Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?: Difference between revisions

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[[Game Show]] created for [[FOX]] hosted by comedian [[Jeff Foxworthy]] in which contestants tested their wits on common school-related topics (geography, spelling, math, etc.) against a panel of 5th-Graders for a chance at $1,000,000. It had the typical 21st-century game show Tropes of a money tree, pseudo-lifelines to help with the questions, and a ''loud'' audience, but it's a surprisingly good watch. The show first aired in an hour-long format for three seasons between 2006 and 2009. (There were been many complaints from actual college students who insisted they never learned this stuff, most likely due to the subject material having been changed since they moved on from 5th Grade.)
[[Game Show]] created for [[Fox]] hosted by comedian [[Jeff Foxworthy]] in which contestants tested their wits on common school-related topics (geography, spelling, math, etc.) against a panel of 5th-Graders for a chance at $1,000,000. It had the typical 21st-century game show Tropes of a money tree, pseudo-lifelines to help with the questions, and a ''loud'' audience, but it's a surprisingly good watch. The show first aired in an hour-long format for three seasons between 2006 and 2009. (There were been many complaints from actual college students who insisted they never learned this stuff, most likely due to the subject material having been changed since they moved on from 5th Grade.)


In September 2009, the hour-long show ended and a half-hour syndicated version replaced it, with a top prize of $250,000. The syndicated version featured a slightly different format; each category was worth a dollar amount based off its level, winnings went to a bank (which got erased if a player answered incorrectly), and the player could opt to play a bonus question to increase their winnings by 10. This version was canned in March 2011.
In September 2009, the hour-long show ended and a half-hour syndicated version replaced it, with a top prize of $250,000. The syndicated version featured a slightly different format; each category was worth a dollar amount based off its level, winnings went to a bank (which got erased if a player answered incorrectly), and the player could opt to play a bonus question to increase their winnings by 10. This version was canned in March 2011.
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=== [[Game Show]] Tropes in use: ===
=== [[Game Show]] Tropes in use: ===
* [[Bonus Round]]: The Million-Dollar Question on FOX, the 10× (5th Grade) Bonus Question in the syndicated run.
* [[Bonus Round]]: The Million-Dollar Question on FOX, the 10× (5th Grade) Bonus Question in the syndicated run.
* [[Celebrity Edition]]: There were two runs of celebrity weeks, where celebs from [[Jeopardy (TV)|Ken Jennings]] to [[Larry the Cable Guy]] (talk about [[Obfuscating Stupidity]]!) played for money.
* [[Celebrity Edition]]: There were two runs of celebrity weeks, where celebs from [[Jeopardy!|Ken Jennings]] to [[Larry the Cable Guy]] (talk about [[Obfuscating Stupidity]]!) played for money.
** This would eventually become a recurring feature on the half-hour syndicated version.
** This would eventually become a recurring feature on the half-hour syndicated version.
* [[Let's Just See What Would Have Happened]]: Even if the contestant chose to quit before seeing the final question, they made him answer it anyway [[Padding|just to fill up the time slot]].
* [[Let's Just See What Would Have Happened]]: Even if the contestant chose to quit before seeing the final question, they made him answer it anyway [[Padding|just to fill up the time slot]].
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** [[Studio Audience]]
** [[Studio Audience]]
* [[Unexpectedly Obscure Answer]]: While most questions fit the theme, a few might better suit the show "Do You Remember All the Footnotes In Your 5th-Grade Textbooks?" Yet others were, while still solvable by any clear-minded adult, clearly higher than 5th-Grade level; algebra appeared on the show, for instance, even though algebra is traditionally taught to high-schoolers and occasionally middle-school upperclassmen.
* [[Unexpectedly Obscure Answer]]: While most questions fit the theme, a few might better suit the show "Do You Remember All the Footnotes In Your 5th-Grade Textbooks?" Yet others were, while still solvable by any clear-minded adult, clearly higher than 5th-Grade level; algebra appeared on the show, for instance, even though algebra is traditionally taught to high-schoolers and occasionally middle-school upperclassmen.
* [[Who Wants to Be Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?]]: Mainly with the lifelines.
* [[Who Wants to Be Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?]]: Mainly with the lifelines.
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* [[Catch Phrase]] / (partial) [[Title Drop]]: The theme song.
* [[Catch Phrase]] / (partial) [[Title Drop]]: The theme song.
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* [[Did Not Do the Research]]: One commercial-break question asked about the world's tallest man, Robert Wadlow. The show misspelled his name as "Ladlow", and Foxworthy pronounced it as spelled.
* [[Did Not Do the Research]]: One commercial-break question asked about the world's tallest man, Robert Wadlow. The show misspelled his name as "Ladlow", and Foxworthy pronounced it as spelled.
* [[Grand Finale]]: The last FOX episode had the night's contestant, a Nobel Prize winner and actual rocket scientist, win the million.
* [[Grand Finale]]: The last FOX episode had the night's contestant, a Nobel Prize winner and actual rocket scientist, win the million.
* [[Spiritual Sequel]]: ''[[Don't Forget the Lyrics (TV)|Don't Forget the Lyrics]]'', a sister show, had a very similar format. It's almost a carbon copy of it, too.
* [[Spiritual Sequel]]: ''[[Don't Forget the Lyrics]]'', a sister show, had a very similar format. It's almost a carbon copy of it, too.
* [[Trailers Always Spoil]]: Cathy Cox's million-dollar win aired as the second hour of a night (the first had Kathy Ireland). The trailers hinted that at least one of them would win the money — then, after Ireland's game aired, that Kathy ''would win the million''. Many viewers went somewhere else for 50 minutes, then came back to see her answer the Million-Dollar Question.
* [[Trailers Always Spoil]]: Cathy Cox's million-dollar win aired as the second hour of a night (the first had Kathy Ireland). The trailers hinted that at least one of them would win the money — then, after Ireland's game aired, that Kathy ''would win the million''. Many viewers went somewhere else for 50 minutes, then came back to see her answer the Million-Dollar Question.
* [[Trans Atlantic Equivalent]]: The UK's ''Are You Smarter Than A Ten-Year-Old?''
* [[Trans Atlantic Equivalent]]: The UK's ''Are You Smarter Than A Ten-Year-Old?''
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