OK, we are now officially caught up with Only Connect. Playing this week were the Scientists, Innis Carson (a former Countdown semi-finalist), Ian Volante and Lorraine Murtagh, and the Builders, Robin Whelan, Ian Orriss and Max Espensen.
Round 1. The Builders went first, and kicked off with Two Reeds, and the pictures: we saw Alan Turing, then Stephen Hawking, then Julian Assange; they offered 'people who've had films made about them recently'. Not correct. The Scientists saw the final clue, the Smaug dragon, but didn't get it. They have all been portrayed by Mr B. Cumberbatch on film. The Scientists chose Water first, and got the music: didn't recognise the first two, the third was 'I've Got The Power!'. After these three, they offered 'acts with exclamation marks in their name', which was correct for two points, Snap! being the third group. The Builders chose Eye of Horus next: 'Insensitivity of cosmic microwave background radiation', then 'Norwegian banknotes', then 'Footballers' gestures' and finally 'Dick Cheney's residence on Google Earth'. They didn't quite get it, nor did their opponents: they have all been pixelated out. The Scientists opted for Lion next: 'Milan', then 'Your party', and they instantly spotted the lyrics of 'I'm Too Sexy' by Right Said Fred! Great question, and a good three points. The Builders chose Horned Viper: 'Abaft the mainmast', then '4 of 5 bells in the Elizabeth Tower', then 'Every 25th Hunger Games' and finally '113.4g hamburger'. The last clue gave it to them: they are all associated with quarters. The Scientists were left with Twisted Flax, and saw 'The Raven', then 'Little Weed', then 'Seagulls in 'Finding Nemo''; at this point, they offered 'characters who only ever say one thing', which was correct for two points. At the end of the first round, the Scientists led 7-1.
Round 2, What Comes Fourth? The Builders kicked off with Twisted Flax: '35th anniversary LP reissue, 2012: Universal', then 'After one week with A&M: Virgin', and then 'Following Grundy interview: A&M'. They knew it was to do with the forming of the Sex Pistols, but didn't know what came fourth. 'First single: EMI' completes the set, them being the consecutive record labels the group were signed under. The Scientists chose Eye of Horus: 'Ras al-Khaimah', then 'Sharjah', and then 'Dubai'; they offered 'Abu Dhabi', which was correct. The sequence is the component regions of the UAE in order of size. The Builders chose Two Reeds next: 'The only thing we have to fear is fear itself', then 'If you can't stand the heat...', and then '...the 'falling domino' principal'. They knew it to be phrases associated with US presidents, but didn't offer an acceptable answer. Their opponents offered 'Ich bin ein Berliner', which was correct, as the quotes in question are from consecutive presidents (FDR, Truman, Eisenhower, so JFK would be next). For their own question, the Scientists chose Horned Viper: 'RM', then 'RM' in italics and in an old fashioned font, then 'DM' in the original font. They didn't know it, their opponents did: the Euro symbol. They are German currency symbols in order. Good call. For their final choice, the Builders chose Water: 'Now Get out of That', then 'The Wizard'; they spotted it to be Top of the Pops intro themes, and offered 'Whole Lotta Love', by Led Zeppelin, which was correct for three much needed points. Left with Lion, the Scientists got the picture set; I can't really explain it, as it was a sequence of musical notes written. But the connection was 'Frere Jacques', and the pictures were the notes of the tune. They spotted it after two, and thus took three points. At the end of the second round, the Scientists led 13-5.
On to the Walls. The Scientists chose the Water wall, and immediately isolated 'Chapel', 'Temple', 'Kirk' and 'Church', which are places of worship. After some unsuccessful attempts, they isolated a second group: 'Britten', 'Disraeli', 'Zephaniah' and 'Spock', which are famous Benjamins. The final groups followed: 'Bones', 'Lewis', 'Castle' and 'Luther' are surnames of title characters of TV crime series (VCM was maybe a bit lenient to accept a slightly misworded answer here), while 'Scott', 'Deign', 'Fin' and 'Poll' are homophones of nationalities. A full house of ten there.
Lots of catching up for the Builders to do then, and the Lion wall they would be dealing with. They spotted some links early on, but had trouble unraveling the sets. Eventually, they isolated 'Colour', 'Cut', 'Clarity' and 'Carat', which are qualities of gemstones. They spent the rest of the times trying to untangle the rest, to no avail, and were timed out. They were left to collect connection points for the other groups. 'Shade', 'Hue', 'Tint' and 'Tincture' all mean 'colour', which they got. 'Category', 'Pigment', 'Bates' and 'Molesley' all start with names of mammals, which they didn't get. 'Carson', 'Hughes', 'Barrow' and 'Patmore' are surnames of staff in Downton Abbey, which they didn't know either. Just three points meant the Scientists led 23-8 going into the final round.
No real chance the Builders could close the gap, but could they at least have a respectable Missing Vowels round? 'Afflictions of the ear, nose and throat' went to the Scientists 3-0. 'They can be abbreviated to three letters' went to the Scientists 3-1. 'Suicides in Shakespeare plays' went to the Builders 3-1, and the time out sounded before VCM could fully announce the final category. The Scientists won the match 30-12.
A pretty one sided match. Unlucky Builders, who had some unlucky misses throughout, but we'll see you again in your next round. Well done Scientists, and we'll look forward to seeing you again too.
Next week's match: the Polyglots vs the Operational Researchers
Yes, I will get Series 1 sorted eventually. Just don't ask me when; I won't be able to tell you.
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