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Mastermind is one of the most highly regarded British quiz shows, well-known for its challenging questions, intimidating setting and air of seriousness.
Devised by Bill Wright, the basic format of Mastermind has never altered — four contestants face two rounds, one on a specialised subject of the contestant's choice, the other a general knowledge round. Wright drew inspiration from his experiences of being interrogated by the Gestapo during World War II.
The atmosphere is helped by Mastermind's famously ominous theme music, Approaching Menace by the English composer Neil Richardson.
Format
Each contestant has two minutes per round, first each contestant in turn answers questions on their specialised subject. The contestant may pass if they don't know the answer, rather than guessing. If a question is answered incorrectly, the questioner will give the answer, using valuable time. However if 'pass' is given, then the answer is not given. After the two minutes is up a buzzer is sounded; if a question is being read, (or has just been read), then the contestant is given a short period of time to answer, leading to the show's famous catchphrase "I've started so I'll finish". After this, answers to any passes are given.
After each contestant has answered their specialised questions, they are given general knowledge questions. The contestants are recalled in reverse order of points scored.
The winner is the contestant with the most points. If two or more contestants have an equal number of points, then the one with the fewer or fewest passes is the winner. The possibility of passing leads to tactical play: passing uses less time, allowing more questions to be answered, however passing may count against the contestant at the end.
Should the top two contestants have the same score and same number of passes at the end of the contest then a tie-breaker is employed, in which the two contenders are each asked the same five questions (one contender must leave the auditorium while the other answers). It is not clear what would happen should this fail to produce a clear winner, though it is implied that the process would simply be repeated as many times as necessary. The tie-break was very rarely used during the original run of the show and has appeared only once in the John Humphrys-fronted version, in the Junior Mastermind final broadcast on 26 February 2006.
The winner goes through to the next round, where they must choose a different specalised subject.
Versions of Mastermind
Mastermind has appeared in five versions:
- The seminal BBC version hosted between 1972 and 1997 by Magnus Magnusson. At points this was one of the most-watched shows on British television. Magnusson was famous for his catchphrase "I've started so I'll finish" which was also the title of his history of the show (by far the most authoritative work on the show — ISBN 0751525855). The original series was also noted for the variety of venues where filming took place — often including academic and ecclesiastical buildings. The original series also spawned an International Edition between 1979 and 1983.
- A version on Radio 4 hosted by Peter Snow, running between 1998 and 2000.
- A version on Discovery Channel hosted by Clive Anderson in 2001. This version shortened the amount of time available for the answering of questions and lasted just one series.
- A new BBC Two version hosted by John Humphrys, beginning in 2003. Whereas the original series kept talk to a minimum, asking contestants only their name, occupation and specialist subject, the new show includes some conversational elements with contestants between rounds. It is also distinguished from the original BBC TV series by the fact that many more contestants' specialist subjects come from popular culture, which probably reflects cultural changes in the British middle classes in recent years. Unlike the original version, this version is studio-based. It is made in Manchester (although, due to an infestation at Granada studios, the 2006 series was filmed at the Yorkshire Television studios in Leeds) .
- Junior Mastermind, also hosted by John Humphrys, is a children's version of the quiz programme and has the same format, the difference being that the contestants are only ten and eleven years old. The programme aired across six nights on BBC One, ending on 4 September 2004. The winner was Daniel Parker, whose specialist subjects were the Volkswagen Beetle (heat) and James Bond villains (final). There was another series in 2005 (subjects included Black Holes and the Star Wars Trilogy), and another coming in 2006 (with The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and the Caroline Lawrence Books).
In the United States, the game show 2 Minute Drill on sports network ESPN had its roots in Mastermind. Contestants faced questions fired at them by a panel of four sports and entertainment celebrities for two minutes. The contestant with the highest score after two rounds would win the night's prize, and the winner would have a chance to double those winnings by correctly answering the "Question of Great Significance," as host Kenny Mayne called it. In each series, winners advanced in a bracket-style playoff format, with prizes increasing from $5,000 in the first round to $50,000 (doubling to $100,000 by answering the final question) in the final round. Prizes such as trips to the Super Bowl or ESPY Awards were also given. The show had three series over a 15-month period, September 2000 to December 2001. Like Mastermind, 2 Minute Drill featured a leather chair, dramatic lighting and sound effects. Willy Gibson of Columbus, Ohio was the grand champion of the first two series; he was defeated in the second round of the third and final series. Unlike Mastermind presenters, Mayne has a very dry, quirky and sometimes sarcastic sense of humor, but did a very good job of keeping the game going; he would quickly jump in if one of the celebrity panelists was tardy in posing their question, so as not to penalise the contestant.
Records
The highest Mastermind score is 41 points, set by Kevin Ashman in 1995.
The lowest score record is eight points, set by Jill Perry in an edition broadcast on September 13, 2004. Lower scores have been attained by celebrity contestents, such as Arabella Weir and Tara Palmer-Tompkinson who both scored six points on the same show. Murray Walker also scored seven points in the same 2004 celebrity series.
Perhaps the most famous Mastermind winner was garrulous London taxi driver Fred Housego, who won in 1980.
Examples of "Specialised Subjects"
- The life and works of Gilbert & Sullivan
- The Moomin saga by Tove Jansson
- The history of Lancashire County Cricket Club
- The life-cycle and habits of the Honey-bee
- The Buddhist sage Nichiren
- A special episode of Mastermind called Doctor Who Mastermind was broadcast on 19 March 2005, in which all four contestants had the specialist subject Doctor Who. The prize was awarded to the winner by the then current Doctor, actor Christopher Eccleston.
Champions
- 1972: Nancy Wilkinson
- 1973: Patricia Owen
- 1974: Liz Horrocks
- 1975: John Hart
- 1976: Roger Prichard
- 1977: Sir David Hunt
- 1978: Rosemary James
- 1979: Philip Jenkins
- 1980: Fred Housego
- 1981: Leslie Grout
- 1982: No contest
- 1983: Chris Hughes
- 1984: Margaret Harris
- 1985: Ian Meadows
- 1986: Jen Keaveney
- 1987: Jeremy Bradbrooke
- 1988: David Beamish
- 1989: Mary Elizabeth Raw
- 1990: David Edwards
- 1991: Stephen Allen
- 1992: Steve Williams
- 1993: Gavin Fuller
- 1994: George Davidson
- 1995: Kevin Ashman
- 1996: Richard Sturch
- 1997: Anne Ashurst
- 1998: Robert Gibson (Radio 4)
- 1999: Christopher Carter (Radio 4)
- 2000: Stephen Follows (Radio 4)
- 2001: Michael Penrice (Discovery Channel)
- 2002: No contest
- 2003: Andy Page
- 2004: Shaun Wallace
- 2005: Patrick Gibson
Results
Parodies
The programme has been the target for many television spoofs, most memorably the Two Ronnies sketch written by David Renwick, featuring Ronnie Barker as Magnus Magnusson and Ronnie Corbett as a contestant named Charlie Smithers, whose specialist subject was "answering the question before last". This continually led to humorous and often rude answers.
The 2003-onwards version has been spoofed by the Dead Ringers team, with Jon Culshaw playing John Humphrys. One episode included Mastermind: The Opera.
Another spoof was featured in Armando Iannucci's 2004: The Stupid Version, where a contestant's specialist subject was "The television series Thunderbirds and Lady Penelope's Cockney chauffeur".
External links
- The BBC's Mastermind page
- UK Gameshows page: Mastermind
"Mastermind (TV series)"