2009/10

Season 36 · 2009 · 31 episodes

Episodes

1Episode 1The general knowledge series returns for the 32nd time. Tonight's topics comprise the life and works of Louis Wain, the Greeks in Sicily from to 212 BC, the Sherlock Holmes films of Basil Rathbone and the life of Kurt Vonnegut. With John Humphrys.
2Episode 2Topics comprise Apple Records, fictional works of Paul Auster , the life of Maximilien Robespierre , and world heavyweight boxing champions from 1882 to 1929.
3Episode 3Topics tonight are the history of the George Cross, the documentary series The Ascent of Man, the first Latin kingdom of Jerusalem and former PM Clement Attlee.
4Episode 4Tonight's topics are the life and work of Oscar Wilde, Germanic languages, the history of jazz music 1917-30 and the life and films of Akira Kurosawa.
5Episode 5Tonight's subjects are the life and films of Groucho Marx, the novels of Dorothy Whipple, the Battle of Britain and the life and work of Thomas Arnold.
6Episode 6Topics comprise the Cazalet books of Elizabeth Jane Howard, the life and times of John Hume, Egyptology, and British New Wave cinema of the 1960s.
7Episode 7Topics tonight are the life and work of Paul Nash, the films of Tim Burton, ancient Greece from to 323BC and the life and work of Paul Dirac
8Episode 8Topics tonight are the life and career of Bill Hicks , the Mont Blanc massif, George Frideric Handel , and the life and work of Isaiah Berlin. With John Humphrys.
9Episode 9Topics are British indie music 1979-89, the life and work of Leonhard Euler, Graham Greene's short stories and transatlantic ocean liners from 1907 to the present day.
10Episode 10Topics tonight are Richard III, the life and times of Morihei Ueshiba, the Chartist movement and the life and work of Edouard Manet. With John Humphrys.
11Episode 11Tonight's specialist subjects comprise British female cabinet ministers, angels, the Stone of Destiny and the Birdcage novels of Victor Canning.
12Episode 12Subjects are the NFL 1920-74, Henry VII, Stephenie Meyer's Twilight novels and Aberdeen architecture since 1800.
13Episode 13Host John Humphrys invites four contenders to answer questions in the black chair. The specialist subjects are Isambard Kingdom Brunel, the islands of Micronesia, the life and music of Johnnie Ray, and the London borough of Wandsworth.
14Episode 14Host John Humphrys invites four contenders to answer questions in the black chair. The specialist subjects are the history of the Eurovision Song Contest, Caesar's Gallic Wars, the life and works of Ayn Rand and Florence during the Renaissance 1400-1550.
15Episode 15Host John Humphrys invites four contenders to answer questions in the black chair. The specialist subjects are the life and music of Lou Reed, Carl Gustaf Mannerheim, classical Greek mythology and the life and times of Martin Nadaud.
16Episode 16Host John Humphrys invites four contenders to answer questions in the black chair. The specialist subjects are the work of Gerry Anderson, the Summer Olympics 1968 - 1988, the life and work of Sir John Everett Millais and the life of Mustafa 'Ataturk' Kemal.
17Episode 17Host John Humphrys invites four contenders to answer questions in the black chair. The specialist subjects are the novels of Stan Barstow, the history of Portmeirion, motorcycles of the 1950s and the history of Lords Cricket Ground.
18Episode 18Host John Humphrys invites four contenders to answer questions in the black chair. The specialist subjects are TV westerns of the 50s and 60s, the life and work of Tolkien, the government of Gough Whitlam 1972 -1975, and the life and career of Dixie Dean.
19Episode 19Host John Humphrys invites four contenders to answer questions in the black chair. The specialist subjects are Charles Darwin, the life and works of Francis Poulenc, the history of mountaineering on Everest and the break-up of Yugoslavia.
20Episode 20Host John Humphrys invites four contenders to answer questions in the black chair. The specialist subjects are the life and career of Sir Alex Ferguson, 17th-century English history, Star Trek Voyager and the life and worlds of Edward Elgar.
21Episode 21Host John Humphrys invites four contenders to answer questions in the black chair. The specialist subjects are the life and career of Lester Piggott, the Weimar Republic, the life and trials of Edward Marshall Hall and the life and films of Preston Sturges.
22Episode 22John Humphrys hosts Britain's toughest quiz. Four more contenders are questioned on their specialist subject and general knowledge. Subjects are: the life and times of Robert Peel, Gertrude Jekyll, the Child Ballads and the life and work of Baudelaire.
23Episode 23Host John Humphrys asks the questions as four contenders take the walk to the black chair. The specialist subjects are Victorian and Edwardian poisoners, the life and music of Lead Belly, the life and work of Bishop John Robinson and the Football World Cup 1930-1958.
24Episode 24Host John Humphrys asks the questions as four contenders take the walk to the black chair. The specialist subjects are the films of Billy Wilder, the Nuremberg Trials, Charles II and the fictional works of CS Lewis.
25Episode 25The subjects are: The Lord Peter Wimsey Novels of Dorothy L Sayers; The Anglo-American War 1812-1815; Hindu Gods and Goddesses; The Life and Work of Cecil Sharp; and the TV Series The Wire.
26Episode 26John Humphrys hosts Britain's toughest quiz. Five contenders battle it out for a place in the grand final. Subjects are the history of the British Army 1660-1914, the life and music of Burt Bacharach, Dance to the Music of Time novels by Anthony Powell, Ealing Studios 1838-1959 and the London and North Eastern Railway.
27Episode 27John Humphrys puts five contenders through their paces. At stake is a place in the grand final. The subjects are: the life and career of Ayrton Senna, the Jeeves and Wooster novels of PG Wodehouse, broadway stage musicals 1927-present, the life and work of Alan Moore, and the the life and reign of James VI and I.
28Episode 28John Humphrys hosts Britain's toughest quiz. Five contenders battle it out for a place in the grand final. Subjects are the life and times of Sir Walter Raleigh, TV series Ever Decreasing Circles, the Sharpe novels of Bernard Cornwell, British hit singles of the 1960s and the life and reign of Henry VIII.
29Episode 29John Humphrys hosts Britain's toughest quiz. Five contenders battle it out for a place in the grand final. The subjects are William the Conquerer, the life and work of Gian Lorenzo Bernini, the history of glam rock, the Manhattan Project, and Robert the Bruce.
30Episode 30John Humphrys hosts Britain's toughest quiz. Five contenders try to claim the one remaining grand final place. The subjects are the life and work of Antoni Gaudi, British history 1815-1914, the Pliocene and Galactic Milieu novels of Julian May, the films of Powell and Pressburger and the life and reign of Henry VI.
31Grand FinalJohn Humphrys asks the questions as six contenders battle it out to become the nation's Mastermind in the series grand final. The subjects are: Hollywood in the 1980s; the granddaughters of Queen Victoria; Liverpool Anglican cathedral, English cricket's county championship since 1960; the general strike of 1926; and 17th century Venetian opera.