Technical difficulties

Washington D.C.'s high school quizzer It's Academic just endured the dreaded technical glitch. Sadly, this glitch was a biggie. It wiped out today's entire show.

Woodgrove High School won the game but the episode didn't get recorded properly. It's Academic posted an apology on Facebook: "We are all devastated by this, and extend our deepest apologies to the three teams, their families, friends and classmates, and to the teachers who had worked to prepare them for their appearance."

GSN suffers technical foul-ups regularly, thanks to its shoestring budget. For some odd reason the network often has problems with its aspect ratio, so the picture doesn't quite fit the screen. Stories abound, of course, about technical snafus on various game shows, necessitating retakes and re-dos.

Naturally Stoned, the old Chuck Woolery reality series, showed one goof on Lingo when the judges couldn't decide if a team's W-E-A-L-D guess was a real word. After a cursing fit from producer Phil Gurin, they tossed the round and played a new puzzle. But at least the entire episode didn't disappear into vapor. It's Academic really screwed up.