And I here, at Robinson Recap HQ am determined to give you a quality recap befitting of such an occasion.
So, enjoy.
Countdown recap for Thursday 9 December 2010.
C1: No.1 Seed Jack Hurst (8 wins, 946 points.) An 18-year-old Apteforumite currently studying for a degree at Pembroke College, Cambridge. He got 6, not 7, conundrums as Jeff said (although you could argue that he got FIRSTBORN on his last show, just that it was after he'd already buzzed in.) And he's still looking for a girlfriend. Don't worry, Jack, you're not alone.
C2: No.8 Seed Peter Godwin (7 wins, 705 points.) A retired hotelier from Southampton, Hampshire. He was actually the #9 seed, but the #8 seed, Michael Chadwick, couldn't make it, as he was in Singapore.
Since the show, he has been recognised mainly by elderly ladies, but was also admonished by his son, for not mentioning him the last time he was on. He makes amends by doing so, and then reveals that is son is actually 40-years-old. 
DC: Susie Dent and Amanda Lamb.
RR: Rachel Riley.
OT: Other words or solutions.
R01: L G R S E O A I V
R02: N P T N E O U P E
R03: O A O H C P K L Z
R04: M E U S G D L A E
R05: 50, 75, 100, 25, 4, 6. Target: 998.
TTT: VETDINER - "It's how Rachel might serve your tea"
R06: G S F I E S T H A
R07: R T R E O O X B S
R08: I I O M S N L A T
R09: D T R O E A D R E
R10: 25, 50, 1, 7, 10, 10. Target: 890.
TTT: SCOTMICE - "An industry that's not without foundation"
R11: C J T U O U S P T
R12: E I A F W D R E N
R13: B Q D O O E S A N
R14: 7, 2, 1, 6, 9, 2. Target: 815.
R15: P I X U N S O L D (conundrum)
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Enjoy the show.
Round 1: L G R S E O A I V
C1: SERAGLIO (8)
C2: OVARIES (7)
DC: OVERSAIL (8)
OT: GIRASOLE (8) VALORISE (8) VIRAGOES (8)
Score: 8–0 (max 8)
A fine start by the top dog in this quarter-final.
A GIRASOLE (or GIRASOL or even a Jerusalem artichoke) is an opal that reflects light in a bright luminous glow.
VALORISE is a verb meaning to provide for the maintaining of the value or price of (a commercial commodity) by a government's purchasing the commodity at the fixed price or by its making special loans to the producers.
Round 2: N P T N E O U P E
C1: PUNNET (6)
C2: PUNNET (6)
DC: TOUPEE (6)
OT: PEPTONE (7)
Score: 14–6 (max 15)
The contestants are both happy with their PUNNETs as the darrenic 7 is left alone.
A PEPTONE is any of a class of diffusible, soluble substances into which proteins are converted by partial hydrolysis.
Round 3: O A O H C P K L Z
C1: POLKA (5)
C2: POACH (5)
DC: HOOPLA (6)
OT: POLACK (6)
Score: 19–11 (max 21)
DC goes round and round with HOOPLA, but 5's will do for the contestants.
Round 4: M E U S G D L A E
C1: MEDUSAE (7)
C2: SLUDGE (6)
DC: LEAGUES (7)
OT: DELUGES (7) GLEAMED (7) LEAGUED (7) LEGUMES (7)
Score: 26–11 (max 28)
Jack puts a sting into Peter with his jellyfish 7.
Round 5: 50, 75, 100, 25, 4, 6. Target: 998.
C1: 998. ((6 + 4) x 100) - (50 / 25) (10)
C2: 998. ((6 + 4) x 100) - (50 / 25) (10)
Score: 36–21 (max 38)
Jack goes for "the Jeff Stelling", but a relatively easy numbers game appears.
Amanda talks about tonal languages and how if you mispronounce a certain word in Thailand, you might ask for a woman to shake her breasts, rather than pour milk. It would be interesting if you happened to be a baby in this instance.
Teatime teaser: VETDINER -> INVERTED
Round 6: G S F I E S T H A
C1: SAITHES (7)
C2: FAITHS (6)
DC: FIESTAS (7) GEISHAS (7)
OT: AGEISTS (7)
Score: 43–21 (max 45)
Another brilliant 7 from Jack and he just looks in good nick today.
Round 7: R T R E O O X B S
C1: ROOSTER (7)
C2: exorts
DC: BOOSTER (7)
OT: REBOOTS (7) ROOTERS (7) TOREROS (7)
Score: 50–21 (max 52)
Nothing's going right for Peter, as even his 6 is misspelt.
Round 8: I I O M S N L A T
C1: MONIALS (7)
C2: SALMON (6)
OT: ANIMIST (7) INTIMAL (7) LIAISON (7) MALISON (7) MONILIA (7)
Score: 57–21 (max 59)
Even Susie admits to not know about Jack's brilliant 7.
That's the way to do it. ANIMIST derives from ANIMISM, the belief that natural objects, natural phenomena, and the universe itself possess souls.
INTIMAL is an adjective relating to INTIMA, the innermost membrane or lining of some organ or part, especially that of an artery, vein, or lymphatic.
A MALISON is simply an archaic term for a curse.
MONILIA is a fungus of the genus Monilia, of the class Fungi Imperfecti, having spherical or oval conidia in branched chains.
Round 9: D T R O E A D R E
C1: DERATED (7)
C2: RETREAD (7)
DC: TREADER (7)
OT: RETARDED (8)
Score: 64–28 (max 67)
7's all round as everyone was just too RETARDED to see the darrenic 8.
In honour of today being the first quarter-final, Susie's Origins Of Words talks about the origins of "arena", and how onions were used by Greek athletes to enhance their performances.
Round 10: 25, 50, 1, 7, 10, 10. Target: 890.
C1: 890. ((10 + 7 + 1) x 50) - 10 (10)
C2: -
Score: 74–28 (max 77)
Peter goes for the "Stelling Waistline", but unfortunately for him, Jack takes the full 10 points and the game is virtually over already.
Teatime teaser: SCOTMICE -> COSMETIC
Round 11: C J T U O U S P T
C1: JOUST (5)
C2: cutouts
DC: OUTPUTS (7)
Score: 79–28 (max 84)
Hmmm, Jack seems to have had a mental lapse in this round with only 5, but unfortunately, Peter's 7 is hyphenated.
I personally thought that Jack would go for a final vowel either to get OCTOPUS, if it was an O, or if an A arrived, the impressive CAJUPUTS, but he might have not even thought at all. 
Round 12: E I A F W D R E N
C1: RAINED (6)
C2: WANDER (6)
DC: DEAFEN (6) WARDEN (6) REFINED (7)
JS: DWARF (5)
OT: DEFINER (7) WAFERED (7) WEARIED (7) WIDENER (7)
Score: 85–34 (max 91)
And that's the game done and dusted, as Jack is now too far ahead with 3 rounds left.
Round 13: B Q D O O E S A N
C1: ANODES (6)
C2: ABODES (6)
DC: SNOOD (5)
OT: ADOBES (6) ADOBOS (6) BEANOS (6) DOONAS (6) NODOSE (6) NOOSED (6) NOSODE (6) ODEONS (6)
Score: 91–40 (max 97)
Pancakes all round, apart from DC, who only offer a seasonal warmer.
Round 14: 7, 2, 1, 6, 9, 2. Target: 815.
C1: 812. (((2 x 7) + 1) x 6 x 9) + 2 (7)
C2: 792.
OT: 816. (((9 + 1) x 7) - 2) x 6 x 2 (7)
Score: 98–40 (max 104)
Peter now goes for 6 small, but a tricky target appears, as Jack gets within 3, but getting it spot is a big no-no. I was happy getting 817 myself.
It does mean that Jack does have to get the conundrum to maintain his century a show.Round 15: P I X U N S O L D
C1 buzzes on 1.75 seconds to say SPONDULIX which is correct.
Final Score: 108–40 (max 114)
And Jack takes the SPONDULIX quite literally and wraps a convincing victory. Just 6 points dropped in a quarter-final is certainly no mean feat, and he's certainly thrown down the gauntlet for all the other finalists in these finals.
Join Mike tomorrow for the 2nd quarter-final between the #7 seed, Niall "The Sleaford Slogger" Young and the #2 seed, Eoin "The Banbridge Bullet" Monaghan".
I'll be back on Wednesday for Jack's semi-final, where he'll play either the #4 seed, Marcus "The Street Fighter" Hares or the #5 seed, Scott "The Jamestown Jacobite" Gillies.
So, till then, bye bye.
Statistics Corner
Jack:
Total score - 108
Raw score - 108
Total % of max - 95
Raw % of max - 95
Total average score per round - 7.2
Raw average score per round - 7.2
Number of maxes - 10
Peter:
Total score - 40
Raw score - 65
Total % of max - 35
Raw % of max - 57
Total average score per round - 2.7
Raw average score per round - 4.3
Number of maxes - 2
Further summaries are at:
http://www.apterous.org/cdb/series.php?series=63