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"It's a Wise Child" Possibly to Air on the Fox Network? Egad.

Filed under: The Squib Report Tagged: J.D. Salinger

Martin Schneider writes:

I didn't know until today that Fox has a show in the works that sounds for all the world like the modern-day version of the radio show that made the young Glass siblings national celebrities. Look:

Fox executives said the premiere of "Our Little Genius," originally scheduled to debut Tuesday after "American Idol," had been postponed and possibly cancelled over concerns about the integrity of the concept. The quiz show was supposed to pit super smart six to 12-year-old kids against Ivy League professors.

[snip]

The show's premise allowed the kids' parents to decide whether they keep answering expert-level questions to win up to $500,000 in prize money.
[snip]

The sudden withdrawal of the program so close to its debut has raised eyebrows about whether the contestants were either given the answers in advance or put under intense pressure to prepare for the program. The show had already come under pressure for putting stress on such young contestants vying for "life-changing money," according to the Fox advertising campaign

Fox made a big push for "Little Genius" billing it as a new spin on Burnett's popular Fox series "Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?" which pokes fun at adults who can't answer elementary-school age questions.

Prior to the announcement Burnett acknowledged that the kids on the show—who he found through nation-wide casting calls—may not have a normal social lives. One potential six-year-old contestant is enrolled in college-level classes.

"I do believe that these genius kids probably have a little more difficulty socially in peer groups," Burnett said last month.

Didn't any of these people read "A Perfect Day for Bananafish"?

2 comments

Comments

Quiz kids anyone? Remember...radio show, 1940's, big hit.

lizaJanuary 30, 2010

Yes, of course! Good point. I knew "It's a Wise Child" was based on something, but I couldn't remember what. Thanks for pointing it out.

MartinJanuary 30, 2010

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Review: King's Gambit: A Son, a Father, and the World's Most Dangerous Game by Paul Hoffman (for Newsday)
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Review: books about various New Yorker cartoonists by Liza Donnelly and Iain Topliss (for Newsday)
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