Here's the official blurb: 'Ten of America's brightest high school seniors compete for a full-ride college scholarship worth up to $240,000 to the college of their choice. The pressure is on for the students at the end of each episode when they face the sudden-death oral exams at the hands of the scholarship committee.' At the risk of sounding like Rigsby from Rising Damp, in my day, entrance to university was based on exam results and scholastic aptitude rather than as a prize from a television show but I guess I'm just old-fashioned. Dangling the carrot of an education in front of people who feel they have to win a competition to get one, says as much about the barrel-scraping nature of reality TV as it does about the American educational system. You have to feel sorry for the poor sucker in the real world who was denied a place at the university of their choice to make way for the winner of this series. Watch and weep. Coming next month: A group of sick children sing and dance for a panel of judges, including Simon Cowell, and after rounds of tearful eliminations, the winner gets their life-saving operation. No, not really, but it's surely just a matter of time.
