Last week's challenge
Start with the phrase THE LAST WEEK. Change one letter to an R and you can rearrange the result to spell a hyphenated word that describes someone who can be charming, but not in a good way. What is the word?
Answer: If you change the H to an R, you can spell SWEET-TALKER
THIS WEEK'S CATEGORY: POP CULTURE FIREWORKS
On-air questions: OK, Mike. This week we marked Independence Day in the U.S. The Fourth of July is celebrated with cookouts, lawn games and fireworks. On tonight’s show, we’re going to focus on pop culture fireworks. Each correct answer will include either “fire” or “work.”
1. Not to be confused with the two-season ABC series that debuted in 1990 or the 2017 third season on Showtime, what is the full name of the 1992 film prequel that also features actor Kyle MacLachlan?
2. “Fall in love, you won’t regret it” is one lyric in what 1937 song by George and Ira Gershwin written for the musical “A Damsel in Distress” — which is now also the title of a musical that debuted on Broadway in 2012?
3. What title, which could also refer to a consumer product manufactured by Duraflame, is shared by a 1980 Stephen King novel, its 1984 film adaptation, and a 1996 single by British EDM band The Prodigy?
4. Bryan Cranston, with the Tony for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play, and Peter Finch, posthumously winning the Oscar for Best Actor nearly 40 years earlier, both played Howard Beale in what work?
5. Joining relatedly titled television series Hope, Justice, Med, and PD, what current Dick Wolf project that was just renewed for a 12th season shares its name with a Major League Soccer franchise?
Extra credit
1. What 1988 Mike Nichols film, which was nominated for the Best Picture Oscar, won the Oscar for Best Original Song, for Carly Simon’s “Let The River Run” ?
2. Following “Aoxomoxoa” from the year before, what 1970 album includes “Uncle John’s Band,” “Casey Jones,” and “Dire Wolf” ?
This week's challenge
Start with the phrase VACATION TIME. Rearrange the letters and you can spell a four-word related phrase. What is it?
ANSWERS
On-air questions
1. “Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me” (MacLachlan portrays FBI agent Dale Cooper, who investigates the murder of Laura Palmer)
2. “Nice Work If You Can Get It” (The show starred Matthew Broderick when it opened, but in workshops had the name of yet another Gershwin composition: “They All Laughed!”
3. “Firestarter” (A remake of the 1984 film was released in 2022, this version featuring Zac Efron)
4. “Network” (Asked about getting into character, Cranston said “My ritual is to get to the theater early, sit with it. I have nine or 10 ties that I wear, and I tie my own ties. I put on his clothes and the more I do that, the closer I get to inviting him in. I slowly allow him to live. I welcome him to the surface, and when it’s done, I ask that he leave.”
5. “Chicago Fire”
Extra credit
1. “Working Girl”
2. “Workingman’s Dead” by The Grateful Dead