Friday 12 March 2010 (Series 62, Prelim 45)

Mike Brown · Post by **Mike Brown** » Sun Apr 04, 2010 10:55 am

Countdown recap for Friday 12 March 2010.

C1: Champion Kevin Davis (4 wins, 370 points.)
C2: Challenger Stuart Inglis.
DC: Susie Dent and Pam Ayres.
RR: Rachel Riley.
OT: Other words or solutions.

It’s that time of the week again, and once more we have a multi-day champ in the chair hoping to continue their run towards octochampdom. This time, it’s the turn of Milton Keynes-loving (well, someone has to) aptoforumite Kevin Davis (he of some of the loudest shirts since Graham Nash) and he’s up against Blackpool bus driver Stuart Inglis, or “Nipper” to his friends. Will Kevin tower over him or will Stuart drive a bus through his opponent’s chances? Let’s find out...

R01: G L I E R U N D L
R02: A O V D W O E J T
R03: R S B I Q E A C I
R04: S T E A F M O A N
R05: 50, 100, 25, 8, 9, 10. Target: 414.
TTT: EIGHTSIN - "They're those... you know what's... you know what I mean, the, the, um, whaddyacallits."
R06: I E H R G A E H T
R07: D A T N I C O P E
R08: S E O K M U R Y E
R09: A S V O T R E L D
R10: 100, 75, 25, 9, 9, 5. Target: 583.
TTT: IANSGIRL - "In days gone by, Ian's girl might have chained herself to these."
R11: P S A L T I E F I
R12: E A N S I P G C E
R13: N A R T S E O D R
R14: 25, 75, 2, 1, 7, 2. Target: 480.
R15: T U R F S P O O R (conundrum)

Countdown is sponsored... as usual.

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The show opens with a brief Mother’s Day-related intro from Jeff, probably curtailed to leave room for Pam’s poem.

Round 1: G L I E R U N D L

C1: DUELLING (8)
C2: DUELLING (8)
DC: GRILLED (7) GLIDER (6)
OT: INDULGER (8)
Score: 8–8 (max 8)

Good British English spelling for both our contestants to open proceedings. Could be a good game.

Round 2: A O V D W O E J T

C1: AVOWED (6)
C2: VOTED (5)
Score: 14–8 (max 14)

Round 3: R S B I Q E A C I

C1: BRACES (6)
C2: ASCRIBE (7)
DC: ASCRIBE (7)
Score: 14–15 (max 21)

Round 4: S T E A F M O A N

C1: STAMEN (6)
C2: FASTEN (6)
DC: FOMENTS (7)
OT: NAMASTE (7) SMETANA (7)
Score: 20–21 (max 28)

Pam informs up that Susie spotted ‘manfest’. Typical. NAMASTE is an Indian greeting; SMETANA is Russian sour cream, as well as being a Czech composer.

Round 5: 50, 100, 25, 8, 9, 10. Target: 414.

C1: 414. (8x50)+(100/25)+10 (10)
C2: -
Score: 30–21 (max 38)

Pam laments the fact that most assistants in the make-up section of department stores are not very old and “look like the Venus de Milo” (presumably with more arms, in most cases). She then goes on to read her poem of the day, entitled “The Make-Up Lady”. Perhaps she should have dedicated it to Countdown’s very own Janette and Amy?

Teatime teaser: EIGHTSIN -> THINGIES

Round 6: I E H R G A E H T

C1: HERITAGE (8)
C2: HIGHER (6)
Score: 38–21 (max 46)

Kevin extends his lead with a great darren. HEATHER was nice for seven.

Round 7: D A T N I C O P E

C1: ACTIONED (8)
C2: CAPTIONED (18)
DC: PEDANTIC (8)
Score: 38–39 (max 64)

Ouch! Kevin misses the niner, but Stuart is right on the money. This one could definitely go either way. Unbelievable. Nice eights from CAPTIONED also include ANTIPODE, CANOPIED and CATENOID.

Round 8: S E O K M U R Y E

C1: MOUSER (6)
C2: SMOKER (6)
DC: RESUME (6)
OT: KERMES (6) KERSEY (6) KEYERS (6) REKEYS (6) MOUSEY (6) SMOKEY (6)
Score: 44–45 (max 70)

Kevin offers MOUSER for the second time in the flattest round of the day. KERMES is a red dye made from female insects, while KERSEY is a kind of cloth with a short nap (not to be confused, of course, with the similar-sounding JERSEY).

Round 9: A S V O T R E L D

C1: REVOLTS (7)
C2: STROVE (6)
DC: LODESTAR (8) LEOTARDS (8)
OT: DELATORS (8) LEVATORS (8) SOLVATED (8)
Score: 51–45 (max 78)

Contestants in shock LEOTARDS miss! Stop the press! Susie saves the day by mentioning “the most famous Countdown word”. Good on ya, girl. Our champ settles for REVOLTS, which gives him back the lead.

OoW: Susie asks Rachel to spot the correct word for a rumbling in the stomach. Sadly, our numbers queen fails to spot the correct answer, which is the wonderful-sounding BORBORYGMUS. It’s also Penny Smith’s favourite word, apparently.

Round 10: 100, 75, 25, 9, 9, 5. Target: 583.

C1: 584. (5x100)+(9x9)+(75/25) (7)
C2: 584. (5x100)+(9x9)+(75/25) (7)
Score: 58–52 (max 85)

“One away is the best,” says RAR. Presumably, someone ‘upstairs’ has told her what the solver said.

Teatime teaser: IANSGIRL -> RAILINGS

Round 11: P S A L T I E F I

C1: pilates
C2: PETALS (6)
DC: FLEAPITS (8)
Score: 58–58 (max 93)

Kev falls into the classic capitalized Pilates trap, while both our players miss the recent Corner visitor FLEAPIT, this time making an appearance in its plural form. It’s now even stevens in the score stakes, which is great for us, but probably nerve-racking as hell for our contestants.

Round 12: E A N S I P G C E

C1: ESCAPING (8)
C2: ESCAPING (8)
DC: AGENCIES (8)
OT: SAPIENCE (8)
Score: 66–66 (max 101)

The high standard of competitiveness is maintained with a max word for Kevin and Stuart.

Round 13: N A R T S E O D R

C1: DONATES (7)
C2: RODENTS (7)
DC: ROADSTER (8)
OT: ADORNERS (8)
Score: 73–73 (max 109)

Round 14: 25, 75, 2, 1, 7, 2. Target: 480.

C1: 479. ((7-1)x75)+25+2+2 (7)
C2: -
RR: 480. (75-25-2)x(7+2+1) (10)
Score: 80–73 (max 119)

Kevin’s victory on the maths puts him in front for an amazing fourth consecutive crucial Friday conundrum. Time to reveal today’s...

Round 15: T U R F S P O O R

God, it’s a toughie. No one buzzes. No one in the audience can get it, either. (Kirk can’t have been there, then!) The answer was RUSTPROOF.
Score: 80–73 (max 129)

A tense and exciting game gives Kevin his fifth win and moves him into fifth place on the series leaderboard. Can he go any higher? Well, you’ll have to wait for over a week, as it’s time for the Cheltenham Festival to play its annual havoc with the Countdown schedule. This year, though, we are promised a special treat on Monday, and as Jeff says, “all will be revealed then.” Tune in to the Monday recap with Kai to find out more. See you in a virtual fortnight to see whether the Friday Crucial Conundrum Craze continues!

Recap by Talpa Bambino.

Further summaries are at:
http://www.apterous.org/cdb/series.php?series=62