Yes I'm back. It's been a while as Countdown has been hijacked by G G's. 
Well finally, there are 25 other letters (and numbers) to look at today in the first Friday Countdown for some time. Today we see our current 2 time champion, Apterite Samir Pilica take on Howard Blythe.Countdown recap for Friday 23 May 2014.
C1: Challenger Samir Pilica. (2 wins, 192 points) An Apterite originally from Bosnia-Herzogivina.
C2: Challenger Harold Blythe. A retired Tram driver, Conductor and Inspector from Fleetwood.
DC: Susie Dent and Julia Bradbury.
RR: Rachel Riley.
OT: Other words or solutions.
R01: R N L S O E I D A
R02: T J O F B U T E W
R03: 6, 8, 8, 5, 25, 50. Target: 769.
TTT: SUMOHEAD - "The MP's are all in a state of uproar."
R04: S A K M O C P I E
R05: F S B R O A E L O
R06: 7, 3, 6, 3, 1, 75. Target: 364.
R07: T D V L I E A R E
R08: N O S D U E Q M A
R09: 3, 9, 1, 3, 75, 25. Target: 154.
TTT: SPONGEIN - "Chances to take part in a Golf Tournament perhaps."
R10: T D O P E Y R I N
R11: D S T L E O A N E
R12: P H I R O G N A R
R13: X T H P I U E R I
R14: 9, 4, 3, 3, 25, 50. Target: 300.
R15: L E M O N S L I T (conundrum)
And now a brief interlude before our main feature:
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Enjoy the show.
Round 1: R N L S O E I D A
Samir: DARIOLES (8)
Harold: AILERONS (8)
DC: ORDINALS (8)
OT: ANEROIDS (8) ANODISER (8) ISLANDER (8) ROSALINE (8) SOLANDER (8)
Score: 8–8 (max 8)
Both players start with an 8, DARIOLES and AILERONS.
Round 2: T J O F B U T E W
Samir: TUBE (4)
Harold: BOUT (4)
DC: BUTT TOUT
OT: BOTTE (5) BUTEO (5) BUTTE (5) OBJET (5)
Score: 12–12 (max 13)
Samir was on the TUBE but Harold got a BOUT of something here, and it's just 4 points for both players.
Round 3: 6, 8, 8, 5, 25, 50. Target: 769.
Samir: 765. (8+6) x 50 + (5x8) + 25 (7)
Harold: -
RR: 769. (8+8) x 50 - (25-6) (10)
Score: 19–12 (max 23)
Both players missed this though Samir did salvage 7 points with 4 away. Rachel got it spot on though.
Teatime teaser: SUMOHEAD -> MADHOUSE
Round 4: S A K M O C P I E
Samir: COPIES (6)
Harold: IMPOSE (6)
DC: OKAPIS (6) SCAMPI (6)
OT: MOCKIES (7)
Score: 25–18 (max 30)
It's sixes here as the players IMPOSE COPIES of their words to our screens.
Round 5: F S B R O A E L O
Samir: BOLEROS (7)
Harold: FABLES (6)
DC: LOAFERS (7)
OT: AEROSOL (7) BEFOOLS (7) FABLERS (7) ROSEOLA (7) SOLEBAR (7)
Score: 32–18 (max 37)
It's 1984 all over again as Samir gets BOLEROS for 7. Harold only manages FABLES for 6.
Round 6: 7, 3, 6, 3, 1, 75. Target: 364.
Samir: 365. (6-1) x 75 -7 -3 (7)
Harold: 365. (6-1) x 75 -7 -3 (7)
RR: 364. (75-3) x (6-1) + (7-3) (10)
Score: 39–25 (max 47)
Both players 1 away with this one, as once again Rachel gets it spot on.
Julia Bradbury talks about when she interviewed Prince Charles on Countryfile.
Round 7: T D V L I E A R E
Samir: RELATIVE (8)
Harold: TRAILED (7)
DC: DEVIATE (7) VALETED (7)
OT: DERIVATE (8) LEVIRATE (8) RETAILED (8)
Score: 47–25 (max 55)
Harold TRAILED Samir by a RELATIVE distance after this round.
Round 8: N O S D U E Q M A
Samir: DAEMONS (7)
Harold: DAEMONS (7)
DC: QUEANS (6)
OT: MASONED (7) MENUDOS (7) OSMUNDA (7) QUONDAM (7)
Score: 54–32 (max 62)
Both players have DAEMONS to overcome in this round.
Round 9: 3, 9, 1, 3, 75, 25. Target: 154.
Samir: 154. (9-3) x 25 + 3 + 1 (10)
Harold: 154. (75+25) + (3+3 )(x 9) (10)
Score: 64–42 (max 72)
And it's finally a max with the numbers, as both players get 154.
Teatime teaser: SPONGEIN -> OPENINGS
Round 10: T D O P E Y R I N
Samir: POINTED (7)
Harold: POINTED (7)
DC: PRINTED (7)
OT: DIOPTRE (7) ENTROPY (7) PERIDOT (7) POINTER (7) PORTEND (7) PROTEIN (7) REPOINT (7) TINDERY (7)
Score: 71–49 (max 79)
Both players POINTED out their words and got another 7 points.
Round 11: D S T L E O A N E
Samir: DONATES (7)
Harold: LASTED (6)
DC: DESOLATE (8)
Score: 78–49 (max 87)
Harold LASTED only another round before falling a further 7 behind as Samir DONATES.
Susie Dent talks about the origin of the word 'bachelor' from a bachelor's degree.
Round 12: P H I R O G N A R
Samir: HARPING (7)
Harold: ROARING (7)
DC: GROAN (5)
OT: PARRING (7) PORANGI (7)
Score: 85–56 (max 94)
Samir is HARPING about his 7, and it's a ROARING success for Harold as he also gets 7 points.
Round 13: X T H P I U E R I
Samir: TRIPE (5)
Harold: PITHIER (7)
Score: 85–63 (max 101)
Samir only sees TRIPE in this round. Harold gets PITHIER for 7 points.
Round 14: 9, 4, 3, 3, 25, 50. Target: 300.
Samir: 300. (3+3) x 50 (10)
Harold: 300. (3+3) x 50 (10)
Score: 95–73 (max 111)
A fairly easy numbers game, which sees both players get 10 points.
Round 15: L E M O N S L I T
No one buzzes. The answer was MILLSTONE.
Final Score: 95–73 (max 121)
Nobody could see the lemon slit was MILLSTONE. So the scores remained the same.
So Samir marches on to his 3rd win, and will be back next week to attempt to continue his run. He's looked pretty formidable so far. Will he go on to greater things next week? Join Andy McGurn on Monday to see him attempt his 4th game. I will be back next Friday, which, if he was to get there would see Samir going for his 8th win. I'm quite sure next week's challengers will do all they can to stop that from happening. I hope you can join me then. In the meantime, thank you very much for reading, and goodbye.
Further summaries are at:
http://cdb.apterous.org/series.php?series=70
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