C1: Champion Nikki Roberts (6 wins, 515 points.)
C2: Challenger Jack Gregson.
DC: Susie Dent and Phil Hammond.
RR: Rachel Riley.
OT: Other words or solutions.
Nikki’s week has been a bit up and down (with a respectable top score of 104 on Thursday and another century on Tuesday), but she’s still in the champion’s chair and only two games away from becoming the second consecutive female octochamp since a few series ago. Trying to stop her is Jack Gregson from Preston, who once met Tony Hancock in a lift while he was working as an electrician (Jack, that is, not Tony). Shall we start?
R01: T M T A E I S L R
R02: N K O B D U O J M
R03: S H M E I O L S S
R04: G H R A I P D A L
R05: 25, 4, 7, 10, 3, 4. Target: 640.
TTT: FARSTOUT - "Truffles that sound like bitter spacecraft."
R06: T V N I O R S U E
R07: D B R I A I E S F
R08: G P T O E N X A Y
R09: D W C E U O R C S
R10: 100, 6, 3, 6, 4, 9. Target: 189.
TTT: PENTRAIL - "Take to the air with more than two wings."
R11: N T N E A E R T O
R12: G D N A I W S E I
R13: P N L E O A Z M E
R14: 50, 6, 7, 10, 4, 6. Target: 501.
R15: T I C T E A P O T (conundrum)
Countdown is sponsored by Vitabiotics Neurozan.
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It’s the anniversary of the day Winnie-the-Pooh was published back in 1926 and this provides the subject of today’s opening banter. Rachel recites the poem “Now We Are Six”, which must have been painful if she really dislikes poetry as much as she claimed last week... maybe she should reconsider!
Round 1: T M T A E I S L R
C1: MALTIEST (8)
C2: -
DC: MISTREAT (8)
OT: REMITTALS (18)
Score: 8–0 (max 18)
Nikki spots one of several available eights; Jack thinks he has a nine, but then realises he hasn’t, while no one spots the actual niner lurking in the selection.
Round 2: N K O B D U O J M
C1: BOUND (5)
C2: MOUND (5)
DC: MOUND (5) BOOJUM (6)
Score: 13–5 (max 24)
“I was stuck on MOUND until I saw Susie’s BOOJUM,” quips Dr Phil. Just one more reason why we love him.
Round 3: S H M E I O L S S
C1: missels
C2: LOSSES (6)
DC: SLOSHES (7) LISSOME (7)
OT: ISOHELS (7) MOSSIES (7)
Score: 13–11 (max 31)
Nikki misspells MISSALS (so did I
) and then Susie makes the classic error of saying that ‘mistles’ would have been O.K. Only as part of mistle thrush, I’m afraid, Ms Dent. Go to the back of the class. (No hate mail, please. I still think Susie’s great.)Round 4: G H R A I P D A L
C1: RADIAL (6)
C2: RADIAL (6)
DC: GHARIAL (7)
OT: DIGRAPH (7)
Score: 19–17 (max 38)
It’s Friday, so Nikki’s probably feeling a bit tired. She’s evidently also feeling a bit tyred, as both her and Jack offer RADIAL. As Phil points out (with back-up from the pen-cam), a GHARIAL is a large fish-eating crocodile.
Round 5: 25, 4, 7, 10, 3, 4. Target: 640.
C1: -
C2: 639. Mistake in working.
RR: 640. ((25x3)-4-7)x10 (10)
Score: 19–17 (max 48)
Remember how I said Nikki might be getting tired? She misses a relatively straightforward numbers game, but fortunately for her, Jack then proceeds to blob when giving his solution to 639, leaving the scores really close as we head towards the first break...
... But not without a few words from Dr Phil, who tells us about the time when one of his patients demanded that he made him feel better by telling him some jokes, because he’s a comedian and because it was his duty as a G.P. One of the jokes involved taking penguins to the zoo and made me smile. I’m a man of simple pleasures.
Teatime teaser: FARSTOUT -> TARTUFOS
Round 6: T V N I O R S U E
C1: VERSION (7)
C2: STONIER (7)
DC: ROUTINES (8) SOUVENIR (8)
OT: INVESTOR (8) UNRIVETS (8) VENTURIS (8) VITREOUS (8)
Score: 26–24 (max 56)
Round 7: D B R I A I E S F
C1: BRAISED (7)
C2: FAIRIES (7)
DC: DIARISE (7)
OT: AIRBEDS (7) AIRSIDE (7) BARDIES (7) BIRDIES (7) BRIDIES (7) DAIRIES (7) DARBIES (7) DIARIES (7) SEABIRD (7) SIDEBAR (7)
Score: 33–31 (max 63)
The contestants offer up some braised fairies (think I’ll give them a miss and have the salad, if it’s all the same to you), while PhilSusie suggest one of my least favourite words of all-time: DIARISE.
Round 8: G P T O E N X A Y
C1: POTAGE (6)
C2: ATONE (5)
DC: OXYGEN (6)
OT: PAEONY (6) TEAPOY (6)
Funny... TEAPOY used to get mentioned a lot on Countdown. Three-legged tables have obviously gone out of fashion. Maybe we should all buy one and start a new trend.
Score: 39–31 (max 69)
Round 9: D W C E U O R C S
C1: COURSED (7)
C2: CROCUS (6)
DC: COURSED (7)
OT: SCOURED (7) SOURCED (7)
Score: 46–31 (max 76)
OoW: Susie tells us all about the recent phenomenon of items of clothing made from denim that all start with a ‘j’, for example ‘jorts’ and (ahem) ‘jappies’. Jeff notes that a denim jacket would therefore be a, er, ‘jacket’. How true.
Round 10: 100, 6, 3, 6, 4, 9. Target: 189.
C1: 189. ((6-4)x100)-9-(6/3) (10)
C2: 189. ((6/3)x100)-9-6+4 (10)
Score: 56–41 (max 86)
Teatime teaser: PENTRAIL -> TRIPLANE
Round 11: N T N E A E R T O
C1: ROTATE (6)
C2: ROTATE (6)
DC: NORTENA (7)
OT: ENTRANT (7) ENTREAT (7) NEONATE (7) TENONER (7) TERNATE (7)
Score: 62–47 (max 93)
NORTENA seems to come up a lot these days – and here it is again. In case you’ve forgotten, it’s a style of folk music associated with northern Mexico and Texas (and hence a mass noun, so don’t go pluralising it).
Round 12: G D N A I W S E I
C1: DESIGN (6)
C2: WINGED (6)
DC: SWINGED (7)
OT: WINDAGE (7)
Score: 68–53 (max 100)
WINDAGE is another mass noun, although it’s a bit like ‘mileages’, inasmuch as I would have thought you could have several instances and therefore add an S. I certainly wouldn’t risk it, though, as you’re likely to be disappointed.
Round 13: P N L E O A Z M E
C1: PLANE (5)
C2: PLANE (5)
DC: EMPANEL (7)
OT: EMPLANE (7)
Score: 73–58 (max 107)
DC spot EMPANEL, but not its anagrammatic twin EMPLANE. That fifteen-point gap that has separated Nikki and Jack since Round 9 is still there and Jack now needs a bit of luck if he’s going to win...
Round 14: 50, 6, 7, 10, 4, 6. Target: 501.
C1: 501. (50x10)+(6/6) (10)
C2: 501. (10x50)+7-6 (10)
Score: 83–68 (max 117)
... But it’s not to be, as CECIL (R.I.P.) comes up with an easy target and they both get it spot-on.
Round 15: T I C T E A P O T
No one buzzes. The answer was PETTICOAT.
Final Score: 83–68 (max 127)
A nasty conundrum (but a clever scramble) to end the week and Nikki will get to meet Les Dennis on Monday and also have a crack at that octochamp thing. To find out how she does, why not tune in using one of the available options or if you’re feeling lazy, you could just check out the recap of Mr Benjamin when it appears. The choice is yours. Have a good week – see you next time!
Further summaries are at:
http://www.apterous.org/cdb/series.php?series=65