What would your Mastermind specialist subjects be?

For those of you that aren't aware, Mastermind is a distinguished British quiz show in which contestants are tested on their knowledge of chosen specialist subjects as well as their general knowledge. It's one of my life ambitions to appear on this and I was interested to know what everyone's specialist subjects would be if they were to appear. There are virtually no limits at all as to what you can choose.

There are three opportunities to appear: heats, semi-final and grand final, but feel free to name any number of subjects.

Obviously your knowledge does not have to be polished to Mastermind standard at this stage. Remember the Mastermind law:

Depth and breadth of specialist subject = ~depth and breadth of questions on that subject

Here are mine:

1. The Life of FE Smith, 1st Earl of Birkenhead
2. The Operas of Gioachino Rossini
3. Ideally I would opt to face further questions from my first subject, if that is still permitted. Otherwise, either the Life of Winston (Leonard Spencer) Churchill or that of Napoleon I, Withnail and I or the History of St Paul's Cathedral.

What would you choose?

Scroll to see replies

Reply 1

somemightsay888

1 - Grand Theft Auto series
2 - Treyarch's Call of Duty series
3 - Tolkein

Reply 2

Munrot07

Post-2005 Doctor Who
The Simpsons
Prehistoric Animals

Wow don't I sound cool :P

Reply 3

Birkenhead

Original post

by Munrot07

Post-2005 Doctor Who
The Simpsons
Prehistoric Animals

Wow don't I sound cool :P

Positively fly compared to me. The Simpsons could be daunting though, what with so many episodes!

Reply 4

Munrot07

Original post

by Birkenhead

Positively fly compared to me. The Simpsons could be daunting though, what with so many episodes!

Yeh :P I definitely think prehistoric animals would be my first choice :P Saying that I have seen all episodes of the simpsons multiple times :biggrin:

Reply 5

Daenerys...

I have no idea. Mastermind is an incredibly depressing show, I've only watched it in passing.

If I had to pick one topic it would be about 18th Century Swedish women's suffrage.

Reply 6

Birkenhead

Original post

by Daenerys...

I have no idea. Mastermind is an incredibly depressing show, I've only watched it in passing.

If I had to pick one topic it would be about 18th Century Swedish women's suffrage.

You'd have to be a highly depression-prone personality to find an engaging quiz show 'incredibly depressing' :lol:

What do you find depressing about it?

Incidentally, '18th Century Swedish women's suffrage' doesn't sound particularly uplifting...

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 7

username1060297

Since we can be so specific I'll go with:
Metal Gear Solid including the creator Hideo Kojima
Japanese Anime
Mongol/Mogul empire(s) or Ghengis Khan

Posted from TSR Mobile

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 8

Olie

Hmm, difficult, maybe it would be the Reign of King Stephen as I studied it a lot at uni and wrote my dissertation on it too. Or maybe something entertainment based like Game of Thrones (though probably the TV show, rather than the books as that would be mind boggling lol).

Reply 9

Daenerys...

Original post

by Birkenhead

You'd have to be a highly depression-prone personality to find an engaging quiz show 'incredibly depressing' :lol:

What do you find depressing about it?

The silent and pitch black ambiance for one. The contestants are not enthusiastic nor lively even when victorious.

Reply 10

L'Evil Fish

Original post

by Daenerys...

The silent and pitch black ambiance for one. The contestants are not enthusiastic nor lively even when victorious.

Lol it is a bit... Dead isnt it

Reply 11

randdom

Either the Tudor monarchy or Buffy the Vampire slayer.... Probably Buffy.

The first round normally throws me but I quite enjoy the general knowledge.

If you haven't already check out only Connect (though the series has now finished) that was fantastic!

Reply 12

Birkenhead

Original post

by Daenerys...

The silent and pitch black ambiance for one. The contestants are not enthusiastic nor lively even when victorious.

As I said in the OP...it is a 'distinguished British quiz show'.

The ambience you refer to is intentional, for effect. Finding it depressing seems a bit of an odd reaction. Apparently, the show's creator was interrogated by the Gestapo during World War II and took his inspiration for the format from that experience.

Reply 13

thegodofgod

1. Pharmacology, especially G-protein-coupled receptors (sad, I know, but I love it)
2. Friends (the TV sitcom)
3. The use of Latin in medical terminology

Reply 14

BasicMistake

The Harry Potter books
The Sherlock Holmes books
Mammals native to the British Isles (this one is a bit sketchy)

Reply 15

Birkenhead

Original post

by randdom

Either the Tudor monarchy or Buffy the Vampire slayer.... Probably Buffy.

There are three rounds - you can choose at least three!

The first round normally throws me but I quite enjoy the general knowledge.

If you haven't already check out only Connect (though the series has now finished) that was fantastic!

I think I'd score much better on the specialist round than the general knowledge one. Only Connect is fantastic, though I've never understood what's with the hieroglyphics...

Reply 16

Arkasia

1. The Lord of the Rings trilogy
2. The Call of Duty series (up to MW3)
3. Arsenal FC 2006-2015
4. The Harry Potter series
5. The Inheritance Saga
6. The Cornetto Trilogy

(So basically books/movies/games, no people)

Reply 17

WhimsicalSloth

-German expressionism/early expressionist cinema/early film noir etc. (apologies if that is a little vague though as it is such a broad topic!)
-The Life and Death of Anne Boleyn
-The Operas of Richard Wagner