'Idiot Savant' Wharton grad makes appearance on new MTV game show

Brian Korb, a 1995 Wharrton graduate, left his image behind during an on-air clash with Gen-X'ers. It began as a dare. Brian Korb, a 1995 Wharton graduate, was talking to a temporary worker in his New York office. Korb, who works as an investment banker for Deutsche Morgan Grenfell, was trying to prove to the nose-ringed, Generation-X temp that he wasn't as uptight as she thought. So when she dared Korb to enter a contest to become a contestant on MTV's new show, Idiot Savants, Korb took on her challenge. Two weeks later, Korb received a feeler call from MTV officials, who asked him several questions, including "What is the name of Madonna's baby?" "What is the capital of Wyoming?" and "Who won the last three Super Bowls?" Half the questions dealt with pop culture trivia, and half focused on traditional trivia. Korb did surprisingly well. "Wow," Korb recalled telling himself. "I do know a lot of stupid shit and a lot of real shit." MTV called Korb back to invite him to a group interview. Korb, who went during his lunch break, entered the MTV studio wearing his suit and tie, looking like the stereotypical businessman. "I swear, MTV thought they were being audited," Korb said. "People were trying to hide their papers from me." The other invitees, he learned, were decidedly more hip. "They wanted someone who has long hair and three nose rings," Korb said. "I don't even watch MTV." But MTV selected Korb. It was only later he learned the reason -- he was to be the fall guy, the establishment type who loses early. Korb studied vigorously. He researched Seinfeld and Letterman on the Internet. And he pored over a world map to bone up on the "area of expertise" MTV assigned him -- geography. Korb took off two days from work for "personal" reasons and on December 4 and 5 taped his week of daily shows. The show, which the Boston Herald calls "a sort of pop culture Jeopardy! for the MTV set," features both "real" and "pop" trivia. Categories of pop trivia include "Episodes of Three's Company," "Books that Make You Look Cool" and a quiz on the film career of Corey Feldman. On the set, Korb lived up to his clueless stereotype by fumbling several pop culture questions and spending the first two shows as a "dunce" -- the last place contestant. "Holy shit," Korb remembered thinking. "America's going to see me 'dunce out' three days in a row." To top it off, his co-contestants and the MTV producers were giving him the cold shoulder. "It's the whole Wharton thing. [People think], 'You're some corporate raider and we hate you'," Korb said. "I was just there to be a laughingstock." Between shows, Korb was trying to bone up on trivia by surfing the Internet. He was also operating on three hours of sleep and chugging coffee. "In between every break I was pissing and taking Xanax," Korb said. But on last night's show, Korb "dunced out" the leader and finished in 3rd place. He suddenly found himself getting more respect. On the show that airs tonight, Korb's luck continues to turn around. One of tonight's categories is "Global Currencies," Korb's forte. Idiot Savant airs weekdays at 7 and 11 p.m. Korb's last show is tomorrow night. Phi Kappa Phi President Jerry Levin, a Wharton junior, said he knew all along that Korb, also a PKP brother, wasn't such a straight-laced corporate type. "Brian definitely doesn't adopt the philosophy of all work and no play," Levin said. Levin noted that while at the University, Korb was an avid skydiver and scuba diver and a member of several activities, including the crew team -- all while maintaining a 3.8 GPA in Wharton. Korb said the two days were "definitely worth it." He and his co-contestants are now "friends for life," and on Friday's show he wins a prize.

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