OK, finally we can get down to recapping Only Connect from last Monday; hopefully the wait won't be as long in future weeks, but I promise nothing. And Shunt's axe has just broken off on Robot Wars! Sorry, I'm watching the end of that while starting on this.
Anyway, playing the first match of 2018 were the Snake Charmers, Thomas Rychlik, Kate Pfeffer and captain John Howe, who beat the Extras in the first round but narrowly lost their second to the Eco-Warriors, and the Inquisitors, Luke Kelly, Rob Cumming and captain Julia Hobbs, who defeated the Cricketers in their first match but were beaten by the Wanderers in their second.
Round 1. The Inquisitors opened the year with Lion: 'Knatte (sv) = Small', then 'Muskel (de) = Strong'; they came in at this point with 'Mr Men in other languages', and collected a good three points! Good quizzing! The Charmers opened their account with Twisted Flax, and got the picture set: we saw the footballer Jeff Astle, then a handbag being stolen, then a Tesla car; they saw them to be anagrams of each other (ASTLE, STEAL AND TESLA, and SLATE would've been fourth), and collected two points. The Inquisitors chose Eye of Horus next: '1980s Portsmouth FC crest', then 'Birmingham silver', then 'Kuehne + Nagel', and finally 'Popeye's arm'; they offered 'anchors', and were correct for the point. The Charmers chose Water next: 'DiConcetto & Cruz', then 'Moore & Prater', then 'Green & Flynn', and finally 'Bono & Sarkisian'. They didn't get it, their opponents did: they are the surnames of musical duos. For their own question, the Inquisitors chose Horned Viper: 'Menagerie (1235-1835)', then 'Royal Mint (1279-1810)'; they saw them to be things found at the Tower of London between those dates, and collected another good three points. Left with Two Reeds, and the music question, the Charmers heard 'Seven Weeks' by InMe, then Youssou N'Door with 'Seven Seconds', then 'Seven Years' by Lukas Graham, and finally Craig David with 'Seven Days'. Only recognising the third, they offered 'Seven Years'; their opponents made no mistake and collected a bonus. At the end of the first round, the Inquisitors led 9-2.
Round 2, What Comes Fourth? The Inquisitors kicked the round off with Eye of Horus, and the picture set: we saw a church, then a church steeple, and then someone peaking in a door. They didn't get it, their opponents did: it's the 'Here's the Church' nursery rhyme, so 'some people' would satisfy. For their own question, the Charmers chose Lion: 'The Big One', then 'A Clockwork', and then 'She Wore a Ribbon'; they saw it to be film titles with colours of the rainbow removed, so offered 'How Was My Valley?' for the two points. The Inquisitors chose Twisted Flax next: 'Mikhail Fradkov', then 'Viktor Zubkov', and then 'Vladimir Putin'; they saw it to be prime ministers of Russia, and so offered 'Dimitri Medvedev' for two points. The Charmers chose Water next: '4/7 Nick', then '5/7 Jo-Wilfried'; they saw them to be Andy Murray's vanquished opponents when he won Wimbledon 2016, and so offered '7/7 Milos' for three points. For their final choice, the Inquisitors chose Horned Viper: '8', then '61', and then '42'; they spotted it to be the 8 times table with the numbers reversed, offered '23' for the two points. Left with Two Reeds again, the Charmers saw 'Circle constructed for any given triangle', then 'Countdown Conundrum', and then 'Table tennis game winning total'. They didn't get it, nor did their opponents; they are things worth 9, 10 and 11 points, so something for 12 points, such as 'Automatic UK driving disqualification', would satisfy. At the end of the second round, the Inquisitors led 13-8.
On to the Walls. The Charmers took their turn to go first, and chose the Water wall. After looking over the clues, and getting some early links, they eventually isolated 'Iron', 'Shower', 'Net' and 'Safety', which can all precede 'curtain'. They got a bit stuck after that though, but eventually isolated a second set: 'Mizz', 'Just Seventeen', 'Blue Jean's and 'Honey' are teen magazines. With little time left, they tried quickly to solve the wall, but couldn't in their three gos, so had to rummage for bonuses: 'Caroline', 'Jackie', 'London' and '270' are pirate radio stations, which they didn't get, while 'Sugar', 'Marvelous', 'Smokin'' and 'Bonecrusher' are the nicknames of boxers, which they also failed to spot. Four points there.
The Inquisitors could thus put the game out of realistic reach if they could sweep the Lion wall clean. They started well, isolating two groups very quickly indeed: 'Eye', 'View', 'Observe' and 'Rubberneck' are words meaning 'to look at', while 'Cruiser', 'Middle', 'Fly' and 'Light' are boxing weights. After that, though, they came unstuck, unable to untangle what was left. Unable to solve the wall in their three tries, they too had to search for bonuses: 'Money', 'Aces', 'Battleship' and 'Watch' can all follow 'pocket', which they failed to spot, while 'Destroyer', 'Galley', 'Monitor' and 'Corvette' are battleships, which they did see. Five points there, which upped their lead to 18-12 going into the final round.
So just about all still to play for in Missing Vowels. 'You are in trouble where you are...', such as 'BACKED INTO A CORNER' and 'IN OVER YOUR HEAD', went to the Charmers 3-1. 'Chemical elements and US states with the same abbreviation' was another 3-1 to the Charmers, so already closed up. 'Idiomatic animals', such as 'CASH COW' and 'ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM' went to the Inquisitors 3-1. 'Actors and their actor grandparents' only managed one clue, which was timed out. The Inquisitors won 23-19.
Another fine match, well quizzed by both teams. Unlucky Charmers, unlucky to be out at this stage, but nothing to be ashamed of across the series, and thanks for playing in it. Well done Inquisitors though, and good luck in the next round!
Tomorrow's match: the Dandies vs the Arrowheads. Don't forget, at 8, with UC on afterwards at 8:30; see you tomorrow with my usual write-up of that.
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