Beat the Geeks

Hosts
J. Keith van Straaten (Season 1) Blaine Capatch (Season 2)
Co-Host/Announcer
Tiffany Hendra
Broadcast
Comedy Central: 11/7/2001 – 10/7/2002
Packagers
Mindless Entertainment Fox Television Studios

Beat the Geeks was a short-lived comedy game show in which contestants tried to outsmart a group of pop culture know-it-alls known as the "geeks".

Geeks[]

Regular Geeks[]

The host would mention in every episode that if the Geek's expertise slipped, he would be replaced.

Marc Edward Heuck – Movie Geek
Paul Goebel – TV Geek
Andy Zax – Music Geek (Most of Seasons 1 and 2)
Michael Jolly – Music Geek (Part of Season 1)
Michael Farmer – Music Geek (Part of Season 2)

Guest Geeks (alphabetical)[]

Seasons 1 & 2[]

Mike Bracken – Horror Geek (10 episodes)
Holly Chandler – South Park Geek (10 episodes)
Ken Crosby – James Bond Geek (10 episodes)
Gabriel Köerner – Star Trek Geek (15 episodes)
Alan Korsunsky – Comic Book Geek (10 episodes)
Antonio Lopez – Simpsons Geek (10 episodes)
John Steverding – Playboy Geek (10 episodes)

Season 1[]

Karen Brown – Michael Jackson Geek (5 episodes)
Ivy Shantelle Hover – Sopranos Geek (5 episodes)
Kathy Pillsbury – Star Wars Geek (5 episodes)
Melanie Prudhomme – Friends Geek (5 episodes)
Paul Schmeltzer – Hip Hop Geek (5 episodes)

Season 2[]

Dan Blau – Beatles Geek (5 episodes)
Krisztian Boldis – Star Wars Geek (5 episodes)
Karla De Trinidad – Friends Geek (5 episodes)
Dana Gould – Planet of the Apes Geek (1 episode)
Rudy Higa – Wrestling Geek (1 episode)
Tim Lakin – Toy Geek (5 episodes)
Christian Malmin – KISS Geek (1 episode)
Mr. Skin – Nudity in Film Geek (2 episodes)
Greg Snyder – Saturday Morning Geek (5 episodes)

Gameplay[]

Contestants played a series of pop culture trivia games against the "geeks" to show how smart they were compared to them.

Round 1[]

In the first season, the three contestants competed against each other to answer eight questions, two from each category; the Geeks did not play in this round other than giving the answer in case the contestants missed the question or to provide analysis. The first four questions (one per category) were each worth 5 points, and the last four were worth 10 points each.

The format was changed for the second season, wherein the three contestants competed against each other and the Geeks to answer four pairs of questions (one from each category). The first question of each pair was a toss-up for the contestants, and was worth 10 points. The one who answered it then faced the relevant Geek to answer a followup question in which they had to buzz-in to answer. During this face-off, if the contestant buzzed in and got the question wrong or the Geek buzzed in and got it right, the contestant lost 5 points. However, if the contestant got the question right or the Geek got it wrong, the contestant won an additional 10 points. In almost all episodes, Blaine waited until the first follow-up question to explain this, using the line, "Here's how the follow-up works: if you beat the geek you get 10 points, if he beats you, he knocks you back five."

In both seasons, the contestant with the fewest points after the round was eliminated. In the event of a tie, a numerical tiebreaker question was asked; the winner was the contestant who came closer to the correct answer without going over. If both were over, the closest guess won.

Round 2[]

The remaining two contestants each played a head-to-head challenge against the Geek of their choice in order to win the Geek's medal. If the contestants began the round tied, they were asked a toss-up question to determine who played first. Otherwise, the contestant with the most points started. Once a Geek lost his medal to a contestant, he couldn't be challenged again until the final round.

Season 1[]

In the first season, four questions were asked, alternating between the contestant and the Geek, whose questions were much more difficult. If the Geek gave a wrong answer, the contestant won the challenge, scored points, and got to wear the Geek's medal for the rest of the game. If the contestant missed a question, the challenge would end and the opponent could score 10 bonus points by giving the correct answer.

If all four questions were answered correctly, a Geek-off was played to decide the challenge. The contestant had 15 seconds to name as many items that fit a certain category as they could think of; the Geek then had to do the same in a much harder category. If the Geek couldn't come up with more answers, the contestant won the challenge (ties were broken in the contestant's favor).

Resident Geeks' medals were worth 20 points each, while the Guest Geek's medal awarded 30 points.

Season 2[]

A maximum of four questions were asked as in Season 1. Now, though, if either side missed a question, the other had to answer it correctly to win the challenge. The opponent didn't get a chance to score from a missed question. If both sides gave wrong answers or if all four questions were answered correctly, a Geek-off was played.

Resident Geek medals were still worth 20 points, but the Guest Geek medals now awarded double or 40 points.

Round 3[]

The third round started with two more head-to-head challenges, and the trailing player started. Gameplay was the same as in the second round, with all medals worth 20 more points (40/50 in Season 1 and 40/60 in Season 2).

The Geek-qualizer[]

After these challenges were over, the Geek-qualizer was played to decide a winner. A list of items was read to the contestant who was trailing, who had to decide whether each was (at the time) mostly associated with movies, music, or TV. Correct answers were worth 10 points each, with a maximum of 150 for Season 1 and 160 for Season 2. The list continued until the contestant gave an incorrect answer, failed to give an answer within two seconds, or exhausted the list (there were 15 items in all in Season 1 and 16 in Season 2). Then, if they tied or exceeded their opponent's score, their opponent would play their own Geek-qualizer round with the same rules. The player with the most points after the Geek-qualizer advanced to the final round. If there was a tie, a tiebreaker numerical question was asked and the contestant who gave the closest answer without going over would move on to the final round.

NOTE: When a contestant's turn was over, the geek that related to the last item read explained it.

Final Round: Geek to Geek Showdown[]

In the final round, the contestant would choose one of the four Geeks to challenge. The contestant and Geek alternated questions, beginning with the contestant. Each turn, the player would choose whether to answer a 1-point (easiest), 2-point (harder), or 3-point (hardest) question; the Geek could not choose a point value lower than the contestant's previous question. If answered correctly, they earned the chosen number of points; there were no penalties for incorrect answers in this round. The first player to reach 7 points won and if the contestant won, they were awarded $5,000 worth of prizes related to the category of Geek they challenged for the Final Round.