Very Confused TV Guide

Transcript

OPHIRA EISENBERG, HOST:

Welcome back to ASK ME ANOTHER, NPR and WNYC's hour of trivia, puzzles and word games. I'm Ophira Eisenberg. And coming up, we'll see which member of Lake Street Dive isn't just mouthing the words. But first, our next game is called Very Confused TV Guide. Let's say hello to our contestants, Julia Meinwald and Ashley Lehmann.

(APPLAUSE)

EISENBERG: Hello.

ASHLEY LEHMANN: Hello.

EISENBERG: So you're both in the music world. Ashley, you're a singer-songwriter...

LEHMANN: Yes.

EISENBERG: ...Julia, a composer.

JULIA MEINWALD: Yes.

EISENBERG: Excellent, so if you could adapt any television show into a musical of your fantasy, which one would you choose, Ashley?

LEHMANN: "Once Upon A Time," I think.

EISENBERG: Oh yeah, that works nicely, right.

LEHMANN: Yeah, some of them are already musicals, but there are couple interesting new, like, twists thrown in that I think would be interesting.

EISENBERG: And would you do it like classical musical format, or are you thinking more of a dark thing?

LEHMANN: I think classical, maybe a little comedy thrown in.

EISENBERG: A little comedy? A little comedy. Yeah, sure, why not? It's a fairytale, why not? How about you, Julia?

MEINWALD: I think I would say "Twin Peaks." And I'd reveal...

(APPLAUSE)

MEINWALD: We do, we'd reveal Laura Palmer's killer right before the end of act one, then we'd just do have act two.

JONATHAN COULTON, BYLINE: Yeah, that's a fantastic idea. I can't wait to see it.

MEINWALD: I'm on it.

COULTON: It's going to be really weird though, right?

MEINWALD: Yeah.

COULTON: Yeah, obviously.

EISENBERG: Like you don't know you're in a musical until you leave.

(LAUGHTER)

EISENBERG: Have your read the description of one of your favorite television shows on the on-screen guide and you were like, who writes this and have they even watched the show?

LEHMANN: Yes.

EISENBERG: So that was the inspiration for this game. I'm going to give you a very confused description of a TV show and you have to tell me what the show is. For an example, let's go to our puzzle guru, Art Chung.

ART CHUNG: So if we said this spinoff of the James Bond flick "Goldfinger" features four ladies in body-paint eating cheesecake together in their Miami home, the answer would be "The Golden Girls."

COULTON: So you can see there are some accurate parts in the description and some parts that are not very accurate at all. Of course the winner of this game will move on to our "Ask Me One More" final round at the end of the show. Ready?

EISENBERG: A look at the dark underbelly of a choir of high-pitched female singers from New Jersey.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

EISENBERG: Julia.

MEINWALD: "Sopranos?"

EISENBERG: "The Sopranos," exactly.

(APPLAUSE)

COULTON: The members of an '80s arena rock band have a rough go of it two decades later, and must endure physical challenges in exotic locales just to get a bowl of rice.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

COULTON: Ashley.

LEHMANN: "Survivor?"

COULTON: That's right.

(APPLAUSE)

EISENBERG: And the loser has to go back on tour. No longer living tree branches hang out in 19th century South Dakota and curse a lot.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

EISENBERG: Julia.

MEINWALD: "Deadwood?"

EISENBERG: "Deadwood" yes, exactly.

COULTON: Was it the branches or the cursing that gave it away?

MEINWALD: Branches.

COULTON: Branches.

EISENBERG: Branches.

(LAUGHTER)

EISENBERG: You are the sweetest of all time, Julia. I could tell - branches.

COULTON: Hanging out the passenger side of its best friend ride, a cotton hospital uniform experiences life, love and slapstick vignettes. No? Oh man, I thought I delivered that perfectly.

EISENBERG: You did.

COULTON: Well, this is a guy who thinks he's fly, but he's also known as a buster. No?

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

COULTON: Ashley.

LEHMANN: "The Odd Couple?"

(LAUGHTER)

EISENBERG: I think we accept that; I think we accept that.

COULTON: Yeah, no, it's incorrect, but yes. No, that is - I can't believe it's not right. Anybody know the answer?

AUDIENCE: "Scrubs."

COULTON: "Scrubs." "Odd Couple," I like "Odd Couple" better, frankly.

EISENBERG: You won't want to miss the complicated plot twists and unanswered questions in this sci-fi drama that features the tagline - save the cheerleader, save the foot-long sandwich.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

EISENBERG: Julia.

MEINWALD: "Heroes."

EISENBERG: "Heroes" is correct, nice. Puzzle guru Art Chung, how did our contestants do?

CHUNG: They did OK? But congratulations Julia, you're moving on to our final round.

(APPLAUSE) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.