The Fanatics
Contents |
Host
Baz Ashmawy
Broadcast
Victory Television for Sky 1, 7 January to 25 February 2015 (8 episodes in 1 series)
Synopsis
Three "superfans" demonstrate their specialist knowledge; the best will win the prize of their dreams.
To prove their knowledge, the players answer questions in a number of headings, testing many of their senses. A collage of faces tests sight. An audio clip gives slight clues to the ear. A tactile round has the contestants feeling their way to extra points.
It's a hat, not a traffic cone.Even intuition is tested: given a broad description, the players guess which area of a picture will give the most information. The night's champion is found from a round of quickfire questions. The episode's winner has named their own prize, and faces one final question to take an additional treat. Each show is self-contained, there's no returning champion or series final.
Unlike a certain other specialist subject show, The Fanatics enjoys a bright and welcoming studio. It's hosted by Baz Ashwarmy, who never sneers at the contestants. The questions are demanding to the expert, almost impenetrable to the non-fan.
The studio is bright and welcoming.But The Fanatics doesn't have a hook for the casual viewer, like Mastermind has general knowledge. Not interested in football, comic books, or space flight? Don't bother, there's nothing for you here. Only interested in one subject? It's going to be a long hour: the show rotates between each contender, after five minutes on your topic comes ten minutes in another dialect of Geek.
Inventor
Based on an original format from Workpoint Entertainment, a company in Thailand.
Theme music
Nick Foster is credited for "Music".
