Mastermind (TV3)

Mastermind
Title card
Format	Game show
Created by	Bill Wright
Directed by	Derek Hallworth
Starring	Nora Owen
Country of origin	Republic of Ireland
Production
Running time	30 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel	TV3 Ireland
Original airing	TBC

Mastermind is an Irish television quiz show to air on TV3 as part of its autumn/winter 2011 schedule.^[1] The show is licenced to TV3 through BBC Worldwide. Mastermind hosts local versions in the United Kingdom, and previously in Australia, America, India and an International version.

The show is based on Bill Wright's concept which first aired on BBC One back in 1972. The show is well known for its challenging questions, intimidating setting and air of seriousness. The Irish version of the show will be hosted by Nora Owen who is a former Irish Fine Gael politician. She was a Teachta Dála (TD) for Dublin North from 1981 to 1987 and from 1989 to 2002. She also served as Minister for Justice from 1994 to 1997.^[1][2]

Format

Each contestant usually has two minutes per round. First, each contestant in turn answers questions on a specialised subject (see examples below). The contestant may pass if he doesn'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 read at the end of the round. After the two minutes is up a buzzer is sounded, which is made up of four beeps; 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 contestants have answered the specialised questions, they are given general knowledge questions. For the 2010/11 series this round lasts 2 minutes, 30 seconds, rather than the usual two.^[3] As originally aired the contestants would return for the second round in the same order as for their specialised subject. The contestants are now 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 contestant with the fewer passes is the winner. The possibility of passing leads to tactical play as passing uses less time allowing more questions to be answered; but may count against the contestant at the end in the event of a tie.

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. It is, however, very rare for the tie-break to be required.

The winner goes through to the next round, where he must choose a different specialised subject. The winner of the final is declared "Mastermind" for that year and is the only contestant to receive a prize, in the form of a cut-glass engraved bowl.

Versions of Mastermind

Mastermind has appeared in numerous versions:

• The BBC version hosted between 1972 and 1997 by Magnús Magnússon. It was originally broadcast late on a Sunday night and was not expected to receive a huge audience. In 1973 it was moved to a prime-time slot as an emergency replacement for a Leslie Phillips sitcom, Casanova '73, which had been moved to a later time following complaints about its risqué content. The quiz subsequently became one of the most-watched shows on British television. Magnússon 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 0-7515-2585-5). The original series was also noted for the variety of venues where filming took place — often including academic and ecclesiastical buildings. The last programme of the original series was filmed at St. Magnus Cathedral in Orkney.^[4] 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. This was also the first to go 'interactive'. By using the red button viewers could play the general knowledge section throughout the series. These questions had been written specifically to afford both standard and multiple-choice format in presentation. There was a one-off competition between the four highest scoring viewers.
• 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 asbestos being found at Granada studios, parts of the 2006 series were filmed at Yorkshire Televisions 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), which was won by Robin Geddes, whose specialist subjects were The Vicar of Dibley and A Series of Unfortunate Events, with a third series airing in 2006, won by Domnhall Ryan, and a fourth and fifth series in 2007 (won by Robert Stutter and David Verghese respectively).
• Mastermind Cymru, a Welsh-language version of the programme started on 8 October 2006 on S4C. It is hosted by Betsan Powys.
• An Australian version of Mastermind was broadcast by the ABC from 1978 to 1984, hosted by Huw Evans.
• International Mastermind was an annual playoff between winners of various international versions of the show (or the nearest equivalents in some countries) and ran for five years between 1979 and 1983.
• Sport Mastermind, a 2008 sports-themed version hosted by Des Lynam.
• Celebrity Mastermind, following a similar format to the main show, but with the winner of each show being given a trophy.

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; like Mastermind, there were two rounds of questions, however slightly different: The 1st round had each panelist's questions representing a different sports category pertaining to their area of expertise, and the 2nd round had no categories and the contestant couldn't control who asked the questions; they were fired at random. The contestant with the highest score after two rounds would win a cash prize, and would have a chance to double those winnings by correctly answering the "Question of Great Significance," as host Kenny Mayne called it, from a specialty category chosen by the winner (usually a particular athlete or sports team from the past). In each series, winners advanced in a bracket-style playoff format, with cash 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, known as "ESPN Experiences". The show had three series over a 15-month period, from 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 had a very dry, quirky and sometimes sarcastic sense of humour, 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.

References

1. ^ ^{a b} http://WWW.TV3.IE/article.php?article_id=61858&locID=1.65.68.&pagename=xpose
2. ^ "Mrs. Nora Owen". Oireachtas Members Database. http://www.oireachtas.ie/members-hist/default.asp?housetype=0&HouseNum=28&MemberID=967&ConstID=84. Retrieved 24 January 2010. 
3. ^ Mastermind 2010/11 – Episode 2. BBC. BBC Two. 27 August 2010. 13:12 minutes in.
4. ^ As described on the BBC website's Mastermind page

External links

• TV3 website