It’s a little premature to be talking about New Year’s resolutions isn’t it ? Still, its probably not a bad time, in this lull before the Christmas storm to take a look at my quiz resolutions from last year, so that I, you and Santa can see whether I have been a good boy, or whether I am going to be palmed off with a sack of coal on the big day again. So, here they were -
*I resolve to try to be more patient with Little Dennis when he doesn't hear the answers I give him to the questions in the quiz in the Rugby Club. Its not his fault he's deaf. Its our fault for letting him be scribe.
Well, this is a little bit of an easy one, since I did only say that I would TRY to be more patient with Dennis. And to be fair to him, he has been far more willing to relinquish the pen when he just can’t hear the answer you’ve given him – even though all the other teams and half the houses in the same street can.
Verdict – nice – r
* I resolve to try to not greet every announcement of the handicaps in the Newport Quiz with the words "For Christ's Sake !"
Umm – well – since I returned to the Newport Quiz after our win in the Welsh CIU final, I have tried at least to be a bit more humourous about it - and I now say “I’ll get me coat” or words to that effect. Can’t say much more as I quit going to the quiz from February to May last year just because I couldn’t stand the handicaps.
Verdict - naughty
* I resolve to try to stop giving guest question masters a hard time in the rugby club. Even when they are totally incompetent.
Again, semantics allows me to win the day. I HAVE been nicer in the rugby club – just maybe not in other places. Well – not ‘maybe’ at all. Verdict – probably a score draw.
* I resolve to try to stop telling two teams off for using their wap phones to find answers whenever I'm the question master in the rugby club. They never win anyway.
Now here I can say hand on heart that I have not told anyone off for using their wap phone all year – cowardly though it probably is of me. Verdict – nice.
* I resolve to stop slagging off Redtooth Quizzes. Just so long as I don't have to play in them any more.
I haven’t played in a Redtooth Quiz, all year, and therefore I have had no cause, nor for that matter opportunity, to slag them off. Verdict – nice.
* I resolve to stop saying that other teams must have cheated when they beat us. Even when they obviously have.
I have absolutely , completely and utterly failed to keep this resolution.
Verdict – nasty – in fact, positively evil.
* I resolve to try to stop whinging about the fact that my school's Governing Body and the Local Education Authority couldn't be bothered to even send me a letter of congratulation over winning Mastermind.
Alright, maybe I have mentioned it once or twice, but compared to my mega whinging about it last year, that still puts me in credit. Verdict – nice-ish.
* I resolve to take responsibility for applying to get on another show, and not wait for one of my mates to try to put a team in.
Alright, so 12 Yard productions did actually ask me to apply for Are You An Egghead and its not something I did off my own bat. However, the strict lettering of the resolution is that I would take responsibility for applying to get on another show – and I did just that with Brain of Britain. OK, so its on radio 4, but its still a show.
Verdict – very nice indeed.
So with only two utter failures, and one possible failure, that’s rather better than a 50% success rate. So Santa, can we please forget the anthracite this year ? Thanks.
Friday, 11 December 2009
Tuesday, 8 December 2009
TV Supplementary - Celebrity Eggheads
Celebrity Eggheads
You probably know what I’m going to say don’t you ? Well, perhaps. I always feel a little guilty writing about Eggheads – as opposed to Are You An Egghead – since the Eggheads themselves are such nice people. Alright, I would never claim that I know any of them that well, but they are dedicated quizzers, and every time I have been on a show with any of them they have always been very nice and pleasant people, who have gone out of their way to make you feel comfortable, and to help you to enjoy appearing in a show with them. Which, as I say, does make me feel a little guilty when I write about the show, because as a show, I don’t think its necessarily the greatest thing since sliced bread. Which is not their fault in the slightest.
Still, that’s not what this post is about. A second series of Celebrity Eggheads has begun, and if for no other reason than it features the first appearance of newest Egghead Pat Gibson, its worth watching for that. In the first show a team of Radio 2 DJs took on a team lacking Kevin and Judith, but featuring a formidable line up of Pat, Daphne, Barry, Chris and CJ. Radio 2 DJs eh ? Wow, did that mean the Beeb were unleashing the big guns, then , like Wogan, Bruce, Wright, Ross and Evans ? Well, actually, no. It meant a team consisting of Paul Gambaccini, Suzi Quattro – yes – Richard Allinson – OK – Clare Teal and Alex Lester – pardon ? Had Jeremy Vine persuaded his radio 2 mates to spike Dermot’s guns by only unleashing the B and C team players ? Alright, lets not be horrible.
In the head to heads Clare Teal managed to put out Chris, who , according to fellow Eggheads and Dermot himself doesn’t have a TV. A likely story. She and Alex took the Eggheads to 2 – all, but failed on their last question. So that’s a miss from tonight’s jury , I’m afraid.
Tonight’s show saw the challenge of the Oddballs, a team of sports presenters and sportsmen– John Inverdale, Dennis Taylor, Mark Lawrenson , Graham Bell ( former Olympic skier ) and Bob Champion. Ok – no cracks about obscure team members this time, they all reached the top of their sport in one way and another. They faced another Kevin-less team. That was the good news. The bad news was that they still had to play Pat, Chris, Barry, Daphne and Judith.
The Oddballs fared rather better on the head to heads. John Inverdale took out Chris Hughes on Music. Mark Lawrenson took out Judith 2 – 0 on Geography. Dennis Taylor had his opportunity to take out Barry on sport, but managed to pot the cue ball in sudden death . He failed to answer that Honda became renamed the Brawn GP team.
In the final round John Inverdale remembered a pub called Pope’s Grotto to take a 2 : 1 lead – a lead which immediately disappeared as the Eggheads knew Joshua N’Komo was a Zimbabwean politician. Asked who directed the film “What Lies Beneath” the Oddballs correctly answered Robert Zemeckis. The Eggheads recognised the titles of some dutch newspapers to take us to sudden death. Alas, the Oddballs didn’t remember that Steve Macqueen drove a Ford Mustang in Bullitt. Of course the Eggheads knew that the French words for ‘green of grease’ gives us verdigris.
Poor old Pudsey – there’s little chance of him getting much of a dividend for Children in Need from this series, unless the Eggheads get asked some very unusual questions indeed. Which as we know, is well within the bounds of possibility,but kind of stretches credibility a bit.
You probably know what I’m going to say don’t you ? Well, perhaps. I always feel a little guilty writing about Eggheads – as opposed to Are You An Egghead – since the Eggheads themselves are such nice people. Alright, I would never claim that I know any of them that well, but they are dedicated quizzers, and every time I have been on a show with any of them they have always been very nice and pleasant people, who have gone out of their way to make you feel comfortable, and to help you to enjoy appearing in a show with them. Which, as I say, does make me feel a little guilty when I write about the show, because as a show, I don’t think its necessarily the greatest thing since sliced bread. Which is not their fault in the slightest.
Still, that’s not what this post is about. A second series of Celebrity Eggheads has begun, and if for no other reason than it features the first appearance of newest Egghead Pat Gibson, its worth watching for that. In the first show a team of Radio 2 DJs took on a team lacking Kevin and Judith, but featuring a formidable line up of Pat, Daphne, Barry, Chris and CJ. Radio 2 DJs eh ? Wow, did that mean the Beeb were unleashing the big guns, then , like Wogan, Bruce, Wright, Ross and Evans ? Well, actually, no. It meant a team consisting of Paul Gambaccini, Suzi Quattro – yes – Richard Allinson – OK – Clare Teal and Alex Lester – pardon ? Had Jeremy Vine persuaded his radio 2 mates to spike Dermot’s guns by only unleashing the B and C team players ? Alright, lets not be horrible.
In the head to heads Clare Teal managed to put out Chris, who , according to fellow Eggheads and Dermot himself doesn’t have a TV. A likely story. She and Alex took the Eggheads to 2 – all, but failed on their last question. So that’s a miss from tonight’s jury , I’m afraid.
Tonight’s show saw the challenge of the Oddballs, a team of sports presenters and sportsmen– John Inverdale, Dennis Taylor, Mark Lawrenson , Graham Bell ( former Olympic skier ) and Bob Champion. Ok – no cracks about obscure team members this time, they all reached the top of their sport in one way and another. They faced another Kevin-less team. That was the good news. The bad news was that they still had to play Pat, Chris, Barry, Daphne and Judith.
The Oddballs fared rather better on the head to heads. John Inverdale took out Chris Hughes on Music. Mark Lawrenson took out Judith 2 – 0 on Geography. Dennis Taylor had his opportunity to take out Barry on sport, but managed to pot the cue ball in sudden death . He failed to answer that Honda became renamed the Brawn GP team.
In the final round John Inverdale remembered a pub called Pope’s Grotto to take a 2 : 1 lead – a lead which immediately disappeared as the Eggheads knew Joshua N’Komo was a Zimbabwean politician. Asked who directed the film “What Lies Beneath” the Oddballs correctly answered Robert Zemeckis. The Eggheads recognised the titles of some dutch newspapers to take us to sudden death. Alas, the Oddballs didn’t remember that Steve Macqueen drove a Ford Mustang in Bullitt. Of course the Eggheads knew that the French words for ‘green of grease’ gives us verdigris.
Poor old Pudsey – there’s little chance of him getting much of a dividend for Children in Need from this series, unless the Eggheads get asked some very unusual questions indeed. Which as we know, is well within the bounds of possibility,but kind of stretches credibility a bit.
TV Watch - University Challenge
University Challenge – Round 2 – Heat 6/8 – Jesus College Oxford v. University of Warwick
Jesus College Oxford, first of tonight’s teams, were approved of by JP in his introduction as a pretty clean living bunch, apparently on the strength of the fact that they don’t read Viz. They won one of the first round’s Oxford v. Cambridge match ups, defeating Clare College Cambridge by 215 to 165. Clare did actually come back in the repechage round, but failed to progress any further. As for opponents Warwick, they too defeated a Cambridge College, Christ’s, who also made it to the repechage round, by 200 points to 170. JP berated Warwick for knowing their Shakespeare, but not their Milton or their Lovelace. Well, Mr. Paxman, not everyone can know his Lovelace from his elbow.
We began with a guess the year question, and Jesus correctly identified 1983 as the year that saw the introduction of the pound coin, amongst other things. The fifteen points they scored for this were the only ones they managed until almost a third of the way through the show. Warwick had it all pretty much their own way, racking up a score of 75, until Mr. Docherty buzzed in to correctly identify terms relating to the Big Bang Theory, almost on the stroke of the ten minute mark.
I loved the question about the Wendy Cope quote, regarding the call for the abolition of the position of poet laureate. The fact is that it was Wendy Cope who presented last year’s trophy at the end of the Grand Final. Nice to see UC looking after its own. Jesus had the bit between their teeth now, and had a lead of five points at the halfway stage. It didn’t last long, mind, since Warwick were happy to snap up the next starter. Then Mr. Smalley of Warwick identified the element Thorium as being named after the Norse God of Thunder. The lead was shortlived. Warwick started to buzz with a little more urgency, converting a full set of bonuses on capital cities, but only one on paintings and artists. At 21 and a half minutes, Warwick led by 180 points to 100. So near . . . and yet. . .
From here on in , through the mad gallop to the finish it wasn’t quite all Jesus College, but all of the points scored from this time were theirs. Poor Mr. Christmas of Warwick, possibly trying to give his team the hurry up, ended up giving away penalties by buzzing too early. The old chestnut about the Haber process fell to Mr. Docherty of Jesus, to bring them within a couple of bonuses of the lead. The three bonuses went begging. No matter, Captain Hadley of Jesus spotted a group of plays by Moliere to win the next starter. Now they had their biggest lead of the match, and it got better as Hadley snapped up the next starter for good measure. They couldn’t buy a bonus at this stage, but it didn’t matter. Jesus won a fine contests by 200 points to 170. Very bad luck on Warwick, who were in the lead with the tape in sight, but just couldn’t find that one extra starter they needed in the last five minutes. Congratulations to Jesus. To my layman’s eye they look a pretty well balanced team. All of them contributed correct starter answers, and if the questions go their way they could be a difficult proposition for anyone else in the quarter finals.
Jeremy Paxman Watch
To use a term from welsh rugby, our JP ‘got his retaliation in early ‘ in this show. Roger Tilling had barely finished announcing
" – asking the questions – Jeeerrrreeemmmmyyyyy Paxman !", before the great man favoured us with this observation –
"Once again we’re going to witness the calibre of the generation who will before long take over – God help us."
As for the contest itself, no huge outbursts, but there was this tasty little morsel to savour. When asked
“Which aquatic mammal rhymes with an aromatic bush ( amongst other things )" Mr. Docherty of Jesus suggested Alligator. The answer was turtle – myrtle. “Alligator bush !” sneered our Jeremy.
Interesting Fact Of The Week I Didn’t Already Know
This may well be common knowledge for all I know, but I had no idea that the kidnapping of the Lindbergh Baby was the partial inspiration for Agatha Christie’s “Murder On The Orient Express “ .
Jesus College Oxford, first of tonight’s teams, were approved of by JP in his introduction as a pretty clean living bunch, apparently on the strength of the fact that they don’t read Viz. They won one of the first round’s Oxford v. Cambridge match ups, defeating Clare College Cambridge by 215 to 165. Clare did actually come back in the repechage round, but failed to progress any further. As for opponents Warwick, they too defeated a Cambridge College, Christ’s, who also made it to the repechage round, by 200 points to 170. JP berated Warwick for knowing their Shakespeare, but not their Milton or their Lovelace. Well, Mr. Paxman, not everyone can know his Lovelace from his elbow.
We began with a guess the year question, and Jesus correctly identified 1983 as the year that saw the introduction of the pound coin, amongst other things. The fifteen points they scored for this were the only ones they managed until almost a third of the way through the show. Warwick had it all pretty much their own way, racking up a score of 75, until Mr. Docherty buzzed in to correctly identify terms relating to the Big Bang Theory, almost on the stroke of the ten minute mark.
I loved the question about the Wendy Cope quote, regarding the call for the abolition of the position of poet laureate. The fact is that it was Wendy Cope who presented last year’s trophy at the end of the Grand Final. Nice to see UC looking after its own. Jesus had the bit between their teeth now, and had a lead of five points at the halfway stage. It didn’t last long, mind, since Warwick were happy to snap up the next starter. Then Mr. Smalley of Warwick identified the element Thorium as being named after the Norse God of Thunder. The lead was shortlived. Warwick started to buzz with a little more urgency, converting a full set of bonuses on capital cities, but only one on paintings and artists. At 21 and a half minutes, Warwick led by 180 points to 100. So near . . . and yet. . .
From here on in , through the mad gallop to the finish it wasn’t quite all Jesus College, but all of the points scored from this time were theirs. Poor Mr. Christmas of Warwick, possibly trying to give his team the hurry up, ended up giving away penalties by buzzing too early. The old chestnut about the Haber process fell to Mr. Docherty of Jesus, to bring them within a couple of bonuses of the lead. The three bonuses went begging. No matter, Captain Hadley of Jesus spotted a group of plays by Moliere to win the next starter. Now they had their biggest lead of the match, and it got better as Hadley snapped up the next starter for good measure. They couldn’t buy a bonus at this stage, but it didn’t matter. Jesus won a fine contests by 200 points to 170. Very bad luck on Warwick, who were in the lead with the tape in sight, but just couldn’t find that one extra starter they needed in the last five minutes. Congratulations to Jesus. To my layman’s eye they look a pretty well balanced team. All of them contributed correct starter answers, and if the questions go their way they could be a difficult proposition for anyone else in the quarter finals.
Jeremy Paxman Watch
To use a term from welsh rugby, our JP ‘got his retaliation in early ‘ in this show. Roger Tilling had barely finished announcing
" – asking the questions – Jeeerrrreeemmmmyyyyy Paxman !", before the great man favoured us with this observation –
"Once again we’re going to witness the calibre of the generation who will before long take over – God help us."
As for the contest itself, no huge outbursts, but there was this tasty little morsel to savour. When asked
“Which aquatic mammal rhymes with an aromatic bush ( amongst other things )" Mr. Docherty of Jesus suggested Alligator. The answer was turtle – myrtle. “Alligator bush !” sneered our Jeremy.
Interesting Fact Of The Week I Didn’t Already Know
This may well be common knowledge for all I know, but I had no idea that the kidnapping of the Lindbergh Baby was the partial inspiration for Agatha Christie’s “Murder On The Orient Express “ .
Monday, 7 December 2009
Radio Listen - Brain Of Britain
Brain of Britain – First Round Heat 9 / 12
Well, a slight departure for my review of this week’s Brain of Britain. In all the other shows I’ve reviewed so far in the series, I heard them on the radio. With today’s show, dear reader, it was rather different since the fact is that I was there, and actually witnessed the recording in the BBC Radio Theatre in Broadcasting House in London. How did this happen, you may ask ? Simply because I was awaiting my own appearance in heat 10, which was recorded immediately after today’s.
However, that’s Heat 10, and its not due to be aired until next week, and so back to the serious business of Heat 9. The four contestants, who were all from the South of England, were: -
William Barney from Rochester
Ian Bayley from Oxford
Maya Davis from Brighton
Chris Miller from High Wycombe,
and I can vouch for the fact that they are all very nice indeed. In case you’re wondering Ian Bayley is indeed the same Ian Bayley who was such a gallant runner-up in the last season of Mastermind. A formidable competitor indeed.
Not that he had it all his own way in the first round. William Barney showed some nifty buzzer work in the first round to take a couple of bonuses to add to his own answer, and he led the first round. However it was all very much the Ian Bayley show after this. Round two brought Ian his first set of five and a bonus, and not only that, but he showed irresistible form on the buzzer, to score 9 points in that round alone. By the break for the listener’s questions, he had stretched his score to 15. William Barney had added a couple of his own points, but Maya Davis and Chris Miller were finding points hard to come by.
The listener’s first question referred to the first line of Edward Lear’s poem about The Yonghi Bonghi Bo, which begins with the line,
“On the coast of Coramandel. . . “ and asked where the coast of Coramandel is. The team were close, going for the South West coast of India, while its on the South East. The second question – what is the name of the South West Coast of India was given short shrift, and the answer “Malabar Coast “ was rendered without undue ceremony.
Ian only added another 3 points in round 4, but made up for it with another 5 and a bonus in round 5. Maya Davis started to find range, and in fact all of the competitors began to add to their scores in the last 2 rounds, but not, I’m afraid, with any great hope of getting anywhere near Ian, or reaching a score in the teens to give them a hope of a runners up slot in the semis. For the record, Ian scored 33 by the end of the contest, surely a hall of fame score.
Russell Davies was as witty, charming and amusing as ever. After asking a question about which group deliberately misspelled words in the titles of their top 10 singles in the 70s – Slade - he made the wry observation that the hits started drying up when they began to spell them correctly. I don’t care – they were great.
In case you’re wondering – no – I am not going to tip Ian Bayley as the favourite to win the series. However, I think I should add that I did promise Ian before the show that I would not put the hex on his chances by tipping him, and a promise is a promise. So let me merely congratulate him on a magnificent performance, that I am sure left other people in he audience as awed as it left me.
The Details
William Barney – 10
Ian Bayley – 33
Maya Davis – 10
Chris Miller - 7
Well, a slight departure for my review of this week’s Brain of Britain. In all the other shows I’ve reviewed so far in the series, I heard them on the radio. With today’s show, dear reader, it was rather different since the fact is that I was there, and actually witnessed the recording in the BBC Radio Theatre in Broadcasting House in London. How did this happen, you may ask ? Simply because I was awaiting my own appearance in heat 10, which was recorded immediately after today’s.
However, that’s Heat 10, and its not due to be aired until next week, and so back to the serious business of Heat 9. The four contestants, who were all from the South of England, were: -
William Barney from Rochester
Ian Bayley from Oxford
Maya Davis from Brighton
Chris Miller from High Wycombe,
and I can vouch for the fact that they are all very nice indeed. In case you’re wondering Ian Bayley is indeed the same Ian Bayley who was such a gallant runner-up in the last season of Mastermind. A formidable competitor indeed.
Not that he had it all his own way in the first round. William Barney showed some nifty buzzer work in the first round to take a couple of bonuses to add to his own answer, and he led the first round. However it was all very much the Ian Bayley show after this. Round two brought Ian his first set of five and a bonus, and not only that, but he showed irresistible form on the buzzer, to score 9 points in that round alone. By the break for the listener’s questions, he had stretched his score to 15. William Barney had added a couple of his own points, but Maya Davis and Chris Miller were finding points hard to come by.
The listener’s first question referred to the first line of Edward Lear’s poem about The Yonghi Bonghi Bo, which begins with the line,
“On the coast of Coramandel. . . “ and asked where the coast of Coramandel is. The team were close, going for the South West coast of India, while its on the South East. The second question – what is the name of the South West Coast of India was given short shrift, and the answer “Malabar Coast “ was rendered without undue ceremony.
Ian only added another 3 points in round 4, but made up for it with another 5 and a bonus in round 5. Maya Davis started to find range, and in fact all of the competitors began to add to their scores in the last 2 rounds, but not, I’m afraid, with any great hope of getting anywhere near Ian, or reaching a score in the teens to give them a hope of a runners up slot in the semis. For the record, Ian scored 33 by the end of the contest, surely a hall of fame score.
Russell Davies was as witty, charming and amusing as ever. After asking a question about which group deliberately misspelled words in the titles of their top 10 singles in the 70s – Slade - he made the wry observation that the hits started drying up when they began to spell them correctly. I don’t care – they were great.
In case you’re wondering – no – I am not going to tip Ian Bayley as the favourite to win the series. However, I think I should add that I did promise Ian before the show that I would not put the hex on his chances by tipping him, and a promise is a promise. So let me merely congratulate him on a magnificent performance, that I am sure left other people in he audience as awed as it left me.
The Details
William Barney – 10
Ian Bayley – 33
Maya Davis – 10
Chris Miller - 7
Saturday, 5 December 2009
A Letter To Santa
What Christmas Gifts would you buy for the Discerning Quizzer ?
Or for the undiscerning quizzer, for that matter. Have you noticed how discriminated against we are as a group , when it comes to Christmas ? Perhaps you’ve never looked at it this way before, but consider this. If you are a dedicated football fan, then there’s a whole range of branded merchandise available for every team in the football League.There’s equipment. There’s DVDs. Table football. So lets forget football, then. If you’re a golfer, for the sake of argument, then your nearest and dearest are spoilt for choice, from your billionaire uncle who can buy you an electric buggy, down to the poor relations who can buy you something to scrub your balls . Boom boom – I’m here all week, ladies and gents.
At the risk of labouring the point, though, it just seems to me that with most other hobby obsessions, it does make you an easy person to buy presents for. Not so quizzers. What it boils down to is a choice between : -
Books
I don’t want to be accused of being someone who automatically rubbishes new quiz books without giving them a fair crack of the whip. I don’t actually think that the vast majority of quiz books out there are bad as such. However they’re not good. The fact is that the majority of them are so desperately samey. If quizzes are one of the pastimes that you are most interested in, then the majority of these just won’t do, because they will be full of questions you have heard hundreds of times before. Alright for a social pub quiz, but not the sort of thing to prevent you from dozing off in front of the Queen’s speech.
I do have one new book recommendation. Its not a quiz book as such, but an invaluable and enjoyable quiz resource. In October, Trevor Montague’s
“A to Z of Britain and Ireland : (Almost) Everything You Ever Needed to Know About the History and Heritage of these Islands(A to Z series ) “
was published, and it’s a belter. You know that anything that Trevor writes is going to be thoroughly researched, and written with the quizzer in mind. What I really like about this is that it’s a damn good read in its own right. You don’t have to use it just as a reference. I found that I was browsing it for several hours at a time. The biggest compliment that I can give it is that its as good as Trevor’s A- Z of Almost Everything, and A – Z of Sport.
Perhaps you’re looking for a good quiz book. My best advice is to wait until Olav Bjortomt’s eagerly awaited book is published. Having had a sneak preview I can confidently say that this is going to be an absolute corker. Still, if you can’t wait, then I can point you towards a few books which I have praised in this blog before, all of which are easily available second hand, through Amazon Used and New. I can heartily recommend : -
Magnus Magnusson’s Quiz Book
Magnus Magnusson’s Family Quiz Book
The Prince of Wales Quiz Book
Bamber Gascoigne’s Universally Challenging Quiz Book
Jeremy Beadle’s Miscellany
All of these are several cuts above the average, and will ask you questions that will test you, and more than that, will interest you.
Other Stuff
Yes, other stuff. Do stop me if I’m getting too technical. Interactive DVDs then. If you enter a search on Amazon for quiz DVDs then you’ll get a list of over 100. I can’t say that the vast majority of them light my candle. Most of them are either specialist music, TV or film games, or versions of TV game shows, or DVD versions of middle of the road quiz books. By this I mean the kind of book that calls itself “The Best / Biggest/ Hardest quiz book ever, when it clearly isn’t. Basically, if you’re more of an Entertainment or Sports quizzer then an all rounder, then this is the kind of thing that you might actually like. The talkSPORT DVD was enjoyable enough to play, and I’m sure some of the film quizzes out there on DVD are alright.
Interactive DVDs form the main bulk of the quiz games out there. Time was when you could buy any number of board based games which came in on the coattails of Trivial Pursuit. All of these that I ever played suffered from the same fundamental flaw as the British version of Trivial Pursuit – in my opinion the questions were desperately uneven, and many of them were crap.
However, if your finances can afford it, then I do have one recommendation to make. If you – or your kids – have a Playstation 2, or a Playstation 3, then there is a game for it called Buzz, which I can almost guarantee will get your juices flowing. Buzz is a game for up to 4 players. Each of you has a handheld buzzer – hence the name, geddit! – which has a red button on top, and 4 colour coded buttons underneath, with which you can answer the multiple questions. Basically each game is a quiz show in your own living room. When the original game came out you were pretty limited to entertainment categories, but now you can get far more versions. Be warned, though. For a quizzer the game is addictive.
Gifts that Money Can’t Buy
An open letter to Santa Claus
Dear Santa
Its me, Dave. As you know, I’ve been a good boy all year – well, alright , most of it. I wouldn’t normally bother you, but there are a few things that I’d really like for Christmas which I’m afraid my nearest and dearest won’t be able to buy for me. So I’m asking you , would you bring me : -
1) The Return of 15 to 1
Yes, the return of 15 to 1 to television. Since it left our screens some 6 or 7 years ago there really has been nothing to touch it. 15 to 1 was the quizzer’s quiz, and it’s a matter of regret that I never applied to go on it. This makes it one of two gaping holes in my quiz CV, the other being University Challenge. Alas, the success of “Deal or No Deal” means that Channel 4, at least, won’t be bringing it back any time soon.
2) The Revival of the quiz Leagues in Swansea
Its only since I stopped playing League quizzes that I realised how much I love it. My friends in Swansea tell me that the League is still going, but there’s only a relatively small number of teams involved, which is a real shame. As I said earlier in the year, I’d love to play regularly for any team in the Bridgend League, although I guess that guesting for a team for a couple of games is a non starter after what happened last year. If a team asked me , on the proviso that I’d have to be able to commit to playing for them for the whole season, I think that in all probability I’d agree like a shot.
3) BBC schedulers to realise that they have a little gem in Mastermind
Self explanatory, Santa, I should think. Just get them to leave it alone, and let the whole series go out on the same day, and the same time, without breaks until its over.
4) For there to be a 4th series of Only Connect, and for the filming to take place on a day that I can manage to make it.
Yes, Santa, I know that only 2 series have been shown on TV so far, but they are in the process of making a 3rd. Unfortunately my team just could not make it on the day which was available for filming, and so we had to give up on our application. Such a shame.
I will understand if you can’t manage to give me any of this – after all you only specialise in miracles. Still, do your best, eh ?
Regards
Dave
PS – we’ve opened up the fireplace this year, so don’t forget your asbestos underwear when you come down the chimney.
Or for the undiscerning quizzer, for that matter. Have you noticed how discriminated against we are as a group , when it comes to Christmas ? Perhaps you’ve never looked at it this way before, but consider this. If you are a dedicated football fan, then there’s a whole range of branded merchandise available for every team in the football League.There’s equipment. There’s DVDs. Table football. So lets forget football, then. If you’re a golfer, for the sake of argument, then your nearest and dearest are spoilt for choice, from your billionaire uncle who can buy you an electric buggy, down to the poor relations who can buy you something to scrub your balls . Boom boom – I’m here all week, ladies and gents.
At the risk of labouring the point, though, it just seems to me that with most other hobby obsessions, it does make you an easy person to buy presents for. Not so quizzers. What it boils down to is a choice between : -
Books
I don’t want to be accused of being someone who automatically rubbishes new quiz books without giving them a fair crack of the whip. I don’t actually think that the vast majority of quiz books out there are bad as such. However they’re not good. The fact is that the majority of them are so desperately samey. If quizzes are one of the pastimes that you are most interested in, then the majority of these just won’t do, because they will be full of questions you have heard hundreds of times before. Alright for a social pub quiz, but not the sort of thing to prevent you from dozing off in front of the Queen’s speech.
I do have one new book recommendation. Its not a quiz book as such, but an invaluable and enjoyable quiz resource. In October, Trevor Montague’s
“A to Z of Britain and Ireland : (Almost) Everything You Ever Needed to Know About the History and Heritage of these Islands(A to Z series ) “
was published, and it’s a belter. You know that anything that Trevor writes is going to be thoroughly researched, and written with the quizzer in mind. What I really like about this is that it’s a damn good read in its own right. You don’t have to use it just as a reference. I found that I was browsing it for several hours at a time. The biggest compliment that I can give it is that its as good as Trevor’s A- Z of Almost Everything, and A – Z of Sport.
Perhaps you’re looking for a good quiz book. My best advice is to wait until Olav Bjortomt’s eagerly awaited book is published. Having had a sneak preview I can confidently say that this is going to be an absolute corker. Still, if you can’t wait, then I can point you towards a few books which I have praised in this blog before, all of which are easily available second hand, through Amazon Used and New. I can heartily recommend : -
Magnus Magnusson’s Quiz Book
Magnus Magnusson’s Family Quiz Book
The Prince of Wales Quiz Book
Bamber Gascoigne’s Universally Challenging Quiz Book
Jeremy Beadle’s Miscellany
All of these are several cuts above the average, and will ask you questions that will test you, and more than that, will interest you.
Other Stuff
Yes, other stuff. Do stop me if I’m getting too technical. Interactive DVDs then. If you enter a search on Amazon for quiz DVDs then you’ll get a list of over 100. I can’t say that the vast majority of them light my candle. Most of them are either specialist music, TV or film games, or versions of TV game shows, or DVD versions of middle of the road quiz books. By this I mean the kind of book that calls itself “The Best / Biggest/ Hardest quiz book ever, when it clearly isn’t. Basically, if you’re more of an Entertainment or Sports quizzer then an all rounder, then this is the kind of thing that you might actually like. The talkSPORT DVD was enjoyable enough to play, and I’m sure some of the film quizzes out there on DVD are alright.
Interactive DVDs form the main bulk of the quiz games out there. Time was when you could buy any number of board based games which came in on the coattails of Trivial Pursuit. All of these that I ever played suffered from the same fundamental flaw as the British version of Trivial Pursuit – in my opinion the questions were desperately uneven, and many of them were crap.
However, if your finances can afford it, then I do have one recommendation to make. If you – or your kids – have a Playstation 2, or a Playstation 3, then there is a game for it called Buzz, which I can almost guarantee will get your juices flowing. Buzz is a game for up to 4 players. Each of you has a handheld buzzer – hence the name, geddit! – which has a red button on top, and 4 colour coded buttons underneath, with which you can answer the multiple questions. Basically each game is a quiz show in your own living room. When the original game came out you were pretty limited to entertainment categories, but now you can get far more versions. Be warned, though. For a quizzer the game is addictive.
Gifts that Money Can’t Buy
An open letter to Santa Claus
Dear Santa
Its me, Dave. As you know, I’ve been a good boy all year – well, alright , most of it. I wouldn’t normally bother you, but there are a few things that I’d really like for Christmas which I’m afraid my nearest and dearest won’t be able to buy for me. So I’m asking you , would you bring me : -
1) The Return of 15 to 1
Yes, the return of 15 to 1 to television. Since it left our screens some 6 or 7 years ago there really has been nothing to touch it. 15 to 1 was the quizzer’s quiz, and it’s a matter of regret that I never applied to go on it. This makes it one of two gaping holes in my quiz CV, the other being University Challenge. Alas, the success of “Deal or No Deal” means that Channel 4, at least, won’t be bringing it back any time soon.
2) The Revival of the quiz Leagues in Swansea
Its only since I stopped playing League quizzes that I realised how much I love it. My friends in Swansea tell me that the League is still going, but there’s only a relatively small number of teams involved, which is a real shame. As I said earlier in the year, I’d love to play regularly for any team in the Bridgend League, although I guess that guesting for a team for a couple of games is a non starter after what happened last year. If a team asked me , on the proviso that I’d have to be able to commit to playing for them for the whole season, I think that in all probability I’d agree like a shot.
3) BBC schedulers to realise that they have a little gem in Mastermind
Self explanatory, Santa, I should think. Just get them to leave it alone, and let the whole series go out on the same day, and the same time, without breaks until its over.
4) For there to be a 4th series of Only Connect, and for the filming to take place on a day that I can manage to make it.
Yes, Santa, I know that only 2 series have been shown on TV so far, but they are in the process of making a 3rd. Unfortunately my team just could not make it on the day which was available for filming, and so we had to give up on our application. Such a shame.
I will understand if you can’t manage to give me any of this – after all you only specialise in miracles. Still, do your best, eh ?
Regards
Dave
PS – we’ve opened up the fireplace this year, so don’t forget your asbestos underwear when you come down the chimney.
Pranks and spoofs and figures of speech
I must apologise for my tardiness.I meant to post this several days ago, but its been a very busy week, for one reason and another. A couple of weeks ago I commented on Michael Burton’s claim that his record equalling lowest score on Mastermind was all a deliberate prank – if you missed it and want to read it, its called Angels and Demons , and it was posted on Monday 23rd November. I basically explained why I find Mr. Burton’s claim to be a little less than credible. So you can imagine that I was delighted to see Russell Howard doing exactly the same thing when I watched his show on the iplayer a few days ago.
I don’t know why it made me so happy. I guess it was because, apart from the fact that Russell Howard said what I wanted to say, only in a much funnier way, but I always find it a little heartwarming to see something which confirms that Mastermind is still there in the national consciousness.
Think how many spoofs of it there have been of it, for example. I suppose that it was always pretty easy to send up, having such a strong central idea and a very strong visual identity. Probably most of us of a certain age remember the classic spoof by the Two Ronnies.
Barker : And so to our final contender. Your name please ?
Corbett : Good evening
Barker : Thank you. In your first heat your specialised subject was answering questions before they were asked. This time you have chose to answer the question before last. Is this correct ?
Corbett : Charlie Smithers
You probably remember it now. If not, then you can – and should – watch the clip on YoutTube - just google Two Ronnies Mastermind spoof.
Apart from the brilliant script, and brilliant delivery of it, the sketch looks so much like the classic Magnusson Mastermind. Amongst others there have been a Morecambe and Wise sketch, which really featured Magnus Magnusson, but had production values nowhere near as high as those in the Two Ronnies sketch. Basically, Ernie plays a know-all professor who really does answer all the questions before they are asked, and Eric is a chancer who cons his way through, but looks set to lose on the last question, where he has to complete the phrase – Khyber – well I’m sure you get the drift.
When Channel 4 started broadcasting, one of the popular programmes in their original line up was the Paul Hogan show. Remember that this was a good 5 years before Crocodile Dundee came out in the cinemas, so he was probably only really known at the time in the UK for his TV ads for Fosters. One of his shows, if I recall correctly , had a Mastermind spoof called Thick’Ead. You can work that one out for yourself.
Benny Hill also sent up the show more than once, as did Spitting Image. In one of them I recall Jeffrey Archer answering questions about himself, and getting them all wrong – make up your own mind about what was being implied with this one. In c. 1991, George (H. W. ) Bush was shown in the chair, answering questions about which countries had committed various human rights atrocities, and answering Iraq incorrectly to each one.
I am ashamed to admit that I did also once catch an episode – by accident - of Strip Masterbrain on the late and unlamented LiveTV cable channel. From what I remember of it, contenders, who consisted exclusively of Page 3 model type ladies were posed sets of questions by a little , middle aged , balding bearded guy called Reggie Reggison. Come to think of it, maybe that wasn’t his real name. If they got a question wrong – guess what ? That’s right – all their clothes fell off. Yet despite all this, LiveTV still went belly up. What were the chances of that happening, eh ?
I stand willing to be proven wrong, but I believe that Pass – in the sense of – I do not know the answer to that question so please may we move on to another one – became part of our national consciousness through Mastermind. Watch almost any TV quiz now, and you’ll hear it being used in that sense. Likewise “I’ve started So I’ll Finish” has had a tenacious quality about it. Its 12 years since the late Magnus Magnusson presented his last edition of the show, but the catchphrase goes on. John Humphrys tries to vary it with a variety of different ways of greeting the buzzer – and you may answer – more often than not, but even he finds himself slipping into it from time to time.
Its interesting to think of other quiz show figures of speech that have wormed their way into the public consciousness. Off the top of my head, from other shows I can think of -
"Starter for Ten"
"I'll have a P please Bob"
"Phone a Friend".
I don’t know why it made me so happy. I guess it was because, apart from the fact that Russell Howard said what I wanted to say, only in a much funnier way, but I always find it a little heartwarming to see something which confirms that Mastermind is still there in the national consciousness.
Think how many spoofs of it there have been of it, for example. I suppose that it was always pretty easy to send up, having such a strong central idea and a very strong visual identity. Probably most of us of a certain age remember the classic spoof by the Two Ronnies.
Barker : And so to our final contender. Your name please ?
Corbett : Good evening
Barker : Thank you. In your first heat your specialised subject was answering questions before they were asked. This time you have chose to answer the question before last. Is this correct ?
Corbett : Charlie Smithers
You probably remember it now. If not, then you can – and should – watch the clip on YoutTube - just google Two Ronnies Mastermind spoof.
Apart from the brilliant script, and brilliant delivery of it, the sketch looks so much like the classic Magnusson Mastermind. Amongst others there have been a Morecambe and Wise sketch, which really featured Magnus Magnusson, but had production values nowhere near as high as those in the Two Ronnies sketch. Basically, Ernie plays a know-all professor who really does answer all the questions before they are asked, and Eric is a chancer who cons his way through, but looks set to lose on the last question, where he has to complete the phrase – Khyber – well I’m sure you get the drift.
When Channel 4 started broadcasting, one of the popular programmes in their original line up was the Paul Hogan show. Remember that this was a good 5 years before Crocodile Dundee came out in the cinemas, so he was probably only really known at the time in the UK for his TV ads for Fosters. One of his shows, if I recall correctly , had a Mastermind spoof called Thick’Ead. You can work that one out for yourself.
Benny Hill also sent up the show more than once, as did Spitting Image. In one of them I recall Jeffrey Archer answering questions about himself, and getting them all wrong – make up your own mind about what was being implied with this one. In c. 1991, George (H. W. ) Bush was shown in the chair, answering questions about which countries had committed various human rights atrocities, and answering Iraq incorrectly to each one.
I am ashamed to admit that I did also once catch an episode – by accident - of Strip Masterbrain on the late and unlamented LiveTV cable channel. From what I remember of it, contenders, who consisted exclusively of Page 3 model type ladies were posed sets of questions by a little , middle aged , balding bearded guy called Reggie Reggison. Come to think of it, maybe that wasn’t his real name. If they got a question wrong – guess what ? That’s right – all their clothes fell off. Yet despite all this, LiveTV still went belly up. What were the chances of that happening, eh ?
I stand willing to be proven wrong, but I believe that Pass – in the sense of – I do not know the answer to that question so please may we move on to another one – became part of our national consciousness through Mastermind. Watch almost any TV quiz now, and you’ll hear it being used in that sense. Likewise “I’ve started So I’ll Finish” has had a tenacious quality about it. Its 12 years since the late Magnus Magnusson presented his last edition of the show, but the catchphrase goes on. John Humphrys tries to vary it with a variety of different ways of greeting the buzzer – and you may answer – more often than not, but even he finds himself slipping into it from time to time.
Its interesting to think of other quiz show figures of speech that have wormed their way into the public consciousness. Off the top of my head, from other shows I can think of -
"Starter for Ten"
"I'll have a P please Bob"
"Phone a Friend".
Wednesday, 2 December 2009
40 questions - the mental equivalent of a quick jog around the block
As dear old Robert Robinson used to say, at the start of the first round of each "Ask The Family". These 40 questions are the first four rounds of a relatively easy quiz I asked in the rugby club a couple of weeks ago. I hope that you enjoy them.
1) Who wrote Rebecca , and Jamaica Inn ?
2) Who was the lead singer of the Seekers ?
3) What was the name of Harry Enfield’s horrible teenage character ?
4) Who became world 500cc motorbike champion in 1976 and 1977 ?
5) Which british Olympic gold medallist was a co founder of the London Marathon ?
6) In the original Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin, what was the name of Reggie’s boss ?
7) What is the connection between your last 6 answers ?
8) In the news – following the England football team’s losing performance against Brazil, which cartoon character was manager Fabio Capello compared to in the news of the World ?
9) Which acid is also known as oil of vitriol ?
10) The city of Venice lies on which sea, which itself forms part of the Mediterranean ?
11) Name the two famous Edinburgh Body Snatchers in the 1820s
12) The 7th President of the USA is usually reckoned to be the first Democrat President. Who was he ?
13) In 1988, who became a Canadian Olympic champion, then within 5 years became a british world champion ?
14) Name the society osteopath who committed suicide when he was being tried as part of the Profumo Scandal
15) What is the connection between your last four answers ?
16) Dr. Brooke Magnanti admitted writing the book Belle du jour in November. The book deals with her secret life as what ?
17) Which alcoholic drink takes its name from the second most populous city in Switzerland ?
18) When did the ten shilling note go out of circulation ?
19) Who or what is a tin Lizzie ?
20) What would a tailor use his plonker for ?
21) Which building in Northumberland has been used for the exterior shots of Hogwarts school in the Harry Potter films ?
22) What is the surname of Emma in the novel by Jane Austen ?
23) Which 20th century Prime Minister introduced the Citizen’s Charter ?
24) Which character , who later returned in his own TV series, was actually shot in the film “The Blue Lamp” ?
25) Which is the largest inhabited castle in Europe ?
26) What is the connection between your last five answers ?
27) During November, which member of the Royal Family offered the opinion that Australia should become a republic ?
28) What makes a pink gin pink ?
29) Which was the first ever credit card ?
30) What would a Scotsman do with his spurtle ?
31) Which character in Last of the Summer Wine was played by Brian Wilde ?
32) From whom did Muhammed Ali, or Cassius Clay as was then, win his first ever world title ?
33) Which name links companions of both Tintin and Dick Barton special agent ?
34) Randy Crawford once had a hit with a song about what type of night in Georgia ?
35) In british police radio communication signals, which code is used to refer to someone who is of white European ethnicity?
36) Which march is played to herald the arrival of the US president at a public appearance ?
37) What is the connection between your last six answers ?
38) A statue of whom has just been installed on the 4th plinth in Trafalgar Square ?
39) What is an Edzell Blue ?
40) Which of these once worked as a pastry chef in a top London Hotel ?
Ho chi Minh – Mao Tse Tung – Cho en Lai – Kim Il Sung
1) Who wrote Rebecca , and Jamaica Inn ?
2) Who was the lead singer of the Seekers ?
3) What was the name of Harry Enfield’s horrible teenage character ?
4) Who became world 500cc motorbike champion in 1976 and 1977 ?
5) Which british Olympic gold medallist was a co founder of the London Marathon ?
6) In the original Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin, what was the name of Reggie’s boss ?
7) What is the connection between your last 6 answers ?
8) In the news – following the England football team’s losing performance against Brazil, which cartoon character was manager Fabio Capello compared to in the news of the World ?
9) Which acid is also known as oil of vitriol ?
10) The city of Venice lies on which sea, which itself forms part of the Mediterranean ?
11) Name the two famous Edinburgh Body Snatchers in the 1820s
12) The 7th President of the USA is usually reckoned to be the first Democrat President. Who was he ?
13) In 1988, who became a Canadian Olympic champion, then within 5 years became a british world champion ?
14) Name the society osteopath who committed suicide when he was being tried as part of the Profumo Scandal
15) What is the connection between your last four answers ?
16) Dr. Brooke Magnanti admitted writing the book Belle du jour in November. The book deals with her secret life as what ?
17) Which alcoholic drink takes its name from the second most populous city in Switzerland ?
18) When did the ten shilling note go out of circulation ?
19) Who or what is a tin Lizzie ?
20) What would a tailor use his plonker for ?
21) Which building in Northumberland has been used for the exterior shots of Hogwarts school in the Harry Potter films ?
22) What is the surname of Emma in the novel by Jane Austen ?
23) Which 20th century Prime Minister introduced the Citizen’s Charter ?
24) Which character , who later returned in his own TV series, was actually shot in the film “The Blue Lamp” ?
25) Which is the largest inhabited castle in Europe ?
26) What is the connection between your last five answers ?
27) During November, which member of the Royal Family offered the opinion that Australia should become a republic ?
28) What makes a pink gin pink ?
29) Which was the first ever credit card ?
30) What would a Scotsman do with his spurtle ?
31) Which character in Last of the Summer Wine was played by Brian Wilde ?
32) From whom did Muhammed Ali, or Cassius Clay as was then, win his first ever world title ?
33) Which name links companions of both Tintin and Dick Barton special agent ?
34) Randy Crawford once had a hit with a song about what type of night in Georgia ?
35) In british police radio communication signals, which code is used to refer to someone who is of white European ethnicity?
36) Which march is played to herald the arrival of the US president at a public appearance ?
37) What is the connection between your last six answers ?
38) A statue of whom has just been installed on the 4th plinth in Trafalgar Square ?
39) What is an Edzell Blue ?
40) Which of these once worked as a pastry chef in a top London Hotel ?
Ho chi Minh – Mao Tse Tung – Cho en Lai – Kim Il Sung
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