The Krypton Factor
The Krypton Factor Logo (1986-91)
Format	Game show
Created by	Jeremy Fox
Presented by	Gordon Burns (All series) Penny Smith (1995 series only, co-presenter)
Country of origin	United Kingdom
No. of series	18
No. of episodes	276
Production
Running time	30 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel	ITV
Original run	7 September 1977 – 20 November 1995

The Krypton Factor was a British game show, produced by Granada Television and hosted by Gordon Burns, broadcast on ITV from 1977 to 1995. Contestants from across the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland completed in a series of rounds that tested their physical stamina and mental attributes. The title alludes to Superman's home planet Krypton,^{[citation needed]} the title denoting strong Superhuman powers that the contestants had for taking part in the challenges they were set. Image File history File links KryptonFactor. ... Quiz show redirects here. ... 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. ... Penelope Jane Smith (born September 21, 1968 in Rutland, England), is a television presenter and newsreader best known for her work on the breakfast TV show GMTV. She has previously worked for Sky News and Classic FM. // Penny began her career as a reporter and feature writer on the Peterborough... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom. ... Independent Television (generally known as ITV, but also as ITV Network) is a public service network of British commercial television broadcasters, set up under the Independent Television Authority (ITA) to provide competition to the BBC. ITV is the oldest commercial television network in the UK. Since 1990 and the Broadcasting... is the 250th day of the year (251st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also: 1977 (album) by Ash. ... is the 324th day of the year (325th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full 1995 Gregorian calendar). ... Quiz show redirects here. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... 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. ... Independent Television (generally known as ITV, but also as ITV Network) is a public service network of British commercial television broadcasters, set up under the Independent Television Authority (ITA) to provide competition to the BBC. ITV is the oldest commercial television network in the UK. Since 1990 and the Broadcasting... Also: 1977 (album) by Ash. ... Year 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full 1995 Gregorian calendar). ... Superman is a fictional character and comic book superhero , originally created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian artist Joe Shuster and published by DC Comics. ... Krypton is a fictional planet in the DC Comics universe. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

The most common structure for the series was a 13 episode series. The series was divided into three groups of three heats each: 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. The overall winner of the Grand Final would receive a bronze trophy and be titled as Superperson of the Year. A television program (US), television programme (UK) or simply television show is a segment of programming in television broadcasting. ...

For some years until 1987, there was also a Group D, and thus the winner of each group final qualified for the Grand Final, with no place for the highest scoring runner-up. The group rounds still only had 3 heats, with the runner up heading for the Group Final. Year 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link displays 1987 Gregorian calendar). ...

In the first few series, there were no groups and 8 heats, the winner of each advancing to a semi-final. The top two of each semi-final qualified for the Grand Final, in other series there were 12 heats were the 12 winners and the 4 highest scoring runners up went through to the semi-finals then the winner of each of the 4 semi-finals went through to the final.

The Rounds

Host of the Krypton Factor, Gordon Burns

The rounds were usually in the same order as shown below. However in the earlier series, there were only five rounds (as Physical Ability was the second round and Response had yet to be introduced), and in the 1988 series, the intelligence round was third, the observation round fourth, and the assault course the penultimate round. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... 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 other uses, see Intelligence (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Observation (disambiguation). ... Assault course (also called trim trail) is a special sort of trail that combines running and exercising. ...

1. Mental Agility - This often took the form of a memory test (though other versions would require mental computation of time and date differences, or to add up a sequence of numbers and return the number which, when added to that sum, gave a pre-determined answer). Usually, the Mental Agility round consisted of a speed-test with a time limit of 40 (or 50) seconds, but occasionally a "knock-out" format, where contestants were eliminated for incorrect answers until only one remained, featured in some series. The contestants frequently had to memorise a sequence and then answer a series of progressively more complicated questions. For instance, if the sequence to be memorised 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?". Other forms of memory test might require contestants to remember a phrase or proverb and answer a series of questions about it (e.g. "What was the fifth letter of the fourth word?" or "Spell the last word backwards"). This round was conducted with all contestants wearing headphones to prevent the other participants from hearing their competitors' answers. However, from the 1991 series, each contestant came on individually to perform their test in front of the audience before sitting down in their respective places behind them. No headphones were worn, In the early series the contestants were shown 9 images along with a statement read to them by Charles Foster and the contestants had to pick which 4 images were correct and they scored 2 points for correctly matching each image.
2. Response - The Response round was introduced in the 1986 series. Prior to 1988, the Response round was a combination of a race between the contestants using double-ogometer bicycles, and a video wall which would display random numbers of coloured blocks; the contestants were required to press one of four coloured buttons corresponding to the highest number of blocks of any one colour being displayed. This alternated with a test in which the contestants had to walk a balance beam to the first challenge - placing coloured wooden blocks into frames either side of them, swinging from side to side in doing so (this was known as the Fleischmann Flexibility Tests). They then had to run across a balance beam linked to the Minnesota Manual Dexterity Test, where they had to take a shape and place it into a corresponding space. After a final balance beam, they jump onto their respective mat to finish the race. From the later heats in the 1987 series, this consisted of each player taking turns on a flight simulator and being marked by an actual flight instructor. (Prior to 1988 the simulator appeared in some of the episodes, but then became a permanent fixture). In 1988, the contestants had to land a BAe 146 in the heats, a Harrier Jump Jet in the Group Finals and a Sea King on an aircraft carrier in the Grand Final. In 1989, the heats used three different simulators. The first heat in each group required the contestants to land Concorde, the second heat required the contestants to land a Red Arrow, and the third heat required them to land a Boeing 737. The group finals required the contestants to land the Sea King on an aircraft carrier. The Grand Final of the 1989 series saw the contestants use a Space Shuttle simulator in California. In 1990, the contestants landed Concorde in the heats, the Sea King on an aircraft carrier in the group final and in the Grand Final, the contestants were in the Sea King again, but this time they used the simulator in a rescue mission. They started from an oil rig (carrying an injured passenger), and had to take off from the oil rig and land on the aircraft carrier. From 1991 to 1993, the heats and group finals were the same; Boeing 737 in the heats and the Sea King in the group finals. The 1991 Grand Final involved the contestants using a Nimrod simulator in a refuelling mission involving a Hercules aircraft. The 1992 and 1993 grand finals required the contestants to land a real plane.
3. Observation - This round involved watching a specially made video clip or a clip from an ITV drama series that was being broadcast at the time. In the earliest series, contestants were asked questions on the clip, this being followed by an identity parade where they had to identify one of the actors. In later series until 1988, contestants were shown a clip twice and asked to spot five continuity errors between two similar clips. Many of the sequences recorded for the 1988 series were written by, and featured, Andrew O'Connor. From the 1989 and 1990 series, contestants were invited to spot six continuity errors contained in one single clip. Steve Coogan starred in many of the sequences featured in the 1989 series. From 1991 onwards, contestants answered multiple-choice 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 rather silly cases (which often featured her young chubby nephew, Wallace). Some guests in then Sam Smith stories included Derek Griffiths, Matthew Kelly and Keith Chegwin, who all appeared in the final instalment of the series. The 1991 series featured the saga 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. In 1993, the round featured Roy Barraclough and Annabel Giles in a collection of investigative police stories, with Barraclough playing a retired police detective.
4. Physical Ability - Probably the most memorable of the rounds, this pre-recorded segment involved the contestants racing to complete an army assault course located at Holcombe Moor in Bury, Lancashire. This round typically included 20 obstacles including vertical and flat cargo nets, rope swings, water jumps, Burma rope bridges, and a rope slide into water. In this round, female contestants were allowed a head start over their male competitors, and in early series, contestants were given staggered starts to the assault course; following practice sessions with army officers, the contestant of the weakest physical ability would set off first, followed by the contestant of the third strongest physical ability, followed by the contestant of the second strongest physical ability, leaving the contestant of the strongest physical ability to start last. The physical ability criteria were established from a simple formula derived from age of the contestant and the gender. (The staggered starts were finally eliminated in the 1988 series, when the show reverted to female headstarts only). Typically, in 1980 this meant two seconds per year of age difference and a 40 second advantage for female competitors. In the 1980 semi-final, the youngest competitor, Ted Stockton, (a taxi driver, aged 25) started 56 seconds after the only female semi finalist who was 33. The 1990 series saw many of the metal obstacles on the course replaced by wooden substitutes, including a wooden S-bend frame contestants had to descend. One of the female contestants broke her ankle after landing badly on one of the obstacles (near the end of the course), but bravely managed completed the rest of the course.
5. Intelligence - A two- or three-dimensional puzzle where shapes had to be put together to fill a rectangular grid or make a bigger shape was the basis for this round. Most of these were devised by Dr. Gerry Wickham of the University of Manchester's School of Mathematics. As the contestants performed the task, presenter Gordon Burns provided a commentary to viewers at home on the contestant's progress and advice on how to solve the puzzle. It is reputed that some of the intelligence tests featured took contestants hours to solve, with edited highlights of their performance in the round shown on the programme.
6. General Knowledge - A quick-fire question round with a varied time limit (which ranged from 60 seconds to 100 seconds depending on the year). One or two points were awarded for each question answered correctly, and one or two were deducted for a wrong answer. This final round was conducted using a side shot of the four contestants lit in profile. 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. Until 1986, the General Knowledge round was in two stages: the first stage had the contestants answering three general knowledge questions each with 2 points for each correct answer, then it was on to stage 2 which was the quick-fire stage.

In the first five games, 10 points were awarded to the winner, then 6, 4 and 2 to the remaining contestants. For other uses, see Headphones (disambiguation). ... Charles Foster Charles Foster (April 12, 1828–January 9, 1904) was a U.S. Republican politician from Ohio. ... Year 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday (link displays 1988 Gregorian calendar). ... For other uses, see Bicycle (disambiguation). ... Image of a video wall. ... Fleischman and Fleischmann are common family names which mean Butcher in German. ... Capital Saint Paul Largest city Minneapolis Area  Ranked 12th  - Total 87,014 sq mi (225,365 km²)  - Width 250 miles (400 km)  - Length 400 miles (645 km)  - % water 8. ... Year 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link displays 1987 Gregorian calendar). ... For flight simulator software from Microsoft, see Microsoft Flight Simulator. ... Year 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday (link displays 1988 Gregorian calendar). ... The BAe 146 (also known as the Avro RJ) is a medium-sized commercial aircraft manufactured by BAE SYSTEMS. It carries its four jet engines on a high wing above the fuselage; not below, or at mid-fuselage, as on most conventional civilian aircraft. ... This article is about the Harrier family of V/STOL aircraft. ... For the original Viking use of the name, see Sea-King. ... Year 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays 1989 Gregorian calendar). ... For other uses, see Concorde (disambiguation). ... The BAE Systems (BAE) Hawk is an advanced jet trainer which first flew in 1974 as the Hawker Siddeley Hawk. ... The Boeing 737 is an American short to medium range, single aisle, narrow body jet airliner. ... This article is about the space vehicle. ... Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Largest metro area Greater Los Angeles Area  Ranked 3rd  - Total 158,302 sq mi (410,000 km²)  - Width 250 miles (400 km)  - Length 770 miles (1,240 km)  - % water 4. ... The Nimrod is a maritime patrol aircraft developed in the United Kingdom. ... The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is a four-engine turboprop cargo aircraft and the main tactical airlifter for many military forces worldwide. ... Year 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1992 Gregorian calendar). ... Year 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar). ... Independent Television (generally known as ITV, but also as ITV Network) is a public service network of British commercial television broadcasters, set up under the Independent Television Authority (ITA) to provide competition to the BBC. ITV is the oldest commercial television network in the UK. Since 1990 and the Broadcasting... Year 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday (link displays 1988 Gregorian calendar). ... Year 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday (link displays 1988 Gregorian calendar). ... Andrew OConnor is a British actor, comedian, magician, television presenter and executive producer. ... Year 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays 1989 Gregorian calendar). ... Year 1990 (MCMXC) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1990 Gregorian calendar). ... Stephen John Steve Coogan (born 14 October 1965) is an English actor, impressionist, and comedian. ... Events and trends Technology Explosive growth of the Internet; decrease in the cost of computers and other technology Reduction in size and cost of mobile phones leads to a massive surge in their popularity Year 2000 problem (commonly known as Y2K) Microsoft Windows operating system becomes virtually ubiquitous on IBM... 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 Martin Kelly (born, 9 May 1950, Urmston, Lancashire, England) is an English actor from paisley, who made his name as a television presenter. ... Keith Cheggers Chegwin (born 17 January 1957 in Newbury) is an English television presenter and former child actor and singer. ... Year 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the 1991 Gregorian calendar). ... Tony Robinson (born 15 August 1946) is an English actor, broadcaster and political campaigner, known for playing the part of Baldrick in the BBC TV series Blackadder and for hosting a number of shows on Channel 4, the most noteworthy being Time Team. ... Michelle A. Collins (born May 28, 1963 in Hackney, East London) is a British actress best known for her roles on television in the BBC soap opera EastEnders, as Cindy Beale, and BBC drama Sunburn. ... Year 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1992 Gregorian calendar). ... Anthony Declan James Slattery (born 9 November 1959) is a British actor and comedian. ... For other uses, see Amnesia (disambiguation). ... This article is about Preston, Lancashire. ... Roger Lloyd Pack (born February 8, 1944) is a British actor. ... Year 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar). ... Roy Barraclough MBE (born 12 July 1935), born in Preston, Lancashire, is a comic actor. ... // Annabel Giles has been a model, TV & radio presenter, actress and comedienne during her 25 year career (1982-present). ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... , The Peel Monument above Holcombe viewed from the summit of Harcles Hill looking south with Bury in the background Holcombe is a village of the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, in Greater Manchester, England. ... This article is about the town of Bury in North West England. ... Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England, bounded to the west by the Irish Sea. ... Year 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1980 Gregorian calendar). ... Year 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1980 Gregorian calendar). ... Year 1990 (MCMXC) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1990 Gregorian calendar). ... Affiliations Russell Group, EUA, N8 Group, NWUA, Worldwide Universities Network (WUN) Website http://www. ... For other meanings of mathematics or uses of math and maths, see Mathematics (disambiguation) and Math (disambiguation). ... 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. ... Year 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link displays 1986 Gregorian calendar). ...

From 1986 to 1991, each round was introduced by the distinctive K logo, which would morph into a symbol for the round. The format of some of the games were changed during the run of the series, but the qualities they purported to test remained the same. Year 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link displays 1986 Gregorian calendar). ... Year 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the 1991 Gregorian calendar). ... Morph could relate to the following : Morph, an animated plasticine character often featured in Tony Harts television programmes. ...

For the final series in 1995, the show was heavily revamped. Penny Smith was brought in as co-presenter, and the intelligence round was eliminated. Instead, 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. Year 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full 1995 Gregorian calendar). ... Penelope Jane Smith (born September 21, 1968 in Rutland, England), is a television presenter and newsreader best known for her work on the breakfast TV show GMTV. She has previously worked for Sky News and Classic FM. // Penny began her career as a reporter and feature writer on the Peterborough...

Young Krypton

In 1988 & 1989, a spin-off series was produced for children, Young Krypton, and was presented by Ross King. The series was based on a similar structure to the adult version, but with simpler intelligence tasks and a shorter obstacle course (located at The American Adventure Theme Park near Nottingham) in place of the Physical Ability round, at the end of both series Gordon Burns appeared to present the trophy to the winner. Year 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday (link displays 1988 Gregorian calendar). ... Year 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays 1989 Gregorian calendar). ... Ross King is a British television presenter, actor and writer. ... This article is about the English theme park. ... For other uses, see Nottingham (disambiguation). ... 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. ...

Theme tune

Over the 18 years of The Krypton Factor, four different theme tunes for the programme were used.

The first two theme tunes for The Krypton Factor were written by Mike Moran, who also wrote the theme tune for Chain Letters. Mike Moran is a keyboard musician. ... For other uses, see chain letter (disambiguation). ...

Perhaps the show's best-known theme tune was the version used between 1986 and 1993, performed by Art of Noise. The bass hook of the song is also known as Beat Box. The exact version of this theme tune was variated in some episodes/series-for example, the drum beats in the music in some episodes/series were more emphasised, as was the synthesiser melody, but generally it remained the same. Art of Noise Edited twelve inch single featured the iconic Art of Noise mask Art of Noise was an avant-garde synthpop 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. ... Beatbox is a single released by the group Art Of Noise in 1984. ... For other uses, see Synthesizer (disambiguation). ...

The music used during the scoring at the end of the Response round in 1988 was Forgotten Town by The Christians. In the 1989 series, "Left to My Own Devices" by the Pet Shop Boys was used. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Left to My Own Devices is a song recorded by Pet Shop Boys, released as the second single from their third studio album, Introspective. ... Pet Shop Boys are an English synthpop/pop music grammy-nominated duo, consisting of Neil Tennant who provides main vocals, keyboards and very occasionally guitar, and Chris Lowe on keyboards and occasionally on vocals. ...

Repeat runs

Certain series of The Krypton Factor has been repeated on Virgin Media-owned digital satellite channel Challenge. So far, the channel has shown the series transmitted from 1989 to 1993 on numerous occasions since February 1999. Virgin Media Inc. ... For other uses, see Challenge (disambiguation). ...

From January-September 2007, Ftn, a channel ran by the same company who also operate Challenge and which broadcasted on Sky Digital, Freeview and Virgin Media, regularly repeated episodes from the 1987-92 series of The Krypton Factor For other uses, see FTN. Ftn (Flextech Television Network) was a television channel from Virgin Media Television (formerly known as Flextech) transmitting free-to-air on Freeview and Virgin Media, and as a subscription channel on Sky Digital. ... For other uses, see Challenge (disambiguation). ... Sky Digital is the brand name for British Sky Broadcastings digital satellite television service, transmitted from SES Astra satellites located at 28. ... This article is about the United Kingdom digital terrestrial television service. ... Virgin Media Inc. ...

In 1988, ITV viewers were able to watch repeat showings of the series Grand Finals from 1977 to 1987.

In 1997, The Krypton Factor was repeated on Granada Plus, (like ftn also now defunct) and shown during the day. Granada Plus was a satellite channel run by Granada Sky Broadcasting. ...

Possible revival

Since its cancellation, The Krypton Factor 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. [1] For other uses, see BBC (disambiguation). ...

United Kingdom Superperson of the Year

This is a complete list of all the winners of the show. There was no series made in 1994.

1. Harry Evans is the first United Kingdom Superperson of the Year for the very first time.
2. Marian Chanter is the show's first and only female winner.
3. David Lee was the show's youngest winner at the time at age 21.
4. Forrest McCartney organised the trip to NASA's Space Shuttle flight simulator in California.
5. Gordon Burns given award by default. Francis Morgan Thompson, CBE (born July 30, 1958 in Worcester Park), known commonly as Daley Thompson, is a former English decathlete and arguably the greatest the world had ever seen. ... Sir Isaac Vivian Alexander Richards (born St Johns, Antigua on 7 March 1952), better known by his second name, Vivian or, more popularly, simply as Viv is a former West Indian cricketer. ... Sarah Virginia Wade (born July 10, 1945, in Bournemouth, England) is a former tennis player from the United Kingdom. ... Virginia Leng (Ginny Holgate) is a British-born eventer who has won several national and international titles, including European Champion, winner of the Badminton Horse Trials and winner of the Burghley Horse Trials. ... For the cricketer of the same name from the West Indies, see Imran Khan (Trinidad and Tobago cricketer). ... John Francome is a former National Hunt racing champion jockey. ... Finbar Patrick Barry McGuigan MBE (born February 28, 1961 in Clones, County Monaghan, Republic of Ireland), nicknamed The Clones Cyclone, is a former professional boxer who became a world Featherweight champion. ... 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. ... William Carling OBE (born December 12, 1965) is a former Rugby union player, and captain of England from 1988 to 1996. ... Image:Stevebook. ... For other uses, see Female (disambiguation). ... This article is about the American space agency. ... This article is about the space vehicle. ... For flight simulator software from Microsoft, see Microsoft Flight Simulator. ... Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Largest metro area Greater Los Angeles Area  Ranked 3rd  - Total 158,302 sq mi (410,000 km²)  - Width 250 miles (400 km)  - Length 770 miles (1,240 km)  - % water 4. ...

Trivia

Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.

The first series of the show was shown on Wednesdays; it moved to Monday the following series. Image File history File links Broom_icon. ...

For the first series the programme didn't have a studio audience.

The Krypton Factor was one of the first new-style game shows to be exported to the USA.

Some of the intelligence tests went on for considerable lengths of time. The cameras were just left running and the whole thing was cut down to three minutes for the benefit of the show. At least one contestant was moved to tears by the difficulty of the puzzles. In 1990, Gordon Burns told contestants that over the years, some of the tests had taken 15 or 20 minutes to complete, but that in one (unspecified) programme, when the competitors' tables had been placed too close together for this round, two competitors accidentally picked up pieces from each other's table, making it impossible to complete the puzzle, and nearly an hour went by as they vainly attempted to finish, before the problem was realised.

For at least some series (around 1986-88), the fastest man and fastest woman on the assault course both received a special trophy. Winners include: Barbara Murray and Stuart Worthington (1986), Marian Chanter and Ted Daszkiewicz (1987), Elizabeth Hayward and Alan Robbie (1988).

Unusually, and possibly uniquely for the time, some earlier series (until 1993) had no advert break in the middle even though it was in a primetime 7pm slot. This explains why some of the elements (most notably, the time for the quiz) were shortened in later series.

The points contestants earned through the game were not referred to as their score, but as their "Krypton Factor", e.g. "The winner, with a Krypton Factor of 46, is the legal secretary from Kent, Bob Jeffries". For other uses, see Kent (disambiguation). ...

Gordon Burns stated in some of the episodes that the contestants trained for the assault course in the Physical Ability round for up to five weeks in advance. 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. ...

The contestants all had their own corresponding colour-either red, green, yellow or blue. They wore their own clothes, apart from the Physical Ability round where the contestants wore 'boiler suits' which were red, green, yellow or blue until 1989. The boiler suits changed to black with a coloured stripe. For their own clothes, the contestants either wore a shirt/blouse, tie or a neckscarf of their corresponding colour. Color is an important part of the visual arts. ... For other uses, see Red (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Green (disambiguation). ... A yellow Tulip. ... For other uses, see Blue (disambiguation). ...

Two contestants who participated on The Krypton Factor in the 1989 series went on to get married. They were Dougie Forde and Carol Mofatt.

The announcer on the show the man who introduced the contestants at the start of some series was Charles Foster, who has taken the same role for other shows down the years. Charles Foster (born 1936) was a well-known continuity announcer for Granada Television in the North West of England who also voiced several well-known game shows (eg Raise the Roof, Connections, Catchphrase, The Krypton Factor) in the UK. Categories: | | | ...

In May 1989, there was a one-off episode on the Krypton Factor called Champion of Champions featuring four star contestants: Marian Chanter and Alison Heath (1987), David Lee (1988) and Andrew Gillam (1985). This was won by Marian Chanter.

There had also been a previous Champion of Champions edition of the show around 1985, featuring the winners from the previous four years: John McAllister (1981), John Webley (1982), Chris Topham (1983) and Paul Smith (1984). This was won by John McAllister.

Although not mentioned on the air, all the contestants were given a Sports bag and some clothing with the Krypton Factor logo on them as gifts for appearing on the programme.

In 2007, the series was parodied by Weebl and Bob, when Weebl went on the programme, thinking he was appearing on The X Factor. Weebl came last, and got to keep his boiler suit. [2] This article is about the Flash Cartoon series. ... For the current series, see The X Factor (UK series 4). ...

Merchandise

The Krypton Factor had a number of clothing merchandises, including a pair of black trainers bearing the Krypton K on the sides and the tongue.

A Krypton Factor Quizbook was published in 1989.

A computer game version of The Krypton Factor was also available which was published by TV Games and was released in 1987 for the home computers of the era. Year 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link displays 1987 Gregorian calendar). ...

A Krypton Factor sports bag, mug and teatowel was also produced.

Other versions

The Krypton Factor also ran in the USA, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Germany.

Australian version

The Australian version of the show began in 1987 and is still currently running on the channel ABC2 ^{[citation needed]} and uses the same format which made the UK version popular, as well as the Art of Noise theme tune and similar intro, the assault course used is located near Queensland and uses the same obstacles as used in the UK version post-1990 (such as the S-Bend frame and the aerial slide) except the course is in a woodland environment and some other obstacles exist (overhead bars at the start followed by a round ladder, due to the contestants starting on a tree platform, and a tyre crawl, spider's web net, crawl pipe at other points on the course). From the 2005-07 series, a series of comedy sketches were used for observation clips and for the finals, a music video (2005, it was Crazy in Love by Beyonce, 2006 it was Temperature by Sean Paul and in 2007, it was Rihanna's Pon de Replay). Since 1991, Observation has followed a multiple choice questions format. This article is about the Australian television channel. ... Art of Noise Edited twelve inch single featured the iconic Art of Noise mask Art of Noise was an avant-garde synthpop 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. ... Slogan or Nickname: Sunshine State, Smart State Motto(s): Audax at Fidelis (Bold but Faithful) Other Australian states and territories Capital Brisbane Government Constitutional monarchy Governor Quentin Bryce Premier Anna Bligh (ALP) Federal representation  - House seats 28  - Senate seats 12 Gross State Product (2004-05)  - Product ($m)  $158,506 (3rd... This article is about the Jamaican reggae artist. ... Rihanna (born Robyn Rihanna Fenty on February 20, 1988) is a Bajan singer with musical influences from R&B, pop, reggae, rock, dancehall and funk. ...

US version

Main article: The Krypton Factor (US game show)

Two short-lived United States versions of The Krypton Factor aired. In 1981, Dick Clark hosted a 5-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. The Krypton Factor was a United States game show based on the UK series of the same name. ... Dick Clark redirects here. ... Willie Aames (born Albert William Upton July 15, 1960 in Orange County, California, USA) is an actor best known for the roles of Buddy Lembeck on Charles in Charge, Tommy Bradford on Eight is Enough and the voice of Hank on Dungeons & Dragons, the cartoon. ... A male Caucasian toddler child A child (plural: children) is a young human. ... The Fox Broadcasting Company is a television network in the United States. ...

New Zealand version

The New Zealand version of The Krypton Factor ran from 1987 to 1991 and was hosted by veteran presenter Dougal Stevenson. There was no Response round in the New Zealand version and the video clips used for the Observation test were taken from the UK version. The Physical Ability test was done at Burnham Military Camp just south of Christchurch. The winners of the 1987 series competed against the winners of the 1987 series in the UK. For other uses, see Christchurch (disambiguation). ...

External links

• The Krypton Factor at UKGameshows.com
• The Krypton Factor at the Internet Movie Database
• The Krypton Factor on YouTube