Thursday 24th June 2021 (Series 83, Second Semi Final)
Posted: Thu Jun 24, 2021 10:39 pm
It's a second semi final. Two semis are better than one, right? I am ever so slightly drunk, so this will be the best recap you've ever seen...
Countdown recap for Thursday 24 June 2021.
Nick opens with the famous Wimbledon tennis match that went on forever, and makes a tenuous link to Countdown and the semi final. And then Rachel makes an even more tenuous link to vegan roast dinners.
C1: #2 seed James Burley (9 wins, 919 points.)
C2: #3.5 seed Adam Latchford (9 wins, 831 points.)
Nick points out that James scored 100 in his QF and Adam 99. Doesn't mention their overall totals, as that wouldn't play into that narrative!
DC: Susie Dent and Rufus Hound.
RR: Rachel Riley.
OT: Other words or solutions.
R01: N P Y W I O E C E
R02: R S S L U D A I O
R03: 75, 3, 1, 9, 3, 9. Target: 357.
TTT: BOBREADS - "Bob reads his new book all day; he simply can't put it down."
R04: P D V M A I O T G
R05: S K P E E U F N M
R06: 100, 50, 25, 75, 1, 1. Target: 546.
R07: H T L S O E O R O
R08: P W T G R A U E L
R09: 4, 6, 2, 10, 9, 5. Target: 215.
TTT: SLAPRATE - "They slap each other around at a good rate here."
R10: D B S E U E N T R
R11: F T M N A I E I H
R12: Z M G C L A A U E
R13: B L S C O A I E D
R14: 100, 6, 3, 8, 10, 9. Target: 184.
R15: S A T E D I B L E (conundrum)
And now a brief interlude before our main feature:
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Enjoy the show.
Round 1: N P Y W I O E C E
James: peonic (try)
Adam: peonic (try)
DC: PIECEY (6) WINCEY (6)
OT: PEICEN (6) PIECEN (6) PONCEY (6) WICOPY (6)
Score: 0–0 (max 6, jos 6)
Darren-o-meter: 0/1 (0%)
Oh. Not a great start here, as both contestants try and fail a six.
Round 2: R S S L U D A I O
James: RADIOUS (7)
Adam: SAILORS (7) (stick with)
DC: LAIRDS (6) DORSAL (6)
OT: DULOSIS (7) SARDIUS (7) SOLIDUS (7)
Score: 7–7 (max 13, jos 13)
Darren-o-meter: 0/2 (0%)
Adam sticks with 7, and it's the right decision as both contestants get off the mark.
Round 3: 75, 3, 1, 9, 3, 9. Target: 357.
James: -
Adam: 357. (75 + 9 + 3) × (3 + 1) + 9 (10)
Score: 7–17 (max 23, jos 23)
This is not an easy numbers round but even so James should really have found something either side of 10 here.
Teatime teaser: BOBREADS -> ABSORBED
Round 4: P D V M A I O T G
James: ADMIT (5)
Adam: MATIPO (6)
DC: PIVOT (5) VAPID (5) PODIA (5) DIATOM (6)
OT: MOVIDA (6) OPTIMA (6) PIGDOM (6)
Score: 7–23 (max 29, jos 29)
Darren-o-meter: 0/3 (0%)
Adam extends the lead with a six, one of several available but James doesn't see them.
Round 5: S K P E E U F N M
James: FUMES (5)
Adam: SPUNK (5) (stick with)
DC: PUKES (5) PUNKS (5) NUKES (5) UNMEEK (6)
OT: MUSKEN (6) NEUMES (6) PENSUM (6)
Score: 12–28 (max 35, jos 35)
Darren-o-meter: 0/4 (0%)
Adam sticks with 5 and we are not asked for what he was thinking of, which is probably for the best as there's only four fairly obscure sixes available.
Round 6: 100, 50, 25, 75, 1, 1. Target: 546.
James: 550. (not written down)
Adam: 549. (75 − 50 + 1) × 25 − 100 − 1 (7)
Score: 12–35 (max 42, jos 42)
Adam goes for 4 large, which is an odd decision given the scoreline, but it works as he gets 3 away on an impossible numbers game. The two 1s being the problem here. Obviously.
Rufus gives us yet another poem, but to be honest I lost interest in this one fairly quickly.
Round 7: H T L S O E O R O
James: HOOTERS (7)
Adam: SHOOTER (7)
DC: TOOLERS (7) RETOOLS (7)
OT: SLOOTHER (8)
Score: 19–42 (max 50, jos 49)
Darren-o-meter: 1/5 (20%)
Susie misses the darren, as do our contestants who anagram themselves into sevens.
Round 8: P W T G R A U E L
James: PLAGUE (6) (stick with - rejected PLAGUER)
Adam: GAWPER (6)
DC: PLAGUER (7) GRAUPEL (7)
OT: EARPLUG (7) TRAGULE (7)
Score: 25–48 (max 57, jos 56)
Darren-o-meter: 1/6 (17%)
James rejects PLAGUER, which was in the dictionary, and he may live to regret that.
Round 9: 4, 6, 2, 10, 9, 5. Target: 215.
James: 215. (9 × 2 + 4) × 10 − 5 (10)
Adam: 215. (9 + 6 + 4 + 2) × 10 + 5 (10)
Score: 35–58 (max 67, jos 66)
James does the only thing he can do and gets a fairly easy numbers game, sadly for him. Adam dances his way through the clock...!
Teatime teaser: SLAPRATE -> PALESTRA
Round 10: D B S E U E N T R
James: underbets (try)
Adam: underbets (try)
DC: BUNTERS (7) BURNED (6)
OT: DENTURES (8) SEDERUNT (8) UNDERSET (8) UNRESTED (8)
Score: 35–58 (max 75, jos 73)
Darren-o-meter: 1/7 (14%)
For the second time, one leads the other down a garden path and there is a no score. Eights go unnoticed, and strangely Rufus beats Susie, who's stuck on 6.
Round 11: F T M N A I E I H
James: HITMAN (6)
Adam: FAMINE (6)
DC: INMATE (6) THIAMINE (8)
Score: 41–64 (max 83, jos 81)
Darren-o-meter: 2/8 (25%)
Sixes for our contestants, and an obscure eight for Susie.
Susie gets an email from Sam Gore asking about the origin of female make-up products' names. Mascara comes from Italian and, further back still, "buffoon". Alcohol is derived from eyeliner via Arabic and kohl. So basically, wine is made out of eyeliner. Or eyeliner is made out of wine. Or something.
Round 12: Z M G C L A A U E
James: MACULA (6) (try)
Adam: GAUZE (5)
DC: MACULAE (7)
Score: 47–64 (max 90, jos 88)
Darren-o-meter: 3/9 (33%)
James kicks himself as he could have added an E onto his word to get one extra point, but I'm not sure one point helps too much here.
Round 13: B L S C O A I E D
James: COALISED (8) (not written down)
Adam: COALISED (8)
DC: SOCIABLE (8)
OT: CABILDOS (8)
Score: 55–72 (max 98, jos 96)
Darren-o-meter: 3/10 (30%)
James and Adam are level on the same word here, and now it's down to the final two rounds.
Round 14: 100, 6, 3, 8, 10, 9. Target: 184.
James: 184. 9 × 10 + 100 − 6 (10)
Adam: 184. 10 × 6 + 8 × 3 + 100 (10)
Score: 65–82 (max 108, jos 106)
Adam does the only thing he can and goes 1 large, and it pays off handsomely with an easy game to get our number 3.5 seed into the final!
Round 15: S A T E D I B L E
James buzzes on 18.5 seconds to say SIBELATED which is incorrect.
Adam buzzes on 29.75 seconds to say LABIESTED which is incorrect.
The answer was TABLESIDE.
Final Score: 65–82 (max 118, jos 116)
One comedy conundrum later (a VERY good one, by the way) and we're through the second semi final. Just one more Hewer edition to go and by this time tomorrow we will have a new winner of Countdown.
Join us tomorrow.
Further summaries are at:
http://cdb.apterous.org/series.php?series=83
Countdown recap for Thursday 24 June 2021.
Nick opens with the famous Wimbledon tennis match that went on forever, and makes a tenuous link to Countdown and the semi final. And then Rachel makes an even more tenuous link to vegan roast dinners.
C1: #2 seed James Burley (9 wins, 919 points.)
C2: #3.5 seed Adam Latchford (9 wins, 831 points.)
Nick points out that James scored 100 in his QF and Adam 99. Doesn't mention their overall totals, as that wouldn't play into that narrative!
DC: Susie Dent and Rufus Hound.
RR: Rachel Riley.
OT: Other words or solutions.
R01: N P Y W I O E C E
R02: R S S L U D A I O
R03: 75, 3, 1, 9, 3, 9. Target: 357.
TTT: BOBREADS - "Bob reads his new book all day; he simply can't put it down."
R04: P D V M A I O T G
R05: S K P E E U F N M
R06: 100, 50, 25, 75, 1, 1. Target: 546.
R07: H T L S O E O R O
R08: P W T G R A U E L
R09: 4, 6, 2, 10, 9, 5. Target: 215.
TTT: SLAPRATE - "They slap each other around at a good rate here."
R10: D B S E U E N T R
R11: F T M N A I E I H
R12: Z M G C L A A U E
R13: B L S C O A I E D
R14: 100, 6, 3, 8, 10, 9. Target: 184.
R15: S A T E D I B L E (conundrum)
And now a brief interlude before our main feature:
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
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Enjoy the show.
Round 1: N P Y W I O E C E
James: peonic (try)
Adam: peonic (try)
DC: PIECEY (6) WINCEY (6)
OT: PEICEN (6) PIECEN (6) PONCEY (6) WICOPY (6)
Score: 0–0 (max 6, jos 6)
Darren-o-meter: 0/1 (0%)
Oh. Not a great start here, as both contestants try and fail a six.
Round 2: R S S L U D A I O
James: RADIOUS (7)
Adam: SAILORS (7) (stick with)
DC: LAIRDS (6) DORSAL (6)
OT: DULOSIS (7) SARDIUS (7) SOLIDUS (7)
Score: 7–7 (max 13, jos 13)
Darren-o-meter: 0/2 (0%)
Adam sticks with 7, and it's the right decision as both contestants get off the mark.
Round 3: 75, 3, 1, 9, 3, 9. Target: 357.
James: -
Adam: 357. (75 + 9 + 3) × (3 + 1) + 9 (10)
Score: 7–17 (max 23, jos 23)
This is not an easy numbers round but even so James should really have found something either side of 10 here.
Teatime teaser: BOBREADS -> ABSORBED
Round 4: P D V M A I O T G
James: ADMIT (5)
Adam: MATIPO (6)
DC: PIVOT (5) VAPID (5) PODIA (5) DIATOM (6)
OT: MOVIDA (6) OPTIMA (6) PIGDOM (6)
Score: 7–23 (max 29, jos 29)
Darren-o-meter: 0/3 (0%)
Adam extends the lead with a six, one of several available but James doesn't see them.
Round 5: S K P E E U F N M
James: FUMES (5)
Adam: SPUNK (5) (stick with)
DC: PUKES (5) PUNKS (5) NUKES (5) UNMEEK (6)
OT: MUSKEN (6) NEUMES (6) PENSUM (6)
Score: 12–28 (max 35, jos 35)
Darren-o-meter: 0/4 (0%)
Adam sticks with 5 and we are not asked for what he was thinking of, which is probably for the best as there's only four fairly obscure sixes available.
Round 6: 100, 50, 25, 75, 1, 1. Target: 546.
James: 550. (not written down)
Adam: 549. (75 − 50 + 1) × 25 − 100 − 1 (7)
Score: 12–35 (max 42, jos 42)
Adam goes for 4 large, which is an odd decision given the scoreline, but it works as he gets 3 away on an impossible numbers game. The two 1s being the problem here. Obviously.
Rufus gives us yet another poem, but to be honest I lost interest in this one fairly quickly.
Round 7: H T L S O E O R O
James: HOOTERS (7)
Adam: SHOOTER (7)
DC: TOOLERS (7) RETOOLS (7)
OT: SLOOTHER (8)
Score: 19–42 (max 50, jos 49)
Darren-o-meter: 1/5 (20%)
Susie misses the darren, as do our contestants who anagram themselves into sevens.
Round 8: P W T G R A U E L
James: PLAGUE (6) (stick with - rejected PLAGUER)
Adam: GAWPER (6)
DC: PLAGUER (7) GRAUPEL (7)
OT: EARPLUG (7) TRAGULE (7)
Score: 25–48 (max 57, jos 56)
Darren-o-meter: 1/6 (17%)
James rejects PLAGUER, which was in the dictionary, and he may live to regret that.
Round 9: 4, 6, 2, 10, 9, 5. Target: 215.
James: 215. (9 × 2 + 4) × 10 − 5 (10)
Adam: 215. (9 + 6 + 4 + 2) × 10 + 5 (10)
Score: 35–58 (max 67, jos 66)
James does the only thing he can do and gets a fairly easy numbers game, sadly for him. Adam dances his way through the clock...!
Teatime teaser: SLAPRATE -> PALESTRA
Round 10: D B S E U E N T R
James: underbets (try)
Adam: underbets (try)
DC: BUNTERS (7) BURNED (6)
OT: DENTURES (8) SEDERUNT (8) UNDERSET (8) UNRESTED (8)
Score: 35–58 (max 75, jos 73)
Darren-o-meter: 1/7 (14%)
For the second time, one leads the other down a garden path and there is a no score. Eights go unnoticed, and strangely Rufus beats Susie, who's stuck on 6.
Round 11: F T M N A I E I H
James: HITMAN (6)
Adam: FAMINE (6)
DC: INMATE (6) THIAMINE (8)
Score: 41–64 (max 83, jos 81)
Darren-o-meter: 2/8 (25%)
Sixes for our contestants, and an obscure eight for Susie.
Susie gets an email from Sam Gore asking about the origin of female make-up products' names. Mascara comes from Italian and, further back still, "buffoon". Alcohol is derived from eyeliner via Arabic and kohl. So basically, wine is made out of eyeliner. Or eyeliner is made out of wine. Or something.
Round 12: Z M G C L A A U E
James: MACULA (6) (try)
Adam: GAUZE (5)
DC: MACULAE (7)
Score: 47–64 (max 90, jos 88)
Darren-o-meter: 3/9 (33%)
James kicks himself as he could have added an E onto his word to get one extra point, but I'm not sure one point helps too much here.
Round 13: B L S C O A I E D
James: COALISED (8) (not written down)
Adam: COALISED (8)
DC: SOCIABLE (8)
OT: CABILDOS (8)
Score: 55–72 (max 98, jos 96)
Darren-o-meter: 3/10 (30%)
James and Adam are level on the same word here, and now it's down to the final two rounds.
Round 14: 100, 6, 3, 8, 10, 9. Target: 184.
James: 184. 9 × 10 + 100 − 6 (10)
Adam: 184. 10 × 6 + 8 × 3 + 100 (10)
Score: 65–82 (max 108, jos 106)
Adam does the only thing he can and goes 1 large, and it pays off handsomely with an easy game to get our number 3.5 seed into the final!
Round 15: S A T E D I B L E
James buzzes on 18.5 seconds to say SIBELATED which is incorrect.
Adam buzzes on 29.75 seconds to say LABIESTED which is incorrect.
The answer was TABLESIDE.
Final Score: 65–82 (max 118, jos 116)
One comedy conundrum later (a VERY good one, by the way) and we're through the second semi final. Just one more Hewer edition to go and by this time tomorrow we will have a new winner of Countdown.
Join us tomorrow.
Further summaries are at:
http://cdb.apterous.org/series.php?series=83