Thursday, July 13, 2006

Movie Trailer Toss-Up

I'm lying on my bed watching these nerdy extroverts trying to answer mildly difficult trivia questions on television. To be more precise, I'm watching "The World Series of Pop Culture" on VH1. First of all, I have to say that I find myself flinching at the notion that I am watching anything on "Video Hits 1" since I am such a young and vibrant soul and everything that is programmed on that channel is aimed at a demographic that knows who Christopher Knight is, but still refers to him as "Peter Brady."
So there I am, flinching, and watching, and answering the questions much in advance of the contestants who make up three member teams when my wife walks into the room. "Whatcha doin'?" she asks politely enough.
At this moment my focus is so intense on the lyrics to the theme song of the host is intoning that I hesitate before I answer - my wife or the television.
"Three's Company," I answer at last, much to the chagrin of my wife.
"You're playing trivia, aren't you?" She thinks this is an endearing quirk of my character. I see it as my avocation. To her credit, she has suggested numerous times that I take my head full of useless knowledge and turn it into some kind of cash reward. This was especially true during the prime time run of "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?" I know that the game is different from your couch than it is under the lights with Regis leaning in at you, leering and cajoling.
It comes as no surprise to me that the "World Series" and "Millionaire" share a producer. But the "World Series" is strictly a pop culture quiz. What are the chief exports of Brazil? Who cares. Who directed the film "Brazil?" That's straight down my alley. My new favorite time sink is to hang around the "Yahoo Answers" page answering movie and TV questions as they come up. I have no patience for the "survey" type questions. They either have a verifiable answer, or I move on. I can get my trivia thrills vicariously. No one gets hurt - least of all me. And isn't that the way it's supposed to be?

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