Monday 13th April 2009 (Series 60, Prelim 47)

[Kai Laddiman]

Countdown recap for Monday 13 April 2009.

C1: Champion Shane Roberts (2 wins, 179 points.)
C2: Challenger our very own Clare 'Clueless Clare' Sudbery. She is a novelist and aspires to write 100 novels (3 so far) and live to 130. Er, yeh. Oh, and she likes biscuits. And word stems.
DC: Susie Dent and David Lloyd (the cricket one).
RR: Rachel Riley.
OT: Other words or solutions.

R01: D A P E T O N E V
R02: D O R E S I N A L
R03: D I N A C U B O Y
R04: H I M E S A T E S
R05: 7, 5, 8, 5, 10, 8. Target: 105.
TTT: HINDBARS - "Wave your weapon - rather like Jo."
R06: N I W U N E T I S
R07: T E R E G O C E L
R08: M E T I R A K E P
R09: S I T E N O F E H
R10: 75, 7, 10, 3, 6, 5. Target: 863.
TTT: ALIMYACT - "A disaster involving Jane, perhaps."
R11: R I P E D A R A S
R12: T E G A D E F I R
R13: N O P I R O S A L
R14: 25, 3, 5, 4, 3, 10. Target: 424.
R15: U N D E R F I S H (conundrum)


And now a brief interlude before our main feature:

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Enjoy the show.

Round 1: D A P E T O N E V

C1: PEDANT (6)
C2: DEVOTE (6)
DC: NOTEPAD (7)
OT: ADOPTEE (7) TONEPAD (7) NOVATED (7) PENTODE (7)
Score: 6–6 (max 7)

Round 2: D O R E S I N A L

C1: SANDIER (7)
C2: SLANDER (7)
DC: ISLANDER (8) ANEROIDS (8)
OT: AILERONS (8) ALIENORS (8) ROSALINE (8) ANODISER (8) DARIOLES (8) ORDINALS (8) SOLANDER (8)
Score: 13–13 (max 15)

A whole heap of 8s up for grabs here. Clare's word lists might not pay off after all...

Round 3: D I N A C U B O Y

C1: CUBOID (6)
C2: CANDY (5)
DC: ABOUND (6)
OT: UNIBODY (7)
Score: 19–13 (max 22)

Shane takes the lead for the first time in the game...

Round 4: H I M E S A T E S

C1: ATHEISM (7)
C2: SEAMIEST (8)
OT: STEAMIES (8)
Score: 19–21 (max 30)

Only to be beaten by a word not spotted by Susie. Congrats to Clare there.

Round 5: 7, 5, 8, 5, 10, 8. Target: 105.

C1: 105. (8+8+5)x5 (10)
C2: 106.
Score: 29–21 (max 40)

Unlucky for Clare as she fluffs up her first numbers.

Teatime teaser: HINDBARS -> BRANDISH

Jo Brand gave me Jelly Babies before you say anything

Round 6: N I W U N E T I S

C1: TUNNIES (7)
C2: TINNIES (7)
DC: UNITIES (7)
OT: UNTWINES (8)
Score: 36–28 (max 48)

Round 7: T E R E G O C E L

C1: ELECTOR (7)
C2: GREET (5)
DC: ELECTRO (7)
OT: CORTEGE (7)
Score: 43–28 (max 55)

Round 8: M E T I R A K E P

C1: PRIMATE (7)
C2: MEATIER (7)
DC: MEERKAT (7) Simples! <insert Corby-style meerkat emoticon here>
OT: EMIRATE (7) EMPTIER (7) EPIMERA (7) PEAKIER (7) PEATIER (7) TEMPERA (7)
Score: 50–35 (max 62)

Round 9: S I T E N O F E H

C1: SOFTIE (6)
C2: NEST (4)
DC: FETISH (6) FEINTS (6)
OT: FISHNET (7) HISTONE (7)
Score: 56–35 (max 69)

Clare slips further behind...

Round 10: 75, 7, 10, 3, 6, 5. Target: 863.

C1: 863. (75+6+5)x10+3 (10)
C2: 864.
Score: 66–35 (max 79)

And again...

Teatime teaser: ALIMYACT -> CALAMITY

Rather fitting really.*

*Joke

Round 11: R I P E D A R A S

C1: PARADISE (8)
C2: PARADISE (8)
DC: PARADERS (8)
Score: 74–43 (max 87)

Round 12: T E G A D E F I R

C1: FIDGETER (8)
C2: GRAFTED (7)
OT: GAITERED (8)
Score: 82–43 (max 95)

A good risk from Shane as Clare leaves DRIFTAGE^.

Round 13: N O P I R O S A L

C1: APRONS (6)
C2: PRISON (6)
DC: SOPRANO (7) PLOSION (7)
OT: PARISON (7) PRONAOI (7) PRONAOS (7)
Score: 88–49 (max 102)

Round 14: 25, 3, 5, 4, 3, 10. Target: 424.

C1: 425. 25x(10+4+3) (7)
C2: 425. 25x(10+4+3) (7)
RR: 424. (25x5-10-3x3)x4 (10)
Score: 95–56 (max 112)

Round 15: U N D E R F I S H

In the time it takes Clare to write down the letters, C1 buzzes on 2 seconds to say FURNISHED which is correct.
Score: 105–56 (max 122)

Unfortunate for Clare there, she came up against a strong opponent, but she brought all of her charm and cluelessness (inquisitivity?) to our screens for an entertaining watch.

Reccap brought to you by critically-acclaimed best-selling novelist, Klare Zudbury.

Further summaries are at:
http://www.apterous.org/cdb/series.php?series=60

Slight apologies for the delay, just came back from Isle of Wighting.

Toodles!

[Clare Sudbery]

Good / funny recap. Thanks Kai.

[Julie T]

Just caught up on this episode. I'd've watched it earlier if I'd known you were in it, Clare.

You played well, and it's a pity that you came up against a really good opponent, which is what all of us, who haven't taken the plunge yet, dread.

You looked like you really enjoyed yourself, and, if it makes you feel any better, even from the comfort of my home, if you'd got the conundrum against me, you'd have beaten me.

Great recap, Kai! Love the meerkat link!

[Clare Sudbery]

You played well, and it's a pity that you came up against a really good opponent, which is what all of us, who haven't taken the plunge yet, dread.

Yeah, tis the luck of the draw. I don't agree I played well though. Being there on the spot had a much bigger stress effect than I expected. I panicked, particularly in the numbers rounds, and my brain turned to mush.

You looked like you really enjoyed yourself

Hmmm yes, everyone keeps saying this. Sadly losing in such circumstances is not much fun, and looks can be deceptive. Still, everyone was very nice and it could have been worse.

if you'd got the conundrum against me

I've never been much use at conundrums. When I'm performing well I get them a little under 50% of the time, but I never get them quickly.

[Jon Corby]

Hmmm yes, everyone keeps saying this. Sadly losing in such circumstances is not much fun, and looks can be deceptive.

I've read your blogging about Countdown Clare, and it's a shame you didn't enjoy it. The reason why I (and many others) always respond to the question "should I apply?" with a resounding "yes!" is because it's a pretty special experience - I think you're acknowledging this with the amount you've written on the subject, and sentiments such as "I'll dine out on this for years".

You spend the day in the company of other countdown fans. You sit around in the green room, and watch each other play, and play along. The production team come down and chat. I haven't heard a bad word said about any of them, they're all fantastic people and make you feel totally welcome. Then you get to play the game! In the studio! You're chatting with Jeff, Rachel and Susie, the audience are clapping you! How cool is that? I've always said that there's such a great atmosphere about the place that never really comes across on TV. It seems like a bit of a magical place to me. Everyone working always seems to be cheerful, and having a great time. Feeling like part of that is just... well, cool. And then, after all that, a few weeks later you get to actually be on TV! And your mates can point out how bald you look, or how they got a longer word/numbers game that you missed. And then drop your missed words into everyday conversation as much as possible.

To me, all of that is completely awesome. It's a great experience. One that most people you meet day-to-day will not have had. That's why I recommend it. And I've lost more games than you Would I have rather won those games? Yeah probably, but it wasn't that a big deal to me. Would I have rather have not been involved the games I lost? Hell no. Wouldn't have missed it for anything.

You've pretty much said that you didn't enjoy it as much because you didn't win. I think it's obvious that you are going to enjoy it more if you win than if you lose, so it would be silly to try and contest that. But this wasn't just about losing - you've got a very high opinion of yourself and you'd managed to get yourself into a position where you feel you'd have (Easter) egg on your face if you lost. Hell, you even spoke of "representing all of womankind". Would it be patronising to suggest you have a look at the reasons why you didn't enjoy it, and try and learn something from it, rather than justifying it with bizarre conclusions like "it was good that I lost, otherwise family gets neglected"? (FWIW I think everyone is just being kind when they say you looked like you really enjoyed it, I thought you looked visibly pissed as the game slipped away from you after the first third)

I could pick holes in other bits from your postmortem, such as your acknowledgement that you knew your word lists etc were a bad idea (you frequently told us that it was beneficial to you) by misleadingly directing the reader to an after-the-event admission of this, or the fact that your 6-small-numbers swotting didn't actually help at all as you couldn't have done "even worse" than scoring 0 on a fairly routine game (you could equally conclude the opposite; that actually any time spent practising was a waste of time), but that would probably be seen as vindictive.

So I'll leave it there.

Oh, and you came across really well, and were unlucky to come up against such a good player in Shane.






By the way, for those not familiar with Clare's blogging or our "history", this isn't just me going ner-ner-nee-ner-ner at somebody because they've lost. I'm not like that. You won't find any other evidence of me mocking the ability of any contestants, or acting superior, or anything like that. I'm nice. Ask anyone. Except maybe Rory. Oh, or Phil. Or the Rev Stuart Earl. And maybe Larsen. And David Williams. Oh, Lara too, she's quite public about her loathing for me. Ask... er... Charlie.

[Derek Hazell]

By the way, for those not familiar with Clare's blogging or our "history", this isn't just me going ner-ner-nee-ner-ner at somebody because they've lost. I'm not like that. You won't find any other evidence of me mocking the ability of any contestants, or acting superior, or anything like that. I'm nice. Ask anyone. Except maybe Rory. Oh, or Phil. Or the Rev Stuart Earl. And maybe Larsen. And David Williams. Oh, Lara too, she's quite public about her loathing for me. Ask... er... Charlie.

I really enjoy your posts to this forum Jon, and I have concluded so far that you do seem to be a nice guy, and quite fair and balanced. Like DOD, you also dont always side with people just because they are in your "clique".

I know a little of your "history" with Clare, having read the discussions on here before, and also those that were on her blog before they were removed so as not to ruin the Countdown experience.

Your near-the-knuckle humour also livens up this board no end, not that I am agreeing with ALL of it

Having spoken to Clare privately a few times, I can see that there are parts of her personality that I really enjoy too. Maybe it is just the classic love/hate relationship between two people who have more in common than either would like to admit.

[Jon Corby]

Maybe it is just the classic love/hate relationship between two people who have more in common than either would like to admit.

You were doing well until that bit