WQED goes on 'Science Mission 101'

Tonight at 8 WQED premieres its latest pilot of a proposed children's' series, "Science Mission 101," which will also be available for other PBS stations nationwide to air.

Aimed at middle school students, it's a more au courant series than "Teens on Q," using a format inspired by reality shows to pit two teams of three high school students each against one another in completing and reporting on a series of science experiments. The teams' reports are judged by a panel of University of Pittsburgh instructors, a la "American Idol." But it's tough to make science entertaining and for all its good intentions, "Science Mission 101" does not get the job done.

Host Mike Lee plays it straight and avoids efforts to try to be overly cool. He's basically the ringmaster, a la Jeff Probst on "Survivor" but without having to deal with backstabbing contestants. Everyone on "Science Mission 101" gets along but sometimes their direct-address diary segments feel a little too perfect, like they were rehearsed (other times, they feel more spontaneous).

The science on display isn't the problem: It's the production values. The show feels under-funded and one team's decision to present its report using old-school poster board doesn't help matters.

Bios of each contestant  try to offer character sketches on the contestants - Team Awesome includes team leader Olivia Iannone, 14, of South Park High School; Jason Chen, 16, of North Allegheny High School; and Aliya Taylor, 16, of Riverview High School. Team Dominate is led by Dominic Stokes, 16, of Valley High School, who is joined by Pietra Bruni, 16, of Seton La Salle High School, and Guthrie Gintzler, 16, of Taylor Allderdice High School -- but they still come off as types selected to best represent calculated diversity. (Their slow-motion walk down a hallway looks like an ad for Benetton Kids.)

Creating television for teens, particularly using science as the backbone, is a worthy endeavor. But doing it successfully enough that the target audience will want to watch may just be an impossible mission.