S03.E05: Don't Drink And Game Night

[yeswedo]

 

The celebrity players are Gina Rodriguez, Rex Lee, Tom Arnold, Curtis Stone, Yvette Nicole Brown and Zachary Levi.

 

[April Bloodgate]

Has Tom Arnold been on the show before? I don't remember him doing it, but I have a feeling he'll be a bit obnoxious. Otherwise, this seems like a decent group. Yvette Nicole Brown and Zachary Levi would be really interesting to see together in the bonus round.

[BobH]

Tom Arnold was on a few times in the first season. He's kind of annoyingly over-exuberant, but generally not bad at the actual games. Zachary Levi was pretty good last time around, and Yvette Nicole Brown is one of the best in both gameplay and personality. Don't know the others, I'm hopefully about the actors, but generally celebrity chef players aren't the best.

[BoogieBurns]

I'm way too excited for this episode. Like, I'm going to spend the whole day thinking about it. I really love Gina, Zachary, and Yvette.

[Rinaldo]

Loyal viewers of the series know that Yvette Nicole Brown is just about the best at these games (the only drawback being Jane's weird block about names like Yvette or Yvonne, which she says with an initial "Yuh-" sound). Zachary Levi is tops too; he was picked from the winner's opposing team to give clues for the final round, and aced it. And Tom Arnold is, at least, really into it all.

Edited August 4, 2015 by Rinaldo

[mtlchick]

YNB still rocks despite the brain fart about the White House.  

 

Gina was damn impressive but she made me laugh the most when she was getting pissed off that Zachary couldn't figure out Costco.  

 

That was a rough final round though.  Not sure what went wrong, but skipping on Anthony Hopkins? "Hannibal Lecter." Done! 

[Rinaldo]

Sobering for two of the best, Zachary and Yvette, to not win the final round. It's think it's mostly that the names (many of them very current) weren't well matched to the player (though having to pass Anthony Hopkins is a different matter...). I mean, I'm getting up in years and I'm not too terribly clear about Jeremy Renner and Ariana Grande either.

 

(Apparently between seasons someone clued Jane in on how to say Yvette.)

Edited August 5, 2015 by Rinaldo

[Temperance]

I wonder  if YNB didn't get the White House, because she didn't realize they were doing buildings and not just cities.

 

I was chanting "Snape... Snape... Snape....Snape...Snape..."  at the tv when Alan Rickman came up at the end. 

Edited August 5, 2015 by Temperance

[Actionmage]

Fun outing! I  agree; Yvette is still a game goddess! I was surprised that she missed "White House", but Lil' Picassos was the antedote for that! Especially with Gina's  reaction to Benedict Cumberbatch's portrait! *g*

 

I enjoyed all the games, but the judging is going to have to get tighter if they want me to trust them. Pinging Yvette for "Olivia Pope" and Curtis for sounds is fine, but decide what is okay for How Do You Doo? and understand that, for Americans at least, cop = police officer. (Sorry not sorry; still sore over that.)

 

If your civilian can't attempt anything with a Hannibal Lecter clue, then there is no helping them. ( Even though he got Zac Efron, iirc.)  Granted, he was handling weapons for Uncle Sam, so there's that.

[Rinaldo]

for Americans at least, cop = police officer. 

But they're not the same word, and for this game the exact word (not a synonym) has always been necessary. 

[BobH]

Good game, all of the celebrities had a good attitude and were pretty good in the gameplay, and no one was overly annoying. There were a few blunders, but nothing near the level of "Pig Park". I thought all the games were pretty decent. Little Picassos I could take or leave, but the rest were enjoyable.

 

The final round was a bit of a letdown. The civilian definitely didn't help not being able to get Anthony Hopkins, but to be fair no amount of clues short of spelling out their names could get me to guess Ariana Grande or Sienna Miller. I think the big problem wasn't the two clue givers (Zach deferring to Yvette but chiming in with some good hints when appropriate) but the fact that the civilian is the only one who can pass, so that wastes a lot of time when the clue giver has to say "you should pass it" and the civilian has to register that and actually say "pass".

 

There was an interesting angle coming out of one of the commercials that showed a glass room above the audience with a few viewers in the front. Never noticed that before. Are those the judges, or is it some sort of production room?

[Racj82]

Geez, I fear the age where I don't know who one of the biggest pop stars in the world is - Ariana Grande

 

Sienna Miller - She was Baronness in the first GI Joe movie. That's all you need to say to me there.

 

Ariana Grande - Huge pop star, latina, starred on Sam and Cat, dated Big Sean, licked donuts in a public store and got busted for it.

 

Anthony Hopkins - Man, Hannibal Lecter is all you need to say there.

 

I don't lay this on the Yvette and Zach -. The civilian took too long with everything.

 

MVP - Yvette (mainly for the taxi game Get Out!)

Backseat game player - Hannibal Lecter! Come On! But also, don't give the other team hints. If you don't have a complete answer. Shut up.

Banned from the show - Eh, Curtis Stone. He brings nothing to the show.

Best Game - For me, it was the Taxi game. I got the most involved with that one.

 

Really fun episode. I will never give a damn about Jane the Virgin (it's just not a show I'm into. Not crapping on the quality). But, Gina is always delightful.

 

Now, I need my Anthony Anderson fix. People seem to hate on whatever he does but I just love his energy. Never a dull moment with him.

[sugarbaker design]

but the fact that the civilian is the only one who can pass, so that wastes a lot of time when the clue giver has to say "you should pass it" and the civilian has to register that and actually say "pass".

 

 

I was wondering why YNB was saying pass five times!

 

Civilian was doomed from the start.  He couldn't get Claire Danes of "Homeland".

[Primetimer]

It's okay, Gina Rodriguez. The kid who thinks that's Benedict Cumberbatch needs to visit an optometrist like yesterday.

Read the story

[Corgi-ears]

Yvette is overrated. Yeah, I said it.

[MMLEsq]

...Ariana Grande - Huge pop star, latina, starred on Sam and Cat, dated Big Sean, licked donuts in a public store and got busted for it.  ...

I assumed that the donut-licking incident happened after this was filmed.  But, if I'm wrong, that should have been the first thing they brought up.

 

...I was chanting "Snape... Snape... Snape....Snape...Snape..."  at the tv when Alan Rickman came up at the end. 

Yeah, why were they talking about "Galaxy Quest"?  Snape, the villian in the first Die Hard movie (Hans Gruber, right?)...even "the cheating husband from Love Actually" all would have been more helpful, I think.  Bad clue giving there.

[sinkwriter]

HARRY POTTER VILLAIN AND PROFESSOR, come on! There should be no passing on Alan Rickman or Anthony Hopkins. Wow.

I know her name but I wouldn't have known Ariana Grande from almost any clue because I know nothing about her. Some of those names were tough.

[BobH]

I assumed that the donut-licking incident happened after this was filmed.  But, if I'm wrong, that should have been the first thing they brought up.

 

 

The show opening from the season debut has had clips from this and future episodes, so it was definitely filmed before that incident, which was about the only clue that could get me to pull the name.

[Taeolas]

It seemed to me that Zach was a bit too buzzed by the end of the episode to be much help. Normally I'm a big fan, and he should be a good pick in general; but he really wiffed on "Where yah goin'?", enough that I'd probably have picked Tom over him. And in the final round, while he got some good clues in (and would probably have had a hard time getting past Yvette anyways), he still seemed very checked out of the game. 

 

Yvette was a natural pick from the other team and everyone knew it, and she did great, even if she was trying to tone it down. 

 

The contestant (or the guesser) has to  be the one to officially pass on a guess; but the clue givers can always just burn the target by naming it and moving on to the next. (Of course then you can't go back to it in that case, so there's a risk of running out).

 

I loved them getting into the popcorn game, stealing popcorn between questions and trying to catch it in their mouths. Still, that game feels like it runs long due to the pseudo randomness element. 

[jmunney]

I think Sienna Miller was the only really legitimately tough Celebrity Name Game name.

Jeremy Renner was a little tricky, but I think they should be a little hard like that every once in a while.

Ariana Grande is one of the biggest pop stars right now - every HGN civilian should know who she is. To be fair, Yvette starting the clues off with "Victorious" wasn't the best move; I wouldn't expect every civilian to know what Nickelodeon show she was on.

[Racj82]

The Grande incident happened after. I was addressing people who don't know who she in general.

[jmunney]

Ariana Grande - Huge pop star, latina, starred on Sam and Cat, dated Big Sean, licked donuts in a public store and got busted for it.

I think she's actually Italian. But this is one case in which clueing the wrong info might be more helpful.

[Racj82]

It seemed to me that Zach was a bit too buzzed by the end of the episode to be much help. Normally I'm a big fan, and he should be a good pick in general; but he really wiffed on "Where yah goin'?", enough that I'd probably have picked Tom over him. And in the final round, while he got some good clues in (and would probably have had a hard time getting past Yvette anyways), he still seemed very checked out of the game.

Yvette was a natural pick from the other team and everyone knew it, and she did great, even if she was trying to tone it down.

The contestant (or the guesser) has to be the one to officially pass on a guess; but the clue givers can always just burn the target by naming it and moving on to the next. (Of course then you can't go back to it in that case, so there's a risk of running out).

I loved them getting into the popcorn game, stealing popcorn between questions and trying to catch it in their mouths. Still, that game feels like it runs long due to the pseudo randomness element.

What Zach did during the final round is what should be done. Let one person be the aggressor and give input when you feel you should. Especially if Yvette is the person giving clues with you.

[jmunney]

Would anyone have gotten the Rose Bowl on Gina's flea market clue? I had no idea what she was talking about, but apparently it's a thing.

[marny]

Sienna Miller and Jeremy Renner are 2 people I'd never come up with, regardless of how good the clues were. I know who they are, I just really can't fathom ever thinking of them as someone whose identities are that familiar.

[Racj82]

Jeremy Renner. In one of the biggest franchises in the world. I don't understand why Renner seems to be a hard pick. He had a much amped up part in the sequel to so he's not just a background already. He's also in two other big franchises mission impossible and the Bourne series. And was the lead in a Oscar winning movie for hurt locker. Just saying, he's not a obscure guy. If you come on this show, you should be able to call out actors by these comic book roles with ease. Do that homework.

[Taeolas]

He's certainly one of the major players in the current generation of Action Movie stars, there's no doubt of that. But I suspect he's still about 2-5 years away before his star power makes him a household name like Arnie, Sly, Bruce, or even more recent guys like Jason Strathom, etc...  I have no doubt he'll get there eventually, he's just not there yet; it makes him a "On the tip of my tongue" star that you know but can't pull out easily unless you're a fan of him or his series. He's a shoo-in for future Expendables movies, that's for sure.

[Racj82]

All I'm saying is, you are a actor that routinely a lead a big movies. People coming on the show should be able to call you. But, I'm not even sure what constitutes a household name anymore. People know celebrities for so much more than their resume these days. Lastly, I'm sure Renner is a bigger household name than Statham at least. Most actions stars these day do straight to DVD stuff. At least Renner is routinely in theaters. Sienna Miller though. That's messed. At least pull people out that something recognizable to use. I remember the affair she was in with Balthazar Gettysburg years ago but I know stuff like this. I'm sure hgn would never let me on this show.

[peeayebee]

There were tough names in the final round. I knew who all of them were, but I'd be hard pressed to come up with good clues. Jeremy Renner and Sienna Miller are not household names. Even if you gave the perfect, most accurate set of clues, coming up with their names is tough. Plus, George the contestant was not all that good with names in general. I know the name Arianda Grande. I know she's a singer. I know she was on a Disney show. But that's about it. I'd heard about the donut thing, but had completely forgotten about it until reading about it here. I think the show was kind of mean putting so many tough names in one game.

 

Would anyone have gotten the Rose Bowl on Gina's flea market clue? I had no idea what she was talking about, but apparently it's a thing.

 

I think I would have -- I live in the LA area -- but when it dawned on me what she was going for, I was all WTF? How about where the big college football game is played on New Years Day in Los Angeles? A stadium that looks like the Coliseum? 

 

Funny that I just watched Whose Line Is It Anyway where Gina was a guest, then I watched this, and lo and behold, she's there again! I liked her fine, though it wasn't smart of her to give the first name "Chris" when she couldn't come up with his whole name, likely helping Rex Lee to recall the name.

 

There's something odd about Curtis Stone's face. I've heard him referred to as good-looking, but something's off. I'm not sure what.

 

I love the game Back-To-Back. So much fun. I want to play. Also, I'm glad the show took away a point because Curtis had woofed.

 

 

Popped Quiz seemed especially easy this time. Was it Curtis who struggled with whether Starbucks or gasoline was more per gallon? That. Was. Dumb. A large cup of coffee is over $2. In LA, gas is under $4/gal. :roll eyes:

 

I was actually kind of glad to see Lil' Picasso's again. I guessed Meredith Vieira. That was a good likeness. I swear Benedict Cumberbatch looked like Madeleine Albright to me.

[mtlchick]

 

Would anyone have gotten the Rose Bowl on Gina's flea market clue?

I live in Canada and I knew it was that due to an old 90210 episode!

 

 

I swear Benedict Cumberbatch looked like Madeleine Albright to me.

 

Heh.  YNB's reaction when she finally recognized herself was a hoot.  I think she was asking if she could keep it while going to break.

Edited August 5, 2015 by mtlchick

[peeayebee]

I really loved how Zachary hung back to let Yvette lead in the final round. I was so sure that would end up in success. They worked well together. It's still a good strategy.

[Racj82]

One thing I want to add is that I wish there were more basic clues giving in the taxi game. Rose Bowl. It's two words. First one is a type of flower and the second word is what you put chips in. Something like that.

[BobH]

I re-watched a bit and didn't realize the first time through just how bad the guy civilian was at Where Ya Goin. He had White House, Space Mountain, South Beach and Sistine Chapel and didn't get points on any of them. White House you can maybe blame Yvette equally, but Space Mountain was not a movie with The Rock, the Pope does not live in the Sistine Chapel and his clues for South Beach were awful.  "Opposite of North, and where you find sand and water".

[kalamac]

I haven't seen the episode, but I thought that portrait was Conan O'Brien when I saw the pic at the top of the article.

[The Crazed Spruce]

Am I the only one who thought that Bennedict Cumberbatch picture looked more like Donald Trump?

[Tara Ariano]

As Joe and I said on the podcast, there were lots of better ways Gina could have clued Rose Bowl, starting with "PASADENA." It can't be that you're not allowed to say city names, since George said "Orlando" and "Miami" trying to clue "South Beach."

 

As for the names in the bonus round: I knew all those names, and yes, any civilian who wants to go on the show should too, and YES, George was very unprepared...but I really think Jeremy Renner, Sienna Miller, and Ariana Grande are not names the average person on the street would pull! Renner's roles in two action franchises (three if you count the last Bourne, but why would you) are no guarantee of anything: I bet most normal people wouldn't be able to tell Chrises Pine, Evans, and Pratt apart, and Evans has the advantage of having been in two standalone Captain America movies, which Renner has not.

[BW Manilowe]

Would anyone have gotten the Rose Bowl on Gina's flea market clue? I had no idea what she was talking about, but apparently it's a thing.

They have flea markets either every week or once a month (quite frequently, anyway) I think on Sundays at the Rose Bowl stadium. It's definitely "a thing"... But not in a bad way. They're just fairly well known around LA/Southern California as far as I know.

[Racj82]

As Joe and I said on the podcast, there were lots of better ways Gina could have clued Rose Bowl, starting with "PASADENA." It can't be that you're not allowed to say city names, since George said "Orlando" and "Miami" trying to clue "South Beach."

As for the names in the bonus round: I knew all those names, and yes, any civilian who wants to go on the show should too, and YES, George was very unprepared...but I really think Jeremy Renner, Sienna Miller, and Ariana Grande are not names the average person on the street would pull! Renner's roles in two action franchises (three if you count the last Bourne, but why would you) are no guarantee of anything: I bet most normal people wouldn't be able to tell Chrises Pine, Evans, and Pratt apart, and Evans has the advantage of having been in two standalone Captain America movies, which Renner has not.

You are right. I'm just a pop culture guy. So, these people are household names to me. I wonder if they look for people that aren't too pop culture knowledgeable. Sometimes you forget how little a lot of people know, about music, tv, movies in it's current form.

[peeayebee]

 but Space Mountain was not a movie with The Rock

He must have been thinking of Witch Mountain, the remake with The Rock, but that is the weirdest thing to associate with The Rock.

 

I bet most normal people wouldn't be able to tell Chrises Pine, Evans, and Pratt apart, and Evans has the advantage of having been in two standalone Captain America movies, which Renner has not.

 

I've gotten Chris Pine and Chris Evans confused.

 

Again, I think it was unfair to put the three celebrities -- Miller, Renner, and Grande -- in the same game. One would be ok, but they are definitely tougher than Angelina Jolie, for instance, and I think getting one tough one after the other really throws off everyone's rhythm and confidence.

[Racj82]

Eh, I don't think there is any unfair here. One, the dude doesn't know who played Hannibal and that's a iconic character/role. There's nothing to guarantee who people know or don't know. We've seen people wiff on the easiest actors. We can go back and forth on household names but it's not the games job to hand people money. The last game in generally is way easier than many other game show final rounds. Renner and Grande aren't random people not doing anything. It's not like they aren't working professionals. Renner is in huge blockbusters, he hosted SNL, he stirred a little a bit of trouble in the media months ago for his thoughts on Black Widow. Grande opened the VMA's, worked SNL, starred in two of the biggest kid shows of the past decade, excluding the whole donut think she still had some media attention with issues between her co-star on her now defunct tv show, she had a pop star romance with rapper Big Sean (I know a lot of you probably don't who he is but he's been topping the charts steadily for the past couple of years). I would object to people being put in that are currently on no ones radar or never did anything big. The only one I object to is Sienna Miller because she has nothing obvious to pull out. But, even with that, this is what the skip option is for. The man knew who Aziz Ansari is and he's not a household name either. Even if you want to point out that there aren't many comedies that looks like Aziz, knowing his full name is something a lot of people probably can't do.

[Kromm]

I like Zach, but he's got to get over that annoying selfie habit. You're a grown-ass man in your mid 30s Zach, not a teenage girl in her teens or early 20s!

[sugarbaker design]

I re-watched a bit and didn't realize the first time through just how bad the guy civilian was at Where Ya Goin. He had White House, Space Mountain, South Beach and Sistine Chapel and didn't get points on any of them. White House you can maybe blame Yvette equally, but Space Mountain was not a movie with The Rock, the Pope does not live in the Sistine Chapel and his clues for South Beach were awful.

 

 

I'm giving YNB a pass on White House because civilian neglected to say "building"! 

[BusyOctober]

My favorite parts were; 1)  YNB telling George to "Get out!!" Get OUT!!" almost immediately when he sat down.  She knew he was hopeless. 2) Zachary's obvious frustration at Gina's insistance of "the other one!" as decent clue-giving for "Costco". 

 

Curtis has been on this at least once before and has shown little to no interest in being there.  There are other places he can plug his latest book, so why be a wet blanket on a show that requires a modicum of energy and participation? 

 

The kid that drew Benedict Cumberbatch needs glasses, stat.  Unless the artist was looking at a photo of BC taking a selfie in a fun house mirror.  It looked more like "Agustus Glup" from Willy Wonka to me. 

[Tara Ariano]

Last night, I was texting with my sister Leah (age 33, pop culture-aware but not fanatic) while our mom was at her house. Just for funsies, I tried what I thought were the hardest names, and asked her if she could get Mom to identify them.

 

1. Jeremy Renner: Leah's seen all the Avengers movies and still read the name and was picturing Miles Teller.

 

2. Sienna Miller: "Nope." - Leah.

 

3. Ariana Grande: I said the episode was filmed pre-donut. Leah: "I don't think she could get it even WITH that." When she asked Mom who the pop star was who got in trouble in a donut shop, Mom's answer was "Stefania...Gwen?"

[Scott]

They have flea markets either every week or once a month (quite frequently, anyway) I think on Sundays at the Rose Bowl stadium. It's definitely "a thing"... But not in a bad way. They're just fairly well known around LA/Southern California as far as I know.

 

Yeah...I live in LA, and I got it from her clues.  But even so, when I said the answer in my head, it was a quizzical "the Rose Bowl??", because I couldn't believe someone was actually trying to give clues to get it that way, instead of "Football...New Year's...Pasadena...".  Even "UCLA plays there", if she was going for a "local" angle.

[peeayebee]

I believe I found the photo that the Lil' Picasso portrait of Cumberbatch was drawn from:

 

 

However, I still think it looks like Madeleine Albright:

 

[dcalley]

Geez, I fear the age where I don't know who one of the biggest pop stars in the world is - Ariana Grande

I've seen the name and know it's that of a pop star but couldn't tell you anything about her. I'm quite content with that.

 

I do know where New Zealand is, unlike Tom Arnold (just north of Australia, he said).

[April Bloodgate]

Geez, I fear the age where I don't know who one of the biggest pop stars in the world is - Ariana Grande

Is she really one of the biggest pop stars in the world at this point? I know she has some popular songs right now, but I wouldn't put her on the same level as Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, or Miley Cyrus yet. And certainly not on Beyonce's level. I'm aware of who she is, but I don't think she's hit that level of pop star notoriety yet where her music is inescapable. I have heard 1 of her songs exactly once--because it was featured on an episode of RuPaul. But I hear the aforementioned artists' songs all the time, even though I don't seek out mainstream pop music.

[smrou]

As for the names in the bonus round: I knew all those names, and yes, any civilian who wants to go on the show should too, and YES, George was very unprepared...but I really think Jeremy Renner, Sienna Miller, and Ariana Grande are not names the average person on the street would pull!

I also think there's a difference between knowing the names and being able to come up with the names from clues. I know all those names and with Renner I'd have some hope of guessing it because I do know a number of his film (and TV, since I was one of the five people who watched The Unusuals) roles. But for whatever reason his name is one that I have trouble coming up with. But for Sienna Miller and Ariana Grande they're the kinds of celebrities where I've heard of them, I know some very basic info about them, but I just never ever think of them and so they wouldn't come to mind. 

 

This as opposed to, like, Anthony Hopkins, where I think there are many ways a person could get me to guess his name (though Hannibal Lecter is the easiest and most obvious). Ditto Alan Rickman (I probably would have got him from the GalaxyQuest clue if I took the strategy of just listing the whole cast, but Snape would be the best bet for most people I think). 

 

I do know where New Zealand is, unlike Tom Arnold (just north of Australia, he said).

I liked that Zachary tried to correct him. 

[Kromm]

Is she really one of the biggest pop stars in the world at this point? I know she has some popular songs right now, but I wouldn't put her on the same level as Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, or Miley Cyrus yet. And certainly not on Beyonce's level. I'm aware of who she is, but I don't think she's hit that level of pop star notoriety yet where her music is inescapable. I have heard 1 of her songs exactly once--because it was featured on an episode of RuPaul. But I hear the aforementioned artists' songs all the time, even though I don't seek out mainstream pop music.

Darn, I had a long post and lost it.  Here's the slightly shorter (still somewhat long) version.

 

Her career is in a nosedive now because of her donut licking thing, But the year before that, she was reaching that top level.

 

Want proof?  Go look at the total views on her main YouTube channel (she has more than one).  But this is the main one for her music videos: https://www.youtube.com/user/ArianaGrandeVevo/about

 

Almost 2.3 BILLION views of her videos there since Oct 21, 2010. Of that, the majority (maybe 2 Billion) were the last year and change (the beginning of last summer till now--so about 15 months in total) before her career went kablooey.  And this isn't even counting her co-starring role in that "Bang Bang" song with Jessie J and Nicki Minaj (because that video is on Jessie's Youtube page and not Ariana's--even though the two of them sing about the same amount of the song).  That song adds another 415 million or so views from last year to the 2 Billion or so other times people watched videos of songs starring Arianna Grande in that period.

 

So I guess it depends.  If 2.4 or so Billion views on Youtube in 15 months indicate big stardom, she was a big star last year. If we think it's just robots watching all those plays, not humans... then it doesn't.  

 

Also, plenty of people also watch videos on Vevo and other platforms besides Youtube.  So that's just the tip of the iceberg.  Just to use one example, "Bang Bang" has ANOTHER 423 million views on Vevo's website over and above the 415 it has on Youtube.

 

To be totally fair though, Taylor Swift's songs (although she wasn't on your list with Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, and Miley Cyrus) probably have twice these numbers in the same period. But T. Swift is the Godzilla of the music industry this past year or two.

Edited August 7, 2015 by Kromm