OK, so now we've met all the teams in this year's teams, we've sorted them out in the preliminary matches, now we need to lose four and put four into the QFs. Playing tonight were two teams who lost their first match: the Polyglots, Dan Shane, Vicki Sunter and Lyndsay Coo, were unlucky to lose to the Yorkers in their first match, while the Operational Researchers, Paul Allen, Clare Lynch and Alex Hill, were more comfortably beaten by the Cluesmiths in their's.
Round 1. The Polyglots went first, and began with Eye of Horus: 'SP: 23.12', then 'D: 74.08', then 'H: 86.74' and finally 'J: 98.48'. No answer came, and their opponents were none the wiser. They are the current men's athletic field records. (Shot put, discus, hammer, javelin) The Researchers began with 'Horn-ed' Viper, and got the picture round: we saw a still from a play I don't recognise, then some horse racing, then some tacos and finally a sign for Costa Coffee. They didn't get it, nor did their opponents. They are all anagrams of each other (the play being the opera Tosca, and the horses representing Ascot). The Polyglots chose Twisted Flax next: 'Omelete', then 'Fritata', and they immediately offered 'they should have two Ts'. It was allowed: the other clues were 'diarhoea' and 'mising', so it was just missing double letters, but they were close enough. The Researchers chose Water next: 'Morocco Mole', then 'Akbar and Jeff', then 'Last-but-one Doctor' and finally 'the Shopkeeper in Mr Benn'. They didn't get it, nor did their opponents, though they both came close. They all wore fezes. The Polyglots moved on to Two Reeds, and got the music round: didn't recognise the first tune, did the second but didn't know what it was, the third was 'Don't You Love Me' by the Human League, and the last was Fairytale of New York. They didn't know it, their opponents did: they are all songs about couples arguing. (The tracks I didn't know were 'Shut Up' by the Black Eyed Peas, and 'Jackson' by Johnny Cash. The Researchers were left with Lion: 'The Pirate Planet', then 'Starship Titanic', then 'Last Chance to See' and finally 'h2g2'. They didn't get it, but their opponents offered 'Douglas Adams', which was the correct link, them all being creations of his. At the end of the round, the Polyglots led 4-1.
Round 2, What Comes Fourth? The Polyglots kicked off with two reeds, and got the picture set: we saw Freddie Mercury, with a zero in the corner, then the Venus de Milo, also with a zero in the corner; they buzzed, and offered 'Bruno Mars'. Agonisingly, this was not enough. The Researchers saw the third clue, a pile of earth, with a one in the corner, offered 'Bruno Mars, with a two in the corner'. That's it! They are representations of the planets, and the numbers represent the number of moons they have. Good question and horribly unlucky miss. For their own question, the Researchers chose Eye of Horus: 'ADT', then 'NutraSweet', and then 'Flora'. They offered 'Virgin'; correct, they are the sponsors of the London Marathon in order. The Polyglots chose Twisted Flax: 'Milton', then 'Hope', and then 'New Haven'. They didn't get it, nor did their opponents, though they had a reasonable idea. They are the birth places of US presidents Bush Sr, Clinton and Bush Jr, so Obama's birthplace of 'Honolulu' would complete the set. The Researchers chose Lion next: 'Narnia chronicler', then 'Body scan'; they spotted these to be 'CS' and 'CT', and thus offered 'CV' for three points. Good call. For their final choice, the Polyglots chose Water: 'Imprisonment/death of family member (4/43)', then 'Marital separation (3/43), and then 'Divorce (2/43)'. Neither side knew it. I guessed 'Death of husband/wife (1/43)', which was correct, albeit not for the reason I though. They are the most stressful life events, according to a survey from the 1960s. Left with Horned Viper, the Researchers got a rare music sequence question. The first was one of my favourite songs, New Order's 'World in Motion', the second was 'We've Got the Whole World at our Feet', so it was clearly England World Cup songs going backwards. They offered 'Back Home', which was correct. At the end of the second round, the Researchers had turned the game on its head, and led 10-4.
On to the walls. The Researchers went first, and chose the Lion wall. They spotted some links immediately, and quickly isolated 'Queen Mary', 'Goldsmiths', 'Birkbeck' and 'SOAS', which, as UC regulars will know, are colleges of the University of London. The second set followed: 'Telford', 'Oswestry', 'Wem' and 'Ludlow', which are places in Shropshire. They immediately untangled the remaining sets: 'Smeaton', 'Rennie', 'Brunel' and 'Bazalgette' are engineers, while 'Gaviscon', 'Setlers', 'Zantac' and 'Tums' are antacid medicines. A well solved full ten points.
The Polyglots had some work to do, as they tackled the Water wall. They two spent some time looking for sets, and eventually worked two out: 'Bandana', 'Chutney', 'Pyjamas' and 'Pashmina' are words originating from Hindi, while 'Ascot', 'Fichu', 'Cravat' and 'Kerchief' are types of necktie. They had a look over the remaining groups, spotted one set, but couldn't work the groups out, and ran out of lives. They thus had to collect bonus group points: 'Titus Andronicus', 'Mrs Lovett', 'Mrs Miggins' and 'Pukka' are pie makers, which they eventually spotted when pushed, while 'The Red Queen', 'Bellatrix Lestrange', 'Mrs Bucket' and 'Ophelia' have all been portrayed by Helena Bonham-Carter, which they knew already. So, six points meant the Researchers led 20-10 going into Missing Vowels.
The Polyglots would have to totally run the show from now on to stand any chance of catching up. 'Novels by Thomas Pynchon' saw both sides totally stumped, with the Researchers taking the only point of the round with the only buzz. (The round did include the very unfair answer of 'V'!) 'Things a satnav might say' was split 2-all. 'BBC series that have been running for 25 years or more' went to the Researchers 2-1, and that was that. The Researchers won 25-13.
A great half hour of quizzing. Unlucky Polyglots, but well done on two respectable efforts. Well done to the Researchers though, who did very well to recover so well after that slow start, and we'll see you again in the play-offs!
Next week's match: the Collectors vs the Mixologists
(Insert obligatory comment about Series 1 here) I also plan to cover the final of Fifteen-to-One 2.0 next week some time. Don't let the lack of a break in the schedules fool you; Series 4 begins the day after the Series 3 final. But that's another article.
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