OK, here we go, one day later than I planned, but something happened that needed taking care of more urgently. Gives me a chance to ignore what's happening on EastEnders at least. Honestly don't know why I still watch it, haven't been interested in what's happening in it for some time, not to mention how predictable it's become; I mean, tonight's show was pretty good to be fair, but you could easily see the twist ending coming.
Anyway, playing on Monday were the Dragons, Niall Williams, Ian Welham and captain Lawrence Cook, and the Westenders, Tom Chisholm, Abbas Panjwani and captain Megan Stodel.
Round 1. The Dragons kicked off with Water, and the music set: we heard LCD Soundsystem with 'Get Innoculous', then 'Get Happy', then 'Get Ready' by The Temptations; they saw them to be songs instructing someone to do something, and collected two points. The Westenders opened their account with Twisted Flax: 'A (arrow) M', then 'A (arrow) P', then 'S (arrow P', and finally 'S (arrow) W'. They didn't get it, nor did their opponents: replacing the arrow with 'to' gives a word. The Dragons chose Two Reeds next: 'Hot rum & Egg-whites (cocktail)', then 'Simon & Garfunkel (former name)', then 'Good & Leadbetter (neighbours)'; they saw them to all be 'Tom and Jerry', and collected another two points. The Westenders chose Lion next: 'Planet Biyo', then 'JD Wetherspoon', then 'Harry Potter's son', and finally 'Lynyrd Skynyrd'. They didn't see it, their opponents did: they were all named after teachers. For their own question, the Dragons chose 'Horn-ed' Viper, and got the picture set: we saw some orchids, then some plums, then a fast food packet of mustard, and finally a peacock. Having thought of it after two clues, they suggested 'slang words for testicles'; not correct! Their opponents offered that they are suspects in Cluedo for the bonus, Dr Orchid being the controversial replacement for Mrs White. VCM, incidentally, wrote a good article condemning that change in the Guardian; worth looking up and reading. She also started that, had they offered their 'testicles' answer after the second clue, she's have given them the points. Left with Eye of Horus for their own question, the Westenders saw 'Pulitzer Prize for Newspaper History', then 'Oscar for Best Title Writing', then 'BBC Young Plumber of the Year', and finally 'Olympic Gold medal for cricket'. They didn't quite get close enough for the point, nor did their opponents: they are prizes that were awarded once, and then discontinued. At the end of the first round, the Dragons led 5-1.
Round 2, What Comes Fourth? The Dragons opened it with Eye of Horus: '4', then '1.5', and then '0.66666666...'. They saw them to be 4/1, 3/2 and 2/3, so '0.25' for 1/4 would be fourth. The Westenders chose Water next: 'het' (closest I can come to reproducing it, but the Russian word pronounced 'Nyet' in England), then 'December 31st', and then 'New York'. They saw them to be 'Nyet', 'NYE' and 'NY', so offered 'Nitrogen' for 'N' for the two points. The Dragons chose Lion next, and got the picture set: we saw Noah's Ark, then Judge Doom from Who Framed Roger Rabbit, and then some knights in armour. They saw them to be Indiana Jones films (the knights referring to 'crusade', and suggested a skull for the points. The Westenders chose Twisted Flax next: 'Stamford Bridge', then 'Wembley Stadium', and then 'Millennium Stadium'. They suggested 'Wembley Stadium' again, and were correct for the two points, the sequence being hosts of the FA Cup Final. For their final choice, the Dragons chose Two Reeds: 'Tilden Hayes (1876)', then 'Cleveland Harrison (1888)', and then 'Gore Bush (2000)'. They didn't see it, their opponents did: they are US elections where the winner didn't win the popular vote, so 'Clinton Trump (2016)' would be fourth. (Nice scheduling getting that out on the same night as those UC questions!) Left with Horned Viper for their own question, the Westenders saw 'Z (Z)', then 'Y (W)', and then 'X (E)'. They didn't get it, their opponents did: they're the letters that the letters began with if written out, so 'W (D)' would be fourth. At the end of a high quality second round, the Dragons led 10-6.
On to the Walls. The Westenders went first, and chose to tackle the Water wall. They quickly had their first set: 'Ape', 'Clone', 'Mimic' and 'Parrot' are words meaning 'copy', and a second, 'Copy', 'File', 'Stringer' and 'Pool', which are terms in journalism, came in short order. The last clues fell in nicely after that: 'Silent', 'Beat', 'Lost' and 'Greatest' are generations, while 'Mail', 'Gear', 'Ice' and 'Chatter' can all precede 'box'. A well worked full ten that.
The Dragons thus set to work on the Lion wall. It proved a bit hardy to untangle, though they did eventually get two sets in short order: 'Gibson', 'C', 'Blanc' and 'Brooks' are surnames of famous people called Mel, while 'Rose', 'Noir', 'Or' and 'Vert' are French words for colours. They couldn't sort out what was left in their three goes though, so had to collect bonuses: 'Trigger', 'Eyeliner', 'Friendship' and 'Witchcraft' are words that end in boats, which they didn't see, while 'Foundation', 'Mascara', 'Rouge' and 'Powder' are types of make-up. Five points there, which meant they now trailed 16-15 going into the final round.
So, Missing Vowels would decide the show and who went in which direction. 'Things that can hang over us' went to the Westenders 3-1. 'Hokey-Coker instructions' went to Westenders 3-0. 'People who live(d) in hotels' went to the Westenders 2-1, and that was time. The Westenders won 24-17.
Another good show, decided on the last two rounds, but well played by both sides overall. Unlucky Dragons, well done Westenders, and best of luck when you return for your respective next games.
Next week's (regular) match: the Hotpots vs the Durhamites in the first eliminator. Followed by three Christmas specials on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday! I need to draw up some kind of schedule for all these reviews I'll be doing over the coming weeks I think.
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