Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? - TV-PG
TV Rating: TV-PG
Network: Fox Cast: Jeff Foxworthy
Genre: Game Shows
Available on: 
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Common Sense Note
Parents need to know that kids help adults answer questions taken from grade-school textbooks that could win the adult contestants up to $1 million. That said, the kids are mainly on the sidelines in this program. The content of the questions is completely unobjectionable, and kids are treated with respect (though in one episode host Jeff Foxworthy compared a young girl's looks to those of Halle Berry). One aspect of the game -- in which a contestant can "peek" or "copy" a child's answer -- might be seen to endorse cheating.
Families can talk about why it's hard for grown-ups to answer these seemingly simple questions. Kids, how well did you do on the questions? Grown ups, how about you? What do you think this show says about adults' intelligence? Or the type of learning that occurs in grade school?
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Sierra Filucci
Family-friendly game show ARE YOU SMARTER THAN A 5TH GRADER? pits adults against standard elementary school textbooks. While categories like "First Grade Art" or "Third Grade Reading" might seem like no-brainers, grown-ups in the hot seat do surprisingly poorly when faced with questions like, "How many decades are in two millennia?"
Hosted by comedian Jeff Foxworthy -- who's most famous for his "redneck" routines -- the show has a unique concept, though a pretty standard format. Each adult contestant faces a class of real fifth graders (the kids ham it up for the camera) and chooses one to be his or her "classmate" for up to two questions. The chosen student then stands at a podium next to the contestant and can be called on for help if needed.
If contestants need help, they can use one of two "cheats." A "peek" allows the adult to look at the student's answer and choose whether or not to use it. A "copy" lets the contestant use the kid's answer without viewing it first. Contestants can also use the "save" option -- which lets them get out of an incorrect answer if their student helper gets the answer correct -- once per game.
Following in the footsteps of the now-familiar Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? format, each right answer gets contestants closer to the big win ($1 million), and they always have the choice of walking away with what they've already won instead of answering the next question. Thankfully, the adults don't compete against the children, though the kids do help the adults get closer and closer to the jackpot.
Overall Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? is pleasant and innocuous, though it may move too slowly for some teens and adults. Viewers will enjoy answering questions along with the contestants, and younger viewers might get a kick out of knowing more than their parents for a change.
Fans might also enjoy Cash Cab and Jeopardy!
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Sexual ContentIn one episode, Foxworthy compares girl's looks to Halle Berry, garnering some cheers and possible hoots from the audience. |
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Social BehaviorNormal game show greed. Jokey humiliation when Foxworthy makes losing contestant say, "I am not smarter than a fifth grader." Contestants can choose "cheat" options in which they "peek" at or "copy" a kid's answer. |
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