# Anyone remembers Whiz Kids (80's tv show about tech-savvy kids)? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 31, 2010, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-remembers-whiz-kids-80s-tv-show-about-tech-savvy-kids/527152 "2010-01-31T20:08:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lantern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d26b3c/32.png) [@Lantern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lantern)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2010, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-remembers-whiz-kids-80s-tv-show-about-tech-savvy-kids/527152/1 "2010-01-31T20:08:08Z")
Anyone remembers this [show](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whiz_Kids_%28TV_series%29)from the early 80’s about a group of kids who solve mysteries using technology. I remember enjoying it a lot when I was a kid . Some of the episodes are up on Youtube and they are quite fun to watch: the show itself is pleasant enough and I really enjoy the retro technology and the way it’s worked into the plots. I am somewhat surprised the show doesn’t have a bigger presence on the Internet. I would have thought many tech types growing up in the early 80’s would have fond memories of the show. It was canceled after a year so perhaps not many people got to watch it. ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2010, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-remembers-whiz-kids-80s-tv-show-about-tech-savvy-kids/527152/2 "2010-01-31T20:16:26Z")
I remember that I always wanted to watch it, but I was never home. I wonder if it ran on Saturdays. I do remember the one episode with the singer whose voice had been sampled so the bad guys created a bunch of forged “lost” recordings of his. That was neat. –Cliffy ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2010, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-remembers-whiz-kids-80s-tv-show-about-tech-savvy-kids/527152/3 "2010-01-31T20:45:02Z")
I only remember three things from that show – the main character’s indignant claim that _“I’m not a nerd, I’m a hacker”_, the time they reprogrammed the highway signs to display messages to their kidnapped colleague, and the time they had a crossover from _Simon & Simon_ - the Cute Chick ™ had a major crush on one of the Simon brothers, much to the disgust of the rest of the geeks. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2010, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-remembers-whiz-kids-80s-tv-show-about-tech-savvy-kids/527152/4 "2010-01-31T20:46:15Z")
I think I knew of its existence, but I never actually saw it. I’m not sure why not, other than that I’ve never watched much TV. ---
**Author:** ![Runs\_With\_Scissors](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/278dde/32.png) [@Runs\_With\_Scissors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Runs_With_Scissors)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2010, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-remembers-whiz-kids-80s-tv-show-about-tech-savvy-kids/527152/5 "2010-01-31T21:45:50Z")
Never missed it. I was so their prime demographic, you’d think the show was written for me. I remember nothing about it. ---
**Author:** ![Runs\_With\_Scissors](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/278dde/32.png) [@Runs\_With\_Scissors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Runs_With_Scissors)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2010, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-remembers-whiz-kids-80s-tv-show-about-tech-savvy-kids/527152/6 "2010-01-31T21:51:56Z")
They must have used this episode of Simon and Simon to launch it: [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0700904/](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0700904/) All four kids were in that episode, with their character names from Whiz Kids. Oops. BrotherCadfael already pointed that out. ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2010, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-remembers-whiz-kids-80s-tv-show-about-tech-savvy-kids/527152/7 "2010-01-31T23:42:09Z")
I think I saw that a couple of times, but I’m really surpised to see that A. Martinez was in the cast. ---
**Author:** ![Kal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9de053/32.png) [@Kal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kal)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2010, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-remembers-whiz-kids-80s-tv-show-about-tech-savvy-kids/527152/8 "2010-01-31T23:49:55Z")
Adored the show. Perfect Saturday tea-time telly for the 15 year old 'puter geek I was at the time. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2010, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-remembers-whiz-kids-80s-tv-show-about-tech-savvy-kids/527152/9 "2010-02-01T00:00:23Z")
I watched every episode. But I also know that shows like that very rapidly become dated, and I find that difficult to look back on with affection. The girl in it, Andrea Elson, went on to be in ALF, which of the two I’d prefer to be more dominant on my filmography. ---
**Author:** ![Campion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@Campion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Campion)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2010, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-remembers-whiz-kids-80s-tv-show-about-tech-savvy-kids/527152/10 "2010-02-01T00:47:10Z")
> [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > I only remember three things from that show – the main character’s indignant claim that _“I’m not a nerd, I’m a hacker”_, the time they reprogrammed the highway signs to display messages to their kidnapped colleague, and the time they had a crossover from _Simon & Simon_ - the Cute Chick ™ had a major crush on one of the Simon brothers, much to the disgust of the rest of the geeks. I remember the highway signs episode. Or, more correctly, I remember that they reprogrammed a highway sign. I thought that was the coolest thing. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2010, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-remembers-whiz-kids-80s-tv-show-about-tech-savvy-kids/527152/11 "2010-02-01T01:35:55Z")
I saw it once or twice, I think it doesn’t have a bigger presence today because the technology and language is so outdated today. Tech things don’t hold up well. It’s kind of like my favourtie show an old Australian soap opera _Prisoner_ (_Prisoner: Cell Block H_) The show holds up pretty well, it ran from 1979 - 1986 as long as the plot stays in the prison. As soon as they step outside of the gate into Melbourne the fashions and outside things make is SO dated. A bunch of crims walking around in uniforms never goes out of date ---
**Author:** ![Lantern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d26b3c/32.png) [@Lantern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lantern)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2010, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-remembers-whiz-kids-80s-tv-show-about-tech-savvy-kids/527152/12 "2010-02-01T05:58:00Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > I saw it once or twice, I think it doesn’t have a bigger presence today because the technology and language is so outdated today. Tech things don’t hold up well. ``` I don't know, personally I find the retro-technology the most charming thing about the show. And I like the fact that for the most part it seems to be technology that actually existed in 1984. ``` ---
**Author:** ![Sigmundex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e19adc/32.png) [@Sigmundex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmundex)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2010, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-remembers-whiz-kids-80s-tv-show-about-tech-savvy-kids/527152/13 "2010-02-01T06:32:20Z")
And wasn’t one of the kids on the show the guy that played Albert on Little House? He must have recovered from that addiction to morphine, and the bloody nose hemophilia incident, I guess! I’ll have to go do some Youtube surfing and check it out, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![SK2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@SK2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SK2000)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2010, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-remembers-whiz-kids-80s-tv-show-about-tech-savvy-kids/527152/14 "2010-06-22T16:41:35Z")
Hello. I came here with Google. I see you talk about the Whiz Kids. In Europe, the series still has many fans. There were only two broadcast for France and Belgium, first in 1984 and then 1995. For French-speaking countries the name of the series is: “Les Petits Génies”, the little geniuses in english. I was surprised too there was not much presence on the Net especially in the USA ! In Europe there are a few sites dedicated to the series and many people who now work in IT claim to do so because they have seen the series at the time. I know in Europe the series was aired in France, Germany, Italy and Spain may be in other countries too, but I’m not sure. I realize a blog dedicated to the series, it’s in French but feel free to come and see if you like. Regards, SK2000. Sorry for my bad english !!! [http://les-petits-genies.over-blog.com/](http://les-petits-genies.over-blog.com/) ---
**Author:** ![Lantern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d26b3c/32.png) [@Lantern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lantern)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2011, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-remembers-whiz-kids-80s-tv-show-about-tech-savvy-kids/527152/15 "2011-01-16T16:27:42Z")
Interesting that the show appears to be better remembered in Europe. Anyway I was watching a few episodes and it is interesting how some of the plotlines anticipate trends which were very nascent in 1983. For example there is one episode about cyberwarfare where the Soviets try to hack into US databases. There is another about cybercrime and identity theft and another where Richie’s mother uses online dating. And while obviously the idea of kids solving these mysteries is far fetched, the actual technology and the way it’s used seems quite realistic. Overall it provides a nice glimpse into what the technological frontier looked like in 1983. ---
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2011, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-remembers-whiz-kids-80s-tv-show-about-tech-savvy-kids/527152/16 "2011-01-17T00:56:35Z")
I remember liking Matt Laborteaux, who made his way up from little Albert on Little House on the Prairie. I was in sixth grade at the time. Ahh memories. ---
**Author:** ![Lobot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ce7236/32.png) [@Lobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobot)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2011, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-remembers-whiz-kids-80s-tv-show-about-tech-savvy-kids/527152/17 "2011-01-17T01:23:49Z")
I loved this show as well. I was only maybe 5 or 6, but the geekiness was strong in me already.