The prize? Their choice of selected antiques!
One is hard pressed, on reading the above description, to imagine why this program is a crowd-pleaser. However, the adults who host the program are lively and humorous, and comment on the action from the sidelines as though they were judging athletes. The teenagers are bright, very observant, and seem to have a real love for both antiques and for bargains.
I found myself wondering whether American teenagers would submit themselves to such a strange activity - especially when the reward is so unlike the kind of prize we'd expect teenagers to want. Of course, the first thing I thought of was that a program like "Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego" certainly requires the same desire to win and a comparable level of intelligence.
The program was educational for the viewer - they had found some very odd items in an old estate, including an iron mask used to punish a transgressor with a bit around the tongue! I had never seen a copper warming pan for passengers of horse-drawn carriages to put under their feet. And the lead toy soldiers from WWI most likely would interest few outside of Great Britain.
How terrific it would be if American youth could be introduced to the world of antiques and auctions in such an enticing manner. Not only were these boys and girls learning the history of their own nation, but they were learning teamwork, investigative processes, the investment value of quality antiques, good consumer skills, and in the end they displayed very adult composure while auctioning off their wares.
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