This week in Nerdvana… Now that Heather’s gone, Amanda is feeling sad about the loss of her once-in-a-lifetime friend, but she reminds herself that she’s not dead. From a strategy stand point, Heather being gone is good for Jonathan, but he’s regretting not stepping up to the plate to knock Colby out of the park himself. Heather would still be with them, and she was one of his favorites, if he had manned up for his team. Raychelle congratulates Colby on his win and everyone else joins in, but Colby feels everyone, except Kaitlin, abandoned him and he excuses himself from the room to spend some time alone. Lily isn’t happy that he’s distancing himself from the group, but she understands why he needs to; nerds need alone time.
After a cheers for Heather, the girls ask Jonathan if they should have put him into the Nerd Off instead, he says yes, they should have and he wants to go into the Nerd Off this week if it comes down to that. He doesn’t want Amanda to go out the same way Heather did and Amanda is fine with Jonathan taking on the hero role. Ben says if he really wants to ensure this happens, he could totally just throw the next Nerd War… How about it, buddy? Hmmmmmmmmm? Kaitlin steps in at this time to say that she knows Colby said he wanted to be alone, but for the sake of harmony in the house she’s going to go check in on him. Kaitlin is genuinely happy that Colby won the Nerd Off, but it is also important to her game play that he knows she can’t be all “great job, Colby” all the time. Colby invites her to sit down after she offers to hang out and he commends her play; she took out a power couple and he’s still there to take the heat. He can’t blame her for making such a great move.
That evening the gang gears up for some Improv Star Wars while they enjoy some drinks; Colby is not down for playing their reindeer games. What is he really going to do during drunken Star Wars improv anyway? Raychelle notices him sitting by himself and with pony power in her palms, Raychelle joins Colby on the couch with the intention of showing him that friendship is magic. She asks if he’s just bad at socializing or if he doesn’t want to, because there is a difference; he asks her for a hug and of course Raychelle gives him one. Later, everyone else joins in to help Colby feel less like an outsider; that’s the last thing they want him to feel while he’s in Nerdvana. They all know how it feels, they’ve all dealt with people making them feel “not cool”. Everyone wants Colby to have a great experience and they do their best to make him feel included and appreciated. Nerdvana should be a happy place where they can all be their awesome, unique selves; that’s what it’s all about. Colby appreciates the support, but he’s still not going to be playing Improv Star Wars anytime soon. It’s not his bag, baby.
Calling all nerds! It’s time for the Nerd War and OH NOES! Pom Pom Kitty has been murdered! Sherlock Curtis and Bobby Clouseau explain that in this Nerd War they will all become detectives to track down the monster responsible for Pom Pom Kitty’s death. It’s a “three-pipe” problem, which is a phrase I haven’t heard and maybe I heard it wrong, and the nerds will have to use the branches of science most useful for solving this crime. Back in Nerdvana, the teams gather up their study materials and retire to their separate corners. Lily of House Hooloovoo is really excited about studying hair follicles and doing blood spatter analysis; she would also like to figure out if Pom Pom Kitty is a real cat or not. Raychelle and Kaitlin actually have some experience with forensic science so things are looking really good for Hooloovoo. They decide to split up the study material and each of them will focus on one thing. In the Team SMASH War Room, they pretty much have the same strategy, but they are going to pass around the study materials. Amanda watches Dexter so she’s feeling somewhat comfortable. Colby says they have to work collectively as a savage, wounded animal and win or he’s going to have to fight for his life again. Before they fully immerse themselves in the material, Jonathan acknowledges that they have a lot of feelings since Heather is gone, but they are going to win this. Amanda thinks this will be a fun one, because murder is fun! Well, solving a murder case is fun, Colby adds. Yeah, yeah; SOLVING murder is fun.
And now it’s to have some fun and solve a murder! Jonathan knows Team SMASH must win this Nerd War or he’s definitely going to the Nerd Off; he volunteered to go, he wants to go, but only if he really has to. After the nerds gather in the Nerdvana Police Station, Curtis and Bobby reveal the suspects: a vampiress, a mummy, Frankenstein’s Monster, (it is pronounced FRAHNKenSTEEN…), a werewolf and the Invisible Man. The crime scene has been reconstructed in two separate rooms in which the teams will examine forensic evidence to identify which monster is guilty and what weapon they used. Raychelle is immediately Sherlocking it up and absorbing every detail she can see; Amanda thinks this is the ultimate mystery party. The first station is the fingerprint station, the second is blood splatter the third is hair follicle examination and finally the last station: DNA analysis. Curtis is monitoring Team SMASH and Bobby has been placed with House Hooloovoo. Our lovely hosts will be updating each team on the other team’s progress and each team has a tablet to use to give their answers.
At the first station, Jonathan explains that they must use the five pieces of evidence to match each suspect with a murder weapon. Once again, Jonathan has to step up to the leadership rule because, as he explains, Amanda is super useful, but she’s just not a leader in this situation and Colby is wearing his “rage face”. Jonathan is really missing Heather right now. In the House Hooloovoo crime lab, Kaitlin and Raychelle are getting the job done. In high school, Raychelle took a class and one of the projects was solving the “murder” of one of one of her teachers and Kaitlin took a similar, college level, forensics course one summer; of course she got an “A”. It’s smooth sailing right now for Hooloovoo. Team SMASH; however, is realizing that they’ve made a big mistake. They didn’t read the instructions well enough and totally missed that the location of the fingerprints on the objects are marked with dots. They’ve been dusting for prints in all the wrong places and have wasted a lot of time. As Team SMASH is realizing their mistake, House Hooloovoo has completed the task at station one. The vampire is linked to the wine glass, the werewolf to the syringe, the mummy to the microscope, Frankie boy had prints on the hammer and… The Invisible Man left prints on the window pane. I guess the Invisible man DOES still have skin – we just can’t see it. I was going to be all “wouldn’t the Invisible Man leave INVISIBLE fingerprints”, but then I thought about it some more. lol
So with all of the suspects lined up with a weapon, House Hooloovoo moves onto the blood spatter analysis. Amanda of Team SMASH, upon hearing the progress of the other team from Curtis, face palms for not reading the instructions better. They are supposed to be nerds! Nerds read instructions! Colby starts to get a little panicky at this point. Forensic science isn’t his bag either, though he probably could have studied it when he was younger just by leaving the house since he grew up in a bad neighborhood. Team SMASH does pull it together, though, and they move on to the next station feeling much more organized and prepared. Lily gets pretty freaked out when Hooloovoo is informed that SMASH has moved forward; they have lost their lead. Lily goes on to explain that to figure out which suspects are telling the truth about the blood at the scene of the crime, they have to examine the blood spatters left on the floor by dropping sample blood from the height of each of the monsters to see which match the splatters left at the scene. Whew! Colby of SMASH tells us that only two of the suspects are telling the truth; three of the suspects are lying. House Hooloovoo is the first to figure out that only Frankie and the Invisible Man are telling the truth and move on to the third station.
Time to see which suspect left hair at the crime scene and Raychelle explains that the vampiress, werewolf and mummy are the prime suspects, buuut… Can’t they immediately rule out the mummy? Sure, mummies have hair, but any mummy worth the treasure in his tomb, and a monster mummy would have to be of someone of importance or to warrant reanimation, would certainly be mummified well enough that all that hair would be wrapped up in fabric… Just a thought! Ben deduces that there are only two hair samples so one has to belong to the vampiress and the other has to belong to either Frankie or the werewolf… Wait what? Did I miss something? What was Frankie telling the truth about that he WAS at the crime scene? I thought Raychelle just said that only the mummy, vampiress and werewolf were suspects at this point… Oh well! Team SMASH has a go at giving an answer for station two, but they are wrong and have to wait two minutes to answer again and shortly after, Hooloovoo figures out that the hairs left on Pom Pom Kitty’s scarf belong to the vampiress and the werewolf. Let’s hope Team SMASH figures out what I figured out when they finally move on to the third station… I mean, what’s the worst that could happen if they just try to answer without doing the actual work, just once? They answer incorrectly and have to do the work anyway? The risk is worth the reward if you ask me, but…
Anyway… Hooloovoo moves onto DNA analysis, which involves matching up line patterns, which Ben is very familiar with because of his work; I’m leaving the science talk out because that’s I’m not a science nerd in that way. Basically, Ben is really good at using his eyes to see patterns and line things up and Ben is so good that he’s answering that the werewolf murdered Pom Pom Kitty with the syringe lickety split. And he’s right; House Hooloovoo has won this Nerd War and they’ve also each won a robotics kit! Curtis escorts Team SMASH to the House Hooloovoo crime lab to confront the murder who… Dun Dun Duuuuuuuuuh! It was Pom Pom Kitty the whole time! She just wanted to be one of the nerds! Curtis still says that she’s grounded.
Back in Nerdvana, House Hooloovoo immediately rushes off to the library to check out their cool robotics kits. Kaitlin is so excited that one of them is a robot vacuum because now she’ll have more time to ride horses instead of doing her own vacuuming. While Hooloovoo is in the library, Colby, Jonathan and Amanda are in the living room. Jonathan says they did their best, Amanda says it was a tough challenge and asks him if he still wants to go to the Nerd Off; he totally doesn’t have to keep his deal. Jonathan wants to keep his deal, though, of course he’s volunteering as tribute. Colby wishes him luck and the boys shake hands. Jonathan is scared, sure, but he’s going to go to this Nerd Off and he’s going to beat Colby to prove that he deserves to be King of the Nerds. Aaand… Time for more Hot-N-Ready Little Caesars pizza and a less awkward family dinner! And the pizza is sooo good to Amanda that it almost makes up for her team losing the Nerd War… The hearts of her defeated opponents would have been better, though!
Later… Lily sits down to have a little chat with Amanda. She has got it into her head that the Nerd Off will be focused on classic horror fiction based on the suspects in the Nerd War. Lily knows Amanda has a book blog and loves horror movies and stuff so it would probably be better to send her into the Nerd Off to defeat Colby. Amanda can see her point, buuut… What if it’s not? Not all of the Nerd War themes have been linked in such ways to the Nerd Offs. On the other hand, what if it is and Jonathan goes home? The ladies decide that both Amanda and Jonathan will study tonight; Amanda wants to sleep on it before making a decision about volunteering as tribute herself. Even later… Lily presents the idea to Jonathan and they start studying. Ben walks in and she runs her theory by him and he agrees, if that’s the theme of the Nerd Off it would totally make more sense to send Amanda. Even LATER… Jonathan and Amanda talk about it and it’s more of the same back and forth. Amanda will sleep on it and see how she feels in the morning before they vote. Of course she would LOVE to take out the biggest threat in the game, it would be one of the moments of her life she would be most proud of and she’s married and has had kids and stuff! And OF COURSE, Jonathan would LOVE to do the same; he said he would protect Amanda, but if Lily is right, Amanda should totally be the one to go to this Nerd Off, even if he can’t look at himself in the mirror… With $100,000 he can buy a new mirror! The next morning at breakfast, House Hooloovoo is making bets with M&M packets on who Team SMASH is going to vote into the Nerd Off; it has been decided that they are voting for Colby. Everyone is obsessed with the whole monster/horror idea, but no one has any way of knowing if Lily is right or not. Lily is confident, though, she’s pretty sure SMASH is going to go with Amanda and so is Raychelle. Ben says he wants in on that action.
To the Throne Room! After the traditional throne reveal wind scene, the votes are shown. Colby isn’t surprised to see that House Hooloovoo has voted for him unanimously and he fully expects to be going up against Jonathan, buuut… Dun Dun Duuuuuuuuuh! Jonathan voted for Amanda and so did she! Colby is shocked, but he only needs about thirty seconds to process what just happened and Curtis is intrigued. Why did you vote for yourself Amanda? Amanda explains that there was a theory and she took a chance that it was a good hunch, but she doesn’t tell Curtis what the theory is – why don’t they all wait and see if it’s on point? Raychelle remarks that it sure would be embarrassing right now if the Nerd Off is a math challenge! Without further ado, it’s time to bend a knee… Curtis says they will be playing a game called Statistical Analysis and Applied Mathematics… PSYCHE! JK! This week’s Nerd Off is called Nightmare on Nerd Streets, (I’m pretty sure I heard Curtis put an “S” on the end of that word – I check twice), and they will be tested on horror movies. WHEW! Big relief for Amanda; she was about to vomit all over the Throne Room. Colby is still a threat because he’s a trivia powerhouse, but this is horror movies are Amanda’s wheelhouse so this is her Nerd Off to lose.
Back in Nerdvana there are high fives all around for Lily from Ben, Raychelle and Kaitlin as Colby and Amanda make their way to the library to scoop up their study materials. In addition to high fives, Lily also gets the satisfaction of rubbing her rightness in Ben’s face… That sound sooooooooo wrong… I’m so sorry, but I have to leave that joke right where it is… It’s too good. #ThingsThatSoundDirtyButArent… Jonathan asks Ben what Colby’s odds are in a Nerd Off about horror movies against Amanda, the Horror Movie Queen of Nerdvana. Ben says it’s definitely her Nerd Off to lose, but if it’s trivia-based it might not matter since Colby is a proven trivia champ. In the Hooloovoo War Room, (I think), Raychelle is helping Amanda study and Lily steps in to see what she can do to help – they ask her to go spy on Colby and she does. Colby is with Kaitlin in the Team SMASH War Room, (I think – or are they in the bedrooms???), and Colby is studying the top 100 horror movies of all time on IMDB – That’s the Internet Movie Database. IMDB.com: THE best place on the internet to go if you need to know the name of that guy that was in that movie with that girl that was on that TV show with that other guy from that other show that directs movies now… Do I win the “Worst Slogan Ever” award? *wink* So it seems to Lily that Colby knows his stuff and she reports back to Raychelle and Amanda. Amanda KNOWS she knows the source material, but she KNOWS that Colby is smart and it may not matter that he’s not a horror guy.
Nerd Off time! And it’s going to be a blood bath… Zombies have returned to Nerdvana and they are very hungry for nerd brains. Colby and Amanda will be given movie quotes and must name the movie and there are three levels of difficulty. A correct answer will give them a chance to earn points by whacking zombies with a cricket bat; easy questions are worth one hit, medium questions are worth two and the hard questions are worth three hits. Zombies have varying point values and the players won’t know what they are until they are have bashed their head. There will be three rounds in which both players will be able to answer a one question each and the nerd with the highest number of points wins. In Round One, they both choose a medium question and they both get them right; Colby ends up with 300 points and Amanda has 400. In Round Two, they both choose another medium question, but Colby answers incorrectly and Amanda boosts her lead with two hits giving her a total of 600 points. Time to throw out all the marbles! Colby and Amanda both choose a hard question and both get it right. Colby braves the zombie field first and manages to raise his score to 1000. The pressure is ON for Amanda, she just has to choose the right zombies and she does. Amanda wins this nerd war by 100 points! OMG. So close!
Sooo I have to admit… And I HOPE the person who commented on one of my previous blogs and insinuated that I am a man-hater is reading, (And yes, Oh Boy, I did reply to that comment, but it’s not showing up so… I’m gonna post it below). I know I’ve been all Team Girl Power, but part of me really thought Colby would win and I was rooting for him! I’m rooting for all of the nerds to win because I think they are all great and all worthy of winning this game. They don’t have to prove how nerdy they are to me or anyone else. You all deserve to win and someone will win SOON! Only two episodes left! And the teams have been dissolved! It’s an individual game now, baby! King of the Nerds airs on TBS on Friday nights at 9/8c and check out Knights of Nerdvana! There is also lots of other content here at Your Reality Recaps for you reality TV nerds like me. There’s my Survivor blog, we’ve got plenty of Bachelor coverage from Dana, blogs & recap videos, Bravo shows and Hanne’s Amazing Race blog and MORE! So much reality awesome…
*** My Reply to “ohboy” about his comment on my KotN Ep 4 blog***
Oh boy indeed… The girl alliance was/is absolutely NOT an “anti-male” alliance. If you perceive it that way, that is your perception, but it was not mine. Amanda, Lily, Raychelle and Heather were afraid the boys would band together to vote THEM out so they formed their foursome to keep themselves safe – NOT because they are “anti-boy”. Amanda is married to man and has a son named Atreyu; Lily has a crush on Ben. If they were “anti-boy” Amanda wouldn’t be married to a man and Lily would not have a crush on Ben. The girls’ alliance is not sexist. I’m really sorry you perceive it that way, ohboy. Why do you see the girls’ alliance to be sexist? I think a lot of people would agree with me that’s it not.
Second: How do you suggest the contestants determine who is responsible for losing a challenge every week? Just because they aren’t voting the way you would vote if you were in Nerdvana does not make them “wrong” and you “right”; nor does it mean that your way is “wrong” and their way is “right”. You should apply and try to get on season four then you can play the way you want to play.
This IS the author of the article responding and I do not hate men. I love men. Most of my close friends are men. I rarely get along with women as well as I get along with men. That is a fact.
If you don’t like the show anymore, you don’t have to watch it, but there is absolutely no reason to bring sexism and equality into a discussion about this show. If anything, this show promotes equality for all. I am absolutely not okay with sexism against women OR against men.
I hope you are able to deal with your anger issues, ohboy, because you have some. If you think you are being treated unfairly because you are male, I’m really sorry. That really sucks. I know men DO get treated unfairly sometimes, but it just doesn’t happen as often as it does with women, homosexuals and people of other races. I’m also sorry, but the men on King of the Nerds this year are not the victims of sexism and inequality. YOU are making this an issue, not the people on the show or the people responsible for the show.
Thanks for reading my blog. 🙂 Every hit counts and I appreciate you taking the time to share your opinions. If you ever need to talk about anything, hit me up on Twitter. If you follow, I will follow back and we can talk in DMs. I will listen. Much love, ohboy! I’m really not a man-hater. 🙂 Stay nerdy.
