Grill Me

Grill Me is the title of a 1996 USA game show hosted by actor/comedian Jordan Brady (his previous hosting stint being a 1990 MTV offering called "Turn it Up!"), and sponsored by Honda. Three celebrities (in this case, Dweezil Zappa, Susan Olsen, and Kristoff St. John) competed to win money in a game show somewhat like "Jeopardy!" (in fact, in the lone episode, Jordan referred to it as "Jeopardy!" for stupid people") for charity. It aired only one episode.

Round 1

The first round was known as the "Appetizer" round, and five pun-laden categories (with food names taking the puns of questions regarding celebrities) were presented to the celebs, who were given $99.95 to start with (the first category picked by the winner of a drawing of straws [or in Jordan's case, "Indian leg wrestling"] ). Each category had a different value, from as low as $9.95 to as big as $17.95, and the first question in each category was asked as a toss-up. Whoever buzzed in with the right answer earned money and control of answering two more questions worth the same amount. If a contestant did not know the answer to a question, he or she could force an opponent to "eat it" and make him or her answer the question for double the value. If at any time a wrong answer was given, money was lost. At the end of the round, a toss-up question was asked regarding a piece of music three dancers sung and danced to, with a right answer worth $25, referred to as the "Blue Plate Special".

The Appetizer Round categories on the only episode were as follows:
*French Onion Snoop Doggie Dog (worth $9.95) - referred to rappers
*A Knish Called Wanda (worth $11.95) - not picked, most likely referred to Kevin Kline movies
*Bryant Gumbo (worth $12.95) - also not picked, most likely referred to daytime talk shows
*Hot Serials (worth $14.95) - referred to soap operas
*Brady Brunch (worht $17.95) - referred to the "Brady Bunch"

Plus the "Blue Plate Special" referred to the Contours' "Do You Love Me?".

Round 2

Six questions were asked to the celebs, this time, answering from one of three choices in this round, the "All-You-Can-Eat" round. A right answer earned $25, but a wrong answer caused the contestant to sit out for the remainder of the round. In the case of the only aired episode, the choices were "Surf" (famous for being in water), "Turf" (famous for being on land), and "Smurf" (famous for being a cartoon character).

Round 3

Round three was the "Main Course" round, played like the "Appetizer" round, except the dollar values were raised, with values going from $24.95 to $36.95. The contestant who was in last place got to pick the first category for the round. When the round ended, the celeb in last place was eliminated but earned $2,500 for charity.

The Main Course Round categories on the only episode were:
*Kevin Bacon Lettuce & Tomato (worth $24.95) - not picked, most likely referred to Kevin Bacon
*Marconi & Cheese (worth $27.95) - also not picked, most likely referred to radio DJs
*Ike & Tina Tuna (worth $30.95) - referred to celebrity marriages that ended in divorce
*Silence of the Lamb Chops (worth $33.95) - referred to the actors who were in the "Silence of the Lambs" franchise
*Not Ready for Prime Rib (worth $36.95) - referred to the cast of "Saturday Night Live"

Final Round

The final round was known as the "Dessert" round. The contestant in the lead had a choice of letting him/her or his/her opponent picking the category. Unlike rounds one and three, there were only three categories, with each question worth $50. In this round, a wrong answer gave money to the opponent, but a contestant could still force an opponent to "eat it". When 60 seconds ran out, whichever contestant had the highest score won the game and earned $5,000 for charity. The loser got $2,500.

The only episode's Dessert Round categories were:
*Second Banana Split - referred to co-stars of TV shows
*Murphy Brownies - not picked, most likely referred to the cast of "Murphy Brown"
*Schnozzberry Pie - not picked, most likely referred to famous people with big noses

There was no bonus round.

The only episode of this game aired on September 9, 1996, about five years before the 9/11 attacks.

External links

*http://youtube.com/watch?v=JEYgj2dh8A8 - Intro and first round
*http://youtube.com/watch?v=mqnF4rX3c1M - Rounds two and three
*http://youtube.com/watch?v=TeXuIH5Yrf8 - Final round and closing