Line #47 Series/BeatTheGeeks


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/beat_the_geeks_1.png]]
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3	->'''Tiffany Bolton''': Today, one of these three contestants can win an incredible prize package worth over $5,000, but only if they can [[TitleDrop Beat The Geeks!]]
4	-->--''Intro to Beat The Geeks during the First Season.''
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6	''Beat The Geeks'' was a GameShow that ran for two seasons on Creator/ComedyCentral from 2001 to 2002. It was a basic "Test Your Knowledge" game with a twist: The contestants would be competing against "The Geeks," a group of people who specialize in pop culture trivia fields: A Movie Geek (Marc Edward Heuck), a Music Geek (Andy Zax/Michael Jolly/Michael Farmer), a TV Geek (Paul Goebel), and a Special Guest Geek who would be an expert in a various field.
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8	'''Round 1: The Toss-Up Round'''
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10	In Season One, in the first round, four five-point toss up questions would be asked. The first contestant to buzz in and answer correctly got the points. The Geeks did not participate in this round beyond adding commentary or giving the answers if the contestants can not. There was one question for each of the Geeks categories. After all four five-point questions were asked, four more questions, worth ten points apiece, were asked, again, one for each Geek category. After these questions were asked, the player with the lowest score was eliminated. In the case of a tie for the lowest score, a numerical question was asked, and the tie was determined by which player got the closest without going over.
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12	In Season Two, the format changed. There were four pairs of questions, one for each Geek. The first question, worth ten points, was a toss-up question for all the contestants. Whoever buzzed in and got it right would then go head to head with the respective Geek for a chance to win ten more points (but they could lose five if they got the second question wrong, or the geek buzzed in first and got it right.)
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14	'''Round 2: Challenging The Geeks'''
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16	The two remaining contestants would then start competing against the Geeks themselves in this round. Each player had one opportunity to challenge a Geek to try and take his/her medal. In the first half, the player in the lead would challenge first, and winning the challenge was worth 20 points. (There was also a ten-point bonus for the Special Guest Geek.) To level the playing field, the contestants received relatively easy questions, while the Geeks received "impossibly difficult" ones. If the contestant got an answer wrong, his opponent could "steal" it for 10 points. For every question a contestant correctly answered, the Geek would have to defend his/her medal by answering a harder, "Geek level" question. If the Geek got it wrong, s/he would surrender his/her medal, and the contestant could wear it for the rest of the game.
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18	If the Geek managed to successfully defend his medal twice, the challenge would be decided with a "Fifteen-Second Geek-Off." The host would name a category, and the contestant would have to name as many items in that category as s/he could think of in 15 seconds. The Geek would then have to do the same thing with a harder category. If the Geek couldn't come up with more answers (ties favor the contestant), the Geek would lose the challenge. If the Geek beat the Contestant in the Geek-Off, he would retain his medal and the contestant would get nothing.
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20	In Season 2, the Geek must correctly answer a question the contestant missed to win the challenge, and vice versa. There were no "steals". If both the Geek and the contestant missed the same question, or four questions were answered correctly, it went to the Geek-Off. The bonus for defeating the Guest Geek was 20 points instead of 10.
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22	The second half was played the same way as the first, except for [[DoubleTheDollars Double the Points,]] and the trailing player goes first. The Guest Geek bonus was not affected.
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24	'''Round 3: The ''Geek-Qualizer'''''
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26	After the Challenge Round, the game was decided by the ''Geek-Qualizer''. The trailing player went first, and the host named a series of titles, people, places, and things, to which the contestant must respond if each one is best associated with movies, TV, or music. A correct answer was worth ten points. Answering incorrectly or not answering for more than two seconds ended the ''Geek-Qualizer'' for that contestant. After the ''Geek-Qualizer,'' the player with the lower score was eliminated (ties are handled the same way they are in Round 1), with the remaining player going on to...
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28	'''BonusRound: The ''Geek-To-Geek Showdown'''''
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30	In the final round, the winning contestant could choose any of the four Geeks to challenge in the ''Geek-to-Geek Showdown.'' The contestant and the Geek took turns answering questions in the Geek's field, with the contestant going first. The contestant could choose to play a 1 (easy), 2 (harder), or 3 (hardest) point question, and the Geek may not choose a question of lower value than the contestant. The winner was the first to 7 points; if the contestant won, he/she received a $5,000 prize package and got to wear a giant light-up medal as all four Geeks bowed down to him/her.
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32	----
33	!!Tropes In Use
34	* AllOrNothing: Win the ''Geek-To-Geek Showdown'' and you get a prize package worth over $5,000. Lose and get nothing.
35	* TheAnnouncer: Tiffany Bolton for both seasons; doubles as the LovelyAssistant.
36	* BerserkButton: If a question about the Music/{{Eagles}} was asked to the Music Geek (Andy Zax), he would make a quick remark that he ''hates'' the Eagles, and then just surrender his medal.
37	* BigWinSirens: Subverted; the stock sirens heard on several 1980's NBC game shows were sounded ''if the Geek beat you'' in the Geek-to-Geek Showdown.
38	* BonusRound: The ''Geek-To-Geek Showdown''.
39	* ColorCodedForYourConvenience: While all the Geeks wore the same outfit, their medals had different colored ribbons representing their category. The Movie Geek wore red, the Music Geek, blue, the TV Geek, green, and the Special Guest Geek, yellow. In season two, the geeks were given color-coded robes that matched the medals.
40	* ConsolationPrize & EliminationCatchphrase: "We have some lovely parting gifts for you, but please exit the Geek Arena now."
41	* EasyModeMockery: One contest challenged the Movie Geek and reached the Geek-Off. His category was “Movies that were made in color” and the contestant listed horror movies franchises by only their numbers: “Friday the 13th Part 1, 2, 3...” Once he got buzzed for an incorrect answer, he would start again with another title: “Halloween Part 1, 2, 3...” He got a record 19 points. The Geek’s category was “Movies originally made in black and white and remade in color”. He gave a few answers then pulled off his medal saying “screw ***!”
42	* GameShowHost: J. Keith van Straaten in Season 1, Blaine Capatch in Season 2.
43	* GoldenSnitch: The ''Geek-Qualizer'', which is potentially worth as many points as a single player can earn in the first two rounds (150 in Season 1, 160 in Season 2). [[DownplayedTrope Downplayed]] in that the questions are only worth 10 points each, and getting an answer wrong or not answering immediately terminated the round.
44	* RulesSpiel: The host always described, in full, how each round was played.
45	* SmoochOfVictory: If a male contestant defeated a geek in the second round, Tiffany would usually place the medal around his neck and kiss his cheek. (This would be a high-five for female contestants.)
46	** Tiffany did ''not'' kiss the contestant that won in the Easy-Mode Mockery Geek-Off described above.
47	* SpeedRound: The ''Fifteen-Second Geek-Off'' and the ''Geek-Qualizer'' play as one.
48	* WeHaveReserves: Subverted. The geeks were warned that if they gave any indication that they were no longer the geek they were thought to be, they may be replaced. However, other than the rotation of Special Guest Geeks and a few episodes with a different Music geek, no geeks were replaced throughout the series.
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Context Series / BeatTheGeeks