OK all? Hope everyone had a good Christmas. I had the same quiet Christmas I've been used to over the past few years, mostly spent watching endless animated films and festive TV specials (mostly repeats), and punctuated last Saturday when I went to Pittodrie to watch Aberdeen play Kilmarnock; we won 1-0, so it was worth it!
So, on to Xmas UC. As we've become used to, we've had a sneak preview of minor set adjustments for the next series; the 'UC' logo on our left of the desks and the scores on our right have changed font, but, other than that, it's basically the same. In a slight change from previous years, photos of the graduates as students come up during their intros rather than over the credits, and the regular theme tune is used over the credits rather a festive classical piece.
Saturday 20th: Lady Margaret Hall Oxford vs Warwick
Lady Margaret Hall: Michelle Paver, Philip Hensher, Cathy Newman, Samuel West
Warwick: Bob Kerslake, Jonathan Coe, Simon Calder, Simon Bailey
A pretty one sided match thanks to Mr Hensher, who almost single handedly ran up Lady Margaret Hall's score by taking most of the starters. Warwick just couldn't get in, though they did come close on a couple of early occasions. Eventually, after the music round, Warwick got off the mark, by which time Lady Margaret Hall were out of sight on 125. It finished 195-45 in Lady Margaret Hall's favour; Mr Hensher took eight starters, and his side converted 17 bonuses out of 36 (with two penalties). Warwick finished with 3 out of 7.
Tuesday 23rd: Hull vs Newcastle
Hull: Rosie Millard, Malcolm Sinclair, Jenni Murray, Stan Cullimore
Newcastle: John Yorke, Giles Fraser, Kate Adie, Alistair Reynolds
It started close, with Newcastle starting first, followed by Hull. Hull then pulled away, though they understandably felt hard done by when Paxo refused them an answer they didn't answer fully! Hull's advantage on the buzzer remained throughout most of the rest of the match. Late on, Newcastle tried valiantly to break back in, but this only resulted in their score collapsing through three consecutive penalties. The match finished 205-25, which is totally unfair on Newcastle who did enough to do better than that. Hull converted 18 bonuses out of 34 (with one penalty) and Newcastle 2 out of 9 (with three penalties).
Wednesday 24th: King's Cambridge vs Royal Holloway
King's: David Walker, Martin Bell, Noreena Hertz, Thomas Ades
Royal Holloway: Norman Baker MP, Valerie Vaz MP, Francis Wheen, Tori James
A good close match this. Francis Wheen almost single handedly kept Royal Holloway in the match, while Thomas Ades seemed to do most of the work for King's. The Cambridge side's better bonus rate seemed to be keeping them ahead most of the time. The key moment came when Mr Ades took a crucial late starter with not much time left, upping his team's lead from 5 to 25. Royal Holloway pushed hard, but couldn't quite catch up; the final score was 160-150 to King's. King's converted 18 bonuses out of 24 (with two penalties) and Royal Holloway just 12 out of 27, which is where the match was lost.
Thursday 25th: Edinburgh vs Leeds
Edinburgh: Judith Miller, Alan Little, Philippa Gregory, Quentin Cooper
Leeds: David Baulcombe, Jacqui Oatley, James Mates, Julian Dutton
This was a pretty one sided match, with Edinburgh generally being quicker on the buzzer, especially Alan Little, who made some very quick buzzes, as did all the team members at least once. Leeds couldn't find much in the way of traction, and they two fell foul of numerous slip-ups, including one on the first starter which saw them fall to (-5). Edinburgh won 235-45 in the end; they converted 21 bonuses out of 39 and Leeds 4 out of 12 (with three penalties).
Friday 26th: Trinity Hall Cambridge vs Balliol Oxford
Trinity Hall: Tom James, Emma Pooley, Adam Mars-Jones, Dan Starkey
Balliol: Euan Birney, Charlotte Higgins, Alan Beith MP, Roger Cohen
This was probably the best match of the week, played superbly by both teams throughout. Trinity Hall's better bonus rate was probably the only real seperation factor of the two. It wasn't until the Cambridge side began a late surge on the buzzer that they truely began to pull away into a comfortable lead. An amusing moment in the second picture round saw them asked for the figure on Jesus' right in the Last Supper painting, and get confused about A) what was meant by Jesus' right, and B) which one was Jesus! Despite this, they emerged winners 195-120; they converted 21 bonuses out of 29 (with two penalties) while Balliol managed 11 out of 21 (with one penalty).
So, at the end of the first week's play, Edinburgh and Hull are safely through. I imagine at least one of Trinity Hall and Lady Margaret Hall will go through too; in the event of a tie, I'd suspect Trinity Hall will go through due to achieving their score with fewer starters.
I'll be back with a write-up of next week's play sometime next weekend. Since this may be my final post of the year, have a safe New Year, and thank you all readers and contributors for support throughout the year.
Saturday 27 December 2014
Monday 15 December 2014
University Challenge 2014-15: Round 2: Match 6: Glasgow vs Liverpool
Evening all. Thank you to Weaver's Week for the mention yesterday; it was good to see them look at the subject of female under representation too. Here's an idea: don't enforce a quota that bans all-male teams altogether, but one that bans two all-male teams playing each other in, at least, the first two rounds. That would partly solve some of the relevant problems without seeming too drastic.
Glasgow won their first match against Bath 190-120, and did so quietly but determined, and got a good haul of bonuses too. The Scots were the same four as before:
Jonathan Gillan, from Inverness, studying Classics
Christina McGuire, from Glasgow, studying Chemistry
Captain: Daniel Hill, from the Kingdom of Fife, studying Archaeology and History
Erin White, from Edinburgh, studying Genetics
Liverpool defeated Sheffield the preceding week 155-130, building up a steady lead in the first half before trailing off somewhat and allowing their opponents to draw close. The Liverpool four, who all appeared to be wearing the same top at a squint, were also the same as before:
Ben Mawdsley, from Southport, studying Astrophysics
Jim Davis, from Gullane near Edinburgh, studying Tropical Disease Biology
Captain: Dachman Crew, from Liverpool, studying Biochemistry
Hugh Hiscock, from Southampton, studying French
Off we set again then, and Glasgow started first, with Jonathan Gillan getting the first starter, and the side took two bonuses on English cathedrals. Neither side took the second starter, and Mr Gillan slipped up on the third, allowing Liverpool to kick off and draw level. Liverpool took a second starter, and one bonus. The first picture round, on WW1 poems with missing words, went to Liverpool, but they infuriated Paxo, who did a documentary on the subject a few years ago IIRC, by not getting any of the bonuses! They led 40-15 at this point.
Liverpool continued their buzzer run by taking the next starter, but only got one bonus from a tough set on Sir Robert Walpole. Glasgow dropped five again on the next starter, but repeating their wrong answer got Liverpool nowhere! Another starter went to Liverpool, but again, they got little from the bonuses. By contrast, Glasgow took their second starter of the match, and took all three bonuses, one of which saw them interrupt an unnecessary ramble from Paxo! If they could string some starters together and keep that up, they'd be in with a shout.
The music round, on classical music inspired by fairy tales and folk tales, went to Liverpool, but, again, they only took one bonus. This gave them a lead of 90-35. Two starters in a row were dropped before Liverpool struck again, and did somewhat better this time, taking two bonuses. Glasgow took a third starter, and, again, took all three bonuses from a set on Harry Potter characters. They were certainly better on the bonuses, but Liverpool's better buzzing hands were keeping them out of reach.
The second picture round, on artworks sold for record prices at auction, went to Liverpool, and this time, they took all three bonuses, which upped their lead to 135-60. They then lost five of those points to a slip-up, but Glasgow couldn't pick up the points. The Scots did get another starter, but, in contrast to earlier on, took no bonuses from a set on reptiles. The Clydesiders then took a second starter in a row, and restored earlier form with a full house.
Going into the final minutes, a buzzer run would win it for either side for different reasons. Liverpool steadied themselves by taking the next starter, but only managed one bonus, narrowly missing a second. But when the Merseysiders took the next starter, that looked like it would suffice to see them safely home. They only took one bonus, and got none from their next set, but, by now, it was too late on to matter. Glasgow took the final starter of the match, but the gong cut off the first bonus. Liverpool won 170-105.
A pretty slow moving match throughout really. Bad luck to Glasgow, who, had they done better on the buzzer, could well have walked this match given their much better bonus work, but two good showings they can hardly be disappointed with; well done them. Well done Liverpool too, but, as Paxo said, they'll need to do better in the QFs if they're going to progress; best of luck to them for then, and we'll see how they fare.
Hugh Hiscock was the best buzzer of the night, with six starters, while Daniel Hill was best for Glasgow with three. On the bonuses, Glasgow converted a superb 11 out of 15 (with two penalties), while Liverpool managed just 13 out of 33 (with one penalty); that will definitely need to be improved on the QFs.
So, now we take a break for Xmas UC, which begins Saturday and runs sporadically over the festive fortnight. I'll be providing short summaries (roughly) half way through the series and at the end of it as usual. We resume in the New Year with, I gather, U.C.L. vs Oxford Brookes and St Peter's vs Selwyn.
Only Connect saw two UC champions with Trinity College Cambridge face off: Sean Blanchflower, and our friend Filip Drnovsek Zorko, who VCM put on the spot by making him solve a Rubik's cube during her rules spiel! He did it! A good close match between two good teams ensued.
Glasgow won their first match against Bath 190-120, and did so quietly but determined, and got a good haul of bonuses too. The Scots were the same four as before:
Jonathan Gillan, from Inverness, studying Classics
Christina McGuire, from Glasgow, studying Chemistry
Captain: Daniel Hill, from the Kingdom of Fife, studying Archaeology and History
Erin White, from Edinburgh, studying Genetics
Liverpool defeated Sheffield the preceding week 155-130, building up a steady lead in the first half before trailing off somewhat and allowing their opponents to draw close. The Liverpool four, who all appeared to be wearing the same top at a squint, were also the same as before:
Ben Mawdsley, from Southport, studying Astrophysics
Jim Davis, from Gullane near Edinburgh, studying Tropical Disease Biology
Captain: Dachman Crew, from Liverpool, studying Biochemistry
Hugh Hiscock, from Southampton, studying French
Off we set again then, and Glasgow started first, with Jonathan Gillan getting the first starter, and the side took two bonuses on English cathedrals. Neither side took the second starter, and Mr Gillan slipped up on the third, allowing Liverpool to kick off and draw level. Liverpool took a second starter, and one bonus. The first picture round, on WW1 poems with missing words, went to Liverpool, but they infuriated Paxo, who did a documentary on the subject a few years ago IIRC, by not getting any of the bonuses! They led 40-15 at this point.
Liverpool continued their buzzer run by taking the next starter, but only got one bonus from a tough set on Sir Robert Walpole. Glasgow dropped five again on the next starter, but repeating their wrong answer got Liverpool nowhere! Another starter went to Liverpool, but again, they got little from the bonuses. By contrast, Glasgow took their second starter of the match, and took all three bonuses, one of which saw them interrupt an unnecessary ramble from Paxo! If they could string some starters together and keep that up, they'd be in with a shout.
The music round, on classical music inspired by fairy tales and folk tales, went to Liverpool, but, again, they only took one bonus. This gave them a lead of 90-35. Two starters in a row were dropped before Liverpool struck again, and did somewhat better this time, taking two bonuses. Glasgow took a third starter, and, again, took all three bonuses from a set on Harry Potter characters. They were certainly better on the bonuses, but Liverpool's better buzzing hands were keeping them out of reach.
The second picture round, on artworks sold for record prices at auction, went to Liverpool, and this time, they took all three bonuses, which upped their lead to 135-60. They then lost five of those points to a slip-up, but Glasgow couldn't pick up the points. The Scots did get another starter, but, in contrast to earlier on, took no bonuses from a set on reptiles. The Clydesiders then took a second starter in a row, and restored earlier form with a full house.
Going into the final minutes, a buzzer run would win it for either side for different reasons. Liverpool steadied themselves by taking the next starter, but only managed one bonus, narrowly missing a second. But when the Merseysiders took the next starter, that looked like it would suffice to see them safely home. They only took one bonus, and got none from their next set, but, by now, it was too late on to matter. Glasgow took the final starter of the match, but the gong cut off the first bonus. Liverpool won 170-105.
A pretty slow moving match throughout really. Bad luck to Glasgow, who, had they done better on the buzzer, could well have walked this match given their much better bonus work, but two good showings they can hardly be disappointed with; well done them. Well done Liverpool too, but, as Paxo said, they'll need to do better in the QFs if they're going to progress; best of luck to them for then, and we'll see how they fare.
Hugh Hiscock was the best buzzer of the night, with six starters, while Daniel Hill was best for Glasgow with three. On the bonuses, Glasgow converted a superb 11 out of 15 (with two penalties), while Liverpool managed just 13 out of 33 (with one penalty); that will definitely need to be improved on the QFs.
So, now we take a break for Xmas UC, which begins Saturday and runs sporadically over the festive fortnight. I'll be providing short summaries (roughly) half way through the series and at the end of it as usual. We resume in the New Year with, I gather, U.C.L. vs Oxford Brookes and St Peter's vs Selwyn.
Only Connect saw two UC champions with Trinity College Cambridge face off: Sean Blanchflower, and our friend Filip Drnovsek Zorko, who VCM put on the spot by making him solve a Rubik's cube during her rules spiel! He did it! A good close match between two good teams ensued.
Thursday 11 December 2014
Fifteen-to-One 2.0: Series 2 Final
As you may have gathered, the revived Fifteen-to-One has been back for a second series the past few weeks. It was the Grand Final last Friday, and I have yet to find a review of it in any of the usual places, so here is a quick summary of it for yous.
Now, due to work commitments, I wasn't able to catch as much of this series as I did the first earlier this year. I caught a week's worth of shows during my week off, and recorded our friend Dave Clark's appearance a couple of week's ago and Friday's final. The fifteen highest scoring winners out of the thirty-nine came back to fight for the £40,000 cash prize.
Top of the finals board was serial quizzer Mark Kerr, whose previous achievements include a Brain of Britain finalist, an Only Connect semi-finalist, a WWTBAM? Thirteen Clubber (£250,000 winner) and he was Pat Gibson's Phone-a-Friend on his Million Pound question! I caught his show during my week off, and witnessed him run up a grand total of 251 in the final, the highest score of the revival so far, and top of the finals board by a long way.
The fifteen contestants in the Grand Final were: Jim Ferns, David Nickeas, Gerard Mackay, Peter Watson, Ben Holmes, Jane Kendrick, Peter Styles, Mr Kerr, Dave Tagg (conqueror of Dave C.), Jascha Elliott, Andy Killeen, Pat Lucas, John Wheeler, Gareth Aubrey (2006 UC champion with Manchester) and Joanna Craig.
The first round was very high quality, as you'd expect. Only Mr Elliott, who was second on the finals board, got both his questions wrong and was thus eliminated. Of the remaining 14 contestants, nine got both questions right and went into the second round with all three lives intact.
The second round was where the red mist began to descend, as things became frantic as the contestants began nominating each other like mad. Dave Tagg was the great survivor of the round, being nominated multiple times, and clinging on to his final life on several occasions. His luck eventually ran out, and he finished fifth. Ben Holmes was last to be eliminated, finishing fourth.
So, the final three were: Gerard Mackay, Peter Watson and Mark Kerr.
The final round: forty questions, all on the buzzer; last man standing or whoever has most points when all the questions are gone wins. Mark raced out to an early lead, but lost two lives on some unlucky buzzes, and thus allowed the other two to catch up. All three then swapped questions for a while; at the halfway point, Mark was narrowly ahead. But then, with seventeen questions left, Mark buzzed in wrongly for a third time, lost his final life, and bowed out graciously in third place.
So, it was down to Gerard and Peter. Gerard was in the lead at this point, and the two men managed to survive to the end of the deck without losing all their lives. Though Peter often managed to reduce Gerard's lead to a couple of questions, he was never quite able to overtake him. At the end of the round, Gerard had 172 points to Peter's 132.
So, Gerard Mackay won the final, and the £40,000 Jackpot. Well done to him!
So, that's that then. Even though I didn't see as much of this series as I did of the first, I really enjoyed what I did see. It flows much better now that they've moved the pointless third break from halfway through Round 1 to (roughly) halfway through Round 2. And Sandi T. seems to have settled in nicely too, using the Pointless method of dragging the obligatory chat out across the rounds, rather than clumping it all up at the start of each round.
I know the revival has come in for criticism from traditionalists, and I can understand why, but I've really enjoyed what I've seen of it so far. I do hope they will make a third series; if they, I may consider popping along to give it a go myself. Why not?
I'll be back on Monday with my usual UC write-up; Cassiopeia confirmed this afternoon it's between Liverpool and Glasgow.
Now, due to work commitments, I wasn't able to catch as much of this series as I did the first earlier this year. I caught a week's worth of shows during my week off, and recorded our friend Dave Clark's appearance a couple of week's ago and Friday's final. The fifteen highest scoring winners out of the thirty-nine came back to fight for the £40,000 cash prize.
Top of the finals board was serial quizzer Mark Kerr, whose previous achievements include a Brain of Britain finalist, an Only Connect semi-finalist, a WWTBAM? Thirteen Clubber (£250,000 winner) and he was Pat Gibson's Phone-a-Friend on his Million Pound question! I caught his show during my week off, and witnessed him run up a grand total of 251 in the final, the highest score of the revival so far, and top of the finals board by a long way.
The fifteen contestants in the Grand Final were: Jim Ferns, David Nickeas, Gerard Mackay, Peter Watson, Ben Holmes, Jane Kendrick, Peter Styles, Mr Kerr, Dave Tagg (conqueror of Dave C.), Jascha Elliott, Andy Killeen, Pat Lucas, John Wheeler, Gareth Aubrey (2006 UC champion with Manchester) and Joanna Craig.
The first round was very high quality, as you'd expect. Only Mr Elliott, who was second on the finals board, got both his questions wrong and was thus eliminated. Of the remaining 14 contestants, nine got both questions right and went into the second round with all three lives intact.
The second round was where the red mist began to descend, as things became frantic as the contestants began nominating each other like mad. Dave Tagg was the great survivor of the round, being nominated multiple times, and clinging on to his final life on several occasions. His luck eventually ran out, and he finished fifth. Ben Holmes was last to be eliminated, finishing fourth.
So, the final three were: Gerard Mackay, Peter Watson and Mark Kerr.
The final round: forty questions, all on the buzzer; last man standing or whoever has most points when all the questions are gone wins. Mark raced out to an early lead, but lost two lives on some unlucky buzzes, and thus allowed the other two to catch up. All three then swapped questions for a while; at the halfway point, Mark was narrowly ahead. But then, with seventeen questions left, Mark buzzed in wrongly for a third time, lost his final life, and bowed out graciously in third place.
So, it was down to Gerard and Peter. Gerard was in the lead at this point, and the two men managed to survive to the end of the deck without losing all their lives. Though Peter often managed to reduce Gerard's lead to a couple of questions, he was never quite able to overtake him. At the end of the round, Gerard had 172 points to Peter's 132.
So, Gerard Mackay won the final, and the £40,000 Jackpot. Well done to him!
So, that's that then. Even though I didn't see as much of this series as I did of the first, I really enjoyed what I did see. It flows much better now that they've moved the pointless third break from halfway through Round 1 to (roughly) halfway through Round 2. And Sandi T. seems to have settled in nicely too, using the Pointless method of dragging the obligatory chat out across the rounds, rather than clumping it all up at the start of each round.
I know the revival has come in for criticism from traditionalists, and I can understand why, but I've really enjoyed what I've seen of it so far. I do hope they will make a third series; if they, I may consider popping along to give it a go myself. Why not?
I'll be back on Monday with my usual UC write-up; Cassiopeia confirmed this afternoon it's between Liverpool and Glasgow.
Monday 8 December 2014
University Challenge 2014-15: Round 2: Match 5: L.S.H.T.M. vs Bristol
Evening all. Not much to say this week, except that I've had another idea about structural reform: bring back the best of three grand finals they had in the original ITV run. Use them at earlier stages maybe, but that would be a bit much.
The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine defeated the L.S.E. team 150-140 in a close first round match, and seemed genuinely surprised whenever they got questions right! They were the same four as before:
Andy Taylor, from Oxford, studying Tropical Medicine and International Health
Rebecca Glover, from Ottawa in Canada, studying the Control of Infectious Disease
Captain: Sarah Legrand, from London, studying Epidemiology
Anjaneya Bapat, from the Wirral, studying Tropical Medicine and International Health
Bristol defeated the Courtauld Institute of Art 190-75 in their first match, but were never really challenged, thus raising questions on how they'd fare against a better team. They were also the same four as before:
Lewis Rendell, from Saffron Walden, studying Maths
Benjamin Moon, from Marksbury and Bath, studying Geology
Captain: Anastasia Reynolds, from Scholes in West Yorkshire, studying Czech and Russian
Miles Coleman, from North London, studying Spanish and Portuguese
Off we set again then, and L.S.H.T.M. got off to the better start, with Sarah Legrand, impressive in their first outing, getting the first two starters of the night, though only three bonuses went with them. Ms Legrand took a third starter, and the side took all three bonuses. Paxo already felt the need to tell Bristol there was plenty of time left, which was a bit unfair seeing as we were only just going into the first picture round. The starter was dropped, but the bonuses, on sites of Mediterranean military actions of WW2, went to Bristol after a harsh but fair ruling cost L.S.H.T.M. five points. They still led 55-20.
Bristol were now into the game, though, and took a second starter in a row; they took no bonuses though, with another harsh but fair ruling resulting them not being given the points. Another starter and bonus set bought them within five points, and a fourth in a row gave them a narrow lead. At this point, both sides were pretty even, and there was nothing in it.
The music starter, asking after the composer of the music to a 1990 film, was dropped after guesses of Elgar and Purcell which seemed to annoy Paxo! The bonuses, on Oscar winners for best original film score, went to L.S.H.T.M., and gave them a narrow lead of 75-70. Bristol reclaimed the lead with the next starter, and then pulled into triple figures with the next starter, and they took two bonuses. It wasn't a high scoring game, but it was certainly close.
The second picture round, on university buildings with UNESCO world heritage site status, went to L.S.H.T.M., and allowed them to cut Bristol's lead to 110-95. The Londoners then began a surge, taking the next starter and two bonuses to give them back the lead. They then took a third starter in a row, and two more bonuses, giving them a 25 point lead.
A surge would win it for either side now, and Bristol took the next starter and all three bonuses to level the scores. Whoever took the next starter would look good for the win; Benjamin Moon took it for Bristol, and they took a full set of bonuses on sausages, one of which seemed to be a total guess! That might just have been enough to see them home, and so it proved, as the remaining starters were dropped. At the gong, Bristol narrowly won 160-135.
Not a very high scoring match, but it was certainly close. Well done anyway to L.S.H.T.M. on two very pleasant outings, and they were a very pleasant team to watch. Well done to Bristol though; another sufficient performance, but I feel they'll need to play better in the QFs. Best of luck to them for then!
Sarah Legrand was the best buzzer of the night, with five starters for L.S.H.T.M., while Miles Coleman was best for Bristol with three. On the bonuses, L.S.H.T.M. managed a respectable 14 out of 21 (with one penalty) and Bristol an also good 16 out of 24.
Again, look to Twitter to find out who's on next week.
Only Connect saw another team reach their QFs tonight, with a fairly close match, which included a humourous missing vowels round on 'party leaders with a letter changed'. I also understand they're trying music questions in Round 2 now.
The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine defeated the L.S.E. team 150-140 in a close first round match, and seemed genuinely surprised whenever they got questions right! They were the same four as before:
Andy Taylor, from Oxford, studying Tropical Medicine and International Health
Rebecca Glover, from Ottawa in Canada, studying the Control of Infectious Disease
Captain: Sarah Legrand, from London, studying Epidemiology
Anjaneya Bapat, from the Wirral, studying Tropical Medicine and International Health
Bristol defeated the Courtauld Institute of Art 190-75 in their first match, but were never really challenged, thus raising questions on how they'd fare against a better team. They were also the same four as before:
Lewis Rendell, from Saffron Walden, studying Maths
Benjamin Moon, from Marksbury and Bath, studying Geology
Captain: Anastasia Reynolds, from Scholes in West Yorkshire, studying Czech and Russian
Miles Coleman, from North London, studying Spanish and Portuguese
Off we set again then, and L.S.H.T.M. got off to the better start, with Sarah Legrand, impressive in their first outing, getting the first two starters of the night, though only three bonuses went with them. Ms Legrand took a third starter, and the side took all three bonuses. Paxo already felt the need to tell Bristol there was plenty of time left, which was a bit unfair seeing as we were only just going into the first picture round. The starter was dropped, but the bonuses, on sites of Mediterranean military actions of WW2, went to Bristol after a harsh but fair ruling cost L.S.H.T.M. five points. They still led 55-20.
Bristol were now into the game, though, and took a second starter in a row; they took no bonuses though, with another harsh but fair ruling resulting them not being given the points. Another starter and bonus set bought them within five points, and a fourth in a row gave them a narrow lead. At this point, both sides were pretty even, and there was nothing in it.
The music starter, asking after the composer of the music to a 1990 film, was dropped after guesses of Elgar and Purcell which seemed to annoy Paxo! The bonuses, on Oscar winners for best original film score, went to L.S.H.T.M., and gave them a narrow lead of 75-70. Bristol reclaimed the lead with the next starter, and then pulled into triple figures with the next starter, and they took two bonuses. It wasn't a high scoring game, but it was certainly close.
The second picture round, on university buildings with UNESCO world heritage site status, went to L.S.H.T.M., and allowed them to cut Bristol's lead to 110-95. The Londoners then began a surge, taking the next starter and two bonuses to give them back the lead. They then took a third starter in a row, and two more bonuses, giving them a 25 point lead.
A surge would win it for either side now, and Bristol took the next starter and all three bonuses to level the scores. Whoever took the next starter would look good for the win; Benjamin Moon took it for Bristol, and they took a full set of bonuses on sausages, one of which seemed to be a total guess! That might just have been enough to see them home, and so it proved, as the remaining starters were dropped. At the gong, Bristol narrowly won 160-135.
Not a very high scoring match, but it was certainly close. Well done anyway to L.S.H.T.M. on two very pleasant outings, and they were a very pleasant team to watch. Well done to Bristol though; another sufficient performance, but I feel they'll need to play better in the QFs. Best of luck to them for then!
Sarah Legrand was the best buzzer of the night, with five starters for L.S.H.T.M., while Miles Coleman was best for Bristol with three. On the bonuses, L.S.H.T.M. managed a respectable 14 out of 21 (with one penalty) and Bristol an also good 16 out of 24.
Again, look to Twitter to find out who's on next week.
Only Connect saw another team reach their QFs tonight, with a fairly close match, which included a humourous missing vowels round on 'party leaders with a letter changed'. I also understand they're trying music questions in Round 2 now.
Wednesday 3 December 2014
University Challenge: Gender Imbalance, Women need to be Encouraged
OK, time for me to be serious, and address a subject that has always been hanging around UC, but has really come to the forefront this past year: gender imbalance.
It all started when the BBC introduced that rule that all light hearted panel shows must have at least one female panelist. Then, it garnered further attention prior to this year's final, when Mary Beard wrote an article online bemoaning the fact that, not only were both the teams all male, but one of them came from a previously women only college.
And, with the rise of Cassiopeia and her excellent UCCrush blog, the subject has been lingering around the discussions online predominantly this series.
As if to prove this: four teams are safely through to the quarter finals; of the sixteen competitors, there is only one female amongst them (Claire Hall of Trinity).
I decided to do a bit of research, and here are my findings on women and UC grand finals:
Needless to say, of course, a ten man show (Paxo and Roger T. along with eight male competitors) will not go unnoticed on Twitter, usually coupled with some sarky comment about the show being a repeat from the '50s!
So, what's to be done about it? Well, some have suggested a quota similar to the one mentioned earlier that all teams must have at least one woman on board. That would, practically, solve the problem, and ensure that all the shows have at least one woman. But others could see this as political correctness gone mad. Two posters, musicman and Simon Joyce from the Oxford Brookes team, spoke out against a quota, saying it would take tokenism to a huge level.
At the end of the day, UC is a quiz show. Not only that, it's a quiz show competition. The aim is to win; to make this more likely, the university/college will send the strongest team they can put together. Sometimes, this means a team of four men; it could, in some cases, mean a team of four women. It can vary.
There is one thing was can do though: encourage more women to take part. As musicman says, there are generally more men on shows like UC because they are more prepared to put themselves out there, and display their knowledge to the public.
It's hard enough to avoid at least one abusive post on Twitter nowadays as it is; even our own Jim Gratrex got one directed at him following his side's defeating Warwick two years ago today(!). I think a lot of people may get put off by this; there was a chap on the DoND forum who said a few years ago that he didn't apply for the show himself due to not wanting to be abused online, as he would almost certainly lose his temper if he was.
There's another thing that may put women off, and I do not mean any offense at all by bringing this up: objectification.
Just ask Gail the Great and Sarah (Fitzpatrick) Healey, both of whom received requests from lads mags to do a strip shoot for them after leading their respective teams to grand final victory. Both very sensibly declined the invite.
Rather oddly, it was Jeremy Clarkson who summed it up best, when he theorised that there are no female F1 drivers because, the moment a woman steps near an F1 car, they become treated as a sex object. ("I mean when was the last time someone said to Kimi Raikkonen 'would you mind posing in a rd bikini'")
The same could apply to UC: all the Quagmires watching would be after some women on the show endlessly. Just ask poor Marine Debray, who was on the show back in 2010 and received a lot of unwelcome attention from lecherous men following her team's only match.
I mean, objectification is just simply unacceptable no matter what the context. A lot of the women who consider applying for UC could be quiet and private individuals, and getting bombarded with lecherous comments online and receiving requests to strip by lads mags would just scare them off altogether. I mean, have we had women's mags asking Ralph Morley to show us his abs after last year's final?! No, we haven't! Women should stop being objectified just because they are attractive and clever at the same time; it's just disgraceful.
Sorry, I got a bit carried away there. The point I'm making is that women need to be encouraged to try out for UC. And there are many factors out there that may stop them from doing so.
Gender imbalance on UC is unfortunate, but there isn't a legitimate way that would increase the numbers of women who compete. Women need to be encouraged to give the show a go, and brush off any ludicrous attention they may receive as a result. After all, it's only a quiz show.
I'll be back on Monday with my usual UC write-up; no word on the draw yet, but we're all keeping an eye out.
It all started when the BBC introduced that rule that all light hearted panel shows must have at least one female panelist. Then, it garnered further attention prior to this year's final, when Mary Beard wrote an article online bemoaning the fact that, not only were both the teams all male, but one of them came from a previously women only college.
And, with the rise of Cassiopeia and her excellent UCCrush blog, the subject has been lingering around the discussions online predominantly this series.
As if to prove this: four teams are safely through to the quarter finals; of the sixteen competitors, there is only one female amongst them (Claire Hall of Trinity).
I decided to do a bit of research, and here are my findings on women and UC grand finals:
- Of the twenty BBC grand finals, seven have featured eight males; six have featured one female, five two and two (1997 and 2004) three.
- Only five grand finals have featured at least one woman on both teams.
- Of the forty grand final captains, six have been women; four led their teams to grand final victory (wording deliberate to include Gail the Great)
- The last time both teams had at least one woman was the Alex Guttenplan final of 2010.
Needless to say, of course, a ten man show (Paxo and Roger T. along with eight male competitors) will not go unnoticed on Twitter, usually coupled with some sarky comment about the show being a repeat from the '50s!
So, what's to be done about it? Well, some have suggested a quota similar to the one mentioned earlier that all teams must have at least one woman on board. That would, practically, solve the problem, and ensure that all the shows have at least one woman. But others could see this as political correctness gone mad. Two posters, musicman and Simon Joyce from the Oxford Brookes team, spoke out against a quota, saying it would take tokenism to a huge level.
At the end of the day, UC is a quiz show. Not only that, it's a quiz show competition. The aim is to win; to make this more likely, the university/college will send the strongest team they can put together. Sometimes, this means a team of four men; it could, in some cases, mean a team of four women. It can vary.
There is one thing was can do though: encourage more women to take part. As musicman says, there are generally more men on shows like UC because they are more prepared to put themselves out there, and display their knowledge to the public.
It's hard enough to avoid at least one abusive post on Twitter nowadays as it is; even our own Jim Gratrex got one directed at him following his side's defeating Warwick two years ago today(!). I think a lot of people may get put off by this; there was a chap on the DoND forum who said a few years ago that he didn't apply for the show himself due to not wanting to be abused online, as he would almost certainly lose his temper if he was.
There's another thing that may put women off, and I do not mean any offense at all by bringing this up: objectification.
Just ask Gail the Great and Sarah (Fitzpatrick) Healey, both of whom received requests from lads mags to do a strip shoot for them after leading their respective teams to grand final victory. Both very sensibly declined the invite.
Rather oddly, it was Jeremy Clarkson who summed it up best, when he theorised that there are no female F1 drivers because, the moment a woman steps near an F1 car, they become treated as a sex object. ("I mean when was the last time someone said to Kimi Raikkonen 'would you mind posing in a rd bikini'")
The same could apply to UC: all the Quagmires watching would be after some women on the show endlessly. Just ask poor Marine Debray, who was on the show back in 2010 and received a lot of unwelcome attention from lecherous men following her team's only match.
I mean, objectification is just simply unacceptable no matter what the context. A lot of the women who consider applying for UC could be quiet and private individuals, and getting bombarded with lecherous comments online and receiving requests to strip by lads mags would just scare them off altogether. I mean, have we had women's mags asking Ralph Morley to show us his abs after last year's final?! No, we haven't! Women should stop being objectified just because they are attractive and clever at the same time; it's just disgraceful.
Sorry, I got a bit carried away there. The point I'm making is that women need to be encouraged to try out for UC. And there are many factors out there that may stop them from doing so.
Gender imbalance on UC is unfortunate, but there isn't a legitimate way that would increase the numbers of women who compete. Women need to be encouraged to give the show a go, and brush off any ludicrous attention they may receive as a result. After all, it's only a quiz show.
I'll be back on Monday with my usual UC write-up; no word on the draw yet, but we're all keeping an eye out.
Monday 1 December 2014
University Challenge 2014-15: Round 2: Match 4: Caius vs Manchester
Evening all. I'm really surprised and pleased with all the debate my comment on second round and feminine equality reform has provoked among contestants and commentators alike; thanks to all for your comment in recent weeks. Weaver's Week have got in on it too, albeit less so now they only do scores and light comment; yesterday, they accused the producers of rigging the draw so that Trinity, Magdalen and Manchester would meet in the group phase. I feel another thoughts post coming on later this week.
Gonville & Caius College Cambridge notched up the highest score of the first round, as they defeated the gallant St Anne's College Oxford side 305-105; an impressive performance, despite them claiming not to know anything about works by female psychologists purely because they were written by women. They were the same quartet as before:
Ted Loveday, from Hammersmith, studying Law
Michael Taylor, from Ballymena in Northern Ireland, studying History
Captain: Anthony Martinelli, from Hertfordshire, studying Medicine
Jeremy Warner, from Southampton, studying Natural Sciences
Manchester (the team everyone wants to beat, according to WW) came through the repechage, losing to Selwyn College Cambridge, but recovering with a decent win over Sussex by 210-95, in a match noted for at least three lucky guesses, as Paxo pointed out. The Manchester side were also the same as in their prior outings:
Edmund Chapman, from Norwich, studying Literature and Translation
Matthew Stallard, from Wolverhampton, studying American Studies
Captain: John Ratcliffe, from Manchester, studying Chemical Engineering
Charlie Rowlands, from Albrighton in Shropshire, studying Genetics and Chinese
Off we set again then, and it was Caius who struck first courtesy of Michael Taylor getting in first after a very long starter of the sort WW have bemoaned as of late. The Cambridge side took two bonuses; Manchester soon set off in pursuit though, but they only managed one bonus from a rather complex set. They made up for it by taking the second starter and, with it, the lead, and took two bonuses on Irish cricket. The first picture round, on maps showing airports named after musicians or composers, went to Caius, who narrowly took the lead 40-35.
A harsh but fair adjudication by Paxo, who rejected 'Mexico' when seeking 'Mexican', cost Manchester five and gave Caius a larger lead, but they couldn't manage any bonuses. Neither side worked out a complicated literary arithmetic starter, before Caius shot back in, and took two bonuses, one of which Paxo was maybe a bit lenient to accept. In danger of falling behind, Manchester got back in after Matthew Stallard worked out that 'Trotter' was the surname linking a list of fictional characters. Their bonuses on US presidential inaugural addresses included a comment on Obama's mistaken claim about 44 men becoming president, as first pointed out by QI.
The music round saw Mr Taylor quickly identify Psychokiller by Talking Heads; the bonuses, on favourite songs of American Psycho's Patrick Bateman, gave Caius two bonuses and a lead of 90-50. Manchester lost another five on the next starter, but Caius couldn't capitalise this time. Ted Loveday, impressive in the first round, took his first starter of the night and break the side into three figures. Mr Stallard bought Manchester back in, and when John Ratcliffe got the side's second starter in a row and they took all three bonuses, it looked like they might be starting to fight back into the game.
The second picture round, on paintings from the Wallace collection's 'Great Gallery', went to Caius, who took all three bonuses, and thus took a lead of 130-85. Mr Taylor took the next starter, and when the side swept the board on the bonuses again, Manchester looked in serious trouble. Back they came, though, courtesy of Mr Rowlands, but the side only managed one bonus. Another starter went to the Mancunians, but no bonuses followed. The shock was on.
Manchester needed to sweep up all the starters from now on, but when that man Michael Taylor took the next and the side took all three bonuses, that looked like it would do to see them home safely. As if to confirm that, the Cambridge side took the next starter and took two bonuses. Manchester did manage the final two starters of the match, but it wasn't going to be enough. At the gong, Caius won 200-135.
Well, if that theory of WW's is correct, it seems to have backfired spectacularly! Bad luck to Manchester, who didn't seem to quite find their feet tonight, but Paxo rightly described them as an entertaining team who made good telly; well done to them on three good showings. Very well done to Caius though on another fine showing against good opposition, and they must be favoured to do well in the QFs; best of luck to them for then!
Michael Taylor was the night's best buzzer, taking six starter, while Matthew Stallard was best for Manchester with four. The bonus rates were telling: Caius converted 20 out of 30, and Manchester 11 out of 24 (with two penalties). So, a better bonus rate from Caius, coupled with a couple of extra starters, won the game.
Again, it's over to Cassiopeia and the other Twitterers to find out who's on next week.
Only Connect has now reached the stage where teams make it into the QFs; a good match between two good teams tonight.
Gonville & Caius College Cambridge notched up the highest score of the first round, as they defeated the gallant St Anne's College Oxford side 305-105; an impressive performance, despite them claiming not to know anything about works by female psychologists purely because they were written by women. They were the same quartet as before:
Ted Loveday, from Hammersmith, studying Law
Michael Taylor, from Ballymena in Northern Ireland, studying History
Captain: Anthony Martinelli, from Hertfordshire, studying Medicine
Jeremy Warner, from Southampton, studying Natural Sciences
Manchester (the team everyone wants to beat, according to WW) came through the repechage, losing to Selwyn College Cambridge, but recovering with a decent win over Sussex by 210-95, in a match noted for at least three lucky guesses, as Paxo pointed out. The Manchester side were also the same as in their prior outings:
Edmund Chapman, from Norwich, studying Literature and Translation
Matthew Stallard, from Wolverhampton, studying American Studies
Captain: John Ratcliffe, from Manchester, studying Chemical Engineering
Charlie Rowlands, from Albrighton in Shropshire, studying Genetics and Chinese
Off we set again then, and it was Caius who struck first courtesy of Michael Taylor getting in first after a very long starter of the sort WW have bemoaned as of late. The Cambridge side took two bonuses; Manchester soon set off in pursuit though, but they only managed one bonus from a rather complex set. They made up for it by taking the second starter and, with it, the lead, and took two bonuses on Irish cricket. The first picture round, on maps showing airports named after musicians or composers, went to Caius, who narrowly took the lead 40-35.
A harsh but fair adjudication by Paxo, who rejected 'Mexico' when seeking 'Mexican', cost Manchester five and gave Caius a larger lead, but they couldn't manage any bonuses. Neither side worked out a complicated literary arithmetic starter, before Caius shot back in, and took two bonuses, one of which Paxo was maybe a bit lenient to accept. In danger of falling behind, Manchester got back in after Matthew Stallard worked out that 'Trotter' was the surname linking a list of fictional characters. Their bonuses on US presidential inaugural addresses included a comment on Obama's mistaken claim about 44 men becoming president, as first pointed out by QI.
The music round saw Mr Taylor quickly identify Psychokiller by Talking Heads; the bonuses, on favourite songs of American Psycho's Patrick Bateman, gave Caius two bonuses and a lead of 90-50. Manchester lost another five on the next starter, but Caius couldn't capitalise this time. Ted Loveday, impressive in the first round, took his first starter of the night and break the side into three figures. Mr Stallard bought Manchester back in, and when John Ratcliffe got the side's second starter in a row and they took all three bonuses, it looked like they might be starting to fight back into the game.
The second picture round, on paintings from the Wallace collection's 'Great Gallery', went to Caius, who took all three bonuses, and thus took a lead of 130-85. Mr Taylor took the next starter, and when the side swept the board on the bonuses again, Manchester looked in serious trouble. Back they came, though, courtesy of Mr Rowlands, but the side only managed one bonus. Another starter went to the Mancunians, but no bonuses followed. The shock was on.
Manchester needed to sweep up all the starters from now on, but when that man Michael Taylor took the next and the side took all three bonuses, that looked like it would do to see them home safely. As if to confirm that, the Cambridge side took the next starter and took two bonuses. Manchester did manage the final two starters of the match, but it wasn't going to be enough. At the gong, Caius won 200-135.
Well, if that theory of WW's is correct, it seems to have backfired spectacularly! Bad luck to Manchester, who didn't seem to quite find their feet tonight, but Paxo rightly described them as an entertaining team who made good telly; well done to them on three good showings. Very well done to Caius though on another fine showing against good opposition, and they must be favoured to do well in the QFs; best of luck to them for then!
Michael Taylor was the night's best buzzer, taking six starter, while Matthew Stallard was best for Manchester with four. The bonus rates were telling: Caius converted 20 out of 30, and Manchester 11 out of 24 (with two penalties). So, a better bonus rate from Caius, coupled with a couple of extra starters, won the game.
Again, it's over to Cassiopeia and the other Twitterers to find out who's on next week.
Only Connect has now reached the stage where teams make it into the QFs; a good match between two good teams tonight.
Monday 24 November 2014
University Challenge 2014-15: Round 2: Match 3: Magdalen vs Open
Evening all. The debate continues about reform of the show, both in terms of second round reform and gender equality, with an article in the Times online suggesting it's time to enforce a quota of at least one woman per team, a la panel shows. Again, I'll cover that myself later, once I can find something to say about the subject that Cassiopeia hasn't already. On with the show.
Magdalen College Oxford won through their first match defeating the excellent Pembroke College Cambridge team 220-110, though, as Paxo rightly said, it was a much closer match than that, and some have suggested the victory margin was inflated by those infamous Pembroke penalties. The Magdalen foursome remained unchanged from that infamous match:
Harry Gillow, from Stone in Staffordshire, studying Classics
Chris Savory, from Burgess Hill in West Sussex, studying Chemistry
Captain: Hugh Binnie, from Cheltenham, studying Chemistry
Cameron J. Quinn, from Los Angeles, studying Philosophy and French
The Open University team came through the repechage, losing to the excellent Leicester team before defeating the L.S.E. 180-140. With Leicester surprisingly already out, the Open team were aiming to be the first repechage team to go further than their conquerors since Worcester College Oxford three series ago; they were also the same lot as before:
Danielle Gibney, from Amsterdam, studying Social Sciences
Stuart Taylor, from Stratford-upon-Avon, studying Development Management
Captain: Lynne Jones, from Bolton, studying History and Languages
Kate Law, from Sutherland in the Highlands, studying Engineering
Off we set again then, and Open set off first, taking the first starter and all three bonuses showed they meant business. So did Magdalen too, and off they set as well, taking the next two starters and only dropping one bonus of the six. Another starter went to Magdalen, and they already looked on impressive form. The first picture round, on the opening lines of epistolary novels, went to Open; they took one bonus, which cut Magdalen's lead to 65-40.
Magdalen weren't going to be easy to overcome though (they never are, unless you're Manchester), as Mr Binnie took the next starter, and they took all three of a complex set of bonuses on European country names. Mr Quinn took his third starter of the night to lift the side into triple figures, and again, they took all three bonuses. Magdalen then stumbled a bit, dropping a whole bonus set, then slipping up, and allowing Open back into the game; they took one bonus.
The music round, on fantasias, went to the Oxonians, who increased their lead to 135-55. Mr Quinn then unlocked a set of bonuses on rivers, which saw my local river the Don get a welcome namecheck; they took two. What looked like a lucky guess from Lynne Jones allowed Open back into the game, and all three bonuses went their way; if they kept that up, and could string a starter run together, they could yet catch up. Magdalen had no luck with a set of bonuses on Australian state capitals, their lack of knowledge of which Paxo found very amusing!
The second picture round, on stills from German expressionist films, went to Magdalen, and they quickly hoovered up all three bonuses to take their lead to 190-80. Up came a starter about the Netherlands, and local girl Danielle Gibney quickly shot in for it; she had to, really! Again, the side achieved perfection on the bonuses. Magdalen pulled through 200, though, despite crashing into a set of complex maths bonuses that Mr Savory tried desperately to quickly work out, causing much amusement all round!
The gap now stood at 100 points, and it looked unlikely that Open could close the gap. They did manage to string two starters in a row, and lift their score up to a respectable final tally. Magdalen managed one final starter, and paced their way through the bonuses, taking two of the three. At the gong, Magdalen won 225-130.
Another very pleasant match made watchable by the teams partaking. Paxo rightly described Open as a very fun team to watch; well done to them on three watchably good performances. Well done to Magdalen though on another good performance, and best of luck to them in the QFs.
For the first time since Open's first match, all eight players got at least one starter right. Mr Quinn was best of the night with five (none of which he accompanied by a hair flick, disappointingly), while Ms Gibney was Open's best with three. On the bonuses, Magdalen converted an impressive 22 out of 36 (with one penalty) and Open a decent 12 out of 21.
Once again, it's over to Cassiopeia to find out who's on next week.
Only Connect, once again, eliminated a team who didn't deserve to go out without a win; but I'd be saying the same if the other team had lost. Both were good teams.
Magdalen College Oxford won through their first match defeating the excellent Pembroke College Cambridge team 220-110, though, as Paxo rightly said, it was a much closer match than that, and some have suggested the victory margin was inflated by those infamous Pembroke penalties. The Magdalen foursome remained unchanged from that infamous match:
Harry Gillow, from Stone in Staffordshire, studying Classics
Chris Savory, from Burgess Hill in West Sussex, studying Chemistry
Captain: Hugh Binnie, from Cheltenham, studying Chemistry
Cameron J. Quinn, from Los Angeles, studying Philosophy and French
The Open University team came through the repechage, losing to the excellent Leicester team before defeating the L.S.E. 180-140. With Leicester surprisingly already out, the Open team were aiming to be the first repechage team to go further than their conquerors since Worcester College Oxford three series ago; they were also the same lot as before:
Danielle Gibney, from Amsterdam, studying Social Sciences
Stuart Taylor, from Stratford-upon-Avon, studying Development Management
Captain: Lynne Jones, from Bolton, studying History and Languages
Kate Law, from Sutherland in the Highlands, studying Engineering
Off we set again then, and Open set off first, taking the first starter and all three bonuses showed they meant business. So did Magdalen too, and off they set as well, taking the next two starters and only dropping one bonus of the six. Another starter went to Magdalen, and they already looked on impressive form. The first picture round, on the opening lines of epistolary novels, went to Open; they took one bonus, which cut Magdalen's lead to 65-40.
Magdalen weren't going to be easy to overcome though (they never are, unless you're Manchester), as Mr Binnie took the next starter, and they took all three of a complex set of bonuses on European country names. Mr Quinn took his third starter of the night to lift the side into triple figures, and again, they took all three bonuses. Magdalen then stumbled a bit, dropping a whole bonus set, then slipping up, and allowing Open back into the game; they took one bonus.
The music round, on fantasias, went to the Oxonians, who increased their lead to 135-55. Mr Quinn then unlocked a set of bonuses on rivers, which saw my local river the Don get a welcome namecheck; they took two. What looked like a lucky guess from Lynne Jones allowed Open back into the game, and all three bonuses went their way; if they kept that up, and could string a starter run together, they could yet catch up. Magdalen had no luck with a set of bonuses on Australian state capitals, their lack of knowledge of which Paxo found very amusing!
The second picture round, on stills from German expressionist films, went to Magdalen, and they quickly hoovered up all three bonuses to take their lead to 190-80. Up came a starter about the Netherlands, and local girl Danielle Gibney quickly shot in for it; she had to, really! Again, the side achieved perfection on the bonuses. Magdalen pulled through 200, though, despite crashing into a set of complex maths bonuses that Mr Savory tried desperately to quickly work out, causing much amusement all round!
The gap now stood at 100 points, and it looked unlikely that Open could close the gap. They did manage to string two starters in a row, and lift their score up to a respectable final tally. Magdalen managed one final starter, and paced their way through the bonuses, taking two of the three. At the gong, Magdalen won 225-130.
Another very pleasant match made watchable by the teams partaking. Paxo rightly described Open as a very fun team to watch; well done to them on three watchably good performances. Well done to Magdalen though on another good performance, and best of luck to them in the QFs.
For the first time since Open's first match, all eight players got at least one starter right. Mr Quinn was best of the night with five (none of which he accompanied by a hair flick, disappointingly), while Ms Gibney was Open's best with three. On the bonuses, Magdalen converted an impressive 22 out of 36 (with one penalty) and Open a decent 12 out of 21.
Once again, it's over to Cassiopeia to find out who's on next week.
Only Connect, once again, eliminated a team who didn't deserve to go out without a win; but I'd be saying the same if the other team had lost. Both were good teams.
Wednesday 19 November 2014
University Challenge: Second Round Reform Needed?
So, so far in the second round of this year's contest, we have lost two strong teams, including a much fancied one at that; this has happened with numerous strong teams over the previous years the system has been used. This has led to some, myself included, thinking it might be time to change the rules again, and move the group phase to the second round. But would that work?
Well, Only Connect is proving it can at the moment, as it is using the round robin format for an entire sixteen team series. The same could, therefore, theoretically, be applied to the UC second round. The problem, however, is it would drag the second round out for twenty weeks, and the series, assuming the QFs go back to sudden death, would run for 43 weeks overall. Not even Mastermind, which has 24 heats and six semi-finals, runs that long.
One solution to this would be to air two shows a week during the second round, which would keep the number of shows at 43, but cut the number of weeks taken up by 10 to just 33, which is only slightly less than it is now.
Weaver's Week have expressed their dissatisfaction with the current system a handful of times over the five series it has been used for now, including at the start of this current series. Back in 2011, they proposed a prolonged second round phase involving groups of three teams, from which the top two from each would progress; but this would come at the cost of abandoning the first round repechage.
That idea could work with four groups of four teams, but we'd almost certainly need multiple shows a week for that, as, assuming all in one group all play each other once, that'd take the second round up to 24 shows.
The problem with the current format is it does seem to wind the series down somewhat; last series, things wound down somewhat in the latter stages of the QFs, before picking up again in the semis. Indeed, you have to follow the show every week to get the hang of the system, and casual viewers who watch when they can could be confused. This would probably be worsened if they moved this stage to Round 2 and dragged it out twice as long.
One of the Oxford Brookes team (Mr Joyce?), aka asphinctersays, posted after Monday's show that he thinks moving the group phase to Round 2 would make it too soon, and that the QFs is the right time for it. Fair enough, and I suppose the original idea was the QFs is when the teams really do need to be strongly whittled down so that only the strongest go through, even if it is at the unfortunate cost of losing stronger teams in Round 2.
It does, however, lead to a possible anomaly that a team can have an on-song second round and take out a stronger (in the long run) team, and then return to averageness (if that's a word) in the QFs, this giving stronger teams an easier run. I won't name any times this has happened; in fact, I cannot think of any teams it would be fair to say this happened with.
And, I suppose, after the first round repechage, giving teams multiple shows again so soon is a bit of a muddle. Strong teams who got an unlucky draw in the first round, such as Christ Church last year and Guttenplan's Emmanuel, already get a second cherry bite, so giving all teams another so soon could be seen as unnecessary.
As an aside, now that I've mentioned Guttenplan's Emmanuel, here's a rather controversial suggestion: they shouldn't have made it into the repechage! One question, asking after the origin of the word 'butskellism' was interrupted by the opposing team, who gave both names, but Paxo refused this, and a swerve revealed just Gaitskell's name was needed; Guttenplan took the points and the team took all the bonuses. Had Paxo let the opposition have it, as many on LAM and WW thought at the time, Emmanuel would have gone out there and then! Think of that!
I suppose that's another point that I have made before: it's just a matter of luck on quiz shows, and it depends on which questions you get. An off-day could just be down to an unlucky run of questions, and vice versa.
For example, having just watched our friend Dave Clark's appearance on Fifteen-to-One 2.0 from Monday, the chap who won the show (SPOILER: it wasn't him, unfortunately) had gone out in the second round on his first show, but won with a strong score on his second go. Were it old Fifteen-to-One he'd have gone out after just one show. Likewise with Mark Kerr, the current finals board leader, who went out in the second round on his first show, and on his second, he reached the final and ran up a superb score of 251.
I've gone a bit off topic here. I suppose my point is there are several arguments for shifting the format around a bit, but no satisfactory ones that wouldn't involve multiple shows a week/dragging the show on too long. It's a matter that, hopefully, will continue to provoke much discussion as the second round goes on.
I'll be back on Monday with my usual write-up of the match, which we now know will be between Magdalen and Open.
Well, Only Connect is proving it can at the moment, as it is using the round robin format for an entire sixteen team series. The same could, therefore, theoretically, be applied to the UC second round. The problem, however, is it would drag the second round out for twenty weeks, and the series, assuming the QFs go back to sudden death, would run for 43 weeks overall. Not even Mastermind, which has 24 heats and six semi-finals, runs that long.
One solution to this would be to air two shows a week during the second round, which would keep the number of shows at 43, but cut the number of weeks taken up by 10 to just 33, which is only slightly less than it is now.
Weaver's Week have expressed their dissatisfaction with the current system a handful of times over the five series it has been used for now, including at the start of this current series. Back in 2011, they proposed a prolonged second round phase involving groups of three teams, from which the top two from each would progress; but this would come at the cost of abandoning the first round repechage.
That idea could work with four groups of four teams, but we'd almost certainly need multiple shows a week for that, as, assuming all in one group all play each other once, that'd take the second round up to 24 shows.
The problem with the current format is it does seem to wind the series down somewhat; last series, things wound down somewhat in the latter stages of the QFs, before picking up again in the semis. Indeed, you have to follow the show every week to get the hang of the system, and casual viewers who watch when they can could be confused. This would probably be worsened if they moved this stage to Round 2 and dragged it out twice as long.
One of the Oxford Brookes team (Mr Joyce?), aka asphinctersays, posted after Monday's show that he thinks moving the group phase to Round 2 would make it too soon, and that the QFs is the right time for it. Fair enough, and I suppose the original idea was the QFs is when the teams really do need to be strongly whittled down so that only the strongest go through, even if it is at the unfortunate cost of losing stronger teams in Round 2.
It does, however, lead to a possible anomaly that a team can have an on-song second round and take out a stronger (in the long run) team, and then return to averageness (if that's a word) in the QFs, this giving stronger teams an easier run. I won't name any times this has happened; in fact, I cannot think of any teams it would be fair to say this happened with.
And, I suppose, after the first round repechage, giving teams multiple shows again so soon is a bit of a muddle. Strong teams who got an unlucky draw in the first round, such as Christ Church last year and Guttenplan's Emmanuel, already get a second cherry bite, so giving all teams another so soon could be seen as unnecessary.
As an aside, now that I've mentioned Guttenplan's Emmanuel, here's a rather controversial suggestion: they shouldn't have made it into the repechage! One question, asking after the origin of the word 'butskellism' was interrupted by the opposing team, who gave both names, but Paxo refused this, and a swerve revealed just Gaitskell's name was needed; Guttenplan took the points and the team took all the bonuses. Had Paxo let the opposition have it, as many on LAM and WW thought at the time, Emmanuel would have gone out there and then! Think of that!
I suppose that's another point that I have made before: it's just a matter of luck on quiz shows, and it depends on which questions you get. An off-day could just be down to an unlucky run of questions, and vice versa.
For example, having just watched our friend Dave Clark's appearance on Fifteen-to-One 2.0 from Monday, the chap who won the show (SPOILER: it wasn't him, unfortunately) had gone out in the second round on his first show, but won with a strong score on his second go. Were it old Fifteen-to-One he'd have gone out after just one show. Likewise with Mark Kerr, the current finals board leader, who went out in the second round on his first show, and on his second, he reached the final and ran up a superb score of 251.
I've gone a bit off topic here. I suppose my point is there are several arguments for shifting the format around a bit, but no satisfactory ones that wouldn't involve multiple shows a week/dragging the show on too long. It's a matter that, hopefully, will continue to provoke much discussion as the second round goes on.
I'll be back on Monday with my usual write-up of the match, which we now know will be between Magdalen and Open.
Monday 17 November 2014
University Challenge 2014-15: Round 2: Match 2: Durham vs York
Evening all. You may have noticed I openly stated on LAM on Saturday my views that the sudden death second round phase needs fixing, as it often means strong teams can be sent home early just due to either an off-day and/or an on-day for their opponents, or simply due to getting unluckily drawn against another strong team. I will talk about this more another time; we have a show to get on with.
Durham defeated Brasenose College Oxford 250-35 in one of the stand out matches of the first round, though probably not for the right reasons. We would have to see how the unchanged team fared against better opponents; they were still:
Daniel Morgan-Thomas, from East London, studying History and Classics
Freddie Lloyd, from Penshurst in Kent, studying Philosophy
Captain: Fred Harvey, from Bridlington in East Yorkshire, studying Physics
Nikul Boyd-Shah, from Bournemouth, studying Law
York defeated Corpus Christi College Cambridge 170-135 the following week, in a much closer match notable for some rather unusual penalties which (may have) foreshadowed what (allegedly) happened to poor Pembroke the following week. The York team were also the same as before:
Jack Alexander, from Hertford, studying Maths
Adam Koper, from Pwllheli in North Wales, studying Politics
Captain: Alistair Middleton, from Penrith in Cumbria, studying Maths
Joe Crowther, from Churchdown in Gloucestershire, studying Maths and Philosophy
Off we set again then, with several players going for their buzzer when asked for the series of books written by Terry Deary; Daniel Morgan-Thomas got there first with Horrible Histories. Both sides were steady on buzzer and bonuses at first, both generally taking two bonuses per set. The first picture round, on crests of European football clubs whose names are taken from Greek myth, went to York, who took all three bonuses, but it was Durham who led 60-45.
The sides continued to swap starters, with Durham's slightly quicker hand early on proving the difference. Both Durham and I guessed Harold Lloyd for a Hollywood actor 'unbound by the laws of gravity', but it was actually Fred Astaire. Durham then ran into a set of bonuses requiring them to spell out the names of European capitals using chemical element symbols; one asked for the capital of Albania, which they didn't even know! Both sides were doing nicely at this stage, but Durham remained ahead.
Pachelbel's Canon was the music starter, which Fred Harvey identified; the bonuses, on pop songs that, deliberately of accidentally, use a similar melody to it, allowed Durham to A) open their lead to 110-65, and B) rile Paxo with a guess of Chumbawumba! A slip-up then allowed York to sneak back into the game, and they took all three bonuses to cut the gap to 15. Durham responded with a starter and full bonus set of their own. York cut back in, and going into the final third, the gap remained closeable.
The second picture round, on TV/film characters and their alma-maters, went to York, who very swiftly took all three bonuses, much to Paxo's amused amazement! They had now snuck into the lead 135-130. But Durham soon sorted that out, reclaiming the lead with the next starter, and then taking a second in a row to give them more breathing space. York fought back, taking a starter and two bonuses to reduce the gap to ten, and set up a potentially close final stretch.
A second starter to York wiped out the gap completely, but they couldn't get any of their bonuses to get the lead back. York then slipped up on the next starter, and Durham happily pounced and opened up their lead again. And when Mr Morgan-Thomas took the next starter, that looked like it would suffice. The side took the final starter just to make sure; at the gong, Durham won a good match 210-160.
A good match well played all round. Bad luck to York, but, as Paxo rightly said, they were a strong team, and gave two very good accounts of themselves, so good work them. Well done to Durham though, who have definitely proved they truly won that first match now (rather than Brasenose losing it), and could cause trouble in the QFs; best of luck to them then!
Alistair Middleton was the night's best buzzer with five starters, while Messrs Morgan-Thomas and Boyd-Shah got four each for Durham. On the bonuses, Durham converted a respectable 19 out of 33 and York an impressive 17 out of 24, and both sides incurred one penalty.
Again, if you want to find out who's playing next week, keep an eye on Twitter and UCCrush.
Only Connect resumed normal business tonight, with two good teams neither of whom deserved to go out winless. I'll be mentioning OC again when I look at possible alternative group phase workings later this week.
Durham defeated Brasenose College Oxford 250-35 in one of the stand out matches of the first round, though probably not for the right reasons. We would have to see how the unchanged team fared against better opponents; they were still:
Daniel Morgan-Thomas, from East London, studying History and Classics
Freddie Lloyd, from Penshurst in Kent, studying Philosophy
Captain: Fred Harvey, from Bridlington in East Yorkshire, studying Physics
Nikul Boyd-Shah, from Bournemouth, studying Law
York defeated Corpus Christi College Cambridge 170-135 the following week, in a much closer match notable for some rather unusual penalties which (may have) foreshadowed what (allegedly) happened to poor Pembroke the following week. The York team were also the same as before:
Jack Alexander, from Hertford, studying Maths
Adam Koper, from Pwllheli in North Wales, studying Politics
Captain: Alistair Middleton, from Penrith in Cumbria, studying Maths
Joe Crowther, from Churchdown in Gloucestershire, studying Maths and Philosophy
Off we set again then, with several players going for their buzzer when asked for the series of books written by Terry Deary; Daniel Morgan-Thomas got there first with Horrible Histories. Both sides were steady on buzzer and bonuses at first, both generally taking two bonuses per set. The first picture round, on crests of European football clubs whose names are taken from Greek myth, went to York, who took all three bonuses, but it was Durham who led 60-45.
The sides continued to swap starters, with Durham's slightly quicker hand early on proving the difference. Both Durham and I guessed Harold Lloyd for a Hollywood actor 'unbound by the laws of gravity', but it was actually Fred Astaire. Durham then ran into a set of bonuses requiring them to spell out the names of European capitals using chemical element symbols; one asked for the capital of Albania, which they didn't even know! Both sides were doing nicely at this stage, but Durham remained ahead.
Pachelbel's Canon was the music starter, which Fred Harvey identified; the bonuses, on pop songs that, deliberately of accidentally, use a similar melody to it, allowed Durham to A) open their lead to 110-65, and B) rile Paxo with a guess of Chumbawumba! A slip-up then allowed York to sneak back into the game, and they took all three bonuses to cut the gap to 15. Durham responded with a starter and full bonus set of their own. York cut back in, and going into the final third, the gap remained closeable.
The second picture round, on TV/film characters and their alma-maters, went to York, who very swiftly took all three bonuses, much to Paxo's amused amazement! They had now snuck into the lead 135-130. But Durham soon sorted that out, reclaiming the lead with the next starter, and then taking a second in a row to give them more breathing space. York fought back, taking a starter and two bonuses to reduce the gap to ten, and set up a potentially close final stretch.
A second starter to York wiped out the gap completely, but they couldn't get any of their bonuses to get the lead back. York then slipped up on the next starter, and Durham happily pounced and opened up their lead again. And when Mr Morgan-Thomas took the next starter, that looked like it would suffice. The side took the final starter just to make sure; at the gong, Durham won a good match 210-160.
A good match well played all round. Bad luck to York, but, as Paxo rightly said, they were a strong team, and gave two very good accounts of themselves, so good work them. Well done to Durham though, who have definitely proved they truly won that first match now (rather than Brasenose losing it), and could cause trouble in the QFs; best of luck to them then!
Alistair Middleton was the night's best buzzer with five starters, while Messrs Morgan-Thomas and Boyd-Shah got four each for Durham. On the bonuses, Durham converted a respectable 19 out of 33 and York an impressive 17 out of 24, and both sides incurred one penalty.
Again, if you want to find out who's playing next week, keep an eye on Twitter and UCCrush.
Only Connect resumed normal business tonight, with two good teams neither of whom deserved to go out winless. I'll be mentioning OC again when I look at possible alternative group phase workings later this week.
Monday 10 November 2014
University Challenge 2014-15: Round 2: Match 1: Leicester vs Trinity
Evening all. So, the first second round match. If there's one thing that past years have taught us, it's that we can never know what to expect from it. So, what would this year's second round have to offer?
Leicester defeated the Open University in their first match 245-190, and had one of the best bonus rates of all time in their match. Hoping for an equally good performance tonight were the same short-wearing four as before:
John O'Doherty, from Portsmouth, studying Medicine
Adam Brown, from Solihull, studying Mechanical Engineering
Captain: Robert Greenhill, from Leicester, studying Humanities and Arts
Nadal Abdul Nasir Muhammed Kalil Mahmud al Masri, from Leicester, studying History
Trinity College Cambridge defeated St Andrews 150-100 the following week in a rather sluggish first round match; Paxo accidentally credited them with 145 for some reason. Hoping to do better tonight were the same four as before:
Matthew Willetts, from London, studying Physics
Claire Hall, from Greenwich in London, studying Classics
Captain: Hugh Bennett, from London, studying Chemistry
Aled Walker, from Birmingham, studying Maths
Off we set again then, and Trinity got off to a much better start than last time, with Miss Hall, who was in a buoyant mood as she made sure we all knew she wasn't wearing shorts(!), taking the first three starters of the night, giving her side an early advantage. Robert Greenhill finally stopped her in her tracks, taking Leicester's first starter and single-handedly taking one of the two bonuses the side got. The first picture round, on maps showing the locations of Shakespeare plays, went to Trinity, and they had opened up a rather surprising lead of 75-20.
Indeed, Trinity were playing much better on the buzzer than before, as they kept taking starters, although their bonus rate was variable again, it was enough to give them a good lead. Robert Greenhill had something to say about that, though, as he broke back in and took two starters in a row; he also single-handedly answered two bonuses with no consultation! Indeed, Leicester were, again doing superbly on the bonuses, which meant they could close Trinity's lead with few starters.
Mr Greenhill identified Olivia Newton-John for the music starter; the bonuses, on pop songs that reference mythical locations, allowed Leicester to cut Trinity's lead to 110-80. A fourth starter in a row for Mr Greenhill, and a full set of bonuses meant Trinity's lead had now dropped to just five points, having previously been at 95. Step in Hugh Bennett, who bought Trinity back into the game. This seemed to wake the Cambridge side up again, as they now seemed to resume their buzzer dominance and pull away agin.
Claire Hall identified a picture of Charles Dickens with his dog for the second picture starter, which opened up a complex bonus set on illustrations from his works depicting dogs; in each case, they needed the name of the work and the dog! (Yes, really) They resorted to making up generic dog names for their answers! Never mind, they now led 150-105. And that lead was now getting bigger again, as they seemed to be getting the starters, and Leicester weren't.
Soon, Trinity's lead had reached three figures, and that was game over. But Leicester were going to go out with a bang, with Robert Greenhill taking a late starter and the side converted all the bonuses. Another late starter went to Leicester, but they could go no further than that. At the gong, Trinity won 220-140.
Paxo was right in saying Leicester weren't on as good form tonight; not on the buzzer at least, as they did, as before, get the bonuses near perfect when they did get them. Well done to them anyway on two very respectable performances. Well done to Trinity, though, who seemed much more at ease this time, and best of luck to them in the quarter-finals!
The game was won on the buzzer: Robert Greenhill got six starters for Leicester, and Claire Hall likewise for Trinity, but Miss Hall was supported by her colleagues who got seven between them, whereas Mr Greenhill's only one. On the bonuses, Leicester converted a superb 14 out of 19, and Trinity a respectable 20 out of 39 (with two penalties).
No word on who's playing next week yet; my advice is to keep an eye on Twitter and/or UniversityChallengeCrush.
Only Connect took a break from its regular series tonight for a Children in Need special, with celeb participants including my mother's old schoolmate Robert Peston! (Yes, really)
Leicester defeated the Open University in their first match 245-190, and had one of the best bonus rates of all time in their match. Hoping for an equally good performance tonight were the same short-wearing four as before:
John O'Doherty, from Portsmouth, studying Medicine
Adam Brown, from Solihull, studying Mechanical Engineering
Captain: Robert Greenhill, from Leicester, studying Humanities and Arts
Nadal Abdul Nasir Muhammed Kalil Mahmud al Masri, from Leicester, studying History
Trinity College Cambridge defeated St Andrews 150-100 the following week in a rather sluggish first round match; Paxo accidentally credited them with 145 for some reason. Hoping to do better tonight were the same four as before:
Matthew Willetts, from London, studying Physics
Claire Hall, from Greenwich in London, studying Classics
Captain: Hugh Bennett, from London, studying Chemistry
Aled Walker, from Birmingham, studying Maths
Off we set again then, and Trinity got off to a much better start than last time, with Miss Hall, who was in a buoyant mood as she made sure we all knew she wasn't wearing shorts(!), taking the first three starters of the night, giving her side an early advantage. Robert Greenhill finally stopped her in her tracks, taking Leicester's first starter and single-handedly taking one of the two bonuses the side got. The first picture round, on maps showing the locations of Shakespeare plays, went to Trinity, and they had opened up a rather surprising lead of 75-20.
Indeed, Trinity were playing much better on the buzzer than before, as they kept taking starters, although their bonus rate was variable again, it was enough to give them a good lead. Robert Greenhill had something to say about that, though, as he broke back in and took two starters in a row; he also single-handedly answered two bonuses with no consultation! Indeed, Leicester were, again doing superbly on the bonuses, which meant they could close Trinity's lead with few starters.
Mr Greenhill identified Olivia Newton-John for the music starter; the bonuses, on pop songs that reference mythical locations, allowed Leicester to cut Trinity's lead to 110-80. A fourth starter in a row for Mr Greenhill, and a full set of bonuses meant Trinity's lead had now dropped to just five points, having previously been at 95. Step in Hugh Bennett, who bought Trinity back into the game. This seemed to wake the Cambridge side up again, as they now seemed to resume their buzzer dominance and pull away agin.
Claire Hall identified a picture of Charles Dickens with his dog for the second picture starter, which opened up a complex bonus set on illustrations from his works depicting dogs; in each case, they needed the name of the work and the dog! (Yes, really) They resorted to making up generic dog names for their answers! Never mind, they now led 150-105. And that lead was now getting bigger again, as they seemed to be getting the starters, and Leicester weren't.
Soon, Trinity's lead had reached three figures, and that was game over. But Leicester were going to go out with a bang, with Robert Greenhill taking a late starter and the side converted all the bonuses. Another late starter went to Leicester, but they could go no further than that. At the gong, Trinity won 220-140.
Paxo was right in saying Leicester weren't on as good form tonight; not on the buzzer at least, as they did, as before, get the bonuses near perfect when they did get them. Well done to them anyway on two very respectable performances. Well done to Trinity, though, who seemed much more at ease this time, and best of luck to them in the quarter-finals!
The game was won on the buzzer: Robert Greenhill got six starters for Leicester, and Claire Hall likewise for Trinity, but Miss Hall was supported by her colleagues who got seven between them, whereas Mr Greenhill's only one. On the bonuses, Leicester converted a superb 14 out of 19, and Trinity a respectable 20 out of 39 (with two penalties).
No word on who's playing next week yet; my advice is to keep an eye on Twitter and/or UniversityChallengeCrush.
Only Connect took a break from its regular series tonight for a Children in Need special, with celeb participants including my mother's old schoolmate Robert Peston! (Yes, really)
Monday 3 November 2014
University Challenge 2014-15: Repechage Play-Off 2: Manchester vs Sussex
Evening all. Weaver's Week may be stopping posting full UC reviews (for now), but I'll keep going with my prompt write-ups for the foreseeable future. The second play-off tonight, with the winners taking the final place in the second round. Only ten points between tonight's teams' losing scores, but they were achieved under very different circumstances.
Manchester lost the first match of the series to Selwyn College Cambridge 190-160, despite leading much of the way through. Manchester teams have, in recent years, tended to start poorly/averagely and then kick into gear second time out; the more fancied of tonight's teams, therefore, were the same four as before:
Edmund Chapman, from Norwich, studying Literature and Translation
Matthew Stallard, from Wolverhampton, studying American Studies
Captain: John Ratcliffe, from Manchester, studying Chemical Engineering
Charlie Rowlands, from Albrighton in Shropshire, studying Genetics and Chinese
Sussex lost their first match to St Peter's College Oxford 205-150, and were on the end of some minor controversies en route, including the now infamous 'chemical elements' debacle. Hoping for better things tonight were the also unchanged foursome of:
Tom Whitehurst, from Rhyl in North Wales, studying Cognitive Neuroscience
David Spence, from Leicester, studying Scientific Computation
Captain: Joss MacDonald, from Romsey in Hampshire, studying History and Politics
Matthew Dean, from Birmingham, studying Philosophy
Off we set again then, and Manchester began quicker, Matthew Stallard taking the first starter, John Ratcliffe the second, and three bonuses followed. Neither side took the third starter, and the fourth starter saw Manchester slip-up, and allow Sussex to get off the starting block. The first picture round, on football terms in foreign languages, went to the Mancunians, and they had opened up a lead of 55-20.
The next starter saw Joss MacDonald rather nervously offer 'sex' when asked to complete a quote with a three letter word, and get a cheeky remark from Paxo for his troubles! The side took none of the bonuses, but Matthew Dean promptly took the next starter to bring them one full bonus set away from leveling the game; they took one, unluckily missing another. A third starter saw Sussex level the score; they had got more starters, but Manchester had tallied more bonuses.
The music round saw Tom Whitehurst identify David Hasselhoff (cue another cheeky Paxo-ism!); the bonuses, on top selling hits in West Germany in 1989, saw Sussex open a lead of 75-55. Now, though, up soared Manchester, with Messrs Stallard and Chapman both luckily guessing starters, John Ratcliffe taking another, and a good haul of bonuses coming in. The sides were pretty much level on starters now, but Manchester's much better bonus rate was starting to show.
The second picture starter saw all four Mancunians go for their buzzers to identify a Seurat painting; Charlie Rowlands got their first. The bonuses, on works by Frenchman featured in the film Ferris Bueller's Day Off, allowed the Mancunians to raise their lead to 140-75. Sussex broke back into the game with the next starter, taking two bonuses to just about keep the gap closeable. When Mr Rowlands took the next starter, though, you began to wonder if that would be enough to see Manchester safely home.
This seemed to be confirmed when Matthew Stallard pulled off a second lucky guess of the night on the next starter, and the side took all three bonuses. Sussex had a chance to sneak back in with the next starter, but couldn't take it. The remaining starters went to Manchester, and the gong cut them off just before they could answer the first bonus from the final set. Manchester won the game 210-95.
A pretty average match overall. Paxo was maybe a bit harsh to say Sussex never really hit their stride; they were very much in it for the first half, but faded somewhat in the second. Well done to them anyway on two respectable performances. Well done to Manchester though, who, as most of us expected, take the final place in the second round; best of luck to them there.
Matthew Stallard was the best buzzer of the night, getting four starters, while Tom Whitehurst was best for Sussex with three. On the bonuses, Manchester converted a very good 21 out of 31 (with one penalties), while Sussex could only manage 7 out of 18.
Next week: the second round begins! No official word on the draw, but it has been tweeted that Leicester play Trinity.
Only Connect continued as well tonight, with, rather appropriately, Manchester UC coach Stephen Pearson and his colleagues playing their survival match; no spoilers, as per usual.
Manchester lost the first match of the series to Selwyn College Cambridge 190-160, despite leading much of the way through. Manchester teams have, in recent years, tended to start poorly/averagely and then kick into gear second time out; the more fancied of tonight's teams, therefore, were the same four as before:
Edmund Chapman, from Norwich, studying Literature and Translation
Matthew Stallard, from Wolverhampton, studying American Studies
Captain: John Ratcliffe, from Manchester, studying Chemical Engineering
Charlie Rowlands, from Albrighton in Shropshire, studying Genetics and Chinese
Sussex lost their first match to St Peter's College Oxford 205-150, and were on the end of some minor controversies en route, including the now infamous 'chemical elements' debacle. Hoping for better things tonight were the also unchanged foursome of:
Tom Whitehurst, from Rhyl in North Wales, studying Cognitive Neuroscience
David Spence, from Leicester, studying Scientific Computation
Captain: Joss MacDonald, from Romsey in Hampshire, studying History and Politics
Matthew Dean, from Birmingham, studying Philosophy
Off we set again then, and Manchester began quicker, Matthew Stallard taking the first starter, John Ratcliffe the second, and three bonuses followed. Neither side took the third starter, and the fourth starter saw Manchester slip-up, and allow Sussex to get off the starting block. The first picture round, on football terms in foreign languages, went to the Mancunians, and they had opened up a lead of 55-20.
The next starter saw Joss MacDonald rather nervously offer 'sex' when asked to complete a quote with a three letter word, and get a cheeky remark from Paxo for his troubles! The side took none of the bonuses, but Matthew Dean promptly took the next starter to bring them one full bonus set away from leveling the game; they took one, unluckily missing another. A third starter saw Sussex level the score; they had got more starters, but Manchester had tallied more bonuses.
The music round saw Tom Whitehurst identify David Hasselhoff (cue another cheeky Paxo-ism!); the bonuses, on top selling hits in West Germany in 1989, saw Sussex open a lead of 75-55. Now, though, up soared Manchester, with Messrs Stallard and Chapman both luckily guessing starters, John Ratcliffe taking another, and a good haul of bonuses coming in. The sides were pretty much level on starters now, but Manchester's much better bonus rate was starting to show.
The second picture starter saw all four Mancunians go for their buzzers to identify a Seurat painting; Charlie Rowlands got their first. The bonuses, on works by Frenchman featured in the film Ferris Bueller's Day Off, allowed the Mancunians to raise their lead to 140-75. Sussex broke back into the game with the next starter, taking two bonuses to just about keep the gap closeable. When Mr Rowlands took the next starter, though, you began to wonder if that would be enough to see Manchester safely home.
This seemed to be confirmed when Matthew Stallard pulled off a second lucky guess of the night on the next starter, and the side took all three bonuses. Sussex had a chance to sneak back in with the next starter, but couldn't take it. The remaining starters went to Manchester, and the gong cut them off just before they could answer the first bonus from the final set. Manchester won the game 210-95.
A pretty average match overall. Paxo was maybe a bit harsh to say Sussex never really hit their stride; they were very much in it for the first half, but faded somewhat in the second. Well done to them anyway on two respectable performances. Well done to Manchester though, who, as most of us expected, take the final place in the second round; best of luck to them there.
Matthew Stallard was the best buzzer of the night, getting four starters, while Tom Whitehurst was best for Sussex with three. On the bonuses, Manchester converted a very good 21 out of 31 (with one penalties), while Sussex could only manage 7 out of 18.
Next week: the second round begins! No official word on the draw, but it has been tweeted that Leicester play Trinity.
Only Connect continued as well tonight, with, rather appropriately, Manchester UC coach Stephen Pearson and his colleagues playing their survival match; no spoilers, as per usual.
Sunday 2 November 2014
University Challenge: Long Starters and Pembroke Penalties
So, now that Weaver's Week has decided to stop publishing full UC reviews and give the scores only, I feel I ought to give my thoughts on some of the objections they have raised.
The first concerns penalties, specifically those imposed on Pembroke a couple of weeks ago. In both cases, the side were fined for interrupting just as Paxo was finishing the question. WW suggests that these penalties caused Pembroke to take their feet off the pedal, and allow Magdalen to run away in the final minutes.
Is that right? Possibly, yes. It would be the third series in a row that Pembroke have been undone by penalties; last year, they incurred three penalties in their first match, and fell just five short of the repechage, and the year before, they went out to our old friends King's by fifteen points in the QFs and incurred five penalties. While the claim about this year is arguable and unconfirmed, it's an unfortunate coincidence.
Of course, it's not Paxo's decision on borderline decisions; it's the producers, who give Paxo instructions via a hidden earpiece. I suppose that, while they do try to be fair, inconsistencies slip through occasionally, like the chemical elements incident earlier in the series.
The other, partly connected issue, concerns the starters, which WW claims have been too long, citing an example from this week's show that took half a minute, including an incorrect interruption. This is a fair point too; they also claim that long starters mean teams interrupt more often, and thus risk penalties more often.
As I never pay much attention to the length of the starters, I can't say I've noticed this much this series. I suppose, for me, it's how well the teams do with what they're given that's what I pay most attention too.
These issues are fair points, and WW aren't the only ones picking up on them; I've noticed some others, on Twitter and LAM, picking up on the 'harshness' of the Pembroke penalties as well. Of course, most TV shows are going to have inconsistent problems from time to time, but when you're talking about something controversial that people notice happening from time to time, it becomes more of a long term issue.
We shall just have to watch the rest of the series, and see if a pattern forms, or whether these are just one-off or rare incidents. I'll keep on reviewing the shows every week, whatever happens.
I'll be back with my usual review of tomorrow's show tomorrow evening.
The first concerns penalties, specifically those imposed on Pembroke a couple of weeks ago. In both cases, the side were fined for interrupting just as Paxo was finishing the question. WW suggests that these penalties caused Pembroke to take their feet off the pedal, and allow Magdalen to run away in the final minutes.
Is that right? Possibly, yes. It would be the third series in a row that Pembroke have been undone by penalties; last year, they incurred three penalties in their first match, and fell just five short of the repechage, and the year before, they went out to our old friends King's by fifteen points in the QFs and incurred five penalties. While the claim about this year is arguable and unconfirmed, it's an unfortunate coincidence.
Of course, it's not Paxo's decision on borderline decisions; it's the producers, who give Paxo instructions via a hidden earpiece. I suppose that, while they do try to be fair, inconsistencies slip through occasionally, like the chemical elements incident earlier in the series.
The other, partly connected issue, concerns the starters, which WW claims have been too long, citing an example from this week's show that took half a minute, including an incorrect interruption. This is a fair point too; they also claim that long starters mean teams interrupt more often, and thus risk penalties more often.
As I never pay much attention to the length of the starters, I can't say I've noticed this much this series. I suppose, for me, it's how well the teams do with what they're given that's what I pay most attention too.
These issues are fair points, and WW aren't the only ones picking up on them; I've noticed some others, on Twitter and LAM, picking up on the 'harshness' of the Pembroke penalties as well. Of course, most TV shows are going to have inconsistent problems from time to time, but when you're talking about something controversial that people notice happening from time to time, it becomes more of a long term issue.
We shall just have to watch the rest of the series, and see if a pattern forms, or whether these are just one-off or rare incidents. I'll keep on reviewing the shows every week, whatever happens.
I'll be back with my usual review of tomorrow's show tomorrow evening.
Monday 27 October 2014
University Challenge 2014-15: Repechage Play-Off 1: Open vs L.S.E.
Evening all. The play-offs begin tonight, as we start seeing teams again. Before that, though, a quick mention of the 'unfair' penalties levied on Pembroke last week, with Weaver's Week openly blaming them for Pembroke losing so heavily. I'll address that myself later; on with the show.
The Open University lost a great first round match to Leicester 245-190, the highest losing score of the first round. This made them firm favourites whoever they faced in these play-offs. They remained:
Danielle Gibney, from Amsterdam, studying Social Sciences
Stuart Taylor, from Stratford-upon-Avon, studying Development Management
Captain: Lynne Jones, from Bolton, studying Languages and History
Kate Law, from Sutherland in the Highlands, studying Engineering
The London School of Economics lost their first match against the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine by just ten points, 150-140. Exeter also scored 140, but it's L.S.E. who come back; Simon Joyce(?) from the Oxford Brookes team claims this is due to them answering a larger percentage of overall starters. The returning L.S.E. team were also the same as before:
Peter Sims, from Edmonton in Canada, studying Economic History
Jeffrey Mo, from Calgary in Canada, studying Econometrics and Mathematical Economics
Captain: Jimmy Chen, from Colchester, studying Government and History
Pedro Franco de Campos Pinto, from Brazil, studying Economics
Off we set again then, with what Paxo called an interesting competition. Mr Pinto was first to strike for L.S.E., but they took no bonuses. Open bit back, and took two from their first set. The sides remained close together in the first phase; after the first picture round, on international Hay-on-Wye festival branch locations, L.S.E. led 50-40.
Open slipped up on the next starter, but L.S.E. failed to take advantage. This allowed the opposition to tie the scores with the next starter, and then reclaim the lead with another starter and a full set of bonuses. A second starter and full bonus set, and Open had opened up a sizeable lead, and L.S.E. needed to get a move on if they were going to catch up.
The music round, on classical pieces associated with bad weather, went to Open, but just one bonus followed this time; they still led 115-50. L.S.E. were soon back in the game though, and took two starters in a row to eat into the gap, missing just one of the six bonuses. Open fought back with the next starter, but took no bonuses this time.
The second picture round saw Mr Taylor get a telling off from Paxo for pausing after buzzing; the bonuses, on athletes with the highest amount of golds, allowed his side to up their lead to 145-95. Still a closeable gap, but when Open took the next starter, their lead was starting to look match winning. L.S.E. took the next starter, which just about kept things in doubt, and took one bonus as well.
L.S.E. now began something of a late sprint, and took another starter to bring the gap to 35. But when Ms Gibney took the next starter, that looked like it would see her team home safely. L.S.E. managed to tie their score from their heat, but took no bonuses. At the gong, Open won 180-140.
A very pleasant match between two very pleasant teams; kudos to L.S.E. for applauding their opponents at the start, at the gong, and during the credits. Paxo was correct in saying they can hold their heads high after two good showings. Well done to Open though, and best of luck in the second round!
Danielle Gibney was best for Open with four starters, which equals Jimmy Chen's best starter total for L.S.E.. On the bonuses, Open converted a decent 17 out of 30 (with one penalty), while L.S.E. managed a respectable 12 out of 24.
Next week's match: Manchester vs Sussex in the second play-off
Only Connect began eliminating teams tonight; won't say anything, except look out for a slightly dubious allowance in the missing vowels round!
The Open University lost a great first round match to Leicester 245-190, the highest losing score of the first round. This made them firm favourites whoever they faced in these play-offs. They remained:
Danielle Gibney, from Amsterdam, studying Social Sciences
Stuart Taylor, from Stratford-upon-Avon, studying Development Management
Captain: Lynne Jones, from Bolton, studying Languages and History
Kate Law, from Sutherland in the Highlands, studying Engineering
The London School of Economics lost their first match against the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine by just ten points, 150-140. Exeter also scored 140, but it's L.S.E. who come back; Simon Joyce(?) from the Oxford Brookes team claims this is due to them answering a larger percentage of overall starters. The returning L.S.E. team were also the same as before:
Peter Sims, from Edmonton in Canada, studying Economic History
Jeffrey Mo, from Calgary in Canada, studying Econometrics and Mathematical Economics
Captain: Jimmy Chen, from Colchester, studying Government and History
Pedro Franco de Campos Pinto, from Brazil, studying Economics
Off we set again then, with what Paxo called an interesting competition. Mr Pinto was first to strike for L.S.E., but they took no bonuses. Open bit back, and took two from their first set. The sides remained close together in the first phase; after the first picture round, on international Hay-on-Wye festival branch locations, L.S.E. led 50-40.
Open slipped up on the next starter, but L.S.E. failed to take advantage. This allowed the opposition to tie the scores with the next starter, and then reclaim the lead with another starter and a full set of bonuses. A second starter and full bonus set, and Open had opened up a sizeable lead, and L.S.E. needed to get a move on if they were going to catch up.
The music round, on classical pieces associated with bad weather, went to Open, but just one bonus followed this time; they still led 115-50. L.S.E. were soon back in the game though, and took two starters in a row to eat into the gap, missing just one of the six bonuses. Open fought back with the next starter, but took no bonuses this time.
The second picture round saw Mr Taylor get a telling off from Paxo for pausing after buzzing; the bonuses, on athletes with the highest amount of golds, allowed his side to up their lead to 145-95. Still a closeable gap, but when Open took the next starter, their lead was starting to look match winning. L.S.E. took the next starter, which just about kept things in doubt, and took one bonus as well.
L.S.E. now began something of a late sprint, and took another starter to bring the gap to 35. But when Ms Gibney took the next starter, that looked like it would see her team home safely. L.S.E. managed to tie their score from their heat, but took no bonuses. At the gong, Open won 180-140.
A very pleasant match between two very pleasant teams; kudos to L.S.E. for applauding their opponents at the start, at the gong, and during the credits. Paxo was correct in saying they can hold their heads high after two good showings. Well done to Open though, and best of luck in the second round!
Danielle Gibney was best for Open with four starters, which equals Jimmy Chen's best starter total for L.S.E.. On the bonuses, Open converted a decent 17 out of 30 (with one penalty), while L.S.E. managed a respectable 12 out of 24.
Next week's match: Manchester vs Sussex in the second play-off
Only Connect began eliminating teams tonight; won't say anything, except look out for a slightly dubious allowance in the missing vowels round!
Tuesday 21 October 2014
University Challenge 2014-15: First Round Review and Look Forward to the Next Stage
So, we've made it to the end of the first round, finally. Been a topsy-turvy series so far, with some good matches, and a handful of average ones.
So, here are the fourteen teams safely through, along with their score and margin of victory, and in order of qualification:
Well, Caius have the highest score of the lot and won by the second biggest margin; Durham have the second highest score and the biggest victory. Leicester and U.C.L. have the next highest, and achieved their scores against much stronger teams. Its been said before that scoring high is all well and good, but if your opponents haven't been that strong, it might not have been entirely down to you.
Therefore, I would probably tip Caius, Leicester and U.C.L. to progress to the QFs, provided they avoid each other. Durham, we'll have to see play against a stronger team before we draw conclusions on their abilities.
The two Oxford teams, Magdalen and St Peter's, could also be favourites to progress; Magdalen probably more so, given that St Peter's won the game largely due to Mr Trueblood's exceptional buzzer showing, and if he has an off-day, the others may not be able to carry themselves through.
The rest of the teams mostly scored between 200 and 150, with various margins of victory. Most of them won by half narrow margins, suggesting equal ability with the opposition. Selwyn, Glasgow and York probably stand out, having achieved their scores against reasonable teams, one of whom made the repechage, and the other two of whom came close to doing so. L.S.H.T.M. could maybe fall in as well, but maybe less so.
On the other hand, first round form has proved a very poor guide to how well a team is going to perform in the later stages in recent years. Take last year: Manchester started averagely, and went on to be one of the best teams of the series and nearly beat the eventual champs, twice! And who'd have thought after watching Queen's play their first match that A: they'd reach the QFs, and B: they'd nearly beat SOAS?
Therefore, the lower scoring teams (Oxford Brookes, Trinity et al) could well pick up their game in the second round; we shall see.
One can never know these things with UC; it's a very unpredictable show. Sometimes it's just a question of which questions you get; a team who struggled with the questions in their heat may have flourished if given those in one of the other heats.
Now, lets move on to the fascinating prospects of the repechage; the teams (potentially) involved are:
My guess is that Open will play whoever gets the place, while Manchester will play Sussex. I would tip Open and Manchester to win the matches, Open based on their exceptional showing against one of the strongest teams of the first round, and Manchester on their past tendency to start poorly/averagely, and then hit their stride in their second match.
But these are just thoughts based on rough stats, estimations and past form thoughts, none of which will have any bearing on what is actually to come. All we can hope for is another fine set of second round matches.
I may chose to make a second review post looking at the teams this year, and answer some questions on the diversity of the teams this year and in past years. Shall see if I can find the time.
So, here are the fourteen teams safely through, along with their score and margin of victory, and in order of qualification:
- Selwyn College Cambridge (190, 30)
- Oxford Brookes (130, 10)
- Bristol (190, 115)
- Gonville & Caius College Cambridge (305, 200)
- St Peter's College Oxford (205, 55)
- London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (150, 10)
- Liverpool (155, 25)
- Glasgow (190, 70)
- Leicester (245, 55)
- Trinity College Cambridge (150, 50)
- University College London (230, 90)
- Durham (250, 215)
- York (170, 35)
- Magdalen College Oxford (220, 110)
Well, Caius have the highest score of the lot and won by the second biggest margin; Durham have the second highest score and the biggest victory. Leicester and U.C.L. have the next highest, and achieved their scores against much stronger teams. Its been said before that scoring high is all well and good, but if your opponents haven't been that strong, it might not have been entirely down to you.
Therefore, I would probably tip Caius, Leicester and U.C.L. to progress to the QFs, provided they avoid each other. Durham, we'll have to see play against a stronger team before we draw conclusions on their abilities.
The two Oxford teams, Magdalen and St Peter's, could also be favourites to progress; Magdalen probably more so, given that St Peter's won the game largely due to Mr Trueblood's exceptional buzzer showing, and if he has an off-day, the others may not be able to carry themselves through.
The rest of the teams mostly scored between 200 and 150, with various margins of victory. Most of them won by half narrow margins, suggesting equal ability with the opposition. Selwyn, Glasgow and York probably stand out, having achieved their scores against reasonable teams, one of whom made the repechage, and the other two of whom came close to doing so. L.S.H.T.M. could maybe fall in as well, but maybe less so.
On the other hand, first round form has proved a very poor guide to how well a team is going to perform in the later stages in recent years. Take last year: Manchester started averagely, and went on to be one of the best teams of the series and nearly beat the eventual champs, twice! And who'd have thought after watching Queen's play their first match that A: they'd reach the QFs, and B: they'd nearly beat SOAS?
Therefore, the lower scoring teams (Oxford Brookes, Trinity et al) could well pick up their game in the second round; we shall see.
One can never know these things with UC; it's a very unpredictable show. Sometimes it's just a question of which questions you get; a team who struggled with the questions in their heat may have flourished if given those in one of the other heats.
Now, lets move on to the fascinating prospects of the repechage; the teams (potentially) involved are:
- Open (190, 55)
- Manchester (160, 30)
- Sussex (150, 55)
- Exeter (140, 90) or L.S.E. (140, 10)
My guess is that Open will play whoever gets the place, while Manchester will play Sussex. I would tip Open and Manchester to win the matches, Open based on their exceptional showing against one of the strongest teams of the first round, and Manchester on their past tendency to start poorly/averagely, and then hit their stride in their second match.
But these are just thoughts based on rough stats, estimations and past form thoughts, none of which will have any bearing on what is actually to come. All we can hope for is another fine set of second round matches.
I may chose to make a second review post looking at the teams this year, and answer some questions on the diversity of the teams this year and in past years. Shall see if I can find the time.
Monday 20 October 2014
University Challenge 2014-15: Round 1: Match 14: Magdalen vs Pembroke
Evening all; you join me from Ayrshire for the final first round match of the series, and a much anticipated match as well. The task for tonight's teams: win, or lose with a score of 145 or more to push Exeter and L.S.E. off the repechage, and put to bed the prospect of a near impossible tie-break for the final place.
Magdalen College Oxford has won more UC grand finals than any other institution (wording deliberate o exclude Manchester's default win); it was founded in 1458, and alumni include ministers George Osbourne and Jeremy Hunt and their former colleague William Hague. It last sent a team two series ago, who went out to Manchester in the second round. This year's quartet were:
Harry Gillow, from Stone in Staffordshire, studying Classics
Chris Savory, from Burgess Hill in West Sussex, studying Chemistry
Captain: Hugh Binnie, from Cheltenham, studying Chemistry
Cameron J. Quinn, from Los Angeles, studying Philosophy and French
Pembroke College Cambridge was founded in 1347, and is the only Cambridge college still on its original site. Alumni include William Pitt the Younger and poet Ted Hughes. This is the fourth series in a row the college has sent a team, the 2011-12 coming second overall; last year's team lost to Somerville College Oxford in the first round, and just fell short of the repechage. Hoping to do better tonight were:
Tom McGee, from Kent, studying Arabic and Spanish
Theodore Hill, from High Wycombe, studying Classics
Captain: James Hutt, from Bedfordshire, studying Chemistry
Mark Hammond, from Farnham in Surrey, studying Physics
Off we set again then, and Magdalen struck first, taking the first two starters, and two bonuses from each set. The third starter went to them too, before Pembroke got off the mark, and took all three bonuses from their first set. They also took the first picture round, on places in Britain whose names have been given new definitions by John Lloyd and the late great Douglas Adams; this reduced Magdalen's lead to 50-45.
Pembroke took the lead with the next starter, and took two bonuses to go into the lead. Another starter went to the Cambridge side, and they looked to be pulling away. A slip-up allowed Magdalen to sneak back into the match, and they took a full set of bonuses to level the score. The way things were going so far, a good match looked on the cards.
The music round, on bands whose early success is owed to John Peel, went to Magdalen, and allowed them to open up a lead of 95-75. Pembroke fought back, and took two bonuses to level the scores again. A nip and tuck then ensued, as the sides swapped starters and the lead, and both began to eke towards the required repechage score.
The second picture round, on cartoons from Vanity Fair, went to Magdalen after the starter was dropped, and Pembroke rather harshly lost five for interrupting incorrectly just as Paxo was finishing the question. The Oxford side now led by 145-110. Pembroke took the next starter, but no bonuses went with it. The next starter was dropped, and, again, Pembroke lost five for interrupting on the final word of the question. The next starter went to Magdalen, but just the one bonus followed.
Now, though, the Oxonians began a late sprint, and began to pull away on the buzzer, and the bonuses began to fall for them. Pembroke couldn't break back through, only managing to lose five on a slip-up. At the gong, Magdalen won by 220-110.
A match that was a lot closer than that final score would have you believe. Well done Magdalen on a good first showing, and best of luck next time. Bad luck Pembroke, who, as Paxo said, were better than their final total suggests, and would probably have won against some of the winning teams we've seen this series, but well done to them anyway on a respectable effort.
Hugh Binnie was the night's best buzzer, getting six starters, while Tom McGee was narrowly Pembroke's best with four. On the bonuses, Magdalen converted a respectable 21 out of 36 (with one penalty), and Pembroke an also respectable 12 out of 21 (with four penalties, two of them rather harsh).
So, the four repechage teams are: Open (190), Manchester (160), Sussex (150) and either Exeter or L.S.E. (140). Paxo didn't say which, so we shall have to wait and see who turns up.
No word on who's playing in the first play-off next week, but my guess is it'll be Open and whichever of the two 140 teams, followed by Manchester vs Sussex the week after.
I will, of course, be publishing a review of the first round and look forward to the next stage later this week.
Only Connect reached the end of its first phase tonight; next week, we shall start seeing teams again there as well.
Magdalen College Oxford has won more UC grand finals than any other institution (wording deliberate o exclude Manchester's default win); it was founded in 1458, and alumni include ministers George Osbourne and Jeremy Hunt and their former colleague William Hague. It last sent a team two series ago, who went out to Manchester in the second round. This year's quartet were:
Harry Gillow, from Stone in Staffordshire, studying Classics
Chris Savory, from Burgess Hill in West Sussex, studying Chemistry
Captain: Hugh Binnie, from Cheltenham, studying Chemistry
Cameron J. Quinn, from Los Angeles, studying Philosophy and French
Pembroke College Cambridge was founded in 1347, and is the only Cambridge college still on its original site. Alumni include William Pitt the Younger and poet Ted Hughes. This is the fourth series in a row the college has sent a team, the 2011-12 coming second overall; last year's team lost to Somerville College Oxford in the first round, and just fell short of the repechage. Hoping to do better tonight were:
Tom McGee, from Kent, studying Arabic and Spanish
Theodore Hill, from High Wycombe, studying Classics
Captain: James Hutt, from Bedfordshire, studying Chemistry
Mark Hammond, from Farnham in Surrey, studying Physics
Off we set again then, and Magdalen struck first, taking the first two starters, and two bonuses from each set. The third starter went to them too, before Pembroke got off the mark, and took all three bonuses from their first set. They also took the first picture round, on places in Britain whose names have been given new definitions by John Lloyd and the late great Douglas Adams; this reduced Magdalen's lead to 50-45.
Pembroke took the lead with the next starter, and took two bonuses to go into the lead. Another starter went to the Cambridge side, and they looked to be pulling away. A slip-up allowed Magdalen to sneak back into the match, and they took a full set of bonuses to level the score. The way things were going so far, a good match looked on the cards.
The music round, on bands whose early success is owed to John Peel, went to Magdalen, and allowed them to open up a lead of 95-75. Pembroke fought back, and took two bonuses to level the scores again. A nip and tuck then ensued, as the sides swapped starters and the lead, and both began to eke towards the required repechage score.
The second picture round, on cartoons from Vanity Fair, went to Magdalen after the starter was dropped, and Pembroke rather harshly lost five for interrupting incorrectly just as Paxo was finishing the question. The Oxford side now led by 145-110. Pembroke took the next starter, but no bonuses went with it. The next starter was dropped, and, again, Pembroke lost five for interrupting on the final word of the question. The next starter went to Magdalen, but just the one bonus followed.
Now, though, the Oxonians began a late sprint, and began to pull away on the buzzer, and the bonuses began to fall for them. Pembroke couldn't break back through, only managing to lose five on a slip-up. At the gong, Magdalen won by 220-110.
A match that was a lot closer than that final score would have you believe. Well done Magdalen on a good first showing, and best of luck next time. Bad luck Pembroke, who, as Paxo said, were better than their final total suggests, and would probably have won against some of the winning teams we've seen this series, but well done to them anyway on a respectable effort.
Hugh Binnie was the night's best buzzer, getting six starters, while Tom McGee was narrowly Pembroke's best with four. On the bonuses, Magdalen converted a respectable 21 out of 36 (with one penalty), and Pembroke an also respectable 12 out of 21 (with four penalties, two of them rather harsh).
So, the four repechage teams are: Open (190), Manchester (160), Sussex (150) and either Exeter or L.S.E. (140). Paxo didn't say which, so we shall have to wait and see who turns up.
No word on who's playing in the first play-off next week, but my guess is it'll be Open and whichever of the two 140 teams, followed by Manchester vs Sussex the week after.
I will, of course, be publishing a review of the first round and look forward to the next stage later this week.
Only Connect reached the end of its first phase tonight; next week, we shall start seeing teams again there as well.
Monday 13 October 2014
University Challenge 2014-15: Round 1: Match 13: Corpus Christi vs York
Evening all, as I seem to be starting my reviews with every week. Only two more first round matches to go; for tonight's losers, a score of 145 or 150 would put them on the repechage board, while 155 or more would mean a definite return. As would winning, of course.
Corpus Christi College Cambridge was founded in 1352 with the aim of training new priests to replace those who died during the Black Death. Alumni include Christopher Marlowe and Hugh Bonneville. It hasn't been seen on UC since losing a low scoing first round match back in 2003-04, but their Oxford namesakes have been champs twice since then, even if they were disqualified one of those times. Hoping to do as well as them tonight were:
Ram Sarujan Rajkumar, from London, studying Maths and Management
Jessica Stewart, from Cambridge, studying Arabic and Russian
Captain: Sam Sharma, from Gloucestershire, studying Classics
Caroline Purvis, from Southend-on-Sea, studying Physical Natural Sciences
York University was originally an idea of James I/VI, but wasn't actually founded until 1963 as a 'plate-glass' uni. Alumni include Harry Enfield and Harriet Harman MP, and Paxo made sure to give us our annual update on the famous ducks! The uni hasn't missed UC for some years now; last year's team trounced Bath in Round 1, but came unstuck against Somerville in Round 2. This year's quartet were:
Jack Alexander, from Hertford, studying Maths
Adam Koper, from Pwllheli in North Wales, studying Physics
Captain: Alistair Middleton, from Penrith in Cumbria, studying Maths
Joe Crowther, from Churchdown in Gloucestershire, studying Maths and Philosophy
Off we set again then (again, as I say every week), and York were the first to get going, taking the first two starters, and two bonuses from both sets. Corpus Christi got going on the third starter, and took their time with the bonuses, taking one. They also took the first picture round, on Italian football teams and their cities, which reduced York's lead to 40-35.
It was soon on the up again though, with Alistair Middleton taking the next starter. The Northeners then surrendered five points on a slip-up, and Corpus Christi responded by taking the next starter, and took all three bonuses to give them a narrow lead. But back came York, who tied the score, and then reclaimed the lead they had only briefly lost with the bonuses.
The music round, on pop songs associated with the US civil rights movement, went to Corpus Christi, and they took back the lead 80-65. They then lost five after Miss Stewart buzzed in by mistake, and lost five as a result! Bit harsh, but fair. York took back the initiative, and took two starters in a row, and two bonuses from both sets. A third starter went to York, but no bonuses came this time; despite this, they did seem to be building up a head of steam.
The second picture round, on statues of figures on horseback, went to York, and they had opened up a lead of 135-75. A potential match winning score, so Corpus Christi had to fight back quickly. They did so, taking two starters in a row, and four of the resultant six bonuses bought them back into touching distance. York then surrendered five on a slip-up, and the gap was down to 15.
But then York took the next starter, and two bonuses gave them more breathing space. And when the Northeners took the next starter too, that looked like game over. But could Corpus Christi sneak onto the repechage board? They tried, taking the next starter, and two bonuses put them within one starter of doing so. They buzzed on the final starter, but didn't get the right answer, and that was the gong; York won the game 170-135.
A middle-of-the-road sort of game overall. Bad luck to Corpus Christi, who just fell short of the repechage board, but a fair showing nonetheless. Well done to York on a reasonable first showing, and we shall see how they fare in the next round.
Alistair Middleton was the night's best buzzer, getting a good six starters for York, while Ram Sarujan Rajkumar was best for Corpus Christi with three. On the bonuses, Corpus Christi converted a decent 14 out of 21 (with one penalty), and York 16 out of 30 (with two penalties), which is an OK rate, but one that may need to improve next time.
Safely through to the repechage: Open (190), Manchester (160), Sussex (150)
Next week's match: Magdalen College Oxford vs Pembroke College Cambridge
More Only Connect returnees tonight, and good to see Sean Blanchflower, owner of the unofficial UC stats site, on the show too.
Corpus Christi College Cambridge was founded in 1352 with the aim of training new priests to replace those who died during the Black Death. Alumni include Christopher Marlowe and Hugh Bonneville. It hasn't been seen on UC since losing a low scoing first round match back in 2003-04, but their Oxford namesakes have been champs twice since then, even if they were disqualified one of those times. Hoping to do as well as them tonight were:
Ram Sarujan Rajkumar, from London, studying Maths and Management
Jessica Stewart, from Cambridge, studying Arabic and Russian
Captain: Sam Sharma, from Gloucestershire, studying Classics
Caroline Purvis, from Southend-on-Sea, studying Physical Natural Sciences
York University was originally an idea of James I/VI, but wasn't actually founded until 1963 as a 'plate-glass' uni. Alumni include Harry Enfield and Harriet Harman MP, and Paxo made sure to give us our annual update on the famous ducks! The uni hasn't missed UC for some years now; last year's team trounced Bath in Round 1, but came unstuck against Somerville in Round 2. This year's quartet were:
Jack Alexander, from Hertford, studying Maths
Adam Koper, from Pwllheli in North Wales, studying Physics
Captain: Alistair Middleton, from Penrith in Cumbria, studying Maths
Joe Crowther, from Churchdown in Gloucestershire, studying Maths and Philosophy
Off we set again then (again, as I say every week), and York were the first to get going, taking the first two starters, and two bonuses from both sets. Corpus Christi got going on the third starter, and took their time with the bonuses, taking one. They also took the first picture round, on Italian football teams and their cities, which reduced York's lead to 40-35.
It was soon on the up again though, with Alistair Middleton taking the next starter. The Northeners then surrendered five points on a slip-up, and Corpus Christi responded by taking the next starter, and took all three bonuses to give them a narrow lead. But back came York, who tied the score, and then reclaimed the lead they had only briefly lost with the bonuses.
The music round, on pop songs associated with the US civil rights movement, went to Corpus Christi, and they took back the lead 80-65. They then lost five after Miss Stewart buzzed in by mistake, and lost five as a result! Bit harsh, but fair. York took back the initiative, and took two starters in a row, and two bonuses from both sets. A third starter went to York, but no bonuses came this time; despite this, they did seem to be building up a head of steam.
The second picture round, on statues of figures on horseback, went to York, and they had opened up a lead of 135-75. A potential match winning score, so Corpus Christi had to fight back quickly. They did so, taking two starters in a row, and four of the resultant six bonuses bought them back into touching distance. York then surrendered five on a slip-up, and the gap was down to 15.
But then York took the next starter, and two bonuses gave them more breathing space. And when the Northeners took the next starter too, that looked like game over. But could Corpus Christi sneak onto the repechage board? They tried, taking the next starter, and two bonuses put them within one starter of doing so. They buzzed on the final starter, but didn't get the right answer, and that was the gong; York won the game 170-135.
A middle-of-the-road sort of game overall. Bad luck to Corpus Christi, who just fell short of the repechage board, but a fair showing nonetheless. Well done to York on a reasonable first showing, and we shall see how they fare in the next round.
Alistair Middleton was the night's best buzzer, getting a good six starters for York, while Ram Sarujan Rajkumar was best for Corpus Christi with three. On the bonuses, Corpus Christi converted a decent 14 out of 21 (with one penalty), and York 16 out of 30 (with two penalties), which is an OK rate, but one that may need to improve next time.
Safely through to the repechage: Open (190), Manchester (160), Sussex (150)
Next week's match: Magdalen College Oxford vs Pembroke College Cambridge
More Only Connect returnees tonight, and good to see Sean Blanchflower, owner of the unofficial UC stats site, on the show too.
Monday 6 October 2014
University Challenge 2014-15: Round 1: Match 12: Brasenose vs Durham
Evening all. The first round is nearly over now; just two more matches after tonight's. A losing score tonight of 165 or more would give the losers a definite place in the play-offs.
Brasenose College Oxford is thought to take it's name from a brass door knocker, and is based on the site of the medieval Brasenose Hall. Alumni include Michael Palin and David Cameron. It sent a team to UC last year, who lost their first match to Manchester. This year's team were:
Louise Naude, from Manchester, studying French and Italian
Gwen Cartwright, from Cardiff, studying Medicine
Captain: Rosie Thomas, from Loughborough, studying PPE
Russell Black, from Droitwich in Worcestershire, studying History and Economics
Durham University was founded in 1832, and is considered the third oldest university in England. It's college provide accommodation rather than teaching, so just one Durham team enter every year. Alumni include George Alagiah, Gabby Logan, Jeremy Vine and Andrew Strauss. Last year's Durham team lost to Queens' College Cambridge in the first round, but survived to the repechage, where they lost to Christ Church Oxford. This year's quartet were:
Daniel Morgan-Thomas, from East London, studying History and Classics
Freddie Lloyd, from Penshurst in Kent, studying Philosophy
Captain: Fred Harvey, from Bridlington in East Yorkshire, studying Physics
Nikul Boyd-Shah, from Bournemouth, studying Law
Off we set again then, as I seem to be saying every week, and Nikul Boyd-Shah was first to the buzzer, and claimed the first starter for Durham. Messrs Harvey and Morgan-Thomas did likewise for the next two, but the side only took one bonus from each set. The first picture round, on timelines depicting political parties in power in specific countries, went to Durham, and their lead stood at 65-0.
That lead got bigger when the Northerners took the next starter, and all three bonuses. Brasenose finally got off the mark courtesy of Miss Naude calling Paxo a 'b-word'! (It made sense in context!) The side took one of their bonuses, only to surrender five points to a slip-up. The starter was dropped, as was the next one. An amusing moment came when Miss Cartwright buzzed on the next starter, and the camera started moving towards Miss Thomas instead, and had to swerve and correct itself! All she did, however, was lose another five points, and allow Durham to forge ahead.
The music round, on arias performed by the late great Pavarotti, went to Durham, and they had opened up a lead of 125-5. And their lead was just getting bigger by the minute, as they were getting the starters, and Brasenose just weren't. Miss Cartwright accidentally buzzed pre-question, and got told off by Paxo! Even though Durham's bonus rate wasn't all that good, their superior buzzer work meant it didn't really matter.
The second picture round, on statues in railway stations, went to Durham, and their lead stood at 195-5. It looked all over, and now it was just a question of how much more both teams could score, for different reasons. Brasenose just weren't able to get in on the starters, and Durham were, and their variable bonus rate made no difference. With just minutes to go, you began to fear Brasenose would be in the history books for all the wrong reasons, remaining stuck of 5.
Thankfully, Russell Black managed two late starters, and the side took two bonuses from the two sets. Durham picked up the final starter of the game, but couldn't get anything from the bonuses there were time for. At the gong, Durham won 250-35.
Paxo asked Brasenose what happened to them! They couldn't get in on the starters, that's what happened. Bad luck to them, but they took their defeat well enough, and must be half decent to have got on the show in the first place, so good for them. Well done to Durham though, and best of luck next time! I have a feeling they may not have it so easy next time.
Daniel Morgan-Thomas was the night's best buzzer, getting seven starters for Durham, while Russell Black's late two were Brasenose's best. On the bonuses, the Oxonians converted 3 out of 9 (with two penalties), while Durham converted 20 out of 43, which isn't too bad, but does suggest they won the match on the buzzer. We shall see how they fare against a stronger team on the buzzer.
Safely through to the repechage: Open (190), Manchester (160)
Next week's match: Corpus Christi College Cambridge vs York
Only Connect saw the Chessmen, who finished third back in Series 2, return for a second go. Again, no spoilers, but keep watching until the end is as far as I'm prepared to spoil.
Brasenose College Oxford is thought to take it's name from a brass door knocker, and is based on the site of the medieval Brasenose Hall. Alumni include Michael Palin and David Cameron. It sent a team to UC last year, who lost their first match to Manchester. This year's team were:
Louise Naude, from Manchester, studying French and Italian
Gwen Cartwright, from Cardiff, studying Medicine
Captain: Rosie Thomas, from Loughborough, studying PPE
Russell Black, from Droitwich in Worcestershire, studying History and Economics
Durham University was founded in 1832, and is considered the third oldest university in England. It's college provide accommodation rather than teaching, so just one Durham team enter every year. Alumni include George Alagiah, Gabby Logan, Jeremy Vine and Andrew Strauss. Last year's Durham team lost to Queens' College Cambridge in the first round, but survived to the repechage, where they lost to Christ Church Oxford. This year's quartet were:
Daniel Morgan-Thomas, from East London, studying History and Classics
Freddie Lloyd, from Penshurst in Kent, studying Philosophy
Captain: Fred Harvey, from Bridlington in East Yorkshire, studying Physics
Nikul Boyd-Shah, from Bournemouth, studying Law
Off we set again then, as I seem to be saying every week, and Nikul Boyd-Shah was first to the buzzer, and claimed the first starter for Durham. Messrs Harvey and Morgan-Thomas did likewise for the next two, but the side only took one bonus from each set. The first picture round, on timelines depicting political parties in power in specific countries, went to Durham, and their lead stood at 65-0.
That lead got bigger when the Northerners took the next starter, and all three bonuses. Brasenose finally got off the mark courtesy of Miss Naude calling Paxo a 'b-word'! (It made sense in context!) The side took one of their bonuses, only to surrender five points to a slip-up. The starter was dropped, as was the next one. An amusing moment came when Miss Cartwright buzzed on the next starter, and the camera started moving towards Miss Thomas instead, and had to swerve and correct itself! All she did, however, was lose another five points, and allow Durham to forge ahead.
The music round, on arias performed by the late great Pavarotti, went to Durham, and they had opened up a lead of 125-5. And their lead was just getting bigger by the minute, as they were getting the starters, and Brasenose just weren't. Miss Cartwright accidentally buzzed pre-question, and got told off by Paxo! Even though Durham's bonus rate wasn't all that good, their superior buzzer work meant it didn't really matter.
The second picture round, on statues in railway stations, went to Durham, and their lead stood at 195-5. It looked all over, and now it was just a question of how much more both teams could score, for different reasons. Brasenose just weren't able to get in on the starters, and Durham were, and their variable bonus rate made no difference. With just minutes to go, you began to fear Brasenose would be in the history books for all the wrong reasons, remaining stuck of 5.
Thankfully, Russell Black managed two late starters, and the side took two bonuses from the two sets. Durham picked up the final starter of the game, but couldn't get anything from the bonuses there were time for. At the gong, Durham won 250-35.
Paxo asked Brasenose what happened to them! They couldn't get in on the starters, that's what happened. Bad luck to them, but they took their defeat well enough, and must be half decent to have got on the show in the first place, so good for them. Well done to Durham though, and best of luck next time! I have a feeling they may not have it so easy next time.
Daniel Morgan-Thomas was the night's best buzzer, getting seven starters for Durham, while Russell Black's late two were Brasenose's best. On the bonuses, the Oxonians converted 3 out of 9 (with two penalties), while Durham converted 20 out of 43, which isn't too bad, but does suggest they won the match on the buzzer. We shall see how they fare against a stronger team on the buzzer.
Safely through to the repechage: Open (190), Manchester (160)
Next week's match: Corpus Christi College Cambridge vs York
Only Connect saw the Chessmen, who finished third back in Series 2, return for a second go. Again, no spoilers, but keep watching until the end is as far as I'm prepared to spoil.
Monday 29 September 2014
University Challenge 2014-15: Round 1: Match 11: U.C.L. vs Exeter
Evening all. So, we're into the final four first round matches, meaning that the repechage slot battle is hotting up. As of tonight, we start learning the teams that will be making the play-offs. Tonight, losing with 195 or more would give a team a definite play-off place; 145 or more would at least put them on the board.
University College London, or U.C.L., is the largest college of the University of London, founded in 1826. Alumni include Alexander Graham Bell, Christopher Nolan and all of Coldplay. It has regularly sent teams in the revived series, last sending a team two years ago, who finished runners-up to Manchester. Hoping to go one better this year were:
Bethany Drew, from Surrey, studying English Literature
Andrew Brueton, from London, studying Law
Captain: Thomas Halliday, from Edinburgh, studying Vertebrate Paleantology
Harold Gunnarsson, studying Geomatic Engineering
Exeter University began life in the 19th century, and became a university in 1955. It has three campuses, two in Exeter, one in Falmouth in Cornwall. Alumni include JK Rowling and Will Young. It last sent a team to UC last year, losing a low scoring first round match to Cardiff; two years ago, they also lost in the first round to, er, U.C.L.. Hoping for revenge tonight were:
Harry Heath, from Bromsgrove in Worcestershire, studying History
Katie Barry, from Epsom in Surrey, studying Biochemistry
Captain: Jeffrey Sage, from Louisville, Kentucky, studying Arab and Islamic Studies
Rick Harmes, from Looe in Cornwall, studying Politics
Off we set again then, and things flew pretty evenly first, with Harold Gunnarsson quickly getting the first starter, and Harry Heath getting the second equally promptly. The teams swapped a second pair of starters, and got two bonuses from each set. The first picture round, on national emblems depicting landscapes, went to Exeter after the starter was dropped; this gave them a lead of 55-45.
U.C.L. took the next starter, and took two on a set of bonuses on the Noughties, unluckily missing the third. Exeter were unlucky with their next set of bonuses, not giving the answer they gave for the first bonus for the second, when it was right! They made up for it by taking the next starter. At this stage, both the starters and the bonuses seemed to be falling well for both teams.
The music round, on tracks by composers who served in World War One, went to U.C.L., which allowed them to level the scores 85-all. Andrew Brueton, who had been quiet for the first half of the match, now began a good run on the buzzer, which saw him get six starters in a row! The bonuses seemed to be falling for the side too, and they began to open up a big lead. Jeffrey Sage was right to try and jump in early on the next starter, but all he did was lose his team five points, and hand Mr Brueton a fifth starter in a row.
The second picture round, on paintings depicting weddings, went to U.C.L., and they had now opened up a lead of 190-80. Jeffrey Sage finally broke Exeter back into the game, and the side took a full set of bonuses which bought them up to three figures, and into the hunt of the repechage. A second starter and one bonus bought them within 25 points of a place on the board.
Andrew Brueton bought U.C.L. back into the game, and through 200, which meant they'd pretty much won. Now, it was just a case of whether Exeter could reach the repechage. A slip-up didn't help, but then two starters in a row bought them within five, and two bonuses bought them on to the board. The final starter of the game saw Exeter lose five points again and fall onto the sidelines, and that was the gong; U.C.L. won 230-140.
A very pleasant match between two very pleasant teams. Well done to U.C.L., and best of luck in the next round! Bad luck to Exeter, who did very respectably, and are now on the repechage sidelines with L.S.E. on 140 each; which of the two will survive in the event of a tie is anyone's guess, both achieving their total via nine starters, and the number of starters needed is usually the breaker. We shall have to wait and see if such an adjudication is needed; it will be the first time in years if one is.
Andrew Brueton's great buzzer run saw him finish the night with seven starters, while Jeffrey Sage was best for Exeter with four. On the bonuses, U.C.L. converted a very good 24 out of 33, and Exeter a respectable 13 out of 27 (with three penalties).
Safely through to the repechage: Open (190)
Next week's match: Brasenose College Oxford vs Durham
As for Only Connect, who was on it tonight, but our old friend Filip Drnovsek Zorko! I won't spoil how well he and his colleagues did, but good to see our man on screen again!
University College London, or U.C.L., is the largest college of the University of London, founded in 1826. Alumni include Alexander Graham Bell, Christopher Nolan and all of Coldplay. It has regularly sent teams in the revived series, last sending a team two years ago, who finished runners-up to Manchester. Hoping to go one better this year were:
Bethany Drew, from Surrey, studying English Literature
Andrew Brueton, from London, studying Law
Captain: Thomas Halliday, from Edinburgh, studying Vertebrate Paleantology
Harold Gunnarsson, studying Geomatic Engineering
Exeter University began life in the 19th century, and became a university in 1955. It has three campuses, two in Exeter, one in Falmouth in Cornwall. Alumni include JK Rowling and Will Young. It last sent a team to UC last year, losing a low scoring first round match to Cardiff; two years ago, they also lost in the first round to, er, U.C.L.. Hoping for revenge tonight were:
Harry Heath, from Bromsgrove in Worcestershire, studying History
Katie Barry, from Epsom in Surrey, studying Biochemistry
Captain: Jeffrey Sage, from Louisville, Kentucky, studying Arab and Islamic Studies
Rick Harmes, from Looe in Cornwall, studying Politics
Off we set again then, and things flew pretty evenly first, with Harold Gunnarsson quickly getting the first starter, and Harry Heath getting the second equally promptly. The teams swapped a second pair of starters, and got two bonuses from each set. The first picture round, on national emblems depicting landscapes, went to Exeter after the starter was dropped; this gave them a lead of 55-45.
U.C.L. took the next starter, and took two on a set of bonuses on the Noughties, unluckily missing the third. Exeter were unlucky with their next set of bonuses, not giving the answer they gave for the first bonus for the second, when it was right! They made up for it by taking the next starter. At this stage, both the starters and the bonuses seemed to be falling well for both teams.
The music round, on tracks by composers who served in World War One, went to U.C.L., which allowed them to level the scores 85-all. Andrew Brueton, who had been quiet for the first half of the match, now began a good run on the buzzer, which saw him get six starters in a row! The bonuses seemed to be falling for the side too, and they began to open up a big lead. Jeffrey Sage was right to try and jump in early on the next starter, but all he did was lose his team five points, and hand Mr Brueton a fifth starter in a row.
The second picture round, on paintings depicting weddings, went to U.C.L., and they had now opened up a lead of 190-80. Jeffrey Sage finally broke Exeter back into the game, and the side took a full set of bonuses which bought them up to three figures, and into the hunt of the repechage. A second starter and one bonus bought them within 25 points of a place on the board.
Andrew Brueton bought U.C.L. back into the game, and through 200, which meant they'd pretty much won. Now, it was just a case of whether Exeter could reach the repechage. A slip-up didn't help, but then two starters in a row bought them within five, and two bonuses bought them on to the board. The final starter of the game saw Exeter lose five points again and fall onto the sidelines, and that was the gong; U.C.L. won 230-140.
A very pleasant match between two very pleasant teams. Well done to U.C.L., and best of luck in the next round! Bad luck to Exeter, who did very respectably, and are now on the repechage sidelines with L.S.E. on 140 each; which of the two will survive in the event of a tie is anyone's guess, both achieving their total via nine starters, and the number of starters needed is usually the breaker. We shall have to wait and see if such an adjudication is needed; it will be the first time in years if one is.
Andrew Brueton's great buzzer run saw him finish the night with seven starters, while Jeffrey Sage was best for Exeter with four. On the bonuses, U.C.L. converted a very good 24 out of 33, and Exeter a respectable 13 out of 27 (with three penalties).
Safely through to the repechage: Open (190)
Next week's match: Brasenose College Oxford vs Durham
As for Only Connect, who was on it tonight, but our old friend Filip Drnovsek Zorko! I won't spoil how well he and his colleagues did, but good to see our man on screen again!
Monday 22 September 2014
University Challenge 2014-15: Round 1: Match 10: Trinity vs St Andrews
Evening all. Sorry for the slight delay this evening; something went wrong with my digibox half way through the show, so I've had to use the iPlayer instead, which will mean a shorter than usual review this week I'm afraid. I'll try to give as much detail as a I can though.
Trinity College Cambridge was founded during Henry VIII's reign following the merger of two 14th century institutions. Alumni include Sir Isaac Newton, Lord Byron and Sean Blanchflower, owner of the unofficial UC stat site and part of the team that won UC in 1995. They also won in 1974, and, of course, last year, under the watchful eye of our friend Filip Drnovsek Zorko, aka opaltiger. This year's quartet were:
Matthew Willetts, from London, studying Physics
Claire Hall, from Greenwich in London, studying Classics
Captain: Hugh Bennett, from London, studying Chemistry
Aled Walker, from Birmingham, studying Maths
St Andrews University is the oldest university in Scotland, founded in 1413. Alumni include Wills and Kate, Sir Chris Hoy, and some chap called Alex Salmond, whoever he is. It last sent a team to UC two series ago, where they lost a low scoring first round match to our old friends Bangor. Tonight's team had, pleasingly, come in their red gowns; they were:
Lewis Fairfax, from Cramlington in Northumberland, studying French and Russian
Will Kew, from Aboyne in Aberdeenshire, studying Chemistry
Captain: Jamie Perriam, from Edinburgh, studying English
James Adams, from Linlithgow, studying Physics
Off we set then; Trinity were first off the mark, but only took one bonus. St Andrews followed, but they took no bonuses, and then lost half their points due to a slip up. Trinity came back in, and again just took one bonus. The first picture round, on US cities and their major sporting teams, went to St Andrews, but they still trailed 30-20.
St Andrews then took two starters in a row, which was enough to bring them into the lead despite not getting much from the bonuses. They managed to eke slightly into the lead, but Trinity fought back, and, after getting two bonuses, took the lead back again. Neither side seemed to be doing very well on the bonuses at this stage, and starters were being dropped too, hence rather low scores.
The music round asked for the literary figure that inspired the artist to write the track played; neither side knew it was JG Ballard, and a guess of Philip Larkin from Trinity caused much laughter! Three starters were dropped before St Andrews took the bonuses, on more songs inspired by Ballard's work. They now led 65-50, but neither side really had much in the way of momentum at the moment, both sides generally getting no more than two bonuses per set.
The second picture round, on paintings by French artists from the late 19th century, went to Trinity, but no bonuses meant they still trailed 85-75. Now, though, the Cambridge side began a late sprint on the buzzer, and the bonuses finally fell for them, as they took a full set to break three figures. St Andrews got back into the game, and they too made it to three figures.
But when Matthew Willetts identified the tulip, that was probably game over. A slip up from St Andrews seemed to confirm this, and Trinity taking the starter did confirm it. At the gong, Trinity won 150-100.
A rather slow match throughout really. Bad luck to St Andrews, who did lead for a large part of the match, but well done to them anyway. Well done Trinity, but I feel they'll need to play better next time if they're going to make the QFs; we'll see how they fare.
Matthew Willetts was Trinity's best buzzer, with four starters, while Lewis Fairfax, likewise, got four for St Andrews. On the bonuses, Trinity converted 12 out of 25, and St Andrews 8 out of 21 (with two penalties). A low scoring week, and a large number of dropped starters didn't help matters.
Next week's match: U.C.L. vs Exeter
Only Connect continued on it's way tonight with a team of QI researchers or 'Elves' participating! For a good review of the match, may I recommend 'Cheaper than a Ferrari', a blog run by Stuart Hern who captained the Welsh Learners in the last series of OC.
Trinity College Cambridge was founded during Henry VIII's reign following the merger of two 14th century institutions. Alumni include Sir Isaac Newton, Lord Byron and Sean Blanchflower, owner of the unofficial UC stat site and part of the team that won UC in 1995. They also won in 1974, and, of course, last year, under the watchful eye of our friend Filip Drnovsek Zorko, aka opaltiger. This year's quartet were:
Matthew Willetts, from London, studying Physics
Claire Hall, from Greenwich in London, studying Classics
Captain: Hugh Bennett, from London, studying Chemistry
Aled Walker, from Birmingham, studying Maths
St Andrews University is the oldest university in Scotland, founded in 1413. Alumni include Wills and Kate, Sir Chris Hoy, and some chap called Alex Salmond, whoever he is. It last sent a team to UC two series ago, where they lost a low scoring first round match to our old friends Bangor. Tonight's team had, pleasingly, come in their red gowns; they were:
Lewis Fairfax, from Cramlington in Northumberland, studying French and Russian
Will Kew, from Aboyne in Aberdeenshire, studying Chemistry
Captain: Jamie Perriam, from Edinburgh, studying English
James Adams, from Linlithgow, studying Physics
Off we set then; Trinity were first off the mark, but only took one bonus. St Andrews followed, but they took no bonuses, and then lost half their points due to a slip up. Trinity came back in, and again just took one bonus. The first picture round, on US cities and their major sporting teams, went to St Andrews, but they still trailed 30-20.
St Andrews then took two starters in a row, which was enough to bring them into the lead despite not getting much from the bonuses. They managed to eke slightly into the lead, but Trinity fought back, and, after getting two bonuses, took the lead back again. Neither side seemed to be doing very well on the bonuses at this stage, and starters were being dropped too, hence rather low scores.
The music round asked for the literary figure that inspired the artist to write the track played; neither side knew it was JG Ballard, and a guess of Philip Larkin from Trinity caused much laughter! Three starters were dropped before St Andrews took the bonuses, on more songs inspired by Ballard's work. They now led 65-50, but neither side really had much in the way of momentum at the moment, both sides generally getting no more than two bonuses per set.
The second picture round, on paintings by French artists from the late 19th century, went to Trinity, but no bonuses meant they still trailed 85-75. Now, though, the Cambridge side began a late sprint on the buzzer, and the bonuses finally fell for them, as they took a full set to break three figures. St Andrews got back into the game, and they too made it to three figures.
But when Matthew Willetts identified the tulip, that was probably game over. A slip up from St Andrews seemed to confirm this, and Trinity taking the starter did confirm it. At the gong, Trinity won 150-100.
A rather slow match throughout really. Bad luck to St Andrews, who did lead for a large part of the match, but well done to them anyway. Well done Trinity, but I feel they'll need to play better next time if they're going to make the QFs; we'll see how they fare.
Matthew Willetts was Trinity's best buzzer, with four starters, while Lewis Fairfax, likewise, got four for St Andrews. On the bonuses, Trinity converted 12 out of 25, and St Andrews 8 out of 21 (with two penalties). A low scoring week, and a large number of dropped starters didn't help matters.
Next week's match: U.C.L. vs Exeter
Only Connect continued on it's way tonight with a team of QI researchers or 'Elves' participating! For a good review of the match, may I recommend 'Cheaper than a Ferrari', a blog run by Stuart Hern who captained the Welsh Learners in the last series of OC.
Monday 15 September 2014
University Challenge 2014-15: Round 1: Match 9: Leicester vs Open
Evening all. Been a tough day for me here, but I won't bore you with the details. The task for tonight's two teams was simple: win, or, failing that, lose with a high score; a score above 130 would push Sheffield off the repechage, currently topped by Manchester on 160.
Leicester University was founded in 1921 as a university college intended as a WW1 memorial, and became a university in 1957. Alumni include writers CP Snow and Malcolm Jennings. A team from the uni won the very first series of UC back in 1962; it last appeared in 2004-05, where they got as far as the second round. This year's quartet were:
John O'Doherty, from Portsmouth, studying Medicine
Adam Brown, from Solihull, studying Mechanical Engineering
Captain: Robert Greenhill, from Leicester, studying Humanities and Arts
Nadal al Masri, from Leicester, studying History
The Open University was the brainchild of Harold Wilson, who set to work organising it on assuming office in 1964, but it didn't start enrolling students until 1971. It now has around 250,000 students across Britain; alumni include Sheila Hancock and Lenny Henry. It hasn't been seen on UC since winning it in 1999, a feat it also achieved in 1984. Tonight's team were:
Danielle Gibney, from Amsterdam, studying Social Sciences
Stuart Taylor, from Stratford-upon-Avon, studying Development Managemant
Captain: Lynne Jones, from Bolton, studying Languages and History
Kate Law, from Sutherland in the Highlands, studying Engineering
Off we set then, and Open were first off the mark, and took two bonuses on coal. Leicester followed shortly afterwards, and also took two bonuses, a feat they repeated with the next starter and bonuses. The first picture round, on British lakes formed by glaciation, went to Open, and they, again, took two bonuses, which left the scores ties 40-all.
Leicester took the next starter, and went one better than the prior bonus sets, getting all three (two of which Mr Greenhill got on his own). The Midlanders now began to build up a head of steam on the buzzer, and began to pull away somewhat. They were helped by the fact that they generally seemed to be taking the bonuses as well, which is a sign of a good team.
The music starter saw Kate Law identify Rod Stewart, much to her embarrassment! The bonuses, on tracks by Scottish artists used in GTA games, saw Open take all three, which cut the gap to 130-65. Much work was still to be done, and they seemed to be doing it, as two starters in a row and a couple of bonuses bought them back into the game. But then Leicester regained the momentum, taking two starters and two full bonus sets to take them further away.
The second picture starter saw Robert Greenhill quickly identify the late Ted Heath, and then polish off the bonuses, on US presidents engaged in hobbies, with no help from his colleagues! His side now led by 205-95, but the way the bonuses were falling for both sides, that might not have been insurmountable. As if to prove that, Open took the next two starters, and two bonuses from both sets, which was sufficient to push Sheffield off the repechage.
But Open weren't going to stop there; two more starters fell to them, and those coupled with the resultant bonuses took them above Manchester's 160 and within 35 points. Adam Brown promptly bought Leicester back into the game, and a full set of bonuses confirmed that they probably couldn't be caught now. Open tried hard though, but just couldn't make up the ground. At the gong, Leicester won 245-190.
What a brilliant match; best of the series so far by a long way. Both teams were great, and both totally deserve to come back. Bad luck to Open, but they were brilliant, and will most definitely be back in the repechage. Well done to Leicester, and best of luck next time! They could be a team to watch, methinks.
Robert Greenhill was the night's best buzzer, with four starters, while Lynne Jones and Kate Law were joint best for Open with three each. On the bonuses, Leicester converted an absolutely tremendous 27 out of 31, and Open a very respectable 19 out of 30 (with one late penalty). A great pair of showings there; both show great promise for the later stages.
Next week's match: Trinity College Cambridge vs St Andrews
Only Connect continued on its way on BBC2, with a team of Gilbert and Sullivan fanatics meeting a team of Doctor Who fanatics (sadly, they were not called the 'Whovians').
Leicester University was founded in 1921 as a university college intended as a WW1 memorial, and became a university in 1957. Alumni include writers CP Snow and Malcolm Jennings. A team from the uni won the very first series of UC back in 1962; it last appeared in 2004-05, where they got as far as the second round. This year's quartet were:
John O'Doherty, from Portsmouth, studying Medicine
Adam Brown, from Solihull, studying Mechanical Engineering
Captain: Robert Greenhill, from Leicester, studying Humanities and Arts
Nadal al Masri, from Leicester, studying History
The Open University was the brainchild of Harold Wilson, who set to work organising it on assuming office in 1964, but it didn't start enrolling students until 1971. It now has around 250,000 students across Britain; alumni include Sheila Hancock and Lenny Henry. It hasn't been seen on UC since winning it in 1999, a feat it also achieved in 1984. Tonight's team were:
Danielle Gibney, from Amsterdam, studying Social Sciences
Stuart Taylor, from Stratford-upon-Avon, studying Development Managemant
Captain: Lynne Jones, from Bolton, studying Languages and History
Kate Law, from Sutherland in the Highlands, studying Engineering
Off we set then, and Open were first off the mark, and took two bonuses on coal. Leicester followed shortly afterwards, and also took two bonuses, a feat they repeated with the next starter and bonuses. The first picture round, on British lakes formed by glaciation, went to Open, and they, again, took two bonuses, which left the scores ties 40-all.
Leicester took the next starter, and went one better than the prior bonus sets, getting all three (two of which Mr Greenhill got on his own). The Midlanders now began to build up a head of steam on the buzzer, and began to pull away somewhat. They were helped by the fact that they generally seemed to be taking the bonuses as well, which is a sign of a good team.
The music starter saw Kate Law identify Rod Stewart, much to her embarrassment! The bonuses, on tracks by Scottish artists used in GTA games, saw Open take all three, which cut the gap to 130-65. Much work was still to be done, and they seemed to be doing it, as two starters in a row and a couple of bonuses bought them back into the game. But then Leicester regained the momentum, taking two starters and two full bonus sets to take them further away.
The second picture starter saw Robert Greenhill quickly identify the late Ted Heath, and then polish off the bonuses, on US presidents engaged in hobbies, with no help from his colleagues! His side now led by 205-95, but the way the bonuses were falling for both sides, that might not have been insurmountable. As if to prove that, Open took the next two starters, and two bonuses from both sets, which was sufficient to push Sheffield off the repechage.
But Open weren't going to stop there; two more starters fell to them, and those coupled with the resultant bonuses took them above Manchester's 160 and within 35 points. Adam Brown promptly bought Leicester back into the game, and a full set of bonuses confirmed that they probably couldn't be caught now. Open tried hard though, but just couldn't make up the ground. At the gong, Leicester won 245-190.
What a brilliant match; best of the series so far by a long way. Both teams were great, and both totally deserve to come back. Bad luck to Open, but they were brilliant, and will most definitely be back in the repechage. Well done to Leicester, and best of luck next time! They could be a team to watch, methinks.
Robert Greenhill was the night's best buzzer, with four starters, while Lynne Jones and Kate Law were joint best for Open with three each. On the bonuses, Leicester converted an absolutely tremendous 27 out of 31, and Open a very respectable 19 out of 30 (with one late penalty). A great pair of showings there; both show great promise for the later stages.
Next week's match: Trinity College Cambridge vs St Andrews
Only Connect continued on its way on BBC2, with a team of Gilbert and Sullivan fanatics meeting a team of Doctor Who fanatics (sadly, they were not called the 'Whovians').
Monday 8 September 2014
University Challenge 2014-15: Round 1: Match 8: Bath vs Glasgow
Evening all. So, we're half way through the first round heats, and seven teams are safe. The repechage board is also full, with Manchester at the top on 160, and last week's runners-up, Sheffield, bottom on 130. A losing score today above that would remove them; a tying of it would put both on the sidelines, as William G. Stewart would say.
Bath University was originally a trade school in Bristol, and moved to Bath in 1963, becoming a plate-glass university shortly afterwards. Alumni include weatherman Bill Giles and ex Sainsbury's boss Justin King. Its UC teams have not fared well in recent years, sending either decent teams who get drawn against really good teams (2008-09 and 2011-12), or rather average teams (2012-13 and last year). Hoping for a good showing tonight were:
Phil Herbert, from Harrogate, studying Computer Science and Maths
Scott Kemp, from Hertford, studying Maths
Captain: Miles Thomas, from London, studying Maths
Henry Rackley, from Cirencester in Gloucestershire, studying Chemistry
Glasgow University is the second oldest in Scotland, after St Andrews, founded in 1451. Alumni include economist Adam Smith, TV inventor John Logie Baird and Lib Dem MPs Vince Cable, Sir Menzies Campbell and Charles Kennedy. It last sent a team to UC way back in 2004-05, where they lost a low scoring first round match to local rivals Edinburgh. This year's quartet were:
Jonathan Gillan, from Inverness, studying Classics
Christina McGuire, from Glasgow, studying Chemistry
Captain: Daniel Hill, from Cupar in Fife, studying Archaeology and History
Erin White, from Edinburgh, studying Genetics
Incidentally, I wonder if Scottish unis will still be allowed to enter UC if there's a Yes vote next week.
Off we set again then, and Glasgow struck first, with Miss McGuire getting the first two starters, and only one bonus was wrongly answered from those six. The Scots maintained their buzzer advantage throughout the early stages, and after the first picture round, on album listings with the title track removed, they led 75-0.
Bath needed to get a move on, but all they could respond with was a slip-up. They soon made up for it through, getting their first starter, only to losing a third of their score to another slip-up. Glasgow recovered and reclaimed their advantage, moving further ahead. Bath got a second starter, and took two bonuses, unluckily missing the third.
The music round, on trios of songs whose performers are linked by places in the States, went to Glasgow; in all three cases, they got the answer from the first track, but chose to wait and hear all three first! Their lead now stood at 120-30. Another starter followed, taking the lead to 100 points; no bonuses followed, but that didn't really matter at that moment. Bath got back into the game with the next starter, but no bonuses from a rather tricky set followed.
The second picture round, on depictions of WW1 world leaders, went to Glasgow, and their lead grew to 165-40. It looked like game over as a contest, meaning Bath were playing for pride. A suggestion that Ben Nevis is in Yorkshire got them nowhere, but Miles Thomas then began a run on the buzzer which saw him get three starters in a row, which lifted the side into three figures, and within touching distance of the repechage.
Glasgow recovered back into the game, and took all three bonuses, which only served to confirm their victory. Most of the remaining starters went to Bath, but they couldn't quite acquire the points to push Sheffield off the repechage. At the gong, Glasgow won 190-120.
Well done Glasgow on a reasonably good first showing, and best of luck to them for next time. Bad luck to Bath, who recovered well late on, but just couldn't quite make up the required scores; well done to them on a fair showing anyway.
Miles Thomas' impressive late run saw him emerge the night's best buzzer, with five starters (all of them achieved in the final quarter), while Daniel Hill was best for Glasgow with four; all eight players got at least one starter correct, which is good. On the bonuses, Bath converted a respectable 10 out of 23 (with two penalties) and Glasgow a rather good 18 out of 30.
Next week's match: Leicester vs the Open University
As for Only Connect, in its second week on BBC2, it also saw a previously defeated side from a previous series reappear for a second time for the first time, something I'd always presumed was not allowed. Maybe they were short on teams for the expanded format.
Bath University was originally a trade school in Bristol, and moved to Bath in 1963, becoming a plate-glass university shortly afterwards. Alumni include weatherman Bill Giles and ex Sainsbury's boss Justin King. Its UC teams have not fared well in recent years, sending either decent teams who get drawn against really good teams (2008-09 and 2011-12), or rather average teams (2012-13 and last year). Hoping for a good showing tonight were:
Phil Herbert, from Harrogate, studying Computer Science and Maths
Scott Kemp, from Hertford, studying Maths
Captain: Miles Thomas, from London, studying Maths
Henry Rackley, from Cirencester in Gloucestershire, studying Chemistry
Glasgow University is the second oldest in Scotland, after St Andrews, founded in 1451. Alumni include economist Adam Smith, TV inventor John Logie Baird and Lib Dem MPs Vince Cable, Sir Menzies Campbell and Charles Kennedy. It last sent a team to UC way back in 2004-05, where they lost a low scoring first round match to local rivals Edinburgh. This year's quartet were:
Jonathan Gillan, from Inverness, studying Classics
Christina McGuire, from Glasgow, studying Chemistry
Captain: Daniel Hill, from Cupar in Fife, studying Archaeology and History
Erin White, from Edinburgh, studying Genetics
Incidentally, I wonder if Scottish unis will still be allowed to enter UC if there's a Yes vote next week.
Off we set again then, and Glasgow struck first, with Miss McGuire getting the first two starters, and only one bonus was wrongly answered from those six. The Scots maintained their buzzer advantage throughout the early stages, and after the first picture round, on album listings with the title track removed, they led 75-0.
Bath needed to get a move on, but all they could respond with was a slip-up. They soon made up for it through, getting their first starter, only to losing a third of their score to another slip-up. Glasgow recovered and reclaimed their advantage, moving further ahead. Bath got a second starter, and took two bonuses, unluckily missing the third.
The music round, on trios of songs whose performers are linked by places in the States, went to Glasgow; in all three cases, they got the answer from the first track, but chose to wait and hear all three first! Their lead now stood at 120-30. Another starter followed, taking the lead to 100 points; no bonuses followed, but that didn't really matter at that moment. Bath got back into the game with the next starter, but no bonuses from a rather tricky set followed.
The second picture round, on depictions of WW1 world leaders, went to Glasgow, and their lead grew to 165-40. It looked like game over as a contest, meaning Bath were playing for pride. A suggestion that Ben Nevis is in Yorkshire got them nowhere, but Miles Thomas then began a run on the buzzer which saw him get three starters in a row, which lifted the side into three figures, and within touching distance of the repechage.
Glasgow recovered back into the game, and took all three bonuses, which only served to confirm their victory. Most of the remaining starters went to Bath, but they couldn't quite acquire the points to push Sheffield off the repechage. At the gong, Glasgow won 190-120.
Well done Glasgow on a reasonably good first showing, and best of luck to them for next time. Bad luck to Bath, who recovered well late on, but just couldn't quite make up the required scores; well done to them on a fair showing anyway.
Miles Thomas' impressive late run saw him emerge the night's best buzzer, with five starters (all of them achieved in the final quarter), while Daniel Hill was best for Glasgow with four; all eight players got at least one starter correct, which is good. On the bonuses, Bath converted a respectable 10 out of 23 (with two penalties) and Glasgow a rather good 18 out of 30.
Next week's match: Leicester vs the Open University
As for Only Connect, in its second week on BBC2, it also saw a previously defeated side from a previous series reappear for a second time for the first time, something I'd always presumed was not allowed. Maybe they were short on teams for the expanded format.
Monday 1 September 2014
University Challenge 2014-15: Round 1: Match 7: Liverpool vs Sheffield
Evening all. Rather tiring day for me, as I have begun a year long internship at Aberdeen University, where I'll be working for the coming term. As I'm technically staff rather than student, I won't be trying to put a UC team together I'm afraid, but I may see if I can drum up interest somehow. Anyway, on with tonight's show.
Liverpool University was founded in 1881 as a university college; the building material used in its construction gave rise to the term 'red brick university'. Alumni include Lytton Strachey and Nick Grimshaw. The uni sent a side last year, who trounced Keele in the first round, but couldn't maintain enough of that form for Round 2, where they surprisingly lost to Cardiff. This year's quartet were:
Ben Mawdsley, from Southport, studying Astrophysics
Jim Davis, from Gullane near Edinburgh, studying Tropical Disease Biology
Captain: Dachman Crew, from Liverpool, studying Biochemistry
Hugh Hiscock, from Southampton, studying French
Sheffield University was also founded as a university college, in 1897, and became a university in 1905. Alumni include Hilary Mantel, Eddie Izzard, David Blunkett MP and my uncle Tom. It last sent a team back in 2010-11, which included LAM readers Andy Bolton, Tristam Cole and Hugh 'HughTube' Bennett; they reached the semis before surprisingly losing to York. This year's team were:
Andrew Trueman, from Hartlepool, studying Medicine
Nathaniel Aspray, from Basingstoke, studying Medicine
Captain: Jonathan Cunliffe, from Solihull, studying Medicine
Claire Greenwood, from Bedford, studying Medicine
Paxo helpfully informed us that Mr Cunliffe was Mr Aspray's best man at his wedding!
Off we set again then, and it was Mr Hiscock who struck first, and his side took two of the resultant bonuses. Sheffield followed shortly afterwards, but they could only manage one of theirs. Liverpool seemed to do better in the early stages; after the first picture round, on tournament trees of Wimbledon singles tournaments, the Merseysiders led 50-15.
Sheffield fought back with the next starter, but only got one bonus on cricket, which Mr Cunliffe admitted to knowing little about! Liverpool were soon back in command though, and took a full set of bonuses on relative sizes of EU nations through, what may have been, a series of guesses. They were definitely guessing on a later set on holograms; when asked for a Russian physicist, they could only come up with 'Vladimir Putin'!
The music round, on classical pieces featured in the Die Hard film trilogy, went to Liverpool, and their lead now stood at 120-30. Sheffield needed to get moving again, and did so with a question on their home subject of medicine; one bonus on HTML colours followed. But Liverpool weren't going to let them back in, and took two on a set of bonuses on paradoxes, including the amusingly named 'Trigger's broom' paradox!
The second picture round, on musicians portrayed in films, went to Sheffield, but they couldn't convert any of the bonuses, which meant their deficit now stood at 140-55. Now, though, the Steelmen began to build up a head of steam on the buzzer, and began to eat away into the deficit. Though they didn't seem to be converting many bonuses, the starters alone were enough to pull them back within touching distance.
With just minutes to play, Sheffield had broken 100 and cut the gap to just 20, and an unlikely come-from-behind win looked possible. But Jim Davis thought otherwise, and took another starter to give Liverpool more breathing space. Just one bonus followed, but when the next starter was dropped, it looked like it would do. Sheffield managed the final starter, but couldn't go any further; at the gong, Liverpool won 155-130.
A match that moved slowly most of the way through, then picked up late on. Bad luck to Sheffield, whose score will probably not be enough for the repechage, but we shall wait and see; a fair performance nonetheless. Well done to Liverpool, but they may need to up their game next time; best of luck to them for that next time.
Hugh Hiscock was the best buzzer of the night, getting six starters for Liverpool, while Messrs Trueman and Aspray got three each for Sheffield. On the bonuses, Liverpool converted 13 out of 27, and Sheffield just 8 out of 25, which is what lost them the game. There were no penalties again though, which is good.
Next week's match: Bath vs Glasgow
Also tonight, Only Connect began its much anticipated BBC2 run. Didn't see a great deal of the match, but it will be interesting to see how the UC QF system, apparently still being used, will work with double the amount of shows.
Liverpool University was founded in 1881 as a university college; the building material used in its construction gave rise to the term 'red brick university'. Alumni include Lytton Strachey and Nick Grimshaw. The uni sent a side last year, who trounced Keele in the first round, but couldn't maintain enough of that form for Round 2, where they surprisingly lost to Cardiff. This year's quartet were:
Ben Mawdsley, from Southport, studying Astrophysics
Jim Davis, from Gullane near Edinburgh, studying Tropical Disease Biology
Captain: Dachman Crew, from Liverpool, studying Biochemistry
Hugh Hiscock, from Southampton, studying French
Sheffield University was also founded as a university college, in 1897, and became a university in 1905. Alumni include Hilary Mantel, Eddie Izzard, David Blunkett MP and my uncle Tom. It last sent a team back in 2010-11, which included LAM readers Andy Bolton, Tristam Cole and Hugh 'HughTube' Bennett; they reached the semis before surprisingly losing to York. This year's team were:
Andrew Trueman, from Hartlepool, studying Medicine
Nathaniel Aspray, from Basingstoke, studying Medicine
Captain: Jonathan Cunliffe, from Solihull, studying Medicine
Claire Greenwood, from Bedford, studying Medicine
Paxo helpfully informed us that Mr Cunliffe was Mr Aspray's best man at his wedding!
Off we set again then, and it was Mr Hiscock who struck first, and his side took two of the resultant bonuses. Sheffield followed shortly afterwards, but they could only manage one of theirs. Liverpool seemed to do better in the early stages; after the first picture round, on tournament trees of Wimbledon singles tournaments, the Merseysiders led 50-15.
Sheffield fought back with the next starter, but only got one bonus on cricket, which Mr Cunliffe admitted to knowing little about! Liverpool were soon back in command though, and took a full set of bonuses on relative sizes of EU nations through, what may have been, a series of guesses. They were definitely guessing on a later set on holograms; when asked for a Russian physicist, they could only come up with 'Vladimir Putin'!
The music round, on classical pieces featured in the Die Hard film trilogy, went to Liverpool, and their lead now stood at 120-30. Sheffield needed to get moving again, and did so with a question on their home subject of medicine; one bonus on HTML colours followed. But Liverpool weren't going to let them back in, and took two on a set of bonuses on paradoxes, including the amusingly named 'Trigger's broom' paradox!
The second picture round, on musicians portrayed in films, went to Sheffield, but they couldn't convert any of the bonuses, which meant their deficit now stood at 140-55. Now, though, the Steelmen began to build up a head of steam on the buzzer, and began to eat away into the deficit. Though they didn't seem to be converting many bonuses, the starters alone were enough to pull them back within touching distance.
With just minutes to play, Sheffield had broken 100 and cut the gap to just 20, and an unlikely come-from-behind win looked possible. But Jim Davis thought otherwise, and took another starter to give Liverpool more breathing space. Just one bonus followed, but when the next starter was dropped, it looked like it would do. Sheffield managed the final starter, but couldn't go any further; at the gong, Liverpool won 155-130.
A match that moved slowly most of the way through, then picked up late on. Bad luck to Sheffield, whose score will probably not be enough for the repechage, but we shall wait and see; a fair performance nonetheless. Well done to Liverpool, but they may need to up their game next time; best of luck to them for that next time.
Hugh Hiscock was the best buzzer of the night, getting six starters for Liverpool, while Messrs Trueman and Aspray got three each for Sheffield. On the bonuses, Liverpool converted 13 out of 27, and Sheffield just 8 out of 25, which is what lost them the game. There were no penalties again though, which is good.
Next week's match: Bath vs Glasgow
Also tonight, Only Connect began its much anticipated BBC2 run. Didn't see a great deal of the match, but it will be interesting to see how the UC QF system, apparently still being used, will work with double the amount of shows.
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