The Einstein Factor
Encyclopedia
The Einstein Factor is an Australian television quiz show that was broadcast on ABC1
. The show's host is comedian and broadcaster Peter Berner
. It was first broadcast in 2004 and in 2009 the show commenced its sixth and final season, with the ABC announcing the program would not be renewed in 2010. The final episode aired on 22 November, 2009. It was broadcast on Sunday nights at 6:30 pm from 2004 until 2009 & now on Tuesdays at 1:30pm on ABC. The Einstein Factor was created by Australian television producer, Barry O'Brien, and was produced by Sparkz with Ian Duncan and Shaun Levin as Executive Producers.
The key to the program's uniqueness is the use of a Brains Trust, a panel of three "experts", usually celebrities, who compete alongside the contestants. Regular Brains Trustees have included Barry Jones
, Berner's radio colleagues Tony Moclair
and Matt Parkinson
, comedians Tim Ferguson
and Michael Veitch
, musician Red Symons
and scientist Dr Karl Kruszelnicki. Actor, historian and musician Alice Garner
is an occasional member of the Brains Trust.
These are the winners of the grand finals:
ABC1
ABC1 was a United Kingdom based television channel from Disney using the branding of the Disney owned American network, ABC.The channel initially launched exclusively on the British digital terrestrial television platform Freeview on 27 September 2004. On 10 December 2004 it was launched on...
. The show's host is comedian and broadcaster Peter Berner
Peter Berner
Peter Berner is an Australian comedian, radio and television presenter, probably best known as host of television's The Einstein Factor.-Comedy:He has been involved in the Australian comedy scene since the 1990s...
. It was first broadcast in 2004 and in 2009 the show commenced its sixth and final season, with the ABC announcing the program would not be renewed in 2010. The final episode aired on 22 November, 2009. It was broadcast on Sunday nights at 6:30 pm from 2004 until 2009 & now on Tuesdays at 1:30pm on ABC. The Einstein Factor was created by Australian television producer, Barry O'Brien, and was produced by Sparkz with Ian Duncan and Shaun Levin as Executive Producers.
Overview
The show's self-styled goal is to find the person who "knows everything about something and something about everything". To that end, contestants with specially nominated subjects appear each week. The show is also noted for Berner's offbeat manner and humorous approach to being a quizmaster. The program has proved quite popular with a wide audience, unusually so for a program broadcast on the ABC.The key to the program's uniqueness is the use of a Brains Trust, a panel of three "experts", usually celebrities, who compete alongside the contestants. Regular Brains Trustees have included Barry Jones
Barry Jones (Australian politician)
Barry Owen Jones AO, FAA, FASSA, FAHA, FTSE, FACE is a writer, lawyer, social activist, quiz champion and former politician. He campaigned against the death penalty throughout the 1960s, particularly against the execution of Ronald Ryan, and remains against capital punishment...
, Berner's radio colleagues Tony Moclair
Tony Moclair
Tony Moclair is an Australian actor, writer and comedian. He has worked on various Australian radio networks, often appearing in character rather than as himself.-3RRR Breakfasters:...
and Matt Parkinson
Matt Parkinson
Matthew "Matt" Parkinson is an Australian comedian, actor and radio presenter. He began acting at school and studied Theatre Arts at W.A.I.T....
, comedians Tim Ferguson
Tim Ferguson
Timothy Dorcen Langbene "Tim" Ferguson is an Australian comedian and television presenter.- Background :...
and Michael Veitch
Michael Veitch
Michael Veitch is an Australian comedian, author and broadcaster, best known for his roles on the sketch comedy television shows The D-Generation, Fast Forward and Full Frontal, as well as for his books on Second World War aviation and the Bass Strait Islands.Veitch emerged from the tradition of...
, musician Red Symons
Red Symons
Redmond Symons is an Australian musician, writer, actor and radio host, probably best known as lead guitarist with Skyhooks and as the snide judge of "Red Faces", a segment of the long-running Hey Hey It's Saturday variety television show...
and scientist Dr Karl Kruszelnicki. Actor, historian and musician Alice Garner
Alice Garner
Alice Garner is an Australian actress, musician and historian.She is the daughter of Australian writer Helen Garner and writer and actor Bill Garner.-Acting life and career:...
is an occasional member of the Brains Trust.
Show format
- The first round simply involves Berner asking up to 15 questions to each contestant on their special subjects. The round ends either when the contestant answers all 15 questions or when 90 seconds elapses, whichever comes first. The subjects are often quite specific and the questions difficult for outsiders to know. Special subjects have included Stargate SG-1Stargate SG-1Stargate SG-1 is a Canadian-American adventure and military science fiction television series and part of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's Stargate franchise. The show, created by Brad Wright and Jonathan Glassner, is based on the 1994 feature film Stargate by Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich...
, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Ned KellyNed KellyEdward "Ned" Kelly was an Irish Australian bushranger. He is considered by some to be merely a cold-blooded cop killer — others, however, consider him to be a folk hero and symbol of Irish Australian resistance against the Anglo-Australian ruling class.Kelly was born in Victoria to an Irish...
, Harry PotterHarry PotterHarry Potter is a series of seven fantasy novels written by the British author J. K. Rowling. The books chronicle the adventures of the adolescent wizard Harry Potter and his best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, all of whom are students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry...
, Star WarsStar WarsStar Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
, Doctor WhoDoctor WhoDoctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
, Icelandic songstress BjörkBjörkBjörk Guðmundsdóttir , known as Björk , is an Icelandic singer-songwriter. Her eclectic musical style has achieved popular acknowledgement and popularity within many musical genres, such as rock, jazz, electronic dance music, classical and folk...
, Michael CollinsMichael Collins (Irish leader)Michael "Mick" Collins was an Irish revolutionary leader, Minister for Finance and Teachta Dála for Cork South in the First Dáil of 1919, Director of Intelligence for the IRA, and member of the Irish delegation during the Anglo-Irish Treaty negotiations. Subsequently, he was both Chairman of the...
and World War II aircraftAircraftAn aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air, or, in general, the atmosphere of a planet. An aircraft counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines.Although...
. This will be followed by banter between contestant and brains trust. Each correct response earns the contestant 100 points. A "bonus question" was introduced in the 2005 series which the contestant can either answer correctly themselves for 100 points or place their faith in the Brains Trust to answer the question, in which case a correct answer yields 200 points.
- In round two, contestants are given nine 'subject headings' which generally have only an indirect and allusive relation to the topic underneath—for example, a question labelled "Rock and Roll" is as likely to be about geologyGeologyGeology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...
as to be about music. However, in the first season these categories were a lot more clearly named. Contestants are asked to choose, in turn, one subject on which to receive a question. Each contestant makes two picks, so only six out of the nine subjects are asked. The question is then put to all contestants and the Brains Trust. The contestants are given five seconds to select their multiple choice answer, then the Brains Trust discusses the question and agree on its selection. If the Brains Trust gets the question right, all the players who also got the question right receive 50 points; if the Brains Trust are wrong, players who answered correctly receive 100 points. In the sixth season, this round was changed so each player would select one category per round instead of two, and the Brains Trust also selected one category.
- In round three, 15 questions are put to the contestants and the brains trust. Two questions come from each of the contestants' special subjects, which are mixed in with nine other general knowledge questions. The round is a "hands on buzzers" round as seen in many quiz shows, with the brains trust sharing a buzzer. Contestants who get a question right receive 100 points—an incorrect answer means 100 points are deducted from their score. The Brains Trust receives no points for correct answers, but their intervention can deprive the contestants of points, which is presumably why their buzzer makes a different sound.
Play-Offs and Finals
A season of The Einstein Factor can be divided into three parts of 13 episodes each plus the series grand final, bringing the total number of episodes in a season to 40. The winners of each programme's heats compete at the end of the series in a series of "Play-Offs", the winners of which compete in a "Series Final". The three winners of the "Series Finals" compete in "The Einstein Factor Grand Final" to determine the series overall winner. Specialised subjects remain the same throughout. The following list is the typical structure of the last third of every season, usually commencing in early to mid-August:- 3 heats
- 1 Play-Off
- 3 heats
- 1 Play-Off
- 3 heats
- 1 Play-Off
- 1 Series Final
- 1 Grand Final
These are the winners of the grand finals:
- Series 1—7 November 2004: Diana Burleigh, special subject of Gilbert and SullivanGilbert and SullivanGilbert and Sullivan refers to the Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the librettist W. S. Gilbert and the composer Arthur Sullivan . The two men collaborated on fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which H.M.S...
- Series 2—13 November 2005: David Campbell, special subject of Dr. Who: 1963–1989Doctor WhoDoctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
- Series 3—12 November 2006: Virginia Noel, special subject of Classical Greek MythologyGreek mythologyGreek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...
- Series 4—25 November 2007: Andrew McDonald, special subject of The Luftwaffe and its Aircraft 1936–1945History of the Luftwaffe during World War IIThe German Luftwaffe was one of the strongest, most doctrinally advanced, and most battle-experienced air forces in the world when World War II started in Europe in September 1939. Officially unveiled in 1935, in violation of the Treaty of Versailles, its purpose was to support Adolf Hitler's...
- Series 5—23 November 2008: Paul Bahr, special subject of 1975 Australian constitutional crisis
- Series 6—22 November 2009: Andrew Whatham, special subject of The Life and Times of Wilhelm CanarisWilhelm CanarisWilhelm Franz Canaris was a German admiral, head of the Abwehr, the German military intelligence service, from 1935 to 1944 and member of the German Resistance.- Early life and World War I :...
See also
- List of Australian television series
- List of Australian Broadcasting Corporation programs