Mastermind subject: Alan Partridge

[Shaddock]

One of the specialist subjects in tonight's mastermind ( 02/08/04 ) is Alan Partridge.

[Jemble Fred]

Adam 'Adam Woodyatt' Woodyatt's specialised subject this week is Blackadder Goes Forth. True. And inevitably painful to watch.

[Purple Tentacle]

Jesus wept.

Are they going to have a gunge-tank round on University Challenge as well?

[Morrisfan82]

So... memorising three hours of a particular sitcom constitutes master-mindedness these days then?

Or does that only apply if you're a soap actor who no-one likes?

[Shaddock]

So... memorising three hours of a particular sitcom constitutes master-mindedness these days then?

More than 3 hours, me thinks ...  there have been three series of Alan Partridge, a Christmas special, Red Nose Day appearance, and his appearances on The Day Today and On The Hour.  It will likely be restricted to the three series I reckon ... haw-hee-haw-hee-haw.

[Morrisfan82]

Sorry, I was talking about Blackadder Goes Forth.

[RFT]

Adam 'Adam Woodyatt' Woodyatt's specialised subject this week is Blackadder Goes Forth. True. And inevitably painful to watch.

It can;t be as painful as watching Murray Walker struggle to answer question on formula one last week. I felt sorry for him- you could almost see his self-esteem collapsing.

though I wouldn;t have said that picking a "small" subjext was likely to give you any advantage- the question setters will just pose stupidly obscure questions "how many medals has General Melchett got on his chest" or suchlike...

[Emergency Lalla Ward Ten]

HUMPHREYS: Was there audience laughter on the first series?
OFFICE TWAT: No, it was added for the repeat - and totally unnecesarily so, IMHO.
HUMPHREYS: No, you're wrong wrong WRONG. And I was talking about On the Hour anyway.

Well, I can dream.

[Godzilla Bankrolls]

I thought the point of Mastermind was to be knowledgable about any personal interest? It doesn't have to be something commonly perceived as academic.

EDIT: Not that I'm condoning the Alan Partridge thing - smells of BBC cross-promotion to me.

[alan strang]

I thought the point of Mastermind was to be knowledgable about any personal interest? It doesn't have to be something commonly perceived as academic.

Several years back there was a contestant whose specialised subject was Doctor Who. There were a lot of complaints afterwards from people convinced that the questions he was given were far too easy.

But, considering that it was a popular TV show at the time, it's just likely that more viewers knew the Doctor Who answers than they would if the subject was 'The early woodcuttings of Rimbaud Dikksplache 1670 - 1732'.

[Emergency Lalla Ward Ten]

HUMPHRYS: So...why Dikkspache?

[benthalo]

Several years back there was a contestant whose specialised subject was Doctor Who. There were a lot of complaints afterwards from people convinced that the questions he was given were far too easy.

Gavin Someoneorother. He did extremely well in the series as a whole, but I'm told that Mastermind used to have a banned list - Doctor Who and the British Singles Chart were two subjects on it. I'm not for a high or low art distinction, but there's an argument that some form of elitism is healthy for the show. It's wall to wall pop culture these days which loses it some austerity but doubtless gains a few less alienated viewers.

The criticism with Who was that John Nathan-Turner, its long term producer, was the question setter and rather unimaginatively derived all the questions from one thin tome, The Doctor Who Programme Guide. I seem to remember the chemical needed to relaunch the TARDIS in Vengeance On Varos had to be named in one question - fans will know it, but the average punter wouldn't have a clue, so some level of academia survived.

I really felt for the Boswell & Johnson woman. And there were rather too many IAP2 questions for comfort.

[RFT]

There's a fairly good review of the "new" mastermind here: http://www.offthetelly.co.uk/reviews/2004/mastermind.htm

[kidsick5000]

The  format of Mastemind was based on a Nazi interrogation.

People probably have a problem with tv programs and music because that information is offered to everyone, sent into your homes for free etc.

The obscure subjects give the idea of having to plough through dusty tomes in far flung halls of academia just to find out the flower given to all members at the treaty of West Phalia.

As well as being deliberately clever sounding. Just like the paragraph above.

In other words, it looks like a lack of effort on the contestants part.
Or to put it another, the old style specialist subjects sound like the things you were meant to learn at school, not the stuff you get sat on the couch.

[MonkeyDrummer]

Question 1: What is the name of Alan's son who he named after an Abba record?  
Answer: Fernando.
   
Question 2: Who was Alan's first ever guest on the television show 'Knowing Me, Knowing You'?
Answer: Sue Lewis.
   
Question 3: Which video company produced 'Crash Bang Wallop, What a Video with Alan Partridge'?  
Answer: Blue Barn - Incorrect answer. The correct answer is Meteor Films.
   
Question 4: What was the title of Alan's autobiography which described his battles with weight and depression?
Answer: Bouncing Back.  
   
Question 5: Alan appeared as a guest on which religious radio show on Talk Cambridge hosted by Tessa McPherson?
Answer: Prayer Wave.
   
Question 6: Alan's former teacher, Frank Raphael is the head of which school that Alan once attended?  
Answer: Sir William Dunwoody.
   
Question 7:  Who played the disc jockey Dave Clifton with whome Alan often shared banter on air at Radio Norwich  
Answer: Phil Cornwell.
   
Question 8:  To which country club was Alan denied access after pointing out lack security, eventually injuring himself severely trying to climb over the fence?  
Answer: Choristers.
   
Question 9: In series one of I'm Alan Partridge, what was the title of episode one in which Alan has a shambolic meeting with Tony Hayers?  
Answer: A Room With An Alan.  
   
Question 10: From which racecourse did Alan present horse racing at the second episode of The Day Today?
Answer: Marple.
   
Question 11:  What is the name of Alan's production company where he once sacked all the staff rather than downsize his car?
Answer: Peartree Productions.
   
Question 12: What was the name of Alan Partridge's guest on his radio show Knowing Me, Knowing You who was voted Carnaby Street's Mr Bootique of 1969?  
Answer: Adam Wells.  
   
Question 13: Which polytechnic did Alan Partridge attend before embarking on a career in journalism?
Answer: East Anglia.
   
Question 14:  On which BBC Radio Four show did Alan Partridge get his first big break doing 'The Sports Report'?
Answer: On The Hour.  
   
Question 15: Which veteran rock star was interviewed by Alan Partridge during a Radio Norwich segment of 1999's Comic Relief?
Answer: Brian Ferry.  
   
Question 16:  Which writer of the I'm Alan Partridge series played the competent interviewer Ray Woollard on the documentary 'Anglian Lives'?
Answer: Peter Baynham.
   
Question 17:  Which old friend of Alan's replaced the late Tony Hayers as Chief Commissioning Editor of the BBC?  
Answer: Chris Feathers.  
   
Question 18:  In the radio version of Knowing Me, Knowing You, from which American city did Alan co-present a show with American model Kendall Ball?
Answer: Las Vegas.  
   
Question 19:  What was the title of the I'm Alan Partridge episode where Alan planned to watch every James Bond film over a Bank Holiday weekend?  
Answer: Never Say Alan Again.  

[neveragain]

That really is far too IAP2-y, isn't it?

Incidentally, past comedy Mastermind subjects have included (recently) the history of British sitcom and the works of Monty Python. I missed both of them. When's this Blackadder Goes Forth one on then?

[tubbsthespidergigolo2]

And Red Dwarf was a subject once too

[Emergency Lalla Ward Ten]

Why were all the IAP questions about very specific minutiae but the pre-IAP ones were more generic? 'What did Alan do before the epoch-defining monkey tennis scene which united the nation and is funnier than anything else he's ever done?'; 'I dunno...something on Radio 4?'; 'Correct...'  

I'd love to have doctored the questions and included loads of obscure, not-even-on-the-BBC-Radio-Collection-tape OTH stuff. That'd show him. With his 'All comedy characters are essentially unlikeable IMHO' opinions and face.

Too much hatred, sorry. But he should pick a proper subject.