Master Minds Recap: December 7, 2020 (Season 2 Premiere)

Master Minds is back for Season 2 with host, Brooke Burns. And here is our recap of the clues for the season premiere on Monday, December 7, 2020.

Note from VJ to everyone who has been looking for these recaps: I’m sorry that I can’t email everyone who is asking about this. I am going to try to do these recaps, but due to the fact that I am recovering from surgery, they will be a day or two after the episode aired.

Today’s episode title: “Trivia, Smarts & Liberty”
Today’s Master Minds: Ken Jennings, Muffy Marracco, Jonathan Corbblah
Today’s challengers: Becky, Cameron, Drew

The show’s format pits 3 contestants against each other and 3 Master Minds against each other. There are 3 rounds and the contestant with the highest score wins $1,000 and faces off in the Ultimate Trivia Challenge against the winning Master Mind. If the contestant beats the Master Mind, the prize money goes up to $10,000.

Round 1: Here are the 7 categories and questions. 100 points for each correct answer.

(1) LANDMARKS: The Washington Monument was the tallest structure in the world until it was surpassed by what?
(a) Eiffel Tower (b) Statue of Liberty (c) Chrysler Building
(2) PRODUCTS: The “nurdle” is used by consumer goods companies to refer to the perfect wave-shaped blob of what?
(a) shaving cream (b) shampoo (c) toothpaste
(3) MUSIC: What instrument is used to create the “wah-wah” voice of Charlie Brown’s teacher?
(a) trombone (b) trumpet (c) harmonica
(4) IMPORTS: Which of these was introduced to Mexico from Spain?
(a) pinatas (b) tequila (c) turkeys
(5) POLITICS: Which of these countries was the most recent to allow women to vote in national elections?
(a) United States (b) Switzerland (c) Denmark
(6) BUSINESS: Released in 2001, Apple iTunes’ user agreement says you must agree not to use it to do what?
(a) build a nuclear weapon (b) contact aliens (c) conduct fetal ultrasounds
(7) ANIMALS: What is the term for the offspring of a female donkey and a male horse? cavvy, dunny or hinny?
(a) cavvy (b) dunny (c) hinny

CORRECT ANSWERS show

Scores at end of Round 1:
Becky 500 Cameron 600 Drew 400 / Ken 500 Muffy 700 Jonathan 500

Round 2: There are 5 subjects and questions. No multiple choice. Only the first player on each team to buzz in gets to answer. Correct answers are worth 200 points for the first 4. The last question is worth 400 points. Wrong answers are penalized by the value of the question. At the end of the round, the person with the lowest score on each team is eliminated.

(1) OCCUPATIONS: A modified version of the “Hippocratic Oath”, the “Florence Nightingale Pledge” is used for what profession?
(2) DANCE: What holiday ballet generates nearly half of the annual revenues of North American dance companies?
(3) TECH: Created by Swedish developer Markus Persson, what is the bestselling video game of all time in terms of units sold?
(4) FOOD: Since more and more women were working, what microwavable turnovers with a catchy jingle were invented for men?
(5) GEOLOGY: At nearly 2,000 miles what N. American mountain range is part of the same ancient mountains as the Scottish Highlands?

CORRECT ANSWERS show

Scores at end of Round 2:
Becky 700 Cameron 800 Drew 800 / Ken 1100 Muffy 900 Jonathan 900

MASTER MINDS TIEBREAKER: In the Vatican, the Pope figuratively serves from “the chair of” whom?

ANSWER: show

Becky and Jonathan are eliminated.

Round 3: Each team faces off in a rapid-fire 1-minute trivia battle. The first question is worth 500 points and each additional question goes up an additional 100 points. The winners go on to the last round.

Cameron and Drew go first:

(500) An ancient device used in modern cooking is the mortar and what?
(600) The insurance capital of the world is the nickname for which Connecticut city?
(700) The chemical symbols for iron and argon combine to spell what four-letter word?
(800) “Streets of Laredo” was the sequel to what Larry McMurtry novel?
Drew
(900) Dr. Maulana Karenga, a professor at Cal State Long Beach, is credited with creating what winter holiday?
(1000) What grocery chain with a South Seas theme grew from one Pasadena location to over 500 nationwide?
(1100) Meaning “union” in Sanskrit, what physical and spiritual exercise is practiced by over 35 million American adults? Drew Yoga
(1200) New Mexico’s ‘Aztec Ruins’ displays the 900-year-old structures of what Native Americans?

CORRECT ANSWERS show

Scores at end of Round 3:
Cameron 3000 Drew 4200

Drew wins $1,000 and advances to the Ultimate Trivia Challenge. But first, Ken and Muffy will battle it out for a minute to see who joins Drew.

(500) What surname became the root of the word ‘Kaiser’ in German and ‘Tsar’ in Russian?
(600) During the 1970s, Junko Tabei was celebrated as the first woman to reach the summit of what mountain?
(700) American Greg Louganis won gold medals in what Olympic sport? Muffy diving.
(800) What Assembly of the Holy Roman Empire famously heard the defense of a heretic in 1521?
(900) The son of a lighthouse keeper, Arthur Curry is the alter ego of what super hero?
(1000) What Internet giant sponsored the $30 million Lunar X Prize to encourage private exploration of the moon?
(1100) The artichoke is in the same family as what spiny purple flower. That’s the national emblem of Scotland.
(1200) Able to reach heights of 37,000 feet, what type of scavenging bird is the highest- flying in the world?

CORRECT ANSWERS show

Ken finished with 4200 to Muffy’s 3800 so Ken will join Drew in the Ultimate Trivia Challenge. If Drew beats Ken, he will return on the next show. Any player who makes it through 3 shows and wins $30,000, gets to join the Master Minds expert team.

Ultimate Trivia Challenge: The questions are presented to the players at the same time this season and they write their answers down at the same time. Hooray! We no longer have to listen to the questions twice.

(1) Following up her most famous work, what author gave us the literary sequels “Little Men” and “Jo’s Boys”?
(2) The first of what religion’s Four Noble Truths states that existence is suffering?
(3) What toy was originally conceived as a spray-on medical cast that could harden in seconds & help set broken bones?
(4) Which Mediterranean island nation features an outline of itself on its national flag?
(5) What English explorer was imprisoned in the Tower of London three times before his execution in 1618?

ANSWERS: (unless otherwise indicated, both were correct)
show

Ken got 5 right to Drew’s 4. Drew is going home with $1,000 and there will be 3 new players tomorrow.

Master Minds airs daily on Game Show Network. Check your local listings for times. (Here in the Central Time Zone it comes on at 3:00 p.m.)

See the pool of trivia experts participating in Master Minds

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