Extra Criticum

The Winning Mr. Softee Lyric is Announced!

After days of arduous nail-biting debate, we have an official winner to the "Put Words in Mister Softee's Cone" Lyric Contest. Congratulations to E.C. regular contributor, Robert David Sullivan, whose lyric appears below. Mr. Sullivan wins an all-expenses paid trip to the original Ben & Jerry's store in Vermont so that he can thoroughly cleanse his palette of the taste of pseudo-ice cream. Congratulations, Robert!

It's All About the Ensemble: Which Law & Order Cast Worked Best?

One major key to the success of the original Law & Order series is the intangible known as "ensemble."

Which of the following combinations of core actors do you think resulted in the best chemistry? Register your vote (with explanations, please) in the COMMENTS section below.

It's a tie! We have two winners of the Broadway Legends Quiz!

Joseph Millett and Robin Rothstein both scored 100% on our recent quiz and for their efforts they are now proud owners of their very own 100% organic cotton EXTRA CRITICUM T-shirt.

Congratulations! You're both very very smart!

Correct answers are listed below.

If you missed this Quiz and would still like to test your knowledge, first click here.

Put Words in Mister Softee's Cone Contest: Best Lyric Wins Big!

In the recent flurry of commentary over our four 2nd looks at the 1985 film, After Hours, it came to light that Andrew Altenburg had been trying to put lyrics to the Mister Softee ice cream truck tune for years. See following quote:

Well, I never did actually finish the Mr. Softee lyrics but maybe now that I have a little extra time on my hands (see my post from late yesterday) maybe it's something I can work on...

We at Extra Criticum decided to help him finish this vital cultural project by soliciting you, our readers, as our best resource. Come up with your lyric to the Mister Softee tune (provided in mp3 below) and you may win one of several as-yet-undetermined door prizes as well as the satisfaction of knowing that you have breathed new life into this classic tune, a fixture of the New York City landscape for at least 25 years. [Enter your lyrics in the Comments section below]

Download MrSoftee

Take the Broadway Legend Quiz

Six pictures of six Broadway legends appear below. All are dead. Three were actors. Three were playwrights. See if you can identify all six faces. (If you can ID all six faces AND correctly link them to their clues below, you win a free EXTRA CRITICUM t-shirt.)

1.

2.

Snapshot Guessing Game

Left, a publicity photo from a theater production. The first person who correctly guesses a) the name of the play and b) the name of the character in the play will be my guest for a drink next week when I am performing in Manhattan (or anytime you're in Los Angeles). Now, if you can also guess the year and location the photo was taken, I will throw in dinner.

HINT: Pictured is an iconic "routine" from the play, a classic of twentieth century drama.

No fair guessing if you already know the answer.

(Click on thumbnail to see the image full-size.)

"An Educated Consumer is Our Best Customer" Take The Indie Film Lover Quiz

Most film lovers don't pay much attention to which company is distributing which film. But given the current climate for truly independent feature films in this marketplace, I'd like to suggest that they start paying attention. And fast.

To illustrate the point, I've put together a few multiple-choice questions about some of the current crop of films on screens right now. Take this simple quiz, tally up your score and see whether you qualify as a Maverick or a Drone.