Warning - This may contain Spoilers
Well, I have finally found the time to go and see "Slumdog Millionaire". What can I say that hasn't already been said about the film, especially since its 8 oscar haul last week? Probably nothing original, but for what its worth, here's my two penn'orth.
I thoroughly enjoyed it. Yes, its about a quiz show, but actually it isn't about the show as much as you might think. What you're most interested in is what the film shows you about the hero, Jamal's life, which put him in a position to be able to answer the questions on the show itself. After what I'd heard and read about the film I found it interesting that possibly the biggest villain in the film is the question master. If you haven't seen the film I can promise you that this guy is VERY different from Chris Tarrant ! The last film I can remember with a crooked question master in a game show was Arnold Shwarzenegger's "The Running Man". Of course, that was set in the future, and the show itself doesn't exist in real life, thank God. Out of interest the host in "The Running Man" , Killian, was played by Richard Dawson, the real life presenter of "Family Feud" , the US original of "Family Fortunes". Small world.
I'll be honest, when I heard that the film was centered on the Indian version of "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire ? " I really didn't want to go to see it. I would be lying if I didn't admit that I still feel a certain amount of shame at my own performance on Millionaire, and so the thought of the flashbacks that this might bring on made me think twice. However when my line manager at work explained to me a very rough outline of the first half of the film or so, then my interest was raised. I'm glad that I went. Yes, in the end the film is a fantasy, but its a fantasy with an attitude, and huge patches of dark as well as light.
Is it the best film ever made about a game show or a quiz show ? Well, it hasn't really had that much competition. After all, what have you got : -
The Running Man ( fictional murderous game show of the future )
Quiz Show - the story of the real life quiz show rigging scandal in the USA in the 1950s
Starter for Ten - based on David Nicholl's humourous novel about an appearence on University Challenge
Public Domain - I haven't seen this one myself, but my sources call it a black comedy where contestants win money for having the most pathetic life. The contestants don't even know they're playing - shades of "The Truman Show".
The success of the film moves me to ask whether we're going to be inundated by a glut of gameshow based movies. Just in case I have prepared some helpful titles: -
Fifteen to One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
All About Eve-ry Second Counts
A Beautiful Mastermind
and of course
The Man With the Golden Shot.
You heard it here first.
Saturday, 28 February 2009
Friday, 27 February 2009
Mastermind Heat 19 - Weekend Mini Quiz
Mastermind - First Round heat 19 of 24
Three newcomers this week, and a contender we last saw in 2006. For the second week running two female contenders featured in the same heat, and it was one of these, Paula Keaveney who had a go in 2006. I should probably come clean too that I know Mike Foden since we post on the same internet forum, which is not to say that he dropped any hints before the show about how he got on.
Perhaps the spotlight was on the women following the media fuss over Gail Trimble since Monday night's University Challenge Grand Final. They certainly appeared good value in their Specialist subjects. Anne Fallow kicked off with a round on John Wesley. These questions were no picnic, and 11 looked like a good score, although not enough to put her in pole position going into General Knowledge.
Paula Keaveney offered us this week's popular culture round on "Seinfeld". Before anyone suggests that this was a soft option, perhaps they might like to reflect on the fact that there were in fact something like 180 episodes of the series. 14 looked like a very good score, and even more so when you consider that back in 2006 she answered on the Rebus novels of Ian Rankin and scored 11.
Mike Foden was answering questions on Russian artist Kazemir Malevich. It is to my shame that I admit that I have never heard of him. This makes it difficult for me to judge how fair the questions were. Some of them seemed rather long-winded, but maybe that was just my imagination. Scoring 9, Mike had a bit of a mountain to climb in the General Knowledge round.
Last up was retired teacher Colin Clayton, who was answering on this week's 'good old History subject' - the Wars of the Roses. That's a broad subject, and in this reviewer's opinion he did well to score 11.
John Humphrys decided not to risk displaying his ignorance about Kazimir Malevich, and concentrated on Mike's work as a charge nurse. Mike's a good quizzer, and it showed in the GK round, which he took steadily and confidently, posting a very useful 12 to set the bar at 21, ven though he had to put up with John Humphrys telling him off for passing on the definition of a dormer window. Ann Fallow talked engagingly about John Wesley, and that is surely no easy task. She didn't quite manage to get into double figures on GK. She did answer some very good questions, but wasn't up on popular culture enough to recognise the guest list of the very last Parkinson TV show. Colin Clayton informed us that the term "The Wars of the Roses" was first used in a book by Sir Walter Scott, which is a new one on me, so I was glad for once that there's no tie break, which means we get the full amount of chat. Shame thought it is, Mr. Clayton seems to lose all of his concentration as he falls into a pass spiral in the middle of his round, and only manages to pull out of it in the last half a minute. John Humphrys seems to be something of a Seinfeld fan , and he compares the show favourably to Friends, about which he said "They're all horrible, aren't they ? " Paula Keavney doesn't have a long way to go, needing 8 points to win ouright, but she takes quite a long time to get there, confusing Road Runner with Wile E. Coyote and Ben Gunn with Long John Silver. She makes it with about half a minute to spare, and breaks into double figures as she finishes on 24.
Off the point, one of the General Knowledge questions tonight asked what was the name of the character Pete Beale's sister in Eastenders. The answer was Pauline Fowler, who was played by the late Wendy Richard, who sadly passed away earlier this week.
So, Paula Keaveney becomes the fifth woman to qualify for the semi finals this season. How far can she go ? Who knows ? However, the name Keaveney is not unknown in Mastermind circles. The 1986 champion was Jennifer Keaveney. Is this an omen ? Time alone will tell.
The Details
Answers to the Weekend Mini Quiz
Round One - The Arks
1) From which wood were - a) Noah's Ark and - b) The Ark of the Covenant made ?
a) Gopher Wood - b) Acacia
2) How old was Noah when he died ?
950 years old
3) In the film "Raiders of the Lost Ark" , in which Egyptian city was the Ark of the Covenant found ?
Tanis
4) Controversial writer Graham Hancock wrote a book called "The Sign and the Seal" which put forward his view that the Ark of the Covenant is being kept in a church in which country ?
Ethiopia - in the church o St. Mary of Sion in Axum
5) Which Apollo astronaut made high profile expeditions to Mount Ararat to search for the remains of the Ark ?
James Irwin
Round Two - General Knowledge
1) Two British world Middleweight boxing champions fought Sugar Ray Robinson during their careers. Randolph Turpin was one. Who was the other ?
Answer - Terry Downes - towards the end of Robinson's long career
2) Who once famously voiced Maggie in "The Simpsons" ?
Elizabeth Taylor
3) Which Chancellor of the Exchequer introduced VAT in the 1970s ?
Anthony Barber
4) Which disused London Underground station is maintained so that it can be used for filming etc. ?
Aldwych
5) Who or what is Restless D'Artaix ?
The horse that gave Tony McCoy his 3000th winner
Weekend Mini Quiz Five
Round One - Comics and Cartoons
1) What is widely reckoned to be the first ever comic cartoon strip in the UK ?
2) Which cartoon strip featured on the very first page of the very first ever Dandy ?
3) After the "Captain Marvel" comic strip was sued out of existence in the USA, he lived on in the UK in Britain in the 50s as 'Marvelman'. Instead of Shazam - what was Marvelman's word of power - and how was it derived ?
4) When The Perishers cartoon strip from the Daily Mirror was transferred to television, which very famous comic actor provided the voices ?
5) Who created the Flash Gordon cartoon strip, which led to the film serials, starring Buster Crabbe ?
Round Two - General Knowledge
1) If you went into a building in Wales which had the word "Dynion" upon it, what would you be entering ?
2) What does the 'C' in JCB stand for ?
3) Which is the only property on the Monopoly board which contains all the letters of the word Monopoly ?
4) Which was the new women's track event in Athletics that featured for the first time in the Beijing Olympics of 2008 ?
5) Leonard Nimoy's second autobiography was titled "I am Spock" - what was his first one called ?
Same as always - just for fun - answers will be posted next weekend - drop me a line if you can't wait till then.
Three newcomers this week, and a contender we last saw in 2006. For the second week running two female contenders featured in the same heat, and it was one of these, Paula Keaveney who had a go in 2006. I should probably come clean too that I know Mike Foden since we post on the same internet forum, which is not to say that he dropped any hints before the show about how he got on.
Perhaps the spotlight was on the women following the media fuss over Gail Trimble since Monday night's University Challenge Grand Final. They certainly appeared good value in their Specialist subjects. Anne Fallow kicked off with a round on John Wesley. These questions were no picnic, and 11 looked like a good score, although not enough to put her in pole position going into General Knowledge.
Paula Keaveney offered us this week's popular culture round on "Seinfeld". Before anyone suggests that this was a soft option, perhaps they might like to reflect on the fact that there were in fact something like 180 episodes of the series. 14 looked like a very good score, and even more so when you consider that back in 2006 she answered on the Rebus novels of Ian Rankin and scored 11.
Mike Foden was answering questions on Russian artist Kazemir Malevich. It is to my shame that I admit that I have never heard of him. This makes it difficult for me to judge how fair the questions were. Some of them seemed rather long-winded, but maybe that was just my imagination. Scoring 9, Mike had a bit of a mountain to climb in the General Knowledge round.
Last up was retired teacher Colin Clayton, who was answering on this week's 'good old History subject' - the Wars of the Roses. That's a broad subject, and in this reviewer's opinion he did well to score 11.
John Humphrys decided not to risk displaying his ignorance about Kazimir Malevich, and concentrated on Mike's work as a charge nurse. Mike's a good quizzer, and it showed in the GK round, which he took steadily and confidently, posting a very useful 12 to set the bar at 21, ven though he had to put up with John Humphrys telling him off for passing on the definition of a dormer window. Ann Fallow talked engagingly about John Wesley, and that is surely no easy task. She didn't quite manage to get into double figures on GK. She did answer some very good questions, but wasn't up on popular culture enough to recognise the guest list of the very last Parkinson TV show. Colin Clayton informed us that the term "The Wars of the Roses" was first used in a book by Sir Walter Scott, which is a new one on me, so I was glad for once that there's no tie break, which means we get the full amount of chat. Shame thought it is, Mr. Clayton seems to lose all of his concentration as he falls into a pass spiral in the middle of his round, and only manages to pull out of it in the last half a minute. John Humphrys seems to be something of a Seinfeld fan , and he compares the show favourably to Friends, about which he said "They're all horrible, aren't they ? " Paula Keavney doesn't have a long way to go, needing 8 points to win ouright, but she takes quite a long time to get there, confusing Road Runner with Wile E. Coyote and Ben Gunn with Long John Silver. She makes it with about half a minute to spare, and breaks into double figures as she finishes on 24.
Off the point, one of the General Knowledge questions tonight asked what was the name of the character Pete Beale's sister in Eastenders. The answer was Pauline Fowler, who was played by the late Wendy Richard, who sadly passed away earlier this week.
So, Paula Keaveney becomes the fifth woman to qualify for the semi finals this season. How far can she go ? Who knows ? However, the name Keaveney is not unknown in Mastermind circles. The 1986 champion was Jennifer Keaveney. Is this an omen ? Time alone will tell.
The Details
| Ann Fallow | John Wesley | 11 - 3 | 9 - 3 | 20 - 6 |
| Paula Keaveney | Seinfeld | 14 - 1 | 10 - 5 | 24 - 6 |
| Mike Foden | Kazimir Malevich | 9 - 4 | 12 - 1 | 21 - 5 |
| Colin Clayton | The Wars of the Roses | 11 - 2 | 8 - 4 | 19 - 6 |
Answers to the Weekend Mini Quiz
Round One - The Arks
1) From which wood were - a) Noah's Ark and - b) The Ark of the Covenant made ?
a) Gopher Wood - b) Acacia
2) How old was Noah when he died ?
950 years old
3) In the film "Raiders of the Lost Ark" , in which Egyptian city was the Ark of the Covenant found ?
Tanis
4) Controversial writer Graham Hancock wrote a book called "The Sign and the Seal" which put forward his view that the Ark of the Covenant is being kept in a church in which country ?
Ethiopia - in the church o St. Mary of Sion in Axum
5) Which Apollo astronaut made high profile expeditions to Mount Ararat to search for the remains of the Ark ?
James Irwin
Round Two - General Knowledge
1) Two British world Middleweight boxing champions fought Sugar Ray Robinson during their careers. Randolph Turpin was one. Who was the other ?
Answer - Terry Downes - towards the end of Robinson's long career
2) Who once famously voiced Maggie in "The Simpsons" ?
Elizabeth Taylor
3) Which Chancellor of the Exchequer introduced VAT in the 1970s ?
Anthony Barber
4) Which disused London Underground station is maintained so that it can be used for filming etc. ?
Aldwych
5) Who or what is Restless D'Artaix ?
The horse that gave Tony McCoy his 3000th winner
Weekend Mini Quiz Five
Round One - Comics and Cartoons
1) What is widely reckoned to be the first ever comic cartoon strip in the UK ?
2) Which cartoon strip featured on the very first page of the very first ever Dandy ?
3) After the "Captain Marvel" comic strip was sued out of existence in the USA, he lived on in the UK in Britain in the 50s as 'Marvelman'. Instead of Shazam - what was Marvelman's word of power - and how was it derived ?
4) When The Perishers cartoon strip from the Daily Mirror was transferred to television, which very famous comic actor provided the voices ?
5) Who created the Flash Gordon cartoon strip, which led to the film serials, starring Buster Crabbe ?
Round Two - General Knowledge
1) If you went into a building in Wales which had the word "Dynion" upon it, what would you be entering ?
2) What does the 'C' in JCB stand for ?
3) Which is the only property on the Monopoly board which contains all the letters of the word Monopoly ?
4) Which was the new women's track event in Athletics that featured for the first time in the Beijing Olympics of 2008 ?
5) Leonard Nimoy's second autobiography was titled "I am Spock" - what was his first one called ?
Same as always - just for fun - answers will be posted next weekend - drop me a line if you can't wait till then.
Wednesday, 25 February 2009
Nobody told me there'd be days like these
Strange Days indeed
What an unusual day or two its been ! My last entry was a review of Monday's Grand Final of University Challenge. What a nice surprise to find an email in my inbox from Lauren Schwartzman of the victorious Corpus Christi team. She read the review, and took the time and trouble to drop me a line thanking me for my comments. Niceness as well as brilliance - that's a hell of a combination in one person !
If you're reading this blog then I'll lay odds that you either watched the Grand Final, or that you've noticed a lot of the media interest in the final, and in particular in the captain of Corpus Christi, Gail Trimble. My admiration for Gail Trimble as a quizzer is a matter of public record. Just read the blogs about the quarter finals and the semi finals and you'll see. But that's all I feel that I have any right to comment on. As for all of the other nonsense there's been in the media over the last couple of days, I would ask people to consider that the television is very much a mirror that distorts. When you watch a person competing in a show like University Challenge, or Mastermind, or Battle of the Brains, or Millionaire, or whatever, you are seeing one small part of what makes that person what he or she is, a small part that the magic box magnifies. You may see someone on the television, and think that you know them. You don't. The only people qualified to make any judgements about a contestant on a TV show, like Miss Trimble, or like me, for that matter, are people who actually know them, have met them, and spent some time with them.
I would imagine that people reading this blog are fully aware of this anyway. Still, the media have sniffed out a story. Maybe like me you tuned on BBC Breakfast News yesterday to see Gail Trimble being interviewed. The keynote to the interview wasn't - Hasn't your team done well ? - - but rather - Haven't there been some nasty things said about you personally on people's blogs ? - So I was surprised, but not totally flabbergasted, when a very nice journalist from none other than The Times rang me up yesterday, to ask me some questions about how my life has changed since winning Mastermind, as part of an article about what happens to you after you win on television. To which the answer is - it hasn't, not really, or not in any way that really matters. The feature appeared in the Times this morning, and it was lovely to see myself quoted amongst such distinctive company . Then later in the evening, I received an email and a phonecall from a journalist who works for The Sunday Telegraph ! As no article can possibly appear until this Sunday, I'm going to play my cards close to my chest on this one for the time being.
----------------------------------------------
I actually watched the final in the bar of the Aberkenfig Social Club. I'd been asked to play for the club in Monday night's game, and we met up there before going on to the quiz itself. Oh dear.
The discontent started when we arrived at the opposition's pub at the same time as the opposition team did. The former chairman of the league recognised John. He has problems with his vision, so he didn't recognise me at all. However when I told him my name he remembered. Immediately the other team started to mutter amongst themselves, and we could hear comments about 'taking it all too seriously ' and 'win at all costs' being passed between them. I'm not saying that this wouldn't have happened if the fixture had just been a normal league match. However I am sure that what made it worse was the fact that this was the semi final of the cup competition.
Now, I didn't actually know that this was a cup game when I was asked to play. Probably to my discredit I am not sure that it would have made a lot of difference to me even if I had known. Still, when we were both teams seated, and the question master ready to start, the captain of the opposition decided to air his views. I didn't know this chap at the time, and I still don't, but his first words were,
"As vice-chairman of the league . . . " Oh dear. With a heavy heart I listened as he went on to say that he wanted it put on record that playing John and myself on this night went against the spirit of the league and was morally wrong, and he would be making it an issue in the committee's next meeting. Under the circumstances I didn't know whether to make a spirited defence of myself, or to withdraw gracefully from the team. In the event I did neither, which was probably the only really sensible course of action. I sat there, and didn't get involved.
We played the quiz. The outcome was a heavy win to us. I would be lying if I didn't say that I really enjoyed the quiz. That's not actually because of the animosity which John and I were shown from the other team, and its not because we won heavily. Its because it was a proper quiz competition. I've always enjoyed the quiz league format,and its been getting on for three years since I played in one. But the arguments started as soon as the quiz ended. There seems to have been some past history between John and the vice chairman, and this was all raked over again. John got quite hot under the collar, and I'm sorry to say, only one member of the opposition deigned to shake my hand.
The worst thing is I don't think anyone is going to come out of this as a winner. The Aberkenfig Social team are through to the final of the cup competition. However I can only guess that this is going to be the cause of some bad feeling between them and the other teams in the league, certainly between them and the team we defeated on Monday. The team we defeated came across as a group of sore losers, and they are out of the cup. John feels extremely annoyed, and being a man of dignity and integrity I can't see him playing for a League team again. Which is a shame, because it is an enjoyable quiz. As for me, well what I feel is this. I was surprised earlier in the year when two other good quiz friends of mine were both approached and asked to play for a team in the League. I was right there with them, and I wasn't asked. It has been said to me by someone quite close to the movers and shakers in the league that people don't want to have me playing in the league because of the Mastermind thing. After this I fear that I may never get a chance to play in the league again.
To some extent I can understand their point of view. As I have said before, Bridgend have managed to keep a quiz league going at a time when all the other local leagues seem to have been folding. Not only is the league going, it still has two divisions, which is rather wonderful in this day and age. I can accept that people wouldn't be happy if they thought that I was going to upset the balance of power within the league. I can see why the team we played on Monday night were as indignant as they were, although I don' t think that was any excuse for snubbing me afterwards as three of them did. I'm sure that many of us have had the experience of having to play against a team reinforced with 'ringers' in the past, and its not pleasant, especially since , in their eyes, it robbed them of any chance of making it through to the cup final.
Its such a shame though, because this was a good quiz, and if any team wanted me to play for them next season, I'd agree like a shot.
---------------------------------------------------
On a more positive note, my appeal for quiz show competitors to stand up and be recognised seems to be bearing fruit. I confidently expect to be able to post a new hero of the week within a couple of days, when two correspondents get back to me with a few details they have agreed to provide me with. Watch this space.
What an unusual day or two its been ! My last entry was a review of Monday's Grand Final of University Challenge. What a nice surprise to find an email in my inbox from Lauren Schwartzman of the victorious Corpus Christi team. She read the review, and took the time and trouble to drop me a line thanking me for my comments. Niceness as well as brilliance - that's a hell of a combination in one person !
If you're reading this blog then I'll lay odds that you either watched the Grand Final, or that you've noticed a lot of the media interest in the final, and in particular in the captain of Corpus Christi, Gail Trimble. My admiration for Gail Trimble as a quizzer is a matter of public record. Just read the blogs about the quarter finals and the semi finals and you'll see. But that's all I feel that I have any right to comment on. As for all of the other nonsense there's been in the media over the last couple of days, I would ask people to consider that the television is very much a mirror that distorts. When you watch a person competing in a show like University Challenge, or Mastermind, or Battle of the Brains, or Millionaire, or whatever, you are seeing one small part of what makes that person what he or she is, a small part that the magic box magnifies. You may see someone on the television, and think that you know them. You don't. The only people qualified to make any judgements about a contestant on a TV show, like Miss Trimble, or like me, for that matter, are people who actually know them, have met them, and spent some time with them.
I would imagine that people reading this blog are fully aware of this anyway. Still, the media have sniffed out a story. Maybe like me you tuned on BBC Breakfast News yesterday to see Gail Trimble being interviewed. The keynote to the interview wasn't - Hasn't your team done well ? - - but rather - Haven't there been some nasty things said about you personally on people's blogs ? - So I was surprised, but not totally flabbergasted, when a very nice journalist from none other than The Times rang me up yesterday, to ask me some questions about how my life has changed since winning Mastermind, as part of an article about what happens to you after you win on television. To which the answer is - it hasn't, not really, or not in any way that really matters. The feature appeared in the Times this morning, and it was lovely to see myself quoted amongst such distinctive company . Then later in the evening, I received an email and a phonecall from a journalist who works for The Sunday Telegraph ! As no article can possibly appear until this Sunday, I'm going to play my cards close to my chest on this one for the time being.
----------------------------------------------
I actually watched the final in the bar of the Aberkenfig Social Club. I'd been asked to play for the club in Monday night's game, and we met up there before going on to the quiz itself. Oh dear.
The discontent started when we arrived at the opposition's pub at the same time as the opposition team did. The former chairman of the league recognised John. He has problems with his vision, so he didn't recognise me at all. However when I told him my name he remembered. Immediately the other team started to mutter amongst themselves, and we could hear comments about 'taking it all too seriously ' and 'win at all costs' being passed between them. I'm not saying that this wouldn't have happened if the fixture had just been a normal league match. However I am sure that what made it worse was the fact that this was the semi final of the cup competition.
Now, I didn't actually know that this was a cup game when I was asked to play. Probably to my discredit I am not sure that it would have made a lot of difference to me even if I had known. Still, when we were both teams seated, and the question master ready to start, the captain of the opposition decided to air his views. I didn't know this chap at the time, and I still don't, but his first words were,
"As vice-chairman of the league . . . " Oh dear. With a heavy heart I listened as he went on to say that he wanted it put on record that playing John and myself on this night went against the spirit of the league and was morally wrong, and he would be making it an issue in the committee's next meeting. Under the circumstances I didn't know whether to make a spirited defence of myself, or to withdraw gracefully from the team. In the event I did neither, which was probably the only really sensible course of action. I sat there, and didn't get involved.
We played the quiz. The outcome was a heavy win to us. I would be lying if I didn't say that I really enjoyed the quiz. That's not actually because of the animosity which John and I were shown from the other team, and its not because we won heavily. Its because it was a proper quiz competition. I've always enjoyed the quiz league format,and its been getting on for three years since I played in one. But the arguments started as soon as the quiz ended. There seems to have been some past history between John and the vice chairman, and this was all raked over again. John got quite hot under the collar, and I'm sorry to say, only one member of the opposition deigned to shake my hand.
The worst thing is I don't think anyone is going to come out of this as a winner. The Aberkenfig Social team are through to the final of the cup competition. However I can only guess that this is going to be the cause of some bad feeling between them and the other teams in the league, certainly between them and the team we defeated on Monday. The team we defeated came across as a group of sore losers, and they are out of the cup. John feels extremely annoyed, and being a man of dignity and integrity I can't see him playing for a League team again. Which is a shame, because it is an enjoyable quiz. As for me, well what I feel is this. I was surprised earlier in the year when two other good quiz friends of mine were both approached and asked to play for a team in the League. I was right there with them, and I wasn't asked. It has been said to me by someone quite close to the movers and shakers in the league that people don't want to have me playing in the league because of the Mastermind thing. After this I fear that I may never get a chance to play in the league again.
To some extent I can understand their point of view. As I have said before, Bridgend have managed to keep a quiz league going at a time when all the other local leagues seem to have been folding. Not only is the league going, it still has two divisions, which is rather wonderful in this day and age. I can accept that people wouldn't be happy if they thought that I was going to upset the balance of power within the league. I can see why the team we played on Monday night were as indignant as they were, although I don' t think that was any excuse for snubbing me afterwards as three of them did. I'm sure that many of us have had the experience of having to play against a team reinforced with 'ringers' in the past, and its not pleasant, especially since , in their eyes, it robbed them of any chance of making it through to the cup final.
Its such a shame though, because this was a good quiz, and if any team wanted me to play for them next season, I'd agree like a shot.
---------------------------------------------------
On a more positive note, my appeal for quiz show competitors to stand up and be recognised seems to be bearing fruit. I confidently expect to be able to post a new hero of the week within a couple of days, when two correspondents get back to me with a few details they have agreed to provide me with. Watch this space.
Monday, 23 February 2009
Stop Press - University Challenge Grand Final
University Challenge Grand Final - Monday 23rd February
Its been a marvellous series, with some terrific teams, and tonight it all finally came to a climax with the grand Final. And what a final it was ! Could Manchester University's all round excellence overcome the brilliant Gail Trimble and her Corpus Christi team ?
Well, for a long time it looked as if, yes, they could. The Manchester team's swiftness on the buzzer saw them race off to an early lead, converting bonuses into points as they went. It was a brilliant team effort, with the starters being shared around all the team, reminiscent of their victory over Lincoln, Oxford in the semi final, as they were comprehensively winning the buzzer race. Gail Trimble seemed to be suffering from an off night, and we were even treated to the incredibly rare sight of her buzzing in early with an incorrect answer to a starter.
Still, what we hadn't seen so far this series was how well the rest of the Corpus Christi team could perform when Gail Trimble was having an off night. The first fifteen minutes of the show answered the question. Miss Schwartzman particularly impressed with some particularly swift and timely starters at a time in the competition when Manchester were in danger of disappearing beyond the event horizon, but in all honesty it was by a team effort that Corpus Christi managed to haul themselves back into contention. They had one attempt to take the lead about ten minutes from the end, but failed to convert any of the bonuses.
Manchester didn't panic though, and when Paxman announced there were four minutes to go, there was still daylight between the teams. Then Gail Trimble found her form. Bang - bang - bang - the starters fell to her imperious buzzing, and suddenly it was Manchester who were watching Corpus Christi leaving them trailing. By the end, Corpus Christi won by a comfortable margin, 275 to 190, but all of this lead was achieved in an incredible sprint finish over the last few minutes. Yes, in the last few minutes Manchester, like all of Corpus Christi's opponents this year, were 'Trimbled', but have no doubt, it needed the rest of the team to put her in a position where this tremendous finishing burst could prove decisive.
Poet Wendy Cope, who presented the trophy to the magnificent Corpus Christi team, did say that up to the last few minutes she thought that Manchester had done it. So, I must admit, did I . Congratulations to Jeremy Paxman. People can easily underestimate the contribution that a question master makes to a quiz. Tonight he obviously enjoyed the Final as much as we viewers - one look at his face confirmed this.
So, commiserations to Manchester. They were a fabulous team, who gave Corpus Christi the fright of their lives, and I would say came within a couple of starters of achieving an unassailable lead going into the last few minutes of the contest. Huge congratulations to the Corpus Christi team. This series has been notable for the high quality of a large number of the teams, so to run out worthy winners, as they are, is an achievement indeed. Well done, and thanks to all the teams for all the pleasure you have given us this series.
Its been a marvellous series, with some terrific teams, and tonight it all finally came to a climax with the grand Final. And what a final it was ! Could Manchester University's all round excellence overcome the brilliant Gail Trimble and her Corpus Christi team ?
Well, for a long time it looked as if, yes, they could. The Manchester team's swiftness on the buzzer saw them race off to an early lead, converting bonuses into points as they went. It was a brilliant team effort, with the starters being shared around all the team, reminiscent of their victory over Lincoln, Oxford in the semi final, as they were comprehensively winning the buzzer race. Gail Trimble seemed to be suffering from an off night, and we were even treated to the incredibly rare sight of her buzzing in early with an incorrect answer to a starter.
Still, what we hadn't seen so far this series was how well the rest of the Corpus Christi team could perform when Gail Trimble was having an off night. The first fifteen minutes of the show answered the question. Miss Schwartzman particularly impressed with some particularly swift and timely starters at a time in the competition when Manchester were in danger of disappearing beyond the event horizon, but in all honesty it was by a team effort that Corpus Christi managed to haul themselves back into contention. They had one attempt to take the lead about ten minutes from the end, but failed to convert any of the bonuses.
Manchester didn't panic though, and when Paxman announced there were four minutes to go, there was still daylight between the teams. Then Gail Trimble found her form. Bang - bang - bang - the starters fell to her imperious buzzing, and suddenly it was Manchester who were watching Corpus Christi leaving them trailing. By the end, Corpus Christi won by a comfortable margin, 275 to 190, but all of this lead was achieved in an incredible sprint finish over the last few minutes. Yes, in the last few minutes Manchester, like all of Corpus Christi's opponents this year, were 'Trimbled', but have no doubt, it needed the rest of the team to put her in a position where this tremendous finishing burst could prove decisive.
Poet Wendy Cope, who presented the trophy to the magnificent Corpus Christi team, did say that up to the last few minutes she thought that Manchester had done it. So, I must admit, did I . Congratulations to Jeremy Paxman. People can easily underestimate the contribution that a question master makes to a quiz. Tonight he obviously enjoyed the Final as much as we viewers - one look at his face confirmed this.
So, commiserations to Manchester. They were a fabulous team, who gave Corpus Christi the fright of their lives, and I would say came within a couple of starters of achieving an unassailable lead going into the last few minutes of the contest. Huge congratulations to the Corpus Christi team. This series has been notable for the high quality of a large number of the teams, so to run out worthy winners, as they are, is an achievement indeed. Well done, and thanks to all the teams for all the pleasure you have given us this series.
Sunday, 22 February 2009
Who you calling too serious ?
Yes, it IS only a game - but sometimes games matter
Let us begin, as we often do, with a quotation, in fact, lets begin with a couple.
"If winning isn't important, why do they keep score?"
Vince Lombardi said that. He, you may remember, was the semi legendary coach of the Green Bay Packers, winners of the first two Superbowls. Then we have
"I am what I am and that's all I am. "
One of the great thinkers of our time said this one, none other than Popeye the Sailor Man.
While I'm on the subject of Popeye, you might be interested to know that Popeye was not always the star of the comic strip which came to bear his name. Created by Elzie Chrisler Segar, it was originally called Thimble Theatre - and Popeye wasn't even in it for the first few months. Olive Oyl's original boyfriend was a banana nosed cretin called Ham Gravy, who was the foil for her conman brother Castor Oyl. When Popeye first appeared, he didn't show any of his superpowers either, and it was only gradually that spinach came to be used as the explanation for his powers.
Why I mention Popeye's maxim is because I do think some of us probably do take our quizzes too seriously, but then that's just the way that we are, and there is precious little in the long run that you can do about it. Mastermind 2008 semi-finalist James Corcoran was kind enough to leave a comment on one of last week's entries,and one of the things he said was that he expected that when other people taking part in a pub quiz find out that I won Mastermind they probably want to give up and go home on the spot. Well, there are a couple of answers to this. Firstly, you don't go broadcasting the fact that you won Mastermind in an average pub quiz. Anyway,its sad to say, but Mastermind isn't as well established in the Nation's consciousness as once it was. Secondly, we don't always win ! Then even in those places where someone actually watched the final they're usually pretty nice about it.
With one exception. The Red Dragon pub in Litchard, near Bridgend, does a quiz every Sunday night. Although there's a prize its set for the benefit of non quizzers, and as a result its of limited interest to regular quizzers. However there's also a jackpot round of five questions. A few months ago John and I gave it a try, and scooped a pot of £150. That's a very nice payday for a Sunday evening. So a fortnight later we went back, and scooped another jackpot of £50. Just as we were leaving, the former chairman of the Bridgend Quiz League turned up. I had never met him before, but John knows him. As I introduced myself he fixed me in the eye with a hard stare, and said
"Oh, I know who you are. You're the feller from Port Talbot who won Mastermind."
and the tone he said it in was almost that of an accusation. I thought of reaching for my colt 45 and hissing "You better smile when you say that, pardner", but made do with just sort of grinning and mumbling in the affirmative.We left as soon as we could without being impolite. However two days later John was passed a message from the landlady, to the effect of - that's it, you've been rumbled by the ex-chairman, he's told me who you are, I'd appreciate it if you don't come back on a Sunday night. -
I have been banned from playing in a quiz once before, although this was before Mastermind. A pub in Neath, to which I have no intention of giving any free publicity, started displaying a banner outside advertising a Tuesday night quiz with a £100 first prize. This place really had never been on the map as far as pub quizzes were concerned. Still , John and I thought that it would be worth a go. When we got there, we played dumb, and acted as if we were only entering the quiz as a bit of a laugh. There was a catch to the quiz, though, since you had to score at least 50 out of 60 to scoop the money. We scored about 54. Two weeks later we went back and did the same thing. I went back two weeks after that, and was sent packing by the landlord. I don't blame him that much, but I did think his justification was a load of old toot. He said
"Listen, if a prize is there, as far as I'm concerned its there to be won, but I have a lot of regulars in here who know that you only ever come in here to win the money. This is a nice friendly quiz and they think you take it too seriously etc. etc.. . . "
I told him that there's no such thing as a friendly quiz when there's £100 at stake, but I was going out of the door as I said it.
So, returning to the issue in hand, it was the former Chairman of the Bridgend quiz league who exerted his influence to have us banned from playing in the Red Dragon quiz. Now, as I mentioned last week, John has been asked to guest for a team in the Bridgend League. He's played the last two Mondays, and he's playing again tomorrow night. And so am I. Apparently the team we're playing against is the team containing this same former chairman of the League. We've checked on League rules to make sure that we're eligible for the team, and yes, we both are. There used to be a rule that you could only play in the league if you lived in Bridgend, but that was scrapped years ago. As long as you haven't played for another team in the same season, you're eligible. I can't wait until we see his face when the two of us walk in tomorrow night. Don't misunderstand me, I enjoy playing in league quizzes anyway, but I have to say that this one tomorrow night is a little bit personal. This is serious.
Am I wrong ? Well, probably some people would think so. Yes, I do know that when people say to us - you shouldn't play because you take it too seriously - a lot of the time they really mean - I don't want you to play because you're very good and you'll probably beat me - , and in a way I suppose I should be flattered. But it can really rankle. Far from being some kind of narrow - eyed, win-at-all-costs quiz monster, I'd like to know who else would go so far out of their way to give other teams a more than fair chance. I'll try to explain what I mean -
* It would be easy to go to the same cash prize quiz every Sunday night, and win the majority of times. But we take care never to go to the same Sunday quiz two weeks in a row. That way there is a different winner apart from us every other week, and if we lose, then we only win one quiz in four. So at least half the quizzes in any given year are won by other teams. In reality its usually a bit more than half.
* We are prepared to go anywhere within about a 30 mile radius on a Sunday night, just to avoid hitting the same places too often.
* Many of the places we go we see teams cheating with phones, swapping answers with each other, even looking things up in books ! Yet we never make a fuss, and never even draw the question master's attention to it. We see ourselves as visitors rather than regulars, and as such we are always on our best behaviour.
* If we lose we always make a point of going up and offering our congratulations to the winning team, however we think their win might have been achieved. If they want, we always try and stop with a chat for them for a while.
* If we win we are always open for a chat with other teams, and we never rise to any barbed comments which may be made.
* Whenever we've been asked to supply a set of questions in any particular place, we've always done it with good grace, even though it means that one of us is sitting doing nothing that evening.
*We never go to a pub quiz mob-handed. Nine times out of ten its just John and me, and on rare occasions we are joined by my daughter Phillippa, who is not a quizzer. We usually play against teams of 5 or 6, and often against teams of as many as 8 or 9.Yet in many places the entry fee is per team, not per person, so we are paying proportionately more to play.
I've never been particularly gifted in terms of sporting ability. Oh, don't get me wrong, I love sport, but I've never been much good at it. In terms of rugby I was lucky to get into Goldsmith's College 2nd XV. In my day we weren't much good, and I think we only won one of our matches when I was playing. It didn't mean that we said that the other teams shouldn't be allowed to play because they were much better than we were. After all, it was for fun, we weren't playing for trophies or anything. In my jogging days I twice ran in the Swansea Bay 10k fun run. I didn't complain that Steve Brace and a team of Kenyan runners shouldn't be allowed to run because they were proper runners who could do it half an hour quicker than I could. Nor would I have expected them to slow down and let some of us amateurs win. For the life of me, I can't see what the difference is between this and what goes on in pub quizzes. If you enter any competition you do so in the implicit understanding that there is every good chance that someone else in the competition is better than you are.
Quizzing is a broad church. Its one of the few competitive games where the rank amateur can compete alongside the world class. I count myself as a serious quizzer, and if I am competing in a pub quiz I would expect to rarely be beaten. But then next month I will be playing in the quiz event at the Rhwbina Club in Cardiff. In the individual event I will be delighted if I manage a solid mid- table finish. Because that's my level as a quizzer, Mastermind win notwithstanding. It would be stupid for me to expect to come up to the standard of an Ashman, a Gibson, a Bytheway, or other quizzers of that level because I'm not at that level. But I can still play in the same quiz as these giants, and measure myself against them, and that's the point.
Let us begin, as we often do, with a quotation, in fact, lets begin with a couple.
"If winning isn't important, why do they keep score?"
Vince Lombardi said that. He, you may remember, was the semi legendary coach of the Green Bay Packers, winners of the first two Superbowls. Then we have
"I am what I am and that's all I am. "
One of the great thinkers of our time said this one, none other than Popeye the Sailor Man.
While I'm on the subject of Popeye, you might be interested to know that Popeye was not always the star of the comic strip which came to bear his name. Created by Elzie Chrisler Segar, it was originally called Thimble Theatre - and Popeye wasn't even in it for the first few months. Olive Oyl's original boyfriend was a banana nosed cretin called Ham Gravy, who was the foil for her conman brother Castor Oyl. When Popeye first appeared, he didn't show any of his superpowers either, and it was only gradually that spinach came to be used as the explanation for his powers.
Why I mention Popeye's maxim is because I do think some of us probably do take our quizzes too seriously, but then that's just the way that we are, and there is precious little in the long run that you can do about it. Mastermind 2008 semi-finalist James Corcoran was kind enough to leave a comment on one of last week's entries,and one of the things he said was that he expected that when other people taking part in a pub quiz find out that I won Mastermind they probably want to give up and go home on the spot. Well, there are a couple of answers to this. Firstly, you don't go broadcasting the fact that you won Mastermind in an average pub quiz. Anyway,its sad to say, but Mastermind isn't as well established in the Nation's consciousness as once it was. Secondly, we don't always win ! Then even in those places where someone actually watched the final they're usually pretty nice about it.
With one exception. The Red Dragon pub in Litchard, near Bridgend, does a quiz every Sunday night. Although there's a prize its set for the benefit of non quizzers, and as a result its of limited interest to regular quizzers. However there's also a jackpot round of five questions. A few months ago John and I gave it a try, and scooped a pot of £150. That's a very nice payday for a Sunday evening. So a fortnight later we went back, and scooped another jackpot of £50. Just as we were leaving, the former chairman of the Bridgend Quiz League turned up. I had never met him before, but John knows him. As I introduced myself he fixed me in the eye with a hard stare, and said
"Oh, I know who you are. You're the feller from Port Talbot who won Mastermind."
and the tone he said it in was almost that of an accusation. I thought of reaching for my colt 45 and hissing "You better smile when you say that, pardner", but made do with just sort of grinning and mumbling in the affirmative.We left as soon as we could without being impolite. However two days later John was passed a message from the landlady, to the effect of - that's it, you've been rumbled by the ex-chairman, he's told me who you are, I'd appreciate it if you don't come back on a Sunday night. -
I have been banned from playing in a quiz once before, although this was before Mastermind. A pub in Neath, to which I have no intention of giving any free publicity, started displaying a banner outside advertising a Tuesday night quiz with a £100 first prize. This place really had never been on the map as far as pub quizzes were concerned. Still , John and I thought that it would be worth a go. When we got there, we played dumb, and acted as if we were only entering the quiz as a bit of a laugh. There was a catch to the quiz, though, since you had to score at least 50 out of 60 to scoop the money. We scored about 54. Two weeks later we went back and did the same thing. I went back two weeks after that, and was sent packing by the landlord. I don't blame him that much, but I did think his justification was a load of old toot. He said
"Listen, if a prize is there, as far as I'm concerned its there to be won, but I have a lot of regulars in here who know that you only ever come in here to win the money. This is a nice friendly quiz and they think you take it too seriously etc. etc.. . . "
I told him that there's no such thing as a friendly quiz when there's £100 at stake, but I was going out of the door as I said it.
So, returning to the issue in hand, it was the former Chairman of the Bridgend quiz league who exerted his influence to have us banned from playing in the Red Dragon quiz. Now, as I mentioned last week, John has been asked to guest for a team in the Bridgend League. He's played the last two Mondays, and he's playing again tomorrow night. And so am I. Apparently the team we're playing against is the team containing this same former chairman of the League. We've checked on League rules to make sure that we're eligible for the team, and yes, we both are. There used to be a rule that you could only play in the league if you lived in Bridgend, but that was scrapped years ago. As long as you haven't played for another team in the same season, you're eligible. I can't wait until we see his face when the two of us walk in tomorrow night. Don't misunderstand me, I enjoy playing in league quizzes anyway, but I have to say that this one tomorrow night is a little bit personal. This is serious.
Am I wrong ? Well, probably some people would think so. Yes, I do know that when people say to us - you shouldn't play because you take it too seriously - a lot of the time they really mean - I don't want you to play because you're very good and you'll probably beat me - , and in a way I suppose I should be flattered. But it can really rankle. Far from being some kind of narrow - eyed, win-at-all-costs quiz monster, I'd like to know who else would go so far out of their way to give other teams a more than fair chance. I'll try to explain what I mean -
* It would be easy to go to the same cash prize quiz every Sunday night, and win the majority of times. But we take care never to go to the same Sunday quiz two weeks in a row. That way there is a different winner apart from us every other week, and if we lose, then we only win one quiz in four. So at least half the quizzes in any given year are won by other teams. In reality its usually a bit more than half.
* We are prepared to go anywhere within about a 30 mile radius on a Sunday night, just to avoid hitting the same places too often.
* Many of the places we go we see teams cheating with phones, swapping answers with each other, even looking things up in books ! Yet we never make a fuss, and never even draw the question master's attention to it. We see ourselves as visitors rather than regulars, and as such we are always on our best behaviour.
* If we lose we always make a point of going up and offering our congratulations to the winning team, however we think their win might have been achieved. If they want, we always try and stop with a chat for them for a while.
* If we win we are always open for a chat with other teams, and we never rise to any barbed comments which may be made.
* Whenever we've been asked to supply a set of questions in any particular place, we've always done it with good grace, even though it means that one of us is sitting doing nothing that evening.
*We never go to a pub quiz mob-handed. Nine times out of ten its just John and me, and on rare occasions we are joined by my daughter Phillippa, who is not a quizzer. We usually play against teams of 5 or 6, and often against teams of as many as 8 or 9.Yet in many places the entry fee is per team, not per person, so we are paying proportionately more to play.
I've never been particularly gifted in terms of sporting ability. Oh, don't get me wrong, I love sport, but I've never been much good at it. In terms of rugby I was lucky to get into Goldsmith's College 2nd XV. In my day we weren't much good, and I think we only won one of our matches when I was playing. It didn't mean that we said that the other teams shouldn't be allowed to play because they were much better than we were. After all, it was for fun, we weren't playing for trophies or anything. In my jogging days I twice ran in the Swansea Bay 10k fun run. I didn't complain that Steve Brace and a team of Kenyan runners shouldn't be allowed to run because they were proper runners who could do it half an hour quicker than I could. Nor would I have expected them to slow down and let some of us amateurs win. For the life of me, I can't see what the difference is between this and what goes on in pub quizzes. If you enter any competition you do so in the implicit understanding that there is every good chance that someone else in the competition is better than you are.
Quizzing is a broad church. Its one of the few competitive games where the rank amateur can compete alongside the world class. I count myself as a serious quizzer, and if I am competing in a pub quiz I would expect to rarely be beaten. But then next month I will be playing in the quiz event at the Rhwbina Club in Cardiff. In the individual event I will be delighted if I manage a solid mid- table finish. Because that's my level as a quizzer, Mastermind win notwithstanding. It would be stupid for me to expect to come up to the standard of an Ashman, a Gibson, a Bytheway, or other quizzers of that level because I'm not at that level. But I can still play in the same quiz as these giants, and measure myself against them, and that's the point.
Saturday, 21 February 2009
Weekend Mini Quiz Four
Weekend Mini Quiz Four
Round One - The Arks
1) From which wood were a) Noah's Ark and b) The Ark of the Covenant made ?
2) How old was Noah when he died ?
3) In the film "Raiders of the Lost Ark", in which Egyptian city was the Ark of the Covenant found ?
4) Controversial writer Graham Hancock wrote a book called "The Sign and the Seal " which put forward his view that the Ark of the Covenant is being kept in a church in which country ?
5) Which Apollo astronaut made high profile expeditions to Mount Ararat to search for remains of the Ark ?
Round Two - General Knowledge
1) Two British World Middleweight boxing champions fought Sugar Ray Robinson during their careers. Randolph Turpin was one. Who was the other ?
2) Who famously once voiced Maggie in "The Simpsons" ?
3) Who was the Chancellor of the Exchequer who introduced VAT in the 1970s ?
4) Which disused London Underground station is maintained so that it can be used for filming etc. ?
5) Who or what is Restless D'Artaix ?
answers next weekend - as usual, drop me a line if you can't wait. Meanwhile, here's last week's -
Answers to Weekend Mini Quiz Three
Round One - Happy Valentines
1) Anthony Valentine played "Raffles" in the ITV Tv series, but who played his sidekick Bunny, and what was Bunny's surname ?
Answer - Christopher Strauli played Bunny Manders
2) Which Roman Emperor condemned St. Valentine to death ?
Answer - Claudius II
3) For what reason was St. Valentine executed ?
Answer - Getting married while in the roman army
4) Valentine was one of two what in Shakespeare ?
Answer - Gentlemen of Verona - Proteus was the other
5)Which Valentine played the Black Guardian in the Key to Time season of Dr. Who ?
Answer - Valentine Dyall - who also played the Man in Black on the radio
General Knowledge
1) Whose father was called Poopdeck ?
Answer - Popeye the Sailor Man
2) Which british butterfly has the scientific name inachis io ?
Answer - the Peacock Butterfly
3) Which element makes up between 15 and 20% of the alloy pewter ( and for a bonus, which element USED to make up 15 - 20 % of pewter ?
Answer - Now - Antimony - Previously - Lead
4) Fifty years ago, when the austin mini first went on the market, how much change would you have got out of £500 if you bought one ?
Answer - 10 pennies
5) Norse Mythology - what killed the God Baldur ?
Answer - mistletoe
Round One - The Arks
1) From which wood were a) Noah's Ark and b) The Ark of the Covenant made ?
2) How old was Noah when he died ?
3) In the film "Raiders of the Lost Ark", in which Egyptian city was the Ark of the Covenant found ?
4) Controversial writer Graham Hancock wrote a book called "The Sign and the Seal " which put forward his view that the Ark of the Covenant is being kept in a church in which country ?
5) Which Apollo astronaut made high profile expeditions to Mount Ararat to search for remains of the Ark ?
Round Two - General Knowledge
1) Two British World Middleweight boxing champions fought Sugar Ray Robinson during their careers. Randolph Turpin was one. Who was the other ?
2) Who famously once voiced Maggie in "The Simpsons" ?
3) Who was the Chancellor of the Exchequer who introduced VAT in the 1970s ?
4) Which disused London Underground station is maintained so that it can be used for filming etc. ?
5) Who or what is Restless D'Artaix ?
answers next weekend - as usual, drop me a line if you can't wait. Meanwhile, here's last week's -
Answers to Weekend Mini Quiz Three
Round One - Happy Valentines
1) Anthony Valentine played "Raffles" in the ITV Tv series, but who played his sidekick Bunny, and what was Bunny's surname ?
Answer - Christopher Strauli played Bunny Manders
2) Which Roman Emperor condemned St. Valentine to death ?
Answer - Claudius II
3) For what reason was St. Valentine executed ?
Answer - Getting married while in the roman army
4) Valentine was one of two what in Shakespeare ?
Answer - Gentlemen of Verona - Proteus was the other
5)Which Valentine played the Black Guardian in the Key to Time season of Dr. Who ?
Answer - Valentine Dyall - who also played the Man in Black on the radio
General Knowledge
1) Whose father was called Poopdeck ?
Answer - Popeye the Sailor Man
2) Which british butterfly has the scientific name inachis io ?
Answer - the Peacock Butterfly
3) Which element makes up between 15 and 20% of the alloy pewter ( and for a bonus, which element USED to make up 15 - 20 % of pewter ?
Answer - Now - Antimony - Previously - Lead
4) Fifty years ago, when the austin mini first went on the market, how much change would you have got out of £500 if you bought one ?
Answer - 10 pennies
5) Norse Mythology - what killed the God Baldur ?
Answer - mistletoe
Friday, 20 February 2009
TV Watch - Mastermind - Battle of the Brains
Mastermind - First Round Heat 18 of 24
A check on my list of past contenders reveals that once again we have four newcomers. Bearing in mind my piece earlier this week on the performance of women in Mastermind, and the fact that we are overdue another woman champion, it was interesting that there were two women in the heat this week.
First up was Anne South. Her interestingly different specialist subject was Chester Zoo. Apparently Chester Zoo was one of the first devoted to moving away from the concept of a zoo as being animals in cages. I thought that she had some nasty questions, in particular there was one where she had to take a deep breath before giving an answer which required her to use a quadruple-barrelled surname ! That's below the belt. So in the circumstances a score of 9 was something of a triumph over adversity.
Christopher Boote offered us a specialist subject that would not have looked out of place in any Mastermind series since 1972, the Father Brown stories of G.K. Chesterton. He too had a lot of long questions, but dealt with them well to score 12, so he was still very much in the running at the half way stage. Hugh Brady took on The Life and Career of Sir Edward Carson, and made a pretty good job of if too. This despite the fact that John Humphrys fell back into his annoying habit of repeating back some of the correct answer, instead of getting on with asking the next question.
Finishing off the first round, Caroline Fitzsimons gave us Tony Hancock, our popular culture subject for this week, albeit one more suitable for the over 50's than the under 40's. She maybe was expecting to be asked quite a bit more about his life, and less about nitpicking details of individual shows, and this was reflected in her score of 7.
So Caroline Fitzsimons returned to the chair first of all for General Knowledge. I don't think that our John can be much of a Hancock fan, since he spent his couple of minutes discussing the contender's profession as a District Nurse. Her progress through the round was slow, but steady, and she had some good answers. She reached the magical double figures, scoring a pretty decent 10 , for 17 overall.
Anne South was drawn by John Humphrys into a spirited defence of modern zoos, and forced from him the statement that old style zoos were horrible places. Her round too was a slow and steady one, but she reached the magical 10 as well, pushing the target up to 19. John Humphrys expressed the opinion that Father Brown was a rather unusual detective. I thought that was the point. Novels about very mundane, everyday detectives don't tend to sell that well. Apparently, he was based on father John O'Connor, a friend of Chesterton. After this revelation, unfortunately Christopher Boote fell in the middle of his round into a pass spiral, after starting quickly. He managed to pull out of the death dive in the last 30 seconds to score a respectable 9 for 21, but this didn't look like it was going to be enough.
So Hugh Brady brought the round to a close. It was interesting that in their talk about Sir Edward Carson, John Humphrys concentrated almost entirely on the salacious trial of Oscar Wilde, and avoided the still politically sensitive issue of Home Rule. Mr. Brady's general knowledge round was an interesting round. IMHO he had a lot of very hard questions right, but missed some points on what looked like easier questions. Still, he scored 11 to win with a little bit to spare, on 24.
Everybody please repeat after me - anything can happen in the semi finals -Still, I will be interested to watch Mr. Brady's progress. I think he can do better in his GK round, and you never know, with an even better specialist round he could , just could, mount a serious challenge in the semis.
The Details
Battle of the Brains - BBC 2 - 6pm - Monday - Friday
Maybe its just because I post on the same internet forum as the members of this week's top team, the Quizzee Rascals, but I did enjoy this week's shows. I don't think that's the only reason , though. If you read my post about the show last week you'll know that I outlined some of the criticisms which were made of the show's first series, and the ways in which some of these criticisms seemed to be addressed, giving the show a cautious endorsement. I'm pleased to say that I've continued to enjoy it this week, thanks in no small part to the presence of the Quizzee Rascals.
The Quizzee Rascals have a pedigree which matches that of the fine teams we saw in the first series. What's more, as well as being a first class quizzer, Will Jones is also a regular reader of this blog, which makes him a man of rare wit and discretion. Captain Craig, and Andrew are fine quizzers. Viewers of the series "Are You An Egghead ? " may remember both Rob and Danielle as contestants. As for my internet friend Andy Page - well he was none other than the first Mastermind champion of the John Humphrys era, in 2003. As for Darren, well, Darren was also a finalist in 2003, and in Discovery Mastermind in 2001 as well. So it came as a relief to see the team debut on Tuesday, after the two teams on Monday's show failed to make an impression.
Leaving out the guess the numbers round is a huge plus. I do agree with people who say that it still works out that one person on each team only has the chance to answer one question, but at least it is the Who Am I question, where you may actually get several bites of the cherry. What a pleasure to see the team win £7000 on Wednesday for their pains. I think its a good idea to let the money roll over, a la Eggheads. A thousand quid each seems like a decent payday for the team. Having said that, the questions in the money round did become noticeably harder on Thursday and Friday. Whether this was deliberate or not I wouldn't like to say, but it certainly appeared like a conscious decision to allow the team only the one pay day.
I may be wrong, but I don't think Nicky is shouting quite so much now, either. I'm also delighted to report that Rob of Quizzee Rascals has told me that the team felt they were treated very well, and so the legitimate complaints aired by some of last year's teams seem to have been addressed.
A check on my list of past contenders reveals that once again we have four newcomers. Bearing in mind my piece earlier this week on the performance of women in Mastermind, and the fact that we are overdue another woman champion, it was interesting that there were two women in the heat this week.
First up was Anne South. Her interestingly different specialist subject was Chester Zoo. Apparently Chester Zoo was one of the first devoted to moving away from the concept of a zoo as being animals in cages. I thought that she had some nasty questions, in particular there was one where she had to take a deep breath before giving an answer which required her to use a quadruple-barrelled surname ! That's below the belt. So in the circumstances a score of 9 was something of a triumph over adversity.
Christopher Boote offered us a specialist subject that would not have looked out of place in any Mastermind series since 1972, the Father Brown stories of G.K. Chesterton. He too had a lot of long questions, but dealt with them well to score 12, so he was still very much in the running at the half way stage. Hugh Brady took on The Life and Career of Sir Edward Carson, and made a pretty good job of if too. This despite the fact that John Humphrys fell back into his annoying habit of repeating back some of the correct answer, instead of getting on with asking the next question.
Finishing off the first round, Caroline Fitzsimons gave us Tony Hancock, our popular culture subject for this week, albeit one more suitable for the over 50's than the under 40's. She maybe was expecting to be asked quite a bit more about his life, and less about nitpicking details of individual shows, and this was reflected in her score of 7.
So Caroline Fitzsimons returned to the chair first of all for General Knowledge. I don't think that our John can be much of a Hancock fan, since he spent his couple of minutes discussing the contender's profession as a District Nurse. Her progress through the round was slow, but steady, and she had some good answers. She reached the magical double figures, scoring a pretty decent 10 , for 17 overall.
Anne South was drawn by John Humphrys into a spirited defence of modern zoos, and forced from him the statement that old style zoos were horrible places. Her round too was a slow and steady one, but she reached the magical 10 as well, pushing the target up to 19. John Humphrys expressed the opinion that Father Brown was a rather unusual detective. I thought that was the point. Novels about very mundane, everyday detectives don't tend to sell that well. Apparently, he was based on father John O'Connor, a friend of Chesterton. After this revelation, unfortunately Christopher Boote fell in the middle of his round into a pass spiral, after starting quickly. He managed to pull out of the death dive in the last 30 seconds to score a respectable 9 for 21, but this didn't look like it was going to be enough.
So Hugh Brady brought the round to a close. It was interesting that in their talk about Sir Edward Carson, John Humphrys concentrated almost entirely on the salacious trial of Oscar Wilde, and avoided the still politically sensitive issue of Home Rule. Mr. Brady's general knowledge round was an interesting round. IMHO he had a lot of very hard questions right, but missed some points on what looked like easier questions. Still, he scored 11 to win with a little bit to spare, on 24.
Everybody please repeat after me - anything can happen in the semi finals -Still, I will be interested to watch Mr. Brady's progress. I think he can do better in his GK round, and you never know, with an even better specialist round he could , just could, mount a serious challenge in the semis.
The Details
| Anne South | Chester Zoo | 9 - 4 | 10 - 4 | 19 - 8 |
| Christopher Boote | The Father Brown Stories of GK Chesterton | 12 - 4 | 9 - 4 | 21 - 8 |
| Hugh Brady | Sir Edward Carson | 13 - 1 | 11 - 4 | 24 - 5 |
| Caroline Fitzsimons | Tony Hancock | 7 -5 | 10 - 3 | 17 - 8 |
Battle of the Brains - BBC 2 - 6pm - Monday - Friday
Maybe its just because I post on the same internet forum as the members of this week's top team, the Quizzee Rascals, but I did enjoy this week's shows. I don't think that's the only reason , though. If you read my post about the show last week you'll know that I outlined some of the criticisms which were made of the show's first series, and the ways in which some of these criticisms seemed to be addressed, giving the show a cautious endorsement. I'm pleased to say that I've continued to enjoy it this week, thanks in no small part to the presence of the Quizzee Rascals.
The Quizzee Rascals have a pedigree which matches that of the fine teams we saw in the first series. What's more, as well as being a first class quizzer, Will Jones is also a regular reader of this blog, which makes him a man of rare wit and discretion. Captain Craig, and Andrew are fine quizzers. Viewers of the series "Are You An Egghead ? " may remember both Rob and Danielle as contestants. As for my internet friend Andy Page - well he was none other than the first Mastermind champion of the John Humphrys era, in 2003. As for Darren, well, Darren was also a finalist in 2003, and in Discovery Mastermind in 2001 as well. So it came as a relief to see the team debut on Tuesday, after the two teams on Monday's show failed to make an impression.
Leaving out the guess the numbers round is a huge plus. I do agree with people who say that it still works out that one person on each team only has the chance to answer one question, but at least it is the Who Am I question, where you may actually get several bites of the cherry. What a pleasure to see the team win £7000 on Wednesday for their pains. I think its a good idea to let the money roll over, a la Eggheads. A thousand quid each seems like a decent payday for the team. Having said that, the questions in the money round did become noticeably harder on Thursday and Friday. Whether this was deliberate or not I wouldn't like to say, but it certainly appeared like a conscious decision to allow the team only the one pay day.
I may be wrong, but I don't think Nicky is shouting quite so much now, either. I'm also delighted to report that Rob of Quizzee Rascals has told me that the team felt they were treated very well, and so the legitimate complaints aired by some of last year's teams seem to have been addressed.
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