Recap: We are the champions!

As if there was any doubt.

Last night's Big Quiz Thing was preceded by a special viewing party of that most familiar of familiar quiz shows, Jeopardy! BQT regular (and undisputed NYC trivia co-champion) Jonathan Corbblah quite simply mopped the floor with his competition on the blue set. Halfway through Double Jeopardy, it was a foregone conclusion, and we were merely rooting for him to rack up enough dough to have one of those losing-is-impossible-unless-I-bet-stupidly-like–Cliff Clavin situations. He just missed it, despite some canny hesitation tactics ("I'll…have…uhh…that same category…for…uh…I guess…$1,000"). And of course, he won (what about tonight? didn't get home in time to watch). In his own words:

Following that, we had a nice little interview session with Champion Corbblah (while we ironed out tech issues), then the first NYC BQT in far too long. Great crowd, great show, great times, great oldies. The sad news this evening (other than the fact that one team was unhappy that the "Great Nicknames in Sports" video puzzle included a professional wrestler) was that this was the last Big Quiz Thing featuring DJ GB.


As I mentioned at the show, Gretchen was been with the quiz since the very beginning eight years ago—even before. She was just the girlfriend of a buddy of mine then, and when I mentioned to them that I was planning "a bar trivia night, but more like a show," she said I needed a DJ and offered her services. And her services were very much needed, it turned out, at that first chaotic evening at the Slipper Room (when an Irish women hurled insults at me for saying Samuel Beckett was British). And now that Gretchen and my buddy are happily domesticated parents, she's moving on. To fete her, I put together "Great Nicknames in Sports" (which was her idea), and she did a bang-up job on her very last audio round, the oodles of fun "All Awesome Alliterative Audio Answers." The good news is that EDP and I are carrying on, and we'll be joined by a new sidekick, stand-up extraordinaire and Last Comic Standing semifinalist Claudia Cogan. So fear not, the stage will still have that refreshing hint of estrogen.

Another unfortunate thing last night: the video shenanigans early on. I didn't have a chance to show you this, my graphic for returning champions Incontinental Strippers…

…who re-split up into their constituent parts last night, Incontinental Congress (playing this night as "An Incontinental Xmas") and Strippers for Stephen Hawking. A nerd supergroup: They like not only Star Trek, but also Star Wars.

The good things last night: Jonathan stuck around onstage as our guest sidekick (as my videographer friend Bill said, "You're lucky to have that guy on your side"), which made it apropos when I whipped out as a question the Daily Double I got wrong when I was on Jeopardy! (Jonathan got both of his right, but c'mon—those were easy): Name the three countries that border Mex…okay, fine, [Sigh]: These three countries border Mexico. (What are duh, this one I got, and this one I forgot about and Trebek gave me a hard time about it?) But a lot of you were spot-on; well done.

Finally, the big Three-Way Finale (video will be posted here soon, though I'm told the lighting wasn't so hot) featured the debut of the fully functioning BQT buzzer system, which makes me such a happy little quizmaster. The usual gang of nerds: Ilene of Jefferson Davis Starship, Steve of the Fantastic Fournicators, and Stewart of Cash Cab for Cutie (which, by the way, was rocking a hefty three-point lead going into the finals). Tense and exciting, as usual—I was very proud of this admittedly bizarre question…

In the alternate universe where John Edwards won the 2008 presidential election, he is the first sitting President whose wife died since whom?

…but I suppose it was appropriate that the Fournicators ended up winning: In a night that spotlighted New York's ultimate trivia champ, it makes sense that the team that's won the damn BQT the most times would claim sweet victory. (And it was appropriate that Steve won on "What fast-food advertising character was revived after a 25-year hiatus in 2003?"—this is not an insult, this is what his teammate told me, I swear.)

The standings:

1. Fantastic Fournicators
2. Cash Cab for Cutie
3. Jefferson Davis Starship: Happy birthday to Harris, BTW.
4. Fat Kids Wake Up in Installments
5. Strippers for Stephen Hawking
6. Oh Noah You Didn't
7. Gerard Depardouche
8. An Incontinental Xmas/Corbblah-di, Corbblah-da (tie)
10. Sugah Titz

Also, thanks to our theatrical sponsors: Colin Quinn: Long Story Short and The Flying Karamazov Brothers. We'll have more of their tickets next time: Turns out trivia is the nexus between comedy and juggling.

NEXT: We're doing our damnedest to get back on a regular schedule, which means we return in three weeks, January 3, at a hot new venue, Drom, on Avenue A in the East Village. Stay tuned for updates. And don't forget, follow me on Twitter for the Google-Proof Question of the Day: First correct answer wins 1 million BQT Bucks!