Brain of Britain - First Round Heat 11/12
I was delighted to see Nancy Dickmann listed as a contestant in today’s show. As I’m sure you recall Nancy won the last series of Mastermind, beating the mighty Ian Bayley in the Grand Final. Well, Dr. Ian has already claimed his place in the semi final with a magnificent thirty three points in show 9, broadcast a fortnight ago. So, could Nancy join him ? Well, three other contestants would have something to say about that.
All four contestants were billed as hailing from the South of England. They were, in order,
Martin Boult from Basingstoke
Rosanna Day from Newbury
Nancy Dickmann from Oxford
Andrew McNab from London
None of the other contestants were known to me, but that didn’t necessarily mean anything. You don’t get mugs on Brain of Britain. So, away we went. It was almost all square in the first round. In round 2 the scores changed slightly, but one point alone separated all three contestants. Nancy found 2 bonuses before failing to answer that The Great White Hope was based on the life of Jack Johnson. She made up with another bonus, to join Martin Boult in first place with 5 points each. It was nice to hear Russell Davies being quite formal, addressing everyone as Mr., Mrs. or Miss at this stage of the competition. In the 4th round Mrs. Day missed the old chestnut about the jersey worn in the Tour de France by the King of The Mountains. Martin Boult forged a 3 point lead in the 4th round, as he answered a couple of his own and a bonus.
The listener’s questions were – before the establishment of the city of Canberra – which city was the capital of Australia ? The team zigged with Sydney, but should have zagged with Melbourne.
Also they were asked where would you find Goyder’s Line, and what is it for ? The team fancied an Australian state boundary, but it was an imaginary line across South Australia, denoting the line above which crops can’t be grown due to uncertain rainfall.
Back to the quiz. Russell Davies announced that Terry Parsons was the real name of Matt Munroe, who he suggested must have decided to be a singer since his regular route from Highgate to Teddington was a terribly long journey. This round saw a fabulous five points for Andrew McNab put him up into joint leadership with 9. Round Six , though saw Martin Boult answer 3 questions, while none of his opposition managed any. Nancy, who'd been unfortunate with her run of first questions up to this point, put in a late effort, picking up 2 bonuses before her own question, which required her to identify Carly Simon, singing the theme to the Spy Who Loved Me. It was nasty to expect Nancy to identify Radio 4 gameshows which began in the 1970s, and she failed to answer that Barry Norman was actually the first presenter of the News Quiz. It was telling that nobody else knew the answer either. Martin Boult wasn’t out of the woods yet, especially since he failed to answer his first question. However only Mr. McNab could do it after he took a bonus on Nancy’s question, but he failed on his own set, and so Martin Boult , who to be honest had looked the most likely winner all show, came home in front. Tough show today, I thought.
Next week is the last of the heats, and I hope I’m not giving too much away when I say that there’s another formidable contestant just waiting in the wings for us. Watch this space !
The Details
Martin Boult - 13
Rosanna Day - 5
Nancy Dickmann – 8
Andrew McNab – 10
Monday, 21 December 2009
Sunday, 20 December 2009
Answers to Quiz
Here are the answers to the quiz I posted at the beginning of this month : -
1) Who wrote Rebecca , and Jamaica Inn ?
DAPHNE Du Maurier
2) Who was the lead singer of the Seekers ?
JUDITH Durham
3) What was the name of Harry Enfield’s horrible teenage character ?
KEVIN Patterson
4) Who became world 500cc motorbike champion in 1976 and 1977 ?
BARRY Sheene
5) Which british Olympic gold medallist was a co founder of the London Marathon ?
CHRIS Brasher
6) In the original Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin, what was the name of Reggie’s boss ?
CJ(Charles Jefferson)
7) What is the connection between your last 6 answers ?
The first 6 Eggheads
8) In the news – following the England football team’s losing performance against Brazil, which cartoon character was manager Fabio Capello compared to in the news of the World ?
Homer Simpson
9) Which acid is also known as oil of vitriol ?
Sulphuric
10) The city of Venice lies on which sea, which itself forms part of the Mediterranean ?
Adriatic
11) Name the two famous Edinburgh Body Snatchers in the 1820s
BURKE and Hare
12) The 7th President of the USA is usually reckoned to be the first Democrat President. Who was he ?
Andrew JACKSON
13) In 1988, who became a Canadian Olympic champion, then within 5 years became a british world champion ?
Lennox LEWIS
14) Name the society osteopath who committed suicide when he was being tried as part of the Profumo Scandal
Stephen WARD
15) What is the connection between your last four answers ?
X- Factor winners
16) Dr. Brooke Magnanti admitted writing the book Belle du jour in November. The book deals with her secret life as what ?
Prostitute
17) Which alcoholic drink takes its name from the second most populous city in Switzerland ?
Gin
18) When did the ten shilling note go out of circulation ?
1970
19) Who or what is a tin Lizzie ?
Model T Ford
20) What would a tailor use his plonker for ?
Smoothing out cloth
21) Which building in Northumberland has been used for the exterior shots of Hogwarts school in the Harry Potter films ?
Alnwick CASTLE
22) What is the surname of Emma in the novel by Jane Austen ?
WOODHOUSE
23) Which 20th century Prime Minister introduced the Citizen’s Charter ?
John MAJOR
24) Which character , who later returned in his own TV series, was actually shot in the film “The Blue Lamp” ?
George DIXON
25) Which is the largest inhabited castle in Europe ?
WINDSOR Castle
26) What is the connection between your last five answers ?
BARBARA
27) During November, which member of the Royal Family offered the opinion that Australia should become a republic ?
Prince Charles
28) What makes a pink gin pink ?
Angostura Bitters
29) Which was the first ever credit card ?
Diners Club
30) What would a Scotsman do with his spurtle ?
Stir his porridge
31) Which character in Last of the Summer Wine was played by Brian Wilde ?
FOGGY Dewhurst
32) From whom did Muhammed Ali, or Cassius Clay as was then, win his first ever world title ?
SONNY Liston
33) Which name links companions of both Tintin and Dick Barton special agent ?
SNOWY
34) Randy Crawford once had a hit with a song about what type of night in Georgia ?
RAINY
35) In british police radio communication signals, which code is used to refer to someone who is of white European ethnicity?
IC (Icey) - 1
36) Which march is played to herald the arrival of the US president at a public appearance ?
HAIL to the chief
37) What is the connection between your last six answers ?
Weather conditions
38) A statue of whom has just been installed on the 4th plinth in Trafalgar Square ?
Keith Park
39) What is an Edzell Blue ?
Potato
40) Which of these once worked as a pastry chef in a top London Hotel ?
Ho chi Minh – Mao Tse Tung – Cho en Lai – Kim Il Sung
Ho Chi Minh
1) Who wrote Rebecca , and Jamaica Inn ?
DAPHNE Du Maurier
2) Who was the lead singer of the Seekers ?
JUDITH Durham
3) What was the name of Harry Enfield’s horrible teenage character ?
KEVIN Patterson
4) Who became world 500cc motorbike champion in 1976 and 1977 ?
BARRY Sheene
5) Which british Olympic gold medallist was a co founder of the London Marathon ?
CHRIS Brasher
6) In the original Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin, what was the name of Reggie’s boss ?
CJ(Charles Jefferson)
7) What is the connection between your last 6 answers ?
The first 6 Eggheads
8) In the news – following the England football team’s losing performance against Brazil, which cartoon character was manager Fabio Capello compared to in the news of the World ?
Homer Simpson
9) Which acid is also known as oil of vitriol ?
Sulphuric
10) The city of Venice lies on which sea, which itself forms part of the Mediterranean ?
Adriatic
11) Name the two famous Edinburgh Body Snatchers in the 1820s
BURKE and Hare
12) The 7th President of the USA is usually reckoned to be the first Democrat President. Who was he ?
Andrew JACKSON
13) In 1988, who became a Canadian Olympic champion, then within 5 years became a british world champion ?
Lennox LEWIS
14) Name the society osteopath who committed suicide when he was being tried as part of the Profumo Scandal
Stephen WARD
15) What is the connection between your last four answers ?
X- Factor winners
16) Dr. Brooke Magnanti admitted writing the book Belle du jour in November. The book deals with her secret life as what ?
Prostitute
17) Which alcoholic drink takes its name from the second most populous city in Switzerland ?
Gin
18) When did the ten shilling note go out of circulation ?
1970
19) Who or what is a tin Lizzie ?
Model T Ford
20) What would a tailor use his plonker for ?
Smoothing out cloth
21) Which building in Northumberland has been used for the exterior shots of Hogwarts school in the Harry Potter films ?
Alnwick CASTLE
22) What is the surname of Emma in the novel by Jane Austen ?
WOODHOUSE
23) Which 20th century Prime Minister introduced the Citizen’s Charter ?
John MAJOR
24) Which character , who later returned in his own TV series, was actually shot in the film “The Blue Lamp” ?
George DIXON
25) Which is the largest inhabited castle in Europe ?
WINDSOR Castle
26) What is the connection between your last five answers ?
BARBARA
27) During November, which member of the Royal Family offered the opinion that Australia should become a republic ?
Prince Charles
28) What makes a pink gin pink ?
Angostura Bitters
29) Which was the first ever credit card ?
Diners Club
30) What would a Scotsman do with his spurtle ?
Stir his porridge
31) Which character in Last of the Summer Wine was played by Brian Wilde ?
FOGGY Dewhurst
32) From whom did Muhammed Ali, or Cassius Clay as was then, win his first ever world title ?
SONNY Liston
33) Which name links companions of both Tintin and Dick Barton special agent ?
SNOWY
34) Randy Crawford once had a hit with a song about what type of night in Georgia ?
RAINY
35) In british police radio communication signals, which code is used to refer to someone who is of white European ethnicity?
IC (Icey) - 1
36) Which march is played to herald the arrival of the US president at a public appearance ?
HAIL to the chief
37) What is the connection between your last six answers ?
Weather conditions
38) A statue of whom has just been installed on the 4th plinth in Trafalgar Square ?
Keith Park
39) What is an Edzell Blue ?
Potato
40) Which of these once worked as a pastry chef in a top London Hotel ?
Ho chi Minh – Mao Tse Tung – Cho en Lai – Kim Il Sung
Ho Chi Minh
Saturday, 19 December 2009
The LAMMY Awards
Yes, the LAMMY awards. Don’t worry, this has nothing to do with Government Minister David Lammy’s less than stellar performance in the last series of Sleb Mastermind. No, its simply my annual review of the year, and a few awards, the recipients of which are chosen by nothing more objective than my own personal whim. So lets begin, as we did last year, with
1) The Award For The Best New TV Quiz Show for 2009
I have to say that we have had a much larger crop of entrants for this award than we did last year, even if we are devoid of a stand out candidate like last year’s winner Only Connect.
In February Battle of the Brains returned for a second series. It doesn’t qualify for a nomination since the first series aired in the summer of 2008. However its worthy of mention since the second series was a huge improvement on the first. You might or might not like Nicky Campbell, but he does at least let his personality come through, and he does ‘sell’ the show. Gone were the flat £2,000 a show prize, to be replaced by an Eggheads style rolling jackpot, and also the pointless think of a number questions. Having listened to some of the complaints about the first series, the production team came up with a rather slicker and more enjoyable show. Which it seems is the last series that we’re going to get of it. Shame.
March saw the BBC’s first entry to the 2009 new quiz list with “A Question of Genius”. Quite a serious contender this one is too. I liked this show, although I do think that it tries to cram too much format and not quite enough questions into 45 minutes. In another year, it would have been a very serious contender for the title.
March also saw the start of ITV’s The Colour of Money – not a quiz, but rather a game show where making random choices would lead to cash or disaster, after the fashion of Deal or No Deal. It was interesting that this show bombed so badly with the audience that the last few episodes were shelved indefinitely . So perhaps the future of the big money quiz show isn’t quite so bleak as it may have appeared.
Lets move on to June, as ITV introduced three shows in the teatime slot one after another in quick succession. First to hit us was my least favourite of the three, Divided. A large amount of money potentially up for grabs made it interesting, but not enough. Too few questions, and a performance by Andrew Castle stiffer even than his dance routines in Strictly left me unimpressed, I’m afraid. Whereas its successor, The Chase, did hit many of the right buttons. I’m not a fan of Bradley Walsh, but the format kept his worst excesses in check. The individual rounds were a little slow moving. However the Final Chase rounds for me , where either Shaun Wallace or my friend Mark Labbett answered quickfire questions to try to catch the challengers, and prevent them from taking away some cash was genuinely exciting TV. Personally, I think that this is a far better Pro – Am quiz format than Eggheads, and even though I know I risk accusations of favouritism for saying this, I nominate it as one of my top 2 new quizzes of the year.
I liked its successor, the Fuse too, but not quite as much. Austin Healey did a manful job as presenter, but believe me, “Do you want to fight the Fuse ? Then lets light the fuse “ is every bit as irritating as “Don’t Put All Your Eggheads in One Basket”, especially when Mr. Healey has to say it several times a show. Slow moving until the later rounds, but much better than Divided, The Fuse is highly commended, but not a potential winner for me.
In July we saw Nick Knowles new Saturday show sandwiched around the Lottery – Guesstimation. This one was not a bonus ball winner for me, in fact, it didn’t even get three balls out of six. Not really a quiz show at all, and seemingly made up of bits and pieces of other shows I’d seen before. I’ll be surprised if its back .
Knowitalls, at the end of July, wasn’t a quiz as such either. Its basic premise required contestants to regurgitate bits of knowledge that they’s had a minimal amount of time to bone up on, for which they would be awarded at times an arbitrary seeming amount of marks from ‘experts’ in the field. Actually, it was a lot better than it sounds written down on paper.
In August , a month I missed a lot of due to a holiday in Spain, Pointless began a very successful run on BBC2. A sort of reverse Family Fortunes, this involved trying to find members of a list or category which nobody in a survey of 100 members of the public would actually have thought of. Doesn’t sound all that promising, I grant you, but it soon attracted a good following, and the BBC are making a second series. The sheer fact of its popularity with the non quizzing members of my family means that this is the 2nd of my new quizzes of the year.
Fast forward to November, and Britain’s Best Brain. Now, I do have issues with this show. My main issue is that its not very good. However there is also the fact that I auditioned fo it over the phone, and the bloke auditioning me had the kind of reaction to me telling him I’d won Mastermind which told me “We’re not looking for smartarses on this . “ Slow games, obvious plugging for Nintendo brain training games, and a virtually unintelligible scoring system made this a bit of a mess.
So, without further ado – the winner is
The Chase
Yes, I know my friend is the Chaser. Doesn’t matter. I enjoyed the best bits of this show considerably more than any other new show I’ve watched this year.
2) The Award for Quiz Performance of the Year
This is a really tough one. I mean, how can you choose between : -
University Challenge – Corpus Christi
Yes, Manchester won the series because of a technical infringement of the rules, we know that. But the performances of the Corpus Christi team last year, led by their captain the amazing Gail Trimble, were enough to take your breath away at times.
Brain of Britain – Geoff Thomas – Ian Bayley
Geoff became only the 5th person to complete the Mastermind and Brain of Britain double. Needing a five pointer in the final round of his semi to overcome the great Dag Griffiths he pulled it out of the bag, and then went on to win the final very comfortably.
Also I must mention Ian Bayley, whose performance in the first round a couple of weeks ago, when he scored a massive 33, left me absolutely speechless with admiration.
Mastermind – Nancy Dickmann
Nancy Dickmann played brilliantly all series, and scored 30, the highest score of the whole series to win the Grand Final , beating the same Ian Bayley mentioned earlier, and becoming the first lady champion since Anne Ashurst in 1997.
Only Connect – The Rugby Boys
My boys done good ! Richie Parnell, Gary Dermody and Mark Labbett won a title which I feel is of real substance, and will become even more so as the years go by. South Wales’ finest always looked like one of the strongest teams in a great competition.
Are You An Egghead – Pat Gibson – Anne Hegerty
Pat Gibson became the 7th member of the Eggheads, and I don’t think that any quizzer in the country could possibly gainsay his right to that position. I have been privileged to know Pat, and to have played with him in the Cardiff Grand Prix.
A special mention for Anne Hegerty too. Not because she beat me, although she did that too, but because of her stunning performance in the second round match, which saw her drop only one question – outstanding quizzing.
So who gets the prize ? Well, again, this is a personal choice, and so I plump for the one which I actually saw in the flesh, which is
Ian Bayley – scoring 33 in the first round of Brain of Britain.
3) The Award for Best Performance in a non broadcast quiz
This one is easy to award. Still, before I do, here’s a couple of highlights of the year for me : -
Winning the CIU welsh final by a single point, from a team of Mark Labbett, Gordon Galliford, Richie Parnell and Trevor Parry.
Placing third in the CIU National final, by a tie break against the same Maesglas A team.
Winning the Birmingham Mega Quiz, as part of a team including Gordon Galliford, Richie Parnell and Trevor Parry
Almost getting another 100% in the Aberavon Rugby Club quiz, when we were disallowed Sony for Sony Ericsson.
The winner, however is : -
Radford Road CIU of Coventry for winning the CIU Nationals. Gareth Kingston, Craig Element, Nic Paul and Dave Masters
performed brilliantly to take the title from a host of teams representing much of the cream of quizzing. Wonderful achievement.
As for the lowlights – well, no, lets leave them as that . So ladies and gentlemen, that concludes the voting of the LAM jury. Congratulations to all the winners.
1) The Award For The Best New TV Quiz Show for 2009
I have to say that we have had a much larger crop of entrants for this award than we did last year, even if we are devoid of a stand out candidate like last year’s winner Only Connect.
In February Battle of the Brains returned for a second series. It doesn’t qualify for a nomination since the first series aired in the summer of 2008. However its worthy of mention since the second series was a huge improvement on the first. You might or might not like Nicky Campbell, but he does at least let his personality come through, and he does ‘sell’ the show. Gone were the flat £2,000 a show prize, to be replaced by an Eggheads style rolling jackpot, and also the pointless think of a number questions. Having listened to some of the complaints about the first series, the production team came up with a rather slicker and more enjoyable show. Which it seems is the last series that we’re going to get of it. Shame.
March saw the BBC’s first entry to the 2009 new quiz list with “A Question of Genius”. Quite a serious contender this one is too. I liked this show, although I do think that it tries to cram too much format and not quite enough questions into 45 minutes. In another year, it would have been a very serious contender for the title.
March also saw the start of ITV’s The Colour of Money – not a quiz, but rather a game show where making random choices would lead to cash or disaster, after the fashion of Deal or No Deal. It was interesting that this show bombed so badly with the audience that the last few episodes were shelved indefinitely . So perhaps the future of the big money quiz show isn’t quite so bleak as it may have appeared.
Lets move on to June, as ITV introduced three shows in the teatime slot one after another in quick succession. First to hit us was my least favourite of the three, Divided. A large amount of money potentially up for grabs made it interesting, but not enough. Too few questions, and a performance by Andrew Castle stiffer even than his dance routines in Strictly left me unimpressed, I’m afraid. Whereas its successor, The Chase, did hit many of the right buttons. I’m not a fan of Bradley Walsh, but the format kept his worst excesses in check. The individual rounds were a little slow moving. However the Final Chase rounds for me , where either Shaun Wallace or my friend Mark Labbett answered quickfire questions to try to catch the challengers, and prevent them from taking away some cash was genuinely exciting TV. Personally, I think that this is a far better Pro – Am quiz format than Eggheads, and even though I know I risk accusations of favouritism for saying this, I nominate it as one of my top 2 new quizzes of the year.
I liked its successor, the Fuse too, but not quite as much. Austin Healey did a manful job as presenter, but believe me, “Do you want to fight the Fuse ? Then lets light the fuse “ is every bit as irritating as “Don’t Put All Your Eggheads in One Basket”, especially when Mr. Healey has to say it several times a show. Slow moving until the later rounds, but much better than Divided, The Fuse is highly commended, but not a potential winner for me.
In July we saw Nick Knowles new Saturday show sandwiched around the Lottery – Guesstimation. This one was not a bonus ball winner for me, in fact, it didn’t even get three balls out of six. Not really a quiz show at all, and seemingly made up of bits and pieces of other shows I’d seen before. I’ll be surprised if its back .
Knowitalls, at the end of July, wasn’t a quiz as such either. Its basic premise required contestants to regurgitate bits of knowledge that they’s had a minimal amount of time to bone up on, for which they would be awarded at times an arbitrary seeming amount of marks from ‘experts’ in the field. Actually, it was a lot better than it sounds written down on paper.
In August , a month I missed a lot of due to a holiday in Spain, Pointless began a very successful run on BBC2. A sort of reverse Family Fortunes, this involved trying to find members of a list or category which nobody in a survey of 100 members of the public would actually have thought of. Doesn’t sound all that promising, I grant you, but it soon attracted a good following, and the BBC are making a second series. The sheer fact of its popularity with the non quizzing members of my family means that this is the 2nd of my new quizzes of the year.
Fast forward to November, and Britain’s Best Brain. Now, I do have issues with this show. My main issue is that its not very good. However there is also the fact that I auditioned fo it over the phone, and the bloke auditioning me had the kind of reaction to me telling him I’d won Mastermind which told me “We’re not looking for smartarses on this . “ Slow games, obvious plugging for Nintendo brain training games, and a virtually unintelligible scoring system made this a bit of a mess.
So, without further ado – the winner is
The Chase
Yes, I know my friend is the Chaser. Doesn’t matter. I enjoyed the best bits of this show considerably more than any other new show I’ve watched this year.
2) The Award for Quiz Performance of the Year
This is a really tough one. I mean, how can you choose between : -
University Challenge – Corpus Christi
Yes, Manchester won the series because of a technical infringement of the rules, we know that. But the performances of the Corpus Christi team last year, led by their captain the amazing Gail Trimble, were enough to take your breath away at times.
Brain of Britain – Geoff Thomas – Ian Bayley
Geoff became only the 5th person to complete the Mastermind and Brain of Britain double. Needing a five pointer in the final round of his semi to overcome the great Dag Griffiths he pulled it out of the bag, and then went on to win the final very comfortably.
Also I must mention Ian Bayley, whose performance in the first round a couple of weeks ago, when he scored a massive 33, left me absolutely speechless with admiration.
Mastermind – Nancy Dickmann
Nancy Dickmann played brilliantly all series, and scored 30, the highest score of the whole series to win the Grand Final , beating the same Ian Bayley mentioned earlier, and becoming the first lady champion since Anne Ashurst in 1997.
Only Connect – The Rugby Boys
My boys done good ! Richie Parnell, Gary Dermody and Mark Labbett won a title which I feel is of real substance, and will become even more so as the years go by. South Wales’ finest always looked like one of the strongest teams in a great competition.
Are You An Egghead – Pat Gibson – Anne Hegerty
Pat Gibson became the 7th member of the Eggheads, and I don’t think that any quizzer in the country could possibly gainsay his right to that position. I have been privileged to know Pat, and to have played with him in the Cardiff Grand Prix.
A special mention for Anne Hegerty too. Not because she beat me, although she did that too, but because of her stunning performance in the second round match, which saw her drop only one question – outstanding quizzing.
So who gets the prize ? Well, again, this is a personal choice, and so I plump for the one which I actually saw in the flesh, which is
Ian Bayley – scoring 33 in the first round of Brain of Britain.
3) The Award for Best Performance in a non broadcast quiz
This one is easy to award. Still, before I do, here’s a couple of highlights of the year for me : -
Winning the CIU welsh final by a single point, from a team of Mark Labbett, Gordon Galliford, Richie Parnell and Trevor Parry.
Placing third in the CIU National final, by a tie break against the same Maesglas A team.
Winning the Birmingham Mega Quiz, as part of a team including Gordon Galliford, Richie Parnell and Trevor Parry
Almost getting another 100% in the Aberavon Rugby Club quiz, when we were disallowed Sony for Sony Ericsson.
The winner, however is : -
Radford Road CIU of Coventry for winning the CIU Nationals. Gareth Kingston, Craig Element, Nic Paul and Dave Masters
performed brilliantly to take the title from a host of teams representing much of the cream of quizzing. Wonderful achievement.
As for the lowlights – well, no, lets leave them as that . So ladies and gentlemen, that concludes the voting of the LAM jury. Congratulations to all the winners.
Sleb Eggheads - Monday - Thursday
Ok – its been a slack week, so lets have a look at last week’s Sleb Eggheads and see what went on.
Monday - Eggheads v. Eggmasters
Eggmasters ? Did they honestly believe that they were going to master the Eggheads ? Maybe not, since their name came from the fact that each of them had won an edition of Sleb Mastermind. They were –
Shaun Williamson
Kaye Adams
Spooney
Jan Ravens
Paul Ross.
Paul Ross knew what he was doing when he picked on Chris for film and TV, and beat him 2 to 1. Shaun lost out to Daphne on History on sudden death. Judith took out Spoony on sport– it doesn’t matter whether they are guesses or not, Judith, they all count. Kaye Adams took on the big one, Kevin, on food and drink, and took the great man down, by 3 to 2.
So the Eggmasters had actually taken out two of the big 3, and were looking to be maybe just in with a shout in the final round. More than a shout as it turned out ! They won by 3 to 1. Good answers, perhaps a kind split of questions in the final round, and being very clever about which Egghead they chose for which round brought them a nice prize for their charity, Changing Faces. Well done !
Tuesday - Eggheads v. Blue Peter Presenters
Blue Peter was represented by
Peter Purves
Simon Groom
Janet Ellis
Diane Louise Jordan
Liz Barker
Liz Barker is a little too recent to have featured on the Clark radar, but Peter Purves was a member of the classic Purves – Noakes – Singleton lineup, whereas Simon groom , aka Britain’s wettest man, was where the rot set in for me. Janet Ellis is herself a perennial quiz question – which Blue Peter presenter’s daughter ( Sophie Ellis Bextor ) had a hit with etc. etc.
Simon lost out to Barry on Music. Peter took on CJ at sport, and won by 3 –1. Geography came next , a good subject usually for any of the Eggheads, so Diane was quickly taken out by Daphne. Liz almost inevitably lost to Kevin on Film and TV. So it was Peter and Janet against Chris, Daphne, Kevin and Barry. Alas, neither Peter nor Janet knew that ‘cuisse’ is French for thigh, and so they said that a piece of armour called this would go on the shoulder. So the second question went begging. A classic piece of CJ mugging in the background framed that Eggheads discussion which eventually identified Whistler’s Mother as the painting at the heart of the Mr. Bean film. Janet and Peter guessed correctly that Queen Victoria’s first name was Alexandrina. Still, all the Eggheads needed to do was identify that Mary Warnock was a philosopher, which they duly did. Game over.
Wednesday – Eggheads v.The Fab Five
The Fab Five were all lady broadcasters and journalists. Its interesting how close Fab Five sounds to Famous Five – and surely Angela Rippon doesn’t want to be reminded of that TVAM fiasco ? Oh well, the Fab Five were : -
Jennie Bond
Jan Leeming
Sue McGregor
Angela Rippon
Rosie Boycott
Angela Rippon highkicked off, choosing CJ to take on in the category of Music. It went to sudden death, and Angela, who I have to say is looking better now than she did when she danced with Morecambe and Wise all those decades ago, won on the 2nd set. Politics should have suited the challengers, and so Sue took on Daphne. Both got the third question wrong, so once again we had sudden death. Daphne picked Sidney Holland as the PM of Australia, while he was PM in New Zealand. So the Fab Five were playing well. Rose Boycott picked Barry for Science. Rosie really didn’t fancy her chances, yet she took out Barry 3 – 2. Mind you, they needed to play this well, since both Chris and Pat were still waiting for them. Jennie took on Pat on Arts and Books. Good luck !Not enough, though, since Pat took his place, and Jennie alone failed to go through to the last round for the fab Five. Pat and Chris are a formidable team, and they took the round by 3 – 1.
Thursday – Eggheads v. the Ones
After the challenge of the seasoned journalists , we face today a team from that haven of hardbitten journalism, The One Show. Oh, lets not be catty. It’s a perfectly pleasant and harmless show. Noticeably short of One Show main presenters, the team consisted of
Gyles Brandreth
Angelica Bell
Lucy Siegle
Mike Dilger
George McGavin
Lucy Siegle took her O Level in History up against Pat. 3 –2 saw her eliminated without recourse to sudden death. Science saw George McGavin try his luck against Daphne. She has probably lost more head to heats in this short celebrity series than she would ever expect to do in a full series of normal eggheads. She made no mistake here, winning by 3 to 2. Film and TV saw Angelica Bell taking on Barry because he has a lovely smile. Gyles called him a ‘middle aged geek ‘ – the words - pot, kettle and black come to mind, Gyles. Angelica managed to take the round to sudden death, here a pair of film questions saw Barry through. In the last head to head Mike took on Judith, who had actually won her previous go on sport. Mike proved to be no better than Judith in the multiple choices, since both only got one right to go to sudden death. He got another one, though, and Judith didn’t. and so he joined burbly old Gyles for the final. What a final it was too. Asked the Italian name for a corkscrew, the Eggheads faltered, and the Ones took a surprising win, having maybe had a little bit of the luck of the draw with the questions. Well done – their money goes to The Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust. Lovely !
Monday - Eggheads v. Eggmasters
Eggmasters ? Did they honestly believe that they were going to master the Eggheads ? Maybe not, since their name came from the fact that each of them had won an edition of Sleb Mastermind. They were –
Shaun Williamson
Kaye Adams
Spooney
Jan Ravens
Paul Ross.
Paul Ross knew what he was doing when he picked on Chris for film and TV, and beat him 2 to 1. Shaun lost out to Daphne on History on sudden death. Judith took out Spoony on sport– it doesn’t matter whether they are guesses or not, Judith, they all count. Kaye Adams took on the big one, Kevin, on food and drink, and took the great man down, by 3 to 2.
So the Eggmasters had actually taken out two of the big 3, and were looking to be maybe just in with a shout in the final round. More than a shout as it turned out ! They won by 3 to 1. Good answers, perhaps a kind split of questions in the final round, and being very clever about which Egghead they chose for which round brought them a nice prize for their charity, Changing Faces. Well done !
Tuesday - Eggheads v. Blue Peter Presenters
Blue Peter was represented by
Peter Purves
Simon Groom
Janet Ellis
Diane Louise Jordan
Liz Barker
Liz Barker is a little too recent to have featured on the Clark radar, but Peter Purves was a member of the classic Purves – Noakes – Singleton lineup, whereas Simon groom , aka Britain’s wettest man, was where the rot set in for me. Janet Ellis is herself a perennial quiz question – which Blue Peter presenter’s daughter ( Sophie Ellis Bextor ) had a hit with etc. etc.
Simon lost out to Barry on Music. Peter took on CJ at sport, and won by 3 –1. Geography came next , a good subject usually for any of the Eggheads, so Diane was quickly taken out by Daphne. Liz almost inevitably lost to Kevin on Film and TV. So it was Peter and Janet against Chris, Daphne, Kevin and Barry. Alas, neither Peter nor Janet knew that ‘cuisse’ is French for thigh, and so they said that a piece of armour called this would go on the shoulder. So the second question went begging. A classic piece of CJ mugging in the background framed that Eggheads discussion which eventually identified Whistler’s Mother as the painting at the heart of the Mr. Bean film. Janet and Peter guessed correctly that Queen Victoria’s first name was Alexandrina. Still, all the Eggheads needed to do was identify that Mary Warnock was a philosopher, which they duly did. Game over.
Wednesday – Eggheads v.The Fab Five
The Fab Five were all lady broadcasters and journalists. Its interesting how close Fab Five sounds to Famous Five – and surely Angela Rippon doesn’t want to be reminded of that TVAM fiasco ? Oh well, the Fab Five were : -
Jennie Bond
Jan Leeming
Sue McGregor
Angela Rippon
Rosie Boycott
Angela Rippon highkicked off, choosing CJ to take on in the category of Music. It went to sudden death, and Angela, who I have to say is looking better now than she did when she danced with Morecambe and Wise all those decades ago, won on the 2nd set. Politics should have suited the challengers, and so Sue took on Daphne. Both got the third question wrong, so once again we had sudden death. Daphne picked Sidney Holland as the PM of Australia, while he was PM in New Zealand. So the Fab Five were playing well. Rose Boycott picked Barry for Science. Rosie really didn’t fancy her chances, yet she took out Barry 3 – 2. Mind you, they needed to play this well, since both Chris and Pat were still waiting for them. Jennie took on Pat on Arts and Books. Good luck !Not enough, though, since Pat took his place, and Jennie alone failed to go through to the last round for the fab Five. Pat and Chris are a formidable team, and they took the round by 3 – 1.
Thursday – Eggheads v. the Ones
After the challenge of the seasoned journalists , we face today a team from that haven of hardbitten journalism, The One Show. Oh, lets not be catty. It’s a perfectly pleasant and harmless show. Noticeably short of One Show main presenters, the team consisted of
Gyles Brandreth
Angelica Bell
Lucy Siegle
Mike Dilger
George McGavin
Lucy Siegle took her O Level in History up against Pat. 3 –2 saw her eliminated without recourse to sudden death. Science saw George McGavin try his luck against Daphne. She has probably lost more head to heats in this short celebrity series than she would ever expect to do in a full series of normal eggheads. She made no mistake here, winning by 3 to 2. Film and TV saw Angelica Bell taking on Barry because he has a lovely smile. Gyles called him a ‘middle aged geek ‘ – the words - pot, kettle and black come to mind, Gyles. Angelica managed to take the round to sudden death, here a pair of film questions saw Barry through. In the last head to head Mike took on Judith, who had actually won her previous go on sport. Mike proved to be no better than Judith in the multiple choices, since both only got one right to go to sudden death. He got another one, though, and Judith didn’t. and so he joined burbly old Gyles for the final. What a final it was too. Asked the Italian name for a corkscrew, the Eggheads faltered, and the Ones took a surprising win, having maybe had a little bit of the luck of the draw with the questions. Well done – their money goes to The Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust. Lovely !
Latest News - Only Connect Series 3
Great joy in the Clark household this morning when I received an email from David Bodycombe, informing me that the start of series 3 of Only Connect is imminent. The series begins on Jan 4th.
Lisa, Gary and I did put ourselves forward as a team for the series, but alas we just couldn't make the recording dates, and so there was no point our wasting their time going to an audition. Shame, still, hopefully there's always series 4. Here's the card with all the details for you : -
Lisa, Gary and I did put ourselves forward as a team for the series, but alas we just couldn't make the recording dates, and so there was no point our wasting their time going to an audition. Shame, still, hopefully there's always series 4. Here's the card with all the details for you : -
Tuesday, 15 December 2009
TV Watch - University Challenge
University Challenge – Round 2 – Heat 7/8 – Edinburgh University v. Regents Park College Oxford
Edinburgh last graced our screens back in August, when I was in Spain. In the first round they beat Central Lancashire by 175 to 155, in a close contest.Their opponents, Regents Park, won a good match against Emmanuel College Cambridge, who were good enough to get into the repechage round. Emmanuel, led by the excellent Alex Guttenplan, were good enough to win their repechage match, and then their second round match against UCL. So would their conquerors, Regents Park, be able to join them ?
You may recall in Regents Park’s first round match that I was particularly impressed with Mr. James Aber , who hails from the London Borough of Ealing, where I grew up. His form, and indeed that of the whole Regents Park team seemed rather less impressive for the first part of this contest, as Edinburgh seemed noticeably quicker on the buzzer. First blood went to Edinburgh. Regents Park responded with the next starter, but none of the bonuses, and a miscue for the next starter lost them 5 points of what they’d already got. Edinburgh pulled out a lead as the first half of the show progressed, and there was no reason to think at the halfway stage that this would not be a comfortable win for them.
Gradually Regents Park began to pull back the deficit. With a little over 5 minutes to go Regents Park had closed the gap to a starter and bonuses, and they got them as well. It really was all to play for . All of the Edinburgh team had thus far contributed answers. It was nice to see also Edinburgh represented by one of a dwindling number of mature students in this series in the shape of Alan Kimmet. However I must pay tribute to Andrew Matheson. His buzzing had just seemed that little bit sharper throughout the competition than any of the Regents Park team, and when it mattered in the last couple of minutes he came up with a couple of timely buzzes so that Edinburgh got their noses in front as they passed the finishing post. He wasn’t reticent about showing his joy at coming home in front either. Good on him, I say.
For the record, Edinburgh won by 170 points to 150. A good win against a team whose first round performance certainly showed that they were a team to be reckoned with. Hard lines Regents Park, but you put up a good fightback, and in the end it just could have gone either way.
Next week its regular LAM correspondent Rachel’s Manchester team, in the last of the second round matches. I’m really looking forward to it.
Jeremy Paxman Watch
Every now and then JP will have a real happy pills evening, when he seems to really enter into the lighthearted spirit of the contest, and enjoy himself. This was just such an occasion. There was little for dedicated Paxman twitchers to get excited about. A question was asked about a poem published in 1667, to which the answer “Paradise Lost “was given. “Obviously!” snorted our Jeremy, disgusted so it seemed that such a question even needed to be asked in the first place. Only one telling off for starting to confer over a starter as well. Is he going soft in his old age ? I think we should be told.
Interesting Fact I Didn’t Already Know Of The Week
Well, actually, this is a fact that I already did know of the week. Let me explain. Listening to yesterday’s BoB I recalled that I had answered the question,
“In which game is the Bermuda Bowl contested ? “ wrongly. It was an inexplicable error – I KNEW that it was Bridge, but for some reason. . . well, anyway, imagine my chagrin when pretty much the same question was asked again tonight !
Edinburgh last graced our screens back in August, when I was in Spain. In the first round they beat Central Lancashire by 175 to 155, in a close contest.Their opponents, Regents Park, won a good match against Emmanuel College Cambridge, who were good enough to get into the repechage round. Emmanuel, led by the excellent Alex Guttenplan, were good enough to win their repechage match, and then their second round match against UCL. So would their conquerors, Regents Park, be able to join them ?
You may recall in Regents Park’s first round match that I was particularly impressed with Mr. James Aber , who hails from the London Borough of Ealing, where I grew up. His form, and indeed that of the whole Regents Park team seemed rather less impressive for the first part of this contest, as Edinburgh seemed noticeably quicker on the buzzer. First blood went to Edinburgh. Regents Park responded with the next starter, but none of the bonuses, and a miscue for the next starter lost them 5 points of what they’d already got. Edinburgh pulled out a lead as the first half of the show progressed, and there was no reason to think at the halfway stage that this would not be a comfortable win for them.
Gradually Regents Park began to pull back the deficit. With a little over 5 minutes to go Regents Park had closed the gap to a starter and bonuses, and they got them as well. It really was all to play for . All of the Edinburgh team had thus far contributed answers. It was nice to see also Edinburgh represented by one of a dwindling number of mature students in this series in the shape of Alan Kimmet. However I must pay tribute to Andrew Matheson. His buzzing had just seemed that little bit sharper throughout the competition than any of the Regents Park team, and when it mattered in the last couple of minutes he came up with a couple of timely buzzes so that Edinburgh got their noses in front as they passed the finishing post. He wasn’t reticent about showing his joy at coming home in front either. Good on him, I say.
For the record, Edinburgh won by 170 points to 150. A good win against a team whose first round performance certainly showed that they were a team to be reckoned with. Hard lines Regents Park, but you put up a good fightback, and in the end it just could have gone either way.
Next week its regular LAM correspondent Rachel’s Manchester team, in the last of the second round matches. I’m really looking forward to it.
Jeremy Paxman Watch
Every now and then JP will have a real happy pills evening, when he seems to really enter into the lighthearted spirit of the contest, and enjoy himself. This was just such an occasion. There was little for dedicated Paxman twitchers to get excited about. A question was asked about a poem published in 1667, to which the answer “Paradise Lost “was given. “Obviously!” snorted our Jeremy, disgusted so it seemed that such a question even needed to be asked in the first place. Only one telling off for starting to confer over a starter as well. Is he going soft in his old age ? I think we should be told.
Interesting Fact I Didn’t Already Know Of The Week
Well, actually, this is a fact that I already did know of the week. Let me explain. Listening to yesterday’s BoB I recalled that I had answered the question,
“In which game is the Bermuda Bowl contested ? “ wrongly. It was an inexplicable error – I KNEW that it was Bridge, but for some reason. . . well, anyway, imagine my chagrin when pretty much the same question was asked again tonight !
Monday, 14 December 2009
Radio Listen - Brain of Britain - My first round
Following the kind words about my extended accounts of appearing on Are You An Egghead, I though tthat I'd do the same with BoB. So here it is : -
I had stayed the night before the show at my Mum’s in Tottenham. So I took the tube from Wood Green to Oxford Circus.
Wood Green Tube, characteristically hectic
Despite tube problems at Finsbury Park I was the second to arrive, and one by one all the rest of us trooped in. I say all of us, because they record two heats in one go. So, one by one eight of us appeared in the reception of Broadcasting House in London. A show like Brain of Britain somehow could only be recorded in Broadcasting House. Its such an iconic, and reassuringly art deco confection of a building that to look at it is almost to believe that , if you could find your way to the roof without setting off a major terrorist scare, you might still find Arthur Askey and Dickie ‘Stinker’ Murdoch camped out there. ( For anyone under . . . well, basically for anyone still alive, in an old radio variety show of the 1940’s , called Bandwagon, Arthur Askey and Dickie Murdoch supposedly lived in a tent on the roof of Broadcasting House ). Doubtless the ghosts of Tommy Handley, Jack de Manio, et al flit through its corridors at night.
To compare Broadcasting House to Television Centre, when I appeared in “Are You An Egghead” back in May, I found that the foyer of TVC was in many ways very similar to a departure hall in an airport terminal. Security was almost as obvious as well. Lots of people were moving around in a very busy and businesslike fashion, and the ladies at reception had the air that they were very much doing you a favous by acknowledging your presence. Whereas the foyer of Broadcasting House was a lot smaller and more intimate, and rather more reminiscent of a provincial 3 Star hotel, and the atmosphere a lot more friendly, and less impersonal.
Broadcasting House in the late afternoon October sunshine
I will make a confession here. The fact is that I had actually once been in Broadcasting House about a quarter of a century before. When I was a student I worked for a couple of temp agencies in Ealing Broadway, one of whom supplied casual staff for most of the BBC canteens in various establishments dotted around West and Central London. In my student years I washed up in the canteens of the TV Rehearsal Rooms in East Acton, Television Centre in White City, Lime Grove in Shepherd’s Bush, and Greater London Radio just off Baker Street. I also spent one day in late1983 washing up in the Broadcasting House canteen. Not that I could remember hardly anything from that day itself as I presented myself to the reception, and was asked to take a seat and wait.
The first surprise of the day was when Dave Roberts from Newport walked in about five minutes after I had. I’d played against Dave in both the Dynevor Arms Sunday Night quiz, and the Pill Harriers Rugby Club Monday night quiz on many occasions. Dave wasn’t a novice by any stretch of the imagination. I knew for a fact that he’d played in at least one broadcast quiz before, when his team reached the second round in the first ever series of BBC4’s wonderful and tough team quiz “Only Connect”. Now, the fact was that I had actually lost my letter with all of the details of the show in the scrum I’d had to fight my way through outside Oxford Circus tube station, so I couldn’t check whether I was in the same show, heat number 10, as Dave. I couldn’t help thinking it was likely, though, especially since Brain of Britain always used to be run in regional heats.
I certainly hoped that this was the case as I watched Dr. Ian Bayley arrive. Ian had come runner up in the 2008 series of Mastermind, but I think I can safely say that he was by far the most accomplished quizzer who took part in either of the night’s heats. Nationally ranked in the top 10 of quizzers in the UK, in the two Quiz Grand Prix I had taken part in, Ian had achieved scores that were simply outstanding. Its easy to say this now with the benefit of hindsight, but anyone of us in Ian’s heat was playing for second place.
One more quizzer I knew arrived shortly after Ian. Stuart Davies from Swansea was a quizzer I knew, liked and respected. Back in the early noughties, my friend Rob Merrill had invited me to play in the Independent Swansea Quiz League with a pub called the Dillwyn in Pontardawe. We had a good team, and for the three years I played we were always contending for the league title with Stuart’s team, from the Reverend James in Gorseinon. We won a couple of times, and they won a couple of times. Stuart was the team captain, and I had always reckoned him to be probably the strongest player in a very good team. This was more weight to the argument that the heats must be organised on a regional basis, which gave me more of an opportunity to avoid meeting – and losing to - Ian Bayley at this stage. However, as reassuring as that thought might be, the fact was that Stuart was very serious opposition, and Dave R. was not to be lightly dismissed. Who was the fourth going to be, though ?
By 6:20 pm one of the production team, who sadly didn’t introduce himself, arrived, and took us through into the radio theatre. No makeup, no fuss about wardrobe, just straight into the theatre. He gave us a few minutes of talk and instructions, and then it was into the chairs for a brief rehearsal.
The system they have for the rehearsal is a good one. The contestants who are recording the evening’s second show have the first rehearsal. Then the contestants in the evening’s first show have their turn, and this means that they can stay in their seats, and get straight on with the show proper as soon as the audience come in.It turned out that yes, my show was going to be the welsh regional heat, and this was show 10. Ian’s show was designated show 9. So our show was to be rehearsed first.
The other contestant for my show was Dr. Jason Bray from Blaenavon. He modestly described himself as a quiz newbie, and so stupidly I tended to mentally dismiss his challenge. Based on my knowledge and experience of the other three guys I arrogantly mentally made myself favourite, and installed Stuart as the main opposition, Dave R. as the dark horse, and Jason as the outsider. Certainly the rehearsal suggested this to be the case as both Stuart and I scored 5 in a row for a bonus, and I managed to snaffle up a couple of bonuses. If the show itself went as well, then I wouldn’t be complaining.
Of course, there was Ian’s show to take place first. Just before the audience came in we were informed that the 4 highest scoring runners up would be invited back for a place in the semi finals, and currently it was looking as if a score of at least 14 would be needed. I have to say that William, Maya and Chris, the charming and intelligent opposition to Ian in the first heat had little chance of reaching that target without getting a full set of five answers for one of their question sets. Ian was awesome, awesome on his own questions, and awesome on the buzzer for everyone else’s, reaching a ridiculous total of something like 33 ! If you’ve listened to that particular show you’ll have heard the way that he blew away the opposition, with a string of five pointers, and an eagle eye for the bonus. Having said that you won’t have heard the way that he was told off at one point for being just a little too eager on the buzzer, but nonetheless this looked to me like the performance of a champion in waiting.
So it was our turn.
In all my broadcast quiz experiences I can truly say that most of them passed by more quickly than you can possibly imagine. In fact the only one where I can remember really making a conscious effort to stop and smell the roses and enjoy it as it happened was the Grand Final of Mastermind. And I only managed that because at half time I had rationalised that I was highly unlikely to win being two points behind the leader at the time, and so I might as well enjoy myself..
So , my recollections of this show are a little bit patchy, I’m afraid. Jason answered several of his first set of questions. I only managed a couple of mine, and Dave and Stuart only one each of theirs. However, I did have the advantage of knowing from the rehearsal that I could be very quick on the buzzer, and so was only a point or two behind Jason.
I kept on pressing the life out of the buzzer every time one of my fellows was either wrong or ran out of time, and this slowly built me a small lead. I wish that I could have put up a better showing on my own questions, but it didn’t happen. I think that I had one string of 3, but that was it. However, until the final round, neither could anyone else. The fact was that it was the old, old story of wishing you’d had everyone else’s questions. At least this gave me enough buzzer opportunities, and truly it was this which brought me a lead going into the last round. Quick mental calculations told me that the only way either Dave or Stuart could beat me would be for either of them to have a five point and bonus, and answer everyone else’s first question. Jason was the only one really in the position to do it. When he failed his first question, and I buzzed in correctly, then I was nearly home and dry. Nearly. Again, a couple of questions, and then the third one did for me, but even if Stuart had a five question run I thought he was still too far behind. So what did he do ? He had a five question and bonus. Dave failed his first question, which none of us were able to answer, and that was it. A win, but only by a couple of points.
Looking back I wish that I could have had a five point set, and I’m not that delighted with my performance on my own questions. Still, my buzzing in won the show for me, and for that I take a little pride.
Who am I kidding ? I was delighted to have won.
DC with Russell Davies after the show – the host with the most
I absolutely loved playing on the show. It was different from Mastermind in many ways. Apart from the other differences between the shows, it was also different because I couldn’t help having a different mind-set towards it. It works like this : -
When I took part in Mastermind in 2007 I had never won anything on TV. Yes, I had won through the fastest finger on Who Wants to be a Millionaire, and taken home £1000, but the fact was that I had got as far as £16,000, and got the £32,000 question wrong. It was my biggest ever solo prize in a quiz, and yet it felt like a defeat, which to all intents and purposes it was. I had even been in Mastermind in 2006, and lost to the excellent Kath Drury in the first round. So as much as I knew that I was certainly a good quizzer, the fact was that I had no broadcast pedigree at all to speak of. If I had lost in the first round again, well, so what ? Who was expecting any more of me than me ?
Now, though, it was different. Now I was a Mastermind winner, and although it shouldn’t make any difference, at the back of your mind you can’t help worrying about what people will say if you get knocked out in the first round. After I won Mastermind I read Magnus Magnusson’s “I’ve Started So I’ll Finish” which is the official history of the first 25 years of Mastermind, and what worried me is that so many of the winners also went on to get to the final of Brain of Britain. To be Mastermind Winner , but knocked out in Round One of Brain of Britain was not a particularly appealing prospect. All the worst things you wouldn’t like to think about yourself – eg – that you only did so well in Mastermind by a pure fluke, and your name didn’t belong up there with the other champions would seem to be confirmed. Yet to be Mastermind Winner and Brain of Britain semi finalist sounded so much better.
BoB is one of the most convivial shows that I have been on. Top of the tree is “Millionaire”, where we were treated royally all day, and then given pretty much a party in the bar afterwards, with Chris Tarrant standing the drinks for all for the first round. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – he’s a class act. Next would be “Come and Have A Go “, where at least we were given two nights in a good hotel, and very well treated until we lost, when we were given the bum’s rush. Mastermind do make an effort but it can be a little strained. Even if you’re a stand in, they really don’t want you hanging around in the audience for more than one show of Mastermind on any given day, and unless your show is the last one of the day, when you get back to the green room after your own show you are a little bit in the way .
Its not like that with BoB. You all stay in the radio theatre until both shows are in the can, then its contestants, the team who make the show, and the guests all back to the green room for a wee drinkie. As it was I couldn’t stay long, but long enough to get my picture taken with masterful Russell Davies. As for the semi , well, I couldn’t wait.
The Details
Jason Bray - 11
David Clark - 16
Stuart Davies - 12
Dave Roberts - 7
I had stayed the night before the show at my Mum’s in Tottenham. So I took the tube from Wood Green to Oxford Circus.
Wood Green Tube, characteristically hectic
Despite tube problems at Finsbury Park I was the second to arrive, and one by one all the rest of us trooped in. I say all of us, because they record two heats in one go. So, one by one eight of us appeared in the reception of Broadcasting House in London. A show like Brain of Britain somehow could only be recorded in Broadcasting House. Its such an iconic, and reassuringly art deco confection of a building that to look at it is almost to believe that , if you could find your way to the roof without setting off a major terrorist scare, you might still find Arthur Askey and Dickie ‘Stinker’ Murdoch camped out there. ( For anyone under . . . well, basically for anyone still alive, in an old radio variety show of the 1940’s , called Bandwagon, Arthur Askey and Dickie Murdoch supposedly lived in a tent on the roof of Broadcasting House ). Doubtless the ghosts of Tommy Handley, Jack de Manio, et al flit through its corridors at night.
To compare Broadcasting House to Television Centre, when I appeared in “Are You An Egghead” back in May, I found that the foyer of TVC was in many ways very similar to a departure hall in an airport terminal. Security was almost as obvious as well. Lots of people were moving around in a very busy and businesslike fashion, and the ladies at reception had the air that they were very much doing you a favous by acknowledging your presence. Whereas the foyer of Broadcasting House was a lot smaller and more intimate, and rather more reminiscent of a provincial 3 Star hotel, and the atmosphere a lot more friendly, and less impersonal.
Broadcasting House in the late afternoon October sunshine
I will make a confession here. The fact is that I had actually once been in Broadcasting House about a quarter of a century before. When I was a student I worked for a couple of temp agencies in Ealing Broadway, one of whom supplied casual staff for most of the BBC canteens in various establishments dotted around West and Central London. In my student years I washed up in the canteens of the TV Rehearsal Rooms in East Acton, Television Centre in White City, Lime Grove in Shepherd’s Bush, and Greater London Radio just off Baker Street. I also spent one day in late1983 washing up in the Broadcasting House canteen. Not that I could remember hardly anything from that day itself as I presented myself to the reception, and was asked to take a seat and wait.
The first surprise of the day was when Dave Roberts from Newport walked in about five minutes after I had. I’d played against Dave in both the Dynevor Arms Sunday Night quiz, and the Pill Harriers Rugby Club Monday night quiz on many occasions. Dave wasn’t a novice by any stretch of the imagination. I knew for a fact that he’d played in at least one broadcast quiz before, when his team reached the second round in the first ever series of BBC4’s wonderful and tough team quiz “Only Connect”. Now, the fact was that I had actually lost my letter with all of the details of the show in the scrum I’d had to fight my way through outside Oxford Circus tube station, so I couldn’t check whether I was in the same show, heat number 10, as Dave. I couldn’t help thinking it was likely, though, especially since Brain of Britain always used to be run in regional heats.
I certainly hoped that this was the case as I watched Dr. Ian Bayley arrive. Ian had come runner up in the 2008 series of Mastermind, but I think I can safely say that he was by far the most accomplished quizzer who took part in either of the night’s heats. Nationally ranked in the top 10 of quizzers in the UK, in the two Quiz Grand Prix I had taken part in, Ian had achieved scores that were simply outstanding. Its easy to say this now with the benefit of hindsight, but anyone of us in Ian’s heat was playing for second place.
One more quizzer I knew arrived shortly after Ian. Stuart Davies from Swansea was a quizzer I knew, liked and respected. Back in the early noughties, my friend Rob Merrill had invited me to play in the Independent Swansea Quiz League with a pub called the Dillwyn in Pontardawe. We had a good team, and for the three years I played we were always contending for the league title with Stuart’s team, from the Reverend James in Gorseinon. We won a couple of times, and they won a couple of times. Stuart was the team captain, and I had always reckoned him to be probably the strongest player in a very good team. This was more weight to the argument that the heats must be organised on a regional basis, which gave me more of an opportunity to avoid meeting – and losing to - Ian Bayley at this stage. However, as reassuring as that thought might be, the fact was that Stuart was very serious opposition, and Dave R. was not to be lightly dismissed. Who was the fourth going to be, though ?
By 6:20 pm one of the production team, who sadly didn’t introduce himself, arrived, and took us through into the radio theatre. No makeup, no fuss about wardrobe, just straight into the theatre. He gave us a few minutes of talk and instructions, and then it was into the chairs for a brief rehearsal.
The system they have for the rehearsal is a good one. The contestants who are recording the evening’s second show have the first rehearsal. Then the contestants in the evening’s first show have their turn, and this means that they can stay in their seats, and get straight on with the show proper as soon as the audience come in.It turned out that yes, my show was going to be the welsh regional heat, and this was show 10. Ian’s show was designated show 9. So our show was to be rehearsed first.
The other contestant for my show was Dr. Jason Bray from Blaenavon. He modestly described himself as a quiz newbie, and so stupidly I tended to mentally dismiss his challenge. Based on my knowledge and experience of the other three guys I arrogantly mentally made myself favourite, and installed Stuart as the main opposition, Dave R. as the dark horse, and Jason as the outsider. Certainly the rehearsal suggested this to be the case as both Stuart and I scored 5 in a row for a bonus, and I managed to snaffle up a couple of bonuses. If the show itself went as well, then I wouldn’t be complaining.
Of course, there was Ian’s show to take place first. Just before the audience came in we were informed that the 4 highest scoring runners up would be invited back for a place in the semi finals, and currently it was looking as if a score of at least 14 would be needed. I have to say that William, Maya and Chris, the charming and intelligent opposition to Ian in the first heat had little chance of reaching that target without getting a full set of five answers for one of their question sets. Ian was awesome, awesome on his own questions, and awesome on the buzzer for everyone else’s, reaching a ridiculous total of something like 33 ! If you’ve listened to that particular show you’ll have heard the way that he blew away the opposition, with a string of five pointers, and an eagle eye for the bonus. Having said that you won’t have heard the way that he was told off at one point for being just a little too eager on the buzzer, but nonetheless this looked to me like the performance of a champion in waiting.
So it was our turn.
In all my broadcast quiz experiences I can truly say that most of them passed by more quickly than you can possibly imagine. In fact the only one where I can remember really making a conscious effort to stop and smell the roses and enjoy it as it happened was the Grand Final of Mastermind. And I only managed that because at half time I had rationalised that I was highly unlikely to win being two points behind the leader at the time, and so I might as well enjoy myself..
So , my recollections of this show are a little bit patchy, I’m afraid. Jason answered several of his first set of questions. I only managed a couple of mine, and Dave and Stuart only one each of theirs. However, I did have the advantage of knowing from the rehearsal that I could be very quick on the buzzer, and so was only a point or two behind Jason.
I kept on pressing the life out of the buzzer every time one of my fellows was either wrong or ran out of time, and this slowly built me a small lead. I wish that I could have put up a better showing on my own questions, but it didn’t happen. I think that I had one string of 3, but that was it. However, until the final round, neither could anyone else. The fact was that it was the old, old story of wishing you’d had everyone else’s questions. At least this gave me enough buzzer opportunities, and truly it was this which brought me a lead going into the last round. Quick mental calculations told me that the only way either Dave or Stuart could beat me would be for either of them to have a five point and bonus, and answer everyone else’s first question. Jason was the only one really in the position to do it. When he failed his first question, and I buzzed in correctly, then I was nearly home and dry. Nearly. Again, a couple of questions, and then the third one did for me, but even if Stuart had a five question run I thought he was still too far behind. So what did he do ? He had a five question and bonus. Dave failed his first question, which none of us were able to answer, and that was it. A win, but only by a couple of points.
Looking back I wish that I could have had a five point set, and I’m not that delighted with my performance on my own questions. Still, my buzzing in won the show for me, and for that I take a little pride.
Who am I kidding ? I was delighted to have won.
DC with Russell Davies after the show – the host with the most
I absolutely loved playing on the show. It was different from Mastermind in many ways. Apart from the other differences between the shows, it was also different because I couldn’t help having a different mind-set towards it. It works like this : -
When I took part in Mastermind in 2007 I had never won anything on TV. Yes, I had won through the fastest finger on Who Wants to be a Millionaire, and taken home £1000, but the fact was that I had got as far as £16,000, and got the £32,000 question wrong. It was my biggest ever solo prize in a quiz, and yet it felt like a defeat, which to all intents and purposes it was. I had even been in Mastermind in 2006, and lost to the excellent Kath Drury in the first round. So as much as I knew that I was certainly a good quizzer, the fact was that I had no broadcast pedigree at all to speak of. If I had lost in the first round again, well, so what ? Who was expecting any more of me than me ?
Now, though, it was different. Now I was a Mastermind winner, and although it shouldn’t make any difference, at the back of your mind you can’t help worrying about what people will say if you get knocked out in the first round. After I won Mastermind I read Magnus Magnusson’s “I’ve Started So I’ll Finish” which is the official history of the first 25 years of Mastermind, and what worried me is that so many of the winners also went on to get to the final of Brain of Britain. To be Mastermind Winner , but knocked out in Round One of Brain of Britain was not a particularly appealing prospect. All the worst things you wouldn’t like to think about yourself – eg – that you only did so well in Mastermind by a pure fluke, and your name didn’t belong up there with the other champions would seem to be confirmed. Yet to be Mastermind Winner and Brain of Britain semi finalist sounded so much better.
BoB is one of the most convivial shows that I have been on. Top of the tree is “Millionaire”, where we were treated royally all day, and then given pretty much a party in the bar afterwards, with Chris Tarrant standing the drinks for all for the first round. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – he’s a class act. Next would be “Come and Have A Go “, where at least we were given two nights in a good hotel, and very well treated until we lost, when we were given the bum’s rush. Mastermind do make an effort but it can be a little strained. Even if you’re a stand in, they really don’t want you hanging around in the audience for more than one show of Mastermind on any given day, and unless your show is the last one of the day, when you get back to the green room after your own show you are a little bit in the way .
Its not like that with BoB. You all stay in the radio theatre until both shows are in the can, then its contestants, the team who make the show, and the guests all back to the green room for a wee drinkie. As it was I couldn’t stay long, but long enough to get my picture taken with masterful Russell Davies. As for the semi , well, I couldn’t wait.
The Details
Jason Bray - 11
David Clark - 16
Stuart Davies - 12
Dave Roberts - 7
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