13 July 2024

Mastermind


I would bet that most readers of TYWKIWDBI would enjoy viewing episodes of the BBC program Mastermind.  I've embedded a random example of a program above.  Contestants are quizzed with in-depth questions on a single subject, then have to answer "general knowledge" questions.  For ultimate success, it is not sufficient to have expertise on just one subject, because winners have to come back for additional (3? 4?) rounds to reach the finals. 

For this particular episode, the specialty subjects were the geography of Switzerland, the family of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, Sir Roger Moore and Bruce Springsteen.

Lots of episodes are available on YouTube.  I don't know if they are available streaming somewhere or not.

6 comments:

  1. I was curious about the Specialist Knowledge topics and found this interesting article where the show's producer is interviewed on the subject: https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/entertainment/how-to-choose-the-perfect-specialist-subject-on-mastermind/

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  2. And the season winner of this quiz, one of the toughest on UK TV, gets.... An inscribed crystal bowl. No money.

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    1. Just like the Great British Baking Show [Bakeoff]. We Americans are fed a distorted view of how success should be rewarded.

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  3. An example of a more recent nerdy quiz show is Only Connect. I sometimes get a question correct. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nBpjx06hrQ

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    1. Very challenging - and very British. Match 4 quizzes are available online at the NYT -

      https://www.nytimes.com/games/connections

      And one of the contestants in this episode is the now-internet-famous Tom Scott:

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_Fa_fucl1o

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