I.Q.

I.Q. was a CBC radio high school quiz show that ran from 1961 to 1964.

Personnel

Jed Adams was the quizmaster. Frank Stalley introduced the show and provided score updates.

Format

Each week, the defending champion of the previous week met a challenger with runs of four weeks at a time. Undefeated teams met in the spring for playoffs. School teams of 4 came from across Canada and parts of New York.

The format was quite similar to the tossup/bonus format. "Solo questions" were open to both teams with no conferring. Correct answers were worth 10 points; interrupts were -10. "Team questions" specific to one team were awarded after solos. They involved one or more questions worth a total of 20 points.

Questions topics covered "fine art, music, history, literature, and current and international events, with the odd brain-twister thrown in to add to the fun". Current events were a major focus: the half-time break consisted of a panel discussion of a news topic, such as nuclear disarmament or the separation of Quebec.

A radio clip from the CBC Archives (and information about the show) is found at: http://archives.cbc.ca/IDC-1-112-1498-10075/1960s/1961/

Later CBC shows

CBC televised Reach for the Top nationally in 1965, but it does not appear to be a successor of I.Q. (Reach was based on the UK program "Top of the Form"). CBC returned to high school radio quiz shows with SmartAsk! in 2001.