Is It A Bright Idea To Start Watching Child Genius?

What Is This Thing?

Lifetime has gathered twenty of what we're told are the smartest eight- to twelve-year-olds in America, and pitted them against each other in a multi-part intelligence contest; at stake is a $100,000 college fund. Over the course of an episode, we get thumbnail profiles of a few select contestants, and then see them face off on the field of intellectual battle.

When Is It On?

Tuesdays at 10 PM on Lifetime.

Why Was It Made Now?

I guess enough time has passed since Kid Nation that America is ready once again to see children participate in reality TV, given that this week alone you can watch both this and MasterChef Junior, and Project Runway: Threads just wrapped up its first season before the holidays. Also...

What's Its Pedigree?

...like MasterChef Junior, Child Genius is based on a proven British format, some of the producers of which are also attached here. More importantly, the lead judge/quizmaster is former NASA astronaut Leland Melvin, the star of this viral photo. Could anyone who loves his two good doggies that much possibly involve himself in something that isn't worth your time?!

...And?

The similarities to the fine documentary Spellbound are obvious: the first episode features short profiles of a handful of contestants, followed by footage of the first round of the competition, which covers math and geography. (And if you think I'm not still dining out on having gotten one math problem right IN FRONT OF MY MOTHER, then you don't know me at all.) Melvin is a warm presence on the judges' panel, and even the kids who get cut at the end of the first round get sincere, supportive applause for their efforts.

...But?

It's been many years since I watched it, but I feel like while Spellbound did, obviously, feature some hard-charging, driven parents, none of them were total pushy nightmares. Child Genius contestants Izzy and Ryan, alas, were not so lucky; Ryan's mother Sherry is particularly stressful to watch.

Also, if you are drawn to Child Genius because you never miss the telecast of the Scripps Spelling Bee, this will be a major letdown: the actual gameplay doesn't even happen until the back half of the episode and is heavily edited. If you were really just interested in the tests of intellectual strength and not the borderline emotional abuse that apparently got the players there, Child Genius will feel like very thin gruel. (Yes, even when you can play along and get some of the answers right, as with the Jeopardy! Teen Tournament.)

My viewing companion -- my aforementioned mom -- also noted that a lot of what made it into the broadcast of the first episode seemed to be evidence of rote memorization. I doubt there's a network on TV that would broadcast a Creative Problem Solving tournament, but that would be a lot more interesting to watch.

Finally: you cast Leland Melvin and you don't show that photo? I would have put it on t-shirts and made all the kids wear it.

...So?

If this were either an Extreme Guide To Parenting judge-a-thon or a dry but suspenseful Scripps Spelling Bee-type contest, I would probably keep watching. As it is, it's neither, so it's just an unsatisfying hour, and a pass for me.