OK, Happy Christmas all! Hope yous have all had a good day so far; mine has been perfectly adequate. Anyway, earlier this evening we had the last of the Only Connect Christmas specials, which I hope to review on Thursday evening, and there was, of course, a regular match yesterday, which I'll hopefully deal with tomorrow evening. And of course, we've had Christmas UC, which I'll post a weekly summary of on Sunday if I remember.
Anyway, lets spool back to Thursday, and the third Only Connect special. Playing were the Lasletts, Chris (who narrowly missed out on the recent Fifteen-to-One final) and his kids Jake and Emma, who reached the semi-finals of Series 8, and the Meeples, UC legend Gail Trimble, her brother Hugh and husband Tom West, who appeared in the last series, going out in the play-off round.
Round 1. The Lasletts kicked the match off with Lion: 'HSBC: 6', then 'MOT: 3'; they saw them to be the number of triangles those companies have in their logos, and collected a good three points to start with. The Meeples opened their account with Twisted Flax, and the picture set: we saw musician Ginger Baker, then a cartoon of an elderly gentleman running, then an Alsatian dog, and finally a Greek politician presenting some EU official with a present. They didn't get an answer in in time, and their opponents didn't get it either: they are things that can precede 'Beware of' (Mr Baker, an old man in a hurry, a dog and Greeks bearing gifts!) The Lasletts chose Two Reeds next: 'Father George', then 'Mother Winifred', then 'Daughter Jane', and finally 'Son Michael'. They suggested 'The Jetsons', incorrect. Their opponents (and I) knew them to be the Banks family from Mary Poppins for the bonus. (If only they'd recorded this after it was shown on BBC1 yesterday!) For their own question, the Meeples chose Water, and got the music: we heard Meghan Trainor singing 'All About That Bass', then Joe Dolce's classic 'Shaddapa Your Face', then Doris Day with 'Que Sera Sera', and finally 'You Can't Hurry Love' by the Supremes. They didn't get it, nor could their opponents: they are songs about, or containing, maternal advice. The Lasletts chose Horned Viper next: '1997: Dropped a word from its name', then '2007: Changed from a monarchy to a republic', then '2009: Changed to driving on the left hand side', and finally '2011: Skipped December 30'. Neither team knew it, I did: they are events in the history of Samoa (the last one gave it to me, remember it being discussed on HIGNFY). Left with Eye of Horus, the Meeples saw 'Holbein', then 'Pliny'; that was enough for them to offer them as fathers and sons known as 'the Elder' and 'the Younger' for the three points. At the end of the first round, the Meeples led 4-3.
Round 2, What Comes Fourth? The Lasletts started it with Twisted Flax: 'Trimble', then 'Paisley'; they thought it to be something to do with first ministers, but their offer of 'Sturgeon' was not correct. Their opponents saw 'Robinson', but didn't know it either: they are Northern Irish first ministers, so 'Foster' would be fourth. The Meeples chose Horned Viper next, and got the pictures again: we saw Ian M Banks along '1000', then John D Rockefeller alongside '500'; they spotted that the numbers are those peoples' middle initials in Roman numerals, so offered Dorothy L Sayers alongside '50' for the three points. The Lasletts chose Water next: '12-8: People', then '7-6: Birds'; they saw it to be the offerings from The Twelve Days of Christmas, so '5: Jewellery' would be third, and '4-1: Birds' would complete the set. The Meeples chose Lion next: 'Isaac Newton', then 'Ivanka Trump', and then 'Isabel Allende'. They didn't get it, nor did their opponents: their initials are 'IN', 'IT' and 'IA', so someone with the initials 'LS', such as 'Leo Sayer', would be fourth. For their final choice, the Lasletts chose Eye of Horus, and got a music question: we heard the Carpenters with 'Please Mr Postman', then 'I Get Around' by the Beach Boys; they spotted them to be by two and three siblings respectively, so suggested something by the Jackson 5, correctly for the three points. (Cue a sing-along of 'Blame It On the Boogie'!) Left with Two Reeds, the Meeples saw 'Mid-shot', then 'Medium close-up'; they saw it to be zooming shots in photography, so offered 'Extreme close-up' for the three points. At the end of the second round, the Meeples led 10-9.
On to the Walls. The Meeples went first, and chose the Water wall to tackle. They had two sets in the bag almost instantly: 'Ralph', 'Jack', 'Samneric' and 'Piggy' are characters in 'Lord of the Flies', while 'Test tube', 'Bush', 'Jelly' and 'Beanie' can all precede 'baby'. The last sets, however, took some more thought, but they eventually sorted them on their second attempt: 'Janice', 'Beaker', 'Animal' and 'Scooter' are muppets, while 'Retort', 'Cold finger', 'Burette' and 'Petri dish' are items of lab equipment made of glass. A full ten there.
The Lasletts thus set to work on the Lion wall. They also had a set in the back straight off the bat: 'America', 'Placebo', 'Nirvana' and 'The Jam' are rock groups with three members. It took them a bit longer to get their second, however, but they eventually isolated 'Muse', 'Grace', 'Dryad' and 'Fate', which are deities, and the final groups came in easily after that: 'Joshua', 'Curry', 'Palm' and 'Bay' are types of tree, whie 'Fury', 'Whyte', 'Haye' and 'Chisora' are British heavyweight boxers. Another full ten, so as you were, the Meeples led 20-19 going into the final round.
So, Missing Vowels would decide the game. 'Parts of a driving test' went to the Lasletts 3-1. 'Film titles with younger animals', such as 'RESERVOIR PUPPIES' and 'KITTEN ON A HOT TIN ROOF', went to the Lasletts 3-0. 'Things you hear when you are on hold' was a 2-each split. 'Peoples who were at school together' only had time for one clue, which the Lasletts took. The Lasletts won 28-23.
Another excellent special, well played both teams, and thanks very much for coming back and playing!
Next special: from earlier today, the QI Elves vs the Inquisitors. Blog of that on Thursday I hope, and yesterday's regular game between the Motorheads and the Cartoonists tomorrow I hope too. See you whenever; until then, enjoy the rest of your Christmas!
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