The Game Show Forum
The Game Show Forum => The Big Board => Topic started by: weaklink75 on November 11, 2009, 06:30:01 PM
-
Sorta like a reverse version of "5th Grader"- 6 to 12 year old child prodigies answer difficult questions in their field of expertise- but their parents make the decision to stop or go... (http://\"http://thefutoncritic.com/news.aspx?id=20091111fox02\") My first take- sounds interesting, but it'll depend on the host and how serious they take it- but it is a Mark Burnett production, so it should be OK. I'd suspect this is headed to Fridays at 8 or 9 in the early spring- They announced the cancellation of "Dollhouse" today as well (they have 9 eps left to air, and Fox says they plan to run them), so that's leaves a spot open there...Perhaps they'll do a new game night with this and "The Cube", since the other part of that night is just as weak?
-
Mike Darnell and Mark Burnett present an amalgame of Battle of the Child Geniuses/Set for Life.
Uff da.
-
Can't see this show premiering on Fridays off the bat. With "Ugly Betty" being moved to Wednesdays, Fox cancelling "Dollhouse" and CBS appearing to wrap up "Numbers," it appears the networks are raising the white flag on Friday night programming, similar to what they did with Saturday night a decade ago.
If Fox has confidence in "Our Little Genius," it will get the prestigious post-AI slot for at least the first few episodes before freeing it into the wild.
Just from the description alone, I don't like the sound of it. I'm getting a TLC child exploitation (J+K, Duggars, Toddlers and Tiaras) vibe with "Our Little Genius." Perhaps Burnett could make lemonade out of this, but I have my doubts.
JD
-
Just from the description alone, I don't like the sound of it. I'm getting a TLC child exploitation (J+K, Duggars, Toddlers and Tiaras) vibe with "Our Little Genius." Perhaps Burnett could make lemonade out of this, but I have my doubts.
Glad I wasn't the only one who thought "child exploitation" upon reading the descrip...if not for his public disgrace, something tells me that a certain former Wife Swap contestant would be the first to sign up one of his kids!
Chuck Donegan (The Illustrious "Chuckie Baby")
-
It could be worse. They could combine this with Moment of Truth....
-
Isn't having the parents make the decision to stop or go some sort of Standards & Practices requirement?
Actually, the show sounds like the planned (but dropped in favor of WWTBAM, as I recall) The $640,000 Question (I wonder if they are considering getting Ben Stein as host?).
Speaking of which, here's why I think having the parents make the decisions is a requirement: back on The $128,000 Question in the mid-1970s, when they had minors as contestants, they specifically asked the parents if their kids would stop or continue.
Also, on Joker! Joker!! Joker!!!, that must have been the reason they had one of each winner's parents play the bonus round.
-- Don
-
[quote name=\'That Don Guy\' post=\'230430\' date=\'Nov 11 2009, 07:35 PM\']Isn't having the parents make the decision to stop or go some sort of Standards & Practices requirement?[/quote]
What is this "Standards and Practices" you speak of?
-
[quote name=\'clemon79\' post=\'230432\' date=\'Nov 11 2009, 11:26 PM\'][quote name=\'That Don Guy\' post=\'230430\' date=\'Nov 11 2009, 07:35 PM\']Isn't having the parents make the decision to stop or go some sort of Standards & Practices requirement?[/quote]
What is this "Standards and Practices" you speak of?[/quote]
Does FOX even have standards?
I imagine that at least 2/3 of games will end with the family crashing and burning because mom and/or dad thinks that their perfectly immaculate child is too perfectly immaculate to fail.
-
[quote name=\'ChuckNet\' post=\'230422\' date=\'Nov 11 2009, 04:40 PM\']Glad I wasn't the only one who thought "child exploitation" upon reading the descrip...if not for his public disgrace, something tells me that a certain former Wife Swap contestant would be the first to sign up one of his kids![/quote]"For $25,000, the category is "Places to Hide." Parents, play or pass?"
/As sad as it is that we're mocking the show already based on the fact that FOX picked it up, how many of you would welcome in a dog that wasn't housebroken?
-
The big problem I have with this is the parent's decision to stop or go, That anounts to using the kiddies as "pawns". Personally, I'd rather have the parents advise the kids whether to stop or go & then let the kids decided for themselves. I wonder how a 6-year-old will do on a Calculus question or a Mozart question. Yeah, they may be geniuses, but can we trust then to let their parents decide their fate? I don't think so.
Another problem is the slotting. Fridays are considered bad nights for TV. I'd rather have it on post-AI either on Tuesday or Wednesday.
-
I believe it's already been announced that Fox plans to air a few episodes in the post-AI slot.
As far as who to decide whether to go on or not, I have a feeling there is a legal/S&P issue requiring parents/guardians to make the call. The fact that FOX is aping the "parent decides" gimmick confirms my earlier fears that this reeks of child exploitation.
As far as a potential host -- Ben Stein is an interesting selection, but I think he'd take a pass on it given the format. Mark L. Walberg seems to add a slight shred of dignity to torrid FOX shows (Temptation Island, Moment of Truth) -- could see him jump on this. Let's just hope this show is a Mark Thompson-free zone.
JD
-
[quote name=\'colonial\' post=\'230463\' date=\'Nov 12 2009, 01:20 PM\']I believe it's already been announced that Fox plans to air a few episodes in the post-AI slot.
As far as who to decide whether to go on or not, I have a feeling there is a legal/S&P issue requiring parents/guardians to make the call. The fact that FOX is aping the "parent decides" gimmick confirms my earlier fears that this reeks of child exploitation.
As far as a potential host -- Ben Stein is an interesting selection, but I think he'd take a pass on it given the format. Mark L. Walberg seems to add a slight shred of dignity to torrid FOX shows (Temptation Island, Moment of Truth) -- could see him jump on this. Let's just hope this show is a Mark Thompson-free zone.
JD[/quote]
Actually, I'd rather have THIS show have Mark Thompson in some way than The Cube....because I want The Cube to succeed here..
-
We used to have kids' weeks on Card Sharks. The kids played the main game by themselves but the parents were along for the end game where the player risked his winnings. I don't know that there is a legal requirement involved so much as an anal-retentive notion by the networks that the parents should decide whether or not to risk the accumulated winnings. I predict the format will be a rubber stamp of WWTBAM/5th Grader/$64,000 Question/Take It or Leave It.
-
I put $5 out that the balloon boy and his parents will be the first in line to apply for this show. :D
-
Wha? A FOX game show whose title is not phrased as a question or commanding statement?! (So You Think Your Child's Smarter Than You?)
It just sounds so...cut and dry. Right down FOX's alley, I suppose.
-
[quote name=\'chris319\' post=\'230465\' date=\'Nov 12 2009, 02:30 PM\']We used to have kids' weeks on Card Sharks. The kids played the main game by themselves but the parents were along for the end game where the player risked his winnings. I don't know that there is a legal requirement involved so much as an anal-retentive notion by the networks that the parents should decide whether or not to risk the accumulated winnings.[/quote]
Perhaps the networks thought that having the parents made it look less like they were having children gambling on TV.
As for this being a rubber stamp, I could probably tell you the steps of the money tree right now.
-
[quote name=\'colonial\' post=\'230463\' date=\'Nov 12 2009, 10:20 AM\']I believe it's already been announced that Fox plans to air a few episodes in the post-AI slot.[/quote]
Announced where - and, for that matter, on which of AI's nights (Tuesday or Wednesday)?
I wouldn't be surprised if this ends up as a summer show; Fox needs something to replace So You Think You Can Dance? now that it has moved to the fall.
Speaking of Fox summer reality series, I wouldn't be surprised if they're working on the details for a show where high school show/swing choirs compete for a chance to perform on Glee (as an opposing school at a show choir competition).
(This would be different from NBC's show in that NBC's is a cappella, whereas a show choir includes music.)
Either that, or something similar to Grease: You're the One That I Want, where the winner becomes a new cast member.
-- Don
-
[quote name=\'That Don Guy\' post=\'230536\' date=\'Nov 13 2009, 03:08 PM\']Speaking of Fox summer reality series, I wouldn't be surprised if they're working on the details for a show where high school show/swing choirs compete for a chance to perform on Glee (as an opposing school at a show choir competition).
(This would be different from NBC's show in that NBC's is a cappella, whereas a show choir includes music.)
Either that, or something similar to Grease: You're the One That I Want, where the winner becomes a new cast member.[/quote]
That's not a bad idea. A few months ago, FOX had a karaoke contest via Myspace, in which viewers recorded themselves singing, and the winner (via votes I believe) would appear on Glee. A friend of mine actually won.
-
As for this being a rubber stamp, I could probably tell you the steps of the money tree right now.
The show is done by Mark Burnett, so I bet I can do you one better. Eleven steps to the money, which will be a million dollars. Five steps gets you to safety at $25,000, and the last step will take away any lifelines that had not yet been spent.
[quote post=\'230433\' date=\'Nov 11 2009, 09:05 PM\']I imagine that at least 2/3 of games will end with the family crashing and burning because mom and/or dad thinks that their perfectly immaculate child is too perfectly immaculate to fail.[/quote] And I didn't even mention this. I bet the kid gets to see the question, and AFTER that, the parent decides to play or bail." But the kind of people who would put their kids in this sort of thing would be the type to try and go for the million.
[quote name=\'chris319\' post=\'230465\' date=\'Nov 12 2009, 11:30 AM\']We used to have kids' weeks on Card Sharks. The kids played the main game by themselves but the parents were along for the end game where the player risked his winnings.[/quote]It would certainly look LESS bad when the kid loses thousands of dollars on the Big Bet because the parent told Junior to slow his roll a bit.
But then the CBS version had teenagers playing the game by themselves, with no problem.
A problem that no one has thought of, possibly because there are so many OTHER problems is that I don't think it will be that interesting watching a youngster dissect Latin, or cube roots, or recite Chaucer's tales. Fifth Grader works because anyone can play along with the game. Where's the play along when the questions are taken from a trig textbook?
-
[quote name=\'TLEberle\' post=\'230562\' date=\'Nov 13 2009, 11:21 PM\']And I didn't even mention this. I bet the kid gets to see the question, and AFTER that, the parent decides to play or bail." But the kind of people who would put their kids in this sort of thing would be the type to try and go for the million.[/quote]
They'd actually do that on a Mark Burnett show? For maximum "you fool"-ness, they could probably play each Q out and then dramatically reveal if the parent(s) bailed.
I guess I do have to give MBP some credit for going out of the typical casting. Last month, a wrangler solicited the local Gifted Ed advocacy group (http://\"http://www.penngifted.org/\") so I have this astronomically small measure of hope that this won't go the way we all think it does.
-
It will be hard to get anyone with the ages and the specifics that they mentioned. I don't think that this pilot will sell.
-
[quote name='That Don Guy' date='Nov 13 2009, 03:08 PM' post='230536']
Announced where - and, for that matter, on which of AI's nights (Tuesday or Wednesday)?
http://www.reuters.com/article/televisionN...E5AB0QR20091112 (http://\"http://www.reuters.com/article/televisionNews/idUSTRE5AB0QR20091112\")
Not sure which night, although I presume it may be on Tuesdays, since AI generally airs from 8-10 and 8-9:30 ET those nights, and Wednesdays are typically 9-10 ET.
JD
-
And Tuesdays after AI it is...(but a Wednesday premiere) (http://\"http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news.aspx?id=20091124fox04\")-Up against NCIS:LA and (after a few weeks) the start of the last season of Lost..not to mention the Olympics...
-
About.com Game Shows (http://\"http://gameshows.about.com/b/2009/12/03/our-little-genius-has-a-host.htm\") reports that the show's host will be actor/comedian Kevin Pollak.
-
According to Hollywood Junket's on-set report, it seems that this show is just a reboot of primetime 5th grader, only worse.
http://hollywoodjunket.com/blog/?p=1680 (http://\"http://hollywoodjunket.com/blog/?p=1680\")
-
I have to agree...and notice the clause that's in the show that says each contestant is guaranteed $10K- Does that mean if a contestant bombs out, they'll junk the taping, give the player the 10K, and start over with a new contestant?
This is probably going to be the same fate as The Moment of Truth- does very well at first because it follows Idol, but tanks later on. Fox backed the wrong horse here, if it was between this and The Cube...
-
[quote name=\'weaklink75\' post=\'231743\' date=\'Dec 7 2009, 11:11 AM\']Fox backed the wrong horse here, if it was between this and The Cube...[/quote]
I'm betting their wallet says otherwise.
I sorta like the variety of question-style
-
[quote name=\'Joe Mello\' post=\'231745\' date=\'Dec 7 2009, 11:56 AM\'][quote name=\'weaklink75\' post=\'231743\' date=\'Dec 7 2009, 11:11 AM\']Fox backed the wrong horse here, if it was between this and The Cube...[/quote]
I'm betting their wallet says otherwise.
I sorta like the variety of question-style
[/quote]
I do agree with you there...harkens back to the $64,000 Question style of material...
-
A little update- Fox has cut the premiere on January 13th from 60 minutes to 45 minutes (AI goes to 75 minutes)- interesting strategy, as it helps get eyes for the premiere (people probably won't change channels since shows would have already begun)...but doesn't that just prove the show is heavily padded?
http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news.aspx?id=8440 (http://\"http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news.aspx?id=8440\")
-
And in what maybe one of the more stranger updates....Fox has yanked the OLG from its schedule after Mark Burnett cited what he called "integrity" issues. EW says at least two episodes have been pulled, but Variety says all eight shows will not air, and Burnett will produce new shows, with Fox deciding whether to go forward or not...
http://news-briefs.ew.com/2010/01/07/fox-p...-little-genius/ (http://\"http://news-briefs.ew.com/2010/01/07/fox-pulls-our-little-genius/\")
http://www.variety.com/article/VR111801346...yid=14&cs=1 (http://\"http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118013460.html?categoryid=14&cs=1\")
James
-
Sounds like the Fox lawyers got a little too nervous about possible rigging questions...you hope Burnett does the right thing and pays off the players for the unaired shows..
\Now we can has The Cube?
-
[quote name=\'weaklink75\' post=\'233820\' date=\'Jan 7 2010, 08:42 PM\']you hope Burnett does the right thing and pays off the players for the unaired shows..[/quote]
Per the story:
".......While these episodes will not air, the families who participated in the show will receive their winnings, and we are grateful for their participation.”
-
"...and we are grateful for their participation.”
Approves (http://\"http://www.vh1.com/sitewide/promoimages/press/wsopc/wsopc_7_lg.jpg\")
-
Great comment after the Entertainment Weekly story:
And when they make the movie, the little genius will be played by Ralph Fiennes…
-
Buzzerblog has an update... (http://\"http://buzzerblog.flashgameshows.com/our-little-genius-update-audience-reports-of-questionable-activity/\")they might not have crossed the line to out-and-out rigging (they might try to jigger the game to the players strengths, but no evidence of giving answers), but it's really close to it...and I don't know if it's worse because the contestants are children or not..
-
Folks, that's the first game show scandal like this since the 1950s (most notably with "Twenty-One").
-
Hmm. Maybe they will go back to the Cube. +1 to viewers of this weekend's football game who don't have to listen to that annoying kid on the promotional bit.
[quote name=\'clemon79\' post=\'233843\' date=\'Jan 7 2010, 10:53 PM\']Approves (http://\"http://www.vh1.com/sitewide/promoimages/press/wsopc/wsopc_7_lg.jpg\")[/quote]He needs to be back on national television.
[quote name=\'bandit_bobby\' post=\'233877\' date=\'Jan 8 2010, 12:57 PM\']Folks, that's the first game show scandal like this since the 1950s (most notably with "Twenty-One").[/quote]Maybe the first that has had "national" attention like this? (And national is a stretch. Helps the NBC clusterfrackus is going on, I guess.)
-
"OK son, I'm going to give you this handkerchief. Now when Mr. Pollak finishes reading the question, take the handkerchief out of your pocket and pat your forehead a couple of times. Don't wipe it, just pat it. Breathe heavily into your microphone, close your eyes and count to 10, then say the answer. Oh, and if Mr. Pollak asks you a question about the movies, answer "On the Waterfront" no matter what the question is. Can you do all that for me? Good. That's m'boy."
-
[quote name=\'clemon79\' post=\'230432\' date=\'Nov 11 2009, 11:26 PM\']What is this "Standards and Practices" you speak of?[/quote]
Quite prophetic words from November at the top of this very thread!
(First-time poster, long-time lurker)
-
Man, "Giant Step" is looking better all the time...
-
Uniformitarianism assumes that the same natural laws and processes that operate in the universe now, have always operated in the universe in the past and apply everywhere in the universe. With that thought in mind, here'a look at the past from Johnny Olson: A Voice in Time (page 222):
Dotto's producer Edward Jurist explained that the world of information was so vast that “you cannot ask random questions of people and have a show. You simply have failure, failure, failure, and that does not make for entertainment."
Jurist testified about Dotto, “We took some people who were bright and amusing people and we put them on a television show that millions of people watched. We gave them the biggest experience of their lives. If they were lucky they won a lot of money; if they were not so lucky they won a little money. They were not injured or maimed. All they had was a lot of fun and additional reward. I don’t consider that immoral, particularly if you have grown up in the entertainment business as I have.”*
*Congress, House, Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce, “Investigation of
Television Quiz Shows,” 86th Cong., 1st Sess., October 1959, Washington, D.C., U.S.
Government Printing Office, 1960
Randy
tvrandywest.com
-
[quote name=\'chris319\' post=\'233883\' date=\'Jan 8 2010, 12:38 PM\']"OK son, I'm going to give you this handkerchief. Now when Mr. Pollak finishes reading the question, take the handkerchief out of your pocket and pat your forehead a couple of times. Don't wipe it, just pat it. Breathe heavily into your microphone, close your eyes and count to 10, then say the answer. Oh, and if Mr. Pollak asks you a question about the movies, answer "On the Waterfront" no matter what the question is. Can you do all that for me? Good. That's m'boy."[/quote]
And to make things even more odd, the kid's name was Marty!!!
-
47 U.S.C. § 509 : US Code - Section 509: Prohibited practices in contests of knowledge, skill, or chance
(a) Influencing, prearranging, or predetermining outcome
It shall be unlawful for any person, with intent to deceive the
listening or viewing public -
(1) To supply to any contestant in a purportedly bona fide
contest of intellectual knowledge or intellectual skill any
special and secret assistance whereby the outcome of such contest
will be in whole or in part prearranged or predetermined.
(2) By means of persuasion, bribery, intimidation, or
otherwise, to induce or cause any contestant in a purportedly
bona fide contest of intellectual knowledge or intellectual skill
to refrain in any manner from using or displaying his knowledge
or skill in such contest, whereby the outcome thereof will be in
whole or in part prearranged or predetermined.
(3) To engage in any artifice or scheme for the purpose of
prearranging or predetermining in whole or in part the outcome of
a purportedly bona fide contest of intellectual knowledge,
intellectual skill, or chance.
(4) To produce or participate in the production for
broadcasting of, to broadcast or participate in the broadcasting
of, to offer to a licensee for broadcasting, or to sponsor, any
radio program, knowing or having reasonable ground for believing
that, in connection with a purportedly bona fide contest of
intellectual knowledge, intellectual skill, or chance
constituting any part of such program, any person has done or is
going to do any act or thing referred to in paragraph (1), (2),
or (3) of this subsection.
(5) To conspire with any other person or persons to do any act
or thing prohibited by paragraph (1), (2), (3), or (4) of this
subsection, if one or more of such persons do any act to effect
the object of such conspiracy.
(b) "Contest" and "the listening or viewing public" defined
For the purposes of this section -
(1) The term "contest" means any contest broadcast by a radio
station in connection with which any money or any other thing of
value is offered as a prize or prizes to be paid or presented by
the program sponsor or by any other person or persons, as
announced in the course of the broadcast.
(2) The term "the listening or viewing public" means those
members of the public who, with the aid of radio receiving sets,
listen to or view programs broadcast by radio stations.
© Penalties
Whoever violates subsection (a) of this section shall be fined
not more than $10,000 or imprisoned not more than one year, or
both.
-
So Chris. By "purportedly bona-fide," does that mean it's not rigging if there's a disclaimer in the credits?
-
[quote name=\'Kevin Prather\' post=\'233903\' date=\'Jan 8 2010, 05:17 PM\']So Chris. By "purportedly bona-fide," does that mean it's not rigging if there's a disclaimer in the credits?[/quote]
I would think so, but the words that support your theory are "secret assistance". If they disclose on the air that the kids are given the categories or whatever in advance it might squeak by according to the letter of the law, but it might also have P.R. implications. "The kid geniuses are given the categories in advance so they can bone up on the subjects." How will that look in the headlines?
Mr. Standards, meet Mr. Practices.
-
[quote name=\'tvrandywest\' post=\'233891\' date=\'Jan 8 2010, 06:14 PM\']Dotto's producer Edward Jurist explained that the world of information was so vast that “you cannot ask random questions of people and have a show. You simply have failure, failure, failure, and that does not make for entertainment."[/quote]
Not to steer this too far afield but didn't Ed Jurist eventually wind up writing sitcoms? I think he worked on "Gimme a Break".
-
[quote name=\'davemackey\' post=\'233918\' date=\'Jan 8 2010, 10:41 PM\'][quote name=\'tvrandywest\' post=\'233891\' date=\'Jan 8 2010, 06:14 PM\']Dotto's producer Edward Jurist explained that the world of information was so vast that “you cannot ask random questions of people and have a show. You simply have failure, failure, failure, and that does not make for entertainment."[/quote]
Not to steer this too far afield but didn't Ed Jurist eventually wind up writing sitcoms? I think he worked on "Gimme a Break".
[/quote]
Seems like I have seen that name on many a Bewitched episode as well. Again, sorry for going off-topic. But then again, Robert Q. Lewis was in two episodes as a photographer and tv producer. :)
-
[quote name=\'bandit_bobby\' post=\'233877\' date=\'Jan 8 2010, 09:57 AM\']Folks, that's the first game show scandal like this since the 1950s (most notably with "Twenty-One").[/quote]If you really believe that, then you either have zero perspective on what the quiz show scandals were, and what their effect was, or you just live in a cave.
The Scandals of the Fifties irrevocably transformed a genre. Quiz shows disappeared for years, replaced by other sub-phyla of game shows. The Our Little Genius problem will be confined to a single program. Jeopardy, Millionaire and the others will soldier on.
The problem is that we don't know the extent of the Genius issues. Mark Burnett may be incapable of creating an original quiz show, but he's no dummy. He wouldn't risk Survivor or The Apprentice just to get Genius on the map. Personally, I think MBP should stick to the "reality" and leave the quizzes to the people who know how to do 'em.
-
[quote name=\'davemackey\' post=\'233918\' date=\'Jan 8 2010, 07:41 PM\'][quote name=\'tvrandywest\' post=\'233891\' date=\'Jan 8 2010, 06:14 PM\']Dotto's producer Edward Jurist explained that the world of information was so vast that “you cannot ask random questions of people and have a show. You simply have failure, failure, failure, and that does not make for entertainment."[/quote]
Not to steer this too far afield but didn't Ed Jurist eventually wind up writing sitcoms? I think he worked on "Gimme a Break".
[/quote]
He went on to a zillion sitcoms and dramas... writing epsiodes of everything from "77 Sunset Strip" to "the patty Duke Show" to "Gimme A Break"... to producing "The Flying Nun".
Randy
tvrandywest.com
-
Per a tweet from The Futon Critic, (http://\"http://twitter.com/thefutoncritic\") apparently the Fox execs didn't know about the potential problems with the show until 24 hours before they pulled it- something spooked them obviously...
-
Kevin Pollak reported on his internet "chat show" last night that they're planning to re-shoot and the premiere will air in early March.