Quizzy Mondays 2024-25 Week 10: University Challenge R1M10, Only Connect Elimination Match 2, Mastermind Heat 8

Good evening again my friends, and welcome back to another Quizzy Monday! Coming up, a strong line-up on Brain of Britain (with another due next/later this week), which I'd hoped to provide a more detailed write-up of, but sadly, the finer details I had in mind have since escaped me; I guess that's what happens when you don't write your write-up as it happens, as I do with Mastermind and OC. More on them later too.

We begin, as ever, though with UC, and the second Oxbridge derby of the series. Exeter College Oxford, firstly, making its first appearance on the show since the Gail Trimble series of 08-09, where they were unlucky to lose in the first round, and only their third of the BBC era; their first, in 1996-97, saw them reach the QFs before narrowly losing to eventual runners-up Open. They were represented by:

Edie Allden, from Worcester, studying Biochemistry

Benjamin Gray, from East Devon, studying Maths

Schuyler Colfax, from Austin, Texas, studying PPE

Daniyal Vemuri, from Thatcham in Berkshire, studying PPE

Christ's College Cambridge appeared on six occasions during the Paxo era, with their sixth and last coming in his final series two series ago, where they lost to Southampton in the second round; their best performance was in 01-02, where they reached the semis before narrowly losing to eventual winners Somerville Oxford. Playing for them this year were:

Anniko Firman, from The Hague, studying Classics

Brendan Bethlehem, from North London, studying Linguistics

Captain: Oscar Despard, from Dublin, studying Biochemistry

Linus Luu, from Orpington, studying Maths

Christ's took the first two starters of the game, but had mixed fortunes, taking all of the first set, but none of the second. Exeter kicked off their scoring with the first picture round; two bonuses on that reduced their early deficit to 55-20. Christ's continued to have the better of the buzzers in the next phase, but a somewhat hit and miss record on the bonuses meant they weren't able to pull fully away. Exeter took the music round, after which the gap stood at 105-60.

Another starter took the Oxonians within 25, but Christ's duly reawoke and pulled away again. Back came Exeter back within 20, but a penalty handed Christ's possession again and they pulled further away with two bonuses. They also took the second picture round, after which their lead stood at 155-95. Both sides then lost five on consecutive starters, but neither picked up the other's mistake. Mr Luu took the next starter for Christ's to put them more or less out of sight, and when Mr Bethlehem, who'd had a most productive night already, took the next, their lead was three figures and the game was over. Exeter did at least take one more starter to reach three figures, which they definitely deserved to. At the gong, Christ's won 205-110.

 

An enjoyable contest, a close one until Christ's pulled away in the final minutes. Well done them, and best of luck in the second round! Bad luck Exeter, who definitely didn't disgrace themselves and I suspect would've fared better against another team; thanks for playing!

 

The stats: Mr Bethlehem was easily the best buzzer of the night with seven starters, while Mr Gray was best for Exeter with three. On the bonuses, Exeter managed a good 12 out of 18 and Christ's 19 out of 33, and both sides incurred two penalties each.

Next week's match: St Andrews vs Cardiff

Only Connect moved on to its second elimination match, with the returns of the Harmonics, narrowly beaten by the Cat Cows in the first round, and the Bean Farmers, who were defeated by the Four Opinions.

 

My Dad claims a point for the Future question in the first round, and we jointly claim three points on the ‘vein’ question; the teams were tied on 3-each at the end of the round. We also claimed the same three points on the Heads Shoulders Knees and Toes question as the Harmonics did in the second round, I flat out guessed the car seats question correctly for two points, and we also claim the Circle of Life question plus one other I don’t remember; at the end of the round, the teams were still tied, now on 8-each.

 

It stayed that way after the Walls; two perfect tens, though VCM was maybe a touch lenient to let the Farmers have one of their connection points, so it was as you were, 18-18 going into Missing Vowels. And it was a surprisingly tough round, though I managed to work out probably the trickiest one of the round, ‘BURKINA FASOPHIE ELLIS-BEXTOR’! The Harmonics just about fared better to win 22-20; well done them, and best of luck in the next round! And thanks Bean Farmers for playing.

 

Mastermind was opened by Richard Saunders, answering on the Culture novels of Iain M Banks, and he scored 6 points. Dave C remarked on LAM last week that the specialist rounds have been noticeably tough this series, and I must agree; the questions have been rather long too, hence a few low scores in recent weeks.

 

Constance Cooper followed Richard into the chair, answering on Alan Partridge, and continued this trend by scoring 7 (and two passes). Rakesh Sharma was next up, answering on actress Madhuri Dixit, and he finally broke the trend with a near perfect round, marred only by a very small mistake late on, and scored 10 points. Fiona Denby concluded the round with English wine in the 21^st century, and matched Constance’s score of 7, but no passes put her into de facto second place.

 

Richard returned for GK first, but sadly his round never really got into gear for him; he nonetheless doubled his score to 12 points. Constance was next, and fared better, scoring 9 for a respectable 16, but with two further passes, it didn’t look like being a winning score. Fiona didn’t quite manage to beat it though; unable to get a run together, she too ended up doubling her score to 14.

 

Rakesh thus needed 6 to win provided he didn’t pass or 7 to win outright. He looked like doing it easily at first, but he too then hit a bad run of questions. He did manage the one more correct answer he needed to get in front eventually though, and then made extra sure by taking one more to end with a score of 17. Well done him, and best of luck in the semis! And thanks to the other for taking part.

 

Brain of Britain was won by Sarah Thornton, a finalist on the last series of Mastermind, for whom a well-timed sprint in the final round proved the difference as she won with 16 points. Andrew Fisher, UC and OC alumnus, led for much of the game before being overtaken by that sprint, but his 13 points nonetheless puts him joint second on the HSNW board and, with five heats left, that gives him a pretty good chance of going through too. Colin Daffern, another OC alumnus, and Charlotte Jeffreys completed the line-up, scoring 8 and 7 respectively.

 

And that's this week done! Thanks once again for reading and if, like last week, I've made any mistakes, do point them out and I'll fix them as soon as I remember to at a time when I'm not busy doing something else! Back again same time same place next week; see you then.

Quizzy Mondays 2024-25 Week 9: University Challenge R1M9, Only Connect Elimination Match 1, Mastermind Heat 7

Good evening again my friends, and welcome back to JOW for another Quizzy Monday! We're halfway through the first round of Brain of Britain now, so a slightly extended write-up of that later. But before that, we have to deal with the three quizzes that actually still air on Monday itself!

 

Beginning, as ever, with UC, which was, as you may already know, a rematch of the final of the 1999-2000 series. Oriel College Oxford lost that final, their second successive second place finish, but they haven't come close to reaching another final in their three appearance since, going out in the first, second round and play-offs respectively in each. Hoping to do better this year no doubt, they were represented by:

Samin Taseen, from East London, studying Biomedical Sciences

Theo Sharkey, from Wingrave in Berkshire, studying History

Captain: Danann Kilburn, from South Oxfordshire, studying English Literature

Tom Armstrong, from the Wirral, studying History and Politics 

 

Durham won that final, the second of three series wins, the first being back in 1977 (Oriel also won a series of the original era, in 1966) and the third being just two series ago in Paxo's final series of course. This series is their 24th appearance of the BBC era, which I think is still a record for it. This year's team consisted of:

Joe Ancell, from South Gloucestershire, studying History

Amelia Brookfield-Pertusini, from Balham in South London, studying English Literature

Captain: Jake Roberts, from Goostrey in Cheshire, studying Physics

Luke Nash, from Hindolveston in Norfolk, studying Biology 

 

Oriel struck first, took two bonuses and were very harshly disallowed the third for a slight mispronunciation of 'Wittgenstein'. Durham had the better of the rest of the first round of starters though and, after the first picture round, led 55-20. The balance was partly redressed as Durham lost five for a 'just an' interruption; thankfully, neither call affected the final score. Oriel took a couple of starters, and cleanly swept both bonus sets to take the lead. But Durham bounced back with three in a row, including the music starter; after the music round, they led 110-70.

A fourth in a row increased the lead further and prompted AR to, somewhat prematurely, tell Oriel there was plenty of time left; it worked though, as two starters in a row and all but one bonus took them within fifteen points. They were a bit lucky to take the second picture round though, as AR, for the second time this series, accepted an answer two players had said at the same time; afterwards, they'd cut the gap to 130-125. They took the lead with the next starter though, only for Durham to take it back with the next! Another starter each left the teams tied on 170-each! Oriel crucially took the next though, and the game was won when Mr Roberts took a forgivable gamble on the last one of the game and lost five; Oriel picked it up and that was game over. At the gong, Oriel won 200-165.

A great game between two very good teams indeed, both of whom thoroughly deserve to come back, as Durham's score will surely allow them to. Well done both, and best of luck in your respective next matches!

The stats: Mr Armstrong was the best buzzer of the night with six starters, while Messrs Ancell and Roberts were joint best for Durham with three each. On the bonuses, Oriel managed a good 20 out of 30 and Durham an also good 18 out of 27 (with three penalties).

Next week's match: Exeter Oxford vs Christ's Cambridge

Only Connect began its elimination round as we once again met the Hopsters and the Midlanders, who were comfortably beaten by the Sprouters and the Al Frescans respectively in the first round.

 

My Dad and I claim points on the Magnum and disguise questions in the first round, and three points on the kneeling question, after which the Hopsters led 5-4. We also claim the Irish cities question in the second round, which also contained a somewhat lenient acceptance from VCM on a question about companies with their first letter missing; the Hopsters got two for that and had increased to 11-7 at the end the round.

 

The lead increased with the walls, as the Midlanders missed two sets and scored 6, while the Hopsters took a full house, so 21-13 the scores going into Missing Vowels. And they fared a lot better on that round, notable for the category ‘Things that happen in February’ having ‘GROUNDHOG DAY’ as an answer twice! (Second time they’ve done that joke in a Missing Vowels round!) The Hopsters won the game 29-15; well done them and best of luck next time, and thanks Midlanders for playing.

 

Mastermind was opened by Dan Shoesmith, answering on the Star Wars sequel trilogy; a few rather specific questions evaded him and he ended up with 7 points. Emma Cresswell followed him into the chair; answering on the work of Henry Moore, she too was tripped up a few times, and finished with 5 points.

 

James Sowden was next up, answering on the band Elbow, and went straight down the middle of Dan and Emma’s scores, 6 his total. Finally, Morgan Bush was answering on Edward VI; he was unlucky, a few questions he got wrong but clearly knew once he’d heard the right answer. He matched Emma’s score finishing with 5 also. So not the highest scoring of first rounds, but a close one that meant it was anyone’s game in GK.

 

Emma returned first, and maintained the show’s record of the scores being in the same ballpark; 7 her final score, taking her score to 12. Morgan would then finally break that record with a very good round, scoring an impressive 13 to take his score to 18, which certainly felt like it could be a winning score.

 

James looked like he was going to beat it at first, starting well, but a few subsequent stumbles proved costly; he recovered well to also score 18 points, but a pass to his name from the first round meant Morgan remained in front. Dan, who had two, thus needed to score 12 to win the game; he went one better, scoring 13 as well giving him a final score of 20 and winning him the game! Well done him, and best of luck in the semis! And thanks to the others for playing as well.

 

Brain of Britain was won very comfortably by David Edwards, Millionaire jackpot winner and Mastermind champ among many other things (his recent departure from RBQ may have been necessary to allow him to do this show), who pulled away from the field in the second and third rounds and finished with a final score of 19, 11 ahead of second placed Brian Johnston with 8. Jo Cardwell and Janie Mitchell completed the line-up with 7 and 4.

 

So, for the third week in a row, the highest scoring non-winners board remains unchanged: at the half-way point, Caroline Latham leads it with 16, then Helen Lippell with 13, Andrew Fanko with 12 and Dennis with 11; at least two of them will likely make it through I’d say.

 

And that's it for another week! More like a UC review of old this week, but it was a great game, so totally worth it; I will write a bit more like I used to if I think a match warrants it. Thanks once again for reading; see yous again same time same place next week...

Quizzy Mondays 2024-25 Week 8: University Challenge R1M8, Only Connect R1M8, Mastermind Heat 6

Good evening again friends, and welcome to Week 8 of Quizzy Mondays! A sad one though, as its the final first round match of Only Connect tonight, and thus the end of my favourite round of the quiz, largely because no-one goes out, but also because I like recognising people I've seen before on other shows on it! And pointing them out to my Dad, who I do the show with over the phone. More on that final first round match later, but we start, as ever, with UC...

 

Two postgraduate focussed institutions with us tonight. Darwin College Cambridge, firstly, making only their third appearance on the series; their first, back in 2018-19, saw them get all the way to the SFs, largely thanks to their virtuoso captain Jason Golfinos. Their second, two series later, saw them go out in the first round. This year, they were represented by:

Rebecca McClelland, from Essex, studying Optical Microscopy

Sophie Willis, from Derby, studying Pathology

Captain: Harrison Whitaker, from Terre Haute, Indiana, studying Film

Rowan Stewart, from Edinburgh, studying Linguistics 

 

Birkbeck College was a regular in the early days of the BBC era, but, after winning the 2002-03 series, they proceded to vanish for 16 years before finally returning in 2019-20. Their two appearances since, the second of them last series, have seen them reach the semis on both occasions; three quarters of the 2020-21 team went on to win Series 18 of OC as the Strigiformes. Playing for them this series were:

Rosalie Van Onzenoort, from the Netherlands, studying Creative Writing

Uma Moorthy, from London, studying English with Creative Writing

Captain: Alex Evans, from Claygate in Surrey, studying Politics, Philosophy and History

Eric Skidmore, from Salford, studying Early Modern History

The Cambridge side had the better of the early exchanges, with Mr Whitaker taking three of the first four starters, including the first picture starter; after the first picture round, Darwin led 50-20. Birkbeck recovered well, two starters and a few bonuses pulling them back within five; they would've been level but for a penalty for a dreaded 'just an' interruption. But another two starters to the Darwin captain pulled them away again. The Londoners did take the music round, which allowed them to reduce their arrears to 90-65.

But that man Mr Whitaker kept his starter count ticking over, two more and a solid haul of bonuses taking them well over the 100 mark. Birkbeck did take a couple of more starters of their own, including the second picture starter; after the second picture round, Darwin led 135-90. A third starter in a row took the Londoners into three figures, and two bonuses kept them with a chance. But Mr Whitaker suddenly reawoke, and would go on a superb late run that allowed his team to run away with the game, and him to finish with a total not that far off that once managed by his afore-mentioned predecessor. At the gong, Darwin won 205-110.

A decent enough game, both teams gave a fair effort, but it was Mr Whitaker's superb buzzer form that won the game for Darwin; well done them, and best of luck in the next round! Hard lines to Birkbeck, but they didn't disgrace themselves and came across well too, thanks for playing!

The stats: Mr Whitaker was by far and away the best buzzer of the night with ELEVEN(!) starters (all eleven of his team's starters in fact, first time something like that's happened for some time), while Ms Van Onzenoort was best for Birkbeck with three. On the bonuses, Darwin managed 19 out of 32 and Birkbeck 10 out of 21 (with two penalties).

Next week's match: Oriel Oxford vs Durham

Only Connect arrived at its final first round heat, and we met our last two new teams: the Uisge Beathas, Julie Galante, Charlie Mollison and captain Charles Dundas, and the Crunchers, Ian Wang, who you’ll remember as the captain of Corpus Christi Cambridge team who were UC runners-up in 2019-20, Chris Nash and captain Dennis Wang, brother of Ian who was part of the Worcester Oxford team who were unlucky to go out in the first round of the 2016-17 series.

 

The Crunchers led 5-3 after the first round, where my Dad and I jointly claim the ‘Numbers next’ question (I say jointly because he got it after I explained the Countdown clue to him!). I definitely claim the swan question on Round 2, and my Dad claims the ‘Rob Peter to pay Paul’ one; after that the Beathas had turned it around to lead 10-7.

 

Two well worked out perfect walls meant it was as you were, the Beathas led 20-17 going into Missing Vowels. The Crunchers, however, had the better of a very good round to come from behind and win 25-23. But a good first showing by both teams; well done and best of luck next time!

 

Next week’s match: the first eliminator, between the Hopsters and the Midlanders

 

Mastermind was opened by Thomas Banbury, who you may remember from the Durham team that reached the UC QFs in 2020-21; answering on the ghost stories of MR James, he scored 8. He was followed into the chair by Liam McCarthy, answering on Ronnie O’Sullivan, he matched Thomas’ score, another 8.

 

Jane Northern was next up and, answering on the classic Thunderbirds, went into the lead with 10 points. Finally, Helen Lawson answered on Hans Holbein the Younger, and finished straight down the middle with 9 scores, making it still anyone’s game depending on how GK went.

 

Thomas returned first, and scored a respectable 10 to take his score to 18, but, with a pass in the mix too, it looked likely to be beaten at least once. Liam did indeed beat it, but only just, 19 his final score, also with a single pass. He also wins the prize for best guess of the series so far; asked for a former BBC security correspondent, he guessed ‘Clive Myrie’, who did very well not to let it throw him too much!

 

Helen went next, but a few long pauses before answering wrongly cost her a bit, and she could only equal Thomas’ 18; still a perfectly fine performance though. It left Jane needing to equal her SS score to win the game, and, despite noticeably more passes than her fellow contenders, she did so and more with time to spare; 22 her final score. So she goes through to the semis; congrats to her, and thanks the others for a good contest!

 

Brain of Britain was won by Hannah Reilly, who won it in the second and third rounds with the strongest showing of those two rounds; that and taking one of only two points scored in a tough final round saw her finish with 12 points, three ahead of second place Eithne Cullen with 9. Andrew Bingham and Sean Lea completed the line-up, both scoring 4.

 

And that's it for another week. Thanks once again for reading; join us again same time same place next week as OC begins its elimination round...