OK, here we go with Only Connect. Same format as UC, and we arrive at the same point at the same time, except OC does it in a different, more logical order. Eliminators first, then qualifiers, and then the play-offs. Makes more sense, but, TBH, I kinda prefer UC's more scattered way of doing it.
Anyway, playing last night were the Wanderers, John Payne, Richard Arthur and captain Sanjoy Sen, who beat the Pedagogues and fellow QFs the Inquisitors, but were beaten in their preliminary by the Vikings, and the Eco-Warriors, Jonathan Kershaw, Peter Barlow and captain Brett Bostock, who came the early rounds by beating fellow QFs the Escapologists and the Snake Charmers, but were overcome by the Inquisitors in the prelims.
Round 1. The Warriors kicked the show off with Two Reeds: 'Pojdzze. kin te chmurnosc w glab flaszy!', then 'Portez ce vieux whisky a la luge blonge qui fume', then 'Hoj bly gom vandt fraek sexquiz pa wc', and finally 'The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog'. That gave it to them, and me: they are pangrams, ie sentences that contain every letter of their respective alphabets. The Wanderers opened their match with 'Horn-ed' Viper: 'Hillary Clinton, Yemen, January 2011', then 'Jennifer Lawrence, Los Angeles, February 2013', then 'The Edge, Vancouver, May 2015'; they offered that they all fell over in those places then, and picked up two points for it. The Warriors chose Twisted Flax next: 'Snuppy', then 'Mewtwo', then 'Boba Fett', and finally 'Dolly'. They offered that they are clones, and collected another point. The Wanderers chose Eye of Horus next, and got the picture set: we saw Sally Field, then Charles II; mistaking the latter for Descartes, they tried 'fields', not right. Their opponents saw Jerry Springer and Jarvis Cocker, and offered 'spaniels' for the bonus. For their own question, the Warriors chose Lion: 'Adriano (Brazil)', then 'Anna (USA)', then 'Perse (Iran)'; they offered that adding 'polis' to the end of them give cities in those countries, and collected two points there too. Left with Water, and the music question, the Wanderers heard 'Sono Andati?' from La Boheme, then Terry Jacks with 'Seasons in the Sun', then 'A Little Fall of Rain' from Les Mis; they suggested 'weather', which was not correct. Their opponents heard the Bee Gees' 'I've Gotta Get a Message to You', but were none the wiser; they are songs sung by dying people. At the end of the first round, the Warriors led 5-2.
Round 2, What Comes Fourth? The Warriors opened the round with Twisted Flax, and a music question: we heard Al Stewart's 'Year of the Cat', then David Bowie with 'Art Decade', and then the iconic 20th Century Fox music. They didn't spot it, nor did their opponents: increasing periods of time, so something for Millennium, such as Mr R. Williams' song (as performed by the teams!), would suffice. The Wanderers chose 'Horn-ed' Viper next, and got the picture set: we saw some Kit-Kats, then a rainbow coloured lollipop, and then a toasted marshmallow. They didn't get it, their opponents did: they are Android operating systems, so 'Nougat' would come fourth. For their own question, the Warriors chose Two Reeds: 'Children, Schools & Families', then 'Energy & Climate Change' (I had it here), and then 'Business, Skills & Innovation'; they offered 'Brexit', which was correct, the sequence being the most recently created government departments. The Wanderers chose Lion next: 'Hawkeye Pierce', then 'Fancy Smith', and then 'Monica Geller'. Neither side got this: they are characters played by Alan Alda, Brian Blessed and Courteney Cox, so David Duchovny's 'Fox Mulder', or Danny Dyer's 'Mick Carter', would complete the sequence. For their final choice, the Warriors chose Eye of Horus: '13-19', then 'One of the X-Men', and then 'Trained Japanese assassin'. They didn't get it, nor did the opposition: the clues are 'Teenage', 'Mutant' and 'Ninja', so something for 'Turtles' would complete the set! Left with Water again, the Wanderers saw 'R______R', then '_N____N_', and then '__B__B__'. They didn't get it, nor did their opponents: it is chess pieces based on their starting position, going inwards, so '___QK___' would be fourth. At the end of the second round, the Warriors led 8-2.
On to the Walls. The Wanderers went first, and chose to tackle the Lion wall. After spotting some potential links early on, they were unable to isolate anything at first, until they eventually slotted in 'Superior', 'Goose', 'Tongue' and 'Nature', which can all follow 'Mother'. That was all they could come up with though, so had to go for bonuses: 'Jester', 'Merlin', 'Magic' and 'Hollywood' are pilots from Top Gun, which they got, 'Iceman', 'Interlude', 'Electra' and 'Wilderness' feature in the titles of Eugene O'Neill plays, which they didn't get, while 'New Scientist', 'Countryman', 'Wildlife' and 'National Geographic' are science and nature magazines, which they did get. Four points there.
The Warriors could thus put the game beyond realistic reach with a good result on the Water wall. They isolated a first set reasonably quickly: 'Buxton', 'Bolsover', 'Matlock' and 'Whaley Bridge' are places in Derbyshire. Again, though, they couldn't get any more slot-ins, and thus also had bonuses to collect: 'Glossop', 'Threepwood', 'Ukridge' and 'Psmith' are PG Wodehouse characters, which they got, 'Wooster', 'Prince Regent', 'Little' and 'Roper' are characters played by Hugh Laurie, which they also got, while 'House', 'Third', 'Search' and 'Labour' can all precede 'party', which they didn't see. Another four there, so as you were, the Warriors led 12-6 going into the final round.
So, just about still to play for in Missing Vowels. 'Popular bedtime stories' was split 2-each. 'Special editions of Walkers crisps', such as 'BUILDER'S BREAKFAST' and 'SALT AND LINEKER' went to the Warriors 3-(-1). 'Inquisitive film titles', such as 'DUDE, WHERE'S MY CAR?' and 'O BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU?', was a clean sweep to the Wanderers 4-0, and that was time. The Warriors led 17-11.
A tough match, some good hard questions, well played both sides all things considered. Unlucky Wanderers, but nothing to be ashamed of, a very respectable series performance, and thanks very much for playing! Well done Warriors though, and best of luck in the play-offs!
Next week's match: the Detectives vs the Beeks in the second eliminator.
I can't see why they thought Rene Descartes would give the link "fields" - any ideas?
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