Street Smarts (game show) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Street Smarts was a United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

Game show

A game show is a type of radio or television program in which members of the public, television personalities or celebrities, sometimes as part of a team, play a game which involves answering questions or solving puzzles usually for money and/or prizes...

that features two in-studio contestants trying to predict the outcome of interviews of people that were found on the street. The show aired in syndication

Television syndication

In broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...

from October 2, 2000 to September 23, 2005, hosted by Frank Nicotero

Frank Nicotero

Frank Joseph Nicotero is an American comedian widely known as the host of the syndicated comedy game show Street Smarts.-Career:...

.

A French-Canadian version, Les beaux parleurs, hosted by Patrice L'Écuyer, aired in 2001-02 on Radio-Canada. A British version, Does Doug Know?, aired in 2002 on Channel 4

Channel 4

Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...

Gameplay

Before the game actually starts, two studio contestants are introduced, as well as three "street savants", whose interviews were pre-recorded.

Round One ("Who Knew It?")

A question is posed, and the studio contestants must choose which of the three "savants" gave the correct answer (indicated in the first season on a trilon

Trilon

A trilon is a triangular prism-shaped object, turning on an axle to show different letters or images. Trilons have been used on game shows and billboards....

). A correct guess earns $100. Three questions are asked in this round; sometimes two "savants" will answer correctly. Sometimes, as an aside, Frank will call for a wrong-answer clip to be played to add humor to the show.

Round Two ("Who Blew It?")

This is similar to the first round, but the object is to guess who got the question wrong; for each question, only two of the "savants" are considered (one of whom answered correctly), and correct guesses are now worth $200.

Also, a Dunce Cap

Dunce cap

A dunce cap, also variously known as a dunce hat, dunce's cap, or dunce's hat, is a pointed hat. In popular culture, it is typically made of paper and often marked with a D or the word "dunce", and given to schoolchildren to wear as punishment by public humiliation for misbehavior and, as the name...

is in play in Round Two; Once the question is posed, an in-studio contestant can hit their buzzer if he/she thinks that his/her opponent doesn't know the answer. The person hitting his/her buzzer usually placed the Dunce Cap on his/her opponent. The "dunce" is allowed to hear the question in its entirety, and must then answer the question within 5 seconds. If the dunce gets the question wrong, $200 goes to the person who hit the buzzer. However, if the dunce does know the answer, then the "dunce" gets the $200 and is allowed to place the dunce cap on his/her opponent (that is, the person who hit the buzzer originally). In either case, the cap must be worn for the remainder of the round. Also, only one dunce cap opportunity is available.

Round Three ("Pick Your Pony/Brain")

Each contestant, starting with the person trailing (or whoever won a pre-show coin toss in the case of a tie), picks one of the "savants" to work with for the entire round. Each question goes to an individual contestant, who must decide whether their "brain/pony" got the question right or wrong (indicated in the first season on a paddle). Three questions are asked of each contestant, for a total of six in the round. Correct guesses are now worth $300. The Dunce Cap is back in this round, regardless of whether it was used in the previous round. Once again there is one dunce per round, but dunces are now worth $300.

The "right" reference is indicated in green; the "wrong" reference in red.

Final Round ("Wager of Death")

Before the final commercial break, a question is asked. During the commercial, the contestants each choose, in secret, 1) which "savant" they wish to pick, 2) whether they got the question right or wrong, and 3) the amount of their score that they wish to wager. A correct guess adds the contestant's wager to his/her score, while an incorrect guess loses the wager. High scorer at the end of the game keeps their money, and, in season 5, has the opportunity to risk their winnings for the possibility of a slot in the season-ending Tournament of Champions (see below). An exception to this rule occurs when celebrities play for charity: the winning player's charity receives the money won, with a minimum of $1,000; the losing player's charity receives $500, regardless of the actual score.

The theoretical maximum win on Street Smarts was $4,600; this requires getting all questions right and winning both "Dunces."

Tiebreaker

If the game ended in a tie at more than $0, one final question was asked to both studio contestants. The first player to buzz-in chooses to either answer the question or pass it to his/her opponent. If the buzzing player chooses to answer, he or she must answer based on the information given to that point; if he or she passes, the other player is allowed to hear the entire question. A correct answer by the responding contestant wins the game; answering incorrectly awards the game to their opponent. The tiebreaker only takes place if the players have money; if both players have $0, then the game is over and nobody wins.

Questions asked

Most of the questions asked of the savants are designed to be things people should know, but apparently don't (similar to the segment Jaywalking on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jay Leno that initially aired from May 25, 1992 to May 29, 2009, and resumed production on March 1, 2010. The fourth incarnation of the Tonight Show franchise made its debut on May 25, 1992, three days following Johnny...

). For example, in one episode, a savant was asked "What color is the exterior of the White House

White House

The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...

?" After some thought, the savant answered "Beige

Beige

Beige may be described as an off tan color or an extremely pale brown color.The term originates from beige cloth, a cotton fabric left undyed in its natural color...

." Another notable example was an elderly woman who claimed to be a nurse and, when asked what HMO meant, she got it confused with the premium television channel, HBO. Occasionally Nicotero, when asking the savant, would break the fourth wall

Fourth wall

The fourth wall is the imaginary "wall" at the front of the stage in a traditional three-walled box set in a proscenium theatre, through which the audience sees the action in the world of the play...

, such as when a savant who was in the US Navy

Navy

A navy is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake- or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions...

was asked to define "league" as in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. After getting it incorrect, Nicotero walked up to the camera and said to the contestant "I bet you thought she would get this right!" Sometimes the questions would be vocabulary

Vocabulary

A person's vocabulary is the set of words within a language that are familiar to that person. A vocabulary usually develops with age, and serves as a useful and fundamental tool for communication and acquiring knowledge...

-based, in which a word, such as pinochle

Pinochle

Pinochle or Binocle is a trick-taking game typically for two to four players and played with a 48 card deck. Derived from the card game bezique, players score points by trick-taking and also by forming combinations of cards into melds. It is thus considered part of a "trick-and-meld" category...

was shown to the contestant, who would then have to speculate whether or not the savant used the word properly in a sentence.

Other questions are trick questions that are designed to catch some people off guard. These are also to see if the savants are paying attention. For example, Nicotero asked one savant, "Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

is the capital of what state?" (Mark DeCarlo

Mark DeCarlo

Mark DeCarlo is an American actor.DeCarlo is the voice of Hugh Neutron on the television show Jimmy Neutron. He hosted the Travel Channel's Taste of America with Mark DeCarlo for 2 seasons in 2004 and 2005, and is also known as the host of the early 1990s dating game show Studs...

was able to successfully put the dunce cap on Mark L. Walberg

Mark L. Walberg

Mark Lewis Walberg is an American actor, television personality and game show host. His television credits include Antiques Roadshow , as well as the game shows Russian Roulette on GSN and The Moment of Truth on Fox....

on that same question and earn $200 for it.) The savant replied, "Australia!" Later, another savant pointed out the right answer by saying, "It's not! It's a country!"

Theme shows

Sometimes shows took on a certain theme, with Nicotero interviewing the savants in a costume akin to the theme. A couple episodes had been known as "Revenge Episodes", in which savants who believed they had been humiliated on air could get the chance to make money as contestants themselves. In November 2000, one episode revolved around the United States 2000 presidential election

United States presidential election, 2000

The United States presidential election of 2000 was a contest between Republican candidate George W. Bush, then-governor of Texas and son of former president George H. W. Bush , and Democratic candidate Al Gore, then-Vice President....

where Nicotero wore an Uncle Sam

Uncle Sam

Uncle Sam is a common national personification of the American government originally used during the War of 1812. He is depicted as a stern elderly man with white hair and a goatee beard...

costume when questioning savants and all questions pertained to American elections or political workings, such as "Why did Bill Clinton

Bill Clinton

William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...

refuse to seek a third term

Twenty-second Amendment to the United States Constitution

The Twenty-second Amendment of the United States Constitution sets a term limit for the President of the United States. The Congress passed the amendment on March 21, 1947...

?"

Other shows invited classic television stars and game show hosts to play for their favorite charities. The episode that pitted Mark L. Walberg

Mark L. Walberg

(who at the time was hosting the game show Russian Roulette) against Mark DeCarlo

Mark DeCarlo

(who at the time was voicing Jimmy Neutron's dad on Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius) was notable in that Walberg won the game with $2 to DeCarlo's $1. But because it was a charity episode, Walberg received $1,000 for Goodwill Industries

Goodwill Industries

Goodwill Industries International is a not-for-profit organization that provides job training, employment placement services and other community-based programs for people who have a disability, lack education or job experience, or face employment challenges...

of Southern California while DeCarlo received $500 for the M.S. Society of America.

The $100,000 Tournament

As celebration of being the first street interview show in over 20 years to reach a fifth season, Street Smarts announced a $100,000 tournament where the top winners of the season would play a single-elimination tournament for a grand prize of $100,000.

During that fifth season, the winner of each show had the option of keeping their money or risking it for a chance to play in the tournament. This gave contestants who won with just $1 a way to win more money.

The $100,000 Tournament featured the top 32 contestants of the season who gave up their winnings to be in the tournament. The contestants played for points instead of dollars, with the winner of each game moving on to the next round. Each round had a special name:

Round 1: The Thunderous 32.
Round 2: The Savvy 16.
Round 3: The Great 8.
Round 4: The "Phat" 4.
Round 5: The "Six-Figure Showdown".

The winner of this tournament was Teresa Lee. She defeated Brandon (last name unknown) on the final first-run episode of the series, which had aired on Wednesday, May 25, 2005.

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