History Series / Mastermind

''Can you please tell me your name''? This Troper.

* DarkerAndEdgier: The black chair, the harsh spotlight, the sombre manner of the questioner, the constant repeat of...[[HellIsThatNoise THAT THEME TUNE...]] This is the quiz show as SeriousBusiness. This would be amplified in the 2019-2020 series, which made the ''Mastermind'' set more suitably menacing.

''Which show is ''Mastermind'''s similarly-challenging team equivalent?'' ''Series/UniversityChallenge''

* CelebrityEdition: Runs for ten episodes on Creator/{{BBC}}1 (rather than [=BBC2=] for the current 'standard' series) over the Christmas period each year. Unlike the standard series, the episodes are standalone (and the general knowledge questions tend to be easier).

* ThemeTune: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5gn0I9chrc "Approaching Menace"]] and conveying it as effectively as the theme from ''Film/{{Jaws}}'',m and it is quite deliberately imposing and tries to put fear into anyone who hears it.

''What is your occupation?'' Media Snarker.

''OK, you have two minutes to answer as many questions as possible. Let's begin. What country produces this famous quiz show?'' Great Britain.

''What is the format of the show?'' Four contestants answer two timed rounds of questions; one on a specialist subject, followed by a round of general knowledge. The highest total score wins. Winners of heats go on to semi-finals and then the final.

''Wrong, he's just been replaced in 2021 by Clive Myrie. Are you allowed to pass in this game?'' Yes.

''What inspired Bill Wright, the creator?'' Being interrogated by the Gestapo.

* BraggingRightsReward: The only prize for winning is a large glass bowl. Of course, Mastermind champions practically become minor celebrities, particularly in the quiz circuit, because it proves that you're really ''that damn smart.'' Indeed, one of the 'Chasers' on ''Series/{{The Chase|GameShow}}'' is 2004 champion Shaun Wallace.
* CatchPhrase: "I've started so I'll finish."

* DarkerAndEdgier: The black chair, the harsh spotlight, the sombre manner of the questioner, [[HellIsThatNoise THAT THEME TUNE...]] This is the quiz show as SeriousBusiness. This would be amplified in the 2019-2020 series, which made the ''Mastermind'' set more suitably menacing.

* ShownTheirWork: The whole point of the "specialist subject" round.

* SmallReferencePools: Essentially, the first round tests depth of knowledge and the second tests breadth - meaning that this trope is both inverted ''and'' played straight.
* SpinOff: Several.
* ThemeTune: Named "Approaching Menace" and conveying it as effectively as the theme from ''Film/{{Jaws}}''.

* AwesomeMcCoolname: Magnús Magnússon.

''And your specialist subject?'' The BBC quiz show ''Mastermind''.

''At the end of that, you had one pass; if you pass in this game, the host reads out the correct answers to any passed questions at the end of the round rather than during it which is what happens if you give the wrong answer, and in the event of a tie the contestant with the lowest number of passes wins. You have ten points!''

''I'll accept that as it was the joke's first appearance on TV. The very first appearance of the sketch was on spoofine radio show Radio/TheBurkissWay.''

''Wrong, he’s just been replaced in 2021 by Clive Myrie. Are you allowed to pass in this game?'' Yes.

''At the end of that, you had one pass; if you pass in this game, the host reads out the correct answers to any passed questions at the end of the round, and in the event of a tie the contestant with the lowest number of passes wins. You have ten points!''

''Are you allowed to pass in this game?'' Yes.

''At the end of that, you had one pass; if you pass in this game, the host reads out the correct answers to any passed questions at the end of the round, and in the event of a tie the contestant with the lowest number of passes wins. You have eleven points!''

* BraggingRightsReward: The only prize for winning is a large glass bowl. Of course, Mastermind champions practically become minor celebrities, particularly in the quiz circuit, because it proves that you're really ''that damn smart.''
** Indeed, one of the 'Chasers' on ''Series/{{The Chase|GameShow}}'' is 2004 champion Shaun Wallace.

* DarkerAndEdgier: The black chair, the harsh spotlight, the sombre manner of the questioner, [[HellIsThatNoise THAT THEME TUNE...]] This is the quiz show as SeriousBusiness.
** This would later get amplified in the 2019-2020 series, which made the ''Mastermind'' set more suitably menacing.

* HiddenDepths: Often turns up stereotype-defying contenders, including a cab driver with extensive knowledge of 14th-Century Italian art.

* WrongGenreSavvy: PlayedForLaughs by Michael Winner on a celebrity edition, where he was doing poorly and resorted to repeatedly asking to [[Series/WhoWantsToBeAMillionaire phone a friend or ask the audience]].

** Indeed, one of the 'Chasers' on ''Series/TheChase'' is 2004 champion Shaun Wallace.

''What is the format of the show?'' Four contestants answer two timed rounds of questions; one on a specialist subject, followed by a round of general knowledge. The highest total score wins, with the number of passes breaking a tie if necessary. Winners of heats go on to semi-finals and then finals.

''What happens if you pass in this game?'' Pass.

''Which pair of comedians famously'' (Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!) ''I've started so I'll finish...spoofed the show by having one answer the question before last?'' Series/TheTwoRonnies.

''At the end of that, you had one pass; if you pass in this game, the host reads out the correct answers to any passed questions at the end of the round. You have eleven points!''

* CoolChair: The black leather swivel chair in which contenders sit. It was once kidnapped and held for ransom. Seriously.

''At the end of that, you had one pass; if you pass in this game, the host reads out the correct answers to any passed questions at the end of the round. You have ten points!''

* TransAtlanticEquivalent: {{ESPN}}'s ''2 Minute Drill'', using sports questions.

''What happened to the show between 1997 and 2003?'' There was a Radio 4 version, then a Discovery Channel version, the latter hosted by [[WhoseLineIsItAnyway Clive Anderson]].

''Which pair of comedians famously'' (Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!) ''I've started so I'll finish...spoofed the show by having one answer the question before last?'' TheTwoRonnies.

''Wrong. it was UsefulNotes/{[Iceland}}''.

''Wrong. it was UsefulNotes/{[Iceland}}.

''Which pair of comedians famously spoofed the show by having one answer the question before last?'' TheTwoRonnies.

''Which web animation series is this show not to be confused with?'' ''WebAnimation/{{Mastermind}}''.

''Which "[[DieHardOnAnX Die Hard in a school]]" film is this show not to be confused with?'' ''Film/{{Masterminds}}''.

''Which board game is this show not to-'' (Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!) ''I've started so I'll finish... Which board game is this show not to be confused with?'' ''TabletopGame/{{Mastermind}}''.

''At the end of that, you had one pass; if you pass in this game, the host reads out the correct answers to any passed questions at the end of the round. You have 13 points!''

* CelebrityEdition: Runs for ten episodes on BBC1 (rather than BBC2 for the current 'standard' series) over the Christmas period each year. Unlike the standard series, the episodes are standalone (and the general knowledge questions tend to be easier).

* AwesomeMcCoolname: Magnús Magnússon. He was Icelandic, and they use the patronymic system there. So it really did mean that he was [[IAmXSonOfY Magnús, son of Magnús]].

* WriteWhatYouKnow: That's not a joke — the show really is based on its creator's experience of being interrogated by the Gestapo in WorldWarII.