OK, back on track with OC now. I hope.
Playing on Monday were the Wanderers, John Payne, Richard Arthur and captain Sanjoy Sen, who got here directly by beating the Pedagogues and fellow quarter-finalists the Inquisitors, and the Vikings, Mark Oxley, John Wilson and captain Mick Lee, who also came straight here via victories over the Geocachers and the Parishioners.
Round 1. The Vikings kicked the show off with Horned Viper, and the picture set: we saw Robert De Niro, then Bela Lugosi as Dracula, then John Kettley the weatherman; they identified them famous people described in songs, and collected the first points of the night. The Wanderers opened their account with Eye of Horus, and the music set: we heard 'Elsa's Dream' from Lohengrin, then 'Apres un reve', then 'Once Upon a Dream' from Disney's Sleeping Beauty, and finally 'Sweet Dreams Are Made of This'. They spotted the link from the final two clues, and collected two points as well. The Vikings chose Lion next: 'Henry; Charlotte; Max', then 'James Joyce; Tristan Tzara; Lenin', then 'Septimus; Thomasina; Plautus the tortoise', and finally 'Rosencrantz; Guildenstern; Hamlet'. They didn't get it, nor did their opponents: they are characters in Tom Stoppard plays. The Wanderers chose Water next: 'Un petit d'un petit', then 'Et qui rit des cures d'Oc!' then 'Lille beau pipe'; they saw them to be nursery rhyme titles in French, but couldn't get precise enough for the points. Their opponents saw 'Pas de caique, pas de caique, becasse, mane', and offered that they are nonsensical French phrases that, if said out loud, sound rather like the English names of nursery rhymes! Brilliant question, pay rise to whoever came up with that! For their own question, the Vikings chose Two Reeds: 'Italian constitutional reform', then 'Hungarian EU migrant quotas', then 'Colombian peace deal with FARC'; they offered 'referendums that were rerun and had a different outcome', not right. Their opponents saw 'British EU membership', and identified them as referendums that took place in 2016 for a bonus. Left with Twisted Flax for their own question, the Wanderers saw 'Odyle', then 'Caloric', then 'Phlogiston'; they identified them as 'debunked scientific substances', and picked up two further points. At the end of the first round, the Wanderers led 4-3.
Round 2, What Comes Fourth? The Vikings kicked this off with Eye of Horus: 'LPH', then 'BT'; they came in with 'DLT', and were right, the sequence being the first four Greek letters minus their vowels. The Wanderers chose 'Horn-ed' Viper next: '4th: Science', then '3rd: Fame', and then '2nd: Politics'. They didn't get it, nor did their opponents: they are comedy tours by Ricky Gervais, so '1st: Animals' would come fourth. The Vikings chose Water next: 'My Life', then 'Decision Points', and then 'The Audacity of Hope'; they saw them as books written by the most recent US presidents, so Mr Trump's 'The Art of the Deal' would be acceptable for the points. (Victoria then reeled off a list of some of his other works, which the teams found most amusing!) The Wanderers chose Lion next: 'The Mile Post', then 'Hammersmith Bridge'; they saw it to be timing points in the Boat Race, but their offer of 'Putney Bridge' was not correct. Their opponents saw 'Chiswick Steps', but their answer of 'The Finish Line' was also wrong; 'Barnes Bridge' would come fourth. For their final choice, the Vikings chose Twisted Flax: 'Luchsinger & Reiss 1956', then 'Band & Brown 1955', and then 'Compagnoni & Lacedelli 1954'; they offered 'Hillary & Tenzing 1953', and were correct, the sequence being, not the first four duos to climb Everest as they thought, but the first people to climb the four highest mountains. Left with Two Reeds, the Wanderers got the picture set, and saw a dog and a teddy bear next to a 'No' sign, then a monkey drinking from a wine bottle next to a 'No' sign, and then a lion devouring a zebra next to a 'No' sign. They could not come up with an acceptable answer, nor could their opponents: its the Seven Commandments of Animalism from Orwell's Animal Farm (one of my favourite books that I studied in secondary school English!), so a picture for 'All Animals are Equal', ie an elephant and a butterfly on a see-saw next to a 'No' sign would be an appropriate fourth picture. At the end of the second round, the Vikings led 10-4.
On to the Walls. The Wanderers went first this time, and chose to tackle the Lion wall. They pretty quickly isolated 'Acorn', 'Oric', 'Apricot' and 'Commodore', which are old computer brands, followed eventually by 'Shaw', 'Phillips', 'Bruce' and 'Apple', which are the surnames of famous women called Fiona. They couldn't untangle what was left in their three tries, and had to collect bonus points: 'Mango', 'Balsa', 'Hive' and 'Rambo' all become a dance when the first letter is changed, which they saw, while 'Lime', 'Avocado', 'Rifle' and 'Harlequin' are shades of green, which they also saw. Six points there.
The Vikings thus had a chance to realistically seal the game as they set to work on the Water wall. They too took a first set pretty quickly: 'Ponder', 'Brood', 'Woolgather' and 'Mull' are words meaning 'Think'. A second set, 'Shannon', 'Bailey', 'Lundy' and 'Fisher', which are shipping forecast areas (hope you were watching Cromarty(IV)!), followed, and the remaining sets also slotted in fairly comfortably: 'Read', 'John Quill', 'Rows' and 'Wight' are homophones of colours, while 'Jersey', 'Red Poll', 'Guernsey' and 'Angus' are breeds of cow. A full ten there, which gave them a 20-10 lead going into the final round.
So, Missing Vowels to end the show, with the Wanderers needing a virtual shut-out. 'Words that start with a soft C' went to the Wanderers 4-0. 'Famous men with their wives' maiden names', such as 'WILLIAM MIDDLETON' and 'DENIS ROBERTS', went to the Vikings 3-1. 'Commonwealth countries and their largest cities' went to the Wanderers 3-1. 'Films featuring Marilyn Monroe' saw both teams take one clue, and that was all there was time for. The Vikings won 25-19.
A very enjoyable match, well played by both sides. Unlucky Wanderers, but a fine performance nonetheless, best of luck in the eliminator round. Well done Vikings though, and best of luck in the qualifier round!
Next week's match: the Detectives vs the Escapologists
Thursday, 15 February 2018
Tuesday, 13 February 2018
Only Connect Series 13: Preliminary Quarter-Final 1: Eco-Warriors vs Inquisitors
OK, finally can get around to looking at last week's Only Connect, sorry again for the wait. Before I start though, my condolences to the family of OC alumnus Neil Phillips, teammate of Mastermind champs Gary Grant and our friend Dave Clark as the Radio Addicts, runners-up of OC Series 4, who passed away recently.
Playing the first quarter-final last week were the Eco-Warriors, Jonathan Kershaw, Peter Barlow and captain Brett Bostock, who came straight here beating fellow quarter-finalists the Escapologists in the first round, then sneaking past the Snake Charmers in the first round, and the Inquisitors, who have beaten the Cricketers, the Snake Charmers as well and the Meeples, but lost to the Wanderers.
Round 1. The Warriors kicked the show off with Horned Viper: 'Boring Ted', then 'Violent Vic', then 'Devout P', and finally 'Repulsive Od'. They didn't get it, nor did their opponents: they all form adjectives meaning the former when 'ious' is added to the latter. The Inquisitors opened their account with Lion, and the music set: we heard Simon & Garfunkel with 'Bleecker Street', then '42nd Street', then Bob Dylan with 'Positively 4th Street', and finally 'Across 110th Street' by Bobby Womack. They didn't get it, their opponents did: they are New York streets. For their own question, the Warriors chose Twisted Flax: 'Library at Queen Mary College London', then 'Brian Fantana's penis', then 'Bolton theatre', and finally 'Ultimate Fighting Championship enclosure'; they identified them all to be octagonal shaped, and collected a point. The Inquisitors chose Eye of Horus next: 'Saying goodbye', then 'Stepping into the ring left foot first', then 'A bird flying around the tent', and finally 'Sitting with your back to the ring'. They didn't get this, nor did their opponents quite: they are considered unlucky in the circus. The Warriors chose Two Reeds next: 'Felipe DeAlba (Zsa Zsa Gabor's husband)', then 'Dietmar Hamann (Bolton Wanderers player)', then 'Joseph Goebbels (German Chancellor)', and finally 'Louis XIX (King of France)'. They didn't get this, nor did their opponents: they are people who were those things for one day. Left with Water, and the pictures, the Inquisitors saw Jesse James, then Denis Norden, then Harry Carpenter, and finally David Baddiel. Again, both sides missed it: they all formed a duo with men called Frank. At the end of a tough first round, the Warriors led 2-0.
Round 2, What Comes Fourth? The Warriors opened the round with Lion: 'Jermain Defoe, 22 November 2009', then 'Garfield Sobers, 31 August 1968', and then 'Frankie Dettori, 28 September 1996'. They worked it out: they achieved a notable five, six and seven on those dates, so someone acheiving a notable eighth, such as a team winning an eighth FA cup match as they offered, would be right for two points. ('Michael Phelps, 2008 Olympics' was the model answer) The Inquisitors chose Twisted Flax next, and got the picture set: we saw some Moai heads, then a moa bird, then Sir Mo Farah; they saw the sequence, and offered 'Judi Dench as M' for their first points of the night. The Warriors chose Water next: 'Escudo', then 'Tolar', and then 'Drachma'. They offered 'Lira', which was correct, the sequence being the weakest Euro legacy currencies. The Inquisitors chose Eye of Horus next: 'Sank into the swamp', then 'Swank into the swamp' again, and then 'Burned down, fell over, then sank'. They didn't see it, their opponents did: they are the fates of the King of Swamp's castles in Monty Python, so 'Stayed up' would be fourth. For their own final choice, the Warriors chose Two Reeds: 'Tuberculosis lab', then 'Great Britain lab', and then 'District of Columbia con'. They saw them to be things that can be abbreviated to the initials of prime ministers and their parties, so something for TM, such as 'Transcendental Meditation con' would be acceptable for the two points. Left with Horned Viper, the Inquisitors saw 'Canadian short stories', then 'French novels', and then 'Belarusian journalism'. They didn't get it, nor did their opponents: they are the nationalities of Nobel Literature prize winners and what they are best known for writing, so 'American songs', as in Bob Dylan, would complete the set. At the end of the second round, the Warriors led 9-2.
On to the Walls. The Inquisitors took their turn to go first, and chose to tackle the Lion wall. After some initial errors, two sets slotted in quite comfortably: 'State', 'Department', 'Hundred' and 'Riding' are sub-national divisions, while 'Field', 'Canton', 'Hoist' and 'Fly' are parts of a flag. After carefully studying the remaining clues, they had it on their first go: 'Work', 'Power', 'Place' and 'Wall' can all follow 'Fire', which they didn't see, while '12', 'Cuba', 'Carbon' and 'MI6 Chief' are all represented by C, which they did get. Seven points there.
The Warriors thus set to work on the Water wall. They struggled at first, eventually isolating 'How', 'Rich', 'Bern' and 'Ger', which are given names minus an 'ard' on the end, though that wasn't what they had in mind. That was all they could manage in the time though, so they had to settle for bonus connection points: 'Short', 'Waiting', 'Bucket' and 'Laundry' can all precede 'list', which they got, 'Pert', 'Conquest', 'Speelman' and 'Nunn' are chess grandmasters, which they didn't, while 'Brassy', 'Smart', 'Fresh', 'Forward' are words meaning 'cheeky', which they also got, though Victoria seemed to be struggling not to lose it at an earlier suggestion that they could be terms used to describe women! Three points there, which meant they still led 12-9 going into the final round.
So, Missing Vowels would decide who went where. 'Difficult', such as 'COMPLEX' and 'ROCKET SCIENCE', went to the Inquisitors 3-0. 'Easy', such as 'FACILE', was split 1-each. 'Love in song titles' went to the Inquisitors 3-1, and they took the only clue there was time for in 'Law firm departments'. The Inquisitors won 17-14.
A good match, some very hard questions in the first round at least, good scores considering. Unlucky Warriors, good luck in the eliminator round; well done Inquisitors, good luck in the qualifiers!
Next match: the Wanderers vs the Vikings. Blog of that on Thursday I hope.
Playing the first quarter-final last week were the Eco-Warriors, Jonathan Kershaw, Peter Barlow and captain Brett Bostock, who came straight here beating fellow quarter-finalists the Escapologists in the first round, then sneaking past the Snake Charmers in the first round, and the Inquisitors, who have beaten the Cricketers, the Snake Charmers as well and the Meeples, but lost to the Wanderers.
Round 1. The Warriors kicked the show off with Horned Viper: 'Boring Ted', then 'Violent Vic', then 'Devout P', and finally 'Repulsive Od'. They didn't get it, nor did their opponents: they all form adjectives meaning the former when 'ious' is added to the latter. The Inquisitors opened their account with Lion, and the music set: we heard Simon & Garfunkel with 'Bleecker Street', then '42nd Street', then Bob Dylan with 'Positively 4th Street', and finally 'Across 110th Street' by Bobby Womack. They didn't get it, their opponents did: they are New York streets. For their own question, the Warriors chose Twisted Flax: 'Library at Queen Mary College London', then 'Brian Fantana's penis', then 'Bolton theatre', and finally 'Ultimate Fighting Championship enclosure'; they identified them all to be octagonal shaped, and collected a point. The Inquisitors chose Eye of Horus next: 'Saying goodbye', then 'Stepping into the ring left foot first', then 'A bird flying around the tent', and finally 'Sitting with your back to the ring'. They didn't get this, nor did their opponents quite: they are considered unlucky in the circus. The Warriors chose Two Reeds next: 'Felipe DeAlba (Zsa Zsa Gabor's husband)', then 'Dietmar Hamann (Bolton Wanderers player)', then 'Joseph Goebbels (German Chancellor)', and finally 'Louis XIX (King of France)'. They didn't get this, nor did their opponents: they are people who were those things for one day. Left with Water, and the pictures, the Inquisitors saw Jesse James, then Denis Norden, then Harry Carpenter, and finally David Baddiel. Again, both sides missed it: they all formed a duo with men called Frank. At the end of a tough first round, the Warriors led 2-0.
Round 2, What Comes Fourth? The Warriors opened the round with Lion: 'Jermain Defoe, 22 November 2009', then 'Garfield Sobers, 31 August 1968', and then 'Frankie Dettori, 28 September 1996'. They worked it out: they achieved a notable five, six and seven on those dates, so someone acheiving a notable eighth, such as a team winning an eighth FA cup match as they offered, would be right for two points. ('Michael Phelps, 2008 Olympics' was the model answer) The Inquisitors chose Twisted Flax next, and got the picture set: we saw some Moai heads, then a moa bird, then Sir Mo Farah; they saw the sequence, and offered 'Judi Dench as M' for their first points of the night. The Warriors chose Water next: 'Escudo', then 'Tolar', and then 'Drachma'. They offered 'Lira', which was correct, the sequence being the weakest Euro legacy currencies. The Inquisitors chose Eye of Horus next: 'Sank into the swamp', then 'Swank into the swamp' again, and then 'Burned down, fell over, then sank'. They didn't see it, their opponents did: they are the fates of the King of Swamp's castles in Monty Python, so 'Stayed up' would be fourth. For their own final choice, the Warriors chose Two Reeds: 'Tuberculosis lab', then 'Great Britain lab', and then 'District of Columbia con'. They saw them to be things that can be abbreviated to the initials of prime ministers and their parties, so something for TM, such as 'Transcendental Meditation con' would be acceptable for the two points. Left with Horned Viper, the Inquisitors saw 'Canadian short stories', then 'French novels', and then 'Belarusian journalism'. They didn't get it, nor did their opponents: they are the nationalities of Nobel Literature prize winners and what they are best known for writing, so 'American songs', as in Bob Dylan, would complete the set. At the end of the second round, the Warriors led 9-2.
On to the Walls. The Inquisitors took their turn to go first, and chose to tackle the Lion wall. After some initial errors, two sets slotted in quite comfortably: 'State', 'Department', 'Hundred' and 'Riding' are sub-national divisions, while 'Field', 'Canton', 'Hoist' and 'Fly' are parts of a flag. After carefully studying the remaining clues, they had it on their first go: 'Work', 'Power', 'Place' and 'Wall' can all follow 'Fire', which they didn't see, while '12', 'Cuba', 'Carbon' and 'MI6 Chief' are all represented by C, which they did get. Seven points there.
The Warriors thus set to work on the Water wall. They struggled at first, eventually isolating 'How', 'Rich', 'Bern' and 'Ger', which are given names minus an 'ard' on the end, though that wasn't what they had in mind. That was all they could manage in the time though, so they had to settle for bonus connection points: 'Short', 'Waiting', 'Bucket' and 'Laundry' can all precede 'list', which they got, 'Pert', 'Conquest', 'Speelman' and 'Nunn' are chess grandmasters, which they didn't, while 'Brassy', 'Smart', 'Fresh', 'Forward' are words meaning 'cheeky', which they also got, though Victoria seemed to be struggling not to lose it at an earlier suggestion that they could be terms used to describe women! Three points there, which meant they still led 12-9 going into the final round.
So, Missing Vowels would decide who went where. 'Difficult', such as 'COMPLEX' and 'ROCKET SCIENCE', went to the Inquisitors 3-0. 'Easy', such as 'FACILE', was split 1-each. 'Love in song titles' went to the Inquisitors 3-1, and they took the only clue there was time for in 'Law firm departments'. The Inquisitors won 17-14.
A good match, some very hard questions in the first round at least, good scores considering. Unlucky Warriors, good luck in the eliminator round; well done Inquisitors, good luck in the qualifiers!
Next match: the Wanderers vs the Vikings. Blog of that on Thursday I hope.
Monday, 12 February 2018
University Challenge 2017-18: Preliminary Quarter-Final 3: St John's vs Ulster
Evening all. Apologies that I now have an OC backlog, will make up for it with a double bill this week, last week's show tomorrow, tonight's on Thursday. From now, I am fairly confident I can do Tuesday reviews every week, but we shall see. On with tonight's match, two more teams beginning their QF campaign, the winners need one more victory to progress, the runners-up would need two and couldn't afford another defeat.
St John's College Cambridge eased through the first two rounds, with victories over two strong teams, St Andrews in the first round by 255-120, and Corpus Christi of Cambridge in the second 285-80. Hoping for more of the same tonight were the unchanged four of:
John-Clark Levin, from Los Angeles, studying Politics and International Studies
Rosie McKeown, from Kingston-upon-Thames, studying French and German
Captain: James Devine-Stoneman, from Southall in London, studying Superconducting Spintronics
Matt Hazell, from Ringwood in Hampshire, studying Veterinary Medicine
Ulster came here through the repechage, just getting pipped at the post by Edinburgh in the first round, then easing past St Anne's of Oxford 175-90 in their play-off, and bookinh a QF berth by winning a cracking second rounder against Warwick 170-140. They too were unchanged from the earlier rounds:
Cathal McDaid, from Buncrana in County Donegal, studying English Literature
Kate Ritchie, from Waringstown in County Armagh, studying Fine Art
Captain: Ian Jack, from Peterhead, studying Pharmacy
Matthew Milliken, from Comber in County Down, studying Education
Off we set again then, and Mr Levin got the night's ball rolling with 'Lee'; a full bonus set on writers who served in the UK parliament gave them a full set to start the match. A penalty then gave Ulster a chance to kick off, which they couldn't take. Ms McKeown took the next starter with 'Tristan and Isolde' and two bonuses came with it. Another starter went Ms McKeown's way, and bonuses on CERN projects gave the Cambridge side just the one correct bonus this time. The first picture round, on alliterative geographical features, went to St John's, who took two bonuses again, giving them an early lead of 75-0.
That lead just got bigger as Mr Levin took the next starter, and bonuses on foreign language films provided them with ten more points. Mr Devine-Stoneman now made up for his earlier mistake, unlocking a topical bonus set on women's suffrage, of which they took just the one. Asked to answer in either English or French, Mr Levin chose the former, correctly; two bonuses followed this time. Already looking well out of sight, the Cambridge side's lead just increased when Ms McKeown answered 'Poland', and one bonus came with it.
The music round, on covers by Ella Fitzgerald, finally allowed Ulster to get some points on the board; they took one of the music bonuses, reducing their arrears to 150-15. Ms Ritchie took a second starter in a row though for the Northern Ireland side though, and they took a full bonus set on the Book of Judges. Ms Ritchie then took a second starter in a row, but bonuses on volcanoes proved less fruitful, with nothing coming from it. (I got the Philippines) Another starter went Ulster's way, as did a full house on organic chemistry, and suddenly they were back within sight.
The second picture round, on stills from drama series directed by prolific movie directors, went to Ulster, who took just one bonus, but had now cut the gap to 150-90. When Mr Devine-Stoneman took the next correct answer though, you suspected that was as close as they could get; the Cambridge side took one correct bonus.
Or maybe not; Ms Ritchie took the next starter, and her side into triple figures, and a full bonus set on UK cities kept them just in the hunt. But when Mr Devine-Stoneman took the next starter, that was game over; two correct bonuses on the English Civil War only served to boost their score. Ulster did take the final starter, and one bonus on Italian composers, and that was the gong; St John's won, 185-130.
A good match of two halves, St John's running riot in the first half, but Ulster recovered nicely in the second half. Unlucky Ulster, but a fine recovery in the circumstances, and very best of luck in the elimination round. Well done St John's though on another good showing against good opponents, and best of luck in the qualifiers!
The stats: Mr Levin was, just, the best buzzer of the night, with four starters to the three, of Ms McKeown, Mr Devine-Stoneman and Ulster's best Ms Ritchie. On the bonuses, St John's converted 18 out of 30 (with the night's one penalty), while Ulster managed 12 out of 21; similar rates, so it was, again, a match won on the buzzer, with St John's winning the match with their flying start.
Next week's match: Emmanuel vs Edinburgh, followed, I would imagine, by Newcastle vs Merton in the first qualifier.
Right, Only Connect double bill coming up, last week's tomorrow and tonight's on Thursday. I hope.
St John's College Cambridge eased through the first two rounds, with victories over two strong teams, St Andrews in the first round by 255-120, and Corpus Christi of Cambridge in the second 285-80. Hoping for more of the same tonight were the unchanged four of:
John-Clark Levin, from Los Angeles, studying Politics and International Studies
Rosie McKeown, from Kingston-upon-Thames, studying French and German
Captain: James Devine-Stoneman, from Southall in London, studying Superconducting Spintronics
Matt Hazell, from Ringwood in Hampshire, studying Veterinary Medicine
Ulster came here through the repechage, just getting pipped at the post by Edinburgh in the first round, then easing past St Anne's of Oxford 175-90 in their play-off, and bookinh a QF berth by winning a cracking second rounder against Warwick 170-140. They too were unchanged from the earlier rounds:
Cathal McDaid, from Buncrana in County Donegal, studying English Literature
Kate Ritchie, from Waringstown in County Armagh, studying Fine Art
Captain: Ian Jack, from Peterhead, studying Pharmacy
Matthew Milliken, from Comber in County Down, studying Education
Off we set again then, and Mr Levin got the night's ball rolling with 'Lee'; a full bonus set on writers who served in the UK parliament gave them a full set to start the match. A penalty then gave Ulster a chance to kick off, which they couldn't take. Ms McKeown took the next starter with 'Tristan and Isolde' and two bonuses came with it. Another starter went Ms McKeown's way, and bonuses on CERN projects gave the Cambridge side just the one correct bonus this time. The first picture round, on alliterative geographical features, went to St John's, who took two bonuses again, giving them an early lead of 75-0.
That lead just got bigger as Mr Levin took the next starter, and bonuses on foreign language films provided them with ten more points. Mr Devine-Stoneman now made up for his earlier mistake, unlocking a topical bonus set on women's suffrage, of which they took just the one. Asked to answer in either English or French, Mr Levin chose the former, correctly; two bonuses followed this time. Already looking well out of sight, the Cambridge side's lead just increased when Ms McKeown answered 'Poland', and one bonus came with it.
The music round, on covers by Ella Fitzgerald, finally allowed Ulster to get some points on the board; they took one of the music bonuses, reducing their arrears to 150-15. Ms Ritchie took a second starter in a row though for the Northern Ireland side though, and they took a full bonus set on the Book of Judges. Ms Ritchie then took a second starter in a row, but bonuses on volcanoes proved less fruitful, with nothing coming from it. (I got the Philippines) Another starter went Ulster's way, as did a full house on organic chemistry, and suddenly they were back within sight.
The second picture round, on stills from drama series directed by prolific movie directors, went to Ulster, who took just one bonus, but had now cut the gap to 150-90. When Mr Devine-Stoneman took the next correct answer though, you suspected that was as close as they could get; the Cambridge side took one correct bonus.
Or maybe not; Ms Ritchie took the next starter, and her side into triple figures, and a full bonus set on UK cities kept them just in the hunt. But when Mr Devine-Stoneman took the next starter, that was game over; two correct bonuses on the English Civil War only served to boost their score. Ulster did take the final starter, and one bonus on Italian composers, and that was the gong; St John's won, 185-130.
A good match of two halves, St John's running riot in the first half, but Ulster recovered nicely in the second half. Unlucky Ulster, but a fine recovery in the circumstances, and very best of luck in the elimination round. Well done St John's though on another good showing against good opponents, and best of luck in the qualifiers!
The stats: Mr Levin was, just, the best buzzer of the night, with four starters to the three, of Ms McKeown, Mr Devine-Stoneman and Ulster's best Ms Ritchie. On the bonuses, St John's converted 18 out of 30 (with the night's one penalty), while Ulster managed 12 out of 21; similar rates, so it was, again, a match won on the buzzer, with St John's winning the match with their flying start.
Next week's match: Emmanuel vs Edinburgh, followed, I would imagine, by Newcastle vs Merton in the first qualifier.
Right, Only Connect double bill coming up, last week's tomorrow and tonight's on Thursday. I hope.
Monday, 5 February 2018
University Challenge 2017-18: Preliminary Quarter-Final 2: Fitzwilliam vs Merton
Evening all. After a good strong start to the QF process last week, another high quality match was expected this week, between two sides who both beat aside two very decent teams on the way to this stage. Winners would, I would imagine, play Newcastle for a place in the semi-finals, runners-up would play Bristol for the right to stay in the contest.
Fitzwilliam College Cambridge were very consistent in their matches thus far, scoring 200 on both occasions, firstly against the 105 of Leicester, and then in the second round against the 155 of Magdalen of Oxford. Hoping for more of the same this time were the unchanged four of:
Theo Tindall, from Bristol, studying Russian and Arabic
Theo Howe, from Oxfordshire, studying Japanese Studies
Captain: Hugh Oxlade, from South Woodford in London, studying History
Jack Maloney, from Harpenden in Hertfordshire, studying Medicine
Merton College Oxford began the QFs as joint favourites, having comfortably dispatched the good King's of London side 285-110 in the first round, and then the very good Oxford Brookes team in the second round just two weeks ago, 255-175. Hoping for more of that tonight were the also unchanged line-up of:
Edward Thomas, from Kent, studying Ancient and Modern History
Alexander Peplow, from Amersham in Buckinghamshire, studying Medieval Studies
Captain: Leonie Woodland, from Cambridge, studying Physics
Akira Wiberg, from Sweden and Japan, studying Molecular and Cellular Medicine
Off we set again then, and a slip-up from Merton (to be fair, I think a few would have made the same mistake) handed Mr Oxlade the first starter of the night, and his side kicked the night off with a full bonus set on history. Mr Tindall was next in for the Cambridge side, and a second full bonus set followed, giving them an early advantage. A third starter in a row went the Cambridge side's way, but just the one bonus followed this time. Mr Wiberg finally took his side back into positive figures, and bonuses on the opening lines of Dickens novels gave them two correct answers. The first picture round, on definitions from French dictionaries, went to Merton, who took an impressive full set, reducing their arrears to 65-40.
And when Mr Wiberg took the next starter, you sensed the Oxonians had built up a head of steam, , as if to confirm this, a full bonus set put them on level pegging. Mr Peplow came in his 'Holst's 'The Planets'' to give his side the lead, and they increased it via two bonuses on genetics. Mr Maloney broke back for Fitzwilliam, but a tricky bonus set on the ages at death of biblical figures provided them with just one correct answer. A quick buzz from Mr Wiberg awoke his side again, and they set hard to work with two bonuses, with the third unluckily nearly missed.
The music round, on outstanding lyrics award winning musicals, went to Merton, who took two correct answers, giving them a lead of 125-80. And that lead was just increasing as Mr Peplow took the next starter; bonuses on granite buildings saw both them and me take the same correct answer, Aberdeen! (Thumbs down to Paxo's literal pronunciation of Marischal College, it's pronounced 'Marshall' Jez! I should know, I stay but a few minutes walk from it!) Another starter to Mr Wiberg, a full bonus set, and Merton were within sight of game over. The Merton right-winger took the next starter too, and the resultant bonuses on the Adriatic Sea gave the Oxonians a 100+ lead, and the way they were going, that was surely game over. Mr Peplow picked up the quizzer's question, on how Costa Rica is the only nation currently with no army; a tough bonus set nonetheless gave his side one correct answer.
The second picture round, on female composers featured in the music syllabus, went to Merton, who only identified Bjork, nonetheless enough to increase their lead to 215-80. A (non-interruption) penalty handed Fitzwilliam a chance to get back into the match, but they failed to take it. Mr Peplow was in quickly again, and bonuses on the River Severn handed them another two correct answers.
Mr Maloney finally awoke Fitzwilliam from their slumbers, and two bonuses on chemical elements deservedly took them into triple figures, with only a mishearing from Mr Oxlade denying them a full set. Another narrow buzzer race winning from Mr Peplow followed; just the one bonus followed this time, but it didn't matter by now. Mr Maloney took another for Fitzwilliam, but they couldn't do any better, also managing just one. Mr Wiberg ensured another starter for Merton, and a full bonus set came with it this time. Mr Tindall took the final starter, but there was no time for bonuses; at the gong, Merton won 270-125.
A good high quality match from both sides, as we expected, with slightly quicker buzzing winning Merton the match. Unlucky Fitzwilliam, but a very decent performance in the circumstances, and you should reach the semis too if you carry on like that, good luck in the eliminators. Well done Merton though, another top performance against good opponents, must surely make them the team to beat thus far, good luck in the qualifiers!
The stats: Mr Wiberg was, just, the best buzzer of the night, with seven starters to Mr Peplow's six, while Mr Maloney was Fitzwilliam's best with four. On the bonuses, Fitzwilliam converted 11 out of 18, while Merton managed 28 out of 42 (with two penalties); both good rates those, so it was on the buzzer that the match was won, but well played both sides.
Next week's match: St John's vs Ulster, followed by Emmanuel vs Edinburgh.
Only Connect began its QF stage tonight, review of that, I hope, coming up by the end of the week.
Fitzwilliam College Cambridge were very consistent in their matches thus far, scoring 200 on both occasions, firstly against the 105 of Leicester, and then in the second round against the 155 of Magdalen of Oxford. Hoping for more of the same this time were the unchanged four of:
Theo Tindall, from Bristol, studying Russian and Arabic
Theo Howe, from Oxfordshire, studying Japanese Studies
Captain: Hugh Oxlade, from South Woodford in London, studying History
Jack Maloney, from Harpenden in Hertfordshire, studying Medicine
Merton College Oxford began the QFs as joint favourites, having comfortably dispatched the good King's of London side 285-110 in the first round, and then the very good Oxford Brookes team in the second round just two weeks ago, 255-175. Hoping for more of that tonight were the also unchanged line-up of:
Edward Thomas, from Kent, studying Ancient and Modern History
Alexander Peplow, from Amersham in Buckinghamshire, studying Medieval Studies
Captain: Leonie Woodland, from Cambridge, studying Physics
Akira Wiberg, from Sweden and Japan, studying Molecular and Cellular Medicine
Off we set again then, and a slip-up from Merton (to be fair, I think a few would have made the same mistake) handed Mr Oxlade the first starter of the night, and his side kicked the night off with a full bonus set on history. Mr Tindall was next in for the Cambridge side, and a second full bonus set followed, giving them an early advantage. A third starter in a row went the Cambridge side's way, but just the one bonus followed this time. Mr Wiberg finally took his side back into positive figures, and bonuses on the opening lines of Dickens novels gave them two correct answers. The first picture round, on definitions from French dictionaries, went to Merton, who took an impressive full set, reducing their arrears to 65-40.
And when Mr Wiberg took the next starter, you sensed the Oxonians had built up a head of steam, , as if to confirm this, a full bonus set put them on level pegging. Mr Peplow came in his 'Holst's 'The Planets'' to give his side the lead, and they increased it via two bonuses on genetics. Mr Maloney broke back for Fitzwilliam, but a tricky bonus set on the ages at death of biblical figures provided them with just one correct answer. A quick buzz from Mr Wiberg awoke his side again, and they set hard to work with two bonuses, with the third unluckily nearly missed.
The music round, on outstanding lyrics award winning musicals, went to Merton, who took two correct answers, giving them a lead of 125-80. And that lead was just increasing as Mr Peplow took the next starter; bonuses on granite buildings saw both them and me take the same correct answer, Aberdeen! (Thumbs down to Paxo's literal pronunciation of Marischal College, it's pronounced 'Marshall' Jez! I should know, I stay but a few minutes walk from it!) Another starter to Mr Wiberg, a full bonus set, and Merton were within sight of game over. The Merton right-winger took the next starter too, and the resultant bonuses on the Adriatic Sea gave the Oxonians a 100+ lead, and the way they were going, that was surely game over. Mr Peplow picked up the quizzer's question, on how Costa Rica is the only nation currently with no army; a tough bonus set nonetheless gave his side one correct answer.
The second picture round, on female composers featured in the music syllabus, went to Merton, who only identified Bjork, nonetheless enough to increase their lead to 215-80. A (non-interruption) penalty handed Fitzwilliam a chance to get back into the match, but they failed to take it. Mr Peplow was in quickly again, and bonuses on the River Severn handed them another two correct answers.
Mr Maloney finally awoke Fitzwilliam from their slumbers, and two bonuses on chemical elements deservedly took them into triple figures, with only a mishearing from Mr Oxlade denying them a full set. Another narrow buzzer race winning from Mr Peplow followed; just the one bonus followed this time, but it didn't matter by now. Mr Maloney took another for Fitzwilliam, but they couldn't do any better, also managing just one. Mr Wiberg ensured another starter for Merton, and a full bonus set came with it this time. Mr Tindall took the final starter, but there was no time for bonuses; at the gong, Merton won 270-125.
A good high quality match from both sides, as we expected, with slightly quicker buzzing winning Merton the match. Unlucky Fitzwilliam, but a very decent performance in the circumstances, and you should reach the semis too if you carry on like that, good luck in the eliminators. Well done Merton though, another top performance against good opponents, must surely make them the team to beat thus far, good luck in the qualifiers!
The stats: Mr Wiberg was, just, the best buzzer of the night, with seven starters to Mr Peplow's six, while Mr Maloney was Fitzwilliam's best with four. On the bonuses, Fitzwilliam converted 11 out of 18, while Merton managed 28 out of 42 (with two penalties); both good rates those, so it was on the buzzer that the match was won, but well played both sides.
Next week's match: St John's vs Ulster, followed by Emmanuel vs Edinburgh.
Only Connect began its QF stage tonight, review of that, I hope, coming up by the end of the week.
Tuesday, 30 January 2018
Only Connect Series 13: Play-Off Round 2: Match 2: Dandies vs Escapologists
OK, another prompt OC write-up this week! Not going to tempt fate and say I hope I'll always be able to do it this early from now on, but we'll play it by ear.
Playing last night's match were the Dandies, Oscar Powell, Lewis Barn and captain, and blog reader, Jack Bennett, who have beaten the Gaffers and the Arrowheads thus far, but lost to the Beaks, and the Escapologists, Frank Paul, Tom Rowell and captain Lydia Mizon, who lost their first match to the Eco-Warriors, but beat the Cricketers in their play-off. Winners would take the final place in the group stage.
Round 1. The Escapologists kicked the show off with Horned Viper: 'Moutza (Greece)', then 'Five fathers (Saudi Arabia)', then 'Idiota (Brazil)', and finally 'Quenelle (France)'. They saw them to be offensive gestures in those nations, and collected the first point of the night. The Dandies opened their account with Lion, and the picture set: we saw a map of Canada with Newfoundland highlighted, then a statue of St Peter, then Alcatraz, and finally Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson. That gave it to them, and they offered them to all be 'The Rock' for a point. The Escapologists chose Eye of Horus next, and got the music question: we heard Ella Fitzgerald with 'Manhattan', then 'Black Velvet' by Alana Miles, then the Eagles with 'Tequila Sunrise', and finally 'Escape (The Pina Colada song)' by Rupert Holmes. They saw that they all share their names with cocktails, and picked up another point. The Dandies chose Water next, and got a second picture question: we saw a tombstone with 'Nurtured by Alison Phillips 29th February - 6th May 2016' on it, then one with 'Origin of Pass Notes 1989-90', then one with 'Pioneered with colour by Eddy Shah 1986-95'; they offered 'defunct newspapers and their runs of publication', which was close enough for the two points. The Escaplogists chose Twisted Flax next: 'Light kiss', then 'Snow leopard', then 'American garden', and finally 'A fastening with rope'. They didn't get this one, nor did their opponents: they are clues to names of imperial units. Left with Two Reeds, the Dandies saw ''The' 'Chronicles'', then ''Farm''; they tried 'words removed from original titles of TV shows', and collected three points. Well spotted that. At the end of the first round, the Dandies led 6-2.
Round 2, What Comes Fourth? The Escapologists started the round with Lion: '25 Slovenia', then '26 Cyprus'; they tried '28 Croatia', thinking it to be EU member states in the order they joined, but were not correct. Their opponents saw '27 Luxembourg', but couldn't pick up the drop: its the smallest EU nations by land area, so '28 Malta' would complete the set. The Dandies chose Twisted Flax next, and got the picture set: we saw a window balcony, then two circles with an arrow pointing at one, and then six red dresses in a circle formation. They didn't get this, nor did their opponents: they are audience areas in a theatre going downwards, 'Balcony', 'Upper circle' and 'Dress circle', so something for 'Stalls' would come fourth. The Escapologists chose Two Reeds next: '1,2: O', then '2,3: T'; they offered '4,5: F', which was correct, the sequence being letters those numbers share in their names, so '3,4: R' would be third. The Dandies chose Water next: 'In Bognor theatre', then 'Between large asteroids', and then 'In a Swiss outhouse'. They didn't get it, nor did their opponents: they are phrases with the compass points hidden in them, ('In BogNOR THeatre', 'Between largE ASTeroids' and 'In a SwisS OUTHouse'), so 'Within CreWE STation' would be an acceptable fourth. For their final choice, the Escapologists chose Eye of Horus: 'Light', then 'Gleaming', and then 'Fight'. They saw it to be the final words of the verses of the Star Spangled Banner, but couldn't get what would be next. Nor could their opponents. 'Streaming' would complete the set. Left with Horned Viper, the Dandies got a music sequence: we heard Jack Johnson, then Queen Latifah, and then Nat King Cole with 'Unforgettable'. They didn't see it, their opponents did: a song by Ace of Base, the sequence being playing cards in order of rank. (Cue a sing-along) At the end of a tough second round, the teams were tied on 6-each.
On to the Walls. The Dandies went first, and chose to tackle the Lion wall. A tough wall it proved, they saw a few possible connections, but were unable to get anything isolated. So it would be bonus points to be had: 'Adlington', 'Bacup', 'Nelson' and 'Blackpool' are places in Lancashire, which they got, 'Gillingham', 'Goodhew', 'Tancock' and 'Carlin' are Olympic swimmers, which they also got, 'Headon', 'Judd', 'Fleetwood' and 'Bonham' are drummers in bands, which they didn't get in time, while 'The Fog', 'Moon', 'Ash' and 'Fluke' are James Herbert novels, which they did get. Three points there.
The Escapologists thus had a big chance if they could get a good result on the Water wall. After initially struggling, they did eventually isolate a set: 'Post', 'Hunting', 'French' and 'Fog' are types of horn. A second set, 'Kintyre', 'Greenwich', 'Gower' and 'Ards', which are UK peninsulas, slotted in with little time left. They tried quickly to isolate the final sets, but couldn't in their three tries: 'Manchester', 'Victoria', 'Kuala Lumpur' and 'Hamilton' are Commonwealth Games host cities, which they got, while 'Glasgow', 'Lizard', 'Eskimo' and 'Butterfly' are types of kiss, which they also got. Six there, which gave them a lead of 12-9 going into the final round.
So, Missing Vowels would decide the final place in the QFs. 'Events that take place in January' was split 2-each. 'Fictional characters and their musical instruments' was another 2-each split. 'Said by a crowd of people', such as 'HALLELUJAH' and 'ENCORE' went to the Dandies 3-1. 'Types of insurance' went to the Escapologists 2-1, and that was time. The Escapologists had snuck home, 19-17!
A good close match, with some hard questions in the first round and a great close finish. Unlucky Dandies, but nothing to be ashamed of there, thanks very much indeed for taking part. Well done Escapologists though, and best of luck in the QFs!
Next week: the quarter-finals begin with the Eco-Warriors vs the Inquisitors.
Playing last night's match were the Dandies, Oscar Powell, Lewis Barn and captain, and blog reader, Jack Bennett, who have beaten the Gaffers and the Arrowheads thus far, but lost to the Beaks, and the Escapologists, Frank Paul, Tom Rowell and captain Lydia Mizon, who lost their first match to the Eco-Warriors, but beat the Cricketers in their play-off. Winners would take the final place in the group stage.
Round 1. The Escapologists kicked the show off with Horned Viper: 'Moutza (Greece)', then 'Five fathers (Saudi Arabia)', then 'Idiota (Brazil)', and finally 'Quenelle (France)'. They saw them to be offensive gestures in those nations, and collected the first point of the night. The Dandies opened their account with Lion, and the picture set: we saw a map of Canada with Newfoundland highlighted, then a statue of St Peter, then Alcatraz, and finally Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson. That gave it to them, and they offered them to all be 'The Rock' for a point. The Escapologists chose Eye of Horus next, and got the music question: we heard Ella Fitzgerald with 'Manhattan', then 'Black Velvet' by Alana Miles, then the Eagles with 'Tequila Sunrise', and finally 'Escape (The Pina Colada song)' by Rupert Holmes. They saw that they all share their names with cocktails, and picked up another point. The Dandies chose Water next, and got a second picture question: we saw a tombstone with 'Nurtured by Alison Phillips 29th February - 6th May 2016' on it, then one with 'Origin of Pass Notes 1989-90', then one with 'Pioneered with colour by Eddy Shah 1986-95'; they offered 'defunct newspapers and their runs of publication', which was close enough for the two points. The Escaplogists chose Twisted Flax next: 'Light kiss', then 'Snow leopard', then 'American garden', and finally 'A fastening with rope'. They didn't get this one, nor did their opponents: they are clues to names of imperial units. Left with Two Reeds, the Dandies saw ''The' 'Chronicles'', then ''Farm''; they tried 'words removed from original titles of TV shows', and collected three points. Well spotted that. At the end of the first round, the Dandies led 6-2.
Round 2, What Comes Fourth? The Escapologists started the round with Lion: '25 Slovenia', then '26 Cyprus'; they tried '28 Croatia', thinking it to be EU member states in the order they joined, but were not correct. Their opponents saw '27 Luxembourg', but couldn't pick up the drop: its the smallest EU nations by land area, so '28 Malta' would complete the set. The Dandies chose Twisted Flax next, and got the picture set: we saw a window balcony, then two circles with an arrow pointing at one, and then six red dresses in a circle formation. They didn't get this, nor did their opponents: they are audience areas in a theatre going downwards, 'Balcony', 'Upper circle' and 'Dress circle', so something for 'Stalls' would come fourth. The Escapologists chose Two Reeds next: '1,2: O', then '2,3: T'; they offered '4,5: F', which was correct, the sequence being letters those numbers share in their names, so '3,4: R' would be third. The Dandies chose Water next: 'In Bognor theatre', then 'Between large asteroids', and then 'In a Swiss outhouse'. They didn't get it, nor did their opponents: they are phrases with the compass points hidden in them, ('In BogNOR THeatre', 'Between largE ASTeroids' and 'In a SwisS OUTHouse'), so 'Within CreWE STation' would be an acceptable fourth. For their final choice, the Escapologists chose Eye of Horus: 'Light', then 'Gleaming', and then 'Fight'. They saw it to be the final words of the verses of the Star Spangled Banner, but couldn't get what would be next. Nor could their opponents. 'Streaming' would complete the set. Left with Horned Viper, the Dandies got a music sequence: we heard Jack Johnson, then Queen Latifah, and then Nat King Cole with 'Unforgettable'. They didn't see it, their opponents did: a song by Ace of Base, the sequence being playing cards in order of rank. (Cue a sing-along) At the end of a tough second round, the teams were tied on 6-each.
On to the Walls. The Dandies went first, and chose to tackle the Lion wall. A tough wall it proved, they saw a few possible connections, but were unable to get anything isolated. So it would be bonus points to be had: 'Adlington', 'Bacup', 'Nelson' and 'Blackpool' are places in Lancashire, which they got, 'Gillingham', 'Goodhew', 'Tancock' and 'Carlin' are Olympic swimmers, which they also got, 'Headon', 'Judd', 'Fleetwood' and 'Bonham' are drummers in bands, which they didn't get in time, while 'The Fog', 'Moon', 'Ash' and 'Fluke' are James Herbert novels, which they did get. Three points there.
The Escapologists thus had a big chance if they could get a good result on the Water wall. After initially struggling, they did eventually isolate a set: 'Post', 'Hunting', 'French' and 'Fog' are types of horn. A second set, 'Kintyre', 'Greenwich', 'Gower' and 'Ards', which are UK peninsulas, slotted in with little time left. They tried quickly to isolate the final sets, but couldn't in their three tries: 'Manchester', 'Victoria', 'Kuala Lumpur' and 'Hamilton' are Commonwealth Games host cities, which they got, while 'Glasgow', 'Lizard', 'Eskimo' and 'Butterfly' are types of kiss, which they also got. Six there, which gave them a lead of 12-9 going into the final round.
So, Missing Vowels would decide the final place in the QFs. 'Events that take place in January' was split 2-each. 'Fictional characters and their musical instruments' was another 2-each split. 'Said by a crowd of people', such as 'HALLELUJAH' and 'ENCORE' went to the Dandies 3-1. 'Types of insurance' went to the Escapologists 2-1, and that was time. The Escapologists had snuck home, 19-17!
A good close match, with some hard questions in the first round and a great close finish. Unlucky Dandies, but nothing to be ashamed of there, thanks very much indeed for taking part. Well done Escapologists though, and best of luck in the QFs!
Next week: the quarter-finals begin with the Eco-Warriors vs the Inquisitors.
Monday, 29 January 2018
University Challenge 2017-18: Preliminary Quarter-Final 1: Bristol vs Newcastle
Evening all. So, we've made it to the ever popular quarter-final stage, dragged out to ten matches by giving all the teams two chances to both reach the semis and stay in after losing. Now in its ninth series, this format still has its detractors, and there are still plenty who don't entirely understand it, but it has stood the test of time, and will likely still be used for a few more series yet. Anyway, let's get on with this
Bristol got here with a comfortable victory over Trinity of Cambridge, 230-95, in the first round, before, according to the host, they were 'lucky' to defeat their Oxford namesakes 205-100, comments uncannily foreshadowing of those made by a Mr J. Mourinho of Manchester following a football match two days later! They were the same foursome as before:
Ollie Bowes, from Market Harborough, studying Music
Kirsty Biggs, from Southampton, studying Maths
Captain: Sam Hosegood, from Bedford, studying Chemical Physics
Dom Hewett, from Stroud, studying English
Newcastle started slowly with a low scoring 170-40 victory over Sheffield Hallam in the first round, before pulling off perhaps the surprise of the second by overcoming Southampton 215-130, via a strong bonus and buzzer performance. They were also unchanged from those occasions:
Jack Reynard, from Leeds, studying Medicine
Molly Nielsen, from London, studying Medicine
Captain: Jonathan Noble, from Newcastle, studying for a PGCE
Adam Lowery, from Sunderland, studying Chemistry
Off we set again then, and Mr Bowes got the ball, and the heads, rolling with the first starter, identifying a description of the guillotine; a full bonus set on the work of Sir Roald Dahl gave them a strong start to the match. It was compounded when Ms Nielsen misbuzzed on the next starter, giving the Avonsiders a second starter, though no bonuses came this time. I can't have been the only person to guess 'Hermione' when the next starter began asking for the origins of the name of a Harry Potter character; Mr Noble took that to take Newcastle back into positive figures, and they too kicked off with all three bonuses. Mr Reynard was next, and a second full house went the Tynesiders' way. The first picture round, on Roman Empire duchies in modern day Germany, went to Bristol, who took just the one bonus, giving them the lead back, 50-45.
Ms Nielsen made up for her early mishap with the next starter, though she was lucky to avoid a telling-off for a slight pause; the Tynesiders could only manage two bonuses this time, on insect classes. Mr Noble increased Newcastle's lead with the next starter, and his side took another two bonuses, on the work of Saul Bellow. A prompt buzz from Ms Nielsen took the Tynesiders within one bonus on triple figures, but they couldn't get that one correct bonus from the resulting set. Mr Bowes finally broke Bristol back into proceedings, but his side struggled with the bonuses, managing just the one correct.
The music round, on 20th century minimalist compositions, went to Bristol, who, again, only managed one correct bonus, nonetheless reducing their arrears to 95-80. Controversy then arose, as Mr Reynard buzzed wrongly and then corrected himself; rather than kill the question there, as he has done when this has happened before, Paxo threw it over to Bristol, who provided the corrected answer. The ensuing bonuses gave the Avonsiders two correct answers, with a near miss on the other, and the lead with it. A prompt buzz from Mr Hewett on 'The Four Quartets' upped it, and bonuses on isms provided Bristol with two more correct answers. Mr Reynard then atoned for his error by taking the next starter; the bonuses gave Newcastle ten more points, and a mention of 'polymorphs', nicely tying in with Friday's Mastermind, in which Red Dwarf was one of the subjects. Mr Bowes reincreased Bristol's lead, and bonuses on the English civil war provided just the one correct answer.
The second picture round, on paintings of Andromeda, went to Newcastle, who took one bonus, reducing the gap down to 135-130. Mr Hosegood then fell foul of a non-interruption that, for a moment, I thought might not have been given; Newcastle took the points, and all three bonuses that went with it gave them the advantage heading into the final straight.
A second starter in a row for Mr Reynard put the Tynesiders within sight of victory; bonuses on the work of HL Mencken, whose name I can't hear without thinking of the Family Guy weed song(!), gave them another two correct bonuses. And when Mr Noble identified wind as the weather feature that features in the translation of 'feng shui' (I knew that too, thanks to Millionaire), that was game over Bristol. Another two bonuses only added to Newcastle's score, as did the next correct starter, given by Mr Lowery and the two bonuses that came with it. There was just time for the Newcastle right winger to take the night's final starter too. At the gong, Newcastle won 225-130.
A good start to the quarter-finals, much closer than the final score suggests, and thankfully those two controversies proved immaterial to the outcome. Unlucky Bristol, who just fell away at the end, but are certainly not out of the running yet, best of luck to them in their eliminator. Well done Newcastle though, on another fine showing against proven strong opponents, and best of luck in the qualifiers!
The stats: Mr Bowes was the night's best buzzer, with five to his name at the gong, while Messrs Reynard and Noble were joint best for Newcastle with four each. On the bonuses, Bristol converted 11 out of 24, while Newcastle managed 22 out of 33, with both sides incurring one penalty; so that slightly better bonus rate, coupled with a slight advantage on the buzzer, was where the match was won.
Next week's match: Fitzwilliam vs Merton
Only Connect ended its play-off round tonight, with its QF stage starting next week; hopefully I can get my review done promptly again this week.
Bristol got here with a comfortable victory over Trinity of Cambridge, 230-95, in the first round, before, according to the host, they were 'lucky' to defeat their Oxford namesakes 205-100, comments uncannily foreshadowing of those made by a Mr J. Mourinho of Manchester following a football match two days later! They were the same foursome as before:
Ollie Bowes, from Market Harborough, studying Music
Kirsty Biggs, from Southampton, studying Maths
Captain: Sam Hosegood, from Bedford, studying Chemical Physics
Dom Hewett, from Stroud, studying English
Newcastle started slowly with a low scoring 170-40 victory over Sheffield Hallam in the first round, before pulling off perhaps the surprise of the second by overcoming Southampton 215-130, via a strong bonus and buzzer performance. They were also unchanged from those occasions:
Jack Reynard, from Leeds, studying Medicine
Molly Nielsen, from London, studying Medicine
Captain: Jonathan Noble, from Newcastle, studying for a PGCE
Adam Lowery, from Sunderland, studying Chemistry
Off we set again then, and Mr Bowes got the ball, and the heads, rolling with the first starter, identifying a description of the guillotine; a full bonus set on the work of Sir Roald Dahl gave them a strong start to the match. It was compounded when Ms Nielsen misbuzzed on the next starter, giving the Avonsiders a second starter, though no bonuses came this time. I can't have been the only person to guess 'Hermione' when the next starter began asking for the origins of the name of a Harry Potter character; Mr Noble took that to take Newcastle back into positive figures, and they too kicked off with all three bonuses. Mr Reynard was next, and a second full house went the Tynesiders' way. The first picture round, on Roman Empire duchies in modern day Germany, went to Bristol, who took just the one bonus, giving them the lead back, 50-45.
Ms Nielsen made up for her early mishap with the next starter, though she was lucky to avoid a telling-off for a slight pause; the Tynesiders could only manage two bonuses this time, on insect classes. Mr Noble increased Newcastle's lead with the next starter, and his side took another two bonuses, on the work of Saul Bellow. A prompt buzz from Ms Nielsen took the Tynesiders within one bonus on triple figures, but they couldn't get that one correct bonus from the resulting set. Mr Bowes finally broke Bristol back into proceedings, but his side struggled with the bonuses, managing just the one correct.
The music round, on 20th century minimalist compositions, went to Bristol, who, again, only managed one correct bonus, nonetheless reducing their arrears to 95-80. Controversy then arose, as Mr Reynard buzzed wrongly and then corrected himself; rather than kill the question there, as he has done when this has happened before, Paxo threw it over to Bristol, who provided the corrected answer. The ensuing bonuses gave the Avonsiders two correct answers, with a near miss on the other, and the lead with it. A prompt buzz from Mr Hewett on 'The Four Quartets' upped it, and bonuses on isms provided Bristol with two more correct answers. Mr Reynard then atoned for his error by taking the next starter; the bonuses gave Newcastle ten more points, and a mention of 'polymorphs', nicely tying in with Friday's Mastermind, in which Red Dwarf was one of the subjects. Mr Bowes reincreased Bristol's lead, and bonuses on the English civil war provided just the one correct answer.
The second picture round, on paintings of Andromeda, went to Newcastle, who took one bonus, reducing the gap down to 135-130. Mr Hosegood then fell foul of a non-interruption that, for a moment, I thought might not have been given; Newcastle took the points, and all three bonuses that went with it gave them the advantage heading into the final straight.
A second starter in a row for Mr Reynard put the Tynesiders within sight of victory; bonuses on the work of HL Mencken, whose name I can't hear without thinking of the Family Guy weed song(!), gave them another two correct bonuses. And when Mr Noble identified wind as the weather feature that features in the translation of 'feng shui' (I knew that too, thanks to Millionaire), that was game over Bristol. Another two bonuses only added to Newcastle's score, as did the next correct starter, given by Mr Lowery and the two bonuses that came with it. There was just time for the Newcastle right winger to take the night's final starter too. At the gong, Newcastle won 225-130.
A good start to the quarter-finals, much closer than the final score suggests, and thankfully those two controversies proved immaterial to the outcome. Unlucky Bristol, who just fell away at the end, but are certainly not out of the running yet, best of luck to them in their eliminator. Well done Newcastle though, on another fine showing against proven strong opponents, and best of luck in the qualifiers!
The stats: Mr Bowes was the night's best buzzer, with five to his name at the gong, while Messrs Reynard and Noble were joint best for Newcastle with four each. On the bonuses, Bristol converted 11 out of 24, while Newcastle managed 22 out of 33, with both sides incurring one penalty; so that slightly better bonus rate, coupled with a slight advantage on the buzzer, was where the match was won.
Next week's match: Fitzwilliam vs Merton
Only Connect ended its play-off round tonight, with its QF stage starting next week; hopefully I can get my review done promptly again this week.
Wednesday, 24 January 2018
University Challenge 2017-18: Second Round Review and Quarter-Final Preview
OK, so after a rather patchy first round, this year's UC has sprung to life, as most of us expected it to, in the second round, with some great matches, including two I'd say would be excellent starters (no pun intended) for someone who wishes to take up watching the show, and Monday's show, as pointed out on Twitter afterwards, giving us the largest aggregate score in years.
So, who are the runners and riders who we'll be watching for the rest of the series? Well, here they are in order of qualification, along with their total and aggregate scores:
Well, Merton and St John's have both accumulated the same points total over two high scoring matches; both are strong on both the buzzer and bonus fronts, and have defeated decent teams in both rounds. On paper, you'd have to fancy both to progress to the semis, and you wouldn't be daft to bet on them being the two finalists, but anything can happen.
Of the remaining teams, Bristol and Fitzwilliam have been fairly consistent thus far, both scoring similar scores in both their matches, and overcoming decent opposition on all occasions, with all four players contributing as well. If odds were taken on who'd be the final four, you'd say these four would probably be the favourites.
Newcastle and Emmanuel have both won their matches largely on the buzzer, Emmanuel's matches having been decided on the final starter and in the opening minutes respectively, while Newcastle won both their matches comfortably, but with very different aggregate scores. Ulster came through the play-offs, narrowly losing to Edinburgh in the first round, then comfortably winning their play-off and narrowly winning a close second round match. So too did the Scots side, who also won their second match by just a point. Both have very similar aggregate scores, the two lowest of the group. These four will probably start as outsiders, but given the caliber of teams they've played thus far, shouldn't be written off totally.
So, we have two obvious favourites, two lukewarm favourites, and four pretty similar teams who are more than capable of springing a few surprises. It's going to be an interesting round, hopefully.
On the diversity front, I'm pleased to inform that only one all-male team (Fitzwilliam) are left in the contest, meaning we are guaranteed at least one woman in the final. And I mean one, as the other seven teams all have just one woman on them, and only one of those is a captain. So we're certainly more diverse on that front than in recent years, but there is still room for improvement.
In terms of regional representation, Cambridge have three teams through, Oxford have one, while Northern Ireland, Scotland and the North and South of England all have one team through. So while we don't have an even split, and the odds of an Oxbridge final are lower than the last three series, where we still ended up with one, the fact the two ante-post favourites are Cambridge and Oxford doesn't really help matters.
All I can hope is that the momentum of the second round carries on, and we can get some great matches in the group phase, and that, like last series, the series doesn't peter out like a lot of the series this decade and remains enthralling to the end.
I'll be back on Monday with my usual UC write-up; I'll see yous then then, I guess.
So, who are the runners and riders who we'll be watching for the rest of the series? Well, here they are in order of qualification, along with their total and aggregate scores:
- Emmanuel College Cambridge (340 over two matches, 170)
- St John's College Cambridge (540 over two matches, 270)
- Ulster (505 over three matches, 168.33)
- Edinburgh (335 over two matches, 167.5)
- Bristol (435 over two matches, 217.5)
- Newcastle (385 over two matches, 192.5)
- Fitzwilliam College Cambridge (400 over two matches, 200)
- Merton College Oxford (540 over two matches, 270)
Well, Merton and St John's have both accumulated the same points total over two high scoring matches; both are strong on both the buzzer and bonus fronts, and have defeated decent teams in both rounds. On paper, you'd have to fancy both to progress to the semis, and you wouldn't be daft to bet on them being the two finalists, but anything can happen.
Of the remaining teams, Bristol and Fitzwilliam have been fairly consistent thus far, both scoring similar scores in both their matches, and overcoming decent opposition on all occasions, with all four players contributing as well. If odds were taken on who'd be the final four, you'd say these four would probably be the favourites.
Newcastle and Emmanuel have both won their matches largely on the buzzer, Emmanuel's matches having been decided on the final starter and in the opening minutes respectively, while Newcastle won both their matches comfortably, but with very different aggregate scores. Ulster came through the play-offs, narrowly losing to Edinburgh in the first round, then comfortably winning their play-off and narrowly winning a close second round match. So too did the Scots side, who also won their second match by just a point. Both have very similar aggregate scores, the two lowest of the group. These four will probably start as outsiders, but given the caliber of teams they've played thus far, shouldn't be written off totally.
So, we have two obvious favourites, two lukewarm favourites, and four pretty similar teams who are more than capable of springing a few surprises. It's going to be an interesting round, hopefully.
On the diversity front, I'm pleased to inform that only one all-male team (Fitzwilliam) are left in the contest, meaning we are guaranteed at least one woman in the final. And I mean one, as the other seven teams all have just one woman on them, and only one of those is a captain. So we're certainly more diverse on that front than in recent years, but there is still room for improvement.
In terms of regional representation, Cambridge have three teams through, Oxford have one, while Northern Ireland, Scotland and the North and South of England all have one team through. So while we don't have an even split, and the odds of an Oxbridge final are lower than the last three series, where we still ended up with one, the fact the two ante-post favourites are Cambridge and Oxford doesn't really help matters.
All I can hope is that the momentum of the second round carries on, and we can get some great matches in the group phase, and that, like last series, the series doesn't peter out like a lot of the series this decade and remains enthralling to the end.
I'll be back on Monday with my usual UC write-up; I'll see yous then then, I guess.
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