John Adams Krypton Factor DVD Board Game

Product Information

QuoteThe theme tune used between 1986 and 1993 was performed by Art of Noise, and is perhaps the programme's best-known theme. Explorers and action people were the subject of specials in 1978, 1982 and 1983; Ranulph Fiennes entered in 1978, and his companion on the first polar circumnavigation of the globe, Charles R. Burton, competed in 1982. The 1983 edition included future Survival Challenge host Richard Crane. Yes, there have been one or two very very good performances but they do tend to be the exception rather than the rule. A swing of over 5 points is quite rare so the first three rounds really do matter.

In the 2009 revival, each contestant was asked one individual question, then four further questions were asked on the buzzer. If a player answers incorrectly, one more player can buzz in, but there are no penalties for a wrong answer. Contestants are ranked on how many correct answers, and if two or more players are tied they each receive the same number of points. The exception to this is when there is a tie for the most correct answers. In this case, an extra question is asked to break the tie. In the 2010 version, each player is asked two questions in turn, and the contestants are awarded two points for a correct answer; however, like General Knowledge, one point is deducted away for a wrong answer, and the next player to jump in has a chance to steal. The point totals for this round are then used to rank each player. Even if you come last in all the prior rounds, if you can play a blinder in General Knowledge, you can score enough points win the game - increasingly so as the series began shedding rounds. Since its cancellation in 1995, there had been persistent rumours of a revival on the BBC. In April 2005, it was widely reported that the BBC would be going ahead with a revival. However, the source of this story turned out to be a misinterpretation of comments by Wayne Garvie, head of BBC's Entertainment Group (and previously the last producer on The Krypton Factor) naming it as the next "TV gem" that "should" (rather than would) be revived. [2]One thing that feels a little "off" about the revival is the fact that it is possible (and indeed it happened in the 2010 series) for there only to be one unbeaten contestant in the final (the highest-scoring runner-up in the heats receives a place in the semis, and there are only 2 winners from the semis in the final). Still, that's no excuse for not using the magnificent title of "United Kingdom Superperson of the Year" for the overall champion anymore. Having said all that, though, it could be argued that the finals in the 1986-1995 version of the show could have easily had no unbeaten contestants, if the highest-scoring losers won all three group finals and one hitherto unbeaten contestant went through to the grand final as the highest-scoring runner-up. Either way, the last unbeaten series champion to date was Tim Richardson in 1993. The Krypton Factor had several Champion of Champions episodes; the first edition aired in December 1980, featuring the winners of the first four series. which was won by Philip Bradley (1980) and the trophy was presented by Ian Botham. This was followed by another Champion of Champions edition of the show in 1985, featuring the winners from the previous four years: John McAllister (1981), John Webley (1982), Chris Topham (1983) and Paul Smith (1984), with McAllister winning the game and trophy. The next Champion of Champions episode aired in May 1989, featuring four star contestants: Marian Chanter and Alison Heath (1987), David Lee (1988) and Andrew Gillam (1985). This match was won by Alison Heath. The 1988 series, which had only five rounds (Mental Agility, Response, Observation, Physical Ability and General Knowledge, with Intelligence in place of Response in the Group and Grand Finals) followed the tournament format of the regular series, while the 1989 series, which only ran 8 episodes, consisted of five heats, two semi-finals, and the Grand Final. The five heat winners plus the three highest runners-up advanced to the semis, the winners of which along with the top two runners-up from both matches qualifying for the Grand Final. A computer game version of The Krypton Factor was published by TV Games and released in 1987 for the home computers of the era. A Krypton Factor Quizbook was published in 1989. And then they are slide down the "washing line" pegs as if they were really hung out to dry. They are told to bend their knees before landing in a muddy puddle at the bottom - (in earlier series not so much water was there, but rumour had it that the someone added more water to it before the start of the race). Finally, they have to crawl under netting on the floor before running, wet and muddy to the end, breaking the ribbon and being declared the winner. This was where Marian Chanter twisted her ankle jumping off one of the apparatus, and was seen with her foot in plaster on the show itself - amazingly, she became the first female winner of the series in 1987.

A 1988 celebrity edition featured Sarah Greene, Chris Quinten from Coronation Street, Ross Davidson from EastEnders and 'Mad' Lizzie Webb. This was won by Chris Quinten. (See also "Key Moments" above). A celebrity edition at the start of 1989 had Willie Carson, Suzanne Dando, and Gilly Coman all being beaten by Henry Kelly.The second semi-final and grand final of the third series were originally scheduled to air on 10 and 17 August 1979, but they were rescheduled to 4 and 11 November 1979 due to the technicians' strike of 1979.

I'd be loathe to remove Round 4 given that it seems to be the one that people find easiest to play along with. And besides, we can't think of anything better.

Availability

Mike Scott hosted the pilot programme, but withdrew from the main series because he wanted to continue as a serious journalist and not be pigeon-holed as "that bloke off the quiz show". His Granada Reports co-host, Gordon Burns, was friends with producer Jeremy Fox, and agreed to host the first series. The rest is history. Ooh, now this was good. One of the few shows on ITV at this time that went out in its 30min slot commercial-free. Unlike most of today's trashy TV, this one demonstrated that brains are good. On 28 March 1988, an International special was broadcast in the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand as part of Australia's bi-centennial celebrations. Made in the UK and presented by Gordon Burns, the episode featured Marian Chanter and Alison Heath, winner and runner-up respectively of the UK Krypton Factor Grand Final 1987 and John Cargill and Christopher Connolly, winner and runner-up respectively of the Australia & New Zealand Krypton Factor 1987 final. The International title was won by Alison Heath, and the trophy was presented by Fatima Whitbread. From 1997 to 2011, Burns presented North West Tonight, alongside its shorter lunchtime version, North West Today. In 2007, Ranvir Singh joined as co-anchor of the previously single-headed main evening programme. Burns announced in April 2011 that he would be retiring from the role but would move on to present a Sunday morning show on BBC Radio Manchester and BBC Radio Lancashire in September 2011 with his last TV bulletin broadcast on 30 September. He began his journalism career working on the Belfast Telegraph and worked on BBC radio's long-running Sports Report before joining Ulster Television as a sports editor and programme producer in 1967. Two years later, Burns began presenting the nightly news programme UTV Reports, first as a stand-in for regular frontman David Mahlowe and later as a chief anchor, during the early stages of The Troubles. In 1973, Burns joined Granada Television to anchor their nightly news programme Granada Reports and to work on the station's current affairs output, including World in Action.

Then they had to negotiate a nifty corridor of Lasers. Hitting any of the moving lasers incurred a time-penalty. The Krypton Factor was one of those shows which came to be associated with a very definite spot in the schedules, in this case Monday nights at 7pm. This wasn't always the case, though: the first series went out on Wednesdays, and the second and third on Fridays. Bonus scheduling trivia (and this really is trivial): the grand final of the first series was shunted way past the watershed to allow for coverage of crucial World Cup Football qualifiers... except in Scotland, whose team weren't playing that night, and which therefore got to see the final at its usual time, hours before the rest of the country. The Krypton Factor, which put contestants through rigorous physical and mental tests, was a fixture in the ITV schedule from 1977 to 1995.Long-Runners: The Burns version was on from 1977 to 1995. Averted for the Shephard version — it only lasted two series. A 1990 sketch in series 2 of A Bit of Fry and Laurie depicts a scene in which a representative of an unnamed organisation ( Stephen Fry) holds a clandestine meeting in an underground car park with a gruff, vaguely criminal type with an extensive record of adventures ( Hugh Laurie). The "impossible" task that the organisation wants this man to attempt: to watch a full episode of The Krypton Factor, a feat which, according to the organisation's representative, has never been done before. This section possibly contains original research. Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations. Statements consisting only of original research should be removed. ( September 2022) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message) One of the more modern and memorable versions of the theme music was composed by The Art of Noise from 1986-1993, which was subtly altered between each series. It was loosely based on their tune "Beat Box". It finally got a release (all 53 seconds of it!) on their Influence retrospective in 2010. The music was revised a few times during its use on air - most notably, a softer version was introduced in 1990.