OK, here's Only Connect. And is it me, or is Victoria's intros becoming more and more similar to those on I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue? Another this week that could feasibly have come straight out of Jack Dee's script?
Anyway, playing were the Brews, Andy Christley, James Buchanan and captain Daniel Foskett, and the Forrests, Jenny Forrest, Belinda Weir and captain Oliver Forrest, son of Belinda and brother of Jenny, who may or may not have appeared on UC back in the 2012/13 series.
Round 1. The Forrests kicked the match off with Twisted Flax, and the picture set: we saw musician 'T-Bone' Burnett, then Sir Ian Botham, aka Beefy, then Ram John Holder as Porkpie from Desmond's, and finally the singer Meat Loaf. They spotted the link, and collected a point. The Brews opened their account with Two Reeds: 'Cheap', then '9', then 'Gimme'; they saw them to be words that repeated three times give the name of TV shows, and picked up two there. ('Location' would, naturally, have been the last one) The Forrests chose Horned Viper next: '1958: Broke the record of Chu Chin Chow', then '1974: Moved to St Martin's', then '2002: 50th anniversary', and finally '2012: 25000th performance'. They didn't get it, their opponents did: they are notable milestones of the play 'The Mousetrap'. For their own question, the Brews chose Eye of Horus, and got the music set: we heard the theme from 'Inspector Wexford', then Status Quo with 'Down Down', then the theme to 'Dr Kildare', and finally Ed Sheeren singing 'Galway Girl'. Neither side spotted the link, they are Irish counties. The Forrests chose Water next: 'Isn't it in French', then 'Won Premier League with Leicester and Chelsea', then 'Seven Seconds singer', and finally 'Capital of Chad'. They only knew the second as 'N'Golo Kanta', and suggested that they all end 'olo'; not right. Their opponents swooped and offered that they all start with 'N'', correct for the bonus. Left with Lion for their own question, the Brews saw 'Obscured preservation process', then 'Cloaked tree'; that was enough for them to gamble, offering that the first words have, hidden within them, a word corresponding to the subsequent definition ('obsCURE', and 'clOAKed', while the remaining clues would've been 'Concealed alcoholic beverage' or 'conceALEd', and 'Hidden division of the psyche' or 'hIDden'), and they received three points for that. At the end of the first round, the Brews led 7-1.
Round 2, What Comes Fourth? The Forrests began with Twisted Flax, and the picture set again: we saw Mick Jagger, then a sewing gather, and then Dr No. Neither side spotted it: they are 'A Rolling Stone', 'Gathers', and 'No', so, for example, Kate Moss or Moss from The IT Crowd, would complete the set. The Brews chose Horned Viper next: '4th RFV', then '3rd EDC', and then '2nd WSX'. Again, neither side saw what was happening: they are the fourth, third and second letters on the three rows of a typewriter/keyboard, so '1st QAZ' would come fourth. The Forrests chose Lion next: 'Monkeys', then 'Lives', and then 'Degrees of Separation'. They offered 'Blind Mice', reasoning that they could be preceded by multiples of three going down. Close enough for the points, the actual sequence in mind was film titles, so 'Amigos' would've been a more suitable solution. The Brews chose Two Reeds next: 'Tent group', then 'Century', and then 'Cohort'. They saw it to be Roman regiments, and guessed that they were increasing in size, offering 'Legion'; correct for the points. For their final choice, the Forrests chose Water: '(e.g.) Nanny Ogg', then 'A flat disc', and then 'Four elephants'. They saw it to be the structure of the Universe in the Discworld series, so offered 'A turtle' for the two points. Left with Eye of Horus, the Brews saw 'Adriaan Paulen (middle-distance runner)', then 'Primo Nebiolo (long jumper)', and then 'Lamine Diack (long jumper)'. They didn't get it, nor did their opponents: they are presidents of the IAAF, so 'Sebastian Coe (middle-distance runner)' would be fourth. At the end of the second round, the Brews led 9-5.
On to the Walls. The Brews took their turn to go first, and chose the Water wall. A tough wall it proved. After numerous wrong guesses, they eventually had a set: 'Catalonia', 'New Mexico', 'Vietnam' and 'Soviet Union' are all bearers of red and yellow/gold flags. That was all they could find though, so bonuses to be had: 'Kon-Tiki', 'Cique du Soleil', 'Sunday' and 'Helium' are all named after the Sun, which they didn't get, 'Inside Job', 'Amy', 'When We Were Kings' and 'Man On Wire' are winners of the Best Documentary Oscar, which they did get, while 'China', 'Goodnight', 'Island' and 'Barbie' can all precede 'Girl' to give song titles. A tough wall, just three points there.
The Forrests thus had a chance to catch up/pull ahead as they set to work on the Lion wall. Their wall proved about as hard, but they did make progress with it. After much studying, they had a set: 'Bing', 'Frank', 'Bigwig' and 'Bugs' are fictional rabbits. A second set eventually came too: 'Wing', 'Whale', 'Guard' and 'Honourable' can all follow 'Right'. With not much time left, they quickly tried to solve, and had it on their final go: 'Goth', 'Vandal', 'Lombard' and 'Angle' are ancient or medieval tribes, while 'Rascal', 'Ferdinand', 'Dynamite' and 'Harvey' are the last words in the names of Mercury Prize winning acts. A very hard but well earned full ten there, which gave them a lead of 15-12 going into the last round.
So, Missing Vowels to finish as usual and decide who went which way in the series. 'Online security questions' went to the Forrests 3-1. 'Things that are sticky', such as 'TREACLE' and '(A) STICK', was another 3-1 to the Forrests. 'Things from the Great British Bake-Off' went to the Brews 3-1. 'Brothers Grimm fairy tales' went to the Forrests 2-(-1), and that was time. The Forrests won 24-16.
Another good game, decided on that very tricky wall round, but well played by both sides nonetheless. Unlucky Brews, well done Forrests, best of luck in your respective next games!
Next week's match: Ancient Alumni vs Three Peaks
Wednesday 28 November 2018
Monday 26 November 2018
University Challenge 2018-19: Round 2: Match 2: Hertford vs Manchester
Evening all. Thanks to Innis Carson on Twitter for revealing this week's fixture for us on Saturday. Another potentially good match in prospect too, against two teams who, like last week, are unfortunate to be playing each other in the sudden death round, thus ensuring one wouldn't reach the group stage. It really is time the second round draw was properly seeded I think.
Hertford College Oxford, like Emmanuel last week, appearing for the second time in three weeks, were narrowly beaten first time out by Clare of Cambridge, but made up for it with an impressive 215-165 over Exeter in their play-off. Hoping to carry on that momentum and ensure both play-off survivors reached the group stage for the first time since 2011-12 were the unchanged four of:
Stefi Woodgate, from South London, studying Biology
Pat Taylor, from Warwick, studying Physics
Captain: Richard Tudor, from Stourbridge, studying History
Chris Page, from Orpington in London, studying English Literature
Manchester (The Team Everyone Wants to Beat) came straight through after winning a low scoring but enjoyable first round match against East London, where the lead went back and forth before a well time spurt saw the four time champs win 155-135. Hoping to reach the group stage for the first time in five series were the also unchanged foursome of:
Alex Antao, from Chingford in London, studying Mathematical Logic
Georgia Lynott, from Burnley, studying Applied Maths
Captain: James Ross, from Coventry, studying Classics and Ancient History
Joe Hanson, from Gravesend, studying Data Intensive Science
Off we set again then, and Mr Tudor picked up where his side left off last time, offering 'bureau' in such a way that caused Paxo to tell him off for being 'so dismissive'! The Oxonians set their stall firmly out with a full bonus set on unbuilt cities. What looked like an educated guess from Mr Page added to that score, but, in sharp contrast, no bonuses from set no 2 followed. Mr Hanson opened the scoring for Manchester with 'Mexico City', and they too kicked off with a full bonus set, a classic UC set on chemical symbols and US postcodes. Back came Hertford with Mr Page doing the honours again, and two bonuses followed. The first picture round, on maps of the world with the countries sizes altered to denote how prolific a certain fuel source is, went to Manchester, who took a pair of bonuses, cutting their arrears to 55-45.
Mr Page was most unfortunate on the next starter, asking for the name that linked, among others, the actor who played John Book in the film Witness; he offered 'Ford' instead of 'Harrison', then instantly realised his error. Mr Ross took the pickup, and the Mancunians took the lead with a solitary bonus. Two starters in a row were then dropped, before Mr Page reignited proceedings by identifying 'Sandwich' as the Kent town that linked the various clues. One bonus was enough to give the Oxonians the lead back. Manchester promptly reclaimed it with Mr Antao supplying 'B and R' as the only consonants in the names of, amongst others, a soft French cheese (Brie) and a fictional elephant (Babar); a full bonus set was duly taken in what was proving a good back and forth contest.
The music starter was dropped; the bonuses, on pieces by students of Nadia Boulanger, went to Hertford; one correct was enough to tie the game at 80-each. To add to the resulting tension, three starters in a row were dropped; this standoff ended when Mr Antao came in with 'Zoroastrianism', and his side took two bonuses from the obligatory Shakespeare set of the week. Now into triple figures, Manchester had the momentum with them, as Mr Ross very promptly snapped up the next starter; again, two bonuses were followed, including a good piece of captaining from Mr Ross, who overruled a suggestion from a teammate that he thought was wrong, and was right to do so!
The second picture round, on self portraits of the artist at work, went to Manchester, who took a sole bonus this time, but had now opened up a lead of 135-80. Hertford promptly awoke from their slumber with Mr Page doing the honours; two bonuses took them into three figures, and set up a tense final straight.
A second starter in a row went to Mr Page, but Hertford only took a single bonus on British exploration in Africa. Mr Antao then moved Manchester a step closer to victory, but the side failed to add to their score with the bonuses. A second starter in a row went to their left winger though, and one bonus on Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, with another unluckily missed, pretty much secured the win. An excellent trick question followed, asking how many cardinal numbers between 2 and 10 were spelt the same in Spanish and Italian; the answer, which neither team got, being none! Manchester's win was confirmed for sure when Mr Antao took the next, and a full bonus set on African capitals just ran up the score and margin. At the gong, Manchester won 185-115.
Another good game, well played by both sides, unfortunate that one must go at this stage. Unlucky Hertford, but nothing to be ashamed of in that performance, thanks very much indeed for playing! Well done to Manchester though, on a good performance and well earned win, and best of luck in the group stage!
The stats: Mr Antao was the best buzzer of the night with six, while Mr Page was best for Hertford with five. On the bonuses, Hertford converted 10 out of 21, while Manchester managed 18 out of 30, and both sides incurred one penalty; so both sides more or less equal on the bonuses, it was a game won on the buzzer.
Next week's match: again, I don't know yet, but I shall enquire.
Only Connect continued tonight as well with a match notable for two very tough walls; review of that on Wednesday hopefully.
Hertford College Oxford, like Emmanuel last week, appearing for the second time in three weeks, were narrowly beaten first time out by Clare of Cambridge, but made up for it with an impressive 215-165 over Exeter in their play-off. Hoping to carry on that momentum and ensure both play-off survivors reached the group stage for the first time since 2011-12 were the unchanged four of:
Stefi Woodgate, from South London, studying Biology
Pat Taylor, from Warwick, studying Physics
Captain: Richard Tudor, from Stourbridge, studying History
Chris Page, from Orpington in London, studying English Literature
Manchester (The Team Everyone Wants to Beat) came straight through after winning a low scoring but enjoyable first round match against East London, where the lead went back and forth before a well time spurt saw the four time champs win 155-135. Hoping to reach the group stage for the first time in five series were the also unchanged foursome of:
Alex Antao, from Chingford in London, studying Mathematical Logic
Georgia Lynott, from Burnley, studying Applied Maths
Captain: James Ross, from Coventry, studying Classics and Ancient History
Joe Hanson, from Gravesend, studying Data Intensive Science
Off we set again then, and Mr Tudor picked up where his side left off last time, offering 'bureau' in such a way that caused Paxo to tell him off for being 'so dismissive'! The Oxonians set their stall firmly out with a full bonus set on unbuilt cities. What looked like an educated guess from Mr Page added to that score, but, in sharp contrast, no bonuses from set no 2 followed. Mr Hanson opened the scoring for Manchester with 'Mexico City', and they too kicked off with a full bonus set, a classic UC set on chemical symbols and US postcodes. Back came Hertford with Mr Page doing the honours again, and two bonuses followed. The first picture round, on maps of the world with the countries sizes altered to denote how prolific a certain fuel source is, went to Manchester, who took a pair of bonuses, cutting their arrears to 55-45.
Mr Page was most unfortunate on the next starter, asking for the name that linked, among others, the actor who played John Book in the film Witness; he offered 'Ford' instead of 'Harrison', then instantly realised his error. Mr Ross took the pickup, and the Mancunians took the lead with a solitary bonus. Two starters in a row were then dropped, before Mr Page reignited proceedings by identifying 'Sandwich' as the Kent town that linked the various clues. One bonus was enough to give the Oxonians the lead back. Manchester promptly reclaimed it with Mr Antao supplying 'B and R' as the only consonants in the names of, amongst others, a soft French cheese (Brie) and a fictional elephant (Babar); a full bonus set was duly taken in what was proving a good back and forth contest.
The music starter was dropped; the bonuses, on pieces by students of Nadia Boulanger, went to Hertford; one correct was enough to tie the game at 80-each. To add to the resulting tension, three starters in a row were dropped; this standoff ended when Mr Antao came in with 'Zoroastrianism', and his side took two bonuses from the obligatory Shakespeare set of the week. Now into triple figures, Manchester had the momentum with them, as Mr Ross very promptly snapped up the next starter; again, two bonuses were followed, including a good piece of captaining from Mr Ross, who overruled a suggestion from a teammate that he thought was wrong, and was right to do so!
The second picture round, on self portraits of the artist at work, went to Manchester, who took a sole bonus this time, but had now opened up a lead of 135-80. Hertford promptly awoke from their slumber with Mr Page doing the honours; two bonuses took them into three figures, and set up a tense final straight.
A second starter in a row went to Mr Page, but Hertford only took a single bonus on British exploration in Africa. Mr Antao then moved Manchester a step closer to victory, but the side failed to add to their score with the bonuses. A second starter in a row went to their left winger though, and one bonus on Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, with another unluckily missed, pretty much secured the win. An excellent trick question followed, asking how many cardinal numbers between 2 and 10 were spelt the same in Spanish and Italian; the answer, which neither team got, being none! Manchester's win was confirmed for sure when Mr Antao took the next, and a full bonus set on African capitals just ran up the score and margin. At the gong, Manchester won 185-115.
Another good game, well played by both sides, unfortunate that one must go at this stage. Unlucky Hertford, but nothing to be ashamed of in that performance, thanks very much indeed for playing! Well done to Manchester though, on a good performance and well earned win, and best of luck in the group stage!
The stats: Mr Antao was the best buzzer of the night with six, while Mr Page was best for Hertford with five. On the bonuses, Hertford converted 10 out of 21, while Manchester managed 18 out of 30, and both sides incurred one penalty; so both sides more or less equal on the bonuses, it was a game won on the buzzer.
Next week's match: again, I don't know yet, but I shall enquire.
Only Connect continued tonight as well with a match notable for two very tough walls; review of that on Wednesday hopefully.
Wednesday 21 November 2018
Only Connect Series 14: Round 1: Match 5: Birdwatchers vs Dicers
OK, so this is turning out to be a most enjoyable series of Only Connect! I mean, the last two series were too, but this still young series just seems so much more already. Maybe its because we've gone back to the old format where all teams get at least two games; 27 shows probably about the right length of series for OC, 37 a bit too much.
Anyway, playing on Monday night were the Birdwatchers, Chris Grandison (Fifteen-to-One and Mastermind alumnus), Keli Richards and captain Lauren Hamer (sister of Nathan Hamer, who appeared in Series 6 of OC with the Quitters), and the Dicers, George Corfield, Joey Goldman and captain Hugh Binnie; you may recall those three have all appeared on UC on Oxford teams in the recent past, Mr Corfield's Balliol team were unlucky to go out in the first round in 2013-14, Mr Binnie's Magdalen were runners up of the following series, while Mr Goldman's Balliol went one better and won the 2016-17 series, beating Eric Monkman's Wolfson in the final.
Round 1. The Dicers went first, and chose to start the show with Eye of Horus: 'Adlington's shoulder', then 'Bercow's ribs', then 'Tweddle's neck'; they spotted them to have been injured on 'The Jump', and collected two points there. (Reminds me of a similar question on The 3rd Degree a couple of years back) The Birdwatchers began with Twisted Flax: 'Early Nordic assembly', then 'Benjamin Grimm'; they saw them to all be 'things', and picked up three for that. (The remaining clues were 'Cat in the Hat's blue-haired associates' and 'Addams family's manual worker'!) The Dicers chose Lion next: 'Substitute', then 'Reticence', then 'Nature area'; they saw these to all be synonyms of 'Reserve', and picked up another two pointer. The Birdwatchers chose Horned Viper next: '24th kiss', then '19th hiss', then '15th hug', and finally '26th sleep'; that gave it to them, the corresponding letters of the alphabet can be used to denote those things (X for a kiss, zzz for sleeping, and so on). The Dicers chose Water next, and got the music question: we heard 'Ode for the Wings of a Dove' from Mendelsohn's 'Hear My Prayer', then 'A Taste of Honey', then Samantha Fox singing 'Touch Me (I Want Your Body)', and finally 'I Can See Clearly Now'. Neither side spotted the link, they all have senses in their titles. Left with Two Reeds, the Birdwatchers got the picture set, and saw an admiral catching a sailor in bed with a girl, then the same sailor getting his torso shaved, then him being hosed down, and finally him on a small rowing boat. They didn't quite see it, their opponents did: they are suggestions from the song 'What shall we do with a drunken sailor?'! At the end of the first round, the Dicers led 5-4.
Round 2, What Comes Fourth? The Dicers kicked the round off with Eye of Horus: '£3', then '£3.70', and then '£3.85'. They didn't get it, nor did their opponents: them are the sums of British coins going downwards (£2+£1, +50p+20p, +10p+5p), so you would add 2p and 1p for '£3.88' to complete the set. The Birdwatchers chose Lion next: '18th: William/none', then '19th: George/William'; they saw it to be something to do with monarchs at the start of each century, but their guess of 'Edward/Elizabeth' was incorrect. Their opponents saw '20th: Victoria/Robert', and offered '21st: Elizabeth/Tony' for the point, the link being who was monarch and prime minister at the start of each century. For their own question, the Dicers chose Two Reeds: 'at (hdmy)', then 'on (dmy)'; they offered 'in (y)', and collected three points, the link being the proposition for describing when something happened in certain time periods (at the hour, on the day, in the month, in the year). The Birdwatchers chose Horned Viper next: 'Complete the quotation: "To Be or Not To Be"', then 'They're both the same', and then 'Correct. What is Bernard Manning famous for?'. Now this was most unfortunate: they saw it to be the famous Two Ronnies Mastermind sketch, but answered the wrong question, as it were, and wrongly offered 'He is a fat man who tells blue jokes'. Their opponents made no mistake, and offered 'That Is The Question' for the bonus. For their own final choice, the Dicers chose Water: 'Jerkmeter', then 'Accelerometer'; they saw it to be devices for measuring the rate of change, so 'Speedometer' would be third and 'Ruler', or 'Odometer' as they offered, would be fourth. Left with Twisted Flax, and the pictures again, the Birdwatchers saw a statue of Robert E Lee, then JFK, then the late great William G Stewart; they saw the sequence, and offered 'William H Macy' for the two points. At the end of the second round, the Dicers led 13-6.
On to the Walls. The Birdwatchers, needing a good result, chose to tackle the Water wall. They immediately isolated 'DNA', 'Hair', 'Black Magic' and 'Salute', which are songs by Little Mix, and their second set, 'Peas', 'Whales', 'Senna' and 'Vanilla', which all have pods, followed in short order. It didn't take that much longer for them to solve what was left: 'Prost', 'Skal', 'Slainte' and 'Kanpai' are words used for toasting in various langauges, while 'Piquet', 'Hill', 'Scheckter' and 'Ascari' are F1 champions. A well solved full ten there.
The Dicers thus set to work on the Lion wall. They too had a set sorted very quickly: 'Cowardly', 'Yellow', 'Craven' and 'Chicken' are synonyms meaning 'faint-hearted'. This was followed quickly by 'Scar', 'Aslan', 'Lafcadio' and 'Wallace', which are names of fictional lines. They too had the rest solved quickly on their first try: 'Good luck', 'Green', 'Memory' and 'Debit' can all precede 'card', while 'Baker', 'Humble', 'Henson' and 'Rani' are surnames of presenters of Countryfile. Another well done full ten, so as you were, the Dicers led 23-16 going into the final round.
So, Missing Vowels to finish off, with the Birdwatchers pretty much needing a shutout to win. 'Rods', such as 'FISHING ROD' and 'ROD STEWART', went to the Birdwatchers 2-0. 'Janes', such as 'JANE FONDA' and 'JANE'S FIGHTING SHIPS' went to the Dicers 3-1. 'Freddies', such as 'FREDDIE MERCURY' and 'ANDREW FLINTOFF' was a 2-each split. 'Lists of three' was split 1-each, with the Birdwatchers being allowed an answer after the bell, having buzzed before it. The Dicers won 29-22.
Another very good high quality game, of the sort that makes you most thankful that they've gone back to the old format. Unlucky Birdwatchers, well done Dicers, best of luck when you next play!
Next week's match: Brews vs Forrests
Anyway, playing on Monday night were the Birdwatchers, Chris Grandison (Fifteen-to-One and Mastermind alumnus), Keli Richards and captain Lauren Hamer (sister of Nathan Hamer, who appeared in Series 6 of OC with the Quitters), and the Dicers, George Corfield, Joey Goldman and captain Hugh Binnie; you may recall those three have all appeared on UC on Oxford teams in the recent past, Mr Corfield's Balliol team were unlucky to go out in the first round in 2013-14, Mr Binnie's Magdalen were runners up of the following series, while Mr Goldman's Balliol went one better and won the 2016-17 series, beating Eric Monkman's Wolfson in the final.
Round 1. The Dicers went first, and chose to start the show with Eye of Horus: 'Adlington's shoulder', then 'Bercow's ribs', then 'Tweddle's neck'; they spotted them to have been injured on 'The Jump', and collected two points there. (Reminds me of a similar question on The 3rd Degree a couple of years back) The Birdwatchers began with Twisted Flax: 'Early Nordic assembly', then 'Benjamin Grimm'; they saw them to all be 'things', and picked up three for that. (The remaining clues were 'Cat in the Hat's blue-haired associates' and 'Addams family's manual worker'!) The Dicers chose Lion next: 'Substitute', then 'Reticence', then 'Nature area'; they saw these to all be synonyms of 'Reserve', and picked up another two pointer. The Birdwatchers chose Horned Viper next: '24th kiss', then '19th hiss', then '15th hug', and finally '26th sleep'; that gave it to them, the corresponding letters of the alphabet can be used to denote those things (X for a kiss, zzz for sleeping, and so on). The Dicers chose Water next, and got the music question: we heard 'Ode for the Wings of a Dove' from Mendelsohn's 'Hear My Prayer', then 'A Taste of Honey', then Samantha Fox singing 'Touch Me (I Want Your Body)', and finally 'I Can See Clearly Now'. Neither side spotted the link, they all have senses in their titles. Left with Two Reeds, the Birdwatchers got the picture set, and saw an admiral catching a sailor in bed with a girl, then the same sailor getting his torso shaved, then him being hosed down, and finally him on a small rowing boat. They didn't quite see it, their opponents did: they are suggestions from the song 'What shall we do with a drunken sailor?'! At the end of the first round, the Dicers led 5-4.
Round 2, What Comes Fourth? The Dicers kicked the round off with Eye of Horus: '£3', then '£3.70', and then '£3.85'. They didn't get it, nor did their opponents: them are the sums of British coins going downwards (£2+£1, +50p+20p, +10p+5p), so you would add 2p and 1p for '£3.88' to complete the set. The Birdwatchers chose Lion next: '18th: William/none', then '19th: George/William'; they saw it to be something to do with monarchs at the start of each century, but their guess of 'Edward/Elizabeth' was incorrect. Their opponents saw '20th: Victoria/Robert', and offered '21st: Elizabeth/Tony' for the point, the link being who was monarch and prime minister at the start of each century. For their own question, the Dicers chose Two Reeds: 'at (hdmy)', then 'on (dmy)'; they offered 'in (y)', and collected three points, the link being the proposition for describing when something happened in certain time periods (at the hour, on the day, in the month, in the year). The Birdwatchers chose Horned Viper next: 'Complete the quotation: "To Be or Not To Be"', then 'They're both the same', and then 'Correct. What is Bernard Manning famous for?'. Now this was most unfortunate: they saw it to be the famous Two Ronnies Mastermind sketch, but answered the wrong question, as it were, and wrongly offered 'He is a fat man who tells blue jokes'. Their opponents made no mistake, and offered 'That Is The Question' for the bonus. For their own final choice, the Dicers chose Water: 'Jerkmeter', then 'Accelerometer'; they saw it to be devices for measuring the rate of change, so 'Speedometer' would be third and 'Ruler', or 'Odometer' as they offered, would be fourth. Left with Twisted Flax, and the pictures again, the Birdwatchers saw a statue of Robert E Lee, then JFK, then the late great William G Stewart; they saw the sequence, and offered 'William H Macy' for the two points. At the end of the second round, the Dicers led 13-6.
On to the Walls. The Birdwatchers, needing a good result, chose to tackle the Water wall. They immediately isolated 'DNA', 'Hair', 'Black Magic' and 'Salute', which are songs by Little Mix, and their second set, 'Peas', 'Whales', 'Senna' and 'Vanilla', which all have pods, followed in short order. It didn't take that much longer for them to solve what was left: 'Prost', 'Skal', 'Slainte' and 'Kanpai' are words used for toasting in various langauges, while 'Piquet', 'Hill', 'Scheckter' and 'Ascari' are F1 champions. A well solved full ten there.
The Dicers thus set to work on the Lion wall. They too had a set sorted very quickly: 'Cowardly', 'Yellow', 'Craven' and 'Chicken' are synonyms meaning 'faint-hearted'. This was followed quickly by 'Scar', 'Aslan', 'Lafcadio' and 'Wallace', which are names of fictional lines. They too had the rest solved quickly on their first try: 'Good luck', 'Green', 'Memory' and 'Debit' can all precede 'card', while 'Baker', 'Humble', 'Henson' and 'Rani' are surnames of presenters of Countryfile. Another well done full ten, so as you were, the Dicers led 23-16 going into the final round.
So, Missing Vowels to finish off, with the Birdwatchers pretty much needing a shutout to win. 'Rods', such as 'FISHING ROD' and 'ROD STEWART', went to the Birdwatchers 2-0. 'Janes', such as 'JANE FONDA' and 'JANE'S FIGHTING SHIPS' went to the Dicers 3-1. 'Freddies', such as 'FREDDIE MERCURY' and 'ANDREW FLINTOFF' was a 2-each split. 'Lists of three' was split 1-each, with the Birdwatchers being allowed an answer after the bell, having buzzed before it. The Dicers won 29-22.
Another very good high quality game, of the sort that makes you most thankful that they've gone back to the old format. Unlucky Birdwatchers, well done Dicers, best of luck when you next play!
Next week's match: Brews vs Forrests
Monday 19 November 2018
University Challenge 2018-19: Round 2: Match 1: St Peter's vs Emmanuel
Evening all. So, we've arrived at the second round. The round everyone dreads, as it's the round where defeat means instant elimination. The prize for winning though is at least two further games, which also makes it the most hotly contested round. As I've said many times over the years, its not the fairest system, but I don't know of a way round it that wouldn't drag the series beyond our patience. Still thinking though. Anyway, on with the show.
St Peter's College Oxford easily defeated Pembroke College Cambridge in their first match; a close one at first, they drew away in the second half as the buzzers fell for them and largely against their opponents, eventually winning 225-50. Hoping for more of the same tonight were the unchanged foursome of:
James Hodgson, from Uxbridge in London, studying Statistics
Seb Braddock, from Geneva, studying History
Captain: Nick Williford, from Maynardville, Tennessee, studying History
Laura Cooper, from Stockport, studying Biological Sciences
Emmanuel College Cambridge, appearing for the second time in three weeks, lost their first game to Glasgow, but bounced back nicely in their play-off against King's of London, a sprint in the second quarter mainly responsible for their 235-140 victory on that occasion. Also hoping to carry on this momentum were the also unchanged four of:
Connor MacDonald, from New Brunswick, Canada, studying Politics
Vedanth Nair, from Kings Lynn, studying Economics
Captain: Daniella Cugini, from Warwick, studying English
Ben Harris, from Bath, studying Geology
Off we set again then, and Emmanuel picked up where they left off two weeks ago, Mr MacDonald correctly offering 'The Giants Causeway' (my main knowledge of which comes from a Kipling style book about its formation I had as a kid); the Cambridge side firmly set their stall out with a full set of bonuses. St Peter's set off the wrong way with a penalty, but Emmanuel failed to pick up. Mr Hodgson moved his side back into positives with 'cell', and one bonus on authors was taken (same one I took, and I knew John Arbuthnot as soon as they said it). Alas, they then incurred another penalty, which, again, their opponents didn't pick up. A second starter was dropped, Mr Nair took the next, and his side took one bonus on WHO medicine lists. The first picture round, on pairs of sonnets spliced together, went to St Peter's, who, again, took a solitary bonus, leaving them trailing 40-20.
Ms Cugini increased that lead by identifying Fermi as the physicist after whom element 100 is named; bonuses on feminism in 1991, again, offered them one correct answer. St Peter's were promptly back in, and also took a sole bonus from an amusing set on mispronunciations. Mr Nair came back in for Emmanuel, and German grand duchies proved more to the Cambridge side's liking, taking a full set. Their better bonus rate seemed to be the difference between the teams thus far.
The music round, on scat singing jazz (a set I suspect our old friend Adam 'Bangor' Pearce might've liked), went to Emmanuel, who took just the one bonus, but had no increased their lead to 95-35. Ms Cooper promptly took her side back into possession with 'DNA', and, once again, the side took a single bonus. Mr Nair took his side into three figures by offering 'Richard III' just after I'd worked it out too; astrophysics once again provided just a single correct bonus. Back came St Peter's with Mr Williford doing the honours, but they got nothing from a bonus set on the work of poet Dorothy Coade Hewett. Mr MacDonald was first in next with 'The Aga Khan', and, once again, only a solitary bonus, on books by prime ministers (same one I got), followed. But when Mr Harris took the next starter, the bonuses finally went for Emmanuel again, a full set on chemistry. And given how the bonuses hadn't been falling for their opponents thus far, that might just put them beyond reach.
The second picture round, on record breaking athletes, went to St Peter's, who took two bonuses, reducing their arrears to 150-80. But when Mr MacDonald very quickly buzzed in with 'Nietzche' on the next starter, you suspected the match was beyond them, even though their opponents only added one bonus on best foreign film Oscar winners. Mr Nair all but confirmed his side's win by taking the next starter, and you thus fancied it didn't matter that no bonuses followed.
Neither side identified the River Clyde for the next starter; Ms Cooper took the next for St Peter's, and a single bonus on dog breeds just about summed up their night. (I got shih tzu) Ms Cugini cemented her side's win with 'mirror', and a full bonus set on dystopian fiction took them to 200. A penalty dropped them back from it though; Mr Williford picked up the drop, and his side went out with a bang, taking a full bonus set on national flags. And that was the gong, Emmanuel won 195-120.
Another good match, decided on the buzzer, but mainly on the bonuses I feel. Unlucky St Peter's, unlucky to be going out at this stage, but still a respectable performance to go out on, thanks very much for playing! Very well done to Emmanuel, though, on a third good showing against good opponents, and best of luck in the group stage!
The stats: Messrs MacDonald, Nair and Williford were the joint best buzzers of the night, with four each. On the bonuses, St Peter's converted 10 out of 24 (with two penalties), while Emmanuel managed 18 out of 33 (with one penalty), so it was indeed a slightly better buzzer and bonus rate that won them the game.
Next week's match: don't know yet, but I'm guessing that Hertford will be sitting on the bottom row.
Yet more UC alumni on Only Connect tonight, and another high quality contest in what is proving a most enjoyable series. Review on Wednesday, when I don't have any forgotten plans this week. Not yet anyway.
St Peter's College Oxford easily defeated Pembroke College Cambridge in their first match; a close one at first, they drew away in the second half as the buzzers fell for them and largely against their opponents, eventually winning 225-50. Hoping for more of the same tonight were the unchanged foursome of:
James Hodgson, from Uxbridge in London, studying Statistics
Seb Braddock, from Geneva, studying History
Captain: Nick Williford, from Maynardville, Tennessee, studying History
Laura Cooper, from Stockport, studying Biological Sciences
Emmanuel College Cambridge, appearing for the second time in three weeks, lost their first game to Glasgow, but bounced back nicely in their play-off against King's of London, a sprint in the second quarter mainly responsible for their 235-140 victory on that occasion. Also hoping to carry on this momentum were the also unchanged four of:
Connor MacDonald, from New Brunswick, Canada, studying Politics
Vedanth Nair, from Kings Lynn, studying Economics
Captain: Daniella Cugini, from Warwick, studying English
Ben Harris, from Bath, studying Geology
Off we set again then, and Emmanuel picked up where they left off two weeks ago, Mr MacDonald correctly offering 'The Giants Causeway' (my main knowledge of which comes from a Kipling style book about its formation I had as a kid); the Cambridge side firmly set their stall out with a full set of bonuses. St Peter's set off the wrong way with a penalty, but Emmanuel failed to pick up. Mr Hodgson moved his side back into positives with 'cell', and one bonus on authors was taken (same one I took, and I knew John Arbuthnot as soon as they said it). Alas, they then incurred another penalty, which, again, their opponents didn't pick up. A second starter was dropped, Mr Nair took the next, and his side took one bonus on WHO medicine lists. The first picture round, on pairs of sonnets spliced together, went to St Peter's, who, again, took a solitary bonus, leaving them trailing 40-20.
Ms Cugini increased that lead by identifying Fermi as the physicist after whom element 100 is named; bonuses on feminism in 1991, again, offered them one correct answer. St Peter's were promptly back in, and also took a sole bonus from an amusing set on mispronunciations. Mr Nair came back in for Emmanuel, and German grand duchies proved more to the Cambridge side's liking, taking a full set. Their better bonus rate seemed to be the difference between the teams thus far.
The music round, on scat singing jazz (a set I suspect our old friend Adam 'Bangor' Pearce might've liked), went to Emmanuel, who took just the one bonus, but had no increased their lead to 95-35. Ms Cooper promptly took her side back into possession with 'DNA', and, once again, the side took a single bonus. Mr Nair took his side into three figures by offering 'Richard III' just after I'd worked it out too; astrophysics once again provided just a single correct bonus. Back came St Peter's with Mr Williford doing the honours, but they got nothing from a bonus set on the work of poet Dorothy Coade Hewett. Mr MacDonald was first in next with 'The Aga Khan', and, once again, only a solitary bonus, on books by prime ministers (same one I got), followed. But when Mr Harris took the next starter, the bonuses finally went for Emmanuel again, a full set on chemistry. And given how the bonuses hadn't been falling for their opponents thus far, that might just put them beyond reach.
The second picture round, on record breaking athletes, went to St Peter's, who took two bonuses, reducing their arrears to 150-80. But when Mr MacDonald very quickly buzzed in with 'Nietzche' on the next starter, you suspected the match was beyond them, even though their opponents only added one bonus on best foreign film Oscar winners. Mr Nair all but confirmed his side's win by taking the next starter, and you thus fancied it didn't matter that no bonuses followed.
Neither side identified the River Clyde for the next starter; Ms Cooper took the next for St Peter's, and a single bonus on dog breeds just about summed up their night. (I got shih tzu) Ms Cugini cemented her side's win with 'mirror', and a full bonus set on dystopian fiction took them to 200. A penalty dropped them back from it though; Mr Williford picked up the drop, and his side went out with a bang, taking a full bonus set on national flags. And that was the gong, Emmanuel won 195-120.
Another good match, decided on the buzzer, but mainly on the bonuses I feel. Unlucky St Peter's, unlucky to be going out at this stage, but still a respectable performance to go out on, thanks very much for playing! Very well done to Emmanuel, though, on a third good showing against good opponents, and best of luck in the group stage!
The stats: Messrs MacDonald, Nair and Williford were the joint best buzzers of the night, with four each. On the bonuses, St Peter's converted 10 out of 24 (with two penalties), while Emmanuel managed 18 out of 33 (with one penalty), so it was indeed a slightly better buzzer and bonus rate that won them the game.
Next week's match: don't know yet, but I'm guessing that Hertford will be sitting on the bottom row.
Yet more UC alumni on Only Connect tonight, and another high quality contest in what is proving a most enjoyable series. Review on Wednesday, when I don't have any forgotten plans this week. Not yet anyway.
Thursday 15 November 2018
Only Connect Series 14: Round 1: Match 4: Motorheads vs Time Ladies
OK, one day later than I said, but here we go; apologies for the delay, I'd forgotten I'd made plans for yesterday night. Still, at least doing it tonight gives me an excuse not to watch EastEnders! Or at least, turn its sound off. Also, Victoria's intro seemed straight out of the script of I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue, which I've been listening to a lot lately!
Anyway, playing this week's game were the Motorheads, Brian Shaw, Thomas de Bock (captain of the Oxford Brookes team on last year's UC) and captain Stanley Wang (also on last year's UC with Edinburgh), and the Time Ladies, Charlotte Jackson, Emma Harris and captain Rebecca Shaw.
Round 1. The Ladies kicked the show off with Water, and the music question: we heard a rather odd noisy piece, then Russ Abbott singing 'Atmosphere', then 'Close to You' by Maxi Priest; they saw the link, the clergy, and collected two points (the first piece was by Thelonious Monk, and the last one would've been Deacon Blue). The Motorheads opened their account with Lion: 'Monopoly playing pieces', then 'Spectators as the US Masters', then 'Contestans on 'Mastermind'', and finally 'The rules of cricket'. Neither team got this: they are all incorrect terms (Monopoly has tokens, not playing pieces, US Masters spectators are 'patrons', Mastermind has 'contenders' and cricket has 'laws'). The Ladies chose Eye of Horus next: 'Miss an assignment', then 'On a vegetable', then 'Not an idea', and finally 'Mill a large number'. They ran out of time before they could offer anything; their opponents spotted it: adding 'ion' to the first word gives another words that is subsequently defined. Nice cryptic one that. For their own question, the Motorheads chose Two Reeds: 'Nat King Cole: sang', then 'Bob Hoskins: starred in', then 'Lisa Gherardini: was', and finally 'Leonardo da Vinci: painted'. That gave it to them for sure: Mona Lisa is the link. The Ladies chose Twisted Flax next, and got the picture set: we saw a pizza, then a Garibaldi biscuit, then a Caesar salad. Now, they came in at this point and offered 'named after Italians' (the pizza being 'margarita'); Victoria gave them the points, but the last clue would've been a Beef Wellington. Right or wrong decision? You decide. (Not to mention the Caesar salad is no relation to Julius) Left with Horned Viper, the Motorheads saw 'Snoo', then 'Ghostface Chillah', then 'Budroid', and finally 'Larry the Bird'. They had it from that: they are tech company mascots. At the end of the first round, the Ladies led 4-3.
Round 2, What Comes Fourth? The Ladies opened the round with Horned Viper, and got the picture set again: we saw a statue of Augustus, then a violet flower, and then a verruca on a foot. They didn't get it, their opponents did: they are the children in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in order of their comeuppance, so a microphone, or as the show suggested, Mike Oldfield, would be fourth. For their own question, the Motorheads chose Water, and saw 'Room 5, then 'Give it 4%'. Now, they buzzed at this point and offered 'France 2', their reasoning being that adding 96 to those numbers gives a phrase ('Room 101', 'Give it 100%' and 'France 98'). Now, this wasn't the correct answer or sequence, but Victoria accepted that they had offered a viable alternative, so gave them the three points. The real solution was binary misreadings, so 'Turn the volume up to 3' would be third and 'Starter for 2' an acceptable fourth answer. Again, should they have been given the points there? I'm staying well out of that debate, but I have to say, I liked their solution more! Plus, having given the Ladies the Italian question earlier, they kinda had to give the Motorheads that one too to be consistent. Anyway, lets get back to the review. The Ladies chose Lion next: 'Discus & 200m', then 'Pole vault & Long Jump', and then 'Javelin & Javelin'. Neither team worked it out: they are the last four events in the Decathlon and the Heptathlon respectively, so '1500m & 800m' would be right for the points. The Motorheads chose Two Reeds next: 'US-based cable channel', then 'Sixth sense'; they saw them to be 'ESPN' and 'ESP', so offered 'Euler's number' as 'E', which was acceptable for the three points. For their final choice, the Ladies chose Eye of Horus: '4th: ____ Cake', then '3rd: ____ Angus'; they, and I, and my Dad, saw the blanks to represent the largest cities in Scotland, so '1st: ____ Kiss' would be an acceptable fourth answer. Left with Twisted Flax, the Motorheads saw 'Author of 'A Game of Thrones'', then 'Creator of 'Z-Cars'', and then 'Wetherspoons founder'. Neither team saw it: they are George RR Martin, Troy Kennedy Martin and Tim Martin, so someone whose first name is Martin, like 'Director of 'Taxi Driver'' (Martin Scorcese) would be correct for the points. (Though, on a point of pedantry, Tim Martin's full name is Timothy Randall Martin, so its not his second name!) At the end of an eventful second round, the Motorheads led 10-7.
On to the Walls. The Motorheads went first and chose to tackle the Lion wall. After studying the wall and a few wrong tries, they isolated 'Condom', 'Hot water bottle', 'Squash ball' and 'Tyre', which are products made of rubber, followed by 'Match', 'Bullet', 'Boiling' and 'Decimal', which can all precede 'Point'. They had the wall solved on their first go: 'Fountain', 'Ballpoint', 'Marker' and 'Dip' are types of pen, while 'The Godfather', 'Rollerball', 'Eraser' and 'Misery' are films starring James Caan. A full ten there.
The Ladies thus set to work on the Water wall. They had their first set even quicker: 'Retirement', 'Adopter', 'Bird' and 'Riser' can all follow 'Early'. A second set, 'Wanted', 'Hackers', 'Salt' and 'Changeling', which are films starring Angelina Jolie, followed. They too had everything sorted on their first try: 'Cure', 'Can', 'Freeze' and 'Pickle' are ways of preserving food, while 'Police', 'Doors', 'Band' and 'Clash' all follow 'The' to give band names. Another full ten, so as you were, Motorheads led 20-17 going into the final round.
So, Missing Vowels would decide who went which way. 'Novels with fruit in the title' went to the Motorheads 2-1. 'Fictional mask wearers', such as 'THE LONE RANGER', went to the Ladies 3-1. 'Real-life mask wearers', such as 'MEXICAN WRESTLER', went to the Ladies 2-1. 'Christmas carols' only had time for one, which the Ladies took. At the end of the show, the Ladies had 24, the Motorheads had 24!
Tiebreaker time then: 'MRB YLC KTH NJDG MNT'. Ms Shaw buzzed and offered 'MORE BY LUCK THAN JUDGEMENT'; (in Roy Walker voice) riiiiiiiiiight!
An excellent show, some excellent questions and quizzing, and thankfully those earlier adjudications made no difference, the Ladies would've won by one without them. Well done them, unlucky Motorheads, glad you're both getting another game, best of luck in them!
Next week's match: Birdwatchers vs Dicers
Anyway, playing this week's game were the Motorheads, Brian Shaw, Thomas de Bock (captain of the Oxford Brookes team on last year's UC) and captain Stanley Wang (also on last year's UC with Edinburgh), and the Time Ladies, Charlotte Jackson, Emma Harris and captain Rebecca Shaw.
Round 1. The Ladies kicked the show off with Water, and the music question: we heard a rather odd noisy piece, then Russ Abbott singing 'Atmosphere', then 'Close to You' by Maxi Priest; they saw the link, the clergy, and collected two points (the first piece was by Thelonious Monk, and the last one would've been Deacon Blue). The Motorheads opened their account with Lion: 'Monopoly playing pieces', then 'Spectators as the US Masters', then 'Contestans on 'Mastermind'', and finally 'The rules of cricket'. Neither team got this: they are all incorrect terms (Monopoly has tokens, not playing pieces, US Masters spectators are 'patrons', Mastermind has 'contenders' and cricket has 'laws'). The Ladies chose Eye of Horus next: 'Miss an assignment', then 'On a vegetable', then 'Not an idea', and finally 'Mill a large number'. They ran out of time before they could offer anything; their opponents spotted it: adding 'ion' to the first word gives another words that is subsequently defined. Nice cryptic one that. For their own question, the Motorheads chose Two Reeds: 'Nat King Cole: sang', then 'Bob Hoskins: starred in', then 'Lisa Gherardini: was', and finally 'Leonardo da Vinci: painted'. That gave it to them for sure: Mona Lisa is the link. The Ladies chose Twisted Flax next, and got the picture set: we saw a pizza, then a Garibaldi biscuit, then a Caesar salad. Now, they came in at this point and offered 'named after Italians' (the pizza being 'margarita'); Victoria gave them the points, but the last clue would've been a Beef Wellington. Right or wrong decision? You decide. (Not to mention the Caesar salad is no relation to Julius) Left with Horned Viper, the Motorheads saw 'Snoo', then 'Ghostface Chillah', then 'Budroid', and finally 'Larry the Bird'. They had it from that: they are tech company mascots. At the end of the first round, the Ladies led 4-3.
Round 2, What Comes Fourth? The Ladies opened the round with Horned Viper, and got the picture set again: we saw a statue of Augustus, then a violet flower, and then a verruca on a foot. They didn't get it, their opponents did: they are the children in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in order of their comeuppance, so a microphone, or as the show suggested, Mike Oldfield, would be fourth. For their own question, the Motorheads chose Water, and saw 'Room 5, then 'Give it 4%'. Now, they buzzed at this point and offered 'France 2', their reasoning being that adding 96 to those numbers gives a phrase ('Room 101', 'Give it 100%' and 'France 98'). Now, this wasn't the correct answer or sequence, but Victoria accepted that they had offered a viable alternative, so gave them the three points. The real solution was binary misreadings, so 'Turn the volume up to 3' would be third and 'Starter for 2' an acceptable fourth answer. Again, should they have been given the points there? I'm staying well out of that debate, but I have to say, I liked their solution more! Plus, having given the Ladies the Italian question earlier, they kinda had to give the Motorheads that one too to be consistent. Anyway, lets get back to the review. The Ladies chose Lion next: 'Discus & 200m', then 'Pole vault & Long Jump', and then 'Javelin & Javelin'. Neither team worked it out: they are the last four events in the Decathlon and the Heptathlon respectively, so '1500m & 800m' would be right for the points. The Motorheads chose Two Reeds next: 'US-based cable channel', then 'Sixth sense'; they saw them to be 'ESPN' and 'ESP', so offered 'Euler's number' as 'E', which was acceptable for the three points. For their final choice, the Ladies chose Eye of Horus: '4th: ____ Cake', then '3rd: ____ Angus'; they, and I, and my Dad, saw the blanks to represent the largest cities in Scotland, so '1st: ____ Kiss' would be an acceptable fourth answer. Left with Twisted Flax, the Motorheads saw 'Author of 'A Game of Thrones'', then 'Creator of 'Z-Cars'', and then 'Wetherspoons founder'. Neither team saw it: they are George RR Martin, Troy Kennedy Martin and Tim Martin, so someone whose first name is Martin, like 'Director of 'Taxi Driver'' (Martin Scorcese) would be correct for the points. (Though, on a point of pedantry, Tim Martin's full name is Timothy Randall Martin, so its not his second name!) At the end of an eventful second round, the Motorheads led 10-7.
On to the Walls. The Motorheads went first and chose to tackle the Lion wall. After studying the wall and a few wrong tries, they isolated 'Condom', 'Hot water bottle', 'Squash ball' and 'Tyre', which are products made of rubber, followed by 'Match', 'Bullet', 'Boiling' and 'Decimal', which can all precede 'Point'. They had the wall solved on their first go: 'Fountain', 'Ballpoint', 'Marker' and 'Dip' are types of pen, while 'The Godfather', 'Rollerball', 'Eraser' and 'Misery' are films starring James Caan. A full ten there.
The Ladies thus set to work on the Water wall. They had their first set even quicker: 'Retirement', 'Adopter', 'Bird' and 'Riser' can all follow 'Early'. A second set, 'Wanted', 'Hackers', 'Salt' and 'Changeling', which are films starring Angelina Jolie, followed. They too had everything sorted on their first try: 'Cure', 'Can', 'Freeze' and 'Pickle' are ways of preserving food, while 'Police', 'Doors', 'Band' and 'Clash' all follow 'The' to give band names. Another full ten, so as you were, Motorheads led 20-17 going into the final round.
So, Missing Vowels would decide who went which way. 'Novels with fruit in the title' went to the Motorheads 2-1. 'Fictional mask wearers', such as 'THE LONE RANGER', went to the Ladies 3-1. 'Real-life mask wearers', such as 'MEXICAN WRESTLER', went to the Ladies 2-1. 'Christmas carols' only had time for one, which the Ladies took. At the end of the show, the Ladies had 24, the Motorheads had 24!
Tiebreaker time then: 'MRB YLC KTH NJDG MNT'. Ms Shaw buzzed and offered 'MORE BY LUCK THAN JUDGEMENT'; (in Roy Walker voice) riiiiiiiiiight!
An excellent show, some excellent questions and quizzing, and thankfully those earlier adjudications made no difference, the Ladies would've won by one without them. Well done them, unlucky Motorheads, glad you're both getting another game, best of luck in them!
Next week's match: Birdwatchers vs Dicers
Monday 12 November 2018
University Challenge 2018-19: Repechage Play-Off 2: Hertford vs Exeter
Evening all. The unofficial end of the first round tonight, with two teams who both scored the same score in their respective first round matches and lost narrowly late on in the game. The winners would take the last place in the second round. And after last week's cracking contest, all would no doubt be hoping for something similar tonight given how evenly matched these teams look on paper. Anyway, to business...
Hertford College Oxford lost a tense Oxbridge derby to Clare College Cambridge, leading most of the game before being pipped on the last starter of the game for a 160-150 victory. Hoping to make up for that were the unchanged four of:
Stefi Woodgate, from South London, studying Biology
Pat Taylor, from Warwick, studying Physics
Captain: Richard Tudor, from Stourbridge, studying History
Chris Page, from Orpington in London, studying English Literature
Exeter were beaten by Warwick in the first game of the series way back in July, also leading until late on when they were overtaken on the last few questions, losing 165-150. Also hoping for some sort of redemption were the also unchanged line-up of:
Simon Waitland, from Hitchin in Hertfordshire, studying Natural Sciences
Will Klintworth, from Woking, studying History and International Relations
Captain: Danny Lay, from Oxford, studying Physics
Jessica Brown, from Chichester, studying Acoustic Metamaterials
Off we set again then, and Mr Page was most unfortunate to drop five on the first starter, offering 'The Panama Papers' instead of 'The Paradise Papers'; Mr Waitland swooped, and Exeter took two of the first set of bonuses. The Oxford side moved back into positive figures with Mr Tudor doing the honours, but they took just one bonus from their opening set. A second starter in a row plus two bonuses on sports doping gave Hertford the lead, followed by Mr Tudor offering, ironically, 'Elizabeth I'! One bonus was taken. The first picture round, on English forests, went to Exeter, who took two bonuses (one Twitter user admitted to saying 'Nottingham Forest' instead of 'Sherwood Forest'!), reducing the gap to 45-40.
A good quick buzz from Mr Page increased Hertford's lead, as did a full bonus set on Manet's Le Dejeuner sur l'herbe. Mr Lay had a quick buzz of his own with 'Vulcanisation' (which I also knew thanks to QI!), and the side consistently took another two bonuses. That record was lost on the next bonus set, which they only took one of. It was enough to give them the lead though, and, two dropped starters later, Mr Lay increased it; no bonuses came this time though.
The music round, on classical pieces inspired by nostalgia, went to Exeter, who took two correct answers on the bonuses, giving them a lead of 105-70. Hertford promptly reawoke with Mr Page offering 'AX'; just one bonus was taken, but a second successive quick buzz and a full set of bonuses gave Hertford back a five point lead. Exeter duly reclaimed it though, and they took two bonuses from their resultant set. Back came Hertford, and back the lead they took with another full house on capital cities.
The second picture round, on authors portrayed in films, went to Hertford, with Exeter dropping five on a replacement starter; another full bonus house gave them a lead of 160-120. Still all to play for, but when Ms Woodgate took the next starter, and Hertford took two bonuses on the Berlin Wall, Exeter would really have to go for it all guns blazing to stand a chance.
They gave it a shot, Mr Klintworth identifying 'Cardinal Riechlieu' just seconds after I did, and the side took one bonus, using the old trick of saying the same thing three times and getting it right on the third go! But when Mr Klintworth dropped five on the next starter, and Mr Tudor took the points (again, just moments after I had it), that was game over. Two bonuses took the Oxonians up to 200, and a second starter in a row, plus one bonus, only served to bolster their score. Exeter went out with a final flourish, taking the last two starters and all of the one bonus set there was time for. At the gong, Hertford won 215-165.
Another top quality match, well played by both sides. Unlucky Exeter, but a fine performance to go out, not to mention, as Paxo said, a higher score than the first round, thanks very much for taking part! Very well done Hertford though, who, like Emmanuel last week, having twice performed strongly against good opposition, they may well be one to watch; very best of luck in the second round!
The stats: Messrs Tudor, Klintworth and Lay were the night's joint best buzzers, with four starters each. On the bonuses, Hertford converted a good 22 out of 33 (with one penalty), while Exeter managed an also fine 15 out of 27 (with two penalties).
Next week's match: the first second round match! Don't know who's playing yet, but will be sure to report any findings on Twitter.
Two UC alumni from last series on tonight's Only Connect, also another high quality contest with some good quizzing, plus some interesting talking points. Review on Wednesday I hope.
Hertford College Oxford lost a tense Oxbridge derby to Clare College Cambridge, leading most of the game before being pipped on the last starter of the game for a 160-150 victory. Hoping to make up for that were the unchanged four of:
Stefi Woodgate, from South London, studying Biology
Pat Taylor, from Warwick, studying Physics
Captain: Richard Tudor, from Stourbridge, studying History
Chris Page, from Orpington in London, studying English Literature
Exeter were beaten by Warwick in the first game of the series way back in July, also leading until late on when they were overtaken on the last few questions, losing 165-150. Also hoping for some sort of redemption were the also unchanged line-up of:
Simon Waitland, from Hitchin in Hertfordshire, studying Natural Sciences
Will Klintworth, from Woking, studying History and International Relations
Captain: Danny Lay, from Oxford, studying Physics
Jessica Brown, from Chichester, studying Acoustic Metamaterials
Off we set again then, and Mr Page was most unfortunate to drop five on the first starter, offering 'The Panama Papers' instead of 'The Paradise Papers'; Mr Waitland swooped, and Exeter took two of the first set of bonuses. The Oxford side moved back into positive figures with Mr Tudor doing the honours, but they took just one bonus from their opening set. A second starter in a row plus two bonuses on sports doping gave Hertford the lead, followed by Mr Tudor offering, ironically, 'Elizabeth I'! One bonus was taken. The first picture round, on English forests, went to Exeter, who took two bonuses (one Twitter user admitted to saying 'Nottingham Forest' instead of 'Sherwood Forest'!), reducing the gap to 45-40.
A good quick buzz from Mr Page increased Hertford's lead, as did a full bonus set on Manet's Le Dejeuner sur l'herbe. Mr Lay had a quick buzz of his own with 'Vulcanisation' (which I also knew thanks to QI!), and the side consistently took another two bonuses. That record was lost on the next bonus set, which they only took one of. It was enough to give them the lead though, and, two dropped starters later, Mr Lay increased it; no bonuses came this time though.
The music round, on classical pieces inspired by nostalgia, went to Exeter, who took two correct answers on the bonuses, giving them a lead of 105-70. Hertford promptly reawoke with Mr Page offering 'AX'; just one bonus was taken, but a second successive quick buzz and a full set of bonuses gave Hertford back a five point lead. Exeter duly reclaimed it though, and they took two bonuses from their resultant set. Back came Hertford, and back the lead they took with another full house on capital cities.
The second picture round, on authors portrayed in films, went to Hertford, with Exeter dropping five on a replacement starter; another full bonus house gave them a lead of 160-120. Still all to play for, but when Ms Woodgate took the next starter, and Hertford took two bonuses on the Berlin Wall, Exeter would really have to go for it all guns blazing to stand a chance.
They gave it a shot, Mr Klintworth identifying 'Cardinal Riechlieu' just seconds after I did, and the side took one bonus, using the old trick of saying the same thing three times and getting it right on the third go! But when Mr Klintworth dropped five on the next starter, and Mr Tudor took the points (again, just moments after I had it), that was game over. Two bonuses took the Oxonians up to 200, and a second starter in a row, plus one bonus, only served to bolster their score. Exeter went out with a final flourish, taking the last two starters and all of the one bonus set there was time for. At the gong, Hertford won 215-165.
Another top quality match, well played by both sides. Unlucky Exeter, but a fine performance to go out, not to mention, as Paxo said, a higher score than the first round, thanks very much for taking part! Very well done Hertford though, who, like Emmanuel last week, having twice performed strongly against good opposition, they may well be one to watch; very best of luck in the second round!
The stats: Messrs Tudor, Klintworth and Lay were the night's joint best buzzers, with four starters each. On the bonuses, Hertford converted a good 22 out of 33 (with one penalty), while Exeter managed an also fine 15 out of 27 (with two penalties).
Next week's match: the first second round match! Don't know who's playing yet, but will be sure to report any findings on Twitter.
Two UC alumni from last series on tonight's Only Connect, also another high quality contest with some good quizzing, plus some interesting talking points. Review on Wednesday I hope.
Wednesday 7 November 2018
Only Connect Series 14: Round 1: Match 3: Pyromaniacs vs Cartoonists
OK, here we go with this week's Only Connect. And how glad I am that the show has returned to its old format where all teams get at least two games. The last two series were perfectly enjoyable, don't get me wrong, but they did drag a bit and I did have to swot up on previous reviews to write my summations of teams' prior matches. Hopefully this will be a bit easier for me to keep track of.
Anyway, playing on Monday were the Pyromaniacs, Suzy Turner, her brother Jeremy Turner and her partner captain Dave Ryan, and the Cartoonists, Edward Gilbert, Patrick Telford and captain Ben Broadribb.
Round 1. The Cartoonists opened the show with Twisted Flax: 'New England', then 'Cloud Atlas', then 'Greenwich Time Signal', and finally 'Over'; they spotted that they are all composed of six somethings, and picked up the game's first point. The Pyromaniacs opened their account with Two Reeds: 'UKIP', then 'ING', then 'Peugeot'; they spotted them to all have lion logos (UKIP have since changed their's to a pound of course) and collected two points. The Cartoonists chose Lion next: 'Chloe', then 'Cris' (I'm embarrassed to admit I had it at this point!), then 'Courtney'; they saw them to be members of the Kardashian family with the Ks in their first names changed to Cs, and took two points of their own. The Pyromaniacs chose Water next, and got the music question: we heard Doris Day singing 'When the Red Red Robin', then 'Poison Ivy' by the Rolling Stones, then Whistling Jack Smith with 'I Was Kaiser Bill's Batman', and finally the Steve Miller Band with 'The Joker'; they saw the connection, Batman characters, and collected the point. The Cartoonists chose Horned Viper next: 'Escape from Warsaw (Ian Serraillier)', then 'In a Sunburned Country (Bill Bryson)', then 'Smilla's Sense of Snow (Peter Hoeg)', and finally 'Murder in the Calais Coach (Agatha Christie)'. They got close enough to the answer for a point: they are alternative American titles of novels. Left with Eye of Horus, the Pyromaniacs got the picture set, and saw a tsetse fly, then the logo of the TomTom satnav company, then a yum-yum pastry, and finally a tuk-tuk cart. They saw the link, and collected a point. At the end of the first round, the teams were tied on 4-each.
Round 2, What Comes Fourth? The Cartoonists began the round with Two Reeds: 'Roberto di Matteo', then 'Alex Ferguson' (I had it here), and then 'Rafael Benitez'; they offered 'Alex Ferguson' again, correctly for the points, the sequence being managers of English winners of the Champions League going backwards. The Pyromaniacs chose Eye of Horus next: 'Mary', then 'William Donald', and then 'Gordon'. They didn't see it, nor did their opponents: they are the middle names of prime ministers (Mr Brown's full name being James Gordon Brown), so Mr Blair's middle names 'Charles Lynton' would complete the set. The Cartoonists chose Twisted Flax next: 'Refuse collector', then 'Refuse collector's headwear'; they saw it to be clues to the lyrics of Lonnie Donegan's 'My Old Man's a Dustman', so offered 'A flat owned by the council' for the three points! The Pyromaniacs chose Lion next, and got the picture set: we saw Alcatraz, then the late great Jim Bowen holding a Bully figurine, and then a rowing boat with an arrow pointing at the cox. Again, neither team worked it out: 'AlcatraZ', 'BullY' and 'CoX', so something beginning with D and ending W, such as a 'DraW', would suffice. (The example image was that complex image used to signify the show's new sequence a couple of series back!) For their final choice, the Cartoonists chose Water: 'T=3', then 'Q=4', and then 'P=5'; they saw it to be the number of sides shapes beginning with those letters have, so 'H=6' for a hexagon would be fourth. Left with Horned Viper, the Pyromaniacs saw 'The Office of Terce', then 'Women's Hour (weekdays)', and then 'The Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace'; they identified them as happening at 9am, 10am and 11am, so offered 'The Midday News' for two points. At the end of the second round, the Cartoonists led 11-6.
On to the Walls. The Pyromaniacs, needing points, went first and chose the Lion wall. After carefully studying the clues and a few wrong goes, they isolated 'Safety', 'Tackle', 'Cornerback' and 'Center', which are American football positions; followed a short while later by 'Jack', 'Guard', 'Mail' and 'Board', which can all follow 'Black'. The final clues slotted in on their first try: 'Bullock', 'Portman', 'Stone' and 'Berry' are surnames of Best Actress Oscar winners, which they got close enough to, while 'Barrow', 'Gelding', 'Weather' and 'Capon' are animals that have been castrated, which they also knew. A full ten there then.
The Cartoonists thus set to work on the Water wall. Again, they had a good hard study and spotted a few possible links, before they had their first set: 'Patmos', 'Symi', 'Kos' and 'Leros' are islands of the Dodecanese. A second set eventually followed: 'Iman', 'Jordan', 'Emme' and 'Twiggy' are stage names of models. With time running out, they quickly had the last sets sorted just in time: 'Grant' 'D'Arby', 'Magnusson' and 'Rhodes' are presenters of Songs of Praise, which they didn't see, while 'Loan', 'Nurse', 'Discount' and 'Halls' can all follow 'Student', which they did spot. Seven there then, which reduced their lead to 18-16 going into the final round.
So, Missing Vowels would finish and decide the show. 'Infractions of Just a Minute' was split 2-each. (I called 'REPETITION' coming up twice as soon as the category was announced!) 'British pig breeds' went to the Pyromaniacs 3-1. 'Woods and forests', such as 'EPPING FOREST' and 'TIGER WOODS' (sadly not 'JAMES FORREST', much to my Dad's dismay!) went to the Pyromaniacs 2-1, with the Cartoonists getting two right, but one wrong. 'Toy of the Year winners' had time for one clue, which the Pyromaniacs took. At the end of the game, the Pyromaniacs won 24-22.
Another good close match, some good questions and quizzing there. Unlucky Cartoonists, well done Pyromaniacs, glad we're seeing both of you again and best of luck in your respective next matches!
Next week's match: Motorheads vs Time Ladies
Anyway, playing on Monday were the Pyromaniacs, Suzy Turner, her brother Jeremy Turner and her partner captain Dave Ryan, and the Cartoonists, Edward Gilbert, Patrick Telford and captain Ben Broadribb.
Round 1. The Cartoonists opened the show with Twisted Flax: 'New England', then 'Cloud Atlas', then 'Greenwich Time Signal', and finally 'Over'; they spotted that they are all composed of six somethings, and picked up the game's first point. The Pyromaniacs opened their account with Two Reeds: 'UKIP', then 'ING', then 'Peugeot'; they spotted them to all have lion logos (UKIP have since changed their's to a pound of course) and collected two points. The Cartoonists chose Lion next: 'Chloe', then 'Cris' (I'm embarrassed to admit I had it at this point!), then 'Courtney'; they saw them to be members of the Kardashian family with the Ks in their first names changed to Cs, and took two points of their own. The Pyromaniacs chose Water next, and got the music question: we heard Doris Day singing 'When the Red Red Robin', then 'Poison Ivy' by the Rolling Stones, then Whistling Jack Smith with 'I Was Kaiser Bill's Batman', and finally the Steve Miller Band with 'The Joker'; they saw the connection, Batman characters, and collected the point. The Cartoonists chose Horned Viper next: 'Escape from Warsaw (Ian Serraillier)', then 'In a Sunburned Country (Bill Bryson)', then 'Smilla's Sense of Snow (Peter Hoeg)', and finally 'Murder in the Calais Coach (Agatha Christie)'. They got close enough to the answer for a point: they are alternative American titles of novels. Left with Eye of Horus, the Pyromaniacs got the picture set, and saw a tsetse fly, then the logo of the TomTom satnav company, then a yum-yum pastry, and finally a tuk-tuk cart. They saw the link, and collected a point. At the end of the first round, the teams were tied on 4-each.
Round 2, What Comes Fourth? The Cartoonists began the round with Two Reeds: 'Roberto di Matteo', then 'Alex Ferguson' (I had it here), and then 'Rafael Benitez'; they offered 'Alex Ferguson' again, correctly for the points, the sequence being managers of English winners of the Champions League going backwards. The Pyromaniacs chose Eye of Horus next: 'Mary', then 'William Donald', and then 'Gordon'. They didn't see it, nor did their opponents: they are the middle names of prime ministers (Mr Brown's full name being James Gordon Brown), so Mr Blair's middle names 'Charles Lynton' would complete the set. The Cartoonists chose Twisted Flax next: 'Refuse collector', then 'Refuse collector's headwear'; they saw it to be clues to the lyrics of Lonnie Donegan's 'My Old Man's a Dustman', so offered 'A flat owned by the council' for the three points! The Pyromaniacs chose Lion next, and got the picture set: we saw Alcatraz, then the late great Jim Bowen holding a Bully figurine, and then a rowing boat with an arrow pointing at the cox. Again, neither team worked it out: 'AlcatraZ', 'BullY' and 'CoX', so something beginning with D and ending W, such as a 'DraW', would suffice. (The example image was that complex image used to signify the show's new sequence a couple of series back!) For their final choice, the Cartoonists chose Water: 'T=3', then 'Q=4', and then 'P=5'; they saw it to be the number of sides shapes beginning with those letters have, so 'H=6' for a hexagon would be fourth. Left with Horned Viper, the Pyromaniacs saw 'The Office of Terce', then 'Women's Hour (weekdays)', and then 'The Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace'; they identified them as happening at 9am, 10am and 11am, so offered 'The Midday News' for two points. At the end of the second round, the Cartoonists led 11-6.
On to the Walls. The Pyromaniacs, needing points, went first and chose the Lion wall. After carefully studying the clues and a few wrong goes, they isolated 'Safety', 'Tackle', 'Cornerback' and 'Center', which are American football positions; followed a short while later by 'Jack', 'Guard', 'Mail' and 'Board', which can all follow 'Black'. The final clues slotted in on their first try: 'Bullock', 'Portman', 'Stone' and 'Berry' are surnames of Best Actress Oscar winners, which they got close enough to, while 'Barrow', 'Gelding', 'Weather' and 'Capon' are animals that have been castrated, which they also knew. A full ten there then.
The Cartoonists thus set to work on the Water wall. Again, they had a good hard study and spotted a few possible links, before they had their first set: 'Patmos', 'Symi', 'Kos' and 'Leros' are islands of the Dodecanese. A second set eventually followed: 'Iman', 'Jordan', 'Emme' and 'Twiggy' are stage names of models. With time running out, they quickly had the last sets sorted just in time: 'Grant' 'D'Arby', 'Magnusson' and 'Rhodes' are presenters of Songs of Praise, which they didn't see, while 'Loan', 'Nurse', 'Discount' and 'Halls' can all follow 'Student', which they did spot. Seven there then, which reduced their lead to 18-16 going into the final round.
So, Missing Vowels would finish and decide the show. 'Infractions of Just a Minute' was split 2-each. (I called 'REPETITION' coming up twice as soon as the category was announced!) 'British pig breeds' went to the Pyromaniacs 3-1. 'Woods and forests', such as 'EPPING FOREST' and 'TIGER WOODS' (sadly not 'JAMES FORREST', much to my Dad's dismay!) went to the Pyromaniacs 2-1, with the Cartoonists getting two right, but one wrong. 'Toy of the Year winners' had time for one clue, which the Pyromaniacs took. At the end of the game, the Pyromaniacs won 24-22.
Another good close match, some good questions and quizzing there. Unlucky Cartoonists, well done Pyromaniacs, glad we're seeing both of you again and best of luck in your respective next matches!
Next week's match: Motorheads vs Time Ladies
Monday 5 November 2018
University Challenge 2018-19: Repechage Play-Off 1: Emmanuel vs King's
Evening all. You join me as I try to distract myself from the immense frustration of hearing fireworks banging outside, but being unable to actually see any from my window! Thankfully, Quizzy Mondays provided the perfect way of doing just that, as we set off with the first play-off. Both teams led for large portions of their first match and gave good accounts of themselves in their eventual defeats. A good match in prospect then. We hope.
Emmanuel College Cambridge, appearing for the third series in a row, were beaten 200-175 by Glasgow in what was probably the best match of the first round, and they only really lost it in the final minute. Hoping to make up for that tonight were the unchanged foursome of:
Connor MacDonald, from New Brunswick, Canada, studying Politics
Vedanth Nair, from Kings Lynn, studying Economics
Captain: Daniella Cugini, from Warwick, studying English
Ben Harris, from Bath, studying Geology
King's College London, appearing for a second successive series, lost a local derby against U.C.L., starting strongly, then fading somewhat, then recovering late on, finishing behind by 180-145. Also hoping to redeem themselves were the also unchanged quartet of:
Liam Tsang, from Wanstead in London, studying Medicine
Rhian Jones, from Wrexham, studying Early Modern History
Captain: Anthony Chater, from Surrey, studying Music
Katie Heath, from Bedfordshire, studying Midwifery
Off we set again then, and Emmanuel opened the night's scoring with Ms Cugini identifying a quote from 'To Kill a Mockingbird'. One bonus was taken from their first set, before Mr MacDonald gave them a second starter and their second bonus set, on English composers, was more to their liking, a full set. Mr Tsang opened the London side's account, and King's also took a full set of their first bonus set. A second starter went to King's, but none of their second bonus set went with it. The first picture round, on North American railway routes, went to Emmanuel, who took a full house, giving them a 65-35 lead.
Mr MacDonald increased that lead with 'sugar cane', and a bonus set on 2017 films provided two correct bonuses, and the night's main comedy moment in a suggestion that Truro is in Yorkshire! Another starter and full bonus set to the Cambridge side, and already they had broken triple figures and were looking on imperious form. Mr Harris then made sure all Emmanuel players had a starter to their names, and a third full bonus set out of four gave them a 100 point lead. The next starter was dropped, the next was taken by Ms Cugini, a good bonus set on the names of duos (including a very welcome mention of Laurel and Hardy!) gave them another two points.
The music round, on MGM musical films, went to King's, who took two correct bonuses; I got the second, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, thanks to Who Wants to be a Millionaire, which, funnily enough, took its name from the song from High Society that was the third bonus! (It all comes round in the end!) The score now stood at 155-55, and it increased when Mr Harris made a slight error, and was pedantically docked five for it too; Ms Heath took the points for King's, and bonuses on famous men called Englebert provided them with another two correct answers. Mr Harris made up for his error by taking the next starter, and bonuses on craters provided Emmanuel with one correct bonus. Ms Jones then took the next starter, ensuring, for the first time in a while, all eight players had a starter to their names; two bonuses followed. The next starter saw Mr Nair identify Malala Yousafzai as the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize winner but, oddly, refer to her by her surname only, whereas most know her only by forename. Two bonuses restored Emmanuel's 100 point lead.
The second picture round, on photos of figures in the women's suffrage movement, went to Emmanuel, who took one bonus, giving them a lead of 210-95. Mr Chater deservedly took his side into triple figures by taking the next starter, and the obligatory Shakespeare bonuses gave his side two correct answers. Mr Nair then pretty much made sure his side were home and dry by taking 'Baku' for the next starter; his side took one bonus from a tough set on English trails.
Mr Tsang offered up 'osteroblasts' for the next starter, but King's took nothing from a bonus set on fictional spacecrafts. Emmanuel moved further ahead again when Mr Nair took the next starter; no bonuses from a tricky set on Pele's World Cup career followed, but it didn't really matter at this point. Mr Chater took the final starter of the night, and his side just fell short of equaling their first round score, taking one bonus. At the gong, Emmanuel won 235-140.
A very good match indeed, high quality performances from both teams, thanks very much both of them! Unlucky King's, but a fine performance to go out on, thanks very much indeed for playing. Well done Emmanuel though on another very good showing against strong opponents, and very best of luck in the second round!
The stats: Mr Nair was the best buzzer of the night with five, while Mr Chater was best for King's with four. On the bonuses, Emmanuel converted an impressive 24 out of 36 (with the night's one penalty), while King's managed an also respectable 12 out of 24, and, as I said earlier, all eight players ended the night with starters under their belts. Good stuff that; again, well played both teams, probably the best game of the series so far IMO!
Next week's match: Hertford vs Exeter
Only Connect was high quality tonight as well, plus I now know one stage of the contest that rogue Radio Times picture isn't from! Review on Wednesday I hope.
Emmanuel College Cambridge, appearing for the third series in a row, were beaten 200-175 by Glasgow in what was probably the best match of the first round, and they only really lost it in the final minute. Hoping to make up for that tonight were the unchanged foursome of:
Connor MacDonald, from New Brunswick, Canada, studying Politics
Vedanth Nair, from Kings Lynn, studying Economics
Captain: Daniella Cugini, from Warwick, studying English
Ben Harris, from Bath, studying Geology
King's College London, appearing for a second successive series, lost a local derby against U.C.L., starting strongly, then fading somewhat, then recovering late on, finishing behind by 180-145. Also hoping to redeem themselves were the also unchanged quartet of:
Liam Tsang, from Wanstead in London, studying Medicine
Rhian Jones, from Wrexham, studying Early Modern History
Captain: Anthony Chater, from Surrey, studying Music
Katie Heath, from Bedfordshire, studying Midwifery
Off we set again then, and Emmanuel opened the night's scoring with Ms Cugini identifying a quote from 'To Kill a Mockingbird'. One bonus was taken from their first set, before Mr MacDonald gave them a second starter and their second bonus set, on English composers, was more to their liking, a full set. Mr Tsang opened the London side's account, and King's also took a full set of their first bonus set. A second starter went to King's, but none of their second bonus set went with it. The first picture round, on North American railway routes, went to Emmanuel, who took a full house, giving them a 65-35 lead.
Mr MacDonald increased that lead with 'sugar cane', and a bonus set on 2017 films provided two correct bonuses, and the night's main comedy moment in a suggestion that Truro is in Yorkshire! Another starter and full bonus set to the Cambridge side, and already they had broken triple figures and were looking on imperious form. Mr Harris then made sure all Emmanuel players had a starter to their names, and a third full bonus set out of four gave them a 100 point lead. The next starter was dropped, the next was taken by Ms Cugini, a good bonus set on the names of duos (including a very welcome mention of Laurel and Hardy!) gave them another two points.
The music round, on MGM musical films, went to King's, who took two correct bonuses; I got the second, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, thanks to Who Wants to be a Millionaire, which, funnily enough, took its name from the song from High Society that was the third bonus! (It all comes round in the end!) The score now stood at 155-55, and it increased when Mr Harris made a slight error, and was pedantically docked five for it too; Ms Heath took the points for King's, and bonuses on famous men called Englebert provided them with another two correct answers. Mr Harris made up for his error by taking the next starter, and bonuses on craters provided Emmanuel with one correct bonus. Ms Jones then took the next starter, ensuring, for the first time in a while, all eight players had a starter to their names; two bonuses followed. The next starter saw Mr Nair identify Malala Yousafzai as the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize winner but, oddly, refer to her by her surname only, whereas most know her only by forename. Two bonuses restored Emmanuel's 100 point lead.
The second picture round, on photos of figures in the women's suffrage movement, went to Emmanuel, who took one bonus, giving them a lead of 210-95. Mr Chater deservedly took his side into triple figures by taking the next starter, and the obligatory Shakespeare bonuses gave his side two correct answers. Mr Nair then pretty much made sure his side were home and dry by taking 'Baku' for the next starter; his side took one bonus from a tough set on English trails.
Mr Tsang offered up 'osteroblasts' for the next starter, but King's took nothing from a bonus set on fictional spacecrafts. Emmanuel moved further ahead again when Mr Nair took the next starter; no bonuses from a tricky set on Pele's World Cup career followed, but it didn't really matter at this point. Mr Chater took the final starter of the night, and his side just fell short of equaling their first round score, taking one bonus. At the gong, Emmanuel won 235-140.
A very good match indeed, high quality performances from both teams, thanks very much both of them! Unlucky King's, but a fine performance to go out on, thanks very much indeed for playing. Well done Emmanuel though on another very good showing against strong opponents, and very best of luck in the second round!
The stats: Mr Nair was the best buzzer of the night with five, while Mr Chater was best for King's with four. On the bonuses, Emmanuel converted an impressive 24 out of 36 (with the night's one penalty), while King's managed an also respectable 12 out of 24, and, as I said earlier, all eight players ended the night with starters under their belts. Good stuff that; again, well played both teams, probably the best game of the series so far IMO!
Next week's match: Hertford vs Exeter
Only Connect was high quality tonight as well, plus I now know one stage of the contest that rogue Radio Times picture isn't from! Review on Wednesday I hope.
Friday 2 November 2018
University Challenge 2018-19: First Round Review
OK, we're a bit later doing this that usual this year (events in my personal life have kinda got in the way this past month), but here we go with my usual end of first round stock take. Starting with the usual list of teams safely through to Round 2 with their scores and winning margin:
By a long distance, the highest score of the first round, and the highest winning margin, both belong to Durham, with their 360-55 win over Strathclyde, a decent team in their own right. They, therefore, would start the round as red hot favourites whoever they face. One on one with a proven team, however, anything is possible.
Other than that, there isn't a great deal of deviation between most of the others. Darwin are next in terms of scores, followed by St Edmund Hall, Downing and St Peter's. All won their first round matches by comfortable three figure margins, but will they be able to repeat that performance against better teams?
As for the four teams who defeated the four repechage teams, all are most definitely forces to be reckoned with, Glasgow in particular. Even the first round winners with lower scores shouldn't be totally ruled out; Manchester, remember, have a tendency to start out slowly then hit their stride in the second round.
So, in conclusion, apart from Durham, there aren't any real obvious candidates for the group stage; seriously, any of the remaining teams could make it. It depends on the draw I suppose. If we get the same second round draw as last series, Goldsmiths vs St Peter's and U.C.L. vs Manchester would be the first two second round matches. One of those sounds like a foregone conclusion, the other quite a close match.
But anything can happen, as we've seen many times before. Remember the last time Durham had the highest score and winning margin of the first round? That team, 3/4 of whom were on Only Connect on Monday, didn't make the group stage, out in the second round. Anything could, and probably will, happen.
Now for those actual repechage teams...
Well, the draw will, we would imagine, pit Emmanuel vs King's and Hertford vs Exeter. Now, both of those fixtures are very much up in the air as far as I'm concerned, I can't call either. If you insist on a guess, I'd forecast wins for Emmanuel and Hertford, but, as I said, anything could happen. All I really want is a pair of excellent matches.
In fact, despite being somewhat low scoring, this has been a good first round overall. Almost every match I have something positive to say about, and, in all honesty, the group stage line-up could honest be any combination of the 18 teams still in it, depending on the draw.
Before I wrap up, some stats on gender equality you might be interested in: only four teams this series have been single gender, all male, and three of them are through to the second round. That's a definite step in the right direction as far as gender balance is concerned.
I understand institutions are being encouraged to field multi-gender teams this series; that, as far as I'm concerned, is the way to get women involved on the show. Not to force them via a BBC panel show-esque mandatory quota; the fact that the vast majority of the teams this series are mixed without one definitely shows there is no need for one.
There also nine female captains this series, which is a record for this blog's duration (the previous record being eight in 2015-16).
That's all I have to say for now; it's been a good start to the current series, and all we can hope is that that carries on into the next round!
Back on Monday with my usual write-up.
- Warwick (165, 15)
- Glasgow (200, 25)
- Downing College Cambridge (230, 155)
- Darwin College Cambridge (260, 170)
- Clare College Cambridge (160, 10)
- Durham (360, 305)
- St Edmund Hall Oxford (240, 135)
- Edinburgh (210, 135)
- Bristol (140, 30)
- Goldsmiths (180, 125)
- St Peter's College Oxford (225, 175)
- U.C.L. (180, 35)
- Manchester (155, 20)
- Keble College Oxford (180, 65)
By a long distance, the highest score of the first round, and the highest winning margin, both belong to Durham, with their 360-55 win over Strathclyde, a decent team in their own right. They, therefore, would start the round as red hot favourites whoever they face. One on one with a proven team, however, anything is possible.
Other than that, there isn't a great deal of deviation between most of the others. Darwin are next in terms of scores, followed by St Edmund Hall, Downing and St Peter's. All won their first round matches by comfortable three figure margins, but will they be able to repeat that performance against better teams?
As for the four teams who defeated the four repechage teams, all are most definitely forces to be reckoned with, Glasgow in particular. Even the first round winners with lower scores shouldn't be totally ruled out; Manchester, remember, have a tendency to start out slowly then hit their stride in the second round.
So, in conclusion, apart from Durham, there aren't any real obvious candidates for the group stage; seriously, any of the remaining teams could make it. It depends on the draw I suppose. If we get the same second round draw as last series, Goldsmiths vs St Peter's and U.C.L. vs Manchester would be the first two second round matches. One of those sounds like a foregone conclusion, the other quite a close match.
But anything can happen, as we've seen many times before. Remember the last time Durham had the highest score and winning margin of the first round? That team, 3/4 of whom were on Only Connect on Monday, didn't make the group stage, out in the second round. Anything could, and probably will, happen.
Now for those actual repechage teams...
- Emmanuel College Cambridge (175, 25)
- Hertford College Oxford (150, 10)
- Exeter (150, 15)
- King's College London (145, 35)
Well, the draw will, we would imagine, pit Emmanuel vs King's and Hertford vs Exeter. Now, both of those fixtures are very much up in the air as far as I'm concerned, I can't call either. If you insist on a guess, I'd forecast wins for Emmanuel and Hertford, but, as I said, anything could happen. All I really want is a pair of excellent matches.
In fact, despite being somewhat low scoring, this has been a good first round overall. Almost every match I have something positive to say about, and, in all honesty, the group stage line-up could honest be any combination of the 18 teams still in it, depending on the draw.
Before I wrap up, some stats on gender equality you might be interested in: only four teams this series have been single gender, all male, and three of them are through to the second round. That's a definite step in the right direction as far as gender balance is concerned.
I understand institutions are being encouraged to field multi-gender teams this series; that, as far as I'm concerned, is the way to get women involved on the show. Not to force them via a BBC panel show-esque mandatory quota; the fact that the vast majority of the teams this series are mixed without one definitely shows there is no need for one.
There also nine female captains this series, which is a record for this blog's duration (the previous record being eight in 2015-16).
That's all I have to say for now; it's been a good start to the current series, and all we can hope is that that carries on into the next round!
Back on Monday with my usual write-up.
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