About this season
Mastermind is a British quiz show, well known for its challenging questions, intimidating setting and air of seriousness. Devised by Bill Wright, the basic format of Mastermind has never changed — four and in later contests five contestants face two rounds, one on a specialised subject of the contestant's choice, the other a general knowledge round. Wright drew inspiration from his experiences of being interrogated by the Gestapo during World War II. The atmosphere is helped by Mastermind's famously ominous theme music, "Approaching Menace" by the British composer Neil Richardson. The quiz programme originated and was recorded in Manchester at studios such as New Broadcasting House and Granada Studios, before permanently moving to MediaCityUK in 2011.
Episodes (31)
1. Episode 1
Aired 28 August 2009 • 30 min
The general knowledge series returns for the 32nd time. Tonight's topics comprise the life and works of Louis Wain, the Greeks in Sicily from to 212 BC, the Sherlock Holmes films of Basil Rathbone and the life of Kurt Vonnegut. With John Humphrys.
2. Episode 2
Aired 4 September 2009 • 30 min
Topics comprise Apple Records, fictional works of Paul Auster , the life of Maximilien Robespierre , and world heavyweight boxing champions from 1882 to 1929.
3. Episode 3
Aired 11 September 2009 • 30 min
Topics tonight are the history of the George Cross, the documentary series The Ascent of Man, the first Latin kingdom of Jerusalem and former PM Clement Attlee.
4. Episode 4
Aired 18 September 2009 • 30 min
Tonight's topics are the life and work of Oscar Wilde, Germanic languages, the history of jazz music 1917-30 and the life and films of Akira Kurosawa.
5. Episode 5
Aired 25 September 2009 • 30 min
Tonight's subjects are the life and films of Groucho Marx, the novels of Dorothy Whipple, the Battle of Britain and the life and work of Thomas Arnold.
6. Episode 6
Aired 2 October 2009 • 30 min
Topics comprise the Cazalet books of Elizabeth Jane Howard, the life and times of John Hume, Egyptology, and British New Wave cinema of the 1960s.
7. Episode 7
Aired 9 October 2009 • 30 min
Topics tonight are the life and work of Paul Nash, the films of Tim Burton, ancient Greece from to 323BC and the life and work of Paul Dirac
8. Episode 8
Aired 23 October 2009 • 30 min
Topics tonight are the life and career of Bill Hicks , the Mont Blanc massif, George Frideric Handel , and the life and work of Isaiah Berlin. With John Humphrys.
9. Episode 9
Aired 30 October 2009 • 30 min
Topics are British indie music 1979-89, the life and work of Leonhard Euler, Graham Greene's short stories and transatlantic ocean liners from 1907 to the present day.
10. Episode 10
Aired 6 November 2009 • 30 min
Topics tonight are Richard III, the life and times of Morihei Ueshiba, the Chartist movement and the life and work of Edouard Manet. With John Humphrys.
11. Episode 11
Aired 13 November 2009 • 30 min
Tonight's specialist subjects comprise British female cabinet ministers, angels, the Stone of Destiny and the Birdcage novels of Victor Canning.
12. Episode 12
Aired 20 November 2009 • 30 min
Subjects are the NFL 1920-74, Henry VII, Stephenie Meyer's Twilight novels and Aberdeen architecture since 1800.
13. Episode 13
Aired 8 January 2010 • 30 min
Host John Humphrys invites four contenders to answer questions in the black chair. The specialist subjects are Isambard Kingdom Brunel, the islands of Micronesia, the life and music of Johnnie Ray, and the London borough of Wandsworth.
14. Episode 14
Aired 15 January 2010 • 30 min
Host John Humphrys invites four contenders to answer questions in the black chair. The specialist subjects are the history of the Eurovision Song Contest, Caesar's Gallic Wars, the life and works of Ayn Rand and Florence during the Renaissance 1400-1550.
15. Episode 15
Aired 22 January 2010 • 30 min
Host John Humphrys invites four contenders to answer questions in the black chair. The specialist subjects are the life and music of Lou Reed, Carl Gustaf Mannerheim, classical Greek mythology and the life and times of Martin Nadaud.
16. Episode 16
Aired 29 January 2010 • 30 min
Host John Humphrys invites four contenders to answer questions in the black chair. The specialist subjects are the work of Gerry Anderson, the Summer Olympics 1968 - 1988, the life and work of Sir John Everett Millais and the life of Mustafa 'Ataturk' Kemal.
17. Episode 17
Aired 5 February 2010 • 30 min
Host John Humphrys invites four contenders to answer questions in the black chair. The specialist subjects are the novels of Stan Barstow, the history of Portmeirion, motorcycles of the 1950s and the history of Lords Cricket Ground.
18. Episode 18
Aired 12 February 2010 • 30 min
Host John Humphrys invites four contenders to answer questions in the black chair. The specialist subjects are TV westerns of the 50s and 60s, the life and work of Tolkien, the government of Gough Whitlam 1972 -1975, and the life and career of Dixie Dean.
19. Episode 19
Aired 26 February 2010 • 30 min
Host John Humphrys invites four contenders to answer questions in the black chair. The specialist subjects are Charles Darwin, the life and works of Francis Poulenc, the history of mountaineering on Everest and the break-up of Yugoslavia.
20. Episode 20
Aired 5 March 2010 • 30 min
Host John Humphrys invites four contenders to answer questions in the black chair. The specialist subjects are the life and career of Sir Alex Ferguson, 17th-century English history, Star Trek Voyager and the life and worlds of Edward Elgar.
21. Episode 21
Aired 12 March 2010 • 30 min
Host John Humphrys invites four contenders to answer questions in the black chair. The specialist subjects are the life and career of Lester Piggott, the Weimar Republic, the life and trials of Edward Marshall Hall and the life and films of Preston Sturges.
22. Episode 22
Aired 19 March 2010 • 30 min
John Humphrys hosts Britain's toughest quiz. Four more contenders are questioned on their specialist subject and general knowledge. Subjects are: the life and times of Robert Peel, Gertrude Jekyll, the Child Ballads and the life and work of Baudelaire.
23. Episode 23
Aired 26 March 2010 • 30 min
Host John Humphrys asks the questions as four contenders take the walk to the black chair. The specialist subjects are Victorian and Edwardian poisoners, the life and music of Lead Belly, the life and work of Bishop John Robinson and the Football World Cup 1930-1958.
24. Episode 24
Aired 2 April 2010 • 30 min
Host John Humphrys asks the questions as four contenders take the walk to the black chair. The specialist subjects are the films of Billy Wilder, the Nuremberg Trials, Charles II and the fictional works of CS Lewis.
25. Episode 25
Aired 9 April 2010 • 30 min
The subjects are: The Lord Peter Wimsey Novels of Dorothy L Sayers; The Anglo-American War 1812-1815; Hindu Gods and Goddesses; The Life and Work of Cecil Sharp; and the TV Series The Wire.
26. Episode 26
Aired 16 April 2010 • 30 min
John Humphrys hosts Britain's toughest quiz. Five contenders battle it out for a place in the grand final. Subjects are the history of the British Army 1660-1914, the life and music of Burt Bacharach, Dance to the Music of Time novels by Anthony Powell, Ealing Studios 1838-1959 and the London and North Eastern Railway.
27. Episode 27
Aired 23 April 2010 • 30 min
John Humphrys puts five contenders through their paces. At stake is a place in the grand final. The subjects are: the life and career of Ayrton Senna, the Jeeves and Wooster novels of PG Wodehouse, broadway stage musicals 1927-present, the life and work of Alan Moore, and the the life and reign of James VI and I.
28. Episode 28
Aired 7 May 2010 • 30 min
John Humphrys hosts Britain's toughest quiz. Five contenders battle it out for a place in the grand final. Subjects are the life and times of Sir Walter Raleigh, TV series Ever Decreasing Circles, the Sharpe novels of Bernard Cornwell, British hit singles of the 1960s and the life and reign of Henry VIII.
29. Episode 29
Aired 14 May 2010 • 30 min
John Humphrys hosts Britain's toughest quiz. Five contenders battle it out for a place in the grand final. The subjects are William the Conquerer, the life and work of Gian Lorenzo Bernini, the history of glam rock, the Manhattan Project, and Robert the Bruce.
30. Episode 30
Aired 21 May 2010 • 30 min
John Humphrys hosts Britain's toughest quiz. Five contenders try to claim the one remaining grand final place. The subjects are the life and work of Antoni Gaudi, British history 1815-1914, the Pliocene and Galactic Milieu novels of Julian May, the films of Powell and Pressburger and the life and reign of Henry VI.
31. Grand Final
Aired 28 May 2010 • 60 min
John Humphrys asks the questions as six contenders battle it out to become the nation's Mastermind in the series grand final. The subjects are: Hollywood in the 1980s; the granddaughters of Queen Victoria; Liverpool Anglican cathedral, English cricket's county championship since 1960; the general strike of 1926; and 17th century Venetian opera.