Mastermind (Season 39)

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.

Episode 1 (Episode 1)
Air date: 2012-08-10
Runtime: 30 min
Overview: The hunt for the nation's Mastermind gets under way once more as John Humphrys questions four contenders on their specialist subject and general knowledge. Subjects in this first heat are the completed novels of Jane Austen, the life and times of Elizabeth I, Fawlty Towers and the Savoy Operas of Gilbert and Sullivan.
Episode 2 (Episode 2)
Air date: 2012-08-17
Runtime: 30 min
Overview: John Humphrys invites four more contenders to answer questions. Topics include Billie Holiday, Eddy Merckx, The Life and Work of Ludwig Wittgenstein, and William Gladstone.
Episode 3 (Episode 3)
Air date: 2012-08-24
Runtime: 30 min
Overview: John Humphrys puts the questions to four more contenders. Subjects are Radiohead, the Sherlock Holmes stories of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Goodies and Michael Collins.
Episode 4 (Episode 4)
Air date: 2012-08-31
Runtime: 30 min
Overview: John Humphrys puts the questions to four more contenders. Subjects are Duran Duran, Shakespeare's comedies, the history of the Alpine Club and The Shipping Forecast.
Episode 5 (Episode 5)
Air date: 2012-09-14
Runtime: 30 min
Overview: John Humphrys puts the questions to four more contenders. Tonight's topics include Doctor Who, 1963 - 1989; The story of Moses in the King James Bible; the history and geography of Arkansas; and Terry Venables.
Episode 6 (Episode 6)
Air date: 2012-09-21
Runtime: 30 min
Overview: John Humphrys asks the questions as four contenders take the walk to the black chair. Subjects are: the Epsom Derby since 1980, extinct fauna of the Ice Age, the life and work of Dave Allen and General Custer and the Battle of the Little Bighorn.
Episode 7 (Episode 7)
Air date: 2012-09-28
Runtime: 30 min
Overview: John Humphrys puts the questions to four more contenders. Subjects are: Sir Ian Botham, the life and work of Caspar David Friedrich, Guns N' Roses and the Hornblower novels of CS Forester.
Episode 8 (Episode 8)
Air date: 2012-10-05
Runtime: 30 min
Overview: John Humphrys asks the questions as four contenders take the walk to the black chair. Subjects are: the life and career of George Harrison, the history of Rome until 1944, Everest mountaineering and Anthony Powell's A Dance to the Music of Time.
Episode 9 (Episode 9)
Air date: 2012-10-12
Runtime: 30 min
Overview: John Humphrys asks the questions as the hunt continues for the nation's Mastermind. The contenders' specialist subjects are the national parks of England and Wales, the battles of the American Civil War, the life and work of HP Lovecraft and boxing world title fights since 2000.
Episode 10 (Episode 10)
Air date: 2012-10-19
Runtime: 30 min
Overview: Host John Humphrys invites four more contenders to answer questions in the black chair. Subjects are Catherine of Aragon, Fanny Cradock, the novels of Roddy Doyle and French grand opera 1823-1900.
Episode 11 (Episode 11)
Air date: 2012-10-26
Runtime: 30 min
Overview: Host John Humphrys asks questions on The Waltons, the Bernard Sampson novels of Len Deighton, Sir Nigel Gresley and Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston.
Episode 12 (Episode 12)
Air date: 2012-11-09
Runtime: 30 min
Overview: John Humphrys puts the questions to four more contenders. Subjects are: Steely Dan, the Mapp and Lucia Novels of EF Benson, the Boston Bruins since 1970 and Henry Mayhew's London Labour and London Poor.
Episode 13 (Episode 13)
Air date: 2012-11-16
Runtime: 30 min
Overview: John Humphrys asks the questions as the hunt continues for the nation's Mastermind. Subjects are: the Titanic, the American Revolutionary War, East German Athletics 1976-1988 and John Peel's Festive Fifties.
Episode 14 (Episode 14)
Air date: 2012-11-23
Runtime: 30 min
Overview: John Humphrys asks the questions as the hunt continues for the nation's Mastermind. Subjects are: Geoffrey Boycott, Futurama, Graham Greene and US Military Aircraft since 1945.
Episode 15 (Episode 15)
Air date: 2012-11-30
Runtime: 30 min
Overview: John Humphrys invites four more contenders to answer questions in the black chair. The subjects are: Alice Cooper, the Gemini space programme, West Ham United 1970-date and the life and work of John Logie Baird.
Episode 16 (Episode 16)
Air date: 2012-12-07
Runtime: 30 min
Overview: John Humphrys asks the questions as four contenders take the walk to the black chair. Subjects are the novels of William Golding, the Soviet Union under Stalin 1924-1939, The KLF and When the Boat Comes In.
Episode 17 (Episode 17)
Air date: 2012-12-14
Runtime: 30 min
Overview: John Humphrys invites four more contenders to answer questions in the black chair. Subjects are British number one singles 1963-2000, Alan Bennett's Talking Heads, Kett's rebellion of 1549 and the life and career of Michael Foot.
Episode 18 (Episode 18)
Air date: 2012-12-21
Runtime: 30 min
Overview: John Humphrys asks the questions as the hunt continues for the nation's Mastermind. The subjects are: the Bee Gees, the life and films of Kevin Smith, the Falklands conflict, and the life and work of Thomas Hardy.
Episode 19 (Episode 19)
Air date: 2013-01-11
Runtime: 30 min
Overview: John Humphrys asks the questions as the hunt continues for the nation's Mastermind. Four more contenders are questioned on their specialist subject and general knowledge. Subjects are Anne Boleyn, the Wallander novels of Henning Mankell, the life and music of Sir William Walton and Shakespeare's tragedies.
Episode 20 (Episode 20)
Air date: 2013-01-18
Runtime: 30 min
Overview: John Humphrys invites four more contenders to answer questions in the black chair. Subjects tonight are the life and films of Marilyn Monroe, the life and career of David Lloyd George, Swallows and Amazons and the life and career of 1st Duke of Wellington.
Episode 21 (Episode 21)
Air date: 2013-01-25
Runtime: 30 min
Overview: John Humphrys puts the questions to four more contenders. The subjects are Monty Python, the life and career of Lord Nelson, the Tin Tin books of Hergé, and the African 'big five'.
Episode 22 (Episode 22)
Air date: 2013-02-01
Runtime: 30 min
Overview: John Humphrys hosts Britain's toughest quiz. Four more contenders are questioned on their specialist subject and general knowledge. The subjects are: Red Dwarf, Marie Curie, the novels of Jasper Fforde and the life and career of Field Marshal Haig.
Episode 23 (Episode 23)
Air date: 2013-02-08
Runtime: 30 min
Overview: John Humphrys asks the questions as four contenders take the walk to the black chair. The subjects are: Joy Division, the Battle of the River Plate, Ashes Cricket Series since 1981 and the films of Tod Slaughter.
Episode 24 (Episode 24)
Air date: 2013-02-15
Runtime: 30 min
Overview: John Humphrys invites four more contenders to answer questions in the black chair. Subjects are the life and music of Ian Dury; the Red Army 1941-1945; the life and work of Gerald Durrell; the history of Celtic FC.
Episode 25 (Episode 25)
Air date: 2013-02-22
Runtime: 30 min
Overview: ohn Humphrys presents the first semi-final as five contenders vie for a place in the grand final. Subjects are the situation comedy Rising Damp, US military aircraft of the Second World War, the novels of Dennis Lehane, the St John's Wood Clique of Victorian artists and the films of Dietrich and von Sternberg.
Episode 26 (Episode 26)
Air date: 2013-03-01
Runtime: 30 min
Overview: Five more contenders compete for a place in the grand final as John Humphrys hosts another semi-final. The subjects are: the films of Norman Wisdom, Magna Carta, the Pembrokeshire coast, the novels of William Boyd, and the French Religious Wars 1559-1598.
Episode 27 (Episode 27)
Air date: 2013-03-08
Runtime: 30 min
Overview: John Humphrys presents another semi-final of the classic quiz as five contenders fight for a place in the grand final. Subjects are Scott's last journey, the films of Mel Brooks, the life and poetry of WB Yeats, Otto von Bismarck and the novels of Sarah Waters.
Episode 28 (Episode 28)
Air date: 2013-03-15
Runtime: 30 min
Overview: Five more contenders vie for a place in the grand final as John Humphrys invites them to return to the black chair in another semi-final. Subjects are the life and films of David Niven, Edward III, the Pixies, The Life of Giuseppe Garibaldi and the Flashman novels of George MacDonald Fraser.
Episode 29 (Episode 29)
Air date: 2013-03-22
Runtime: 30 min
Overview: John Humphrys hosts the penultimate semi-final as five contenders attempt to win a place in the grand final. Subjects are birds of Britain, the films of Takeshi Kitano, Newcastle United since 1945, the Jagiellon Dynasty and the Adam Dalgliesh mysteries of PD James.
Episode 30 (Episode 30)
Air date: 2013-03-29
Runtime: 30 min
Overview: Five contenders compete for the last place in the grand final as John Humphrys hosts the sixth semi-final. Subjects are Yes Minister, the Rebus novels of Ian Rankin, Nazi Germany 1933 - 1945, the novels of Haruki Murakami and the Glastonbury Festival.
Grand Final (Episode 31)
Air date: 2013-04-05
Runtime: 60 min
Overview: John Humphrys asks the questions as six contenders battle it out to become the nation's Mastermind in the series grand final. Subjects include UK chart music of the 1970s, Shakespeare's War of the Roses, Abraham Lincoln, the operas of Verdi, the Paris Commune of 1871 and The Roman Empire 284-476 AD.