OK, here we go.
What was dubbed the "Boston game", as played by Harvard teams starting in 1869?
(time passes)
(buzzer)
The answer would have been the simple but popular sport of Football. Let's move on to the next question.
In what 20th century decade did AT&T first introduce 800 numbers?
(RedCoyote buzzes in)
RedCoyote.
RedCoyote:
The 1960s.
Yes, it's the 60s for an additional $15.
(ding)
What
Melrose Place
"Special Guest Star" actually remained with the show for the remaining six seasons?
(time passes)
(buzzer)
The one we're looking for is Heather Locklear, who played as Amanda. We got 2 more questions left before the Bonus Question.
"Don't cry for me, Argentina...." Just tell me what the capital of that country is.
(puzzledan buzzes in)
puzzledan.
puzzledan:
Buenos Aires.
Es correcto por quince dolares Americanos.
English Translation: That is correct for $15.
(ding)
In what Disney film would you find a town named Passamaquoddy?
(puzzledan buzzes in)
puzzledan.
puzzledan:
Mulan.
Way Off!
(buzzer)
You have to go back to the 70s for that one. The answer is Pete's Dragon.
Now, to those of you who haven't heard of it, A. I don't blame you, and B. Let me explain.
Pete's Dragon is the charming 1977 Disney musical about an orphan boy named Pete (Sean Marshall) and his best friend, a dragon named Elliott. Well, do you remember why Pete’s best friend is a dragon? It’s because Pete is a
runaway
orphan, and he is running away from his adopted family: The Gogans. They
really
want Pete back, and so they sing about it, including how much they miss him. In the very first song of the movie — before we ever see Elliott, in fact — the Gogans cheerily sing about what they are going to do to Pete when they find him. But really, singing about abusing Pete is a Gogan family tradition. Pete is
their
slave. Who they paid for, including legal fees.
Recap so far: This is a Disney musical about a young boy who is the runaway slave of a terrifying family that embodies the worst hillbilly stereotypes.
Also, they hunt for him by saying his name in the most creepy way imaginable. Just in case Pete’s status as a slave was unclear, Pete himself underlines his predicament to Nora, the kind custodian of a Maine lighthouse who takes Pete in. Nora, by the way, is first seen dancing on a bar surrounded by the drinking buddies of her father, so, you know, it’s not like she’s exactly the most stable person either. Much better than the Gogans, at least. When it comes to Pete, however, the other citizens of the quiet seaside town of Passamaquoddy aren’t much better than the Gogans. The local schoolteacher even raps Pete’s knuckles for “lying” about his dragon Elliott, in which he is not amused.
The only adults in town who take Pete seriously, in fact, are Dr. Terminus and his assistant Hoagy, charlatans peddling bogus cures for a multitude of ailments and injuries. So, just to be clear about this, Dr. Terminus is a greedy, greedy monster And he sees great opportunity in Elliott. So he sings about mutilating Elliott in a playful, upbeat number called “Every Little Piece.”
First, they try to buy Elliott from Pete — and they try to sweeten the deal with maybe the ickiest line ever spoken in a Disney musical. And then the Gogans return, finally catching up with Pete. Nora, bless her heart, tells them they can’t have Pete — sparking the maybe the ickiest
series
of lines ever spoken in a Disney musical.
And then the Gogans break into a song called “Bill of Sale” — as in, the receipt for their purchase of Pete. As in, the evidence that they own a slave. The music is, once again, relentlessly upbeat and tuneful. The lyrics
are not
. Nora’s defense of Pete is forthright and stirring and somehow also utterly unsettling. Eventually, Dr. Terminus strikes a deal with the Gogans to use Pete as bait to trap Elliott, and they all succeed in tricking Pete into their clutches. Their plan succeeds. Because eventually, Elliott escapes. And goes after the Gogans. Rescues Pete. And burns their “bill of sale.” At this point, Pete’s wildly questionable status as a slave is finally resolved, and the rest of the film unfolds with Elliott saving the day several times over before leaving Pete to go save another troubled (possibly enslaved) kid.
Before all that happens, however, Elliott reserves one final, pointed humiliation for the Gogans. He scares Ma Gogan into falling into a vat of tar, which subsequently coats the rest of her family as they try to get her out of it. Naturally, Pete and Elliott find the inherent cultural irony of his former slavers
covered in black tar
to be hysterical, because they are hip to winking meta-cultural symbolism embedded within Disney movie musicals.
Dr. Terminus also ends up, er, hanging from a rope, but let’s not read too much into that one, shall we?
And that's the long and short of Pete's Dragon. All of that for a $15 loss, puzzledan.
And now, it's time for the Bonus Question in which this one is worth $50. Wrong answer costs $20.
BONUS: Complete this verse of a classic TV theme song.
He just keeps on movin',
Ladies keep improvin'
Every day is better than the last.
New dreams and better scenes,
(time passes)
(buzzer)
Yeah, many people don't know this one, and for good reason as this is also from the 1970s. Here's the rest of the verse.
And best of all, I don't pay property tax.
This song was from
BJ and the Bear
, a 70s classic. But here's my problem...
If the title is BJ and the Bear, why is he holding a
Monkey?!!?!?!?!!?
I don't see ANY BEARS here!
