Quizzy Mondays 2024-25 Week 38: Mastermind Grand Final

Good evening once again my friends, and welcome to the final Quizzy Monday of the season! Yep, we're into an unprecedented 38th week of official coverage on this blog, but I'm actually glad tonight's Mastermind final gets a blog of its own as it definitely deserved one in the end. Neither it nor last week's UC final deserved to be overshadowed by the other TBH. Anyway, for the final time this season, here we go...

 

Mastermind’s fourth Grand Final of the Clive Myrie era was opened by Nancy Braithwaite, who was answering on the stage plays of Sir Tom Stoppard; following her filmed intro, including a visit to the Old Vic and a chat with Mark Lawson, her round started well, then blipped a bit with two wrong answers in a row, but recovered to a score of 10.

 

She was followed into the chair by John Harden, who was answering on the 1953 ascent of Everest, which he chose because an alumnus of the school he works for was part of a previous, unsuccessful, expedition to the mountain, with Peter Hillary, son of Sir Edmund, chatting to him via a video chat; he matches Nancy’s score, another 10.

 

Next up was Ivan Milatovic, who was answering on the music of Led Zeppelin, with his intro taking him to the studio (now a cinema) where the band recorded some of their most noted songs, with Robert Plant providing a recorded message of good luck to him; he didn’t get any answers wrong until right at the end, and ended up edging in front with 12.

 

Dom Tait was next up, and was answering on penguins, with his intro featuring him seeing some real life ones of those for the first time, followed by a recorded message of luck from Liz Bonnin (a still of him on UC and a clip of him on OC were also shown); also making just the one error, he matched Ivan’s score of 12.

 

Our penultimate contender was Claire Reynolds, who, of course, only made it here due to someone else withdrawing from the semis, and who was answering on mathematician Emmy Noether, with her intro taking her to Birmingham University to provide more background info on her, followed by Rachel Riley offering her some recorded words of encouragement; she also made no mistakes until very late on, and she too ended up with 12 points.

 

Finally, John Robinson was answering on the Empire State Building; he didn’t get to go and see it (again) for his intro, but he did have a video chat with a lady from the Skyscraper Museum and an quick chat with a quizzing teammate of his, former Mastermind champ David Edwards (a clip of him winning £500,000 on WWTBAM was also shown), before he too posted a score of 12, setting us up for a very crucial GK round indeed!

 

Nancy returned first, and gave us a good round which, despite a few mistakes, kept ticking along very well, and she scored 13 for an excellent total of 23, though did incur a pass right at the end.

 

John H didn’t quite manage as good a round, but did come respectably close, scoring 11 for a good total of 21.

 

Ivan was the first of the four with 12 to return for GK; he started strongly to reach 20, but then hit a run of wrong answers that knocked him off the pace, but he recovered to finish neatly in between Nancy and John, 10 for a good total of 22.

 

Dom was next, and, after a very good steady run, equalled Nancy’s score, before a slight wobble took away his momentum; he did, nonetheless, take the lead, scoring 13 for a very good total of 25.

 

Claire was next up, and scored very strongly and steadily, with a nice backwards link to last week’s UC with a question about Watling Street to boot, and she duly took the lead with a fantastic score of 17 for a magnificent total of 29!

 

John R thus faced the daunting task of scoring 18 or more for the win. He needed to keep a very strong pace and, despite a few mistakes, did do so, so it was going to be very close. As the timer began to tick, he was one adrift; he got it right, and there was time for one more! If he got it right, he’d done it… and get it right he did! 18 for a total of 30 made him the new Mastermind champion!

 

Very very well done John, a superb performance and a most worthy victory indeed! And well done to the other five as well for an excellent final, Claire especially for congratulating John on his win afterwards. And many thanks to Clive M and all the contenders involved for a fine series!

 

I have now decided not to cover the show as thoroughly next series though, at least not all the way through; maybe I’ll only give the heats a fleeting mention and then give fuller coverage to the semis and final. Whatever the case, I do still very much intend to carry on with this blog format next season; it's worked pretty well I think.

 

And that's it; we're finished! Thanks very much indeed to everyone who has read and commented on the blog over the past few months; your support is as appreciated as ever. I'll be back when the quizzes return, whenever that is, hopefully earlier than last year; whether I'll have anything else to write on this blog in the meantime, who knows? So, until we next meet, sayonara...

Quizzy Mondays 2024-25 Week 37: University Challenge Grand Final, Mastermind Semi-Final 6

Good evening once again my friends, and welcome to the penultimate Quizzy Monday of the season! Yes, I know, it's University Challenge final day and that's usually it for this blog's coverage, but, with the Mastermind final next week, we're going into an unprecedented 38th week on here! At least we had OC back tonight though, giving us one final full house of quizzes for the series! Anyway, Mastermind's final semi on the way later, but first, the big one...

 

Christ's College Cambridge reached this final by beating Exeter of Oxford, St Edmund Hall of Oxford, Imperial, their opponents tonight and Bristol. Hoping for a first ever UC title, and a first for Oxbridge in seven years, 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

 

Warwick made it here via victories over UEA, Oriel of Oxford, Queen's of Belfast, U.C.L. and Darwin of Cambridge, but did also lost to their opponents tonight. Playing for a third UC title were:

Ananya Govindarajan, from Edgware in London, studying Engineering

Thomas Hart, from Miskin in South Wales, studying Maths

Captain: Oscar Siddle, from Islington, studying Maths

Benjamin Watson, from Amersham, studying PPE

 

Mr Bethlehem took the first starter of the night, and Christ's took all three of the first set of bonuses, only for their opponents to respond likewise. Warwick then took a further two starters, including the first picture round, after which they led 60-25. Another two starters plus bonuses and Warwick had already reached three figures. Mr Despard finally reawoke Christ's, but they only took one bonus, and Warwick pushed on to take another starter and two bonuses. The Cambridge side did take the music round, but no bonuses followed, meaning they trailed 125-50.

 

A second starter in a row went to the Cambridge side, plus two bonuses, only for Warwick to bite back and re-extend their lead. Christ's then took two starters in a row, and half the resulting bonuses took them into three figures. Warwick took the second picture round though, after which they led 155-105. Christ's took the next starter, but, very narrowly, missed all three bonuses; Warwick took the next, just the one bonus, but nonetheless had a sixty point lead with barely any time left. Christ's had to go for it, and go for it they did, but their low bonus rate meant it was slow progress. A penalty to Warwick helped, but a harsh but fair disallowance from the chairman didn't. With thirty points in it, Mr Despard took a flyer on a starter, let out a just-about reasonable length pause, then answered correctly; two bonuses, and the gap was suddenly just ten points! Just one final starter surely, and Ms Firman took it to pull Christ's level! One bonus gave them the lead, the second was disallowed for another minor mistake... and that was the gong! Christ's won the game, and the series, 175-170!

 

Kudos to the chairman for giving both teams a standing ovation, and to both teams for clapping each other. We then headed to the ADC Theatre, where AR and the two teams were joined by Sir Ian McKellen, who said a few words before handing the trophy over to Mr Despard.

 

A great final to worthily end a great series; very well done both teams, both of whom would've been worthy champions. Hard lines to Warwick to lose it like that, but they can be rightly proud of their series of performances; congrats to them and thanks very much indeed to them for being part of the series! But very very well done indeed to Christ's, who are, of course, most worthy champions; thanks to them for playing as well, well done indeed!

 

The stats: Mr Bethlehem was the best buzzer of the night with six, giving him a final series total of 35 over six matches, while Mr Watson was best for Warwick with four, though Mr Hart was their best of the series, indeed THE best of the whole series, with a grand total of 42 over seven matches. On the bonuses, Christ's managed 13 out of 32 and Warwick 18 out of 27 (with two penalties).

 

And that's it; the series is finished! Many thanks to all involved for another excellent nine months of quizzing! And special mention to the chairman, who has really settled into the role this series and, honestly, I can't imagine the show without him now! Well done to him indeed! We all eagerly await the next series!

 

Mastermind’s final semi-final was opened by Neil Pritchard, who was answering on Spike Milligan’s war memoirs; a respectable round, he scored 7 points, but, coupled with a pass, you fancied he had his work cut out to win. He was followed into the chair by Rakesh Sharma, who was answering on MS Subbulakshmi; he did very well indeed, not making any errors that I noticed and scoring an excellent 10 points. Next up was Olivia Woolley, who was answering on the Glorious Revolution; another very good round, marred by a brief blip of a pass and a wrong answer in succession, another good score of 10. Finally, Ivan Milatovic was answering on the career of Novak Djokovic; another strong round resulted in a third score of 10, meaning GK was going to be very crucial indeed!

 

Neil returned first needing, as I suspected, a big performance to stand a chance; he started OK, then ran out of momentum, before recovering late on to score 11 for a respectable total of 18, a good total, but, coupled with two passes, probably not a winning one. Rakesh was next, and also started strongly, before faltering somewhat, and remained stop-start for the rest of the round; he eventually score of 10 for a total of 20, another good total, but I suspected not enough for the win.

 

Next was Olivia, who, again, started well before falling off the pace and then recovering late on, but not quite enough to catch Rakesh; a score of 8 for another solid total of 18 left Ivan needing 11 to win. He also started pretty good, then hit the skids a bit, but recovered quicker than his fellow contenders and so did just about enough, scoring 12 for a total of 22 and taking the final place in next week’s final! Well done him, and very best of (retrospective) luck to him and the other five finalists next week!

We also had the triumphant return of Only Connect this evening, albeit it was just a repeat, of the ‘Sound’ special from New Year’s Day where all but two of the questions in the first two rounds were audio questions. Still, a good one to show, as I suspect a lot of people will have missed it first time around and, of all the specials from last Christmas, this novel one definitely deserved a repeat when more would be able to see it.

 

And that's it for this momentus week! But, of course, we're not done yet! We still have the Mastermind final next Monday of course, at the earlier time of 7pm; don't forget the early start. I'll be back next Monday with my write-up of that, and then we're done for the season! As ever, thanks very much for reading, and I'll see yous then...

Quizzy Mondays 2024-25 Week 36: University Challenge Semi-Final 2

Good evening again my friends, and welcome to the antepenultimate Quizzy Monday of the season! Yes, I know, I said that last week as well, but that was before I found out that, not only will there indeed be no quizzes next week due to snooker, but there'd be no Mastermind due to snooker this week as well! Really, this series has been so stop-start at times, it really does deserve better. So, this means we'll now get the Mastermind final in three weeks' time, which actually makes sense as both shows deserve to have their finals on seperate days TBF. Anyway, it does mean, just like in this blog's old days, UC gets our sole focus tonight, and the second semi-final is definitely a game that deserves that, so, let's do this...

 

Darwin College Cambridge defeated Birkbeck and Edinburgh in the first two rounds and, like Christ's last week, went into the QFs as outsiders, but found another level to their game and beat U.C.L. easily and Bristol on a high scoring tie-breaker to reach the semis. They were the same foursome as those previous games:

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

 

Warwick were comfortable winners over UEA and Oriel of Oxford in the first two rounds, then beat Queen's in their first QF, but were then beaten by Christ's in their second; their third, however, saw them also defeat U.C.L. to make it here tonight. They were also the same quartet as all those prior occasions:

Ananya Govindarajan, from Edgware in London, studying Engineering

Thomas Hart, from Miskin in South Wales, studying Maths

Captain: Oscar Siddle, from Islington, studying Maths

Benjamin Watson, from Amersham, studying PPE

 

Mr Whitaker, one of the star buzzers of the series, took the first two starters of the game; his side took none of the first set of bonuses, but all of the second. Warwick responded with two starters of their own, including the first picture round, but one bonus from both sets meant they trailed 35-30. The Coventry side then took three starters in a row however, and, with their opponents restricted to a penalty, had suddenly run up a 60-point lead. Darwin finally got going again with two full houses in a row, including the music round, after which they'd closed the gap right down to 90-80.

 

A penalty to Warwick closed the gap to five, but they quickly recouped the points and reopened a lead, only for Darwin to respond with a full house to level the scores! A starters and two bonuses gave Warwick the lead, Darwin responded in kind again, and this was turning into one of the games of the series, if not the game. The Cambridge side then took the second picture round, and with it the lead, 140-125. A grandstand finish looked in the offering, and Warwick obliged by retaking the lead with the next starter and two bonuses. Two dropped starters added to the tension, before that man Mr Whitaker gave Darwin the lead back, and two bonuses meant one more would probably give them the win. But Mr Hart took the next for Warwick, and a bonus pair of their own gave them the lead again! Next starter would probably win it; Mr Hart took it for Warwick, they took the first bonus, and that was the gong! Warwick won 180-160!

 

A fantastic match, right up there as one of the best of the AR era so far, worthy of the semi-finals; well played both teams! Very well done Warwick, worthy winners and worthy finalists; very very best of luck to them there! Hard lines to Darwin, who'd have been worthy winners finalists too, but what a great run they've had this series; thanks very much indeed for taking part!

 

The stats: Mr Whitaker was, once again, the best buzzer of the night, with six starters, giving him a final series total of 40 over five matches, while Mr Siddle was best for Warwick with four. On the bonuses, Darwin managed a very good 17 out of 24 and Warwick 17 out of 28, and both sides incurred one penalty each, so it really was those two extra starters that won the game.

 

Next match: the final! And, for the second time this series, it's Christ's vs Warwick. Unfortunately, we now have to wait two weeks for that final, but it should, hopefully, be worth it; very very best of (retrospective) luck to both teams!

 

And that's this shorter than usual week done! We now pause next week; then, the week after, it's the UC final! Plus Mastermind's final semi, and then the final of that the week after! And, as I said before, I am kinda pleased that the two finals are on seperate days; that feels right. Anyway, thanks as ever for reading, and I'll see yous back here again in two weeks' time...

Quizzy Mondays 2024-25 Week 35: University Challenge Semi-Final 1, Mastermind Semi-Final 5

Good evening again my friends, and welcome to the antepenultimate Quizzy Monday of the season! Later this week, we'll know for sure whether, as I've been speculating for probably the last two months, we'll have to wait two weeks after next week for the finals of both shows due to snooker on Mayday. For now though, lets focus on the quizzing at hand. Mastermind coming up, but first, the first semi-final of UC, between a team you'd have probably expected to reach the semis going into the QFs and one who were dark horses who more than proved themselves.

 

Christ's College Cambridge defeated Exeter College and St Edmund Hall of Oxford in the first two round, then Imperial thanks to a great late sprint in their first QF and then survived one from their opponents Warwick in their second to make it here unbeaten. They were the same unchanged foursome as all those previous games:

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

 

Bristol soundly defeated Gonville & Caius of Cambridge and Exeter University in the first two rounds, then Open in their first QF, before narrowly losing to Darwin in their second, bouncing back last week as they beat Queen's in their third to make it here tonight. They were also the same quartet as those five prior occasions:

Ted Warner, from Wiltshire, studying Biology

Bridie Rogers, from Brighton, studying Medicine

Captain: Kevin Flanagan, from Dublin, studying AI

Olivia Watts, from York, studying Organic Chemistry

A penalty allowed Bristol to take the first starter, but no bonuses went with it; Christ's made up for it by taking the next two starters and two bonuses from both sets, to give them the lead. They also took the first picture round, after which they led 55-10. Bristol took a second starter, and two bonuses, but Christ's were dominating on the buzzer, taking a further three starters in a row, but just one bonus from each set meant they didn't pull away as much as they could've. After the music round, they had increased their lead to 115-30.

 

And the lead was just increasing as another starter and a full set of bonuses took the Cambridge side's lead into three figures. Messrs Bethlehem and Despard were their two leading buzzers, but, oddly, they struggled with the bonuses from Mr Despard's starters, but were almost always perfect on those from Mr Bethlehem's. Bristol finally got back into the game with the second picture round, and took one bonus, which took the scores to 180-45. It was long over as a contest; just a question now of how high both teams could get. Another starter, and two bonuses, took Christ's to 200, but a penalty didn't help Bristol's chances of avoiding the Sub-50 club. Thankfully, they did take the final starter of the game to, just about, avoid undeservedly joining that club. At the gong, Christ's won 220-50.

 

Another one-sided contest made watchable by two pleasant teams. Very well done Christ's, a superb performance, on the buzzer especially; whoever wins next week will have to be really good on that front to beat them on that form. Very best of luck to them in the final! Hard lines to Bristol, who didn't deserve to lose as heavily as that after the great run they've had this series; thanks very much to them for playing!

 

The stats: Mr Bethlehem was, once again, the best buzzer of the night, with seven starters, while Mr Flanagan was best for Bristol with two, though Mr Warner was their best for the series overall with a final total of 31 over six games. On the bonuses, Christ's managed 21 out of 36 (with the night's one penalty) and Bristol 3 out of 10.

 

Next week's match: Darwin vs Warwick in the second semi-final!

 

Mastermind’s penultimate semi-final was opened by Nancy Braithwaite, who was answering on Caravaggio; a strong round marred only by a very unfortunate near miss, she scored 12 points. She was followed into the chair by Krish Hook, who was answering on Premier League Darts; there were a few answers he clearly knew but got wrong, which seemed to throw him a bit, but he nonetheless scored 6. Next up, James Barrow was answering on Inside No 9 (a show I’ve never seen but I think my parents might watch it); a steady round, he answered well and scored 10. Finally, Gary Austin was answering on mathematician Grace Hopper; after starting well, he hit a bad run of questions which also saw him pause quite a few times, but he rallied at the end and scored 8.

 

Krish was probably out of the running going into GK and so it proved as he again struggled, though he did well to answer every question and not pass, which is always a good tactic; he scored 4 for a total of 10. Gary needed a good round to stay in the game, but his task became harder when he passed twice quite early on; he scored well enough afterwards and scored 9 for a respectable total of 17, but this would almost certainly not be enough to win.

 

James was next, but he too struggled for momentum; he did just about enough to take the lead, scoring 7 for another total of 17, with no passes, but you fancied Nancy would probably be able to beat it. And beat it she did, and pretty comfortably too despite a few wobbles; she scored 11 for a total of 23 to make it through to the final! Well done her, and best of luck there! And thanks to the others for playing.

 

And that's it for another week! Just two more to come over, hopefully, the next two weeks; we'll find out for sure this week, as I said earlier, if my earlier worries about the snooker are founded or not, and I will be sure to post/repost on the site formerly known as Twitter as soon as is known. We'll definitely be back next week though, so, thanks once again for reading and see yous then...