- Mike Bracken - Horror Geek (10 episodes)
- Holly Chandler - South Park Geek (10 episodes)
- Ken Crosby - James Bond Geek (10 episodes)
- Gabriel Köerner - Star Trek Geek (15 episodes)
- Tyler Kroontje - Star Wars Geek (10 episodes)
- Alan Korsunsky - Comic Book Geek (10 episodes)
- Antonio Lopez - Simpsons Geek (10 episodes)
- John Steverding - Playboy Geek (10 episodes)
[edit] Season 1
- Karen Brown - Michael Jackson Geek (5 episodes)
- Ivy Shantelle Hover - Sopranos Geek (5 episodes)
- Kathy Pillsbury - Star Wars Geek (5 episodes)
- Melanie Prudhomme - Friends Geek (5 episodes)
- Paul Schmeltzer - Hip Hop Geek (5 episodes)
[edit] Season 2
- Dan Blau - Beatles Geek (5 episodes)
- Krisztian Boldis - Star Wars Geek (5 episodes)
- Karla De Trinidad - Friends Geek (5 episodes)
- Dana Gould - Planet of the Apes Geek (1 episode)
- Rudy Higa - Wrestling Geek (1 episode)
- Tim Lakin - Toy Geek (5 episodes)
- Christian Malmin - KISS Geek (1 episode)
- Mr. Skin - Nudity in Movies Geek (2 episodes)
- Ggreg Snyder - Saturday Morning Geek (5 episodes)
[edit] Guest stars
[edit] Season 1
- Kelli Maroney (Season 1)
- Alex Albrecht (Season 1)
- Neferteri Shepherd (Season 1)
- Jerry Springer (Season 1)
- Jane Wiedlin (Season 1)
- Wil Wheaton (Season 1)
[edit] Season 2
- Coolio (Season 2)
- Susan Olsen (Season 2)
- Jimmie Walker (Season 2)
- Devin Devasquez (Season 2)
- Hugh Hefner (Season 2)
- Lloyd Kaufman (Season 2)
- Peter Noone (Season 2)
