Spoilers For Monday January 9th 2012

[James Robinson]

Now here's a question that many people want answered........, What do some dancing knights, a 67-year-old from Swindon, and some cheap tat from Amstrad have in common

They, if you put them altogether, are the 3 qualities that the executives at Channel 4 seem to think will be good enough to make people think that Jeff Stelling will be yesterday's news............., so, ladies and gentlemen, I present you, the new host of our beloved Countdown.

DUM-DER-DUM-DER-DUM-DER-DUM-DER-DUM-DI-DUM-DI-DUM-DI-DUM-DI-DUM-DI-DUM-DI-DUM-DUM............, From across the country, an unspecified number of applicants headed to Manchester for a dream job, probably with a 6-figure salary.

And after much deliberation, one candidate stood out, his name is Nicholas Radbourn Hewer, or as we'll probably call him, Nick Hewer, the 5th permanent host of Coutndown. Can he continue where the brilliant Jeff Stelling left off.......... Only time will tell.

And now, let's remind ourselves of what happened back on December 7th, the last preliminary of the Stelling era.

After Phyllis "Phyl" Styles had racked up 6 straight wins, many thought she'd win her 7th to come here today, trying to become an octochamp on Nick's first show. However, the Blackpool Bandwagon came in and derailed Phyllis abruptly. That bandwagon of course is our very own, Jack Worsley, who will hope to become more than just a one-hit-wonder. Will he continue where he left off today, I wonder

And in Dictionary Corner, making it a magical start to 2012, is the magician who is always welcome back on the show, Paul Zenon.

So, all that leaves me to say is that Rhys will be providing the first Hewer era recap later, and I'm sure someone can take over from me for starting these spoiler threads, as I have no intention of doing them at half past midnight for 5 nights a week.

[Matt Morrison]

I'm sure someone can take over from me for starting these spoiler threads, as I have no intention of doing them at half past midnight for 5 nights a week.

Do them earlier in advance then you lazy bastard

[Keith Bennett]

From Saturday's Telegraph:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvan ... dd-up.html

Great bit of writing - not - no idea why the journalist believes it matters whether he's good at maths or not, and brilliant how he states that Hewer had never heard of Countdown, followed by a direct quote 3 lines later, “I knew of it, obviously”

But having seen his second recording day (Wednesday to Friday programmes this week) there are parts of this that make sense and needed saying. I suspect people are going to need to cut him a bit of slack for a while.

Dudley, the warm up man, was spinning this business about Wogan and Sue Barker, though not sure anyone seriously believes Sir Terry's fees would have been remotely within the Countdown budget.

I still can't work out why, having had since last May to find a new presenter, it took until November to carry out screen tests. Countdown must be fairly unusual in now having as producer and its 3 presenters people who never set out to be professional broadcasters.

It will be interesting to see how Nick is after 5 or 6 weeks, once he's got past learning the format etc. and hopefully understood the difference between the outlook of conceited, bullshitting budding apprentices and people who are just hoping to win a teapot or failing that at least avoid making a complete fool of themselves on a TV show.

[Martin Long]

TORTOISE in round 1 as DC equaller.

[Peter Mabey]

DITTANY beats DAINTY

[John Brackstone]

Megaron for an equaller

[Thomas Carey]

TRITANOPE for 9 in round 13

[Jennifer Steadman]

As you'd expect, Nick was a bit awkward, but he did pretty well considering he's ultimately a businessman and not a TV presenter. A bit stilted and some talking over Susie, but in time that'll be ironed out. The Guardian did a live blog to celebrate his first show (though they wrongly said that the first numbers round was three large when it was four).

Well played by Jack, absolutely fantastic conundrum solve. Nick was loving him ("you're a powerful man" sounded like a dodgy chat-up line from a late-night Movies4Men film, admittedly, but still made me laugh). I'm sure he'll be in the champion's seat for a while.

TRITANOPE for 9 in round 13

No longer valid

[James Doohan]

Thought TANNERIES was there in some round or other but obviously not as I seem to be the only person that spotted it. More to the point, that was almost painful to watch At least it can only get better

[Phil Reynolds]

From Saturday's Telegraph:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvan ... dd-up.html

Great bit of writing - not - no idea why the journalist believes it matters whether he's good at maths or not, and brilliant how he states that Hewer had never heard of Countdown, followed by a direct quote 3 lines later, “I knew of it, obviously”

He doesn't state that Hewer had never heard of Countdown. He questions Hewer's implication that he had never heard of Countdown, which is entirely different.

[Martin Long]

Very awkward start from Nick but there is definitely potential there. I think, in time, he will become a quick-witted, articulate Countdown host and definitely should be better than Des O'Connor and Des Lynam ever were. I really liked Jeff Stelling as host (I actually met him myself when he did a presentation at Sunderland's Stadium of Light - one of the best presentations I have seen/watched, and know him very well from his Soccer Saturday programme) and I don't think Nick will be as good but he still seems to have enough about him to keep the show watchable, unlike one or two of his predecessors.

[Innis Carson]

Thought TANNERIES was there in some round or other but obviously not as I seem to be the only person that spotted it.

Nope you're right, it was there in the TRANNIES round.

Anyway I quite liked Nick, there were a few good moments where his wit shined through the inevitable nerves. Once he gets the hang of all the formalities he should be great.

[John Douglas]

When he stops saying "good" and "well done" so much - and lightens up a bit, it was rather plodding today - I'm sure he will be very good.

[Rhys Benjamin]

Hewerwatch, Episode I

Still watching this on +1. Nick today was quite awful and I missed half of the show. If he thinks that OoW is the most fun part of the afternoon then he has some way to go. Worst Countdown episode ever, honestly. And I've been watching for 12 years now.

EDIT: Terrific!? TERRIFIC!? ARE YOU NUTS!?

Rhys will be providing the first Hewer era recap later

Will I? Didn't we have this discussion a while back? I got the impression that it had been sorted out.

[Eoin Monaghan]

Rhys, if you're gonna say something like that, then please don't post at all. It was by no means the worst episode ever. I think Nick was just fine for his first show and will certainly come into his own in the near future.

Well played Jack too.

[Tony Atkins]

Rhys will be providing the first Hewer era recap later

Will I? Didn't we have this discussion a while back? I got the impression that it had been sorted out.

And someone still needs to do the recap for December 13 and record the winner against S65 on the database.

[Ryan Taylor]

More to the point, that was almost painful to watch At least it can only get better

Didn't think it was painful in the slightest.

Nick today was quite awful and I missed half of the show. If he thinks that OoW is the most fun part of the afternoon then he has some way to go. Worst Countdown episode ever, honestly.

You remain to be the only 13(?) year old that I actively want to kick in the face with a steel toecapped boot. And then again. And again.

I lolled at his comment of it being the most fun part because he was surely being sarcastic with this remark. How can the origin of words be fun? He knew what he was doing.

He added some dry wit to the show, some nice bits of knowledge that were relevant too and wasn't at all formulaic in the way he did things. It was a different style. And a better style. Better than Jeff ever did, or Des O'Connor. Smiley faces, cheesy jokes, poor banter, boring chatter etc.

My views may be biassed in that I am a big fan of Nick Hewer, but for the first time in a long while I've actually watched an episode of Countdown from start to finish without skipping through it. And not just because it's the first show.

[Brian Moore]

Didn't think it was painful in the slightest.

This. If anything he was more relaxed than Rachel was on her first shows, and look at her now. Yes, stuff to improve (he's obviously trying to be encouraging to the contestants, even if it's not flowing naturally yet), but given the history and baggage of Countdown, I think anyone would take a while to settle in. I'll be asking my mum's opinion, as she's been watching from day 1, and will doubtless be casting judgement.

By the way, good to see you posting again, Ryan.

[Ryan Taylor]

Didn't think it was painful in the slightest.

This. If anything he was more relaxed than Rachel was on her first shows, and look at her now. Yes, stuff to improve (he's obviously trying to be encouraging to the contestants, even if it's not flowing naturally yet), but given the history and baggage of Countdown, I think anyone would take a while to settle in. I'll be asking my mum's opinion, as she's been watching from day 1, and will doubtless be casting judgement.

I quite liked his balance of encouragement. When Jack was way out in front he was like saying "powerful stuff" and "excellent" etc. Although when he was behind early on I quite liked it when Nick said he was "lagging" behind because it adds a little bit (not much) edge to the whole thing. It is a contest after all. Even if the players don't want to hear this. I also loved it in Round 12 when "Mr Tuohy" is pretty much beat and he declares a four and Nick pulls such a great face and just goes "mmm". Funny as.

By the way, good to see you posting again, Ryan.

Heh, ta. I resisted for a long time without it being a problem, mainly because I was busy. But since the Christmas vacation started and the fact that I'm not back at uni until February the allure of c4c has caught me again like a tramp on chips.

[Mark James]

Pretty much agree that Nick was decent but nervous. Definite potential though. I think the fact he has no previous hosting experience could actually work in his favour. Great performance by Jack too.

[Rob Francis]

Nick looked very nervous, but all in all a good first performance. He'll improve with time.

[Matt Morrison]

It's given me an excuse not to apply for another contract's length.
Didn't entirely hate it but the opening introductions were so awkward I had to pause and pluck up the courage to carry on.
Like I say, didn't hate it, definitely not the worst episode ever, but he's not for me.

[Jon O'Neill]

It's given me an excuse not to apply for another contract's length.
Didn't entirely hate it but the opening introductions were so awkward I had to pause and pluck up the courage to carry on.
Like I say, didn't hate it, definitely not the worst episode ever, but he's not for me.

I expect this shit from the likes of Rhys Benjamin, but not you.

[Ryan Taylor]

Didn't entirely hate it but the opening introductions were so awkward I had to pause and pluck up the courage to carry on.

Everyone will be doing this when you're on The Chase.

[Jon Corby]

It's given me an excuse not to apply for another contract's length.
Didn't entirely hate it but the opening introductions were so awkward I had to pause and pluck up the courage to carry on.
Like I say, didn't hate it, definitely not the worst episode ever, but he's not for me.

I expect this shit from the likes of Rhys Benjamin, but not you.

Let me jog your memory

I thought Nick did fine. I was expecting far worse after some of the posts from somebody who was there (apologies, can't recall who it was at the moment) but I thought. Looking back, Jeff's first shows were oddly quiet and "awkward", I have no doubt he'll be great once he gets used to everything fully.

[Brian Moore]

Let me jog your memory

Ah yes, I thought I remembered someone saying Rachel wasn't up to much. Maybe he'd been consulting Sally Morgan for looking into the future.

[Jon O'Neill]

I like this Jack guy too.

[Matt Morrison]

You lot are all so fucking awkward that you can't be trusted to have opinions on awkward people.

[Ross Allatt]

My missus, not someone who hands out plaudits indiscriminately, was immediately impressed with Nick and his introduction and I thought he did very well for someone who has had little experience (has he any?) in this sort of role. Bound to be a bit nervous first-up but I'm confident he'll come into his own.

[Graeme Cole]

I don't think Nick did badly at all. He seemed a bit stiff at times, but nothing you wouldn't expect from someone on the first day of their first presenting job. In a few weeks' time I expect he'll come across a lot more natural. I don't agree that he was treating the contestants in any way similar to Apprentice candidates, either. And well done Jack. The conundrum solve in less than half a second was impressive.

[Jon O'Neill]

Yeah, basically everything I've read in spoiler threads and a lot of this thread has turned out to be total bollocks. For his first time presenting anything, that was a top effort.

[James Robinson]

Rhys will be providing the first Hewer era recap later

Will I? Didn't we have this discussion a while back? I got the impression that it had been sorted out.

Having looked back in the recap thread, there is actually no-one booked for today's show, or all future Mondays.

So, who wants today's show.......... (Open to all, except Rhys, who certainly seems to be showing bias already.)

[Graeme Cole]

Rhys will be providing the first Hewer era recap later

Will I? Didn't we have this discussion a while back? I got the impression that it had been sorted out.

Having looked back in the recap thread, there is actually no-one booked for today's show, or all future Mondays.

So, who wants today's show.......... (Open to all, except Rhys, who certainly seems to be showing bias already.)

Why not, I'll do it if nobody else will. Although I've never recapped anything before, so everyone should feel free to hurl insults and condemn it as the worst recap ever.

[James Robinson]

Why not, I'll do it if nobody else will. Although I've never recapped anything before, so everyone should feel free to hurl insults and condemn it as the worst recap ever.

DONE

Go ahead, champion.

[James Robinson]

And someone still needs to do the recap for December 13 and record the winner against S65 on the database.

Liam is sorting that and the other ones out, ASAP.

He's been having problems, which he has informed me about.

[Jack Worsley]

Cheers all, I was happy just to win the game against a worthy challenger. The final score didn't do Brian justice as up until I spotted NEUROMA very late, there wasn't much in the game. Very disappointed not to see a couple of fairly obvious sevens in the WEALDER round such as AWARDED though but I only went for it because Brian had a seven which he seemed confident about.

Nick did make a few mistakes as we had to do loads of retakes at the end of the show, which seemed to take forever. As far as mistakes are concerned, he was much better in the second show. For someone who's never done presenting before, I thought he handled the first episode well and I think it's only fair that we give him a few weeks before we judge him. Off screen he was very friendly as he spoke to all of the contestant's that day before the games. It's early days but I think he'll do fine.

[Charlie Reams]

Rhys will be providing the first Hewer era recap later

Will I? Didn't we have this discussion a while back? I got the impression that it had been sorted out.

And someone still needs to do the recap for December 13 and record the winner against S65 on the database.

You're welcome.

[Michael Wallace]

Thought he was pretty good. Obviously a bit awkward with the mechanics of the thing, but given that he's apparently not a regular viewer and (as far as I know) has never actually hosted a TV show, that's not too surprising. What's important is that his banter was great, and the boring mechanics of the game will just be a matter of time to get practised at. Pretty encouraging all in I reckon.

[James Robinson]

I suppose it's only fair that I give some feedback too.

Been looking forward to this debut for weeks now. The unsurprising early nerves which are common for newbies was there to see, but unlike Jeff's debut, when he did a CoC, Nick had to do a regular preliminary, so had to be the guide, whereas he had to be the reassuring presence for Brian, and to a lesser extent, Jack too. He did cope well and I'm sure that with time, he'll be flawless in the job.

I also quite liked the fact that he ended with "Good afternoon", as opposed to "Goodbye" or "See you later", etc. Quite a nice touch.

Oh, and well done, Jack. After that start, I was fearing the worst almost, but once you solved that 1st numbers, my worries had gone.

[Graeme Cole]

Why not, I'll do it if nobody else will. Although I've never recapped anything before, so everyone should feel free to hurl insults and condemn it as the worst recap ever.

DONE

And done.

The big bold link in the recap writer saying "Important: Add to CDB database" is a bit of a stumbling block though. Series 66 doesn't appear in the drop-down list, and if I manually change s=65 to s=66 in the URL I'm taken to another page from where presumably you actually submit the summary information to CDB. And there's no series 66 in the drop-down list on there either. The list of presenters doesn't have Nick Hewer in it yet, and my name isn't in the list of recappers anyway, so I've decided to leave that alone for now.

[Brian Moore]

Here's my soon-to-be-79-year-old mum's verdict: "The jury's out on Nick Hewer. Certainly he was stiff. Trying too hard I think. But then so was Jeff to start with, so I expect he'll settle down. He had quite a hard act to follow, so I shall give him the benefit of the doubt for now." But then mum's been a bit of a Jeff fangirl, so this is looking like quite a positive thumbs-up, considering. On balance, I think I might end up preferring him to Jeff.

[Andy Wilson]

You lot are all so fucking awkward that you can't be trusted to have opinions on awkward people.

Yeah, you netizens. Pah.

New title sequence was funky. Kind of felt like i'd changed my screensaver or something. Good man Nick. Very good.

[Lesley Hines]

netizens

Actually, that was about the only bit that pissed me off. I always enjoy OoW - usually a nice combo of social history and language - but I was proper narked he was bemoaning new words coming in. I think that's an awesome part of language. Still, lots of people can't cope with change like that. Loads of dozy purists / elitists seem to think new words are wrong.

Otherwise, nice start. I thought it was endearing he was a bit nervous, liked that he threw in a personal anecdote where it was appropriate, enjoyed the way he interacted with the contestants and other presenters and did all round good stuff. He did seem to be reading from the script a bit with the TTTs, but I guess that's just practice. Jeff always used the time in the breaks (in the few recordings I've been to) to perfect that kinda stuff so the fluency'll improve with time. Bloody awesome for a newbie presenter, really (I know it's edited but still fair play). And they say you can't teach an old dog new tricks.

[Jon Corby]

Actually, that was about the only bit that pissed me off. I always enjoy OoW - usually a nice combo of social history and language - but I was proper narked he was bemoaning new words coming in. I think that's an awesome part of language. Still, lots of people can't cope with change like that. Loads of dozy purists / elitists seem to think new words are wrong.

I didn't really take it like that - he said he accepted that language evolved - I think he just thought "netizen" was a shit word and he was surprised it had made it into the dictionary. And I'm with him totally on that, I've certainly never used the word, had cause to use, wanted a word with that meaning, and I'm fairly sure I've not seen it anywhere other than the ODE.

[Brian Moore]

I didn't really take it like that - he said he accepted that language evolved - I think he just thought "netizen" was a shit word and he was surprised it had made it into the dictionary. And I'm with him totally on that, I've certainly never used the word, had cause to use, wanted a word with that meaning, and I'm fairly sure I've not seen it anywhere other than the ODE.

This. I like the fact that English evolves, but that shouldn't stop us having opinions on new words. My pet hates are these compound neologisms which seem to get trotted out regularly, but which seem only to exist because someone thinks they are clever, not because they have any real use. The Oxford Corpus seems to pick up these silly words but miss less headline-grabbing but more ubiquitous ones.

[Adam Gillard]

I agree with Brion Moorby. Neologisms are an integral part of any language, but some recent ones seem to have been invented just because they make a nice portmanteau, rather than to enrich the lexicon.

[Martin Gardner]

Rhys, if you're gonna say something like that, then please don't post at all. It was by no means the worst episode ever. I think Nick was just fine for his first show and will certainly come into his own in the near future.

Well played Jack too.

Oh come on, just because you don't agree with him doesn't he shouldn't post it at all.

I thought Nick was not very good, but I also remember Jeff was very conservative when he started. I'm confident that Nick will get the hang of it sooner or later. Sooner, we hope.

[Julie T]

I agree with Brion Moorby. Neologisms are an integral part of any language, but some recent ones seem to have been invented just because they make a nice portmanteau, rather than to enrich the lexicon.

Reminds me of an article in the Times by Carol Midgley "Why the latest neologisms are for numbskulls" which I managed to rootle out. It ends with the magnificent:

"Does a lardy man have “love mandles”? If he’s worried, is he “manxious”? If he’s odd, is he a “manomaly”? It’s not as if it will make men think, “I’d never considered this before, but now I might buy some manscara.” Women hardly rushed to buy the Femidom, did they?

Still, in fairness, there is one beaut. It’s not very PC, but if anyone has a more succinct phrase to describe a straight man who attracts gay males than “manny fagnet”, then please write in without delay."

Congratulations Jack, and a good start for Nick. Nick's bound to relax a bit after a few shows, and he still managed to get in some witticisms. A refreshing change from Jeff's smarmy slickness.

[Richard Priest]

SPADILLE in round 4.

I thought he did OK - a little stilted as has already been said, but very understandable in the circumstances. I liked how he talked to the contestants more or less straight away during the intros, whereas Jeff used to talk about them almost as though they weren't there until finally engaging them in a conversation. Opinions will naturally vary and I just hope the general public will be lenient and allow him time to settle in.

[Mark James]

I liked how he talked to the contestants more or less straight away during the intros, whereas Jeff used to talk about them almost as though they weren't there until finally engaging them in a conversation.

Yep, I liked that too. I just realised as well, he looks and sounds a bit like Tony Kendall a.k.a. Teekay from the Sky poker channel. Now he would have made a great host. But I still reckon there's definitely something about Nick that will continue to grow on me. I loved how he wanted to try catch the cards again. I thought that was a good moment.