c4countdown

Sorry if this is old hat: I haven't been here for ages and don't intend to wade through all the posts to see if I'm repeating something.

When I was on Countdown I was given a little list of instructions. One of them was: if you have two words of the same length, don't give them both. Nobody likes a cleverclogs.

Has Rachel not been told of this? She frequently says, when the contestants have failed to get an answer to a numbers game, "there were a couple of ways of doing this ...", which must make the contestants feel great.

I have no issue with her doing that as compared to people giving multiple letters declarations, or declaring needlessly obscure stuff. But I do recognise your point.

It does come across as rubbing it in when she says that, and I actually think it's intentional. But also quite funny.

I think it's just really become one of her catchphrases, I don't think she's trying to rub it in at all. It's a lot different from saying something like "yeah I had that 8, but I also found 6 other 8s" or stuff to that effect.

There's also a perception issue. Viewers are essentially competing against the contestants, in a way they are not expecting to against Rachel. She's expected to get it and that is implicit in watching the show.

And also Susie tends to give multiple max-length words in her bit, which I see as the equivalent to when Rachel says 'multiple methods, here's one'.

Susie says what the words are. It seems far more pointless to just say that there are these methods out there if you're not going to say what they are. There's no equivalence.

She even got pulled up on it on 8 out of 10 Cats Does Countdown quite recently for doing it, and they all had a good laugh about it. So if she wasn't aware how it could be interpreted, she certainly is now. But as I say, I don't have a problem with it. I think it's quite funny, and I think she sometimes does it in rounds where she's a bit surprised that the contestants didn't get it, and this is her way of communicating it.

I was told that on occasions when both contestants have missed a fairly obvious method, or have started right but made a glaring error, that she goes for a "more difficult" route so the contestants aren't kicking themselves even more, although I can recall her saying "you're going to kick yourself" on occasion, so this may have changed.

James Laverty wrote: ↑Thu Oct 19, 2017 11:02 am I was told that on occasions when both contestants have missed a fairly obvious method, or have started right but made a glaring error, that she goes for a "more difficult" route so the contestants aren't kicking themselves even more, although I can recall her saying "you're going to kick yourself" on occasion, so this may have changed.

It makes much more sense for her to correct someone's method than to go a whole new way. Much more satisfying for all concerned, and not to make the contestants feel stupid. Otherwise you're left with the feeling of being left hanging. Like something is unresolved.

Actually today Rachel said there were a couple of methods but in a more innocent sounding way than on some other occasions. She said something like "There were a couple of methods actually", which doesn't sound as bad as when she says "There were a couple of methods actually".

What would be your worst single word emphasis Gevin? Where would "There were a couple of methods actually" rank for you?

Matt Morrison wrote: ↑Fri Oct 20, 2017 10:13 am What would be your worst single word emphasis Gevin? Where would "There were a couple of methods actually" rank for you?

Well, you might say it like that if someone else had implied it was impossible.

James Laverty wrote: ↑Thu Oct 19, 2017 11:02 am I was told that on occasions when both contestants have missed a fairly obvious method, or have started right but made a glaring error, that she goes for a "more difficult" route so the contestants aren't kicking themselves even more, although I can recall her saying "you're going to kick yourself" on occasion, so this may have changed.

100% absolute garbage.

Zarte Siempre wrote: ↑Wed Oct 18, 2017 5:04 pm I have no issue with her doing that as compared to people giving multiple letters declarations, or declaring needlessly obscure stuff.

Coming back to an old topic (Thank you Gevin), and re-reading this reminds me of one of Zarte's greatest failings during his lengthy spell as King of the Countdown Community: His hatred of contestants showing personality. So many Apterites who admired him, during his reign, were almost apologetic in their demeanour on TV; terrified to e.g. declare MANTICORE instead of CREMATION, and such.
Since S82, showboating, cheekiness and colour have been firmly back on the agenda, and it is great to see.

Never forget the glory days

Would you say you had a personality?

Mark Deeks wrote: ↑Thu Jun 30, 2022 11:00 am Would you say you had a personality?

I was fucking awesome Mark, but you knew.
You were too, to be fair to you.

I didn't watch your shows.