University Challenge 2012-13 Revisited: Part 7: Matches 21 and 22, plus when will the next series be starting?

OK, so, only two shows we'll be covering this week, primarily to balance this series out so it finishes up a bit neater, but also because I had other things to do last night that required my full attention, and I also want to talk a bit about the seemingly delayed start of the new series. First things first though...

 

Match 21, Round 2 Match 5: Magdalen vs Manchester (7th January 2013)

The first match of 2013 saw the return of, again, two teams who won consecutive first round matches. Magdalen got the first starter, but Manchester the next three, and their strong bonus showing saw them pull away into a strong lead. Going into the music round, they’d already reached three figures and were well ahead of their opponents on 35.

 

Magdalen did finally get some points in the right direction again, and a full bonus set from one of the resulting sets to boot, but never seriously threatened to pull back into the game. Manchester saw the match out quite comfortably on both the buzzer and the bonuses, thus proving that last second victory in the first round was no fluke. Magdalen did reach respectability late on, but were clearly second best. Manchester won 220-90. 

 

Match 22, Round 2 Match 6: Bristol vs Imperial (14th January 2013)

The second match of the year saw pitted one of the lower scoring first round winners (in fact, the second lowest of the BBC era) against one of the higher scorers; as we learned two weeks later, that doesn’t necessarily make the match outcome a foregone conclusion. Here, though, Imperial were indeed never seriously troubled; Bristol gave a good effort, but their opponents were clearly dominant throughout.

 

Highlight of the show was a music round on actors singing in film adaptations of musicals, during which Paxo pleaded with Imperial to “Put us out of our misery please!” when they took too long discussing a bonus! Despite dominating the buzzer race, the fact Imperial’s bonus rate wasn’t that good at first, while Bristol’s being pretty good in comparison, meant they never really pulled away into a truly insurmountable lead until the final ten minutes. Paxo, as Weaver’s Week said at the time, was most harsh to disallow ‘went on the moon’ for ‘walked on the moon’, but it hardly mattered. Imperial won the game 245-115, to set up a quarter-final against Manchester.

 

So, that's this week's two episodes; three more coming up next week.

 

And so on to the subject of when the next series will be starting. Under normal circumstances, it would probably be this Monday coming, the day after Wimbledon finishes, which has been the standard practice for many years now.

 

This year, however, it isn't the case. Probably because the Women's Euros are ongoing at the moment and will be tying up the BBC1 and 2 schedules for a couple more weeks yet. And then, just before they finish, we have the Commonwealth games starting as well. In short, quite a lot of sport that will force the normal schedules out of kilter.

 

That said, as I was discussing with Iain Weaver the other day, the bare minimum that will happen once the Euros group stages are done would probably be EastEnders and the One Show moving to BBC2, as has happened this week and last. So, taking all that into account, I think the 25th probably sounds like a decent bet for the start of the new series.

Unless, as I suggested, TPTB have decided to shorten the series back to 31 shows due to the filming restrictions and/or Paxo's illness.

All will hopefully become clear in due course; will tweet or retweet once I find something concrete.

Back next week with next week's three eps. Or sooner if we get news of a new series. See you whenever then...