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For the Australian version, see It's Academic (Australian game show).
It's Academic is a televised academic quiz competition for high school students, currently airing on two NBC affiliates in Washington, D.C. (WRC-TV), Charlottesville, Virginia (WVIR), and one CBS affiliate Baltimore, Maryland (WJZ-TV). The show has been on the air since 1961, making it the longest continuously running game show ever. The show was created by Sophie Altman, who produced the shows in Washington until she died on May 24, 2008. Mac McGarry has hosted the Washington shows since the beginning. The Baltimore show is currently hosted by David Zahren. The show features three local high school teams of three players each competing for scholarship money. Over the years, Giant Food and the US Army 1st Recruiting Brigade have been sponsors, awarding over $2,000,000 in scholarship funds.
The single elimination tournament features 81 schools in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan region, 81 schools in the Baltimore metropolitan region (including western Maryland and the Eastern Shore), and 9 schools in the Central Virginia region. The winners in each region go on to battle each other in the Super Bowl. The record-high score of 935 is held by Centennial High School in Ellicott City, Maryland, achieved in 2000.
It's Academic also aired in Chicago during the late 1960s on WMAQ-TV and was hosted by Ed Grennan. KCBS-TV in Los Angeles aired a similar show titled KidQuiz during the mid 1980s and into early 1990s, hosted by longtime weathercaster Maclovio Perez. The show has been running as Academic Challenge on WEWS in Cleveland since the 1960s. In Pittsburgh, the program has been seen on KDKA-TV since 1997, under the name "Hometown Hi-Q Quiz." KDKA news anchor Ken Rice is the host.
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Format
Each contest is composed of 5 rounds:
Round 1
Category round with 8 questions all centered around a theme such as "the letter B" or "famous paintings."
Round 2
The teams introduce themselves. Each team is asked 5 questions for 20 points each.
Round 3
Toss-up visual round. The monitor displays an image and the host provides a question accompanying the image. The players can no longer see the image once they have buzzed in. 10 points for each correct answer, 10 off for each incorrect answer. 8-10 questions depending on time.
Round 4
The captain of each team introduces the sponsors and administrators. There are three question packets to choose from. The team to the immediate left of the team that is supposed to answer chooses which packet the answering team gets. 8 questions are given to each team, with 20 points for a correct answer and 0 for an incorrect answer. A 25 point bonus is given if all 8 are correct, for a total of 185 points.
Round 5 (Grab Bag)
Toss-up questions. 20 points are given for correct answers, and 20 points are taken off for incorrect answers. Visual questions are 30 points for correct answers and 30 points off for incorrect answers. The number of questions varies depending on the time left in the game.
End
The show ends when the buzzer sounds, prompting the host to yell the phrase "Come on down!" to the audience. The audience then rushes down the stands and approaches the contestants.
The song which accompanies the closing credits is "T.L.C. (Tender Loving Care)" by Mother Father Sister Brother
Spin-offs
Many teams participating in It's Academic are also active in the Washington region's quiz bowl circuit.
The show is aired in western Pennsylvania as Hometown High-Q.
An Australian version of the show aired on Network Ten and the Seven Network from 1968–1975, and was revived by Seven's Perth affiliate in 2001. Seven took the show national in 2005. (http://au.tv.yahoo.com/b/its-academic/)
A Kiwi version was also screened by TVNZ in the 1980s, with Lockwood Smith as the host.
WNBC-TV in New York aired a local edition of It's Academic from the mid-1960s through about 1971, hosted most of the time by Art James, with Lee Leonard filling in for a year.
WNBQ in Chicago had a version in the 1960s and 1970s under the "It's Academic" name, hosted by Ed Grennan.
WLWT and WCET in Cincinnati aired a local It's Academic from the late 1960s into the 1980s.
A similar competition aired in Columbus, Ohio under the title In The Know. It began in 1966 on WBNS television and later moved to WOSU, a PBS affiliate, where it still airs today.
A version of It's Academic also aired on WEWS in Cleveland, Ohio from 1964 to 1972 (that title was used in Cleveland from 1964-72, and from 1996-99). The show was hosted by Don Cameron from 1964-75. Academic Challenge replaced "It's Academic" and runs currently.
A version of It's Academic aired on WBEN-TV in Buffalo in the 1960s and 1970s, hosted by sportscaster Van Miller. It was later revived for a few months in 2008 by WGRZ-TV, with Kevin O'Neill as host.
A show using the It's Academic name aired in Richmond, Virginia in the 1970s, but that has been replaced by Battle of the Brains. Battle of the Brains has also replaced a version of It's Academic that aired in Hampton Roads.
The World Affairs Council, in conjunction with the U.S. Department of State, began hosting an annual It's Academic International event in 2002 whose aim is to promote interest in international affairs and events, also hosted by Mac McGarry.
In 2007, the game Brainstorm was introduced to Arizona. It featured 21 teams for its inaugural season.
KPRC-TV, the NBC affiliate in Houston, Texas, had their own version of It's Academic called the Texaco Star Academic Challenge. The show left KPRC-TV and would eventually be retitled The Challenge, airing on one of Houston's public access cable channels and KTBU Channel 55.
KRGV-TV in Weslaco, Texas has aired their own version of It's Academic for many years, entitled Masterminds.
Notable contestants
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Notable figures who have competed on It's Academic include:
- Michael Chabon, author and Pulitzer Prize winner
- Max Chang, vice president of the Science Olympiad Foundation
- Bruce Cohen, producer of American Beauty and Big Fish
- Michael Edelstein, fertility specialist
- Joshua Foer, writer
- Donald E. Graham, chairman and chief executive officer of The Washington Post Company
- Angus King, former governor of Maine
- Laura Lippman, author
- David Plotz, journalist
- Peter Salovey, Provost of Yale University
- Charles Schumer, U.S. senator from New York
- George Stephanopoulos, political commentator
- Steve Charnovitz, law professor
Other notable participants:
- Sandra Bullock appeared on the show as a cheerleader.
- Hillary Clinton was an alternate for Maine South High School in 1965 on WNBQ (Chicago).[1]
Champions
(Note: bold denotes Super Bowl Champions)
References
- ^ "Quiz Show". Benjamin Tice Smith, Teacher Magazine. The article claims: "Hillary Clinton was an alternate for Maine South High School in the 1965 Chicago-area competition."
External links
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