'Manstermind' is a format that should last forever. It is without doubt (in my opinion) the best public-participation programme bar none. It's still running after 28 years; so what does that say? The programme originally began in 1972. My elder sister was a fan of it and I would sometimes pop over to her house and watch. Even now it reminds me of those strange family times. The then unknown (to me) and unimaginatively named Magnus Magnusson pushed the show along with a polite, staid, headmasterly professionalism, that was as much a key-note in the program as the format itself. He introduced us to the catchphrase 'I've started, so I'll finish'. This in turn has been adopted by equally capable John Humphries.The program was - and is - conducted with much scholarly gravitas. A slightly threatening theme music that continues to sound as much as if someone were being led to their execution as a flaunting of their knowledge, focuses towards an iconic black leather and chrome chair. There they triumph or die. I have seen both.I'm glad it's still going and in more or less the same simple no-nonsense format of nearly 30 years vintage. I don't always watch it, but when I do I'm always entertained.It's funny what occupies peoples' minds, though.

Mastermind certainly has a cult following but to be honest it was not every bodies cup of tea. It was dull and slow and broadcast on a dull Sunday night too. What made it worse and a frustrating show to watch was that 95 % of the questions asked were just beyond the average person. It was understandable for the specialized topics i.e. " Chinese art between 1435- 1702" or "Greek mythology between 800 and 600 BC but general knowledge – come on i.e. " what is a how many brothers and sisters did the queen of Sheeba have? That's not really general knowledge!Yes it was original with its quirky setting with the big chair, the dimming of the lights and the ugly sounding buzzer when a contestant ran out of time. Also, it had it's clichés " now I've started" etc and "pass" The secret to mastermind from a contestants point of view was to call "pass" on a question if you had any doubts about the answer. You could them move onto a new question. If you were wrong you would be given the long-winded answer from Magnus and thus use up valuable time.To what I recall nothing really stood out on the show apart from the fact that occasionally a taxi driver and train driver won the series of mastermind at some time during it's run. Or that from time to time some poor contestant fell apart under the pressure of the situation and embarrassingly made a fool of themselves. You would certainly feel for them when they flopped in front of millions of viewers; very similar to an actor on stage fluffing his lines at the theater.In fact the most memorable thing I remember in it's heyday was not actually on the show but a mickey take on the a Morcame and Wise show poking fun at Mastermind. It had the same dark setting with Magnus Magnuson asking the questions (good sport that he was!) to a confident looking Eric Morcame where every answer to the Question was "pass" much to the bemusement of an irate Ernie wise.I.e. on the game of monopoly to collect $200 you have to ----- through go? Eh "pass" ---- correct! What is it called when one footballer kicks the ball to another teammate? "Pass" ---- correct The very famous crossing between Pakistan and Afghanistan is called the Kyber? "Pass" ----- correctYou get the picture. Magnus Magnison was very likable and dignified and compared to the garbage on TV now at least mastermind did have some decorum and class.

I often watched Mastermind when Magnus Magnusson presented it but he quit in 1997 and the series was revived in 2003 with John Humphrys as presenter. I still watch it sometimes.This quiz features two rounds, the first one is where the four contestants are asked questions on the subject they have chosen and round two is a general knowledge round. The contestant with the highest score goes through to the next stage.Mastermind is noted for several things, most notably that dreaded black leather chair and it also has a notable theme and that famous saying: "I've started, so I'll finish", which John Humphrys now uses. At least that is still used.Mastermind is now shown on BBC2 on a weekday evening during prime time. Certainly a lot better that rubbish makeover shows and reality programmes.