King of the Nerds (British TV series)

King of the Nerds is a British reality competition series co-produced by Electus and Objective Productions.[1] Based on the American series of the same name, the show features nerds and geeks competing in challenges for a £15,000 prize and the title of "King of the Nerds".[1] It is hosted by television presenter and writer Konnie Huq.[1] The series premiered on Sky 1 on 12 July 2015.[2]

This article is about the United Kingdom version. For the American version, see King of the Nerds.

King of the Nerds
GenreReality competition
Directed byAshley Meneely
Presented byKonnie Huq
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes8
Production
Executive producers
  • Adam Adler
  • Shannon Delwiche
  • Andrew Newman
ProducerRoss Curran
Running time40 to 43 minutes
Production companies
DistributorAll3Media
Release
Original networkSky 1
Picture format1080i (16:9 HDTV)
Audio formatStereo
Original release12 July (2015-07-12) –
30 August 2015 (2015-08-30)
External links
Website
Production website

Premise

Following roughly the same format as the American series, King of the Nerds follows several contestants as they compete in various challenges testing their intellect, ingenuity, skills, and pop-culture prowess.[3] The competitors live together in one house, named "Nerdvana", initially competing as teams before proceeding to individual challenges.[4] In each episode, the contestants compete in a challenge called the "Nerd War". The winner(s) of the Nerd War are granted immunity from elimination. Two losing players are then selected to compete in a head-to-head elimination challenge called the "Nerd-Off"; one player is selected by vote between the losers of the Nerd War, while the other is selected by the winner(s).[5]

Unlike its US counterpart, which features different challenges for each Nerd-Off, the UK version uses a single, quiz bowl-style challenge. The Nerd-Off consists of two rounds. In the Wild Card round, the two nerds compete simultaneously to answer questions about a mystery topic. In the Quick Fire round, the contestants, taking turns, are given 90 seconds to answer as many questions as possible on a subject chosen by their opponent. The person with the fewest points by the end of both rounds is eliminated from the competition.[5] In the event of a tie, the contestants are given one final "killer question". One contestant is eliminated in each episode until the finale, where the last remaining competitor is crowned the "King of the Nerds", claims the Throne of Games (a reference to the television series Game of Thrones), and wins the show's £15,000 prize.[3]

Development and production

Sky 1 announced that it had ordered an adaptation of King of the Nerds for the United Kingdom on 31 July 2014.[1] The UK version, which received an order for eight episodes, was co-produced by Objective Productions and Electus [6] and filmed at Felsted School in Felsted, England. Electus International distributed the UK series, alongside the format and the US series.[6] The first series was originally scheduled to air in October 2014; however, the premiere was delayed to 2015 due to unspecified reasons.[7]

Series 1 (2015)

Contestants
Name Age Specialty
Curtis Reubens 19 Maths nerd
Emily Jones 24 Star Wars nerd
Hannah Harle 21 Role-play nerd
Karen Dawson 31 Doctor nerd
Kenny Lam 23 Cosplay nerd
Kerry Allingham 21 Gamer Nerd
Mark Hughes 28 Trekkie nerd
Matt Barr 31 Trivia nerd
Robyn Potter N/A Potter nerd
Ryan MacDonald 21 Space nerd
Yasmeen Ojeleye 21 Manga nerd

Contestant progress
ContestantEpisode
123456728
Matt IN WIN WIN RISK WIN IN RISK WIN WINNER
Mark WIN IN RISK WIN IN WIN IN WIN RUNNER-UP
Kenny IN WIN WIN IN WIN RISK WIN OUT3
Emily WIN RISK IN WIN RISK WIN IN OUT3
Curtis IN WIN WIN IN WIN WIN1 OUT
Kerry IN WIN WIN IN WIN OUT
Yasmeen WIN IN IN WIN OUT
Karen RISK WIN WIN OUT
Hannah WIN IN OUT
Ryan WIN OUT
Robyn OUT

^Note 1 : Curtis switched from Team Defenders of Time to Team E.V.I.L.
^Note 2 : Teams were dissolved and Nerd Wars became individual challenges.
^Note 3 : The losers of the final Nerd War were automatically eliminated.

Key
  (WINNER) The contestant won the competition and was crowned "King of the Nerds".
  (RUNNER-UP) The contestant was the runner-up in the competition.
  (WIN) The contestant won the Nerd War and received immunity from elimination.
  (IN) The contestant lost the Nerd War, but was not selected to compete in the Nerd-Off.
  (RISK) The contestant won the Nerd-Off and escaped elimination.
  (OUT) The contestant lost the Nerd-Off and was eliminated from the competition.
Teams
  The contestant was a member of Team Defenders of Time.
  The contestant was a member of Team E.V.I.L. (Extremely Valiant Independence League).

Episodes
No. Title Original air date
1"Episode 1"12 July 2015 (2015-07-12)

  • Nerd War: Two players are randomly selected as captains to initiate a schoolyard pick to separate the remaining players into teams, with one player left over. Since "nothing is nerdier than getting picked last", the unselected contestant is declared the winner of the challenge. This contestant joins the team of their choice, winning the challenge for them, and sends another contestant to join the losing team.
  • Nerd-Off: Karen vs. Robyn
2"Episode 2"19 July 2015 (2015-07-19)

  • Nerd War: The teams compete in a cosplay contest, requiring them to develop a coherent mythology and appearance for their given theme (heroes or villains). The contestants are judged by make-up and prosthetic artist Charlie Hounslow, TV costume designer Howard Burden, and professional prop and costume creator Tabitha Lyons.
  • Nerd-Off: Emily vs. Ryan
    • Wild Card Round: Numbers (unaired)[8]
    • Quick Fire Round: Geek TV (Emily); British kings and queens (Ryan)
3"Episode 3"26 July 2015 (2015-07-26)

  • Nerd War: The teams are challenged to a castle-building competition. The teams are first given two hours to draft the blueprints for their creations. Each castle must be designed to withstand enemy fire and weather conditions, using a maximum of 272 building blocks and 250 wooden pegs; in addition, they must include four walls, a window, and a door. Afterwards, the teams are given 40 minutes to build their castles. They are then judged by art director Paul Inglis and actor Kristian Nairn. The team with the judges' favorite castle is awarded an extra cannonball. Using a catapult, the teams take turns launching their cannonballs at the opposing castle. The team with the most building blocks left standing wins.
  • Nerd-Off: Mark vs. Hannah
4"Episode 4"2 August 2015 (2015-08-02)

  • Nerd War: Three members from each team compete in a debate about various nerd-related topics, including Doctor Who, Game of Thrones, and Harry Potter. The teams are judged by comedian Katherine Ryan and actor David Bradley. The team with the most points after three rounds wins the challenge.
  • Nerd-Off: Matt vs. Karen
    • Wild Card Round: Timelines (unaired)[9]
    • Quick Fire Round: Space science (Matt); Turner Prize winners (Karen)
5"Episode 5"9 August 2015 (2015-08-09)

  • Nerd War: The teams are tasked with navigating tablet-controlled quadcopters through an obstacle course. While one team attempts to fly their quadcopter through the course, the opposing team is given the opportunity to shoot it down with Nerf guns to impede their progress. Passing through the large gates is worth one point, while passing through the smaller "doom gates" is worth two points. After both teams complete their timed runs, the team with the highest score is declared the winner.
  • Nerd-Off: Emily vs. Yasmeen
6"Episode 6"16 August 2015 (2015-08-16)

  • Nerd War: The teams are instructed to use math and physics to estimate how many panes of glass, arranged in a vertical array, will be broken by two falling objects: a 3 kg ball and a 7.25 kg teddy bear. The two experiments are then performed. The teams are penalised for the difference in the actual panes broken versus their estimate. The team with the lowest overall penalty wins.
  • Nerd-Off: Kenny vs. Kerry
    • Wild Card Round: Name the year (unaired)[10]
    • Quick Fire Round: Maths (Kenny); Harry Potter (Kerry)
    • Note: Following the Nerd-Off, teams are officially dissolved and subsequent Nerd Wars become individual challenges.
7"Episode 7"23 August 2015 (2015-08-23)

  • Nerd War: While riding a broomstick attached to a zip-line, the contestants attempt to score as many points as possible by hitting targets with potions during their descent. The nerds are provided two potions by default; however, they can earn up to three additional potions by successfully completing a three-round quiz. The bullseye is worth three points, the inner ring is worth two points, and the outer ring is worth one point. The contestant with the highest score is given the opportunity to nominate another competitor for the Nerd-Off, while the contestant with the lowest score is automatically put up for elimination.
  • Nerd-Off: Matt vs. Curtis
    • Wild Card Round: Nerdy locations (unaired)[11]
    • Quick Fire Round: Periodic table (Matt); Superhero films (Curtis)
8"Episode 8"30 August 2015 (2015-08-30)

  • Nerd War: The contestants compete in a quiz bowl based on various nerd topics. The first two nerds to answer five questions correctly earn a spot in the final Nerd-Off.
  • Nerd-Off: The final two contestants compete in a series of games called the "Nerdliminator". The finalists must petition the banished nerds to pledge their allegiance towards them. The eliminated competitors then choose which finalist to help during the challenge. The finalists can call upon their allies for assistance during the first two games; however, the remaining challenges must be fought alone. The first player to reach four points is crowned "King of the Nerds".

References
  1. Lee, Ben (31 July 2014). "Sky1 to produce UK version of US series King of the Nerds". Digital Spy. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
  2. "King of the Nerds: Series 1 - Episode 1". Radio Times. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
  3. "King of the Nerds - Heart Competitions". Heart London. 17 June 2014. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
  4. "King Of The Nerds - About". Sky plc. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
  5. "King Of The Nerds". Sky Media. Archived from the original on 9 July 2015. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
  6. Munn, Patrick (31 July 2014). "Sky1 Orders 'King Of The Nerds' UK Adaptation Hosted By Konnie Huq". TVWise. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
  7. "Embrace Your Brand's Inner Nerd With New Sky1 HD Sponsorship!". GetMeMedia. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
  8. Reubens, Curtis (19 July 2015). "'Numbers'. They were some really weird questions..." Twitter. Retrieved 20 July 2015.
  9. Barr, Matt (2 August 2015). "Our Round was Timelines, we got two each (Dr Who/Bond actors + consoles/Star Wars character appearances)". Twitter. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
  10. Hughes, Mark (17 August 2015). "Name the Year". Twitter. Retrieved 17 August 2015.
  11. Hughes, Mark (24 August 2015). "nerdy locations". Twitter. Retrieved 28 August 2015.
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