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The Krypton Factor
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The Krypton Factor is a British game show. The show originally ran from 1977 to 1995, and was produced by Granada Television, hosted by Gordon Burns and usually broadcast on the ITV network on Mondays at 7pm. Contestants from across the United Kingdom and Ireland competed in a series of rounds that tested their physical stamina and mental attributes. The title of the show is a reference to Superman's home planet Krypton, the title perceiving that the contestants had strong superhuman "powers" for taking part in the challenges they were set.
The contestants all had their own corresponding colour-either red, green, yellow or blue.
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Encyclopedia
The Krypton Factor is a British game show. The show originally ran from 1977 to 1995, and was produced by Granada Television, hosted by Gordon Burns and usually broadcast on the ITV network on Mondays at 7pm. Contestants from across the United Kingdom and Ireland competed in a series of rounds that tested their physical stamina and mental attributes. The title of the show is a reference to Superman's home planet Krypton, the title perceiving that the contestants had strong superhuman "powers" for taking part in the challenges they were set.
The contestants all had their own corresponding colour-either red, green, yellow or blue. They wore their own clothes, apart from the Physical Ability round where the contestants wore track suits which were red, green, yellow or blue until 1989. The track suits changed to black with a coloured stripe. For their own clothes, the contestants either wore a shirt/blouse, tie or a neckscarf of their corresponding colour. The points contestants earned through the game were not referred to as their score, but as their "Krypton Factor", e.g."The winner, with a Krypton Factor of 46, is the legal secretary from Kent, Bob Jeffries". The 1987 series won the prestigious Premio Ondas - Spanish Television Award for Entertainment.
The show has been revived in 2009, and is now hosted by Ben Shephard.
History
Original series
The first series of the show was shown on Wednesdays, it was presented by Gordon Burns and didn't have a studio audience. It was then on Fridays for two years before arriving on Mondays in 1980. In the first few series, there were no groups and 8 heats, the winner of each advancing to a semi-final. The top two of each semi-final qualified for the Grand Final. After the first few series until 1987 the series was divided into four groups (A, B, C, and D). Each group consisted of three heats, with the highest scoring runner up of the heats within a group making it to the group final. The winner of each group final would qualify for the grand final. From 1988 onwards the series had 13 episodes, and only had three groups (A, B, and C). The highest scoring running runner-up from the group finals would then go through to the Grand Final. The overall winner of the Grand Final would receive a bronze trophy and would traditionally be titled as Superperson of the Year. Unusually, and possibly uniquely for the time, until 1993 the series had no advert break in the middle (like the BBC) even though it was on ITV in a primetime 7pm slot. This explains why some of the elements (most notably, the time for the quiz) were shortened in later series.
In the 1991 series, two weeks in a row, two contestants, Tony Hetherington and Paul Evans won all of the first five rounds in their heats, scoring 50 points, in addition, Hetherington set an all time record of 62 points, they both later met in the same Group Final, in which Evans won and Hetherington qualified as the Highest Scoring Runner Up, and went on to win the Grand Final. Hetherington's record score was equalled by Tim Richardson in the 1993 Grand Final, in which he also won the first five rounds.
The 1993 Grand Finalist Eddie Jackson, who qualified for the final via the Highest Scoring Runner Up position that year, became notorious for his performance in this Grand Final, scoring only 10 points in the first five rounds, having came last in every round, he finished with 16 points.
In 1995 the show was heavily revamped, including the introduction of co-host Penny Smith. The series saw the intelligence round dropped and the first round being physical ability. The second half of the show was a "super round" which included a 3D maze, code cracking and a race up Mount Krypton, with points accumulated being exchanged for equipment to assist the contestants with the challenge. While some liked this change, others felt that getting rid of the intelligence round was a sign of dumbing down and that changing the format so dramatically was a mistake.
Revival
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.
On 24 September 2008, Broadcast reported that ITV was expected to commission a new series within weeks. On 26 September the comeback for the series was confirmed, and in November it was confirmed that it would be hosted by Ben Shephard. The first episode of the new series was shown on Thursday 1 January 2009 at 7.30pm. The new series is based on the original five-round format of the show (rather than the revamp brought in for the 18th season in 1995), with every round being "brought bang up-to-date" and features "state-of-the-art" technology. The series was recorded at Granada Studios in Manchester from 7 - 10 December 2008.
The Rounds
During the original series the rounds were usually in the same order as below, with exception of the 1995 series (see history). However in the earlier series there was only five rounds as Response had yet to be introduced; also for the 2009 revival this round was dropped.
In all rounds except the final round 10 points were awarded to the winner, then 6, 4 and 2 to the remaining contestants. In the event of a tie, all tied players would receive the score for the higher place — in an extreme case, if three contestants tied with the highest score, they would all receive 10 points, with just 2 points for the unlucky fourth contestant. In the Mental Agility and Observation rounds, the contestant who answered faster would sometimes be awarded the higher place; in other cases, a tiebreaker question was used.
From 1986 to 1991, each round was introduced by the distinctive K logo, which would morph into a symbol for the round. A similar version of this is used in the 2009 revial.
Mental Agility
This often took the form of a memory test (though other versions would require mental computation of time and date differences, or to add up a sequence of numbers and return the number which, when added to that sum, gave a pre-determined answer).The contestants frequently had to memorise a sequence and then answer a series of progressively more complicated questions. For instance, if the sequence to be memorised was a series of coloured blocks, the questions might start as "What is the colour of the third block from the left?" and progress to "What is the colour of the block two to the left of the block to the right of the green block?". Other forms of memory test might require contestants to remember a phrase or proverb and answer a series of questions about it (e.g. "What was the fifth letter of the fourth word?" or "Spell the last word backwards"). In the early series the contestants were shown 9 images along with a statement read to them by Charles Foster and the contestants had to pick which 4 images were correct and they scored 2 points for correctly matching each image. Then, until 1987, the Mental Agility round consisted of a "knock-out" format, where contestants were asked increasingly difficult questions in turn and eliminated for wrong answers. Occasionally this alternated with a 50-second "speed test" where each player had to come up with as many correct answers as possible in 50 seconds, and could pass on any of them. Only if they answered incorrectly would they be informed of it, possibly as to discourage guesswork. From 1988 onward, the Mental Agility round consisted entirely of 40-second speed tests, and from 1991 onward ties were broken by the amount of time it took each player to achieve their score. In the 1995 series a set of four images (such as numbers, letters, or dates) were shown to the players, who were all read a statement pertaining to one or two of the images, and the contestants had to touch the correct image(s) on their screen. This round lasted for two minutes, with the set of images changing every eight questions. Only the first player to provide a correct answer would score for that answer, with answering time used to break ties.
This round was originally conducted with all contestants wearing headphones to prevent the other participants from hearing their competitors' answers. However, from the 1991 series, each contestant came on individually to perform their test in front of the audience before sitting down in their respective places behind them, no headphones were worn. In the 2009 revival the Mental Agility round follows the 1988 format, only using the tiebreaker rules when there is a tie for first place. Contestants individually complete this round in an isolation booth referred to as The Kube and their heart rates are also measured while they take this test.
Response
The Response round was introduced by new producer Geoff Moore for the 1986 and 1987 series. Prior to 1988, the Response round was a combination of a race between the contestants using double-odometer bicycles, and a video wall which would display random numbers of coloured blocks; the contestants were required to press one of four coloured buttons corresponding to the highest number of blocks of any one colour being displayed. This alternated with a test in which the contestants had to walk a balance beam to the first challenge - placing coloured wooden blocks into frames either side of them, swinging from side to side in doing so (this was known as the Fleischmann Flexibility Tests). They then had to run across a balance beam linked to the Minnesota Manual Dexterity Test, where they had to take a shape and place it into a corresponding space. After a final balance beam, they jump onto their respective mat to finish the race.
From the later heats in the 1987 series, this consisted of each player taking turns on a flight simulator and being marked by an actual flight instructor. The 1987 series won the prestigious Premio Ondas - Spanish Television Award for Entertainment. (Prior to 1988 the simulator appeared in some of the episodes, but then became a permanent fixture). In 1988, the contestants had to land a BAe 146 in the heats, a Harrier Jump Jet in the Group Finals and a Sea King on an aircraft carrier in the Grand Final (recorded at Culdrose Navy base in Helston, Cornwall). In 1989, the heats used three different simulators. The first heat in each group required the contestants to land Concorde, the second heat required the contestants to land a Red Arrow, and the third heat required them to land a Boeing 737. The group finals required the contestants to land the Sea King on an aircraft carrier. The Grand Final of the 1989 series saw the contestants use a Space Shuttle simulator in California. In 1990, the contestants landed Concorde in the heats, the Sea King on an aircraft carrier in the group final and in the Grand Final, the contestants were in the Sea King again, but this time they used the simulator in a rescue mission. They started from an oil rig (carrying an injured passenger), and had to take off from the oil rig and land on the aircraft carrier. From 1991 to 1993, the heats and group finals were the same; Boeing 737 in the heats and the Sea King in the group finals. The 1991 Grand Final involved the contestants using a Nimrod simulator in a refuelling mission involving a Hercules aircraft. The 1992 and 1993 grand finals required the contestants to land a real plane. The 2009 revival of the show does not include this round.
Observation
This round involved watching a specially made video clip or a clip from an ITV drama series that was being broadcast at the time. In the earliest series, contestants were asked questions on the clip, this being followed by an identity parade where they had to identify one of the actors. In later series until 1988, contestants were shown a clip twice and asked to spot five continuity errors between two similar clips. Many of the sequences recorded for the 1988 series were written by, and featured, Andrew O'Connor. From the 1989 and 1990 series, contestants were invited to spot six continuity errors (five in 1990) contained in one single clip. Steve Coogan starred in many of the sequences featured in the 1989 series. From 1991 onwards, contestants answered six multiple-choice questions relating to the clip (e.g. "What did he say when he entered the room?" or "What was on the table?"), and the time used to provide the correct answers was used to break ties.
Sometimes, serials were used; such as 1990s Sam Smith: Private Detective (starring Gwyneth Strong), which saw the female detective investigating rather silly cases (which often featured her young chubby nephew, Wallace). Some guests in then Sam Smith stories included Derek Griffiths, Matthew Kelly and Keith Chegwin, who all appeared in the final instalment of the series. The 1991 series featured the saga Where is Don Day? starring Tony Robinson and Michelle Collins, about a bank manager whose dull life is suddenly changed when he accidentally becomes involved in a robbery from his own bank. 1992 saw Dead Ringer starring Tony Slattery; a thriller about a man suffering from amnesia trying to discover who he really is, whilst being hunted down by a hitman named Preston, played by Roger Lloyd Pack. In 1993, the round featured Roy Barraclough and Annabel Giles in a collection of investigative police stories, with Barraclough playing a retired police detective. In 1995 short computer-animated segments were used for the test, and only five questions were asked.
In the 2009 revival, each contestant is asked one individual question, then four further questions are 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.
Physical Ability
Probably the most memorable of the rounds, in the original series this pre-recorded segment involved the contestants racing to complete an army assault course located at Holcombe Moor in Bury, Greater Manchester. This round typically included 20 obstacles including vertical and flat cargo nets, rope swings, water jumps, Burma rope bridges, and a rope slide into water. Gordon Burns stated in some of the episodes that the contestants trained for the assault course in the Physical Ability round for up to five weeks in advance.
In this round, female contestants were allowed a head start over their male competitors, and in early series, contestants were given staggered starts to the assault course; following practice sessions with army officers, the contestant of the weakest physical ability would set off first, followed by the contestant of the third strongest physical ability, followed by the contestant of the second strongest physical ability, leaving the contestant of the strongest physical ability to start last. The physical ability criteria were established from a simple formula derived from age of the contestant and the gender. Typically, in 1980 this meant two seconds per year of age difference and a 40 second advantage for female competitors. In the 1980 semi-final, the youngest competitor, Ted Stockton, (a taxi driver, aged 25) started 56 seconds after the only female semi finalist who was 33. The age-based calculation was later abolished. In 1995 all contestants started at the same time, and were ranked according to how far ahead each had come of an individual "par time" based on age and sex.
The 1990 series saw many of the metal obstacles on the course replaced by wooden substitutes, including a wooden S-bend frame contestants had to descend. One of the female contestants broke her ankle after landing badly on one of the obstacles (near the end of the course), but managed to complete the rest of the course. For at least some series (around 1986-88), the fastest man and fastest woman on the assault course both received a special trophy. Winners include: Barbara Murray and Stuart Worthington (1986), Marian Chanter and Ted Daszkiewicz (1987), Elizabeth Hayward and Alan Robbie (1988).
The 2009 revival uses a new assault course which only has room for two contestants at a time. The time it takes each contestant to complete the course is recorded, and revealed when the main part of the show is recorded. Female contestants have 45 seconds deducted from their time.
Intelligence
A two- or three-dimensional puzzle where shapes had to be put together to fill a rectangular grid or make a bigger shape was the basis for this round. Most of these were devised by Dr. Gerry Wickham of the University of Manchester's School of Mathematics. As the contestants performed the task, presenter Gordon Burns provided a commentary to viewers at home on the contestant's progress and advice on how to solve the puzzle.
It is reputed that some of the intelligence tests featured took contestants hours to solve, with edited highlights of their performance in the round shown on the programme. At least one contestant was moved to tears by the difficulty of the puzzles. In 1990, Gordon Burns told contestants that over the years, some of the tests had taken 15 or 20 minutes to complete, but that in one (unspecified) programme, when the competitors' tables had been placed too close together for this round, two competitors accidentally picked up pieces from each other's table, making it impossible to complete the puzzle, and nearly an hour went by as they vainly attempted to finish, before the problem was realised. This round was eliminated from the 1995 series.
The 2009 revival places a time limit for completion, and after the time runs out, the contestants who have not finished are ranked according to the progress they have made on the puzzle.
General Knowledge
A quick-fire question round with a varied time limit (which ranged from 60 seconds to 100 seconds depending on the year). This final round was conducted using a side shot of the four contestants lit in profile. A feature of this round was that, as each question was answered, the next question contained either the answer to the last question, a word from the last answer, or a word that sounded like it. Until 1986, the General Knowledge round was in two stages: the first stage had the contestants answering three general knowledge questions each with 2 points for each correct answer, then it was on to stage 2 which was the quick-fire stage. In 1986 and 1987, the round lasted 100 seconds and each correct answer was worth one point, while each answer cost a point. In 1988 the values changed to +/- 2 points, and the time was reduced to 90 seconds (100 in 1989, and 75 in 1993 and 1995). In 2009, the round lasted 70 seconds, and a correct answer was worth two points while an incorrect answer cost one point. The player with the highest Krypton Factor won the game, and in the event of a tie, the tied players were asked further questions until the tie was broken.
Super Round
In 1995 the game was decided by a "Super Round" that encompassed all abilities from the previous rounds. At the start of the round players were shown five colored circles, each with a letter, number, or symbol, and the players had to memorize the sequence before making a parachute jump down 50 feet to the floor. They then entered the Kryptic Rings, a 3D maze of interlocking rings with numbered and lettered junctions where following and correctly interpreting the sequence would lead each player through their route to the next part of the race, a computer where they had to log in using a code they had acquired on their way out of the maze. Each player then had to type in four words, however each key corresponded to a different letter according to a code (such as each key giving the preceding letter). After cracking the code and typing in the four words, each player had to cross a corridor of shifting laser beams, where breaking each beam resulted in a seven-second penalty. Once out, the players entered the Response Revolve, a rotating cylinder where each player had to remove six batons of their color from their holds, however each baton could only be removed when a light by the baton flashed. Once all six batons were out and placed in the player's pedestal, each player had to run to Mount Krypton, where they first had to build a ladder, which they then used as they made a vertical climb up Mount Krypton, completing the race by grabbing a letter K of their color at the top of Mount Krypton.
The players started at the same time, and used their point from the first five rounds to buy advantages. 6 points bought a directional arrow in the Rings, and 10 points bought either a baton already removed from the Response Revolve or a ladder piece already built. The player who won the Super Round won the game, and completion time was used to determine who held the wild card spot.
Young Krypton
In 1988 & 1989, a spin-off series was produced for children, Young Krypton, and was presented by Ross King. The series was based on a similar structure to the adult version, but with simpler intelligence tasks and a shorter obstacle course (located at The American Adventure Theme Park near Nottingham) in place of the Physical Ability round. At the end of both series Gordon Burns appeared to present the trophy to the winner.
Champion of Champions
In May 1989, there was a one-off episode on the Krypton Factor called Champion of Champions featuring four star contestants: Marian Chanter and Alison Heath (1987), David Lee (1988) and Andrew Gillam (1985). This was won by Marian Chanter.
There had also been a previous Champion of Champions edition of the show around 1985, featuring the winners from the previous four years: John McAllister (1981), John Webley (1982), Chris Topham (1983) and Paul Smith (1984). This was won by John McAllister.
Theme tune
During the original series of The Krypton Factor four different theme tunes for the programme were used. The first two theme tunes were written by Mike Moran. The theme tune used between 1986 and 1993 was performed by Art of Noise, and is perhaps the programme's best-known theme. The exact version of this theme tune varied in some episodes/series-for example, the drum beats in the music in some episodes/series were more emphasised, as was the synthesizer melody, but generally it remained the same. The bass hook of the song is also known as Beat Box. For the 1995 series the theme tune was a reworked version of the 1986-93 theme tune but was performed by Anne Dudley.
The music used during the scoring at the end of the Response round in 1988 was Forgotten Town by The Christians. In the 1989 series, "Left to My Own Devices" by the Pet Shop Boys was used.
Generally during the opening title sequence the contestants were introduced by Granada Television continuity announcer Charles Foster, who has taken the same role for other shows down the years.
All the new music to the 2009 show has been specially composed by Paul Farrer best known for his scores for The Weakest Link, Dancing on Ice and Gladiators. The theme tune was performed by a live string ensemble fused with a contemporary backing.
Repeat runs
Since February 1999 to present series of The Krypton Factor have been repeated on Challenge, a channel now owned by Virgin Media. At present episodes from 1989 to 1993 series have been repeated.
During 1988 series grand finals from 1977 to 1987 were repeated on ITV. In 1997 episodes of the programme were repeated on Granada Plus. Between January and September 2007 episodes from the 1987 to 1992 were shown on Ftn (owned by the same company as Challenge), until the channel closed.
Merchandise
The Krypton Factor had a number of clothing merchandises, including a pair of black trainers bearing the Krypton K on the sides and the tongue. A Krypton Factor sports bag, mug and teatowel was also produced. Although not mentioned on the air, all the contestants were given a Sports bag and some clothing with the Krypton Factor logo on them as gifts for appearing on the programme.
A computer game version of The Krypton Factor was also available which was published by TV Games and was released in 1987 for the home computers of the era. A Krypton Factor Quizbook was published in 1989.
Other versions
The Krypton Factor was one of the first new-style game shows to be exported to the United States. Two short-lived United States versions of The Krypton Factor aired. In 1981, Dick Clark hosted a 5-week summer series on ABC. In 1990, Willie Aames hosted a syndicated version for children. A version in production by Fox TV was never shown to the public.
The New Zealand version of The Krypton Factor ran from 1987 to 1991 and was hosted by veteran presenter Dougal Stevenson. There was no Response round in the New Zealand version and the video clips used for the Observation test were taken from the UK version. The Physical Ability test was done at Burnham Military Camp just south of Christchurch. The winners of the 1987 series competed against the winners of the 1987 series in the UK.
There are versions of the show still currently running in Australia, Canada and Germany.
Transmissions
Original series
| Series | Start date | End date | Episodes |
|---|
| 1 | 7 September 1977 | 16 November 1977 | 11 | | 2 | 14 July 1978 | 29 September 1978 | 11 | | 3 | 8 June 1979 | 11 November 1979 | 11 | | 4 | 16 June 1980 | 26 August 1980 | 11 | | 5 | 1 June 1981 | 21 September 1981 | 17 | | 6 | 31 May 1982 | 27 September 1982 | 17 | | 7 | 17 June 1983 | 17 October 1983 | 17 | | 8 | 9 July 1984 | 22 November 1984 | 17 | | 9 | 22 July 1985 | 18 November 1985 | 17 | | 10 | 1 September 1986 | 23 December 1986 | 17 | | 11 | 7 September 1987 | 28 December 1987 | 17 | | 12 | 3 October 1988 | 26 December 1988 | 13 | | 13 | 4 September 1989 | 27 November 1989 | 13 | | 14 | 3 September 1990 | 26 November 1990 | 13 | | 15 | 2 September 1991 | 25 November 1991 | 13 | | 16 | 7 September 1992 | 30 November 1992 | 13 | | 17 | 6 September 1993 | 29 November 1993 | 13 | | 18 | 28 August 1995 | 20 November 1995 | 13 | | 19 | 1 January 2009 | 5 March 2009 | 10 |
Young Krypton
| Series | Start date | End date | Episodes |
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| 1 | 6 June 1988 | 29 August 1988 | 13 | | 2 | 23 May 1989 | 11 July 1989 | 8 |
Specials
| Date | Entitle |
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| 29 December 1978 | Christmas Special | | 22 December 1980 | Champion of Champions | | 29 December 1980 | Celebrity Special | | 22 December 1981 | Celebrity Special | | 30 December 1981 | UK vs USA Special | | 30 December 1982 | ?? Special | | 3 January 1983 | International Special | | 12 December 1983 | International Special | | 19 December 1983 | Celebrity Special | | 27 December 1984 | Celebrity Special | | 31 December 1984 | International Special | | 26 December 1985 | Christmas Special | | 28 March 1988 | International Special | | 2 May 1988 | Celebrity Special | | 19 September 1988 | Olympic Special | | 26 September 1988 | Olympic Special | | 2 January 1989 | Celebrity Special | | 27 March 1989 | Champion of Champions | | 31 December 1989 | Sports Celebrities | | 16 April 1990 | Celebrity Broadcast Teams | | 26 December 1990 | Celebrity Special |
United Kingdom Superperson of the Year
This is a complete list of all the winners of the show. There was no series made in 1994, or from 1996-2008.
1. Harry Evans is the first United Kingdom Superperson of the Year for the very first time.
2. Marian Chanter is the show's first and only female winner.
3. David Lee was the show's youngest winner at the time at age 21.
4. Forrest McCartney organised the trip to NASA's Space Shuttle flight simulator in California.
External links
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