Friday December 12th. Series 59 Grand Final

[Allan Harmer]

Countdown recap for Friday 12 December 2008.
After Carol's emotional farewell show I started watching this with tears runnng down my cheeks and in my eyes as well!
C1: Champion Junaid Mubeen (10 wins, 1010 points.) Average of 101, Seeded 3 and representing Oxford Uni.
C2: Champion Charlie Reams (10 wins, 1001 points.) Average of 100, seeded 1 and representing Cambridge Uni.
DC: Susie Dent and Gyles Brandreth. Veteran of 293 previous appearances.
CV: Carol Vorderman.
OT: Other words or solutions.

R01: H M T D E I E S M
R02: L S P R U O E A S
R03: M P F K O A E T Z
R04: N T G D O E U I O
R05: 4, 7, 5, 8, 6, 2. Target: 927.
TTT: DESOSONG - "Well behaved at the lough. Gracious me "
R06: H D G R A E I O N
R07: N T B E I E W V G
R08: L N R L A E A I E
R09: N S C P A E I U E
R10: 7, 10, 1, 1, 4, 75. Target: 678.
TTT: DRINKTEE - "Tried to fix the container of lemon spread"
R11: D N L S A O I A E
R12: R Y R C A O E L I
R13: J S Q D U A O T T
R14: 4, 6, 100, 75, 50, 25. Target: 297.
R15: E R A C L O S E S (conundrum)

And now a brief interlude before our main feature:

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This is the long awaited showdown between two equally matched contestants with very little separating them

Enjoy the show.

Round 1: H M T D E I E S M

C1: STEMMED (7)
C2: THEISM (6)
DC: DIMMEST (7)
OT: HEISTED (7) SHIMMED (7) SMITHED (7) TIMESED (7)
Score: 7–0 (max 7)

Round 2: L S P R U O E A S

C1: slopers
C2: PAROLES (7)
DC: ESPOUSAL (8)
OT: PERUSALS (8) REPOSALS (8)
Score: 7–7 (max 15)

Round 3: M P F K O A E T Z

C1: TEMPO (5)
C2: TEMPO (5)
DC: TEMPO (5)
OT: KEMPT (5) KOFTA (5) MATZO (5) MOTZA (5) TOPAZ (5)
Score: 12–12 (max 20)

Round 4: N T G D O E U I O

C1: OUTDOING (8)
C2: OUTDOING (8)
DC: OUTDOING (8)
Score: 20–20 (max 28)

Round 5: 4, 7, 5, 8, 6, 2. Target: 927.

C1: 929. Mistake in working.
C2: -
OT: 927. 8 x 6 x 2 = 96 + 7 = 103 x (5+4) = 927 (10)
Score: 20–20 (max 38)

It was surprising that neither Contestant scored in this round considering their towering track records. At least it proves they are human after all!

Gyles recalls some pet anecdotes from his first Grand Final appearance in 1982 and reprises the short rhyming poem he told about a late lamented goldfish. 'Oh wet pet' That's it folks! Into the break.

Teatime teaser: DESOSONG -> GOODNESS

Round 6: H D G R A E I O N

C1: ORGANDIE (8)
C2: HEADING (7)
DC: HOARDING (8)
OT: ADHERING (8)
Score: 28–20 (max 46)

A great spot by Junaid, especially with ING in the selection.

Round 7: N T B E I E W V G

C1: TEEING (6)
C2: WEEING (6)
DC: TWINGE (6)
OT: BEIGNET (7)
Score: 34–26 (max 53)

Charlie apologises for WEEING and Des points out that there isn't a 'P' on the board!

Round 8: L N R L A E A I E

C1: AERIAL (6)
C2: aliener
DC: RELINE (6) LINEAR, (6) NAILER (6)
OT: REALIA (6) LARNIE (6) LEANER (6) LIERNE (6) LINEAL (6) NARIAL (6) RELLIE (6)
Score: 40–26 (max 59)

This is a pivotal moment as Charlie gambles on ALIENER and looks crestfallen as it is rejected because ALIEN has more than one syllable.

Round 9: N S C P A E I U E

C1: INSCAPE (7)
C2: INSCAPE (7)
DC: SAPIENCE (8)
Score: 47–33 (max 67)

Round 10: 7, 10, 1, 1, 4, 75. Target: 678.

C1: 678. 10-1 = 9 x 75 = 675 + (4-1) (10)
C2: 678. 10-1 = 9 x 75 = 675 + (4-1) (10)
Score: 57–43 (max 77)

Teatime teaser: DRINKTEE -> TINKERED

Round 11: D N L S A O I A E

C1: ANODISE (7)
C2: ANDISOL (7)
OT: AEOLIAN (7) ALIASED (7) DOLINAS (7) LADINOS (7) DENIALS (7) DOLINES (7) NAIADES (7)
Score: 64–50 (max 84)

Round 12: R Y R C A O E L I

C1: CARRIOLE (8)
C2: CARRIOLE (8)
DC: LORICAE (7)
Score: 72–58 (max 92)

Round 13: J S Q D U A O T T

C1: QUOTAS (6)
C2: QUOTAS (6)
DC: ADJUST (6) TOAST (5)
OT: OUTSAT (6) SQUATT (6)
Score: 78–64 (max 98)

Round 14: 4, 6, 100, 75, 50, 25. Target: 297.
The last five rounds have gone to par and Charlie has a last throw of the dice to try and wrong foot Junaid by selecting 4 large numbers.
C1: 297. 50 x 6= 300 - (75/25) = 297 (10)
C2: 297. 50 x 6= 300 - (75/25) = 297 (10)
Score: 88–74 (max 108)
Junaid tries to pretend that he hasn't got it but comfortably gives the solution to deliver the 'coup de grace' to Charlie and seal the Championship.

Round 15: E R A C L O S E S

C2 buzzes to say CASSEROLE which is correct.
Score: 88–84 (max 118)
Charlie is onto the Conundrum very quickly and closes the gap to 4 points in a memorable Final. His earlier gamble on ALIENER proved to be his downfall.

Well played both of you in a tense and exciting Final and the Dark Blues pip the Light Blues by a canvas after a Titanic Battle.

Commiserations to Charlie who was a great Contestant and superb Finalist. It was a privilege to meet and play you in the Heats.

Sincere congratulations to Junaid who was exemplary throughout the Series and a worthy winner.

Carol presents the runner up cheque for a thousand quid to Charlie and the Richard Whiteley Memorial Trophy to Junaid, along with the smart Dictionaries.

Susie presents Des with a nice bunch of flowers and he signs off after 2 good years as Host with a plug for his new CD. Okeydoke!

Gyles recites an emotional poem about friendship by Hilaire Belloc and presents Carol with a lovely bunch of flowers, which leaves her in floods of tears and the show ends there.

That's it for Series 59 and the end of an era for Carol who has given us 26 wonderful years of happy memories to reflect on. Thank you so much Carol - You have gone but you will never be forgotten.

We look forward to a new era with a new family to love and cherish.

I sign off this match as I started with a tear running unashamedly down my cheek.

Further summaries are at:
http://www.apterous.org/cdb/series.php?series=59

[Charlie Reams]

Round 8: L N R L A E A I E

C1: AERIAL (6)
C2: aliener
DC: RELINE (6) LINEAR, (6) NAILER (6)
OT: REALIA (6) LARNIE (6) LEANER (6) LIERNE (6) LINEAL (6) NARIAL (6) RELLIE (6)
Score: 40–26 (max 59)

This is a pivotal moment as Charlie gambles on ALIENER and looks crestfallen as it is rejected because ALIEN has more than one syllable.

It was actually just a misspelling of ALIENOR, I was perfectly aware that ALIENER wouldn't be an adjective. ALIENER is valid in Scrabble and I felt it was a decent gamble to close the gap.

[Joseph Bolas]

Round 8: L N R L A E A I E

C1: AERIAL (6)
C2: aliener
DC: RELINE (6) LINEAR, (6) NAILER (6)
OT: REALIA (6) LARNIE (6) LEANER (6) LIERNE (6) LINEAL (6) NARIAL (6) RELLIE (6)
Score: 40–26 (max 59)

This is a pivotal moment as Charlie gambles on ALIENER and looks crestfallen as it is rejected because ALIEN has more than one syllable.

It was actually just a misspelling of ALIENOR, I was perfectly aware that ALIENER wouldn't be an adjective. ALIENER is valid in Scrabble and I felt it was a decent gamble to close the gap.

That was a bit of bad luck Charlie .

It would be much easier if they combined both the ODE and CSW dictionaries to make a new Countdown Dictionary

[Lesley Jeavons]

I noticed in round 12 you could get CAROL and RILEY. How apt...

[Phil Reynolds]

TTT: DRINKTEE - "Try to fix the container of lemon spread"

That should be "Tried to fix" (because the solution is TINKERED, i.e. past tense).

Gyles recalls some pet anecdotes from his first Grand Final appearance in 1982 and reprises the short rhyming poem he told about a late lamented goldfish. 'Oh Wet Bet'

Er, "Oh wet pet" surely?

Gyles recites an emotional poem about Frinedship by Hilare Belloc

It was about friendship and was by Hilaire Belloc.

Other than that, thanks aag (sorry - don't know your real name) for an excellent recap and congratulations to both finalists. As others have said, aside from missing out on the glory of being series champion, in Charlie's place I'd definitely have preferred the £1,000 to the dictionaries!

[Junaid Mubeen]

Awesome recap, thanks for that. I should say that in round 14 when I was shaking my head it wasn't to give the impression I'd fluffed it, but rather I was in sheer disbelief at what was happening.

[Kai Laddiman]

Giles actually said, "Oh, wet pet." (Well, that's what I heard anyway.)

[Allan Harmer]

Giles actually said, "Oh, wet pet." (Well, that's what I heard anyway.)

On refelction you are right - It was just how I heard it and it sounded like Bet. You can't win them all.

Just to satisfy the pedantic police I should point out that it is Gyles not Giles Brandreth - http://www.gylesbrandreth.net/

[John Evans]

Gyles recites an emotional poem about Frinedship by Hilare Belloc and presents Carol with a lovely bunch of flowers, which leaves her in floods of tears and the show ends there.

Is it just me who thinks that when Carol started crying and turned to her right to say "look what you've done to me", she was addressing Charlie for picking 4 large. What a bully.

[Allan Harmer]

TTT: DRINKTEE - "Try to fix the container of lemon spread"

That should be "Tried to fix" (because the solution is TINKERED, i.e. past tense).

Gyles recalls some pet anecdotes from his first Grand Final appearance in 1982 and reprises the short rhyming poem he told about a late lamented goldfish. 'Oh Wet Bet'

Er, "Oh wet pet" surely?

Gyles recites an emotional poem about Frinedship by Hilare Belloc

It was about friendship and was by Hilaire Belloc.

Other than that, thanks aag (sorry - don't know your real name) for an excellent recap and congratulations to both finalists. As others have said, aside from missing out on the glory of being series champion, in Charlie's place I'd definitely have preferred the £1,000 to the dictionaries!

Phil
Thanks for pointing out the typos and misheard points. It is much appreciated and I have corrected them in the Recap.

I should point out that proof reading is really tough as there isn't a spell checker I can find to flag up the typos. It was ironic that I mistyped Hilaire as I had specifically checked his name on Google as I wasn't sure if his surname had an aitch and then I mistyped his christian name, which I knew how to spell. C'est la vie!

Thanks for the compliments too Phil - I did spend some time on it try to do the match justice.

I also agree with you that I would actually prefer the thousand quid as a prize rather than the dictionaries, irrespective of the actual result.

Allan

[Ben Hunter]

Awesome recap, thanks for that. I should say that in round 14 when I was shaking my head it wasn't to give the impression I'd fluffed it, but rather I was in sheer disbelief at what was happening.

I also wondered about the significance of the head shake. Now I know this, I might go watch the final again .

[Julie T]

I finally watched the final yesterday. Brilliant stuff, although maybe nerves showing a bit.
Congratulations, Junaid, and commiserations to Charlie. Superbly matched opponents.
I was pleased to get ORGANDIE and INSCAPE, but you both outscored me by over 20 points overall - unsurprising for a final.

I found all the series finals matches more exhilarating this time around, I think because I know (online, anyway) some of the contestants now.
I must be improving, since I was pleased to outscore 2 of the quarter-finalists and one semi-finalist, although I know that it's easier sat at home, etc., etc.

Thank you to all the finalists for helping create some superbly watchable Countdown games for Carol's last hurrah.

[Kai Laddiman]

[quote="Julie T"]I must be improving, since I was pleased to outscore one semi-finalist[quote]

I hope it wasn't me?

[Julie T]

I must be improving, since I was pleased to outscore one semi-finalist

I hope it wasn't me?

Nope - you thrashed me 75 to 95, if you really want to know. Excellent game, Kai!
Yes, I'm that sad that I write down my scores as if I'm playing each contestant individually.

[Howard Somerset]

Yes, I'm that sad that I write down my scores as if I'm playing each contestant individually.

If that's sad, Julie, then there are a lot of sad people here. Many people do that. What's probably even sadder is those who keep records of all the games they've played against contestants on TV. My records go back to Dec 1996. Before that they were too scrappy, and they got thrown away.

[Kirk Bevins]

Yes, I'm that sad that I write down my scores as if I'm playing each contestant individually.

If that's sad, Julie, then there are a lot of sad people here. Many people do that. What's probably even sadder is those who keep records of all the games they've played against contestants on TV. My records go back to Dec 1996. Before that they were too scrappy, and they got thrown away.

I'm very sad then. I have a book that I record all the maximums I miss every day, the selection, the scores against both opponents and number of maxes, e.g:

Monday 29/09/08 109-80 109-40
ROOIGRAS RSRIAOORG
552 6, 5, 4, 5, 3, 8

13/15


What's more, I have a spreadsheet (thanks Simon) that calculates loads of statistics such as potential octochamp runs calculating all possible octoruns making sure the first game is always scored against the champion then the remaining seven games scored against the challenger. It highlights my octochamp percentage of maximum and is colour coded if I beat DOD's 88% or Craig's 92.1%. We really need Chris Wills' or Julian Fell's data to add more colours. It tells me my average octochamp run, my highest and lowest octochamp run totals, my highest daily total, highest percentage max for an octorun and percentage of times I've beaten 924 on any given octochamp run. There's more but I've lost most of you. If you thought some Countdowners were sad, you'd be correct.

[Michael Wallace]

It tells me my average octochamp run, my highest and lowest octochamp run totals, my highest daily total, highest percentage max for an octorun and percentage of times I've beaten 924 on any given octochamp run. There's more but I've lost most of you. If you thought some Countdowners were sad, you'd be correct.

I'd be quite interested in what those figures were, unless you have some strategic reason for keeping them secret (well, even if you did I'd still be interested, but less expectant).

[Lee Simmonds]

Wow Kirk! With that level of dedication I hope your pupils don't suffer - all that time that you should be preparing lessons etc

[Kirk Bevins]

It tells me my average octochamp run, my highest and lowest octochamp run totals, my highest daily total, highest percentage max for an octorun and percentage of times I've beaten 924 on any given octochamp run. There's more but I've lost most of you. If you thought some Countdowners were sad, you'd be correct.

I'd be quite interested in what those figures were, unless you have some strategic reason for keeping them secret (well, even if you did I'd still be interested, but less expectant).

I might release some stats in due course. For now though, they're just for my training purposes and to give me new goals to achieve and heights to reach.

[Charlie Reams]

I hope your pupils don't suffer

Interestingly, Kirk's other favourite pastime is said to damage the pupils.

[Howard Somerset]

I'm very sad then. I have a book that I record all the maximums I miss every day, the selection, the scores against both opponents and number of maxes,
...
What's more, I have a spreadsheet (thanks Simon) that calculates loads of statistics such as potential octochamp runs calculating all possible octoruns making sure the first game is always scored against the champion then the remaining seven games scored against the challenger.
...

If we're looking at degrees of sadness, I wonder how recording scores on teatime teasers rates.

As for those statistics you produce, I do just the same with those strings, scoring the first game against C1, and then if that's a victory, up to seven against C2. Moreover, in the case of a string starting immediately after an octochamp's run, I start two strings, one matching each of the new contestants. Of course, the results from my statistics are a world away from yours, Kirk. In your case you're looking to see what score you can make in each octochamp sting. I'm more interested in seeing if I can produce a string of any length at all. From the statistics I've amassed for the S59 preliminaries, one startling fact has emerged - no less than 10 of those approximately 100 strings were enough to have gained a place in the series finals, 2 of them as octochamp. Now that's very worrying, considering my general performance at Countdown.

One thing you mention, Kirk, is recording the number of maxes you miss each game. That certainly gives me an idea for extending my statistics for S60. Though in my case it might be considerable easier to counts the maxes I achieve, rather than those I miss.

[Kirk Bevins]

One thing you mention, Kirk, is recording the number of maxes you miss each game. That certainly gives me an idea for extending my statistics for S60. Though in my case it might be considerable easier to counts the maxes I achieve, rather than those I miss.

Aww. Without giving too much away, I like to keep the number of maximums per game in double figures as Charlie says if you average 10 maxes per game you are octochamp standard. That's the benchmark.

[Howard Somerset]

Aww. Without giving too much away, I like to keep the number of maximums per game in double figures as Charlie says if you average 10 maxes per game you are octochamp standard. That's the benchmark.

That's certainly an interesting benchmark, Kirk. Sometime soon, I must look back through the S59 games to see if I have ever achieved a 10 max game.

[Kai Laddiman]

One thing you mention, Kirk, is recording the number of maxes you miss each game. That certainly gives me an idea for extending my statistics for S60. Though in my case it might be considerable easier to counts the maxes I achieve, rather than those I miss.

Aww. Without giving too much away, I like to keep the number of maximums per game in double figures as Charlie says if you average 10 maxes per game you are octochamp standard. That's the benchmark.

I averaged about 7 a game

[Howard Somerset]

... What's probably even sadder is those who keep records of all the games they've played against contestants on TV. My records go back to Dec 1996. Before that they were too scrappy, and they got thrown away.

Sadder still. I've just found the records I thought had been thrown away. I now go back to July 1991.

[Oliver Garner]

I average around 8 maxes and when I play 'against' the studio contestants*, I have only lost to octochamps this series.

*During Neil's octochamp run, he didn't risk a lot of words against weaker opponents. However, he probably would have risked them if the opponents were stronger.

[Kai Laddiman]

*During Neil's octochamp run, he didn't risk a lot of words against weaker opponents. However, he probably would have risked them if the opponents were stronger.

Which one do you come under?

[Oliver Garner]

*During Neil's octochamp run, he didn't risk a lot of words against weaker opponents. However, he probably would have risked them if the opponents were stronger.

Which one do you come under?

I was probably slightly better when he was on his run, winning 5 games to 3. Now he's better than me.