his father, who acquires obsolete equipment that is scheduled to be scrapped. Richie collects this equipment and assembles it to form "Ralf", his pet name for his computer system. Ralf has multiple components and capabilities, including a camera that produces a facial identification system. Richie and his teenage friends, Hamilton "Ham" Parker (Todd Porter), Jeremy Saldino (Jeffrey Jacquet) and Alice Tyler (Andrea Elson) routinely encounter mysteries which they attempt to solve using Richie's computer skills and Ralf's power, often tapping into other computer systems, corporate, governmental and private. The cases often involve money-hungry criminals working inside business corporations or government. Guidance is provided by Llewellen Farley (Max Gail), a reporter for the fictional newspaper the LA Gazette, whose stories are often exposés of crime and corruption. Farley has a cantankerous but mutually beneficial relationship with Lieutenant Neal Quinn (A Martinez) who is head of the local detective unit. In most episodes, the three groups — the police (mostly led by Quinn), the media (usually Farley), and the Whiz Kids — all contribute to cracking a case and in bringing the criminals to justice. Their relationship is often conflicted, as Quinn must keep Farley from getting too much insider information, while Farley and Quinn both attempt to keep the teens out of danger. However, each case is never solved by one group alone, and they are all usually forced by circumstance to work together, each drawing from their own particular strengths and fields of expertise. Broadcast In June 1983, CBS network executives were reportedly planning for Whiz Kids to air in a Saturday night timeslot on their schedule. By August, CBS had reconsidered this and instead had the series targeted as its Wednesday night leadoff program when it was slated to premiere in the fall. However, Philip DeGuere had expressed concerns about a September premiere competing with late-season baseball and was instead advocating for a late October premiere. In mid-September, the decision was made to delay the planned premiere by one week. Whiz Kids premiered on CBS on Wednesday, October 5, 1983, at 8:00 PM Eastern, facing off against the hit action drama The Fall Guy on ABC and the popular reality show Real People on NBC. At midseason, with its ratings faltering, Whiz Kids was moved from Wednesdays to Saturdays to replace the medical drama Cutter to Houston, which had been cancelled after poor ratings for its seven episodes. The