OK, off we go with Only Connect once again, and the final eliminator match. Winners went through to the play-off round, the runners-up would be out for good. I've said it often enough, but I'm so glad we've gone back to the format where all teams get at least two games; far more satisfying than the elaborate systems of the last two series.
Anyway, playing on Monday night were the Dragons, Niall Williams, Ian Welham and captain Lawrence Cook, who were pipped by the Westenders in their first match, and the Three Peaks, Lauren Probert, Peter Dawson and captain Ross Drayton, who were overpowered by the Ancient Alumni first time around.
Round 1. The Dragons opened the show with Twisted Flax: 'M23 East Sussex', then 'M11 Suffolk', then 'M275 Isle of Wight', and finally 'M5 Cornwall'. They identified them as counties without motorways and the ones that go closest to them, and collected the first point of the night. The Peaks opened with Lion, and the music round: we heard UC favourites X-Ray Spex, then Charlie Parker with 'Ornithology', then Papa Roach, and finally Echo and the Bunnymen with 'The Killing Moon'. They didn't spot it, nor did their opponents: they all have NATO alphabet words in their names. The Dragons chose 'Horn-ed' Viper next: we saw a frog croaking, then a pair of curtains, then a man in bed alongside three fish; they spotted them to be euphemisms for death, and collected two points. The Peaks chose Eye of Horus next: 'Julius Caesar's Gaul', then ''Henry VI'', then 'Freud's structural model of the mind', and finally 'Insect's body'. That gave it to them: they are conposed of three parts. The Dragons chose Water next: 'Anderson: fight scenes', then 'Shaw: unmasked face', then 'Prowse: physique'; they saw it to be people who contributed those aspects to Darth Vader, and collected another two points. ('Jones: voice' would, of course, have been the last clue. Paul Merton used to do a great bit about how David Prowse voicing Darth Vader himself would've gone!) Left with Two Reeds, the Peaks saw 'Fighting', then 'Fleeing', then 'Feeding'; they knew them to be the basic animal instincts, and collected two points of their own. At the end of the first round, the Dragons led 5-3.
Round 2, What Comes Fourth? The Dragons started the round with Lion: 'Trials in the Crown Court', then 'The Great British Bake Off', and then 'Championship boxing matches'. They didn't get it, nor did their opponents: they are things with one, two and three judges, so something with four judges, such as 'Pop Idol', or 'Strictly Come Dancing', would be fourth. The Peaks chose Two Reeds next: 'Blair', then 'Stephenson', and then 'Hogan-Howe'. They didn't get it, their opponents, and I, did: they are commissioners of the Metropolitan Police, so 'Dick', as in Cressida, would be fourth. For their own question, the Dragons chose Eye of Horus: '4th = R', then '3rd = I', and then '2nd = E'. They didn't see this classic OC sequence, their opponents did: they are the fourth, third and second letters of the words 'fourth', 'third' and 'second', so '1st = F' would complete the set. For their own question, the Peaks chose Water: 'Call return', then '(17x7) + (17x2) - 6', and then 'Lines in a sonnet'. They saw to be 1471, 147 and 14, so offered 'Wheels on a unicycle', which acceptable for the points. For their final choice, the Dragons chose Twisted Flax: 'Poppy', then 'Marigold', and then 'Daffodil'; they saw them to be red, orange and yellow flowers, so suggested 'Shamrock' as a green one, which was acceptable for the points. Left with Horned Viper, the Peaks got the picture set, and saw Pinocchio, then another Pinocchio, and then a pair of underpants. They didn't see it, their opponents did: they are 'liar', 'liar' and 'pants', so something on fire would complete the sequence! At the end of the second round, the Dragons led 9-6.
On to the Walls. The Peaks went first, and chose to tackle the Water wall. This proved a mistake, as they became completely stumped, and, despite spotting several links, were unable to untangle anything. Timed out, they thus had to try for bonus connection points: 'Black', 'Elder', 'Logan' and 'Goose' are types of berry, which they didn't see, 'George Bush', 'Dulles', 'Douglas' and 'Sky Harbor' are US airports, which they did get, 'Barnum', 'Memphis', 'Van Helsing' and 'Valjean' are characters who Hugh Jackman has played, which they also got, while 'Whitehall', 'London', 'Ma' and 'Charlton' are the surnames of famous men called Jack. Three points there then.
The Dragons could thus put the game beyond realistic reach with a good result on the Lion wall. They, in contrast, managed two sets reasonably quickly: 'Squealer', 'Snitch', 'Stoolie' and 'Rat' are informants, while 'Melon', 'Mile', 'Among' and 'Lemon' are anagrams of fruits. After that, they took their time with what was left, and soon had it all sorted: 'Horn', 'Handshake', 'Raspberry' and 'Eagle' can all follow 'Golden', while 'Grape', 'Rango', 'Wood' and 'Brasco' are title characters played by Johnny Depp. A full ten there, which gave them a lead of 19-9 going into the final round.
So, Missing Vowels to finish with, with the Peaks needing a virtual shutout to stand any chance. 'Types of poem and the number of lines they have' went to the Peaks 2-1. 'Boxing terms in everyday parlance', such as 'SAVED BY THE BELL' and 'BELOW THE BELT', went to the Peaks 3-0. 'Archbishops of Canterbury' went to the Peaks 2-1. '"Catch" phrases' managed just one clue, 'CATCH TWENTY-TWO', which neither team got. At the end of the show, the Dragons won 21-16.
Another good game, more good quizzing, ultimately decided on the Walls, unusually. Unlucky Peaks, but nothing to be ashamed of, two respectable performances, thanks for playing! Well done Dragons though, and best of luck in the play-offs!
Next week's match: the first qualifier match, between the Poptimists and the LARPers
No comments:
Post a Comment