It's Academic
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It's Academic is a televised academic quiz competition for high school students, currently airing on three NBC affiliates in Washington, D.C. (WRC-TV), Charlottesville, Virginia (WVIR), Buffalo, New York (WGRZ-TV), 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 has been the sponsor, over $2,000,000 has been given out for school scholarship funds.
The single elimination tournament features 81 schools. The winners in each region (Baltimore, D.C. Metro and Virginia) 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.
The Buffalo version is autonomous from the others but is based on the same franchise.
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.
Format
Each contest is composed of 5 rounds:
Round 1
Category round with 10 questions all centered around a theme such as the letter B or famous paintings.
Round 2
The teams introduce themselves. Each team is asked 8 questions for 10 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. 8 questions are given to each team. A 25 point bonus is given if all 8 are correct.
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. Clock appears on screen (for viewers at home), indicating the time left in the game, which ends when clock reads 0:00.
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 aired on WBEN-TV in Buffalo in the 1960s and 1970s, hosted by sportscaster Van Miller.
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.
A revival of It's Academic began in April 2008 on Buffalo's WGRZ-TV.
Notable Games
The 2008 Baltimore finals
In 2008, Mount Saint Joseph High School of Baltimore broke a more than 10 year hold of the championship by the Howard County Public Schools with a thrilling victory in the finals against Centennial and Howard. This victory was set-up by a last question victory over Dulaney and Severna Park in the semi-finals.
Notable contestants
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 Graham, chairman and chief executive officer of The Washington Post Company
- Angus King, former governor of Maine
- Laura Lippman, author
- David Plotz, journalist
- 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[1]
Champions
(Note: bold denotes Super Bowl Champions)