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BrainSurge
Genre	Children's game show
Directed by	Steve Grant
Presented by	Jeff Sutphen
Narrated by	Erin Fitzgerald
Composer(s)	David Michael Frank
Country of origin	United States
Language(s)	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	41
Production
Executive producer(s)	Scott A. Stone Clay Newbill David A. Hurwitz
Producer(s)	Janice Minsburg
Location(s)	Hollywood Center Studios, Hollywood, California (taping location)
Camera setup	Videotape; Multi-camera
Running time	approx. 22-24 minutes
Production company(s)	Stone & Company Entertainment 310 Entertainment Nickelodeon Productions
Broadcast
Original channel	Nickelodeon (2009-present) Nicktoons (2010-present)
Picture format	480i (SDTV)
Original run	September 28, 2009 – present
Status	New series (renewed for second season)
External links
Official website

BrainSurge is a children's game show aired on Nickelodeon hosted by Jeff Sutphen. The show taped its first season in February 2009, and debuted on September 28, 2009.^[1][2] The show's format was adapted from the Tokyo Broadcasting System game show Brain Survivor.

The network announced in mid-February 2010 that the program was renewed for a second 40-episode season without any known changes.^[3] The new season is expected to premiere early in Fall 2010.

Format

BrainSurge's challenges are designed to test the memory and comprehension skills of its contestants.

Level One

The six contestants (known as the "Brainiacs") begin by playing six visual puzzles, worth 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, and 100 points each (meaning that there is a total of 250 points up for grabs). The solutions involve numbers that players need to type in onto their keypad, receiving 10 seconds to lock in their answers. The two lowest scoring contestants are eliminated from the game (with ties broken by average time to answer if necessary), and they (along with all other eliminated contestants hereafter) are sent down the "Brain Drain", a slide formed as a human ear containing "ear wax" slime.

Level Two

During the second round, the four remaining contestants are told a story from the "Big Book of Truth" called "Jeff's Big Book of Super Fantastic True Chronicles of Truth That Are Absolutely True" and are asked questions in turn about the story. The contestant who gets a question wrong is eliminated, pulled away on a chair covered in whoopee cushions through a paper "tooth" of a large face that is made to resemble Sutphen. This continues until two contestants are eliminated. This is followed by a Knockout round, where a contestant must match pairs of pictures from the story. Once either contestant makes a mistake, the player who makes the next match wins the game in a "sudden death" match. The three losers are then sent down the Brain Drain.

Level Three: The Final Stage

For the bonus round, the contestant must memorize and correctly recall patterns on 4x4, 5x5, and 6x6 sized illuminated floors. Six squares must be stepped on for the 4x4, eight squares are required for the 5x5 and ten squares are necessary for the 6x6. Each square has an actuator in the middle that must be stepped on to activate the square. Before the contestant starts, he or she is allowed to see the sequence twice. After completing each path successfully, the contestant must step on an actuator outside of the board to stop the clock and view the next path. The contestant is given a time limit of 90 seconds with decimal timing, and must return to the start and view the pattern again if they make a mistake. Each floor cleared earns the contestant a prize, with each prize increasing in value across each floor, including the grand prize for completing the round, and the honor of being slimed in network tradition. If time runs out, she/he also must go down the Brain Drain, but still gets to keep the prize(s) earned up to that point.

Two celebrity episodes featuring Nickelodeon actors aired in late November 2009, with the winning celebrity contestant playing for a member of the studio audience who wins any prizes during the game in lieu of the celebrity, as if they were playing as a normal contestant.

References