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Class dismissed?

Fifth Grader fans would be wise to tune into tonight's episode -could it be the last ever show?

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5gFans of Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader? would be wise to tune in tonight to the show, which sees the class of 2009  dismissed by host and teacher, Rove McManus. Just like the kids of Skins, they are now too old to continue…

As advertisements have hinted, Bondi Vet‘s Dr. Chris Brown does very well in his quest to raise charity funds on tonight’s show.

But with relatively soft figures this year there is no certainty that it will return for 2010. In a worst case scenario, it could be the last ever showing by the Mark Burnett format. This year it has felt like the show was 30 minutes too long.

Meanwhile entertainment reporter Peter Ford speculated on radio today that Rove may not return for the first half of 2010 as McManus concentrates on improving another Roving Enterprises’ production, The 7PM Project.

25 Responses

  1. It is not just the teens who are out on a Friday Night Try thinking people who work in the evenings that start their working day from 3pm onwards.
    It’s for Kids as all of these shows are.
    It could work as a 4:30pm offering assuming Ten drop a day of Bold and the Beautiful for it but only one other problem there Mum and Dad unless one of them works a nightjob with odd hours wouldn’t be home for the show.

  3. Are we sure Fifth Grader won’t be back? I had it on the background last night, and heard constant ads for breakfast cereals, washing powders, nutella, milo etc. It must be doing well in the grocery buyer with kids demographic. Try it on Fridays when most of Ten’s teenage audience is out and parents are stuck at home.

  4. The Thing is Ten hasn’t done a 7pm News or Current Affairs Offering since the Hinch and Short Lived Alan Jones Live Days.
    At this rate we could be back to old Seinfeld Reruns if people boycott the 7pm Project and stick to Home and Away(Trash)or those overdoses of 2.5 men

  5. Tuned in to 7PM last night, the first face I saw was Kate Langbroek. Turned it straight off.

    As for 5th Grader, I hope it doesn’t go. Last nigth Master 8 was watching and he desperately wants to be one of those kids in 2 seasons time.

    But get rid of the celebrity guests. There’s too much mugging, too much asininity.

  7. Half the reason for the drop in this show’s figures is its timeslot. It airs in the only timeslot in the entire week where SBS is competitive. On Sundays at 6.30pm, I think it would rate closer to a million viewers.

    And assuming The 7pm Project stays next year, The Biggest Loser and Masterchef will move to 7:30pm timeslot each weeknight, and will shake up the 7:30pm hour landscape a bit.

  8. If, for the hell of it, the 7pm Project is able to make a remarkable comeback and be a hit in the ratings, what will happen next year with the return of The Biggest Loser and Masterchef? Both of these shows had good ratings on a daily basis and wouldn’t be the same only once or twice a week …

  11. Does anyone know why Jo Stanley keeps appearing at least 2 – 3 times a week on 7pm Project? I Like alot but geez, James & Ruby are promoted as cast members but barely even get a look in! More Kitty Flanagan I say! She’s amazing during her Whip Around – She should be a regular cast member.

  12. In Hong Kong, the second season has just started, however it is reduced to 30 minutes per episode, and is shown at 10.30pm weeknights (remember many local people go to bed late in HK). The first season was shown at 7.30pm Saturdays! With the Australian version facing the axe, could it mean the end of the 5th Grader format?

  13. Andrew B: “It should be a concern to Rove that all of the shows he is involved in are under performing so time off is not a bad idea.”

    Fifth Grader’s figures are woeful as are 7PM’s (although I quite like the latter) but after a few average weeks Rove’s self-titled show is doing rather well. For example, last night it was doing over 800k until 11:00pm and won in TPs and all key demos. Don’t think I would call that “underperforming”.

  14. 7pm project has settled in quite well, I reckon, but it is not without its issues. Jo Stanley wisely gets more and more guest spots, Charlie is improving, although he is yet to work out how to end an interview gently, often cutting off the talent mid sentence and harshly changing subjects. He has an intelligence and likeability that he did not get to display in Talking Bout your Generation. Dave Hughes is the liability on this program, He is inarticulate, none too bright and none too funny. Ruby and James have not been made features of,but it does cover quite a lot of ground in a single episode and has some great guests, some famous, some just great experts. I guess the audience is not strong as the panel does not always hang together well, and it may be too loose for some – but much to my surprise I get a fair bit from it, and I am also an ABC viewer. Hope it stays

  15. I like Charlie he’s a funny guy but agree about Carrie she’s just woeful bad,Jo Stanley or even *shudders* Corrine Grant would be better.

    And yes much more James that guy is hilarious.

  16. Pleaaaaaaase go away and don’t come back Fifth Grader.

    I think Jo Stanley should replace Carrie on 7Pm project, leave Charlie, stop talking about sport, Idol and Rove and get a tighter reign on your timing / segments and more of James please.

  17. If they replaced Charlie Pickering with Andrew Gunsberg I’d watch it every night. I remember when Andrew hosted it because Charlie was sick and I loved it. The show was a lot more enjoyable. I don’t know exactly what it is about Charlie.

    Sometimes I also wish the show was a bit more serious. Sometimes the jokes become cringeworthy and force me to change to GO!

    Just a few small things and I think it would be great.

  18. 30 minutes too long? I’d say 50 minutes too long. It’s just too painful to watch. We stopped watching it a while ago and the last time we did, we fast forwarded the meaningless chatter and went straight to the questions and answers. Took about 10 minutes to get through.

    It should be a concern to Rove that all of the shows he is involved in are under performing so time off is not a bad idea. I would be very surprised if 7pm project is ever seen again after November.

  19. i don’t really care about 5th grader but i would like the 7pm progject to contune even so i don’t watch it that offen, i say mix the hosts up a bit and hope its still going next year, i want to see rove return as early as he can, i really look forward to his show on a sunday night when the only other thing good on is on GO! but if he needs time to fix 7pm go for it

  21. Rove is a little less unlikeable on this show which I actually don’t mind but agree on too many celeb contestants.

    And thank you 7pm if you keep Rove off our screens for half a year 🙂

  23. Too many celebrity contestants, whose stake in winning isn’t as exciting, and which are probably heavily weighted towards them getting a decent amount of winnings for their charity. There’s not much entertainment value in that.

    Plus, I find the kids to be really rather irritating.

    Rove is good at hosting, though. If it does get cancelled, I hope he gets a different gameshow sometime in the future.

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