Thursday 18th November 2021 (Series 84, Preliminary 103)

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Rhys Benjamin
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Thursday 18th November 2021 (Series 84, Preliminary 103)

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Annedown CII and thanks to Children in Need I'm digging out some of my very best Basil Brush jokes for this recap.

Countdown recap for Thursday 18 November 2021.

It's Mickey Mouse Day, says Anne, whose first appearance was 1928, apparently. Not to be confused with Yakko Warner.

C1: Champion Jack Millard (1 win, 81 points.) 17 years old and with a younger sister. Anne seems to think anyone under 30 is a baby. Thankfully, they appear to have chiselled away 3 inches of make-up compared to yesterday.
C2: Challenger Fiona England. Works in costs and negotiations in Bolton for a law firm - i.e. operates the numberwang-o-meter that charges you for soliciting.
DC: Susie Dent and Christopher Biggins.
RR: Rachel Riley.
OT: Other words or solutions.

R01: T P D E E U L O M
R02: R P S T E O I D E
R03: 75, 5, 6, 7, 9, 7. Target: 373.
TTT: OBOESACK - "This is usually brown for things that are usually read."
R04: S T A D T E O S A
R05: D N P I E O L A B
R06: 100, 2, 1, 3, 10, 5. Target: 363.
R07: N F D A I A S A T
R08: Q O I A N R H E P
R09: 25, 5, 2, 8, 3, 10. Target: 978.
TTT: TOMNOISE - "Tom was a noisy man and wasn't good at hiding these."
R10: N G S E E O W E T
R11: S D R U E A V A T
R12: N F E I R M U O L
R13: R B T E I O G E R
R14: 50, 25, 6, 7, 8, 1. Target: 883.
R15: R O C K V O T E S (conundrum)


And now a brief interlude before our main feature:

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Enjoy the show.

Round 1: T P D E E U L O M

Jack: POUTED (6)
Fiona: MOULTED (7) (try)
DC: EELPOUT (7)
OT: DEPLUME (7) PLOUTED (7) PLUMETE (7) POEMLET (7) POULTED (7)
Score: 0–7 (max 7, jos 7)
Darren-o-meter: 0/1 (0%)

EELPOUT? That reminds me, why can fish always get a game of football? Because there are 20,000 leagues under the sea. HA HA HA HA HA BOOM BOOM.

Round 2: R P S T E O I D E

Jack: SPORTED (7)
Fiona: REPOSITED (18) (try, risky)
DC: RESPITE (7) RIPOSTED (8)
OT: POETRISED (18) PROTEIDES (18) REDEPOSIT (18)
Score: 0–25 (max 25, jos 25)
Darren-o-meter: 0/2 (0%)

An excellent risky nine from Fiona gets her a whopping 25 point lead after just 2 rounds.

Round 3: 75, 5, 6, 7, 9, 7. Target: 373.

Jack: 373. 75 × 5 − (9 − 7) (10)
Fiona: 373. 75 × 5 − (9 − 7) (10)
Score: 10–35 (max 35, jos 35)

thank u, next

Teatime teaser: OBOESACK -> BOOKCASE

Round 4: S T A D T E O S A

Jack: TOASTED (7)
Fiona: TOASTED (7)
DC: TOSTADAS (8)
Score: 17–42 (max 43, jos 43)
Darren-o-meter: 1/3 (33%)

Jack and Fiona toast to their success, whilst Dictionary Corner can stretch that to an eight.

Round 5: D N P I E O L A B

Jack: PLAINED (7)
Fiona: BLONDE (6) (rejected BLONDIE)
DC: BLONDIE (7) PIEBALD (7)
OT: POINDABLE (18)
Score: 24–42 (max 61, jos 50)
Darren-o-meter: 2/4 (50%)

No max for Susie today, but Fiona's rejection of BLONDIE costs her seven points.

Round 6: 100, 2, 1, 3, 10, 5. Target: 363.

Jack: 363. (10 × 2 + 1 + 100) × 3 (10)
Fiona: 363. (10 × 2 + 1 + 100) × 3 (10)
Score: 34–52 (max 71, jos 60)

I once asked for a starter for 10. He offered me spring rolls and crispy duck with pancakes. HA HA HA HA HA BOOM BOOM!

More theatrical stories from Christopher, including a time when a butterfly landed on his nose during a performance. Apparently he's a bit of a nature lover, HA HA HA HA HA BOOM BOOM.

Round 7: N F D A I A S A T

Jack: FANTASIA (8) (very risky)
Fiona: FAINTS (6)
Score: 42–52 (max 79, jos 68)
Darren-o-meter: 3/5 (60%)

Jack's eight is... wait for it... fantastic! Geddit? HA HA HA HA HA BOOM BOOM!

Anne asks Fiona if she's married, and the follow-up is "what's he called?". Jesus, sort your casual homophobia out, Anne.

Round 8: Q O I A N R H E P

Jack: PHONIER (7)
Fiona: PHONIER (7)
DC: HERNIA (6)
OT: AIRPHONE (8)
Score: 49–59 (max 87, jos 75)
Darren-o-meter: 4/6 (67%)

Both contestants' offerings are phony but can't be beaten by the corner. However, the computer can do it with an AIRPHONE, which does exactly what it says on the tin.

Round 9: 25, 5, 2, 8, 3, 10. Target: 978.

Jack: 977. (10 + 3) × (8 − 5) × 25 + 2​ (7)
Fiona: 985.
RR: 978. (25 × 5 − 3) × 8 + 2​ (10)
Score: 56–59 (max 97, jos 85)

Jack plays it safe, but 1 large, 25, and a 900+ target is always difficult, and why I always find 2 large "safer" than 1 large. Blessing in disguise for Jack, though, as he gets the deficit down to 3 points.

Teatime teaser: TOMNOISE -> EMOTIONS

Round 10: N G S E E O W E T

Jack: GENTS (5)
Fiona: tonges
DC: SWEETEN (7)
OT: TOWNEES (7)
Score: 61–59 (max 104, jos 92)
Darren-o-meter: 4/7 (57%)

Fiona is either going for TONGS, or more likely, TONGUES. However, it means that thanks to Jack's visit to the GENTS he takes the lead.

Round 11: S D R U E A V A T

Jack: STARVED (7)
Fiona: RUSTED (6)
DC: ADVERTS (7)
OT: SAVATEUR (8)
Score: 68–59 (max 112, jos 99)
Darren-o-meter: 5/8 (63%)

Jack extends his lead.... (wait for it)... by STARVing Fiona of the points! HA HA HA HA HA BOOM BOOM!

OOW Susie explores why we say "sum total" rather than "total sum". SUM formulae is something I Excel at, HA HA HA HA HA BOOM BOOM.

Round 12: N F E I R M U O L

Jack: MINER/MINOR (5) (not asked for spelling)
Fiona: foiler
DC: UNIFORM (7) FLUORINE (8)
Score: 73–59 (max 120, jos 107)
Darren-o-meter: 6/9 (67%)

Fiona's plans are... FOILEd again (HA HA HA HA HA BOOM BOOM) whilst Jack now extends the lead out to 14. Susie points out that FLUORINE is not to be confused with FLUORIDE.

Round 13: R B T E I O G E R

Jack: grotier (risky)
Fiona: RIOTER (6)
DC: RETIRE (6) ORBITER (7)
OT: REBEGOT (7)
Score: 73–65 (max 127, jos 114)
Darren-o-meter: 6/10 (60%)

What do you call a wedding cake that suddenly gets taller? Grow-tier! HA HA HA HA HA BOOM BOOM!

Round 14: 50, 25, 6, 7, 8, 1. Target: 883.

Jack: 892. (50 + 25) × (7 − 1 + 6) − 8​ (5)
Fiona: -
RR: 883. (6 − 1) × 7 × 25 + 8​ (10)
Score: 78–65 (max 137, jos 124)

A CHAMPION HAS WON A GAME OF COUNTDOWN! THIS IS NOT A DRILL! THIS ISN'T A CHAMPIONSHIP OF CHAMPIONS EITHER!

Round 15: R O C K V O T E S

No one buzzes. Susie gives the answer, which was OVERSTOCK.
Final Score: 78–65 (max 147, jos 134)

Anyway, now that I've calmed down a bit and stopped being Basil Brush, Susie tells us that ROCKVOTES turns into OVERSTOCK.

Jack will, amazingly, be back for a third game. Blimey. Don't get overly settled in that chair.


Further summaries are at:
http://cdb.apterous.org/series.php?series=84
The forum's resident JAILBAKER, who has SPONDERED several times...
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