King Of The Nerds - General Discussion

[Granimal]

Wow tough crowd! I didn't realize that everyone hated the alliance.

 

To be honest, I don't understand it (no need to explain it to me- I just see things differently) this is a competition with a monetary prize. All competitive reality TV shows eventually (de)volve into trying to form strategic alliances.

 

I get that they're all supposed to be nerds or what have you, but I don't think that means that they all have to get along with each other equally. People are naturally going to get along with certain people more than others. Some people are not interested in social interactions, or hanging out in groups. Colby (whom I love) doesn't seem to be super-social, easy to make friends with, or like he would play well with the alliance idea. Colby didn't seem super interested in being included, so I don't feel too badly that he was "left out", nor do I agree that he was left out.

 

All of these people agreed to be on TV for a few weeks in order to win a cash prize. I would think that they would be okay with any perceived or actual exclusion within a competitive format.

 

I, for one, did not even realize that the "most nerdy" of the nerds were the ones who were not in the six-person alliance- I think that's a matter of perception so I'm not sure if I agree or disagree with this idea.

 

My point is that I don't think that these six people had any malicious intent or heady delusions of now being this socially powerful clique with the power to exclude all "nerds" who didn't live up to their standards.

 

That being said, Colby losing this particular nerd war was BS. The point system was ridiculous, and the competition should have relied on merit and not random chance. For all of horror-movie-blogger's bravado, I would've thought she would've absolutely slayed Colby. Her last answer looked like a lucky guess.

 

 

[Browncoat]

I loved that challenge, too!  But Event Horizon?  Really?  Or The Hulk?  I don't think so.  And sulfate?  Nice try, but nope. 

 

The final is going to be very interesting.  I'm still rooting for Kaitlin.

[Jeffurry]

Oh, good, I thought I was the only one rooting for Kaitlin. I've been rooting for her since Episode One.

[xingcat]

I didn't love Kaitlin at the beginning, but she's fairly unflappable, definitely knows her nerd stuff (up to a point) and she's survived a good number of nerd-offs. Of everybody left, I think she would make the best King this season. The alliance just rubbed me the wrong way. I did appreciate the way the board game was showed and played. Tense and informative!

[xingcat]

 

I am hoping that Colby backs Kaitlin.

I would like that a lot. I know it was unintentional, but I found it super-uncomfortable that the alliance of young white people gunned for the black guy relentlessly until he was gone, and then the show dismantled the team structure.

[dmmetler]

I do like that in this season, 3/4 of the finalists are actually academic nerds, nOT pop-culture ones. It seems like the academic nerds tended to get gunned for and eliminated early in past seasons. I guess that was the one benefit of the secret 6-it's like the other nerds forgot that mathematician Jonathan and Biologist Ben were PhD's until this episode.

And I was cringing at Amanda. Sulfate? really?? Colby would have SO killed that challenge!!

[Kromm]

All of these people agreed to be on TV for a few weeks in order to win a cash prize. I would think that they would be okay with any perceived or actual exclusion within a competitive format.

 

I, for one, did not even realize that the "most nerdy" of the nerds were the ones who were not in the six-person alliance- I think that's a matter of perception so I'm not sure if I agree or disagree with this idea.

 

My point is that I don't think that these six people had any malicious intent or heady delusions of now being this socially powerful clique with the power to exclude all "nerds" who didn't live up to their standards.

True. And again, the show has voting rather than some other selection of nominees. I don't think we should be assuming Colby is some poor excluded stepped on idiot who wasn't perfectly aware he was going on a show with voting. He knew it. He's a functioning adult, not a child. The show as a whole, as I said last post, set things up with a voting structure in full knowledge of what happens when you do that. The contestants, by a third season, sign up knowing perfectly well what voting means (in addition most of them probably also having seen 30 seasons of Survivor with a similar voting structure). There's no stepped on underdog here. Everybody knew what they were signing up for.

Maybe this makes this whole show and it's supposed message a crock. It probably does. But it also shifts blame away from the alliance members as being "bullies" or hypocrites, simply because they realized (or cared) what was going on and Colby either didn't realize, didn't care, or simply didn't do a good enough job of shoring up alliances himself.

Edited March 7, 2015 by Kromm

[Zanne]

I'm rooting for Kaitlin. I wasn't a fan at first, but she was one of the only contestants to play the game with integrity, in my opinion, so I want her to wipe the floor with the rest of them. I would love it if Colby backed her!

[Fake Jan Brady]

My preferred outcome:

 

1. Kaitlin

2. Ben

3. Kirsten Dunst

4. Jonathan

[Monty]

I'm rooting for the streak of female "Kings" to continue, because I think it's more fun that way.

[LoneHaranguer]

 

I loved that challenge, too!  But Event Horizon?  Really?  Or The Hulk?  I don't think so.  And sulfate?  Nice try, but nope.

I hated that they were going by amount grossed. I'm fairly certain Event Horizon actually was on somebody's top list a few years back by that measurement. Word association probably would have worked well on the element question. Hearing "neon" might make you think of argon, xenon, and krypton; from "gold", silver and platinum should be obvious. This strategy would leave lots of "traps" for an opponent trying to go sequentially through the elements since duplicating a prior answer was a loss.

 

 

I guess that was the one benefit of the secret 6-it's like the other nerds forgot that mathematician Jonathan and Biologist Ben were PhD's until this episode

From the POV of this game, there's nothing special about having a PhD except that it shows that the person isn't lying about their interest in that subject; at least a couple of past contestants crumbled when their alleged expertise in an area was put to the test.

[enlightenedbum]

Weren't the sci-fi films by Rotten Tomatoes scores and a different category was by box office gross?

[LoneHaranguer]

You're right; the box office gross was the superhero question. I don't know how I confused the two, although a look at the Rotten Tomatoes list shows that it's almost as bad. Outside of classics like Forbidden Planet, the list is somewhat arbitrary, and I don't think it includes all of the "obvious" answers given in the TH collage. Since using more complete movie lists would have been unwieldy to judge, the producers should have gone with something more limited than top 100's, but clearly defined, like Star Trek movie subtitles (Wrath of Khan, Voyage Home, etc), and naming the mutants in the X-Men movies.

[Jobiska]

Sad news about Robert Carradine being in a car crash (fortunately no fatalities):  http://www.zap2it.com/blogs/robert_carradine_critically_injured_car_accident-2015-03

[mlp]

Oh no!  I love Bobby and Curtis.  "Critically injured" does not sound good. 

[Browncoat]

I heard that on the radio this morning as I was driving to work.  :(  Best wishes to him and his family!

[mlp]

I'm surprised that there isn't much news out there.  I Googled hoping to find some good news and found the same information over and over.  It sounds to me like he might have been trying to pass unsafely as he veered into the truck's lane and drugs/alcohol were immediately ruled out.  Just guessing obviously.  I did find an article that said he and his wife are no longer at the hospital to which they were taken.  I'd love to think that he was well enough to be discharged but the news stories keep saying "critically injured" so I'm assuming he was transferred elsewhere.

[Katmai]

 

I'm surprised that there isn't much news out there.  I Googled hoping to find some good news and found the same information over and over.

I agree and I hope this isn't a case of "no news is not good news" but it does cause some concern regarding their conditions. Hoping for the best for them.

[Browncoat]

Well, that was annoying.  The new King, that is, not the challenges.  The challenges were great!  I really liked both the quiz bowl and the puzzles/games -- that last one looked hard.  With the crossword puzzle, though, I kept yelling at the TV that Imhotep was the Mummy!  How could they not know that?

 

I was also glad to see the end title wishing Bobby a speedy recovery.

[mlp]

 

I was also glad to see the end title wishing Bobby a speedy recovery.

 

That really touched me.  I've been worrying about Bobby all day and wondering how I got so fond of someone I don't even know.

 

I was hoping the final two would be Ben and Kaitlin and I wanted Ben to win so I was disappointed.  I do wonder though why none of the others chose to back him.  Clearly he wasn't popular with the group so maybe Jonathan was a better result.

 

I liked Jacob right away in the first episode and, after the finale, I think he was my favorite of the whole bunch.  I wish he hadn't been eliminated first thing.

[TigerLily20]

So I have  to say while I wasn't always rooting for Ben I felt bad that he had no Nerds backing him and was really hoping he would pull out for the win.  I do hope that for the 5th season (should they have that many) that they have some returning nerds, like the 4 winners, the 4 people who got voted off in the first round of each season and a fan favorite from each season.  I always feel for those who get voted off the first round.

[enlightenedbum]

Well, other than preferring both women to the men so being bummed when they were eliminated that was pretty cool.  Really good final challenge, I liked 6 of the 7 games.  Connect 4 was the only lame one.

 

Random things that were cool:

 

They (Colby, Kaitlin, and I think Ori) were playing Puerto Rico!  I know it was part of the board game prize (which was GREAT, even if I own all of the games they gave away already) but still.  Good job you three.  That game is fantastic.

I thought Todd deciding to recognize he was an ass to Lily earlier and try to help her was cool of him.  I think they're probably both a little bit cooler than that fight made them look.

Generally, all of the kibbitzing interviews from the 10 eliminated nerds were pretty fantastic.  Jacob had the best ones, but Lily's crossword commentary made me laugh.  As did the running "Don't use that!" joke the editors played on her.

 

Shallow note: I finally decided that I think Kaitlin is cute.  I've been waffling on this all season.

Edited March 14, 2015 by enlightenedbum

[Granimal]

I was wanting either Kaitlin or Lilly to win. When they were eliminated I was really going for Ben. So disappointed. I also thought that Ben and Lilly were an item. What happened with that?

 

So sad looking atBen's face when he was eliminated.

 

I have a slight problem with how they used PomPom Kitty in this episode (and how they've used dwarves in past episodes). I don't like the idea of skimpily dressed women being called out to bring props. IDK just rubbed me the wrong way.

[mlp]

 

I was wanting either Kaitlin or Lilly to win. When they were eliminated I was really going for Ben. So disappointed. I also thought that Ben and Lilly were an item. What happened with that?

 

I would have been fine with Kaitlin winning but I didn't like Lily at all.  I think she was flirting with Ben in an early episode but I'm pretty sure he's married in real life.  The TBS website is crummy and doesn't seem to have any cast information.

[Fake Jan Brady]

Lily's crossword commentary made me laugh.  As did the running "Don't use that!" joke the editors played on her.

 

 

Thanks for reminding me of that; I was so bummed by Jonathan winning I needed something to cheer me up.

 

 

So sad looking at Ben's face when he was eliminated.

 

 

And now I'm depressed again.

[xingcat]

I really think the producers wanted a male king. I don't know, after two female kings, I think that there was....something.... convenient about it being between essentially two guys who were very much the same. I didn't really care for either Ben or Jonathan, because they both seemed really smug to me. But then again, Kaitlin seemed really smug as well, and I liked her, so maybe I just don't like cliques that call themselves "alliances," when it's an alliance that can only last so long because it's so big. At any rate, I thought the finale was pretty good, considering it was really straightforward. I think they boxed themselves in with the underground bunker...I preferred the outdoor challenges they did in previous seasons.

 

I agree that Pom Pom Kitty thing was really gross, as was the use of little people for the oversized board games. It seems objectifying in a way that conventions are trying to get away from.

 

Not the most satisfying season, but that always comes down to casting. I do like that everyone is fairly friendly to one another, which is good to see in reality TV.

[Alapaki]

Does anyone know who Heather ended up "bunking" with? 

 

Was it Raychelle?

 

That seemed like a missed opportunity for Jacob (not unlike the guy who made the final 3 last season).

[dmmetler]

My DD was glad to see a math geek win it.

 

I was rooting for Ben once Kaitlin was out, simply because he ended up abandoned by his so-called "Alliance".

 

And Kaitlin, you work for NASA. You should have at least been able to take a reasonable guess on that question!

[LoneHaranguer]

 

And Kaitlin, you work for NASA. You should have at least been able to take a reasonable guess on that question!

She said she was concentrating too much on buzzing in; I think she missed what the question was and picked one of her team at random to answer. That style of game wouldn't allow you to ask for the question to be repeated.

 

 

With the crossword puzzle, though, I kept yelling at the TV that Imhotep was the Mummy!  How could they not know that?

I didn't understand how somebody who knew TNG enough to fill in Deanna Troi's last name could initially spell it "Troy".

 

 

I agree that Pom Pom Kitty thing was really gross, as was the use of little people for the oversized board games.

They're just having the staff they originally hired do whatever comes up in subsequent seasons. Pom Pom Kitty was called Mindy in the first season.

[dstann]

Well, other than preferring both women to the men so being bummed when they were eliminated that was pretty cool.  Really good final challenge, I liked 6 of the 7 games.  Connect 4 was the only lame one.

 

 

Really I was the exact opposite, I thought the finale was so dissappointing.  I thought a straight up quiz to decide the final 2 was boring, I mean how many quizes have we already had this season.  I thought they could have come up with something a bit more imaginative, apparently having the animatronic alien (which was amazing) was as far as they thought they needed to go. 

 

And then the final challenge, I much preferred how they did it last season. But breaking it down

• Chess - While nerdy it wasn't good tv, it pretty much went, Jonathan - I am trying to psyche Ben out.  Ben - I am not being psyched out.  Checkmate.....sorry didn't even get to see the game so no idea how he won.
• Tekken - Picking a video game as a challenge is ok but I thought this was a bad choice.  As they stated it was just mashing buttons, so thats what they showed, shots for them wiggling the joystick and mashing buttons.  I had no idea who won each round and had to wait to be told.
• Crossword - pretty meh as it was just another quiz really.  Only made interesting by Jonathan's tactics at the end of filling all the boxes.
• Pens logic puzzle - So they have a logic puzzle, we only get glipses of the clues and then they just have a winner.  Wait what just happened?
• Connect 4 - This is a kids game not nerdy.  And as they stated if you go first you shouldn't lose, bad choice of a challenge.
• Maths challenge - I didn't mind this challenge though a clock to see how quickly Ben solved it would have been good.
• Griddle (or whatever it was called) - I liked the concept of the puzzle but it looked too easy.

I guess overall my issue was yes while most of the challenges were nerdy they didn't make good television.  I think due to them trying to cram the whole finale into one episode you really didn't get to see how they won each challenge. It was just, here is the challenge, talking head about some aspect of the challenge, here is the winner.

 

Was a little dissappointed that the final 2 both hadn't been in a nerdoff (to my recollection).  Maybe change it up next season so the entire losing team goes into the nerdoff so the eventual winner is more deserving.

 

 

Edited March 14, 2015 by dstann

[nottopbravo]

I thought the challenges were much more interesting this year than in past years. 

 

 

Lily's crossword commentary made me laugh.

 

Probably the funniest moment this season.

 

 

•Crossword - pretty meh as it was just another quiz really.  Only made interesting by Jonathan's tactics at the end of filling all the boxes.

 

At first I couldn't understand what he was doing.  Then it occurred to me it was strategy.  

[mojoween]

"Why wouldn't you just not have a shitty pen" made me giggle. I wish he had been on a lot longer. I did also love Colby saying that you should rue the day your victory comes down to wining Connect Four.

I shouldn't generalize, but Ben really never seemed "nerdy" to me, not the way this show sometimes wants nerds to be like.

The last challenge was another language, I have no idea what the point was.

[Kromm]

Shallow note: I finally decided that I think Kaitlin is cute.  I've been waffling on this all season.

If you mean physically, I suppose it depends on how she presents herself that day.  It does seem to vary.

 

In terms of her personality, I came to the conclusion episodes ago that the big arrogant talk we heard from her early on (mostly in Episode 1 and a bit of Episode 2) was kind of... a character.  A kind of prompted thing from the producers, although since she's no dummy it was probably with her cooperation and understanding it was being done to build her a reality storyline.

 

The actual Kaitlyn seemed level headed and more often nice than not.  Even the lines from her in the finale about "simply being a smart person and not nerdy nerd" didn't sound like a real shot at the others as much as an admission that she's largely just not into "nerd culture" (which we all gotta admit by this point is not always the same thing as being smart).  I wound up liking her by the end of this and had been hoping she'd win (whereas in Episode 1 it was the total opposite).

[enlightenedbum]

I've thought Kaitlyn was actually probably pretty cool for most of the season.  It was a strictly physical thing I was talking about which is why I preceded it with "shallow note."

[Pallida]

The last puzzle type is called a bunch of things. I'm used to it being called Picross but you can find info on Wikipedia under nonogram. From the little they showed of it, it looked like a really easy one.

[Ffiferoo]

The last puzzle type is called a bunch of things. I'm used to it being called Picross but you can find info on Wikipedia under nonogram. From the little they showed of it, it looked like a really easy one.

 

It must be difficult for them to come up with tasks that will be fair for everyone, considering the range of skills and experience among the contestants.  It ended up coming down to two relatively similar players as far as education and interests, but I guess they have to account for the possibility that one of the finalists would never have seen that type of puzzle before.  I've never done one of those and even with them explaining it I found it somewhat confusing.

 

I agree with everyone who said they should have shown more of the actual tasks - they practically skipped over the logic puzzle and the math problem entirely.  If they thought it would be too boring to air, they should have found something else!

 

Disappointed that Kaitlyn didn't make it to the final, but I'm glad that Ben didn't win.  I felt like he skated by all season (not that Jonathan didn't), and then he was being a little ridiculous saying he "failed the popularity contest" despite having many of the women fawning all over him all season and having been in the alliance. I'm sure it was uncomfortable having no one pick him, but he certainly didn't have popularity issues throughout the competition.  

[mojoween]

Ben's wry humor about not getting picked did amuse me, like when he said there was a warehouse off Team Ben t-shirts somewhere.

I hadn't heard about Robert's accident until I came here, so I googled him. Except when I did it, I smushed he and Curtis together and looked up "Robert Armstrong." Imagine my chagrin when one of the first things that came up up was "Robert Armstrong obituary." I almost had a heart attack, thinking Robert had died. Turns out Robert Armstrong is an actor from the 30's.

[LoneHaranguer]

 

Connect 4 - This is a kids game not nerdy.  And as they stated if you go first you shouldn't lose, bad choice of a challenge.

They should have at least done "rock, paper, scissors, lizard, Spock" to pick who went first, instead of the more common (non-nerdy) version.

[Silly Angel]

 

They should have at least done "rock, paper, scissors, lizard, Spock" to pick who went first, instead of the more common (non-nerdy) version.

That was my hope, too. Still, I thought this was a very strong season with great challenges and some compelling personalities. It's such an enjoyable show, it redeems my faith in reality-competition TV as a vehicle for good, clean fun.

 

I don't know much about, well, much, in the nerdverse, since it goes pretty deep and I'm in the nerd kiddie pool, but that crossword puzzle had me screaming, the answers were so easy.

[Granimal]

I would have been fine with Kaitlin winning but I didn't like Lily at all.  I think she was flirting with Ben in an early episode but I'm pretty sure he's married in real life.  The TBS website is crummy and doesn't seem to have any cast information.

Oh Wow! I had no idea about this. This is terrible if true, and I rescind my previous endorsement of Lily's character. I remember her vaguely flirting with and sleeping in the same bed at the blonde contestant with the glasses who lost as final 2. I do remember the winner of KOTN Jonathan(?) (terrible with names) definitely flirting with some of the women, and making a TH about how his wife would be okay with it because it was "strategy." Mmm-hmmm. Well since he won, that $70k probably made things okay.

 

Glad someone mentioned the spelling of "Troi" I thought that I was going crazy for a second there.

 

As far as PomPom Kitty/ Mindy and others, I have no problem with her in general. I do wish she was used in a more thoughtful manner. Seeing her as a silent Vanna White was disheartening for me. I wish she could have at least explained the rules of each task or whatever. Instead it was Curtis(?) yelling "PomPom Kitty!" and PPK bringing out objects and leaving. I at least wish they had exchanged some type of dialogue. I don't mind the revealing outfits, but I want them to showcase her smarts as well dammit. (Same with other stereotypes I have mentioned above.)

 

IA that they wanted a male King this year. The whole intro of the first episode and the way they picked and disbanded the teams at that certain time made me feel like there was some type of rigging going on. But other than a sneaking suspicion I have no more light to shed on this topic.

 

However I do not understand how Kaitlyn could have possibly gotten that question wrong! This is a question that I got right instantly due to, well logic. (And I am not nearly as smart as Kaitlin, Ben, and Jonathan.) She had to have misheard or misunderstood the question. Because calling on Ori made even less sense (to me). But he didn't have a horrible guess so, okay. 

[dstann]

IA that they wanted a male King this year. The whole intro of the first episode and the way they picked and disbanded the teams at that certain time made me feel like there was some type of rigging going on. But other than a sneaking suspicion I have no more light to shed on this topic.

 

I think you are probably right about them wanting a king this season.  Though mid way through the season they must have been worried as a queen was looking likely.  Only guys had been eliminated and the secret 6 was made up mostly of girls.

[Jobiska]

I seem to be alone in preferring a Jonathan win over Ben.  I thought his social strategy during the entirety of the game was more deliberate and interesting (and also felt, without being spoiled, that he was being edited as the winner).  Though I'd rather the finale had been Kaitlin/Jonathan and I would have been happy for a Kaitlin win.

Who was it--Heather?--listing the guys in order of hotness was really gross to me.  Poor Todd, and I disliked Todd.

[mlp]

I just found an update on Bobby.  It's a month old but more hopeful than the first news stories.  I'm amazed anyone survived that accident.

 

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/gossip/carradine-pays-fine-colorado-car-crash-article-1.2177849

[halkatla]

He had so many mannerisms and quirks that reminded me of a Dr.Evil type villain, not saying he´s evil, but I could see him plotting a world takeover in his secret, underground lair.

[halkatla]

That was a good, deserving winner and also a fair way to choose the one who wins. I was so let down by the first winner, in my opinion she was by far the least deserving one in that whole bunch. Who knows how good she was even when it comes to video games? We never saw her do much with her supposed experience, and she failed with most of the other stuff. The first season had so many awesome, interesting nerds to choose from so it was sad to see it end like that, but the second season contestants were not that great, but the final two were decent.

Edited October 13, 2015 by halkatla

[ClareWalks]

I recently rewatched this and looked up kind of "where are they now" for the contestants, and found out that season 3 Jonathan married Heather a few years ago! And Jonathan came out as transgender last year and now goes by Jacqueline! Very happy for that couple 🙂

Edited June 16, 2019 by ClareWalks