You know, I made my last post about the qualifiers for the semi finals, and I realised there’s another point I’d like to make. Here’s the table of all of the contenders’ performances in the first round:-
|
Michael McPartland |
Arnold Schwarzenegger |
14 |
0 |
17 |
0 |
31 |
0 |
|
|
Lee Ansett |
Michael Palin’s Travel Documentaries |
12 |
1 |
16 |
0 |
28 |
1 |
|
|
Joe Andrew |
Emily Wilding Davison |
13 |
0 |
15 |
0 |
28 |
0 |
|
|
James
Haughton |
Christian
Huygens |
13 |
0 |
14 |
0 |
27 |
0 |
1 |
|
Stuart
Field |
Jonathan
Creek |
10 |
0 |
17 |
0 |
27 |
0 |
2 |
|
Hilary Burton |
The Lord Peter Wimsey Novels of Dorothy L. Sayers |
11 |
0 |
16 |
0 |
27 |
0 |
|
|
Ben
Whitworth |
The
History of the Orkney Islands |
12 |
0 |
15 |
0 |
27 |
0 |
|
|
James Devine-Stoneman |
Lady Gaga |
10 |
1 |
16 |
1 |
26 |
2 |
|
|
George Scratcherd |
The Wines of Portugal |
12 |
0 |
14 |
2 |
26 |
2 |
|
|
Ruth Gibbons |
Francisco de Goya |
13 |
0 |
13 |
2 |
26 |
2 |
|
|
Ben Spicer |
Peaky Blinders |
15 |
0 |
11 |
1 |
26 |
1 |
|
|
Alexia Jarvis |
Team GB in the 2020 Sumer Olympics |
13 |
0 |
12 |
1 |
25 |
1 |
|
|
Ben
Farren |
Christopher
Hitchens |
12 |
0 |
13 |
0 |
25 |
0 |
|
|
Pippa Smith |
The Life and Work of John Cage |
10 |
0 |
15 |
0 |
25 |
0 |
|
|
Mike
Wheeler |
European
Mammals |
9 |
1 |
15 |
1 |
24 |
2 |
|
|
Holly Franklin |
The BBC Sitcom Ghosts |
13 |
0 |
11 |
2 |
24 |
2 |
|
|
Mark Rogers |
The Universal Frankenstein Films of the 1930s |
13 |
0 |
11 |
0 |
24 |
0 |
|
|
Alex Shilton |
The Films of Wes Anderson |
11 |
0 |
13 |
0 |
24 |
0 |
|
|
William Andrews |
Theda Bara |
10 |
0 |
14 |
0 |
24 |
0 |
|
|
Katie Bamber |
BBC Sitcom Mum |
14 |
0 |
10 |
0 |
24 |
0 |
|
|
Keshava
Guha |
Sir
Garfield Sobers |
10 |
0 |
14 |
0 |
24 |
0 |
|
|
Davey Jarrett |
The Philip Marlowe Novels of Raymond Chandler |
14 |
0 |
9 |
0 |
23 |
0 |
|
|
Paddy Storrie |
The Falklands Conflict |
10 |
0 |
12 |
2 |
22 |
2 |
|
|
Jonathan Evans |
James Parkinson |
11 |
0 |
11 |
1 |
22 |
1 |
|
|
Blake Robinson |
Torchwood |
11 |
0 |
11 |
0 |
22 |
0 |
|
|
Alison
Rose |
The
Life of Anne Lister |
12 |
0 |
10 |
0 |
22 |
0 |
|
|
Sam Swift |
Sir Elton John |
12 |
0 |
10 |
0 |
22 |
0 |
|
|
Pete Wescott |
British Politics in the 1960s |
11 |
1 |
10 |
3 |
21 |
4 |
|
|
James
Beeby |
The
Mitford Sisters |
11 |
0 |
10 |
2 |
21 |
2 |
|
|
James
Davidson |
The
Films of Nicole Kidman |
10 |
1 |
11 |
1 |
21 |
2 |
|
|
Sam Bowdery |
The Wire |
10 |
0 |
11 |
1 |
21 |
1 |
|
|
Bhagwan Manku |
Christina Aguilera |
13 |
0 |
8 |
0 |
21 |
0 |
|
|
Jane Mackey |
Emily Dickinson |
10 |
1 |
11 |
0 |
21 |
0 |
|
|
Simon Durrant |
Offa’s Dyke Path |
9 |
3 |
11 |
3 |
20 |
6 |
|
|
Anu
Mitra |
The
Films of Laurel and Hardy |
8 |
2 |
12 |
1 |
20 |
3 |
|
|
Lisa Sedge |
Elizabeth Woodville |
10 |
0 |
10 |
1 |
20 |
1 |
|
|
Anna
Milford Goldstein |
The
Great Fire of London |
6 |
0 |
14 |
0 |
20 |
0 |
|
|
Anna Kirby Hall |
The New Romantics |
8 |
0 |
12 |
0 |
20 |
0 |
|
|
Hannah
Loxton |
Guest
Stars in Friends |
6 |
3 |
13 |
1 |
19 |
4 |
|
|
Adeline McCartney |
Rupert Brooke |
6 |
0 |
13 |
2 |
19 |
2 |
|
|
Ann
Mayner |
Charles
Rennie Mackintosh |
11 |
0 |
8 |
2 |
19 |
2 |
|
|
Catherine Sparks |
The Empress Matilda |
11 |
0 |
8 |
1 |
19 |
1 |
|
|
Hamid Khan |
Marcus Trescothick |
8 |
0 |
11 |
1 |
19 |
1 |
|
|
Darren Ross |
The Jacobite Rebellion of 1745 |
11 |
0 |
8 |
1 |
19 |
1 |
|
|
Voirrey
Blount |
The
Lord of the Rings Novels of JRR Tolkein |
11 |
0 |
8 |
0 |
19 |
0 |
|
|
Stewart McNicol |
Hyenas |
8 |
0 |
11 |
0 |
19 |
0 |
|
|
Katherine Pathack |
Rebellions against the Tudors |
10 |
0 |
9 |
0 |
19 |
0 |
|
|
Caz
Evans |
Take
That |
7 |
4 |
11 |
4 |
18 |
8 |
|
|
Katie Williams |
Only Fools and Horses |
9 |
2 |
9 |
5 |
18 |
7 |
|
|
Paul Warrington |
Wallace and Gromit |
11 |
2 |
7 |
4 |
18 |
6 |
|
|
Wendy
Knipe |
Toy
Dog Breeds |
11 |
0 |
7 |
4 |
18 |
4 |
|
|
Richard
Taylor |
Field
Marshal Montgomery |
9 |
1 |
9 |
3 |
18 |
4 |
|
|
Stephen
Finn |
Mithridates
the Great |
9 |
0 |
9 |
2 |
18 |
2 |
|
|
Holly Parkinson |
Stephen Hawking |
9 |
0 |
9 |
2 |
18 |
2 |
|
|
Gaynor Melling |
Rupert Bear |
9 |
0 |
9 |
2 |
18 |
2 |
|
|
Rebecca Messina |
The What Katy Did Novels |
8 |
0 |
10 |
2 |
18 |
2 |
|
|
Zahir
Kazi |
The
Career of John Barnes |
14 |
0 |
5 |
1 |
18 |
1 |
|
|
Robin
Geddes |
The
TV series Succession |
8 |
0 |
10 |
0 |
18 |
0 |
|
|
David Dury |
Banksy |
10 |
0 |
8 |
0 |
18 |
0 |
|
|
Padraig O’Kane |
The Thick of It |
7 |
3 |
10 |
2 |
17 |
5 |
|
|
Jenny Armitage |
Shakespeare Comedies |
10 |
1 |
7 |
3 |
17 |
4 |
|
|
Eleanor
Jardine |
Elizabeth
David |
7 |
0 |
10 |
3 |
17 |
3 |
|
|
Rema
Wilkens |
US
First ladies 1945 - present |
9 |
0 |
8 |
1 |
17 |
1 |
|
|
Colin Rogers-Marsh |
Films of Judy Garland |
4 |
1 |
13 |
0 |
17 |
1 |
1 |
|
Marcus
Deal |
Constellations
of the Northern Hemisphere |
8 |
0 |
9 |
0 |
17 |
0 |
|
|
Stewart Holden |
The US Space Shuttle Programme |
9 |
0 |
8 |
0 |
17 |
0 |
|
|
Christopher McBride |
The Cure |
7 |
1 |
10 |
0 |
17 |
0 |
0 |
|
Fiona Templeton |
The French Wars of Religion |
12 |
1 |
4 |
4 |
16 |
5 |
|
|
Matt
Carter |
U2 |
10 |
1 |
7 |
3 |
16 |
4 |
|
|
Jack Karimi |
20th Century US Vice Presidents |
7 |
1 |
9 |
3 |
16 |
4 |
|
|
George Pope |
Stevie Nicks |
9 |
1 |
7 |
2 |
16 |
3 |
|
|
Sangeetha
Navaratnam-Blair |
Elizabeth
Ist |
8 |
0 |
8 |
2 |
16 |
2 |
|
|
Julie Clifton |
Detectorists |
9 |
1 |
7 |
0 |
16 |
1 |
|
|
Ronan
McKenna |
NBA
MVP Winners 2000 – present day |
10 |
0 |
6 |
0 |
16 |
0 |
|
|
Suzette Aagaard |
Georges Remi ad Tintin |
9 |
0 |
7 |
0 |
16 |
0 |
|
|
Lesley Ravencroft |
Thomas Cromwell |
6 |
3 |
9 |
2 |
15 |
5 |
|
|
Boakesey Boakes |
The Richard Sharpe Novels of Bernard Cornwell |
8 |
0 |
7 |
3 |
15 |
3 |
|
|
Katie Lane |
William Morris |
6 |
0 |
9 |
1 |
15 |
1 |
|
|
Mel Kinsey |
Neil Armstrong |
5 |
0 |
9 |
3 |
14 |
3 |
|
|
Ishmael Silvestro |
The Music of Radiohead |
6 |
0 |
8 |
1 |
14 |
1 |
|
|
Alan
McLarty |
Dear
Evan Hansen |
5 |
1 |
9 |
0 |
14 |
1 |
|
|
Rebecca
Lodge Birkebaek |
The
Films of Christopher Guest |
7 |
0 |
7 |
0 |
14 |
0 |
|
|
Leigh Hagger |
Hi de Hi |
8 |
0 |
6 |
0 |
14 |
0 |
|
|
Steve Brown |
Marie Curie |
8 |
0 |
6 |
0 |
14 |
0 |
|
|
Katie
Eliot |
The
Children’s Books of Roald Dahl |
6 |
3 |
7 |
6 |
13 |
9 |
|
|
Aoife
Gamble |
Artemisia
Gentileschi |
5 |
4 |
7 |
6 |
12 |
10 |
|
|
Isabel Burgin |
The Alice Novels of Lewis Carroll |
7 |
0 |
5 |
3 |
12 |
3 |
|
|
Paddy Pammet |
The Jazz musician Bill Evans |
5 |
1 |
7 |
1 |
12 |
2 |
|
|
Chidi
Ngwaba |
The
British Industrial Revolution |
3 |
3 |
8 |
5 |
11 |
8 |
|
|
Quinn
Holmes |
Killing
Eve |
3 |
4 |
8 |
2 |
11 |
6 |
|
|
Jane Worrall |
Catherine the Great |
3 |
1 |
8 |
2 |
11 |
3 |
|
|
Cristina Murray- Radulescu |
Egon Schiele |
4 |
0 |
7 |
3 |
11 |
3 |
|
|
Harry
Hodson |
The
Feature Films of David Lynch |
5 |
1 |
6 |
2 |
11 |
3 |
|
|
Shaun
Cairns |
The
Plays of Tennessee Williams |
4 |
0 |
7 |
0 |
11 |
0 |
|
|
Raminda
Kaur |
Ayrton
Senna |
6 |
0 |
4 |
3 |
10 |
3 |
|
|
Molly
Quinn-Leitch |
Film
Adaptations of Shakespeare’s tragedies |
3 |
0 |
7 |
0 |
10 |
0 |
|
Now, you may well notice that some of the contenders’ names
are in bold. They are the heat winners. Some of the contenders’ names are in
italics and these are the 6 highest scoring runners up. The 6 contenders who
would have taken repechage semi finals slots in years gone by. Yes, dearly beloved,
we are back on that hobby horse again.
Look, I do know that you’re never going to have a format
that pleases everyone. I understand that there is a substantial body of opinion
that says Mastermind is a tournament show, and the thing about tournament play
is that you have to be prepared to play against and beat anyone in any round.
If you happen to meet a contender who is stronger on the night in the first
round, then that’s bad luck but that’s he way it goes. I can’t argue against
the logic of this viewpoint and respect those who hold it.
However I do have a huge amount of sympathy for those
contenders who produce great first round performances yet miss out on the
semis. Maybe it’s because I played in 2006 when, along with Jenny ‘the Vixen’
Ryan I was joint highest scoring runner up in a heat but didn’t get to play in
the semis. Maybe not, though. Even if I had been in the semi finals I certainly
wouldn’t have won the series, and it gave me the spur to reapply the next year.
Does that mean I’m sitting on the fence a bit? Probably. I certainly
wouldn’t want to get to a state of affairs where only the top 24 scorers in the
first round go through to the semis, regardless of whether you ‘win’ your heat
or not. They did something like that in Sport Mastermind and I didn’t like it
run that way to be honest. If you win your heat you have a right to go to the
semi finals and that’s the way it should always be. But for what it’s worth,
James, Hilary, James, Ruth, Alexa and Pippa, you have my sympathy, and with a
tiny bit more luck you would have been there too.
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