Over at the excellent Life After Mastermind Blog HERE former Champion David Clark and other quizzers are having a debate about Mastermind and the current place it holds on TV, the draws and put off's and the state of the show in general and although David of course has more grounds for his opinion than mine I thought Id add my opinion....
One of the issues raised is the place of Mastermind in the current world of quizzing and tv quizzing? David raises an interesting point in stating that Mastermind has its followers and a very loyal set of followers they are indeed. Because Mastermind is one of the few elite quizzes left on TV and certainly one of, if not the only, elite tv quiz with such a prestigious history it will always have its followers. Someone has suggested maybe Mastermind has had its day? I would say that day is far away yet...
The BBC have been on a push lately to save money and the cheaper they can make the programmes the better. Doctor Who and all the main hitters have had budget cuts galore and creative ideas round this have had to be devised. Mastermind is a prime time Friday night show on its second channel and in terms of most other BBC produced shows on prime time weekend slots....its very cheap to make. Even when considering how cheap it is to make compared to other prime time quiz shows say, A Question Of Sport...it gives the BBC value for money. For the viewer ship Mastermind gets it still is economical for the BBC to produce it. Although I believe the BBC have a serious interest in keeping Mastermind as an elite quiz and avoiding dumbing it down, and as long as it keeps viewers and as long as it remains cheap to make it will still hold its place in the line up regardless of anything else.
So what about the big debate on the SS round? Is it pushing viewers away? Its a very good point and one that demonstrates well in my household. I am the only one who will watch the SS rounds and thats only because a) I want to see the scores and b) I want to see what if anything I know about sometimes obscure facts. I often find in the SS rounds I surprise myself with what I didnt know I knew.
But the other members of my household....who love the GK rounds...will switch off during the first 15 minutes of SS....read a book, flick through the paper, chat. Its evidence to me that even for fans of quiz shows as my household are, the SS rounds are just too alienating. Im not saying for one minute that this means the round should be removed. It wouldnt be Mastermind without it but we cannot deny this is a huge issue with the show. Since the big money quizzes of WWTBAM, Million Pound Drop et al I think it is going to be so very very hard for a Quiz like Mastermind to climb up the ratings.
Back in the day, long before I was born, when the number of channels could be counted on one hand, Mastermind would have been more noticed. I tend to get the feeling that amongst the youth or today....by youth I mean under 30's such as myself, Mastermind doesnt really have the presence or image it once may have had. I make no bones to friends in my quizzing circles that my ambition is to appear on Mastermind by the time Im 40 and it would be the one show I would love to do. But I feel the show, tucked away on BBC 2 at a time when the youth will either be a) Out on the town b) Watching the Soaps or b) Relaxing after a busy week at work doesnt do itself any favours.
I think a simple change of timing could make up a lot of viewers. Im no expert in viewing figures but if the show went out earlier in the evening, say 7pm on a Thursday night against little competition and a time when maybe the full family haven't yet settled down, it could reign in more viewers.
But I would never change the format, even if it does promote short term recall.....If I go on Mastermind, hopefully when I go on Mastermind, I will choose subjects I have had a broad knowledge on for years, subjects from my hobbies etc. If Short term recall is the way people choose to play it then so be it but I firmly believe that even with the best cramming in the world, the best short term recall in the whole contest and the narrowest specialist subject you cannot possibly win Mastermind without an exceptional elite level of general knowledge and that for me, and may others, will always be the attraction!
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