University Challenge is a long-running New Zealand television quiz show, running originally from 1976 to 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. The 2014–2017 series were produced by Cue TV in Invercargill. The title holders are the University of Canterbury, who won the final series on 21 January 2017.

History At its inception in 1976, University Challenge was hosted by Peter Sinclair, though he was briefly dropped in the late 1970s and replaced by University of Otago lecturer Charles Higham. Sinclair returned after just two seasons, and continued in this capacity until the show went into hiatus in 1989. The first series was filmed in the Union Hall, in Otago University's student union building. Later series were filmed in TVNZ's Dunedin studio. It was sponsored by the BNZ, who provided prizes for 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". Ten episodes were aired each year, with the exception of the first season, when there were nine. Most seasons were broadcast on TVNZ channel TV One; those that were not screened on its partner channel TV2. When TVNZ's Dunedin studio was closed and TVNZ moved premises to Auckland, they decided to drop the show.

In July 2014, 25 years after TVNZ stopped producing University Challenge, Cue TV revived the show with station owner Tom Conroy as host. Some of the science questions were replaced with more populist material to enable greater involvement from the audience at home. It began airing on Prime in November 2014.

Series overview SeriesYearChannelHostWinning teamUniversityTeam members11976TV OnePeter SinclairUniversity of OtagoGrant Liddell, Mark Allan, Dennis King, Bruce MacKay21977Graham Pendreigh, Nicholas Dodd, Stephen Kennedy, Wayne McLachlan31978Richard HighamGraeme Smaill, Robin St. Clair, Paul Corwin, Michael Jackson41979University of CanterburyRichard Surridge, Graham Buckley, Brian Wilson, Martin Browne51980Peter SinclairUniversity of OtagoJocelyn Brown , James McPetrie, Bruce Russell, Grant Holloway61981TV2University of CanterburyLiz Wilson, Jill Scott, Alistair Fletcher, Peter Clayworth71982Massey UniversityBryan Kirk, Judith Bowen, Richard Major, Richard Rumball81983TV OneVictoria University of WellingtonDaniel Morgan, Stewart Bartlett, Dean Sole, Jeremy Millar91984University of OtagoJames Dignan, Geoff Boon, Richard Soper, Nick Thompson101985University of AucklandAdam Lowe, Lindsay Diggelmann, Scott Mataga, Grant Shirreffs111986University of OtagoPrudence Scott, Richard Nyhof, Camilla Owen, Clive Copeman121987University of AucklandGraham Coop, Sue Jensen, Charles Chauvel, Bruce Williams131988University of CanterburyMark Wilson, Alex Lojkine, Jolisa Wood , Tony Smith141989University of WaikatoKeith Sircombe, Wendy Moffitt, Duncan Stewart, Stephen Brown152014PrimeTom ConroyUniversity of CanterburyGerald Pfeifer , Rachael Harris, Daniel Redmond, Stewart Alexander, Liam Boardman162015University of AucklandAlistair Kendrick , Hemanth Nair, Sana Oshika, David Parfitt, Lucy Harrison172016University of CanterburyStewart Alexander , Jack Hayes, Catherine O'Donnell-Jackways, Liam Boardman, Alexander Amies

Format

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 for its original run – with the exception of the debut season – 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 single final match. In the first season, the first round consisted of three knockout heats, the seventh team then competing with the highest-scoring losing side for the last semi-final position. Unlike later series, the final in this series was staged over three legs.

For series 15, the competition was in a round-robin format. From series 16, the teams were divided into two pools.

Teams consist of four members, each team representing a New Zealand university. In the revived series, each team also has a reserve member. 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.

During the original run of 14 series, shows were half an hour in length, with question time being approximately 27 minutes during the first 13 seasons, and 21 minutes during the last season (the show was reduced to 25 minutes in length for this season). The show would occupy a mid-evening spot, generally around 8pm. This same spot was also occupied by the annual quiz series Mastermind, also hosted by Peter Sinclair, with University Challenge commencing one week after the Mastermind final.

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.

Notable contestants Several team members from University Challenge have gone on to make a name for themselves in other fields, among them: from the University of Auckland Charles Chauvel, MP Annette Morgan, winner of the New Zealand version of Mastermind in 1991 from the University of Canterbury Vicki Hyde ( Spong), science writer Jolisa Gracewood ( Wood), journalist from the University of Otago Hamish McDouall, winner of the New Zealand version of Mastermind, political candidate Bruce Russell, musician Prudence Scott, Rhodes scholar Kathryn Tyrie, musician Mark Allan, winner of the New Zealand version of Mastermind

Original run, 1976–1989

Series 1 The first series was filmed in Dunedin and screened on TV One in 1976. Unlike other series, it consisted of four knockout heats (the highest-scoring loser of the first three heats competed again, against the seventh university), and the final was held over three legs. The series was hosted by Peter Sinclair and produced by Wayne Cameron."Television Guide", Otago Daily Times, 23 August 1976. p. 17 The University of Otago won the series, defeating the University of Canterbury in the finals.

EpisodeBroadcast dateTeam 1ScoreTeam 2Heats126 August 1976 Otago 22 September 1976 Auckland 39 September 1976 colspan=4 416 September 1976 Canterbury MasseySemi-finals523 September 1976 Otago 630 September 1976 Canterbury AucklandFinal (three legs)7–97, 14, 21 October 1976 Otago Canterbury

Series 2 The second series was filmed in Dunedin in August 1977 and screened later in the same year on TV One. The University of Otago won the series, defeating Massey University in the finals.

EpisodeBroadcast dateTeam 1ScoreTeam 2Heats1 6 September 1977 colspan=4 2 13 September 1977 colspan=4 3 20 September 1977 colspan=4 4 27 September 1977 colspan=4 5 4 October 1977 colspan=4 6 11 October 1977 Otago Victoria7 18 October 1977 colspan=4 Semi-finals8 25 October 1977 Massey 9 1 November 1977 Otago CanterburyFinal10 8 November 1977 Otago Massey

Series 3 The third series was filmed in Dunedin on 18–21 August 1978 and screened later in the same year on TV One. The series was the first one to be presented by Richard Higham. The University of Otago won the series, defeating Victoria University of Wellington in the finals.

EpisodeBroadcast dateTeam 1ScoreTeam 2Heats1 5 September 1978 Massey Victoria2 12 September 1978 Otago Canterbury3 19 September 1978 Waikato Auckland4 26 September 1978 Lincoln Massey5 3 October 1978 Victoria Otago6 10 October 1978 Canterbury Waikato7 17 October 1978 Auckland LincolnSemi-finals8 24 October 1978 Victoria Canterbury 9 31 October 1978 Otago AucklandFinal10 7 November 1978 Otago Victoria

Series 4 The fourth series was filmed in Dunedin in August 1979 and screened later in the same year on TV One. The University of Canterbury won the series, defeating the University of Auckland in the finals.

EpisodeBroadcast dateTeam 1ScoreTeam 2Heats1 18 September 1979 Otago Auckland2 25 September 1979 Waikato Victoria3 2 October 1979 Massey Canterbury4 9 October 1979 Lincoln Otago5 16 October 1979 Auckland Waikato6 23 October 1979 Victoria Massey7 30 October 1979 Canterbury LincolnSemi-finals8 6 November 1979 Auckland Massey 9 13 November 1979 Canterbury VictoriaFinal10 20 November 1979 Canterbury Auckland

Series 5 The fifth series was filmed in Dunedin in August 1980 and screened later in the same year on TV One. Peter Sinclair returned as host. The University of Otago won the series, defeating Victoria University of Wellington in the finals.

EpisodeBroadcast dateTeam 1ScoreTeam 2Heats1 17 October 1980 Otago Canterbury2 24 October 1980 Victoria Lincoln3 31 October 1980 Auckland Massey4 7 November 1980 Waikato Otago5 14 November 1980 Canterbury Victoria6 21 November 1980 Lincoln Auckland7 28 November 1980 Massey WaikatoSemi-finals8 5 December 1980 Otago Auckland 9 12 December 1980 Victoria MasseyFinal10 19 December 1980 Otago Victoria

Series 6 The sixth series was filmed in Dunedin in August 1981 and screened later in the same year. Unlike previous series, the 1981 edition screened on TV One's sister channel, TV2. The series was produced by Max Cryer. The University of Canterbury won the series, defeating the University of Otago in the finals.

EpisodeBroadcast dateTeam 1ScoreTeam 2Heats1 3 October 1981 Massey Canterbury2 10 October 1981 Lincoln Otago 3 17 October 1981 Auckland Victoria4 24 October 1981 Waikato Massey5 31 October 1981 Canterbury Lincoln6 7 November 1981 Otago Auckland7 14 November 1981 Victoria WaikatoSemi-finals8 21 November 1981 Massey Otago9 28 November 1981 Victoria CanterburyFinal10 5 December 1981 Canterbury Otago

Series 7 The seventh series was filmed in Dunedin in August 1982 and screened later in the same year on TV2. Massey University won the series, defeating the University of Canterbury in the finals.

EpisodeBroadcast dateTeam 1ScoreTeam 2Heats1 25 September 1982 Otago Waikato2 2 October 1982 colspan=4 3 9 October 1982 Lincoln4 16 October 1982 Canterbury Otago5 23 October 1982 Waikato 6 30 October 1982 colspan=4 7 6 November 1982 Lincoln CanterburySemi-finals8 13 November 1982 Auckland Canterbury9 20 November 1982 Massey Otago Final10 27 November 1982 Massey Canterbury

Series 8