Two nerds enter and one nerd leaves as the fifth episode of the third season of King of the Nerds sees the remaining nerds tangle with an alien queen in a double elimination installment.

It’s the second to last episode which saw six contestants cut down to four in an episode that had two interesting contests.

The first is the usual knowledge contest we see every season with a slight twist with the losers getting shot with slime if they got an answer wrong. Since I’m not the biggest fan of this year’s contestants, it’s entertaining to see. Then on top of that one of the contestants is eliminated right away with a cut on the spot.

I like this type of contest because we can play along as viewers, and believe me I tried to see how I’d hold up.

The other elimination is the usual board game contest that we see every season. It’s a game of Stratego basically. The game is shockingly close, and made me want to play Stratego.

The series is down to four people, and next week is the last episode! All the nerds are back for a finale in which I’ll have no idea who will win.

Overall rating: 8.25

Two nerds enter and one nerd leaves as the fifth episode of the third season of King of the Nerds sees the nerds investigate when Pom Pom Kitty vanishes. Also: A master strategist’s loyalty is tested.

The entire episode Colby has a target on him, as pretty much everyone but Kaitlin is gunning to get rid of him. The nerds that are left though, still try to make him feel welcome, which is all a bit weird. Their gunning for him really comes off as dickish. He’s the strongest competitor, but that’s not the reason cited. It’s always for “revenge” because Colby beating other folks.

The main contest is pretty fun having each team work to solve the murder and have to go through a bunch of forensic clues to solve who was responsible for Pom Pom Kitty. It’s different, and actually kind of fun.

With the losing team set, the jockeying of who’s going to the Nerd Off is really interesting. Jonathan decides to step up and say he’ll go against Colby, which makes no sense at all for someone who wants to win the game. Why would you purposely send yourself in!? The person who Colby goes up against is interesting and how it plays out is fascinating. The final contest is really fun too.

Overall, this is the strongest episode so far. And with another person out…. the teams are shuffled!

Overall rating: 8.25

Two nerds enter and one nerd leaves as the fifth episode of the third season of King of the Nerds sees the two teams competing in a competition that revolves around games.

With the special guests the teams compete in geeky versions of Charades, Pictionary, and a third where they can each only say one word at a time to give hints, a variant of Celebrity. The games are actually really fun to watch and I did my best to not see the answers and try to guess myself. Some of the guesses are really impressive considering the hints they’ve been given. There’s also some I have no idea how I’d have attempted to get folks to figure out the answer.

The big thing about this episode is the big alliance, and it finally starting to crumble. There’s lots of maneuvering beginning, which should make the next few episodes really interesting as trust starts to wain, and key people get picked off.

Also, I’m starting to really cheer for a few folks, especially Colby, who I remember from Jeopardy. I remember not liking him a ton during his appearance, but the show has really showed off his personality, and I’ve begun to really appreciate his style.

It’ll be interesting to see the next episode, especially after the ending to this one. Let the games really begin!

Overall rating: 7.75

Two nerds enter and one nerd leaves as the third season of King of the Nerds sees the return of “Nerd Anthem” with guests Moby, Lisa Loeb, and Travie McCoy.

Listening to a bunch of non-musicians and entertainers and watching those same people dance, hilarious and painful at the same time. This episode is always interesting.

The performances are mixed as expected, and one as far as lyrics and song, I actually thought was good. The judging was interesting though, as one of the contestants have some words for Moby, who is kind of a dick in this episode.

That of course lands two folks into the end challenge, but alliances are starting to crumble a bit, as folks begin to catch on to what’s going on behind the scenes. It took them long enough! So, the next few episodes should get interesting, especially because I things are at a tipping point for a few folks that’ll make it really difficult going forward.

The challenge is actually an interesting with a little bit of physical, and a lot of knowledge. It’s probably the best challenge of the season yet.

What I think was really special this episode is some final words that Ori and Colby say. Its actually a touching moment, especially Ori’s. That stands out in a season when the contestants just haven’t been too likeable.

Overall rating: 7.75

Two nerds enter and one nerd leaves as the third season of King of the Nerds sees the teams create a boat to go across a pool, get some clues to be able to open a lock.

The end result of the contest quickly leads to teams breaking down, and a lot of yelling. All hell breaks loose, and really starts to set people apart. Two have now stood out to me, Colby and Raychelle, who come off as the most “normal” and rateable of the bunch. Raychelle actually makes a comment to the folks behind the camera of them getting the “reality” they wanted.

Hopefully all the chaos throws the alliances into further disorder going forward.

The final battle between the two contestants is ok, but not really shocking at all. Really, this episode is all about the meltdown, and where that leaves folks going forward, should be very interesting.

Overall rating: 7.5

Two nerds enter and one nerd leaves as the third season of King of the Nerds sees the second episode where cosplay tests the nerds.

This episode saw the contestants put together cosplay and act out a skit for judges to decide who should win. The winner is rather surprising, but overall the episode’s real focus is the personalities coming out and an alliance forming.

Some folks take the loss pretty heavily, which puts on display the fact a few of the nerds have some issues interacting with people. The social interaction this season is just so odd, and I’m sure it’s not helped by some editing. That’s on full display this episode as the women discuss their sexuality, and the men are left in the wind. I’m sure there was more to the conversation, it’s just obviously cut a certain way to titillate the audience.

The most interesting thing this season is the alliance formed, which is the highlight so far. It’ll be only time before it melts down, or folks figure it out.

It also feels the challenge this week was recycled. It was cosplay and a skit. I feel like we’ve seen that one before.

What really strikes me this season is howunlikeable this cast is. There’s no one I’m cheering for, it’s really deciding who is the least irritating or bad spirited. Something about this season isn’t as enjoyable as pasts, so it should be interesting to see where the rest of the season goes.

Overall rating: 7

Two nerds enter and one nerd leaves as the third season of King of the Nerds kicks off plunging the new contestants into the world of steampunk, and then the losers into the world of anime.

The choices this year are interesting, with some variation and some nerdoms that have been underrepresented in the past or not appeared before making a more high-profile appearance.

What strikes me in this season are two things. Folks seem to be “nerdier’ this year, than in years past. The other thing is that folks are coming into it right away understanding that it’s a competition and some forgoing friendships, instead focusing on winning. This creates an emotional disconnect between the viewer and the contestant, something that I haven’t experienced in years past. And that disconnect creates a bit of a negative opinion, though their viewpoint is solid.

The other thing that sticks out is a “men vs women” underlying theme in the episode, whether this was true, or fancy editing, there’s a hint of the women teaming up to fight the male nerds to prove something. Nevermind women have won the first two seasons.

There’s usually one person I cheer for each season, or at least a few I like, this year I haven’t found that person yet, but it’s early in what looks like an interesting season.

Overall rating: 7