Settling a tie

I’ve allowed this one to percolate for a while, rather than posting a knee-jerk reaction last week after it happened. What am I talking about? Well, it’s the film quiz in the Gwyn Hall. If you’re a regular reader you might remember the ongoing saga from this time last year of the prizes for winning the League. Well, not last Wednesday but the Wednesday before that we had the first monthly quiz of 2025. The outcome of the League for last year was announced, and it turned out what we were tied at the top with another team. Both teams were told to nominate 1 player. The two players were asked 1 question – with a numerical answer. Closest answer would win the league. No, we didn’t win.

Okay, that’s life. After last year’s prize fiasco I can’t say I was at all bothered about whether we won the league or not. We deliberately gave the last quiz of the year a miss, and we would have been given a point just for turning up, so you could argue (and indeed the organisers did) that we only had ourselves to blame. But it’s just – and Dan pointed this out on the night – I couldn’t help feeling that it was odd to have just the one player from both teams answering. It was even odder considering that the quiz itself on the night had to be also settled by a tie break, and this was open to the whole team.

Oh well, it could have been worse. I’m put in mind of The Office, where Brent and Finchy’s team lose on a tie break, yet decide that they’ve won because Finchy can throw Tim’s shoe over a building. I’m sure I also saw or heard of a tied quiz being settled by both teams building paper airplanes with the winners being the team whose plane flew furthest.

It takes all sorts.

Adios Celebrity Mastermind (don't feel you have to hurry back)

I see that proper Mastermind is back on BBC2 this coming Monday. It’s really not before time at all. There’s a place for the celebrity show, sure, but 14 shows in one go is more than enough, frankly. I mean, our Christmas decorations came down before the end of the first week of January.

More and more over recent years has it struck me that it’s not necessarily the best fit for a celebrity show, is Mastermind. I’ve discussed in the past the huge imbalance between risk and reward in the regular show – and for many people I would imagine that this is all part of the show’s attraction. But there’s a different imbalance between risk and reward in the celebrity show. The reward? Well, a celebrity trophy, maybe bragging rights and maybe, just maybe, people will think you’re a little smarter. In all honesty I can’t see that it’s going to do much for your career, not in the way that a win on Strictly or I’m a Celebrity might. The risk? Well, if you don’t do well, people will often (wrongly) draw the conclusion that you’re thick. I guess this is the reason why on every season of Celebrity Mastermind I have only seem to have heard of less than half of the celebrities.

Maybe it doesn’t help that there are a lot of celebrity quiz shows now. Later tonight (Saturday) BBC1 slams us with Celebrity Pointless and the Weakest Link. BBC Two gave us UC at Christmas a while ago. No celebrity quizzes on ITV tonight, but it’s only a week or so since Stephen Fry made headlines with a stellar performance on Celebrity Millionaire. You name a popular quiz show, and there’s probably been a celebrity version of it.

As a rule, I don’t watch a lot of celebrity quiz shows. I’m told that I’ve mellowed over the last 12 months – I taught my last lesson on Fifth March 2024, prior to retiring from teaching in August. I took up a temporary position as a waiting list coordinator for the Community Dental Service in September, with a view to looking for a permanent position from the inside, and it worked. I start the new position in a couple of weeks. Finishing teaching has been a huge relief. I’d like to think that ending what had become a nightmare has made me into a more relaxed, less judgemental and frankly nicer person. But for all that I can still be quite unforgiving when I see a less than stellar quiz performance from a celebrity.