Only Connect Series 12: Group B Play-Off 2: Wrestlers vs Genealogists

So, we've finally reached the final first round match proper of this year's Only Connect. Whoever won would take the final place in the second round draw. Playing for it were the Wrestlers, Steve Hoar, Tom Mead and captain Colin Daffern, who were defeated by the Clareites in their first match, and the Genealogists, Derek Caudwell, Andy Crane and captain Traci Whitehead, who lost a high scoring match against the Surrealists.

Round 1. The Genealogists kicked off proceedings with Twisted Flax, and the picture set: we saw an H and a B, then an eagle and a Beagle dog, then the Rat Pack and the Brat Pack. That gave it to them: you add a B to the first to get the second. (The letters representing Eta and Beta) The Wrestlers opened their match account with Eye of Horus: 'Lou Gehrig: Horse', then 'Louis van Gaal: Tulip', then 'Wellington: Duke'. Again, they had it at the third: they have all been nicknamed the Iron something (ie, van Gaal is the Iron Tulip). The Genealogists chose Two Reeds next, and got the music set: we heard Bob Dylan singing 'It Ain't Me Babe', then Sammy Davis Jr singing 'It Ain't Necessarily So'; they immediately had the connection of 'Ain't' for three points. The Wrestlers chose Lion next: 'Claudius, Seneca's 'Apocolocyntosis'', then 'Tomato, 1893 US Supreme Court declaration', then 'Graham Taylor, 'Sun' front page, 24 November 1993'. They guessed 'head' at this point, but were wrong. The Genealogists saw 'Carriage at midnight, 'Cinderella'', and offered that they all became a vegetable in the contexts in question for a bonus. For their own question, the Genealogists chose Horned Viper: 'The Pontipines and The Wottingers', then 'Miss Rachel Haverford and Atticus Finch', then 'Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer'; they spotted them to be next door neighbours, and collected another two points. Left with Water, the Wrestlers saw 'LOUDER', then 'Bit on the Side', then 'It Takes Two'. They spotted them to be reality TV spin-offs, and they too collected two points. At the end of the first round, the Genealogists led 8-4.

Round 2, What Comes Fourth? The Genealogists kicked the round off with Two Reeds, and, again, the picture set: we saw four sewing machines, then the Ewings from Dallas, and then the band Wings. They didn't see it, their opponents did: something representing 'Ings', such as Danny of Liverpool, would be satisfactory, the sequence being 'Sewings', 'Ewings', 'Wings', 'Ings'. The Wrestlers chose Twisted Flax next: 'La lune', then 'Mars'; they saw it to be French days of the week, but didn't offer a correct answer. The Genealogists saw 'Mercure', but they couldn't get it either. 'Jupiter' would complete the set. The Genealogists chose 'Water' next: 'Citigroup' (in small text), then 'Wells Fargo', and then 'Bank of America' (in larger text). They offered 'HSBC'; not right. Their opponents tried 'Goldman Sachs'; not right either. It's US banks in order of how rich they are, so 'JP Morgan Chase' (in very big bold text) would be right. The Wrestlers chose 'Horn-ed' Viper next: ''Sides' of a cricket pitch', then 'Capital One Cup semi-finals'; they thought it might have something to do ascending numbers of things, but couldn't work out what or provide an acceptable answer. Their opponents saw 'Bannera da Sicilia', saw it to be ascending numbers of legs, and offered 'a horse', which was accepted for a bonus. For their own final choice, the Genealogists saw Eye of Horus: 'Petroselinum crispum', the 'Salvia officinalis'; they saw it to be 'Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme' in Latin, and, clutching for the right answer, offered 'Thymus ordinarius', which was accepted for three points, with just 'Thymus' being the right answer! Left with Lion, the Wrestlers saw '5p has 1', then '10p has 1', and then '20p has 7'. They saw it to be coins and how many sides they have, but offered '50p has 8', which was not right. Their opponents offered '50p has 7' for a bonus. At the end of the second round, the Genealogists led 13-5.

On to the Walls. Needing a good result, the Wrestlers set to work on the Lion wall. They quickly spotted a set of Beethoven compositions, and isolated 'Pathetique', 'Hammer-klavier', 'Moonlight' and 'Pastoral', but offered them as symphonies rather than piano sonatas, thus dropping a set point. They nonetheless very promptly isolated the remaining groups: 'Toy', 'Ball', 'Altar' and 'Whipping' can all precede 'boy', which they knew, 'Terrier', 'Hound', 'Working' and 'Utility' are dog breed standards, which they also knew, while 'Palme d'Or', 'Goldenar Bar', 'Teddy' and 'Grand Prix' are international film awards, which they also also knew. Just the one mistake, so seven points.

The Genealogists thus could add to their advantage if they could do a good job of the Water wall. They quickly spotted a set of snakes, but couldn't isolate them. Instead, they isolated 'Java', 'Ruby', 'Go' and 'Python', which are programming languages. After struggling with the remaining clues, with but a few seconds to go, they finally isolated the snakes set, 'Sidewinder', 'Habu', 'Boomslang' and 'Anaconda', and then very quickly fitted what was left into place: 'Starling', 'Whiteread', 'Creed' and 'Kapoor' are Turner prize winning artists (coincidentally, the subject of a question on yesterday's Pointless final as well!), while 'Rocky', 'Cobra', 'Oscar' and 'Cliffhanger' are Sylvester Stallone films. A full ten, which gave them a lead of 23-12 going into the final round.

So, the Wrestlers would have to go for it on Missing Vowels to stand any chance of catching up. 'Things associated with Bertolt Brecht', such as 'MOTHER COURAGE AND HER CHILDREN', went to the Wrestlers 2-1. 'Morbid expressions', such as 'ONE FOOT IN THE GRAVE', was a clean sweep to the Wrestlers 4-0. 'Keepers' went to the Wrestlers 3-(-1), and that was time. The Genealogists just snuck home 23-21.

Another good match to finish off the first round. Unlucky Wrestlers, who so nearly pulled it off and just fell short, but nothing to be ashamed of, so very well played and thanks for doing so. Very well done Genealogists though on another good performance, and very best of luck in the second round!

Next week's match: the Cosmopolitans vs the Tubers in the first second round match.

I'll be back on Thursday with a look back over the first round and some thoughts on its format.