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. 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. ... The Deaths Head emblem similar to Skull and crossbones, often used as the insignia of the Gestapo The â–¶ (help· info) (acronym of Geheime Staatspolizei; secret state police) was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. ... Combatants Allied Powers Axis Powers Commanders {{{commander1}}} {{{commander2}}} Strength {{{strength1}}} {{{strength2}}} Casualties 17 million military deaths 7 million military deaths {{{notes}}} World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a military conflict that took place between 1939 and 1945. ...

Mastermind's ominous theme music is particularly famous — its name is Approaching Menace and it was composed by 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 just read), then the contestant is given a short period of time to answer. 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. The tie-break was very rarely used during the original run of the show and has not yet appeared in the John Humphrys-fronted version.

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.

• 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).

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. Corporate logo of the British Broadcasting Corporation. ... Magnús Magnússon KBE (born 12 October 1929) is a British television presenter, journalist, translator and writer, of Icelandic origin. ... Peter Snow (born April 20, 1938) is a British television and radio presenter. ... Discovery Channel is an American cable TV network, based in Silver Spring, Maryland, that has a variety of science programming, particularly documentaries and nature shows. ... Clive Anderson (born December 10, 1952) is a former barrister (specialising in criminal law) turned United Kingdom. ... BBC Two (or BBC2 as it was formerly styled) was the second UK television station to be aired by the BBC. // History The channel was scheduled to begin at 7:20 pm on April 20, 1964 and show an evening of light entertainment, starting with the comedy show The Alberts... John Humphrys (born August 17, 1943) is a British radio and television presenter. ... Popular culture, or pop culture, is the vernacular (peoples) culture that prevails in any given society. ... Manchester is a city in the North West of England, UK. The place is named from the old British name Mamucium plus ceaster, derived from the old Latin Castra. Manchester is a metropolitan borough with city status. ... September 4 is the 247th day of the year (248th in leap years). ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The VW Type 1, which was called the Beetle or Bug or Käfer (in German), is a small family car, the best known car of Volkswagen, one of the best known cars from Germany, and one of the most recognisable and distinctive cars in the world. ... The James Bond 007 gun logo James Bond, also known as 007 (pronounced double-oh seven), is a fictional British spy created by writer Ian Fleming in 1953. ... A typical cartoon villain. ... ESPN (once an abbreviation for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American cable television network dedicated to broadcasting sports-related programming 24 hours a day. ... Kenny Mayne (born September 1, 1959) is a sports journalist for ESPN. Kenny started at ESPN in 1994 as a SportSmash anchor on ESPN2, and soon moved over to the main network. ... The winning Super Bowl team receives the Vince Lombardi Trophy. ... The ESPY Awards are a set of annual sports awards given out by the ESPN sports television channel in the United States since 1993. ... Look up September in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... This article is about the year 2000. ... Look up December in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... 2001: A Space Odyssey. ... Nickname: The Arch City The Discovery City Motto: Official website: http://www. ...

Records

The highest Mastermind score is 41 points, set by Kevin Ashman in 1995. Kevin Ashman is generally considered to be Britains finest quiz player. ...

The lowest score record of 8 points, set by Jill Perry in an edition broadcast on September 13, 2004. Scores of 9 points have been recorded by Armando Margiotta, Sally Copeland and a community worker from Warwickshire who wishes to remain anonymous. September 13 is the 256th day of the year (257th in leap years). ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Warwickshire (pronounced either /ˈwɔːɹɪkˌʃə/ or /ˈwɔːɹɪkˌʃɪə/) is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in central England. ...

Perhaps the most famous Mastermind winner was garrulous London taxi driver Fred Housego, who won in 1980. London is the capital city of the United Kingdom and of England. ... A taxicab (sometimes called taxi, cab, or hack) is a vehicle for hire which conveys passengers between locations of their choice. ...

Some "Specialised Subjects"

The Life and Works of Gilbert & Sullivan Playwright/lyricist William S. Gilbert (1836-1911) and composer Arthur S. Sullivan (1842-1900) defined operetta in Victorian England with a series of their internationally successful and timeless works. ...

The Moomin saga by Tove Jansson The Moomins, comic book cover by Tove Jansson. ... Tove Marika Jansson (August 9, 1914 – June 27, 2001) was a Finnish novelist, painter, illustrator and comic strip author. ...

The History of Lancashire County Cricket Club Lancashire County Cricket Club is a first-class cricket club based at Old Trafford cricket ground, Manchester, Lancashire. ...

The Life-cycle and Habits of the Honey-bee The honeybee is a colonial insect that is often maintained, fed, and transported by farmers. ...

The Buddhist sage Nichiren A replica of an ancient statue found among the ruins of a temple at Sarnath Buddhism is a philosophy based on the teachings of the Buddha, Siddhārtha Gautama, a prince of the Shakyas, whose lifetime is traditionally given as 566 to 486 BCE. It had subsequently been accepted by... Nichiren (日蓮) (February 16, 1222 – October 13, 1282), born Zennichimaro (善日麿), later Zeshō-bō Renchō (是生房蓮長), and finally Nichiren (日蓮), was a Buddhist monk of 13th century Japan. ...

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. March 19 is the 78th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (79th in leap years). ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Doctor Who is a long-running British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC about a mysterious time-travelling adventurer known only as The Doctor. It is also the title of a 1996 television movie featuring the same character. ... Christopher Eccleston on set in London during filming for Doctor Who in 2004. ...

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

Kevin Ashman is generally considered to be Britains finest quiz player. ... Pat Gibson is a British television personality, who won the £1,000,000 jackpot on TV quiz show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? in the episode broadcast on 24 April 2004, and was also crowned 2005 Mastermind champion. ...

Results

2005 Results The introduction to this article provides insufficient context for those unfamiliar with the subject matter. ...

External links

• The BBC's Mastermind page
• UK Gameshows page: Mastermind