Idiot Savants I wrote a story called “More Savant Than Idiot” for my first issue, which detailed my experiences as a contestant on MTV’s short-lived game show, Idiot Savants. I had a really good time and this story was the centerpiece of the first issue. I have never posted it online because I want people to buy the issue and read it themselves. But, since it’s really old and I only have a few copies of #1 left, I figured it was time to post it, but instead of converting it, you can click here to download a PDF of the story in color. I hope you enjoy it.
Thanks to YouTube.com, I found a place to post these videos online. I recently converted my entire 5 episode run on the show to DVD and in the process, I was able to post them online. I will be posting more videos to YouTube and, of course, adding more videos to this web site, which is something I have always wanted to do.
The first video is the last few minutes of the 2nd episode of Idiot Savants. It begins with what they call the Brainstorm Round, where they ask the final 2 contestants a bunch of questions in 60 seconds to determine a final winner for the day. After that round the person with the highest score is sent to the “Cylinder of Shush” where they compete in the Grand Savant Round. This round features very difficult questions in the person’s “savant” category, which in my case was Ridley Scott movies. I really wanted to do just the movie Blade Runner, but they wouldn’t let me, so we settled on the director and all of his movies. Here’s the clip.
The second video is from the next day, when I was chastisted for cursing. As you saw in the previous clip, they were asking us about SNL actors. The reason I cursed was that I had recently purchased a book by Don Novello (the actor who plays Father Guido Sarducci) and I really liked it. I knew the guy’s name, but as soon as I buzzed in, I forgot it and cursed.
This last clip is of my fellow contestant Joel Stein, who is now a columnist for the LA Times and Time Magazine. At the time, he was the sports reporter for Time Out New York and he wrote a short piece in TONY about his experience of losing and being sent to the dunce corner 3 days in a row.
Web Bonus Info:
I still keep in touch with Joel and we are toying with the idea of going on VH1’s new show the World Series of Pop Culture. I don’t think he'll be allowed to play because he regularly appears on VH1’s talking heads shows as a commentator, so he may be disqualified.
