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Episode 16.1
September 10
 Gordon: Mmmm...yummy Jennings nougat...
Jason: lol
Gordon: Welcome back. This is WLTI. We're proud to have our special guest to
open up Season 16 - Mr. Brad Rutter!
Jason: applause!
Brad: Hi, everybody!
Chico: Hey, Brad. How's life on the coast?
Brad: It's currently a beautiful and balmy 68 degrees this morning - what's not
to like?
Jason: Not much....except when its get insanely hot.
Brad: Yeah, I missed that last week since I was in Vegas where you expect it to
be 105 degrees.
Gordon: Here's how this is going to work. The 4 of us will rotate and ask you
questions until we get to 20. Any questions?
Brad: Seems pretty straightforward - fire away!
Chico: Okay, Gordon, if you will please.
Gordon: I'll start with the first basic question #1. How did you find out about
Grand Slam?
Brad: I got an email from the casting people in about March or early April. At
that time they already had Ken and I think John Carpenter and Nancy Christy
attached, so I wasn't about to say no.
Chico: #2 - Of the 15 others who were in the tournament, which ones did you know
of offhand?
Brad: Know they were going to be there or were familiar with their oeuvre?
Chico: Either one or the other. More the latter. Which of the players were you
most familiar with, rather.
Brad: I'd heard of everybody - I already knew Ken, Nancy, Frank, Dave, Kevin...
and a few others who I disgracefully can't remember.
Chico: So it was basically a genial high school reunion of sorts. You know, with
a game show thrown in for good measure.
Brad: Yeah, that was the main reason I went - to see those people again and to
meet Thom McKee, who is a helluva nice guy, incidentally.
Jason: #3 I am going to switch it up a little bit. You have been both a host and
a contestant. Outside of the money aspect, which do you like to do more...and
why?
Brad: That's a tough question - I enjoy them both and I can satisfy my camera
hog tendencies both ways. I tend to be able to have a little more fun with it
hosting because there isn't the pressure of millions of dollars on the line.
Jason: Agreed.
Gordon: Can you talk about the sort of show that you host, for the people
reading this who are not aware of that part of your background?
Brad: I hosted a local high school quiz bowl show back in PA - your standard
4-person team academic bowl. It was a lot of fun. Now I'm out in California
looking for a similar gig nationally, if not a hosting job on a History or
Discovery-type channel.
Don: #4. Back to Grand Slam... When you found out that your first opponent was
Amy, what were your first few thoughts?
Brad: I was a little concerned about the words & letters round, since I didn't
know how well I would do - I'm pretty good at crosswords, for exapmle, but I'm a
lousy Scrabble player. I figured if Amy was the all-time Lingo champ she might
give me some trouble there.
Gordon: #5 - What influenced you to try out for Jeopardy?
Brad: I had been watching the show since I was a little kid - pretty much since
the Trebek version came on. My parents had been fans of the old Fleming shows,
so I kind of grew up watching it... By the time I got to high school, I noticed
that I usually knew most of the answers, so I figured if I got on the show I
would probably do ok... If you had told me I would do as well as I actually did,
though, I would have said you were crazy.
Chico: 6) You were on Jeopardy!... You were on Grand Slam... You were also on 1
vs. 100 last year. Which of these did you find better as a player and why?
Brad: I guess I would have to go with Jeopardy, and not only because I had the
most success there - it's been around forever and they have the running of the
show down to a science. Grand Slam was brand new and 1 vs. 100 was in its 1st
season so you had a lot of the production glitches that can be annoying. One
thing that might not be apparent from my match against Amy was that it took
about three hours to tape. Believe me, sitting on those plexiglas chairs for
that long is no fun.
Jason: Ouch.
Don: Whoa.
Brad: They actually had to stop early because the audience was getting mutinous.
Chico: Any uproars?
Brad: More of just a murmuring malaise. In fairness, that was the first show
ever, and that kind of thing always happens.
Chico: Understood. Especially the part about the plexiglass chairs.
Jason: #7. Speaking of Jeopardy...which do you think is the more impressive
record? Your undefeated streak through tournaments....or Mr. Jennings' 74 game
undefeated streak? Not trying to start anything...but just your opinion :-)
Brad: It's sort of apples and oranges. I'm big on the sports metaphors, so I
would compare Ken to Joe DiMaggio and his hitting streak, where maybe I'm the
Celtics in the 50s and 60s. Which of those is more impressive? You see what I'm
getting at. All I know is that neither of those records are likely to be broken
soon.
Don: #8 - On the subject of tournaments, I'd imagine that there's a lot of
pressure when going for a million dollars in one, and even more with two million
on the line in another. Was there any point in which you thought the pressure
would get the best of you as you competed in each of those?
Brad: It's funny - the way it's worked out for me, the stakes have gotten higher
as I've gained more experience on the show. For me, the experience factor has
lessened the pressure more than the increased money has ramped it up. I was
orders of magnitude more nervous for my 1st show ever than for the finals of the
Ultimate Tournament.
Jason: Except when Alex came out pantsless :-)
Brad: That was more horror than nervousness:-)
Gordon: lol
Chico: It's on the DVD, folks.
Jason: its a great Easter egg.
Gordon: #9 - I have to ask. What was your feelings before and after your first
televised defeat to Ogi Ogas in Grand Slam?
Brad: Before I felt pretty good - I'd had a good batting average in my first
game. I knew Ogi would beat me in the math round, but I felt like I had a good
chance to make up the deficit in the other rounds. I especially felt good
because I had done better in Words & Letters than I thought. Afterwards, well, I
knew the math would catch up with me sooner or later, and if you're giving away
40 seconds in any round, you're just not going to win in that game. Although I
did honk a few questions I knew, which could conceivably have changed the
outcome.
Chico: 10) You listed your occupation as "aspiring game show host". Would you
see yourself hosting more of a quiz-based show or one that's based on luck or
skill or something like that?
Brad: I suppose I could do either one. A luck or skill-based show is probably
more likely to be on network prime time, so my Hollywood side likes that, but
I've always been more partial to quiz shows myself, so that's where my heart
would be.
Gordon: What about a poker show?
Brad: The extent of my poker knowledge is that a full house is probably going to
win you a few nickels around the kitchen table :-)
Jason: #11. Ok...your are the casting director for Season 2 of Grand Slam...who
are some of the people who send an invite to?
Brad: I would definitely invite some of the same people back, especially since
everyone is now familiar with the rules and strategy of the game. As for others,
I would start with my friends Jerome Vered and Bob Harris. Jerome has actually
played against all of the Jeopardy contestants who were on Grand Slam: me, Ken,
Frank and Leszek. Bob would somehow find a way to be funny in that format, which
is an achievement in itself.
Jason: Bob is funny in anything.
Gordon: What are your thoughts on a certain someone who won $125,000 on
Millionaire, a 4 time Jeopardy Champion and has a third victory on a syndicated
game show?
Jason: lol
Brad: Yikes, I'm not sure to whom you're referring.
Jason: Me. lol
Brad: Oh, right. lol. I'm sure Jason would do great.
Jason: Thank you.
Gordon: Flattery will get you everywhere. #12 - Don
Don: Now that most of Grand Slam has aired (and is currently airing again as we
speak), what is your opinion of Dennis Miller?
Brad: I think he's improved as the show's run has gone on. At first I think he
was just poking fun at the contestants (except Ken and me, for some reason), but
it seems as if he's starting to appreciate the competition a bit more.
Gordon: #13 - So you've seen how the other half lives. Any thoughts about
auditioning to be on Millionaire?
Brad: Well, unless they do some kind of theme show, I'm not sure they'd want
me... after all, it's Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, not Which Millionaire Wants
Another Million Bucks?
Don: lol
Jason: lol
Chico: A-Rod, line 1. :-D
Brad: The answer to that, by the way, is All of them. So I guess if they invited
me, I'd love to do it, but I don't have any plans to try out.
Chico: Okay, 14) Do you have any advice for anyone who wants to get into "the
business" as it were? Either as a host or as a producer...
Gordon: Or Contestant
Brad: Wow, I just kind of stumbled into the hosting & producing arena. I have no
idea how I'd start from scratch... As a contestant, I think persistence is the
key. I've heard from lots of people who didn't get on Jeopardy the first time
they tried out who went on to do pretty well. I tried out for the college
tournament and didn't get on, but it ended up working out much better since I
didn't...
Jason: Wow...that's cool.
Brad: Also, during auditions, know what type of show you're trying out for. For
instance, if it's Deal or No Deal, jump around like a maniac anytime anything
good happens, for Wheel of Fortune, think of the most cheerful person you've
ever met and do them one better, and for Jeopardy, just be yourself, but a bit
more enthusiastic.
Chico: Sounds cool.
Jason: #15. So why do you think you were as successful as you were on Jeopardy?
Brad: I honestly think having an athletic background in high school was a big
advantage. When you've been laid out by the future fullback for the Pittsburgh
Steelers, Alex Trebek doesn't seem so scary. It also gave me a really good idea
how my body and mind respond in a full adrenaline rush. Also, I grew up playing
original Nintendo, and Super Mario Brothers is actually shockingly similar to
the Jeopardy! buzzer timing.
Chico: Okay, this I have to hear... How?
Brad: It's just all about hitting a button at exactly the right time
consistently.
Don: I never thought of it like that before!
Chico: It's that whole hand-eye thing. Ah. I gotcha there. Okay, it's time for
the questions we ask everyone.
Brad: Fire away...
Chico: Okay.. 16) Favorite game show, past or present?
Brad: What else could it possibly be? Jeopardy, of course! No other game show
has paid me millions so I'm a little biased.
Chico: Of course. 17) Favorite game show host, past or present?
Brad: Alex has done a great job for 20 years, but he's never had the stones to
just go up and make out with a female contestant, so I'll have to go with
Richard Dawson.
Chico: Not many people go with that line of thinking. That's pretty cool.
Brad: Of course, these days he'd probably be locked up, but still...
Chico: Ehhh.. Nothing he can't talk his way out of. Okay, 18) Let's say you want
to try out for another game show. Which one do you go for?
Brad: Well, I'm all about upside, so that $10 million jackpot on Power of 10
looks awfully tempting.
Gordon: Just out of curiosity, did you see the previews of Temptation this past
week?
Brad: No, I must have missed them.
Chico: From what I heard, you didn't miss much. Speaking of remakes...19) If you
could remake one show from the past, which one would it be and why?
Brad: I would bring back the Newlywed Game - I always loved how most of the
couples really didn't know that much about each other, and hilarity always
ensued. And I've always thought the phrase "making whoopee" has been dreadfully
underused.
Jason: lol
Chico: Okay, and finally... 20) It's Brad time. If you have anything you want to
get off your chest that we didn't cover, now's the time to do it.
Brad: I think it's an unspeakable crime that it's been over two years since the
last all-time Jeopardy tournament. I mean, what are the producers thinking?:-P
Jason: Damn right, Brad...you and me kid :-)
Brad: well, the 25th anniversary isn't too far away...
Gordon: Is there any sort of MySpace address or anything you want to ho out
there?
Brad: The website from my old show is still up at
inquizitive.com, but otherwise my web
presence isn't what it maybe should be.
Chico: There you go. Well, Brad... guess what..
Brad: What?
Chico: You just survived 20 Questions.
Jason: Whoo-hoo!
Gordon: Thanks again for being part of the show.
Brad: Awesome. And with plenty of time to spare so I can prepare my blue & white
body paint for Penn State/Notre Dame 8-)
Gordon: Go Nittany Lions!
Jason: JoePa
Chico: Yay!
Gordon: And I mean that whole-heartedly. I DESPISE Notre Dame
Chico: Overated?
Gordon: When I was working at NBC sports, they did nothing but eschew how great
the Irish were. UGH.
Don: Yipes.
Brad: Now wait a second guys, Charlie Weis is the greatest genius in football
history...;-)
Gordon: He's the greatest genius in...oh did they lose by 30?
Jason: Wasn't that Ty Willingham? :-)
Brad: I guess so, cause Charlie can't win w/o Ty's players...
Chico: So what was going through your head when Appalachian blocked the field
goal last week?
Brad: I should stop talking smack, because it never turns out well. I didn't see
it live, but when I found out I gave a little Nelson Muntz-style (ha,ha)
Chico: That sounds familiar. Heh. Grand Slam repeats Saturday nights on GSN.
Part two of Happy Toilet Time after this. Hang on...
(Brought to you by Deal or No Deal American Tour. Forget the show - we will tour
with the contestant's quirky habits. We know you LOVE to watch them act like
morons on screen, so why not on stage as well?)
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