Only Connect Series 12: Group A Round 1: Match 1: Tubers vs Bardophiles

Yep, we're back with Only Connect as well! And the show seems to have some a new format this series too, but more on that later. First of all, on to last night's show.

Opening the series last night were the Tubers, David Prevezer, Hugh Brady and captain Jack Welsby, and the Bardophiles, Charlie Cook, Tim Hepworth and captain Sue Barnard. In terms of previous quiz enthusiasm, Mr Hepworth appeared in the Fifiteen-to-One 2.0 final last month, while Mr Welsby is a champion of original Fifteen-to-One, winning the penultimate original series jointly with David Stedman; he has also reached the semi-finals of UC (with Durham in 98-99) and Countdown (in Richard Whiteley's penultimate series in 2004).

So, Round 1. The Tubers kicked the series off with Two Reeds: 'Alfred Radok: Czech Republic', then 'Moliere: France', then 'Antoinette Perry: USA'; at this point, they correctly offered 'people who gave their name to theatre awards in different countries, for two points. The Bardophiles began their campaign with Lion, and got the picture set: we saw novelist Vera Brittain, then Benjamin Britten, then Fern Britton, and finally the late Leon Britton. Pretty obvious there, except they didn't recognise Vera Brittain, and, for some reason, didn't spot the link, and simply offered that they all shared their names with composers. VCM very leniently gave them another go, and this time they got it for a point. The Tubers chose Twisted Flax next: 'Hegel's Holiday (Magritte)', then 'Hong Kong protests, 2014'; at this point, they offered 'umbrellas', which was correct for three points. The Bardophiles chose Eye of Horus next: 'Decides season's champions', then 'Completes stellar explosion', then 'Loses all resistance at low temperatures'; at this point, they offered 'semi', which was incorrect. The Tubers saw 'Is written above normal script', and correctly offered 'Super' for a bonus. For their own question, the Tubers chose Water, and got the music round: we heard some classical music, then 'Jolly Holiday' from Mary Poppins, then 'Reasons to be Cheerful' by Ian Dury and the Blockheads, and finally a song I didn't recognise. Neither team knew it: the first piece was Liszt's 'Merry Widow Waltz' and the last was Glad All Over by the Dave Clark Five. So, words meaning 'joyful' is the link. Left with Horned Viper, the Bardophiles saw 'Brownies', then 'Michael Fagan', then 'Freddie Krueger', and finally 'Milk Tray Man'. They couldn't get specific enough, nor could their opponents. They all unexpectedly visited someone's bedroom. (Not those Brownies! They are some kind of mythical Scottish goblins) At the end of the first round, the Tubers led 6-1.

Round 2, What Comes Fourth? The Tuber began the round, again, with Two Reeds: '1 of 4: $1 obverse', then '2 of 4: $2 obverse', and then '3 of 4: not on current banknotes'. A good one this: they are the presidents on Mount Rushmore, and the banknotes they currently appear on, so '4 of 4: $5 obverse' completes the set, as the Tubers identified for two points. The Bardophiles chose Lion: 'All this happened, more or less,', then 'Sherlock Holmes took his bottle from the corner...', and then 'There were four of us - George and William Samuel Harris...'. They spotted the link to be opening lines of novels with five, four and three in the title, and, while they couldn't think of the opening line of a 'two' novel, they had enough sufficient info for VCM to give them the two points. Bit lenient, but fair enough given its the first round. The Tubers chose Twisted Flax next: 'Heathen', then 'Reality', and then 'The Next Day'; the third clue gave it to them that they are David Bowie's final albums, and offered 'Blackstar' for two points. The Bardophiles chose Water next: 'Charlotte I', then 'George VII', and then 'William III'. This was another good one, but they couldn't see it: they are what the first four people in line to the throne will be when/should they acceed. The Tubers saw it and offered 'Charles III' for a bonus, though it has been speculated for years (HIGNFY reported it in 2000) that Charles may call himself George VII instead due to the misfortune suffered by the first two King Charleses. For their final choice, the Tubers chose Horned Viper, and got the picture round: we saw Mr Spock, then a cub scout, and then Winston Churchill. They ran out of time before they could offer, and their opponents had nothing too. Mr Spock is famous for a four-finger hand gesture, scouts use three fingers and Churchill's famous V for victory used two fingers, so someone famous for a one finger gesture, like a cricket umpire, would complete the set. Left with Eye of Horus, the Bardophiles saw ''We're doomed, I tell you - doomed!'', then ''Don't panic! Don't panic!!''; they correctly spotted it to be catchphrases of Dad's Army characters in ascending order of rank, and offered ''You stupid boy!'' as a Captain Mainwaring catchphrase for three points. Great set! (Though, to be pedantic, 'Don't tell him Pike' isn't a catchphrase, but a famous one off quote, so shouldn't have been accepted if offered. Thanks for pointing that out Dad!) At the end of the second round, the Tubers led 11-6.

On to the Walls, where VCM, though no longer pregnant, still appears to have a podium to stand behind. The Bardophiles went first, and chose to tackle the Lion wall. They quickly set to work, and set to work sorting links out. They quickly isolated '30', 'Punk', 'Plymouth' and 'Northern', which can all precede 'rock'. They then quickly got a second group: 'Cowboy', 'Saint', 'Patriot' and 'Charger' are NFL teams in singular. They spotted the remaining links, but failed in their three attempts to untangle the wall. They did get both bonuses for the connections though: 'Beefeater', 'Magellan', 'No. 3' and 'Gordon's' are brands of gin, while 'Raven', 'Fusilier', 'Crown Jewels' and 'Paul Cummins' are all associated with the Tower of London. Six points for that.

The Tubers were left with the Water wall. They quickly untangled their first group: 'Tucker', 'Sheila', 'Barbie' and 'Yakka' are Australian slang terms. After a few incorrect gos, a second group came in: 'Cavalier', 'Jackass', 'Policeman' and 'Gas' can all follow 'laughing'. They quickly worked out what the final links were, and managed to work out what the groups were too: 'Stock', 'Butt', 'Grip' and 'Barrel' are parts of a gun, while 'Blind', 'Best', 'Law' and 'Bruce' are footballers who played for Man U. A full ten there, which gave them a 21-12 lead going into the final round.

So, the Bardophiles would have to run Missing Vowels if they were to stand a chance of catching up. 'Entries in the official glossary of Parliament' went to the Tubers 3-0, thus confirming their victory. 'What do points mean?' went to the Tubers 2-0, with the Bardophiles getting one right but one wrong. 'Non-lethal weapons', such as 'COUNTRY CLUBS' and 'BRITNEY SPEARS'(!), went to the Tubers 3-1. 'They famously wear red' was announced, but there was no time for any of those clues. At the end of the show, the Tubers won 29-13.

A good start to the new series. Well done Tubers, and best of luck in the next round. Unlucky Bardophiles, who, as per the show's new format, will only come back if they are one of the highest scoring losing teams.

Now, the show's new format. At first, having vaguely recalled there being 27 shows as usual from the Radio Times website, I assumed the show had adopted UC's old rules, where 24 teams compete, and the twelve winners go through alongside the four highest scoring losing teams. Having looked again, however, it seems there will be 37 shows this series, and the show has adopted UC's current rules.

I am of two minds about this: I do really like watching OC, and more matches will be welcomed by others who do so too, and it will keep the winning double act of UC and OC going for the entirety of their runs, more or less. But 37 shows is maybe a bit too many, and the whole point of changing the format in the first place was to give all teams at least two games, which some won't this time. While I fully await the rest of the series, I'm not convinced UC's format is right for the show, and the old UC format I mentioned earlier might be better for the show, as it would have increased the number of teams while keeping the number of matches the same. But let's wait and see how it works out before drawing complete conclusions.

Next week's match: Cosmopolitans vs Taverners