Video: Guardian of HiQ

If you think about it a little, the Guardian of Forever could show you any television episode ever made, even the lost ones. Would this always be a good thing? Well...

HiQ Fiasco

When I was in grade 8, my social studies teacher asked me if I wanted to be on the school's HiQ trivia team. I accepted, and our Leduc Junior High team wound up with a 2-1 record, good enough to reach the quarter finals. I still have the medal and the book we won as prizes somewhere...

Hi-Q Boo-Boo

Today Mom phoned to tell me that she saw me on television this morning, during Global Edmonton's live broadcast of the Klondike Days Parade through downtown. I'd half suspected I might appear in the coverage, because Mike Sobel hopped into the crowd an interviewed a mother and child about a metre away from me. I, of course, coolly stared into space, offhandedly observing the floats drifting by.

Mike's appearance at my side reminded me of my first encounter with the man, sometime during 1983, back when Global was still ITV. My social studies teacher, Mr. Istvanffy asked me to join the Leduc Junior High School Hi-Q team; back in the 80s, Hi-Q was ITV's answer to shows like Reach for the Top or Jeopardy...quiz shows. I agreed, and my classmates and I showed up for a series of tapings. Mike Sobel, his face unlined and his hair jet-black, was the host.

Our team did well enough to advance to the quarter-finals, which means I appeared in three episodes. During the taping of one episode, Mike started to read from one of his cue cards: "Name an orgasm which..."

The entire set burst into laughter; how could be not, being 14 or 15 years old? Even the cameraman was doubled over behind his mammoth rig. Sobel laughed too, his face flushed, and he managed to stammer out "...organism! Okay, we'd better do that again."

The second take went off without a hitch.