This week in Nerdvana… Looking very studious with a graduation cap on her head, Konnie calls all nerds to the courtyard; Kenny is confused by the lack of dragons and castles. Tipped by Konnie’s hat, Mark thinks they are in for an academic challenge this week, which he is very excited about – He’s got three degrees so this should be right up his alley. Kerry is dreading anything to do with public speaking… So of course it’s time for the Nerd Debate. Team Evil is thrilled. Mark and Yasmeen have both studied law and Yasmeen is sooo ready for a challenge that’s based on intellect instead of luck. Since the Defenders of Time have two more members than Team Evil, three of them have been selected, at random, to participate in this Nerd War: Kenny, Kerry, and Matt. They are not happy about this at all. Kenny hasn’t debated since grade eight and he’s pretty sure he lost that one. Kerry sits in her room and games by herself all the time and Matt is taking it in stride – It is game face time! For the self-proclaimed captain of Team Evil, Mark, they must win or die.
With only two hours to prepare, the nerds hustle back into Nerdvana. In this Great Nerd Debate they will be tackling the existence of Doctor Who, violence in Game of Thrones, and whether or not Harry Potter is just for kids. In the Defenders’ War Room, control freak Karen is having a hard time letting Matt take the reigns on this challenge; she says it’s a big personality flaw. Karen wants to be present for every discussion and would like to create a list on the white board before getting started. Kenny isn’t sure what she’s trying to do, since she is, technically, not too involved in this Nerd War, and Matt is becoming increasingly more frustrated. Over in Team Evil’s lair, Mark is letting his team members decide which topic they would like to cover. Emily loves Harry Potter, she’s read all the books many times and Yasmeen is just as gaga for Game of Thrones, which leaves Mark with Doctor Who, which he is somewhat comfortable with, but he’s more familiar with the older episodes, not the reboot. Curtis on the other hand, and on the other team, is very much into Doctor Who and Mark knows that he will be coaching the person he will be debating against.
Back to the Defenders! Kerry has been selected to debate Doctor Who; she hasn’t seen a single episode of the show, but Curtis will be her coach and he has a good coaching record. Kenny would like to talk about Game of Thrones and lucky him – Karen is well versed in GoT knowledge and she would be happy to help him with his argument. Matt has never read Harry Potter, but he is okay with taking it on as a subject. Bouncing back over to Team Evil, Mark is coaching the ladies on presentation. He did a good amount of debating in school and considers himself to be an expert. Defender of Time Karen also considers herself to be good at debating, but isn’t giving Kenny a chance to talk about Game of Thrones, which he has seen and does have opinions about. He is getting very frustrated and can’t wait for this Nerd War to end. Team Evil also can’t wait for this Nerd War to end because they are feeling very confident – this is their Nerd War to win, like, it was made for them to win and Mark totally believes in his team members.
It is at this point, in the Defenders’ War Room, when Kerry’s anxiety, emotions, and fears begin to bubble to the surface. As she wipes the tears off her face, Curtis does his best to keep coaching her, but she’s convinced that she’s going to be the one to lose this Nerd War. She never would have applied to be on the show if she knew it would be like this. Awww! Matt feels bad for her, Curtis feels bad for her, all of us at home I’m sure feel bad for her, but the show must go on… To the Great Nerd Debate arena! Dressed appropriately, sort of, for each debate topic, the debaters and the rest of the nerds take the stage then Konnie introduces our judges – comedian/actress, Katherine Ryan and actor, David Bradley, who the Potterheads out there will recognize as Mr. Argus Filch! And now I feel like popping in a Harry Potter movie while I write this. In case you were wondering which one – Half Blood Prince because I love the scenes when Harry is all wacky on the luck potion – might be my favorite scenes in the whole film series. I still get goosebumps when I watch these movies and I usually shed a few tears. Obviously, I support the “Not Just For Kids” argument because I’ve been an adult since book one. Anyway…
Our first debaters are… Mark and Kerry, of course! Of course the producers want to put Kerry on stage as soon as possible. Drama! So, the official debate topic is: “The Doctor in Doctor Who is the sole catalyst for all the events in the series, without the Doctor there is no Doctor Who” – well obviously! lol Obviously there is no Doctor Who without the Doctor or it would be called the Magical Time Traveling Box That Kidnaps Random Earth People! lol Or Torchwood… So Mark delivers his argument in favor of the statement, which, I gotta say, dude – I think my argument is better or, at the very least, more comedic. 😉 Then it’s Kerry’s turn to argue that the Doctor doesn’t matter… She is terrified and through the magic of editing, we feel her anxiety. When she starts speaking, though… OMG! You totally owned it, girl! I’m so happy for you, Kerry – overcoming your fears like that – it’s really awesome. Buuut…If I remember correctly, Curtis, the invaders in the Christmas Invasion were on Earth because they were following the Doctor, but I could be remembering that wrong. You should have used the episode when the Doctor and Donna Noble reunite after their first meeting – in that episode, there was no agenda that involved the Doctor. And that episode contains my favorite Doctor Who scene. 😉
So… Points are awarded. Katherine awards her point to Mark and Filch gives his point to Kerry… and Mark will not be signing up for autographs in David Bradley’s line…. Next up – Yasmeen and Kenny and the Game of Thrones topic: “Game of Thrones is just an excuse for gratuitous fantasy violence, and has no relevance to real world events”… I want to debate this topic! I don’t even watch Game of Thrones, but I would totally argue that GoT is very in line with historical events – sex and violence is rampant throughout history, not to mention religious persecution, but that’s a post for another blog… Kenny gets a point from Katherine and Yasmeen gets a point from Flich which leaves us with Emily versus Matt and the score tied. The official talking point: “The Harry Potter books and films are modern classics and are not just for kids”. A very poised Emily delivers a two point winning argument breaking Team Evil’s losing streak! In addition to safety from the banishment, they also receive a reward of a “silent disco” and a 70’s style wardrobe to play around with while they dance – just the three of them.
While the silent disco rages on, the Defenders of Time discuss the Nerd Off vote. Curtis would like to stay; he’s a great tutor and everyone agrees with him. Kerry would like to stay because she feels she hasn’t really proven herself, even though she did well in the debate. Of course, everyone wants to stay and has good reasons. Karen thinks Matt is most responsible for the loss since he was so keen on taking the lead and Matt recognizes that he didn’t perform well. Karen doesn’t want to rub it in by saying how she would have done it differently and Matt points out that it’s irrelevant. Kerry and Kenny have had quite enough of Karen; Kerry is pretty sure everyone on her team has had enough. Sliding away from the talk of who to vote in, Kenny poses the question of who they think Team Evil will choose. Curtis thinks it could be any one of them. Back at the disco, talk turns to who they should vote in and all agree that Matt and Karen are the big targets and Mark points out that Matt will most likely take out any person that is put up against him. After the girls decide that their vote will go to Matt, Mark decides to liven up the party by inviting the Defenders to join them.
With all the nerds dressed up and dancing, Mark and Matt step away from the group to have a little chat about the Nerd Off voting. Mark let’s Matt know that the girls will be voting for him, even though he explained that Matt will most-likely win; part of Mark’s strategy is to keep Matt in the game, even though he is a threat. Matt takes the news well and uses the info to come up with some strategy of his own. He doesn’t feel very threatened by Kerry and Kenny, but Karen could beat him so he would like for his team to vote Curtis in, but how… Taking aside, Kenny and Kerry, Matt hatches an egg of deceit by telling them about his talk with Mark, but says that Team Evil is voting for either Matt or Kerry and thinks that they should swing their votes away from Karen towards Curtis. They aren’t really buying this, though; Kenny thinks Matt might be trying to protect himself. To the Throne Room!
Okay, before the votes are revealed, Konnie comments on Matt’s “mandana”, but it is in fact, my good friends, a BUFF – A Survivor Buff to be more specific. I’ve had a really good look at it and I know a Survivor Buff when I see one – I’ve kinda been looking at them since season one, I have used the font on a Survivor logo of my own, and I’ve been writing Survivor blogs for YRR since November of 2013. It’s a Survivor Buff and Matt gets awesome points from me for having one. Moving on to the votes! Team Evil’s vote will be revealed first and Konnie makes a point of letting everyone know that is a majority vote… The vote is for Matt who responds with “NICE!” because he was able to “predict” what they were going to do. The Defenders’ vote is next and it’s for Karen, who is very upset and shocked. Curtis is also surprised by the vote; he thinks it’s a little early to be taking out strong members of their team. Kenny isn’t shy about letting everyone know that Karen is his biggest threat and Kerry feels that the team won’t really need her skills moving forward.
Matt and Karen kneel before the Throne then Konnie reveals the quiz topics: 80’s Sci-Fi, Space Science, Space Vehicles, and Turner Prize Winners. I have to admit that I had no idea what the Turner Prize is until I looked it up – it’s a prize for British artists – but it seems I’m not the only one because Matt says that no one in Nerdvana knows much about art so it’s a pretty dangerous category. Surprisingly, Karen chooses Space Science for Matt and he of course chooses the poisoned chalice, Turner Prize Winners, for her. Karen is also allowed to pick her study partner first; she chooses Mark and he accepts the position. Matt isn’t happy about this since Mark knows a lot about space so he chooses Curtis, who is very good at tutoring people for these kinds of things. After the nerds are released back into Nerdvana, Karen begins to meltdown outside with Kerry and Curtis. She realizes she made a big mistake when selecting Matt’s topic, she knows nothing about the Turner Prize and has sooo much knowledge about space. Curtis tries to give her a hug, but she does not accept – she’s just too upset.
Elsewhere outside, Emily, Yasmeen and Mark are doing some talking because Yasmeen has put together that Mark didn’t vote for Matt since the vote wasn’t unanimous. Mark explains that he does want Matt out, but he knew the girls were going to vote for him and he didn’t want to make waves with him – it was just a Gentlemen’s Agreement. Mark wants to keep his friends close and his enemies closer. Yasmeen finds this “Gentlemen’s Agreement” to be a bit snakey since Mark didn’t tell either her or Emily about his wonky vote. Later, Kerry, Yasmeen, Emily and Kenny are gathered in the living room talking about Matt’s ploy to have his team vote for Curtis instead of Karen. The Team Evil members confirm that Kerry was never under consideration and she feels they need to talk to Curtis about this since it was his body that Matt was trying to throw under the bus. In the War Room, everyone is busy studying then Karen decides to make a request – Can Matt please, pretty please, please please please not get all jumpy and anxious like he usually is during the Nerd Offs when he knows the answer to a question? He says he can’t control it, it just happens when he’s nervous, which is pretty much his constant state of being. This upsets Karen of course, but she sits back down with Mark to try to focus on studying.
Time for the Nerd Off… The Wild Card round is again absent and Matt is up first for the Quick Fire round and when I say “quick fire” I mean quick, like, super fast jelly fish quick. Matt is blowing through these questions like the crazy storm that hit my town last night – people had windows blown out of their houses and I haven’t seen a rain that hard since, well, back in May – worst drive home from KC ever… At the end of his round, Matt has accumulated an amazing total of 16 points – Kenny thought Konnie was going to run out of questions! Karen begins her round very strong, but after her first pass it’s pass pass pass wrong answer pass… Karen’s final score is nine; Matt was just too fast and if the rest of the nerds weren’t afraid to go up against him before – they are now. Formidable doesn’t even begin to describe him as an opponent in a quiz. After Karen’s exit, the rest of the nerds toast in her honor then Kerry and Kenny let Curtis in on Matt’s treacherous attempt to get him voted into the Nerd Off. Curtis finds this to be very interesting – the three of them don’t want to play like that. For now, Curtis is going to sit on the info, but he’s going to be on his toes and not trust Matt so much. Next week – it looks like we are in for some drama AND a gamer challenge. There you go, Kerry! A challenge to highlight your strengths!
As I always… there is a lot here at Your Reality Recaps to keep you busy if you’re reality-TV obsessed. We’ve got Big Brother 17 blogs and recap shows, (lots of BB17 stuff), lots of Bravo material, and so much more! Like, my Survivor blogs! 😉 I haven’t had much luck with finding artists for my book… I would still like to do my little “contest”, but if I don’t have anyone submitting artwork, it’s going to be a little difficult! 🙂 So… I’m redeveloping my idea and will be posting more info soon. And… I’m so so sorry I was so so late in posting this week. I wasn’t able to watch the episode until Thursday and I’ve got all these concentration issues and other things… I will do better next week. Stay nerdy, my friends. Much love to you all! Oh! And don’t forget about Xander’s Top 3 Moments!
