Bill Wright
Director
Mastermind (1972)
2012/13
Mastermind is a British quiz 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 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.
Released Sept. 11, 1972
Episode 30 min
None+
Genres: Game Show, Talk, Talk Show
Keywords: tmdb.quiz, imdb.quiz-show, mdblist.has-trailer, imdb.general-knowledge, imdb.contestant, imdb.famous-opening-theme, imdb.long-running-tv + 12 more, imdb.one-word-title, imdb.spotlight, imdb.chair, imdb.question, imdb.non-fiction, tmdb.knowledge, imdb.game-show-host, imdb.1970s, imdb.1980s, imdb.1990s, imdb.british, imdb.quiz
Production Companies: Hat Trick Productions, Hindsight Productions
Network: BBC Two
Country: United Kingdom
Languages:
English
S39E1 - Episode 1
The hunt for the nation's Mastermind gets under way once more as John Humphrys questions four contenders on their specialist subject and general knowledge. Subjects in this first heat are the completed novels of Jane Austen, the life and times of Elizabeth I, Fawlty Towers and the Savoy Operas of Gilbert and Sullivan.
Aug. 10, 2012, midnight
S39E2 - Episode 2
John Humphrys invites four more contenders to answer questions. Topics include Billie Holiday, Eddy Merckx, The Life and Work of Ludwig Wittgenstein, and William Gladstone.
Aug. 17, 2012, midnight
S39E3 - Episode 3
John Humphrys puts the questions to four more contenders. Subjects are Radiohead, the Sherlock Holmes stories of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Goodies and Michael Collins.
Aug. 24, 2012, midnight
S39E4 - Episode 4
John Humphrys puts the questions to four more contenders. Subjects are Duran Duran, Shakespeare's comedies, the history of the Alpine Club and The Shipping Forecast.
Aug. 31, 2012, midnight
S39E5 - Episode 5
John Humphrys puts the questions to four more contenders. Tonight's topics include Doctor Who, 1963 - 1989; The story of Moses in the King James Bible; the history and geography of Arkansas; and Terry Venables.
Sept. 14, 2012, midnight
S39E6 - Episode 6
John Humphrys asks the questions as four contenders take the walk to the black chair. Subjects are: the Epsom Derby since 1980, extinct fauna of the Ice Age, the life and work of Dave Allen and General Custer and the Battle of the Little Bighorn.
Sept. 21, 2012, midnight
S39E7 - Episode 7
John Humphrys puts the questions to four more contenders. Subjects are: Sir Ian Botham, the life and work of Caspar David Friedrich, Guns N' Roses and the Hornblower novels of CS Forester.
Sept. 28, 2012, midnight
S39E8 - Episode 8
John Humphrys asks the questions as four contenders take the walk to the black chair. Subjects are: the life and career of George Harrison, the history of Rome until 1944, Everest mountaineering and Anthony Powell's A Dance to the Music of Time.
Oct. 5, 2012, midnight
S39E9 - Episode 9
John Humphrys asks the questions as the hunt continues for the nation's Mastermind. The contenders' specialist subjects are the national parks of England and Wales, the battles of the American Civil War, the life and work of HP Lovecraft and boxing world title fights since 2000.
Oct. 12, 2012, midnight
S39E10 - Episode 10
Host John Humphrys invites four more contenders to answer questions in the black chair. Subjects are Catherine of Aragon, Fanny Cradock, the novels of Roddy Doyle and French grand opera 1823-1900.
Oct. 19, 2012, midnight
S39E11 - Episode 11
Host John Humphrys asks questions on The Waltons, the Bernard Sampson novels of Len Deighton, Sir Nigel Gresley and Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston.
Oct. 26, 2012, midnight
S39E12 - Episode 12
John Humphrys puts the questions to four more contenders. Subjects are: Steely Dan, the Mapp and Lucia Novels of EF Benson, the Boston Bruins since 1970 and Henry Mayhew's London Labour and London Poor.
Nov. 9, 2012, midnight
S39E13 - Episode 13
John Humphrys asks the questions as the hunt continues for the nation's Mastermind. Subjects are: the Titanic, the American Revolutionary War, East German Athletics 1976-1988 and John Peel's Festive Fifties.
Nov. 16, 2012, midnight
S39E14 - Episode 14
John Humphrys asks the questions as the hunt continues for the nation's Mastermind. Subjects are: Geoffrey Boycott, Futurama, Graham Greene and US Military Aircraft since 1945.
Nov. 23, 2012, midnight
S39E15 - Episode 15
John Humphrys invites four more contenders to answer questions in the black chair.
The subjects are: Alice Cooper, the Gemini space programme, West Ham United 1970-date and the life and work of John Logie Baird.
Nov. 30, 2012, midnight
S39E16 - Episode 16
John Humphrys asks the questions as four contenders take the walk to the black chair. Subjects are the novels of William Golding, the Soviet Union under Stalin 1924-1939, The KLF and When the Boat Comes In.
Dec. 7, 2012, midnight
S39E17 - Episode 17
John Humphrys invites four more contenders to answer questions in the black chair. Subjects are British number one singles 1963-2000, Alan Bennett's Talking Heads, Kett's rebellion of 1549 and the life and career of Michael Foot.
Dec. 14, 2012, midnight
S39E18 - Episode 18
John Humphrys asks the questions as the hunt continues for the nation's Mastermind.
The subjects are: the Bee Gees, the life and films of Kevin Smith, the Falklands conflict, and the life and work of Thomas Hardy.
Dec. 21, 2012, midnight
S39E19 - Episode 19
John Humphrys asks the questions as the hunt continues for the nation's Mastermind.
Four more contenders are questioned on their specialist subject and general knowledge. Subjects are Anne Boleyn, the Wallander novels of Henning Mankell, the life and music of Sir William Walton and Shakespeare's tragedies.
Jan. 11, 2013, midnight
S39E20 - Episode 20
John Humphrys invites four more contenders to answer questions in the black chair. Subjects tonight are the life and films of Marilyn Monroe, the life and career of David Lloyd George, Swallows and Amazons and the life and career of 1st Duke of Wellington.
Jan. 18, 2013, midnight
S39E21 - Episode 21
John Humphrys puts the questions to four more contenders. The subjects are Monty Python, the life and career of Lord Nelson, the Tin Tin books of Hergé, and the African 'big five'.
Jan. 25, 2013, midnight
S39E22 - Episode 22
John Humphrys hosts Britain's toughest quiz. Four more contenders are questioned on their specialist subject and general knowledge. The subjects are: Red Dwarf, Marie Curie, the novels of Jasper Fforde and the life and career of Field Marshal Haig.
Feb. 1, 2013, midnight
S39E23 - Episode 23
John Humphrys asks the questions as four contenders take the walk to the black chair. The subjects are: Joy Division, the Battle of the River Plate, Ashes Cricket Series since 1981 and the films of Tod Slaughter.
Feb. 8, 2013, midnight
S39E24 - Episode 24
John Humphrys invites four more contenders to answer questions in the black chair. Subjects are the life and music of Ian Dury; the Red Army 1941-1945; the life and work of Gerald Durrell; the history of Celtic FC.
Feb. 15, 2013, midnight
S39E25 - Episode 25
ohn Humphrys presents the first semi-final as five contenders vie for a place in the grand final.
Subjects are the situation comedy Rising Damp, US military aircraft of the Second World War, the novels of Dennis Lehane, the St John's Wood Clique of Victorian artists and the films of Dietrich and von Sternberg.
Feb. 22, 2013, midnight
S39E26 - Episode 26
Five more contenders compete for a place in the grand final as John Humphrys hosts another semi-final.
The subjects are: the films of Norman Wisdom, Magna Carta, the Pembrokeshire coast, the novels of William Boyd, and the French Religious Wars 1559-1598.
March 1, 2013, midnight
S39E27 - Episode 27
John Humphrys presents another semi-final of the classic quiz as five contenders fight for a place in the grand final.
Subjects are Scott's last journey, the films of Mel Brooks, the life and poetry of WB Yeats, Otto von Bismarck and the novels of Sarah Waters.
March 8, 2013, midnight
S39E28 - Episode 28
Five more contenders vie for a place in the grand final as John Humphrys invites them to return to the black chair in another semi-final.
Subjects are the life and films of David Niven, Edward III, the Pixies, The Life of Giuseppe Garibaldi and the Flashman novels of George MacDonald Fraser.
March 15, 2013, midnight
S39E29 - Episode 29
John Humphrys hosts the penultimate semi-final as five contenders attempt to win a place in the grand final.
Subjects are birds of Britain, the films of Takeshi Kitano, Newcastle United since 1945, the Jagiellon Dynasty and the Adam Dalgliesh mysteries of PD James.
March 22, 2013, midnight
S39E30 - Episode 30
Five contenders compete for the last place in the grand final as John Humphrys hosts the sixth semi-final.
Subjects are Yes Minister, the Rebus novels of Ian Rankin, Nazi Germany 1933 - 1945, the novels of Haruki Murakami and the Glastonbury Festival.
March 29, 2013, midnight
S39E31 - Grand Final
John Humphrys asks the questions as six contenders battle it out to become the nation's Mastermind in the series grand final.
Subjects include UK chart music of the 1970s, Shakespeare's War of the Roses, Abraham Lincoln, the operas of Verdi, the Paris Commune of 1871 and The Roman Empire 284-476 AD.
April 5, 2013, midnight
Network: BBC Two
Episode Runtime: 30 min.
Season Runtime: 33810 min.
Released: Sept. 11, 1972
Last Air Date: Nov. 24, 2025, midnight
Status: Returning Series
Certification: NR
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