IN FEBRUARY 2008, production manager Derek Moody won a place in the semi-final of Mastermind after coming first in a closely-fought qualifying heat. Derek's specialist subject in this round was Survivors, for which he won 16 points (with no incorrect answers and only one pass).

Together with the 15 points he secured in the general knowledge round, Derek amassed a winning score of 31 points. In the subsequent semi-final, Derek's specialist subject was the nuclear conspiracy TV drama Edge of Darkness.

Success in this latest elimination round secured Derek a place in the final, in which his specialist subject was The Godfather film trilogy. In the final round Moody performed well, but did not secure the coveted winner's trophy this time round.

The following is a transcript of Derek Moody's specialist Survivors round. Questions focused mainly on specific plot points from episodes across all three series of the show:

John Humphries: Our final contender please. And your name is?

Derek Moody: Derek Moody.

JH: Your occupation?

DM: Production Manager.

JH: And your chosen subject?

DM: The Survivors TV series.

JH: The Survivors - in two minutes starting now. In the first episode, Abby makes what plea to the heavens as she leaves Brimpsfield church having found it full of dead villagers?

DM: "Oh God, may I not be alone" [1 point]

JH: Yes. "Oh God, please don't let me be the only one." Which actress plays Susan who nurses Jack Wood back to health after he is found injured in the woods in Manhunt?

DM: [Pause] Pass.

JH: Why is Greg forced to pull the tanker off the road on the way to trade it for provisions in Something of Value?

DM: The brakes failed. [2 points]

JH: Yes. How many communities are marked on the map of Britain that Agnes shows to Charles in Long Live the King?

DM: 28. [3 points]

JH: Yes. In the Lights of London who stood against Manny when the London settlement held an election to choose their leader?

DM: Wally. [4 points]

JH: When Charles kills one of Hubert's rams in Birth of a Hope, what does Hubert kill in retaliation?

DM: One of Pet's pigs. [5 points]

JH: Yes. In Over the Hills to whom does Ruth says that: "The death of the world has given you a much happier life than you ever had before"?

DM: Charles Vaughan. [6 points]

JH: Yes. What's the reason for Frank Garner becoming weaker and eventually dying in The Enemy?

DM: His pacemaker is failing. [7 points]

JH: Yes. In the episode A Friend in Need, what is Jenny pretending to be doing at the base of the wind pump when she offers herself as bait for the sniper?

DM: Hammering nails into a post. [8 points]

JH: Repairing a fence, yes. At the end of the May Day party in the episode Law and Order, Paul leads the group in a rendition of which Buddy Holly song?

DM: 'It Doesn't Really Matter Any More'. [9 points]

JH: Yes. It Doesn't Matter Any More. In Genesis, who enforces his claim to be the area organiser by ordering the summary execution of the Colonel?

DM: Wormley. [10 points]

JH: Yes. Where do the locals gather, on what becomes a market day, in response to Bill Sheridan's announcement that he's leaving the district in the episode Bridgehead?

DM: Highley railway station. [11 points]

JH: Correct. Which of the new arrivals in the episode of that title christens himself 'the roving guru' as he prepares to leave the community?

DM: Mark Carter. [12 points]

JH: Correct. In the episode A Beginning, Ruth reveals that she was studying medicine in a training hospital in which town before the infection struck?

DM: Reading. [13 points]

JH: Yes. In The Chosen, Charles and Pet are returning from a trip to gather what commodity when they come across the commune run by Max and Joy?

DM: Salt. [14 points]

JH: Yes. What do Greg and Jenny use as bait to draw away the pack of dogs that attack Emma Cohen in the episode Starvation.

DM: Rabbits. [15 points]

JH: A rabbit carcass, yes. When Ruth attempts to treat Paul's infection in Greater Love her home-made isolation suit is sterilised with a solution of paraffin and which other substance?

DM: DDT. [16 points]

JH: DDT is correct. You had one pass. June Brown was the actress who played Susan. Derek Moody, 16 points.

At the start of his second, general knowledge, round, chairman John Humphries asked Derek about his interest in Survivors:

JH: You're keen on the Survivors, which I have to say I missed because I was out of the country all the years it was on, but everybody says it was wonderful - why?

DM: It takes the still-topical premise of a plague which that out 99.9-or.8% of the world's population, and there a quite a few powerful dramas... which deal with very basic and dramatic themes which include capital punishment, faith, law and order, procreation, loyalty... and general economic survival.

JH: So it's a great theme. It is how society rebuilds itself.

DM: In basis, yes. It wasn't the original intention of the creator Terry Nation. Terry Nation's original idea was to see how far back we would go. That was the initial premise.

JH: Sort of a Lords of Flies theme?

DM: Very similar to Lord of the Flies. But then the producer Terence Dudley decided that 'oh look, there are other aspects that we can build onto this, and we can explore other themes which still have relevance with actually today's society.'

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