BBC Mastermind chaos as ‘dumbed down’ specialist subject sparks debate over easiness of questions
BBC Mastermind fans were left questioning the easiness of the questions during one specialist subject on Monday night’s episode.
During the latest episode, host Clive Myrie presented the semi-final of the quiz show where contenders returned to the black chairs for a chance to secure a spot in the grand finale.
The specialist subjects included the television sitcom Blackadder, the statesman Joseph Chamberlain, actor Gregory Peck and The Legend of Zelda video games.
However, it was teacher Phil Nowek’s topic of choice, the TV series Blackadder, which failed to impress viewers and caused outrage.
Blackadder was a series of four-period British sitcoms, plus several one-off instalments, which originally aired on BBC1 from 1983 to 1989.
All episodes starred Rowan Atkinson as the antihero Edmund Blackadder and Tony Robinson as Blackadder’s dogsbody, Baldrick.
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However, as Nowek racked up 11 points during the round, some viewers found it unfair and took to their social media accounts to express their annoyance.
Taking to their X accounts, one penned: “I haven’t seen Blackadder in about five years, but I got four, so that set of questions was clearly far too easy…”
Another added: “Blackadder?! What’s that, 14 hours of TV to bone up on? Pathetic. I managed to answer all bar two of those and I’ve not seen any of it for years. So dumbed down now.”
A third penned: “Has the #Mastermind contestant answering questions on ‘Blackadder’ got a cunning plan?”
“Blackadder is one of the specialist subjects on #Mastermind tonight apparently….wibble,” someone else said.
A fifth expressed: “These subjects are getting easier and easier every week. What happened to actual intellectual topics?”
Someone else fumed: “Had to switch off as soon as he said his subject was Blackadder! What has happened to this show?” (sic)
Despite putting in a valiant effort during his specialist subject round and getting an extra 11 points during the general knowledge round, his hard work didn’t pay off.
It was Claire Reynolds who took home the victory who scored 10 during her specialist subject round – Joseph Chamberlin – and a further 15 in the general knowledge round.
Taking home the win and a place in the final, she said: “It’s hard to believe that I’m through to the final, to be honest.
“I wasn’t expecting to be in the semifinal. So, the prospect of being in the final is kind of unbelievable.
“Having grown up in Birmingham, Joseph Chamberlain, is a name that you see a lot and you hear a lot about the name.
“But I hadn’t really known that much about the man and what he’d done and all the things that he’d done for Birmingham.”