Evening all. So, we've made it to the semi-finals of this epic (and at times controversial) series of University Challenge. I was pleased to see Paxo point out to those who didn't already realise that there are no women left in the semis. The second of four all-male matches to end the series would see one of these excellent Oxford sides take the first place in the final in two weeks' time.
St Peter's College Oxford came directly through to this stage by beating Sussex, Selwyn College Cambridge, our friends Oxford Brookes and Liverpool respectively, in an impressive run where they upped their score every time. Hoping to do that again tonight and thus make the final were the unchanged foursome of:
John Armitage, from Lancaster, studying Maths
Ed Roberts, from London, studying History
Captain: Gabriel Trueblood, from London, studying Medicine
Spike Smith, from Maidenhead, studying Maths
Magdalen College Oxford defeated Pembroke College Cambridge, Open, Trinity College Cambridge and Bristol to get here, but they also lost to Caius, who are on next week, so no shame in that. Slight underdogs but not by much tonight, they too were the same four as before:
Harry Gillow, from Stone in Staffordshire, studying Classics
Chris Savory, from Burgess Hill in West Sussex, studying Chemistry
Captain: Hugh Binnie, from Cheltenham, studying Chemistry
Cameron J. Quinn, from Los Angeles, studying Philosophy and French
Off we set again then, and Hugh Binnie got this Oxford derby going by identifying a list of people who narrowly avoided death by cancelling their trip on the Titanic; two bonuses followed. Spike Smith got St Peter's going with the next starter, but just one bonus followed. Gabriel Trueblood, by far the best starter answerer of the series so far, missed a chance to break his duck; Magdalen subsequently took a second starter, and a full set of bonuses on comfort food. Both sides narrowly (and rather humourously) missed the first picture starter, and Cameron Quinn was somewhat lucky to have 'Shelley' accepted for 'Mary Shelley' on the next starter; the picture bonuses, on elements and their decades of discovery, gave Magdalen a lead of 60-15.
Mr Quinn took a second starter in a row, before Mr Trueblood finally broke his duck; the side didn't manage of a set of bonuses on centenarians, and Paxo was rather unfair to somewhat rub in a pass on the first bonus, and then laugh at a suggestion Buster Keaton died age 100 in 1996 (he was born in 1895, but died well before he was 100). Chris Savory then became the latest victim of the apparent strictness on fine-cut interruptions that has been prominent throughout this series, but St Peter's couldn't convert. Mr Trueblood did take another starter next though, and the side took all three bonuses on poetry about constellations. Magdalen had another unlucky miss, before St Peter's took another starter, and the gap was down to just 5.
The music starter saw Mr Quinn quickly identify Gounod, as would I had I had more time! The bonuses, on military themed compositions, gave Magdalen more breathing space, with a lead of 95-70. Mr Quinn took the next starter too, and the side took a full set of bonuses on whales. Mr Trueblood knew he had to act quickly, but zigged with Neptune when he should have zagged with Poseidon, losing five; Harry Gillow took the points. Mr Trueblood made up for his slip by taking the next starter, and two bonuses on singing servants in fiction followed. Hugh Binnie took the next starter, and the side took two bonuses on a tough set requiring years to be subtracted (yes, really).
The second picture round, on paintings of saints and their painters, with the added Easter Egg of the painters all sharing names with the Teenage Mutant Ninja/Hero Turtles(!), went to Magdalen, who now led by 185-85. St Peter's needed to get a move on; what they didn't need was a slip-up, which Mr Quinn was unlucky not to pick up. Mr Savory was unlucky to slip-up on the next starter, allowing Mr Trueblood to take the points; the side desperately needed a full bonus set, and promptly took two from a set on languages of South Africa.
Mr Trueblood then took a second starter in a row, and two bonuses followed. If they could get a run of momentum now, they could be in with a shout. Mr Quinn stopped them dead, though, by taking the next starter, but no bonuses followed. But when Mr Quinn took the next starter, that looked like it might suffice to see them home safely. Just to make sure, Mr Binnie took the remaining two starters, and one of the three bonuses there was time for. At the gong, Magdalen won 235-120.
Good match, totally representative of the standard we'd expect at this late stage. Unlucky St Peter's, who just didn't quite have the same buzzer brilliance as before, but, as Paxo said, going out in the semis isn't bad at all; well done to them on a very good series run. Well done to Magdalen, though, and best of luck in the final!
Cameron Quinn was the best buzzer of the night, with seven starters, while Gabriel Trueblood was, as usual, best for St Peter's with five. On the bonuses, St Peter's converted a respectable 12 out of 21, while Magdalen managed a pretty good 23 out of 36, and both sides incurred two penalties.
Next week's match: the second semi-final, a rematch between Caius and Durham. And then, the final!
Only Connect has already had its final, which we saw tonight. Hopefully I'll be able to watch it back and get a review up by Friday. Also, WW have appeared to suggest VCM is pregnant; haven't found any evidence to back this up anywhere else on line, but will definitely report it on here and/or on LAM if I do.
I had a feeling St Peter's would come a cropper eventually. Magdalen effectively have two Truebloods in Binnie and Quinn, while the other two are providing able support. It just serves to underline the importance of teamwork in University Challenge. Easy to forget that Trimble and Guttenplan had very capable team-mates around them. That being said, Trueblood's individual performance has to be lauded: 39(?) starters in 5 games is a remarkable haul.
ReplyDeleteThe lack of women in UC is now so prevalent that even Paxman alluded to it at the beginning. Surely now there will be some kind of reform in the next couple of years. On that topic, I do think that the UC producers shot themselves in the foot by not giving Open University an easier route to the quarter-finals. Aside from being quite good and a very likeable team in general, they had three women, two of whom were, as the French would say, d'un certain âge, so their presence in the latter stages probably would have deflected a lot of the qualms about a lack of diversity. At least, that's what I would have done if I were a politically-correct BBC producer.
Good point about teamwork, and you are correct about Mr Trueblood's starter tally. I will publish full starter tallies for the eight QF teams after the series is over.
DeleteI suppose you are correct about women representation, and good point about the unlucky draw. I suppose St Peter's also had the advantage of being the strongest team in their half of the draw.