Evening all. Well, it's been a hot week here, and it still hasn't totally cooled down; even though it's a lot better outside, my flat is still very warm from all the built up heat. On with the show then, and a rerun of the 2010-11 final, except with the teams sitting on opposite desks. A place in the second round for the winners, a possible place in the play-offs for the runners-up.
Magdalen College Oxford was founded in 1458, and its alumni include Oscar Wilde and John Betjeman, and more recently John Sergeant and Ian Hislop. It''s UC record in the Paxo era is pretty solid, with a record four grand final victories (wording deliberate) and one grand final defeat, plus an Xmas series win. Hoping to carry on that success were this year's foursome of:
Dominic Brind, from London, studying History
Josie Dallas, from London, studying PPE
Captain: Alex Hardwick, from Wimbledon, studying Ancient Greek Crowd Psychology
Harry Strattan, from Sydney, studying Law
The University of York is a plate glass university, founded in 1962, although James I/VI had the idea for it many years earlier; its alumni include writers Helen Dunmore and Graeme Swift, politician Harriet Harman and comedian Harry Enfield. It has regularly sent teams to UC this century, last year's team were unlucky to draw eventual runners-up St Edmund Hall in the first round. This year's quartet were:
Mickey Conn, from Godalming, studying Social Policy
Sophie Williams, from Telford, studying Medieval Studies
Captain: Sam McEwan, from Sevenoaks, studying History and Philosophy
David Eastham, from Lancaster, studying Archaeology
Off we set again then, and York set off the mark first with Ms Williams doing the honours, and two correct answers set things going for the night. Mr Hardwick started Magdalen's campaign by remembering the utter stalemate in last year's Chess World Championship final; the Oxonians took the lead with a full house of bonuses, but then surrendered that lead to a penalty. Mr Conn took the points for York, and they too took a full set on bonuses, on video games released 25 years ago this year (something tells me we'll get quite a few 1994 questions this series). Mr Conn took a second starter in a row, but the Yorkers managed just one correct bonus this time. The first picture round, on blackout poetry, went to Magdalen, who took two correct bonuses, which cut their arrears to 60-40.
Those arrears reincreased when Mr Bring became the first player this series to buzz wrongly literally just as the question was finishing and lose five; York couldn't capitalise. Mr Hardwick recouped those losses on the next starter however, and a classic UC bonus set on pairs of words differing only by adding a J at the start gave the Oxonians a full set. They then took the lead on the next starter, and a second successive full set went with it. Back came York though, with Mr Eastham correctly offering 'Dodo', and they too took a full set of bonuses, leveling the scores again. Good high quality contest so far.
The music round, on classical works played on the synthesizer, went to Magdalen, who took two correct answers, which gave them a lead of 105-85. And up it went as Ms Dallas took the next starter and one bonus on dwarf planets followed. Mr Brind then made sure all four Oxonians had a starter correctly answered, and this time two correct bonuses on Roman roads followed. A good starter asked for the probability of landing on a station on the first move in Monopoly; Mr Eastham was first in with the correct answer, and two bonuses took the Yorkers into triple figures.
The second picture round, on stills from anthology TV series, went to York, who took a full house, which reduced their gap to 140-125. Unless someone ran away from here on in, we were in for a close finish. A dropped starter wasn't a great starter, but Mr Eastham took the next starter, and bonuses on women born the same year as Queen Victoria followed, of which they took just the one bonus, leveling the scores.
So, a straight shootout to the death; Mr Hardwick blinked first and took the next starter, and bonuses on reptiles followed, of which Magdalen took just the one correct. But when Mr Stratton took the next starter, even though, again, just one bonus followed, you suspected that might just have won it for them. So it proved; though Mr Eastham took the final starter, there was no time for bonuses. At the gong, Magdalen won 170-150.
A good contest between two solid and evenly matched teams, well done both of them and good on them clapping each other at the end. Unlucky York, but a fine performance, and 150 I would imagine will be enough for the play-offs (it hasn't not been enough for a while now IIRC), so hopefully we'll see you again. Well done Magdalen though, and very best of luck in the second round!
The stats: Mr Hardwick was, just the best buzzer of the night, with five starters to Mr Eastham's four. On the bonuses, Magdalen converted 18 out of 27 (with two penalties), while York managed 14 out of 21.
Next week's match: Birmingham vs Bristol
Monday, 29 July 2019
Monday, 22 July 2019
University Challenge 2019-20: Round 1: Match 2: Corpus Christi vs Merton
Evening all. So last night, I decided on a whim to look on YouTube for an old quiz show I used to like called 'Beg, Borrow or Steal' (used to be on BBC2 after The Weakest Link); unexpectedly, I found one, and who was on it, but Only Connect stalwart Katie Bramall-Stainer! Won't give any spoilers in case you decide to look it up yourself, and I'd recommend you do; it was a good quiz that deserved better than to be cancelled after one series. Anyway, on with tonight's UC, and the first Oxbridge match of the series...
Corpus Christi College Cambridge was founded in 1352 to train new clergymen to replace those who killed in the Black Death; alumni include the playwright Marlowe, the writer Christopher Isherwood and the actor Hugh Bonneville. It last sent a team to UC two series ago, who were unlucky to draw eventual winners St John's in the second round. This year's foursome were:
Alexander Russell, from Bristol, studying Japanese Studies
Will Stewart, from Peterborough, studying History of Art
Captain: Ian Wang, from Trafford in Greater Manchester, studying English
Alex Gunasekera, from from Witney, studying Chemistry
Merton College Oxford is one of the universtiy's oldest, founded 1264; its alumni include the writers TS Eliot and JRR Tolkein, the library founded Thomas Bodley and the politician and cheese fanatic Liz Truss. It also last appeared two series ago, and were also beaten by St John's, though they made it as far as the final before running into them. This year's quartet were:
James Kempton, from Orpington, studying the attack strategies of birds of prey, with applications to designing defensive drone technology
Rowan Wilson, from London, studying English
Captain: Nick Ridpath, from Golders Green, studying Economics
Jacob Robertson, from Kingston-upon-Thames, studying Physics
Off we set again then, and Mr Robertson opened the game with 'Mercury', but just the one bonus was taken from the opening set. Corpus Christi didn't exactly get off to a great start, a penalty, but they soon recouped the lost points, and tied the score with two bonuses on director Ava DuVernay. Mr Wang (brother of Dennis Wang of the 16-17 Worcester Oxford team) gave his side the lead with 'Taiwan', and a full house of bonuses gave them a steady early advantage. The first picture round, on the titles of Beatles songs written in Old English, went to Corpus Christi, who took two correct answers, which increased their lead to 60-15.
Mr Ridpath decided that was enough of that for now, and buzzed in to identify Anya Shrubsole as the first woman to be on the cover of Wisden. A full bonus set put them well back into the game. Another penalty from Corpus Christi, a pickup from Merton, another full house, and suddenly the Oxford side had the lead. And they weren't holding up, Mr Robertson giving them a third in a row, and a bonus set on video games given a perfect rating by Famitsu magazine provided another two correct answers. Back came Corpus Christi, with Mr Wang identifying James Comey as the FBI director hired by Mr Obama and fired by Mr Trump (though Paxo didn't get that far before he was interrupted); one bonus followed.
The music round, on jazz standards, went to Corpus Christi, who took two correct bonuses; their mistaking of Ian Hislop lookalike Jimmy Somerville for Sade did not go uncommented on on Twitter! (Mr Somerville's old mate Rev Richard Coles was among those laughing at it!) The Cambridge side now led 90-85, and that lead increased when Mr Gunasekera took the next starter; the subsequent bonuses saw them acquire a further five points. Back came Merton with Mr Kempton doing the honours, and one bonus put them five behind. Mr Robertson then gave them the lead back with 'John Betjeman', and the weekly Shakespeare bonuses gave them a full set.
The second picture round, on selections of stills from film adaptations of novels by the same author, went to Corpus Christi, who took a full bonus set and the lead back, 130-125. Neither side knew Grace Kelly for the next starter (I guessed correctly), Mr Wang took the next, and the side quickly hurried through the resulting bonuses, taking all three and giving them the advantage heading into the home straight.
A Merton penalty put the Cambridge side within sight of victory, but they couldn't pick up. The Oxonians duly pulled one back, and took a full set of their own to keep themselves in the game. But another penalty handed Corpus Christi the advantage again, though they, again, couldn't capitalise. But Mr Stewart then took the next starter; just the one bonus followed, but when Mr Gunasekera took the next, that was game over. A sole bonus was taken again, as was one final starter before the gong; Corpus Christi won 195-140.
A good solid contest, well played both teams. Unlucky Merton, but a good effort, and hopefully 140 will be enough for a play-off place, we'll wait and see. Well played Corpus Christi though, a fine first effort against good opponents, and best of luck in the second round!
The stats: Messrs Wang, Gunasekera and Robertson were joint best buzzers of the night, with four each for their respective teams. On the bonuses, Corpus Christi converted 19 out of 30, while Merton managed 16 out of 21 (with both sides incurring two penalties).
Next week's match: Magdalen College Oxford vs York
Corpus Christi College Cambridge was founded in 1352 to train new clergymen to replace those who killed in the Black Death; alumni include the playwright Marlowe, the writer Christopher Isherwood and the actor Hugh Bonneville. It last sent a team to UC two series ago, who were unlucky to draw eventual winners St John's in the second round. This year's foursome were:
Alexander Russell, from Bristol, studying Japanese Studies
Will Stewart, from Peterborough, studying History of Art
Captain: Ian Wang, from Trafford in Greater Manchester, studying English
Alex Gunasekera, from from Witney, studying Chemistry
Merton College Oxford is one of the universtiy's oldest, founded 1264; its alumni include the writers TS Eliot and JRR Tolkein, the library founded Thomas Bodley and the politician and cheese fanatic Liz Truss. It also last appeared two series ago, and were also beaten by St John's, though they made it as far as the final before running into them. This year's quartet were:
James Kempton, from Orpington, studying the attack strategies of birds of prey, with applications to designing defensive drone technology
Rowan Wilson, from London, studying English
Captain: Nick Ridpath, from Golders Green, studying Economics
Jacob Robertson, from Kingston-upon-Thames, studying Physics
Off we set again then, and Mr Robertson opened the game with 'Mercury', but just the one bonus was taken from the opening set. Corpus Christi didn't exactly get off to a great start, a penalty, but they soon recouped the lost points, and tied the score with two bonuses on director Ava DuVernay. Mr Wang (brother of Dennis Wang of the 16-17 Worcester Oxford team) gave his side the lead with 'Taiwan', and a full house of bonuses gave them a steady early advantage. The first picture round, on the titles of Beatles songs written in Old English, went to Corpus Christi, who took two correct answers, which increased their lead to 60-15.
Mr Ridpath decided that was enough of that for now, and buzzed in to identify Anya Shrubsole as the first woman to be on the cover of Wisden. A full bonus set put them well back into the game. Another penalty from Corpus Christi, a pickup from Merton, another full house, and suddenly the Oxford side had the lead. And they weren't holding up, Mr Robertson giving them a third in a row, and a bonus set on video games given a perfect rating by Famitsu magazine provided another two correct answers. Back came Corpus Christi, with Mr Wang identifying James Comey as the FBI director hired by Mr Obama and fired by Mr Trump (though Paxo didn't get that far before he was interrupted); one bonus followed.
The music round, on jazz standards, went to Corpus Christi, who took two correct bonuses; their mistaking of Ian Hislop lookalike Jimmy Somerville for Sade did not go uncommented on on Twitter! (Mr Somerville's old mate Rev Richard Coles was among those laughing at it!) The Cambridge side now led 90-85, and that lead increased when Mr Gunasekera took the next starter; the subsequent bonuses saw them acquire a further five points. Back came Merton with Mr Kempton doing the honours, and one bonus put them five behind. Mr Robertson then gave them the lead back with 'John Betjeman', and the weekly Shakespeare bonuses gave them a full set.
The second picture round, on selections of stills from film adaptations of novels by the same author, went to Corpus Christi, who took a full bonus set and the lead back, 130-125. Neither side knew Grace Kelly for the next starter (I guessed correctly), Mr Wang took the next, and the side quickly hurried through the resulting bonuses, taking all three and giving them the advantage heading into the home straight.
A Merton penalty put the Cambridge side within sight of victory, but they couldn't pick up. The Oxonians duly pulled one back, and took a full set of their own to keep themselves in the game. But another penalty handed Corpus Christi the advantage again, though they, again, couldn't capitalise. But Mr Stewart then took the next starter; just the one bonus followed, but when Mr Gunasekera took the next, that was game over. A sole bonus was taken again, as was one final starter before the gong; Corpus Christi won 195-140.
A good solid contest, well played both teams. Unlucky Merton, but a good effort, and hopefully 140 will be enough for a play-off place, we'll wait and see. Well played Corpus Christi though, a fine first effort against good opponents, and best of luck in the second round!
The stats: Messrs Wang, Gunasekera and Robertson were joint best buzzers of the night, with four each for their respective teams. On the bonuses, Corpus Christi converted 19 out of 30, while Merton managed 16 out of 21 (with both sides incurring two penalties).
Next week's match: Magdalen College Oxford vs York
Monday, 15 July 2019
University Challenge 2019-20: Round 1: Match 1: Lancaster vs Glasgow
Evening all. We're back! What's happened since I posted here last? Well, Mastermind was won by Judith Lewis, Andy Tucker became the latest Only Connect runner-up to win Fifteen-to-One 2.0, I've switched to a new laptop, and, just this afternoon, David Stainer won Brain of Britain, meaning all three of the Crossworders have won that show now! Most bizarrely of all, though, I went to watch Peterhead play at home and they won! (Hadn't happened in four prior visits!) Football talk on my other blog resumes shortly. In the meantime, on with the first heat of the EIGHTH(!) series I've covered on here...
Lancaster University is a plate glass uni founded in 1964, and its alumni include actor Andy Serkis, cyclist Jason Queally, TV presenter Ranvir Singh and motorhead James May. It last appeared on UC, back in the first series I covered on here, losing in the second round to St George's of London. This year's foursome were:
Stephen Ford, from Durham, studying Maths
Daniel Green, from Nottingham, studying Philosophy
Captain: Holly Lawton, studying French and German
Matt Roscoe, from Chester, studying Volcanology
Glasgow University is considerably older, the second oldest university in Scotland in fact, founded in 1451; its alumni include economist Adam Smith, TV pioneer John Logie Baird, Europhiles Nicola Sturgeon and Vince Cable, and, apparently, The Doctor (not 'Doctor Who', Paxo!). Last year, it reached the quarter-finals before bowing out to Manchester. This year's quartet were:
Ben Whitcombe, from Northwich, studying History and Film & TV studies
Cat McAllister, from Glasgow, studying Physics Education
Captain: Finlay McRobert, from Aberdeen, studying Maths
Ben Whitworth, from Ashton-under-Lyme, studying Education
Off we set again then, and Mr Whitcombe provided the first starter of the series; as soon as 'creator of Family Guy' was mentioned, both he and myself jumped in with 'Seth'. Two bonuses from the first set of the series were taken. Mr McRobert took the second starter for his side, with the resulting bonuses providing Paxo's first exclamation of the series! One bonus was taken. Another starter to Glasgow, another two bonuses, and already they were looking a solid team; as if to further this, they took a fourth and a full house of bonuses on Wilfred Owen (I knew 'Dolce et Decorum est', having studied it in school, and watched a documentary about Owen by Paxo!) The first picture round, on places named after chemical elements, went to Glasgow, who took two bonuses, and already led 100-0.
Lancaster finally opened their account on the next starter, with Mr Ford correctly offering 'surd'; alas, nothing come from their first bonus set. Mr Whitworth resumed normal service for Glasgow, with a starter and a pair of bonuses adding to their score. A second starter in a row went to Mr Whitworth, but the Scots side got nothing from a bonus set on the Louvre.
The music round, on classical pieces associated with flowing water, went to Lancaster, who took two correct bonuses, which reduced their arrears to 130-30. A second starter in a row went to Lancaster, and a bonus set on geometry provided them with a much needed full house. Back to Glasgow, with Ms McAllister ensuring all four of the team had a starter to their name; one bonus followed. The next starter was a classic pub quiz one: which animal indicates a zoo on a map (reminds me of one of my favourite wrong answers on The Weakest Link!); Mr Whitcombe and myself both knew it to be an elephant, but Glasgow got nothing from the bonuses. Mr Ford came back in for Lancaster with 'Kansas City' (nice crossover with Brain of Britain that), and a bonus set on volcanoes fell right into the lap to volcanologist Mr Roscoe, another full set.
The second picture round, on stills from films on the BFI's list of films one must be before you're 14, went to Glasgow, who took a full house of their own, which took the scores to 180-80. Still time for either team to mount a late run, and Lancaster showed they weren't out of contention for, at least, a play-off place yet as Mr Ford took his latest starter of the game; two bonuses deservedly took them into triple figures.
Mr Whitworth identified Ezra Pound's critique of Walt Whitman for the next starter, though, and two bonuses took Glasgow past 200; that was game over, and it was now a question of whether Lancaster could muster a late play-off charge. Two starters in a row were dropped, before Mr Ford incurred the first penalty of the series; Mr Whitworth took the points, and bonuses on Brazilian state capitals provided Glasgow with two correct answers. There was just time for one more starter to Glasgow before the gong went; Glasgow won 230-95.
An OK match to start the series, albeit surprisingly one-sided; usually they start the series with a close one. Unlucky Lancaster, who seemed a good team and I suspect would've beaten another team, but a fair effort, thanks for playing! Very well done Glasgow though, an excellent opening performance, and best of luck in the second round!
The stats: Mr Whitworth was, just, the best buzzer of the night, with six starters to Mr Ford's five. On the bonuses, Lancaster converted 10 out of 15 (with the night's one penalty), while Glasgow managed 20 out of 36.
Next week's match: Corpus Christi College Cambridge vs Merton College Oxford
Lancaster University is a plate glass uni founded in 1964, and its alumni include actor Andy Serkis, cyclist Jason Queally, TV presenter Ranvir Singh and motorhead James May. It last appeared on UC, back in the first series I covered on here, losing in the second round to St George's of London. This year's foursome were:
Stephen Ford, from Durham, studying Maths
Daniel Green, from Nottingham, studying Philosophy
Captain: Holly Lawton, studying French and German
Matt Roscoe, from Chester, studying Volcanology
Glasgow University is considerably older, the second oldest university in Scotland in fact, founded in 1451; its alumni include economist Adam Smith, TV pioneer John Logie Baird, Europhiles Nicola Sturgeon and Vince Cable, and, apparently, The Doctor (not 'Doctor Who', Paxo!). Last year, it reached the quarter-finals before bowing out to Manchester. This year's quartet were:
Ben Whitcombe, from Northwich, studying History and Film & TV studies
Cat McAllister, from Glasgow, studying Physics Education
Captain: Finlay McRobert, from Aberdeen, studying Maths
Ben Whitworth, from Ashton-under-Lyme, studying Education
Off we set again then, and Mr Whitcombe provided the first starter of the series; as soon as 'creator of Family Guy' was mentioned, both he and myself jumped in with 'Seth'. Two bonuses from the first set of the series were taken. Mr McRobert took the second starter for his side, with the resulting bonuses providing Paxo's first exclamation of the series! One bonus was taken. Another starter to Glasgow, another two bonuses, and already they were looking a solid team; as if to further this, they took a fourth and a full house of bonuses on Wilfred Owen (I knew 'Dolce et Decorum est', having studied it in school, and watched a documentary about Owen by Paxo!) The first picture round, on places named after chemical elements, went to Glasgow, who took two bonuses, and already led 100-0.
Lancaster finally opened their account on the next starter, with Mr Ford correctly offering 'surd'; alas, nothing come from their first bonus set. Mr Whitworth resumed normal service for Glasgow, with a starter and a pair of bonuses adding to their score. A second starter in a row went to Mr Whitworth, but the Scots side got nothing from a bonus set on the Louvre.
The music round, on classical pieces associated with flowing water, went to Lancaster, who took two correct bonuses, which reduced their arrears to 130-30. A second starter in a row went to Lancaster, and a bonus set on geometry provided them with a much needed full house. Back to Glasgow, with Ms McAllister ensuring all four of the team had a starter to their name; one bonus followed. The next starter was a classic pub quiz one: which animal indicates a zoo on a map (reminds me of one of my favourite wrong answers on The Weakest Link!); Mr Whitcombe and myself both knew it to be an elephant, but Glasgow got nothing from the bonuses. Mr Ford came back in for Lancaster with 'Kansas City' (nice crossover with Brain of Britain that), and a bonus set on volcanoes fell right into the lap to volcanologist Mr Roscoe, another full set.
The second picture round, on stills from films on the BFI's list of films one must be before you're 14, went to Glasgow, who took a full house of their own, which took the scores to 180-80. Still time for either team to mount a late run, and Lancaster showed they weren't out of contention for, at least, a play-off place yet as Mr Ford took his latest starter of the game; two bonuses deservedly took them into triple figures.
Mr Whitworth identified Ezra Pound's critique of Walt Whitman for the next starter, though, and two bonuses took Glasgow past 200; that was game over, and it was now a question of whether Lancaster could muster a late play-off charge. Two starters in a row were dropped, before Mr Ford incurred the first penalty of the series; Mr Whitworth took the points, and bonuses on Brazilian state capitals provided Glasgow with two correct answers. There was just time for one more starter to Glasgow before the gong went; Glasgow won 230-95.
An OK match to start the series, albeit surprisingly one-sided; usually they start the series with a close one. Unlucky Lancaster, who seemed a good team and I suspect would've beaten another team, but a fair effort, thanks for playing! Very well done Glasgow though, an excellent opening performance, and best of luck in the second round!
The stats: Mr Whitworth was, just, the best buzzer of the night, with six starters to Mr Ford's five. On the bonuses, Lancaster converted 10 out of 15 (with the night's one penalty), while Glasgow managed 20 out of 36.
Next week's match: Corpus Christi College Cambridge vs Merton College Oxford
Wednesday, 1 May 2019
Only Connect Series 14: Grand Final: Dicers vs Time Ladies
OK, here we are at the grand final of Only Connect's fourteenth series, the last one I'm reviewing on here. For now at least. I may sit the next series out and try again with Series 16 if I feel like I missed it. And I may decide to go and look back and some of the older series seeing as I've just found a whole load of them online, including the entirety of the fifth (and best IMO) series. Anyway, on with this week's final, which, following on from the orchestra in Series 11 and the acapella group last series, the opening theme for today was provided by a guest performer, this time an organ grinder, complete with toy monkey!
Playing for the title were the Dicers, George Corfield, Joey Goldman (hoping to be only the second person to do the Quizzy Mondays double) and captain Hugh Binnie, who got here by beating the Birdwatchers (twice), the Brews and the Ancient Alumni, and the Time Ladies, Charlotte Jackson, Emma Harris and captain Rebecca Shaw, who defeated the Motorheads, the Pyromaniacs, the LARPers and the Poptimists en route here.
Round 1. The Time Ladies opened the final with Eye of Horus: 'D-Day', then 'Charles and Camilla's wedding', then 'Launch of BBC2' (I had it here), and finally 'Wimbledon final between Ivanisevic and Rafter'. They suggested them to have happened on dates where the number of the day and the month were the same; not right. Their opponents knew that they were all postponed (by one day), and collected the first point of the match. For their own first question, the Dicers chose Lion: 'Rebecca and Rowena', then 'Mrs De Winter', then 'The Wide Sargasso Sea'; they came in here and offered 'retellings from a different perspective', which wasn't quite right. Their opponents saw 'Death Comes to Pemberley', and offered 'sequels written by a different author', which also didn't quite hit the X either. They are follow-ups written by other authors, none of them retellings and one of them a prequal, not a sequel. The Ladies chose Two Reeds next: 'envy <-> rail', then 'abjurer <-> nowhere', then 'cheryl <-> purely', and finally 'clerk <-> pyrex'. They didn't have an answer, their opponents did: the second words are what you get if you move the letters in the firsts on by 13 letters. For their own question, the Dicers chose Horned Viper, and got the music set: we heard Verdi's 'Force of Destiny' overture, then 'A Simple Twist of Fate' by Bob Dylan, then 'Carmina Burana'; they saw their names to mean 'fate', and collected two points. The Ladies chose Water next: 'di Niccolo di Betto Bardi' (in purple), then 'Sanzio da Urbino' (in red), then 'di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni' (in orange); they saw them to be the surnames of those who the Teenage Mutant Mutant/Hero Turtles were named after and the colour of the turtle in question's headband, and collected their first points of the night. ('da Vinci' in blue would've been fourth) Left with Twisted Flax, and the pictures, the Dicers saw Sue the PG Tips chimp, then a field of red poppies, then Narandra Modi alongside a Om-style swastika, and finally Gail Porter. They didn't get this, nor did their opponents: they are things that have been projected onto parliamentary buildings. At the end of the first round, the Dicers led 4-2.
Round 2, What Comes Fourth? The Ladies started with Two Reeds: 'Y: 8760-8784', then 'M: 672-745', and then 'W: 167-169'. They didn't get it, nor did their opponents: they are the number of hours in a year, month and week, so 'D: 23-25' would be fourth. The Dicers chose Eye of Horus next: 'United Arab Emirates', then 'Nigeria', and then 'Ghana'. They saw them to be the countries with the first three capital cities to come alphabetically (Abu Dhabi, Abuja and Accra), and so offered 'Ethiopia' (Addis Ababa, home of Ted and Dougal's friend Mwengwe) for the points. The Ladies chose Lion next: 'Elephants', then 'Diplodocus and Triceratops', and then 'Diplodocus'. They saw them to be what was on display in the Hintze Hall of the Natural History Museum, and so offered Alan Davies' favourite 'Blue Whale' for the points. The Dicers chose Horned Viper next, and got the pictures again: we saw a map of the world with certain countries highlighted in black, then one with a few more in green, and then one with even more in red. They guessed that the rest would be in blue, and were correct for the points, the sequence being what colour passports issued in those countries are. For their final choice, the Ladies chose Water: 'The Show', then 'Greedy Italians', and then '-2-1'. They saw them to be TV shows with a 1, a 2 and a 3 missing, so offered 'in a Bed' for the two points. Luckily they offered a Channel 4 show, as the more precise sequence would've been that the number removed was that of the channel they're shown on, and we've had quite enough contention this series. Left with Twisted Flax again, the Dicers saw '12: Nitrogen', then '3: nothing', and then '6: Sulphur'. They saw them to be the elements represented by the numbers on each compass point on a clock, so '9: Tungsten' would be fourth. At the end of the second round, the Dicers led 10-6.
On to the Walls. The Dicers went first, and chose the Lion wall. After spotting some potential links, and some wrong tries, they had their first set: 'Sue', 'Bob', 'Dec' and 'Dom' are first names of one half of a double act. A second set, 'Jan', 'Aug', 'Sep' and 'Nov', which are abbreviations of months, followed, and the final sets slotted in after that: 'Mar', 'Gel', 'Era' and 'Eto' are anagrams of body parts, which they got, while 'Mal', 'May', 'Arm' and 'Cus' can all have 'Dis' added in front to make longer words, which they didn't see. Seven points there.
The Time Ladies thus set to work on the Water wall with a chance to claw back lost ground. They also spent time looking carefully for links, before eventually isolating 'Arc', 'Tac', 'Sep' and 'Exo', which can all form longer words by adding 'tic' afterwards. That was all they could get in line in the time though, so they had to try for bonus points: 'Jan', 'Aug', 'Nov' and 'Dec' are abbreviations of months, which they got, 'Ape', 'May', 'Gif' and 'Wha' are anagrams of fruit and vegetables, which they didn't see, while 'Mar', 'Ear', 'Mer' and 'Sat' are the first letters of the names of planets, which they did see. Four points there, so the Dicers now led 17-10 going into the final round.
So, Missing Vowels to finish with, with the Time Ladies needing a good round to stand a chance. 'Things with an extra dimension', such as 'BERMUDA PYRAMID' and 'TRAFALGAR CUBE', went to the Dicers 2-(-1). 'Mnemonics with the words in the wrong order, such as 'RICHARD OF VAIN GAVE BATTLE IN YORK', went to the Ladies 3-1, though the Dicers win the award for best working out of the series by getting 'DIVORCED DIED DIVORCED BEHEADED SURVIVED BEHEADED'! 'Words containing four consecutive vowels' have one to the Ladies before time ran out. The Dicers won the game and the series 20-13.
A fine end of the series, some great quizzing by both teams, well done both teams. Unlucky Time Ladies, but a great series of performances, thanks very much indeed for playing. Very very very well done Dicers though, very worthy series winners!
And that's it for this series! Thanks to all who have read my OC reviews over the past four series. As I said at the start, I'll probably be sitting out the next series, but I may decide to start reviewing again with the one afterwards. We'll see. I may be back with some final thoughts on the Quizzy Mondays season some time in the coming days. But if I don't, then, until we next meet, bye for now!
Playing for the title were the Dicers, George Corfield, Joey Goldman (hoping to be only the second person to do the Quizzy Mondays double) and captain Hugh Binnie, who got here by beating the Birdwatchers (twice), the Brews and the Ancient Alumni, and the Time Ladies, Charlotte Jackson, Emma Harris and captain Rebecca Shaw, who defeated the Motorheads, the Pyromaniacs, the LARPers and the Poptimists en route here.
Round 1. The Time Ladies opened the final with Eye of Horus: 'D-Day', then 'Charles and Camilla's wedding', then 'Launch of BBC2' (I had it here), and finally 'Wimbledon final between Ivanisevic and Rafter'. They suggested them to have happened on dates where the number of the day and the month were the same; not right. Their opponents knew that they were all postponed (by one day), and collected the first point of the match. For their own first question, the Dicers chose Lion: 'Rebecca and Rowena', then 'Mrs De Winter', then 'The Wide Sargasso Sea'; they came in here and offered 'retellings from a different perspective', which wasn't quite right. Their opponents saw 'Death Comes to Pemberley', and offered 'sequels written by a different author', which also didn't quite hit the X either. They are follow-ups written by other authors, none of them retellings and one of them a prequal, not a sequel. The Ladies chose Two Reeds next: 'envy <-> rail', then 'abjurer <-> nowhere', then 'cheryl <-> purely', and finally 'clerk <-> pyrex'. They didn't have an answer, their opponents did: the second words are what you get if you move the letters in the firsts on by 13 letters. For their own question, the Dicers chose Horned Viper, and got the music set: we heard Verdi's 'Force of Destiny' overture, then 'A Simple Twist of Fate' by Bob Dylan, then 'Carmina Burana'; they saw their names to mean 'fate', and collected two points. The Ladies chose Water next: 'di Niccolo di Betto Bardi' (in purple), then 'Sanzio da Urbino' (in red), then 'di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni' (in orange); they saw them to be the surnames of those who the Teenage Mutant Mutant/Hero Turtles were named after and the colour of the turtle in question's headband, and collected their first points of the night. ('da Vinci' in blue would've been fourth) Left with Twisted Flax, and the pictures, the Dicers saw Sue the PG Tips chimp, then a field of red poppies, then Narandra Modi alongside a Om-style swastika, and finally Gail Porter. They didn't get this, nor did their opponents: they are things that have been projected onto parliamentary buildings. At the end of the first round, the Dicers led 4-2.
Round 2, What Comes Fourth? The Ladies started with Two Reeds: 'Y: 8760-8784', then 'M: 672-745', and then 'W: 167-169'. They didn't get it, nor did their opponents: they are the number of hours in a year, month and week, so 'D: 23-25' would be fourth. The Dicers chose Eye of Horus next: 'United Arab Emirates', then 'Nigeria', and then 'Ghana'. They saw them to be the countries with the first three capital cities to come alphabetically (Abu Dhabi, Abuja and Accra), and so offered 'Ethiopia' (Addis Ababa, home of Ted and Dougal's friend Mwengwe) for the points. The Ladies chose Lion next: 'Elephants', then 'Diplodocus and Triceratops', and then 'Diplodocus'. They saw them to be what was on display in the Hintze Hall of the Natural History Museum, and so offered Alan Davies' favourite 'Blue Whale' for the points. The Dicers chose Horned Viper next, and got the pictures again: we saw a map of the world with certain countries highlighted in black, then one with a few more in green, and then one with even more in red. They guessed that the rest would be in blue, and were correct for the points, the sequence being what colour passports issued in those countries are. For their final choice, the Ladies chose Water: 'The Show', then 'Greedy Italians', and then '-2-1'. They saw them to be TV shows with a 1, a 2 and a 3 missing, so offered 'in a Bed' for the two points. Luckily they offered a Channel 4 show, as the more precise sequence would've been that the number removed was that of the channel they're shown on, and we've had quite enough contention this series. Left with Twisted Flax again, the Dicers saw '12: Nitrogen', then '3: nothing', and then '6: Sulphur'. They saw them to be the elements represented by the numbers on each compass point on a clock, so '9: Tungsten' would be fourth. At the end of the second round, the Dicers led 10-6.
On to the Walls. The Dicers went first, and chose the Lion wall. After spotting some potential links, and some wrong tries, they had their first set: 'Sue', 'Bob', 'Dec' and 'Dom' are first names of one half of a double act. A second set, 'Jan', 'Aug', 'Sep' and 'Nov', which are abbreviations of months, followed, and the final sets slotted in after that: 'Mar', 'Gel', 'Era' and 'Eto' are anagrams of body parts, which they got, while 'Mal', 'May', 'Arm' and 'Cus' can all have 'Dis' added in front to make longer words, which they didn't see. Seven points there.
The Time Ladies thus set to work on the Water wall with a chance to claw back lost ground. They also spent time looking carefully for links, before eventually isolating 'Arc', 'Tac', 'Sep' and 'Exo', which can all form longer words by adding 'tic' afterwards. That was all they could get in line in the time though, so they had to try for bonus points: 'Jan', 'Aug', 'Nov' and 'Dec' are abbreviations of months, which they got, 'Ape', 'May', 'Gif' and 'Wha' are anagrams of fruit and vegetables, which they didn't see, while 'Mar', 'Ear', 'Mer' and 'Sat' are the first letters of the names of planets, which they did see. Four points there, so the Dicers now led 17-10 going into the final round.
So, Missing Vowels to finish with, with the Time Ladies needing a good round to stand a chance. 'Things with an extra dimension', such as 'BERMUDA PYRAMID' and 'TRAFALGAR CUBE', went to the Dicers 2-(-1). 'Mnemonics with the words in the wrong order, such as 'RICHARD OF VAIN GAVE BATTLE IN YORK', went to the Ladies 3-1, though the Dicers win the award for best working out of the series by getting 'DIVORCED DIED DIVORCED BEHEADED SURVIVED BEHEADED'! 'Words containing four consecutive vowels' have one to the Ladies before time ran out. The Dicers won the game and the series 20-13.
A fine end of the series, some great quizzing by both teams, well done both teams. Unlucky Time Ladies, but a great series of performances, thanks very much indeed for playing. Very very very well done Dicers though, very worthy series winners!
And that's it for this series! Thanks to all who have read my OC reviews over the past four series. As I said at the start, I'll probably be sitting out the next series, but I may decide to start reviewing again with the one afterwards. We'll see. I may be back with some final thoughts on the Quizzy Mondays season some time in the coming days. But if I don't, then, until we next meet, bye for now!
Friday, 26 April 2019
University Challenge 2018-19: Series Highlights
OK, time to conclude my coverage of this year's University Challenge with my usual end of series highlights. It's been another fine series, that, unlike last year's series, where the first round was a tad unbalanced, was pretty consistent throughout.
So, lets get started with my usual selection of the best match of every round:
So now to institution diversity. For the fourth year in a row, Cambridge sent more teams than Oxford, six to five. Celtic representation was down a bit on last year, with, for the third year running, three Scots teams and one from Northern Ireland, but no Welsh entrants this year. Five London entrants, plus ULIP, this year the most for some years; East London, the only non-University of London entrant, also the only ex polytechnic this series.
Highest score of the year by the length of the Severn Channel was Durham's 360 in their first round match against Strathclyde, the highest score this decade since our friend Cromarty(IV)'s Southampton side five series ago, in a match which broke all sorts of other decade records. Second highest was Darwin's 260 two weeks earlier. Pembroke take the unfortunate accolade of the lowest score of the series, 50, with Strathclyde and ULIP just behind on 55. Highest joint score of the series was 380 from Hertford's 215-165 play-off win over Exeter.
And so to the highlights reel. And not just humourous highlights this series, individual and team performances as well:
So, that's it for another series. There's nothing else I really have to say right now, except my usual objections to pedantic interruptions remain. If I think of anything else to say, I will say it next week once Only Connect is done with too. For now, all you really need to know is that I'll be back blogging UC again for the next series.
Be back some time next week with my blog of the OC final, so see you then, whenever that is.
So, lets get started with my usual selection of the best match of every round:
- First Round + Play-Offs: Plenty to chose from, but Emmanuel vs Glasgow just about takes it, with Mr Golfinos' 13 starter game against SOAS just behind.
- Second Round: Definitely Edinburgh vs U.C.L..
- Quarter-Finals: Bristol's narrow defeats to the two eventual grand finalists were both great, with Darwin's win in between them not far off.
- The Final Three: All three were great matches, so this is near impossible to chose. Probably the best trio of semis and final I've seen since I've been doing this blog.
So now to institution diversity. For the fourth year in a row, Cambridge sent more teams than Oxford, six to five. Celtic representation was down a bit on last year, with, for the third year running, three Scots teams and one from Northern Ireland, but no Welsh entrants this year. Five London entrants, plus ULIP, this year the most for some years; East London, the only non-University of London entrant, also the only ex polytechnic this series.
Highest score of the year by the length of the Severn Channel was Durham's 360 in their first round match against Strathclyde, the highest score this decade since our friend Cromarty(IV)'s Southampton side five series ago, in a match which broke all sorts of other decade records. Second highest was Darwin's 260 two weeks earlier. Pembroke take the unfortunate accolade of the lowest score of the series, 50, with Strathclyde and ULIP just behind on 55. Highest joint score of the series was 380 from Hertford's 215-165 play-off win over Exeter.
And so to the highlights reel. And not just humourous highlights this series, individual and team performances as well:
- Mr Golfinos' 13 starter game, the highest since Alex Guttenplan nine series ago!
- Clare's last second win over Hertford.
- Durham's record breaking win over Strathclyde gets the award for team performance of the series.
- Neither St Edmund Hall or York being able to spell Stephenie Meyer's name. Also, Mr Leo not answering 'Germany'.
- Mr Booth beating Mr Ojha to "Rogan Josh".
- Mr Breen saying 'Voltaire' instead of 'Volta'.
- ULIP vs Goldsmiths win the award for best comedy game of the series!
- "Truro's not in Yorkshire!"
- U.C.L.'s lack of knowledge of X Ray Spex!
- Mr Gurr's classic joke guess of "Deborah Meaden"!
- The five starter long tie-break!
- "The Bugles?" "No, it was the Buggles! Shame on you!" (Still think that was a harsh disallowance)
- Mr Hanson's "Philip Glass!"
- Mr Campbell Hewson's winning guess of "1984".
- And his other winning answer of "54" in the final.
So, that's it for another series. There's nothing else I really have to say right now, except my usual objections to pedantic interruptions remain. If I think of anything else to say, I will say it next week once Only Connect is done with too. For now, all you really need to know is that I'll be back blogging UC again for the next series.
Be back some time next week with my blog of the OC final, so see you then, whenever that is.
Thursday, 25 April 2019
University Challenge 2018-19: Best Buzzer Per Team
OK, so another series of University Challenge is over, so time to look back at it. Coming up tomorrow, my usual highlights reel and thoughts on the series going forwards. Now, though, my annual round-up of the buzzer stats for every quarter-finalist team. Firstly, here is the best player for all eight:
Jason Golfinos (Darwin) - 50 over six matches
Freddie Leo (St Edmund Hall) - 44 over six matches
Max Fitz-James (Edinburgh) - 30 over seven matches
Owen Iredale (Bristol) - 24 over five matches
Alex Antao (Manchester) and Matthew Toynbee (Durham) - 19 each over five matches
James Hampson (Glasgow) - 16 over four matches
Connor MacDonald and Vedanth Nair (Emmanuel) - 13 each over five matches
And honourable mentions to:
Cameron Yule (Durham) - 17 over five matches
Robbie Campbell Hewson (Edinburgh) - 16 over seven matches
Ben Murray (Durham) - 15 over five matches
James Ross (Manchester) - 11 over five matches
Matt Booth (Edinburgh) - 10 over seven matches
Pushan Basu (Bristol), Dani Cugini & Ben Harris (Emmanuel) and Joe Hanson (Manchester) - 9 each over five matches
So that's a quick selection; I have full stats for all eight teams, if anyone is interested, let me know either below or on Twitter.
Back tomorrow with my usual highlights.
Jason Golfinos (Darwin) - 50 over six matches
Freddie Leo (St Edmund Hall) - 44 over six matches
Max Fitz-James (Edinburgh) - 30 over seven matches
Owen Iredale (Bristol) - 24 over five matches
Alex Antao (Manchester) and Matthew Toynbee (Durham) - 19 each over five matches
James Hampson (Glasgow) - 16 over four matches
Connor MacDonald and Vedanth Nair (Emmanuel) - 13 each over five matches
And honourable mentions to:
Cameron Yule (Durham) - 17 over five matches
Robbie Campbell Hewson (Edinburgh) - 16 over seven matches
Ben Murray (Durham) - 15 over five matches
James Ross (Manchester) - 11 over five matches
Matt Booth (Edinburgh) - 10 over seven matches
Pushan Basu (Bristol), Dani Cugini & Ben Harris (Emmanuel) and Joe Hanson (Manchester) - 9 each over five matches
So that's a quick selection; I have full stats for all eight teams, if anyone is interested, let me know either below or on Twitter.
Back tomorrow with my usual highlights.
Wednesday, 24 April 2019
Only Connect Series 14: Third Place Play-Off: Poptimists vs Ancient Alumni
OK, the penultimate Only Connect of the series, and the return of the third place play-off! Glad it's back, especially this series, where all four semi-finalists definitely deserved one more game whether they reached the final or not, even more so as both semi-finals were very close.
Anyway, playing were the Poptimists, Oliver Levy, Bob De Caux and captain Matt Loxham, who defeated the Hotpots, the LARPers and the Durhamites, but were defeated by the Time Ladies in their semi, and the Ancient Alumni, Lindsay McBryan, Ailsa Watson and captain Dave McBryan, who overcame the Three Peaks, the Westenders and the Brews, but lost their semi to the Dicers on a tie-break.
Round 1. The Alumni opened the show with Two Reeds: 'Louise: Reality Bites', then 'Older Allie Calhoun: The Notebook', then 'Tommy's mother: GoodFellas', and finally 'Older woman in cafe: When Harry met Sally'. They suggested them to be their actors' only screen credit; not right. Their opponents correctly offered them to have been played by the director's mother, for a bonus. For their own first question, the Poptimists chose Eye of Horus: 'Strawberry', then 'East Riding of Yorkshire'; they immediately saw them to be linked by 'Hull', and collected three points. The Alumni chose Twisted Flax next: 'Gromit', then 'Salamanders on the Discworld', then 'Dilbert (usually)', and finally 'Hello Kitty'. They saw them to be characters with no mouth, and collected their first point of the night. The Poptimists chose 'Horn-ed' Viper next, and got the music set: we heard Public Enemy with 'By the Time I Get to Arizona', then Nina Simone with 'Why (The King of Love is Dead)', then U2 with 'Pride (In the Name of Love)', and finally Stevie Wonder with 'Happy Birthday'. They saw them to be songs about Martin Luther King, and collected another sole point. The Alumni chose Lion next: 'Messi in OG v Wales', then 'I'm issuing a view, also', then 'Moss in agave weals', and finally 'Amassing avowals'. Neither time saw this nice cryptic one: they are phrases where the consonants are in the same order as 'Missing Vowels', and thus would be permissable answers for the Missing Vowels clue 'MSS N GVW LS'. Left with Water, and the picture set, the Poptimists saw Eva Green, then Angela Eagle, then actress Natalie Wood (who they didn't recognise), and finally Carey Mulligan. They spotted that their surnames are golf terms, and collected the point. At the end of the first round, the Poptimists led 6-1.
Round 2, What Comes Fourth? The Alumni started it with Two Reeds: 'Launch of Cultural Revolution', then 'Red Rum's third Grand National win'; they saw them to be events of 1966 and 1977, so suggested 'A certain Prince song is played a lot on the eve of Millennium', which was allowed for a 1999 event for the three points. ('Manchester United beating Bayern Munich in the Champions League final' would've been my answer there) The Poptimists chose Eye of Horus next, and got the picture set again: we saw a £50 note with James Watt circled, then Elijah Wood, and then John Travolta as Jesus Quantana in 'The Big Lobowski'. They didn't see it, and their opponents weren't quite there either: they are 'Watt', 'Wood' and 'Jesus', so a word representing 'Do' would be fourth. The Alumni chose Lion next: '123 Mock The Week', then '456 Toronto Fire Services', and then '712 Satisfiability Modulo Theories'. They didn't get it, their opponents did: they are phrases beginning with the letters of those days of the week, so their offer of '345 What The Flip' was acceptable! ('345 World Taekwondo Federation' was the model answer) For their own question, the Poptimists chose 'Horn-ed' Viper: 'Campari', then 'Aperol', and then 'Advocaat'. They didn't get it, neither did their opponents: they are drinks usually coloured red, orange and yellow, so 'Green Chartreuse' would be an acceptable fourth answer. For their final choice, the Alumni chose Water: '_ 4 _, then '_ 8 9 10 _'; they saw them to be numbers in between every second prime number, with the primes blanked out, and correctly offered '_ 20 21 22 _' for the three points. Left with Twisted Flax, the Poptimists saw 'Are you saying Mr Lewis is lying?', then 'So you are saying that Mr Lewis lied?'; at this point, they (and I) saw it to be Paxo's infamous interview with Michael Howard, so offered 'Did you threaten to overrule him?' for the three points! At the end of the second round, the Poptimists led 10-7.
On to the Walls, the Poptimists went first, and chose the Water wall. They spotted numerous possible links, and eventually isolated two sets in short order: 'Chunk', 'Mouth', 'Sloth' and 'Mikey' are characters from 'The Goonies', while 'Lust', 'Wrath', 'Envy' and 'Pride' are deadly sins. The final sets eventually slotted in after that: 'Gluttony', 'Earmark', 'Crackerjack', and 'Trumpeter' all end with boys' names, while 'Greed', 'Chuck-a-Luck', 'Beetle' and 'Craps' are dice games. A full ten there.
The Alumni thus set to work on the Lion wall. They immediately isolated 'Hastings', 'Redpath', 'Sole' and 'Laidlaw', which are surnames of Scottish rugby union captains. A second set, 'Mullet', 'Sturgeon', 'Dab' and 'Tarpon', which are fish, followed, and it didn't take them long to sort out the remainders: 'Menai', 'Cook', 'Davis' and 'Bass' are straits, while 'Skate', 'Truth', 'Mozzarella' and 'Primary' all end with girls' names. Another full ten, so as you were, the Poptimists led 19-16 going into the final round.
So, Missing Vowels would decide the game. 'Things that loosely rhyme with 'crazy'', such as 'PATRICK SWAYZEE' and 'FRANCO BARESI', was split 2-each. 'National capitals and an anagram of them', such as 'ROME AND MORE', went to the Poptimists 3-1, their guess of 'TEHRAN AND NATHER' being accepted in lieu of 'TEHRAN AND ANTHER'. 'Three members of musical families' was split 1-each, and that was time. The Poptimists won 26-21.
Good game, a pleasant interlude ahead of the final next week. Well played both teams, two fine series of performances, thanks very much indeed for playing!
Next week's match: the final! The Time Ladies vs the Dicers for the title!
Anyway, playing were the Poptimists, Oliver Levy, Bob De Caux and captain Matt Loxham, who defeated the Hotpots, the LARPers and the Durhamites, but were defeated by the Time Ladies in their semi, and the Ancient Alumni, Lindsay McBryan, Ailsa Watson and captain Dave McBryan, who overcame the Three Peaks, the Westenders and the Brews, but lost their semi to the Dicers on a tie-break.
Round 1. The Alumni opened the show with Two Reeds: 'Louise: Reality Bites', then 'Older Allie Calhoun: The Notebook', then 'Tommy's mother: GoodFellas', and finally 'Older woman in cafe: When Harry met Sally'. They suggested them to be their actors' only screen credit; not right. Their opponents correctly offered them to have been played by the director's mother, for a bonus. For their own first question, the Poptimists chose Eye of Horus: 'Strawberry', then 'East Riding of Yorkshire'; they immediately saw them to be linked by 'Hull', and collected three points. The Alumni chose Twisted Flax next: 'Gromit', then 'Salamanders on the Discworld', then 'Dilbert (usually)', and finally 'Hello Kitty'. They saw them to be characters with no mouth, and collected their first point of the night. The Poptimists chose 'Horn-ed' Viper next, and got the music set: we heard Public Enemy with 'By the Time I Get to Arizona', then Nina Simone with 'Why (The King of Love is Dead)', then U2 with 'Pride (In the Name of Love)', and finally Stevie Wonder with 'Happy Birthday'. They saw them to be songs about Martin Luther King, and collected another sole point. The Alumni chose Lion next: 'Messi in OG v Wales', then 'I'm issuing a view, also', then 'Moss in agave weals', and finally 'Amassing avowals'. Neither time saw this nice cryptic one: they are phrases where the consonants are in the same order as 'Missing Vowels', and thus would be permissable answers for the Missing Vowels clue 'MSS N GVW LS'. Left with Water, and the picture set, the Poptimists saw Eva Green, then Angela Eagle, then actress Natalie Wood (who they didn't recognise), and finally Carey Mulligan. They spotted that their surnames are golf terms, and collected the point. At the end of the first round, the Poptimists led 6-1.
Round 2, What Comes Fourth? The Alumni started it with Two Reeds: 'Launch of Cultural Revolution', then 'Red Rum's third Grand National win'; they saw them to be events of 1966 and 1977, so suggested 'A certain Prince song is played a lot on the eve of Millennium', which was allowed for a 1999 event for the three points. ('Manchester United beating Bayern Munich in the Champions League final' would've been my answer there) The Poptimists chose Eye of Horus next, and got the picture set again: we saw a £50 note with James Watt circled, then Elijah Wood, and then John Travolta as Jesus Quantana in 'The Big Lobowski'. They didn't see it, and their opponents weren't quite there either: they are 'Watt', 'Wood' and 'Jesus', so a word representing 'Do' would be fourth. The Alumni chose Lion next: '123 Mock The Week', then '456 Toronto Fire Services', and then '712 Satisfiability Modulo Theories'. They didn't get it, their opponents did: they are phrases beginning with the letters of those days of the week, so their offer of '345 What The Flip' was acceptable! ('345 World Taekwondo Federation' was the model answer) For their own question, the Poptimists chose 'Horn-ed' Viper: 'Campari', then 'Aperol', and then 'Advocaat'. They didn't get it, neither did their opponents: they are drinks usually coloured red, orange and yellow, so 'Green Chartreuse' would be an acceptable fourth answer. For their final choice, the Alumni chose Water: '_ 4 _, then '_ 8 9 10 _'; they saw them to be numbers in between every second prime number, with the primes blanked out, and correctly offered '_ 20 21 22 _' for the three points. Left with Twisted Flax, the Poptimists saw 'Are you saying Mr Lewis is lying?', then 'So you are saying that Mr Lewis lied?'; at this point, they (and I) saw it to be Paxo's infamous interview with Michael Howard, so offered 'Did you threaten to overrule him?' for the three points! At the end of the second round, the Poptimists led 10-7.
On to the Walls, the Poptimists went first, and chose the Water wall. They spotted numerous possible links, and eventually isolated two sets in short order: 'Chunk', 'Mouth', 'Sloth' and 'Mikey' are characters from 'The Goonies', while 'Lust', 'Wrath', 'Envy' and 'Pride' are deadly sins. The final sets eventually slotted in after that: 'Gluttony', 'Earmark', 'Crackerjack', and 'Trumpeter' all end with boys' names, while 'Greed', 'Chuck-a-Luck', 'Beetle' and 'Craps' are dice games. A full ten there.
The Alumni thus set to work on the Lion wall. They immediately isolated 'Hastings', 'Redpath', 'Sole' and 'Laidlaw', which are surnames of Scottish rugby union captains. A second set, 'Mullet', 'Sturgeon', 'Dab' and 'Tarpon', which are fish, followed, and it didn't take them long to sort out the remainders: 'Menai', 'Cook', 'Davis' and 'Bass' are straits, while 'Skate', 'Truth', 'Mozzarella' and 'Primary' all end with girls' names. Another full ten, so as you were, the Poptimists led 19-16 going into the final round.
So, Missing Vowels would decide the game. 'Things that loosely rhyme with 'crazy'', such as 'PATRICK SWAYZEE' and 'FRANCO BARESI', was split 2-each. 'National capitals and an anagram of them', such as 'ROME AND MORE', went to the Poptimists 3-1, their guess of 'TEHRAN AND NATHER' being accepted in lieu of 'TEHRAN AND ANTHER'. 'Three members of musical families' was split 1-each, and that was time. The Poptimists won 26-21.
Good game, a pleasant interlude ahead of the final next week. Well played both teams, two fine series of performances, thanks very much indeed for playing!
Next week's match: the final! The Time Ladies vs the Dicers for the title!
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