OK, the second semi-final of, what could well be, the final series of Only Connect I cover in this much depth on this blog, but, as with my proposed UC streamlining, I haven't made any firm decisions yet. Not this week anyway.
Anyway, playing last night were two teams who have demonstrated the validity of the show's bizarre new rules on second chances; the Inquisitors, Luke Kelly, Rob Cumming and captain Julia Hobbs, lost in the second round to the Wanderers, but have otherwise comfortably beaten the Cricketers, the Snake Charmers, the Meeples, the Eco-Warriors and the Vikings, while the Escaplogists, Frank Paul, Tom Rowell and captain Lydia Mizon, lost their first match to the Eco-Warriors, but came through as highest scoring first round runners-up, then beat the Cricketers, the Dandies, the Detectives and then won a rematch against the Eco-Warriors, while also narrowly losing to the Belgophiles along the way.
Round 1. The Escapologists kicked the show off with Lion: 'Afghanistan i/e', then 'Mozambique z/c'; they came in here and suggested that they are swapped letters in the countries' native language, and collected three points in a good start to the show. The Inquisitors began their night with Eye of Horus, and the music set: we heard Scroobius Pip with 'Thou Shalt Always Kill', then 'Where Do You Go To My Lovely' by Peter Sarstedt, then Billy Joel's classic 'We Didn't Start the Fire', and finally Madonna's 'Vogue'. They identified them as songs noted for numerous celebrity namechecks, and collected a point. The Escapologists chose Two Reeds next, and got the picture set: we saw American football player Chad Johnson, then Mr Chad the graffiti man (Kilroy was here), then a map of Africa with Chad highlighted; they saw the link, and collected two points. The Inquisitors chose Twisted Flax next: 'Gi estas lau mi Volapukajo', then 'Per me e arabo', then 'Dat is Latin voor mij'. They came in here, but could not offer an acceptable answer. Their opponents saw 'C'est du chinois pur moi', and offered them to be the phrase 'It's all Greek to me', in various languages, with the appropriate languages that country uses instead, and collected a bonus. For their own question, the Escapologists chose Water: 'Tim Pigott-Smith: Audiobook', then 'Morgan Freeman: Film', then 'Richard Burton: Album', and finally 'Orson Welles: Radio'. They saw them to be narrators of various versions of War of the Worlds, and collected another point. Left with Horned Viper, the Inquisitors saw 'Film director and producer Alexander Korda', then 'Jockey Gordon Richards', then 'Actor Henry Irving'; they saw them to be the first men in their field to be knighted, and collected two points. (Unsurprisingly, 'Footballer Stanley Matthews' would have been the final clue) At the end of the first round, the Escapologists led 7-3.
Round 2, What Comes Fourth? The Escapologists kicked off with Horned Viper: '0 -> script', then '1 -> triceps', and then '2 -> receipts'. They offered '3 -> treespice', which was acceptable, the trick here being that an 'E' is added each time and an appropriate anagram is generated. The Inquisitors chose Lion next: 'When I consider everything that grows', then 'But wherefore do not you a mightier way', and then 'Who will believe my verse in time to come'. They saw it to be something to do with Shakespeare's sonnets, and guessed 'Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?'; correct for the two points, the sequence being the first lines of sonnets 15, 16, 17 and 18. The Escapologists chose Eye of Horus next: 'Many a Slip', then 'Ghostwatch', and then 'Nationwide'. They didn't get it, nor did their opponents: they are shows hosted by successive Desert Islands Discs presenters, Roy Plomley, Michael Parkinson and Sue Lawley, so something Kirsty Young has presented, such as 'Crimewatch', or 'Have I Got News for You', would complete the sequence. The Inquisitors chose Water next: '!', then '" "'; they suggested '$ $ $ $', which was correct, the sequence being the extra symbols one can generate on a QWERTY keyboard with the number keys, and the appropriate number of them. For their final choice, the Escapologists chose Twisted Flax, and got the picture set: we saw an exactly square Tetris piece alongside an O, then another Tetris piece with the top row shifted along one alongside an S, and then a Tetris piece with three at the top and one at the bottom alongside a T. They didn't get it, their opponents did: they are letters that can be Tetris shapes resemble in alphabetical order, so a reverse of the second one alongside a Z would be fourth. Left with Two Reeds for their own final question, the Inquisitors saw 'The Aviator: Jamie Foxx', then 'Blood Diamond: Forest Whitaker', and then 'The Wolf of Wall Street: Matthew McConaughey'. Neither team got this: they are films for which Leonardo DiCaprio was nominated for Best Actor and the actors that won in the year in question, so 'The Revenant: Leonardo DiCaprio' himself complete the set. At the end of the second round, the teams were tied on 9-each.
On to the Walls. The Inquisitors went first this time, and chose the Lion wall. They fairly quickly isolated 'C-4', 'Semtex', 'Cordite' and 'ANFO', which are explosives, followed in short order by 'DX', 'Hermes', 'TNT' and 'Yodel', which are delivery companies. After carefully studying the rest, they had it on their second go: 'Hestia', 'Hera', 'Leto' and 'Demeter' are Greek goddesses, while 'Poseidon', 'Torrin', 'Orca' and 'Venture' are fictional sea vessels, which they didn't quite get right enough. Seven points there then.
The Escapologists thus set to work on the Water wall. They too isolated a first set reasonable quickly: 'Lettice and Lovage', 'Equus', 'Black Comedy' and 'Amadeus' are plays by Peter Shaffer. After a few wrong tries, they had a second set, 'Pinkeye', 'Mono', 'Heartburn' and 'Croup' are colloquial names for diseases. With just seconds to go, the final sets slotted in on their final try: 'Lupus', 'Cerva', 'Bos' and 'Avis' are Latin names for animals, while 'Egan', 'Ollie', 'Argo' and 'Aria' become girls names when an M is added in front. A full ten there, which gave them a lead of 19-16 going into the final round.
So, Missing Vowels would decide the second place in the final. 'TV programs merged with US states', such as 'ONLY CONNECTICUT', went to the Escapologists 3-1. 'People whose surnames are types of cake', such as 'CROCODILE DUNDEE' and 'KEITH LEMON' was a clean sweep to the Escapologists. 'Words whose letters are in alphabetical order', such as 'ABHORS' and 'ALMOST' was another Escapologists full set. 'Performers and their acts' gave the Inquisitors the one clue there was time for. The Escapologists won 30-18.
Another fine show, some excellent quizzing by both sides, and nowhere near that one sided until right at the end. Unlucky Inquisitors, but a fine series of performances, thanks very much indeed for taking part. Very well done Escapologists though, and very very best of luck in the final next week!
Next week: that grand final, a rematch between the Belgophiles and the Escapologists
Stay tuned for my usual UC stats and recaps throughout the week.
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