In Game Show Land, Sometimes ‘X’ Marks the Dunce’s Spot

I’m sad to report that the new TV quiz shows have bungled the answers to so many questions that contestants are losing faith in their hosts. You’ll recall that during a taping of the show “Winning Lines,” the judges initially said three actors had played Batman in the movies; after they were informed there were at least four, they threw out the question (the answer actually was six).

So it was probably only a matter of time until the following happened: During a later taping of the same show, in Hollywood, the question was how many U.S. presidents had the letter X in their name. The answer: One (Richard Nixon).

But during a commercial break, a contestant declared that another president had been overlooked. Several other contestants chimed in their support. They agreed the judges had forgotten about Alexander Hamilton. But for once the judges were correct: Hamilton only rose as high as secretary of the Treasury.

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STILL ON THE ROAD: David Graham of Laguna Niguel came upon a bit of that Down Under humor outside a hospital in Cook, Australia (see photo).

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MYSTERY SOLVED: Well, it appears that author Dean Koontz was indulging in a bit of an inside joke in his new thriller, “False Memory.” I’m referring to the scene where a roofer in Newport Beach says he’s haunted by an “angel of death” who resembles Billy Crystal.

I couldn’t figure out the puzzling scenario apart from the fact that Crystal attends the games of the Clippers, who are enduring the NBA’s version of a living hell.

But John Clement of Arleta came up with the answer. He recalled that a wisecracking character played by Crystal is told in one movie, “It’s amazing. You look like a normal person but actually you are the angel of death.”

His accuser: Meg Ryan in “When Harry Met Sally . . . “ (1989).

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Steve Harvey can be reached at (800) LATIMES, Ext. 77083, by fax at (213) 237-4712, by mail at Metro, L.A. Times, Times Mirror Square, L.A. 90053 and by e-mail at steve.harvey@latimes.com