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This Australian 60-minute TV movie is set in the 1940s. Brainy 10-year-old Emil Minty tends to hide his genius so as not to be bullied by his classmates. Minty's stock with his chums soars when he is selected to compete on the "Top Kids" radio program, a Quiz Kids affair complete with an avuncular host (Gary McDonald) dressed in scholarly robes and mortar board. The boy becomes a national hero; he is then approached off the air by the host, who doesn't feel that the show is "dramatic" enough, and intends to rig the weekly outcome. The host suggests that Minty and the other contestants rehearse the "extra hard" questions, then pretend to be agonizing over the answers to heighten the suspense. In the end, Minty's conscience wins out over his competitive spirit. Top Kids was first presented in the US in April of 1987 on PBS' Wonderworks series.