Street Smarts
Game Show hosted by comedian Frank Nicotero which ran in syndication from 2000-05. In this show, contestants try to predict whether ordinary people on the street get certain trivia questions right or wrong. The game consisted of four prediction rounds.
Round 1: Who Knew It?
In the first round, the same question was asked to all three of the "Street Savants," but only one of them got the question right. Correctly predicting which one got it right earns $100.
- Sometimes two of them would give the correct answer.
Round 2: Who Blew It?
The second round is similar to the first one, except this time, (1) the question is only asked to two of the "savants" at a time (one of whom answered correctly), and (2) the contestants have to pick who got it wrong. A correct prediction is worth $200, and this round introduces the "Dunce Cap" (see below)
Round 3: Pick Your Pony/Brain
In the third round, both players (starting with the one in the lead, or in the case of a tie, determined by a coin toss backstage) pick a different "savant," and then have to predict whether they got each of three questions right or wrong. A correct prediction is worth $300, and the Dunce Cap can also be used in this round regardless of if it was used in the previous round.
Final Round: The Wager Of Death
In the Wager of Death, involving all three "savants," both players secretly choose a "savant," predict whether they would be right or wrong, and then make a wager not to exceed their current total. A correct prediction adds their wager to their score, while an incorrect prediction deducts it. When this round ends, the players with the most money keeps it (even if it's $1), and the losing player gets nothing.
- Lifelines: In Rounds 2 and 3, a contestant may buzz in and place a dunce cap on their opponent's head and force them to answer the question; hopefully, the player who is "dunced" (as it's sometimes called in-show) gets it wrong, thus giving the player who buzzed in bonus cash. However...
- Whammy: This can backfire if the opposing player gets the answer right, thus earning the bonus themselves. They get to add insult to injury by placing the Dunce Cap on the Duncer's head instead.
- Personnel:
- Game Show Host: Frank Nicotero.
- Die Hard on an X: It's basically Jay Leno's "Jaywalking" segments as a Game Show.
- Downer Ending: If both players end the game with $0, they both get nothing.
- Dunce Cap: See above.
- Grand Finale: Rare for a gameshow to have this, but the final season had the winner be given the option of keeping the winnings or returning for a tournament where champions competed for a grand prize. The last episode was the last two players competing for that grand prize.
- Sudden Death: If there is a tie on anything other than $0, the players play a single question under modified "Dunce Cap" rules: when a player buzzes in, they can play (but must answer based only on what they've heard to that point) or pass to the other player (but let them hear the entire question before answering). Get it right and you win, get it wrong and you're out.