Want To Be My Lifeline?

[Xploder]

I have an audition for Who Want's To Be A Millionaire on the 18th. If I DO actually make it onto the show, I'm gonna need lifeline's.

Any Takers? I know absolutely nothing about sports. Also nothing about current movies. Also, most likely, damn near everything else.

ANY edge could help. Tell the truth now, wouldn't you want to be someone's lifeline???

Let me know.

Bill/Xploder.



this is not a joke either

[theendisnear]

If you can convince Cecil to be your lifeline you are assured of the million :P

[Totoro]

I wouldn't mind, but you could probably do a lot better than me.

[Xploder]

Well, actually, I could use a lifeline for ANY damn topic. According to my kids anyway...

If I could get Cecil to be the lifeline (and, preferably, answer all the questions) then, yes, the million would assuredly be mine :D

[Sue Duhnym]

IMHO, you best bet would be CalMeacham or Anthracite.

[Sue Duhnym]

And good luck!

[Mercutio]

I'm good with M*A*S*H, current events, 80's TV/Music, PMRC, Republicans.

You never know.

[iampunha]

I'm pretty decent with sports (I'm like third highest scoring on my academic team for pop culture), tv and such.

If my father's around, he double majored in history and english and he's a monk, for what that's worth.

I'm also pretty good at MASH.

[Tripler]

I consider myself fairly adept at the trivial arts. I play NTN in the bars all the time, and I won "Survivor Trivia" at the local sports bar a handful of times. So if you feel the need. . .

Tripler

[techchick68]

Xploder,

Well, I have no expertise in much of anything...but, if you do happen to make it you will have to be sure to tell us when it airs! That would be too cool to see one of our Dopers on TV for all the world to see.

Good luck and kick some ass in the audition. Everyone mark your calendars for the 18th to spend positive vibes Xploder's way.

[NotWithoutRage]

I'm pretty good at 80s/90s TV, especially the reality shows and the sitcoms. And I'm good at soaps, too, LOL.

And Broadway, I'm not bad at either.

[zev_steinhardt]

Well, my areas of expertise are Judaic culture, baseball, computers and (less so) history.

Good luck!

Zev Steinhardt

[Una Persson]

Originally posted by Sue Duhnym
IMHO, you best bet would be CalMeacham or Anthracite.

:eek:

Wow - I am truly flattered! And there is some truth behind it, perhaps. I (embarassed shuffle) watch Millionaire all the time, and am amazed at the incredibly large percentage of questions I get right. I can go some nights and answer every single question they ask. But then I was always good at Jeopardy too.

My weak spots are Pop Culture, religion, sports of all kinds, non-classic literature, poetry, and Biology.

[foolsguinea]

I would do it, but there's not really a phone number where I can be predictably found.

[Daemon]

I attended the 'Millionaire' audition in New Orleans (didn't get picked, but I did pass the written test), and I think advice on that front is more important for you at this point!

If you need any advice for the audition process, I'm your man!

[CrankyAsAnOldMan]

This is what my friend did who was a lifeline. She was an IRC user, and got her smartest friends from around the country to get into the same chat room. Plan was, when/if the call came, she would type it in as fast as she could. Skip the answer choices, she said. You either know it or you don't. Then we (the sharp pals) all could type in what we thought the answer was, if we knew. This can be easily accomplished in the time limit, as long as said friend is a good typist and uses a headset (speakerphones are not allowed).

This could be done more easily with a whiteboard (lifeline writes it down as it is said, shows it to all in the room) but only if all the smart people are in the same town and available to be there at the time of the taping.

If you get that far, I'd assemble some IRC-familiar dopers and have one of them be the call recipient.

[DRY]

Pretty decent at sports, especially baseball, football, basketball history.

Reasonably strong in history, especially Roman and English history.

Shakespeare, too, though there are people here who know more than me.

[Una Persson]

I think Cranky has an excellent idea. I can be in IRC whenever needed.

[Mr. Cynical]

If it helps, I can count to ten, say my name, and see with one eye closed.

[Juniper200]

Well, I'm the College Bowl pop culture goddess in these parts, and I'm very good with literature, history, theatre, and music (classical and contemporary).

I also have friends who have functioned as lifelines and both fastest fingers and hot seat contestants if it comes to the point where you need advice on those fronts.

I think the IRC idea is a fine one indeed. No doubt many of us would endeavor to make ourselves available if the need arose.

[ITR champion]

I should be decent at recent movies, especially corny ones like Wild Wild West.

What else? Well, I'll know some computer science, chemistry, physics, and Native American studies.

And I'm an expert at listing the following cities in order from west to east, although you can't use a lifeline for that.

[woodstockbirdybird]

I'm pretty knowledgeable about rock/pop/soul music from the 50s-present, if that helps. Also a little physics and cognitive science. Oh, and literature. Mostly just the music, though.

[UncleBeer]

IMHO, you best bet would be CalMeacham or Anthracite.
And perhaps, the inestimable, tomndebb.

[Dragwyr]

Xploder,

Whoever you end up using, (If you pass the audition and if you win the fastest finget question) I think it would be awesome if you somehow mention the SDMB while on the show.

[Xploder]

Well, I know the chances are slim to actually get in the hotseat or even on the show for that matter, but I can always hope. :D

And yes, if I do get on, I'm definitely gonna work in the SDMB somehow or other. :D

Bill

[Lute Skywatcher]

Feel free to send any baseball question my way.

[Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor]

The more important question is, "What's my cut if we win?"

[CrankyAsAnOldMan]

Originally posted by Xploder


And yes, if I do get on, I'm definitely gonna work in the SDMB somehow or other. :D

Bill
Aigh! No! I'm imagining the boards getting even slower as 500,000 people decide to come check what we're all about. I'm all for some new blood, but that'd be a little TOO much....

[Xploder]

LOL!!! Actually, I really like the IRC idea and if necessary, plan to implement it.

Gotta go now, Mike Keneally and Beer For Dolphins has a live performance on DCN.COM

Bill

[iampunha]

Juniper: what school do you play for? I do quizbowl as well.

I'll third or fourth or whatever the IRC idea. And it would probably be wise to find someone with a good connection so there's little lag.

[Little Nemo]

You can add my name to the volunteer list if you wish. I usually average around 75% right on Jeopardy or WWTBAM? I have a good knowledge of history, decent in pop and classical culture and science, unfortunately very weak in sports.

[Lux Fiat]

I would think, if you need movie knowledge, Cervaise would be your man.

My only Millionaire-related skill is heckling the contestants from the safety of my living room, so I'm pretty much useless.

[Juniper200]

punha: I'm at University of Missouri, so I doubt we cross paths much, unless you were at Trashionals '99 or something (that was the last time in living memory that we ventured east of Tennessee).

However, we did a packet in practice once that I think you wrote. It had a reference to the packet author being related to some personage, and you had recently mentioned a similar relationship on the boards. This was a few months ago, though, and I could be out of my mind. I definitely wouldn't rule that out.

[iampunha]

Juniper: check your email.

It would seem to me that in addition to someone being in mIRC #straightdope, one of us college quizbowlers could be in that chatroom, in case people actually go there in droves like they used to:)

[Cervaise]

Thanks for the plug, Lux Fiat. :)

In addition to movies, I'm dead-solid on Shakespeare and theatre in general, pretty good in terms of the kind of general science questions they usually ask on that show, well-rounded in pop culture, history, and literature, and, of course, from years of reading stuff on this site, general trivia. I don't know if I could handle the pressure of being a solo lifeline, but I'd absolutely be willing to participate in a chat-room roundtable.

Oh, and regarding working an SDMB reference in: You wouldn't have to be explicit about it. Just something like -- if Regis asks, "Are you sure? How do you know?" ...give him a nice, beatific smile, and say, "I've got the straight dope."

And thousands of people across the country will hoot and cackle.

[ElvisL1ves]

I've played the game, made the Hot Seat and won some money on the second time I appeared, and can help with a lot of the nitty-gritty details if you like. Knowing what to expect made a huge difference the second time, believe me. I'll be happy to help - best categories are history, geography, sports, science/technology, literature, classical (but not pop) music, general trivia.

There exists a substantial community of Millionaire players and hopefuls, with data bases of lifeline volunteers and their/our strong suits as well as qualifying questions. I can put you in touch with the gatekeeper with a positive recommendation if you like - send me an e-mail. You might also drop a note on the open ABC site (http://boards.go.com/cgi/abc/Request.dll?LIST&room=a_WHO_WANTS_TO_B).

The best lifeline person to have available is one with a high-speed connection and Google already open. Have more than 1 available (you can have up to 5 people on your list), just in case - they have to meet eligibility requirements, too.

Everyone I know of who has been both a Phone A Friend and a contestant says the former is MORE nerve-wracking - just sitting by the phone, knowing a friend may be depending on you for more money than either of you have ever seen, and not being able to be distracted by anything else ... I can see it.

[Xploder]

Well. One thing that I didn't expect was that the initial test would be 30 fastest finger questions. :mad:

In any case, out of 140 people, they actually kept less than 30. What really sucked was that each question counts as FOUR answers as opposed to one. So. I may have lost on the basis of only one lame ass answer.

We'll never know as the Producers that administer the test will not tell you the criteria for passing.

Oh well...there's always next time :D