Friday 25 March 2011 (Series 64, Prelim 50)

[Mike Brown]

Countdown recap for Friday 25 March 2011 (Series 64, Prelim 50).

C1: Challenger Rhonda Holden.
C2: Challenger Jan Noone.
DC: Susie Dent and Donal MacIntyre.
RR: Rachel Riley.
OT: Other words or solutions.

It’s Friday once more and it’s time for Jeff and Rachel’s 501st edition of Countdown (or is it only their 496th? – you decide). Following the departure of Andy McGurn (until the finals, anyway), it’s one of those days that sees two new challengers in the studio and this time it’s the turn of Rhonda Holden, who hails from Bolton, which used to be in Lancashire, and Jan Noone, who is from Lancashire, but exactly where is not revealed. Rhonda is evidently Irish and has a husband who snores a lot and she seems liable to kill him in his sleep one day if he doesn’t stop snoring (more of which later), while Jan is a finance director of a flooring company that hasn’t been doing quite so well since the recession bit – a familiar story to many of us. Well, with all of that out of the way, let’s crack on!

R01: T C A O G I N M E
R02: P T A E R X I K S
R03: N E D V J O A F I
R04: R U T D E L I Q N
R05: 25, 50, 8, 4, 2, 2. Target: 888.
TTT: HONEYPET - "It's not about food, but it is about a starter."
R06: R O I G B A W S R
R07: P L E O D A S T I
R08: R C E A L R I D S
R09: T D N A O Y E N O
R10: 25, 4, 10, 2, 3, 10. Target: 365.
TTT: HATOMRAN - "Ha! Tom ran, and it wasn't a sprint."
R11: C N T I E R I B T
R12: M N U O T H E W U
R13: S F G R O I E S O
R14: 75, 10, 4, 10, 9, 7. Target: 432.
R15: N A T I V E L E T (conundrum)

Countdown is sponsored on this occasion by Vitabiotics Wellman.

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Jeff’s opening subject today is car boot sales and he manages to insult his wife quite comprehensively. It’s all right though, he says, because she goes out on Friday afternoons and won’t see the programme!

Round 1: T C A O G I N M E

C1: COATING (7)
C2: COATING (7)
DC: GEOMANTIC (18)
Score: 7–7 (max 18)

A great opener from Dictionary Corner. GEOMATIC and MAGNETIC wouldn’t have been bad for eight, either, and our contestants don’t have too bad a start with seven apiece.

Round 2: P T A E R X I K S

C1: PASTIER (7)
C2: EXTRAS (6)
DC: PARKIEST (8)
Score: 14–7 (max 26)

It may have warmed up a bit over the past few days, but Donal and Susie are obviously feeling the cold as they offer a chilly (and darrenic) eight.

Round 3: N E D V J O A F I

C1: INVADE (6)
C2: FIEND (5)
DC: FEIJOA (6)
OT: ADJOIN (6) JOINED (6)
Score: 20–7 (max 32)

Rhonda is starting to build a lead, while Susie offers a word that may be familiar to some regular viewers.

Round 4: R U T D E L I Q N

C1: TURN (4)
C2: QUIET (5)
DC: UNDERLIT (8) QUIRTED (7) QUILTED (7) (JS)
Score: 20–12 (max 40)

DC may be offering UNDERLIT, but they’re certainly shining today with another eight and yet another darren. Susie defines QUIRTED – which means to hit with a short-handled riding whip with a braided leather lash - by saying that it’s “what Rhonda might like to do to her husband”. Obviously, she’s referring to the snoring comments made earlier, but it’s funny, nevertheless.

Round 5: 25, 50, 8, 4, 2, 2. Target: 888.

C1: -
C2: 898. (4x25x8)+(50x2)-2 (5)
RR: 888. (50+25-(2/2))x(8+4) (10)
Score: 20–17 (max 50)

Jan does well to get within ten and recovers to within three points at the close of Part One.

Donal concludes his week of anecdotes with some tales of the jobs he did before becoming an investigative journalist – one of which was (to the amusement of his family and friends) being a turkey plucker. ‘Nuff said.

Teatime teaser: HONEYPET -> NEOPHYTE

Unusually, Jeff starts Part Two by saying that the game could go “any way”, rather than his more usual “either way”. Actually, there aren’t that many ways it could go!

Round 6: R O I G B A W S R

C1: BARROWS (7)
C2: BRAGS (5)
DC: BARROWS (7)
OT: BARRIOS (7)
Score: 27–17 (max 57)

Round 7: P L E O D A S T I

C1: PEDALOS (7)
C2: STAPLED (7)
DC: TADPOLES (8) DIASTOLE (8)
OT: DIOPTASE (8) ELASIPOD (8) ISOLATED (8) PETALOID (8) SODALITE (8)
Score: 34–24 (max 65)

Lots of lovely eights, but sadly no nine, even with the help of the shiny new ODE3.

Round 8: R C E A L R I D S

C1: CLEARS (6)
C2: CARRIED (7)
DC: SIDECAR (7) CARDIES (7)
OT: RADICLES (8)
Score: 34–31 (max 73)

For the first time today, everyone misses the darren.

Round 9: T D N A O Y E N O

C1: ATONED (6)
C2: DOYEN (5)
DC: TANNOYED (8)
Score: 40–31 (max 81)

DC are proud to announce the arrival of their son Darren via the public address system. And the game could still go either (or perhaps any) way.

OoW: Susie discusses (in a very short “Origin of Words”) the roots of the expression “bane of your life” and the word “bugbear”.

Round 10: 25, 4, 10, 2, 3, 10. Target: 365.

C1: 365. (25x(10+4))+10+3+2 (10)
C2: 364.
Score: 50–31 (max 91)

This time it’s Rhonda’s turn to score on the numbers and it gives her the largest lead of the show so far.

Teatime teaser: HATOMRAN -> MARATHON

Round 11: C N T I E R I B T

C1: BITTER (6)
C2: BITTIER (7)
DC: BITTERN (7)
OT: CITRINE (7) CITTERN (7) INCITER (7) NERITIC (7) NITRITE (7)
Score: 50–38 (max 98)

Local fact (if you live in Norfolk): the Bittern Line runs between Norwich and the coastal town of Sheringham, where you can buy very nice ice creams (also a fact).

Round 12: M N U O T H E W U

C1: MOUTH (5)
C2: MOUNT (5)
DC: WOMEN (5)
OT: MENTO (5) METHO (5) MONTE (5) MONTH (5) MUTON (5) NOTUM (5) UNMET (5)
Score: 55–43 (max 103)

Yawn.

Round 13: S F G R O I E S O

C1: FOREGO (6)
C2: gorsier
DC: FORGOES (7) GOOFIER (7)
OT: ROOFIES (7)
Score: 61–43 (max 110)

A double blob from Jan seals the result in Rhonda’s favour. Also interesting to note that GORSY is no longer in the ODE (GORSIER and GORSIEST were already verboten).

Round 14: 75, 10, 4, 10, 9, 7. Target: 432.

C1: 431. ((10-4)x75)-10-9 (7)
C2: -
RR: 432. ((4x7)+10+10)x9 (10)
Score: 68–43 (max 120)

Round 15: N A T I V E L E T

C1 buzzes on 29.75 seconds to say LEVITANT which is incorrect.
C2 does not buzz.
The answer was VENTILATE.
Final Score: 68–43 (max 130)

With just the final beat of the clock remaining, Rhonda thinks she’ll have a wild guess, but sadly it’s just that and Jan gets the rest of the time (ho ho) to say... precisely nothing. Lots of people in the audience have the answer and one likely lad near the front gets the chance to tell Jeff what it is. Well done him and well done to Rhonda. Not a bad game to end the week. And what will happen next week when Paul Zenon pops up once more in Dictionary Corner? As Harry Hill often says (except on this occasion there’s no fighting), there’s only one way to find out. See you in a week’s time for some British Summer Time Friday Recap Fun.

Further summaries are at:
http://www.apterous.org/cdb/series.php?series=64