Search found 203 matches
- Sat Jul 15, 2017 10:32 am
- Forum: Countdown - General
- Topic: Former contestants
- Replies: 16
- Views: 10699
Re: Former contestants
When I wanted to go on again I contacted the production team directly before applying, and they were fine with it. Nine years between my appearances, unfortunately I faced eventual Octochamps on both occasions. I wonder if they'll let me have another go in 2025...
- Wed Apr 06, 2011 7:04 pm
- Forum: Off-topic
- Topic: Mondegreens
- Replies: 127
- Views: 35562
Re: Mondegreens
I always thought Green Day's song 'Armitage Shanks' had the lyric "I'm a loner in a crowded shopping line", which i still prefer to the real lyric, "I'm a loner in a catastrophic mind"
- Fri Mar 11, 2011 10:11 pm
- Forum: Off-topic
- Topic: 5 Random Songs
- Replies: 42
- Views: 6828
Re: 5 Random Songs
At random from my MP3 collection of around 7000 (was nearly double that until a recent hard drive crash, I'm gradually rebuilding it) 1 - Franz Ferdinand - Turn It On (oh dear. Borrowed this from the library and didn't really care for it. Still only really like Take Me Out, Do You Want To and This F...
- Sat Jan 29, 2011 11:50 am
- Forum: Games and Puzzles
- Topic: Which word is valid in the most languages?
- Replies: 13
- Views: 3679
Re: Which word is valid in the most languages?
Incidentally, EURO is also a breed of kangaroo. At least in English, Apterous only has 1 Z, so PIZZA would never be played. Is CROSSAINT the most versatile nine-letter word? Can anybody think of any words which are Darrens in multiple languages?
- Sat Jan 29, 2011 11:36 am
- Forum: Games and Puzzles
- Topic: Favourite Scrabble words
- Replies: 61
- Views: 12616
Re: Favourite Scrabble words
My dream sequence of moves would be to have ETCH on the board, then put a V in front of it for VETCH, than put a K in front of it for KVETCH (a Yiddish word meaning to moan or complain, or a person who frequently moans or complains). My proudest moment is probably playing NIGIRIS (a type of sushi) a...
- Sat Jan 22, 2011 11:25 am
- Forum: Countdown - Current recaps
- Topic: Friday 21 January 2011 (Series 64, Prelim 10)
- Replies: 3
- Views: 6264
Re: Friday 21 January 2011 (Series 64, Prelim 10)
One of the most one-sided contests ever, although Mavis' raw score wasn't too bad. Adam was a again excellent, although I'm surprised he missed DRAININGA and I beat him to the conundrum (to my surprise, I'm normally lousy at them). I solved the final numbers game a different way to Rachel - 75x7 + (...
- Thu Jan 20, 2011 10:20 am
- Forum: Off-topic
- Topic: What's the most spectacularly stupid thing you've ever done?
- Replies: 44
- Views: 7361
Re: What's the most spectacularly stupid thing you've ever d
When I was about 6 I walked home from school, in the pouring rain, with my plimsols still on. And hadn't noticed until my mum asked me where my shoes were...
- Thu Jan 20, 2011 10:17 am
- Forum: Countdown - General
- Topic: Has anyone seen the letters of their name come out
- Replies: 9
- Views: 3055
Re: Has anyone seen the letters of their name come out
I'm sure both MARTIN and SMITH have appeared on Countdown, but I've never noticed it. I did once play MARTINS in Scrabble and have the letters for SMITH later in the same game though.
- Thu Jan 20, 2011 10:06 am
- Forum: Countdown - General
- Topic: Another footballer to appear on Countdown
- Replies: 28
- Views: 6624
Re: Another footballer to appear on Countdown
Funnily enough, when I saw the headline 'footballer to appear on Question Time' on the BBC website, Clarke was the first name I thought of. When he was announced as a Countdown contestant I thought it was a gimmick, but he turned out to be pretty good - and I'm sure his episodes had higher viewing f...
- Thu Jan 20, 2011 10:01 am
- Forum: Countdown - Current recaps
- Topic: Wednesday 19th January 2011 (Series 64, Prelim 8)
- Replies: 2
- Views: 1450
Re: Wednesday 19th January 2011 (Series 64, Prelim 8)
It's ironic that Jonathan Maitland spotted 'SATIRIC' and described it as a Scrabble word (I think mot normal people would use 'SATIRICAL' to mean the same thing), as I played it in a Scrabble match a few months ago, but missed it today.
That must be one of the easiest conundrums ever, by the way.
That must be one of the easiest conundrums ever, by the way.
- Wed Dec 01, 2010 10:11 am
- Forum: Countdown - Current recaps
- Topic: Monday 29th November 2010 (Series 63, Prelim 101)
- Replies: 6
- Views: 1743
Re: Monday 29th November 2010 (Series 63, Prelim 101)
I got the conundrum almost straight away, abut struggled with the first teaser - when I came up I was thinking "is that some French word that's come into English", thinking it was pronounced something like ra-ce-sard... You don't expect a personal trainer to beat an Actuarial student, cert...
- Tue Oct 05, 2010 6:31 pm
- Forum: Countdown - General
- Topic: Is picking the letters an advantage?
- Replies: 33
- Views: 12337
Is picking the letters an advantage?
One of Jeff's catchphrases was heard today - after the champion took a lead in the first round, he said it was the challenger's chance to get on the scoreboard as he was picking the letters. I'm not sure if Jeff has thought about the inference of this, that picking the letters is an advantage on a r...
- Thu Sep 16, 2010 1:39 pm
- Forum: Countdown - Current recaps
- Topic: Monday 13th September 2010 (Series 63, Prelim 46)
- Replies: 7
- Views: 2644
Re: Monday 13th September 2010 (Series 63, Prelim 46)
That second numbers round was one of the funniest moments of the series - especially as it involved two such contrasting contestants both slipping up.
- Thu Sep 16, 2010 1:22 pm
- Forum: Other game shows
- Topic: Mastermind Specialist Subject
- Replies: 41
- Views: 8625
Re: Mastermind Specialist Subject
I think what links them is that they're all far easier (and more rooted in pop culture) than you'd get on Mastermind.
- Thu Sep 16, 2010 1:15 pm
- Forum: Off-topic
- Topic: Which minority would you most like to belong to?
- Replies: 19
- Views: 3782
Re: Which minority would you most like to belong to?
Black and LGBT are the top answers. Looks like none of us are happy with our genitals.
- Sat Aug 07, 2010 8:05 pm
- Forum: Other game shows
- Topic: The "new look" WWTBAM
- Replies: 56
- Views: 8407
Re: The "new look" WWTBAM
I liked it so far, although I'll reserve total judgment for a few weeks. When a show makes such drastic changes they aren't usually as interesting as this.
- Sat Aug 07, 2010 8:00 pm
- Forum: Countdown - General
- Topic: Who's The Best Countdown DC Newbie Now?
- Replies: 6
- Views: 2185
Re: Who's The Best Countdown DC Newbie Now?
Gino. Witty, engaging, interesting anecdotes, and added a few Italian words in a few rounds for variety. Thumbs up to Colin Jackson and Dave Spikey too.
- Wed Jul 14, 2010 10:39 pm
- Forum: Countdown - Current recaps
- Topic: Wednesday 14th July 2010 (Series 63, Prelim 18)
- Replies: 2
- Views: 1381
Re: Wednesday 14th July 2010 (Series 63, Prelim 18)
I was wondering about the DC change. Was Shobna just a last-minute standin due to the proximity of the Coronation Street studios to the Countdown one?
- Thu Jun 24, 2010 11:38 am
- Forum: Countdown - Current recaps
- Topic: Wednesday 23rd June 2010 (Series 63, Prelim 3)
- Replies: 7
- Views: 1913
Re: Wednesday 23rd June 2010 (Series 63, Prelim 3)
Pleased with myself for solving the final numbers game, annoyed with myself for not getting SEDITION considering that I played it in Scrabble a day earlier. Well done to Scott, he's laid down a marker for this series. I don't think anybody but Oliver would have had a chance against him in the last o...
- Thu Jun 24, 2010 11:35 am
- Forum: Countdown - General
- Topic: The IT Crowd - Channel4- Friday 10pm
- Replies: 59
- Views: 7810
Re: The IT Crowd - Channel4- Friday 10pm
The style of humour is quite similar to Father Ted, with lots of dreams and flashback sequences and exaggerated-reality situations. When you comapre the reactions to the two shows, I can't help thinking people liked Father ted more for its digs at religion than its actual comic style.
- Wed Jun 23, 2010 5:22 pm
- Forum: Countdown - General
- Topic: The IT Crowd - Channel4- Friday 10pm
- Replies: 59
- Views: 7810
Re: The IT Crowd - Channel4- Friday 10pm
I watched that when it first started, but once I started watching The Big Bang Theory I enjoyed that a lot more. Will give it another go for this episode though.
- Wed Jun 23, 2010 5:06 pm
- Forum: Countdown - General
- Topic: Pseudo-objectively, Who Has Had The Best Octo-run?
- Replies: 6
- Views: 2133
Re: Pseudo-objectively, Who Has Had The Best Octo-run?
I don't like the extra 7 points for missing a nine, it's no different from not spotting an eight in practical terms, and I've always felt that the 18 points is a bit of a gimmick. Also, there's no consideration of whether a risky word wasn't gambled as their opponent had already declared less than t...
- Wed Jun 23, 2010 4:59 pm
- Forum: Countdown - General
- Topic: Where are they now?
- Replies: 18
- Views: 4575
Re: Where are they now?
It's always struck me as a very cruel prize. If your vocabulary's good enough to win a series of Countdown, your friends probably have trouble understanding you already, without you having a huge multi-volume dictionary to absorb.
- Mon Jun 14, 2010 12:01 pm
- Forum: Countdown - Spoilers
- Topic: Spoilers For Thursday June 10th 2010
- Replies: 16
- Views: 2711
Re: Spoilers For Thursday June 10th 2010
Well done to Oliver for finishing 3rd in division B at the Brighton and Hove Scrabble tournament on Sunday too. People were genuinely afraid of playing him, especially those who know him from Countdown.
- Thu Jun 03, 2010 9:55 am
- Forum: Games and Puzzles
- Topic: Scrabble Tournament, August 21st in Nottingham
- Replies: 5
- Views: 1759
Re: Scrabble Tournament, August 21st in Nottingham
It's always baffled me why more c4cers/apterites don't at least give competitive Scrabble a try, even if just once. There couldn't be a more natural 'next step' for people whose on-screen time has been and gone and, as I discovered in 2004, there is a community filled with many friendly people who ...
- Thu Jun 03, 2010 9:49 am
- Forum: Off-topic
- Topic: Musings on Homosexuality
- Replies: 66
- Views: 7724
Re: Musings on Homosexuality
I can't believe people would 'choose' to be gay. For a start, their number of potential partners is about 1/19th as many as a straight person has. They're also set up for stigma, ridicule, family issues, blackmail, legal issues in many countries, inability to have children (other than a handful of a...
- Thu Jun 03, 2010 9:40 am
- Forum: Countdown - Spoilers
- Topic: No spoilers for Wednesday 2nd June 2010
- Replies: 16
- Views: 3223
Re: No spoilers for Wednesday 2nd June 2010
I wondered about QIBLAS too - the definition made it sound like something there's only one of? I'm not clued up enough about Arabic or Islam to be sure though.
- Sat Apr 24, 2010 10:26 am
- Forum: Off-topic
- Topic: Who should you vote for?
- Replies: 33
- Views: 4394
Re: Who should you vote for?
They have a different understanding of 'freedom' to me. The Human Rights Act has meant less freedom for the law-abiding and more for the criminal and the deviant. The UK has managed without a written constitution in the past - the royal family, for all their faults, are the ideal safeguard against t...
- Sat Apr 24, 2010 10:20 am
- Forum: Off-topic
- Topic: A thought for St Georges day
- Replies: 18
- Views: 3070
Re: A thought for St Georges day
This Government has already taken our freedom - and they need so many new homes to cope with highest population density in the western world that our trees are next.
- Fri Apr 23, 2010 11:31 am
- Forum: Off-topic
- Topic: Who should you vote for?
- Replies: 33
- Views: 4394
Re: Who should you vote for?
The BNP came higher than I expected, which is where the insistance on yes/no questions drags things down - and where was the direct question on whether immigrants should be encouraged to leave regardless of employment status/loyalty/criminal record/religion etc? There was no direct question on Tride...
- Wed Apr 21, 2010 8:54 am
- Forum: Off-topic
- Topic: Formula 1 thread
- Replies: 32
- Views: 4996
Re: Formula 1 thread
Button made a fantastic call to pit at Melbourne, but even that was down to other drivers beign quicker. Don't forget that he was the only driver in the 3-car first-corner incident not to be compromised too. China was even more of a hero-or-zero call, and he was lucky that none of the other establis...
- Sat Apr 10, 2010 7:57 pm
- Forum: Off-topic
- Topic: Not just a word (it's a sentence)
- Replies: 25
- Views: 2988
Re: Not just a word (it's a sentence)
So less than half of Countdown fans can find a girlfriend/boyfriend? That's a bit worrying. Maybe we're all too choosy.
- Thu Apr 01, 2010 12:17 pm
- Forum: Countdown - Spoilers
- Topic: Sproilers for Tuesday 30th March 2010
- Replies: 29
- Views: 4107
Re: Sproilers for Tuesday 30th March 2010
Is that a dig? If not, how did you know this?Jon Corby wrote:Anna said that she was going to do one, but she couldn't be bothered.Martin Smith wrote:The yellow sun badge on her top is that of the Assocation of Young People with ME (AYME), who really should ahve got a shout.
- Tue Mar 30, 2010 10:35 pm
- Forum: Countdown - Spoilers
- Topic: Sproilers for Tuesday 30th March 2010
- Replies: 29
- Views: 4107
Re: Sproilers for Tuesday 30th March 2010
I was rooting for Anna due to the ME connection. The yellow sun badge on her top is that of the Assocation of Young People with ME (AYME), who really should ahve got a shout. So I've given them one. A shame about the last numbers game, I got it and felt that Dave's 324 was a beatable declaration. I ...
- Sat Mar 20, 2010 11:30 am
- Forum: Games and Puzzles
- Topic: KB or KC
- Replies: 10
- Views: 2532
Re: KB or KC
Selway, Simpsons, Morris, Heinz. The ones I know, in no particular order.
- Wed Mar 10, 2010 3:36 pm
- Forum: Countdown - General
- Topic: Jeff Stelling accolade
- Replies: 13
- Views: 2911
Re: Jeff Stelling accolade
I don't think 'Craic' is in the dictionary, oddly. To me that's the standard version, an Irish pub near me has it on their front door sign. The crack/craic confusion always makes me think of that Ali G sketch when he asked a Sinn Fein member if the violence in Irish was due to Ireland having a large...
- Mon Mar 08, 2010 9:33 pm
- Forum: Off-topic
- Topic: Is Countdown ruining Burnley FC
- Replies: 13
- Views: 2459
Re: Is Countdown ruining Burnley FC
Alan Hansen made what he might call a schoolboy error in thinking the show was broadcast live. I doubt MOTD2 is, after all. The only effect Clarke's Countdown time might still be having on his is any ribbing he's got from his team-mates and the supporters.
- Sat Mar 06, 2010 1:39 pm
- Forum: Countdown - General
- Topic: POLL: CV PR fail on QT?
- Replies: 42
- Views: 4360
Re: POLL: CV PR fail on QT?
That's pretty much how I always saw Carol, to be honest. She always came across as egotistical and unpleasant, and I find Rachel much more watchable and engaging.Matthew Green wrote:I didn't see it but one of my friends described her as a 'loathsome, feeble-minded shameless self-publicist'
- Sat Feb 20, 2010 11:17 pm
- Forum: Countdown - General
- Topic: Old people
- Replies: 14
- Views: 2255
Re: Old people
A lot of 70 year olds will have gone on when they were 42 though - most contestants probably go on after 2/3 years of regular viewing, which most older people have already had from a show that's been running 28 years. I think the trend towards serious study, serious analysis of games and online play...
- Wed Feb 17, 2010 1:26 pm
- Forum: Countdown - General
- Topic: Another footballer to appear on Countdown
- Replies: 28
- Views: 6624
Re: Another footballer to appear on Countdown
Jeffrey Burgin claimed to play football to a pretty high standard, and be interested in playing for the Phillippines. <random info> There are already two London-born players representing the Phillippines at football, brothers Phil and James Younghusband. They qualify through their mother, which was ...
- Wed Feb 17, 2010 1:22 pm
- Forum: Countdown - General
- Topic: Who was your first 15-round octochamp?
- Replies: 14
- Views: 2766
Re: Who was your first 15-round octochamp?
Obviously Junaid and Conor are the most memorable.
- Sat Jan 23, 2010 8:51 pm
- Forum: apterous.org
- Topic: Are you better or worse than your rating suggests?
- Replies: 17
- Views: 2478
Re: Are you better or worse than your rating suggests?
Maybe about 50 points better, because my concentration sometimes wanders, and I often play while listening to music or chatting online and stuff. Also, I lost a lot of points through sturgglign to get used to the numbers entry system at first, and I'm not sure those have levelled off in less than 70...
- Sat Jan 23, 2010 5:26 pm
- Forum: Countdown - Spoilers
- Topic: Spoilers For Friday January 22nd 2010
- Replies: 43
- Views: 3632
Re: Spoilers For Friday January 22nd 2010
That was pretty cringe-worthy to watch. I can only assume Mr. Roy (can't remember his first name off by hand, sorry) was nervous - he was probably the reserve contestant who was only in because Oliver became an Octochamp, and the dramatic finish to the previous game half-an-hour earlier will have le...
- Tue Jan 19, 2010 2:25 pm
- Forum: Off-topic
- Topic: Masters Snooker
- Replies: 12
- Views: 1564
Re: Masters Snooker
Fantastic tournament, great final, and a wonderful innovation with the walk-on music (I wouldn't want that kind of razzmatazz at the World Championship though). The difficulty of the tables, reducing the chance of shots which aren't perfect from going in, surely added to the drama and challenge - so...
- Fri Jan 15, 2010 11:00 am
- Forum: Off-topic
- Topic: Formula 1 thread
- Replies: 32
- Views: 4996
Re: Formula 1 thread
Campos look quite worrying, their boss openly states that they need more funding to be on the grid, although possible investors such as Tony Teixeira (who ran the A1GP series) have been mooted. USF1 are hard to judge, they claim to be at an advanced stage with their car and have even passed some FIA...
- Wed Jan 13, 2010 9:01 pm
- Forum: Countdown - Current recaps
- Topic: Wednesday 13th January 2010 (Series 62, Prelim 3)
- Replies: 6
- Views: 2043
Re: Wednesday 13th January 2010 (Series 62, Prelim 3)
I'm sure a few of us were transfixed by 'CAPRON' in round 6, but is it just me who spotted VORONIN in round 3?
- Wed Jan 13, 2010 8:49 pm
- Forum: Games and Puzzles
- Topic: Sports / Maths Puzzle(s)...
- Replies: 205
- Views: 22664
Re: Sports / Maths Puzzle(s)...
He'd run out of reds after 8 shots playing that way.
- Wed Jan 13, 2010 3:04 pm
- Forum: Countdown - Spoilers
- Topic: sproilers for 12 January 2010
- Replies: 32
- Views: 5379
Re: sproilers for 12 January 2010
I got ECOTONE immediately, hardly surprising as you played it against me. The animal kingdom's equivalent of a border dispute, IIRC.David O'Donnell wrote:Had ECOTONE too but I thought OPERCULA was there in one round too - may have imagined it though. Well done, Oliver!
- Tue Jan 12, 2010 9:24 pm
- Forum: Countdown - General
- Topic: Series 62
- Replies: 48
- Views: 6090
Re: Series 62
Applied March 2007, audition November, filmed early December, screened late January 2008. Was told I'd been accepted by phone 2 days after the audition, and offered a place as an emergency contestant (because they'd had an octochamp and knew I was unemployed and thus available) that Friday, but it w...
- Sat Jan 09, 2010 12:39 pm
- Forum: Games and Puzzles
- Topic: Scrabble puzzle
- Replies: 8
- Views: 2943
Re: Scrabble puzzle
The game ends automatically each player has three moves without playing a move which is not challenged off the board - so a game won't necessarily have to be uncompletable to end. It's about as common as the 50-move rule in chess - incredibly rare.
- Fri Jan 08, 2010 10:58 am
- Forum: Off-topic
- Topic: Formula 1 thread
- Replies: 32
- Views: 4996
Re: Formula 1 thread
I think people always accepted that Hill and Coulthard were inferior to Schumacher - although some were very slow to accept that Hakkinen was the superior McLaren driver. On raw talent, Raikkonen is more capable than Massa, but he loses interest too easily. He did very little in the second half of 2...
- Thu Jan 07, 2010 4:54 pm
- Forum: Off-topic
- Topic: Formula 1 thread
- Replies: 32
- Views: 4996
Re: Formula 1 thread
I think it'll be between Hamilton and Alonso, with Schumacher, Button, Vettel and Massa the dark horses. Button is nowhere near as talented as Hamilton, as his performances in the second half of last season show. The car regulations of 2010 might favour his smooth style though. Schumacher's fitness ...
- Thu Jan 07, 2010 4:46 pm
- Forum: Countdown - General
- Topic: Will the cold snap affect the show?
- Replies: 4
- Views: 1519
Will the cold snap affect the show?
Question for Damian mostly - how many episodes for the new series are currently in the can? When is further filming scheduled, and how to those days look weather-wise for Manchester? Might local contestants have to go first if those in, say, northern Scotland are unable to travel down? I know there'...
Re: Religion
Definitely sounds like agnosticism to me - you don't know whether or not there's a God or an afterlife. To throw something else into the mix, a local newspaper headline I saw recently - "Murderer Swops Gangs for God". What do people think when they see stories like this? Could belief in Go...
- Thu Dec 24, 2009 10:13 am
- Forum: Games and Puzzles
- Topic: World Scrabble Championship this week
- Replies: 57
- Views: 6578
Re: World Scrabble Championship this week
The comparison of word knowledge between Alan and Helen Gipson (top female player in the latest WSC) was interesting in the context of players not caring about meanings. Basically they did 3 tests against each other: Stating which of 50 letter-sequences are actually words - Helen 46 Alan 29 Correctl...
- Thu Dec 24, 2009 10:08 am
- Forum: Games and Puzzles
- Topic: Luck in Scrabble
- Replies: 49
- Views: 5672
Re: Luck in Scrabble
I think people might be overestimating the luck element. Pakorn won 13 games in a row during the Worlds - even if only 75% of games are winnable (as suggested on the other Scrabble thread on here) the chance of winning all 13 with faultless play is 0.75 to the power of 13=0.0237=2.37%. Even if 85% o...
- Thu Dec 24, 2009 10:00 am
- Forum: Countdown - General
- Topic: Countdown mentions on other shows
- Replies: 315
- Views: 153941
Re: Countdown mentions on other shows
Season One of That Mitchell Webb look included a sketch called Numberwang, a gameshow parody spoofing obscure rules, over-cheerful contestants and nonsensical catchphrases. Episode three featured Gyles Brandreth as a guest in 'Number Corner', telling a story largely unrelated to the game itself half...
- Sat Dec 19, 2009 1:00 pm
- Forum: Countdown - Spoilers
- Topic: Spoilers For Friday December 18th 2009 Grand Final
- Replies: 66
- Views: 10892
Re: Spoilers For Friday December 18th 2009 Grand Final
A great final to round off the year. When Andrew said 'nine' I momentarily thought the letters made 'HOUSEHOLD', so it was a dramatic moment. I had a feeling Chris would win despite Andrew's record score, but it was very tense throughout. I would hardly have scored in any letters rounds and I did ok...
- Tue Dec 15, 2009 8:55 pm
- Forum: Countdown - General
- Topic: What do you dislike most about Countdown?
- Replies: 164
- Views: 17571
Re: What do you dislike most about Countdown?
What do you think the big clock is for? The clock is there to add another thirty seconds to the already significant thinking time available during the selection process. In fact, I always laugh when Jeff says: "Here's your chance to catch up as it's your pick of the letters", because the ...
- Tue Dec 15, 2009 8:26 am
- Forum: Countdown - Current recaps
- Topic: Monday 14th December 2009 (Series 61, QF 3)
- Replies: 18
- Views: 2636
Re: Monday 14th December 2009 (Series 61, QF 3)
Good one!Liam Tiernan wrote:No thank you. I'll stick with INGRATESSimon Myers wrote: Stay safe and offer ANGRIEST. Friends don't let friends use dodgy mass noun plurals.