What in the hell were they thinking? The creators of the newest game show to hit the television airwaves must have not been thinking at all considering the show comes across like they were in a brain-dead coma. You really won't ever see me writing about what's on TV, because people either like a program or they don't. But this one just takes the cake!
It's called, "Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader?" The name says it all...adults putting their intelligence up against 12 year old children. A question is asked to the contestant while the students writes the answer down and it's concealed. Now, mind you, we're talking about fifth graders, so the questions can't be too advanced on an educational level. And with the contestants being adults of at least 21 years of age, information included isn't something brand new added to a school's curriculum in the past decade they'd have no idea of knowing because it wasn't taught when they were in school. There are several ways for the adult to match correct answers with one of the children. And get this...if the adult is stumped and has to idea what the right response is, they are allowed to use one of three ways to "cheat" to get it and continue to advance; reminiscent of the "Life Lines" from "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire." (A great thing to be teaching the children...it's okay to cheat to get ahead.) The more answers that end up matching; the higher the amount the adult can win...up to a top prize of one million dollars.
It's only been on a couple times, so far...one half hour in length...and airs on the #4 major network. It happened to debut after another program I watched last week and I was just too lazy to turn around and change the channel. I was busy Gathering at the time and left it on just as a background distraction. When I got the jist of things, I chuckled to myself because this game show wouldn't be on too long with all the millions they'd be giving away. Come on now, these are supposedly intelligent grown-ups. Aren't most adults you know smarter than pre-adolescents? That's what I figured, too. Boy, are we all wrong!
I consider myself to be a bit on the smart side and can rattle off correct answers...err, questions...while watching Jeopardy. I'm not some super genius, but I found myself coming up with the answers to the questions on this show instantly. The adults were struggling. Some had not a clue on the simplist things that were being asked. None of them were making it far and I just had to sit here shaking my head in disbelief. What is wrong with these people? Did they forget everything they learned in school or had they gotten nothing out of all those years of education and cheated their way through to graduation? And it wasn't a fluke. Each contestant was as equally stupid as the one before. Okay, so I was just as stupid because I tuned in the next time it was on thinking maybe I had missed something the first time. Nope! It was just as ridiculous the next time around.
Just to show you how easy the questions are, I'll give a couple examples. (And don't feel bad if you don't know an answer or two. The contestants didn't get them correct, either. But at least you didn't lose $1,000,000.00!) How many sides does a trapazoid have? Bad enough the adult didn't know, but after a clue was give that two of the sides are parallel, she still couldn't come up it. The student has immediately written down an answer...and he was correct - "4". What country shares the longest border with the United States? Blank stare...no idea. First off, there are only two possible answers...a 50-50 chance...you're either right or you're wrong. How many times have all of us seen a map of North America? Out of all the nations of the world, what ones border the U.S.? You have Canada to the north and Mexico to the south. Still don't know the answer? Oye! Flip a coin for heaven's sake then. Common sense here, people. Knowing how SMALL Mexico is and touches but a few southwestern states...and knowing how LARGE Canada is, especially since its border not only runs all along the northern U.S. but also runs around Alaska, a blind person can clearly see which it is. Blank stare...still no idea. Again, the student prevails with the right answer - Canada. What star is closest to earth? Oh, no...with all the stars in the Solar System...how are they going to get the right one? Let me just stand here and go, "Duh". What's that glowing, yellow orb that rises in the east and sets in the west every day? The 12 year old had no problem with this one, either - The sun. Score: Student - 3...Adult - 0.
If that all isn't bad enough, the stage is set up to resemble a classroom with the students sitting at desks and an electronic "blackboard" for the answers to appear on. To top it all off, the host surely isn't one known for his intelligence, either...by any means. Jeff Foxworthy. Some may recognize the name. He had his own show on for awhile, albeit a short run. You might remember it...The Jeff Foxworthy Show; a half hour sit-com. Some still have no clue. Okay, maybe a lot still have no clue. He was originally a stand-up comedian known for his routine; "You might be a redneck if...". Oh, that guy! Yep, a good, old southern boy who never really came across as a comparison to Albert Einstein.
In the world of game shows, I have a sneaking feeling this one isn't going to have the longevity of "The Price Is Right", nor will it have the worldwide appeal of "Deal Or No Deal"...but I could be wrong. (Especially since hey're going to have so much money they won't be giving away.) Seeing how the contestants, thusfar, have proven themselves to be pretty unintelligent, maybe there are a lot of other stupid adults out there who will take to this show and watch it. I will no longer be one of them.
I just figured I'd give you a little heads up in case you were thinking about checking it out. The time would be better spent doing something productive...like making a necklace out of toenail clippings or seeing how much curdled milk you can drink before it comes back up and squirts out of your nose or driving ten penny nails into your hear to hold your hat on when it's windy. You get the idea. To watch "Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader?"; you must ask yourself that million dollar question first..."Are You Really Dumber Than A Box Of Rocks?"
rate
email
print
link to this page
Comments: 27
I can't even believe this show made it to the air. It sounds to me like they're scraping the bottom of the barrel with ideas for games shows. And I know exactly who Jeff Foxworthy is. *Yawn* Well at least now I can rest easy, knowing that I am not dumber than a box of rocks. Whew! That's a load off my mind.
So you are good at Jeopardy, Rob? That's cool. That's a tough show to be good at. You have to know so many details across such a wide range of topics. I'm impressed.
The children are watching this crap and think that's what people do all the time.
At least they don't shock the loser when he can't get the answer. Sounds almost like that quiz show they do on Leno - absolutely pathetic how little people know.
What ship did the pilgrims sail to America on? Thank God the woman got it right but that was only after some serious second guessing of herself. I mean who hasn't heard the childhood rhyme: April showers bring May flowers. What do May Flowers bring? Pilgrims. Duh...they sailed over on the Mayflower.
Now, to be perfectly honest I *did* get one question wrong that night. Some crap about a triangle. Yeah I know. But it was only one question. I'm not a math whiz. In fact I stink at math. But, I got the rest right. Maybe it helped that most of the questions were history/social studies....exactly what I had my degree in. But, I don't know. The first contestant that night was a UCLA grad with a degree in....US History. So, maybe I'm just freaking smart.