OPHIRA EISENBERG, HOST:
This is ASK ME ANOTHER. I'm your host, Ophira Eisenberg, chosen for the job because my own name is a word game. Let me introduce you to our ASK ME ANOTHER puzzle guys. John Chaneski.
JOHN CHANESKI: Hi Ophira. Hey.
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EISENBERG: Hi.
CHANESKI: Thank you.
EISENBERG: And Will Hines.
WILL HINES: Hello Ophira.
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EISENBERG: You'll be hearing more from them later on in the show as they'll be helping us out with a few games. And of course the man, the band, the nerd icon, Jonathan Coulton.
JONATHAN COULTON: Hello.
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COULTON: Nerd icon, I like that.
EISENBERG: Yeah, you're a nerd icon.
COULTON: Very satisfying. Yeah.
EISENBERG: Let's bring our first two contestants onto the stage. Here they come. They are coming right now.
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EISENBERG: Let's welcome David Scher and Amber Smith.
Hi Amber.
AMBER SMITH: Hi.
EISENBERG: Welcome to ASK ME ANOTHER. I hear that you're a big traveler.
SMITH: I am.
EISENBERG: Where have you gone recently?
SMITH: Last place I went - Argentina, that's the last place.
EISENBERG: Oh nice.
SMITH: Yes.
EISENBERG: Now, if you fly a lot are you the kind of person that's all about first class?
SMITH: No.
EISENBERG: No.
SMITH: I fly stand by, so...
EISENBERG: What?
SMITH: ... I don't get the luxury of first class.
EISENBERG: You fly stand by exclusively?
SMITH: All the time.
EISENBERG: Really?
SMITH: Yes.
EISENBERG: That's kind of risky.
SMITH: It is a, it's a bit of a strategy involving, yes it is risky.
COULTON: You're like a modern hobo.
SMITH: I am.
EISENBERG: That is amazing.
COULTON: Jump the train car and see where it takes you?
SMITH: Yeah, yeah.
EISENBERG: David Scher, welcome.
DAVID SCHER: Thank you.
EISENBERG: You're awesome.
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EISENBERG: You're very into trivia.
SCHER: Yes I am.
EISENBERG: How into trivia are you?
SCHER: I actually run a trivia...
EISENBERG: Whoa.
SCHER: ... bimonthly over here in this neighborhood in Brooklyn.
EISENBERG: Oh, oh really. Nice, OK.
SCHER: Very popular.
EISENBERG: And so you thought you'd try your skills on the show.
SCHER: I'd try it out.
EISENBERG: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
SCHER: Actually try someone else's questions.
EISENBERG: Nice. Yeah, exactly. It's called stealing is what you're doing. No. No, that's great. OK, well this is a music game that we're starting with called Who's That Girl? Who is that girl?
COULTON: Who is that girl indeed?
EISENBERG: Jonathan, who's the girl?
COULTON: I'll tell you who it is. And rather than explain this game, I'm just going to play the song and you can - you'll figure out what's going on pretty quickly I think. All right?
(Singing) Andrew, you don't have to put on the red light. Those days are over. You don't have to sell your body to the night.
EISENBERG: Good job David, you don't have to answer that.
COULTON: We're not in play.
EISENBERG: It's just the example.
COULTON: That's just the example.
EISENBERG: That's good.
COULTON: I admire your -
EISENBERG: But you've already probably picked out what this game is about.
COULTON: Oh David, David is on it, yeah.
EISENBERG: Yeah, it's about... these are questions about male prostitutes, so...
(LAUGHTER)
EISENBERG: No, that song is "Roxanne", of course.
COULTON: That's right.
EISENBERG: But you made it into Andrew.
COULTON: Right. So what I'm going to be doing is playing some famous songs with women's names in the title, but I'm going to replace the women's name with a man's name. So contestants, you will have to ring in and tell us what the original title of the song is.
EISENBERG: And you can ring in when you know the answer, but let - Jonathan will continue playing the end of the song because he's very expensive so we have to get all the singing and dancing out of him as we can. And then you'll have, you'll answer after the song is finished. And then we are going to ask you a follow up question, which either of you can ring in for, about whatever we feel like. So that's going to workout. And whichever one of you gets the most questions right, you'll move on to our final elimination round called Ask Me One More at the end of the show. Are you ready?
SMITH: Yes.
SCHER: Yes.
EISENBERG: Excellent.
COULTON: (Singing) Wake up little Herman, wake up. The movie wasn't so hot. It didn't have much of a plot. We fell asleep, our goose is cooked, our reputation is shot. Wake up little Herman.
SMITH: I believe it's Susie.
EISENBERG: Amber, yes.
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EISENBERG: But the way he sings it, don't you want it to be Hermie? Like they're something adore, it's great. All right. Olympic athlete Susie Chaffee became better known as Susie Chapstick when she appeared in television ads in the 70s for the popular lip balm. What sport did she compete in? David.
SCHER: Skiing.
EISENBERG: Skiing. Would you like to qualify what kind of skiing?
SCHER: Downhill.
EISENBERG: Is there any kind? You are correct.
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COULTON: (Singing) Gary's got a gun. Gary's got a gun. His whole world's coming down. Staring straight at the sun.
SCHER: Janie?
EISENBERG: David?
SCHER: "Janie's Got a Gun."
EISENBERG: Correct.
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EISENBERG: A guy named Gary would never have a gun would he, no?
COULTON: No, Gary's too nice to shoot anybody.
EISENBERG: So nice. One of the most famous Janes is novelist Jane Austen, who probably never carried a gun, but who knows? Which Jane Austen novel was the basis for the plot of the Alicia Silverstone movie "Clueless"?
David.
SCHER: "Emma".
EISENBERG: "Emma" is correct.
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SCHER: I've asked that question.
EISENBERG: You've asked that question? Well, who knew this would be the edge you would have?
(LAUGHTER)
SCHER: Finally paid off.
COULTON: (Singing) Hands, touching hands, reaching out, touching me, touching your. Sweet Oliver.
(LAUGHTER)
EISENBERG: Audience can't help themselves. They have to sing.
COULTON: Hard enough to sing that horn part. It's very hard.
EISENBERG: I believe that was David. David.
SCHER: It's "Sweet Caroline."
EISENBERG: "Sweet Caroline" is correct.
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EISENBERG: In 2007 Neil Diamond revealed that the picture of what famous American, as a little girl, was the inspiration for the Caroline of the song? David.
SCHER: Caroline Kennedy.
EISENBERG: Caroline Kennedy is once again correct.
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EISENBERG: David, I like the fact that just before you hit the bell you looked over at Amber, thinking, "How is she doing?" You wanted to check in. You wanted to check in.
HINES: There is an unfair advantage going on over here.
EISENBERG: Amber, you've got loads of time. Know it, there is no advantage other than the fact that he runs a trivia night.
(LAUGHTER)
EISENBERG: But wait, this could be yours.
COULTON: (Singing) Hey there Tobias, what's it like in New York City? I'm a thousand miles away but dude, tonight you look so pretty, yes you do. Times Square can't shine as bright as you. I swear it's true, Tobias.
EISENBERG: I like "but dude, you look so pretty".
COULTON: Yeah, well.
EISENBERG: Amber.
SMITH: Delilah.
EISENBERG: Delilah.
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COULTON: (Singing) And I said what about breakfast at Doug's. She said I think I remember the film. And as I recall I said I kinda liked it. And that was how we had breakfast at Doug's.
(LAUGHTER)
COULTON: I added a - I took some liberties with the lyrics.
SMITH: Tiffany's.
EISENBERG: Amber says Tiffany's and that is correct.
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EISENBERG: Breakfast at Doug's is like warm beer or something like that.
COULTON: It's a place you should not go to eat breakfast.
EISENBERG: In the late 1980s, Tiffany Darwish became a successful pop singer known as Tiffany. Her biggest his was a cover of a song originally performed by Tommy James and the Shondells. What was the name of the song? David.
SCHER: "I Think We're Alone Now."
EISENBERG: "I Think We're Alone Now" is correct.
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COULTON: (Singing) Al, I know this world is killing you, oh Al. My aim is true.
EISENBERG: David.
SCHER: "Alison."
EISENBERG: "Alison" is correct.
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EISENBERG: What actress named Allison played White House press secretary C. J. Craig on "The West Wing"?
David.
SCHER: Janney.
EISENBERG: Allison Janney is correct.
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COULTON: (Singing) Little Ditty by Jack and Jonathan. Two American kids growing up in the Heartland. Jack's gonna be a football star. Jonathan debutant back seat of Jackie's car.
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COULTON: Thank you, thank you very much.
SCHER: Diane.
EISENBERG: Diane, "Jack and Diane."
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EISENBERG: California senator Diane Finestein was previously the mayor of what city which in 2004 issued about 4,000 same sex marriage licenses? Audience says yeah, contestants say I don't know. David.
SCHER: San Francisco.
EISENBERG: San Francisco.
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EISENBERG: All right David, you scored more points so you are going to be moving on to our Ask Me One More final round at the end of the show.
SCHER: Thank you.
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EISENBERG: Another hand for Amber. Fantastic contestant. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.