Countdown recap for Friday 13 August 2021.
It's Alfred Hitchcock's birthday. Rachel says she's grown out of scary films.
C1: Champion Matt Gould (5 wins, 410 points.)
C2: Challenger Jimmy Downing. "Very, very good-looking", says Anne. He has a twin brother called Tom. Lives in Newcastle, born in Nottingham. Project manager in telecoms industry in the DCMS. Susie says he reminds her of someone.
DC: Susie Dent and Nina Wadia.
RR: Rachel Riley.
OT: Other words or solutions.
R01: P T S G A O A U E
R02: S A D E K E M I F
R03: 75, 25, 8, 7, 3, 4. Target: 541.
TTT: ANTTORSO - "They write things down and forego the spuds."
R04: R O T R O S U Y A
R05: N R T I A E L G S
R06: 100, 2, 6, 5, 3, 5. Target: 842.
R07: P D V R I E U I N
R08: L A T E B H E G O
R09: 25, 6, 3, 5, 3, 4. Target: 762.
TTT: GENTNUTS - "He didn't have balls of steel, they were made of something else."
R10: T A R U S E L E M
R11: D N R S I E A D E
R12: M I T O S E L C E
R13: P H R T I U I E B
R14: 25, 3, 4, 5, 8, 3. Target: 539.
R15: U N F R I N G E D (conundrum)
And now a brief interlude before our main feature:
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Enjoy the show.
Round 1: P T S G A O A U E
Matt: POGUES (6)
Jimmy: OUTAGES (7)
DC: UPSTAGE (7) POSTAGE (7) POTAGES (7) GATEAUS (7) (from RR)
OT: AUTOGAS (7)
Score: 0–7 (max 7, jos 7)
Darren-o-meter: 0/1 (0%)
The good-looking one gets us underway with an early lead.
Round 2: S A D E K E M I F
Matt: MISFEED (7)
Jimmy: FAKED (5)
OT: DEFAMIES (8)
Score: 7–7 (max 15, jos 14)
Darren-o-meter: 1/2 (50%)
Matt hits back immediately with MISFEED, which is when you get a paper jam in a printer. No chance for DC to say whether they got the 8 or not.
Round 3: 75, 25, 8, 7, 3, 4. Target: 541.
Matt: 542. (75 + 3) × 7 − 4 (7)
Jimmy: 542 (not written down). 75 × 7 + 25 − 8 (7)
RR: 541. 75 × 7 + 25 − 8 − (4 − 3) (10)
Score: 14–14 (max 25, jos 24)
7 points each here, and Rachel kicks Jimmy in the teeth by pointing out a 1 was easily makeable.
Teatime teaser: ANTTORSO -> NOTATORS
Round 4: R O T R O S U Y A
Matt: SORRY (5)
Jimmy: ROTARY (6)
DC: OUTROARS (8)
Score: 14–20 (max 33, jos 32)
Darren-o-meter: 2/3 (67%)
Jimmy takes the lead for the second time by seeing a six, whilst DC make it to the darrenic 8.
Round 5: N R T I A E L G S
Matt: RELATING (8)
Jimmy: STALING (7)
DC: TRIANGLES (18)
OT: GNARLIEST (18) INTEGRALS (18)
Score: 22–20 (max 51, jos 50)
Darren-o-meter: 2/4 (50%)
A trio of nines here, which all go begging as the contestants are only on 8 and 7.
Round 6: 100, 2, 6, 5, 3, 5. Target: 842.
Matt: 842. (6 + 2) × (100 + 5) + 5 − 3 (10)
Jimmy: 842. (6 + 2) × (100 + 5) + 5 − 3 (10)
Score: 32–30 (max 61, jos 60)
Not quite Ariana (as in Ariane Grande - "thank u, next") level, but easy enough.
Nina only gets 814 on the numbers game, but she is doing rather better on Sunday Morning Live. She enjoys television presenting, and both Anne and Nina bitch about how hard it is to do so! They then talk about lack of employment for older women, and Nina says it depends on the character description. Nina thinks things are changing, but doing so slowly. Then, Nina talks about her skin care routine. Unlike Anne, she hasn't had any work done. Incidentally, I like the glasses with the thinner rims Anne has been wearing this week. It has made her look 15 years younger.
Round 7: P D V R I E U I N
Matt: DRIVEN (6)
Jimmy: UNDER (5)
DC: DIVINE (6) DIVINER (7)
OT: PERUVIN (7) UNRIPED (7) URIDINE (7)
Score: 38–30 (max 68, jos 67)
Darren-o-meter: 2/5 (40%)
Matt extends his lead with six points, whilst leaving one point on the table.
Round 8: L A T E B H E G O
Matt: GOBLET (6)
Jimmy: GELATO (6)
DC: belate OBLATE (6)
OT: HELOTAGE (8)
Score: 44–36 (max 76, jos 73)
Darren-o-meter: 3/6 (50%)
Sixes all around, which the computer laughs in the face of.
Round 9: 25, 6, 3, 5, 3, 4. Target: 762.
Matt: 762. 6 × 5 × 25 + 4 × 3 (10)
Jimmy: 762. 6 × 5 × 25 + 4 × 3 (10)
Score: 54–46 (max 86, jos 83)
Ariana.
Teatime teaser: GENTNUTS -> TUNGSTEN
Round 10: T A R U S E L E M
Matt: MEASURE (7)
Jimmy: RUSTLE (6)
DC: malteser maltese EMULATES (8)
OT: METARULES (18)
Score: 61–46 (max 104, jos 91)
Darren-o-meter: 4/7 (57%)
Nina is stuck on her chocolate fantasy, whereas Matt is able to extend his lead further. A nine goes begging.
Round 11: D N R S I E A D E
Matt: SARDINE (7) (stick with; rejected SARDINED)
Jimmy: SARDINE (7)
DC: SARDINED (8) NEARSIDE (8)
OT: ARSENIDE (8) DEADRISE (8) SIDEREAN (8)
Score: 68–53 (max 112, jos 99)
Darren-o-meter: 4/8 (50%)
Susie suggests Jimmy may have rejected SARDINED too, but he didn't say "stick with", and Matt mumbled "yeah" when Susie suggested it.
Susie gets an email from Max Welsman on the meaning of the word husbandry. Surprisingly, it's not related to husband; but then again, husband hasn't always related to marriage anyway.
Round 12: M I T O S E L C E
Matt: MOLEST (6)
Jimmy: CLOSET (6)
DC: COMELIEST (18)
Score: 74–59 (max 130, jos 117)
Darren-o-meter: 5/9 (56%)
A superlative Shakespearean term from Nina Wadia in her penultimate letters round for now, as Matt is MOLESTing whilst Jimmy is stuck in the CLOSET. Don't take that out of context.
Round 13: P H R T I U I E B
Matt: PITHIER (7) (not written down)
Jimmy: BRUTE (5)
DC: burpee (phantom E)
Score: 81–59 (max 137, jos 124)
Darren-o-meter: 6/10 (60%)
A lovely darren from Matt which gets him over the line. Jimmy's only on five.
Round 14: 25, 3, 4, 5, 8, 3. Target: 539.
Matt: 539. (25 × 4 + 8) × 5 − 3 ÷ 3 (10)
Jimmy: 545.
Score: 91–59 (max 147, jos 137)
And Matt extends his lead by 10 points, perhaps making his victory look more dominant than it was.
Round 15: U N F R I N G E D
Matt buzzes on 21.5 seconds to say REFUNDING which is correct.
Final Score: 101–59 (max 157, jos 147)
As absolutely everything in Countdonia can be tenuously linked to something else, this is extremely similar to my one and only conundrum solve on the show. Indeed, 7 of the letters are identical, and my thought process when solving this was the same as it was back then too.
Anyway, best of luck to everyone going to Co-Blackpool tomorrow. Don't have too much fun without me.
Join us again for Countdown. Goodbye.
Further summaries are at:
http://cdb.apterous.org/series.php?series=84
