The Krypton Factor was a British game show, hosted by Gordon Burns, which ran from 1977 to 1995 on ITV. Four contestants would compete in several different games, some studio-bound, some not. Until 1991, each round was introduced by the distinctive K logo, which would morph into a symbol for the round. Some of the games were changed during the run of the series, but the qualities they purported to test remained the same: A game show involves members of the public or celebrities, sometimes as part of a team, playing a game, perhaps involving answering quiz questions, for points or prizes. ... Gordon Burns (born 10 June 1942 in Belfast) is a British journalist and television presenter who shot to fame as host of ITVs popular game show The Krypton Factor, presenting it from 1977 for eighteen years. ... For the album by Ash, see 1977 (album). ... 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... ITVs Logo 2006—present Independent Television (ITV) is the name given to the original network of British commercial television broadcasters, set up to provide competition to the BBC. In England and Wales, the channel has been rebranded to ITV1 by ITV plc, the owners of the broadcasting licences for... 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

1. Mental Agility - often a memory test. The contestants frequently had to memorize a sequence and then answer a series of progressively more complicated questions. For instance, if the sequence to be memorized was a series of coloured blocks, the questions might start as "What is the colour of the third block from the left?" and progress to "What is the colour of the block two to the left of the block to the right of the green block?"
2. Response - latterly (and most famously) this consisted of each player taking turns on a flight simulator and being marked by an actual flight instructor. Group finals often involved a helicopter simulator, or a simulated landing on an aircraft carrier. The grand final of the 1989 series used a Space Shuttle simulator, while the 1992 grand final required the contestants to land a real plane.
3. Observation - this involved watching a specially made video clip. Contestants were shown a clip twice and asked to spot the differences in earlier series. In 1989 and 1990, they had to spot five deliberate continuity errors. Steve Coogan starred in most of these sequences. From 1991, they simply had to answer questions relating to the clip (e.g. "what did he say when he entered the room?" or "what was on the table?). Sometimes serials were used; such as 1990's Sam Smith private detective starring Gwyneth Strong, which saw the female detective investigating often silly cases (which often featured her young chubby nephew, Wallace) Some guests in Sam Smith stories included Derek Griffiths, Matthew Kelly and Keith Chegwin, who all appeared in the final installment of the series. There was also 1991's Where is Don Day? starring Tony Robinson and Michelle Collins, about a bank manager whose dull life is suddenly changed when he accidentally becomes involved in a robbery from his own bank. 1992 saw Dead Ringer starring Tony Slattery; a thriller about a man suffering from amnesia trying to discover who he really is, whilst being hunted down by a hitman named Preston, played by Roger Lloyd Pack.
4. Physical Ability - probably the most memorable of the rounds, this involved the contestants racing to complete an army assault course, including cargo nets, rope swings and a rope slide. Unlike the village fête version, however, this finished with a plunge into muddy water.
5. Intelligence - a 2- or 3-dimensional puzzle where shapes had to be put together to fill a rectangular grid or make a bigger shape. Most of these were devised by Dr. Gerry Wickham of the University of Manchester's School of Mathematics.
6. General Knowledge - a quickfire round. Two points were awarded for each question answered correctly, and two were deducted for a wrong answer. A feature of this round was that, as each question was answered, the next question contained either the answer to the last question, a word from the last answer, or a word that sounded like it.

Example: Interior Cockpit of a modern Flight Simulator A flight simulator is a system that tries to replicate, or simulate, the experience of flying an aircraft as closely and realistically as possible. ... The Bell 206 of Canadian Helicopters Robinson Helicopter Company (USA) R44, a four seat development of the R22 A helicopter is an aircraft which is lifted and propelled by one or more horizontal rotors. ... An aircraft carrier is a warship designed to deploy and recover aircraft—in effect acting as a sea-going airbase. ... 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Space Shuttle Columbia seconds after engine ignition, 1981 (NASA). ... 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday. ... 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year. ... Steve Coogan (born 14 October 1965 in Middleton, Greater Manchester, England) is an English actor and comedian. ... 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Gwyneth Strong (born December 2, 1959 in London) is a British actrees. ... Derek Griffiths (born Woking, July 15, 1946) was a star of numerous childrens television programmes in the 1960s to 1980s. ... Matthew Kelly Matthew Kelly, born 9 May 1950 in Urmston, Manchester and lived in Primrose Avenue in his childhood. ... Keith Chegwin (born 17 January 1957) is a British television presenter and former sitcom actor. ... Tony Robinson as Baldrick in Blackadder. ... Michelle Collins (born May 28, 1963) is a British actress best known for her roles on television in EastEnders, as Cindy Beale, and Sunburn. ... Anthony Declan James Slattery (born 9 November 1959) is a British actor and comedian. ... A hitman (alternately, hit man), also referred to as a contract killer, is a hired assassin, usually in the employ of organized crime. ... Roger Lloyd Pack (born in London February 8, 1944) is a British actor born in London. ... Assault course (also called trim trail) is a special sort of trail that combines running and exercising. ... The University of Manchester in Manchester, England, was formed by the merger of the Victoria University of Manchester (commonly known as the University of Manchester before the merger) and UMIST (University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology) on 1 October 2004. ... Euclid, detail from The School of Athens by Raphael. ...

Q: Which word can mean a gash, tally or 20?

A: Score.

Q: As a result of which score in a game of tennis does the tie-break come into operation?

A: 40-all.

... and so on.

In the first five games, 10 points were awarded to the winner, then 6, 4 and 2 to the remaining contestants.

The most common structure was a 13 episode series. The series was divided into three groups of three heats each, called Groups A, B and C. Each heat had four contestants, and the winner of each heat went through to the Group Final, along with the highest scoring runner up. The winner of each Group Final went through to the Grand Final, along with the highest scoring runner-up from the Group Finals. TV Show Reference Episode is the word usually used to refer to a part of a serial television or radio program. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

In the final series the show was seriously revamped. The intelligence round was eliminated, and the second half of the show was a super round which included a 3d maze, code cracking and a race up Mount Krypton. While some liked this change, others felt that getting rid of the intelligence round was a sign of dumbing down and that changing the format so dramatically was a mistake.

The show was produced by Granada Television. Since its cancellation, it has been the subject of persistent rumours of a revival on the BBC. In April 2005, it was widely reported that the BBC would be going ahead with a revival. However the source of this story turned out to be a misinterpretation of comments by Wayne Garvie, head of BBC's Entertainment Group (and previously the last producer on The Krypton Factor) naming it as the next "TV gem" that should be revived. The BBC does not at present have any plans to revive the show. [1] Current ITV Granada logo A Granada TV logo from the black and white era. ... The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is the largest publicly-funded radio and television broadcasting corporation of the United Kingdom (see British television) and the world. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The show's almost equally well-known theme tune was performed by The Art of Noise. Note: The Bass Hook of the song is also known as 'Beat Box'. The Art of Noise was an electronic group formed in 1983 by producer Trevor Horn, music journalist Paul Morley, and session musicians/studio hands Anne Dudley, J.J. Jeczalik, and Gary Langan. ...

Two short-lived United States versions aired. In 1981, Dick Clark hosted a 6-week summer series on ABC. In 1990, Willie Aames hosted a syndicated version for children. A version in production by Fox TV was never shown to the public. A New Zealand edition was screened from 1987 to 1991, and the series also ran in Australia, Canada and Germany. Dick Clark, (born Richard Wagstaff Clark November 30, 1929) is an American television personality and businessman, best known for hosting long-running shows such as American Bandstand, The $10,000 Pyramid, and Dick Clarks New Years Rockin Eve. ... The Fox Broadcasting Company is a television network in the United States. ... 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• ITV website
• UK Gameshows Page: The Krypton Factor