I’m not asking for sympathy. It’s been a busy old quiz day today, though. What with my current year group at school being Year 11 ( the fifth form in old money ) and in the last term and a half before their GCSEs and other external exams, I’m working pretty hard in the evenings at the moment, and when I’m not doing schoolwork I’m actually at quizzes. As I said, I’m not asking for sympathy, but it is something in the way of an explanation why I haven’t been able to find the time to post during the week during term time over the last 6 months or so. Hence the plethora of posts on a Saturday.
The way it’s worked out I have actually compiled two separate quizzes today. I’ll endeavor to explain why. A fortnight ago I made my first appearance at the Sunday evening quiz at the Dyffryn Arms, which I’m sure that I’ve mentioned before. It’s a lovely little quiz, nice club, nice people, and a good, and at times great set of questions. Pretty much all you could want really. I hadn’t been able to get down to it since early December, through a combination of my illness, John’s illness, my being away, John’s being away , and so forth. While I was there Keith informed me that Graham, one of the two other regular setters , wasn’t going to be able to do the quizzes any more, and asked if I’d be willing to step in . Now, there were a couple of factors that I needed to take into consideration. Firstly, for reasons I will go into shortly, I’ll probably be doing more quizzes down the rugby club on a Thursday for at least a while. Secondly, I’m pretty sure that when I’m question master in the pub on a Sunday, John won’t want to come down and play on his own. No way do I want to do anything which will stop John coming out on a Sunday when he wants to. So it would have been relatively easy to say no. Only, well, it’s flattering when people trust you enough to ask you to make a quiz. I enjoy being Qm pretty much as much as I do playing. Also, when you’ve got a good little quiz going, which has resisted the temptation to go down the bought in quiz route, you really rather want to help them out to keep it going. So I said that I’ll do it from time to time, but I can’t go on a once every three weeks rota. The upshot being that I said that I’d have one ready for tomorrow night, if they wanted it.
Coming back to the Thursday night quiz in the rugby club, well, if you’re a regular you’ll remember me mentioning Brian before. Brian has been the organizer of the quiz for far longer than the 17 years I have been taking part, and the two of us have been the most regular question masters in that time. Other people are good enough to come in and do a quiz from time to time, but when nobody else does, Brian and I step in and share the setting duties between us, week in, week out. It’s not my place to go spreading Brian’s business all over the internet, but the fact is that he isn’t well at the moment, and it’s quite possible that we might not see him for some time. I’ve stepped in as organizer now, and I’ve been fortunate that Howard and Dai Norwich, two of our semi regular setters, stepped in consecutively for the last two weeks. Thursday night it’s me again, and unless there’s a volunteer after that, then it’ll be me again the week after, and so on.
Here’s a funny thing, though. The fact is that when I started setting quizzes for the club way back in 1995, I loved doing it so much, that I wanted to do it every week, and would have if I’d been allowed. I was even more full on about the quiz then than I was now, and I used to really chafe at the bit whenever any other question master other than Brian ( or Alwyn Rees ) used to set the quizzes, thinking that I should be the one doing it because I could do it better. I’m pretty sure that nobody else in the club would have concurred with my appraisal of my own abilities as a setter, but back in those heady, pre-Mastermind days that was how I used to think. They do sometimes say - be careful what you wish for, since it may come true. – Well, I’ve always said that setting the quiz for the club is a labour of love, and I’ll keep on doing it for as long as I’m able, and for as long as there are at least two teams who want to play it. I think I’ve explained before how special my Thursday nights in the rugby club are, and if it means that I have to set the quiz myself then three , four or even more weeks in a row, then so be it. It’s a price worth paying.
Saturday, 26 January 2013
Brain of Britain - Round One - Heat 9
Just a few more first round episodes remain before we move on to the semis. In this week’s show the contestants were : -
Paul Jordan
Ramdas Mullath
John Newth
Andrew Ward
Now, Ramdas Mullath did actually contact me before making his first application to the show for the last series. He didn’t get on that time, so I’m delighted that he managed it for this show. None of the contenders feature on my database, so it was difficult for me to guage which if any was the most likely winner. I suppose that if you’re looking for omens, then last year’s series was won by Ray Ward, so maybe Andrew was the one to watch.
Russell began by explaining that 5 times as many men apply for BoB as women – hence the all male show this week – and appealing for any women who might consider applying to the show to please do so.
Paul took his first, but missed a gettable answer that Petra was the world heritage site that had been the capital city of the Nabataeans. John had that.Ramdas took his first to get off the mark , but didn’t know that Anita Loos wrote Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Andrew had that bonus. John Newth missed out on the Katydid, being a species of grasshopper. Andrew took his first three, and led with 4 at the end of the round, but nobody knew the Scottish Advocate General for a bonus. Onto the next round, and Paul kicked off with a couple, but didn’t know that Henry VI part 3 is described as a play about a son that killed his father, and a father that killed his son. Not surprised he didn’t have that. At least it wasn’t his first question. Unfortunately Ramdas didn’t know “Shiney Happy People “ and others were recorded by REM. Andrew Ward won the buzzer race to get the bonus there. John Newth didn’t know that Mack Sennett created the Keystone Cops. Paul had that. Andrew didn’t know that it was Zimbabwe which became independent in 1980, taking its name from a ruined city , and nobody managed a bonus there. Andrew maintained his lead with 5, but Paul was only a point behind. Paul was given a music question as his first in round three, and successfully negotiated it, but he fell on the torch relay, not knowing that Berlin was the first Olympic games to do this, in 1936. First televised as well. My boy Ramdas had it. I’m afraid that he didn’t know the old chestnut that sal volatile is another name for smelling salts. Andrew had that one. John took his first 3, but didn’t know DH Lawrence once lived on Sicily. Paul took a bonus there. Andrew took his first, but didn’t know Erskine May. That meant that Ramdas had 2, but everyone else had 6 at the end of round 3. The fourth round saw Paul take his first four, but fail on a relatively benign question about Gozo and Malta’s little brother Comino. Ramdas got a nasty old pop question to start off, about producers based in Philadelphia. Nobody had it. John didn’t know that Richard Krajicek won Wimbledon in 1996. Andrew got a stinker about Hoops process – and Ramdas took the bonus. Paul now led with 10 points.
The first listener’s question in the Beat the Brains was – what does theobroma – as in theobroma cacao, the latin name of the tree from which chocolate is produced – mean. No idea here in LAM towers, but the brains were close – they said drink of the gods, while the answer was food of the gods. Mean. The second asked what Stirculius was the roman god of ? Manure apparently. Fair enough.
After that the contest began again. Paul didn’t know that the Bailey Brothers first published Who’s Who. Ramdas took his first three , but didn’t know that it was Tolstoy who told Chekov – Shakespeare’s plays are bad enough, but yours are even worse. I don’t remember Tolstoy ever appearing in Star Trek, but I digress. Paul took the bonus. John didn’t recognize Philip Larkin’s “The Whitsun Weddings” but Paul did. Andrew got a snorter for his first, on the Chinese government news agency. Ramdas had it. Paul had a 5 point lead, but Ramdas was now joint second with 7. Paul missed his first on Chateau of Chambord. Ramdas took his first but missed out on Colt, who opened a factory in Pimlico. Paul had his point back there. John got a stinker on the Hollow Earth theory. Andrew got another music starter, where he was asked to recognize a gamelan orchestra. Paul had it. Ramdas was now clear in second with 8, but Paul had 14. He missed the Nutmeg state – Connecticut, which Ramdas had. He himself took a couple, but didn’t know Bragg. John finally got a decent starter, but for his second didn’t know the battered cherub was Joe Gormley – nobody had that one. Andrew didn’t know that a horse’s stifle is it’s knee. Paul had it. Ramdas now had 10, and Paul 15.
The final round saw Paul fail to answer that “The Robe” was the first film in Cinemascope. Ramdas should probably have known cleft palette, which gave John a bonus. Krill escaped John, and Paul had the bonus. Andrew didn’t know the CAPTURE test, which gave Ramdas a bonus. Not enough to catch Paul, and not enough, I fancy to get a highest scoring loser spot, but still a very praiseworthy performance. Well done to Paul, and good luck in the semis.
The Details
Paul Jordan – 16
Ramdas Mullath - 11
John Newth - 9
Andrew Ward – 7
Paul Jordan
Ramdas Mullath
John Newth
Andrew Ward
Now, Ramdas Mullath did actually contact me before making his first application to the show for the last series. He didn’t get on that time, so I’m delighted that he managed it for this show. None of the contenders feature on my database, so it was difficult for me to guage which if any was the most likely winner. I suppose that if you’re looking for omens, then last year’s series was won by Ray Ward, so maybe Andrew was the one to watch.
Russell began by explaining that 5 times as many men apply for BoB as women – hence the all male show this week – and appealing for any women who might consider applying to the show to please do so.
Paul took his first, but missed a gettable answer that Petra was the world heritage site that had been the capital city of the Nabataeans. John had that.Ramdas took his first to get off the mark , but didn’t know that Anita Loos wrote Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Andrew had that bonus. John Newth missed out on the Katydid, being a species of grasshopper. Andrew took his first three, and led with 4 at the end of the round, but nobody knew the Scottish Advocate General for a bonus. Onto the next round, and Paul kicked off with a couple, but didn’t know that Henry VI part 3 is described as a play about a son that killed his father, and a father that killed his son. Not surprised he didn’t have that. At least it wasn’t his first question. Unfortunately Ramdas didn’t know “Shiney Happy People “ and others were recorded by REM. Andrew Ward won the buzzer race to get the bonus there. John Newth didn’t know that Mack Sennett created the Keystone Cops. Paul had that. Andrew didn’t know that it was Zimbabwe which became independent in 1980, taking its name from a ruined city , and nobody managed a bonus there. Andrew maintained his lead with 5, but Paul was only a point behind. Paul was given a music question as his first in round three, and successfully negotiated it, but he fell on the torch relay, not knowing that Berlin was the first Olympic games to do this, in 1936. First televised as well. My boy Ramdas had it. I’m afraid that he didn’t know the old chestnut that sal volatile is another name for smelling salts. Andrew had that one. John took his first 3, but didn’t know DH Lawrence once lived on Sicily. Paul took a bonus there. Andrew took his first, but didn’t know Erskine May. That meant that Ramdas had 2, but everyone else had 6 at the end of round 3. The fourth round saw Paul take his first four, but fail on a relatively benign question about Gozo and Malta’s little brother Comino. Ramdas got a nasty old pop question to start off, about producers based in Philadelphia. Nobody had it. John didn’t know that Richard Krajicek won Wimbledon in 1996. Andrew got a stinker about Hoops process – and Ramdas took the bonus. Paul now led with 10 points.
The first listener’s question in the Beat the Brains was – what does theobroma – as in theobroma cacao, the latin name of the tree from which chocolate is produced – mean. No idea here in LAM towers, but the brains were close – they said drink of the gods, while the answer was food of the gods. Mean. The second asked what Stirculius was the roman god of ? Manure apparently. Fair enough.
After that the contest began again. Paul didn’t know that the Bailey Brothers first published Who’s Who. Ramdas took his first three , but didn’t know that it was Tolstoy who told Chekov – Shakespeare’s plays are bad enough, but yours are even worse. I don’t remember Tolstoy ever appearing in Star Trek, but I digress. Paul took the bonus. John didn’t recognize Philip Larkin’s “The Whitsun Weddings” but Paul did. Andrew got a snorter for his first, on the Chinese government news agency. Ramdas had it. Paul had a 5 point lead, but Ramdas was now joint second with 7. Paul missed his first on Chateau of Chambord. Ramdas took his first but missed out on Colt, who opened a factory in Pimlico. Paul had his point back there. John got a stinker on the Hollow Earth theory. Andrew got another music starter, where he was asked to recognize a gamelan orchestra. Paul had it. Ramdas was now clear in second with 8, but Paul had 14. He missed the Nutmeg state – Connecticut, which Ramdas had. He himself took a couple, but didn’t know Bragg. John finally got a decent starter, but for his second didn’t know the battered cherub was Joe Gormley – nobody had that one. Andrew didn’t know that a horse’s stifle is it’s knee. Paul had it. Ramdas now had 10, and Paul 15.
The final round saw Paul fail to answer that “The Robe” was the first film in Cinemascope. Ramdas should probably have known cleft palette, which gave John a bonus. Krill escaped John, and Paul had the bonus. Andrew didn’t know the CAPTURE test, which gave Ramdas a bonus. Not enough to catch Paul, and not enough, I fancy to get a highest scoring loser spot, but still a very praiseworthy performance. Well done to Paul, and good luck in the semis.
The Details
Paul Jordan – 16
Ramdas Mullath - 11
John Newth - 9
Andrew Ward – 7
University Challenge - Round Two - Match 7
University College, London v. Jesus College, Oxford
For the first time that I can remember in a long time JP didn’t introduce UCL as the godless institution of Gower Street. They were certainly one of the form horses in the first round, having set the highest score against the University of Exeter. Representing them were Adam Papaphilippopoulos, Tom Tyzsczuk-Smith, Tom Parton and their captain Simon Dennis. Their opponents were Jesus College Oxford, who had scored rather less in their own first round match against QMC. Matt Hitchings, Frankie Goodway, Johnny Woodward and skipper Guy Brindley have had a long wait for their second match. I watched their first round in my mother in law’s in Spain, and that was back in August. So let’s not keep them waiting any longer.
It took both teams a bit of a while to figure out that the tourist attraction often photographed in forced perspective was the Leaning Tower of Pisa, but it was Johnny Woodward who had it first. This earned a set of bonuses on US History, and two were added to Jesus’ total. I’ll be honest, I didn’t quite get my head around the next question, but it asked for three consecutive letters, which were X – Y – Z. Matt Hitchings, who was going to have a pretty good evening on the buzzer, took it for Jesus. One bonus followed on classical music. Tom Parton recognised a biography of Paul Dirac, which put UCL on the board. Just as well, because they didn’t manage any of a set of bonuses on optics. Matt Hitchings struck again in the next starter, recognising a definition of the word ‘eke’. The bonuses were an interesting set on internet deceptions, which actually provided me with my interesting fact of the week - more about that later. Tom Tysczuk-Smith recognised the flag of Greenland for the next starter – impressive shout that. The bonuses were more flags of islands which are territories administered by other countries, and they had to get the islands, and the administrating countries as well. Tough set – I had none, and neither did UCL. Still, they were going to earn bonuses on the next set, as soon as Adam Papaphilippopoulos answered on the Cape Verde Islands. Two bonuses on John Donne were added to their score, taking them to just 10 points behind Jesus at the 10 minute mark. Jesus led by 50 to 40.
UCL’s Simon Dennis took his first starter when he identified the Chorleywood process as being involved in breadmaking – contender for interesting fact of the week, there. 2 bonuses on the Suez crisis put UCL in fron for the first time in the contest. Tom Tysczuk Smith jumped in too soon on the next bonus on a French philosopher. If he had waited he would surely have known that the lover of Eloise was Abelard. Guy Brindley accepted the windfall, but a tricky set on comets followed, and for the first time in the contest Jesus failed to score on their bonus set.Johnny Woodward scored for Jesus with the next starter, identifying the last recorded words of Ernest Shackleton. A full set of bonuses on the films of Stanley Kubrick made it fairly clear that Jesus were in no mind to just roll over and make it easy for UCL. Up to this point it was a very good contest. Tom Parton recognised the sound of Eric Clapton’s Tears in Heaven for the music starter. This unleashed a set of bonuses on the Radio 4’s world’s saddest music, and they took two of them. UCL, seemingly moving up a gear, took the next starter as well, when Tom Tysczuk Smith answered a question on cytogenics. Maintaining momentum UCL took two of the bonuses on desert vegetation. Unfazed, Frankie Goodway took the next starter for Jesus on the Grand Remonstrance. 2 bonuses on blood cells reduced the deficit further. Simon Dennis knew that Marianne and Armenian are anagrams of each other, and only one bonus on Scottish traditions followed. In this high quality match, only one starter went begging, which was the next – asking about which SI (base ? ) units were named after scientists. Kelvin and Ampere were required. Adam Papaphillipopoulos knew that Helmut Kohl was the German Chancellor next in the list going backwards, and one bonus on literature meant that UCL had a narrow lead of 125 to 105 at the 20 minute mark.
The second picture starter showed us a natterjack toad. Neither team flew to their buzzers, but Tom Parton took it, and two more species which are the subject of conservation efforts in the UK followed. After an incorrect answer from UCL, Matt Hitchings struck back for his team, knowing that Cyprus was famed for copper in ancient times – hence the name of Copper, derived from Cyprus. 2 scientific terms beginning with syn- brought bonus points. Tom Tysczuk Smith knew about Footnotes in Gaza, and this then earned a bonus on peninsulae. I was pleased with myself for knowing the Oligocene, as did Johnny Woodward. One bonus on the Mann Booker Prize was correctly answered, and still UCL could not shake Jesus from their tails. A good buzz from Tom Parton do identify Technetium helped, though, as did two bonuses on US Universities. Simon Dennis consolidated the lead with another starter on books on American Football. I’m afraid I didn’t note down how many correct answers on the set of Physics bonuses they provided. Yet again, Matt Hitchings hit back with Lines Written Upon Westminster Bridge. ( Earth hath not anything to show more fair – wrote Wordsworth. Don’t get me wrong, I love bridges, especially London’s bridges, but come on ! ) A bonus on EU member states gave Jesus hope. Then a great UC special starter fell to that man Hitchings again. If Cuba is copper ( Cu ) then what is Australia ? Au is gold, of course. Lovely little starter, that. A tricky set on the colours that various elements burn yielded just the one bonus. Time was getting close – as were the scores, but it was Tom Parton who took the last starter, with Double bass. Only enough time remained for one bonus on Irish literature, and that was that.
So UCL go through to the quarters, with 215 to Jesus’ 180. That’s probably fair as well. However, what a performance from Jesus, Oxford, who made such a brilliant fight of the whole show. I’m sorry we won’t be seeing you in the quarters.
Jeremy Paxman Watch
JP offered precious little for the connoisseur in this show. There was his amused reaction to the answer given to the question – Complete the quote – on the internet no one knows you’re ? The answer given was ‘in your underpants’. Probably more likely than the real answer – a dog.
I got a little annoyed about his finishing comments to the Jesus team , though. They played a full part in a great match, and were only just beaten by one of the best teams in the first round, and yet all he could say was,
”Well, it started for you better than it finished, Jesus Oxford.” That’s a bit of a misrepresentation , Jez. They were better than that.
Interesting Fact That I Didn’t Already Know Of The Week
’Sock Puppet’ is internet slang for someone who logs on to a website or online community under an assumed identity for deceptive purposes.
For the first time that I can remember in a long time JP didn’t introduce UCL as the godless institution of Gower Street. They were certainly one of the form horses in the first round, having set the highest score against the University of Exeter. Representing them were Adam Papaphilippopoulos, Tom Tyzsczuk-Smith, Tom Parton and their captain Simon Dennis. Their opponents were Jesus College Oxford, who had scored rather less in their own first round match against QMC. Matt Hitchings, Frankie Goodway, Johnny Woodward and skipper Guy Brindley have had a long wait for their second match. I watched their first round in my mother in law’s in Spain, and that was back in August. So let’s not keep them waiting any longer.
It took both teams a bit of a while to figure out that the tourist attraction often photographed in forced perspective was the Leaning Tower of Pisa, but it was Johnny Woodward who had it first. This earned a set of bonuses on US History, and two were added to Jesus’ total. I’ll be honest, I didn’t quite get my head around the next question, but it asked for three consecutive letters, which were X – Y – Z. Matt Hitchings, who was going to have a pretty good evening on the buzzer, took it for Jesus. One bonus followed on classical music. Tom Parton recognised a biography of Paul Dirac, which put UCL on the board. Just as well, because they didn’t manage any of a set of bonuses on optics. Matt Hitchings struck again in the next starter, recognising a definition of the word ‘eke’. The bonuses were an interesting set on internet deceptions, which actually provided me with my interesting fact of the week - more about that later. Tom Tysczuk-Smith recognised the flag of Greenland for the next starter – impressive shout that. The bonuses were more flags of islands which are territories administered by other countries, and they had to get the islands, and the administrating countries as well. Tough set – I had none, and neither did UCL. Still, they were going to earn bonuses on the next set, as soon as Adam Papaphilippopoulos answered on the Cape Verde Islands. Two bonuses on John Donne were added to their score, taking them to just 10 points behind Jesus at the 10 minute mark. Jesus led by 50 to 40.
UCL’s Simon Dennis took his first starter when he identified the Chorleywood process as being involved in breadmaking – contender for interesting fact of the week, there. 2 bonuses on the Suez crisis put UCL in fron for the first time in the contest. Tom Tysczuk Smith jumped in too soon on the next bonus on a French philosopher. If he had waited he would surely have known that the lover of Eloise was Abelard. Guy Brindley accepted the windfall, but a tricky set on comets followed, and for the first time in the contest Jesus failed to score on their bonus set.Johnny Woodward scored for Jesus with the next starter, identifying the last recorded words of Ernest Shackleton. A full set of bonuses on the films of Stanley Kubrick made it fairly clear that Jesus were in no mind to just roll over and make it easy for UCL. Up to this point it was a very good contest. Tom Parton recognised the sound of Eric Clapton’s Tears in Heaven for the music starter. This unleashed a set of bonuses on the Radio 4’s world’s saddest music, and they took two of them. UCL, seemingly moving up a gear, took the next starter as well, when Tom Tysczuk Smith answered a question on cytogenics. Maintaining momentum UCL took two of the bonuses on desert vegetation. Unfazed, Frankie Goodway took the next starter for Jesus on the Grand Remonstrance. 2 bonuses on blood cells reduced the deficit further. Simon Dennis knew that Marianne and Armenian are anagrams of each other, and only one bonus on Scottish traditions followed. In this high quality match, only one starter went begging, which was the next – asking about which SI (base ? ) units were named after scientists. Kelvin and Ampere were required. Adam Papaphillipopoulos knew that Helmut Kohl was the German Chancellor next in the list going backwards, and one bonus on literature meant that UCL had a narrow lead of 125 to 105 at the 20 minute mark.
The second picture starter showed us a natterjack toad. Neither team flew to their buzzers, but Tom Parton took it, and two more species which are the subject of conservation efforts in the UK followed. After an incorrect answer from UCL, Matt Hitchings struck back for his team, knowing that Cyprus was famed for copper in ancient times – hence the name of Copper, derived from Cyprus. 2 scientific terms beginning with syn- brought bonus points. Tom Tysczuk Smith knew about Footnotes in Gaza, and this then earned a bonus on peninsulae. I was pleased with myself for knowing the Oligocene, as did Johnny Woodward. One bonus on the Mann Booker Prize was correctly answered, and still UCL could not shake Jesus from their tails. A good buzz from Tom Parton do identify Technetium helped, though, as did two bonuses on US Universities. Simon Dennis consolidated the lead with another starter on books on American Football. I’m afraid I didn’t note down how many correct answers on the set of Physics bonuses they provided. Yet again, Matt Hitchings hit back with Lines Written Upon Westminster Bridge. ( Earth hath not anything to show more fair – wrote Wordsworth. Don’t get me wrong, I love bridges, especially London’s bridges, but come on ! ) A bonus on EU member states gave Jesus hope. Then a great UC special starter fell to that man Hitchings again. If Cuba is copper ( Cu ) then what is Australia ? Au is gold, of course. Lovely little starter, that. A tricky set on the colours that various elements burn yielded just the one bonus. Time was getting close – as were the scores, but it was Tom Parton who took the last starter, with Double bass. Only enough time remained for one bonus on Irish literature, and that was that.
So UCL go through to the quarters, with 215 to Jesus’ 180. That’s probably fair as well. However, what a performance from Jesus, Oxford, who made such a brilliant fight of the whole show. I’m sorry we won’t be seeing you in the quarters.
Jeremy Paxman Watch
JP offered precious little for the connoisseur in this show. There was his amused reaction to the answer given to the question – Complete the quote – on the internet no one knows you’re ? The answer given was ‘in your underpants’. Probably more likely than the real answer – a dog.
I got a little annoyed about his finishing comments to the Jesus team , though. They played a full part in a great match, and were only just beaten by one of the best teams in the first round, and yet all he could say was,
”Well, it started for you better than it finished, Jesus Oxford.” That’s a bit of a misrepresentation , Jez. They were better than that.
Interesting Fact That I Didn’t Already Know Of The Week
’Sock Puppet’ is internet slang for someone who logs on to a website or online community under an assumed identity for deceptive purposes.
In The News
In the News
Who or what are the following and why have they been in the news ?
1. Orb Weaver
2. Sergei Filin
3. Nigel Atkins
4. George Church
5. Mauricio Pachettino
6. Timo Glock
7. Lindsay Sandiford
8. Virginia Wheeler
9. Stan Musial
10. Jim and John Harbrough
11. Chris Froome
12. Chris Taylor
13. Charlie Morgan
14. James Hanson
15. Sloane Stephens
16. Anna Soubry
17. Dolours Price
18. Mason Fellows
19. Jeremy Forrest
In Other News
1. Which famous car was sold for $4 million last week ?
2. Why did a repeat of the Tweenies earn hundreds of complaints last week ?
3. The film cast soundtrack of “Les Miserables” became the first cast soundtrack album to top the charts for 16 years. which was the last ?
4. Which controversial female tennis player passed away last week ?
5. What was the score in the Spurs v. Man Utd. match ?
6. What was the score in the Chelsea v. Arsenal match ?
7. Which? Travel rated which British site the world’s 2nd best for tourists after the Taj Mahal ?
8. How old was Michael Winner, who passed away last week ?
9. Vanessa Mae announced her plans to take up which sport seriously ?
10. Which Olympic athletics medalist criticized fellow Olympians for their TV appearences since the summer ?
11. Which two teams will contest the Superbowl ?
12. David Cameron has said that the UK will send special forces to which country ?
13. David Cameron said that the ULK will have a referendum on membership of the EU in which year ?
14. Which TV and radio personality was arrested on 1 count of rape and 14 of sexual assault ?
15. Whom did the Talbian criticise as arrogant last week ?
16. What was the final aggregate score between Bradford and Aston Villa in the Capital One Cup semi final ?
17. Who lip synched at Barack Obama’s inauguration ?
18. A major exhibition of whose work opened at the Royal Academy ?
19. Where were people told to prepare themselves for nuclear war ?
20. Where did Prince Harry arrive back in the UK last week ?
21. What was the score in the Swansea v. Chelsea second leg semi final lasat week ?
22. Which player seemed to kick the ball boy in the same match ?
23. What was the score between Arsenal and West Ham ?
24. UK citizens have been told by the FO to leave which African city ?
25. Who is the new assistant manager of the Scottish football team ?
26. Which famous painting is on sale for £500,000 ?
27. What was the most popular programme on the iplayer during 2012 ?
28. A plaque will be unveiled in Epsom racecourse this year to commemorate whose death ?
29. Pep Guardiola has joined which team ?
30. Whom did Novak Djokovic defeat in the Australian Open semi final ?
31. Tina Turner is to become a citizen of which European country ?
32. Which comic character did its creators suggest could be gay this week ?
33. Who was denied compensation for several years in prison before his conviction was quashed ?
34. Who lost to Victoria Azarenka in the Australian Open final ?
35. UEFA announced that the 2020 Euros will be hosted by how many countries ?
36. Which famous sports writer passed away aged 75 ?
37. Which Ipswich Town player was found guilty of playing a part in a horse race fixing conspiracy, and banned from UK race courses for 10 years ?
Who or what are the following and why have they been in the news ?
1. Orb Weaver
2. Sergei Filin
3. Nigel Atkins
4. George Church
5. Mauricio Pachettino
6. Timo Glock
7. Lindsay Sandiford
8. Virginia Wheeler
9. Stan Musial
10. Jim and John Harbrough
11. Chris Froome
12. Chris Taylor
13. Charlie Morgan
14. James Hanson
15. Sloane Stephens
16. Anna Soubry
17. Dolours Price
18. Mason Fellows
19. Jeremy Forrest
In Other News
1. Which famous car was sold for $4 million last week ?
2. Why did a repeat of the Tweenies earn hundreds of complaints last week ?
3. The film cast soundtrack of “Les Miserables” became the first cast soundtrack album to top the charts for 16 years. which was the last ?
4. Which controversial female tennis player passed away last week ?
5. What was the score in the Spurs v. Man Utd. match ?
6. What was the score in the Chelsea v. Arsenal match ?
7. Which? Travel rated which British site the world’s 2nd best for tourists after the Taj Mahal ?
8. How old was Michael Winner, who passed away last week ?
9. Vanessa Mae announced her plans to take up which sport seriously ?
10. Which Olympic athletics medalist criticized fellow Olympians for their TV appearences since the summer ?
11. Which two teams will contest the Superbowl ?
12. David Cameron has said that the UK will send special forces to which country ?
13. David Cameron said that the ULK will have a referendum on membership of the EU in which year ?
14. Which TV and radio personality was arrested on 1 count of rape and 14 of sexual assault ?
15. Whom did the Talbian criticise as arrogant last week ?
16. What was the final aggregate score between Bradford and Aston Villa in the Capital One Cup semi final ?
17. Who lip synched at Barack Obama’s inauguration ?
18. A major exhibition of whose work opened at the Royal Academy ?
19. Where were people told to prepare themselves for nuclear war ?
20. Where did Prince Harry arrive back in the UK last week ?
21. What was the score in the Swansea v. Chelsea second leg semi final lasat week ?
22. Which player seemed to kick the ball boy in the same match ?
23. What was the score between Arsenal and West Ham ?
24. UK citizens have been told by the FO to leave which African city ?
25. Who is the new assistant manager of the Scottish football team ?
26. Which famous painting is on sale for £500,000 ?
27. What was the most popular programme on the iplayer during 2012 ?
28. A plaque will be unveiled in Epsom racecourse this year to commemorate whose death ?
29. Pep Guardiola has joined which team ?
30. Whom did Novak Djokovic defeat in the Australian Open semi final ?
31. Tina Turner is to become a citizen of which European country ?
32. Which comic character did its creators suggest could be gay this week ?
33. Who was denied compensation for several years in prison before his conviction was quashed ?
34. Who lost to Victoria Azarenka in the Australian Open final ?
35. UEFA announced that the 2020 Euros will be hosted by how many countries ?
36. Which famous sports writer passed away aged 75 ?
37. Which Ipswich Town player was found guilty of playing a part in a horse race fixing conspiracy, and banned from UK race courses for 10 years ?
Answers to News Questions
In the News
Who or what are the following and why have they been in the news ?
1. Imani Green
2. Alice Payne
3. TEL
4. Kato Okubo
5. James Baker
6. Scott Waites
7. Sarah Taylor
8. Argo
9. Sharon Olds
10. Mark Bridger
11. Nadia Eweida
12. Rudding Park Hotel, Harrogate
13. The Girl Who Got Away
14. Andries Pretorius
15. Inferno
16. Pete Barnes
17. Charlotte Green
18. Kooza
19. Tina Fey and Amy Poehler
In Other News
1. A retrial of which former world leader was called last week ?
2. Which is the most stolen car in the UK ?
3. Which former member of TVAM’s Famous Five passed away last week ?
4. Barack Obama has rejected a 34000 strong petition for what ?
5. What was the score in the Man Utd v. Liverpool match ?
6. What was the score between Man City and Arsenal ?
7. Who said that he doesn’t like detective TV shows ?
8. Who ‘came out ‘ in a speech at the Golden Globes ?
9. Which high street chain was reported as heading into administration last week ?
10. Who won the Golden Globe for best song ?
11. Which anniversary did the FA celebrate last week ?
12. Which Beijing 2008 gold medalist retired last week ?
13. Who posed naked at 66 years of age ?
14. What is the name of Lance Armstrong’s charity to which he apologized last week ?
15. Which is the first UK city to apply a city wide 20mph speed limit ?
16. Which beer was reported last week as having it’s alcoholic content reduced while its price is being raised ?
17. Who is Europe’s 2014 Ryder Cup Captain ?
18. Who has been reclassified as the best horse of the modern era, and which other horse has he displaced ?
19. Who is Scotland’s new football manager ?
20. Why did Tesco put Scottish flags on its carrier bags in stores in Wales ?
21. In which two stores was it first reported that beefburgers containing some horsemeat were being sold ?
22. Which video rental firm went bust last week ?
23. Which footballer had a six month driving ban last week ?
24. The family of which criminal has had permission to rebury his remains in consecrated ground ?
25. What was the score in the FA Cup match between Arsenal and Swansea City ?
26. A row brewed over the practice of recording which Radio 2 show last week ?
27. What was announced about the National Lottery last week ?
28. Who have had a new baby via a surrogate ?
29. Why couldn’t an EasyJet flight from Liverpool to Geneva fly last week ?
30. What was not found in Burma last week ?
31. Which former grand slam winner was defeated by Laura Robson in Australia last week ?
32. Why are Boeing Dreamliners being grounded ?
33. Who knocked Venus Williams out of the Australian Open ?
34. Which company claim to have created the world’s first self-moisturising jeans ?
35. BBC Breakfast TV celebrated its 30th anniversary last week. Who was the first guest in 1983 ?
36. Who was reported as saying that children’s TV today is too fast and too noisy ?
Answers
Who or What are the following and why have they been in the news ?
1. 8 year old tragically shot dead in Jamaica
2. 17 year old ‘bucket list’ girl who died from cancer
3. Tetra Ehtyl Lead – controversial fuel additive made only in UK
4. World’s oldest person passed away at 115
5. Second British man to play in Australian Open Tennis singles this year
6. New BDO world darts champ
7. Contracted to play wicketkeeper for Sussex Men’s second XI next season
8. Won best film and best director for Ben Affleck at the Golden Globes
9. Won TS Eliot Poetry prize for “The Stag’s Leap”
10. Pleaded not guilty in court to the murder of April Jones
11. Won court case over BA over the wearing of a crucifix
12. Number One hotel voted for on TripAdvisor
13. New Dido Album to be released in March
14. South African player called up to Wales injury hit rugby 6 Nations squad
15. Title of next novel by Dan Brown
16. Pilot tragically killed in helicopter crash in London
17. BBC Radio 4 newsreader quit after 25 years
18. Cirque du Soleil show panned by critics
19. Presenters of annual Golden Globe Awards
In Other News
1. Hosni Mubarak
2. Land Rover Defender
3. Robert Kee
4. USA to build a Death Star
5. 2 - 1
6. 2 - 0
7. Kevin Whatley
8. Jodie Foster
9. HMV
10. Adele - Skyfall
11. 150th
12. Nicole Cooke
13. Charlotte Rampling
14. Livestrong
15. Brighton
16. John Smith’s Extra Smooth
17. Paul McGinley
18. Frankel – relegating Dancing Brave to second
19. Gordon Strachan
20. They got the flag wrong – it was part of an initiative to persuade shoppers to shop locally
21. Tesco and Iceland
22. Blockbuster
23. Carlos Tevez
24. Ned Kelly
25. 1 - 0
26. Steve Wright’s Sunday Love Songs - it is recorded on Thursday, but still encourages people to ring in when it is broadcast on Sunday
27. It is going up to £2 a go
28. Elton John and David Furnish
29. There was an unusually high number of men on board, and it exceeded the weight limit
30. Buried Spitfires. The team sent out to find them couldn’t.
31. Kvitova
32. Fires in the plane’s batteries.
33. Maria Sharapova
34. Wrangler
35. Harry Secombe
36. Bernard Cribbens
Who or what are the following and why have they been in the news ?
1. Imani Green
2. Alice Payne
3. TEL
4. Kato Okubo
5. James Baker
6. Scott Waites
7. Sarah Taylor
8. Argo
9. Sharon Olds
10. Mark Bridger
11. Nadia Eweida
12. Rudding Park Hotel, Harrogate
13. The Girl Who Got Away
14. Andries Pretorius
15. Inferno
16. Pete Barnes
17. Charlotte Green
18. Kooza
19. Tina Fey and Amy Poehler
In Other News
1. A retrial of which former world leader was called last week ?
2. Which is the most stolen car in the UK ?
3. Which former member of TVAM’s Famous Five passed away last week ?
4. Barack Obama has rejected a 34000 strong petition for what ?
5. What was the score in the Man Utd v. Liverpool match ?
6. What was the score between Man City and Arsenal ?
7. Who said that he doesn’t like detective TV shows ?
8. Who ‘came out ‘ in a speech at the Golden Globes ?
9. Which high street chain was reported as heading into administration last week ?
10. Who won the Golden Globe for best song ?
11. Which anniversary did the FA celebrate last week ?
12. Which Beijing 2008 gold medalist retired last week ?
13. Who posed naked at 66 years of age ?
14. What is the name of Lance Armstrong’s charity to which he apologized last week ?
15. Which is the first UK city to apply a city wide 20mph speed limit ?
16. Which beer was reported last week as having it’s alcoholic content reduced while its price is being raised ?
17. Who is Europe’s 2014 Ryder Cup Captain ?
18. Who has been reclassified as the best horse of the modern era, and which other horse has he displaced ?
19. Who is Scotland’s new football manager ?
20. Why did Tesco put Scottish flags on its carrier bags in stores in Wales ?
21. In which two stores was it first reported that beefburgers containing some horsemeat were being sold ?
22. Which video rental firm went bust last week ?
23. Which footballer had a six month driving ban last week ?
24. The family of which criminal has had permission to rebury his remains in consecrated ground ?
25. What was the score in the FA Cup match between Arsenal and Swansea City ?
26. A row brewed over the practice of recording which Radio 2 show last week ?
27. What was announced about the National Lottery last week ?
28. Who have had a new baby via a surrogate ?
29. Why couldn’t an EasyJet flight from Liverpool to Geneva fly last week ?
30. What was not found in Burma last week ?
31. Which former grand slam winner was defeated by Laura Robson in Australia last week ?
32. Why are Boeing Dreamliners being grounded ?
33. Who knocked Venus Williams out of the Australian Open ?
34. Which company claim to have created the world’s first self-moisturising jeans ?
35. BBC Breakfast TV celebrated its 30th anniversary last week. Who was the first guest in 1983 ?
36. Who was reported as saying that children’s TV today is too fast and too noisy ?
Answers
Who or What are the following and why have they been in the news ?
1. 8 year old tragically shot dead in Jamaica
2. 17 year old ‘bucket list’ girl who died from cancer
3. Tetra Ehtyl Lead – controversial fuel additive made only in UK
4. World’s oldest person passed away at 115
5. Second British man to play in Australian Open Tennis singles this year
6. New BDO world darts champ
7. Contracted to play wicketkeeper for Sussex Men’s second XI next season
8. Won best film and best director for Ben Affleck at the Golden Globes
9. Won TS Eliot Poetry prize for “The Stag’s Leap”
10. Pleaded not guilty in court to the murder of April Jones
11. Won court case over BA over the wearing of a crucifix
12. Number One hotel voted for on TripAdvisor
13. New Dido Album to be released in March
14. South African player called up to Wales injury hit rugby 6 Nations squad
15. Title of next novel by Dan Brown
16. Pilot tragically killed in helicopter crash in London
17. BBC Radio 4 newsreader quit after 25 years
18. Cirque du Soleil show panned by critics
19. Presenters of annual Golden Globe Awards
In Other News
1. Hosni Mubarak
2. Land Rover Defender
3. Robert Kee
4. USA to build a Death Star
5. 2 - 1
6. 2 - 0
7. Kevin Whatley
8. Jodie Foster
9. HMV
10. Adele - Skyfall
11. 150th
12. Nicole Cooke
13. Charlotte Rampling
14. Livestrong
15. Brighton
16. John Smith’s Extra Smooth
17. Paul McGinley
18. Frankel – relegating Dancing Brave to second
19. Gordon Strachan
20. They got the flag wrong – it was part of an initiative to persuade shoppers to shop locally
21. Tesco and Iceland
22. Blockbuster
23. Carlos Tevez
24. Ned Kelly
25. 1 - 0
26. Steve Wright’s Sunday Love Songs - it is recorded on Thursday, but still encourages people to ring in when it is broadcast on Sunday
27. It is going up to £2 a go
28. Elton John and David Furnish
29. There was an unusually high number of men on board, and it exceeded the weight limit
30. Buried Spitfires. The team sent out to find them couldn’t.
31. Kvitova
32. Fires in the plane’s batteries.
33. Maria Sharapova
34. Wrangler
35. Harry Secombe
36. Bernard Cribbens
Friday, 25 January 2013
Mastermind - Round One - Heat 21
The search for semifinalists goes on. Many are called, but few are chosen. Which is a none too subtle way of introducing the idea that the first of tonight’s contestants was Simon Rundell, a Church of England vicar. Not that any eyebrows should be raised at this, since the 1996 series was won by the Reverend Richard Sturch, whom I met briefly at the Champion of Champions recording. Simon’s subject, well, it wasn’t exactly biblical , being Monty Python. I’m guessing that it had been agreed beforehand that the questions would be limited to the TV series alone, since I didn’t notice any questions about the films or books. I had this one earmarked as my best chance for a decent score tonight, and this was indeed how it worked out, since I managed 9 unwikied. Simon could be quite satisfied with his 12, which meant that he would certainly be in the shakeup.
Second to go was Kate Jamieson. Kate posts from time to time on the Facebook Mastermind club group, and so I was rooting for her to do well. Her specialist subject, The Life and Career of Lord Nelson was a good, old traditional subject which could have been asked in any Mastermind series since 1972 – and I’m sure that it has been several times. Kate started well, but then it seemed as if nerves beset her, and after the first half dozen questions it was a bit of a battle. By the end of the round she had managed 5 points.
Mark Skinner was answering on the original Tintin books by Hergé. – Bet that they ask where the name Hergé came from – I murmured, and thankfully I was right, which provided the first of the 5 points that I was going to earn on this round. Mark gave every impression of being tactically very sound. he had most of the questions right, gaining 13 points, but he made sure that he offered an answer to every single one. That’s good technique if you can keep the presence of mind to do it, and as we know, anything in the teens is a good score.
The last to go in the first round was writer Rob Hemming. He was answering on The Big Five. This was not the old cabal that used to select the Welsh rugby team, but rather the five most difficult animals for big game hunters to hunt on foot. Hmm. Well, anyway, moving on, I scored 5 for the third round running, which actually gave me a better than average first round aggregate of 24 points. Rob fairly snapped out his answers, and for the first 30 seconds or so it looked like we could be heading for a very big score. Oh, don’t get me wrong, 11 is fine, but it wasn’t quite what the round had promised at one stage. Still, he was well in with a chance, depending on whether his GK would prove to be up to scratch.
Kate , sadly, was out of contention by the time she returned to the chair to kick off the GK round. So I was very pleased to see her produce a perfectly respectable double figures round. 10 points put her up to 15. Rob again started as if he meant business, but again he found his run rate slowing after the initial spurt. Still, his 12 meant that the target was set at 23. It wasn’t impossible that he might win with this, but I thought that he looked at least 2 points short of having a realistic chance.
Simon Rundell didn’t start at quite such a rate of knots as Rob had, but what he did do was maintain his momentum. We’ve seen better GK rounds this series than Simon managed, but it wasn’t bad, and it was scored by keeping his head, and picking off the answers that he knew, and as techniques go, that’s a pretty good one. His 13 raised the bar to 25, and he looked to have an even money chance of the win.
I’m always interested to see how a contender will react to being placed within the corridor of uncertainty. Mark was certainly in there, and he missed a bit of a sitter for his first question, which suggested that maybe the pressure had got to him. It hadn’t, though. In many ways he produced a very similar round to Simon’s. Steady, careful, picking off the answers he knew, guessing where he could and passing where he couldn’t. Similarly, he managed to add 13 to his score. Had he only answered 12 he would still have won, but the 13 he managed gave him a clear win, by virtue of the extra point he had scored on the specialist round. Well done, and good luck in the semifinals.
The Details
Second to go was Kate Jamieson. Kate posts from time to time on the Facebook Mastermind club group, and so I was rooting for her to do well. Her specialist subject, The Life and Career of Lord Nelson was a good, old traditional subject which could have been asked in any Mastermind series since 1972 – and I’m sure that it has been several times. Kate started well, but then it seemed as if nerves beset her, and after the first half dozen questions it was a bit of a battle. By the end of the round she had managed 5 points.
Mark Skinner was answering on the original Tintin books by Hergé. – Bet that they ask where the name Hergé came from – I murmured, and thankfully I was right, which provided the first of the 5 points that I was going to earn on this round. Mark gave every impression of being tactically very sound. he had most of the questions right, gaining 13 points, but he made sure that he offered an answer to every single one. That’s good technique if you can keep the presence of mind to do it, and as we know, anything in the teens is a good score.
The last to go in the first round was writer Rob Hemming. He was answering on The Big Five. This was not the old cabal that used to select the Welsh rugby team, but rather the five most difficult animals for big game hunters to hunt on foot. Hmm. Well, anyway, moving on, I scored 5 for the third round running, which actually gave me a better than average first round aggregate of 24 points. Rob fairly snapped out his answers, and for the first 30 seconds or so it looked like we could be heading for a very big score. Oh, don’t get me wrong, 11 is fine, but it wasn’t quite what the round had promised at one stage. Still, he was well in with a chance, depending on whether his GK would prove to be up to scratch.
Kate , sadly, was out of contention by the time she returned to the chair to kick off the GK round. So I was very pleased to see her produce a perfectly respectable double figures round. 10 points put her up to 15. Rob again started as if he meant business, but again he found his run rate slowing after the initial spurt. Still, his 12 meant that the target was set at 23. It wasn’t impossible that he might win with this, but I thought that he looked at least 2 points short of having a realistic chance.
Simon Rundell didn’t start at quite such a rate of knots as Rob had, but what he did do was maintain his momentum. We’ve seen better GK rounds this series than Simon managed, but it wasn’t bad, and it was scored by keeping his head, and picking off the answers that he knew, and as techniques go, that’s a pretty good one. His 13 raised the bar to 25, and he looked to have an even money chance of the win.
I’m always interested to see how a contender will react to being placed within the corridor of uncertainty. Mark was certainly in there, and he missed a bit of a sitter for his first question, which suggested that maybe the pressure had got to him. It hadn’t, though. In many ways he produced a very similar round to Simon’s. Steady, careful, picking off the answers he knew, guessing where he could and passing where he couldn’t. Similarly, he managed to add 13 to his score. Had he only answered 12 he would still have won, but the 13 he managed gave him a clear win, by virtue of the extra point he had scored on the specialist round. Well done, and good luck in the semifinals.
The Details
| Simon Rundell | Monty Python | 12 - 1 | 13 - 5 | 25 – 6 |
| Kate Jamieson | The Life and Career of Lord Nelson | 5 - 3 | 10 - 5 | 15 – 8 |
| Mark Skinner | The Tintin books by Hergé | 13 - 0 | 13 - 4 | 26 – 4 |
| Rob Hemming | The Big Five | 11 - 3 | 12 - 4 | 23 – 7 |
Sunday, 20 January 2013
Britain's Brightest
Britain’s Brightest
OK – before I start let me acknowledge that I do know that this isn’t a quiz, and more than that, I knew it before I started to watch it. You know me, I’m a straight quiz guy myself, so all of my comments about this show should be viewed in this light.
The last time I can remember seeing a sort of mind games show like this was ITV’s “Britain’s Best Brain” from 2009. That show I did audition for. It was quite amusing really. As soon as I informed the guy on the phone that I had won Mastermind his whole attitude towards me changed, and he couldn’t get off the phone quick enough. Now, I’m not saying that the same thing is true of “Britain’s Brightest”. For one thing I’m sure that I saw Alan Gibbs of the Gamblers in the opening sequence, which means that nobody was being turned down because of what they’ve won in the past. I did actually see the contestant call for this one, but decided against it because, well, frankly because although I have a very good general knowledge I don’t really think I’m that much brighter than the average person. Certainly not in the way that brightness is defined in this kind of show, anyway.
On the iplayer this show weighs in at a hefty 1 hour and 13 minutes. It consists of three mini matches between pairs of contestants, then a set of final rounds whittling down the 6 contestants to 4 and a winner. The winner goes automatically through to the final, and 2nd and 3rd place play off to see who survives. I sat through the whole show, and I have a number of observations to make.
The FAQ (faffing about quotient) in the first half hour of the show is massive. Before each mini match we have a filmed introduction where two of the contestants are encouraged to boast about how brilliant they are, and how much better they are going to be than the other contestants. Do we really need this? I am quite sure that they are actually all lovely people in real life, but this doesn’t allow it to come across. Yes, we know they want to win. They wouldn’t be on the show if they didn’t – it’s kind of a given. Then after these you get Claire Balding – and as a sports presenter I think she is terrific, by the way - chatting with them for another couple of minutes. All totally unnecessary padding. As was the filmed insert between the mini matches, and the final section, where we were shown just how bad our general observation is. Not without interest, perhaps, but it just held up the game for me.
I don’t say that the games were not watchable. Alright, I ‘d have been angry if I’d been on the show, and for my first match I got the ‘ guess the age of a bunch of people’ game. But them that is the nature of the show. Intelligence is such a wide field, that the number of different ways you can test different aspect of it is huge, and it’s purely arbitrary I guess whether you get a game which suits you or not. For example, I’d have fancied my chances in a spelling game, which made up the third mini match. I did enjoy the second, as the two contenders had to solve a series of puzzles to escape from a room. This reminded me of some of the games you used to get in “The Crystal Maze”, a show I loved.
In fact, this leads me to an observation that you can make about a lot of game shows. Many of the aspects of this show reminded me of other games on other shows. Bits of it were a little like” the Cube”, for example, and bits of it were like bits of “The Krypton Factor”. To this extent it’s a bit of a Jenny Haniver, a creature stitched together from bits of dead creatures to fool the unsuspecting. Being fair, though, the show did get a lot better in the final rounds. We had mental maths. Then observation. Then a strange round, where contestants had to assemble 4 letter words in 22 seconds. When 22 seconds had passed in their opinion, then they had to stop the clock. If they stopped it on exactly 22 seconds, then they got 10 bonus points. Every second they took over 22 seconds saw them lose one of the precious points they had earned for their 4 letter words. Now, here’s the rub. Sam, the winner of the show, actually earned the 22 second 10 point bonus. Which was enough to mean that he won by 1 point. I’m not saying that he wasn’t a worthy winner. But I am saying that this 10 point bonus actually gave that particular skill a higher tariff than any other. There were no such bonuses in any of the other rounds.
This highlights one of the great difficulties of making a gameshow which claims to test the whole of what makes a person intelligent. How do you make it a fair test of all the different aspects ? Different amounts of points available for different skills can have a huge effect on the outcome of a show. Maybe you remember the Krypton Factor ? The GK round at the end meant that one really good GK quizzer could even win the show despite having been well beaten in all the other rounds. That’s why they tweaked the rules to limit the number of GK questions.
The show actually ends with the 2nd and 3rd place players going head to head. They both have 90 seconds. They pick numbers from a grid which contain puzzles or questions. When it’s their go, they have to give a correct answer while the clock runs down. A soon as they answer correctly they pass it over. You know how it works, you’ve seen it before in other shows. This was the only round where general knowledge was actually a help on some of the questions – for example players in a rugby team minus players in a netball team.
If my review was based solely on the first 40 minutes of the show I would have said that it was a grade A oven ready turkey. However I did get into the final rounds, and I did enjoy the playoff round at the end. I mean personally, I do think that any attempt to find the ‘brightest’ or ‘brainiest’ person in the land is doomed to failure since the whole idea of intelligence is so complex anyway. Still, accepting the show for what it is, I found something to enjoy in it. But I would say this : -
If there is ever a second series : -
* For heaven’s sake cut the padding. We don’t need the filmed inserts, trying to make the contestants out to be mean-eyed, clench-jawed, win-at-all-costs meanies. We’re not brain dead. We know that they would like to win. We don’t need the film in the middle telling us how remarkable the human brain is. If we want that sort of thing we can watch a documentary which will show us properly, instead of farting around in a marketplace. You could trim as much as half an hour off this show, and it would be all the better for it.
* Adjust the rules and the scoring so that there is as near as possible equal weighting between skills. After all you’re trying to find the best all-rounder, aren’t you , not just the person with the best time sense.
* Offer a really serious prize. Heaven alone knows, the unlamented People’s Quiz had its faults, but at least it was offering over £200000 , and this was over 5 years ago. Yes, I know that £50000 seems like a lot of money, and in any normal circumstance it is, but when you claim to be searching for the one most intelligent person in Britain, it really seems a bit cheap for a Saturday Night prime time show.
Well, the BBC has a pretty good track record for giving new shows a fair crack of the whip, so we’ll see. I’ll also be interested to see how they do the final, although I will confess with a heavy heart that I fear a whole new raft of filmed inserts.
OK – before I start let me acknowledge that I do know that this isn’t a quiz, and more than that, I knew it before I started to watch it. You know me, I’m a straight quiz guy myself, so all of my comments about this show should be viewed in this light.
The last time I can remember seeing a sort of mind games show like this was ITV’s “Britain’s Best Brain” from 2009. That show I did audition for. It was quite amusing really. As soon as I informed the guy on the phone that I had won Mastermind his whole attitude towards me changed, and he couldn’t get off the phone quick enough. Now, I’m not saying that the same thing is true of “Britain’s Brightest”. For one thing I’m sure that I saw Alan Gibbs of the Gamblers in the opening sequence, which means that nobody was being turned down because of what they’ve won in the past. I did actually see the contestant call for this one, but decided against it because, well, frankly because although I have a very good general knowledge I don’t really think I’m that much brighter than the average person. Certainly not in the way that brightness is defined in this kind of show, anyway.
On the iplayer this show weighs in at a hefty 1 hour and 13 minutes. It consists of three mini matches between pairs of contestants, then a set of final rounds whittling down the 6 contestants to 4 and a winner. The winner goes automatically through to the final, and 2nd and 3rd place play off to see who survives. I sat through the whole show, and I have a number of observations to make.
The FAQ (faffing about quotient) in the first half hour of the show is massive. Before each mini match we have a filmed introduction where two of the contestants are encouraged to boast about how brilliant they are, and how much better they are going to be than the other contestants. Do we really need this? I am quite sure that they are actually all lovely people in real life, but this doesn’t allow it to come across. Yes, we know they want to win. They wouldn’t be on the show if they didn’t – it’s kind of a given. Then after these you get Claire Balding – and as a sports presenter I think she is terrific, by the way - chatting with them for another couple of minutes. All totally unnecessary padding. As was the filmed insert between the mini matches, and the final section, where we were shown just how bad our general observation is. Not without interest, perhaps, but it just held up the game for me.
I don’t say that the games were not watchable. Alright, I ‘d have been angry if I’d been on the show, and for my first match I got the ‘ guess the age of a bunch of people’ game. But them that is the nature of the show. Intelligence is such a wide field, that the number of different ways you can test different aspect of it is huge, and it’s purely arbitrary I guess whether you get a game which suits you or not. For example, I’d have fancied my chances in a spelling game, which made up the third mini match. I did enjoy the second, as the two contenders had to solve a series of puzzles to escape from a room. This reminded me of some of the games you used to get in “The Crystal Maze”, a show I loved.
In fact, this leads me to an observation that you can make about a lot of game shows. Many of the aspects of this show reminded me of other games on other shows. Bits of it were a little like” the Cube”, for example, and bits of it were like bits of “The Krypton Factor”. To this extent it’s a bit of a Jenny Haniver, a creature stitched together from bits of dead creatures to fool the unsuspecting. Being fair, though, the show did get a lot better in the final rounds. We had mental maths. Then observation. Then a strange round, where contestants had to assemble 4 letter words in 22 seconds. When 22 seconds had passed in their opinion, then they had to stop the clock. If they stopped it on exactly 22 seconds, then they got 10 bonus points. Every second they took over 22 seconds saw them lose one of the precious points they had earned for their 4 letter words. Now, here’s the rub. Sam, the winner of the show, actually earned the 22 second 10 point bonus. Which was enough to mean that he won by 1 point. I’m not saying that he wasn’t a worthy winner. But I am saying that this 10 point bonus actually gave that particular skill a higher tariff than any other. There were no such bonuses in any of the other rounds.
This highlights one of the great difficulties of making a gameshow which claims to test the whole of what makes a person intelligent. How do you make it a fair test of all the different aspects ? Different amounts of points available for different skills can have a huge effect on the outcome of a show. Maybe you remember the Krypton Factor ? The GK round at the end meant that one really good GK quizzer could even win the show despite having been well beaten in all the other rounds. That’s why they tweaked the rules to limit the number of GK questions.
The show actually ends with the 2nd and 3rd place players going head to head. They both have 90 seconds. They pick numbers from a grid which contain puzzles or questions. When it’s their go, they have to give a correct answer while the clock runs down. A soon as they answer correctly they pass it over. You know how it works, you’ve seen it before in other shows. This was the only round where general knowledge was actually a help on some of the questions – for example players in a rugby team minus players in a netball team.
If my review was based solely on the first 40 minutes of the show I would have said that it was a grade A oven ready turkey. However I did get into the final rounds, and I did enjoy the playoff round at the end. I mean personally, I do think that any attempt to find the ‘brightest’ or ‘brainiest’ person in the land is doomed to failure since the whole idea of intelligence is so complex anyway. Still, accepting the show for what it is, I found something to enjoy in it. But I would say this : -
If there is ever a second series : -
* For heaven’s sake cut the padding. We don’t need the filmed inserts, trying to make the contestants out to be mean-eyed, clench-jawed, win-at-all-costs meanies. We’re not brain dead. We know that they would like to win. We don’t need the film in the middle telling us how remarkable the human brain is. If we want that sort of thing we can watch a documentary which will show us properly, instead of farting around in a marketplace. You could trim as much as half an hour off this show, and it would be all the better for it.
* Adjust the rules and the scoring so that there is as near as possible equal weighting between skills. After all you’re trying to find the best all-rounder, aren’t you , not just the person with the best time sense.
* Offer a really serious prize. Heaven alone knows, the unlamented People’s Quiz had its faults, but at least it was offering over £200000 , and this was over 5 years ago. Yes, I know that £50000 seems like a lot of money, and in any normal circumstance it is, but when you claim to be searching for the one most intelligent person in Britain, it really seems a bit cheap for a Saturday Night prime time show.
Well, the BBC has a pretty good track record for giving new shows a fair crack of the whip, so we’ll see. I’ll also be interested to see how they do the final, although I will confess with a heavy heart that I fear a whole new raft of filmed inserts.
Saturday, 19 January 2013
News Questions
In the News
Who or what are the following and why have they been in the news ?
1. Imani Green
2. Alice Pyne
3. TEL
4. Kato Okubo
5. James Baker
6. Scott Waites
7. Sarah Taylor
8. Argo
9. Sharon Olds
10. Mark Bridger
11. Nadia Eweida
12. Rudding Park Hotel, Harrogate
13. The Girl Who Got Away
14. Andries Pretorius
15. Inferno
16. Pete Barnes
17. Charlotte Green
18. Kooza
19. Tina Fey and Amy Poehler
In Other News
1. A retrial of which former world leader was called last week ?
2. Which is the most stolen car in the UK ?
3. Which former member of TVAM’s Famous Five passed away last week ?
4. Barack Obama has rejected a 34000 strong petition for what ?
5. What was the score in the Man Utd v. Liverpool match ?
6. What was the score between Man City and Arsenal ?
7. Who said that he doesn’t like detective TV shows ?
8. Who ‘came out ‘ in a speech at the Golden Globes ?
9. Which high street chain was reported as heading into administration last week ?
10. Who won the Golden Globe for best song ?
11. Which anniversary did the FA celebrate last week ?
12. Which Beijing 2008 gold medalist retired last week ?
13. Who posed naked at 66 years of age ?
14. What is the name of Lance Armstrong’s charity to which he apologized last week ?
15. Which is the first UK city to apply a city wide 20mph speed limit ?
16. Which beer was reported last week as having it’s alcoholic content reduced while its price is being raised ?
17. Who is Europe’s 2014 Ryder Cup Captain ?
18. Who has been reclassified as the best horse of the modern era, and which other horse has he displaced ?
19. Who is Scotland’s new football manager ?
20. Why did Tesco put Scottish flags on its carrier bags in stores in Wales ?
21. In which two stores was it first reported that beefburgers containing some horsemeat were being sold ?
22. Which video rental firm went bust last week ?
23. Which footballer had a six month driving ban last week ?
24. The family of which criminal has had permission to rebury his remains in consecrated ground ?
25. What was the score in the FA Cup match between Arsenal and Swansea City ?
26. A row brewed over the practice of recording which Radio 2 show last week ?
27. What was announced about the National Lottery last week ?
28. Who have had a new baby via a surrogate ?
29. Why couldn’t an EasyJet flight from Liverpool to Geneva fly last week ?
30. What was not found in Burma last week ?
31. Which former grand slam winner was defeated by Laura Robson in Australia last week ?
32. Why are Boeing Dreamliners being grounded ?
33. Who knocked Venus Williams out of the Australian Open ?
34. Which company claim to have created the world’s first self-moisturising jeans ?
35. BBC Breakfast TV celebrated its 30th anniversary last week. Who was the first guest in 1983 ?
36. Who was reported as saying that children’s TV today is too fast and too noisy ?
Who or what are the following and why have they been in the news ?
1. Imani Green
2. Alice Pyne
3. TEL
4. Kato Okubo
5. James Baker
6. Scott Waites
7. Sarah Taylor
8. Argo
9. Sharon Olds
10. Mark Bridger
11. Nadia Eweida
12. Rudding Park Hotel, Harrogate
13. The Girl Who Got Away
14. Andries Pretorius
15. Inferno
16. Pete Barnes
17. Charlotte Green
18. Kooza
19. Tina Fey and Amy Poehler
In Other News
1. A retrial of which former world leader was called last week ?
2. Which is the most stolen car in the UK ?
3. Which former member of TVAM’s Famous Five passed away last week ?
4. Barack Obama has rejected a 34000 strong petition for what ?
5. What was the score in the Man Utd v. Liverpool match ?
6. What was the score between Man City and Arsenal ?
7. Who said that he doesn’t like detective TV shows ?
8. Who ‘came out ‘ in a speech at the Golden Globes ?
9. Which high street chain was reported as heading into administration last week ?
10. Who won the Golden Globe for best song ?
11. Which anniversary did the FA celebrate last week ?
12. Which Beijing 2008 gold medalist retired last week ?
13. Who posed naked at 66 years of age ?
14. What is the name of Lance Armstrong’s charity to which he apologized last week ?
15. Which is the first UK city to apply a city wide 20mph speed limit ?
16. Which beer was reported last week as having it’s alcoholic content reduced while its price is being raised ?
17. Who is Europe’s 2014 Ryder Cup Captain ?
18. Who has been reclassified as the best horse of the modern era, and which other horse has he displaced ?
19. Who is Scotland’s new football manager ?
20. Why did Tesco put Scottish flags on its carrier bags in stores in Wales ?
21. In which two stores was it first reported that beefburgers containing some horsemeat were being sold ?
22. Which video rental firm went bust last week ?
23. Which footballer had a six month driving ban last week ?
24. The family of which criminal has had permission to rebury his remains in consecrated ground ?
25. What was the score in the FA Cup match between Arsenal and Swansea City ?
26. A row brewed over the practice of recording which Radio 2 show last week ?
27. What was announced about the National Lottery last week ?
28. Who have had a new baby via a surrogate ?
29. Why couldn’t an EasyJet flight from Liverpool to Geneva fly last week ?
30. What was not found in Burma last week ?
31. Which former grand slam winner was defeated by Laura Robson in Australia last week ?
32. Why are Boeing Dreamliners being grounded ?
33. Who knocked Venus Williams out of the Australian Open ?
34. Which company claim to have created the world’s first self-moisturising jeans ?
35. BBC Breakfast TV celebrated its 30th anniversary last week. Who was the first guest in 1983 ?
36. Who was reported as saying that children’s TV today is too fast and too noisy ?
Friday, 18 January 2013
Mastermind - Round One - Heat 20
According to my database we had 4 brand new contenders in tonight’s show. I mean, there was a Tim Parry in Leslie’s 1981 series, but I doubt it’s the same chap. Unless of course, you know different. He was to come in a minute. Meanwhile, Phil Bennion kicked us off with the life and films of Marilyn Monroe. I kind of thought that Joe di Maggio would be one of the free gifts in this round, and I wasn’t disappointed. In fact there were either a few easier ones, or I knew more about Marilyn Monroe than I thought. It was probably a bit of both, and I scored 7. Phil seemed pretty secure, and it was only the more obscure stuff about which seemed to give him any problem at all. 11 wasn’t the sort of total to scare the pants off the rest, but it was enough to at least give Phil the chance of a win.
Tim parry had a good, old, traditional Mastermind subject in the shape of David Lloyd George. Prior to the start of the show I felt that this was the subject which offered me the best opportunity of points, and I scored another 7. I was quite amused by John’s answer of ‘close enough’ to Tim’s pronunciation of the name of the Carmarthenshire village where Lloyd George grew up. It didn’t put him off too much, and he too reached double figures with 10. Even show so far.
When I saw the subject being offered by Nell Whiteway, Swallows and Amazons, I did wonder whether she was being allowed to answer questions on just one book. I needn’t have worried. The subject encompassed all of the Swallows and Amazons books of Arthur Ransome. Unfortunately I can’t possibly comment on the difficulty or otherwise of the round, because I have never read any. This probably explains why I scored a big fat zero. Nell, on the other hand showed excellent composure, and for most of the round looked very likely to set a perfect score. She missed out on just one question in the end, but a round of 15 gave her what looked likely to be a very useful lead – all depending on what Peter Gibbs could manage.
It’s relatively rare to see a specialist round where it all goes rather pear shaped these days, and sadly for Peter, his was one. I don’t know if it was chair nerves – quite possibly it was – but the round just never really got going for him, and it looked like a struggle for points all the way through. It doesn’t happen often, but when it does you can only feel sorry for the contender, and hope that the GK round gives them a decent chance to put matter to rights.
Well, I’m happy to say that this was exactly the case with Peter’s round. He managed to put the troubles of the specialist round behind him , finding correct answers to the first 5 on the bounce. He scored 12, to take his score to 17, but the round was actually a little better than that, but suffered simply because Peter wasn’t quite snapping the answers out. Had he gone a little more quickly I reckon he would have had at least another point, and possibly two. Still, at least he can say that he was in the lead at one point of the show now. Tim, unlike Peter before him, really did have a chance of posting a challenging total. Well, as we always say, if you get into double figures then you certainly haven’t done badly. Still, 11 points was only enough to take the total to 21. This wasn’t going to be enough to put pressure on Nell.
Phil did better. His task was quite clear, actually. In order to get a good chance of a highest runner up slot he would need a monster of a score, and it became obvious from early doors that he wasn’t quite going to do that. So the next thing was to try to get the win, by applying pressure. The best – in fact only – way of doing this is by posting as high a target as you can manage. Phil’s score of 14 wasn’t a whopper, but it wasn’t bad. It set the target for Nell at 10 and 2 passes or less. She was still the favourite, but she would have to negotiate the corridor of uncertainty at least. After 30 seconds it looked dodgy. After a minute it looked as if she would be close, but maybe fall short. She could have collapsed at this point, but she didn’t. Nell picked up pace in the last 40 seconds or so, and was through the tape with a couple of questions to spare. In the end her score of 12 for a total of 27 meant that her victory was clear. Well done and good luck in the semis . The Details
Tim parry had a good, old, traditional Mastermind subject in the shape of David Lloyd George. Prior to the start of the show I felt that this was the subject which offered me the best opportunity of points, and I scored another 7. I was quite amused by John’s answer of ‘close enough’ to Tim’s pronunciation of the name of the Carmarthenshire village where Lloyd George grew up. It didn’t put him off too much, and he too reached double figures with 10. Even show so far.
When I saw the subject being offered by Nell Whiteway, Swallows and Amazons, I did wonder whether she was being allowed to answer questions on just one book. I needn’t have worried. The subject encompassed all of the Swallows and Amazons books of Arthur Ransome. Unfortunately I can’t possibly comment on the difficulty or otherwise of the round, because I have never read any. This probably explains why I scored a big fat zero. Nell, on the other hand showed excellent composure, and for most of the round looked very likely to set a perfect score. She missed out on just one question in the end, but a round of 15 gave her what looked likely to be a very useful lead – all depending on what Peter Gibbs could manage.
It’s relatively rare to see a specialist round where it all goes rather pear shaped these days, and sadly for Peter, his was one. I don’t know if it was chair nerves – quite possibly it was – but the round just never really got going for him, and it looked like a struggle for points all the way through. It doesn’t happen often, but when it does you can only feel sorry for the contender, and hope that the GK round gives them a decent chance to put matter to rights.
Well, I’m happy to say that this was exactly the case with Peter’s round. He managed to put the troubles of the specialist round behind him , finding correct answers to the first 5 on the bounce. He scored 12, to take his score to 17, but the round was actually a little better than that, but suffered simply because Peter wasn’t quite snapping the answers out. Had he gone a little more quickly I reckon he would have had at least another point, and possibly two. Still, at least he can say that he was in the lead at one point of the show now. Tim, unlike Peter before him, really did have a chance of posting a challenging total. Well, as we always say, if you get into double figures then you certainly haven’t done badly. Still, 11 points was only enough to take the total to 21. This wasn’t going to be enough to put pressure on Nell.
Phil did better. His task was quite clear, actually. In order to get a good chance of a highest runner up slot he would need a monster of a score, and it became obvious from early doors that he wasn’t quite going to do that. So the next thing was to try to get the win, by applying pressure. The best – in fact only – way of doing this is by posting as high a target as you can manage. Phil’s score of 14 wasn’t a whopper, but it wasn’t bad. It set the target for Nell at 10 and 2 passes or less. She was still the favourite, but she would have to negotiate the corridor of uncertainty at least. After 30 seconds it looked dodgy. After a minute it looked as if she would be close, but maybe fall short. She could have collapsed at this point, but she didn’t. Nell picked up pace in the last 40 seconds or so, and was through the tape with a couple of questions to spare. In the end her score of 12 for a total of 27 meant that her victory was clear. Well done and good luck in the semis . The Details
| Phil Bennion | The Life and Films of Marilyn Monroe | 11 – 1 | 14 – 2 | 25 – 3 |
| Tim Parry | Life and Career of David Lloyd George | 10 – 1 | 11 – 3 | 21 – 4 |
| Nell Whiteway | Swallows and Amazons | 15 – 0 | 12 – 0 | 27 – 0 |
| Peter Gibbs | Life and Career of the 1st Duke of Wellington | 5 – 4 | 12 – 3 | 17 – 7 |
Answers to News Questions
Who or what are the following and why have they been in the news ?
1. Pawan Gupta – Viraj Sharma – Ram Singh – Mukesh Singh – Akshay Singh
2. Brisbane Internatioonal
3. Mike Hussey
4. Southern Weekend
5. Macca
6. April Casburn
7. Lord Strathclyde
8. Lord Hill of Oareford
9. Reg Dean
10. Sara Ege
11. Simon Burns
12. John Brennan
13. Where Are We Now ?
14. Dr. Shirley Radcliffe
15. Matthew Clark
16. Craig Pickering
17. Paul Emsley
18. Hayley Cropper
19. Pola Kinski
20. Richie George
In Other news
1. What did English Heritage first of all say it cannot afford, and then say it will try hard to maintain?
2. Which contest was held in Birmingham’s Grand Metropole Hotel ?
3. What was published by the Co-alition ?
4. Who received his brand new Russian passport last week ?
5. Which member of the 1958 England world cup football squad passed away last week ?
6. The construction of a big shopping centre development in York had to be delayed due to what ?
7. What was the score in the Arsenal v. Swansea FA Cup tie ?
8. Who clearly seemed to handball before his goal to knock Mansfield Town out of the FA Cup ?
9. Who suffered a wardrobe malfunction on her way out of “Dancing on Ice” ?
10. Newcastle Utd. were knocked out of the FA Cup by which team ?
11. Who is the new manager of Wolverhampton Wanderers ?
12. Which octogenarian TV and radio presenter was in court accused of sexually assaulting 3 girls ?
13. Which scientific project has ended after 520 days ?
14. Jessica Ennis has publically spoken out against the closure of what ?
15. Who won the ballon d’or ?
16. Britain now have two women in the world’s top 50 female tennis players. Who were the last british pair to do it ?
17. Lionel Messi was criticized for wearing what this week ?
18. Which is the first English council to offer a free school breakfast to all primary school children ?
19. Who missed his date in a French court on a drink driving charge ?
20. What was the score of the first leg Capital One cup semi between Bradford City and Aston Villa?
21. In the 2012 Fifa World 11, all the players come from either Barcelona or Real Madrid except one,. Which club did he come from ?
22. Who is the new Nike Face of Golf ?
23. What was the score in the Swansea v Chelsea Capital One cup semi final first leg ?
24. Which BBC TV journalist suffered a stroke ?
25. What happened to David Bowie’s new single ?
26. Which former DG of the BBC passed away ?
27. Why is John Mcrirrick suing channel 4 ?
28. Who is to be interviewed by Oprah Winfrey next week ?
29. Monopoly is currently carrying out an online vote. About what ?
30. Which chain of camera shops have been forced to close ?
Answers
Who or what are the following and why have they been in the news ?
1. The men in court for the horrific Indian bus rape murder
2. Tennis tournament won by Andy Murray
3. 34 year old Aussie cricketer retired after series win over Sri Lanka
4. Chinese Newspaper forced to change an editorial calling for reform into one praising the new leaders
5. Macdonald’s has changed its name to this briefly in Australia to celebrate Australia day
6. Detective Chief Inspector in court for allegedly asking for a bribe from the News of the World
7. Leader of the House of Lords who resigned suddenly
8. New Leader of the House of Lords
9. Britain’s oldest man who passed away at 110 years of age
10. Mother jailed for life for killing her son who failed to learn verses from the Koran
11. Rail Minister criticized for use of expensive government cars
12. New Director of the CIA
13. Title of new single by David Bowie
14. Coroner of the second Amy Winehouse Inquest – recorded the same verdict as the first.
15. In court he admitted stealing a 13lb sea bass from an aquarium and using it to win an angling contest
16. Former GB international sprinter making debut in bobsleigh world cup series
17. Painted the portrait of the Duchess of Cambridge – she likes it, but it has not won universal approval
18. Character being written out of Coronation Street
19. In an autobiography she claims she was continually sexually abused by her film star father Klaus until she was 19
20. Son of darts player Bobby – reached the semi final of the BDO world darts championship.
In Other News
1. Its blue plaque scheme
2. Europe’s Best Elvis contest
3. A Mid Term review. (Fun for all the family )
4. Gerard Depardieu
5. Derek Kevan
6. A colony of Great Crested Newts was living there
7. 2 – 2
8. Luis Suarez
9. Pamela Anderson
10. Brighton and Hove Albion
11. Dean Saunders
12. Stuart Hall
13. The Russian simulated flight to Mars
14. Don Valley Stadium
15. Lionel Messi
16. Jo Durie and Sarah Gomer
17. A spotted suit and bow tie
18. Blackpool
19. Gerard Depardieu
20. 3 – 1 to Bradford
21. Atletico Madrid
22. Rory McIlroy
23. 2 – 0 to Swansea
24. Andrew Marr
25. It has been disqualified from the singles charts because it is also being given away free with Bowie’s album
26. Alasdair Milne
27. Public humiliation after being ditched – claiming age discrimination
28. Lance Armstrong
29. Which playing piece to ditch, and which to bring in to replace it
30. Jessops
Only Connect Special - The Davids v. The Eggheads
The Crossworders v. The Eggheads
Last year we had a one off special where Mastermind champions took on reigning Only Connect Supreme Champions the Crossworders. The Crossworders saw off that challenge. Well, the Crossworders were rested for this one. Instead, the OC ‘home’ team as it were consisted of the Crossworders’ captain David Stainer, Dave Bill captain of The Gamblers, and David Lea, captain of the Analysts. Three skippers of three winning teams, and three Davids to boot. “I’ve never liked the name. “ Said Victoria. Well, I just hope that husband David Mitchell was watching, since I’m guessing that might have been for his benefit.
Where exactly could Jenny and the team turn to find challengers worthy to take on such a veritable supergroup? To “Eggheads”, no less. Rather ironically the Eggheads team boasted no less than two mastermind champions of their own. The first of these was Pat Gibson, 2005 winner, and winner of the second series of “Are You An Egghead?” On the other side of the skipper was LAM reader and all round good- egg(head) Barry Simmons. Amongst many distinctions, Barry won the first series of “Are You An Egghead ? “. In the middle of the sandwich was original Egghead, and 1983 Mastermind ( and the last person to win Mastermind International )Chris Hughes. No shortage of knowledge, then, on either side. However the Davids had the benefit of more experience on the show than any other team, and that could prove decisive.
Round One – What’s the Connection ?
E’s starter off with twisted Flax. This revealed Jurors -3, Petals on Remembrance Poppies : -2 , Premier League teams +8. Time was running out, and the E’s showed their inexperience by not calling for the last clue, and then offering no answer. The last clue was Kings called James – 5. That gave it to me, and I’m sure that it might well have given it to the Es. As it was the Ds had it, working out that this was the difference between England and Scotland – there being 7 Scottish King James, but only 2 of them also being Kings of England. Good set. Horned Viper gave the Ds Coypu in Louisiana – Enlistees in the American Civil War – Author of the Sasser Worm – Saddam Hussein. Neither team had it, and neither did I. The answer ? They all attracted bounties . Not fond of coconut myself, but it takes all sorts. After two very tricky sets to start, the Es picked water, and kicked off with Four Fishermen’s Wives of Cadaque ( Dali ) –Long Grass with butterflies (Van Gogh ) – Black on Maroon ( Rothko ) – Infuriatingly they again let the time run out without even seeing the last clue. had they seen it – Le Bateau (Matisse ) they would surely have had it. Le Bateau was famously hung upside down, and the others were all hung wrongly at one time or another. Lion gave the Ds a set of picture clues. B*Witched – M*A*S*H* and a couple of other things all had asterisks as part of their names , which is easy enough to see as a written clue, but not as a set of pictures. The Es now needed to find some points behind Eye of Horus. They were dwelling too long on the first clue each time, but at least passed on quickly from Apollo 12. Actually I took a flyer on this one. The most remarkable thing about Apollo 12 was that it was struck by lightning seconds after liftoff, and so struck by lightning was my guess. Pan Am flight 214 neither confirmed it nor ruled it out for me. As did Lee Trevino. York Minster did confirm it though. Pat was straight in and the Eggheads were away. Two Reeds gave the music set to the Ds. They went for preserves, having heard jam and marmalade as part of the third and fourth pieces, but it was not the right one. The E’s went for spreads – and both were close. Since the first was the Who’s Heinz Baked Beans, the answer was actually that you can spread them all on bread. So at the end of this opening round Ds led Es by 3 – 1.
Round Two – What Comes Fourth ?
Horned Viper was the Es first choice. Justin Dunelm came first, and immediately Pat threw Barack Obama on the table, should you pardon the expression. They gambled with it, but it was incorrect. The other two clues were Richard Londin, and Sentamu Ebor. Bishops signatures, so if we were rising in precedence, it would suggest either Rowan Cantuar – or – Justin Cantuar if this was recorded more recently. The Ds knew what they were looking for, but surprisingly went for Cantab rather than Cantuar. Hard lines. Water gave the Ds Le Depart 1792 – Le Triomphe de 1810 – La Resistance de 1814. None of us knew that the last would be La Paix – 1815. They are all sculptures on the Arc de Triomphe. Rightly did Victoria describe this one as a hideous question. Eye of Horus for the Es began with the number total on a roulette wheel –which all three knew was 666. Full UNIX file permissions might just as well have been written in hieroglyphs for all that it meant to me. Teletext subtitle came next – which is obviously 888. So all they needed to do was to say phone number of emergency services, or something of the sort ,but even with Victoria reminding them “Remember it’s a sequence “ they didn’t. Instead they offered another 666 – the Number of the Beast. The Ds gave emergency services for the bonus. Don’t be mistaken – the Eggheads are every bit as good as they seem on Eggheads – well, actually they’re even better, but inexperience of this particular show was costing them dear. Twisted Flax offered the Ds Death of the Queen Mother – Iraq and Weapons of mass Destruction – Confidence in the Media and the Police – and neither team could quite see the connection. I certainly couldn’t. The connection was that parliament was recalled for each of them, and the next was rioting in London & other cities. The Es took Lion as their last of the round, and kicked off with 8 =Cu + Sn . Sounded like Copper and Tin to me, but what 8 had to do with brass I didn’t know. 9 = cu – still no idea. Barry got that they were wedding anniversaries, and so they went for 11=Fe – iron for steel. Victoria gave them another bite at the cherry , and Chris added 11 =Fe + C ( carbon). See, I told you they were good. The Ds finished off the round with Two Reeds gave the Ds the picture clues . This was a really clever set. We saw a flower of some kind, a canary, the canary islands. Neither team ( nor I ) got the next, which was dogs. The Canary islands were named after dogs. The canary birds were named after the canary islands. The canary creeper plant is named after canary birds. Great set. The upshot of all this was that the Ds now shared the lead with the Es, who both had 4. Good game.
Round Three – The Connecting Walls
The Ds took the Water Wall, and Travolta, Holmes, Alley and Hubbard gave them famous Scientologists. Cruise, Remote, Quality and Birth gave them a set which could all be followed by the word –control. I’m not sure that they had a clue about the last two lines when they untangled them right at the death , but they still untangled them. The line of Button, Diver , Patch and Gatsby left a last line of Damage – Forgettable – Caraway and Committee. David L took a speculative punt that Gatsby led them to a group of characters in Scott Fitzgerald novels, and was right to do so. Dave B had the answer to the last set, but just too late – that each could be split into two separate words. Still, 7 points on a tough wall was very much not to be sniffed at.
Very quickly the Es untangled Rata – Bono – Forma and Tempore – which can each be preceded by Pro. Harlequin – Saint – Wasp and Saracen are each the singular of the names of English Premier rugby union teams. Just like the Ds, they solved the last two lines with a little but not a lot of time to spare. The first line – Saffron – Lemmy – Fish and Skin , were all single word pseudonyms for singers. Rock – trapper – Shark and Maniac remained. Nobody – except, one suspects, Victoria – knew that they are all styles of poker player. Fair enough.
With 7 points to the Es, you couldn’t have written a script for a better lead in to the grandstand finish, with both teams locked on 11.
Round Four – Missing Vowels
The first category were all known by three initials. Nobody took the first, then the Davids took the next three on the bounce. The Ds took three of the four works of non-fiction, but lost a point as well for getting Eats Shoots and Leaves wrong. Pat found his range in French Phrases, taking them 3 – 1, but time was running out. Barry was terribly unlucky with Peter and The Wolf Characters and their instruments, offering Grandfather Bassoon instead of Grandfather AND Bassoon. Small thing – it didn’t make a difference to the result, but in the vowels you just have to be spot on I’m afraid. That was the end of the game, and the Eggheads had acquitted themselves well, which is no less than you would expect, but nonetheless the Davids had won by 17 to 13. Low scores ? Not at all - this was full-on Grand Final level Only Connect, and that’s as hard as it gets. Great show.
Last year we had a one off special where Mastermind champions took on reigning Only Connect Supreme Champions the Crossworders. The Crossworders saw off that challenge. Well, the Crossworders were rested for this one. Instead, the OC ‘home’ team as it were consisted of the Crossworders’ captain David Stainer, Dave Bill captain of The Gamblers, and David Lea, captain of the Analysts. Three skippers of three winning teams, and three Davids to boot. “I’ve never liked the name. “ Said Victoria. Well, I just hope that husband David Mitchell was watching, since I’m guessing that might have been for his benefit.
Where exactly could Jenny and the team turn to find challengers worthy to take on such a veritable supergroup? To “Eggheads”, no less. Rather ironically the Eggheads team boasted no less than two mastermind champions of their own. The first of these was Pat Gibson, 2005 winner, and winner of the second series of “Are You An Egghead?” On the other side of the skipper was LAM reader and all round good- egg(head) Barry Simmons. Amongst many distinctions, Barry won the first series of “Are You An Egghead ? “. In the middle of the sandwich was original Egghead, and 1983 Mastermind ( and the last person to win Mastermind International )Chris Hughes. No shortage of knowledge, then, on either side. However the Davids had the benefit of more experience on the show than any other team, and that could prove decisive.
Round One – What’s the Connection ?
E’s starter off with twisted Flax. This revealed Jurors -3, Petals on Remembrance Poppies : -2 , Premier League teams +8. Time was running out, and the E’s showed their inexperience by not calling for the last clue, and then offering no answer. The last clue was Kings called James – 5. That gave it to me, and I’m sure that it might well have given it to the Es. As it was the Ds had it, working out that this was the difference between England and Scotland – there being 7 Scottish King James, but only 2 of them also being Kings of England. Good set. Horned Viper gave the Ds Coypu in Louisiana – Enlistees in the American Civil War – Author of the Sasser Worm – Saddam Hussein. Neither team had it, and neither did I. The answer ? They all attracted bounties . Not fond of coconut myself, but it takes all sorts. After two very tricky sets to start, the Es picked water, and kicked off with Four Fishermen’s Wives of Cadaque ( Dali ) –Long Grass with butterflies (Van Gogh ) – Black on Maroon ( Rothko ) – Infuriatingly they again let the time run out without even seeing the last clue. had they seen it – Le Bateau (Matisse ) they would surely have had it. Le Bateau was famously hung upside down, and the others were all hung wrongly at one time or another. Lion gave the Ds a set of picture clues. B*Witched – M*A*S*H* and a couple of other things all had asterisks as part of their names , which is easy enough to see as a written clue, but not as a set of pictures. The Es now needed to find some points behind Eye of Horus. They were dwelling too long on the first clue each time, but at least passed on quickly from Apollo 12. Actually I took a flyer on this one. The most remarkable thing about Apollo 12 was that it was struck by lightning seconds after liftoff, and so struck by lightning was my guess. Pan Am flight 214 neither confirmed it nor ruled it out for me. As did Lee Trevino. York Minster did confirm it though. Pat was straight in and the Eggheads were away. Two Reeds gave the music set to the Ds. They went for preserves, having heard jam and marmalade as part of the third and fourth pieces, but it was not the right one. The E’s went for spreads – and both were close. Since the first was the Who’s Heinz Baked Beans, the answer was actually that you can spread them all on bread. So at the end of this opening round Ds led Es by 3 – 1.
Round Two – What Comes Fourth ?
Horned Viper was the Es first choice. Justin Dunelm came first, and immediately Pat threw Barack Obama on the table, should you pardon the expression. They gambled with it, but it was incorrect. The other two clues were Richard Londin, and Sentamu Ebor. Bishops signatures, so if we were rising in precedence, it would suggest either Rowan Cantuar – or – Justin Cantuar if this was recorded more recently. The Ds knew what they were looking for, but surprisingly went for Cantab rather than Cantuar. Hard lines. Water gave the Ds Le Depart 1792 – Le Triomphe de 1810 – La Resistance de 1814. None of us knew that the last would be La Paix – 1815. They are all sculptures on the Arc de Triomphe. Rightly did Victoria describe this one as a hideous question. Eye of Horus for the Es began with the number total on a roulette wheel –which all three knew was 666. Full UNIX file permissions might just as well have been written in hieroglyphs for all that it meant to me. Teletext subtitle came next – which is obviously 888. So all they needed to do was to say phone number of emergency services, or something of the sort ,but even with Victoria reminding them “Remember it’s a sequence “ they didn’t. Instead they offered another 666 – the Number of the Beast. The Ds gave emergency services for the bonus. Don’t be mistaken – the Eggheads are every bit as good as they seem on Eggheads – well, actually they’re even better, but inexperience of this particular show was costing them dear. Twisted Flax offered the Ds Death of the Queen Mother – Iraq and Weapons of mass Destruction – Confidence in the Media and the Police – and neither team could quite see the connection. I certainly couldn’t. The connection was that parliament was recalled for each of them, and the next was rioting in London & other cities. The Es took Lion as their last of the round, and kicked off with 8 =Cu + Sn . Sounded like Copper and Tin to me, but what 8 had to do with brass I didn’t know. 9 = cu – still no idea. Barry got that they were wedding anniversaries, and so they went for 11=Fe – iron for steel. Victoria gave them another bite at the cherry , and Chris added 11 =Fe + C ( carbon). See, I told you they were good. The Ds finished off the round with Two Reeds gave the Ds the picture clues . This was a really clever set. We saw a flower of some kind, a canary, the canary islands. Neither team ( nor I ) got the next, which was dogs. The Canary islands were named after dogs. The canary birds were named after the canary islands. The canary creeper plant is named after canary birds. Great set. The upshot of all this was that the Ds now shared the lead with the Es, who both had 4. Good game.
Round Three – The Connecting Walls
The Ds took the Water Wall, and Travolta, Holmes, Alley and Hubbard gave them famous Scientologists. Cruise, Remote, Quality and Birth gave them a set which could all be followed by the word –control. I’m not sure that they had a clue about the last two lines when they untangled them right at the death , but they still untangled them. The line of Button, Diver , Patch and Gatsby left a last line of Damage – Forgettable – Caraway and Committee. David L took a speculative punt that Gatsby led them to a group of characters in Scott Fitzgerald novels, and was right to do so. Dave B had the answer to the last set, but just too late – that each could be split into two separate words. Still, 7 points on a tough wall was very much not to be sniffed at.
Very quickly the Es untangled Rata – Bono – Forma and Tempore – which can each be preceded by Pro. Harlequin – Saint – Wasp and Saracen are each the singular of the names of English Premier rugby union teams. Just like the Ds, they solved the last two lines with a little but not a lot of time to spare. The first line – Saffron – Lemmy – Fish and Skin , were all single word pseudonyms for singers. Rock – trapper – Shark and Maniac remained. Nobody – except, one suspects, Victoria – knew that they are all styles of poker player. Fair enough.
With 7 points to the Es, you couldn’t have written a script for a better lead in to the grandstand finish, with both teams locked on 11.
Round Four – Missing Vowels
The first category were all known by three initials. Nobody took the first, then the Davids took the next three on the bounce. The Ds took three of the four works of non-fiction, but lost a point as well for getting Eats Shoots and Leaves wrong. Pat found his range in French Phrases, taking them 3 – 1, but time was running out. Barry was terribly unlucky with Peter and The Wolf Characters and their instruments, offering Grandfather Bassoon instead of Grandfather AND Bassoon. Small thing – it didn’t make a difference to the result, but in the vowels you just have to be spot on I’m afraid. That was the end of the game, and the Eggheads had acquitted themselves well, which is no less than you would expect, but nonetheless the Davids had won by 17 to 13. Low scores ? Not at all - this was full-on Grand Final level Only Connect, and that’s as hard as it gets. Great show.
Wednesday Night
I’ll take a wee break from my round up of the most recent TV and radio quizzes if I may, because I’d like to tell you about Wednesday evening. I’ve mentioned my son Mike before. The previous Wednesday he’d gone to check out a quiz he heard about, and really enjoyed it. He invited me to go with him and play this Wednesday just gone, and I don’t get to see as much of Mike and Ceri as I’d like anyway, so of course I said yes.
My first inkling that maybe the evening wasn’t going to go as I thought came when I drove into Cardiff to pick my middle daughter Zara up for the quiz. She wanted to come, and so I was to pick her up, then rendezvous with Mike and Ceri at their place. All well and good, except for the fact that the Bute Tunnel was closed. And the problem is – well, I only know my way to Zara’s going via the Bute Tunnel. So I was running late when more by luck than judgement I realized I had just driven past the corner shop at the end of her road. We got to Mike’s even later, mainly because I was so agitated that I kept missing turnings. At least after I got to Mike's all I had to do was follow Ceri in her car.
And follow. And follow. It was after we crossed a junction of the M4 several miles away that I realized we were heading well out of Cardiff. The quiz itself turned out to be in a place called Morganstown. It was in a very big pub called the Ty Nant, and it was absolutely jampacked. Still, we found the only free table, squeezed ourselves around it, and Mike began to explain how this quiz worked.
“It’s like this , Dad , “ he explained, “ You buy a different answer sheet for each round you want to play in. Each answer sheet will have a different configuration of the 25 numbers – yours might have number 5 at the top, and mine might have 13 in the same place. You write the answer to each question in the box with the right number. Then when he gives the answer, the first person to – “
”You mean . . . It’s a bingo quiz ?!” I replied .
I think I should explain my incredulity. You see, one of the original reasons why I started LAM in the first place was because I was at a loose end on the Sunday night I started it since the Dynevor Arms in Groesfaen had just decided to switch from a good, honest, straight pub quiz to a bingo quiz, partly because John and I kept winning the money more often than any other team. The way a bingo quiz works is that the numbers for each answer are spread out on your answer sheet in a grid, 5 by 5. Each answer sheet has the same numbers on it, but not in the same order. You write all your answers on the sheet. When the answers are given out, in random order, if you get it right you can cross out the number. Once you complete a line, you shout out house and win the money. So it doesn't matter even if you have all the answers right, you're going to have a lot of different winners all the time. After we heard this we then and there decided that rather than kill the quiz, we’d stop going in the hope that they’d be able to entice some of the former regular teams back, and haven’t been back since.
Well, in for a penny, in for a pound. We were there, and so we might was well make the best of it, and as I said, I always enjoy Mike and Ceri’s company at a quiz. As it was we played very well. We had 23 out of 25 in the first round, 24 out of 25 on the music round, and 25 out of 25 on the last round. For which we didn’t win one penny, because other people had lines come up more quickly than we did. That’s life. Time was when I was all about winning money at quizzes. Nowadays I rarely play in quizzes where there is a money prize though, and even when I play in a quiz where there is a prize, for example in the Dyffryn Arms on a Sunday night, if I win I don’t often take the prize. In most cases the pleasure of playing in the quiz is prize enough. But I do like to know how I’ve done. If I was a true Corinthian ‘playing just for the love of the game ‘ sort of person, then it wouldn’t matter to me. But I’m afraid it does. I like to know how I’ve done , not just in terms of how many questions I’ve answered correctly, but in terms of how many other teams , if any, outscored me, and by how many points. Which was the real problem I had with this bingo quiz. At the end of each round you knew how many questions you’d answered correctly, but you had no idea how well you’d done relative to any other team. Which I would imagine is actually a positive point for some people, but not for me, unfortunately.
I wouldn’t like to give you the idea that I didn’t enjoy the evening, or wish that I’d stayed at home. I did enjoy it, but this was more due to the fact that Mike, Ceri, and my daughters Zara and Jess were with me than the quiz itself. Having now played in a bingo quiz, I can’t say that my opinion of them has changed drastically. If you play in one regularly, and you enjoy it, then that’s great, and I’ve no wish to say anything negative, other than it’s not for me. It’s just how I feel – and the fact that I got lost on the way home had nothing to do with it.
My first inkling that maybe the evening wasn’t going to go as I thought came when I drove into Cardiff to pick my middle daughter Zara up for the quiz. She wanted to come, and so I was to pick her up, then rendezvous with Mike and Ceri at their place. All well and good, except for the fact that the Bute Tunnel was closed. And the problem is – well, I only know my way to Zara’s going via the Bute Tunnel. So I was running late when more by luck than judgement I realized I had just driven past the corner shop at the end of her road. We got to Mike’s even later, mainly because I was so agitated that I kept missing turnings. At least after I got to Mike's all I had to do was follow Ceri in her car.
And follow. And follow. It was after we crossed a junction of the M4 several miles away that I realized we were heading well out of Cardiff. The quiz itself turned out to be in a place called Morganstown. It was in a very big pub called the Ty Nant, and it was absolutely jampacked. Still, we found the only free table, squeezed ourselves around it, and Mike began to explain how this quiz worked.
“It’s like this , Dad , “ he explained, “ You buy a different answer sheet for each round you want to play in. Each answer sheet will have a different configuration of the 25 numbers – yours might have number 5 at the top, and mine might have 13 in the same place. You write the answer to each question in the box with the right number. Then when he gives the answer, the first person to – “
”You mean . . . It’s a bingo quiz ?!” I replied .
I think I should explain my incredulity. You see, one of the original reasons why I started LAM in the first place was because I was at a loose end on the Sunday night I started it since the Dynevor Arms in Groesfaen had just decided to switch from a good, honest, straight pub quiz to a bingo quiz, partly because John and I kept winning the money more often than any other team. The way a bingo quiz works is that the numbers for each answer are spread out on your answer sheet in a grid, 5 by 5. Each answer sheet has the same numbers on it, but not in the same order. You write all your answers on the sheet. When the answers are given out, in random order, if you get it right you can cross out the number. Once you complete a line, you shout out house and win the money. So it doesn't matter even if you have all the answers right, you're going to have a lot of different winners all the time. After we heard this we then and there decided that rather than kill the quiz, we’d stop going in the hope that they’d be able to entice some of the former regular teams back, and haven’t been back since.
Well, in for a penny, in for a pound. We were there, and so we might was well make the best of it, and as I said, I always enjoy Mike and Ceri’s company at a quiz. As it was we played very well. We had 23 out of 25 in the first round, 24 out of 25 on the music round, and 25 out of 25 on the last round. For which we didn’t win one penny, because other people had lines come up more quickly than we did. That’s life. Time was when I was all about winning money at quizzes. Nowadays I rarely play in quizzes where there is a money prize though, and even when I play in a quiz where there is a prize, for example in the Dyffryn Arms on a Sunday night, if I win I don’t often take the prize. In most cases the pleasure of playing in the quiz is prize enough. But I do like to know how I’ve done. If I was a true Corinthian ‘playing just for the love of the game ‘ sort of person, then it wouldn’t matter to me. But I’m afraid it does. I like to know how I’ve done , not just in terms of how many questions I’ve answered correctly, but in terms of how many other teams , if any, outscored me, and by how many points. Which was the real problem I had with this bingo quiz. At the end of each round you knew how many questions you’d answered correctly, but you had no idea how well you’d done relative to any other team. Which I would imagine is actually a positive point for some people, but not for me, unfortunately.
I wouldn’t like to give you the idea that I didn’t enjoy the evening, or wish that I’d stayed at home. I did enjoy it, but this was more due to the fact that Mike, Ceri, and my daughters Zara and Jess were with me than the quiz itself. Having now played in a bingo quiz, I can’t say that my opinion of them has changed drastically. If you play in one regularly, and you enjoy it, then that’s great, and I’ve no wish to say anything negative, other than it’s not for me. It’s just how I feel – and the fact that I got lost on the way home had nothing to do with it.
University Challenge - Round Two - Match 6
Bristol University v. Imperial College
This week’s second round match pitted underdogs Bristol against highflying Imperial College. Bristol’s team of James Xiao, Andy Suttie, Madeleine Fforde and skipper Will Brady beat Wadham College, Oxford 120 to 105 last time out. Their opponents, Imperial College, beat Jesus College Cambridge in the first round. The team of Pietro Aronica, Dominic Cottrell, Henry Guille and captain Martin Evans scored 225 to 80. On paper, then Imperial looked the favourites.
Puetro Aronica took the first points, knowing that Mexico City hosted the Summer Olympics once, and the world cup twice. A set of bonuses on Charles De Gaulle take two bonuses, and got Imperial on the move. Bristol hit straight back when James Xiao buzzed in with dew point. Literary advice was a good UC bonus set but Bristol only managed the one . Henry Guille took the initiative back for Imperial, recognising that the term lotus refers to several different flowers. A Maths set was their reward, and they managed one, after a bit of argument about squaring the circle. Martin and Baker developed the ejection seat. I didn’t know it but Dominic Cottrell did. Performance Art was the bonus subject, and Imperial managed to get precisely the same number of points that I did, namely none. The picture starter showed us Baffin Island, which Martin Evans gratefully accepted. More Canadian Islands saw them fail to capitalise. So, although Imperial were well out in front in terms of starters correctly answered, by the ten minute mark they only led by 55 to 15. As JP would say, plenty of time for Bristol to come back.
Pretty much as soon as JP read the words “Population unchecked . . . “ Martin Evans knew that we must be looking for Malthus. Indeed we were. A good UC set on anagrams followed – eg. A variety of Cabbage enjoyed at Christmas, and a state of near unconsciousness – stupor and sprout. Imperial managed two of these. Andy Suttie took his first starter of the match, and Bristol’s first for a long time, knowing the cut of meat called the saddle. Bonuses on Queen Christina of Sweden brought them 10 more points, and narrowed the gap to 40 points again. Try this one. Two of the first 8 months of the year can be transformed from the French name to their English counterparts ( not including accents ) by changing one letter in each. Dominic Cottrell jumped in too early and lost five. Will Brady had it spot on with April and May. Bonuses on anatomy yielded another ten points. Pietro Aronica knew where the title Defender of the Faith came from, and this gave Imperial a tilt at a set of bonuses on Pushkin. They took two. The Music starter gave Dominic Cottrell the chance to make up for his previous transgression by identifying the dulcet tones of Richard Gere instructing us to give ‘em the old Razzle Dazzle – whatever that might be. The bonuses convinced me that Pierce Brosnan shouldn’t give up the day job any time soon. Imperial took a full set with these. Will Brady , playing a captain’s innings for his team, identified the programme Photoshop. Capital cities near the Tropics provided Bristol with 5 more points. Dominic Cottrell took the next bonus with weltanshauung. Gesundheit. Nobel Prize Winners reintroduced us to Golgi, he of the famous apparatus. A full set was taken.Martin evens knew that Autolycus appears in “A Winter’s Tale”. Political figures born in 1770 gave them two more bonuses, but they missed out on William Huskisson, killed by Stephenson’s Rocket on the opening of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway. Will Brady supplied two counties of Connaught to keep Bristol in there and fighting. NUMA – the US agency, saw them answer another two correctly. At the 20 minute mark, then, Imperial led by 160 to 90.
An Imperial victory looked on the cards, but there was still quite a lot of play left in the match. The second picture starter showed an engraving which Pietro Aronica recognised as being produced by Gustave Doré. The bonus set, more of the same, was another full house. Right try this one. The smallest cyclic number , what are the six repeating digits of the decimal equivalent of one seventh ? No, of course I didn’t. It was 1-4-2-8-5-7 – and neither team had it, though Will Brady was just one digit out. Martin Evans knew that works including “Baal” and “Mother Courage and her children” were written by Bertold Brecht. The set of bonuses on astronomy were snapped up , and if the game wasn’t over before, it was now. Pietro Aronica knew that the HQ of the League of Nations was in Geneva. The bonuses on sets of composers born in the same year were tricky. I had one of each pair, but only the correct pair on the last. The next bonus saw James Xiao get close to the answer, when we were given a list of Moon walkers, and he suggest they were all from Apollo 17. Dominic Cottrell said that they all went on the moon, but that wasn’t enough for JP , who insisted that the key to the question was that they all walked on the moon. I’d like to think he only turned it down because they were so far ahead, because I’ve seen him allow answers which were no closer than this one before. Yes, I know that it’s not JP who makes the call, it’s the voice in his ear. Anyway, I digress. Neither team knew that it was the Duke of Monmouth who launched his rebellion in 1685. Neither did they know that goniometry in medicine means the range of movement in joints. Andy Suttie knew that the film “Arietty” would be based on The Borrowers. A set on nature gave them two bonuses. Egg on face moment of the show. I didn’t know, and neither did either team, that the two Wagner operas about a father and his son were “Lohengrin” and “Parsifal”. I really should have had that one. Nobody knew that the population of Germany is closest to that of the UK. Bearing in mind the relatively large number of unanswered starters in the last couple of minutes I think JP decided to reach into the ‘giveaway’ pile, and it fell to Will Brady to answer that it was the Owl and the Pussycat who died on Mince and Slices of Quince. A gettable set on battlefields saw them fail to score further. Martin Evans knew about the Enigma variations to earn a set on Botany. It didn’t really matter that much, because we were really into the stage of the contest where any more points for Imperial were just gilding. Now, I had a Science one right ! I said that B, C, N, O , F would be followed by Ne for Neon. Yay ! Members of Parliament only saw enough time for two bonuses before the gong. The final score was 245 to Imperial , and 115 to Bristol. A comfortable win indeed. Hard lines to Bristol, but a performance which means Imperial will be a difficult proposition for any team that encounters them in the quarter finals.
Jeremy Paxman Watch
JP seemingly enjoyed this match. Even when Imperial worked out that cartel and rectal were two parts of an anagram, but offered ‘lecart’ as the French wine , he merely raised his voice slightly “It’s CLARET !” while laughing.
In the music bonuses he greeted Imperial’s correct identification of Pierce Brosnan singing in “Mamma Mia” with the muttered words, “Yes, put us out of our misery, please.”
After Imperial took a full set on Golgi, he observed “Music to your ears, that sort of question !” There speaks someone who read English at Univesity. I know how he feels.
Interesting Fact Of The Week That I Didn’t Already Know
In Pushkin’s poem “The Bronze Horseman” the protagonist believes that he is being chased through the streets by a bronze statue of tsar Peter the Great.
This week’s second round match pitted underdogs Bristol against highflying Imperial College. Bristol’s team of James Xiao, Andy Suttie, Madeleine Fforde and skipper Will Brady beat Wadham College, Oxford 120 to 105 last time out. Their opponents, Imperial College, beat Jesus College Cambridge in the first round. The team of Pietro Aronica, Dominic Cottrell, Henry Guille and captain Martin Evans scored 225 to 80. On paper, then Imperial looked the favourites.
Puetro Aronica took the first points, knowing that Mexico City hosted the Summer Olympics once, and the world cup twice. A set of bonuses on Charles De Gaulle take two bonuses, and got Imperial on the move. Bristol hit straight back when James Xiao buzzed in with dew point. Literary advice was a good UC bonus set but Bristol only managed the one . Henry Guille took the initiative back for Imperial, recognising that the term lotus refers to several different flowers. A Maths set was their reward, and they managed one, after a bit of argument about squaring the circle. Martin and Baker developed the ejection seat. I didn’t know it but Dominic Cottrell did. Performance Art was the bonus subject, and Imperial managed to get precisely the same number of points that I did, namely none. The picture starter showed us Baffin Island, which Martin Evans gratefully accepted. More Canadian Islands saw them fail to capitalise. So, although Imperial were well out in front in terms of starters correctly answered, by the ten minute mark they only led by 55 to 15. As JP would say, plenty of time for Bristol to come back.
Pretty much as soon as JP read the words “Population unchecked . . . “ Martin Evans knew that we must be looking for Malthus. Indeed we were. A good UC set on anagrams followed – eg. A variety of Cabbage enjoyed at Christmas, and a state of near unconsciousness – stupor and sprout. Imperial managed two of these. Andy Suttie took his first starter of the match, and Bristol’s first for a long time, knowing the cut of meat called the saddle. Bonuses on Queen Christina of Sweden brought them 10 more points, and narrowed the gap to 40 points again. Try this one. Two of the first 8 months of the year can be transformed from the French name to their English counterparts ( not including accents ) by changing one letter in each. Dominic Cottrell jumped in too early and lost five. Will Brady had it spot on with April and May. Bonuses on anatomy yielded another ten points. Pietro Aronica knew where the title Defender of the Faith came from, and this gave Imperial a tilt at a set of bonuses on Pushkin. They took two. The Music starter gave Dominic Cottrell the chance to make up for his previous transgression by identifying the dulcet tones of Richard Gere instructing us to give ‘em the old Razzle Dazzle – whatever that might be. The bonuses convinced me that Pierce Brosnan shouldn’t give up the day job any time soon. Imperial took a full set with these. Will Brady , playing a captain’s innings for his team, identified the programme Photoshop. Capital cities near the Tropics provided Bristol with 5 more points. Dominic Cottrell took the next bonus with weltanshauung. Gesundheit. Nobel Prize Winners reintroduced us to Golgi, he of the famous apparatus. A full set was taken.Martin evens knew that Autolycus appears in “A Winter’s Tale”. Political figures born in 1770 gave them two more bonuses, but they missed out on William Huskisson, killed by Stephenson’s Rocket on the opening of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway. Will Brady supplied two counties of Connaught to keep Bristol in there and fighting. NUMA – the US agency, saw them answer another two correctly. At the 20 minute mark, then, Imperial led by 160 to 90.
An Imperial victory looked on the cards, but there was still quite a lot of play left in the match. The second picture starter showed an engraving which Pietro Aronica recognised as being produced by Gustave Doré. The bonus set, more of the same, was another full house. Right try this one. The smallest cyclic number , what are the six repeating digits of the decimal equivalent of one seventh ? No, of course I didn’t. It was 1-4-2-8-5-7 – and neither team had it, though Will Brady was just one digit out. Martin Evans knew that works including “Baal” and “Mother Courage and her children” were written by Bertold Brecht. The set of bonuses on astronomy were snapped up , and if the game wasn’t over before, it was now. Pietro Aronica knew that the HQ of the League of Nations was in Geneva. The bonuses on sets of composers born in the same year were tricky. I had one of each pair, but only the correct pair on the last. The next bonus saw James Xiao get close to the answer, when we were given a list of Moon walkers, and he suggest they were all from Apollo 17. Dominic Cottrell said that they all went on the moon, but that wasn’t enough for JP , who insisted that the key to the question was that they all walked on the moon. I’d like to think he only turned it down because they were so far ahead, because I’ve seen him allow answers which were no closer than this one before. Yes, I know that it’s not JP who makes the call, it’s the voice in his ear. Anyway, I digress. Neither team knew that it was the Duke of Monmouth who launched his rebellion in 1685. Neither did they know that goniometry in medicine means the range of movement in joints. Andy Suttie knew that the film “Arietty” would be based on The Borrowers. A set on nature gave them two bonuses. Egg on face moment of the show. I didn’t know, and neither did either team, that the two Wagner operas about a father and his son were “Lohengrin” and “Parsifal”. I really should have had that one. Nobody knew that the population of Germany is closest to that of the UK. Bearing in mind the relatively large number of unanswered starters in the last couple of minutes I think JP decided to reach into the ‘giveaway’ pile, and it fell to Will Brady to answer that it was the Owl and the Pussycat who died on Mince and Slices of Quince. A gettable set on battlefields saw them fail to score further. Martin Evans knew about the Enigma variations to earn a set on Botany. It didn’t really matter that much, because we were really into the stage of the contest where any more points for Imperial were just gilding. Now, I had a Science one right ! I said that B, C, N, O , F would be followed by Ne for Neon. Yay ! Members of Parliament only saw enough time for two bonuses before the gong. The final score was 245 to Imperial , and 115 to Bristol. A comfortable win indeed. Hard lines to Bristol, but a performance which means Imperial will be a difficult proposition for any team that encounters them in the quarter finals.
Jeremy Paxman Watch
JP seemingly enjoyed this match. Even when Imperial worked out that cartel and rectal were two parts of an anagram, but offered ‘lecart’ as the French wine , he merely raised his voice slightly “It’s CLARET !” while laughing.
In the music bonuses he greeted Imperial’s correct identification of Pierce Brosnan singing in “Mamma Mia” with the muttered words, “Yes, put us out of our misery, please.”
After Imperial took a full set on Golgi, he observed “Music to your ears, that sort of question !” There speaks someone who read English at Univesity. I know how he feels.
Interesting Fact Of The Week That I Didn’t Already Know
In Pushkin’s poem “The Bronze Horseman” the protagonist believes that he is being chased through the streets by a bronze statue of tsar Peter the Great.
Brain of Britain - Round One - Heat 8
This week’s contestants were : -
Clive Dunning
Amanda Lindsay
Gareth Parkin
Rod Riesco
Clive Dunning kicked off the first round. His first four were all gettable, and he duly got them. However he fell on Pevsner, just missing out on a full set, and this one fell to Rod Riesco. Amanda Lindsay took her first two, but didn’t get Fanny Blankers-Koen. Clive Dunning was happy to add that one to his score. Gareth Parkin took his first, but he fell on the poem in which Byron describes the English winter as a season that ends in July, to recommence in August. It was “Don Juan”, and Clive Dunning had it. Rod Riesco took his first couple, but the administrative capital of Bolivia – Sucre – did for him. Clive took that , and amongst what seemed to be a good crop of contenders he was really sticking out as the man to beat. He kicked off the next round, but didn’t know that Lake Wenham in Massachussetts supplied a hell of a lot of ice to the UK. Me neither. Gareth had that bonus. Amanda didn’t know that Podsnap is in “Our Mutual Fried”, and this one went begging. Gareth took his first two, but didn’t know about the fictitious ancient gaelic bard Ossian. Rod had that. For his own set He took a couple, but a sneaky little one about a verse set to a Chinese tune caught all of the brains out. I guessed its writer would probably be Mao, and I was right. Never mind, the round had done Rod a power of good , as he was now only a point behind Clive. To start round three Clive had a nasty one asking which state had “Hang On Sloopy” as its state song. do you know, I get rather irritated when I hear contestants getting ‘pure guess’ questions like this as the 1st of their set. It happens too often for my liking, and it’s not evenly spread between the contestants either. 3rd 4th or 5th of the set, yeah, no problem, but come on. We had that situation a couple of weeks ago where one of the contestants got a string of these as first questions, and ended up with 0 . Sort it out guys, please – it doesn’t do the show any favours. Amanda missed her second on the Old Testament, which gave Rod a bonus. Gareth fell at his first, on a diagram of stars. Rod probably should have known that Kanchenjunga is the world’s 3rd highest peak, but he didn’t, and Gareth nipped in for a bonus. Clive still led by a point, but both Rod and Gareth were close behind.
The first Beat the Brains question was a good old stager, which required the Brains to know that it was Victor Hugo who enquired about the sales of “Les Miserables” by sending a question mark to his publisher. The second asked which Arthur Ransome novel had a question mark in the title. Again, the brains had it with “Great Northern ?”Great work by the brains.
Clive Dunning took up the cudgels again, with one answer, but didn’t know that the month named after the roman festival of purification was February. Amanda didn’t know that the Treaty of Aix La Chapelle ended the War of Austrian Succession. Gareth had that .He didn’t know that ants and nettles have formic acid, which was a bonus for Clive. Rod didn’t know that Antisthenes founded the Cynic School of Philosophy. Yes, I think that I’ve met a few of its former pupils in my time. Clive had stretched his lead to 3 points now. He didn’t know the two new sports sanctioned for Rio in 2014, these being golf and rugby sevens. Amanda didn’t know that Mammoth Cave is in Kentucky . Gareth had a music question about the Tokyo Olympics of all things. He didn’t get it, but Clive did. Rod took his first, but it was Clive who took a bonus with Robert Bolt. With 13 to Rod’s 8, he looked good value for his lead, and it would take a remarkable round to deny him the win.
Clive didn’t know that the country with the international dialing code 55 is Brazil. Another stopper. Amanda had a gettable one to start, but didn’t know bishop John Fisher. Gareth fell at the first with Zermat, which Rod had. For his own set he really should have known that Carly Simon sang “Nobody Does it Better”. He’d narrowed the gap to 4, but we were running out of rounds. Clive didn’t know that the word Rhadmanthine comes from the son of Zeus and Europa. Amanda missed her first, that “Death of a Salesman” was written in the 40s. Bonus for Rod. Gareth missed his first. Rod took one but didn’t know King Louis XII of France. The gap was now down to 3, with Clive leading Rod 14 – 11. One round left, and Clive took his first , he took his second but not his third, on Poland which was partitioned off the map in the 19th century. Amanda didn’t know that Harold Wilson was Lord Wilson of Rievaulx. Gareth had that. He took his own first couple, but Amanda took a bonus on Bill Shankly. Rod took his first, but Kenneth Mac Alpin did for him.
The final scores were : -
Amanda – 4
Gareth – 10
Rod – 12
Clive – 17
A good show. Three contestants in double figures is not to be sniffed at. Well played all.
Clive Dunning
Amanda Lindsay
Gareth Parkin
Rod Riesco
Clive Dunning kicked off the first round. His first four were all gettable, and he duly got them. However he fell on Pevsner, just missing out on a full set, and this one fell to Rod Riesco. Amanda Lindsay took her first two, but didn’t get Fanny Blankers-Koen. Clive Dunning was happy to add that one to his score. Gareth Parkin took his first, but he fell on the poem in which Byron describes the English winter as a season that ends in July, to recommence in August. It was “Don Juan”, and Clive Dunning had it. Rod Riesco took his first couple, but the administrative capital of Bolivia – Sucre – did for him. Clive took that , and amongst what seemed to be a good crop of contenders he was really sticking out as the man to beat. He kicked off the next round, but didn’t know that Lake Wenham in Massachussetts supplied a hell of a lot of ice to the UK. Me neither. Gareth had that bonus. Amanda didn’t know that Podsnap is in “Our Mutual Fried”, and this one went begging. Gareth took his first two, but didn’t know about the fictitious ancient gaelic bard Ossian. Rod had that. For his own set He took a couple, but a sneaky little one about a verse set to a Chinese tune caught all of the brains out. I guessed its writer would probably be Mao, and I was right. Never mind, the round had done Rod a power of good , as he was now only a point behind Clive. To start round three Clive had a nasty one asking which state had “Hang On Sloopy” as its state song. do you know, I get rather irritated when I hear contestants getting ‘pure guess’ questions like this as the 1st of their set. It happens too often for my liking, and it’s not evenly spread between the contestants either. 3rd 4th or 5th of the set, yeah, no problem, but come on. We had that situation a couple of weeks ago where one of the contestants got a string of these as first questions, and ended up with 0 . Sort it out guys, please – it doesn’t do the show any favours. Amanda missed her second on the Old Testament, which gave Rod a bonus. Gareth fell at his first, on a diagram of stars. Rod probably should have known that Kanchenjunga is the world’s 3rd highest peak, but he didn’t, and Gareth nipped in for a bonus. Clive still led by a point, but both Rod and Gareth were close behind.
The first Beat the Brains question was a good old stager, which required the Brains to know that it was Victor Hugo who enquired about the sales of “Les Miserables” by sending a question mark to his publisher. The second asked which Arthur Ransome novel had a question mark in the title. Again, the brains had it with “Great Northern ?”Great work by the brains.
Clive Dunning took up the cudgels again, with one answer, but didn’t know that the month named after the roman festival of purification was February. Amanda didn’t know that the Treaty of Aix La Chapelle ended the War of Austrian Succession. Gareth had that .He didn’t know that ants and nettles have formic acid, which was a bonus for Clive. Rod didn’t know that Antisthenes founded the Cynic School of Philosophy. Yes, I think that I’ve met a few of its former pupils in my time. Clive had stretched his lead to 3 points now. He didn’t know the two new sports sanctioned for Rio in 2014, these being golf and rugby sevens. Amanda didn’t know that Mammoth Cave is in Kentucky . Gareth had a music question about the Tokyo Olympics of all things. He didn’t get it, but Clive did. Rod took his first, but it was Clive who took a bonus with Robert Bolt. With 13 to Rod’s 8, he looked good value for his lead, and it would take a remarkable round to deny him the win.
Clive didn’t know that the country with the international dialing code 55 is Brazil. Another stopper. Amanda had a gettable one to start, but didn’t know bishop John Fisher. Gareth fell at the first with Zermat, which Rod had. For his own set he really should have known that Carly Simon sang “Nobody Does it Better”. He’d narrowed the gap to 4, but we were running out of rounds. Clive didn’t know that the word Rhadmanthine comes from the son of Zeus and Europa. Amanda missed her first, that “Death of a Salesman” was written in the 40s. Bonus for Rod. Gareth missed his first. Rod took one but didn’t know King Louis XII of France. The gap was now down to 3, with Clive leading Rod 14 – 11. One round left, and Clive took his first , he took his second but not his third, on Poland which was partitioned off the map in the 19th century. Amanda didn’t know that Harold Wilson was Lord Wilson of Rievaulx. Gareth had that. He took his own first couple, but Amanda took a bonus on Bill Shankly. Rod took his first, but Kenneth Mac Alpin did for him.
The final scores were : -
Amanda – 4
Gareth – 10
Rod – 12
Clive – 17
A good show. Three contestants in double figures is not to be sniffed at. Well played all.
Sunday, 13 January 2013
New TV Quiz Game - Face the Clock
Face the Clock – Channel Four – 3:30 weekdays
Congratulations go to the makers of “Face the Clock”, the first new quiz I’ve seen in 2013. I know why I’ve been missing this one. 3:30pm is just too early for me to catch. Still, never mind, that is what the internet is for. Now, I can either review this as a straight quiz show, or I can review it as a game show. Well, I’ll probably be bringing in elements of both. It's daytime, it's a half hour slot, so it's not going to be big money, and it's not likely to be that difficult. Come on then, Dave, review it according to what it is, rather than what it's not.
This show, which comes in at a lean and mean 23 minutes or so once you take the adverts out, is fronted by Rory Bremner. Now, here’s a tricky thing. I met Rory at the 2011 telecommunications industry GetConnected Charity Quiz, where he was the special guest question master. We had a chat and I thought he came across as a really nice chap, very chatty, very interested in you, and a good guy. So I’d find it difficult to be horrible about him. Thankfully I don’t have to. The format didn’t give him much opportunity to display his wit, and even less his impressions, but he seemed to get the tone just about dead right I thought.
The gameplay of the show is relatively simple. The show starts with 6 contestants. One of them randomly selects an amount of time, which might be anything up to 2 and a half minutes. The contestants then answer questions for cash, or nominate someone else to take the question. If you’re ‘it’ when the time runs out, then you’re out, and your cash passes to the one who passed you the question. 4 contestants are discarded this way. If you’re thinking – like the Pass the Bomb game on Buzz – then you’re dead right. Except you earn money for correct answers, so it’s worth hanging onto your go for a bit.
So there’s a huge slice of luck in this first part of the show. It doesn’t matter how good you are. If you get a killer pass 2 seconds before time runs out, then you’re out. It changes, though, in the round of two. Both of you get 60 seconds on the clock. The one with the lowest amount of money starts. Questions are asked, and the clock ticks down. When the contestant gets one right, then the clock stops, and the other contestant’s starts. Then when they get one right . . . well, I’m sure that I don’t have to labour the point for you. Now, on this game, it’s fairly simple – best quizzer wins.
Moving onto the final, whatever money the two last contestants have earned becomes the prize fund for the finalist. He or she will get one minute on the clock. They have to answer 5 questions correctly in the time. If they do it in 30 seconds or less, then they get the full amount. Then the money is halved, and it goes down for every ten seconds after that the contestant takes. So again, the people who are going to do best in the final are good quizzers.
Accepting that this is a game as much as it’s a quiz, it’s not a bad show at all. The FAQ (Faffing About Quotient) is fairly low – the duration of the show is so relatively short that they just have to get on with it. That’s a good point. Game play is simple and straightforward, and there aren’t really any unnecessary gimmicks. The game is not without tactics either. OK, the mechanics of the show mean that the best quizzer is not necessarily more likely to make it through to the last two than any other player. OK, the questions are, well, they’re Weakest Link easy, if you know what I mean. But then, it’s that kind of show, it’s not a search to find the best quizzer in the UK. It is what it is, and a relatively undemanding quiz game, which moves quickly, gives you quite a lot of questions for your money, and is certainly watchable is exactly what it is.
Congratulations go to the makers of “Face the Clock”, the first new quiz I’ve seen in 2013. I know why I’ve been missing this one. 3:30pm is just too early for me to catch. Still, never mind, that is what the internet is for. Now, I can either review this as a straight quiz show, or I can review it as a game show. Well, I’ll probably be bringing in elements of both. It's daytime, it's a half hour slot, so it's not going to be big money, and it's not likely to be that difficult. Come on then, Dave, review it according to what it is, rather than what it's not.
This show, which comes in at a lean and mean 23 minutes or so once you take the adverts out, is fronted by Rory Bremner. Now, here’s a tricky thing. I met Rory at the 2011 telecommunications industry GetConnected Charity Quiz, where he was the special guest question master. We had a chat and I thought he came across as a really nice chap, very chatty, very interested in you, and a good guy. So I’d find it difficult to be horrible about him. Thankfully I don’t have to. The format didn’t give him much opportunity to display his wit, and even less his impressions, but he seemed to get the tone just about dead right I thought.
The gameplay of the show is relatively simple. The show starts with 6 contestants. One of them randomly selects an amount of time, which might be anything up to 2 and a half minutes. The contestants then answer questions for cash, or nominate someone else to take the question. If you’re ‘it’ when the time runs out, then you’re out, and your cash passes to the one who passed you the question. 4 contestants are discarded this way. If you’re thinking – like the Pass the Bomb game on Buzz – then you’re dead right. Except you earn money for correct answers, so it’s worth hanging onto your go for a bit.
So there’s a huge slice of luck in this first part of the show. It doesn’t matter how good you are. If you get a killer pass 2 seconds before time runs out, then you’re out. It changes, though, in the round of two. Both of you get 60 seconds on the clock. The one with the lowest amount of money starts. Questions are asked, and the clock ticks down. When the contestant gets one right, then the clock stops, and the other contestant’s starts. Then when they get one right . . . well, I’m sure that I don’t have to labour the point for you. Now, on this game, it’s fairly simple – best quizzer wins.
Moving onto the final, whatever money the two last contestants have earned becomes the prize fund for the finalist. He or she will get one minute on the clock. They have to answer 5 questions correctly in the time. If they do it in 30 seconds or less, then they get the full amount. Then the money is halved, and it goes down for every ten seconds after that the contestant takes. So again, the people who are going to do best in the final are good quizzers.
Accepting that this is a game as much as it’s a quiz, it’s not a bad show at all. The FAQ (Faffing About Quotient) is fairly low – the duration of the show is so relatively short that they just have to get on with it. That’s a good point. Game play is simple and straightforward, and there aren’t really any unnecessary gimmicks. The game is not without tactics either. OK, the mechanics of the show mean that the best quizzer is not necessarily more likely to make it through to the last two than any other player. OK, the questions are, well, they’re Weakest Link easy, if you know what I mean. But then, it’s that kind of show, it’s not a search to find the best quizzer in the UK. It is what it is, and a relatively undemanding quiz game, which moves quickly, gives you quite a lot of questions for your money, and is certainly watchable is exactly what it is.
Saturday, 12 January 2013
In the News Questions
Who or what are the following and why have they been in the news ?
1. Pawan Gupta – Viraj Sharma – Ram Singh – Mukesh Singh – Akshay Singh
2. Brisbane Internatioonal
3. Mike Hussey
4. Southern Weekend
5. Macca
6. April Casburn
7. Lord Strathclyde
8. Lord Hill of Oareford
9. Reg Dean
10. Sara Ege
11. Simon Burns
12. John Brennan
13. Where Are We Now ?
14. Dr. Shirley Radcliffe
15. Matthew Clark
16. Craig Pickering
17. Paul Emsley
18. Hayley Cropper
19. Pola Kinski
20. Richie George
In Other news
1. What did English Heritage first of all say it cannot afford, and then say it will try hard to maintain?
2. Which contest was held in Birmingham’s Grand Metropole Hotel ?
3. What was published by the Co-alition ?
4. Who received his brand new Russian passport last week ?
5. Which member of the 1958 England world cup football squad passed away last week ?
6. The construction of a big shopping centre development in York had to be delayed due to what ?
7. What was the score in the Arsenal v. Swansea FA Cup tie ?
8. Who clearly seemed to handball before his goal to knock Mansfield Town out of the FA Cup ?
9. Who suffered a wardrobe malfunction on her way out of “Dancing on Ice” ?
10. Newcastle Utd. were knocked out of the FA Cup by which team ?
11. Who is the new manager of Wolverhampton Wanderers ?
12. Which octogenarian TV and radio presenter was in court accused of sexually assaulting 3 girls ?
13. Which scientific project has ended after 520 days ?
14. Jessica Ennis has publically spoken out against the closure of what ?
15. Who won the ballon d’or ?
16. Britain now have two women in the world’s top 50 female tennis players. Who were the last british pair to do it ?
17. Lionel Messi was criticized for wearing what this week ?
18. Which is the first English council to offer a free school breakfast to all primary school children ?
19. Who missed his date in a French court on a drink driving charge ?
20. What was the score of the first leg Capital One cup semi between Bradford City and Aston Villa?
21. In the 2012 Fifa World 11, all the players come from either Barcelona or Real Madrid except one,. Which club did he come from ?
22. Who is the new Nike Face of Golf ?
23. What was the score in the Swansea v Chelsea Capital One cup semi final first leg ?
24. Which BBC TV journalist suffered a stroke ?
25. What happened to David Bowie’s new single ?
26. Which former DG of the BBC passed away ?
27. Why is John Mcrirrick suing channel 4 ?
28. Who is to be interviewed by Oprah Winfrey next week ?
29. Monopoly is currently carrying out an online vote. About what ?
30. Which chain of camera shops have been forced to close ?
1. Pawan Gupta – Viraj Sharma – Ram Singh – Mukesh Singh – Akshay Singh
2. Brisbane Internatioonal
3. Mike Hussey
4. Southern Weekend
5. Macca
6. April Casburn
7. Lord Strathclyde
8. Lord Hill of Oareford
9. Reg Dean
10. Sara Ege
11. Simon Burns
12. John Brennan
13. Where Are We Now ?
14. Dr. Shirley Radcliffe
15. Matthew Clark
16. Craig Pickering
17. Paul Emsley
18. Hayley Cropper
19. Pola Kinski
20. Richie George
In Other news
1. What did English Heritage first of all say it cannot afford, and then say it will try hard to maintain?
2. Which contest was held in Birmingham’s Grand Metropole Hotel ?
3. What was published by the Co-alition ?
4. Who received his brand new Russian passport last week ?
5. Which member of the 1958 England world cup football squad passed away last week ?
6. The construction of a big shopping centre development in York had to be delayed due to what ?
7. What was the score in the Arsenal v. Swansea FA Cup tie ?
8. Who clearly seemed to handball before his goal to knock Mansfield Town out of the FA Cup ?
9. Who suffered a wardrobe malfunction on her way out of “Dancing on Ice” ?
10. Newcastle Utd. were knocked out of the FA Cup by which team ?
11. Who is the new manager of Wolverhampton Wanderers ?
12. Which octogenarian TV and radio presenter was in court accused of sexually assaulting 3 girls ?
13. Which scientific project has ended after 520 days ?
14. Jessica Ennis has publically spoken out against the closure of what ?
15. Who won the ballon d’or ?
16. Britain now have two women in the world’s top 50 female tennis players. Who were the last british pair to do it ?
17. Lionel Messi was criticized for wearing what this week ?
18. Which is the first English council to offer a free school breakfast to all primary school children ?
19. Who missed his date in a French court on a drink driving charge ?
20. What was the score of the first leg Capital One cup semi between Bradford City and Aston Villa?
21. In the 2012 Fifa World 11, all the players come from either Barcelona or Real Madrid except one,. Which club did he come from ?
22. Who is the new Nike Face of Golf ?
23. What was the score in the Swansea v Chelsea Capital One cup semi final first leg ?
24. Which BBC TV journalist suffered a stroke ?
25. What happened to David Bowie’s new single ?
26. Which former DG of the BBC passed away ?
27. Why is John Mcrirrick suing channel 4 ?
28. Who is to be interviewed by Oprah Winfrey next week ?
29. Monopoly is currently carrying out an online vote. About what ?
30. Which chain of camera shops have been forced to close ?
Only Connect Contestant Call - reminder
I had another email from Rachel Griffiths of Only Connect a few days ago, reiterating the call for contestants for the next series, which I am delighted to post here .
With our highest figures in Only Connect history we have fortunately been commissioned for another series of Only Connect that we'll record in March/ April 2013. We value any recommendations from past contestants of the show, so please encourage friends, families and colleagues to apply. I've attached a flyer with details of how to apply for 2013, please feel free to email this on to anyone you think may be interested, or even post it on Facebook or tweet about it! All types of social media are fantastic for us and good old word of mouth works brilliantly too!
If you have any questions then please feel free to get in touch with me at my NEW email address here: rachel.griffiths@parasolmedia.co.uk
Once again, I can strongly recommend anyone the least bit interest to give it a go. It's great fun.
With our highest figures in Only Connect history we have fortunately been commissioned for another series of Only Connect that we'll record in March/ April 2013. We value any recommendations from past contestants of the show, so please encourage friends, families and colleagues to apply. I've attached a flyer with details of how to apply for 2013, please feel free to email this on to anyone you think may be interested, or even post it on Facebook or tweet about it! All types of social media are fantastic for us and good old word of mouth works brilliantly too!
If you have any questions then please feel free to get in touch with me at my NEW email address here: rachel.griffiths@parasolmedia.co.uk
Once again, I can strongly recommend anyone the least bit interest to give it a go. It's great fun.
Brain of Britain - Round 1 - Heat 7
Another four competitors took on the challenge of the best quiz on the radio. They were : -
Julian Aldridge
David Buckle
Gordon Taylor
Dave Tilley
Now, if you’re a regular LAM reader, and you think that a couple of those names sound familiar, well, you’re right. David Buckle is a Masterminder, having reached the Grand Final in Jesse’s series in 2010. I believe that he was also a finalist in The People’s Quiz in 2007. As for Dave Tilley, he too is a Masterminder, having been a contender in Geoff’s 2006 series, and he is also the captain of the Listeners, the team that came fourth in series 5 of Only Connect. Quite a bit of quiz talent on offer in this show , then.
Julian Aldridge fell at the first with a relatively gentle old chestnut about the queen allegedly buried beneath platform 10 of Kings Cross Station. David B had a go, but it fell to Dave Tilley to offer the correct name of Boudicca / Boadicea. David B took his first two , but couldn’t dredge up Gresham of Gresham’s Law. Dave T. could. Gordon showed good knowledge to take 4 , but didn’t know that a Wheatstone Bridge measures resistance. David B did. Dave didn’t know about the Castel Sant Angelo. So Gordon led with 4, from David with 3 and Dave with 2. Julian didn’t know a rather simple one about the actress whose Oscar winning career spanned the decades between the 30s and 80s, which was another bonus for Dave T. At this stage Julian was looking very much like the sacrificial lamb of this particular contest. David B. answered his first four correctly – but didn’t know that the porcupine is a rodent. A bonus for Gordon, that, but he didn’t know that Marco Polo set out from Acre for part of his journey. Nobody had that. Dave T took his first, but failed on the Mercury project, giving a bonus for David, who now led with 8 points to Gordon’s 5 and Dave’s 4. In round 3 Julian started with a sound clip , of the much missed Ian Dury. That did for him. David knew his original group was Kilburn and the High Roads. He then went on to answer his first, but didn’t know about phenols. Not surprised, me neither. Gordon didn’t know that Neptune’s largest moon is Triton, but Julian did . Somewhat surprisingly Dave T didn’t know that the sister ship of both the Titanic and the Britannic was the Olympic. I say surprising what with all of the ballyhoo for the centenary last year. Sometimes it’s surprising what good quizzers just don’t know. Gordon took the bonus, but David now led by 10 to 6. No break for the Beat the Brains yet. Nobody knew that the last London Thames frost fair was 1814. I only knew it through studying London Bridge for my Mastermind series. Poor old Julian had yet to answer any of his own questions. David B had a music question to start - the theme to the Eurovision Song Contest – composed by Charpentier . I’m guessing that’s not the same man who fought Jack Dempsey for the world heavyweight championship, but I don’t know. I didn’t have a Scooby. Gordon Taylor didn’t know Abel Ganz – and again, that was a gettable point, but nobody had it. Dave Tilley didn’t know that Finbo cheese comes from Denmark – neither did I. So David still led by 10 to 6.
The first listener question was this – The Space Shuttles – all 6 were named after pioneering sailing ships. Which was named after Cook’s ship on his first voyage ? Of course it was Endeavour , and the Brains knew it. The second question was which one was named after the British ship which laid the foundations of oceanography. I guessed Challenger, so did the Brains , and they were right. Well done.
On with round 5. Julian Aldridge got a nasty one on who was the subject of Whistler’s Arrangement in Grey and Black number 2 – number 1 being his old mum. It was Thomas Carlyle. Nasty question, that. David B didn’t know the old chestnut about Wilf Rhodes, the oldest man to play test cricket. Gordon Taylor was played the national anthem of Finland. Dave T probably should have had the Lutine, I would have thought, and David B made no mistake for the bonus. Not a high scoring round, but it was David B edging forward. Julian got another stinker to start, about Robert Delauney, known in LAM towers as Robert Who ? David B. didn’t know Ernest Swinton invented the tank. Gordon took his first 2, but didn’t know that the Plimsoll line mark WNA means Winter North Atlantic. Tricky but gettable. Dave T. took his first, but didn’t know Lincolnshire and Norfolk are on the Wash. So David B took his score to 12, while Gordon was on A. Julian had the old stager CAT scan,but didn’t quite get it. Surprisingly nobody managed a relatively simple bonus on that. David B. got the wrong canal for 1914. Gordon had Panama, and the bonus. For his own question he didn’t know the state capital of Delaware , so Dave T had it. His own question was on semaphore, and nobody had the letter R. Gordon had edged a point closer , but still lagged by 3 going into the last. Julian probably should have known who “Wet, she was a star” referred to – it’s been asked in quizzes so many times. But he didn’t. Dave T. knew it was Esther Williams. David B. didn’t know that Samoa moved across the date line, which Gordon did. He was only three points behind now. But he didn’t get his first, and David B had it on geometry. Game over. Dave T. didn’t know that Lydia was the youngest Bennett in “Pride and Prejudice”. Julian knew that. So the final scores and the result were relatively clear cut: -
Julian Aldridge – 3
David Buckle – 14
Gordon Taylor – 10
Dave Tilley – 7
Well done David – good luck in the semis. Hard lines to Gordon, I think that 10 just won’t be good enough for a place in the semis.
Julian Aldridge
David Buckle
Gordon Taylor
Dave Tilley
Now, if you’re a regular LAM reader, and you think that a couple of those names sound familiar, well, you’re right. David Buckle is a Masterminder, having reached the Grand Final in Jesse’s series in 2010. I believe that he was also a finalist in The People’s Quiz in 2007. As for Dave Tilley, he too is a Masterminder, having been a contender in Geoff’s 2006 series, and he is also the captain of the Listeners, the team that came fourth in series 5 of Only Connect. Quite a bit of quiz talent on offer in this show , then.
Julian Aldridge fell at the first with a relatively gentle old chestnut about the queen allegedly buried beneath platform 10 of Kings Cross Station. David B had a go, but it fell to Dave Tilley to offer the correct name of Boudicca / Boadicea. David B took his first two , but couldn’t dredge up Gresham of Gresham’s Law. Dave T. could. Gordon showed good knowledge to take 4 , but didn’t know that a Wheatstone Bridge measures resistance. David B did. Dave didn’t know about the Castel Sant Angelo. So Gordon led with 4, from David with 3 and Dave with 2. Julian didn’t know a rather simple one about the actress whose Oscar winning career spanned the decades between the 30s and 80s, which was another bonus for Dave T. At this stage Julian was looking very much like the sacrificial lamb of this particular contest. David B. answered his first four correctly – but didn’t know that the porcupine is a rodent. A bonus for Gordon, that, but he didn’t know that Marco Polo set out from Acre for part of his journey. Nobody had that. Dave T took his first, but failed on the Mercury project, giving a bonus for David, who now led with 8 points to Gordon’s 5 and Dave’s 4. In round 3 Julian started with a sound clip , of the much missed Ian Dury. That did for him. David knew his original group was Kilburn and the High Roads. He then went on to answer his first, but didn’t know about phenols. Not surprised, me neither. Gordon didn’t know that Neptune’s largest moon is Triton, but Julian did . Somewhat surprisingly Dave T didn’t know that the sister ship of both the Titanic and the Britannic was the Olympic. I say surprising what with all of the ballyhoo for the centenary last year. Sometimes it’s surprising what good quizzers just don’t know. Gordon took the bonus, but David now led by 10 to 6. No break for the Beat the Brains yet. Nobody knew that the last London Thames frost fair was 1814. I only knew it through studying London Bridge for my Mastermind series. Poor old Julian had yet to answer any of his own questions. David B had a music question to start - the theme to the Eurovision Song Contest – composed by Charpentier . I’m guessing that’s not the same man who fought Jack Dempsey for the world heavyweight championship, but I don’t know. I didn’t have a Scooby. Gordon Taylor didn’t know Abel Ganz – and again, that was a gettable point, but nobody had it. Dave Tilley didn’t know that Finbo cheese comes from Denmark – neither did I. So David still led by 10 to 6.
The first listener question was this – The Space Shuttles – all 6 were named after pioneering sailing ships. Which was named after Cook’s ship on his first voyage ? Of course it was Endeavour , and the Brains knew it. The second question was which one was named after the British ship which laid the foundations of oceanography. I guessed Challenger, so did the Brains , and they were right. Well done.
On with round 5. Julian Aldridge got a nasty one on who was the subject of Whistler’s Arrangement in Grey and Black number 2 – number 1 being his old mum. It was Thomas Carlyle. Nasty question, that. David B didn’t know the old chestnut about Wilf Rhodes, the oldest man to play test cricket. Gordon Taylor was played the national anthem of Finland. Dave T probably should have had the Lutine, I would have thought, and David B made no mistake for the bonus. Not a high scoring round, but it was David B edging forward. Julian got another stinker to start, about Robert Delauney, known in LAM towers as Robert Who ? David B. didn’t know Ernest Swinton invented the tank. Gordon took his first 2, but didn’t know that the Plimsoll line mark WNA means Winter North Atlantic. Tricky but gettable. Dave T. took his first, but didn’t know Lincolnshire and Norfolk are on the Wash. So David B took his score to 12, while Gordon was on A. Julian had the old stager CAT scan,but didn’t quite get it. Surprisingly nobody managed a relatively simple bonus on that. David B. got the wrong canal for 1914. Gordon had Panama, and the bonus. For his own question he didn’t know the state capital of Delaware , so Dave T had it. His own question was on semaphore, and nobody had the letter R. Gordon had edged a point closer , but still lagged by 3 going into the last. Julian probably should have known who “Wet, she was a star” referred to – it’s been asked in quizzes so many times. But he didn’t. Dave T. knew it was Esther Williams. David B. didn’t know that Samoa moved across the date line, which Gordon did. He was only three points behind now. But he didn’t get his first, and David B had it on geometry. Game over. Dave T. didn’t know that Lydia was the youngest Bennett in “Pride and Prejudice”. Julian knew that. So the final scores and the result were relatively clear cut: -
Julian Aldridge – 3
David Buckle – 14
Gordon Taylor – 10
Dave Tilley – 7
Well done David – good luck in the semis. Hard lines to Gordon, I think that 10 just won’t be good enough for a place in the semis.
Only Connect Champion of Champions
The Analysts v. The Scribes
No time to draw breath in our weekly round up of the very best of TV and radio quizzes, as we have this biennial joust between the winners of the most recent two series. It hardly seems like days since Holly Pattenden , Gareth Price and Dom Tait , the Scribes, won the 6th series. Well, it was only shown a few weeks ago. I have written off the Scribes’ chances far too often in the past, so I had a completely open mind as to who would be the most likely winners between them and the Analysts, represented by Paul Steeples, William De Ath, and captain David Lea. I’m fairly confident in saying that in a straight, ordinary quiz, over a couple of hundred questions, the Analysts would win. But this was Only Connect, and there’s nothing ordinary about it..
Round One – What’s the Connection ?
The As chose Lion, and received 10 foot gypsum statue – wood plastic head and toy submarine – and I knew what we had here were famous hoaxes – which was confirmed by orang-utan jawbone and human skull, then paper cut outs of fairies. The Analysts had it there. Scribes took flax, and found Mars Climate Orbiter – Stonehenge in This is Spinal Tap, and they had it from that. As anyone who has seen and loved the movie knows, these were measurement mix ups. Which gave the Scribes a useful lead. Water brought the As the pictures. A seemingly unconnected series of pictures showed different ways of getting into Narnia. The As suggested children’s books, which was close, and the Scribes were closer – they mentioned CS Lewis. Not close enough for Victoria, though. Fair enough. Two Reeds hid the music connection , one of which was the end of round music from this very show. Another was Sting’s Fields of Gold. Another was “The Entertainer” by Scott Joplin. Neither team got the connection, and neither did I , yet it’s so simple when you know. After all, in which film did we hear “The Entertainer” ? That’s right – the Sting. The OC music is the sting between rounds. Red face moment of the show ( so far. ) The As took eye of Horus and found Professor Layton – Uncle Sam ( I was thinking top hats ) – Alan Sugar ( now I thought pointy fingers on posters ) and Lord Kitchener. The As made no mistake. This left Horned Viper for the Scribes. They had Peace Memorial Park, Hiroshima, Anfield Stadium, Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. I thought that was pretty straightforward, and so did the Scribes, who were happy to take locations of Eternal flames off these three clues. So they led by 5 to the As’ 2.
Round Two – What Comes Fourth ?
The As chose two reeds. Prefix for nine – followed by he spilled his seed on the ground, which was Onan – followed by Prefix for ten to the power of – 9 which I guessed was nano. If the first was nona, then I worked out that you used the same 4 letters, but put the first one last for each next word. Which would leave you anon. Correct, and the As had worked it out as well. Scribes took water, and received Imbolc – Ostara – Beltane – Hello, though I , celtic / pagan festivals. OK, but what next ? I guessed Samhain, which I think is sort of Halloween, but actually it was midsummer, Difficult one that. Not s hard as the As though. They got the pictures, and these were representations of Egyptian hieroglyphs for numerals. They needed to give the symbol for 1, but nobody knew it was a staff or straight line. The Scribes received SATOR – AREPO – TENET . Nope, I didn’t know. They are the SATOR word square, and the next would be opera. Paul knew the connection, but not the word for a bonus. The As had Secret Diary - Parish news – and we were dealing with Private Eye, and David and the boys knew the last would be the New Coalition Academy newsletter. Good shout off two. The Scribes had Edward Borough – John Neville – Henry VIII. Both teams were working on increasing numbers of wicves, but no. They were the successive husbands of Katherine Parr, with Thomas Seymour being her fourth and last. Still, the round , while not high scoring, had made a difference. The Analysts now led with 7. Still, with the vowels to come after the walls, they needed more than a 2 point lead to be confident of defeating the lightning quick Scribes.
Round Three – The Connecting Walls
I thought that the Scribes did brilliantly to quickly see and separate a set of words which can be made into other words by placing a letter a at the start – trophy – venue – corn and steroid. They almost immediately found grain crops, with quinoa – sorghum – amaranth and millet. They knew the other two connections – words preceded by continental – and sporting trophies, and they found them . The continental words were shelf – plate – drift and crust, and the trophies claret jug, dish and belt. This meant that the maximum lead that the As could have would be 2 points. Frankly, if I was playing the Scribes in vowels I’d want a much bigger head start than that .
The As at least wouldn’t have known that their opponents had scored a full house. They were given the water wall, and they quickly found a set of Croatian cities, in Split – Dubrovnik – Zadar and Rijeka. A set of middleweight boxers – Hearns – Hagler – Benn and Eubank followed. Then almost before Ihad a chance to blink they’d unraveled the other two sets – Duran – Sub – The – Talk, and also Leonard – Timer – Pula – Loon . I didn’t know The The , or Sub Sub, but I did know Duran Duran and Talk Talk, the answer being when you double the original word you get the name of a band. As for the last set – I didn’t know it. If you changed one letter you could make each of them into a big cat. So only 7 points meant that the Scribes now took the lead, with 15 to 14.
Round Four – Missing Vowels
The mission for the As was simple. Just beat the Scribes on the vowels. Simple as that. Literary Aunts fell fell 2 – 1 to the As. Films with photographer protagonists fell 3 – 1 to the Scribes. Correct versions of common misquotations fell 2 -1 to the As _ what a good game ! Works of JMW Turner went 1 – 0 to the Scribes, and that was that. Not a lot in it at all, but the As finished with 19, and the Scribes with 21. Superb work guys, and I have no doubt that sooner or later we’ll get to see them take on the Mighty Champion of Champions of Champions, the Crossworders.
No time to draw breath in our weekly round up of the very best of TV and radio quizzes, as we have this biennial joust between the winners of the most recent two series. It hardly seems like days since Holly Pattenden , Gareth Price and Dom Tait , the Scribes, won the 6th series. Well, it was only shown a few weeks ago. I have written off the Scribes’ chances far too often in the past, so I had a completely open mind as to who would be the most likely winners between them and the Analysts, represented by Paul Steeples, William De Ath, and captain David Lea. I’m fairly confident in saying that in a straight, ordinary quiz, over a couple of hundred questions, the Analysts would win. But this was Only Connect, and there’s nothing ordinary about it..
Round One – What’s the Connection ?
The As chose Lion, and received 10 foot gypsum statue – wood plastic head and toy submarine – and I knew what we had here were famous hoaxes – which was confirmed by orang-utan jawbone and human skull, then paper cut outs of fairies. The Analysts had it there. Scribes took flax, and found Mars Climate Orbiter – Stonehenge in This is Spinal Tap, and they had it from that. As anyone who has seen and loved the movie knows, these were measurement mix ups. Which gave the Scribes a useful lead. Water brought the As the pictures. A seemingly unconnected series of pictures showed different ways of getting into Narnia. The As suggested children’s books, which was close, and the Scribes were closer – they mentioned CS Lewis. Not close enough for Victoria, though. Fair enough. Two Reeds hid the music connection , one of which was the end of round music from this very show. Another was Sting’s Fields of Gold. Another was “The Entertainer” by Scott Joplin. Neither team got the connection, and neither did I , yet it’s so simple when you know. After all, in which film did we hear “The Entertainer” ? That’s right – the Sting. The OC music is the sting between rounds. Red face moment of the show ( so far. ) The As took eye of Horus and found Professor Layton – Uncle Sam ( I was thinking top hats ) – Alan Sugar ( now I thought pointy fingers on posters ) and Lord Kitchener. The As made no mistake. This left Horned Viper for the Scribes. They had Peace Memorial Park, Hiroshima, Anfield Stadium, Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. I thought that was pretty straightforward, and so did the Scribes, who were happy to take locations of Eternal flames off these three clues. So they led by 5 to the As’ 2.
Round Two – What Comes Fourth ?
The As chose two reeds. Prefix for nine – followed by he spilled his seed on the ground, which was Onan – followed by Prefix for ten to the power of – 9 which I guessed was nano. If the first was nona, then I worked out that you used the same 4 letters, but put the first one last for each next word. Which would leave you anon. Correct, and the As had worked it out as well. Scribes took water, and received Imbolc – Ostara – Beltane – Hello, though I , celtic / pagan festivals. OK, but what next ? I guessed Samhain, which I think is sort of Halloween, but actually it was midsummer, Difficult one that. Not s hard as the As though. They got the pictures, and these were representations of Egyptian hieroglyphs for numerals. They needed to give the symbol for 1, but nobody knew it was a staff or straight line. The Scribes received SATOR – AREPO – TENET . Nope, I didn’t know. They are the SATOR word square, and the next would be opera. Paul knew the connection, but not the word for a bonus. The As had Secret Diary - Parish news – and we were dealing with Private Eye, and David and the boys knew the last would be the New Coalition Academy newsletter. Good shout off two. The Scribes had Edward Borough – John Neville – Henry VIII. Both teams were working on increasing numbers of wicves, but no. They were the successive husbands of Katherine Parr, with Thomas Seymour being her fourth and last. Still, the round , while not high scoring, had made a difference. The Analysts now led with 7. Still, with the vowels to come after the walls, they needed more than a 2 point lead to be confident of defeating the lightning quick Scribes.
Round Three – The Connecting Walls
I thought that the Scribes did brilliantly to quickly see and separate a set of words which can be made into other words by placing a letter a at the start – trophy – venue – corn and steroid. They almost immediately found grain crops, with quinoa – sorghum – amaranth and millet. They knew the other two connections – words preceded by continental – and sporting trophies, and they found them . The continental words were shelf – plate – drift and crust, and the trophies claret jug, dish and belt. This meant that the maximum lead that the As could have would be 2 points. Frankly, if I was playing the Scribes in vowels I’d want a much bigger head start than that .
The As at least wouldn’t have known that their opponents had scored a full house. They were given the water wall, and they quickly found a set of Croatian cities, in Split – Dubrovnik – Zadar and Rijeka. A set of middleweight boxers – Hearns – Hagler – Benn and Eubank followed. Then almost before Ihad a chance to blink they’d unraveled the other two sets – Duran – Sub – The – Talk, and also Leonard – Timer – Pula – Loon . I didn’t know The The , or Sub Sub, but I did know Duran Duran and Talk Talk, the answer being when you double the original word you get the name of a band. As for the last set – I didn’t know it. If you changed one letter you could make each of them into a big cat. So only 7 points meant that the Scribes now took the lead, with 15 to 14.
Round Four – Missing Vowels
The mission for the As was simple. Just beat the Scribes on the vowels. Simple as that. Literary Aunts fell fell 2 – 1 to the As. Films with photographer protagonists fell 3 – 1 to the Scribes. Correct versions of common misquotations fell 2 -1 to the As _ what a good game ! Works of JMW Turner went 1 – 0 to the Scribes, and that was that. Not a lot in it at all, but the As finished with 19, and the Scribes with 21. Superb work guys, and I have no doubt that sooner or later we’ll get to see them take on the Mighty Champion of Champions of Champions, the Crossworders.
University Challenge Round 2 - Match 5
Magdalen, Oxford v. Manchester University
A high quality contest this one promised to be. Magdalen comfortably took out Sidney Sussex in their first round match, by 205 to 105. The team once again were Will Wright, Rob Mangan, Richard Purkiss and their captain Henry Watson.Manchester on the other hand only won against Lincoln College Oxford on the very last question of their first round heat. Once again, the team were David Brice, Adam Barr, Debbie Brown, and captain Richard Gilbert.
Will Wright opened Magdalen’s account with a series of Treaties of Paris. Poets’ epitaphs proved equally fruitful, providing them with a full set. Manchester skipper Richard Gilbert hit straight back with Mozart’s “Magic Flute”. Bonuses on 1812 saw them also take a full set. Don’t misunderstand me, I enjoyed the Christmas series, but what a pleasure to get back to watching good teams answering harder questions, and doing it well. The Manchester captain took his second starter in a row, identifying a set of people whose first two names started with the initials JM. The set of bonuses on tests saw the first points dropped on the Holmgren test, and also the Land test. Didn’t matter. Adam Barr knew that Bernard Lovell was the driving force behind the Jodrell Bank radio telescope. This gave Manchester three bonuses on English history and Italian opera, of which they answered two correctly. The picture starter showed is the family tree of characters in “Jane Eyre” and asked for the name of Edward Rochester’s first wife. JP seemed very impressed when Will Wright supplied the correct answer. This brought up a set of bonuses of more of the same – more family trees from novels by the Brontes. These actually seemed a lot more difficult than the starter had, so I wasn’t surprised that they missed out. Nobody knew that The Lady and The Unicorn tapestries, apart from their real life incarnations, are also on the walls of the Gryffindor Common room. Fair enough. We were almost at the ten minute mark by this stage, and superior buzzing by Manchester had earned them a lead, with 60 to 35.
Debbie Brown buzzed in with the word ‘occlusion’ to take the next starter. Antarctica proved fairly fruitful, providing them with 2 bonuses. A good old UC chestnut, the term ‘mugwump’ from American politics was the answer to the next starter, but neither team had heard that one before. It’s one of those you either know or you don’t. Debbie Brown, warming to her work, recognized an English translation of the first few words of The Marseillaise to take the next starter. WH Auden was obviously not a great favourite with Manchester, and that set failed to take them through the 100 point barrier. Not to matter. Richard Gilbert took the next starter, identifying words which feature on Roy Liechtenstein’s Whaam!. Bonuses on geophysics brought another 5 points. Manchester were pulling ahead, and Magdalen’s problem was that they were losing the buzzer battle. Either they had to start hitting and hoping, or Manchester would disappear beyond the horizon. The music starter showed a clean pair of heels to both teams. The next starter saw Rob Mangan incorrectly supply Herodotus to lose 5, but actually he was doing the right thing. Magdalen had to start buzzing, and if that meant taking a few risks, then so be it. If you’re going down, at least go fighting. Manchester didn’t know Thucydides. Neither team knew periparty. Really ? Get out of town. A UC special followed. Basically, if you put together the abbreviation for a Tongan currency together with a Colombian one, you get Top Cop. Look, it’s easier than it sounds, ok? Debbie Brown had it for her third starter. This brought the music starters, on composers who had won the Mendelssohn scholarship. One bonus was taken. Will Wright’s perseverance was rewarded when he took the next starter on a quotation by Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortes. For his pains he earned Magdalen a set of bonuses on bells. A full set took them to 55. A maths thing came next , but neither could answer it. So at the 20 minute mark Magdalen had made at least a wee dent in Manchester’s lead, but at 120 to 55 it still looked pretty commanding.
The next starter on one of the Nobel peace prize winners of 2011 went begging. So did the next on hepatitis A. Rob Mangan took his first starter on countries that joined the UN during the 1970s. Their bonuses on carpets provided no returns for them. We had the second picture starter, and Richard Gilbert recognized a photo of Sir Anthony Hopkins playing van Helsing. The bonuses showed other actors playing the same part. A full set just added to Magdalen’s problems. Richard Purkiss took his first starter for Magdalen, recognizing a series of works by Beethoven. The set on orbits left me by after perhaps the first three words of each question, I’m afraid. They couldn’t take any. Adam Barr knew that a normal somatic cell has 22 pairs of chromosomes excluding the sex chromosomes – at least I think that’s what it said – to bring up bonuses on Royal Appointments. 2 bonuses were taken. Adam Barr also knew that Michael Faraday said that one day one could tax electricity. This brought Manchester to 175, and they looked home and dry. Bonuses on exclamation marks brought them another 10 points. Henry Watson knew that Sir Lancelot is the only other person mentioned by name in “The Lady of Shallot”. English monarchs and their relationship to each other should have been a happy hunting ground, but only provided 5 points. Adam Barr knew a list of phrases all containing the word chicken. The bonuses on Indian states and cities weren’t easy at all, but two of them were answered correctly. Debbie Brown knew a series of attractions in Oslo. Then they were given a set of works which take their names from phrases in Shakespeare. Only the last was taken. Which really was the end, since the gong sounded straight afterwards. A convincing win for Magdalen in the end, by 200 to 90. I think that JP was right to be kind in his comments to Magdalen. They answered pretty well when they could get to the buzzer. However Manchester, for the second time this series, look a class act. In this show they had three buzzers all weighing in with good starters, and they were, to use snooker parlance, contriving to put points on the board every time they visited the table. Well played.
Jeremy Paxman Watch
Well, there really wasn’t a lot until when both teams failed to identify the music starter. Then they both failed on the next starter. Finally the next starter gave Manchester the music bonuses, which earned the withering comment,
”Well, you’ll recall that sometime last week we heard Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto . . . “
Now warmed up, he greeted Will Wright’s correct answer to the next starter with
”Right, after that period of indolence, Magdalen . . . “ Believe me, it wasn’t a case of laziness, Jez. They were trying to get to the buzzers, I can assure you of that.
Interesting fact of the Week That I Didn’t Already Know
We didn’t get the full question, but when somebody official asked Michael Faraday about electricity, and what the point of it was, he replied “One day, sir, you may tax it. “ There spake the voice of experience.
A high quality contest this one promised to be. Magdalen comfortably took out Sidney Sussex in their first round match, by 205 to 105. The team once again were Will Wright, Rob Mangan, Richard Purkiss and their captain Henry Watson.Manchester on the other hand only won against Lincoln College Oxford on the very last question of their first round heat. Once again, the team were David Brice, Adam Barr, Debbie Brown, and captain Richard Gilbert.
Will Wright opened Magdalen’s account with a series of Treaties of Paris. Poets’ epitaphs proved equally fruitful, providing them with a full set. Manchester skipper Richard Gilbert hit straight back with Mozart’s “Magic Flute”. Bonuses on 1812 saw them also take a full set. Don’t misunderstand me, I enjoyed the Christmas series, but what a pleasure to get back to watching good teams answering harder questions, and doing it well. The Manchester captain took his second starter in a row, identifying a set of people whose first two names started with the initials JM. The set of bonuses on tests saw the first points dropped on the Holmgren test, and also the Land test. Didn’t matter. Adam Barr knew that Bernard Lovell was the driving force behind the Jodrell Bank radio telescope. This gave Manchester three bonuses on English history and Italian opera, of which they answered two correctly. The picture starter showed is the family tree of characters in “Jane Eyre” and asked for the name of Edward Rochester’s first wife. JP seemed very impressed when Will Wright supplied the correct answer. This brought up a set of bonuses of more of the same – more family trees from novels by the Brontes. These actually seemed a lot more difficult than the starter had, so I wasn’t surprised that they missed out. Nobody knew that The Lady and The Unicorn tapestries, apart from their real life incarnations, are also on the walls of the Gryffindor Common room. Fair enough. We were almost at the ten minute mark by this stage, and superior buzzing by Manchester had earned them a lead, with 60 to 35.
Debbie Brown buzzed in with the word ‘occlusion’ to take the next starter. Antarctica proved fairly fruitful, providing them with 2 bonuses. A good old UC chestnut, the term ‘mugwump’ from American politics was the answer to the next starter, but neither team had heard that one before. It’s one of those you either know or you don’t. Debbie Brown, warming to her work, recognized an English translation of the first few words of The Marseillaise to take the next starter. WH Auden was obviously not a great favourite with Manchester, and that set failed to take them through the 100 point barrier. Not to matter. Richard Gilbert took the next starter, identifying words which feature on Roy Liechtenstein’s Whaam!. Bonuses on geophysics brought another 5 points. Manchester were pulling ahead, and Magdalen’s problem was that they were losing the buzzer battle. Either they had to start hitting and hoping, or Manchester would disappear beyond the horizon. The music starter showed a clean pair of heels to both teams. The next starter saw Rob Mangan incorrectly supply Herodotus to lose 5, but actually he was doing the right thing. Magdalen had to start buzzing, and if that meant taking a few risks, then so be it. If you’re going down, at least go fighting. Manchester didn’t know Thucydides. Neither team knew periparty. Really ? Get out of town. A UC special followed. Basically, if you put together the abbreviation for a Tongan currency together with a Colombian one, you get Top Cop. Look, it’s easier than it sounds, ok? Debbie Brown had it for her third starter. This brought the music starters, on composers who had won the Mendelssohn scholarship. One bonus was taken. Will Wright’s perseverance was rewarded when he took the next starter on a quotation by Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortes. For his pains he earned Magdalen a set of bonuses on bells. A full set took them to 55. A maths thing came next , but neither could answer it. So at the 20 minute mark Magdalen had made at least a wee dent in Manchester’s lead, but at 120 to 55 it still looked pretty commanding.
The next starter on one of the Nobel peace prize winners of 2011 went begging. So did the next on hepatitis A. Rob Mangan took his first starter on countries that joined the UN during the 1970s. Their bonuses on carpets provided no returns for them. We had the second picture starter, and Richard Gilbert recognized a photo of Sir Anthony Hopkins playing van Helsing. The bonuses showed other actors playing the same part. A full set just added to Magdalen’s problems. Richard Purkiss took his first starter for Magdalen, recognizing a series of works by Beethoven. The set on orbits left me by after perhaps the first three words of each question, I’m afraid. They couldn’t take any. Adam Barr knew that a normal somatic cell has 22 pairs of chromosomes excluding the sex chromosomes – at least I think that’s what it said – to bring up bonuses on Royal Appointments. 2 bonuses were taken. Adam Barr also knew that Michael Faraday said that one day one could tax electricity. This brought Manchester to 175, and they looked home and dry. Bonuses on exclamation marks brought them another 10 points. Henry Watson knew that Sir Lancelot is the only other person mentioned by name in “The Lady of Shallot”. English monarchs and their relationship to each other should have been a happy hunting ground, but only provided 5 points. Adam Barr knew a list of phrases all containing the word chicken. The bonuses on Indian states and cities weren’t easy at all, but two of them were answered correctly. Debbie Brown knew a series of attractions in Oslo. Then they were given a set of works which take their names from phrases in Shakespeare. Only the last was taken. Which really was the end, since the gong sounded straight afterwards. A convincing win for Magdalen in the end, by 200 to 90. I think that JP was right to be kind in his comments to Magdalen. They answered pretty well when they could get to the buzzer. However Manchester, for the second time this series, look a class act. In this show they had three buzzers all weighing in with good starters, and they were, to use snooker parlance, contriving to put points on the board every time they visited the table. Well played.
Jeremy Paxman Watch
Well, there really wasn’t a lot until when both teams failed to identify the music starter. Then they both failed on the next starter. Finally the next starter gave Manchester the music bonuses, which earned the withering comment,
”Well, you’ll recall that sometime last week we heard Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto . . . “
Now warmed up, he greeted Will Wright’s correct answer to the next starter with
”Right, after that period of indolence, Magdalen . . . “ Believe me, it wasn’t a case of laziness, Jez. They were trying to get to the buzzers, I can assure you of that.
Interesting fact of the Week That I Didn’t Already Know
We didn’t get the full question, but when somebody official asked Michael Faraday about electricity, and what the point of it was, he replied “One day, sir, you may tax it. “ There spake the voice of experience.
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