Only Connect Series 14: Quarter-Final 2: Durhamites vs Poptimists

OK, on with this week's Only Connect. I've pretty much decided now that this is the last series I'm doing full reviews of on here; from next series, I'll be moving to short summaries like Weaver's Week, only less detailed than their's. It's been a good series to go out on though, really can't call a winner from any of the teams left in, though I do have my favourites.

Anyway, playing on Monday were the Durhamites, Adam Robertson, James France and captain George Twigg, who lost their first match to the LARPers but recovered with wins over the Hotpots and the Pyromaniacs, and the Poptimists, Oliver Levy, Bob De Caux and captain Matt Loxham, who came straight through via wins over the Hotpots and the LARPers. (Quite possibly the first OC panel to contain five UC alumni)

Round 1. The Durhamites opened the show with Water, and the music set: we heard 'Vissi d'arte' from Tosca, then 'God! Show Me Magic' by the Super Furry Animals, then 'Bring Him Home' from Les Mis, and finally 'Mercedes Benz' by Janis Joplin. Recognising only the last, they tried their guess of 'songs about cars' from the earlier match again, but were not correct this time; their opponents offered them all to be songs sung directly to God, and collected the bonus. For their own first question, the Poptimists chose Eye of Horus: 'Andy and Peter', then 'Dave and Ken', then 'Rosemary & Laura'; they saw them to be the first names of TV detective duos, and collected two points. The Durhamites chose 'Horn-ed' Viper next: 'Banknote (____) Check', then 'Waistcoat (____) Undershirt', then 'Condom (____) Eraser'; they suggested 'shared slang terms for the same items', which wasn't quite there for the points. Their opponents saw 'Crisps (____) French fries', and offered that the blank is what the first words mean in the US, and the second words are what the blanks mean here, if that makes sense. For their own question, the Poptimists chose Two Reeds, and got the picture set: we saw two pairs of eyes, one open, one shut, then the number sequence '3, 5, 26, 28, 30, 31, 32, 35, 88, 101' (with the first two and last two bold and underlined), then a depiction of David slaying Goliath, and finally the quiz show Tipping Point. They saw them to be clues to the titles of books by Malcolm Gladwell, and collected the point (the number referring to 'Outliers'). The Durhamites chose Lion next; 'Reginald McKenna (1911)', then 'Philip Snowden (1924)', then 'Neville Chamberlain (1940)', and finally 'Elizabeth Fry (2016)'. Neither side spotted this one: they were all succeeded by Winston Churchill in those years. Left with Twisted Flax, the Poptimists saw 'From 'angry'', then 'From 'charcoal kiln'', then 'From 'in the style of a prostitute''; they identified them as the derivations of the names of Italian sauces, and collected another two points. At the end of the first round, the Poptimists led 7-0.

Round 2, What Comes Fourth? The Durhamites started the round with Water: 'Roquefort', then 'Woody Guthrie', and then 'Mange Tout'. They didn't spot it, their opponents did: they end in homophones of 'four', 'three' and 'two', so 'Black Swan' would be an acceptable homophone of 'one' for the bonus. For their own question, the Poptimists chose Eye of Horus: '1 x £20', then '1 x £50', and then '4 x £100'. They saw them to be how many of those notes you start with Monopoly, so '2 x £500' for the points. The Durhamites chose Two Reeds next: '61, 52', then '63, 94', and then '46, 81'. Neither team saw this very tough sequence: they are square numbers with their digits reversed, so '001, 121' would be fourth. The Poptimists chose 'Horn-ed' Viper next: 'The Enigma of Arrival', then 'The Caretaker', and then 'The Golden Notebook'. They saw them to be something to do with British winners of the Nobel Prize for Literature, but didn't get an acceptable answer; their opponents offered 'A Pale View of Hills', and collected their first point of the game. For their own final choice, the Durhamites chose Lion, and got the picture set: we saw the gender symbols, then some tubs of pills; they saw them to represent 'Sex' and 'Drugs', so deduced that 'Rock' would be third and offered 'a swiss roll' for the three points. Left with Twisted Flax, the Poptimists saw 'Richard III (1485)', then 'Elizabeth I (1603)'; they saw them to be the final monarchs of successive royal houses, but their offer of 'William IV (1837)' was not correct. Their opponents saw 'Anne (1714', but their guess of 'Edward VII (1910)' was wrong too. 'Victoria (1901)' completes the set. At the end of the second round, the Poptimists led 10-4.

On to the Walls. The Poptimists went first, and chose the Water wall. They isolated two sets pretty quickly; 'Bhaji', 'Pakora', 'Roti' and 'Poppadom' are items of Indian food, while 'Pouille', 'Cilic', 'Sock' and 'Thiem' are surnames of male tennis players. They spotted the final connections, and had the clues in line in short order: 'Tsonga', 'Osman', 'Scuba' and 'Samosa' are countries with an 'S' added to their names, while 'Shadow', 'String', 'Rod' and 'Finger' are types of puppet. A full ten there.

The Durhamites thus had to match that on the Lion wall to stay in realistic reach. They had a first set sorted reasonably quickly: 'Rosa', 'Azul', 'Amarillo' and 'Verde' are colours in Spanish. A second set, 'Auror', 'Els', 'Tian' and 'Moan', are Disney princesses with the 'A' on the end missing, followed shortly afterwards. They carefully studied what was left, and had everything sorted on their third try: 'Schwartzel', 'Player', 'Frost' and 'Goosen' are surnames of South African golfers, while 'Blanco', 'Pop', 'Del Boy' and 'Granville' are characters played by David Jason. Another full ten, so as you were, the Poptimists led 20-14 going into the final round.

So, Missing Vowels to finish with, with the Durhamites needing a good round to stand a chance. 'EU capitals and a university found there' was split 2-each. 'Fishy famous people', such as 'NICOLA STURGEON' and 'ROSAMUND PIKE' went to the Poptimists 3-1. 'Things that are the deepest', such as 'DEATH VALLEY' and 'LAKE BAIKAL' was a clean sweep to the Poptimists, 4-0. 'Books by Paul McKenna' was split 1-each, and that was time. The Poptimists won 30-18.

Another good game, some tough questions there, well done both teams in the circumstances. Unlucky Durhamites, but a fine series of performances, thanks very much for playing. Well done Poptimists though, and best of luck in the semi-finals!

Next week's match: the Brews vs the Ancient Alumni