The Krypton Factor



""Welcome to The Krypton Factor, television's toughest quiz!"

Gordon Burns"

British Game Show, launched in 1977 and run until 1995, then revived in 2009. Known for its comprehensive approach to testing its contestants, through its varied rounds testing Mental Agility, Response, Observation, Physical Ability, Intelligence and General Knowledge. Conveniently, these were the names of its six rounds for the bulk of the series' run.

The rounds are scored with 10 points for a win, 6 points for second and 4 & 2 for third and fourth respectively, with the exception of General Knowledge, where two points are awarded for geting a question right, and one is deducted for getting it wrong.

The format was re-sold to the United States and New Zealand.


 * Call a Rabbit a Smeerp: It isn't 32 points, it's a Krypton Factor of 32.
 * Catch Phrase:
 * From Gordon Burns: "Are you all ready, contestants? The test starts... now." and "That's it - the end of the round, the end of the contest..."
 * From Ben Shephard: "Activate the Kube!"
 * Golden Snitch: 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 seems to be shedding rounds.
 * The Super Round in the 1995 retool. Instead of deciding the winner, the points gained are used to buy "advantages". You can bomb on all the rounds including General Knowledge and come out the winner by getting to the top of Mt. Krypton first.
 * Hidden Object Game: Observation.
 * Incredibly Lame Pun: Burns would often crack one after the end of Intelligence.
 * Long Runners: The Burns version was on from 1977 to 1995. Averted for the Shephard version -- it only lasted two series.
 * Lovely Assistant: Penny Smith in the 1995 retool.
 * Nintendo Hard: The Intelligence round. What was shown was edited for time -- some puzzles took hours!
 * No Fair Cheating: In the 1995 version, a contestant broke the rules of the "Response Revolve" in the Super Round and got DQ'd immediately after "finishing" it. Related to...
 * Non Gameplay Elimination: In the 1995 Super Round, all tasks must be completed before moving on to the next. Otherwise it's a DQ.
 * Only Smart People May Pass: Skip to 1:15 of this video for the first round of the 2009 revival. The old version was harder.
 * Real Song Theme Tune: Almost. The most well-known theme song is a rearrangement of the Art of Noise's "Beatbox".
 * Revival - On hold because host Ben Shepard is working at Sky Sports.
 * The Runner Up Takes It All: In the semifinals, the fourth contestant is always the highest-scoring runner up. It's also possible in series without a Group D since the fourth player in the Grand Final would then be the highest-scoring runner up from the semifinal level.
 * Shout-Out: The show's title is a reference to Superman's home planet.
 * Show the Folks At Home: During the "Two Takes" and "Continuity Differences" versions of the Observation Round, Gordon would point out the answers to the home audience while the contestants were handing in their answers.
 * Sound Proof Booth: Only headphones were used in Burns' run, it is replaced by a booth known as the Kube in the Ben Shephard version.
 * Speed Round: The General Knowledge round. Depending on the series, the round lasted for between 60 and 100 seconds.
 * Trans Atlantic Equivalent: Two versions in the US (an adults version hosted by Dick Clark that Burns called "more akin to Its A Knockout", and a kids version that teetered close to being In Name Only), and a more faithful version in New Zealand.