Mastermind - Heat 1 - Welcome Back

 I’m sorry. No honestly, I really am. What on Earth do I think I’m doing, I ask myself, posting this, when I have no idea whether it will only prove to be another false dawn – a solitary 2021 post, which will not be followed by another one for more than 12 months? But the thing is, I can’t come up with a good enough reason for not posting now. Whether anyone will ever chance to read it, well that’s a different matter. If you do, well, please accept that I’m being sincere when I say that it means a great deal to me if you do.

So what’s prompted this, then? Well, I’ve been thinking more about quizzes than I have done in a good year or so, since Clive Myrie made his debut on Mastermind this Monday just gone. Cards on the table, I think he did well. One thing I really liked was the way that once a contender got into a rhythm giving correct answers, so did Clive, and seemed to speed up a little. The late great Magnus Magnusson himself did this, and even picked out a couple of examples of this happening in his excellent book “I’ve Started So I’ll Finish”. It’s very early days, but he certainly did well with his first show.

Earlier today I posted on Facebook about John Humphrys. I said - I always thought John Humphrys was a little bit of an enigma. In 2007 he did not enter the Green room at any time I was in there. Even for the final which was held in Glasgow Caledonian University he left immediately after filming finished - a rather sheepish production assistant told me he'd going because he was on the radio the next day from London. Fair enough, although I doubt it would have hurt that much to just pop his head round to say cheerio. However, I have to say that while our final was being filmed, he was brilliant. In the heat and the semi, filmed in Manchester, Ted Robbins had done the warm up, and he was great, and whenever there was a break in filming he and JH would have a good bit of banter going between them. With the final being filmed in Glasgow, they hadn't brought Ted, and they had some local lad on in his place. As we entered the studio he was going down like a lead balloon. For the rest of the proceedings, John ignored him, and in breaks in filming he would regale the audience with funny stories from Celebrity Mastermind. He was excellent. I would have no hesitation saying he is a fine broadcaster. As a person, no idea, because appearing in 5 shows with him didn't really seem to constitute an introduction. “

I don’t want to come across as ungracious. I can’t imagine the pressure of having to present 4 shows like this, back to back, in the same day. But Dermot Murnaghan was doing the same thing when I appeared on Eggheads and Are You An Egghead?, and he had time for every contestant.

Shall we talk about the show itself, then? The honour of kicking off the new new series fell to Tom Jewsbury, answering on the geography of Switzerland. Tom dropped a rather innocuous first question, and that’s the sort of mishap which can often be the prelude to a bit of a ‘mare. Tom managed to put it behind him and took 6 on the bounce before getting another wrong, then remaining clear until the rest of the round, finishing with 10. Which at the least suggested that overly long questions are still going to be a feature of the show this year. I managed two of these, Interlaken fitting the first question, and guessing that you’ll be in with a shout if you’re asked about a Swiss mountain and you offer the Matterhorn.

Next up was Megan Sutcliffe, answering on the family of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia. ‘Hallo Dave,’ thought I (for ‘tis my name), “Nice subject. Fill yer boots, son.” Well, I didn’t exactly fill both boots, managing 6 on a subject I quite fancied. This was bettered by Megan’s 7. I did feel that quite a few of these questions were prolonged beyond their natural lifespan – after all it doesn’t matter really how much you add to the question which starts “What was the name of Nicholas II’s mother. . . “ since you’ll either know it or not after those words. Just my opinion, and as always, please feel free to disagree.

Eleanor Launchbury offered another subject with the promise of points in the shape of Sir Roger Moore. Eleanor’s round gave us the first passes of the new series, - neither of which I knew the answers to either. I managed another 6, now, to put me on 14 so far. Helluva start to the new series.

Last but not least, Ranvir Singh Kalare answered on Bruce Springsteen. Which made my heart sink just a little, since this meant my chances of getting close to 20 on the specialist scores was practically zero. I have nothing against the Boss, but have never been a great fan one way or another. Ranvir did considerably better. He took the first 6 on the bounce, and quickly, and was looking good for a highly commendable double figure score. His speedy answering ensured he was asked one more question than Tom, but another 3 wrong answers left him 1 behind on 9.

So to the General Knowledge, and first back to the chair was Megan. There were a couple of things I liked about Megan’s round. I do tend to think – despite the superb Jonathan Gibson, our 2021 champion – that younger contenders such as Megan are at something of a disadvantage, lacking the few years at the quizface which means you don’t drop much of the low hanging fruit. Despite this though, Megan kept her head, kept answering rather than passing, and a late flurry of four correct answers from the last 4 questions put her up to 17. Double figures in GK – well done.

In a mirror image of Megan’s round, Eleanor began with 4 correct answers on the bounce. Eleanor was taking her time, weighing each question for a moment or two before answering. That needs nerve, and it also means you have to be accurate. A couple of wrong answers followed, and then a pass. When you haven’t got the momentum, a wrong answer can completely take the wind out of your sails, and Eleanor found herself becalmed on 16, only managing one more before the end of the round.

In a way, Ranvir’s GK round was similar to his SS round. He started pretty well, and even the ones he didn’t know the answers to, he made sensible suggestions. Like Megan before him, he also kept his head enough to offer answers to every question. Some of his answers were enough to lead me to think that Ranvir is to some extent a quizzer – the speed with which he batted a US state capitals question to the boundary being one example. However, the gradient seemed to get just a little steeper as he pulled into the lead, and he finished with 11 for the round, for a total of 20. All 3 of this heat’s contenders so far had managed double figures on GK. If Tom could do that, without incurring passes, then the worst result he could have would be a tie break.

Well, 3 correct answers from the first 4 questions suggested he might do it with a little bit to spare. The next half dozen or more questions gave the lie to this. Tom became stuck on 14 for too long. By the time he passed, so had his opportunity. In the end he rallied enough to push up to 18, securing second. Well done to everyone, and an enjoyable start to the series. Well done to you too, Mr. Myrie, or may I call you Clive?  Keep up the good work. 

The Details

Tom Jewsbury	The Geography of Switzerland	10	0	8	1	18	1
Megan Sutcliffe	The family of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia	7	0	10	0	17	0
Eleanor Launchbury	Sir Roger Moore	7	2	10	2	17	4
Ranvir Singh Kalare	Bruce Springsteen	9	0	11	0	20	0