What On Earth?-Column #35, April 2005

Well, here we are in April. If you though I'd abandon this site because I'm busy, APRIL FOOL! Yep, that's what the 1st day of the month is all about. Let's get into the news.

I'm going to start out with POLITICS. As you know, 2 years ago, we saw the fall of Baghdad to coalition forces, and with it, a statue of Saddam. 2 years later, the new government is in place, but the violence is still going. If you're like me, you think we need a timetable to get out of Iraq. We do. We should not stay there forever. Once their troops have been trained, our troops can get out. Last month saw a tragic end, as we witnessed the passing of Terri Schiavo, the mentally brain-damaged woman from Florida, who was at the center of a "right-to-die" case. Before she died, Republicans passed emergency legislation to keep her alive, even though her feeding tube had been removed 2 weeks prior to her death. The battle is still going on that, and it's also still going on other issues such as Social Security, the Iraqi war, and so on. Let me tell you, while I am a Democrat, the only Republican I have trust in is Donald Trump, the "Apprentice" honcho. On the links on the front page, they talk about his interview with Esquire magazine, where he says that if he were President, he would've focused more on Bin Laden than Saddam. I am so with him.

This month also marks the passing of Pope John Paul II, who'd been gravely ill for the past year or so. He was the only non-Italian pope ever to have been elected, and he, like many of us, had opinions on some of the most controversial issues, from gay marriage to the right-to-die. He was a Christian, so he would've been against both those issues. Of course, we're still split. I believe in equality, and when doing political talk, I keep religion out of the debates, because issues like these should be about equality, not religion or morality.

This month marks the 10th anniversary of the most brutal terror attack on our country before 9-11: Yep, the bombing of the Alfred F. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. April 19, 1995; 2 trucks were driven in, and blew up in the building, killing 168 people. That day, 3 people were arrested: Timothy McVeigh, Terry Nichols, and James Nichols (Terry's brother). The charges against James were dropped, but in 1997, more than 2 years after the event, McVeigh and Nichols were both convicted for their roles in the attack. Nichols was sentenced to life without parole, and McVeigh was sentenced to death. He was executed in June 2001. After that, Nichols even appealed his conviction, but it was turned down. In the September of 1995, 5 months after the event, the building was eventually demolished, and in its place stands a gold doorway-shaped memorial, bearing the names of the victims, and a clock, to remind us of the time of day that the blast occured: 9:01 AM. Still, this day haunts many.

On a much better note, it was 4 years ago, that we saw Kevin Olmstead win $2.18 million on the ABC version of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire. Some of you are saying "John, "$2.18 million? That's a lot of money. You sure?" Yes, I AM sure, and $2.18 million is SURE a lot of money. In January 2001, the show had gone 71 shows without a million-dollar winner (David Goodman was #6); so it was time to boost the jackpot. They decided to add $10,000 for each show the program had gone without a millionaire, thus the pot began at $1.71 million. Then, they would add $10,000 each day ($1.72 million, $1.73 million, etc.) Olmstead managed to win the $2 million plus, when he answered the following question: "Who is credited with inventing the first mass-produced helicopter?" Choices were: A. Igor Stravinsky, B. Elmer Sperry, C. Ferdinand Von Zeppelin, and D. Gottlieb Daimer. He thought about this for some time (having no lifelines left), and locked in A as his final answer, and that's when the celebrating began! Then 3 days later, former Jeopardy! champion Bernie Cullen got his $1 million question (back to a static $1 million) right on a gutsy move using the 50:50 lifeline. On the Syndicated version hosted by Meredith Vieira (she won $250,000 on a 2001 Celebrity version), Los Angeles truck driver Kevin Smith became that version's first million dollar winner by nailing this question: "The U.S. icon 'Uncle Sam' was based on Samuel Wilson, who worked during the War of 1812 as a what?" Choices were: A. Meat inspector, B. Mail deliverer, C. Historian, and D. Weapons mechanic. Even with no lifelines left, he managed to get this one out of the way fast, locking in C as his final answer, and Meredith presented him with the first million-dollar check on her version of the show (5 days a week, check local listings for time and channel, or click HERE.).

While we're on the subject of game shows, it was 4 years ago THIS month, that the hit BBC game show "Weakest Link", hosted by Anne Robinson, came to the US on NBC. And amazingly, it was Robinson herself, who was chosen by NBC to host this version, too (so basically it was double duty). The rules are pretty simple: In each round, a team of players answer a consecutive chain of questions, and try to make as much money as you possibly can; within the time limit (3 minutes on the UK, 2:30 on the US). However many players there are on the team (to begin with, as the UK version begins with the player whose name is alphabetically first, while the US version begins with the very first player to the host's left.), is also the number of links in each chain. Each time you answer a question correctly, the money in the chain increases; but upon an incorrect answer, the chain is broken, and all the money in the chain is lost. However, if the player in control were to shout out "BANK!", the money is safe; but a brand new chain must be started from scratch. When time runs out, only the money banked can be carried from round to round. Then, at that point, each player must vote off who they think to be the "weakest link" (which are revealed). Then after that, the host chats with the contestants, often asking about their occupation, the players' (or in this case, player's) performance in the round, and the reason why they've chosen the bootee they want off the team. After all is said and done, whoever has the most votes is dismissed with "You ARE the weakest link. Goodbye!" That player then takes the so-called "Walk Of Shame", and are then interviewed about why they got booted and such (although they don't always play by the book and vote out the weakest link). In the event of a tie, the strongest link of that round decides who should leave. This continues each round, with 10 seconds less on the clock, and commencing with the strongest link from the previous round (or, if the strongest link was voted out, the second-strongest link). When two players remain, they play a 90-second multiple stakes round (triple on the UK, double on the US), and then a final, head-to-head round. The 2 players are asked alternating questions, best of 5, and whoever has the most correct answers wins all the money banked throughout the game (everyone else leaves empty-handed). The strongest link from the multiple-stakes round decides who plays first. Now, in the event of a tie, the round goes to Sudden Death. In this situation, the questions continue in pairs, and as usual, one player must answer his or her question correctly to win (even if the opponent misses his or her question).

And continuing in the theme of Game Shows, while LAST year marked the 10th anniversary of Game Show Network, THIS year marks the 1st anniversary of the channel being re-branded as simply "GSN-The Network For Games." Now, many of you are asking me, "John, are you adjusting to the change?" I am, indeed. When it first debuted, in addition to the traditional game show stuff, we got reality programs such as "Evan Marriott's ("Joe Millionaire" 1) Fake-A-Date" and "Kenny vs. Spenny." Later in the year, We also got casino programming in the form of "Poker Royale: Battle of the Sexes", "The World Series of Blackjack", and "Celebrity Blackjack". Luckily, here we are one year later, and we kept the casino stuff, and ditched the reality stuff (as stuff like that doesn't make sense for a channel that's been devoted to game shows for 10 years).

Well, that's all for now. This is John Lee saying "Go HOME!"