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University Challenge
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University Challenge is a long-running British quiz show, based on the intermittently televised American academic contest College Bowl. It was originally hosted by Bamber Gascoigne and latterly by Jeremy Paxman.
Universities from across the United Kingdom field teams of four (plus a reserve). At audition, prospective teams face a written test, and the 28 highest-scoring teams appear on the series in a knockout format. Winners of the 14 first-round matches gain automatic passage to the second round, with the four highest-scoring runners up returning in a brief play-off phase for the two remaining places.
There are two types of question. Starter questions are on the buzzers without conferring, and are worth ten points each. An incorrect interruption to a starter question incurs a five point penalty. A question answered incorrectly by one team is passed over to the other. The team that successfuly answers a starter question receives a set of three bonus questions, worth fifteen points in total (or occaisionally, a single question with multiple correct answers, all of which have to be provided for maximum points). The bonuses are themed, but are not related to the starter question, with the exception of the two picture rounds, which appear at approximately the one-quarter and three-quarter points of the contest, and the single music or sound round which appears about halfway through.
The series is renowned for the difficulty of its questions. Few quizzes demand knowledge of statistical functions, quantum physics, medieval literature or comparative religion, but all of these (and many more) are considered fair game on University Challenge, alongside more traditional "general knowledge" subjects.
Originally, the series was hosted by Bamber Gascoigne, an academic historian whose friendly manner undoubtedly helped to make the show popular despite its often obscure subject matter. His light-hearted approach to presenting belied his dedication to the job. Gascoigne painstakingly checked every question and answer himself and would personally rewrite any that proved ambiguous or otherwise unsatisfactory, as well as arming himself with enough knowledge to adjudicate on alternative answers. Gascoigne was a firm favourite with viewers and contestants alike, and remained with the show for nearly a quarter of a century.
The show was remarkably successful during its 1960s heyday. Up to twelve million viewers tuned in regularly to watch a quiz with truly challenging questions. At the height of its popularity, a sister programme Sixth Form Challenge also aired, hosted by Chris Kelly. Ratings trailed off in the 1970s, and some disastrous tweaking with the format in its 1986-7 series finally killed it off.
In 1993, the BBC revived the format. The first BBC edition was a one-off match between the last winers of the ITV series and a celebrity team made up of three jounalists and a comedian who had appeared on the programme in their youth. Gascoigne hosted the one-off but, with his own academic projects on the horizon, turned down the opportunity to host the series. His replacement, news anchor Jeremy Paxman, was a controversial choice. Not averse to chiding the contestants for not knowing an answer that he thinks is easy (usually something to do with literature or politics), and dismissive of the popular culture questions (often exclaiming "I don't know why you're expected to know such rubbish" or similar), Paxman has nevertheless been a very successful host.
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