Beat the Geeks

Did You Know?

• The show was taped at the Hollywood Center Studios in Hollywood, California.
• The student newspaper at the University of Miami panned the show, calling it too easy and criticizing van Straaten's hosting skills.
• The Los Angeles Times called the show 'wackily entertaining' and referred to the panelists as 'quirkily amusing as they are knowledgeable'.

Rules

The show's first season began with three contestants answering eight general toss-up questions, two from each of the four categories. The geeks did not participate in this opening round. The first four questions, one per category, were each worth five points, while the remaining four were worth ten points each. Occasionally, a geek would offer a related fact after a question. In the second season, the format shifted to four pairs of questions, with each pair focusing on one geek's specialty. The first question in a pair was a ten-point toss-up for the contestants. Whoever answered correctly then faced the relevant geek in a second toss-up. If the contestant got it right or the geek missed, the contestant earned ten points. If the contestant missed or the geek answered correctly, the contestant lost five points. Across both seasons, the player with the lowest score after this round was eliminated. If two or more contestants tied for last place, a question with a numerical answer was posed. Each contestant wrote down a guess; the one closest without exceeding the correct answer stayed in the game. If both guesses were over, the closer one won. The two remaining contestants then each played a head-to-head challenge against a geek of their choosing, aiming to win that geek's medal. In season one, if the contestants were tied at the start of this round, a toss-up question decided who went first. In season two, the order was set by a coin toss held during a commercial break; otherwise, the player with the higher score began. Once a geek lost their medal to a contestant, that geek could not be challenged again until the final round. During the first season's head-to-head, four questions were asked, alternating between the contestant and the geek. The geek's questions were intentionally much harder. If the geek gave a wrong answer, the contestant immediately won the challenge, earned points, and wore the geek's medal for the rest of the game. If the contestant missed a question, the challenge ended, and the opponent could score ten points by providing the correct answer. Occasionally, after a contestant missed, the challenged geek would be asked the harder question just to demonstrate their expertise. If all four questions were answered correctly, a "geek-off" decided the winner.