2008/09
2008 · 31 episodes
Episodes
1. Episode 1
September 5, 2008 · 30m
New series John Humphrys quizzes on Simon Raven, Newcastle United, Edward IV and Laurence Olivier.
2. Episode 2
September 12, 2008 · 30m
Specialisms tonight are Billy the Kid, the Short Stories of Saki, the Great Western Railway and the films of John Carpenter. With John Humphrys.
3. Episode 3
September 19, 2008 · 30m
John Humphrys asks about Noor Inayat-Khan, Ferdinand Magellan, Edith Wharton and Mods
4. Episode 4
September 26, 2008 · 30m
Questions on the late Stuart age, Steely Dan, boxer Joe Frazier and Robert Parker's Spenser novels.
5. Episode 5
October 3, 2008 · 30m
John Humphrys asks questions on subjects including Arthur Conan Doyle's Challenger novels.
6. Episode 6
October 10, 2008 · 30m
Specialist subjects this week include Rasputin, the Gospels of the New Testament, and West Indies Test cricket. John Humphrys asks the questions.
7. Episode 7
October 17, 2008 · 30m
John Humphrys poses the questions as four contestants test their specialist knowledge of Stax Records, the Romney Marsh novels of Monica Edwards, German battleship the Bismarck and the Welsh castles of Edward I.
8. Episode 8
October 24, 2008 · 30m
Specialist subjects include Scottish mathematician James Clerk Maxwell and the Mitford sisters.
9. Episode 9
October 31, 2008 · 30m
Tonight's specialist topics include the Harry Palmer novels and folk singer Tom Paxton.
10. Episode 10
November 7, 2008 · 30m
Tonight's specialist topics comprise the Victoria Cross, chess player Bobby Fischer, the Le Mans 24-hour race, and the life of Thomas Cochrane.
11. Episode 11
November 14, 2008 · 30m
Tonight's specialist subjects include the Coventry blitz and the Merthyr Rising of 1831.
12. Episode 12
November 21, 2008 · 30m
Specialist topics comprise the cricketer Ian Botham, the Munros of Scotland, Pyotr Tchaikovsky and the James Bond novels by Ian Fleming.
13. Episode 13
November 28, 2008 · 30m
Topics tonight include rare breeds of British farm animals, Ghenghis Khan and Gothic architecture.
14. Episode 14
December 5, 2008 · 30m
Topics comprise WC Fields, Jonathan Creek, Tacitus and the life and career of Keith Moon.
15. Episode 15
January 30, 2009 · 30m
Tonight's four specialist subjects are the Ashes series of 1902, AE Housman, British punk rock and the Trans-Siberian Railway. With John Humphrys.
16. Episode 16
February 6, 2009 · 30m
Tonight's specialist subjects are the Peninsular War, pop singer Morrissey, the history of Chichester Cathedral in West Sussex, and the Great Fire of London. John Humphrys asks the questions.
17. Episode 17
February 13, 2009 · 30m
Tonight's specialist subjects are actor Sidney Poitier, British Trotskyism, number one hit singles, and the life and career of model and actress Edie Sedgwick. John Humphrys asks the questions.
18. Episode 18
February 20, 2009 · 30m
John Humphrys presents the general knowledge quiz, in which the specialist subjects tonight are the history of Chester Zoo, the Father Brown stories, Edward Carson and Tony Hancock.
19. Episode 19
February 27, 2009 · 30m
Tonight's four specialist subjects are John Wesley, Seinfeld, Kazimir Malevich and the Wars of the Roses. John Humphrys poses the questions.
20. Episode 20
March 6, 2009 · 30m
Specialist subjects are the Battle of Coronel and the Falklands War, British birds, sculptor Barbara Hepworth, and Anglo-Saxon kings 871-1016.
21. Episode 21
March 13, 2009 · 30m
In the first semi-final John Humphrys asks questions on Scott's last expedition, Blake's 7, the School stories of PG Wodehouse and the Popish Plot.
22. Episode 22
March 20, 2009 · 30m
Tonight's specialist subjects are Jackie Stewart, the novels of Wendy Holden, Honore de Balzac and Kraftwerk. John Humphrys poses the questions.
23. Episode 23
April 3, 2009 · 30m
Tonight's specialist subjects are the novels of George Orwell, musician Gram Parsons, Italian politics and composer Dmitri Shostakovich.
24. Episode 24
April 10, 2009 · 30m
Tonight's subjects are the Battle of Coronel and the Falklands War, British birds, sculptor Barbara Hepworth , and Anglo-Saxon kings from 871 to 1016.
25. Episode 25
April 17, 2009 · 30m
In tonight's semi-final the specialised subjects are Scott's last expedition, cult TV series Blake's 7, the School stories of PG Wodehouse and the Popish Plot
26. Episode 26
May 8, 2009 · 30m
Four contenders compete for a place in the final. Tonight's specialist subjects comprise film director Fritz Lang, tennis legend Billie Jean King, Private Eye magazine and the life and work of Robert Maxwell.
27. Episode 27
May 22, 2009 · 30m
Tonight's specialist subjects for the four semi-finalists comprise the Bonaparte dynasty, former prime minister Herbert Asquith, glam rock band Slade and the life and writings of Gilbert White. With John Humphrys
28. Episode 28
May 29, 2009 · 30m
Tonight's specialist subjects for the four semi-finalists comprise the life and works of Mozart, the ghost stories of MR James, planets of the solar system and Norwich City FC. Presented by John Humphrys.
29. Episode 29
June 5, 2009 · 30m
Specialist subjects in the fifth semi-final are Doctor Who in the 1970s, former US president John F Kennedy, singer/songwriter Billy Bragg and the Montalbano novels of Andrea Camilleri. John Humphrys hosts.
30. Episode 30
June 12, 2009 · 30m
Tonight's specialist subjects are poet Gerard Manley Hopkins, the life of Paddy Mayne, Northampton Town FC and the life and work of Alfred Russel Wallace.
31. Grand Final
June 19, 2009 · 1h
Six contenders battle it out to be crowned champion. Their specialist subjects comprise the Lewis and Clark expedition across America, Britain between the wars, Russian novels from 1831 to 1894, songwriting partnership Rodgers and Hart, the Ryder Cup and American presidents of the 19th century. Presented by John Humphrys.