Mastermind (TV series)

Mastermind
Title card
Format	Game show
Created by	Bill Wright
Directed by	Derek Hallworth
Presented by	Magnus Magnusson (BBC1) Peter Snow (BBC Radio 4) Clive Anderson (Discovery Channel) John Humphrys (BBC Two)
Country of origin	United Kingdom
No. of series	25 (BBC1) 3 (BBC Radio 4) 1 (Discovery Channel) 8 (BBC Two)
Production
Running time	30 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel	BBC1 (1972–97) BBC Radio 4 (1998–2000) Discovery Channel (2001–02) BBC Two (2003–present)
Picture format	4:3 (1972–2002) 16:9 (2003–present)
Original run	11 September 1972 (1972-09-11) – present
Chronology
Related shows	Celebrity Mastermind International Mastermind Junior Mastermind Mastermind Cymru Mastermind Plant Cymru Sport Mastermind

Mastermind is a British quiz show, well known for its challenging questions, intimidating setting and air of seriousness.

Devised by Bill Wright, the basic format of Mastermind has never changed — four and in later contests five 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 British composer Neil Richardson. The quiz programme originated and was recorded in Manchester at studios such as New Broadcasting House and Granada Studios, before permanently moving to The Studios, MediaCity in 2011.

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.^[1] 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. In the version of the show hosted by John Humphrys, it has appeared twice in the main series and once in the Junior Mastermind spin-off, the latter being in the final broadcast on 26 February 2006.

The winner goes through to the next round, where he must choose a different specialised subject. The winner of the final of the BBC version 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.^[2] 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.

In late 2011 an Irish version of the show will air on TV3 Ireland known as Mastermind Ireland

Records

Highest scores

The highest overall Mastermind score is 41 points, set by Kevin Ashman (who went on to become four times IQA world champion, also holds the record for the highest ever score on Brain of Britain and is now one of the Eggheads) in 1995. His specialist subject was "The Life of Martin Luther King".

In August 2010 during an edition of Mastermind: Champion of Champions, the 2010 series champion, Jesse Honey, scored 23 out of 23 on "Flags of the World" in the specialist subject round. He went on to win with a total score of 38.

On Junior Mastermind in February 2007, an 11-year-old schoolboy called Callum scored 19 points on his specialist subject, cricketer Andrew Flintoff. However he did not win, being beaten by one point after achieving a final score of 32.

On 20 November 2009, in aid of BBC's Children in Need appeal, actress-comedienne Lucy Porter achieved the highest overall score for a Mastermind celebrity edition. She scored 35; her specialist subject was Steve Martin. On the same episode comedian Mark Watson, who preceded Porter, scored 33. Presenter John Humphries congratulated him on breaking the existing celebrity record. It was then broken by Porter with her turn. On 31 December 2010, comedian Rhys Thomas scored 36; his specialist subject was Queen. Hilary Kay had also scored 36 points a few nights earlier, while one of her opponents, Richard Herring, had scored 35 points, equalling the previous record set by Porter.

Lowest scores

The current record for the overall lowest score is 5 points, set on 29 January 2010 by software analyst Kajen Thuraaisingham, scoring 4 points for his specialist subject of the life of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.^[3] Previously, the lowest attained score had been 7 points which was first set by Colin Kidd in 2005. His specialist subject was "The World Chess Championships". The score was equalled in November 2009 by gas fitter Michael Burton; he only scored 2 for his specialist subject on Angels.^[4]

In the celebrity editions, Arabella Weir and Tara Palmer-Tompkinson both scored 6 points in the same episode in 2004. A week earlier, Murray Walker had set the previous lowest score with 7 points.

The lowest score in the speciality subject round is 1 point. Simon Curtis achieved this distinction when he answered only one question correctly on "The Films of Jim Carrey" during a semi-final edition of the regular competition in October 2006 (he got 8 points in the General Knowledge round). However, he was not the first contestant to score only 1 point on a specialist subject. Actress-comedienne Arabella Weir achieved this distinction, with her chosen subject the Dallas TV series, during her appearance on a celebrity edition in 2004.

Arfor Wyn Hughes, dubbed "Disastermind" by the British press, has frequently claimed inaccurately (most recently on a BBC tribute to Magnús Magnússon) that his score of 12 was the lowest ever.

Specialised subjects

The following is a sample of specialist subjects:^[5]

• History and genealogy of European royalty.
• 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.
• The Female Agents of the Special Operations Executive.^[6][7]

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.

Some specialist subjects are considered not suitable to be used. The following are examples of rejected specialist subjects:^[5]

• Routes to anywhere in mainland Britain by road from Letchworth.
• Cremation practice and law in Britain.
• The banana industry.
• Orthopaedic bone cement in total hip replacement.
• Perfect squares from 99²= 9801.

Champions^[8]

Year	Winner	Specialist subjects
		Heat	Semi-final	Final
1972	Nancy Wilkinson	French literature	European antiques	History of music, 1550–1900
1973	Patricia Owen	Grand Opera	Byzantine art	Grand Opera
1974	Elizabeth Horrocks	Shakespeare's plays	Works of J.R.R. Tolkien	Works of Dorothy L. Sayers
1975	John Hart	Athens 500–400 BC	Rome 100–1 BC	Athens 500–400 BC
1976	Roger Prichard	Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington	20th century British warships	Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
1977	Sir David Hunt	World War II British campaigns in North Africa	World War II Allied campaign in Italy	Roman Revolution 60–14 BC
1978	Rosemary James	Roman and Greek mythology	Works of Frederick Wolfe	Roman and Greek mythology
1979	Philip Jenkins	Christianity AD 30–150	Vikings in Scotland and Ireland 800–1150 AD	History of Wales 400–1100
1980	Fred Housego	King Henry II	Westminster Abbey	Tower of London
1981	Leslie Grout	St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle	Burial Grounds of London	St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle
1983	Chris Hughes	British Steam Locomotives, 1900–63	Flashman novels	British Steam Locomotives, 1900–63
1984	Margaret Harris	Cecil Rhodes	Postal history of Southern Africa	Cecil Rhodes
1985	Ian Meadows	English Civil War	History of astronomy to 1700	English Civil War
1986	Jennifer Keaveney	Elizabeth Gaskell	E. Nesbit	Elizabeth Gaskell
1987	Dr Jeremy Bradbrooke	Franco-Prussian War	War of 1812	Crimean War
1988	David Beamish	Nancy Astor	British Royal Family, 1714–1910	Nancy Astor
1989	Mary Elizabeth Raw	King Charles I	Prince Albert	Charles I
1990	David Edwards	Michael Faraday	Benjamin Thompson	James Clerk Maxwell
1991	Stephen Allen	King Henry VII	Dartmoor and its environs	Francis Drake
1992	Steve Williams	Surrealist art 1918–39	Peter I of Russia	Post-Socratic philosophy
1993	Gavin Fuller	Doctor Who	The medieval castle in the British Isles	The Crusades
1994	Dr George Davidson	English coinage, 1066–1662	History of chemistry, 1500–1870	John Dalton
1995	Kevin Ashman	Martin Luther King, Jr.	History of the Western film	Zulu War
1996	Dr Richard Sturch	Charles Williams	Frederick III, German Emperor	Operas of Gilbert and Sullivan
1997	Anne Ashurst	Frances Carr, Countess of Somerset	Regency novels of Georgette Heyer	Barbara Villiers, Duchess of Cleveland
1998	Robert Gibson	Solar System	King Charles II	Robert the Bruce
1999	Christopher Carter	Birds of Europe	Tudor dynasty	British customs and traditions
2000	Stephen Follows	Benjamin Britten	T.S. Eliot	Leoš Janáček
2001	Michael Penrice	Professional boxing to 1980	(no semi-final)	English history 1603–1714
2003	Andy Page	Academy Awards	Gilbert and Sullivan	Golfing majors since 1970
2004	Shaun Wallace	UEFA Champions League finals since 1970	England at the UEFA European Football Championship	FA Cup finals since 1970
2005	Patrick Gibson	The films of Quentin Tarantino	The Culture novels by Iain M. Banks	Father Ted
2006	Geoff Thomas	Édith Piaf	William Joyce	Margaret Mitchell and Gone with the Wind
2008	David Clark	Henry Ford	George, The Prince Regent	History of London Bridge
2009	Nancy Dickmann	Amelia Peabody novels of Elizabeth Peters	Life and films of Fritz Lang	Lewis and Clark Expedition
2010	Jesse Honey	Wandsworth	The life and work of Antoni Gaudí	Liverpool Cathedral (Anglican)
2011	Ian Bayley	Life and Work of Jean Sibelius	Romanov Dynasty	Paintings in the National Gallery

Statistics

2005

High Scores

• 35 - Patrick Gibson (Semi-Final, Heat 6)
• 33 - Patrick Gibson (Round 1, Heat 1)
• 31 - Isabelle Heward (Round 1, Heat 3)
• 31 - Patrick Gibson (Final)
• 30 - Thomas Dyer (Round 1, Heat 10)
• 30 - Peter Wright (Semi-Final, Heat 2)
• 29 - Derek Moody (Round 1, Heat 14)
• 29 - Amanda Hill (Round 1, Heat 16)
• 29 - Hadrian Jeffs (Round 1, Heat 24)
• 29 - Mark Grant (Semi-Final, Heat 1)

First Round Averages

• Average SS Score - 11.50
• Average GK Score - 9.16
• Average Score - 20.66
• Average Winning Score - 25.83

Semi-Final Averages

• Average SS Score - 12.08
• Average GK Score - 10.83
• Average Score - 22.92
• Average Winning Score - 28.33

Final Averages

• Average SS Score - 13.33
• Average GK Score - 12.33
• Average Total Score - 25.67

2006

High Scores

• 36 - Geoff Thomas (Final)
• 34 - Katharine Drury (Semi-Final, Heat 5)
• 33 - Geoff Thomas (Semi-Final, Heat 1)
• 29 - David Parker (Round 1, Heat 22)
• 28 - Esther Kallen (Round 1, Heat 23)
• 28 - Nick Duffy (Semi-Final, Heat 1)

First Round Averages

• Average SS Score - 11.05
• Average GK Score - 7.16
• Average Score - 18.21
• Average Winning Score - 23.33

Semi-Final Averages

• Average SS Score - 12.46
• Average GK Score - 9.18
• Average Score - 22.00
• Average Winning Score - 28.00

Final Averages

• Average SS Score - 13.33
• Average GK Score - 10.50
• Average Total Score - 23.83

2007/08

High Scores

• 33 - Hamish Cameron (Round 1, Heat 21)
• 32 - Stewart Cross (Semi-Final, Heat 4)
• 31 - Alan Frith (Round 1, Heat 22)
• 31 - Derek Moody (Round 1, Heat 24)
• 30 - William Barrett (Round 1, Heat 8)
• 30 - Jacqui Menzies (Round 1, Heat 9)
• 30 - Ian MacFarlane (Round 1, Heat 19)
• 30 - David Clark (Final)
• 29 - Les Morell (Round 1, Heat 3)
• 29 - Tom Rutherford (Round 1, Heat 5)
• 29 - Chris Jones (Round 1, Heat 22)
• 29 - Howard Pizzey (Round 1, Heat 22)

First Round Averages

• Average SS Score - 12.20
• Average GK Score - 9.23
• Average Score - 21.43
• Average Winning Score - 26.38

Semi-Final Averages

• Average SS Score - 14.00
• Average GK Score - 9.96
• Average Score - 23.96
• Average Winning Score - 26.67

Final Averages

• Average SS Score - 14.17
• Average GK Score - 12.67
• Average Total Score - 26.83

2008/09

High Scores

• 30 - Nancy Dickmann (Final)
• 29 - James Corcoran (Round 1, Heat 3)
• 29 - Richard Smyth (Round 1, Heat 24)
• 29 - John Beynon (Round 1, Heat 6)
• 29 - Richard Heller (Semi-Final, Heat 3)
• 28 - Mel Kinsey (Round 1, Heat 8)
• 28 - Richard Heller (Round 1, Heat 14)
• 28 - Nancy Dickmann (Semi-Final, Heat 2)
• 28 - John Beynon (Semi-Final, Heat 3)
• 28 - Ian Bayley (Semi-Final, Heat 5)
• 28 - Stuart MacDonald (Semi-Final, Heat 6)
• 28 - Ian Bayley (Final)

First Round Averages

• Average SS Score - 12.56
• Average GK Score - 9.49
• Average Score - 22.05
• Average Winning Score - 26.13

Semi-Final Averages

• Average SS Score - 13.04
• Average GK Score - 9.96
• Average Score - 23.00
• Average Winning Score - 26.83

Final Averages

• Average SS Score - 13.50
• Average GK Score - 10.17
• Average Total Score - 23.67

2009/10

High Scores

• 37 - Jesse Honey (Final)
• 32 - Kathryn Johnson (Final)
• 30 - Kathryn Johnson (Round 1, Heat 23)
• 30 - Jesse Honey (Semi-Final 1, Heat 6) (limited to 90 seconds on specialist subject)
• 30 - Mark Grant (Final)
• 29 - Chas Early (Round 1, Heat 8)
• 29 - John Cooper (Round 1, Heat 8)
• 29 - Mark Grant (Semi-Final, Heat 5) (limited to 90 seconds on specialist subject)
• 28 - Will Salt (Round 1, Heat 2)
• 28 - Andrew Warmington (Round 1, Heat 7)
• 28 - Mike Court (Round 1, Heat 9)
• 28 - Chris Sowton (Round 1, Heat 17)
• 28 - William De Ath (Semi Final, Heat 5) (limited to 90 seconds on specialist subject)

First Round Averages

• Average SS Score - 12.20
• Average GK Score - 8.78
• Average Score - 20.98
• Average Winning Score - 25.79

Semi-Final Averages (limited to 90 seconds on specialist subject)

• Average SS Score - 11.43
• Average GK Score - 10.80
• Average Score - 22.23
• Average Winning Score - 27.00

Final Averages

• Average SS Score - 15.00
• Average GK Score - 12.17
• Average Total Score - 27.17

2010/11

High Scores

• 37 - Ian Bayley (Final)
• 37 - Iwan Thomas
• 35 - Brian Pendreigh
• 34 - Keith Nickless
• 34 - Nick Mills
• 33 - Peter Reilly (Final)
• 33 - Thomas Perry
• 32 - Paul Steeples
• 31 - Brian Daugherty
• 30 - Gillian Taylor
• 30 - Hamish Cameron
• 30 - Stephen Porter

The Chair

Perhaps the most famous icon of the show is the black leather chair in which the contestants sit, lit by a solitary spotlight in an otherwise dark studio. The inspiration for this was the interrogations faced by the show's creator, Bill Wright, as a POW in World War II.^[2] The original black chair was given to Magnús Magnússon as a souvenir when he retired from the show.^[9]

The chair is an Eames Soft Pad Lounge Chair designed by Charles and Ray Eames in 1969. Today these chairs are made under license by Vitra.

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 Magnús Magnússon 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. A similar sketch featured Monty Python alumni Michael Palin as Magnússon and Terry Gilliam as a contestant whose speciality was "questions to which the answer is two."

The 2003-onwards version has been spoofed by the Dead Ringers team, with Jon Culshaw playing John Humphrys. One episode included Mastermind: The Opera. ^[10]

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".

Also in 2004, Johnny Vaughan's BBC Three show Live at Johnny's featured a version called Mastermind Rejects -- the premise being that the specialist subjects were too ludicrously obscure even for Mastermind. In the final show of the series, Magnús Magnússon took over as the quizmaster - it was the last time he would utter the catchphrase "I've started so I'll finish" on any form of Mastermind. The specialist subject was The History of the Home Video Recorder, 1972 to 1984.^[11]

On their 2005 Christmas Special, comedy duo French & Saunders parodied the show with Jennifer Saunders playing Abigail Wilson, a pensioner whose special subject is Ceramic Teapots. She passes on all but one question, which she answers incorrectly anyway.

In 2005, the show was spoofed on BBC Radio 4's The Now Show where the specialist subject was "Britishness", relating to the proposed test immigrants may have to take, to prove they can fit in with British society.

In the 1970s a young viewer of Jim'll Fix It had her wish granted to sit in the black chair and answer questions from Magnús Magnússon on the subject of the "Mr. Men".

In 1974, Morecambe and Wise performed a sketch based on Mastermind, which featured Magnússon and the black chair. The format was different, however, with Wise, then Morecambe, being asked 10 questions each.

In 1975 The Goodies featured Mastermind in the episode Frankenfido when a dog (Bill Oddie in a suit) appeared on the show and managed to correctly answer questions asked of it as they all had answers that could be represented by growls, such as 'bark' and 'ruff'.

In the late 1970s, Noel Edmonds radio Sunday lunchtime show used to feature a send-up called "Musty Mind" where a phone-in contestant would be asked ludicrous questions on a parody of a serious subject, such as the "Toad Racing" or, on another occasion, "The Cultural and Social History of Rockall" - Rockall being a bald lump of uninhabited rock in the eastern Atlantic.

Benny Hill parodied Mastermind on The Benny Hill Show on at least two separate occasions. In one of the parodies the show was called "Masterbrane". In each, Benny played the role of Magnússon while Jackie Wright played the hapless contestant.

Spitting Image used the Mastermind format in a sketch where a Magnús Magnússon puppet asked questions of a Jeffrey Archer puppet whose specialist subject was himself. The twist was that Archer's puppet, being incapable of answering questions about himself without exaggeration or evasion, ends the round with zero points.

The BBC's satirical current affairs quiz show Have I Got News for You has parodied the show several times, by turning the lights down - except for spotlights above select chairs - and playing the theme tune, before subjecting at least one of the panel to some rigorous questioning. The first occasion happened on the 1995 video special, where every member of the panel was asked questions on specialist subjects relating to the news. The second occasion was in 1998, when Magnus Magnusson appeared as a guest. His specialist subject was his most embarrassing moments on TV quizzes, including the moment on Quizball when he confused playwright Arthur Miller with the name of the surgeon who had once operated on his mother's kidneys. After Magnusson's questioning, the spotlight then turned onto the other guest, John Simpson, who was informed that his "specialist subject" was Christmas cracker jokes.

More randomly, HIGNFY turned the Mastermind spotlight on one of its favourite guests, Boris Johnson, when he appeared in 2001. He was told his specialist subject was then-Conservative Party leader Iain Duncan Smith "whether you like it or not". The programme's final Mastermind moment to date came when John Humphrys guest-hosted an edition in 2003, shortly after taking over as Mastermind presenter. After the opening round, HIGNFY regular Ian Hislop mentioned that in accordance with a long-running theme of Humphrys' other well-known role as anchor of BBC Radio 4's Today Programme, he was about to spring a surprise on him. Hislop then asked Humphrys several questions about quotes said by him or about him, including the revelation that Iain Duncan Smith had once remarked about his "nicely balanced package".

In his early routines Bill Bailey would often parody the Mastermind music, finding it very sinister. He would then play the music on keyboard with an over-the-top hellish sounding climax.^{[citation needed]}

The programme Balls of Steel parodied Mastermind with its sketch The Alex Zane Cleverness Game, in which experts were quizzed on their specialist subjects (included were "The Life of Anne Frank", "Eurovision Song Contest Winners", and "Hercule Poirot"). Unknowingly to the experts, the show was a complete hoax, and blatantly incorrect answers were included in order to frustrate them whenever they supplied the correct answer.

The comedy show Snuff Box had the two main characters Rich Fulcher and Matt Berry both appear on Mastermind. Berry chose his specialist subject as Alton Towers and only scored 3 points before a blackout, in which he apparently shoots the host after being told to sit down. Fulcher chooses 'Anglo-Saxon architecture', though displays no knowledge of the subject and makes up answers such as 'Toto from The Wizard Of Oz' and 'Elvis', and scoring no points.

In 2011, The Chris Moyles Show on BBC Radio 1 parodied the show with a feature called 'Disastermind'. Using the back-up chair from the Mastermind studio, each team member chose a specialist subject, only to have them swapped before being questioned in the chair on their randomly selected subject and general knowledge. The specialist subjects were The World of Glee; UK Dialling Codes; U2; Husky Dogs and Back to the Future Part 1.

Transmissions

BBC1

Series	Start date	End date	Episodes
1	11 September 1972	11 December 1972	14
2	3 September 1973	27 December 1973	17
3	5 September 1974	23 December 1974	??
4	27 September 1975	22 December 1975	??
5	7 September 1976	21 December 1976	??
6	30 August 1977	13 December 1977	??
7	31 August 1978	14 December 1978	??
8	5 September 1979	23 December 1979	??
9	31 August 1980	21 December 1980	17
10	6 September 1981	27 December 1981	??
11	9 January 1983	24 April 1983	??
12	29 January 1984	27 May 1984	??
13	6 January 1985	5 May 1985	18
14	12 January 1986	29 June 1986	23
15	4 January 1987	7 June 1987	23
16	7 January 1988	5 June 1988	23
17	15 January 1989	11 June 1989	23
18	7 January 1990	17 June 1990	22
19	20 January 1991	2 June 1991	20
20	16 February 1992	7 June 1992	17
21	10 January 1993	16 May 1993	??
22	20 March 1994	21 August 1994	17
23	9 April 1995	6 August 1995	??
24	29 May 1996	14 October 1996	??
25	9 June 1997	1 September 1997	??

BBC Radio 4

Series	Start date	End date	Episodes
1	??	??	??
2	??	??	??
3	??	??	??

Discovery Channel

Series	Start date	End date	Episodes
1	14 November 2001	16 January 2002	??

BBC Two

Series	Start date	End date	Episodes
1	7 July 2003	3 November 2003	17
2	21 June 2004	5 December 2004	31
3	8 March 2005	8 November 2005	31
4	20 March 2006	13 November 2006	31
5	9 July 2007	24 March 2008	31
6	5 September 2008	19 June 2009	31
7	28 August 2009	28 May 2010	31
8	20 August 2010	15 April 2011	31
9	4 November 2011	??	31

References

Notes

1. ^ Mastermind 2010/11 – Episode 2. BBC. BBC Two. 27 August 2010. 13:12 minutes in.
2. ^ ^{a b} As described on the BBC website's Mastermind page
3. ^ Jones, Sam (2 February 2010). "Mastermind's lowest scorer: 'It wasn't my night'". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/feb/02/mastermind-lowest-scorer-five-points. Retrieved 2 February 2010. 
4. ^ Gabbatt, Adam (19 November 2009). "Black chair brings ignominy for Mastermind contestant". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/blog/2009/nov/19/mastermind-angels-worst-score. Retrieved 29 November 2009. 
5. ^ ^{a b} "Mastermind: The Show". BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/entertainment/mastermind/show.shtml. Retrieved 2008-03-24. 
6. ^ Kirsty Rowland; aired 6 March 2009
7. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOB3VmL7-0c
8. ^ http://www.ukgameshows.com/ukgs/Mastermind
9. ^ Conversation with Magnús Magnússon, March 2004
10. ^ http://www.thelinkportal.co.uk/files/video/deadringersmastermindtheopera.swf
11. ^ The details of Mastermind Rejects were provided by the contestant on that show, Andy Hain

External links

• Mastermind at BBC Programmes
• Mastermind at UKGameshows.com
• Mastermind at Challenge.co.uk