Make the Grade
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Make the Grade was a children's game show that aired from October 2, 1989 through December 29, 1991 on Nickelodeon.
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[edit] Broadcast History
Make the Grade premiered on Nickelodeon on October 2, 1989 and ended on December 29, 1991. Reruns of Make the Grade began running on Nickelodeon Games and Sports on January 2, 2000 until April 2, 2004.
The first two seasons of "Make the Grade" were hosted by Lew Schneider; first two seasons were taped in New York, while for season 3, the show moved to the newly opened Nickelodeon Studios in Orlando, Florida, with new host Robb Edward Morris taking over for season 3. Maria Milito was the announcer.
[edit] Main Game
Make the Grade was a question-and-answer game that combined elements of Jeopardy! and Trivial Pursuit. On each show, three contestants -- each situated at either a red, green, or blue desk -- competed to answer trivia questions and acquire squares on a 7x7 game board (the category icons and grade levels were branded in front of each desk and lit up when a question was answered correctly). Grade levels, which ranged from elementary school and grades 7 through 12, ran along the top of the board; six subjects plus a "special elective" ran down the left. The contestants' goal was to light up all 14 squares on their desk or acquire the most squares in as many grade levels and subjects as possible in their color.
Most squares contained questions; the contestants had to buzz-in in the middle of reading a question. If a player answered the question correctly, he won that square for his desk and control of the board. If incorrect, the other two had a chance to answer once the host re-read the question. Several squares, however, contained "wild cards," panels that could ultimately alter the outcome of the game. The wild cards included:
- Take: allowed a player to steal any square from an opponent;
- Lose: forced a player to give up a square of their choice, which would be placed back on the board;
- Free: gave the square to the player who picked it, no questions asked;
- Fire: led to a "Fire Drill", a physical challenge for all three contestants.
[edit] Fire Drills
Like other Nickelodeon game shows before it, Make the Grade allowed contestants to participate in challenge stunts, sometimes messy, called "Fire Drills." Fire Drills took place when a contestant selected a square with the Fire wild card. All three contestants participated.
The goal of each Fire Drill was to complete the challenge first, thereby earning first choice at the three desks. Although a contestant could answer many questions correctly, the earned squares belonged to the desk. When the Fire Drill was completed, the first place contestant picked whichever desk he or she desired, usually the one with the most grade levels and subjects completed. The second place contestant took choice of the remaining two desks, and third place took the last desk left.
Because of this structure, a contestant could do poorly answering questions, but successfully complete Fire Drills to win the game.
[edit] Honors Round
After two trivia rounds, the first player to light up his/her desk, or the player with the most squares in as many grade levels and subjects as possible, won $500 and went on to the Honors Round. (The other two players received $50 and a consolation prize.)
In this round, the winner was offered three question categories, from which he/she chose one. Each category contained seven questions, and each question was from a different subject. The player had 45 seconds to answer all 7 questions If The Player Is Unable To Answer 7 Questions Before Time Expires The Player Wins What He/She Won From The 1st 2 Rounds. Early on in the show's run, doing so netted the contestant an additional $1000. During the second and third seasons, the first six questions were worth $100 each and the seventh earned a trip to Universal Studios Florida.
[edit] Trivia
- Original host Lew Schneider is a stand-up comic who later went on to co-produce the hit sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond.
- Announcer Maria Milito is a well-known radio personality, who can currently be heard doing middays (9 AM-2 PM) on WAXQ, a.k.a. "Q104.3" in New York City, New York.
- The opening sequence featuring a wide shot of the set was taped during the show's first season, and the "contestants" behind the podiums were actually still mannequins; the intro switched to a live shot about halfway through host Schneider's entrance.
- The sound effect was used similar to Double Dare when running out of time to answer the question.
- In second season episodes where the winning contestant won early (and, thus, there was enough time to fill), a special University Round was played. A series of 5 questions were asked -- for $50, $100, $200, $500, and $1000, respectively. Players could stop and take the money at any time. (In the third season, time was filled by asking questions of the studio audience -- they would get T-shirts as prizes.). In another episode, a contestant won the game in the first half of the show, and another game was played with a second set of contestants.
- Because of the show was a close resemblance to Jeopardy!, some contestants answered in the form of a question. Schneider and Morris would often tease these contestants in jest when this happened. (See also Jeopardy in culture.)
[edit] External links
- Nickelodeon Games & Sports
- Make the Grade at IMDb
- Classic Nick Online
- Make The Grade Rule Page
- TV.com
| Game Shows on the Nickelodeon Network |
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| Premiered between 1986-1989:
Double Dare | Super Sloppy Double Dare | Family Double Dare | Finders Keepers | Make the Grade | Think Fast! |
| Premiered between 1990-1996:
Get the Picture | Nickelodeon GUTS | Global GUTS | Legends of the Hidden Temple | Nick Arcade | What Would You Do? | Wild and Crazy Kids | NickAmerica |
| Premiered between 1997-2003:
Figure It Out | Figure It Out: Family Style | Figure It Out: Wild Style | You're On! | Double Dare 2000 | Nickelodeon Robot Wars | Scaredy Camp |
