Mastermind - Round One - Heat 16

Another quick check on my database confirms my belief that none of tonight’s contenders has appeared on the show before. So no helpful hints about form there. Brig Rooke, a retired teacher ( or to use the correct technical term ‘lucky devil’ ) answered questions on The Novels of William Golding. Oh, I often hate literature rounds, especially if they’re about authors whom I have hardly, if ever , read. I managed the one absolute gimme – Piggy from Lord of the Flies – but that was me done for this round. Brig did well, getting into double figures, albeit that she had a few wrong along the way. 10 was a score which would certainly have put her in contention in last week’s heat. Whether it would have the same effect in this one remained to be seen.

Sam Goodyear was , I think, unfortunate with his round. Answering on the Soviet Union under Stalin 1924 – 1939, ok, he did drop some points, but my goodness there were some long winded questions in this round. He really had a look of – what, is that it ? – on his face when the buzzer went, and I have to say that I can sympathize with that. I’ve studied that period of Russian history to A Level, and so while I’m not an expert I know enough to know that it wasn’t an easy set, so his 8 was nothing to be ashamed of. But 8 on specialist will only be a winning score under exceptional circumstances. I managed 4 in this round myself.

The KLF – remember them ? – was the subject of Henry Morris’ specialist round. What I found out was that I knew a little bit more about the KLF than I thought I did, since this round produced my highest specialist score of the evening with 5 points. . A couple of guesses, and the only facts about them which I actually knew came in for me. Henry got up something of a head of steam, and although he didn’t have a perfect round, 13 was a score which at least marked him out as a contender for the win. Which is pretty much all you can ask for your specialist round.

Finally Andrew Frazer, offering my least favourite subject of the night , the TV series “When The Boat Comes In”. I say my least favourite subject, because unless any of the answers required the words “fishee on a dishee “ then I wasn’t going to be getting any of them right. Never saw it you see, although my Mum thought it was a terrific series. I was a bit young at the time when it first came out. All of which is a long winded way of confessing that I scored zilch on the round. Andrew Frazer on the other hand managed what has been something of a rarity in this series, a perfect round. 16 questions asked, and sixteen correctly answered. A round which effectively put the game beyond Sam and Brig, and put clear water between himself and Henry. Somehow you couldn’t help feeling that Andrew was going to be better at GK as well.

Before that, though, the scene was set for Sam to return to the chair and deliver a good round on GK. He managed 14, and what I liked was that he was answering quickly. I love it when contenders get into a good rhythm, because that allows me to do so at home. As a result I managed my highest score of the night with 21 on this round. Alright, Sam didn’t do that, but his 14 was commendable. It put pressure on Brig and Henry certainly to produce scores, even if it didn’t leave Andrew with much of a mountain to climb.

At times during her round Brig must have felt as if she was climbing the mountain with a backpack full of rocks , as she struggled to make headway. Youl could tell that there were quite a number of answers which just would spring from the tip of her tongue, but it meant that she finished with 16. In his first round Henry had maintained a good , fast pace, and he set off trying to do just the same with this round. His general knowledge, though, wasn’t going to let him overtake Sam,, gamely though he tried, Throughout the contest he kept smiling, and certainly seemed to enjoy his appearance, which actually, whatever anyone might say, is the best reason for doing the show in the first place. Henry finished with 19.

Sam, then, had the satisfaction of seeing himself leading with one round to go. What a round it was that followed, though. I don’t think I know Andrew Frazer, but this man is a quizzer. And then some. Alright, there’s only so much you can judge from one performance, but this was still hugely impressive. Andrew didn’t answer as quickly as some we’ve seen, but what he was doing was making sure that he had every question right, just as he had done with the specialist round. He so nearly achieved it as well. 19 questions in and every one had been answered correctly. Only one remained right on the buzzer – and sadly he had it wrong. What a performance, though. I don’t know if anyone has ever gone through a whole show without getting a single questions wrong or passing. When Kevin set the record at 41 I think he had one wrong. Alright, so this was 6 points less than that, 35, but nonetheless that was a Hall of Fame performance, as much for the manner in which it was achieved, as for the score itself. Andrew, I apologise now if I am jinxing you by saying this, but you, sir, are a genuine contender for the top slot.

The Details

Brig Rooke	The Novels of William Golding	10 - 1	6 - 4	16 – 5
Sam Goodyear	The Soviet Union under Stalin – 1924 - 1939	8 - 1	14 - 5	22 – 6
Henry Morris	The KLF	13 - 0	6 - 4	19 – 4
Andrew Frazer	When the Boat Comes In	16 - 0	19 - 0	35 – 0