It's Academic

Name: It's Academic
Genre: Game-Show
Released: 1961-10-07
Rating: 7.7
Cast: Mac McGarry, Katie Buenneke, Asher Morse

TV Series
1961– 1961–
30m

7.7/10

Episode guide

Game-Show

A weekly quiz game featuring three teams of high school students from their respective schools. Each team had three members, one of whom was captain. Each game consisted of four rounds. In t... Read allA weekly quiz game featuring three teams of high school students from their respective schools. Each team had three members, one of whom was captain. Each game consisted of four rounds. In the first three rounds, teams answered questions one team at a time. A packet of ten questi... Read allA weekly quiz game featuring three teams of high school students from their respective schools. Each team had three members, one of whom was captain. Each game consisted of four rounds. In the first three rounds, teams answered questions one team at a time. A packet of ten question would be chosen from twenty packets by a captain of one of the other two teams, and pla... Read all

7.7/10

Stars

Top credits

See production, box office & company info

See more at IMDbPro

Browse episodes

1 Season

8 years

A weekly quiz game featuring three teams of high school students from their respective schools. Each team had three members, one of whom was captain. Each game consisted of four rounds. In the first three rounds, teams answered questions one team at a time. A packet of ten question would be chosen from twenty packets by a captain of one of the other two teams, and play would proceed. In the first round, teams would be awarded ten points for a correct answer with no penalty for an incorrect answer. A team could pass if it couldn't come up with an answer, in which case one of the other two teams could try to answer at the end of the round. In the second round, teams would still be awarded ten points for a correct answer, but would be penalized ten points for an incorrect answer and five points if they passed on a question. In the third round, teams had the option of doubling point values. If they accepted (and almost always did), they would be awarded 20 points for a correct answer, penalized 20 points for an incorrect answer and ten points for a passed question. There was a two-minute time limit for each team. If a team answered all ten questions correctly, a 50-point bonus was awarded. The final round was known as the grab bag, a three-minute free-for-all in which anyone from any team could respond. A correct answer was worth 20 points, with a 20-point penalty for a wrong answer. —The A Train

high school local tv quiz show non fiction

Genre
- Game-Show
Parents guide
- Add content advisory

Trivia
As of 20 September 2003, this holds the Guinness World Record for the "longest running TV quiz show".

Connections
Featured in The Home Song Stories (2007)

Top review

10/10

I Watched it Once and I was Hooked

When i was growing up in New Jersey in the 60s and early 70s, the NBC-owned station would air It's Academic on Saturdays with Art James and also Lee Leonard as host. There was one episode in 1968 where original Jeopardy host Art Fleming subbed for James. I would usually watch the show around dinnertime until the station moved it to an earlier time slot.

Now fast forward almost 40 years later. I'm living in Minnesota and one day in May 2008 I read that the show's creator Sophie Altman passed away and found out the Baltimore station that airs its version of It's Academic has all the season's episodes on the website. So i watch one episode and I was hooked. To me it's much more than a high school quiz show featuring three teams of three high schoolers competing for scholarship money. There are also bands, cheerleaders, mascots and in one episode, a madrigal group performed. The fan support is also outstanding as a number of them bring in signs in support of their teams. As a long- time high school sports public address announcer, it's like watching a football game with the stands packed each week. The camera-work and director also gets kudos, especially the closeups of fans and signs.

But most importantly, it's a game that is still successful as the Baltimore version celebrates its 40th season next year and the city where it all began, Washington DC begins its 50th year with the same host Mac McGarry. In Baltimore, the show is hosted by David Zahren. Both hosts do an outstanding job and bring some humor to the proceedings. It's a simple game that home viewers can test their knowledge against these nine remarkable students.

I'll wrap it up with the line Zahren uses after he mentions the final scores "Audience, come on down."

helpful•1