Friday 17 June 2011 (Series 65, Prelim 10)

[Mike Brown]

Countdown recap for Friday 17 June 2011 (Series 65, Prelim 10).

C1: Challenger Matt Croy.
C2: Challenger Barrie Crawford.
DC: Susie Dent and Jon Culshaw.
RR: Rachel Riley.
OT: Other words or solutions.

After the successful completion of his octorun (almost prevented by a certain Mr Moonie-Dalton), Graeme Cole retired yesterday leaving the way clear for two brand new contestants to enter the Countdown arena. Matt Croy from Oldham (although he grew up in Grimsby) is somewhat younger than Barrie Crawford of East Kilbride, which might mean he’s the likely winner, although the fact he lives near the studios could mean he’s a stand-by contestant and perhaps more likely to lose. That’s all we’ve got to go on at the moment (and of course it’s somewhat stereotypical nonsense), but with Round 1 shortly upon us, we’ll get a better idea of their form soon, so let’s commence...

R01: T H G I U A P E S
R02: W R A I C M O L A
R03: N T S I U O F E D
R04: R Q E A M V O E N
R05: 50, 75, 10, 9, 4, 1. Target: 609.
TTT: TRODCODE - "Falsified his documents to get through medical school."
R06: D M U E T Z P A I
R07: N L E E S R I D A
R08: G M A E R B O A T
R09: R T I E P R A C G
R10: 75, 7, 5, 10, 6, 4. Target: 707.
TTT: GANGICON - ""I'm right behind you all the way," said the dancer."
R11: V S D O I A N F L
R12: B T E I T O R K E
R13: S L A O N N A S R
R14: 50, 10, 4, 5, 7, 8. Target: 319.
R15: S H E S A W D O C (conundrum)

I see that this week’s Countdown is sponsored by Visionace...

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With it being Father’s Day on Sunday, Jeff opens the show with some chit-chat about the joys (and less pleasant experiences, like “being poor”) of being a parent. It’s mostly positive stuff and he also asks Rachel whether she’s a “daddy’s girl” – apparently she is when she’s borrowing his season ticket! Also of note, before we commence the game proper is Jon Culshaw’s impersonation of Richard Whiteley (as requested by Susie), although it turned out to be more of an anecdote involving Jon and the Mayor of Wetwang, to be honest.

Round 1: T H G I U A P E S

C1: SIGHT (5)
C2: SHAPE (5)
DC: UPSTAGE (7)
Score: 5–5 (max 7)

DC well and truly upstage the contestants with a darren.

Round 2: W R A I C M O L A

C1: RACIAL (6)
C2: CRAWL (5)
DC: ALARM (5) MOLAR (5) LORICA (6)
OT: AMORAL (6) CALAMI (6)
Score: 11–5 (max 13)

Matt sneaks into the lead. CALAMI (singular CALAMUS) are plants of the arum family; they’re also feathers.

Round 3: N T S I U O F E D

C1: TONES (5)
C2: INFUSED (7)
DC: FONDUES (7) FONDEST (7) OUTSIDE (7) TEDIOUS (7)
OT: FOISTED (7) FUNDIES (7) SNOUTED (7)
Score: 11–12 (max 20)

Lots of sevens, so many in fact that even with Jon offering four, there are still three more that go unmentioned. FUNDIE is an abbreviated form of FUNDAMENTALIST.

Round 4: R Q E A M V O E N

C1: MOANER (6)
C2: REMOVE (6)
DC: ROMAN (5) OVERMAN (7)
OT: OVERMEN (7)
Score: 17–18 (max 27)

Susie appeared to correct Jon’s pronunciation of OVERMAN, perhaps implying that it was merely a verb, but in fact it’s also a noun (describing an overseer in a colliery), hence the above appearance of the plural OVERMEN.

Round 5: 50, 75, 10, 9, 4, 1. Target: 609.

C1: 610. ((9-1)x75)+10 (7)
C2: 610. ((9-1)x75)+10 (7)
RR: 609. (75x10)-((4-1)x50)+9 (10)
Score: 24–25 (max 37)

With the narrowest of margins separating our players, will this one go down to the wire?

Before the break, Jeff asks Jon who his first impression was and he delights us with his version of Sir Patrick Moore. This leads on to a rather nice anecdote about an apparently fake certificate Sir Patrick displays at his home in Selsey. Jeff also inquires about some of Jon’s more recent impressions; a personal favourite of his is apparently England manager Fabio Capello (who I see is rumoured to be a possible replacement for the departing Leonardo at Inter Milan), who apparently has more in common with the late Tommy Cooper than you might think. Jon is yet another guest who appeared to really enjoy himself and not come over as arrogant or not really following the proceedings; I hope he’ll be back again soon.

Teatime teaser: TRODCODE -> DOCTORED

Round 6: D M U E T Z P A I

C1: IMPUTED (7)
C2: IMPUTED (7)
DC: DEUTZIA (7)
Score: 31–32 (max 44)

Great word from DC and yet another shrub to add to the Countdown memory bank (if you haven’t already done so).

Round 7: N L E E S R I D A

C1: REALISED (8)
C2: SLENDER (7)
DC: REDLINES (8) ISLANDER (8) SIDEREAL (8)
OT: ARSENIDE (8) NEARSIDE (8)
Score: 39–32 (max 52)

Spotting one of the available eights gives Matt the upper hand for the first time since Round 2.

Round 8: G M A E R B O A T

C1: BORGATE (7)
C2: BOATER (6)
DC: BERGAMOT (8)
OT: ABROGATE (8)
Score: 46–32 (max 60)

Matt spots what is rapidly becoming a Countdown regular. Susie reminds us that BERGAMOT is an oily substance extracted from the rinds of Seville oranges. It is, of course, also the thing that gives Earl Grey tea its, ahem, distinct flavour – I think, like Marmite, you probably either love it or hate it.

Round 9: R T I E P R A C G

C1: CARPET (6)
C2: GRAPE (5)
DC: ERRATIC (7) PARTIER (7)
OT: GRAPIER (7) PARETIC (7) PICRATE (7)
Score: 52–32 (max 67)

DC offer PARTIER, which makes its first appearance on the show since becoming a valid word.

OoW: Susie picks out some of the items from a “Top 10 British words” list published on an American dictionary’s website. One of them is PRAT.

Round 10: 75, 7, 5, 10, 6, 4. Target: 707.

C1: 707. ((75-5)x10)+7 (10)
C2: 708.
Score: 62–32 (max 77)

With two ‘halves’ out of the way, Matt has now pulled out a clear lead. Surely he will be the next champ, but stranger things have been seen before.

Teatime teaser: GANGICON -> CONGAING

Round 11: V S D O I A N F L

C1: AVOIDS (6)
C2: flavoids
DC: FLAVINS (7) LADINOS (7)
OT: ANDISOL (7) DOLINAS (7)
Score: 68–32 (max 84)

All the c4cers are probably shouting out ANDISOL, that well-known soil formed from volcanic material, while DC offer up LADINOS, which are types of clover cultivated as fodder in North America.

Round 12: B T E I T O R K E

C1: BITTER (6)
C2: BITTER (6)
DC: BITTER (6) RIETBOK (7)
Score: 74–38 (max 91)

Jon Culshaw pronounces the South African antelope “ree-et-bok”, rather than “reet-bok”. But as it’s not that common a word, it wouldn’t really be fair to call him a “ree-et” berk for getting it wrong, now would it?

Round 13: S L A O N N A S R

C1: SOLAR (5)
C2: SONAR (5)
DC: SALONS (6) SONARS (6)
OT: ANNALS (6) NASALS (6) SAOLAS (6) SNARLS (6) SOLANS (6) SOLARS (6)
Score: 79–43 (max 97)

This round is a bit pancakey. Someone pass me the maple syrup... A SAOLA is a small, two-horned mammal from Vietnam, which was only discovered in 1992. It’s also known as the Asian unicorn. Gosh.

Round 14: 50, 10, 4, 5, 7, 8. Target: 319.

C1: 318. (50x7)-(10x4)+8 (7)
C2: 320. 4x8x10 (7)
JS: 319. ((50-5)x7)+4 (10)
Score: 86–50 (max 107)

Jeff asks if he can offer his solution “because it’s Father’s Day on Sunday”. Because he’s Rachel’s ‘on screen’ dad, she says yes.

Round 15: S H E S A W D O C

No one buzzes. The answer was SHOWCASED.
Final Score: 86–50 (max 117)

The conundrum is solved by “the girl who’s always in the audience”. Hope she enjoys the mug; I can’t remember if it’s her first one or not.

So, after a close start, Matt somewhat ran away with it leaving Barrie trailing in his wake. Will he be so fortunate on Monday when Tim Vine returns again to sit alongside the Suzester? You’ll have to tune in to Ryan’s Recap to find out. And I’ll see you in a fortnight’s time, as I’ll be handing over the Friday Recap Reins to someone else for one week only while I attend to other matters. Any takers?

Further summaries are at:
http://www.apterous.org/cdb/series.php?series=65

[James Robinson]

You might want to add Matt's method, even thought we know it is the same as Barrie's.....

Just a bit of brain-fade. Typed Matt's in first and then forgot to cut and paste upwards.

[Mike Brown]

You might want to add Matt's method, even thought we know it is the same as Barrie's.....

Just a bit of brain-fade. Typed Matt's in first and then forgot to cut and paste upwards.

And now I've gone and edited your post instead of quoting it. I need to get some fresh air...