tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5401280171563686515.post7602098463340236648..comments2024-03-12T12:54:32.926-07:00Comments on Life After Mastermind: The Thoughts of the New ChampionLondiniushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07871325359167581176noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5401280171563686515.post-76322156256234870672012-05-14T12:40:01.225-07:002012-05-14T12:40:01.225-07:00Thanks for the very kind remarks Malcolm, and as d...Thanks for the very kind remarks Malcolm, and as dxtdemon points out, I got 41 questions - which in some ways means the longstanding Ashman record was there for the taking, for the right contender (not me).<br /><br />I hope it doesn't sound arrogant or churlish to say that a little bit of me is disappointed tho....the John Donne, Lagarde and Talmud answers were all there - I just didn't conjure them up in time (Super 8 I hadn't heard of at the time of filming, Victoria Wood I hadn't the foggiest about and Pythagoras/Archimedes was a stab in the dark). On another day I might have scored 38 and got the 'Humphrys era' record. <br /><br />Oh well, I'm off to try to get that white shiny thing in the night sky down with a stick.drgaryegranthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02660095695123216649noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5401280171563686515.post-70409073139885268032012-05-14T00:23:28.976-07:002012-05-14T00:23:28.976-07:00In case anyone cares, Gary's score of 35 was o...In case anyone cares, Gary's score of 35 was out of 41 questions and Andy's score of 30 was out of 38 questions. At the percentage accuracy that they were answering questions, Gary would've won by 2.6 questions if everyone was asked 40 questions and it was possible to answer a fraction of a question.dxdtdemonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17534247033439073645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5401280171563686515.post-63108903719923567172012-05-12T09:55:46.755-07:002012-05-12T09:55:46.755-07:00Massive congratulations to Gary on a ‘textbook’ pe...Massive congratulations to Gary on a ‘textbook’ performance. Think it’s fair to say (despite his modesty) that none of the other 95 contenders would have matched that display (though I may only be speaking for myself!) And that of course from the relative comfort of one’s armchair although (as David says) there was certainly a sense of shared tension ... The ‘intensity’ of concentration didn’t quite match Ian Bayley last year but still, talk about answering on the ‘B of the bang’! A top class sprinter taking on some magnificent middle distance runners, to stretch the analogy.<br />Once again canny subject choices played their part – despite the ambassadorial advantage that Andy had with his Azerbaijani knowledge, you guessed that some of his answers might be of the tongue-twisting variety (and yes, the post-edit was noticeable at the end of his first round – I wondered initially if the mythical ‘challenging the answer’ option had come into play!) I suppose, however, that Gary could have been required to reel off a few scientific names in Latin, so it wasn’t necessarily a safer choice, and broad topics have their own dangers. Gary’s ‘insert’ was also very good – the BBC need look no further if a replacement for Chris Packham, Ben Fogle or indeed Dr Hilary Jones is required.<br />Andy also put in a formidable and virtually faultless performance. My hero Bing Crosby once said ‘A singer like Sinatra comes along once in a lifetime – but why did it have to be my lifetime?’ One could forgive Andy for nurturing similar thoughts about Dr Grant!<br />Gary’s GK round ‘sealed the deal’. The Royal Marines was an impressive answer under pressure (quite a few of us were doubtless in the Coldstream department); I knew that Bellerophon rode Pegasus but wouldn’t have given that answer to the specific question asked. Choose any one from the Torah, Talmud or Mishnah (I’d have chosen wrongly as well) and hadn’t a clue on ‘That Day We Sang’ despite doing the Wikipedia Challenge on Victoria Wood earlier in the series. So soon we forget. A few more really tricky questions as well; famous Belgians is one thing, but famous Luxembourgers?<br />As for the claim that ‘you can’t prepare for General Knowledge’ – maybe true short-term but last night proved yet again that certain key facts or lists are worth revising; ‘public figures, recently appointed’ (Bernard Hogan-Howe, Christine Lagarde) while the obligatory ‘radio’ question showed that it’s always useful to be familiar with the BBC’s current output! Aside from that I guess that everyone needs to think about individual gaps and weaknesses. Not many of those on display last night.<br />Talking of ‘names in the news’, thanks again to David for all the quiz input (‘reading the newspapers so we don’t need to’); well done to all the MM finalists (including Nick Reed from my own semi) for choosing a really diverse range of topics which showed the programme at its best; and congratulations once again, Gary. Future Masterminders are doubtless relieved that you won’t be appearing in any future series (until the next ‘Champion of Champions’!)<br /><br />Malcolmcontentedofcheltenhamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03613217417807104685noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5401280171563686515.post-4996259034971544262012-05-12T05:14:51.454-07:002012-05-12T05:14:51.454-07:00Yes, owing to my famed inability to get up - and t...Yes, owing to my famed inability to get up - and thus missing my 15 minutes of fame - it is indeed a world exclusive.<br /><br />I can only be thankful that MM isn't filmed in the morning or you'd have had a very different outcome.drgaryegranthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02660095695123216649noreply@blogger.com