Still, enjoy, while it's still legible.
Countdown recap for Wednesday 29 June 2011.
C1: Champion Andrew Halliburton (3 wins, 276 points.) An Apterite from Dundee. One of his ambitions is to become a journalist, and currently writes in a fanzine for Dundee F.C.. He also won the Dux Award, which he got given for the best amassed grades during his 5th year at high school.
C2: Challenger Barry Evans. An Apterite from Nottingham. He works as a junior doctor at the Queen's Medical Centre. He did voluntary work in South Africa helping with medical work and teaching English to refugees. His hero is his grandmother, who helped him in life by forcing him to watch Countdown till he learned his letters and arithmetic.
DC: Susie Dent, the former wine bar worker and Michael Vaughan, the former paperboy.
RR: Rachel Riley, the former sandwich bar waitress, jeweller, call centre girl, engineer, bank clerk and Southend United employee (presumably in charge of the strip.
)OT: Other words or solutions.
R01: S N D E I O P H T
R02: N R I E P D G O S
R03: T L P I O E V G A
R04: T S R C E U I L S
R05: 50, 75, 25, 9, 4, 8. Target: 601.
TTT: DIRESOAP - "They sound like imitations of Vanessa"
R06: T C R N A E O G W
R07: L M T A U A S T E
R08: U E K C M I J R D
R09: W L Y U E A F Q D
R10: 100, 50, 75, 3, 5, 1. Target: 725.
TTT: DASHPLEA - "So you've lost your hair, don't beat yourself up about it"
R11: F N S I A U T R O
R12: M S D R I E A O R
R13: E I E N T B D U X
R14: 50, 100, 2, 6, 4, 1. Target: 355.
R15: S O S I N C E R E (conundrum)
And now a brief interlude before our main feature:
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
Enjoy the show.
Round 1: S N D E I O P H T
C1: PHONIES (7)
C2: POINTED (7)
DC: HEDONIST (8) PHONIEST (8)
OT: SIPHONED (8) SPHENOID (8)
Score: 7–7 (max 8)
2 nice 7's from the contestants, followed by 2 nice 8's from DC, followed by 2 definitions of 8's by me.
SIPHONED is a verb meaning to convey, draw, or pass through or as if through a siphon, a tube or conduit bent into legs of unequal length.
SPHENOID simply means wedge-shaped.
Round 2: N R I E P D G O S
C1: springed
C2: pidgeons
DC: PIGEONS (7) SPONGIER (8) DEPOSING (8)
OT: PRISONED (8) REPOSING (8)
Score: 7–7 (max 16)
Oh dear, both the contestants mess up with their 8's here. Andrew can only be sprung, and Barry unnecessarily added the D to his PIGEONS.........
Round 3: T L P I O E V G A
C1: PILOTAGE (8)
C2: VIOLET (6)
DC: PIVOTAL (7) VIOLATE (7)
Score: 15–7 (max 24)
After that last round, Andrew bounces (or should that be SPRINGED
) back into action with his darrenic 8.Round 4: T S R C E U I L S
C1: CLUSTERS (8)
C2: CURLIEST (8)
DC: CRUSTIES (8)
OT: CITRUSES (8) CURTSIES (8) RICTUSES (8) SURLIEST (8) UTRICLES (8)
Score: 23–15 (max 32)
A flat 8 round, don't get many of those nowadays. Pancakes all round.
A RICTUS is the gape of the mouth of a bird.
Round 5: 50, 75, 25, 9, 4, 8. Target: 601.
C1: 600.
C2: 601. (8 x 75) - ((50 / 25) x 4) + 9 (10)
Score: 23–25 (max 42)
Oh dear, Andrew's 3 large that had been so loyal to him in previous episodes backfires on him spectacularly, meaning Barry will have the lead as we head into the break.
Michael talks about when he knew it was time to retire from first-class cricket and sit up in the commentary box with Aggers, Tuffers, Blowers and Boycott.
Teatime teaser: DIRESOAP -> PARODIES
Round 6: T C R N A E O G W
C1: ORNATE (6)
C2: CANTER (6)
DC: COGNATE (7)
OT: ENACTOR (7) NEGATOR (7) WAGONER (7)
Score: 29–31 (max 49)
Nice 6's for the contestants and a nicer 7 from DC.
Round 7: L M T A U A S T E
C1: MALTASE (7)
C2: AMULETS (7)
DC: TAMALES (7)
OT: MALATES (7) MATATUS (7) MULETAS (7) MUTATES (7)
Score: 36–38 (max 56)
7's all round here.
A MALATE is a salt or ester of malic acid.
A MULETA is a red cloth similar to, but smaller than a capa and manipulated by a stick set into one of the three holes in or near the centre, for use by a matador in guiding the course of the bull's attack in the stage of the fight preparatory to the kill.
Round 8: U E K C M I J R D
C1: MUCKIER (7)
C2: MUCKIER (7)
DC: DUCK (4)
Score: 43–45 (max 63)
The darren is got by the contestants, as Michael reminisces with a score he probably got a few times with Yorkshire and England.
Round 9: W L Y U E A F Q D
C1: FLAWED (6)
C2: FLAWED (6)
DC: FLAYED (6) FEUDAL (6)
OT: WAULED (6)
Score: 49–51 (max 69)
6 is the best, better than all the rest!
OK, I'm sure Tina Turner made it sound better...
Susie's Origins Of Words talks about some words that come from the works of William Shakespeare, such as "green-eyed monster" and "in a pickle".
Round 10: 100, 50, 75, 3, 5, 1. Target: 725.
C1: 725. ((5 + 3 + 1) x 75) + 50 (10)
C2: 725. ((100 + 50) x 5) - (75 / 3) (10)
Score: 59–61 (max 79)
So, so many ways to get 725. ((5 + 3) x 100) - 75 just proves my point methinks.
Teatime teaser: DASHPLEA -> SLAPHEAD
Round 11: F N S I A U T R O
C1: RAINOUTS (8)
C2: RAINOUTS (8)
Score: 67–69 (max 87)
Double darren time.
Round 12: M S D R I E A O R
C1: MARRIED (7)
C2: MARRIED (7)
DC: MARRIEDS (8) ADMIRERS (8)
RR: ARMOIRES (8)
OT: AIRDROMES (18)
Score: 74–76 (max 105)
Double
time. But, DC miss the darrenic 9 
Round 13: E I E N T B D U X
C1: BUNTED (6)
C2: UNITED (6)
OT: DETINUE (7)
Score: 80–82 (max 112)
Another missed darren, but Andrew and Barry haven't missed too much today, and this game is heading towards a crucial conundrum.
Round 14: 50, 100, 2, 6, 4, 1. Target: 355.
C1: 355. (4 x 100) - 50 + 6 - 1 (10)
C2: 355. ((6 / 2) x 100) + 50 + 4 + 1 (10)
Score: 90–92 (max 122)
And the numbers doesn't separate them, so a crucial it is. I wonder if it'll be like Andrew's previous encounter with a crucial conundrum back last Friday, when he was literally a quarter of a second away from doom........
Round 15: S O S I N C E R E
C1 buzzes on 7.5 seconds to say RECESSION which is correct.
Final Score: 100–92 (max 132)
Not this time, as he only needed a quarter of the time to solve it, making a very unfortunate Barry another victim of the RECESSION.
It was a very impressive game by both and Barry was definitely very unfortunate to be up against Andrew, especially as he probably would've won on just about any other day.
But, Andrew has shown off with another very good display today, in another high-scoring matchup, which has got him his half-octochampdom status.
Join me tomorrow to see if he can make it 5 in a row.
Till then, bye bye.
Statistics Corner
Andrew:
Total score - 100
Raw score - 107
Total % of max - 76
Raw % of max - 81
Total average score per round - 6.7
Raw average score per round - 7.1
Number of maxes - 9
Barry:
Total score - 92
Raw score - 98
Total % of max - 70
Raw % of max - 74
Total average score per round - 6.1
Raw average score per round - 6.5
Number of maxes - 8
Further summaries are at:
http://www.apterous.org/cdb/series.php?series=65
