It's not been the best of starts to this series, but we said that for the last series, and it had a fantastic finish
So, here we go. Enjoy.
Countdown recap for Wednesday 2 July 2014.
C1: Champion Sue Melling (1 win, 73 points.) A retired secretary from Southmoor, Abingdon. She once sat on a howdah on top of an elephant in India, while looking for tigers.
C2: Challenger Rob Jennings. From Mansfield, Nottinghamshire. He is legally also known as "The Soulman".
DC: Susie Dent and Jon Culshaw.
RR: Rachel Riley.
OT: Other words or solutions.
R01: L S N I O I D A P
R02: T F G E O R D T U
R03: 75, 3, 9, 1, 4, 3. Target: 999.
TTT: MAINGOAL - "Your main goal here is to spot the colour"
R04: L R E M I A R N O
R05: S D M A O A H R O
R06: 25, 6, 3, 1, 8, 10. Target: 978.
R07: X T U A Q G O I P
R08: F S N E S I T E G
R09: 25, 75, 3, 2, 10, 7. Target: 722.
TTT: JOECRIES - "Joe cries out with absolute delight"
R10: N R M I O E J N O
R11: B S A I E L H W O
R12: R D S E I N P V O
R13: E A T R Y I P S E
R14: 100, 3, 6, 8, 10, 5. Target: 278.
R15: B A T H E C L A W (conundrum)
And now a brief interlude before our main feature:
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Round 1: L S N I O I D A P
Sue: SPINAL (6)
Rob: PLAINS (6)
DC: PIANOS (6)
OT: ANDISOL (7) DOLINAS (7) LADINOS (7) LIAISON (7)
Score: 6–6 (max 7)
Well, the dictionary might've changed since my last recap, but the missing of gettable words by DC remains rife, as LIAISON amongst others are left alone, as everyone stays on 6.
ANDISOL is a black or dark brown soil formed from volcanic material, with an A horizon rich in organic material.
A DOLINA is a hollow or basin in a karstic region, typically funnel-shaped.
A LADINO is a white (or Dutch) clover of a large variety native to Italy and cultivated for fodder in North America.
Round 2: T F G E O R D T U
Sue: GROUTED (7)
Rob: TRUDGE (6)
DC: FORGED (6) RUTTED (6)
OT: FOREGUT (7) TUTORED (7)
Score: 13–6 (max 14)
Sue takes the first lead thanks to her GROUTED offering.
Round 3: 75, 3, 9, 1, 4, 3. Target: 999.
Sue: 981.
Rob: -
RR: 999. ((3 x 3 x 4) + 75) x 9 (10)
Score: 13–6 (max 24)
Oh dear, nothing close here for our contestants.........
Teatime teaser: MAINGOAL -> MAGNOLIA
Round 4: L R E M I A R N O
Sue: misdeclared 7
Rob: MORAINE (7)
DC: MARINER (7) MANLIER (7) MINERAL (7)
OT: AILERON (7) ALMONER (7) ARMOIRE (7) LOAMIER (7) LORIMER (7) LORINER (7) MARLINE (7) MOANIER (7) RAILMEN (7) ROMAINE (7)
Score: 13–13 (max 31)
Loads and loads of 7's here, but Sue actually has a 6, so we've levelled up now.
Interestingly, MOANIER is now available, which means that MOANIEST is fine too, so many people will be relieved at last.
A MARLINE is a light rope made of two strands, used for binding larger ropes.
Round 5: S D M A O A H R O
Sue: AROMAS (6)
Rob: mahoods
DC: MASOOR (6)
OT: RODHAMS (7)
Score: 19–13 (max 38)
Rob thinks he has an alternative spelling of "mahoud", but mahoud isn't even in, so you can't really have an alternative spelling of something that doesn't exist
In the Fen district of East Anglia, a RODHAM is a raised bank formed from silt deposits on the bed of a dry river course.
Round 6: 25, 6, 3, 1, 8, 10. Target: 978.
Sue: -
Rob: 975. ((10 x 3) + 8 + 1) x 25 (7)
RR: 978. (((25 - 1 - 8) x 10) + 3) x 6 (10)
Score: 19–20 (max 48)
Sue's numbers brain deserts here again (I'm still amazed of how she got the winning numbers from yesterday), and Rob capitalises to retake the lead.
Jon brings out his legendary Tom Baker voice to tell the story of how Baker got his legendary scarf during his stint as The Doctor in Doctor Who.
Round 7: X T U A Q G O I P
Sue: AGOUTI (6)
Rob: pigout
DC: UTOPIA (6)
Score: 25–20 (max 54)
Gotta love Rob's attempt with pigout, but Sue's been watching her Countdown with her classic AGOUTI spot. Interesting also to see UTOPIA allowed for the first time, as previously an N needed to be stuck on the end of it for it to be allowed. The ODO is now truly here
Round 8: F S N E S I T E G
Sue: FINESSE (7)
Rob: FINEST (6)
DC: INFESTS (7)
OT: FESSING (7) FITNESS (7) GENESIS (7) INGESTS (7) SIGNEES (7) SIGNETS (7) STINGES (7)
Score: 32–20 (max 61)
A nice bit of FINESSE from Sue, and her lead is now a dozen points.
Round 9: 25, 75, 3, 2, 10, 7. Target: 722.
Sue: 723. Mistake in working.
Rob: 720. (75 - 3) x 10 (7)
RR: 722. ((75 - 3) x 10) + 2 (10)
Score: 32–27 (max 71)
OH DEAR, OH DEAR, OH DEARY ME
Words cannot describe the sheer embarrassment and shame that is provided by this numbers game. Sue declares one away, and is literally millimetres away from perfection, and says she used the 3 twice, seemingly unaware of her amazing faux pas. Rob does the exact same method with his 2 away, and it's pretty much left for Nick to stick the oar in by saying, "Even I could do that " Teatime teaser: JOECRIES -> REJOICES
Round 10: N R M I O E J N O
Sue: JOINER (6)
Rob: MOONIER (7)
DC: IONOMER (7)
Score: 32–34 (max 78)
Well, combined with the 7 points (that should've been 10) from the last round, and the 7 from this round, Rob retakes the lead again thanks to being a bit MOONIER.
Round 11: B S A I E L H W O
Sue: BEWAILS (7)
Rob: blaise
DC: ABOLISH (7)
OT: BLOWIES (7) BOLSHIE (7) OBELIAS (7) SHAWLIE (7)
Score: 39–34 (max 85)
Well, there's no "blaise" of glory for Rob in this round, as Sue's BEWAILS returns the lead to the champion once more.
A BLOWIE is an informal term for a blowfly in Australia and New Zealand.
An OBELIA is a sedentary colonial coelenterate with upright branching stems bearing minute cups in which the polyps sit.
A SHAWLIE is a poor working-class woman (traditionally wearing a shawl).
Susie's Origins Of Words talks about the origin of "dong" and "don".
Round 12: R D S E I N P V O
Sue: PONDERS (7)
Rob: PROVIDES (8)
DC: VENDORS (7)
OT: DISPROVE (8) OVERSPIN (8) PRISONED (8)
Score: 39–42 (max 93)
Rob now hits another gear with his PROVIDES, and he goes back in the lead once again.
Round 13: E A T R Y I P S E
Sue: REPAST (6)
Rob: PARTIES (7)
DC: ASPERITY (8)
OT: YEASTIER (8)
Score: 39–49 (max 101)
And thanks to some PARTIES (maybe after the pig out earlier
), Rob now has a lead of 10 points, definitely a lead he'll want to extend before the conundrum. So, what is he going to pick in the numbers 
Round 14: 100, 3, 6, 8, 10, 5. Target: 278.
Sue: 279.
Rob: 278. ((100 - 10) x 3) + 8 (10)
Score: 39–59 (max 111)
Well, Sue's numbers brain seemed to only work in 1 out of 8 rounds (ironically, the round she needed it most yesterday), and in the end, it was all so easy for Rob, who gets in the numbers coolly and calmly to win the match.
Round 15: B A T H E C L A W
Rob buzzes on 20.5 seconds to say WATCHABLE which is correct.
Final Score: 39–69 (max 121)
And there's a nice cherry on top of the cake with the conundrum for Rob.
This game has certainly been a game of 2 halves yet again, but it's letters and numbers, as opposed to half one and half 2. Take away Rob's numbers games and the conundrum, he would've lost the game, but Sue's inability with numbers games has proven to be her downfall.
Rob will be back tomorrow, but I won't be recapping, as I'm off quizzing, so I've let Sean Fletcher take my place for tomorrow.
So, I'll be back for just the one recap next week, as Countdown is only on from Monday to Wednesday next week.............
Have a good weekend, and see you soon.
Statistics Corner
Sue:
Total score - 39
Raw score - 65
Total % of max - 32
Raw % of max - 54
Total average score per round - 2.6
Raw average score per round - 4.3
Number of maxes - 4
Rob:
Total score - 69
Raw score - 81
Total % of max - 57
Raw % of max - 67
Total average score per round - 4.6
Raw average score per round - 5.4
Number of maxes - 5
Further summaries are at:
http://cdb.apterous.org/series.php?series=71