VIZZINI’S CHALLENGE (GABY AND JACKSON SCAMMING ERIC CAAN BY PLAYING A VIDEO GAME WITH BROKEN JOYSTICKS): In The Princess Bride, the outlaw Vizzini challenges the Dread Pirate Roberts to a battle of wits. Agreeing, the pirate takes two goblets of wine and laces one with iocane powder, a tasteless, odorless poison. After a brief conversation where Vizzini tries to deduce which goblet holds the poison, they both drink. Vizzini falls dead, and the pirate reveals that both goblets were poisoned — Roberts had spent years building up an immunity to iocane powder. Jackson and Gaby defeated Eric in a similar fashion — by spending their two-week winter break learning how to play Ultimate Fantasy IV with broken joysticks.
THE MUTARA NEBULA (THE INSTALLATION OF THE NEW NVR HARD DRIVE): In Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, the Enterprise flees toward the Mutara Nebula while battling an enemy ship with greater speed and firepower. Saavik warns Spock that the static discharge and gas in the nebula will cloud the Enterprise’s visuals and render its shields useless. “Sauce for the goose,” Spock responds. “The odds will be even.”
HAN VAN MEEGEREN (THE MATES): Dutch painter Han van Meegeren dreamed of becoming an established artist, but his work was criticized for being unoriginal and imitative. He managed to turn that criticism to his advantage and emerge as one of the most prominent art forgers of the twentieth century. Van Meegeren duplicated the work of Frans Hals, Johannes Vermeer, and other artists with such cunning skill that renowned art critics claimed his art was the bona fide original.
SUE STORM (THE DISAPPEARING INK): Code-named the Invisible Woman, Sue Storm is a founding member of the Fantastic Four, a superhero group created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby for Marvel Comics. Storm’s powers include the ability to render herself and other objects invisible.
ZUGZWANG (PLAN D): In the game of chess, a Zugzwang refers to a predicament in which one player is forced to move into a disadvantageous situation where any possible move will weaken their position. The smart player who recognizes the coming defeat will choose to play out the game in a manner that forces their opponent into the most debilitating victory possible.
WHITE ELEPHANT (THE EXCHANGE OF THE DOCTORED VIDEO FOR THE EXAM ANSWERS): In ancient Thailand, the white elephant was considered a sacred animal, and it was a great honor to receive one from a monarch. However, elephants are costly to maintain, and such a precious creature was forbidden to perform profitable labor. Thus, the kings of Siam often bestowed white elephants on courtiers they didn’t like in order to ruin them financially.
MR. MAGOO (ROB AND THOM DURING THE EXAM): Cartoon character Quincy Magoo is a wealthy senior citizen with extremely poor eyesight. While Magoo could easily correct his vision with glasses, his stubborn refusal to acknowledge the problem, paired with the poor eyesight itself, often creates comedic situations with disastrous results.
SUPER BOWL XLVII (THE BLACKOUT IN THE SECURITY ROOM): Played on February 3, 2013, in the Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, Super Bowl XLVII was a National Football League championship game between the Baltimore Ravens and the San Francisco 49ers. Also nicknamed the Blackout Bowl, play was suspended for more than thirty minutes due to a power outage in the third quarter.
ISABEL LAHIRI (SERENA BIANCHI): In Ocean’s Twelve, Inspector Isabel Lahiri first confronts Danny Ocean and his crew of con artists as she investigates a botched theft. Driven by professional and personal motivations, Lahiri employs unorthodox (and morally questionable) methods in an attempt to later catch the crew in the act of stealing a Fabergé egg.
BEN KENOBI (LINCOLN MILLER): After the creation of the Galactic Empire, Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi takes the name “Ben” and goes into exile on Tatooine to secretly watch over young Luke Skywalker. Kenobi becomes a mentor to Skywalker and begins to train him in the ways of the Force, all while keeping Luke’s true destiny hidden from him.
