The Krypton Factor

A tournament-type game show based on the UK series of the same name where contestants were tested on their mental ability and physical skill, all while trying to score points (aka The Krypton Factor).

Premise
Contestants were tested on their mental ability and physical skill.

Gameplay (1981)
Sixteen contestants competed in this five-week series, with four contestants competing in each of the first four matches. In this adaptation, a player's score was called a Krypton Factor, as was the case on the original UK version.

Phase I - Reflex Speed
The players played a video game in which successfully achieving a certain score within a specified time limit or staying in play for enough time earned them each five points.

Phase II - Mental Agility
The players were faced with taking two mental agility tests. Each contestant wore headphones so only they can hear the questions. The first test had five parts and was for four points, and the second test, with six parts, was worth six points.

Examples of Tests
Numbers - A series of numbers was presented to each player, and in turn they have to repeat the numbers in order after applying a certain rule to each number. For instance, if the difference involved the distance between each number and ten, the correct response to "4-6-3-9-2" would be "6-4-7-1-8." Sometimes they were given a math test using the numbers given.

Letters - A series of letters was presented to each player, and in turn they have to give a letter based on the criteria given on each one.

Reverse - Players were given words and/or phrases from a category in a particular order, and the players have to give the same list in reverse order to score.

A possible 10 points total can be earned by each player, but if anytime any player made a mistake, they have to sit out the rest of the round.

Phase III - Physical Ability
This round featured an obstacle course run that was pretaped in advance. Unlike the UK version, the course was designed to be fair to both men and women, so neither sex or age received a head start. The race began with a death slide into an inflatable mat, then players had to cross a pontoon bridge, crawl through tubes, drive a motor vehicle, ride a swing in order to press a button & open a door, and complete the course by walking in an inflatable wheel. The contestants earned points according to how they finished. Scoring was as follows:
 * 1st Place - 20 points
 * 2nd Place - 15 points
 * 3rd Place - 10 points
 * 4th Place - 5 points

Phase IV - Observation
In the forth round, the players were tested on memory. For they were shown a scene from a current motion picture, and each player was asked a four-point question pertaining to visual or verbal detail with two possible answers and a six-point question requiring them to recall specific dialogue. Then all players were shown a lineup of six similar-looking actors, one of whom had a key part in the film clip. Each player separately locked in their guess as to the correct actor, and each player who identified the correct actor earned ten points. A possible total of 20 points can be earned this phase.

Phase V - General Knowledge
In the final round, the contestants were asked a series of general knowledge questions. Each answer, or a related or similar-sounding part, links to the next question. Only the first player to jump in got to answer, but players did not have to wait until the question was fully read to do so. Each correct answer was worth two points, but each incorrect answer was worth minus two points, with the values doubling to +/-4 points midway through the round.

The player with the most points at the end of the competition won $5,000 in gold, plus an invitation to the final week to complete against the other weekly winners for $50,000 in gold.

Gameplay (1990)
When the show returned, the show stayed the same except there were four rounds and the contestants were now teenagers. Two girls and two boys competed in each episode.

The set used in this version was similar to that of the original UK version. The difference is that the scoreboards used eggcrate numbers rather than vane numbers.

Round 1 - Intelligence
Each player in was shown a picture pertaining to a specific category, and had ten seconds to identify the subject of the picture for ten points. Afterward, three toss-up questions were asked pertaining to the set of four pictures, and all players used the buttons on their chairs to buzz in, but only the first player to do so could answer. A correct answer was worth five points, but an incorrect answer cost a player two points. Two sets of pictures were played in this manner.

Round 2 - Observation
This round was played like round four in the original version; for this was where players were tested on memory. For they were shown a scene from a public domain film or cartoon, and they were asked two questions about it, which could be either visual or verbal information, in turn in reverse order. Each correct answer was worth 10 points. There was also a bonus round in which the players were directed to the Krypton Cart, which concealed an object seen or mentioned in the film. The players were given five clues to its identity, and had to jump in to answer. A correct answer was worth 10 points but each player could only jump in once during the bonus round.

Round 3 - Physical Ability
Like in the ABC version, this round featured an obstacle course run that was pretaped in advance. This course took place in Palos Verdes and began with a death slide, followed by a bicycle race, a rope swing, and ended with the Krypton Pavilion, a series of skill and agility tests. The contestants earned points according to how they finished, and here's how they scored:


 * 1st Place - 20 points
 * 2nd Place - 15 points
 * 3rd Place - 10 points
 * 4th Place - 5 points

Only the first place finisher was seen crossing the finish line.

Final Round - General Knowledge
The final round was played like the original: the contestants were asked a series of general knowledge questions, with each answer leading to the next question, except the round now lasted for two minutes (2:00) and most questions were multiple-choice. Also, the contestants played on podiums at center stage instead of with the buzzers on their chairs; plus, the front displays have room for three digit scores should any contestant have them. Each correct answer was worth five points, but each incorrect answer lost two points.

The player with the most points at the end of the game won prizes, and the eight highest scoring members of each sex advanced to the four quarterfinals at the end of the season, from which the four highest-scoring members of each sex advanced to the two semifinals. The highest scoring boy and girl from each semifinal competed in the finals, the winner of which received $20,000 in cash.

Notable Contestants

 * Andrew Lessman, founder of ProCaps Laboratories, was a contestant in 1981. An avid athlete, he won the Physical Ability round but finished second overall. These days, he can also be seen on Home Shopping Network.
 * Susan Sackett, executive assistant to Star Trek creator & executive producer Gene Roddenberry, played the premiere of the 1981 version and recounted it in the book You Can Be a Game Show Contestant and Win!. The show selected her even after admitting she did not exercise regularly, and she finished last in Physical Ability. She came second overall, but like other losing contestants, did not receive any consolation prizes, since the program was billed as a "prime-time competition" rather than a game show.
 * Richard Heft, also competed in the Dick Clark version. He was later a contestant on Sale of the Century.

International Versions

 * Germany: This version under the name Krypton Faktor (notice in "Faktor" is spelled with a "K" instead of a "C") was hosted by Jorg Draeger (of Geh auf Ganze/Go the Whole Hog/German Let's Make a Deal fame) lasting for a total of thirteen episodes aired on Sat.1 a brief period in 1991.


 * New Zealand: This version was hosted by Dougal Stevenson and ran on TV2 from 1987 until 1991. Pior to this, reruns of the series have been re-aired on TVNZ 6 later on.


 * United Kingdom: The original UK version ran on ITV from 1977 until 1995. Originally with Gordon Burns along with Penny Smith as co-host (1995 only), then with Ben Shephard from 2009 until 2010. Prior to this, a short-lived kids spinoff of the show under the name Young Krypton hosted by Ross King aired from 1988 until 1989.

Inventor
Based on the British show of the same name by Jeremy Fox.

Studio
ABC Television Center, Hollywood, California (1981 Version)

Glendale Studios (1990 Version)

Additional Page
The Krypton Factor/Video Gallery

Links
Rules for The Krypton Factor

The 1981 Krypton Factor @ Bother's Bar (1)

The 1981 Krypton Factor @ Bother's Bar (2)

YouTube Videos
Clip of the first two phases

ABC Promos & another clip of the first two phases