So, it's been two weeks since UC finished up for the Spring, and one week since OC's finale. So, time for those final thoughts I promised you. This won't take too long I hope, as they're mostly the same points I've made before, but still...
Well, overall, both were excellent series. UC started a bit slowly in the first round, but hit its stride in the second, and remained enthralling for the rest of the series, not evenly the slightly disappointing final souring the series at all.
OC also had a somewhat difficult start, with its new format not at all clear, and it took us a while to work out what exactly was going on. And I think we all like the format idea that means no team goes out after a win and a single defeat, something a lot of us feel quite strongly about in terms of UC's format. The fact that the eventual winners came as far as they did after losing their first match, and one of the semi-finalist teams also lost en route and came through the extended round, just shows that the format is justified.
There was one issue with the format though: the quarter-final process did drag a bit after all the earlier play-offs and so on. It would've worked a bit better, IMO, if they'd just done straight knockout in the quarter-finals.
I mean, look, I have nothing wrong with the extended quarter-final phase, it worked very well for OC in the five series it was used entirely in, as it meant all teams got at least two matches. And that was, I thought, the reason it was introduced in the first place, to stop really good teams only getting one game due to a very unlucky first round draw.
I was, therefore, somewhat surprised when, last series, the show decided to no longer do it like that. I know the extension to 37 shows was designed so it could run alongside UC all series, but, to be quite honest, whereas 37 shows just about makes it with UC, it is a bit long for OC IMO. Half the time, especially in the later stages, I had to swot back on previous reviews to write my recap of a team's prior progress.
As for UC, well, it's been nearly a decade since the extended quarter-final stage was introduced. I'm still not an enormous fan of it being used following a sudden death second round; as Aethelstan points out, a lot of the teams that fell in the second round, this year in particular, can consider themselves unlucky not to reach the group stage.
I suspect both these formats will be around for both shows' next series, and I'm fine with that. The only real issue with OC's format is the number of teams that only get one game; the issue about the group stage dragging after it is only a minor complaint, though I still think sudden death QFs would fit better with the format.
Now, the future of this blog.
As you may be aware, these reviews have become increasingly harder for me to write these last couple of years, due to a lack of imagination, I keep saying the same things most weeks. And while some of them are habits I have been unable to break out of, some I just cannot think of a different way of phrasing.
Now I mention it, I do think the extended formats might have something to do with this fatigue. Keeping a blog series running for 37 weeks does wear one out somewhat. Usually, at the start of the series, I am a lot keener to do the reviews than I am by the time the series ends.
On the other hand, I have been running this blog in the same format for six years now, and maybe now is the time for change. Next series, I will either carry on the way things are at the moment, or I may decide to change things up a bit.
So, yes, I am going to do another series of write-ups on here, but maybe, just maybe, in a new style. Nothing set in stone yet; if I do decide to change formats, I will probably only decide to do so nearer the time.
For now, though, this blog is being put on its now usual hibernation until Quizzy Mondays return in July. Thanks once again to all who have commented on the blog or on Twitter over the past ten months, been great correspondence as always!
So, until we next meet, whenever that is, and in whatever form, good night, and stay safe!
Monday, 7 May 2018
Tuesday, 1 May 2018
Only Connect Series 13: Grand Final: Escapologists vs Belgophiles
OK, here we are, the thirteenth Only Connect grand final. And after the string section guesting in the final two series ago, this series was enlivened by an a capella group, performing the opening and closing music plus the riffs between the rounds. So, would it be a second win in a row for a team that had lost twice en route, or a first victory for a team with two players with the same surname?
The Esacpologists, Frank Paul, Tom Rowell and captain Lydia Mizon, lost their first match to the Eco-Warriors, but survived as one of two highest scoring runners-up, then beat the other, the Cricketers, and the Dandies in the play-off round; they then beat the Detectives, won a rematch against the Eco-Warriors, and last week defeated the Inquisitors to make the final, where they come face to face with a team who had beaten them by a single point in the QF qualifiers. The Belgophiles, Helen Fasham, Phil Small and captain Ben Fasham, husband of Helen, by contrast, came straight through undefeated, with victories over the Lapsed Physicists, the Meeples, the Beaks and the Vikings, as well as that victory over their fellow finalists.
Round 1. The Belgophiles kicked the final off with Eye of Horus: 'In low melting point alloys', then 'As a poison', then 'Be present in Emerald'; they saw that the first words are chemical symbols of elements that match the subsequent descriptions, and collected two points to start with. The Escapologists opened their showing with Lion: 'The temperature in Chopok, Slovakia', then 'Esquivalience'; they noticed at this point that they are fictitious reference book entries used as copyright traps, or 'mountweazels', and that was three points for them. The Belgophiles chose Horned Viper next, and got the picture set: we saw a coach party with 'Tower' next to them, then a £1 coin with 'Corner' next to it, then a cartoon of a chap who has hit his finger with a hammer alongside 'Bread', and finally a dent in a car alongside 'Tooth'. They identified the image as referring to a French translation of the word, and collected a point. The Escapologists chose Water next, and got the music set: we heard Gwen Stefani with 'Cool', then 'Tonight' by New Kids on the Block, then 'Maria' from The Sound of Music, and finally Simon and Garfunkel's 'America'. They didn't get the link, nor did their opponents til it was too late: they are songs that share their names with songs from West Side Story. The Belgophiles chose Two Reeds next: 'Augustus of Primaporta: out', then 'Laocoon: one short', then 'The Rocky Statue: six', and finally 'Christ the Redeemer: wide'. They offered them to be statues that depict a figure in a cricket umpiring position, and a point was collected. Left with Twisted Flax, the Escapologists saw 'Dora Maar', then 'Thai beef dish 'Seua rong hai'', then 'Salix babylonica', and finally 'Quantum-locked evil statues in Doctor Who'; they identified them as linked by 'weeping', and also picked up a point. At the end of the first round, the teams were tied on 4-each.
Round 2, What Comes Fourth? The Belgophiles started the round with Eye of Horus again: 'Caloris Montes', then 'Skadi Mons', and then 'Mount Everest'; they identified them as the highest mountains on Mercury, Venus and Earth, so offered 'Olympus Mons' as the highest on Mars for the two points. The Escapologists chose Twisted Flax next, and got the picture set: we saw a still from the film '50 First Dates', then one from the film 'The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel'; they saw the sequence, and offered 'The Fourth Estate' for the three points. The Belgophiles chose Lion next: 'Ted-Violet', then 'Reginald-Joanie', and then 'Derek-Raquel'; they saw them to the four generations of the Trotter family in Only Fools and Horses, so offered 'Damien' for the two points. The Escapologists chose Water next, and got a music question: we heard the Monkees with 'I'm a Believer', then 'You're the One that I Want' from Grease; they saw a link of 'first person singular' and 'second person singular', so suggested a song beginning with a first person plural, such as Queen's 'We Are The Champions' for the points. (Cue the a capella group providing a snippet) For their final choice, the Belgophiles chose Two Reeds: 'Battle of Agincourt', then 'Pocahontus dies'; they came in here and offered 'The 2015 General Election', which was not acceptable. Their opponents saw 'Peterloo Massacre', but were none the wiser: they are events of 1415, 1617 and 1819, so something that could happen in 2021, such as 'the Next UK Census', or, as my Celtic supporter Dad suggested, 'Celtic winning 10 in a row'(!), would suffice for the points. Left with Horned Viper, the Escapologists saw 'DQVZHU', then 'CPUYGT'; they offered 'ANSWER', which was correct, the sequence being the letters are all going backwards one at a time to eventually, literally, spell the answer. Good shout that! At the end of the second round, the Escapologists led 13-8.
On to the Walls. The Escapologists went first, and chose to tackle the Water wall. After spotting some possible links, they eventually isolated 'Sprucy', 'Tango', 'Lima' and 'Rabies', which are anagrams of countries. They saw some other potential links, but no further sets could be isolated. So they had to go for bonuses: 'Golf', 'Cricket', 'Rugby' and 'Polo' are ball games, which they got, 'Romeo', 'Martin', 'Davidson' and 'Royce' are second names of motor manufacturers, which they also got, while 'Sampson', 'Potpan', 'Juliet' and 'Escalus' are characters in Romeo and Juliet, which they didn't get. Four points there.
The Belgophiles chose thus make up ground with a better performance on the Lion wall. They had even less success finding groups however, spotting numerous possible links, but none that fitted. So they too had to scavenge for connection bonuses: 'Golf', 'Romeo', 'Tango' and 'Lima' are words in the NATO alphabet, which they knew, 'up!', 'Amarok', 'Polo' and 'Jetta' are Volkswagen vehicles, which they also got, 'Badminton', 'Dollar', 'Rugby' and 'Stowe' are famous public schools, which they also correctly spotted, while 'Ostrich', 'Cricket', 'Crikey' and 'Dickens' all have abbreviations of the name Richard hidden in them ('ostRICH', 'cRICKet', 'cRIKey' and 'DICKens'), which they didn't spot. Three points there, which left them trailing 17-11 going into the final final round.
So, just about still to play for in Missing Vowels, but the Belgophiles would need to run the show. 'Things associated with connections of sequences', such as 'FIBONACCI' and 'SOCIAL NETWORKING', went to the Escapologists 2-1. 'Walls', such as 'ANTONINE WALL' (which I got, but neither team did), went to the Belgophiles 1-0. 'They're all missing vowels', such as 'THIS CLUE'(!) and 'HEBREW IN THE TORAH', went to the Escapologists 2-1, and that was time. The Escapologists won the game, and the series, 21-14.
A good final, a good end to the series. Unlucky Belgophiles, but a final series of performances, no shame in coming second, thanks very much indeed for playing. Very very well done Escapologists though, worthy and deserving champions!
And that's it for this series as well! Thanks to all the teams who took part in this series, another good one to recap, and if it is the last I do in this much detail, a good one to go out on.
A more thorough set of thoughts on the future prospects of OC, and UC, will follow either later this week or next week.
The Esacpologists, Frank Paul, Tom Rowell and captain Lydia Mizon, lost their first match to the Eco-Warriors, but survived as one of two highest scoring runners-up, then beat the other, the Cricketers, and the Dandies in the play-off round; they then beat the Detectives, won a rematch against the Eco-Warriors, and last week defeated the Inquisitors to make the final, where they come face to face with a team who had beaten them by a single point in the QF qualifiers. The Belgophiles, Helen Fasham, Phil Small and captain Ben Fasham, husband of Helen, by contrast, came straight through undefeated, with victories over the Lapsed Physicists, the Meeples, the Beaks and the Vikings, as well as that victory over their fellow finalists.
Round 1. The Belgophiles kicked the final off with Eye of Horus: 'In low melting point alloys', then 'As a poison', then 'Be present in Emerald'; they saw that the first words are chemical symbols of elements that match the subsequent descriptions, and collected two points to start with. The Escapologists opened their showing with Lion: 'The temperature in Chopok, Slovakia', then 'Esquivalience'; they noticed at this point that they are fictitious reference book entries used as copyright traps, or 'mountweazels', and that was three points for them. The Belgophiles chose Horned Viper next, and got the picture set: we saw a coach party with 'Tower' next to them, then a £1 coin with 'Corner' next to it, then a cartoon of a chap who has hit his finger with a hammer alongside 'Bread', and finally a dent in a car alongside 'Tooth'. They identified the image as referring to a French translation of the word, and collected a point. The Escapologists chose Water next, and got the music set: we heard Gwen Stefani with 'Cool', then 'Tonight' by New Kids on the Block, then 'Maria' from The Sound of Music, and finally Simon and Garfunkel's 'America'. They didn't get the link, nor did their opponents til it was too late: they are songs that share their names with songs from West Side Story. The Belgophiles chose Two Reeds next: 'Augustus of Primaporta: out', then 'Laocoon: one short', then 'The Rocky Statue: six', and finally 'Christ the Redeemer: wide'. They offered them to be statues that depict a figure in a cricket umpiring position, and a point was collected. Left with Twisted Flax, the Escapologists saw 'Dora Maar', then 'Thai beef dish 'Seua rong hai'', then 'Salix babylonica', and finally 'Quantum-locked evil statues in Doctor Who'; they identified them as linked by 'weeping', and also picked up a point. At the end of the first round, the teams were tied on 4-each.
Round 2, What Comes Fourth? The Belgophiles started the round with Eye of Horus again: 'Caloris Montes', then 'Skadi Mons', and then 'Mount Everest'; they identified them as the highest mountains on Mercury, Venus and Earth, so offered 'Olympus Mons' as the highest on Mars for the two points. The Escapologists chose Twisted Flax next, and got the picture set: we saw a still from the film '50 First Dates', then one from the film 'The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel'; they saw the sequence, and offered 'The Fourth Estate' for the three points. The Belgophiles chose Lion next: 'Ted-Violet', then 'Reginald-Joanie', and then 'Derek-Raquel'; they saw them to the four generations of the Trotter family in Only Fools and Horses, so offered 'Damien' for the two points. The Escapologists chose Water next, and got a music question: we heard the Monkees with 'I'm a Believer', then 'You're the One that I Want' from Grease; they saw a link of 'first person singular' and 'second person singular', so suggested a song beginning with a first person plural, such as Queen's 'We Are The Champions' for the points. (Cue the a capella group providing a snippet) For their final choice, the Belgophiles chose Two Reeds: 'Battle of Agincourt', then 'Pocahontus dies'; they came in here and offered 'The 2015 General Election', which was not acceptable. Their opponents saw 'Peterloo Massacre', but were none the wiser: they are events of 1415, 1617 and 1819, so something that could happen in 2021, such as 'the Next UK Census', or, as my Celtic supporter Dad suggested, 'Celtic winning 10 in a row'(!), would suffice for the points. Left with Horned Viper, the Escapologists saw 'DQVZHU', then 'CPUYGT'; they offered 'ANSWER', which was correct, the sequence being the letters are all going backwards one at a time to eventually, literally, spell the answer. Good shout that! At the end of the second round, the Escapologists led 13-8.
On to the Walls. The Escapologists went first, and chose to tackle the Water wall. After spotting some possible links, they eventually isolated 'Sprucy', 'Tango', 'Lima' and 'Rabies', which are anagrams of countries. They saw some other potential links, but no further sets could be isolated. So they had to go for bonuses: 'Golf', 'Cricket', 'Rugby' and 'Polo' are ball games, which they got, 'Romeo', 'Martin', 'Davidson' and 'Royce' are second names of motor manufacturers, which they also got, while 'Sampson', 'Potpan', 'Juliet' and 'Escalus' are characters in Romeo and Juliet, which they didn't get. Four points there.
The Belgophiles chose thus make up ground with a better performance on the Lion wall. They had even less success finding groups however, spotting numerous possible links, but none that fitted. So they too had to scavenge for connection bonuses: 'Golf', 'Romeo', 'Tango' and 'Lima' are words in the NATO alphabet, which they knew, 'up!', 'Amarok', 'Polo' and 'Jetta' are Volkswagen vehicles, which they also got, 'Badminton', 'Dollar', 'Rugby' and 'Stowe' are famous public schools, which they also correctly spotted, while 'Ostrich', 'Cricket', 'Crikey' and 'Dickens' all have abbreviations of the name Richard hidden in them ('ostRICH', 'cRICKet', 'cRIKey' and 'DICKens'), which they didn't spot. Three points there, which left them trailing 17-11 going into the final final round.
So, just about still to play for in Missing Vowels, but the Belgophiles would need to run the show. 'Things associated with connections of sequences', such as 'FIBONACCI' and 'SOCIAL NETWORKING', went to the Escapologists 2-1. 'Walls', such as 'ANTONINE WALL' (which I got, but neither team did), went to the Belgophiles 1-0. 'They're all missing vowels', such as 'THIS CLUE'(!) and 'HEBREW IN THE TORAH', went to the Escapologists 2-1, and that was time. The Escapologists won the game, and the series, 21-14.
A good final, a good end to the series. Unlucky Belgophiles, but a final series of performances, no shame in coming second, thanks very much indeed for playing. Very very well done Escapologists though, worthy and deserving champions!
And that's it for this series as well! Thanks to all the teams who took part in this series, another good one to recap, and if it is the last I do in this much detail, a good one to go out on.
A more thorough set of thoughts on the future prospects of OC, and UC, will follow either later this week or next week.
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