BLOGS
Why I Love...The Kids Are All Right
- Posted at 4:02pm
- 12 May 2008
- by LauraPledger-RT
- 5 comments
Every week it happens. I get lulled into a false sense of security by the mind-bogglingly simple opening round, you see. Then along comes "Information Overload". I concentrate hard on my TV screen as my senses are assaulted with conflicting aural and visual stimuli, unlike anything outside of maybe an acid trip.
Now for the test: "What colour was the ice-cream cone that appeared when the newsreader was talking?" asks the chap in the suit that's working really well with his broad shoulders and chiselled jaw.
"Red," I say, confidently, to the television.
"Red?" guesses the hapless adult on the gogglebox.
Wrong!
"Blue?" ventures the child with an artificially inflated sense of his own importance.
And he's correct. Aaarghh! Yes, it can only be The Kids Are All Right, BBC1's irritatingly addictive Saturday-night quiz show.
There's so much about this almost-identical-twin of Are You Smarter Than a Ten Year Old? to dislike. For starters, the young 'uns have obviously been told to act as obnoxious as possible - though most of them have the kind of cocky, know-it-all faces you'd love to hate anyway.
These poor bairns were never destined to be "normal". Heaven help them all if they met a class from the local comprehensive. They have names like "Miracle" and "Lentil", crystal-clear diction and probably hang out more with adults than people their own age.
I don't doubt that the sprogs are budding geniuses. I'm sure they're perfectly capable of studying for their GCSEs five years early (though that's nothing to boast about these days) as they simultaneously write a novel to rival War and Peace and learn to pilot a light aircraft, all while never missing a night at chess club.
But let's face it, the adults competing against them haven't proved too much of a challenge. Granted, the kids were eventually beaten, after an unpromising start, by a team of supermarket staff - but lawyers, doctors and nuclear physicists are noticeable by their absence.
At the centre of it all stands John Barrowman, a genial, reassuring presence designed to stop the children (and maybe the adults) from cracking under the pressure of answering one or two posers that might even shame the writers of the easier questions in Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?.
Barrowman's presenting style (repeat salient points at least twice, preferably at a volume hovering around the 100 decibel mark - and don't forget to flash those perfect teeth!) ensures that foreigners, the hard-of-hearing and the intellectually challenged can all follow the show. Meanwhile, the rest of the audience will either be feverishly pressing the TV volume controls or yelling in exasperation, "I understood you the first time! Get on with it!"
But for all its faults, there's still much to enjoy about the show. I refuse to feel guilty for giving a muted cheer whenever one of those pesky kids falls flat on their straight-A faces. I'll keep smugly pretending, as I play along at home, that I knew all the time that "orecchiette" was a type of pasta. Though I know it could never go anywhere, I'll continue to admire the fit of John Barrowman's suits. And I'll keep watching in the hopes that, one week, they'll ask the kids to define "fun". It might be the one question that has them stumped…
Comments
- Posted on 22 May 2008
- at 9:10am
- by djdiva921
I agree with alex16, I also am taking my gcse's , you have absolutely no right at all to judge gcse's without doing them.
- Posted on 22 May 2008
- at 9:10am
- by djdiva921
I agree with alex16, I also am taking my gcse's , you have absolutely no right at all to judge gcse's without doing them.
- Posted on 21 May 2008
- at 8:49am
- by Ionaclio
Top marks to the BBC for coming up with "The Kids are Alright" for family viewing on a Saturday evening. I enjoy the programme immensely but could do without John Barrowman shouting so much. The children are bright, articulate and look as if they are having fun. Such names! Will we have Tofu and Quorn in the next series? Chandlerfan is correct in saying that some kids manage to achieve GCSEs at least 5 years early as the Media will again testify when the results come out in August. I think the kids have the upperhand in being quicker on the button, thanks to having been brought up with computer games etc to make their reactions speedier than the adults. Children soak up knowledge like sponges and these smart kids are testimony to this, whether this is inspiration from parents and/or teachers, they are to be admired for their skills. Good luck to Alex 16 in your exams and maybe you could apply for the next series to take on the kids! Yes, thank goodness in many respects, today's Kids Are Alright!
- Posted on 17 May 2008
- at 5:23pm
- by jezbels93
I really do not think that the kids are unlikeable at all. As a gifted and talented student, I think there is nothing wrong with the fact that they are clearly happy when they win, as the adults are too.
The adults are generally annoying and smug, which are understanable characteristics in kids, but in adults!?
I do love John Barrowman's style of presenting, despite his loud voice- I feel he brings the best out of the kids!
- Posted on 17 May 2008
- at 4:37pm
- by alex16
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