Mastermind viewers hit out at BBC show for ‘unfair’ questions to contestant as they ask ‘has it been dumbed down?’
MASTERMIND viewers have hit out at the BBC show and questioned if it has been ‘dumbed down’.
The latest episode aired on BBC Two, and Clive Myrie grilled four contestants with specialist questions, but some viewers said the show was “unfair.”
Fans pointed out that some questions were “too easy” after a viewer controversially took to X, formerly Twitter,
Viewers went to great lengths to explain how the show had dumbed down from its usual standards, with one saying:
“I have to say the general knowledge questions on #MasterMind are way too easy. I’m not looking for University Challenge levels but it’s been dumbed down a lot,”
“I haven’t watched Mastermind in years, but I just caught tonight’s show’s last couple of minutes. Has it been dumbed down?
“The questions the last contestant got wouldn’t have been out of place on Junior Mastermind.”
The show began in 1971 and requires contestants to sit in the famous black chair under the glaring spotlight and answer a series of questions.
The show’s creator, Bill Wright, drew inspiration from his experiences of being interrogated by the Gestapo during World War II, and the questions are supposed to be notoriously tricky due to this very reason.
Each player faces two question rounds – one on a specialist subject and another on a general knowledge round.
Each round has a two-minute time limit, but some fans noticed that some players’ questions were much longer than others.
Olivia took to the chair and aced her questions, which fans said were too “easy.”
Then Alan took to the chair to answer cricket questions—this was when the disparities started to show.
They pointed out that Alan’s questions were longer than the others.
One fan wrote: “Just how long were those questions?! Very unfair.”
A second quipped: “His questions are way longer than the other contestants that seems a bit unfair?”
Hardest Quiz Show Questions
Would you know the answers to some of quizzing TV's hardest questions
- Who Wants To Be A Millionaire – Earlier this year, fans were left outraged after what they described as the “worst” question in the show’s history. Host Jeremy Clarkson asked: “From the 2000 awards ceremony onwards, the Best Actress Oscar has never been won by a woman whose surname begins with which one of these letters?” The multiple choice answers were between G, K, M and W. In the end, and with the £32,000 safe, player Glen had to make a guess and went for G. It turned out to be correct as Nicole Kidman, Frances McDormand and Kate Winslet are among the stars who have won the Best Actress gong since 2000.
- The 1% Club – Viewers of Lee Mack’s popular ITV show were left dumbfounded by a question that also left the players perplexed. The query went as follows: “Edna’s birthday is on the 6th of April and Jen’s birthday falls on the 15th of October, therefore Amir’s birthday must be the ‘X’ of January.” It turns out the conundrum links the numbers with its position in the sentence, so 6th is the sixth word and 15th is the fifteenth word. Therefore, Amir’s birthday is January 24th, corresponding to the 24th word in the sentence.
- The Chase – The ITV daytime favourite left fans scratching their heads when it threw up one of the most bizarre questions to ever grace the programme. One of the questions asked the player: “Someone with a nightshade intolerance should avoid eating what?” The options were – sweetcorn, potatoes, carrots – with Steve selecting sweetcorn but the correct answer was potatoes.
Another commented, “They go on and on; how long will these questions last? Very unfair!”
It is not the first time viewers have questioned whether the show is dumbing down.
Watch Mastermind on BBC Two on Mondays at 7.30pm.