University Challenge (New Zealand)

University Challenge
Based on
Presented by
  • Richard Higham (series 1)
  • Peter Sinclair (series 2–14)
  • Tom Conroy (series 15)
Country of origin New Zealand
Original language(s) English
No. of series 15
No. of episodes Series 15: 31
Production
Producer(s) Sheree Carey (series 15)
Location(s)
Camera setup Split screen
Production company(s)
  • TVNZ (series 1–14)
  • Cue TV (series 15)
Broadcast
Original channel
Original run 1976 – present

University Challenge is a long-running New Zealand television quiz show, running originally from 1976-1989 before its revival in 2014 after a 25-year hiatus. The format was based on the British show of the same name, which was itself based on the American College Bowl. It is currently produced by Cue TV in Invercargill.

History

At its inception in 1976, it was hosted by University of Otago lecturer Richard Higham, but after the first series it gained Peter Sinclair as regular host; he continued in this capacity until the show's demise in 1989. The show was filmed in TVNZ's Dunedin studio. It was sponsored by the BNZ, who provided prizes for the some of the series. For example, one year, they gave each member of the winning team "an Apple Macintosh computer system, plus a BNZ campus pack account with a $500 credit balance".[1] Around ten episodes were aired each year. When TVNZ's Dunedin studio was closed and TVNZ moved premises to Auckland, they decided to drop the show.[1]

In July 2014, 25 years after TVNZ stopped producing the show, Cue TV revived the show with station owner Tom Conroy as host.[2] It was recorded 1–5 July 2014, and began airing on Prime on 22 November 2014. Some of the science questions were replaced with more populist material to enable greater involvement from the audience at home.[1][3]

Series overview

Series Year Channel Host Winning team
University Team members
1 1976 TV One Richard Higham University of Otago Grant Liddell, Mark Allen, Dennis King, Bruce MacKay
2 1977 Peter Sinclair University of Otago Graham Pendreigh, Nicholas Dodd, Stephen Kennedy, Wayne McLachlan
3 1978 University of Otago Graeme Smaill, Robin St. Clair, Paul Corwin, Michael Jackson
4 1979 University of Canterbury Richard Surridge, Graham Buckley, Brian Wilson, Martin Browne
5 1980 University of Otago Jocelyn Brown (first female contestant, now Jaquiery), James McPetrie, Bruce Russell, Grant Holloway
6 1981 University of Canterbury Liz Wilson, Jill Scott, Alistair Fletcher, Peter Clayworth
7 1982 Massey University Bryan Kirk, Judith Bowen, Richard Major, Richard Rumball
8 1983 Victoria University of Wellington Daniel Morgan, Stewart Bartlett, Dean Sole, Jeremy Millar
9 1984 University of Otago James Dignan, Geoff Boon, Richard Soper, Nick Thompson
10 1985 University of Auckland Adam Lowe, Lindsay Diggelmann, Scott Mataga, Grant Shirreffs
11 1986 University of Otago Prudence Scott, Richard Nyhof, Camilla Owen, Clive Copeman
12 1987 University of Auckland Graham Coop, Sue Jensen, Charles Chauvel, Bruce Williams
13 1988 University of Canterbury Mark Wilson, Alex Lojkine, Jolisa Wood (now Gracewood), Tony Smith
14 1989 University of Waikato Keith Sircombe, Wendy Moffitt, Duncan Stewart, Stephen Brown
15 2014 Prime Tom Conroy University of Canterbury Gerald Pfeifer, Rachael Harris, Daniel Redmond, Stewart Alexander, Liam Boardman

Format

Waikato and Canterbury get set to face the questioning of Peter Sinclair (far right) during the 1986 series

As with the British show, "starter" questions are answered individually "on the buzzer", and are worth 10 points. The team answering a starter correctly gets a set of "bonus" questions worth a potential fifteen points, over which they can confer. In the last few series before the show's hiatus, a "jackpot bonus" was also available once per game, signalled by a bell. In that, each part of the bonus was worth five points, but getting all three parts right doubled the value of the question to 30 points.

An incorrect interruption of a starter results in a five point penalty. The pace of questioning gradually increases through the show, becoming almost frantic in the last minute or so before the "gong" which signals the end of the game. In the event of a tied score at the sound of the gong, a "sudden death" question is to be asked (although in practice this has never occurred). In this circumstance the first team to answer correctly would be deemed the winner, with the process repeated until one of the teams answers correctly.

The format of the competition was seven first round matches, with each of the teams competing twice (having been randomly drawn against their opponents). Two semi-finals between the highest points-scorers followed, after which there was a final. From series 15, the competition is in a round-robin format.[1]

Teams consisted of four members, each team representing a New Zealand university. All six of the universities in New Zealand at the time competed (Auckland, Canterbury, Massey, Otago, Victoria and Waikato), along with a seventh team, representing Lincoln College (now Lincoln University). From series 15, the Auckland University of Technology also competes.

The show is broadcast in a split screen format, which led to a widespread rumour in the 1980s that the set was constructed so that one team was seated immediately above the other.[1]

International shows

Two international series were held in 1986 and 1987 between the British and New Zealand champions of the previous year. The first of these was held in Dunedin, New Zealand (the venue for the filming of the New Zealand domestic series); the second was held in Manchester, England. Each of these was a best of three series. Both series resulted in a win to the British team.

There was also a one-off match between the Australian and New Zealand champions in 1989, filmed immediately after the completion of the Australian filming in Hobart, Tasmania, resulting in an Australian win.

Results

Year Venue Foreign Team New Zealand Team Result
1986 Dunedin Jesus College, Oxford University of Auckland 2-1 to Great Britain
1987 Manchester Keble College, Oxford University of Otago 3-0 to Great Britain
1989 Hobart University of Tasmania University of Waikato Win to Australia

Series 15

University Challenge
Broadcast
Original run  Expression error: Unrecognized word "dd"., yyyy –  Expression error: Unrecognized word "dd"., yyyy

Series 15 premiered on 22 November 2014, with a new round-robin format defending champions Waikato competing against Otago. Auckland University of Technology, newcomers to the game show, lost all seven of their round-robin games. The final episodes aired on 4 April 2015, with Canterbury winning the series after defeating Auckland in the final.

Episode list

Episode Broadcast date Team 1 Score Team 2
Round 1
1 22 November 2014 Waikato 115 255 Otago
2 29 November 2014 Auckland 190 180 Lincoln
3 6 December 2014 Victoria 245 45 AUT
4 13 December 2014 Canterbury 205[lower-alpha 1] 90 Massey
Round 2
5 20 December 2014 Victoria 230 205 Auckland
6 27 December 2014 Waikato 140 170 Massey
7 3 January 2015 Canterbury 235 185 Lincoln
8 10 January 2015 Otago 210 105 AUT
Round 3
9 10 January 2015 Canterbury 165 190 Victoria
10 17 January 2015 Otago 265 185 Auckland
11 Waikato 195 75 AUT
12 24 January 2015 Massey 130 150 Lincoln
Round 4
13 24 January 2015 Otago 90 220 Canterbury
14 31 January 2015 Massey 120 165 Victoria
15 AUT 60 270 Auckland
16 7 February 2015 Waikato 145 125 Lincoln
Round 5
17 7 February 2015 Massey 60 280[lower-alpha 2] Otago
18 21 February 2015 Auckland 250 100 Waikato
19 AUT 125 140 Canterbury
20 28 February 2015 Lincoln 180 265 Victoria
Round 6
21 28 February 2015 AUT 105 170 Massey
22 7 March 2015 Lincoln 200 225 Otago
23 Victoria 260 140 Waikato
24 14 March 2015 Auckland 235 175 Canterbury
Round 7
25 14 March 2015 Lincoln 140 115 AUT
26 21 March 2015 Waikato 80 300 Canterbury
27 Auckland 240 160 Massey
28 28 March 2015 Victoria 145 185 Otago
Semi-finals
29 28 March 2015 Auckland 300 120 Otago
30 4 April 2015 Canterbury 220 190 Victoria
Final
31 4 April 2015 Canterbury 210 155 Auckland

Tournament

Round-robin

The following table should be read vertically. A green cell indicates a win, and a red cell indicates a loss. The number in each cell shows the points differential (the difference between the two teams' points). 2 points were awarded for each win. The four teams with the most points at the end of the tournament went through to the semi-finals. Total points differential (shown in the bottom row) was used as a secondary ranking criterion in case multiple teams had the same number of points.

vs. Auckland AUT Canterbury Lincoln Massey Otago Victoria Waikato
Auckland N/A -210 -60 -10 -80 80 25 -150
AUT 210 N/A 15 25 65 105 200 120
Canterbury 60 -15 N/A -50 -115 -130 25 -220
Lincoln 10 -25 50 N/A -20 25 85 20
Massey 80 -65 115 20 N/A 220 45 -30
Otago -80 -105 130 -25 -220 N/A -40 -140
Victoria -25 -200 -25 -85 -45 40 N/A -120
Waikato 150 -120 220 -20 30 140 120 N/A
Points 10 0 10 4 4 12 12 4
Points differential 405 -740 445 -145 -385 480 460 -520

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Conroy, Tim (9 November 2014). Mediawatch for 9 November 2014. Interview with Colin Peacock. Event occurs at 21:00. Mediawatch. Radio New Zealand National. Wellington. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
  2. ↑ "University Challenge returns to NZ". The Southland Times. Retrieved 6 July 2014.
  3. ↑ "DO YOU REMEMBER UNIVERSITY CHALLENGE? WELL, IT'S BACK! TOM CONROY TELLS US MORE!". 6 December 2014. Retrieved 12 December 2014.

Notes

  1. ↑ The table at the start of episode 5 confirms a score adjustment applied after the show (a bonus on the deepest lake in New Zealand was wrongly given as incorrect).
  2. ↑ The table at the start of episode 21 confirms a score adjustment applied after the show (scoreboard error, missing a correct bonus question on the name "Thatcher").

External links