An “inquisition” because, well, a number of the Tim Burton-themed Pub Quiz questions Thursday night at 21st Ave Bar & Grill dealt with — you guessed it! — Danny Elfman and Johnny Depp. Naturally.

It’s sort of one of those ‘bread and butter’ things. Like peanut butter and jelly.  Or, given the week’s topic, like black and white.

While one can exist without the others, they just seem to bring the best out of one another, and are often best enjoyed together.

Quick! – name a GREAT Tim Burton movie that doesn’t star Johnny Depp.

…Got one?

See, it’s not as easy as you think, eh?

Sure, there are actually a number of really, really good Depp-less Burton flicks (particularly Beetlejuice and Batman), but the combination of the two are seemingly just connected in memory, with simultaneously firing synapses or something. The whole seems to be greater than its parts.

And even those two flicks included Elfman.

So, while I’d be the first to attest to Depp’s remarkable acting prowess, and also Elfman’s uncanny musicality (both are nearly unparalleled amongst their peers), I have to wonder about the viability of Burton in the pantheon of writer/director/producer/animators.

Where would he be without the influence of his two most famous collaborators?

I don’t know the answer, but I’ll leave you all to it, in the comments below…

In the meantime, enjoy this pic of the winning team, JSD.

When the leading team, Sirens of Titan, bet with gusto going into the Final Challenge Round and lost it all, the 2nd and 3rd place teams were left to fight it out. Though each bet small, only one got it right…

Though inexplicably, Team Win was…that’s right, the ONLY team that knew just how many Burton/Depp collaborations there have been. Cue the celebration, right? Not so fast… They only bet 2 points (compared to JSD‘s 6 point wager), and were just barely edged out for the 1st place pot.

An unprecedented turn of events at 21st Ave, just the way we like it!