At last, dearly beloved, at last we had a roster of specialist subjects in a Mastermind heat that offered me just a chance of more than the slimmest of pickings. Not the first subject though. This was a subject that has featured on Mastermind more than once before, the Ghost Stories of M.R. James – who was not, as I once thought, the author of Fifty Shades of Whatsaname. As you can tell, I’ve ever read them, although I have copied a illustration from one.
Thomas Banbury had prepared well enough to score 8, which is a competitive score that has given contenders a chance during the series so far. Me? Nul points.
So the first subject to offer me just a glimmer of a chance
was snooker legend Ronnie O’Sullivan, offered by Liam McCarthy. I have actually
read the Rocket’s autobiography, name checked in one of the questions, but that
was quite a few years ago, so it didn’t seem to do me a lot of good. I limped
along to two points. Liam, like Thomas before him, scored a good 8 and no
passes, so he was still in the hunt.
Third to go was Jane Northen. Jane was offering my first
real ‘fill yer boots’ subject of this series, in the shape of Gerry Anderson’s
Thunderbirds. This was, incidentally, Alan Heath’s winning subject in the 2016
Grand Final. Like a lot of kids of my generation I absolutely loved this show
and watched the episodes time and time again. Then, as a dad in the 90s I got
to do it all over again with my son, for whom I even made a Blue Peter Tracy
Island – and damn good it was too, though I say it myself. So yes, the 7 I got
was a good total, although not a surprise. Not as good as Jane’s though. Her 10
was the best round of the night so far.
Having to follow that was Helen Lawson. She was answering on
Hans Holbein the Younger and this subject brought me the 1 point I needed to
take my aggregate for the specialists into double figures. Yes, you are allowed
to indulge in a small celebration at this point. There. Did you enjoy it? Helen
again did well, but she was just a tiny bit behind Jane on the clock and finished
with 9. Kudos to all four contenders for not passing in any of their specialist
rounds.
Thomas did not start his GK round brilliantly, but rather
grew into it, so much so that he managed to post double figures. His 10 gave
him 18, which we always say is unlikely to prove a winning score, but is enough
to make the other contenders have to pass through the corridor of doubt.
Liam McCarthy did even better. He started better but didn’t
gain quite as much momentum as Thomas had done. Even so his consistency meant
that he scored 11 and 1 pass, a good performance which raised the bar to 19.
Helen Lawson didn’t look quite as comfortable in the chair
as she had during her specialist round, but even though she seemed to be making
slower progress she was still edging closer to the target. She took 9 which put
her up with Thomas, but just one point behind Liam.
Finally Jane, then. I often mention momentum in GK rounds,
and Jane’s round was a good demonstration of what I mean. Jane took the tactic
of passing when an answer – right or wrong – did not occur and in this way she
kept up her momentum throughout the round. This meant that she kept going and
passed the finishing post with several questions to spare. She scored 12 for a
total of 22. Yes, she passed more than any of the other contenders, but this
didn’t make the slightest difference because she scored more.
In her piece to camera at the end Jane revealed that she
really is a Thunderbirds fanatic. Nothing so wrong with that either. Well Jane,
I hope that you have another such subject in your semi. The very best of luck
to you.
The Details
|
Thomas Banbury |
The Ghost Stories of
M.R.James |
8 |
0 |
10 |
1 |
18 |
1 |
|
Liam McCarthy |
Ronnie O’Sullivan |
8 |
0 |
11 |
1 |
19 |
1 |
|
Jane Northen |
Thunderbirds |
10 |
0 |
12 |
3 |
22 |
3 |
|
Helen Lawson |
Hans Holbein the
Younger |
9 |
0 |
9 |
1 |
18 |
1 |
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