'It's Academic' makes a comeback
by RIKKI CASON Reporter W
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Teams for "It's Academic" competed at Hilbert College. The show will run for 13 weeks, from April 5 through June 28. Photos by John Rusac. Purchase color photos at www.BeeNews.com

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range in Arkansas and Missouri? What sensory nerve connects the retina to the brain?

For most, the answers to these questions are found buried in textbooks, not in their minds.

But for some students in Western New York, the answers to those questions and more are as simple as knowing their ABCs. As a result, they were given the opportunity to go on the television show "It's Academic."

"There were some questions that were challenging," said Williamsville South teacher Tom Johnson, who was in charge of a team for the show. "Overall, there was equal footing with the questions."

Quality Media Services teamed up with WGRZ Buffalo and brought back the weekly program that takes three high school teams and pits them against each other in an academic competition. All hope to be the best in Western New York, earning a scholarship for their school courtesy of Waterford Bank.

Host Kevin O'Neill asks the contestants academically related questions. The winner of the show will receive a scholarship for his or her school.

"It's Academic" was originally developed in the 1960s. It has returned with shows that began airing on April 5 and will continue until June 28.

"'It's Academic' and the show format aired 47 years," said Jeremy Furlani, the show's executive producer. He said it was the longest-running game show.

The 13-week show will highlight 27 schools from around Western New York, including Iroquois, East Aurora, Orchard Park, Depew, Williamsville South, Amherst, Clarence and Cleveland Hill.

Kevin O'Neill of Channel 2 was asked to be the host for the program.

"Growing up in Western New York, even back then, I got pretty decent grades, but I wasn't smart enough to be on the show," O'Neill said. "I thought that if I worked really hard, I might host it someday."

O'Neill is glad there is a program that highlights good things that young people do.

"All three stations will cover the negative news and what's wrong with kids today," O'Neill said. "Channel 2 goes out of the way to show what's great about Western New York kids and shows the great young men and women WNY has."

O'Neill thinks that it is fun to play along with the game and that the students who compete are brilliant.

"I don't remember learning this stuff in school," O'Neill said. "All the Russian czars, Greek and Roman gods; maybe I missed that week. The breadth of their knowledge is remarkable. It's not just stuff you learn in school. Kids went out of the way to learn. The books in the Bible, elements in the periodic table, presidents in order. It's amazing."

The show is divided into five rounds. The first round is the Lightning Round, where eight related questions are asked. Correct answers are worth 10 points, and wrong answers are penalized 10 points. The Text Message Round is next, where correct answers are worth 20 points. There are no penalties for incorrect answers, and each team gets a turn to answer five questions. Picture Perfect Round comprises eight questions all related to a picture, with each being worth 10 points. Pick-A-Packet Round is worth 20 points, and each team is asked eight questions. Finally, the Grab Bag Round is a competitive set of questions that will determine a winner. In the event of a tie, an additional question will be asked as a "sudden death" tiebreaker.

"This is an ongoing program," Furlani said. "The next season will debut in the fall with 13 shows and continues with 13 shows in the spring. The championship team wins the Waterford Village Cup and is able to keep the trophy on display at the school for the following school year."

The team from Williamsville South played against Alden and Leonardo DaVinci. The South team scored 470 points.

The team included Captain Roy Hanna, Matt Rosenbloom-Jones and Shawn Brodzik. Alternate Joe Paul was also there supporting his team.

"Absolutely," Johnson said of doing the show again. "It was a little difficult to be on it this time because of the breaks in school, but I got some of my best players there."

To find out who wins, watch "It's Academic" at 11 a.m. Saturday mornings on Channel 2, or visit www.qmsmedia.com for more information or to watch missed episodes.