our little genius

Who says that quiz show scandals don't happen anymore? In the 1950s, shows and sponsors got in trouble for supplying game show contestants with answers to questions. Now it looks like it might be happening again, and the FCC is getting involved.

Questions arose several months ago about FOX's new game show 'Our Little Genius.' At first it seemed like the show was just going to reshoot the first episodes because there might have been a problem with contestants hearing the answers to the questions (or at least in the way the young kids were coached). Then the show was put on the shelf completely.

Now the FCC is investigating the matter. According to The Los Angeles Times, the father of one of the contestants tipped off the FCC about how producer Mark Burnett and his staff were running the show. One of the aspects of the show was that, at the very least, the kids knew what topics the questions would cover.

This would be dumb on so many levels. One, we don't need game shows/reality shows to be rigged or even slightly tampered with (for obvious reasons), and two, it involved kids aged six to twelve. Gah. I wonder if this could lead to investigations of other reality and/or game shows?

Before and after the FOX execs so dramatically brought Simon Cowell on stage to sign the contract bringing his British show The X Factor to the US, effectively ending his time on American idol, there were other heady matters to discuss. Just small stuff, like the possibility of Conan O'Brien bailing on NBC and joining FOX, and the mini-scandal surrounding the game show Our Little Genius.

On Conan, there really wasn't much to say. "We're in sort of the wowee mode right now," said entertainment president Kevin Reilly. After reiterating what he's said in the past on always being in search of a good five-night-per-week late night program, he went on to say that "I love Conan personally & professionally. Until he makes his decision (on whether to leave NBC), there's no conversation to be had."

But since he knows Conan's people, it's not like he hasn't been talking, at least informally. He classified them as being more in the "commiserating phase;" knowing Reilly's history with NBC (Jeff Zucker fired him three years ago), I could understand the commiseration.

Fox has pulled one of its reality game shows from its lineup. Is it because they felt the show was exploiting families and their gifted children by publicly humiliating them in front of a national audience for profit? Hell no, this is Fox, a network that would pit a bear against a roided bald eagle in international waters and call it "educational programming."

Producer Mark Burnett has temporarily pulled the plug on his newest venture called Our Little Genius because of the possibility that some of the contestants were coached before competing.

Burnett said he learned that some of the producers told the contestants the topics on which they would be quizzed and even some of the questions they would be asked. This doesn't mean the show is gone forever, just for the moment. Again, hello, it's Fox.

Anyone hoping to catch next week's premiere of FOX's 'Our Little Genius' will now have to wait a bit longer to see it.

Yesterday, the network announced that it is delaying the debut of the kiddie quiz show, which was supposed to air Wednesday after 'American Idol,' because its contestants were reportedly given information ahead of time.

"As a result, I am not comfortable delivering the episodes without reshooting them," series creator Mark Burnett said in a statement. "I believe my series must always be beyond reproach, so I have requested that Fox not air these episodes."

Are you or your family in need of life changing money? Do you have a 6-12 year old with mental capacity that might make you constantly question his or her genetics? Well, lucky for you Fox just announced a brand new game show called 'Our Little Genius.' Take your own little prodigy to the next contestant open call and you may be on the road to making some big bucks off of your child's big brain.

How much money? According to the show's producers it's up to the parents -- but promises to be in the at least hundreds of thousands of dollars category! (Read: No official sponsor for the show yet.)