This came on after Idol last night (where are your cross-posted comments, Kim?) and I stayed to watch. It was like a car wreck. The contestants were total morons, while the fifth graders answered random relatively easy questions.
Example: What month do we celebrate Columbus Day?
UCLA graduate: September.
Random 5th Grader: October, you dumbass.
I generally like Foxworthy, but there were so many commercial breaks it was hard to get a rhythm going.
I will probably give it another try tonight, but I don't think this show will be on for long.
Not me, although I did hear Mike and (not) Mike talking about it this morning. I think I'd have trouble with 5th grade math without a quick review of it. I know I have to thumb through my 6th grader's math book when he needs help.
Originally posted by piemanThis came on after Idol last night (where are your cross-posted comments, Kim?) and I stayed to watch. It was like a car wreck. The contestants were total morons, while the fifth graders answered random relatively easy questions.
Example: What month do we celebrate Columbus Day?
UCLA graduate: September.
Random 5th Grader: October, you dumbass.
I generally like Foxworthy, but there were so many commercial breaks it was hard to get a rhythm going.
I will probably give it another try tonight, but I don't think this show will be on for long.
Anyone else watch?
I had to turn it off when he needed to sneak a peak to know whether Polar Bears eat Penguins. I was already getting ready to take out the trash after the Columbus Day question.
I'm Blind Jimmy Winthrop, Blues singer for the Rich.
The whole thing is incorrectly named based on its premise. Really they're trying to find out of the contestant is *as smart as* a fifth grader.
But yes, these contestants are morons. A UCLA grad who answered no questions without help from fifth graders. What a jackhole.
The kids were at least precocious cute, but it was weird to me that they kept cutting to that one girl who was laughing awkwardly at Foxworthy's jokes. He's usually funnier than he was last night - I think the mechanics of a game show aren't really the best use of his talents.
I had a burning question throught the show. But since it's flame bait, I'll put it somewhere else.
I wonder if they looked over Leno's "Jaywalking" contact list to get these guys? I had a bad feeling about this show and having watched it, I feel as queasy as I thought I would. Is THIS what America has been reduced to? College grads can't get 5th grade questions right? What does this say about us as a society?
I hope this show dies a quick, painful death.
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Originally posted by Brian P. DermodyThe whole thing is incorrectly named based on its premise. Really they're trying to find out of the contestant is *as smart as* a fifth grader.
Not even that. It's, Are you smart enough to answer some questions, while there are fifth graders in the room? Unless I'm missing something, the ONLY purpose of the fifth graders is as lifelines. Unless they're being used as lifelines, it doesn't seem to matter at all what the kids do.
The premise implied by the title would be really simple to do. Ask questions based on elementary school subject matter, and challenge whether the kids or the adults get more right. Or just pay out based on what the kids do: if you get the question right, your payoff is increased for each kid who got it wrong; if you get it wrong, you lose money for each kid who gets it right. Miss a question that all the kids got, and you leave with nothing. Something like that.
And it really wouldn't be hard to write questions that are tough for non-stupid adults. I certainly wouldn't expect the average adult to know the plotlines of Beverly Cleary books or remember what a factor tree is. But I'd certainly expect them to know a lot of the questions these people are missing.
And, man, it's WAY too similar in structure to 1 vs. 100, which isn't fantastic but is certainly a lot better than this. No creativity.
Appearing to inadvertently validate the notion that television executives believe that the average TV viewer has the intelligence of a 12-year-old, Fox scored strongly Tuesday night with the premiere of Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader? The show, which followed American Idol at 9:30 p.m., drew a huge 14.8 rating and a 12 share, beating CBS's The Unit (8.1/12) and NBC's Law & Order: Criminal Intent (6.4/10) combined. Earlier in the evening, a 90-minute Idol posted a 16.5/25 during the 8:00 p.m. hour, rising to an 18.5/27 at 9:00 p.m.
Good ratings for now I guess. But that was just the first episode. Biggest test I guess is to see the ratings when Idol is over.
New photos of the Wonder Woman shoot came out with Adrianne Palicki in full costume. Better. A lot of the concerns about the suit look like they were addressed: http://www.imagebam.com/image/ab2847125750228
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