You're tuned to the good stuff

Night School High Q

SCTV 1981 Season 4 Episode 11

SKETCH-O-VISION

A VERY GOOD USE OF YOUR TIME.

The setup

On a nighttime edition of the quiz show High Q, host Alex Trebel's patience snaps as adult-education contestants buzz too early, deny buzzing and stall every answer.

Watch on YouTube

Watch onYouTube

Community rating

– / 10

The premise

Here’s the bit.

Alex Trebel welcomes adult students from St. Michael's Collegiate and Central Polytechnical Institute to a night-school edition of his academic quiz show. Nothing goes to plan. Margaret Meehan, a veteran of the daytime version, keeps hitting her buzzer before a question has been read and blurting out guesses; Mike Roach buzzes in and then swears he never touched the button; Peter Reek keeps volunteering to repair the equipment; John McInnis wraps every attempt in rambling disclaimers; Dutch-speaking Gijs relies on a wife who freezes when asked to translate; and Oogie Sharpe repeats an answer a teammate has already given. Trebel's polished host manner gradually gives way to shouting as he has buzzers disconnected one by one, disqualifies Central, and signs off while trying to goad Roach into a fight.

The funny people

Meet the cast. 8

Say it with us

Highly quotable.

It is not computers!

I ask the questions, you give the answers.

Well, now, Alex, tie me down and jump on my head if I'm wrong on this.

Behind the scenes

The people who made it.

John Blanchard
Director

A little extra

Notes from the archive.

Night School High Q is a follow-up to SCTV's Series 2 quiz-show parody High Q, in which Catherine O'Hara's Margaret Meehan first competed; here she is introduced as a former Daytime High Q contestant.

ScriptEnglish · 79 turns

Automatically generated script; wording may contain errors. Speaker labels are inferred.

00:00
Speaker 1
But on your thinking caps, it's time for television's favorite game of academic achievement, the special nighttime edition of High Q. It's Night School High Q. And tonight's students are taking night courses at St. Michael's Collegiate. Oogie Sharp. Peter Ehrich. And here with his wife, Lana, to interpret for him, Grief. They'll be matching wits with night school students from Central Polytechnical Institute.
00:25
Speaker 1
Mike Roach. John McInnes. and a former contestant on Daytime High Q, Margaret Meehan. And now, here's your host and monitor for Night School High Q, Alex Trebek.
00:39
Alex Trebel
Thank you, thank you very much. And welcome to Night School High Q. As you know, all our contestants on Night School High Q are trying to further their education by taking night courses at high schools all over the city. And we here at Night School High Q are trying to help them along by giving them a chance to exercise that newfound education education, and at the same time, win some big cash prizes.
00:59
Alex Trebel
So if we're all set to begin, I'll wish all our contestants good luck. For 25 points, our first topic is Margaret Meehan, Central.
01:07
Margaret Meehan
Do we decimals system?
01:10
Alex Trebel
No, Margaret, I'm afraid that answer is incorrect, but of course you didn't let me finish the question. The topic is motor mechanics. Now for 25 points, what is Margaret Meehan, Central?
01:22
Margaret Meehan
Backseat driving?
01:23
Alex Trebel
Uh, Margaret, no, that answer, too, is incorrect and I'm afraid I'll have to ask you not to press the buzzer until I finish asking the question. Margaret, you should be very familiar with the rules here on HiQ by now. We have to hear the question before we can answer it.
01:38
Alex Trebel
For 25 points, what is an intake manifold? Oogie Sharpe, St. Michael's. Oogie Sharpe, St. Michael's.
01:52
Oogie Sharpe
Yes, Alex, thank you. It is a thing that my grandchildren would use with their records.
02:02
Oogie Sharpe
Gramophone?
02:03
Alex Trebel
Manifold. Manifold. Mike Roach, Central.
02:07
Mike Roach
What?
02:08
Alex Trebel
You buzzed?
02:09
Mike Roach
No.
02:11
Alex Trebel
My mistake, I'm sorry. Did somebody accidentally press their buzzer there? Must be a technical problem. Peter Rich, St. Michael's.
02:19
Peter Reek
Yeah, Alex, I'm pretty handy with the electrics. I can go up to the second tier, take a look at Mike Roach's buzzer, and Bob's run will be done in five minutes.
02:23
Alex Trebel
Peter, thank you. We do have people who are quite qualified to handle that kind of thing. But thank you anyway.
02:28
Peter Reek
No skin off my nose if you change your mind now.
02:30
Alex Trebel
Intake manifold. Case von Weyich, St. Michael's.
02:33
need an
02:37
Alex Trebel
Need an answer, Case. Quickly now. Intake manifold.
02:49
Alex Trebel
I can't understand you, Case. I'm sorry. Do we have any Dutch judges here? Can we accept an answer in Dutch? I'm sorry, we need an English translation. Mrs. VanVeyek, please.
03:03
Alex Trebel
What did your husband say? What was his answer? A translation.
03:10
Alex Trebel
Time is up on that. I'm sorry, we can't spend much more time. An intake manifold is John McGinnis, Central.
03:19
John McInnis
Well, correct me if I'm wrong, Alex. And I might be, but I don't think I am. You're talking about a manifold there, and that's a thing.
03:25
Alex Trebel
John, does the phrase, time is up, mean anything to you? I just said time was up. I was about to give the answer here. An intake manifold, a multi-vented pipe that carries the air-fuel mixture from the carburetor to the cylinders.
03:40
John McInnis
Well, you see, that's what I was going to say, you see.
03:44
Alex Trebel
Mike Roach, Central.
03:46
Mike Roach
What?
03:48
Alex Trebel
Mike, you just pressed your buzzer this time.
03:51
Mike Roach
No, I didn't, really. I didn't. Ask him. I didn't.
03:55
Alex Trebel
Is anybody pressing their buzzer up there that shouldn't be? Peter Ricks, St. Michael's.
03:59
Peter Reek
Yeah, Alex, I got a Phillips right in the car. One, two, three, I'd be back. I can help you out with Mike's buzzer.
04:03
Alex Trebel
No points, no points on that one. We really do have to move along to our next topic, which is... Margaret Meehan, Central.
04:10
Margaret Meehan
Computers?
04:11
Alex Trebel
No, it is not computers, Margaret. I don't know why you're pressing that buzzer before I finish asking the question.
04:17
Margaret Meehan
I thought it would be computers.
04:18
Alex Trebel
It is not computers! Now, please, don't press the buzzer until I finish asking the question. That's my job. I ask the questions. you give the answers. Okay, our next topic is music. Margaret Meehan, Central.
04:31
Margaret Meehan
Abba?
04:32
Alex Trebel
No, it is not Abba, Margaret. It is not Abba. Now, please keep your sticky fingers off the buzzer until I finish asking the question. And you hear the piece of music. This is a two-part question. Name the following piece of music and the composer.
04:47
Speaker 2
Heard they crowded the floor. Couldn't bear it without you Don't get around much anymore
04:59
Alex Trebel
John McGinnis, Central.
05:01
John McInnis
Well, I might be wrong, Alex, and you can correct me if I am, and then I'll eat a bug, but I think I used to dance.
05:09
Alex Trebel
Anyone else? Case Bombay at St. Michael's.
05:12
Alex Trebel
quickly Quickly now. we need... We need an answer.
05:21
Don't get around much anymore.
05:24
Alex Trebel
That is correct for 25 points. Geis, for 50, can you name the composer? Oogie Sharp, St. Michael's.
05:32
Oogie Sharpe
Yes, Alex, the answer is Don't Get Around Much Anymore.
05:36
Alex Trebel
The answer is Don't Get Around Much Anymore. We all know that, Oogie. Geis just gave you the answer. Do you know the name of the composer?
05:45
Oogie Sharpe
Yes, I do, and you don't have to shout at me. Duke Ellington.
05:49
Alex Trebel
Duke Ellington is correct! A correct answer there. That gives St. Michael's a 50-point lead. And we move on to our third topic, with Margaret Meehan, Central.
06:00
Margaret Meehan
No. Go ahead.
06:02
Alex Trebel
Our third topic, which is word definitions. For 20 points each, define the following English words. Margaret Meehan, Central.
06:11
Margaret Meehan
A small, vice-like object.
06:13
Alex Trebel
No, it is not a small, vice-like object. And there you go again, wasting more of our time with another one of your stupid guesses. No points on that one. and disconnect her buzzer. Anyone? Ligubrious. Peter, Rick.
06:25
Peter Reek
Alex, I can disconnect her buzzer for you.
06:28
Alex Trebel
Peter, why don't you disconnect your own buzzer?
06:31
Peter Reek
Fine.
06:31
Alex Trebel
Two down, one to go. Anyone? Ligubrious. John McGinnis, Central.
06:36
John McInnis
Well, now, Alex, tie me down and jump on my head if I'm wrong on this, and I might be, but...
06:42
Alex Trebel
John, do you have an answer for this question?
06:45
John McInnis
No.
06:46
Alex Trebel
Disconnect his buzzer. That's two down, one to go. Let's go, come on, anyone else? Let's go, come on. Mike Roach, Central.
06:52
Mike Roach
What?
06:53
Alex Trebel
Roach, you pressed that buzzer.
06:55
Mike Roach
No, I didn't.
06:55
Alex Trebel
I saw your hand go down on that buzzer.
06:57
Mike Roach
You are hearing things, I didn't.
06:58
Alex Trebel
Not anymore, Roach.
06:59
Mike Roach
I did not.
07:00
Alex Trebel
Disconnect his buzzer.
07:01
Mike Roach
What, you can't do that.
07:02
Alex Trebel
That's it, Central disqualified. St. Michael's, 50 points out front. They're the winners, that's the game. Good night, everybody.
07:08
That's the night show, Mike.
07:09
Mike Roach
What, what? I can't hear. What?
07:13
Alex Trebel
I see that's not working.
07:15
Hey, just strangle yourself.
07:16
Alex Trebel
I saw that thing going, Roach. You want to come down here? Come on down here! Come on! Come on! Come on! Down here!