Hello again Countdown fans, it is a pleasure to bring you another recap! It's also my first of the new format.
Last week I recapped the long-awaited debut of Andy Platt and five wins and a new format later, he's still with us. Can he get any closer to octochampdom today?C1: Champion Andy Platt (5 wins, 543 points.) An apte-forumite from Salford, he has scores from 100 to 114 so far and has spotted three nines. Only six people have become octochamps and scored a century in every game, can he become the seventh? He's also had plenty of fun with four large, can he come up with any more "fun ways" to solve them before the end of his run?
C2: Challenger Alex Newton. A third year medic from Liverpool University, he has two more years to go at medical school before he starts work as a junior doctor. He is hoping to eventually go into General Practice, or something along those lines.
DC: Susie Dent and Richard Arnold.
RR: Rachel Riley.
OT: Other words or solutions.
R01: G F C G O U E P M
R02: S R I A G T E N R
R03: 75, 25, 100, 50, 4, 8. Target: 210.
TTT: AMBERGOT - "Amber got a taste for Earl Grey Tea"
R04: H Z A E U R P Q N
R05: D X T S E O I A Y
R06: 10, 1, 9, 5, 2, 7. Target: 111.
R07: W T D R I U E L E
R08: B S U I H N O D A
R09: 50, 25, 7, 4, 3, 3. Target: 246.
TTT: RECANCEL - "This carriage could take you all the way to the house"
R10: E I E L R V M A R
R11: G S D T O A E U M
R12: P S E A J N I K T
R13: M C F S A O I D A
R14: 25, 50, 3, 2, 3, 9. Target: 717.
R15: T H E D I N G L E (conundrum)
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Round 1: G F C G O U E P M
C1: GOUGE (5)
C2: GOUGE (5)
DC: COUPE (5)
Score: 5–5 (max 5)
We get underway with a selection that's fit for a Co event, with just two fives available. Both get off the mark with the same one and DC get the other.
Round 2: S R I A G T E N R
C1: ARRESTING (18)
C2: REGAINS (7)
DC: TRIAGES (7) TRAINERS (8) RANGIEST (8)
OT: RERATINGS (18)
Score: 23–5 (max 23)
The first nine of the new 15-round era which Andy gets to open up a commanding lead already, while Alex is stuck on seven. That's the fourth nine of his run so far. The other nine RERATINGS sounds a bit daft so it's always safer to go for ARRESTING.
Round 3: 75, 25, 100, 50, 4, 8. Target: 210.
C1: 210. 50 x 4 + 8 + 100/(75 - 25) (10)
C2: 210. 50 x 4 + 8 + 100/(75 - 25) (10)
Score: 33–15 (max 33)
No surprise to see Andy go for four large yet again but unlike last week, he can't see a "fun way" for this one. It's not quite as easy as it first looks but both players get there via the same method.
Teatime teaser: AMBERGOT -> BERGAMOT
Round 4: H Z A E U R P Q N
C1: QUEAN (5)
C2: PRUNE (5)
DC: AZURE (5) PANZER (6)
Score: 38–20 (max 39)
Another difficult selection as Andy appears to be toying with a six but he plays safe to match Alex. I hope it wasn't the darren which DC found.
Round 5: D X T S E O I A Y
C1: IODATES (7)
C2: STEADY (6)
DC: OXIDASE (7)
OT: TOADIES (7)
Score: 45–20 (max 46)
Andy extends his lead to 25 points with his chemical term, while DC get one of their own.
Round 6: 10, 1, 9, 5, 2, 7. Target: 111.
C1: 111. (7 + 5) x 10 - 9 (10)
C2: 111. (9 + 2) x 10 + 1 (10)
Score: 55–30 (max 56)
Alex tries to close the gap with six small but it's not as tricky as he'd like. Let's move on to the anecdote, in its new slot after the tweak to the format.
Richard talks about his experience on Strictly Come Dancing.
Round 7: W T D R I U E L E
C1: DILUTER (7)
C2: ERUDITE (7)
DC: LURID (5) WIELDER (7) TWIRLED (7)
OT: RETILED (7)
Score: 62–37 (max 63)
Good sevens all round.
Round 8: B S U I H N O D A
C1: HUSBAND (7)
C2: BANISH (6)
DC: ABOUNDS (7)
OT: BOUDINS (7) BUSHIDO (7)
Score: 69–37 (max 70)
Another winner for Andy who is well on his way to win number six.
Round 9: 50, 25, 7, 4, 3, 3. Target: 246.
C1: 246. (7 + 3) x 25 - 4 (10)
C2: 246. (7 + 3) x 25 - 4 (10)
Score: 79–47 (max 80)
OOH, MASSIVE CONTROVERSY HERE! For the first time during his run, Andy doesn't go for two large and instead plays "safe" with two large. I would pick four large ahead of two large if I was looking to play it safe but that's probably just me. I find that two large can be evil sometimes but luckily, this one doesn't fool either player.
Teatime teaser: RECANCEL -> CLARENCE
Round 10: E I E L R V M A R
C1: MEALIER (7)
C2: MARVEL (6)
DC: EARLIER (7) REVILE (6)
OT: EMAILER (7) REVILER (7) VERMEIL (7)
Score: 86–47 (max 87)
Andy gets a further extension to his lead as Alex can only MARVEL at this guy's skills.
Round 11: G S D T O A E U M
C1: OUTAGES (7)
C2: dotages
DC: GOADS (5) MOUSED (6)
Score: 93–47 (max 94)
MASSIVE CONTROVERSY #2! I don't know which one's more controversial; this or Andy not picking four large. Actually, it's Andy not picking four large but this incident raises a few eyebrows too. Alex's late spot of DOTAGES sounds perfectly fine, or at least it did to me who fully expected it to be allowed. Susie unexpectedly throws a spanner in his works as she reveals that she has been informed by Oxford that the word can't be pluralised, so she has to disallow it. If this is coming from Oxford, you have to question why they didn't put a "mass noun" tag next to DOTAGE in the dictionary. Recently the show has been allowing questionable mass noun plurals such as LIPPIES and PLUMAGES but now non-mass noun plurals are being disallowed. I haven't got a clue anymore. Maybe the show should start using the Jo Brand dictionary instead, that would end all confusion.
Rant over, back to the game before I explode! Hopefully Susie will make up for this controversy by dazzling us all with her Origins of Words, which has also been moved in this new format.OoW: The phrase "The world is my oyster" comes from Shakespeare apparently.
Round 12: P S E A J N I K T
C1: PANTIES (7)
C2: PINKEST (7)
DC: SAPIENT (7)
OT: INTAKES (7) KENTIAS (7) TAJINES (7)
Score: 100–54 (max 101)
As Nick picks up on, an interesting combination of offerings from the contestants. It's the second time in three shows that Andy has offered PANTIES and in doing so, he has wrapped up the game with three rounds to go.
Round 13: M C F S A O I D A
C1: FIASCO (6)
C2: MOSAIC (6)
DC: FASCIA (6) MAFIAS (6)
OT: FACIAS (6)
Score: 106–60 (max 107)
Just sixes here in a difficult round, both Andy and Alex spot one.
Round 14: 25, 50, 3, 2, 3, 9. Target: 717.
C1: 717. (3 + 2 + 25 + 50) x 9 - 3 (10)
C2: 717. (3 + 2 + 25 + 50) x 9 - 3 (10)
Score: 116–70 (max 117)
A bit trickier than the last two large but both come up with the same solution. That makes it 40/40 each on the numbers, possibly for the first time in Countdown history. I'm not sure if it happened in an old 14-round grand final though, could you confirm please, Graeme?
Round 15: T H E D I N G L E
C1 buzzes on 3.5 seconds to say "I've made a mess of it, sorry" which is incorrect.
C2 buzzes on 10.5 seconds to say LIGHTENED which is correct.
Final Score: 116–80 (max 127)
Andy realises he's made a mistake after he's buzzed in, meaning that surprisingly, he has only solved two of his six conundrums so far. Alex takes the glory instead to boost his score to a very respectable 80 against a formidable opponent. He would have given many other champions a tough game but the early nine made it very difficult for him to come back. Despite the conundrum blip, Andy still records his highest score to date and maintains his run of centuries. He'll be back tomorrow for his seventh game, as will I in the absence of Mr Robinson. See you all then!
Further summaries are at:
http://www.apterous.org/cdb/series.php?series=68