OK, no sooner have I finished watching the second UC Christmas special (a full recap of all this week's shows will be up Friday/Saturday), then I have to move on to last night's Only Connect. The last Monday offering for now, as the show will be moving to Friday night after Mastermind come the New Year. Which means my reviews may possibly be moving to Sunday night.
As for last night, though, playing for the penultimate place in the group stage were the Beekeepers, Ian Wallace, Josh Spero and captain Mark Wallace, son of Ian, who defeated the Scunthorpe Scholars comfortably in their first match, and the Policy Wonks, Helen Thomas, Robert Colville and captain Robert McIlveen, who came from behind to beat the Maltsters in their first outing.
Round 1. The Wonks went first, and opened the night's proceedings with Lion: 'Only Connect = title', then 'Only connect = sentence', then 'onlyConnect = camel', and finally 'only_connect = snake'. They didn't have this, nor did their opponents. They got it when it was too late: they are case types and examples of them. The Beekeepers opened their account with Horned Viper, and got the music question: we heard the Masochism Tango, then November Rain by Guns N Roses, then Hotel Californa; they spotted that the songs all contains words from the NATO alphabet, and duly collected two points. The Wonks chose Eye of Horus next, and got the picture set: we saw Mr T, then George Orwell, then Romesh Ranganathan, and finally Sting. Again, they didn't see it, nor did their opponents: they are all former teachers. The Beekeepers chose Water next: 'Ring for', then 'Much Obliged,'; they spotted them to be novels in the Jeeves series, and thus collected three points. (Victoria was not impressed when four of the panelists confessed to having never read a Jeeves book! I intend to eventually.) The Wonks chose Twisted Flax next: 'Ship of Thesius', then 'Sugababes'; they claimed their first points when they offered that they have all had their original components all replaced. (More hilarity ensued when Victoria jokingly asked Mr McIlveen to name the original line-up and he did so! "Now I see why you haven't read any Jeeves books!") Left with Two Reeds, the Beekeepers saw 'ALBA', then 'SPRINGFED', then 'SARMENTO'; they saw them to be state capitals with their state's abbreviation removed from the name, and collected two more points. At the end of the first round, the Beekeepers led 7-3.
Round 2, What Comes Fourth? The Wonks began the round with Horned Viper, and got a music question: we heard Johnny Burnette's You're 16, then Janis Ian's At 17, and then Pete Wingfield's 18 with a Bullet. They didn't see it, nor did their opponents, though their wrong guesses that it had something to do with weapons provoked more laughter! Something with 19 in it, like Paul Hardcastle's 19, would suffice. (For once, there was no enforced sing-along!) The Beekeepers chose Twisted Flax: 'DC', then 'DS', and then 'DI'. I knew this thanks to EastEnders, and so did they: they are CID ranks in order of seniority, so 'DCI' would be fourth. The Wonks chose Eye of Horus next: '29/2/1700', then '29/2/1800'; they saw it to be years when the leap day is skipped, so offered '29/2/2100', which will be the next, for three points. The Beekeepers chose Two Reeds next, and got the picture set: we saw a sea anemone, then New Zealand politician Bob Hawke, and then the Forbidden City next to Tienanmen Square. Neither side got this: the clues are 'sponge', 'Bob' and 'Square', so a pair of pants would be fourth! Excellent! For their final choice, the Wonks chose Lion: '1910: Herbert Asquith', then '1936: Stanley Baldwin', and then '1936: Stanley Baldwin' again. The third gave it to them that they are PMs at the time of royal ascensions, but alas offered '1953: Winston Churchill' instead of '1953', thus giving their opponents a free pick up. Left with Water for their own final question, the Beekeepers saw 'Coleridge Close', then 'Tennyson Avenue', and then 'Wordsworth Drive'. Neither team got this, cue more shocked annoyance from Victoria! It's Reggie Perrin's walk to work in the original series, so 'Station Drive' would be fourth. At the end of the second round, the Beekeepers led 10-6.
On to the Walls. The Beekeepers went first, and chose to tackle the Lion wall. They spotted some links, but they didn't have much luck isolating any. They eventually managed 'Suzuki', 'Ryder', 'Galore' and 'Goodnight', which are surnames of Bond girls. A second set came shortly afterwards: 'Moresby', 'Harcourt', 'Elizabeth' and 'Talbot' all follow 'Port' to give place names. Running out of time, they used up two shots, and were timed out before they could have their third. They did collect both connections bonuses though: 'Indian', 'Triumph', 'Ducati' and 'Aprilla' are makes of motorcycle, while 'Melbourne', 'Fed', 'Stanley' and 'Calcutta' are sporting cups. Six points there.
The Wonks thus could pull level if they could wipe the Water wall clean. After trying a few permutations, they had their first set in the bag: 'Siege', 'Eyebrow', 'Hell' and 'Roof' are things that can be raised. A second set came eventually: 'Michael Corleone', 'Romulus', 'Cain' and 'Scar' all killed their brothers. (Their offer of 'they betrayed their brothers' was rightly accepted) They did manage to use all three shots at solving, but also couldn't manage it. They took both connection bonuses too though: 'Madonna', 'Prince Albert', 'Tragus' and 'Snake bites' are piercrings, while 'Libertine', 'Robot', 'Claudius' and 'Partridge' can all follow 'I,'. So another six points, which left them trailing 16-12 going into the final round.
So, who would be triumphant after Missing Vowels? 'Words derived from Swedish' was split 2-each. 'Referees and umpires' went to the Beekeepers 3-1. 'Advertising slogans and their companies' was another 2-each split. 'Fred Astaire films' only managed one clue, which the Beekeepers took. At the end of the match, the Beekeepers won 24-17.
Another good match with some good questions and answers. Unlucky Wonks, but nothing wrong with either of your performances, and thanks very much for giving us them. Well done Beekeepers though, and very best of luck in the group phase!
So, we resume on Friday 6th at the same time, presumably with the Genealogists vs the Oscar Men.
Be back Friday/Saturday with a round up of the week's Christmas UC action, and a look back at Deal's final two weeks (for now). See yous then.
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