EDP wins!

As you know, last night, the Big Quiz Thing's resident sidekick, EDP, along with his family (specifically his mother and brother), competed on Food Network Challenge—four families, each cooking their own traditional Thanksgiving feast. Since his parents hail from Egypt (what—you didn't know he's African-American?), the EDP clan made a Middle Eastern–style meal, not your typical Thanksgiving dinner (though turkey was included, which led to the most nail-biting moment, as their deep-fried bird took on an especially blackened tinge). Professional chefs judged the various meals, and awarded 10 grand to the family behind the tastiest.

Of course, EDP won (he bought a new computer), and got to live the childhood fantasy of receiving an oversize novelty check. But more importantly, Eric himself was far and away the most magnetic character on the episode, and accordingly got the most talking-head screen time. He got off some good lines, talked smack about another family's vegetarian Thanksgiving meal, even snarked the judges. His mom and brother were plenty likable too, and now the campaign is on for a spin-off (no joke).

Watch the clever video above, and tune in Wednesday at 8pm for a rebroadcast (schedule here). Once he gets his foot in the door there, EDP and I get sell the Food Network on our pitch for an all-culinary-trivia BQT TV adaptation.

It's all about music sometimes

I think last night's Big Quiz Thing was a real example of separating the music-geek men from the music-geek boys (and I'm speaking metaphorically with the "men" thing—last night there was an unusual amount of, as I put it, "gyno-centric" trivia, including In the final episode of The Golden Girls, Dorothy married Blanche’s uncle, played by what comedic movie actor?
 and In a 1985 tampon commercial, Courteney Cox became the first person to say what word on TV, in a biological sense?). I'm referring specifically to round four, the audio round, "Three Degrees of Musical Separation," which shook up everything scoringwise, 30 big points on the table. I love that game, because it gives us amusing constructions like "Surviveruca Salt-n-Pepa" and "Ne-Yoko Ono Doubt." The Big Quiz Thing: trivia and laffs!

A few teams that were doing fine and dandy up to that point faltered in the audio and simply couldn't recover (I don't know who they were, but the Oreticals were one point out of the lead after round three, but ended the game in 11th place). Meanwhile, other teams who scored big on the round found themselves thrust into the limelight.

Almost literally: We had three-way tie at the end, featuring Cash Cab for Cutie, Strippers for Stephen Hawking and—you guessed it—the Fantastic Fourincators. Thanks to a little pinch-hitting (one Fournicator replacing the other at the last minute), the FFs pulled it out on this question: What band used to tell reporters that they formed when the members met one another in an elevator and realized they all had the same last name? Though big ups to John of the Strippers for parsing out this one: According to popular lore, the South Lake Union Streetcar, in Seattle, was originally going to be called the South Lake Union Trolley, but the name was hastily changed. Why?

Also, props to the most amusing team name of the evening, If You Can't Beat 'Em, Scrotum, who didn't score well, but they're FOQ (friends of the quiz), so they will be back, I predict.

Sorry this is recap lacks some fizz. Your quizmaster is tired. But hey, don't forget, the offer still stands: Pimp us for your office holiday party, and you get free admission throughout 2010. I'll have way more energy then!

The standings:

1. Fanastic Fournicators: I have no comment
2. Cash Cab for Cutie/Strippers for Stephen Hawking: Come on, breaking that tie would've been anticlimactic.
4. Birds of Ill Omen
5. Incontinental Congress

Three more BQTs to go this year, kids: November 23, December 7 and December 21. And don't forget: EDP and his family compete on The Food Network Challenge this Sunday, at 8pm, cooking a Middle Eastern Thanksgiving meal. He looks spectacular in an apron.