"5th Grader" Looking for Normal, Non-actor Kids!?!

[TimK2003]

I saw a glimpse of this on our station's "community printer" this morning:

Per a memo sent out to FOX stations, local affiliates are being encouraged to hold local talent searches for 10 year olds for a possible audition at one of 5 regional sites for "Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader".

Local casting calls will be in May, with regional auditions in mid-June, and 3 weeks of taping in mid-July.


Now we may finally get to see how adults can fare against ordinary, non-union child actors!

[tpirfan28]

The sad thing about this post is the fact that "Fifth Grader" is probably taping more episodes.

[mmb5]

Or probably because the kids will be 6th graders next year.  I'm going to guess the winning kids will be actors in short notice.


--Mike

[Ian Wallis]

The sad thing about this post is the fact that "Fifth Grader" is probably taping more episodes.

Are any of you warming up to the show at all?  I've actually watched it the last couple of weeks, and faults and all, it's not as terrible as I first thought it was.

[colonial]

[quote name=\'tpirfan28\' post=\'151009\' date=\'Apr 26 2007, 10:42 AM\']
The sad thing about this post is the fact that "Fifth Grader" is probably taping more episodes.
[/quote]

Not surprising, as the show has been a solid second to *Survivor* for the last few weeks, and has taken a bite out of *Ugly Betty's* ratings.  

FWIW, there is a call for "new" 5th Graders on the show's official Web site...

http://www.fox.com/areyousmarter/

Make sure you have your SAG cards handy when you show up for your audition!

As far as the show goes, my wife and I do watch it, but I find my wife enjoys it more than I do.  She is a first-grade teacher, and she's said her co-workers discuss the show every Friday morning before classes start -- discussing whether the questions were "grade-appropriate" compared to what they teach their students.

A few of the teachers actually encourage their students to watch *5th Grader,* to show that being smart is "cool" and that wanting to learn is nothing to be ashamed about.

As for me, I still stand my original review from a few weeks back -- it's a show that lacks originality (money tree, mood lighting, three lifelines, etc.) and gets dull pretty quickly.  On the positive side, the questions appear to be well-written and Foxworthy is a good emcee.

The one laugh I got from the show was about 2-3 weeks ago when, as a contestant was pondering an answer, Foxworthy walked to the teacher's desk at the back of the set, and said he would feed the two class goldfish, "Darnell" and "Mike".  Maybe it's me, but I got a good laugh out of it.

[tpirfan28]

[quote name=\'Ian Wallis\' post=\'151018\' date=\'Apr 26 2007, 12:34 PM\']

The sad thing about this post is the fact that "Fifth Grader" is probably taping more episodes.

Are any of you warming up to the show at all?  I've actually watched it the last couple of weeks, and faults and all, it's not as terrible as I first thought it was.
[/quote]
I really can't say.  I watched the first set of "trial" eps (the set that had Idol lead-in) since it didn't conflict with any other programming choices.  Since the show now conflicts with Earl/The Office on NBC, I don't watch it.  And IMO, it's not DVR/VCR worthy enough.

[The Ol' Guy]

If that's the case, finally!! What a golden opportunity to promote different schools and their best students! A nice practice for their future appearances on QuizBusters. Seeing kids from around the country- given as little topic coaching as possible - and playing it straight - would get me to watch again. Wouldn't it be nice to have an adult occasionally remembering an answer a kid forgot?

[clemon79]

[quote name=\'The Ol' Guy\' post=\'151035\' date=\'Apr 26 2007, 02:56 PM\']
If that's the case, finally!! What a golden opportunity to promote different schools and their best students! A nice practice for their future appearances on QuizBusters. Seeing kids from around the country- given as little topic coaching as possible - and playing it straight - would get me to watch again. Wouldn't it be nice to have an adult occasionally remembering an answer a kid forgot?
[/quote]
I admire your optimism (unless I'm missing the sarcasm), but I just don't see the benefit to be reached by swapping one set of child actors for another. Just because the new set might not entirely hail from the Los Angeles area, doesn't change a whole lot in my eyes.

[Joe Mello]

[quote name=\'colonial\' post=\'151021\' date=\'Apr 26 2007, 01:15 PM\']
A few of the teachers actually encourage their students to watch *5th Grader,* to show that being smart is "cool" and that wanting to learn is nothing to be ashamed about.[/quote]

There have to be better examples of that somewhere, unless these teachers want to use the 5th Graders on the show as examples

/Anyone like the idea of Countdown in the classroom?

[BrandonFG]

Wake me when they increase the pace of the show.

[MikeK]

[quote name=\'Joe Mello\' post=\'151048\' date=\'Apr 26 2007, 07:49 PM\']/Anyone like the idea of Countdown in the classroom?[/quote]
I've been using Countdown in my classes for a year and a half.  The reaction to Countdown was so good that I bought a Countdown box game off of eBay so my students can play it whenever we have free time.

[tvmitch]

[quote name=\'MikeK\' post=\'151052\' date=\'Apr 26 2007, 08:45 PM\']
[quote name=\'Joe Mello\' post=\'151048\' date=\'Apr 26 2007, 07:49 PM\']/Anyone like the idea of Countdown in the classroom?[/quote]
I've been using Countdown in my classes for a year and a half.  The reaction to Countdown was so good that I bought a Countdown box game off of eBay so my students can play it whenever we have free time.
[/quote]
When I was bored in college class, I would make random numbers games off the top of my head and try to solve them. I would pick random numbers from my textbook, the walls of the classroom, etc.

I had a lot of boring classes at college.

[Jimmy Owen]

[quote name=\'The Ol' Guy\' post=\'151035\' date=\'Apr 26 2007, 05:56 PM\']
If that's the case, finally!! What a golden opportunity to promote different schools and their best students! A nice practice for their future appearances on QuizBusters. Seeing kids from around the country- given as little topic coaching as possible - and playing it straight - would get me to watch again. Wouldn't it be nice to have an adult occasionally remembering an answer a kid forgot?
[/quote]


No.  Why humiliate the kids?  At least with kid actors, they are playing a role and if they miss a question, no biggie.  Real kids of that age might not be able to handle the taunting when they get back to school.

[clemon79]

[quote name=\'Jimmy Owen\' post=\'151087\' date=\'Apr 27 2007, 07:51 AM\']
Real kids of that age might not be able to handle the taunting when they get back to school.
[/quote]
"You were on a horribly lame game show! HA-ha!"

[uncamark]

[quote name=\'clemon79\' post=\'151041\' date=\'Apr 26 2007, 05:42 PM\']
[quote name=\'The Ol' Guy\' post=\'151035\' date=\'Apr 26 2007, 02:56 PM\']
If that's the case, finally!! What a golden opportunity to promote different schools and their best students! A nice practice for their future appearances on QuizBusters. Seeing kids from around the country- given as little topic coaching as possible - and playing it straight - would get me to watch again. Wouldn't it be nice to have an adult occasionally remembering an answer a kid forgot?
[/quote]
I admire your optimism (unless I'm missing the sarcasm), but I just don't see the benefit to be reached by swapping one set of child actors for another. Just because the new set might not entirely hail from the Los Angeles area, doesn't change a whole lot in my eyes.
[/quote]

Interestingly, last night's show started a new set of episodes shot at Raleigh Manhattan Beach instead of CBS Studio Center--and Laura Marano replaced by Marki, who just turned 11 (according to the Fox web site).  In noting the change in kids, Foxworthy was surprisingly upfront in stating that Laura had been cast in a new Fox sitcom.  I didn't think that they would want to admit that the kids are SAG/AFTRA card holders.