Thursday 9th December 2021 (Series 84, Preliminary 118)

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Christy Cooper
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Thursday 9th December 2021 (Series 84, Preliminary 118)

Post by Christy Cooper »

After a long hiatus, there's a lot of catching up to do recap-wise (the end of 84 and majority of 85 but we'll get there). And yes, that is a new name you see writing these recaps. Hope you all like my approach to them, just a warning I have a tendency to be very sarcastic. Any comments that may seem insulting are just for humour purposes and aren't intended to be offensive towards any contestants, hosts, guests etc. So without further ado, here we go.

Countdown recap for Thursday 9 December 2021.

On this day in 1843, Christmas cards were invented; Rachel moans about how Christmas cards are bad for the environment.

C1: Champion Janet Noe (3 wins, 301 points.)
C2: Challenger Richard Taylor, from Wolverhampton, a processing analyst for a bank, with a passion for wrestling. Imagine that Venn diagram... He says the most exciting part of his job is trying to figure out why something has gone wrong. Anne then makes an unintentional IT Crowd reference about turning the computer off and on again. Richard then makes a joke about smashing his computer with a hammer, which Rachel, and *only* Rachel finds hilarious.
DC: Susie Dent and Craig Charles.
RR: Rachel Riley.
OT: Other words or solutions.
TTT1: BADFLIER- "It's not a bad flier, it just prefers to sit in a tree."
TTT2: MINTNOTE- "It's not a spider's web but it does catch the flies."


And now a brief interlude before our main feature:

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Round 1: Z L O E S V I E T

Janet: VIOLETS (7)
Richard: VILEST (6)
DC: ZLOTIES, (7) ZEOLITES (8)
Score: 7–0 (max 8)
ZEOLITES are a type of mineral that nobody's really fussed about. Richard has had the VILEST start to his game, failing to score any points in R1.


Round 2: X N S U E L A Q R

Janet: EQUALS (6)
Richard: SQUARE (6)
DC: SEXUAL (6)
OT: ALURES (6) LASQUE (6) LEARNS (6) NERALS (6) NEURAL (6) NURSLE (6) QUARLS (6) QUEANS (6) QUENAS (6) QUERNS (6) RANSEL (6) SQUEAL (6) UNREAL (6) UNSEAL (6)
Score: 13–6 (max 14)

Things are not EQUALS here as Janet takes the lead.

A LASQUE is a veiny diamond (so more like a sideways square then?), a NERAL is an oily liquid aldehyde (have no idea what an aldehyde even is, so the definition leaves me none the wiser), NURSLE means to bring up/nurture/raise, a QUARL is a large brick or tyre (why not just call them the big brick or the big tyre? Would be much more convenient), a QUEAN is a slang term for a prostitute, a QUENA is a traditional flute from the Andes; a QUERN is a stone handmill for grinding corn; a RANSEL is an Indonesian term for a backpack.

Thank God that round with a load of words nobody has ever heard of is over.

Round 3: 1, 3, 10, 1, 5, 75. Target: 502. Yes, I put the large numbers to the right, as the number the farthest right is the one that Rachel typically puts up first, so I'm just listing them in the order they are put up in and read out.

Janet: -
Richard: 500. (1+1) *3, x 75, + (5*10) (7)
Score: 13–13 (max 21)

Teatime teaser: BADFLIER -> LEAFBIRD

Anne goes on about more eco crap to Richard as we turn to R4.

Round 4: N G L P I A M R I

Janet: IMPALING (8)
Richard: HAIRING (7)
DC: RAMPING (7)
OT: RIMPLING (8)
Score: 21–13 (max 29)

Richard is RAMPING up his score but he's not caught up to Janet.

Round 5: D S O U L M A O S (after the first 5 letters I was hoping to spell out De La Soul)

Janet: MOULDS (6)
Richard: MOULDS (6)
DC: Craig gets a word/describes the content of his Radio 6 show- soulmad.
OT: ALMOUS (6) DOLMAS (6) DOLMUS (6) DOSSAL (6) DOULAS (6) DUOMOS (6) LADOOS (6) MODALS (6) MODULO (6) MOLASS (6) MUSSAL (6) OSMOLS (6)
Score: 27–19 (max 35)

Janet and Richard now both fit the MOULDS of Countdown brainiacs as the game draws closer.

ALMOUS is an old form of ALMS which is money/food given to poor people (are almous people the ones receiving it then?), DOLMAS are a dish consisting of ingredients such as meat and spiced rice wrapped in vine or cabbage leaves (sounds delicious but the pictures on Google Images don't), DOLMUS is a shared taxi, DOSSAL is an ornamental cloth hung behind an altar in a church or at the sides of a chancel, DOULAS are women employed to provide guidance and support to mothers of newborn babies, DUOMOS are cathedrals, LADOOS are Indian sweets made from a mixture of flour, sugar, and shortening, which are shaped into balls (not those kind of balls of course, this is daytime C4; they only air Naked Attraction at night), MODULO is a mathematical term using a modulus of a specified number (sounds like the word of Rachel's dreams), MUSSAL is a torch usually of oil-soaked rags, OSMOLS are another fancy scientific term meaning a standard unit of osmotic pressure based on a one molal concentration of an ion in a solution.

Goodness me this game has a lot of obscure words.

Anne chats to Richard some more and he denies he's an ecowarrior... hmmm, maybe he's not an ecoWARRIOR, but he's an ecofighter for sure.

Round 6: 8, 2, 6, 7, 9, 25. Target: 894.

Janet: 892.
Richard: 893. (6-2)*9*25-7 (7) - shame I never learnt my 36 times tables....
RR: 894. 8/2*9*25-6 (10)
Score: 27–26 (max 45)

Craig discusses how well he can memorise written words such as the Red Dwarf scripts; the reason he discusses this is because he's currently writing 30 minute poems for children with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra (children can hardly play with the same toy for longer than 2 minutes; I think the orchestra are really overestimating their attention spans). He memorises and tells the poem in the studio, which seems to go on forever- it's like he wanted to read out the full 30 minutes out. Dr Seuss he is not; him and the Philharmonic Orchestra are trying to make these poems into a series of animated films... I think my point about children's attention spans still stands.

Round 7: N V O E S W R A T

Janet: TAVERNS (7)
Richard: STREWN (6)
DC: NOVATES, (7) rewoven (Craig makes this word up), OVERSAW, (7) WANTERS (7)
OT: VENATORS (8)
Score: 34–26 (max 53)

A VENATOR is an archaic term for a hunter.

Anne then asks Richard about his wrestling interest- he shockingly admits the WWE is fake and then compares it to Coronation Street for some bizarre reason? If Coronation Street was like the WWE, I might watch Corrie. I'm *from* Manchester and I can't stand Corrie. Craig Charles seems alright in the corner though (I know he hasn't been in Corrie for years).

Round 8: R C T E O C E F U

Janet: misdeclared as 6
Richard: COURT (5)
DC: COERCE, (6) REFUTE (6)
OT: ECOTEUR (7)
Score: 34–31 (max 60)

Janet screws up, and the ball is now in her COURT. Although, she didn't reveal which word she was going to say... here's a Countdown conspiracy theory for you- maybe sometimes when contestants 'misdeclare', they've actually written something very offensive and pretend to misdeclare it just to avoid any controversy on a little daytime quiz show- I wonder what did Janet *really* write?

An ECOTEUR is someone who carries out sabotage for ecological reasons... makes it all the more surprising Richard didn't spot it.

Round 9: 4, 8, 4, 6, 3, 50. Target: 856.

Janet: 851. Mistake in working.
Richard: -
RR: 856. ((6-4*50+3+4)*8 (10)
Score: 34–31 (max 70)

Rachel patronises Janet about her numbers choice- 'we don't need to ask you, we know'- how very rude, Rachel- what if she fancied a change?

Teatime teaser: MINTNOTE -> OINTMENT

Round 10: N G R O E T N I T

Janet: ROTTING (7)
Richard: ROTTING (7)
DC: NITROGEN, (8) RINGTONE (8)
OT: NITROGEN (8)
Score: 41–38 (max 78)

Susie and Craig argue over whether NITROGEN or RINGTONE is a better word, and the recap writer has another glitch. Even though DC said NITROGEN already, it's still listed under other words....

Janet mentions how she volunteers in her local church a lot to help children in Sunday school... why is everyone on today's show overestimating kids' attention spans so much?


Round 11: S R T E A I F E S

Janet: FAIREST (7)
Richard: feistier
DC: STRAFES, (7) FEASTERS (8)
OT: FEARTIES (8) FREESIAS (8) SAFETIES (8) SERIATES (8)
Score: 48–38 (max 86)

A FEARTIE is a Scottish term for a coward, a FREESIA is a beautiful flower that represents innocence and friendship.

The fairest outcome occurs as Richard sees a phantom I.

OOW= Susie talks about the origins of Christmas words, even though not all of them are in the dictionary... defeats the point of this segment, no?

Round 12: M R O A Y G U D E

Janet: MORGUE (6)
Richard: ROAMED (6)
DC: ARGUED (6)
OT: GAUDERY (7) MAUGRED (7)
Score: 54–44 (max 93)

For some bizarre reason Richard decides to say 'snap' when both say they've got a 6... Countdown is more like Scrabble than Snap, old Dicky!


Round 13: H N A U K B P A I

Janet: BANK (4)
Richard: PAIN (4)
DC: KAHUNA (6)
OT: PAIBAN (6) PUKANA (6) PUNKAH (6)
Score: 58–48 (max 99)

That round was a PAIN to BANK any words in; but a few obscure sixes like KAHUNA (a large wave; not just somebody misquoting the Lion King song), a PAIBAN is a clapper made from several flat pieces of hardwood or bamboo, PUKANA is to stare wildly or dilate the eyes, and a PUNKAH is just how we'd pronounce punky up north. Oh fine, it's some sort of Indian fan.


Round 14: 3, 3, 5, 5, 4, 50. Target: 610.

Janet: 610. 50*4*3 + 5 + 5 (10)
Richard: 608.
Score: 68–48 (max 109)


Round 15: T O N I C F E N D

No one buzzes. The answer was CONFIDENT.
Final Score: 68–48 (max 119)

Rachel is very CONFIDENT she has the answer to the conundrum; Anne says she has a lot more questions to ask Richard about sexy wrestlers, and patronises Craig over not being able to solve a conundrum; and Rachel insults her toddler daughter by calling her a 'jobblyjock', a word Susie used in her segment earlier to mean somebody who ruins Christmas. Jesus, Rachel, I know I said kids have short attention spans earlier but if it wasn't for these children, Christmas wouldn't be as big of a deal.


So that does it for this chaotic edition of Countdown, hope you all enjoyed my sarky recapping style. I know the maxes were off because the numbers game tool doesn't work very well but hey-ho, hopefully I can fix that for next time. Still getting the hang of the recap tool and not sure I did everything right. For some reason it won't let me add the game to the database either as you need to select your name from a list of names and mine isn't on there yet; although maybe for the best this one isn't in the database yet due to the number glitches?

Join us again for another Countdown recap.... *winks* goodbye.
Last edited by Christy Cooper on Sun Apr 17, 2022 12:16 am, edited 1 time in total.
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James Robinson
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Re: Thursday 9th December 2021 (Series 84, Preliminary 118)

Post by James Robinson »

Christy Cooper wrote: Sun Apr 17, 2022 12:04 am Round 9: 4, 8, 4, 6, 3, 50. Target: 856.

Janet: 851. Mistake in working.
Richard: -
Score: 34–31 (max 57)

Rachel patronises Janet about her numbers choice- 'we don't need to ask you, we know'- how very rude, Rachel- what if she fancied a change?

Both contestants fail; Rachel solves it although for some reason the recap writer is glitching and thinks she didn't... the max is off in this recap...

As the recap writer doesn't recognise Rachel's method that I entered, here it is. RR= ((6-4*50+3+4)*8. For some reason the recap writer doesn't seem to recognise that numbers games are possible even when neither contestant could solve it.
When that happens, put a "?" in the RR number, then the OT will activate. :idea:
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