Yeah that FJ was an instaget for me. I thought it was so easy.
At least I could follow his thought process on that one. Mozart did write “A Little Night Music” (Eine Kleine Nachtmusik) which is where Sondheim got the title for his musical, so he could have just seen that name and not really processed the rest of the clue.
If memory serves, this is the closest Matt has come to getting the boot. If the other contestant had gotten the answer right it would’ve been over.
(I drew a blank as to whether the title was “framed” or “killed”)
I didn’t know what invasion they were referring to. I still don’t. Anyone? Bueller?
Would have been a stab in the dark for me, too. I’ve never read War and Peace. Just looked it up on Wikipedia, and I’d never heard of the French invasion of Russia. I certainly didn’t know that anything significant involving Russia happened in 1805. (In general though, dates of, say, non-top-ten world historical events are one of my weaknesses, like ordinal numbers of monarchs. How the heck can people remember the difference between Richard II and Richard III? It’s just a meaningless number!)
“For God’s Sake, let us sit upon the ground and tell sad stories of the death of kings” v. “Now is the winter of our discontent made glorious summer by this son of York.” Or, helpfully named Shakespeare plays.
It seemed obvious after the fact, but I haven’t seen Who Framed Roger Rabbit in many, many years. I kept trying to think of a movie where somebody poisoned a chip dip or something like that, and came up empty. When your mind starts down the wrong path in FJ, it can be very hard to find your way back.
When it comes to Shakespeare plays, sure, I know people remember famous quotes or characters or plot points. But for me, the difficulty comes down to the fact that the difference is just a number. Hamlet vs. The Tempest, sure, piece of cake. Richard II vs. Richard III? Much harder to remember the difference.
There are also monarchs who are not the subjects of Shakespeare plays, which I’m mystified as to how people know. There are exchanges on Jeopardy that go like this:
Contestant 1: Who is Louis the Fourteenth?
Host: No.
Contestant 2: Who is Louis the Thirteenth?
Host: Also incorrect.
Contestant 3: Who is Louis the Fifteenth?
Host: Yes, he’s the one!
For those of us who had never seen the movie, it wasn’t so easy. Some questions are like that, you either know it or you don’t. There’s nothing “hard” or “easy” about it.
Yeah, I watched it once, more than 30 years ago. I had no idea what the answer was.
You’ve never heard of Napoleon’s retreat from Moscow? That was some nasty business. If I knew I were to be a contestant, I’d be boning up on monarchs and stuff like that. I know there are ways to study for the show. Certain subjects and even books tend to pop up more than others. My own weakness would be anything biblical, sports and very hard science. But I feel certain I could snag second place.
It’s true, if I were preparing to actually be on the show, I’d be doing some serious drill sessions on monarchs, wars, and their associated dates.
I have nightmares of me answering a question in a similar fashion.
By the way, could you have just written “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?” and been ruled correct? Since the title is already a question?
I was hoping someone would do that.
To expound a little on that question about War and Peace, the novel opens on a big ballroom party, and the main topic of discussion is Napoleon’s recent victory at Austerlitz, considered his biggest ever. That would peg it as 1805 for anyone familiar with the Napoleonic wars.
Well, Louis XIII was the Three Musketeers Louis. But other than that - if they’re not the subject (or main supporting character) in a piece of historical fiction I have no idea. The 16 pope Gregorys? interchangeable.
Quite right. Napoleon’s invasion of (and retreat from) Russia was also the inspiration for this piece of music. The title should have been of some help to Tracy:
The only association “dip” had for me was George Costanza. 
I thought Matt was going to write: “What Framed Roger Rabbit?”
This issue arose many years ago, and Alex said he’d accept a response that was, itself, a question.