Mastermind (TV series)
| Mastermind | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Also known as | Supermind Mastermind Cup Final/Sport Mastermind International Mastermind Champions/Champion of Champions Junior Mastermind |
| Genre | Game show |
| Created by | Bill Wright |
| Presented by |
Magnus Magnusson (1972–97) Peter Snow (1998–2000) Clive Anderson (2001–2) John Humphrys (2003–) |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of series | 40 (Regular) 3 (Supermind) 4 (Cup Final/Sport) 5 (International) 2 (Champions/Champion of Champions) 5 (Junior) |
| No. of episodes | 682 (Regular) 3 (Supermind) 13 (Cup Final/Sport) 5 (International) 8 (Champions/Champion of Champions) 29 (Junior) |
| Production | |
| Running time | 30 minutes (Regular) 60 minutes (Series finals) |
| Release | |
| Original network |
BBC1 (1972–97) BBC Radio 4 (1998–2000) Discovery Channel (2001–2) BBC Two (2003–) |
| Picture format |
4:3 (1972–97, 2001–2) 16:9 (2003–) |
| Original release | 11 September 1972 – present |
| Chronology | |
| Related shows |
Celebrity Mastermind Disney Q Family Mastermind |
| External links | |
| Website | |
Mastermind is a British game 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 or six 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 MediaCityUK in 2011.
For the first round, the questioner invites the first contestant to begin. He or she walks over to a black chair and sits down. The contestant is then given a set period of time, usually two minutes (one minute and a half in semi-finals, similarly hereinafter), to answer questions on a specialised subject which he or she has chosen (see examples below). The questioner announces the start of the time period, and then reads out a question. If the contestant gives the correct answer, he or she scores one point, and the questioner then reads out the next question. The contestant may pass (by simply saying "pass") if he or she doesn't know the answer, or prefers not to spend time trying to remember the answer: the questioner does not begin to read the next question until the contestant has given an answer or said "pass". If a question is answered incorrectly, the questioner will give the correct answer before reading out the next question; this uses some of the contestant's remaining time. However, if the contestant passes, the questioner moves straight on to the next question: the answer is not read out until the end of the round.
After the two minutes are up a buzzer is sounded, which is made up of four beeps. If, when the buzzer sounds, the questioner has already started to read out a question, but has not finished doing so, he or she reads out the rest of the question, and the contestant is then given a short period of time to answer. This convention leads to the show's famous catchphrase, "I've started so I'll finish." If a question has been read out in full when the buzzer sounds, but the contestant has not yet given an answer, the questioner allows a short period of time for an answer to be given. Starting from the 2016-2017 series, home viewers can realise that the round is coming to a close when the frame of the score starts to turn blue when there's 10 seconds remaining on the clock. After this, the contestant is told how many points he or she has scored, and answers to any passes are given. The next contestant then takes his or her place in the black chair, and the procedure is repeated. This continues until every contestant has had one turn.
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