Mastermind
Just like "University Challenge", the quiz show "Mastermind" has become an institution on British television. Contenders sit in a black chair with a spotlight upon them. First they receive questions on their chosen specialist subject and later they receive two and a half minutes of general knowledge questions. This is a tense and serious show. There's no room for jokes or anything like that. "Mastermind" has been with us for fifty years. Two years after its inception, I watched an episode being filmed on the stage of the McRobert Theatre at The University of Stirling. The quizmaster was the TV presenter Magnus Magnusson - from Iceland. It was surprising how much stopping and starting happened before the episode was successfully canned. A couple of the contenders challenged answers and checks had to be made. I never expected that. Tonight, the final was screened. The winner was a bloke from Sheffield. He lives less than a mile from this keyboard an...
