Countdown recap for Thursday 23 May 2013.
C1: Champion Joe McGonigle (5 wins, 440 points.) Returning after defeating yesterday's Apto-forumite Mark Ivey.
C2: Challenger Adam Beardwell. A physics student from Southend-On-Sea, the hometown of Rachel and me, your recap writer for today.
DC: Susie Dent and Janet Street-Porter.
RR: Rachel Riley.
OT: Other words or solutions.
R01: H E D A R O J E Y
R02: L R D A I B E R N
R03: 75, 25, 9, 5, 8, 1. Target: 790.
TTT: EVEPRICE - "Hopefully you'll come to realise what the answer is"
R04: D X T A O E S M I
R05: P K S O E N R G I
R06: 75, 4, 8, 9, 7, 4. Target: 108.
R07: N S O E L D A U P
R08: T S R I E A D N S
R09: 100, 25, 50, 75, 4, 4. Target: 362.
TTT: ISACACTI - "You may find that this gets on your nerves."
R10: T C O E A M T E N
R11: L O G U C E T A V
R12: P I R F E O S W G
R13: R V N A I E O B L
R14: 75, 100, 5, 8, 10, 4. Target: 526.
R15: L Y C R A N I T E (conundrum)
And now a brief interlude before our main feature:
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Enjoy the show.
Nick opens the show by discussing with Rachel that he once read an article stating that bringing species back from extinction is indeed possible. He asks Rachel what she would bring back if she could bring a species from extinction, however she quickly finds a loophole, explaining that if you could pluck things from thin air then you could just bring back fillet steaks, therefore slaughtering cows would never happen again.
Round 1: H E D A R O J E Y
C1: HEADER (6)
C2: HEADER (6)
DC: DEEJAY (6)
OT: ADHERE (6)
Score: 6–6 (max 6)
Like yesterday, a solid start from both contestants both yielding a six. Slim plickings available.
Round 2: L R D A I B E R N
C1: braider
C2: LAIRED (6)
DC: BRINDLE (7) BANDIER (7) LARDIER (7)
OT: BLANDER (7) BLINDER (7) BRAILED (7) BRAINED (7) BRANDER (7) DRAINER (7) RANDIER (7) REBRAND (7) RIDABLE (7)
Score: 6–12 (max 13)
Joe seems more-or-less confident with his seven but becomes unstuck with agent-nouns. He falters with the invalid braider. So Adam takes the points, and indeed an early lead, despite failing to spot one of the many 7's available, all of which relatively common.
Round 3: 75, 25, 9, 5, 8, 1. Target: 790.
C1: 792.
C2: 790. ((75+25)X8)-9-1 (10)
Score: 6–22 (max 23)
Despite numbers being considered to be Joe's specialty, AND his favourite of 2 large, he fails to spot a relatively simple 790, which our challenger takes advantage of. He's now in a safer position, with a >10 lead. Easily done you might say (can apply that to both contestants)
Teatime teaser: EVEPRICE -> PERCEIVE
Round 4: D X T A O E S M I
C1: TAXIED (6)
C2: DIATOMS (7)
DC: ATOMISED (8)
Score: 6–29 (max 31)
Joe's rapidly slipping back now, as he only fails to take 6 in a selection which seems to hold more 7's. However, we'll never know, as 8 is found. The common apterous and countdown favourite ATOMISED lies in there. To atomise is to cover a substance or object in very fine objects, i.e an 'atomized fuel'
Round 5: P K S O E N R G I
C1: PINGERS (7)
C2: spoking
DC: SPONGIER (8)
OT: REPOSING (8)
Score: 13–29 (max 39)
Joe claws back some all-important points as Adam declares the invalid SPOKING. To most it seems valid, even to Susie it does. However, much to her surprise it's not in. Susie and Janet can only see other 7's, though Rachel spots SPONGIER as an 8, which she seems quite happy with herself with. The only other alternative 8 is an anagram of it, REPOSING.
Round 6: 75, 4, 8, 9, 7, 4. Target: 108.
C1: 108. ((9X4)+4-7)+75 (10)
C2: 108. ((9X4)+4-7)+75 (10)
Score: 23–39 (max 49)
With the low target, it all seems fairly straight-forward, however the majority of us actually had to think about it for a few seconds, however Rachel of course just stands there having spotted it immediately. What is she staring at?
And now to the guest section - JS-P rambles on about trains and their workforce, which Nick chips in with towards the end. This is her last segment this week, with Jo Brand taking over tomorrow....
Round 7: N S O E L D A U P
C1: UNSOLD (6)
C2: LOANED (6)
DC: UPLOADS (7) NODULES (7)
OT: POUNDALS (8)
Score: 29–45 (max 57)
In a selection which looks like it should provide many decent-length words, our contestants once again only find sixes. DC can only improve by one, with the mundane UPLOADS, but also, NODULES. A nodule is a small lump of distinctive matter, or a swelling within the body. You'd be forgiven for thinking there's a 9 here, however the darrenic 8 is POUNDALS, which is a 'a unit of force equal to that required to give a mass of one pound an acceleration of one foot per second per second. ' of course, I wrote that myself.
I'm still on a MAX GAME (Insert faces here)
Round 8: T S R I E A D N S
C1: STRAINED (8)
C2: SANDIEST (8)
DC: TARDINESS (18)
Score: 37–53 (max 75)
Anyone who's an apterous or forum regular would have been silently raging that our contestant didn't pick a final vowel, which if picked, would have yielded the triple nine of DERATIONS/ORDINATES/NOTARISED. (Harsh!
There are plenty of 9s there with consonant and they are harder. I reckon the correct pick is thus consonant if you think you are the stronger letters player) However, the final S does give a 9, in the form of TARDINESS. Joe is still more than 10 behind, but is sticking with Adam. He'll need a little something extra if he's to claim that 6th win, even if he is in the finals already.My max is off.
Round 9: 100, 25, 50, 75, 4, 4. Target: 362.
C1: 359. ((100-4)X4)-25 (7)
C2: -
RR: 362. (100+75+4)X(50/25)+4 (10)
Score: 44–53 (max 85)
Joe mixes things up by going for 4 Large for a change. His opponent is nowhere, leaving him to scoop up 7 points by being 3 away. Rachel expertly reveals a route to 362.
Teatime teaser: ISACACTI -> SCIATICA
Round 10: T C O E A M T E N
C1: CEMENT (6)
C2: . (0)
DC: ACETONE (7)
OT: TOMENTA (7)
Score: 50–53 (max 92)
Joe claws back ground, and is now only 3 away from Adam. Our challenger blanks here, again, easily done. DC finds ACETONE, and chemical term. The only other 7 is TOMENTA, a leyer of matted wool on the surface of a plant. It is the plural of TOMENTUM.
Round 11: L O G U C E T A V
C1: LOCATE (6)
C2: VOGUE (5)
DC: CAGOULE (7)
OT: GELCOAT (7) OVULATE (7) VACUOLE (7) VOLTAGE (7) VULGATE (7)
Score: 56–53 (max 99)
A pretty mundane round from both contestants, but Adam's beginning to fade, and Joe's really taking advantage. Both contestants miss some quite interesting 7's.
Round 12: P I R F E O S W G
C1: GROPES (6)
C2: WIPERS (6)
DC: PORGIES (7)
Score: 62–59 (max 106)
Another mundane round, but DC spots the darrenic 7 of PORGIES, which are a type of fish.
Round 13: R V N A I E O B L
C1: BOVINE (6)
C2: BOVINE (6)
DC: OVERLAIN (8)
Score: 68–65 (max 114)
In a round of favourablish letters, the two can AGAIN only salvage sixes. DC are quick to once again build on their efforts and spot an 8, which is OVERLAIN, the past tense of OVERLAY.
Round 14: 75, 100, 5, 8, 10, 4. Target: 526.
C1: 526. ((100+8)X5)-10-4 (10)
C2: 522.
Score: 78–65 (max 124)
Joe appears to have lead Adam into a false sense of security, as he takes an unassailable lead right at the last moment in the form of his traditionally good numbers solves. He's back on form.
Round 15: L Y C R A N I T E
C1 buzzes on 1 second to say CERTAINLY which is correct.
Final Score: 88–65 (max 134)
Well that didn't take long! After an initial brief scare Joe secures his 6th win, which moves him one step closer to being the 4th octochamp this series. We say goodbye to Janet Street-Porter, who tomorrow will be replaced by Jo Brand... I hear some of your groans and sighs already.
See you tomorrow, where either Thomas or Andy (I'm new to recaps...) will take Friday's recap.
I think Thomas Carey on Fridays, yeah. Usually he needs to prodded in the face with a stick to remember though
Further summaries are at:
http://www.apterous.org/cdb/series.php?series=68
