It's one of the wackiest TV programs you'll ever see, and on Thursday, April 4 at 7:30 p.m., tune in to see three local eighth graders compete on the fourth season premiere of WPXT's “Kick Start Maine,” a game show for Maine eighth graders.

Angelique Perkins, Carter Babcock and Anna Sirois, eighth graders at Boothbay Region Elementary School, competed against each other through the three rounds of challenges. Points are accumulated by each player and the player with the most points wins the game and gets to return to compete in the show's tournament format for a chance to win a NextGen College Investment prize. We won't tell you who won, but we will tell you that Danger the Rapid Chicken's Pie-of-the-Day (which is mashed into the faces of the contestants) was made of beef ravioli and applesauce.

Filmed in the WPXT studio in Westbrook, “Kick Start Maine” is hosted and produced by John Marshall. Perkins, Babcock and Sirois and a few of their family members spent about two hours in the studio for the filming on Friday.

“I was a bit nervous. I didn't know what to expect,” Sirois said. “Then once the game started, I really warmed up to what was going on.”

“I was really nervous, too,” Babcock said. “But I had a lot of fun.”

Perkins, who watches the program with her family, said, “I was excited all week. I was all bubbly but a bit nervous on the set, but it ended up being a lot of fun.”

The three local students said some of the show's challenges were easy but others were difficult.

“The multiple choice questions were easier,” Sirois said.

The younger brothers of the “budding TV personalities,” Will Perkins and Colby Babcock, also got into the act. They were filmed promoting the new season and reciting the opening and closing pledges, respectively. And, as is customary, each took a whipped cream pie in the face.

WPXT is Channel 12 and 710 (HD) on your local cable TV. The Boothbay Region edition of “Kick Start Maine” will air April 4 at 7:30 p.m. and again on Friday (10 a.m.), Saturday (6:30 a.m., noon and 5:30 p.m.), Sunday (7 p.m.) and Monday (5 p.m.).

For more information about “Kick Start Maine,” visit www.kickstartgame.com/.