Evening all. Here we are at the penultimate regular UC of the 2010s, and as its nearly 2020, I am planning a UC Review of the Decade. Now whether I do it at the end of the year and cover exactly the 2010s or wait until the end of the current series and look back on the last ten series (2010-11 to 2019-20) I haven't decided yet; opinions welcome. For now, though, on with the usual business.
Imperial College London racked up the highest score of the first round, as they beat Brasenose of Oxford 255-70, dominating almost throughout. They were the same foursome as before:
Richard Brooks, from Stockton-on-Tees, studying Mechanical Engineering
Brandon, from Jamaica, Queens in New York City, studying Computing
Captain: Caleb Rich, from Lewisham, studying Controlled Quantum Dynamics
Connor McMeel, from Dublin, studying Computer Science
St John's College Oxford also comfortably won their first match, beating Wolfson of Cambridge 115-40 in the lowest scoring UC match of the Paxo era. They were also unchanged from before:
Sam Burns, from Walthamstow in London, studying History
Isabella Morris, from London, studying English Language and Literature
Captain: Asher Leeks, from Beckenham in London, studying Evolutionary Biology
Aaron Soor, from Woodford in London, studying Maths
Off we set again then, and St John's started with a misfire, allowing Mr Rich to pick up where he left off by taking 'Simon Bolivar' for the first starter; a full set of bonuses on the subtitles of books was a strong statement of intent from the Londoners. They then lost five of their own on the next starter though, but St John's failed to pick up. The Oxonians then slipped up again (I think possibly the first time, in the BBC era at least, that the first three starters saw penalties incurred), and Mr Rich swept in for the pickup; two bonuses followed. Mr Soor finally got St John's moving in the right direction again, giving them a bonus set on trios whose names began with A, B and C respectively, of which they took one. Mr Brooks then was first in with Lincolnshire (just after I got it), but just one bonus on scientific terms ending 'grade' followed. The first picture round, on maps illustrating outbreaks of disease, went to St John's; two bonuses followed, which cut their arrears to 55-25.
They duly increased again though as the mononymous Brandon, wearing a jumper with a picture of Alex Trebek on it to show support for him (he had just been diagnosed with cancer when this episode was filmed), identified the artist Mary Cassatt for the next starter; a full house of bonuses on Pulitzer Prizes followed. Mr Leeks broke back in for St John's, which gave them a bonus set on UK dales, of which they took one. Mr Soor didn't quite get the right end of the stick on the next starter, allowing Brandon to take the points; a bonus set on last year's (men's football) World Cup saw both me and them get Iceland and Brazil, but miss Belgium.
The music round, on jazz artists who went solo after coming to fame alongside Miles Davis, went to Imperial; two bonuses took their lead to 120-40. And it was just getting bigger as Mr Rich identified the Ordnance Survey for the next starter; a tough bonus set on powers of ten gave the Londoners five points. Brandon was in quickly for the next starter for knowing that six non-Earth planets were known to exist by 1820, and got told off by Paxo for 'finding the questions insultingly easy'! Two bonuses followed, before Brandon took a second starter in a row, and a full set of bonuses on historic English counties pretty much ended the match as a contest.
The second picture starter was dropped; the bonuses, on films edited by Dede Allen, went to St John's, who took one bonus, which took the scores to 180-55. Mr McMeel cemented Imperial's win when he took the next starter, giving his side a classic UC bonus set on high scoring words in Scrabble, of which they took two.
So now it was just a question of how much higher both sides could go; Mr Leeks pulled one back for St John's, and a bonus set on the 'stan' countries gave them a full set in short order. Mr Rich pulled Imperial past 200 as he took the next starter, and a bonus set of Tudor rebellions was also dispatched reasonably easily. Mr McMeel was first to work out the next starter; just one bonus on Italian cinema followed, but it mattered not. The next starter was a rerun of a famous bad answer from the show in the 90s: "Pen y Fan is the highest point in which national park?" Neither side said 'Snowdonia' this time; Mr Leeks did get the right answer of the 'Brecon Beacons' though, and another full bonus set deservedly took St John's into triple figures. Mr Brooks took the last starter, and his side answered the one bonus there was time for correctly. At the gong, Imperial won 255-105.
Another good watchable contest, even if it was a rather one sided one. Unlucky St John's, but a valiant performance in the circumstances, thanks very much for playing! Very well done Imperial though, and very best of luck in the QFs; definitely a team to watch!
The stats: Mr Rich was the best buzzer of the night with five, while Messrs Leeks and Soor got three each for St John's. On the bonuses, Imperial converted 26 out of 37 (with one penalty), while St John's managed 11 out of 18 (with two penalties).
Next week's match: the last regular UC of the decade! Again, I don't know who's playing yet, but will be sure to retweet anything I find.
Only Connect was much closer tonight, with the second qualifier, between the Forrests and the Choristers; after a tight contest all the way through, including a welcome mention of Punch and Judy toothpaste (my favoured toothpaste for a while!), the Choristers won it on the last Missing Words of the show, winning 22-21!
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