Monday 21st May 2012 (Series 66, Prelim 90)

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Graeme Cole
Series 65 Champion
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Monday 21st May 2012 (Series 66, Prelim 90)

Post by Graeme Cole »

Countdown recap for Monday 21 May 2012.

C1: Champion Stuart Wright (3 wins, 283 points) has looked quite strong over his last few games. However, the Monday show has caused a hiccup for many an established champion in the past, especially if it was recorded in the morning, as Tony Atkins suggests in the spoiler thread.
C2: Challenger Tony Ackland. Not Tony Atkins (although there is a passing resemblance), Tony Ackland is a retired science teacher from Herne.
DC: Susie Dent and Lesley Garrett. If this was a morning session, Lesley Garrett seems surprisingly wide awake. Perhaps she's one of those "morning people" we sometimes hear about. Or maybe it's just caffeine.
RR: Rachel Riley. By all accounts not a morning person.
OT: Other words or solutions.

R01: L T N E O R T I A
R02: D E R V I S A N T
R03: N R S D E O U S X
R04: N A L W E T N U O
R05: 25, 10, 3, 1, 9, 4. Target: 864.
TTT: BOILTUNA - "If you've handled fish you'll need to perform this."
R06: T I A N C O S T E
R07: P G R I O E L S H
R08: Z C A O H A W T U
R09: P D Y D E I E C N
R10: 50, 100, 3, 10, 3, 4. Target: 473.
TTT: CAUSEINN - "Caused trouble at the inn by behaving like this"
R11: T M R A D S O I G
R12: L S U E K F A R E
R13: M R N O I E P M G
R14: 25, 4, 10, 7, 1, 6. Target: 106.
R15: S I X O U N C E R (conundrum)


And now a brief interlude before our main feature:

SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
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SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
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SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER

Enjoy the show.

Round 1: L T N E O R T I A

C1: RELATION (8)
C2: RELATION (8)
DC: TOLERANT (8) ORIENTAL (8)
OT: TENTORIA (8) TONALITE (8)
Score: 8–8 (max 8)

We open with one of those selections where you spend most of the time looking for a nine that isn't there. Both contestants spot RELATION.


Round 2: D E R V I S A N T

C1: STRAINED (8)
C2: STRAINED (8)
DC: DEVIANTS (8) INVADERS (8) SANDIVER (8) RANDIEST (8)
OT: DETRAINS (8)
Score: 16–16 (max 16)

And another one. Still no nine available, but both players spot STRAINED. Susie and Lesley reel off four more eights they've spotted.


Round 3: N R S D E O U S X

C1: RESOUNDS (8)
C2: RESOUNDS (8)
DC: ENDUROS (7)
OT: DOURNESS (8) SOUNDERS (8)
Score: 24–24 (max 24)

The third eight in as many rounds for both contestants. Susie mixes it up a bit with an interesting seven, ENDUROS. An ENDURO is a long-distance bicycle or motor race.


Round 4: N A L W E T N U O

C1: TUNNEL (6)
C2: LOAN (4)
DC: WALNUT (6) OUTLAW (6) TONNEAU (7)
OT: ANNULET (7)
Score: 30–24 (max 31)

Champion Stuart breaks the deadlock as Tony can only spot a four. Susie gives us TONNEAU, which as well as being a term for the rear passenger section of a car, is also a unit of volume of wine equal to 900 litres.


Round 5: 25, 10, 3, 1, 9, 4. Target: 864.

C1: -
C2: 860. 4*9*25-(3+1)*10 (7)
RR: 864. (25-1)*4*9 (10)
Score: 30–31 (max 41)

Stuart blobs the numbers which means Tony goes into the lead with a four away solution. Rachel shows us that it's not as difficult as it seems.

Lesley Garrett sings us a Scottish folk song called "My Love Is Like A Red Red Rose". I didn't really pay attention to the words but the singing was excellent. From what I've seen, Lesley is one of the better DC guests - she seems lively and happy to be there, taking an active part in the show.


Teatime teaser: BOILTUNA -> ABLUTION


Round 6: T I A N C O S T E

C1: STATION (7)
C2: ACTION (6)
DC: COSTATE (7) CANOEIST (8)
OT: ACONITES (8) SONICATE (8) STENOTIC (8) TACONITE (8)
Score: 37–31 (max 49)

Yet another nineworthy selection that only yields eights. Susie spots one, but Stuart is content with a seven. It also gives him the lead thanks to Tony not putting the S on the end of his word.


Round 7: P G R I O E L S H

C1: slopier
C2: POLISHER (8)
DC: OGREISH (7) PORGIES (7)
OT: REPOLISH (8)
Score: 37–39 (max 57)

The lead changes hands again - the adjective is SLOPING, not SLOPY. In any case Tony's got the best available in this round and he goes two in front.


Round 8: Z C A O H A W T U

C1: WATCH (5)
C2: TOUCH (5)
DC: WATCHA (6) HOWZAT (6)
OT: WOTCHA (6)
Score: 42–44 (max 63)

It looks like five is the best, but Susie and Lesley whack them for six.


Round 9: P D Y D E I E C N

C1: dependency (declared as 8)
C2: DENIED (6)
DC: DEPEND (6) DECIDE (6)
OT: INDEEDY (7)
Score: 42–50 (max 70)

Oops. Looks like a morning recording to me. Stuart declares his offering as having eight letters, but immediately afterwards he realises his word's actually got ten, and two of them aren't even in the selection. Tony goes further into the lead with DENIED. The darren is unseen by everyone, which is unsurprising as nobody says INDEEDY, except perhaps Arnold Rimmer. Without him life would be much grimmer.


Round 10: 50, 100, 3, 10, 3, 4. Target: 473.

C1: -
C2: 473. Mistake in working.
RR: 473. (50-3)*10+3 (10)
Score: 42–50 (max 80)

Not a good day for numbers - Stuart again isn't close enough to score, and Tony gets most of the way through his solution before realising he's 100 away. The gap's still eight points.


Teatime teaser: CAUSEINN -> NUISANCE


Round 11: T M R A D S O I G

C1: TRAMS (5)
C2: ROAST (5)
DC: RADIOS (6) ASTROID (7)
OT: AMORIST (7) DIATOMS (7) MASTOID (7) STARDOM (7) TSARDOM (7)
Score: 47–55 (max 87)

Five apiece for Stuart and Tony, and Susie shows us ASTROID, which is a mathematical shape like a cube with curved sides, not to be confused with the chunk of space rock that has an E in it.


Round 12: L S U E K F A R E

C1: REFUSAL (7)
C2: FLAKES (6)
DC: EARFULS (7)
OT: EASEFUL (7) FERULAS (7) FERULES (7) LEAKERS (7) REFUELS (7)
Score: 54–55 (max 94)

The champion comes back to within one point with REFUSAL. Susie says you can pluralise EARFUL, but only in its second sense, "a loud blast of sound". Lesley demonstrates her superb soprano voice again for about half a second. I'm sure she's getting more lively each round. The sense Nick suggests, about his boss giving him an earful, only exists in the singular. But what if you were being given an earful from both sides or at double volume, wonders Nick? At this point Damian in the gallery might have made use of Nick and Susie's earpieces to tell them to get on with it. There. Two earfuls.


Round 13: M R N O I E P M G

C1: ROMPING (7)
C2: ROMPING (7)
DC: PERMING (7)
OT: PIROGEN (7) PONGIER (7)
Score: 61–62 (max 101)

Stuart and Tony are ROMPING on with seven each. There's nothing better to be found. Stuart is still one point behind, which means another numbers slip could cost him the game...


Round 14: 25, 4, 10, 7, 1, 6. Target: 106.

C1: 106. 25*4+6 (10)
C2: 106. 25*4+6 (10)
Score: 71–72 (max 111)

Luckily for Stuart the numbers round is dead easy and doesn't trouble either player. So it's a crucial conundrum...


Round 15: S I X O U N C E R

C2 buzzes on 26 seconds to say UNCTIOUS, or something like that, which is incorrect.
C1 does not buzz.
The answer was EXCURSION.
Final Score: 71–72 (max 121)


Around the 23-24 second mark Tony looks round at the clock, then back at the buzzer, as if wondering whether it's worth buzzing. On 26 seconds he decides it is, and buzzes in with UNCTIOUS. "UNCTIOUS," says Nick, "let's see where we are on this..." before the Conundral Corbometer turns over to confirm, as Tony must have suspected, that it's incorrect.

Stuart gets the remaining three and a half seconds but he can't find the answer, so he's pipped by a single point. The early numbers slips were what did for him in the end. Still, he'll head home to London with the coveted teapot, and it's Tony Ackland who will be defending his crown tomorrow.

Meanwhile, in the studio, our contestants and guests slip off to the Granada canteen for lunch, and someone makes it their job to keep Lesley away from the Red Bull. See you next time...


Further summaries are at:
http://www.apterous.org/cdb/series.php?series=66
Jayne Wisniewski
Rookie
Posts: 82
Joined: Tue Feb 02, 2010 4:45 pm

Re: Monday 21st May 2012 (Series 66, Prelim 90)

Post by Jayne Wisniewski »

It was actually a Monday afternoon recording - I know because I was there!
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