C1: Champion Jay Lopian (2 wins, 186 points.)
C2: Challenger Phill Thorne (from Ashford, Kent.)
DC: Susie Dent and Kaye Adams.
RR: Rachel Riley.
OT: Other words or solutions.
It’s time to cast your minds back to the first week of February as Kid Mole emerges from his underground burrow (or whatever it is that moles have) to recap Jay Lopian’s slightly controversial (as it turned out) third game. Here goes...
R01: L S M I O U I W D
R02: S P E N L E A I B
R03: S L F A I L E R O
R04: T H T A E G I L O
R05: 25, 9, 4, 7, 6, 7. Target: 598.
TTT: CITYLIFE - "Not city life, in fact she's very happy living in Kendal."
R06: N F U I O M C E G
R07: T O U S T R E A E
R08: P T C I E A Y N E
R09: B R Y A I A E C N
R10: 9, 3, 10, 1, 8, 1. Target: 482.
TTT: LOVESSID - "Make the sugar cube vanish, and end the marriage."
R11: R X S O A D S E A
R12: D T N E I A T P O
R13: I O I R V L N O E
R14: 75, 100, 1, 7, 8, 6. Target: 371.
R15: T E D I U M N I L (conundrum)
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The show begins with Jeff noting that it’s the (57th) anniversary of the end of sweet rationing in Britain. Rachel remarks that she used to like eating ‘whoppers’ when she was younger; Susie says she has discovered a website where you can buy all the old-fashioned sweets (I think she was probably referring to the website ‘aquarterof’) and will have to buy some whoppers online; Rachel points out that she should be careful when she searches for them on the Web. ‘Google Safe Search’ on, Susie!! Anyway, it’s time for Round 1, and it’s Jay to pick...
Round 1: L S M I O U I W D
C1: MOULDS (6)
C2: MOULDS (6)
DC: MODULI (6)
OT: DOLMUS (6) IDIOMS (6) IODISM (6) OIDIUM (6) SODIUM (6) SOLIDI (6) WISDOM (6)
Score: 6–6 (max 6)
An uber-flat round to start the contest. OIDIUM looks like an element, but isn’t.
Round 2: S P E N L E A I B
C1: PENALISE (8)
C2: PENALISE (8)
OT: PLEBEIANS (18)
Score: 14–14 (max 24)
DC miss the nanodarren (or was it edited out?), but both players get an eight. Other eights were also available, including BIPLANES and BASELINE.
Round 3: S L F A I L E R O
C1: flailers
C2: failers
DC: FLORALS (7) LOAFERS (7)
OT: FORESAIL (8)
Score: 14–14 (max 32)
A disappointing round sees Phill fail and Jay flail (sorry, couldn’t resist). DC miss the Countdown regular FORESAIL.
Round 4: T H T A E G I L O
C1: ALIGHT (6)
C2: TOILET (6)
DC: GHETTO (6) GOLIATH (7)
Score: 20–20 (max 39)
Nice spot from DC with the non-capitalised version of GOLIATH. And it’s still even stevens between J and P.
Round 5: 25, 9, 4, 7, 6, 7. Target: 598.
C1: 598. (6 x 4 x 25) - (9 - 7) (10)
C2: 598. (6 x 4 x 25) - (9 - 7) (10)
Score: 30–30 (max 49)
A nice first numbers game means it’s still all-level at the end of Part One. Did anyone not do it using that method??
Kaye rounds off the first ‘half’ proceedings with a skiing anecdote which includes an Austrian woman’s bloomers hanging out to dry. Yes, really.
Teatime teaser: CITYLIFE -> FELICITY
Round 6: N F U I O M C E G
C1: FUMING (6)
C2: FUMING (6)
DC: GENOMIC (7)
Score: 36–36 (max 56)
Good work from DC with their DNA-related darren.
Round 7: T O U S T R E A E
C1: OUTSTARE (8)
C2: OUTSTARE (8)
DC: OUTSTARE (8)
OT: ROUSETTE (8)
Score: 44–44 (max 64)
The aforementioned controversy arises when Jay declares first and seemingly says he has ‘outsteer’ (which isn’t in the ODE). The prosecution says ‘cheat!’; the defence says he showed his paper to Phill, who seemed quite happy with it; Mr Eadie says there were scoring-related issues in the gallery, so they didn’t pay full attention to the incident at the time. Perhaps the scoreboard couldn’t cope with there being four fours displayed at once
. ROUSETTE is a nice eight and a nectar-eating fruit bat to boot. The derivation is from the French for ‘reddish’, dontchaknow...Round 8: P T C I E A Y N E
C1: PEACE (5)
C2: PENCE (5)
DC: PATIENCE (8)
Score: 49–49 (max 72)
Perhaps surprisingly, both contestants miss PATIENCE. Perhaps less surprisingly, they also miss PATENCY and PICANTE. It’s still all-square, though.
Round 9: B R Y A I A E C N
C1: CARBINE (7)
C2: BINARY (6)
OT: ACARINE (7) CARINAE (7) BREYANI (7)
Score: 56–49 (max 79)
At last, the deadlock is broken, with a seven from Jay. BREYANI is a South African variant of BIRIANI. As eaten in South African curry houses, presumably.
OoW: It’s the last day of Countdown’s latest tribute to ‘Call My Bluff’ (please don’t call the lawyers), and it’s currently Jeff 1, Rachel 1. Rachel is asked if she can guess the true definition of the word SNOLLYGOSTER. Sadly, it’s a ‘BLUFF’, and she doesn’t spot the actual meaning, which is a calculating politician (surely no such thing!). Score draw!
Round 10: 9, 3, 10, 1, 8, 1. Target: 482.
C1: 490. (((3 + 1 + 1) x 8) + 9) x 10 (5)
C2: -
RR: 482. ((9 - 3) x 8 x 10) + 1 + 1 (10)
Score: 61–49 (max 89)
For the second round on the trot, Phill fails to score, allowing Jay to extend his lead.
Teatime teaser: LOVESSID -> DISSOLVE
Round 11: R X S O A D S E A
C1: SOARED (6)
C2: DOSSER (6)
DC: ADORES (6)
OT: OREADS (6) SARODS (6) SEROSA (6)
Score: 67–55 (max 95)
An OREAD is a nymph believed to inhabit mountains (a sort of cute version of Bin Laden, perhaps); a SAROD is an Indian lute; and SEROSA (mass noun) is the tissue of a serum-producing membrane.
Round 12: D T N E I A T P O
C1: PAINTED (7)
C2: PATIENT (7)
DC: TETANOID (8)
OT: ANTIDOTE (8) ANTIPODE (8)
Score: 74–62 (max 103)
Susie ditches Countdown favourite ANTIPODE in favour of the rather splendid-sounding, but distinctly unpleasant TETANOID. Still twelve points in it, which means it could still go either way...
Round 13: I O I R V L N O E
C1: VIRILE (6)
C2: LOONIER (7)
DC: VIOLIN (6) ORIOLE (6)
OT: IVORINE (7) OLIVINE (7) RILIEVO (7) VIOLONE (7)
Score: 74–69 (max 110)
Just when it looks like Jay might just edge it, Phill pulls the gap back to a mere five points, by virtue of the only normal-sounding seven available...
Round 14: 75, 100, 1, 7, 8, 6. Target: 371.
C1: 374. ((6 - 1) x 75) - (8 - 7) (7)
C2: 374. Mistake in working.
RR: 371. ((75 + 1) x 6) + 8 + 7 - 100 (10)
Score: 81–69 (max 120)
... and then almost immediately undoes his good work by first of all asking Rachel for ‘six of her choice’ and then blobbing his solution by using the 1 twice. A tough numbers game to end with, which Rachel took until the end of the programme to solve (or at least until during the conundrum, anyway). I would probably still be working on it now, to be honest...
Round 15: T E D I U M N I L
C2 buzzes on 4 seconds to say UNLIMITED which is correct.
Score: 81–79 (max 130)
Phill recovers some pride with a fine conundrum spot, but it’s not enough, and Mr Lopian will return on Monday. Thanks to the potential hoo-ha that was Round 7, Phill’s being invited back for another go in Series 63. Not so much hoo-ha as hoorah, then. Everyone’s a winner. (HOORAH isn’t valid on Countdown, by the way, so don’t try it.)
Well, that’s just about it for Episode 4,973. See you soon for number 4,978.
Words by Mike Brown; data entry by ‘Mr Ubiquity’, a.k.a. James Robinson (ta, J.)
Further summaries are at:
http://www.apterous.org/cdb/series.php?series=62
