Well, dearly beloved, I did predict that I wasn’t going to get many points in the specialists in tonight’s show and I was certainly right about that. 1 from Peep Show and 1 from the Lake District as it happens.
First up was Matt Malin. He offered us Peep Show. I was
always more of a casual viewer than a regular but I did catch one or two of
them at times. It didn’t help me. Matt scored 7. We’ve seen a lot of contenders
during the series who all knew their subject, and I’d put Matt in this
category, but not quite in enough depth to be able to reach a really commanding
total. It takes a hell of a lot of focussed preparation and revision, I can
tell you.
Emily Freeman was answering on the subject about which I
knew least, probably because I’d never even heard of Aemilia Lanyer before the
subjects for this show were announced. Again, Emily knew her stuff, but again,
not quite in the depth needed to give yourself a realistic chance. Sh too
scored 7 and I was beginning to wonder whether we had another of those heats
where there is something in the air that limits the scoring.
Maria Nagle made a good start with Joni Mitchell and she
scored quite well throughout the round. As it was, only an unlucky close but no
cigar answer to the last question prevented her from a good 9. Nonetheless, 8
was enough to put her into the lead with one contender still to go.
This contender was Tony Barnes. Tony was answering on The
Lake District. I often feel that such a wide subject as this should carry a
government health warning. Once again, Tony obviously knew his stuff, but it
seems such a catch all subject that there were aspects of it he maybe hadn’t
considered which is probably why he too scored 8.
Would the ‘something in the air’ I’ve speculated about continue
to affect the scores as we headed into the General Knowledge rounds? Time would
tell. Matt Malin came back and he delivered the highest scoring round of the
night so far with 9. This boosted him to 16. If you’d asked before the start of
the show whether I thought that 16 could be a winning total I would have said
it was unlikely. After the specialists though, it looked more possible.
Poor Emily Freeman never really managed to get to grips
with her GK round. She gave it a lash, but in the end she could only take her
total up to 12.
Maria Nagle only needed to match Matt’s 9 points to take he
lead. She too gave it a lash, but in the same way you often see track athletes
tightening up as they enter the home straight, so Maria just couldn’t quite
maintain the momentum to get herself over the line before time was up. She
scored 7 to finish with 15. No cigar I’m afraid.
So it was all down to Tony. He too scored 7 for 15,
although I would say that he didn’t run out of steam so much as never quite had
the momentum he needed throughout the whole round.
So Matt Malin achieved the rare feat of going first in the last
round, and hanging on to win the show. Best of luck in the semis.
Right, please do not take this comment as an intended
criticism of any of tonight’s contenders – it is not meant that way. But last
week, all 4 contenders scored more highly than any of tonight’s. I’m not saying
that Matt does not deserve his place in the semi final. Of course he does! It
always has been you win a heat and you go through and it always should be. But
surely, surely it’s time to go back to recognising exceptional performance by
runners up by awarding a couple of wild cards through to the semis.
It’s a lot fairer on the viewers, if you want my opinion.
The Details
|
Matt Malin |
Peep Show |
7 |
2 |
9 |
2 |
16 |
4 |
|
Emily Freeman |
Aemilia Lanyer |
7 |
2 |
5 |
6 |
12 |
8 |
|
Maria Nagle |
Joni Mitchell |
8 |
0 |
7 |
3 |
15 |
3 |
|
Tony Barnes |
The Lake DIstrict |
8 |
1 |
7 |
1 |
15 |
2 |
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