Comments on: Oh Crap, “Fifth Grader” Was a Hit

By: leren

leren — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 02:35:53 +0000

I think the show is pretty good. True, it’s hard to believe that 5 graders are actually learning some of the questions asked, but all in all, I don’t think it’s all that bad. At least you have to use your brain a little bit, I mean come on, what skill is there in just picking a suitcase? If it weren’t for the dramatic music and “We’ll find out right after this” time and time again, Deal or no deal would be as boring as watching concrete settle.

By: Brandon

Brandon — Sun, 04 Mar 2007 06:08:49 +0000

Honestly, I found the show to be quite bad. Remember when game shows were actually unique, and Jack Barry and Dan Enright were the only ones ripping off successful formats? Just ONCE I’d like to see a primetime game show that is different from all the other ones, i.e. contestants competing against one another, no money tree, no cheering over everything, no contestants that look like struggling actors, and no giving away loads of money for answering 2+2. Rich List had that potential, and we see what happened with that.

The show is not engaging, it’s slow, and the concept is anti-climatic. Had it been contestants competing AGAINST the 5th graders, instead of relying on them as teammates, it might’ve had potential.

I could do without the money tree and lifelines. It’s just so played out.

By: Julia

Julia — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 00:54:56 +0000

All-Star Blitz…daba doo dabba deeba da ba…All-Star Blitz…daba doo dabba deeba daba

Do I need to go any further?

On another note, I think the pacing was horrible. It was so slow, and the people they got were so stupid that they made it slower just by sheer stupidity. Jeff Foxworthy seems OK on this game, but I think he’s too southern to host this show. What I mean is that people who are from the deep south seem to be very slow talkers, and I think Mr. Foxworthy deffinately falls into that group. I think he needs to speed it up a bit to keep this game from boring people to death. I think if the game was faster, it would be more entertaining. The concept is good. One other note…Where the hell does $175,000 fit into ANY money tree, especially this one? Did they think that little difference would make it seem like it’s not a rip-off?

By: KP

KP — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 00:20:08 +0000

Also there’s Chain Reaction: The WTF Edition. But that’s basically some disembodied female voice speaking over a moderately crappy electropop bed.

By: John

John — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 00:07:58 +0000

Joe - Thanks for the reminder that tonight is an hour. Hopefully the game play picks up! Anyone know where to get the lyrics to the theme song? (I know….I know…it’s cheezy but humor me please…..) :-) As a piece of trivia, the only other game show themes I know of with lyrics were To Tell The Truth and Monopoly. Any others? Thanks!

By: Cody alan merryman

Cody alan merryman — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 21:02:04 +0000

I like the theme music alot… Music and all!

By: Sam

Sam — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 14:07:25 +0000

The only thing I really cared about was the play-along factor, and just being utterly flabbergasted that these people didn’t know anything. I guess they really did try to find the dumbest people they could. The only questions I had to think on were whether or not Colombus Day fell in October or not (it did), and to calculate the area of a triangle (1/2 x base x height, NO ONE should forget that, even if you’re terrible at geometry). Now that I think about it, that was more of an algebra question.

By: Alex

Alex — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 09:52:50 +0000

The show was much stronger than I thought it would be, but as others have mentioned:

1) Lyrics in the theme is a questionable move to begin with… at least make them decent!
2) A $175,000 prize level? Hmmmmmmmmm…
3) The pacing would be SLOW for a one-hour show, and this show is a half-hour…
4) OK, it’s amazing what one forgets from grade school, but such lapses don’t equate to idiocy. Unfortunately, the show is built upon that alleged equality. Time to soften the edge on that one-note joke before the audience tires out.

By: Joe Capitano

Joe Capitano — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 07:18:01 +0000

What John doesn’t realize is that FOX is about to expand this to one hour, starting tomorrow.

The good news for FOX: It’s still on right after American Idol.
The bad news for FOX: It’s on a collision course with CSI: .

By: Cosmic Jester

Cosmic Jester — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 06:45:56 +0000

I’m surprised that the show has some potential, but there are a couple of things they need to fix in a hurry. First and foremost, they need to be very judicious with what they say. Make the contestant feel uncomfortable, you’ll make the audience feel uncomfortable and CLICK there goes your audience. The biggest example of this is the contestant having to proclaim into the camera that they aren’t smarter than a fifth grader when they take the Drop Out option. They really need to speed up the show, too. There was what, five questions across the half hour?

And they’re missing out on a golden opportunity by not having everyone refer to the host as Mr. Foxworthy.