Evening all. On we go with the second of ten quarter-finals. No-one will be going home or through tonight, but the winners could afford to lose again and would only have to win once more to go through, while the runners-up up couldn't afford another loss and would have to win twice again to go through. Even Paxo appears to be fed up with this system now; a sure sign that reform is needed!
St Catharine's College Cambridge narrowly defeated our old friends Southampton in the first round, and more convincingly saw off Nottingham in the second, doing very well on both the buzzer and the bonuses on both occasions, giving them reasonable chance of progression. They were the still the same foursome:
Calum Watson, from Stirlingshire, studying Maths
Ellie Chan, from Brighton, studying History of Art
Captain: Calum Bungey, from London, studying Chemistry
Alex Cranston, from London, studying Biological Natural Sciences
St John's College Oxford comfortably defeated Bristol in their first match, and Queen's University Belfast in their second, comfortably winning the buzzer race both times, though their bonus rate was much better first time around than second. They were also unchanged from before:
Alex Harries, from South Wales, studying History
Charlie Clegg, from Glasgow, studying Theology
Captain: Angus Russell, from Mill Hill in North London, studying History and Russian
Dan Sowood, from Uxbridge in Middlesex, studying Chemistry
Off we set again then, and St John's set off first courtesy of Mr Clegg, and two bonuses on literary clergymen followed. St Catharine's followed them off the mark, with Mr Bungey, superb in the earlier rounds, doing the honours again, though just one bonus followed. A second starter went to St Catharine's, and two bonuses followed this time, but then a slip-up pushed them back slightly. St John's promptly drew level, and then took the lead with their bonuses. The first picture round, on £2 coins, went to St John's, who swept the bonuses clean, and thus led 60-30.
Mr Bungey promptly took St Catharine's back into proceedings, and two bonuses on Shakespeare followed. The Cambridge side took another starter, but just one bonus followed from a tricky set on Internet codes and UK postcode districts. It was enough to put them in front, but St John's reclaimed the lead thanks to Mr Clegg, and took all three bonuses on US presidents, giving them more breathing space.
The music starter was dropped by both sides; the bonuses, on operatic pieces inspired by the Bible, went to St John's, who took one, and upped their lead to 100-65. St Catharine's fought back courtesy of Mr Cranston, and did well to take two bonuses from a rather complicated physics set. St John's weren't going to let them catch up, though, Mr Clegg taking another starter, and a full set of bonuses accompanying it. Another starter to St John's, two bonuses, and they were firmly in the driving seat going into the home straight.
The second picture round, on portraits of European monarchs by court painters, went to St John's, who took one bonuses, and so now led 160-85. Another starter went to St John's, and, though just the one bonus followed (though, again, it was another complicated set), they were now 90 ahead, and within a starter of putting the game out of reach. St Catharine's, however, kept their hopes alive, with Mr Watson taking the next starter, and all three bonuses accompanied it.
Another starter, a very impressive piece of quick arithmetic, went to Mr Watson, and two bonuses went with it, and now the gap was within reach again. Mr Cranston gave St Catharine's another starter, and another two bonuses meant they were now just one starter and full bonus set away! They got the starter they needed, but only two of the three bonuses left them five adrift! And that was the gong! St John's scraped it, 175-170!
Another cracking match between two finely matched teams, both worthy of the semis. Unlucky St Catharine's, but a valiant effort, so nearly a superb fightback pulled off, and very best of luck in your eliminator! Very well done to St John's, though; another good performance, and they did well to weather that late surge, and very best of luck in your qualifier!
Mr Clegg was the best buzzer of the night, with seven starters to his name, while Mr Bungey was, again, best for St Catharine's with four. On the bonuses, and this is extraordinary, both sides converted 17 out of 27, but St Catharine's incurred a penalty, which was the deciding factor! I don't think we've had such a finely balanced match in the nearly four years I've been doing this! Superb stuff!
Next week's match: don't know yet, but Imperial, Nuffield, Newcastle and Liverpool are the teams in the hat
Now that Only Connect is over for another series, I'll need some new spring filler. I'll get my thinking hat on, and get back to yous in the coming weeks.
Monday, 25 January 2016
Tuesday, 19 January 2016
Only Connect Series 11: Grand Final: String Section vs Wayfarers
OK people, here we are at the eleventh Only Connect grand final! As a nice touch for the end of the series, an actual string quartet were live on set playing the incidental music riffs. Nice idea, but could've maybe been done a bit better. Playing for a place in the OC champions lists were the String Section, Tessa North, blog reader Richard Aubrey and Pete Sorel Cameron, and the Wayfarers, Barbara Thompson, Gerard Mackay and Matt Beatson. These two met earlier in the series, with the String Section narrowly emerging on top. They also defeated the Headliners, the Scientists and the Cluesmiths en route, while the Wayfarers defeated the Bookworms (twice), the Builders and the Yorkers. Both teams came through their semi-final on a tie-break; hopefully, tonight's match wouldn't go that far.
Round 1. The Wayfarers went first, kicked the final off with Twisted Flax, and got the music question: we heard Dido's Lament from Dido and Aeneas, then the Queen of the Night from the Magic Flute, and they immediately offered that they were all sung by queens. Correct, for three points. (And, thankfully, we were spared having to hear 'Let It Go' from Frozen!) The String Section, as ever, opened their account with Two Reeds: Relating to emperor of Rome, 14-37AD', then 'Relating to ancient Georgian kingdom', then 'Girl on 'Bad''; and at this point, they offered 'they all end in 'erian''. Close enough: they all end in 'iberian' (Tiberian, Iberian, Liberian and Siberian, for the final clue, 'Between Erals and Pacific', which we didn't see) The Wayfarers chose Lion next: 'Torn apart by horses', then 'Skewered by grappling hook', then 'Shot by orcs' arrows', and finally 'Fell, crushed by satellite antenna'. The final clue gave it to them: they are the deaths of characters portrayed by Sean Bean! Excellent set! The String Section chose Eye of Horus next: 'Uralic', then 'Slide Mountain', then 'Paleo-Tethys', and finally 'Panthalassa'. They didn't know it, their opponents did: they are oceans that no longer exist. For their own question, the Wayfarers chose Water, and got the picture set: we saw Miley Cyrus and an elderly lady, then some lady we didn't recognise and Marilyn Monroe, then Winston Churchill and an anchor; that was the giveaway clue, and they offered 'tattoos' for two points. Ms Cyrus had her grandmother tattooed on her, while the Marilyn Monroe lady was Megan Fox. Left with Horned Viper, the String Section saw 'Foke', then 'Hombay', then 'Egantic', and finally 'Leakfast'. Now, this was absolutely excellent, but far too tricky for either side to spot: they are portmanteaux words reversed ('Smog', 'Bollywood', 'Ginormous' and 'Brunch'), with the others halves used instead! At the end of the first round, the Wayfarers led 7-2.
Round 2, What Comes Fourth? The Wayfarers went first again, chose Eye of Horus, and got the picture set: we saw Marlene Diertrich, then Joe DiMaggio; this was enough for them to spot the link to be Madonna's 'Vogue', and they offered 'Fred Astaire'. Not right. Their opponents saw Marlon Brando for the third clue, and correctly offered 'James Dean' for a bonus. For their own question, the String Section, once again, chose Two Reeds: '36: Hidden', then '18: Lazy', and then '10: New'. They didn't get it, their opponents did: '2: The Sun' comes fourth; they are derivations of names of the Noble gases. For their own question, the Wayfarers chose 'Horned or Horn-ed Viper, depending on taste'(!): 'AGG', then 'GGW', and then 'VEG'. They didn't get it, their opponents did: 'EGE'. This was another excellent one: they are the first letters of the names of the last twelve monarchs in sets of three. For their own question, the String Section chose Twisted Flax: '1s = 0.964s', then '1m = 1.44m', and then '1h = 2.4h'. They correctly offered '1d = 1d' for two points, albeit for the wrong reason; they are expressions of decimal time conversion. For their final choice, the Wayfarers chose Water: '4th: Fishmongers', then '3rd: Drapers'; again, they knew the sequence, livery companies, but got their early answer wrong. The String Section saw '2nd: Grocers', but were none the wiser. '1st: Mercers' is the fourth, the sequence being the livery companies in a set out order of precedence. Left with Lion, the String Section got a music sequence, and heard 'Farewell and Adieu, Ye Spanish Ladies', then 'Home Sweet Home', and then 'See the Conquering Hero Comes'. They didn't know it, the opposition did, offering 'Rule Britannia' for a bonus, the sequence being Sir Henry Wood's Fantasia on British Sea Songs. And the guest string quartet completed the set with a rendition of Rule Britannia. At the end of the second round, the Wayfarers led 9-6.
On to the Walls then. The String Section went first this time, and chose the Lion wall. They immediately isolated 'Niet', 'Nao', 'Nej' and 'Nein', which are the word 'no' in different languages. That was as far as they could get, though, and they spent the rest of the time trying to untangle what was left. They were eventually timed out, and so were left to collect bonus connection points: 'Nato', 'Nardo', 'Ntes' and 'Nine' can all have 'Leo' added to them to give Shakespearean characters, which they spotted just in time, 'Nerve', 'Nape', 'Nates' and 'Nose' are body parts, which they didn't get, while 'Nyssa', 'Nipa', 'Nerine' and 'Nettle' are plants, which they also didn't spot. Just three points there then.
The Wayfarers thus could pull further away if they could make the most of the Lion wall. Again, they resolved one set fairly quickly: 'Mutter', 'Moeder', 'Mere' and 'Matka' are the word 'mother' in various languages. They then went one better by getting a second set: 'Mamsa', 'Matsya', 'Madya' and 'Mudra' are Sanskrit words for tantric rituals, but they didn't quite spot that, so dropped the point. That was as far as they got though, as they unsuccessfully tried to solve what was left, and ran out of lives. So, they too had to pick up bonus connection points: 'Molly', 'Martin', 'Mantis' and 'Mink' are animals, which they didn't get, while 'Matthew', 'Mark', 'Matthias' and 'Mash' are biblical characters, which they did get. Just four for that, which gave them a 13-9 lead going into the final round.
So, the match and indeed the series would be decided, once again, on Missing Vowels. 'A king and an actor who played him onscreen' proved quite troublesome due to the use of Roman numerals(!), with three wrong answers meaning the String Section took it 1-(-1). 'Eye rhymes', such as 'DROUGHT AND THOUGHT', went to the String Section 3-1. 'Question a waiter might ask' went to the String Section 2-(-1), and that was time. The String Section won the match, and the series, 15-12.
Excellent final to a great series. Unlucky Wayfarers, but an excellent series of performances, and nothing to be ashamed of, so thank you very much indeed for taking part. Very very well done to the String Section, though, who have also played superbly throughout, and are worthy champions and additions to the champions list. Well done indeed!
And thank you all sixteen teams for making this series so enjoyable and fun to cover on here! I'll definitely carry on when the show comes back. Word is, they are added another ten shows to it next series, taking it up to UC's run of 37 shows. How? Don't know yet.
I'm still undecided on whether it's worth going back to Series 1. I think I'd prefer to catch up on Series 8, and Series 9. Watch this space.
Round 1. The Wayfarers went first, kicked the final off with Twisted Flax, and got the music question: we heard Dido's Lament from Dido and Aeneas, then the Queen of the Night from the Magic Flute, and they immediately offered that they were all sung by queens. Correct, for three points. (And, thankfully, we were spared having to hear 'Let It Go' from Frozen!) The String Section, as ever, opened their account with Two Reeds: Relating to emperor of Rome, 14-37AD', then 'Relating to ancient Georgian kingdom', then 'Girl on 'Bad''; and at this point, they offered 'they all end in 'erian''. Close enough: they all end in 'iberian' (Tiberian, Iberian, Liberian and Siberian, for the final clue, 'Between Erals and Pacific', which we didn't see) The Wayfarers chose Lion next: 'Torn apart by horses', then 'Skewered by grappling hook', then 'Shot by orcs' arrows', and finally 'Fell, crushed by satellite antenna'. The final clue gave it to them: they are the deaths of characters portrayed by Sean Bean! Excellent set! The String Section chose Eye of Horus next: 'Uralic', then 'Slide Mountain', then 'Paleo-Tethys', and finally 'Panthalassa'. They didn't know it, their opponents did: they are oceans that no longer exist. For their own question, the Wayfarers chose Water, and got the picture set: we saw Miley Cyrus and an elderly lady, then some lady we didn't recognise and Marilyn Monroe, then Winston Churchill and an anchor; that was the giveaway clue, and they offered 'tattoos' for two points. Ms Cyrus had her grandmother tattooed on her, while the Marilyn Monroe lady was Megan Fox. Left with Horned Viper, the String Section saw 'Foke', then 'Hombay', then 'Egantic', and finally 'Leakfast'. Now, this was absolutely excellent, but far too tricky for either side to spot: they are portmanteaux words reversed ('Smog', 'Bollywood', 'Ginormous' and 'Brunch'), with the others halves used instead! At the end of the first round, the Wayfarers led 7-2.
Round 2, What Comes Fourth? The Wayfarers went first again, chose Eye of Horus, and got the picture set: we saw Marlene Diertrich, then Joe DiMaggio; this was enough for them to spot the link to be Madonna's 'Vogue', and they offered 'Fred Astaire'. Not right. Their opponents saw Marlon Brando for the third clue, and correctly offered 'James Dean' for a bonus. For their own question, the String Section, once again, chose Two Reeds: '36: Hidden', then '18: Lazy', and then '10: New'. They didn't get it, their opponents did: '2: The Sun' comes fourth; they are derivations of names of the Noble gases. For their own question, the Wayfarers chose 'Horned or Horn-ed Viper, depending on taste'(!): 'AGG', then 'GGW', and then 'VEG'. They didn't get it, their opponents did: 'EGE'. This was another excellent one: they are the first letters of the names of the last twelve monarchs in sets of three. For their own question, the String Section chose Twisted Flax: '1s = 0.964s', then '1m = 1.44m', and then '1h = 2.4h'. They correctly offered '1d = 1d' for two points, albeit for the wrong reason; they are expressions of decimal time conversion. For their final choice, the Wayfarers chose Water: '4th: Fishmongers', then '3rd: Drapers'; again, they knew the sequence, livery companies, but got their early answer wrong. The String Section saw '2nd: Grocers', but were none the wiser. '1st: Mercers' is the fourth, the sequence being the livery companies in a set out order of precedence. Left with Lion, the String Section got a music sequence, and heard 'Farewell and Adieu, Ye Spanish Ladies', then 'Home Sweet Home', and then 'See the Conquering Hero Comes'. They didn't know it, the opposition did, offering 'Rule Britannia' for a bonus, the sequence being Sir Henry Wood's Fantasia on British Sea Songs. And the guest string quartet completed the set with a rendition of Rule Britannia. At the end of the second round, the Wayfarers led 9-6.
On to the Walls then. The String Section went first this time, and chose the Lion wall. They immediately isolated 'Niet', 'Nao', 'Nej' and 'Nein', which are the word 'no' in different languages. That was as far as they could get, though, and they spent the rest of the time trying to untangle what was left. They were eventually timed out, and so were left to collect bonus connection points: 'Nato', 'Nardo', 'Ntes' and 'Nine' can all have 'Leo' added to them to give Shakespearean characters, which they spotted just in time, 'Nerve', 'Nape', 'Nates' and 'Nose' are body parts, which they didn't get, while 'Nyssa', 'Nipa', 'Nerine' and 'Nettle' are plants, which they also didn't spot. Just three points there then.
The Wayfarers thus could pull further away if they could make the most of the Lion wall. Again, they resolved one set fairly quickly: 'Mutter', 'Moeder', 'Mere' and 'Matka' are the word 'mother' in various languages. They then went one better by getting a second set: 'Mamsa', 'Matsya', 'Madya' and 'Mudra' are Sanskrit words for tantric rituals, but they didn't quite spot that, so dropped the point. That was as far as they got though, as they unsuccessfully tried to solve what was left, and ran out of lives. So, they too had to pick up bonus connection points: 'Molly', 'Martin', 'Mantis' and 'Mink' are animals, which they didn't get, while 'Matthew', 'Mark', 'Matthias' and 'Mash' are biblical characters, which they did get. Just four for that, which gave them a 13-9 lead going into the final round.
So, the match and indeed the series would be decided, once again, on Missing Vowels. 'A king and an actor who played him onscreen' proved quite troublesome due to the use of Roman numerals(!), with three wrong answers meaning the String Section took it 1-(-1). 'Eye rhymes', such as 'DROUGHT AND THOUGHT', went to the String Section 3-1. 'Question a waiter might ask' went to the String Section 2-(-1), and that was time. The String Section won the match, and the series, 15-12.
Excellent final to a great series. Unlucky Wayfarers, but an excellent series of performances, and nothing to be ashamed of, so thank you very much indeed for taking part. Very very well done to the String Section, though, who have also played superbly throughout, and are worthy champions and additions to the champions list. Well done indeed!
And thank you all sixteen teams for making this series so enjoyable and fun to cover on here! I'll definitely carry on when the show comes back. Word is, they are added another ten shows to it next series, taking it up to UC's run of 37 shows. How? Don't know yet.
I'm still undecided on whether it's worth going back to Series 1. I think I'd prefer to catch up on Series 8, and Series 9. Watch this space.
Monday, 18 January 2016
University Challenge 2015-16: Preliminary Quarter-Final 1: York vs Peterhouse
Evening all. So, we've arrived at the interminable QF process. We begin the phase with a rematch of a QF from 2010-11, and two teams, one of whom started the process as favourites to progress, the other who also have a good chance of progression provided they get the right teams at the right time.
York defeated Manchester (the Team Everyone Wants to Beat) in the first round, and Christ's College Cambridge in the second, both times winning by large margins against decent opponents. They were still the same four as before:
Barto Joly de Lotbiniere, from London, studying History
Sam Smith, from Guernsey, studying Chemistry
Captain: David Landon Cole, from Yeovil, studying Politics
Joseph McLoughlin, from Oldham, studying Chemistry
Peterhouse Cambridge defeated Glasgow in a close first round match, and St George's London in a more one-sided second, impressing on the buzzer in both their matches and rather relying on it to win. They too were unchanged from hitherto:
Thomas Langley, from Newcastle, studying History
Oscar Powell, from York, studying Geological Sciences
Captain: Hannah Woods, from Manchester, studying History
Julian Sutcliffe, from Reading, studying History
Off we set again then, and York hit the ground first, with Mr Joly de Lotbiniere winning the race to the buzzer, and all three bonuses on museums followed, a sure sign of intent. A second starter in a row went to Mr Joly de Lotbiniere, but just the one bonus followed this time. Another starter and bonus went York's way, before Peterhouse finally opened their account thanks to Mr Langley, and they too took all three bonuses. The first picture round, on musical staves depicting intervals, went to York, after the starter was dropped, and they took all three bonuses, giving them a lead of 80-25.
Mr Powell, who I have to thank for confirming my prediction about this week's fixture on Twitter, took the next starter, and one bonus followed. Mr Sutcliffe waited his moment on the next starter, asking for a US president, identifying William Taft after hearing he later became Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. No bonuses followed though. Another couple of starters to Peterhouse, accompanied by a slip-up from York, and the scores were level, though Paxo was awfully harsh to mock Miss Woods' apologetic 'we don't know' on the bonuses! Another unlucky miss from York allowed Peterhouse to take the lead, and all three bonuses (on Mr Powell's least favourite subject, biochemistry!) gave them some breathing space.
The music round, on pieces conducted by Mr Leopold Stokowski, went to York, who took two bonuses, but still trailed 100-95. Peterhouse moved further ahead though thanks to Mr Powell, and all three bonuses followed again. Another starter went to Peterhouse, plus two bonuses, which gave them a fifty point lead going into the final straight.
The second picture round, on portraits of Roman Catholic cardinals, went to York, who swept the board clean, and thus cut the gap to 145-120. Peterhouse weren't going to let their lead slip, though, Mr Powell timely intervening again, though just one bonus on AONBs followed. Another starter went to Peterhouse, and the side took one bonus by using the old trick of saying the same thing three times and it being right on the final one!
But York weren't going to give up, and a very good buzz from Mr Smith took them back into the game. But no bonuses accompanied it, and Mr Cole then fell victim to one of those borderline interruptions. It didn't phase them though, as Mr McLoughlin pounced on an amusing error from Miss Woods, and the side quickly gobbled up the bonuses. Another starter to York, one bonus, and the gap was down to just ten. Neither side took the next starter, Mr Sutcliffe took the next, and that was the gong! Peterhouse won, 185-165.
A real cracker of a match between two excellent teams, and thankfully that contentious penalty didn't affect the outcome. Unlucky York, but we shall see you again of course, and best of luck to you in your eliminator match. Well done Peterhouse, though, on another good showing, and very best of luck in your qualifier match!
That final starter made Mr Sutcliffe the best buzzer of the night, with four; Messrs Joly de Lotbiniere and McLoughlin were joint best for York with three each. On the bonuses, York converted a very good 17 out of 27 (with two unlucky penalties), while Peterhouse managed a decent 15 out of 30, and all eight players ended the match with at least one starter to their name, which is always good to see.
Next week's match: unconfirmed, but I would imagine St Catharine's vs St John's
Only Connect reached its eleventh grand final tonight, with the pleasant bonus of a string quartet providing the between-round music riffs. I'll get on to that tomorrow night. I hope.
York defeated Manchester (the Team Everyone Wants to Beat) in the first round, and Christ's College Cambridge in the second, both times winning by large margins against decent opponents. They were still the same four as before:
Barto Joly de Lotbiniere, from London, studying History
Sam Smith, from Guernsey, studying Chemistry
Captain: David Landon Cole, from Yeovil, studying Politics
Joseph McLoughlin, from Oldham, studying Chemistry
Peterhouse Cambridge defeated Glasgow in a close first round match, and St George's London in a more one-sided second, impressing on the buzzer in both their matches and rather relying on it to win. They too were unchanged from hitherto:
Thomas Langley, from Newcastle, studying History
Oscar Powell, from York, studying Geological Sciences
Captain: Hannah Woods, from Manchester, studying History
Julian Sutcliffe, from Reading, studying History
Off we set again then, and York hit the ground first, with Mr Joly de Lotbiniere winning the race to the buzzer, and all three bonuses on museums followed, a sure sign of intent. A second starter in a row went to Mr Joly de Lotbiniere, but just the one bonus followed this time. Another starter and bonus went York's way, before Peterhouse finally opened their account thanks to Mr Langley, and they too took all three bonuses. The first picture round, on musical staves depicting intervals, went to York, after the starter was dropped, and they took all three bonuses, giving them a lead of 80-25.
Mr Powell, who I have to thank for confirming my prediction about this week's fixture on Twitter, took the next starter, and one bonus followed. Mr Sutcliffe waited his moment on the next starter, asking for a US president, identifying William Taft after hearing he later became Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. No bonuses followed though. Another couple of starters to Peterhouse, accompanied by a slip-up from York, and the scores were level, though Paxo was awfully harsh to mock Miss Woods' apologetic 'we don't know' on the bonuses! Another unlucky miss from York allowed Peterhouse to take the lead, and all three bonuses (on Mr Powell's least favourite subject, biochemistry!) gave them some breathing space.
The music round, on pieces conducted by Mr Leopold Stokowski, went to York, who took two bonuses, but still trailed 100-95. Peterhouse moved further ahead though thanks to Mr Powell, and all three bonuses followed again. Another starter went to Peterhouse, plus two bonuses, which gave them a fifty point lead going into the final straight.
The second picture round, on portraits of Roman Catholic cardinals, went to York, who swept the board clean, and thus cut the gap to 145-120. Peterhouse weren't going to let their lead slip, though, Mr Powell timely intervening again, though just one bonus on AONBs followed. Another starter went to Peterhouse, and the side took one bonus by using the old trick of saying the same thing three times and it being right on the final one!
But York weren't going to give up, and a very good buzz from Mr Smith took them back into the game. But no bonuses accompanied it, and Mr Cole then fell victim to one of those borderline interruptions. It didn't phase them though, as Mr McLoughlin pounced on an amusing error from Miss Woods, and the side quickly gobbled up the bonuses. Another starter to York, one bonus, and the gap was down to just ten. Neither side took the next starter, Mr Sutcliffe took the next, and that was the gong! Peterhouse won, 185-165.
A real cracker of a match between two excellent teams, and thankfully that contentious penalty didn't affect the outcome. Unlucky York, but we shall see you again of course, and best of luck to you in your eliminator match. Well done Peterhouse, though, on another good showing, and very best of luck in your qualifier match!
That final starter made Mr Sutcliffe the best buzzer of the night, with four; Messrs Joly de Lotbiniere and McLoughlin were joint best for York with three each. On the bonuses, York converted a very good 17 out of 27 (with two unlucky penalties), while Peterhouse managed a decent 15 out of 30, and all eight players ended the match with at least one starter to their name, which is always good to see.
Next week's match: unconfirmed, but I would imagine St Catharine's vs St John's
Only Connect reached its eleventh grand final tonight, with the pleasant bonus of a string quartet providing the between-round music riffs. I'll get on to that tomorrow night. I hope.
Wednesday, 13 January 2016
University Challenge 2015-16: Second Round Review and Quarter-Final Preview
OK, we've arrived at the QF stage of this year's University Challenge. As usual, eight teams have made it through, and will be fighting among themselves for the rest of the series. This year's eight, in order of qualification and with their aggregate and average scores, are:
So, from that, you can guess that I'm tipping Imperial, York and St John's to reach the semis, along with one of Liverpool, Peterhouse and St Catharine's. But Newcastle and Nuffield are more than capable of making a mockery of that.
So, thanks to Mr Powell and Miss Woods of Peterhouse on Twitter, we know, as I predicted, that York vs Peterhouse will be the first preliminary on Monday. This probably means St Catharine's will play St John's in the second, and the other four will be randomly split amongst themselves, though I'd imagine Imperial and Liverpool will be kept apart.
In terms of diversity, despite a big overall improvement on female representation this series, half the teams in the draw are all-male, with two of them firm favourites to go through. The other four all have just one female on their teams, and, rather neatly, the female is in a different seat for each team! It's still a marginal improvement on last year, where five of the QF teams were all-male; not to mention all four SF teams were all-male, but I can't imagine we'll see that again this series.
A few weeks ago, Uni Challenge Faces on Twitter predicted that the series would not be won by an Oxbridge team. We shall have to wait and see if that transpires; it would be the first time since Warwick won in 2007 that a team other than Oxbridge or Manchester have won the title.
So, whatever happens, all we can hope for, as usual, is that the QFs can provide us with the drama, tension and unpredictability that they have in the past, and we can look forward to a cracking end to this series.
I'll be back next week with my usual look over the first QF, as well as the OC final!
- Imperial College London (590, 295)
- Nuffield College Oxford (325, 162.5)
- Newcastle (335, 167.5)
- Liverpool (395, 197.5)
- York (490, 245)
- Peterhouse Cambridge (375, 187.5)
- St Catharine's College Cambridge (375, 187.5)
- St John's College Oxford (435, 217.5)
- Imperial: Trounced both Reading and Sidney Sussex College Cambridge by huge margins, in the latter instance with the highest score of the series (305) so far. Have been strong on both the buzzer and the bonuses, and must surely be firm favourites to progress to the semis.
- York: Consigned Manchester to their earliest UC exit of the BBC era, and then took down Christ's College Cambridge. Also very strong on the buzzer and generally get the bonuses too. Also firm favourites to progress.
- St John's: Impressive on buzzer in victories over Bristol and Queen's Belfast, but their bonus rate was much better in their first match than their second. Even the best of teams have an off day, so should still be lukewarm favourites.
- Liverpool: Comfortable winners over St Peter's College Oxford, narrow winners over Southampton. OK on the buzzer, about half-way with the bonuses. Outside chance of progression, but bonus work will maybe need to be worked on.
- Peterhouse: Narrow winners over Glasgow, comfortable winners over St George's London. Like Liverpool, good on the buzzer, about half-way on the bonuses. The semis aren't out of the question, but, again, their bonus work could do with an improvement.
- St Catharine's: Narrowly defeated Southampton, then comfortably won out over Nottingham. Good on the buzzer, with captain Calum Bungey particularly impressive, and their bonus work has been superb too. Could be dark horses to reach the semis.
- Newcastle: Narrow winners over Kent and Glasgow respectively. Decent on the buzzers, good on the bonuses in the first round, moderate in the second. Will start the QFs as underdogs, but certainly shouldn't be written off.
- Nuffield: Narrowly defeated Queen Mary London and Warwick to get this far. Again, OK on the buzzer, about half-way with the bonuses. Will also start off as underdogs, but could easily make it through with some improvements on both fronts.
So, from that, you can guess that I'm tipping Imperial, York and St John's to reach the semis, along with one of Liverpool, Peterhouse and St Catharine's. But Newcastle and Nuffield are more than capable of making a mockery of that.
So, thanks to Mr Powell and Miss Woods of Peterhouse on Twitter, we know, as I predicted, that York vs Peterhouse will be the first preliminary on Monday. This probably means St Catharine's will play St John's in the second, and the other four will be randomly split amongst themselves, though I'd imagine Imperial and Liverpool will be kept apart.
In terms of diversity, despite a big overall improvement on female representation this series, half the teams in the draw are all-male, with two of them firm favourites to go through. The other four all have just one female on their teams, and, rather neatly, the female is in a different seat for each team! It's still a marginal improvement on last year, where five of the QF teams were all-male; not to mention all four SF teams were all-male, but I can't imagine we'll see that again this series.
A few weeks ago, Uni Challenge Faces on Twitter predicted that the series would not be won by an Oxbridge team. We shall have to wait and see if that transpires; it would be the first time since Warwick won in 2007 that a team other than Oxbridge or Manchester have won the title.
So, whatever happens, all we can hope for, as usual, is that the QFs can provide us with the drama, tension and unpredictability that they have in the past, and we can look forward to a cracking end to this series.
I'll be back next week with my usual look over the first QF, as well as the OC final!
Tuesday, 12 January 2016
Only Connect Series 11: Semi-Final 2: Yorkers vs Wayfarers
OK, for the penultimate time this series, time to look back over Only Connect. The second semi-final, and after the drama of last week's show, it was going to take some doing to beat it on that front. Playing for the right to fight the String Section next week were the Yorkers, Jack Johannes Alexander, Alasdair Middleton and Joe Crowther, and the Wayfarers, Barbara Thompson, Gerard Mackay and Matt Beatson. The former got here undefeated by beating the Polyglots, the Cluesmiths and the Operational Researchers, while the latter took a more scenic route (as Paxo would say), defeating the Bookworms (twice) and the Builders, but losing their prospective opponents next week.
Round 1. The Wayfarers went first, and kicked proceedings off with Two Reeds: 'Two UK #1 artists: Manic Street Preachers', then 'Two elements: Platinum', then 'Two Greek letters: Upsilon', and finally 'Two countries: Somalia'. After a bit of confusion, they worked it out: they all have one inside the other (Manic Street Preachers, Platinum, Upsilon and Somalia), if that makes sense. The Yorkers opened their account with Twisted Flax, and got the picture set: we saw Sydney, then two policemen, then a belisha beacon, and finally an Anderson shelter. They didn't quite get it, their opponents did: they are all named after cabinet ministers. (The policemen being 'peelers' and 'bobbies', after Sir Robert Peel) For their own question, the Wayfarers chose Eye of Horus: 'blending', then 'changing', then 'like smoke', and finally 'light-dark'. The final one gave it to them: they are translations of Italian art terms. The Yorkers chose Lion next: '_____ Lion', then '_____zilla', then DJ _____adelic', and finally '_____ D-O-Double-G'. Again, they got it from the final one: put 'Snoop' in the blanks to give Mr S. Dogg's various incarnations! The Wayfarers chose Water next, and got the music sequence: didn't know the first, second was one of the summer tracks from the Four Seasons, third was the Theme from a Summer Place (the original, not the cover by Jasper from the Simpsons!); at this point, they offered 'seasons', and, after some prompting, realised they were all 'summer', and got the points. Left with Horned Viper, the Yorkers saw 'Country: South Africa', then 'County: Northamptonshire', then 'UK region: East Anglia', and finally 'US state: West Virginia'. Initially able to just come up with 'compass points', they eventually realised that they all have no directional counterparts (eg there is no West Anglia), and were given it. At the end of the first round, the Wayfarers led 5-2.
Round 2, What Comes Fourth? The Wayfarers began the round with Twisted Flax: '4th: audio', then '3rd: lego', and immediately offered '1st: amo'; correct for three points. They are Latin verb conjugations. The Yorkers chose Horned Viper next: 'Battle of the Golden Spurs', then 'Orangemen's Day', and then 'Live Aid'; they had the right idea, events in July, but didn't offer an acceptable answer. Their opponents didn't get it either. They are, indeed, events that happened on the 11th, 12th and 13th of July, so something that happened on July 14th, such as the Storming of the Bastille, would suffice. The Wayfarers chose Lion next: '1:0 was 1', then '0:1 was 1/2', and then '0:0 was 2'. Neither side got it: they are the football pools, so '1:1 was 3', or any score draw, would do. The Yorkers chose Eye of Horus next, and got the picture set: we saw some flies with a '4' in the corner, then some locusts with a '3' in the corner, and then some frogs with a '2' in the corner. They didn't get it, their opponents did: some blood with a '1' in the corner; they are the Plagues of Egypt in reverse order. For their final choice, the Wayfarers chose Two Reeds, and got a music set: we heard some cricket commentary, then Wishing Well by Free, and then some Gaelic singing; neither side knew it. This was a tough one, but it was actually a good set: the cricket commentary by John Arlott was chosen by John Major on Desert Island Discs, Wishing Well was chosen by Mr Blair and the Gaelic by Gordon Brown, so something Mr Cameron chose would complete the set. Ernie the Fastest Milkman in the West would suffice, as Mr Mackay proceeded to give us a rendition of! Left with Water, the Yorkers saw 'Never (Lear), then 'Techno (2 Unlimited)', and immediately offered 'Liar (Castaways)', which was acceptable. They are things repeated five, four, three and two times. At the end of the round, the Wayfarers led 9-5.
On to the Walls then. The Yorkers went first, and chose the Water wall. They immediately isolated 'Lepanto', 'Trafalgar', 'Salamis' and 'Midway' are naval battles. They then proceeded to slot in 'Esmara', 'Tu', 'F&F' and 'George', which are supermarket clothes brands. After spending time studying what they had left, they had it all resolved: 'Syntagma', 'Red', 'Wenceslas' and 'Tiananmen' are squares, while 'League', 'Water', 'Times' and 'Operating' can all precede 'table'. Well worked out, a full ten.
The Wayfarers thus were left with the Lion Wall. After spotting some links, they isolated 'Humber', 'Singer', 'Wolseley' and 'Triumph', which are defunct car manufacturers. They then spent a great deal of time trying to work out what was left, but had no luck, and ran out of time. They thus were left to pick up bonus connection points: 'Millenium', 'MaddAddam', 'Sprawl' and 'The Divine Comedy' are literary trilogies, which they spotted just in time, 'Charles', 'Vasco da Gama', 'Golden Gate' and 'Great Belt' are bridges, which they knew, while 'Buffalo', 'Table', 'Polo' and 'Tower' can all follow 'water', which they knew. (Nice tie-over to the other wall there). Five points there, which meant the Yorkers had snuck into a 15-14 lead going into the final round.
Once again, then, it all came down to Missing Vowels. 'Former European monarchs' was split 2-each. 'Patron saints and what they are patrons of' was split 1-each. 'Opening words of Shakespeare plays' went to the Wayfarers 2-1, with time running out just as they buzzed on the fourth clue. But, again, we weren't finished yet, for the teams were tied on 19-each!
Another tie-breaker! Thus, Messrs Middleton and Mackay faced off over the clue 'P HTF NS H'. Mr Mackay buzzed first: 'PHOTO FINISH'. Right!
Another great match, one of the best OCs I've seen. Unlucky Yorkers, but you've done brilliantly this series, and as I said on Twitter earlier, I'm so pleased you've done so well after your misfortune on UC last year, so very well done. Very very well done to the Wayfarers though, and best of luck in the final next week!
Next week's match: the final, a rematch between the String Section and the Wayfarers. Good luck to you all!
I'm still undecided on whether it's worth finishing Series 1. I'd much rather rewatch Series 8 and 9, which I only loosely covered on here, and getting up to date on them. We shall see. I'll be back tomorrow with UC QF preview.
Round 1. The Wayfarers went first, and kicked proceedings off with Two Reeds: 'Two UK #1 artists: Manic Street Preachers', then 'Two elements: Platinum', then 'Two Greek letters: Upsilon', and finally 'Two countries: Somalia'. After a bit of confusion, they worked it out: they all have one inside the other (Manic Street Preachers, Platinum, Upsilon and Somalia), if that makes sense. The Yorkers opened their account with Twisted Flax, and got the picture set: we saw Sydney, then two policemen, then a belisha beacon, and finally an Anderson shelter. They didn't quite get it, their opponents did: they are all named after cabinet ministers. (The policemen being 'peelers' and 'bobbies', after Sir Robert Peel) For their own question, the Wayfarers chose Eye of Horus: 'blending', then 'changing', then 'like smoke', and finally 'light-dark'. The final one gave it to them: they are translations of Italian art terms. The Yorkers chose Lion next: '_____ Lion', then '_____zilla', then DJ _____adelic', and finally '_____ D-O-Double-G'. Again, they got it from the final one: put 'Snoop' in the blanks to give Mr S. Dogg's various incarnations! The Wayfarers chose Water next, and got the music sequence: didn't know the first, second was one of the summer tracks from the Four Seasons, third was the Theme from a Summer Place (the original, not the cover by Jasper from the Simpsons!); at this point, they offered 'seasons', and, after some prompting, realised they were all 'summer', and got the points. Left with Horned Viper, the Yorkers saw 'Country: South Africa', then 'County: Northamptonshire', then 'UK region: East Anglia', and finally 'US state: West Virginia'. Initially able to just come up with 'compass points', they eventually realised that they all have no directional counterparts (eg there is no West Anglia), and were given it. At the end of the first round, the Wayfarers led 5-2.
Round 2, What Comes Fourth? The Wayfarers began the round with Twisted Flax: '4th: audio', then '3rd: lego', and immediately offered '1st: amo'; correct for three points. They are Latin verb conjugations. The Yorkers chose Horned Viper next: 'Battle of the Golden Spurs', then 'Orangemen's Day', and then 'Live Aid'; they had the right idea, events in July, but didn't offer an acceptable answer. Their opponents didn't get it either. They are, indeed, events that happened on the 11th, 12th and 13th of July, so something that happened on July 14th, such as the Storming of the Bastille, would suffice. The Wayfarers chose Lion next: '1:0 was 1', then '0:1 was 1/2', and then '0:0 was 2'. Neither side got it: they are the football pools, so '1:1 was 3', or any score draw, would do. The Yorkers chose Eye of Horus next, and got the picture set: we saw some flies with a '4' in the corner, then some locusts with a '3' in the corner, and then some frogs with a '2' in the corner. They didn't get it, their opponents did: some blood with a '1' in the corner; they are the Plagues of Egypt in reverse order. For their final choice, the Wayfarers chose Two Reeds, and got a music set: we heard some cricket commentary, then Wishing Well by Free, and then some Gaelic singing; neither side knew it. This was a tough one, but it was actually a good set: the cricket commentary by John Arlott was chosen by John Major on Desert Island Discs, Wishing Well was chosen by Mr Blair and the Gaelic by Gordon Brown, so something Mr Cameron chose would complete the set. Ernie the Fastest Milkman in the West would suffice, as Mr Mackay proceeded to give us a rendition of! Left with Water, the Yorkers saw 'Never (Lear), then 'Techno (2 Unlimited)', and immediately offered 'Liar (Castaways)', which was acceptable. They are things repeated five, four, three and two times. At the end of the round, the Wayfarers led 9-5.
On to the Walls then. The Yorkers went first, and chose the Water wall. They immediately isolated 'Lepanto', 'Trafalgar', 'Salamis' and 'Midway' are naval battles. They then proceeded to slot in 'Esmara', 'Tu', 'F&F' and 'George', which are supermarket clothes brands. After spending time studying what they had left, they had it all resolved: 'Syntagma', 'Red', 'Wenceslas' and 'Tiananmen' are squares, while 'League', 'Water', 'Times' and 'Operating' can all precede 'table'. Well worked out, a full ten.
The Wayfarers thus were left with the Lion Wall. After spotting some links, they isolated 'Humber', 'Singer', 'Wolseley' and 'Triumph', which are defunct car manufacturers. They then spent a great deal of time trying to work out what was left, but had no luck, and ran out of time. They thus were left to pick up bonus connection points: 'Millenium', 'MaddAddam', 'Sprawl' and 'The Divine Comedy' are literary trilogies, which they spotted just in time, 'Charles', 'Vasco da Gama', 'Golden Gate' and 'Great Belt' are bridges, which they knew, while 'Buffalo', 'Table', 'Polo' and 'Tower' can all follow 'water', which they knew. (Nice tie-over to the other wall there). Five points there, which meant the Yorkers had snuck into a 15-14 lead going into the final round.
Once again, then, it all came down to Missing Vowels. 'Former European monarchs' was split 2-each. 'Patron saints and what they are patrons of' was split 1-each. 'Opening words of Shakespeare plays' went to the Wayfarers 2-1, with time running out just as they buzzed on the fourth clue. But, again, we weren't finished yet, for the teams were tied on 19-each!
Another tie-breaker! Thus, Messrs Middleton and Mackay faced off over the clue 'P HTF NS H'. Mr Mackay buzzed first: 'PHOTO FINISH'. Right!
Another great match, one of the best OCs I've seen. Unlucky Yorkers, but you've done brilliantly this series, and as I said on Twitter earlier, I'm so pleased you've done so well after your misfortune on UC last year, so very well done. Very very well done to the Wayfarers though, and best of luck in the final next week!
Next week's match: the final, a rematch between the String Section and the Wayfarers. Good luck to you all!
I'm still undecided on whether it's worth finishing Series 1. I'd much rather rewatch Series 8 and 9, which I only loosely covered on here, and getting up to date on them. We shall see. I'll be back tomorrow with UC QF preview.
Monday, 11 January 2016
University Challenge 2015-16: Round 2: Match 8: St John's vs Queen's
Evening all. So, the final second round match of the series tonight. Whoever won would take the final coveted place in the QFs, and, presumably, will play St Catharine's in two weeks' time, with York vs Peterhouse next week. Both won through comfortably against decent opponents who just missed out on the repechage.
St John's College Oxford won the final first round match, beating Bristol 255-125 with one of the highest scores of the round, doing well on the buzzer and the bonuses. They were the same four as before:
Alex Harries, from South Wales, studying History
Charlie Clegg, from Glasgow, studying Theology
Captain: Angus Russell, from Mill Hill in North London, studying History and Russian
Dan Sowood, from Uxbridge in Middlesex, studying Chemistry
Queen's University Belfast defeated Sussex 195-125 in their first match on the August bank holiday (except in Scotland), coming good on the buzzer late on and doing OK on the bonuses. They too were unchanged from before:
Alistair Mallon, from Belfast, studying Irish Studies
Jethro Waldron, from Ripley in Derbyshire, studying Irish Literature
Captain: Jack Ruddy, from Dorset, studying History
Charlie Shimmins, from the Isle of Man, studying International Politics and Conflict Studies
Off we set again then, and an unlucky slip-up from Queen's allowed St John's to take the first starter and all three bonuses on British art. Queen's made no mistake on the second starter, but just one bonus on apps. Another starter went to the Northern Irelanders, but no bonuses followed this time. The first picture round, on migration routes across the Roman Empire, went to Queen's, who took two bonuses, and eked into a 40-25 lead.
St John's had the chance to retake the lead when Mr Clegg took the next starter, but had to let it pass as no bonuses followed. They did go back in front by taking the next starter, but, again, no bonuses followed, thus suggesting this would be a low scoring night. The Oxonians finally managed to take two bonuses on cities on the Rhone river, which accompanied their next starter.
The music round, on pop acts performing traditional songs, went to St John's, who took one bonus (and outraged Twitter by mistaking Nirvana for Bon Jovi!), which increased their lead to 80-40. Another starter went to the Oxford side, but just one bonus followed from a confusing bonus set on authors whose surnames contain other words. A very good piece of out-working from Mr Harries added to his side's score, and was enough to take them into triple figures. Another starter went to St John's, all three bonuses followed, giving them a 95 point lead, and Paxo felt the need to offer Queen's assurance that there was still time to recover.
The second picture round, on paintings purchased from Mr John Julius Angerstein for the Nattional Gallery, went to St John's, who took two bonuses, and now led 155-40. Queen's finally managed to break back into the match thanks to Mr Waldron, and two bonuses on first names followed. A second starter in a row was taken by Mr Waldron, but just one bonus followed this time. Mr Sowood steadied the St John's ship by taking the next starter, and two bonuses gave them a 95 point lead again, and surely saw them safe.
Or maybe not, as Mr Clegg slipped up, though Queen's couldn't pick up. They did take another starter, but got nothing from a bonus set on animal histology. St John's didn't do any better on a set on Russian rivers, and then lost another five through another slip-up; Queen's picked it up this time, and one bonus deservedly took them into triple figures. The final starter went to St John's, but there was no time for any bonuses. At the gong, St John's won 180-100.
A slow scoring match, with both sides struggling with the bonuses throughout. Unlucky Queen's, who were simply outplayed on the buzzer in the middle of the match, but nothing to be ashamed of, so well done them and thanks for playing. Well done to St John's though; another respectable effort, though not as imperious as before and I feel they'll need to up the ante in the QFs; best of luck to them for then!
Messrs Clegg and Waldron were joint best buzzer of the night, with six each for their respective teams (the difference being Mr Clegg's colleagues managed six between them, Mr Waldron's just one). On the bonuses, St John's converted 14 out of 33 (with two penalties), while Queen's managed 7 out of 21 (with one penalty); both low-ish rates, but by no means bad.
Next week's match: the first quarter-final! As I said above, York vs Peterhouse is my best guess, then St Catharine's vs St John's the week after.
Only Connect reached it's second semi-final tonight, and if you thought last week's was tense... well, I'll say no more until I watch it back tomorrow.
St John's College Oxford won the final first round match, beating Bristol 255-125 with one of the highest scores of the round, doing well on the buzzer and the bonuses. They were the same four as before:
Alex Harries, from South Wales, studying History
Charlie Clegg, from Glasgow, studying Theology
Captain: Angus Russell, from Mill Hill in North London, studying History and Russian
Dan Sowood, from Uxbridge in Middlesex, studying Chemistry
Queen's University Belfast defeated Sussex 195-125 in their first match on the August bank holiday (except in Scotland), coming good on the buzzer late on and doing OK on the bonuses. They too were unchanged from before:
Alistair Mallon, from Belfast, studying Irish Studies
Jethro Waldron, from Ripley in Derbyshire, studying Irish Literature
Captain: Jack Ruddy, from Dorset, studying History
Charlie Shimmins, from the Isle of Man, studying International Politics and Conflict Studies
Off we set again then, and an unlucky slip-up from Queen's allowed St John's to take the first starter and all three bonuses on British art. Queen's made no mistake on the second starter, but just one bonus on apps. Another starter went to the Northern Irelanders, but no bonuses followed this time. The first picture round, on migration routes across the Roman Empire, went to Queen's, who took two bonuses, and eked into a 40-25 lead.
St John's had the chance to retake the lead when Mr Clegg took the next starter, but had to let it pass as no bonuses followed. They did go back in front by taking the next starter, but, again, no bonuses followed, thus suggesting this would be a low scoring night. The Oxonians finally managed to take two bonuses on cities on the Rhone river, which accompanied their next starter.
The music round, on pop acts performing traditional songs, went to St John's, who took one bonus (and outraged Twitter by mistaking Nirvana for Bon Jovi!), which increased their lead to 80-40. Another starter went to the Oxford side, but just one bonus followed from a confusing bonus set on authors whose surnames contain other words. A very good piece of out-working from Mr Harries added to his side's score, and was enough to take them into triple figures. Another starter went to St John's, all three bonuses followed, giving them a 95 point lead, and Paxo felt the need to offer Queen's assurance that there was still time to recover.
The second picture round, on paintings purchased from Mr John Julius Angerstein for the Nattional Gallery, went to St John's, who took two bonuses, and now led 155-40. Queen's finally managed to break back into the match thanks to Mr Waldron, and two bonuses on first names followed. A second starter in a row was taken by Mr Waldron, but just one bonus followed this time. Mr Sowood steadied the St John's ship by taking the next starter, and two bonuses gave them a 95 point lead again, and surely saw them safe.
Or maybe not, as Mr Clegg slipped up, though Queen's couldn't pick up. They did take another starter, but got nothing from a bonus set on animal histology. St John's didn't do any better on a set on Russian rivers, and then lost another five through another slip-up; Queen's picked it up this time, and one bonus deservedly took them into triple figures. The final starter went to St John's, but there was no time for any bonuses. At the gong, St John's won 180-100.
A slow scoring match, with both sides struggling with the bonuses throughout. Unlucky Queen's, who were simply outplayed on the buzzer in the middle of the match, but nothing to be ashamed of, so well done them and thanks for playing. Well done to St John's though; another respectable effort, though not as imperious as before and I feel they'll need to up the ante in the QFs; best of luck to them for then!
Messrs Clegg and Waldron were joint best buzzer of the night, with six each for their respective teams (the difference being Mr Clegg's colleagues managed six between them, Mr Waldron's just one). On the bonuses, St John's converted 14 out of 33 (with two penalties), while Queen's managed 7 out of 21 (with one penalty); both low-ish rates, but by no means bad.
Next week's match: the first quarter-final! As I said above, York vs Peterhouse is my best guess, then St Catharine's vs St John's the week after.
Only Connect reached it's second semi-final tonight, and if you thought last week's was tense... well, I'll say no more until I watch it back tomorrow.
Wednesday, 6 January 2016
Only Connect Series 11: Semi-Final 1: Cluesmiths vs String Section
OK, lets see if I can get through a review of this, the first of the semi-finals, and make my explanations of answers make sense. Playing for a place in the final were the Cluesmiths, Mick Hodgkin, Richard Heald and John Tozer, and the String Section, Tessa North, blog reader Richard Aubrey and Pete Sorel Cameron. The Cluesmiths defeated the Operational Researchers, the Mixologists and the Railwaymen, but did lose to the Yorkers as well, while the String Section came here undefeated via wins over the Headliners, the Wayfarers and the Scientists. This also happened to be the show's 200th episode, a location marked by the presence of a large cake, which VCM took to consuming during the course of the show!
Round 1. The Cluesmiths went first, and kicked the match off with Lion: 'Temporal alienation forbidden', then 'No special lighting', then 'No brought-in props', and finally 'Cameras must be hand-held'. Neither side got it; it is film making rules laid out by Dogma 95. The String Section opened their account, once again, with Two Reeds, and got the music set: didn't recognise any of the pieces myself, the sides seemed to, but didn't get any answers. The tracks all had words meaning 'little' in their titles (one of them was Eine kleine Nachtmusik). The Cluesmiths chose Eye of Horus next: 'Tom Thumb', then 'The Jack of Hearts', then 'Judas Priest'; at this point they offered 'titles of Bob Dylan songs', which was correct for two points. The String Section chose Water next: 'Bird', then 'Little Dyer', then 'Angelic Brother', and finally 'Little Barrel'. Again, neither side knew it initially, the String Section saw it too late: they are translations of the names of Italian Renaissance painters. The Cluesmiths chose Horned Viper next, and got the picture set: we saw Irene Handl, then the Mir Space Station, then Salome holding the head of John the Baptist, and finally La Paz marked on a map. They got timed out before they could offer anything, and their opponents were none the wiser. Their names all mean 'peace'. Left with Twisted Flax, the String Section saw '.se (arrows in opposing directions) .dk', then 'Jon. (arrows in opposing directions) Nah.', then 'FL (arrows in opposing directions) ID', and finally 'As (arrows in opposing directions) Ni'. They spotted it just in time: their full names overlap. At the end of the first round, the Cluesmiths led 2-1.
Round 2, What Comes Fourth? The Cluesmiths chose Lion first again: 'Sb. As', then 'Al. Se', and then 'H and O'; they didn't get it, and their opponents came agonisingly close, offering 'N and Rh'. 'N and Re' is the correct answer; they are the first eight elements mentioned in Tom Lehrer's excellent 'Elements' song. (Ironically, that song was played on Radio 4 in relation to a story about an updating of the Periodic Table on the same day this aired!) For their own question, the String Section chose Two Reeds once again: 'Total pips, standard domino set', then 'Uranus year in full Earth years', and then 'Answer to Ultimate Question'. Again, they narrowly missed it; their opponents got it though: something representing 21, such as the card game 'pontoon'. They are numbers halving each time (168, 84, 42, 21). For their own question, the Cluesmiths chose Water: '4th: Abyssopelagic', then '3rd: Bathypelagic', and then '2nd: Mesopelagic'. Neither side knew it. It's layers of the ocean, so '1st: Epipelagic' comes fourth. The String Section chose Twisted Flax: ''Brethren pray for us.' (17)', then ''Remember Lot's wife.' (16)', and then ''Rejoice evermore.' (15)'. Now, this was interesting: they offered ''In the beginning' (14)'; the actual answer was ''Jesus wept.' (9)', the link being the shortest verses in the New Testament'. But VCM let them have it, as their answer would fit in a sequence of Biblical quotations with descending numbers of letters. Interesting. For their final choice, the Cluesmiths chose Eye of Horus, and got the picture set: we saw the Spanish region of Aragon, then West Ham's home ground of Upton Park, or the Boleyn Ground as it is properly known, and that gave it to them: they offered something relating to 'Cleves', which was correct for three points. It is, of course, the wives (legal or not, thanks QI!) of Henry VIII. Left with Horned Viper, the String Section got a music sequence, and heard first Arthur Askey, then Brigitte Bardot, and then Chubby Checker; despite only recognsing the last one, the successfully offered something by Desmond Dekker for two points. (Cue yet another enforced sing-along! They're starting to remind me of the scene in Frasier where Martin persuades a reluctant Frasier and Niles to join in his rendition of Goldfinger!) At the end of the second round, the Cluesmiths led 6-5.
On to the Walls then. The String Section went first, and chose the Lion wall. They quickly isolated 'Bryn Mawr', 'Smith', 'Barnard' and 'Vassar', but mistakenly offered them as Ivy League colleges, when they are actually Seven Sisters colleges. They spent a bit of time trying to pick out links in the remaining clues, and eventually isolated 'Lamb', 'Temple', 'Primrose' and 'Wellesley', but, again, got the link wrong, offering 'Arthur' instead of Noble Prime Ministers (known by titles instead of real names). They knew the remaining links, and tried to solve the Wall, but ran out of lives, and thus had to settle for bonuses: 'Occiput', 'Crown', 'Scalp' and 'Mandible' are parts of the head, while 'Nose', 'Mid-palate', 'Chewy' and 'Finish' are terms in wine tasting. They knew both those links, so four points there.
The Cluesmiths thus had a chance to pull away as they tackled the Water wall. They quickly isolated 'Graham', 'Bakker', 'Swaggart' and 'Falwell', which are televangelists. After much fiddling about trying to solve what was left, they isolated 'Naxos', 'Manor', 'Angel' and 'Edna', which are anagrams of British settlers. With just seconds left, they slotted in the remaining sets: 'ECM', 'Philips', 'Hyperion' and 'Decca' are Classical record labels, which they didn't spot until too late, while 'Slot', 'Robertson', 'Hex' and 'Pozidriv' are screw recesses for screwdrivers. Just the one mistake meant seven points, and left their lead at 13-9 going into the final round.
Once again, then, Missing Vowels would be the decider. 'UK number-one acts of the 2010s' was split 1-each, as was 'Islands of Japan'. 'Italian football teams' went to the String Section 3-(-1). 'Settlements of Roman Britain and their modern equivalents' was announced, but the only question there was time for was cut off by the time-out noise. But it wasn't game over: the teams were tied at 14-each!
So, tie-break time! One final clue, captains only, first to buzz gets only chance to answer; get it right, you win, get it wrong, you lose. The decider: 'FS TSTF NG RFR ST'. Our man Richard A. immediately buzzed in: 'FASTEST FINGER FIRST'. Right!
What a match, with some tough questions and a suitably tense finish. Very unlucky Cluesmiths, but you've done really really well this series, and have done nothing to be ashamed of, so well done. Very very well done to the String Section though, and very best of luck in the final!
Next week's match: the Wayfarers vs the Yorkers for the second place in the final.
Will I finish Series 1 off after this series is over? Maybe, depends how up to it I feel.
Round 1. The Cluesmiths went first, and kicked the match off with Lion: 'Temporal alienation forbidden', then 'No special lighting', then 'No brought-in props', and finally 'Cameras must be hand-held'. Neither side got it; it is film making rules laid out by Dogma 95. The String Section opened their account, once again, with Two Reeds, and got the music set: didn't recognise any of the pieces myself, the sides seemed to, but didn't get any answers. The tracks all had words meaning 'little' in their titles (one of them was Eine kleine Nachtmusik). The Cluesmiths chose Eye of Horus next: 'Tom Thumb', then 'The Jack of Hearts', then 'Judas Priest'; at this point they offered 'titles of Bob Dylan songs', which was correct for two points. The String Section chose Water next: 'Bird', then 'Little Dyer', then 'Angelic Brother', and finally 'Little Barrel'. Again, neither side knew it initially, the String Section saw it too late: they are translations of the names of Italian Renaissance painters. The Cluesmiths chose Horned Viper next, and got the picture set: we saw Irene Handl, then the Mir Space Station, then Salome holding the head of John the Baptist, and finally La Paz marked on a map. They got timed out before they could offer anything, and their opponents were none the wiser. Their names all mean 'peace'. Left with Twisted Flax, the String Section saw '.se (arrows in opposing directions) .dk', then 'Jon. (arrows in opposing directions) Nah.', then 'FL (arrows in opposing directions) ID', and finally 'As (arrows in opposing directions) Ni'. They spotted it just in time: their full names overlap. At the end of the first round, the Cluesmiths led 2-1.
Round 2, What Comes Fourth? The Cluesmiths chose Lion first again: 'Sb. As', then 'Al. Se', and then 'H and O'; they didn't get it, and their opponents came agonisingly close, offering 'N and Rh'. 'N and Re' is the correct answer; they are the first eight elements mentioned in Tom Lehrer's excellent 'Elements' song. (Ironically, that song was played on Radio 4 in relation to a story about an updating of the Periodic Table on the same day this aired!) For their own question, the String Section chose Two Reeds once again: 'Total pips, standard domino set', then 'Uranus year in full Earth years', and then 'Answer to Ultimate Question'. Again, they narrowly missed it; their opponents got it though: something representing 21, such as the card game 'pontoon'. They are numbers halving each time (168, 84, 42, 21). For their own question, the Cluesmiths chose Water: '4th: Abyssopelagic', then '3rd: Bathypelagic', and then '2nd: Mesopelagic'. Neither side knew it. It's layers of the ocean, so '1st: Epipelagic' comes fourth. The String Section chose Twisted Flax: ''Brethren pray for us.' (17)', then ''Remember Lot's wife.' (16)', and then ''Rejoice evermore.' (15)'. Now, this was interesting: they offered ''In the beginning' (14)'; the actual answer was ''Jesus wept.' (9)', the link being the shortest verses in the New Testament'. But VCM let them have it, as their answer would fit in a sequence of Biblical quotations with descending numbers of letters. Interesting. For their final choice, the Cluesmiths chose Eye of Horus, and got the picture set: we saw the Spanish region of Aragon, then West Ham's home ground of Upton Park, or the Boleyn Ground as it is properly known, and that gave it to them: they offered something relating to 'Cleves', which was correct for three points. It is, of course, the wives (legal or not, thanks QI!) of Henry VIII. Left with Horned Viper, the String Section got a music sequence, and heard first Arthur Askey, then Brigitte Bardot, and then Chubby Checker; despite only recognsing the last one, the successfully offered something by Desmond Dekker for two points. (Cue yet another enforced sing-along! They're starting to remind me of the scene in Frasier where Martin persuades a reluctant Frasier and Niles to join in his rendition of Goldfinger!) At the end of the second round, the Cluesmiths led 6-5.
On to the Walls then. The String Section went first, and chose the Lion wall. They quickly isolated 'Bryn Mawr', 'Smith', 'Barnard' and 'Vassar', but mistakenly offered them as Ivy League colleges, when they are actually Seven Sisters colleges. They spent a bit of time trying to pick out links in the remaining clues, and eventually isolated 'Lamb', 'Temple', 'Primrose' and 'Wellesley', but, again, got the link wrong, offering 'Arthur' instead of Noble Prime Ministers (known by titles instead of real names). They knew the remaining links, and tried to solve the Wall, but ran out of lives, and thus had to settle for bonuses: 'Occiput', 'Crown', 'Scalp' and 'Mandible' are parts of the head, while 'Nose', 'Mid-palate', 'Chewy' and 'Finish' are terms in wine tasting. They knew both those links, so four points there.
The Cluesmiths thus had a chance to pull away as they tackled the Water wall. They quickly isolated 'Graham', 'Bakker', 'Swaggart' and 'Falwell', which are televangelists. After much fiddling about trying to solve what was left, they isolated 'Naxos', 'Manor', 'Angel' and 'Edna', which are anagrams of British settlers. With just seconds left, they slotted in the remaining sets: 'ECM', 'Philips', 'Hyperion' and 'Decca' are Classical record labels, which they didn't spot until too late, while 'Slot', 'Robertson', 'Hex' and 'Pozidriv' are screw recesses for screwdrivers. Just the one mistake meant seven points, and left their lead at 13-9 going into the final round.
Once again, then, Missing Vowels would be the decider. 'UK number-one acts of the 2010s' was split 1-each, as was 'Islands of Japan'. 'Italian football teams' went to the String Section 3-(-1). 'Settlements of Roman Britain and their modern equivalents' was announced, but the only question there was time for was cut off by the time-out noise. But it wasn't game over: the teams were tied at 14-each!
So, tie-break time! One final clue, captains only, first to buzz gets only chance to answer; get it right, you win, get it wrong, you lose. The decider: 'FS TSTF NG RFR ST'. Our man Richard A. immediately buzzed in: 'FASTEST FINGER FIRST'. Right!
What a match, with some tough questions and a suitably tense finish. Very unlucky Cluesmiths, but you've done really really well this series, and have done nothing to be ashamed of, so well done. Very very well done to the String Section though, and very best of luck in the final!
Next week's match: the Wayfarers vs the Yorkers for the second place in the final.
Will I finish Series 1 off after this series is over? Maybe, depends how up to it I feel.
Tuesday, 5 January 2016
Only Connect Series 11: Quarter-Final 4: Wayfarers vs Bookworms
OK, time to play catch up with Only Connect once more. Playing last week were the Wayfarers, Barbara Thompson, Gerard Mackay and Matt Beatson, and the Bookworms, Katy Bateman, Dave Knapp and Tristram 'viking o'neil' Cole. Now, you might be thinking 'hang on, they've already played each other'; you'd be right. They met in the first round, with the Wayfarers winning; since then, they lost to the String Section but defeated the Builders, while the Bookworms took down the Headliners and then the Athenians. Why they had to meet again when it was perfectly avoidable, I've no idea, but I'm sure TPTB have their reasons. Anyway, on with the show.
Round 1. The Wayfarers went first, and kicked the match off with Two Reeds: 'The music question is the twisted flax', then 'By changing nothing, nothing changes. Right?', then 'I hate to see the ev'nin' sun go down', and finally 'If music be the food of love, play on'. Neither team knew it, and I'm not surprised: they are all written in iambic pentameter. Putting the first clue to the test, the Bookworms chose Twisted Flax, and got, not the music question, but the picture question: we saw an equals sign in a circle, then a male representation in a circle, then a circular arrow in a circle, and finally a dollar sign in a circle crossed out. Again, neither side knew it. They are signs signifying a Creative Commons license, ie you don't have complete copyright over something. (Hope that makes sense) The Wayfarers chose 'Horn-ed' Viper next, and this time we got the music question: didn't recognise the first, the second was 'Keep On Running' by the Spencer Davis Group, the third was 'Smooth' by Santana (from the awesome album Supernatural); at this point, after some leniently deliberation, they offered that they are all by bands named after the guitarist, which was correct. (The first song was by the J Geils Band, and Van Halen would've been the fourth track). The Bookworms chose Lion next: 'General Tom Thumb', then ''Sonny' Liston', then 'Chuck Berry', and finally 'Lewis Carroll'. The final clue gave to them: their real first names were all Charles. The Wayfarers chose Eye of Horus next: 'Ind ia', then 'S udan', then 'Mal i', and finally 'Aust ia'; they worked out that you can put extra letters in the gaps to create another country's name. Good one! Left with Water, the Bookworms saw 'Pig', then 'Deer', then 'Adult sheep', and finally 'Adult and young cow'. Neither team knew it. They all have specific names when turned into processed meat (pork, venison, mutton, beef and veal respectively). At the end of a tough first round, the Wayfarers led 3-1.
Round 2, What Comes Fourth? The Wayfarers went first again, chose Water, and got a music question: we first head 'Walking on Sunshine', then Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata, and then 'Good Times' by Chic; they offered something with 'Boogie' in the title, which was right! It's Michael Jackson's Blame It On The Boogie. Awesome question, and yet another enforced sing-along! The Bookworms chose Two Reeds: '1 of 4: Wings (d. Wellman)', then '2 of 4: Grand Hotel (d. Goulding)', and then '3 of 4: Driving Miss Daisy (d. Beresford)'. They didn't get it, nor did their opponents. '4 of 4: Argo (d. Affleck) completes the set; they are Best Picture winners whose director wasn't nominated for Best Director. The Wayfarers chose Twisted Flax next, and got the picture set: we saw a red outlined triangle, then Aristotle Onassis and Nana Mouskouri, and then a compass; they offered something representing 'gifts', which was correct. 'Beware', 'Greeks', 'bearing', 'gifts'! Another good one! The Bookworms chose Eye of Horus next: '1: Field forces, wounded and sick', then '2: Sea forces, wounded, sick and shipwrecked', and then '3: Prisoners of war'. Again, neither side knew it. They are subjects covered by the Geneva conventions, so '4: Wartime civilians' would come fourth. For their final choice, the Wayfarers chose Lion: 'M13', then 'M12', and then 'M10 (since 2009)'; they offered 'M7', which was correct. They are motorways that do not exist. Left with 'Snake'(!), the Bookworms saw 'Corrachadh Mor', then 'Dunnet Head'; at this point, they offered 'Lizard Point', which was correct. They are the furthest extremities of mainland Britain working clockwise from West. At the end of the second round, the Wayfarers led 9-4.
On to the Walls then. The Bookworms went first, and chose to tackle the Water wall. They spotted a group of ducks, and eventually isolated 'Pintail', 'Muscovy', 'Pochard' and 'Mandarin'. They then isolated a second group: 'Kumquat', 'Tangelo', 'Minneola' and 'Clementine' are all citrus fruits, but they dropped the point by suggesting them to be crossbreeds, which not all of them are. Harsh, but fair. They did soon had the remaining groups fixed: 'Satsuma', 'Sunny', 'Wonga' and 'Uncle Buck' are pay-day loan companies, while 'Note', 'Micra', 'Cube' and 'Atlas' are Nissan cars. Just the one mistake, so seven points.
The Wayfarers thus had the Lion wall to contend with. After some early incorrect guesses, they isolated 'Sad', 'Kiss', 'Blush' and 'Smile', which are emoticons. After spending a great deal of time studying what was left, they isolated a second group: 'Thinker', 'Gates of Hell', 'Martyr' and 'Walking Man' are sculptures by Rodin. After that was sorted, they immediately solved what was left: 'Wink', 'Bomb', 'Squidger' and 'Tiddlies' are terms used in the game of tiddlywinks, while 'PerkStreet', 'First Direct', 'Cahoot' and 'Ally' are online banks. A full ten there meant they led 19-11 going into the final round.
So, the Bookworms would need to sweep the board on Missing Vowels to catch up. 'Pre-fame game show appearances', including 'OLLY MURS ON DEAL OR NO DEAL', went to the Wayfarers 2-1. 'Book titles increased by one', such as 'FOUR MEN IN A BOAT', went to the Bookworms 3-1. 'Traditional nicknames with their associated surname' went to the Wayfarers 3-0, and that was time. The Wayfarers won 25-15.
Another excellent match with some great questions. Unlucky Bookworms, but well played over the series. Well done Wayfarers, and best of luck in the SFs!
Monday's match: the Cluesmiths vs the String Section in the first semi-final.
I'll get on to that tomorrow, and hopefully get it done before EastEnders starts so I don't have to try and multi-watch.
Round 1. The Wayfarers went first, and kicked the match off with Two Reeds: 'The music question is the twisted flax', then 'By changing nothing, nothing changes. Right?', then 'I hate to see the ev'nin' sun go down', and finally 'If music be the food of love, play on'. Neither team knew it, and I'm not surprised: they are all written in iambic pentameter. Putting the first clue to the test, the Bookworms chose Twisted Flax, and got, not the music question, but the picture question: we saw an equals sign in a circle, then a male representation in a circle, then a circular arrow in a circle, and finally a dollar sign in a circle crossed out. Again, neither side knew it. They are signs signifying a Creative Commons license, ie you don't have complete copyright over something. (Hope that makes sense) The Wayfarers chose 'Horn-ed' Viper next, and this time we got the music question: didn't recognise the first, the second was 'Keep On Running' by the Spencer Davis Group, the third was 'Smooth' by Santana (from the awesome album Supernatural); at this point, after some leniently deliberation, they offered that they are all by bands named after the guitarist, which was correct. (The first song was by the J Geils Band, and Van Halen would've been the fourth track). The Bookworms chose Lion next: 'General Tom Thumb', then ''Sonny' Liston', then 'Chuck Berry', and finally 'Lewis Carroll'. The final clue gave to them: their real first names were all Charles. The Wayfarers chose Eye of Horus next: 'Ind ia', then 'S udan', then 'Mal i', and finally 'Aust ia'; they worked out that you can put extra letters in the gaps to create another country's name. Good one! Left with Water, the Bookworms saw 'Pig', then 'Deer', then 'Adult sheep', and finally 'Adult and young cow'. Neither team knew it. They all have specific names when turned into processed meat (pork, venison, mutton, beef and veal respectively). At the end of a tough first round, the Wayfarers led 3-1.
Round 2, What Comes Fourth? The Wayfarers went first again, chose Water, and got a music question: we first head 'Walking on Sunshine', then Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata, and then 'Good Times' by Chic; they offered something with 'Boogie' in the title, which was right! It's Michael Jackson's Blame It On The Boogie. Awesome question, and yet another enforced sing-along! The Bookworms chose Two Reeds: '1 of 4: Wings (d. Wellman)', then '2 of 4: Grand Hotel (d. Goulding)', and then '3 of 4: Driving Miss Daisy (d. Beresford)'. They didn't get it, nor did their opponents. '4 of 4: Argo (d. Affleck) completes the set; they are Best Picture winners whose director wasn't nominated for Best Director. The Wayfarers chose Twisted Flax next, and got the picture set: we saw a red outlined triangle, then Aristotle Onassis and Nana Mouskouri, and then a compass; they offered something representing 'gifts', which was correct. 'Beware', 'Greeks', 'bearing', 'gifts'! Another good one! The Bookworms chose Eye of Horus next: '1: Field forces, wounded and sick', then '2: Sea forces, wounded, sick and shipwrecked', and then '3: Prisoners of war'. Again, neither side knew it. They are subjects covered by the Geneva conventions, so '4: Wartime civilians' would come fourth. For their final choice, the Wayfarers chose Lion: 'M13', then 'M12', and then 'M10 (since 2009)'; they offered 'M7', which was correct. They are motorways that do not exist. Left with 'Snake'(!), the Bookworms saw 'Corrachadh Mor', then 'Dunnet Head'; at this point, they offered 'Lizard Point', which was correct. They are the furthest extremities of mainland Britain working clockwise from West. At the end of the second round, the Wayfarers led 9-4.
On to the Walls then. The Bookworms went first, and chose to tackle the Water wall. They spotted a group of ducks, and eventually isolated 'Pintail', 'Muscovy', 'Pochard' and 'Mandarin'. They then isolated a second group: 'Kumquat', 'Tangelo', 'Minneola' and 'Clementine' are all citrus fruits, but they dropped the point by suggesting them to be crossbreeds, which not all of them are. Harsh, but fair. They did soon had the remaining groups fixed: 'Satsuma', 'Sunny', 'Wonga' and 'Uncle Buck' are pay-day loan companies, while 'Note', 'Micra', 'Cube' and 'Atlas' are Nissan cars. Just the one mistake, so seven points.
The Wayfarers thus had the Lion wall to contend with. After some early incorrect guesses, they isolated 'Sad', 'Kiss', 'Blush' and 'Smile', which are emoticons. After spending a great deal of time studying what was left, they isolated a second group: 'Thinker', 'Gates of Hell', 'Martyr' and 'Walking Man' are sculptures by Rodin. After that was sorted, they immediately solved what was left: 'Wink', 'Bomb', 'Squidger' and 'Tiddlies' are terms used in the game of tiddlywinks, while 'PerkStreet', 'First Direct', 'Cahoot' and 'Ally' are online banks. A full ten there meant they led 19-11 going into the final round.
So, the Bookworms would need to sweep the board on Missing Vowels to catch up. 'Pre-fame game show appearances', including 'OLLY MURS ON DEAL OR NO DEAL', went to the Wayfarers 2-1. 'Book titles increased by one', such as 'FOUR MEN IN A BOAT', went to the Bookworms 3-1. 'Traditional nicknames with their associated surname' went to the Wayfarers 3-0, and that was time. The Wayfarers won 25-15.
Another excellent match with some great questions. Unlucky Bookworms, but well played over the series. Well done Wayfarers, and best of luck in the SFs!
Monday's match: the Cluesmiths vs the String Section in the first semi-final.
I'll get on to that tomorrow, and hopefully get it done before EastEnders starts so I don't have to try and multi-watch.
Monday, 4 January 2016
University Challenge 2015-16: Round 2: Match 7: Nottingham vs St Catharine's
Evening all. Good to be back to regular service now after the break for Christmas UC. Just two matches left until the ever confusing quarter-final stage now. Whoever won tonight would take the penultimate place in the group stage.
Nottingham narrowly defeated Swansea 135-110 in a low scoring first round match which they won on the buzzer. They certainly went into tonight's match as underdogs, but not total write-offs; we know from experience how unreliable first round form can be. They were the same four as before:
Michael Alexander, from South London, studying Medicine
Ben Scrafield, from Sheffield, studying Chemistry
Captain: Alice Lilly, from Harrogate, studying American Studies
Mark Dennis, from Hucknall in Nottinghamshire, studying Maths
St Catharine's College Cambridge narrowly won out over our old friends Southampton 165-135 in their first match, during which their captain seemed to be single handedly keeping his team in the match by taking all their starters and most of their bonuses on his own. They too were the same four as before:
Calum Watson, from Stirlingshire, studying Maths
Ellie Chan, from Brighton, studying History of Art
Captain: Calum Bungey, from London, studying Chemistry
Alex Cranston, from London, studying Biological Natural Sciences
Off we set again then, and Mr Bungey, whose virtuoso performance in that first round match is one of the best we've seen for a while, took the first starter, and all three bonuses followed. Mr Bungey slipped up on the next starter, though, allowing Nottingham off the mark, and they managed one bonus from their first set. Mr Bungey then took another starter and single handedly answered all the bonuses, getting two right. The first picture round, on novels of Nobel prize winning authors in their original language, went to Nottingham, who swept the board, and leveled the scores at 40-each.
St Catharine's broke the deadlock, with Mr Watson becoming the first player other than Mr Bungey to get a starter for the team this series, and two bonuses followed it. A second starter in a row for Mr Watson and a full set of bonuses on daffodils gave them a substantial lead, and it looked like they might be building up a head of steam. A second successive full set of bonuses, on accidental inventions, seemed to suggest this, before two consecutive dropped starters lowered the tempo somewhat. Mr Bungey restored service by identifying the computer game Minecraft, much to everyone's amusement! His side now had a 90 point lead, and Paxo felt the need to tell Nottingham there was plenty of time left.
The music starter was missed by both sides; the bonuses, on compositions written by composers for plays, went to Nottingham, but they couldn't take any bonuses, and thus trailed 130-50. A second starter in a row went to the Trentsiders, and two bonuses on computer graphics followed. A third starter in a row went Nottingham's way, and you wondered if Paxo's 'encouragement' had set them on a roll to an unlikely comeback. One bonus followed.
The second picture round, on footballers who only played their entire career at one club, went to Nottingham, who took just the one bonus again, but had now cut the deficit to 130-100. Mr Bungey took a much needed starter to give St Catharine's more room to breath, and two bonuses on botany followed. Mr Cranston gave another starter to the Cambridge side, and an excellent set of bonuses on pairs to years with the digits slightly rearranged (such as 1629 and 1926) was cleanly swept up by them, giving them a potentially match winning lead.
Nottingham gave it a good go, though, taking another starter and quickly rushing through their bonuses on literature, taking two. But when Mr Cranston took the next starter, that was most probably game over. Two bonuses on London architecture followed. There was still time for Mr Bungey to take one final starter, and the one bonus they had time to answer. At the gong, St Catharine's won 210-120.
Decent enough match, though with the result most of us would probably have expected. Unlucky Nottingham, who gave a good fight and certainly shouldn't be ashamed of themselves, so well done them. Very well done St Catharine's though on a better performance on both buzzer and bonuses than before, and they could well be dark horses for the QFs; best of luck to them for them!
Mr Bungey was, again, the best buzzer of the night, with six starters this time, while Mr Dennis was Nottingham's best with three. On the bonuses, Nottingham converted 10 out of 21, while St Catharine's managed a superb 23 out of 29 (with one early penalty); excellent stuff that, and we should certainly take them seriously in the group stage.
Next week's match: St John's vs Queen's
Only Connect reached it's semi-final stage tonight, as well as its 200th show, with VCM celebrated by consuming cake during the first round! I'll cover it later in the week once I've caught up with last week's show.
Nottingham narrowly defeated Swansea 135-110 in a low scoring first round match which they won on the buzzer. They certainly went into tonight's match as underdogs, but not total write-offs; we know from experience how unreliable first round form can be. They were the same four as before:
Michael Alexander, from South London, studying Medicine
Ben Scrafield, from Sheffield, studying Chemistry
Captain: Alice Lilly, from Harrogate, studying American Studies
Mark Dennis, from Hucknall in Nottinghamshire, studying Maths
St Catharine's College Cambridge narrowly won out over our old friends Southampton 165-135 in their first match, during which their captain seemed to be single handedly keeping his team in the match by taking all their starters and most of their bonuses on his own. They too were the same four as before:
Calum Watson, from Stirlingshire, studying Maths
Ellie Chan, from Brighton, studying History of Art
Captain: Calum Bungey, from London, studying Chemistry
Alex Cranston, from London, studying Biological Natural Sciences
Off we set again then, and Mr Bungey, whose virtuoso performance in that first round match is one of the best we've seen for a while, took the first starter, and all three bonuses followed. Mr Bungey slipped up on the next starter, though, allowing Nottingham off the mark, and they managed one bonus from their first set. Mr Bungey then took another starter and single handedly answered all the bonuses, getting two right. The first picture round, on novels of Nobel prize winning authors in their original language, went to Nottingham, who swept the board, and leveled the scores at 40-each.
St Catharine's broke the deadlock, with Mr Watson becoming the first player other than Mr Bungey to get a starter for the team this series, and two bonuses followed it. A second starter in a row for Mr Watson and a full set of bonuses on daffodils gave them a substantial lead, and it looked like they might be building up a head of steam. A second successive full set of bonuses, on accidental inventions, seemed to suggest this, before two consecutive dropped starters lowered the tempo somewhat. Mr Bungey restored service by identifying the computer game Minecraft, much to everyone's amusement! His side now had a 90 point lead, and Paxo felt the need to tell Nottingham there was plenty of time left.
The music starter was missed by both sides; the bonuses, on compositions written by composers for plays, went to Nottingham, but they couldn't take any bonuses, and thus trailed 130-50. A second starter in a row went to the Trentsiders, and two bonuses on computer graphics followed. A third starter in a row went Nottingham's way, and you wondered if Paxo's 'encouragement' had set them on a roll to an unlikely comeback. One bonus followed.
The second picture round, on footballers who only played their entire career at one club, went to Nottingham, who took just the one bonus again, but had now cut the deficit to 130-100. Mr Bungey took a much needed starter to give St Catharine's more room to breath, and two bonuses on botany followed. Mr Cranston gave another starter to the Cambridge side, and an excellent set of bonuses on pairs to years with the digits slightly rearranged (such as 1629 and 1926) was cleanly swept up by them, giving them a potentially match winning lead.
Nottingham gave it a good go, though, taking another starter and quickly rushing through their bonuses on literature, taking two. But when Mr Cranston took the next starter, that was most probably game over. Two bonuses on London architecture followed. There was still time for Mr Bungey to take one final starter, and the one bonus they had time to answer. At the gong, St Catharine's won 210-120.
Decent enough match, though with the result most of us would probably have expected. Unlucky Nottingham, who gave a good fight and certainly shouldn't be ashamed of themselves, so well done them. Very well done St Catharine's though on a better performance on both buzzer and bonuses than before, and they could well be dark horses for the QFs; best of luck to them for them!
Mr Bungey was, again, the best buzzer of the night, with six starters this time, while Mr Dennis was Nottingham's best with three. On the bonuses, Nottingham converted 10 out of 21, while St Catharine's managed a superb 23 out of 29 (with one early penalty); excellent stuff that, and we should certainly take them seriously in the group stage.
Next week's match: St John's vs Queen's
Only Connect reached it's semi-final stage tonight, as well as its 200th show, with VCM celebrated by consuming cake during the first round! I'll cover it later in the week once I've caught up with last week's show.
Saturday, 2 January 2016
Christmas University Challenge 2015: Matches 6-10 (Monday 28th - Friday 1st)
Happy New Year all! Hope everyone had a safe new year. Time to look over the second round of Christmas UC matches. (Again, these reviews are mostly based on memory, so they may not be completely accurate)
Monday 28th: Aberdeen vs Sheffield
Aberdeen: Richard Klein, Nicky Campbell, Ian Boyd, Kezia Dugdale
Sheffield: Sid Lowe, Nicci Gerrard, Adam Hart, Ruth Reed
Not really much to say about this match; Aberdeen got off the mark first, but Sheffield caught them very quickly and didn't relinquish the lead once they took it. Sheffield ultimately won 185-90 to secure a place in the semis. Highlight was Ms Dugdale's identification of Oor Wullie as the mischievous schoolboy from Auchenshoogle!
Tuesday 29th: Durham vs L.S.E.
Durham: Richard Ovenden, Tim Willcox, Monica Grady, Tim Smit
L.S.E.: Bob Neill, Justin Webb, Martin Lewis, James O'Brien
A very close and tight match between two evenly matched teams. In the end, we had a rare tie, 130-each! Durham answered the tie-break correctly, and thus won the game, though it was purely academical as it wasn't enough for a place in the second round. Technically, though, it shouldn't have gone to a tie, as Paxo let L.S.E. off with 'Melbourne and the MCC' for 'Melbourne and the MCG' in the first picture round (though, to be fair, he did say he wouldn't have let a student team have it).
Wednesday 30th: Manchester vs Sheffield
The second semi-final didn't go the way most of us expected. Manchester weren't able to ace the buzzer race like they did before against Sheffield, who managed to shut them out with some quick buzzes and maintain an advantage throughout. Though Manchester came close a few times, they never quite gathered momentum until it was too late. Sheffield won 160-105 to reach the final.
Thursday 31st: U.C.L. vs Magdalen
Two returning sides from last week, and, again, it was close at first until the second half, when Magdalen began to get to the buzzer quicker and run away. U.C.L. did generally get more bonuses when they got in, so the match wasn't quite as big a walkover as it might have been. Magdalen won 195-100.
Friday 1st: Sheffield vs Magdalen
Sadly, like last year, the final was a bit of an anti-climax. Unlike their previous matches, Magdalen shot off the mark, dominating the buzzer race and confining Sheffield's contributions to a couple of penalties. By the time Sheffield recovered to 0, Magdalen were well over the 100 mark. Highlight was Paxo telling Mr Lane Fox to not be so patronising, after he gave a more elaborate answer than he expected to be on the card! It finished 230-60 in Magdalen's favour.
So, that's it for another Christmas UC series. It's been good viewing over the past two weeks; thank you to all who took part for making an enjoyable series!
But it will be good to get back into regular service. Hopefully, I'll be able to carry on as normal on Monday night with the penultimate second round match; don't know who's playing, but Nottingham, Queen's, St Catharine's and St John's are the four sides we have yet to return, so it'll be two of them. I'll also catch up with Monday's OC alongside this Monday coming's.
Monday 28th: Aberdeen vs Sheffield
Aberdeen: Richard Klein, Nicky Campbell, Ian Boyd, Kezia Dugdale
Sheffield: Sid Lowe, Nicci Gerrard, Adam Hart, Ruth Reed
Not really much to say about this match; Aberdeen got off the mark first, but Sheffield caught them very quickly and didn't relinquish the lead once they took it. Sheffield ultimately won 185-90 to secure a place in the semis. Highlight was Ms Dugdale's identification of Oor Wullie as the mischievous schoolboy from Auchenshoogle!
Tuesday 29th: Durham vs L.S.E.
Durham: Richard Ovenden, Tim Willcox, Monica Grady, Tim Smit
L.S.E.: Bob Neill, Justin Webb, Martin Lewis, James O'Brien
A very close and tight match between two evenly matched teams. In the end, we had a rare tie, 130-each! Durham answered the tie-break correctly, and thus won the game, though it was purely academical as it wasn't enough for a place in the second round. Technically, though, it shouldn't have gone to a tie, as Paxo let L.S.E. off with 'Melbourne and the MCC' for 'Melbourne and the MCG' in the first picture round (though, to be fair, he did say he wouldn't have let a student team have it).
Wednesday 30th: Manchester vs Sheffield
The second semi-final didn't go the way most of us expected. Manchester weren't able to ace the buzzer race like they did before against Sheffield, who managed to shut them out with some quick buzzes and maintain an advantage throughout. Though Manchester came close a few times, they never quite gathered momentum until it was too late. Sheffield won 160-105 to reach the final.
Thursday 31st: U.C.L. vs Magdalen
Two returning sides from last week, and, again, it was close at first until the second half, when Magdalen began to get to the buzzer quicker and run away. U.C.L. did generally get more bonuses when they got in, so the match wasn't quite as big a walkover as it might have been. Magdalen won 195-100.
Friday 1st: Sheffield vs Magdalen
Sadly, like last year, the final was a bit of an anti-climax. Unlike their previous matches, Magdalen shot off the mark, dominating the buzzer race and confining Sheffield's contributions to a couple of penalties. By the time Sheffield recovered to 0, Magdalen were well over the 100 mark. Highlight was Paxo telling Mr Lane Fox to not be so patronising, after he gave a more elaborate answer than he expected to be on the card! It finished 230-60 in Magdalen's favour.
So, that's it for another Christmas UC series. It's been good viewing over the past two weeks; thank you to all who took part for making an enjoyable series!
But it will be good to get back into regular service. Hopefully, I'll be able to carry on as normal on Monday night with the penultimate second round match; don't know who's playing, but Nottingham, Queen's, St Catharine's and St John's are the four sides we have yet to return, so it'll be two of them. I'll also catch up with Monday's OC alongside this Monday coming's.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)