Mastermind - Round One - Heat One

If you’re like me, then one of the annual TV events you look forward to is the return of each of the great quizzes each year, and Mastermind is not exception to this. If you’re not, then I’m happy to have your company, although I can’t help suggesting that you’re reading the wrong blog by mistake.

The honour of being the first of this year’s contenders fell to Dave Barker. He had the sort of specialist round that would have caused fulminations among certain sections of the media a few years back. Dave offered us Marvel Comics 1961 – 1980 – that’s only 19 years on what I think was the golden age of Marvel Comics. Well, I would think that – I started reading “The Mighty World of Marvel” when it started in the mid 70s, and that was reprinting stories from the 60s. I thought that I’ve seen more testing rounds than this one, based on my admittedly non-expert knowledge of the subject – I answered 7 of these. Dave, though, can only answer the questions that he is actually asked, and he managed all bar one of these, starting off with a very good 13.

I also scored 7 on Dan Uzstan’s round on Shakespeare’s Comedies – and I hasten to add that I didn’t trouble the scorers again until we got to the GK rounds. Personally, and this is just my opinion, and by all means feel free to disagree, I found this to be a harder round than the previous. With a significant number of the Marvel questions I thought that major details were being asked for, while with this round a lot of minor details were needed. Dan scored a distinctly useful 12, and had achieved the absolutely crucial thing of not losing it on the SS round.

John Martyn, who was offered us by Robert Jacobs, was not a musician whose work I am overly familiar with. So I can’t comment on the relative ease or difficulty of the questions that Robert was asked. What I can say is that in the last two or three years we’ve seen how specialist scores, by and large, have come down as the setters have moved to longer questions. This means that in a two minute round double figures is a good score, and Robert managed this with 11 and 3 passes, only 2 off the lead and certainly in with a shout.

Beryl Freedman offered us Pu Yi. Pu Yi – who he? Have you not seen The Last Emperor? For that’s who he was. It’s always a pleasure to see 4 well prepared contenders who have obviously put the work into their specialist subject. In my opinion that’s the only way to prepare for MM – if you don’t treat the show with respect and do the work for it, then chances are it’s going to come right back and bite you on the backside. Beryl achieved a very useful 11, which meant that she too was just one point behind the leader as we turned around at half time.

Robert Jacobs deserves a little sympathy, since I reckon that there’s going to be quite a few shows in the next few months where a score of 11 on specialist would not see you last at half time. Still, that’s just the way the cookie crumbles, and he returned to the chair. It wasn’t in all honesty a bravura performance. But it wasn’t bad, and achieved double figures, which at least was enough to put the other contenders standing by the door of the corridor of uncertainty, if not actually inside it. Beryl’s performance, though, opened the door and gave the last two contenders a hefty shove into the corridor. Again, it wasn’t a perfect GK round, but it was a very good one. Even in a 2 and a half minute GK round a score of 14 is never to be sniffed at, and Beryl’s combined total of 25 was enough of a target to at last make the job difficult for the remaining two contenders.

Too difficult for Dan Uzstan, as it turned out. He didn’t produce a bad round at all – none of last night’s contenders did that, which is a little bit of a rarity in itself. However before the minute mark you had the feeling that he was behind the clock, and this was a feeling which grew stronger as the finish line approached. On the evidence of the show, he was beaten by somebody with a stronger GK than his, and there’s no shame in that at all.

So the last question was whether Dave Barker’s GK would be good enough for him to hold on to  at least one point of the 2 point lead he had established in the SS round. To cut a long story short, he could, but just the one point, which was fair since I didn’t think his round was quite as good as Beryl’s. A small point here – Dave showed admirable presence of mind to be the only one of last night’s contenders not to pass at all. In the end it didn’t come down to that, but it could have done, and so full marks for tactics there. Dave won with 26. Well played, and hard lines to Beryl. John mentioned the possibility of her returning in a repechage slot. It’s certainly possible, since the last repechage slot went to a 25 last year – my gut feeling is that she may be a point or two short, or may find her 3 passes counting against her – but time will tell.

The Details

Dave Barker	Marvel Comics 1961-1980	13	0	13	0	26	0
Dan Uzstan	Shakespeare’s Comedies	12	1	10	1	22	1
Robert Jacobs	John Martyn	11	3	10	4	21	7
Beryl Freedman	Pu Yi	11	1	14	2	25	3

Post script

In case you haven’t seen this elsewhere, next week’s show has been pulled from the running order for the time being since one of the contenders was offering us Sir Edward Heath as a specialist subject. This is rather understandable given the item in the news relating to the late Sir Edward. Whether this show will eventually be transmitted is a matter of conjecture, I am sure, and I’d guess that it will depend on the way events turn out. 

Only Connect - Series 11 - Match 3

Spaghetti Westerners v. Mixologists

How delighted was I to see Andrew Fraser, as skipper, and Paul ‘Just Quiz’ Philpot, making up the Spaghetti Westerners, together with Neil Macaskill. “These boys’ll be good.” I told Mary. I said the same, mind you, when I saw the Mixologists. Chris Beer and Ewan MacAulay both proved themselves to be good quizzers in the 2014 series of UC. Sam Swift I didn’t recognize, but that means absolutely nothing. My reading of it, prior to the match, was that the Spags might well have an advantage on rounds one and two, but they claimed not to look forward to the vowels, and so if the Gists were still in contention by this stage, then look out.

Round One – What’s The Connection?

Eye of Horus kicked off the Spags’ bid for the win. Coca-cola 2009 didn’t suggest a lot to me. The Spags were looking down the sponsorship route. St. James’ Park 2012 saw them barking in the right street, with the fact that they were all renamed, but when Victoria asked them which particular tree they barked up the wrong one with sponsorship. The Gists happily took the bonus, with the fact that they were all renamed, but then in those years they reverted to the original name. Harsh luck for the boys, but a correct adjudication, I think. Sam compounded his team’s excellent start by opting for Hornèd Viper. They received High- to start – which offered, to my mind, no chance whatsoever of a five pointer. Predictably this was followed by Low-. Science – saw me throw the possibility of the word Fi following each when shortened, and the last clue – Wireless- seemed to confirm it. The Gists just didn’t see it, and the Spags tried Tech – but no cigar. For their own next clue they took Twisted Flax. This showed us first and foremost a self portait of JMW Turner. Artists’ self portraits? I mused. Next we saw a portrait of Samuel Johnson. Prizes in the world of the Arts, I exclaimed. An orange confirmed it. The Spags misidentified Turner, which meant they also needed Hg – the symbol for Mercury. It looked like Paul who had it then. We moved back to the Gists for Two Reeds. This was the Music set – and I didn’t know the first. The Second was the Maple Leaf Rag, didn’t know the third, and the last was Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round The Old Oak Tree. So trees then. That’s what the Gists went for. For their last set the Spags plumped for Water. This was a lovely set which began with Jennifer Green. I didn’t quite have it until we also got David Geller. To be fair to the Spags they had worked this one out on the first, but understandably took the second to be certain. What you had was the actor’s christian name and the character’s surname from the principals in Friends. Lion gave the Gists Daddy Warbucks – obviously from Little Orphan Annie. Famous fictional bald characters? Could be anything. Ellen Ripley was the Sigourney Weaver character from Alien. Wasn’t she shaved bald in one of the films? Not sure. Sherlock Holmes gave it to me. In a way, both he and Ripley were killed off, then brought back in sequels – alright, it was a cloned Ripley, but the principle held true. Bobby Ewing confirmed it, and the Gists were right not to guess early, and take all 4 clues. This meant that at the end of the round the Spags had carved out a 4 – 3 lead.

Round Two – What Comes Fourth?

Eye of Horus began with Extra – then Roadchef. The connection looked like groups with most motorway service stations, so I guessed Welcome Break at this point. They were the next answer. Given this the Spags correctly identified Moto. The Gists took Twisted Flax. This gave me one of those ‘at home, but never in the studio five pointers’. Commune, as part of a sequence suggested French regional divisions, and I went for Département. The Gists had the connection, but not the end of the sequence at first, so took Canton, then Arrondissement before giving the right answer. Two Reeds gave a funny little set, with King George VI and Prince George of Cambridge. Great great grandson and great great grandfather. So really the question was were we going up or down. Down probably, which was confirmed by Lord Randolph Churchill and Nicholas Soames – great grandfather and grandfather. So the last would be any prominent father and son. This was the point that the Spags also offered Princes Philip and Charles. Lion gave the Gists 4: Free for All. Nope. 3. A,B & C didn’t help however The Chimes of Big Ben very much did. That’s the second episode of The Prisoner – the first is Arrival. The Gists just didn’t know the connection while the Spags did, but not the title of the first episode. Andrew proved himself the equal of Sam by also asking for Hornèd Viper – nice one. Kentish Resort could have been anything. Heraldic gold, though is Or. Now, my answer of the night was to immediately spot that we had Deal – Or – so that the last one would be Kentish resort again. What a set! Magnificent. The Spags needed Japanese theatre  but they just didn’t see it. This provided a timely bonus for the Gists. For their own last set they had  pictures. Freida Pinto kicked us off. Next was a pint. So at this point I could see that Pi would be the answer. A pin came next, but the Gists were struggling, not knowing Ms Pinto. Right at the death Ewan had it. Good round, and the Gists led 9 – 8.

Round Three – The Connecting Walls

The Gists kicked off with the Water wall.They saw pork products, but didn’t resolve them at first. Then words for a small amount of, but again these were unresolved. Words with silent endings – Crumb – Autumn – Debris and Coup fell first. Lechon – Prosciutto – Bacon and Speck were the pork products. They could see the small amounts – Smidgen – Trace – Iota – Morsel – which left Anchor – bear off – pip and Gammon, and these they didn’t know as terms from backgammon. Me neither. 7 points.

With Lion, the Spags had a good old look at it before they began having a go – which is a valid tactic. When they started they got the first set in one go – Liverpool – Lime – Cannon and Queen are all stations with the word Street in their names. Next they separated Pear – Kumquat – Tomato and Greengage – all fruits. Neil could see we had numbers in another language – Spanish in this case. The last set were all words following blind – spot – alley –faith – date. Quince – Dos – Once and Mil are all Spanish – 5 – 2 – 11 – 1000. 10 points. All of which meant that they led 19 – 15 going into the vowels. Could be enough to see them home, I thought.

Round Four – Missing Vowels

The first set – movies with Blue in the title went 3 – 1 to the Gists. Lead cut to two. Famous Belgians fell 2 apiece. Things that make you sleepy – also 2 apiece. Time was running out as we went to brass instruments. Sam took the first two and it was all square. Then Neil nipped in with the next, just before the end of the round. The Gists finished with 24, and the Spags with 25.

Great game gents – looking forwards to your next appearances. 

University Challenge - Round One - Match Three

Kent v. Newcastle

We kick off this third contest with Kent. They were represented by Alexander Atmore, Emma Isworth, Thomas Cheetham and skipper Caitlin Gilroy. In the blue corner we had Newcastle, represented by Alexander Kirkman, Nicholas Smith, Kate Bennett and captain and LAM reader Tony Richardson. So far every team in the competition has scored triple figures, and both losing teams have the kind of scores which give them at least a chance of a repechage slot.

Now, the first starter asked for, amongst other things, the single digit number of the Historic counties of Ulster. So that was 9, and Alexander Atmore had it from the circles of Dante’s Inferno. Bonuses on web browsers brought me two bonuses, and Kent one. Alexander Atmore made it two in a row by recognizing a definition of the word Economics. Bonuses on ‘fun’ in the titles of books brought me one bonus, and Kent two. Urggh – fun. I’ve always thought that the term ‘fun day’ is an oxymoron – anything that calls itself a fun day invariably isn’t. Just like any INSET day which contains the word ‘workshop’ in the course title is almost always a complete waste of time – workshop meaning ‘we get the fees, but you do most of the work’. Teachers will know what I mean, I’m sure. I knew that the Chester Beatty Library is found in Dublin, as did Tony Richardson, kickstarting his team into action. Newcastle’s bonuses were on definitions of cloud types from the Cloudspotter’s Guide. A full set followed. For the picture starter we had a mocked up picture of one of those brown signs form the motorways that show places of interest, showing several places in the same county. Alton Towers being one, it was obvious that this was Staffs. Kate Bennett was first to buzz in, and this brought up three more of the same. These provided Newcastle with a second consecutive full set, and the lead. Caitlin Gilroy knew that the third month of the year alphabetically is December, and this gave them a set on puppetry. This yielded them nothing, and so we moved on to the next starter, with both teams level on 50 at the 10 minute mark.

Alexander Atmore knew that Murakami wrote Kafka on the Shore. Optical devices provided none of us with any points at all. Nicholas Smith recognized a definition of the Thalamus to earn Newcastle a set of bonuses on eponymous lines. We both had the plimsoll line. This brought us to the music starter. Following on from last week’s set used on OC, this week Crrrraaaaiiiigg DAAAvid made what I guess is his UC debut. Alexander Atmore recognised his dulcet tones first. Three other artists or bands who have also been consigned to Room 101 followed. My wife recognized The Bay City Rollers before I did. Kent had one, but should have had two, had they listened to JP’s instruction to give them the singer, rather than the band for the last one, offering U2 when they should have offered Bono. For the next starter both teams had a good think about which Shakespeare character could be ‘as easily led by the nose as asses are’ before Nicholas Smith offered us Othello. Communication and signaling systems gave them a full house, and put them ahead. A good old UC special starter then asked us for the words pump – hump – slump. After Kent messed it up, Alexander Kirkham took that one. Zadie Smith brought a couple of bonuses, but it should have been three. They too failed to listen to one of the questions, thinking that they needed the name of a novel by EM Forster which inspired Smith, while only the author was required. Still, they were in triple figures, and the gap was widening. Newcastle squandered 5 points of it with an early buzz on a question asking for chordata – me neither. Tony Richardson buzzed early to identify the term gentrification for the next starter, and this earned bonuses on semiconductors. One bonus was enough to mean that they had a lead of 125 – 75 at the 20 minute mark, and Kent were looking down the barrel of a gun.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I was born in London, and even though I’ve lived in Wales for the last 30 years (alright, 29) I’m still a Londoner at heart. I love the city – but even I have to agree that it takes a hell of an artist to make the Thames look like the Grand Canal in Venice. Canaletto was that artist as Emma Isworth pointed out for the second picture starter. More British buildings in paintings followed, and none were taken. Not knowing Westminster Abbey was a little surprising. If you add the regnal numbers of the victorious kings in the Battles of the Boyne, Bannockburn and Bosworth together then you get 11. Nobody had it. Tony Richardson knew that Kipling, Rushdie and Tendulkar were all born in Mumbai. An easy set on Greek mythology (all easy if you know them) provided a full set. Emma Isworth knew that an inglenook is found by a fireplace. Birds gave them one bonus, and triple figures. Nobody knew that ‘Moses , my servant is dead’ are the first words of the Book of Joshua – gettable that one, if you think about it. Emma Isworth knew that Medoc is a wine growing region on the banks of the Gironde. With a full set there was maybe just enough time for Kent to pull this one out of the bag. Children’s authors didn’t give them a full set, though, and only ne correct answer left them on 115. Nicholas Smith recognized a question about Buddhism, and earned a set on ballet. This promised little, but Odette and Odile gave us both Swan Lake for one. We none of us knew the 3 metals in the cyanote group. That was it – no time to finish the last starter.

So Newcastle won by 145 to 115. For once JP hit the nail on the head when he said that 115 is a perfectly reasonable score, but I dare say that there is little or no chance of them returning with that. Well played New3castle – a good win.

Personally – and by all means feel free to disagree – I don’t think that any of the teams we’ve seen so far this season has been as strong as any of the series winners since I started LAM, so my guess is that we haven’t seen the series winners yet.

Jeremy Paxman Watch

I don’t know if JP was on a promise on Monday night, be he seemed quite eager to get the show over with. ‘Come on Kent!’ he insisted immediately after Newcastle had offered an incorrect answer to the third month of the year alphabetically. Then he added ‘It took you an almost embarrassingly long time to work it out!” Well, all I can say is that they must have cut out the wait in the edit, because that was a very unfair comment otherwise.

He does like to show off when he knows an answer, does our Jez. When Newcastle offered Helen of Troy for one answer he replied, “Yes, or Helen of Sparta, to give her her maiden name.” Why? I may be wrong, but I did think that when Aphrodite promised Paris Helen, she was already married to Menelaus. What the hell, I could easily be wrong. So could Jez, mind you.

He did give Nicholas Smith a pause and an old fashioned look when he suggested that ‘Moses, my servant. Is dead. . . ‘ were the first words of the book of Exodus, but forbore from passing comment.

Interesting Fact That I Didn’t Already Know Of The Week

The curlew is the symbol of the Northumberland National Park and the Osprey is the symbol of the Cairngorms (I did already know that the Razorbill is the emblem of the Pembrokeshire Coast).

In the News

In the News

Who or what are the following and why have they been in the news?

Cadbury’s Smash

Dina Asher Smith

Jenny Ryan

Lord Sewel

Cecil

Bobbi Christina Brown

Land Rover BAR

Harry Clarke

Bob Brett

Walter Palmer

Clive Rice

Simon Reynolds

Saif Al-Islam

LaGuardia Airport

Jack Laugher and Chris Mears

Peter O’Sullevan

Mullah Omar

What Pet Should I Get?

David Bruck

In Other News

Apart from the yellow jersey, what else did Chris Froome win in this year’s Tour De France?

Which other countries are in Wales’ World Cup Qualifying group?

- And England’s?

Who won the Hungarian GP?

Who did Vladimir Putin say deserves a Nobel Prize?

Which rapper was briefly detained by police in Sweden on suspicion of drug possession?

Top Gear has been cleared by Ofcom or breaching rules over the use of which word?

Which former Cabinet Minister denied allegations of ‘groping’ a young man in his office?

What did investigators say was the cause of the Virgin Galactic crash?

What is the name of Amazon’s new music streaming service?

Which supermarket chain has banned sugary drinks like ribena?

Which University scrapped its new London base after no students signed up for courses?

Why is Disneyland Paris being investigated by European commissioners?

Unison have backed which Labour leadership candidate?

What was the score between Celtic v. FC Qarabag?

What was given to the British Museum last week?

Morrissey claimed he was groped in which airport last week?

Which artist received an apology from the Home Office for turning down a visa request?

A new vaccine with a 100% success rate in trials was announced for which disease?

On which island was wreckage, probably from MH370, washed up?

England bowler James Anderson was sidelined by what during the victorious 3^rd Test?

Which two clubs are contesting the first ever women’s FA Cup Final to be held at Wembley?

Which city is to host the 2022 Winter Olympics?

Answers to News Questions

In the News

Who or what are the following and why have they been in the news?

Mick Fanning

Natalie Fitzsimmons

Ashley Madison

Simon Brodkin

Pete Kennaugh

Bill Turnbull

Ray Flynn

Nigel Richards

Jules Bianchi

Xiao Yuan

Laura Kuenssberg

Ai Wei Wei

John Bercow

In Other News

The flag was raised over which embassy in Washington DC for the first time in 54 years?

Who claimed that Senator John McCain was not a war hero because he was captured in Vietnam?

Who won the Open in a play off?

Which team did GB defeat in the Davis Cup quarter final, and which team will they face in the semi final?

Who was dropped from the England Ashes team to make way for Jonny Bairstow for the 3^rd test?

Tyson Fury said that Wladimir Klitschko was as boring as what?

Which US Technology giant reported a $3 billion loss?

Name the author of Billy Bathgate and Ragtime who passed away this week

Where was the oldest fragment of the Koran text discovered ?

What was the Champions’ League score between Celtic and Stjarnan?

Who bought the Financial Times for £844 million?

Where did the Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series begin?

The California Supreme Court has given permission for a civil suit over sexual assault claims against whom?

Which country’s football team had a point deducted from its European campaign after a swastika was imprinted on the pitch before a game against Italy?

Name the Maltese football team who only lost to West Ham in the Europa League on penalties

Which jeep manufacturer recalled 1.4 million vehicles?

Obama paid a first visit to which country since becoming president?

Answers

Who or what are the following and why have they been in the news?

Australian surfer escaped from shark during competition by punching it.

Won UK Monopoly championships – beating her husband on the way

So called ‘Cheats website’ – dating website for married people. Hackers threaten to expose members online

Comedian who gatecrashed FIFA meeting and showered Sepp Blatter with fake banknotes.

Team Sky cyclist out of the Toru de France through illness

BBC Breakfast presenter accidentally used the C word on air

Pensioner received bionic eye for macular degeneration

World Scrabble champ who won the French language scrabble championships despite not speaking French

F1 Driver died months after crash, funeral

Chinese librarian stole 100 masterpieces from gallery replacing them with his own fakes

BBC’s first female political editor

Chinese dissident artist given back his passport

Speaker of the House of Commons criticized for excessive use of chauffeur driven vehicle for short journeys

In Other News

Cuba

Donald Trump

Zach Johnson bt Marc Leishman and Louis Oosthuizen

Defeated France – will face Australia

Gary Balance

His underpants

Microsoft

EL Doctorow

Birmingham

4 – 1 Celtic

Nikkei

Portsmouth

Bill Cosby

Croatia

Birkirkara

Fiat Chrysler

Kenya

New Chaser

I've just read in Weaver's Week that Jenny Ryan is going to be the new Chaser. That's great news. Jenny is possibly best known to the wider quizzing public as a member of the victorious Only Connect Series 3 champs The Gamblers.

I first met Jenny in 2006, when we were both stand-ins for the semi finals of Mastermind. I'm absolutely delighted for her, and wish her every success.

In the News

Here we are - just 30 to get us all back in the swing of things

In the News

Who or what are the following and why have they been in the news?

Mick Fanning

Natalie Fitzsimmons

Ashley Madison

Simon Brodkin

Pete Kennaugh

Bill Turnbull

Ray Flynn

Nigel Richards

Jules Bianchi

Xiao Yuan

Laura Kuenssberg

Ai Wei Wei

John Bercow

In Other News

The flag was raised over which embassy in Washington DC for the first time in 54 years?

Who claimed that Senator John McCain was not a war hero because he was captured in Vietnam?

Who won the Open in a play off?

Which team did GB defeat in the Davis Cup quarter final, and which team will they face in the semi final?

Who was dropped from the England Ashes team to make way for Jonny Bairstow for the 3^rd test?

Tyson Fury said that Wladimir Klitschko was as boring as what?

Which US Technology giant reported a $3 billion loss?

Name the author of Billy Bathgate and Ragtime who passed away this week

Where was the oldest fragment of the Koran text discovered ?

What was the Champions’ League score between Celtic and Stjarnan?

Who bought the Financial Times for £844 million?

Where did the Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series begin?

The California Supreme Court has given permission for a civil suit over sexual assault claims against whom?

Which country’s football team had a point deducted from its European campaign after a swastika was imprinted on the pitch before a game against Italy?

Name the Maltese football team who only lost to West Ham in the Europa League on penalties

Which jeep manufacturer recalled 1.4 million vehicles?

Obama paid a first visit to which country since becoming president?