New Fox GS coming soon: "My Little Genius"..

[weaklink75]

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... 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?

[TLEberle]

Mike Darnell and Mark Burnett present an amalgame of Battle of the Child Geniuses/Set for Life.

Uff da.

[colonial]

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

[ChuckNet]

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")

[Fedya]

It could be worse.  They could combine this with Moment of Truth....

[That Don Guy]

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

[clemon79]

[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?

[Joe Mello]

[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.

[TLEberle]

[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?

[Craig Karlberg]

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.

[colonial]

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

[weaklink75]

[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..

[chris319]

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.

[ten96lt]

I put $5 out that the balloon boy and his parents will be the first in line to apply for this show.

[BrandonFG]

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.