C1: Champion Marcus Hares (5 wins, 516 points.)
C2: Challenger Ryan Curtis.
DC: Susie Dent and Colin Jackson.
RR: Rachel Riley.
OT: Other words or solutions.
R01: S O I E R D R E P
R02: Q T C A W G O A E
R03: N I O E P L S A R
R04: N E M B U I D T A
R05: 50, 7, 10, 6, 4, 5. Target: 361.
TTT: TRENDIES - "Trendies they most certainly are not"
R06: S I T E L M A Y T
R07: S O I O F L N E T
R08: R S D A A E V C O
R09: W I O A M R D I B
R10: 50, 25, 2, 9, 8, 2. Target: 996.
TTT: GIANTPIN - "Taking a brush to your wagon perhaps"
R11: T E A E K R V E O
R12: S P U O T O M E Z
R13: P A U E N F N I G
R14: 75, 4, 9, 6, 2, 8. Target: 247.
R15: M A G N E S I A M (conundrum)
And now a brief interlude before our main feature:
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Marcus Hares has won 5 games now and is avergaing 103 points. His cool demeanour and soft voice on screen becoming a signature of his. He's back today hoping for win #6 even though he shouldn't have this opportunity because he's already been on the show.
Ryan Curtis is today's challenger. He's come all the way from Cornwall today so let's hope for his sake that he manages to stay quite a while in The Chair. He is a recent addition to apterous finding the website just 4 days before recording. Will his 4 days count for anything when he comes up against Bunny?
Colin Jackson is back in DC again. He is one of Britain's best hurdlers EVER and memorably wore that hideous costume on SCD which may have even resulted in him losing the contest. Controversial.
Bit of anecdote before we get started...
...I was playing today's challenger on apterous (unbeknown to me) until he said he was recording Monday first thing. I told him that I would be there to watch and sort of by chance really I encountered his Facebook page as he had updated his status to something like "just been told by a Countdown nerd [me] that I'm against a 5 time champion". I happened to be searching Openbook for "Countdown" in the week the Jack "the boy" Hurst was on the screen. That's the background knowledge covered.
Now me and Ben Hunter were going to go and watch current champion Marcus Hares at the studios that Monday. We were suggesting silly things to do and things to wear but we never actually said anything with any conviction. However, on the Sunday night before The Big Day I suggested a weird idea that we could do and so the madness began. About midnight I set to work on these wonderful creations that we were going to wear to the studios. On the morning of Marcus' recording day I arrived at Manchester Piccadilly with no sign of Ben. He wasn't answering his phone or replying to his texts so I went along to the studios as Marcus' sole supporter before receiving a text from Ben saying that he slept through his alarm. Doh! But that wouldn't stop me from showing today's challenger the little surprise I had in store, and here it is exclusively for c4c...
A RYAN CURTIS MASK!!!
(He was pretty freaked out when I showed him what I'd made)
END OF ANECDOTE
Enjoy the show.
Round 1: S O I E R D R E P
C1: PERRIES (7)
C2: predries
DC: REPRISED (8)
OT: RESPIRED (8)
Score: 7–0 (max 8)
A bad start to Cornish man Ryan as not only does he decalre a 7 when he has used 8 letters but his 8 letters don't make a word in the order he'd written them.
Round 2: Q T C A W G O A E
C1: TOWAGE (6)
C2: GOAT (4)
Score: 13–0 (max 14)
First darren of the day comes in round 2 as an unsure Marcus powers into a 13-0 lead.
Round 3: N I O E P L S A R
C1: POLARISE (8)
C2: SPOILER (7)
DC: PSORALEN (8)
OT: AILERONS (8) ALIENORS (8) ROSALINE (8) PERSONAL (8) PRALINES (8)
Score: 21–0 (max 22)
So many 8's around here but Ryan just cannot find one of them but he does see the funny side in not scoring yet. A teasing set of letters though.
Round 4: N E M B U I D T A
C1: BITUMEN (7)
C2: BUNTED (6)
DC: AMBIENT (7)
OT: MEDIANT (7) MINUTED (7) UNTAMED (7)
Score: 28–0 (max 29)
A third maximum on the bounce for The Champ means Ryan still fails to score, hopefully he can change that when it comes to the numbers game.
Round 5: 50, 7, 10, 6, 4, 5. Target: 361.
C1: 361. 7*50+6+5 (10)
C2: 361. 7*50+6+5 (10)
Score: 38–10 (max 39)
Phew! Relief all round as an easy numbers game means Ryan is on the board and still smiling.
DC Guest Time: Colin Jackson let's us all know that his favourite colour solferino. My favourite colour is grey.
Teatime teaser: TRENDIES -> NERDIEST
Round 6: S I T E L M A Y T
C1: MALTIEST (8)
C2: matties
DC: STATELY (7)
OT: SMALTITE (8) STEAMILY (8)
Score: 46–10 (max 47)
Despite a brief revival from the numbers game Ryan is no match for Marcus on this occasion again. I fairly straightforward -IEST word from Marcus sees him extend his lead to 36 points and is also just 1 point off the max.
Round 7: S O I O F L N E T
C1: FOOTLES (7)
C2: felines
DC: LOONIEST (8) FOOTSIE (7)
OT: OILSTONE (8)
Score: 53–10 (max 55)
Redemption for Ryan as he has found a 7. Or maybe not? He commits the sin of seeing a phantom letter as Marcus finds one of Richard Whiteley's favourite words apparently. I have a sneaky feeling Marcus had LOONIEST down (and possibly Ryan too) but none of them risked it. Jeff came up with FOOTSIE was a contestant equaller.
Round 8: R S D A A E V C O
C1: COVERS (6)
C2: CRAVED (6)
DC: CADAVERS (8)
Score: 59–16 (max 63)
After failing to hit the max in the previous round Marcus is 2 off it here although it was a very nice spot from DC (which Colin has trouble pronouncing). Still a positive comes out of this as Ryan scores for the second time in the match. Huzzah!
Round 9: W I O A M R D I B
C1: MORBID (6)
C2: RADIO (5)
OT: DAIMIO (6) MIDRIB (6)
Score: 65–16 (max 69)
Good spot from Bunny as he hops into the 60's. A pretty horrible selection isn't helping Ryan's cause but he keeps grinning away.
Susie's Origins of Words: Susie talks about the origin of hunky dory which came from a street name in Japan.
Round 10: 50, 25, 2, 9, 8, 2. Target: 996.
C1: 998. (50-(8+2))*25-2 (7)
C2: 1000
OT: 996. ((50+9)*8+25)*2+2 (10)
Score: 72–16 (max 79)
Ryan is pratting about in the 4 digit numbers with this numbers game which won't do him any favours. Then again RR fails to get this tricky little number. RR giggles a bit when putting these numbers up because Ryan cheekily asks for "two of your large ones Rachel" (which was of course retaken). Filth!
Teatime teaser: GIANTPIN -> PAINTING
Round 11: T E A E K R V E O
C1: OVERTAKE (8)
C2: RETAKE (6)
DC: OVEREAT (7)
OT: TAKEOVER (8)
Score: 80–16 (max 87)
And speaking of retaken Ryan manages RETAKE. It was probably playing on his conscience that he would have to do a retake. Marcus in the meantime just keeps powering on at his own pace with yet another maximum.
Round 12: S P U O T O M E Z
C1: TEMPOS (6)
C2: STUMP (5)
DC: UPMOST (6)
OT: PUTZES (6) SEPTUM (6)
Score: 86–16 (max 93)
Max again from some grizzly letters that threw up the lovely word PUTZES. It apparently means either a fool/idiot or is a slang term for the penis. *Snigger*
Round 13: P A U E N F N I G
C1: PENGUIN (7)
C2: -
DC: PFENNIG (7)
OT: ANGUINE (7) GUANINE (7) NEAPING (7)
Score: 93–16 (max 100)
Ryan's afternoon is compounded when he effectively throws in the towel for real. He fails to spot anything as he slumps in his chair probably wishing he was against somebody a bit easier as Bunny ticks off another max.
Round 14: 75, 4, 9, 6, 2, 8. Target: 247.
C1: 247. (9-6)*(75+8)-2 (10)
C2: 247. Mistake in working.
Score: 103–16 (max 110)
Just when you thought it couldn't really get much worse for poor Ryan he goes and messes up a low target numbers game. Marcus takes the 10 points and with it achieves another century which is interestingly his average score in his previous 5 games (103). Can Ryan save a bit of pride and have the last word with the conundrum?
Round 15: M A G N E S I A M
No one buzzes. The answer was MISMANAGE.
Final Score: 103–16 (max 120)
Well no, he can't. But neither can Marcus as MISMANAGE goes completely unsovled letting a young chap take the glory from the audience. I believe this guy is actually a future contestant this week too as Countdown were hesitant to use him for the conundrum bit.
What can I say about today? Firstly hughe congratualtion to Marcus who scored another century and maintains an average of 100+ although failing to solve the conundrum for the first time in his run. And to Ryan, hard luck. Nerves, tiredness, first show, TV cameras, travel must have played a part in Ryan's poor show today or perhaps I'm not giving Marcus enough praise? Either way it was a crushing defeat for Ryan and at least he laughed his way thorugh it. Then again, I suppose if he wasn't laughing he'd have been crying. This could have only been worse if some lunatic he'd never met showed up with a face mask of himself in the audience. Ah...
Join me tomorrow for Marcus' 7th game.
Tatty bye!
Further summaries are at:
http://www.apterous.org/cdb/series.php?series=63
