It's Academic (Australian game show) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids It's Academic |
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| Genre | Game show |
| Presented by | Local Hosts Dan Webb (HSV-7) Andrew Harwood (ATN-7 & HSV-7) Sandy Roberts Alec McAskill (ADS-7) Jeff Newman (TVW-7) Revived Version Simon Reeve (2005-2016) |
| Starring | Revived Version Lizzy Lovette (2005-2006) Michelle Lim Davidson (2007-2016) |
| Country of origin | Australia |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of series | 20 |
| No. of episodes | 1,235 |
| Production | |
| Production location(s) | Various (1968-1978) Perth, Western Australia (2001-2004) Sydney, New South Wales (2005–2016) |
| Running time | 30 minutes (including commercials) |
| Release | |
| Original network | Network Ten (1968-1969) Seven Network (1970-1978, 2001–2004 Perth only, 2005-2012) 7TWO (2013-2016) |
| Picture format | 576i (SDTV) |
| Audio format | Stereo |
| Original release | 1968–1978 2001–2004 (Perth Only) 2005 – 2016 |
| Chronology | |
| Related shows | It's Academic |
It's Academic is a fun Australian TV game show for kids! It's based on a popular American show. In It's Academic, students from different schools compete to see who knows the most. They answer questions on many subjects like English, maths, science, geography, sports, music, and even pop culture!
Contents
How the Game Works
Original Show Format (1960s-1970s)
The first version of It's Academic ran from the 1960s to the 1970s. Teams from high schools in each Australian state competed. Each team had three main players and one reserve. The students were usually about 15 years old. Winning teams would move on to state semi-finals and then the finals. Sometimes, state champion teams would even play in a national grand final! Shows were recorded with a live audience.
Question Rounds
In the early rounds, team captains chose a "packet" of ten questions. Teams could answer these questions without losing points for wrong answers. Each round had a time limit. If a team found a question too hard, they could "pass" it. They would try other questions and then come back to the passed ones. All team members could answer. If two people answered at once, the host would ask the captain to pick the team's final answer.
Special Rounds
The game also had a "beat the buzzer" round. In this fast-paced round, if a team answered incorrectly, they would lose points. Later, a video-clip round was added. If there was a tie, captains would pick special tie-breaker questions.
Prizes
Contestants often received cool pen sets as souvenirs. Winning schools usually got extra prizes, like dictionaries or encyclopedias. In the original series, each member of the state champion team won $500! National winners received similar valuable prizes. In 1971, the national championship team even got to fly to Los Angeles and tour Hollywood!
Show History
Network Ten recorded the first two years of the show in Sydney and Victoria (1968-1969). John Bailey hosted the first two NSW seasons. Marist Brothers Eastwood won both finals. In 1970, the show moved to the Seven Network with a new host, Andrew Harwood. Marist Brothers Eastwood made it to the 1970 final again but didn't win that time. In 1971, a team from Inala State High School in Queensland won the "It's Academic Challenge" national final.
Revived Show Format (2005-2016)
The show was brought back in 2005. Each week, six new schools compete. Winning schools return later for semi-finals and the Grand Final. Each episode features five teams, each with six members.
New Features
- Clean Sweep: If a team answers all questions correctly in the first round, they get a "Clean Sweep" bonus of 20 points!
- Question Rounds: Each team gets a series of 5 questions just for them. Players have five seconds to answer. They can talk among themselves before giving an answer. If two students answer differently, the captain chooses the team's answer.
- Random Spotlight: A team member is chosen randomly. They get a question about a topic they picked. This could be anything from history to pop culture! They get 20 points for a correct answer.
- Beat the Buzzer: This is a super-fast round for all teams. The host, Simon Reeve, reads questions. Teams buzz in quickly to answer. Correct answers give 10 points, but wrong answers lose 10 points. This round lasts 45 seconds.
- Information Segment: Introduced in Season 2, this segment features Lizzy Lovette or Sally Stanton giving a short report on a topic. Teams then answer a 10-point question about it. If they answer incorrectly, they are locked out for the next question.
- Watch This Space: Contestants watch a one-minute video. Then, they answer three to five questions about it. All teams buzz in to answer. You get 10 points for a correct answer, but lose 10 points for a wrong one.
- Unscramble this Picture Puzzle: A scrambled picture puzzle appears on screen. It could be a person, place, or object. The first team to buzz in and correctly identify the puzzle gets 10 points! If they are wrong, they are locked out, and other teams can try.
- Fact or Fiction: In 2006, this new round was added. The team that solves the picture puzzle chooses one of three topics. The host then reads five statements about that topic. Teams buzz in to say if each statement is "fact" (true) or "fiction" (false).
Scoring in the Revived Show
- Every team starts with 100 points.
- In individual team question rounds, you get 10 points for a correct answer. You don't lose points for a wrong answer.
- If a player answers their "Random Spotlight" question correctly, they get 20 points! No points are lost for a wrong answer here either.
- In "buzzer rounds" (like "Beat the Buzzer" or "Watch This Space"), you get 10 points for a correct answer. But, you lose 10 points for a wrong answer.
- The school with the most points at the end of the week wins and moves on to the semi-finals and Grand Final. If there's a tie at the end of the week, a tie-breaker question is asked. The team that answers correctly gets 10 points and moves forward. A wrong answer means they lose 10 points, and the other team goes through.
Past Seasons and Winners
It's Academic has had many exciting seasons where schools competed for the top spot! The show ran for 20 seasons in total. At the end of each season, the winning schools from earlier episodes were invited back to compete in the finals.
