University Challenge: Round 1: Match 14: Warwick vs Aberdeen

So, we’ve finally reached the final first round match in this year’s contest. Would we be able to end the first round with a good match?

Warwick University was founded in 1965, and is one of the most regular entrants on University Challenge. Their team won the series in 2006-07; last year’s team fell to eventual semi-finalists U.C.L. in the second round. Playing for them tonight were:

Sean Quinn, from Derry in Ireland, studying Classical Civilisation

Sarah-Jane Bodell, from Western Kentucky, studying the History of Medicine

Captain: Andrew Shaw, from Ipswich, studying Maths

James Wheatley, from Sudbury in Suffolk, studying Chemistry

Now, when I saw Mr Wheatley there, I immediately had Warwick down as the favourites. For, back in March, Mr Wheatley played for the University of Warwick students on the Radio 4 quiz show The Third Degree (Sumukh Kaul, from last year’s Warwick team, was also on the team); they became the first (and thus far only) student team to triumph over the Dons team on the show. And by quite a big margin too.

So, despite Aberdeen being my local university, I had them down as underdogs tonight. The university was founded in 1495, making it the third oldest in Scotland. The university last appeared on the show in 2000-01, where they lost to York in the first round. Playing for them were:

Thomas Ainge, from Wellingborough, studying Anatomy

Sean McMahon, from Cambridgeshire, studying Astrobiology

Captain: James King, from Chicago, studying Divinity

Ross Collier, from Sunderland, studying Politics and International Relations

So, the heart said Aberdeen, but the head said Warwick. The head won out to begin with, as Mr Shaw of Warwick got the first two starters. Aberdeen got off the mark with the first picture round, a superb round on film scene recreated using lego, which they swept the board on! Another starter for the Aberdonians followed, but only one bonus went with it this time.

The teams swapped starters up to the music round, with Aberdeen keeping Warwick’s lead slender. Warwick then began a short surge, which saw them get into three figures. Though Aberdeen got another starter, Warwick had now opened up a decent lead by the time we reached the second picture round. And when Aberdeen incurred a penalty on the next starter, it looked like game over.

Warwick managed to get up to 145, enough for a repechage place at least. Aberdeen were stuck on 60, and the match was as good as over. Aberdeen didn’t stand much chance of reaching the repechage, but could they at least reach three figures. Yes, they could. Two more starters saw them just reach three figures in time for the gong. Warwick emerged triumphant 175-100.

Hard luck Aberdeen, but, as Paxo said, you did reach 100, which is perfectly respectable. James King got three starters correct (the other three all got one), and the side answered 9 bonuses out of 18 with one penalty. Well done to Warwick, who gave a respectable account of themselves. Andrew Shaw’s six starters was the side’s best tally ahead of James Wheatley’s five; the side answered just 13 bonuses out of 33, though, and that may need to be worked on for next time.

Next week: Lincoln College Oxford vs Lancaster in the first play-off

Week after: King’s College Cambridge vs Homerton College Cambridge in the second play-off

Tonight’s Only Connect was a good one, with some of my all-time favourite questions, including weapons in Mario Kart, Fawlty Towers episodes, and Pokemon. Just one point separated the two teams, which is a sign of how close a match it was.

Deal or No Deal - 22nd-28th October

So, the last week of DoND before the summer recording break. And the last week of DoND to be shown in regular definition (the show moves to HD tomorrow). And what a week it’s been.

Monday 22nd: Caerwyn

Winnings: £23,000

Dealt at: 5-box

Highest offer: £23,000 (5-box and 2-box)

Box value: £15,000

A spectacular game. As a Welshman, Caerwyn had the Banker’s undivided attention, due to Welsh players generally doing well. It looked the game might be slipping away when Caerwyn hit the £250,000 in Round 4, while leaving the 1p, 10p and 50p in play. But then, after turning down £6,500 at 8-box, he did a speed round, and hit the bottom three in order! This amazing feat got him £23,000, which he dealt for a spectacular Banker spanking. If you thought that was good…

Tuesday 23rd: Lamin

Winnings: £19,000

Dealt at: 5-box

Highest offer: £22,000 (8-box)

Box value: £3,000

After a shocking start of four reds, including the £250,000 and £75,000, Lamin finished the first round with 1p, then had two all-blue rounds. An against all odds third all-blue round took him into the Hall of Fame for the longest run of blues (10), breaking Keran Jackson’s record of 9 from November 2008. After turning down £22,000, the game crashed a bit, but Lamin still got a decent fifth offer of £19,000, which he dealt. A historic game, with a good result for the player, even if the deal was a little bit late.

Wednesday 24th: Jean

Winnings: £5

Opened the box

Highest offer: £11,000 (14-box)

Box value: £5

After two spectacular games, we had a pretty unavoidable trainwreck. Bit ironic that the game crashed after the second offer, which Jean seemed quite taken by, and turned down quicker than perhaps she should’ve. A lot of people weren’t happy with this one, as a lot of the show was taken up by Jean telling a rather long anecdote about caravans, which the show openly mocked by showing the backstage crew appearing to have fallen asleep!

Thursday 25th: Sheri

Winnings: £24,000

Dealt at: 8-box

Highest offer: £24,000 (8-box)

Box value: 10p

Now that’s how you play the game. Sheri’s deal was definitely the right thing for her to do in her circumstances (others may have taken their chances with £50,000, £75,000 and the £250,000 higher), and it turned out to be a perfect deal, and a massive Banker spanking. Can’t ask for better than that.

After the show, a short video tribute to ex-contestant Laura Williams, who has sadly passed away, was played. Once again, may I offer my condolences to her family and friends.

Friday 26th: Dean

Winnings: £7,000

Dealt at: 8-box (for £6,500)

Highest offer: £23,000 (5-box)

Box value: £15,000

This was an unfortunate affair. The £250,000 went at the worst time possible (final box of Round 4), leaving Dean with a weaker board. The Banker offered him £6,500, and later added a Brian Ferry CD to the offer, in reference to Dean’s wish to take his children on a ferry with his winnings. Cruel that, after Dean dealt, he should have an against-all-odds all-blue round, which led to a huge proveout offer of £23,000. The blow was softened a bit when the Banker, unable to get hold of a Brian Ferry CD, gave Dean an extra £500 instead (partly on Noel’s insistence!).

Sunday 28th: Sammy

Winnings: £11,000

Dealt at: 4-box extra offer

Highest offer: £22,222 (2-box)

Box value: £100,000

Sammy’s game quickly became precarious, and she reached 5-box with £100,000 and not much else, including the 1p. The Banker offered her a decent £6,500, and then told her she could open one box, and, if it wasn’t the £100,000, she would get another offer. Sammy took him up on this, and, after finding a blue (though not the 1p), she was offered £11,000. Very cruel that, after sensibly taking the money, she should have the £100,000 in her box.

So, after the amazing heights of the first two games, the show wasn’t really as good for the rest of the week, apart from Sheri’s game, and Sammy’s was dramatic even if ultimately disappointing.

Next week, the show celebrates Halloween with the traditional week of Halloween specials; this year, the players all dress as mummies for ‘Show Me The Mummy’. As usual, we can expect various twists at 5-box, which I will (try to) explain at some point in next week’s review.

University Challenge: Round 1: Match 13: New College vs Homerton

Before I review tonight’s match, my condolences go to the family of ex-DoND contestant Laura Williams, who has sadly passed away, after a long battle with cancer. Laura won on the show in £24,000 in July 2010. Her death was reported by regular audience member John on the forum earlier this evening. Very sad news indeed; I can only, once again, add my sympathies to those that have already been expressed.

On to UC then. New College Oxford is one of the oldest colleges in the universities, and was named as such to distinguish it from Oriel College, which had a similar full name. Alumni include Tony Benn and Hugh Grant. The college were runners-up in the first Paxman hosted series in 1994-95; their last appearance before tonight was a first round defeat to U.C.L. in 2000-01. Playing for them tonight were:

Remi Beecroft, from Letchworth in Hertfordshire, studying Psychology and Philosophy

India Lenon, from London, studying Classics

Captain: Andy Hood, from Wasperton in Warwickshire, studying PPE

Tom Cappleman, from Bracknell, studying Maths

Homerton College Cambridge became a full college of the university in 2010, but has been around in various other forms since the 1700s, where it was originally based in London. It moved to Cambridge in 1894. Alumni include Nick Hancock, Jan Ravens and Tamzin Merchant. The college reached the quarter-finals last year, and were unfortunate to become the first team to lose three matches in a series, which is a bit unfair. This year’s team were:

Jack Hooper, from Althrincham in Cheshire, studying Natural Sciences

Michael Angland, from Cork, studying Arabic and Spanish

Captain: Luke Fitzgerald, from Hadley in Suffolk, studying History

Drew Miley, from Durham, studying Maths

New College began the match stronger, getting the first three starters. Homerton soon got going too, and scored a full set on their first bonuses. The first picture round was on knots, and when no-one identified a reef knot, Paxo remarked ‘none of you were in the boy scouts obviously!’

Though Homerton came close to catching them a couple of times, New College managed to maintain a slender lead throughout the second phase. After the music round, they led 115-85. Homerton reduced the gap again, but New College then pulled away again, and began to pull away, with Mr Cappleman displaying particularly good buzzer ability.

After the second picture round, New College led 170-105, and, when Homerton buzzed too early on the next starter, they looked home and dry. The best Homerton could hope for now was to get enough points to get into contention for the repechage. A couple more starters, and a few of the resulting bonuses gave them the points they needed. At the gong, New College won by 230-145.

Not a terribly exciting affair, but both sides gave a good account of themselves. New College could do well this year with a favourable draw; Tom Cappleman finished with a very respectable eight starters, and the side managed 19 bonuses out of 39. Homerton will be back in the repechage; Michael Angland and Luke Fitzgerald got three starters each, which helped the side to 14 bonuses out of 24. Both sides incurred one penalty.

Safely through to the repechage: Lincoln College Oxford (175); Homerton College Cambridge, King’s College Cambridge (145)

Next week’s match: Warwick vs Aberdeen in the final first round match. Good to see my local uni back on the show after just over ten years; but it does mean that Edinburgh will not be competing for the first time since 1998-99!

Only Connect arrived at the quarter-finals tonight, so the already hard level of questions went up by one, and Victoria Coren got a bit stricter with her leeway. The connecting walls were rather hard as well.

Deal or No Deal - 15th-21st October

Well, after a week of boxes being undersold, would we see the opposite this week, a week of low box wins?

Monday 15th: Andy

Winnings: £11,000

Dealt at: 5-box

Highest offer: £11,000 (5-box)

Box value: 10p

Nope, a perfect deal, leading to a much needed Banker spanking. Just what we needed!

Tuesday 16th: Gavin

Winnings: £18,000

Dealt at: 8-box

Highest offer: £40,000 (5-box)

Box value: £75,000

Argh, just when Andy’s game gave us confidence, we get another perfectly reasonable deal get made to look bad by an unlucky proveout. Which is a shame.

Wednesday 17th: Phil

Winnings: £16,750

Dealt at: 5-box

Highest offer: £16,750 (5-box)

Box value: £750

Great result from a sensible decision. Just what we needed after Gavin’s game.

Thursday 18th: Esher

Winnings: £1,000

Opened the box

Highest offer: £60,000 (5-box)

Box value: £75,000 (swapped for £1,000)

What an extraordinary game. An against-the-odds all-blue fifth round saw Esher get a 5-box of £1,000, £35,000 and the top three, which is one of the strongest 5-boxes ever. The offer of £60,000 was rejected, only for the £250,000 to go afterwards. The Banker offered a ‘lifeline’ of £25,000, which was also rejected. £35,000 went, £35,000 was offered, and that was rejected as well. £100,000 left £1,000 and £75,000.

After being offered a very respectable £28,000, Esher asked if she could swap her box. The Banker said no, she couldn’t. She turned down the £28,000, and, just as Noel was about to open the box, the Banker called back and changed his mind!

And thus, we had one of the biggest ever crashes from a swap. The really painful bit is, if she’d left any other box to the end, she’d have has an almost certain big win! A most unfortunate affair.

Friday 19th: Billy

Winnings: £8,000

Dealt at: 8-box

Highest offer: £8,000 (8-box)

Box value: £500 (hypo-swapped for £20,000)

Just what we needed after Esher’s game. A sensible deal soured only by the hypo-swap. Technically, it’s a Banker spanking, but it will not be seen as that due to the hypo-swap, which is a shame.

Sunday 21st: Kayleigh

Winnings: £10,000

Dealt at: 5-box

Highest offer: £13,000 (17-box and 11-box)

Box value: £5,000

It’s a shame that Kayleigh didn’t deal at 11-box, like she appeared very close to doing. But she still recovered to a good bailout offer, and got out before the game fell apart.

All in all, a very good week of games, which is just what we needed after last week. Again, we can only hope for a good week of games next week to send us into Halloween week on a high.

University Challenge: Round 1: Match 12: U.C.L. vs Exeter

First of all, sorry for the delay, but I'm having technical issues at the moment. I won't go into why, I'll just get on with it...

University College London, or U.C.L., was founded in 1826, and is the largest college of the University of London; it is also larger than many other entire universities. The side has fielded strong teams in recent years; last year's team surprised many by reaching the semi-finals, and offered plenty of humor in the process. This year's team were:
Adam Papaphilippopoulos, from London, studying Philosophy
Tom Tyszczuk Smith, from Cambridge, studying Medicine
Captain: Simon Dennis, from London, studying the History and Philosophy of Science
Tom Parton, from Staffordshire, studying Natural Sciences

Exeter University is newer, having been founded in 1955, though its predecessor establishments date back to 1900 and 1922. The university last sent a team two years ago, where they lost to Peterhouse Cambridge in the first round, but survived to the repechage, where they defeated Cardiff, before losing to eventual runners-up York in the second round. Playing for them were:
James Bellamy, from Exeter, studying Zoology
William O'Rourke, from Dorset, studying English
Captain: Rob Bental, from Staines, studying Arabic and Persian
John Ault, from Warrington, studying Cornish Studies

Exeter were first to score, getting the first starter and a complete set of bonuses. Mr Tyszczuk Smith of U.C.L. buzzed in too early on the next starter, and Exeter were disallowed an answer after conferring, which seemed to annoy Paxo greatly. Following that, though, he seemed to be in good spirits for the rest of the evening.

U.C.L. soon got off the mark, with Mr Dennis appearing to score most of the side's starters. His colleagues all gave a good account of themselves, but he was the one who was doing most of the work. His side soon took the lead from Exeter, and, by the music round, had pulled out a lead of 120-55.

Mr Dennis and his team continued to pile up the points throughout the third phase of play too, and, by the second picture round, U.C.L. led by 180-55. Exeter did get the second picture starter, but just one bonus followed. This proved a brief blip, as U.C.L. continued to pile on the points in the second half, and poor Exeter couldn't do anything. James Bellamy tried to buzz back into the game, but he buzzed to soon, and his side dropped back by five. But Rob Bental managed a starter late on, and the side took two of the bonuses. The gong went shortly afterwards, and U.C.L. won by a stunning 260-85.

A fine performance by U.C.L., who must surely be favored to progress to the quarter finals, at least. Simon Dennis finished the match with eleven(!) correct starters, and his side managed 22 bonuses out of 45 with two penalties. James Bellamy's two starters were Exeter's best, and the side answred 8 bonuses out of 15 with one penalty. All eight players answered at least one starters correctly.

Safely through to the repechage: Lincoln College Oxford (175), King's College Cambridge (145)

Next week's match: New College Oxford vs Homerton College Cambridge

As for Only Connect, last night's match featured one of my favorite questions ever, about Kenny McCormick's deaths in South Park! It was another trouncing, with the winning team, captained by former Mastermind champion Nancy Dickmann, won by 33 points to 8. The opposition weren't bad, they were just unlucky.