C1: Champion Giles Hutchings (6 wins, 733 points) has already scored more points in six games than some octochamps have managed in eight. His target is two more wins with a total of at least 156 points to overtake Andy Platt as #1 seed.
C2: Challenger Rob Tuson is an insurance underwriter from Hazelgrove in Stockport. He was once mugged by a goat for his lunch in Japan.
DC: Susie Dent and Richard Madeley.
RR: Rachel Riley.
OT: Other words or solutions.
R01: O A S T D I N A P
R02: C O P Q I S U B E
R03: 75, 6, 4, 3, 5, 1. Target: 794.
TTT: TONINGUP - "It's not the best way of achieving something, but it's effective."
R04: S G A H O N A R E
R05: O I B T R E A F N
R06: 25, 4, 8, 10, 6, 8. Target: 576.
R07: S P N K R I E U I
R08: T D E R O V G I Z
R09: 100, 1, 1, 6, 6, 9. Target: 703.
TTT: VETSIDEA - "It was the vet's idea to calm down the animal with this."
R10: L D M E U T D I S
R11: D M U E S L E O H
R12: M E G N A T G E N
R13: V R A I S W E R A
R14: 75, 10, 8, 4, 10, 2. Target: 732.
R15: W O L F L I N G O (conundrum)
And now a brief interlude before our main feature:
Enjoy the show.
Round 1: O A S T D I N A P
C1: ADAPTIONS (18)
C2: PATIOS (6)
DC: PATINAS (7)
Score: 18–0 (max 18)
Good start from Giles, as he hits the ground running with a nine.
Round 2: C O P Q I S U B E
C1: COPIES (6)
C2: EQUIPS (6)
DC: BISQUE (6)
OT: BICEPS (6) COUPES (6) PIQUES (6)
Score: 24–6 (max 24)
Trickier selection this time, and both players max it which takes Rob off the mark.
Round 3: 75, 6, 4, 3, 5, 1. Target: 794.
C1: 796. (75+5)*(6+4)-(3+1) (7)
C2: -
OT: 793. (75+5-1)*(6+4)+3 (7)
Score: 31–6 (max 31)
This must win the award for the most possible-looking impossible numbers game. 793 or 795 is as close as it gets.
Teatime teaser: TONINGUP -> GUNPOINT
Round 4: S G A H O N A R E
C1: ORANGES (7)
C2: HANGERS (7)
DC: GHERAOS (7) ONAGERS (7)
OT: AGAROSE (7) ANGORAS (7) HANGARS (7) REHANGS (7) SENHORA (7)
Score: 38–13 (max 38)
Rob's offering could have been HANGERS or HANGARS, so I've made an arbitrary guess. Messing with history is fun.
Round 5: O I B T R E A F N
C1: BARITONE (8)
C2: BANTER (6)
DC: OBTAINER (8)
Score: 46–13 (max 46)
We like a bit of BANTER on Countdown, but BARITONE takes the round for Giles.
Round 6: 25, 4, 8, 10, 6, 8. Target: 576.
C1: 576. (25-8/8)*6*4 (10)
C2: -
Score: 56–13 (max 56)
For the second time, Rob's nowhere on the numbers, so Giles gets another ten points by spotting that 576 is 24 squared.
Round 7: S P N K R I E U I
C1: PURINES (7)
C2: SPUNKIER (8)
DC: PINKIES (7)
Score: 56–21 (max 64)
I think Rachel spotted SPUNKIER as soon as the U came out. Rob spots it too, which means we see something of a rarity - Giles failing to score in a round!
Round 8: T D E R O V G I Z
C1: GOITRED (7)
C2: groved
DC: VERTIGO (7)
OT: VIZORED (7)
Score: 63–21 (max 71)
Richard Madeley explains that VERTIGO, contrary to popular belief, isn't the fear of heights. It's a sensation of dizziness that you can get anywhere, but which is often associated with looking down from a great height.
Incidentally, the word for a fear of heights is ACROPHOBIA.
Round 9: 100, 1, 1, 6, 6, 9. Target: 703.
C1: 703. (6+1)*100+9-6 (10)
C2: 703. (6+1)*100+9-6 (10)
Score: 73–31 (max 81)
It's not the most appealing selection of numbers, but CECIL throws a kind target at the contestants, and both dispatch it with ease.
Teatime teaser: VETSIDEA -> SEDATIVE
Round 10: L D M E U T D I S
C1: MUDDIEST (8)
C2: MUDDIEST (8)
DC: luddites
OT: MUDSLIDE (8) MUSTELID (8)
Score: 81–39 (max 89)
MUDDIEST for both. Susie looked up LUDDITES^ but you need a capital L for that. Richard rightly points out that you can call someone who opposes new technology a "luddite" without referring directly to the Luddites. However, for this edition of the dictionary at least, it's still capitalised.
Round 11: D M U E S L E O H
C1: DELOUSE (7)
C2: MOSHED (6)
DC: ELUDES (6) MODULES (7)
Score: 88–39 (max 96)
Giles spots another max. Susie defines MOSH as "when you dance around in a slightly crazy manner and almost headbutt somebody else. I think. Is that right?"
Round 12: M E G N A T G E N
C1: GAMETE (6)
C2: MAGNET (6)
DC: GATEMEN (7)
Score: 94–45 (max 103)
I wonder whether Giles had GATEMEN written down. He seemed to be considering something. Still, it doesn't matter too much, as this round gives him his seventh win.
Round 13: V R A I S W E R A
C1: ARRIVES (7)
C2: WAIVERS (7)
DC: AIRWAVES (8)
Score: 101–52 (max 111)
Things you can't have only one of include PLAUDITS, FALSIES and AIRWAVES, and the latter is a contestant beater found by Susie and Richard for eight.
Round 14: 75, 10, 8, 4, 10, 2. Target: 732.
C1: 732. (75-2)*10+8/4 (10)
C2: 732. 75*10-(10+8) (10)
Score: 111–62 (max 121)
Just before the conundrum, Nick reminds Rob that 62 is a respectable score, but he's up against "The Kid". Move over, Jonathan Rawlinson.
Round 15: W O L F L I N G O
Giles buzzes on 1 second to say FOLLOWING which is correct.
Final Score: 121–62 (max 131)
Giles spots the conundrum in typically short order. And if this one looks familiar, the same solution with a similar scramble was used just four months ago. Surprisingly, this isn't the shortest gap between two uses of the same conundrum. On 14th July 1987, the non-crucial conundrum FREEDRUTH was used. Champion Kevin Nelson won the game despite being beaten to that conundrum. In his fifth game just three days later, the same scramble was used again (presumably by mistake), this time on a crucial conundrum which Nelson solved to win. Richard Priest tells us his memory of watching this episode here.
Giles has so far solved seven conundrums out of seven, with a total time of about 7.25 seconds. Of all the octochamps who have solved all eight of their conundrums, the shortest aggregate time was 26 seconds by Harvey Freeman. A solve by Giles tomorrow of less than 18.75 seconds would break a record that has stood for 26 years.
Furthermore, Giles is now on 7 wins and 854 points. This score alone would make him the 18th-highest scoring octochamp ever, albeit with the advantage of the new format, and that's even before he's played his eighth game. A win tomorrow will put him at the top of the series seed table, unless he wins with an unlikely score of less than 35. A win with 46 points or more would make him the seventh member of the so-called 900 club, and a score of 93 or more would beat Jack Hurst's eight-game record of 946 and set a benchmark for the new format. If we say that the new format gives you an advantage of two points per game, then the modern equivalent to Jack's 946 would be 962, which means Giles is aiming for 109 points. His lowest score so far is 115.
And even if he's beaten, he'll still have the highest heptochamp total by some margin.
Find out tomorrow how many records get broken.
Further summaries are at:
http://www.apterous.org/cdb/series.php?series=68