New Look

John Bradley · Post by **John Bradley** » Mon Jan 12, 2009 10:28 pm

Unless I've missed it somewhere else, what's everyone thinking about the first show?

Charlie Reams · Post by **Charlie Reams** » Mon Jan 12, 2009 10:32 pm

First show of what?

Ross Allatt · Post by **Ross Allatt** » Mon Jan 12, 2009 10:42 pm

Well, I thought that Richard Whiteley looked a bit uncomfortable and Carol Vorderman very nervous but history showed, er, oh, you mean the relaunch show today?

Big thumbs up from me - thought the set dragged the show into the 21st century although distancing contestants from DC was a shame. Thought Jeff Stelling was a consummate pro and will easily settle into the seat. Of course Rachel was nervous (who wouldn't be?) but she got some easy numbers to do (shouldn't have too many probs in the C of C series) and, again, compare her first day with CV's in 1982 and you'd have to give her the edge.

Well done to Damian and all the team. Its clearly been a horrendous journey but I'm optimistic that the show has a new lease of life now.

John Bradley · Post by **John Bradley** » Mon Jan 12, 2009 10:50 pm

You're both hilarious!

I loved it - love the set, Jeff is great, the new camera angles on the split screen numbers game, I got Fleeting and Courtier.

Felt for Rachel, hope she gets a chance to enjoy it through the nerves.

As long as he holds back on the football references I'm happy.

Mike Spellar · Post by **Mike Spellar** » Mon Jan 12, 2009 11:32 pm

John Bradley wrote:Unless I've missed it somewhere else, what's everyone thinking about the first show?

Did my recording today, and I have to say Jeff & Rachel were fantastic, really personable and injected a fresh vibrance to the show, I was never a fan of Des O'Connor, so happy days!!!
Great Experience, would recommend to anyone. I read other contestants reviews of the Countdown team & experience and they are correct when they say how family like the crew are.

Andy Thomson · Post by **Andy Thomson** » Tue Jan 13, 2009 6:47 am

Definite thumbs up from me. The colours for the new set appear a little stark but that's probably just a first impression and I'm sure I'll get used to it.

Stelling slotted into the presenter's chair excellently. If Carol watched, she must have been slightly envious that she had to work with Deaf O'Connor instead. Rachel didn't seem that nervous to me - certainly much less so than Carol was on her first appearances. But that's probably a reflection on how young people today are much more comfortable in front of a camera than people of our generation, who grew up with only 3 TV channels and hardly any participation from 'ordinary' people.

Ray Folwell · Post by **Ray Folwell** » Tue Jan 13, 2009 11:14 am

I thought it was great and Jeff and Rachel will settle down into a good team.
Couple of minor points on the set : Rachel seems a bit isolated from the others, she's not close enough to have a chat with Susie as Carol used to. And the letters board is a bit low, it looked as though Rachel was having to stoop down to pick the letters (especially in THOSE heels

).

James · Post by **James** » Tue Jan 13, 2009 12:22 pm

rayfolwell wrote:I thought it was great and Jeff and Rachel will settle down into a good team.
Couple of minor points on the set : Rachel seems a bit isolated from the others, she's not close enough to have a chat with Susie as Carol used to. And the letters board is a bit low, it looked as though Rachel was having to stoop down to pick the letters (especially in THOSE heels ).

Agreed - I think the team will be excellent - I wonder if it's going to be a new outfit every day for Rachel a la Carol?
Cheers

Ranjit · Post by **Ranjit** » Tue Jan 13, 2009 1:58 pm

It was a bit quiet and spooky without the Vordaman. The set is nice compared to that ridiculous thing they had before. Jeff's jokes and football puns are bad but not as terrible Gary Linaker's. Non-football types are going to wonder what he's talking about. The new genius Rachel is too tall in those shoes and she needs to scribble a bit quicker too. I got backache just watching her. She's amazingly relaxed considering she's new to showbiz. I should know. I was stopped in the street by a journalist from a radio Leicester in 1988 and asked if I thought a bag of chips still gave good value for money, and why. I went to pieces and ended up just mumbled some incoherent nonsense about peeling spuds. She wasn't very impressed and didn't ask for a second take. The desk is a bit long too. How is Jeff going to check answers that the contestant has written down? Reaching for things is bad for the back so he'll need a stick with blu-tak on it. The main thing is that it was a great game to start the new era. I hope people start watching again now that the programme is easier on the ears. Perhaps we'll see Vordaman in dictionary corner too at some point.

Ben Hunter · Post by **Ben Hunter** » Tue Jan 13, 2009 2:24 pm

I like the note swapping thing. I would declare the same as my opponent, and then show him a bit of paper on which I wrote "I'll kill you".

Tony Mountifield · Post by **Tony Mountifield** » Tue Jan 13, 2009 2:35 pm

Ranjit wrote:The desk is a bit long too. How is Jeff going to check answers that the contestant has written down?

Well it looks like the contestants were checking each other's, rather than Jeff and DC doing so. Is this a deliberate new policy, or forced upon the prog because they accidentally made the desks too long?

Anyway, I enjoyed the first new prog overall, although it still has to relax a bit. And Rachel did look rather awkward standing in those high heels- she'd look more natural a couple of inches lower.

Jon Corby · Post by **Jon Corby** » Tue Jan 13, 2009 2:44 pm

Tony Mountifield wrote:Well it looks like the contestants were checking each other's, rather than Jeff and DC doing so. Is this a deliberate new policy, or forced upon the prog because they accidentally made the desks too long?

I don't know the answer to whether it was deliberate or not, but I will say that I think it's an improvement and worked very well throughout the CoC. The contestants check each other's paper much quicker than the host/DC guest would, plus I'd say it's a lot more reassuring to check your opponent's paper yourself rather than have one of the ladies from "How Clean Is Your House?" glancing over some convoluted mathematical formula for a second or two before declaring it fine.

Lucy Gowers · Post by **Lucy Gowers** » Tue Jan 13, 2009 2:47 pm

Jon Corby wrote:
Tony Mountifield wrote:Well it looks like the contestants were checking each other's, rather than Jeff and DC doing so. Is this a deliberate new policy, or forced upon the prog because they accidentally made the desks too long?
I don't know the answer to whether it was deliberate or not, but I will say that I think it's an improvement and worked very well throughout the CoC. The contestants check each other's paper much quicker than the host/DC guest would, plus I'd say it's a lot more reassuring to check your opponent's paper yourself rather than have one of the ladies from "How Clean Is Your House?" glancing over some convoluted mathematical formula for a second or two before declaring it fine.

Think I'd rather have Kim or Aggie than Jeffrey Hansford tbh.

Jon Corby · Post by **Jon Corby** » Tue Jan 13, 2009 3:36 pm

Lucy Gowers wrote:Think I'd rather have Kim or Aggie than Jeffrey Hansford tbh.

True. Luckily such contestants are few and far between...

Mike Brailsford · Post by **Mike Brailsford** » Tue Jan 13, 2009 3:45 pm

So did the old set and it's furniture end up in YTV's skip or can we buy bits of it for memorabilia purposes rather like Woolworths getting rid of all it's fittings !

Katherine Birkett · Post by **Katherine Birkett** » Tue Jan 13, 2009 4:24 pm

Jeff is fantastic!

Never thought that the presenter that plays a large part of my dad's and my brothers' life during the football season (footy bores, the three of then) would go on to become a larger presence in mine!

Peter Mabey · Post by **Peter Mabey** » Tue Jan 13, 2009 5:08 pm

I can see a possible problem with mutual checking.
Suppose the word declared is GOITRE, and one (or both) contestants write down GOITER, but one spells it correctly when Susy asks. What should they say when asked to check?

IanFalconer · Post by **IanFalconer** » Tue Jan 13, 2009 5:21 pm

Hi! TI'm Ian Falconer and this is my first post. I agree with most comments. First two days have been great. Rachel looked more comfortable with the board level Tues. She has good dress sense and so probably does Jeff, tho' we can't see it all. I'd never heard of the conundrum word 'absurdism'. Did Jeff ask the audience and no-one knew, so that was cut out? And are audience members who get the conundrum still given mugs? Glad Andrew Sachs could get his own back publicly on Russell Brand.

Lucy Gowers · Post by **Lucy Gowers** » Tue Jan 13, 2009 5:22 pm

Did Carol nick the pencam on her way out?

Charlie Reams · Post by **Charlie Reams** » Tue Jan 13, 2009 5:26 pm

I got ABSURDISM, which made me happy, especially when Damian told me that it would've been the tie-break conundrum in my series final had such a thing been necessary.

Ralph Gillions · Post by **Ralph Gillions** » Tue Jan 13, 2009 5:54 pm

The set looks fine.
I have never seen him before but I am liking Jeff Stelling.
Pleasant, fluent and with little waffle (he isn't going to mention football in every programme, though, is he?)
It's nice that Rachel does not toss her hair every time she turns to the board.
But I'm afraid I am not attracted to her voice, - a bit hard-edged and not very warm.
But overall a splendid return for the programme - and congratulations to all those responsible.

Dinos Sfyris · Post by **Dinos Sfyris** » Tue Jan 13, 2009 5:59 pm

IanFalconer wrote:Did Jeff ask the audience and no-one knew, so that was cut out? And are audience members who get the conundrum still given mugs?

Dont think they do this anymore. Maybe the credit crunch has hit them so they cut back on mugs...

Jason Larsen · Post by **Jason Larsen** » Tue Jan 13, 2009 6:12 pm

I stated this in the recap thread from yesterday, so I guess I'll state it again hoping that everyone sees it!

I am shocked out of my mind and impressed!

And welcome to the forum, Ian!

Sue · Post by **Sue** » Tue Jan 13, 2009 10:08 pm

Thumbs up from me, too.

Loved the new set ~ clean and modern. Jeff was excellent and Rachel surprisingly good for one so new to television.

Jason Larsen · Post by **Jason Larsen** » Tue Jan 13, 2009 11:53 pm

No wonder we had so much confidence!

Laurent · Post by **Laurent** » Wed Jan 14, 2009 9:37 am

I also love the new look and the new presenters. I can see Rachel is nervous, but let's not forget, she did not come on the show as a trained actress, and I doubt she has even been to drama school? She also has to step into some pretty big shoes and it's inevitable she will be compared to Carol. I remember how nervous Des Lynam was when he took over on his first show and it took a while for him to find his own style.

I do love the high heels and short skirts though - as far as I'm concerned she could wear that combination every show!!! (I'll try and hide this thread from the "missus").

My wife and I were wondering if there is an audience there, or if it's piped laughter? Normally if a conundrum is unsolved the audience is asked, but not on Monday. Charlie, you may have the answer to this?

We also think the reason for C of C right at the beginning of this new series is that the contestants are more likely to get the maths right taking some pressure off Rachel and giving her a bit of practice time.

By the way, where are the letters and jokes??? Does anyone know if they will come back? I hope so.

Charlie Reams · Post by **Charlie Reams** » Wed Jan 14, 2009 9:55 am

Laurent wrote:She also has to step into some pretty big shoes

Good one.

Laurent wrote:My wife and I were wondering if there is an audience there, or if it's piped laughter? Normally if a conundrum is unsolved the audience is asked, but not on Monday. Charlie, you may have the answer to this?

There certainly is an audience there, and it was pretty packed relative to some of the episodes I've seen. My only guess is that maybe they had some problem with the sound on the new set, because other people have commented on the subdued crowd noise.

Laurent wrote:We also think the reason for C of C right at the beginning of this new series is that the contestants are more likely to get the maths right taking some pressure off Rachel and giving her a bit of practice time.

Partly that, although it's a bit of a mixed blessing in that any solutions the contestants do miss are likely to be hard, so Rachel doesn't get to pick up kudos for easy solutions. It's also partly to make life easier for Jeff, since he can focus on his own job and not worry about new contestants doing strange things like declaring at the wrong time.

Laurent wrote:By the way, where are the letters and jokes??? Does anyone know if they will come back? I hope so.

They're definitely back, probably from today in fact.

Jennifer Turner · Post by **Jennifer Turner** » Wed Jan 14, 2009 10:15 am

I didn't want to start a new thread for this, but if you follow this link and click on the first picture in the "Film, Theatre and TV" section, there's a nice slideshow of images of the new Countdown set: http://www.stageone.co.uk/_content/scenic_projects.php

I did register to get access to the PDF case study that's supposedly available, but it only gives you a tiny thumbnail image. Possibly someone's made a coding error on the site.

Chris Corby · Post by **Chris Corby** » Wed Jan 14, 2009 10:24 am

Dinos Sfyris wrote:
IanFalconer wrote:Did Jeff ask the audience and no-one knew, so that was cut out? And are audience members who get the conundrum still given mugs?
Dont think they do this anymore. Maybe the credit crunch has hit them so they cut back on mugs...

Audience quiet? Didn't you hear the whoops when on Monday, Jeff announced that 'Countdown' was back?

We were told by the warm-up man, Dudley Doolittle (he talks to us when he is not talking to the animals) that they will no longer be going to the audience for a conundrum not spotted as it took too long in the recording of the show. What needs to happen is a person has to be identified who has got it, a camera has to be turned round to focus on that person, then that person has to be mic'd up, all of which takes quite a few minutes and 'spoils the flow of the recording'. Incidentally when you hear a lone laugh from the audience when a lame joke has been told, it is that of Dudley! And I have heard that laugh for as long as I can remember and often wondered who it was...

Jason Larsen · Post by **Jason Larsen** » Wed Jan 14, 2009 11:29 pm

Laurent, first of all, if you're a new member here, welcome!

Countdown has always had a live audience, and always will.

I was worried that they had done away with e-mail from Jeff's first show on, as I sent what was supposed to be the first e-mail of Jeff's era a little while ago. I congratulated Jeff and Rachel on getting the job as the new Countdown team for Series 60 and said I couldn't be happier for them.

But, the first person who I had told about my e-mail was Kate Horton. Laurent, I don't know if you've met her yet but she is one of the Associate Producers of Countdown. She has yet to tell me whether Jeff read it, but I guess not. I did surprise her, though.

Rosemary Roberts · Post by **Rosemary Roberts** » Thu Jan 15, 2009 12:11 pm

Chris Corby wrote: We were told by the warm-up man, Dudley Doolittle (he talks to us when he is not talking to the animals) that they will no longer be going to the audience for a conundrum not spotted as it took too long in the recording of the show. What needs to happen is a person has to be identified who has got it, a camera has to be turned round to focus on that person, then that person has to be mic'd up, all of which takes quite a few minutes and 'spoils the flow of the recording'....

Surely what needs to happen is that somebody aims a parabolic mike at the lucky person - ten seconds or so, tops. If all else fails C4 could borrow one from one of the bird-watching fraternity.

Laurent · Post by **Laurent** » Thu Jan 15, 2009 1:40 pm

Thanks for the welcome Jason,

I've never met anyone from Countdown, though I have had some brief email correspondence with the "Countdown Team".

I sent them a joke last year and they asked me if they could keep it for the new season. I said yes so let's see if it gets aired! I think they read one of mine last year, about blondes, but my box went on the blink and turned itself off, so I lost a weeks worth of recorded countdown. I have to record the episodes as I'm rarely home when the show goes out, and catching up at the weekend I could only stare at the black screen of death!!!

Jason Larsen · Post by **Jason Larsen** » Thu Jan 15, 2009 2:52 pm

So, Laurent, you have e-mailed the Countdown team before you started posting here!

By the way, what happened to Greg Scott?

Lesley Jeavons · Post by **Lesley Jeavons** » Thu Jan 15, 2009 6:37 pm

Rosemary Roberts wrote:
Chris Corby wrote:Surely what needs to happen is that somebody aims a parabolic mike at the lucky person - ten seconds or so, tops. If all else fails C4 could borrow one from one of the bird-watching fraternity.

Or the person who gets the conundrum could run on to the set, all arms a-waving, in a Price Is Right style, in to a position where someone's already miked up and lit, and give their answer. Because THAT would be classy! lol

James · Post by **James** » Fri Jan 16, 2009 9:32 am

Is it just me, the contestants or are there some strange configurations of letters coming out - like a run of 3 I's or 3 R's and 2 S's making the construction of words a little harder - it just seems something's not what it was. Maybe they've altered the number of certain vowels and consonants in the pack?

Cheers

Laurent · Post by **Laurent** » Fri Jan 16, 2009 11:46 am

Jason Larsen wrote:So, Laurent, you have e-mailed the Countdown team before you started posting here!

By the way, what happened to Greg Scott?

I only learnt about this site after Charlie was on air! Shows the power of TV I guess.

Who's Greg Scott?

Joseph Bolas · Post by **Joseph Bolas** » Fri Jan 16, 2009 12:11 pm

Laurent wrote:
Jason Larsen wrote:So, Laurent, you have e-mailed the Countdown team before you started posting here!

By the way, what happened to Greg Scott?
I only learnt about this site after Charlie was on air! Shows the power of TV I guess.

Who's Greg Scott?

Greg Scott was a Warm-Up Artist on Countdown for 13 years (going by Wikipedia).

There is a video on YouTube of him in action.

Charlie Reams · Post by **Charlie Reams** » Fri Jan 16, 2009 12:22 pm

James wrote:Is it just me, the contestants or are there some strange configurations of letters coming out - like a run of 3 I's or 3 R's and 2 S's making the construction of words a little harder - it just seems something's not what it was. Maybe they've altered the number of certain vowels and consonants in the pack?

The usual shuffler was away for the first day of filming (i.e. the first five episodes.) Today's game, however, was shuffled by me

Hopefully you'll notice the improvement.

Normal shuffling is resumed from next week.

James · Post by **James** » Fri Jan 16, 2009 12:34 pm

Charlie Reams wrote:
James wrote:Is it just me, the contestants or are there some strange configurations of letters coming out - like a run of 3 I's or 3 R's and 2 S's making the construction of words a little harder - it just seems something's not what it was. Maybe they've altered the number of certain vowels and consonants in the pack?
The usual shuffler was away for the first day of filming (i.e. the first five episodes.) Today's game, however, was shuffled by me Hopefully you'll notice the improvement.

Normal shuffling is resumed from next week.

"Excellent!", as Mr Burns might say - followed by Mutley type snigger

I'll shuffle off then....

Martin Gardner · Post by **Martin Gardner** » Fri Jan 16, 2009 12:45 pm

Chris Corby wrote:
Dinos Sfyris wrote:
IanFalconer wrote:Did Jeff ask the audience and no-one knew, so that was cut out? And are audience members who get the conundrum still given mugs?
Dont think they do this anymore. Maybe the credit crunch has hit them so they cut back on mugs...
Audience quiet? Didn't you hear the whoops when on Monday, Jeff announced that 'Countdown' was back?

We were told by the warm-up man, Dudley Doolittle (he talks to us when he is not talking to the animals) that they will no longer be going to the audience for a conundrum not spotted as it took too long in the recording of the show. What needs to happen is a person has to be identified who has got it, a camera has to be turned round to focus on that person, then that person has to be mic'd up, all of which takes quite a few minutes and 'spoils the flow of the recording'. Incidentally when you hear a lone laugh from the audience when a lame joke has been told, it is that of Dudley! And I have heard that laugh for as long as I can remember and often wondered who it was...

Ha yeah in one of my games the conundrum was BREAKDOWN and neither of us got it, a lady in the audience got it and first they had to stop to put a mike on her, then they had to redo the same scene about 5 times before they got one they liked, and the audience had to clap furiously each time she said it so it looked like the first take!

Paul Howe · Post by **Paul Howe** » Fri Jan 16, 2009 1:01 pm

Charlie Reams wrote:
James wrote:Is it just me, the contestants or are there some strange configurations of letters coming out - like a run of 3 I's or 3 R's and 2 S's making the construction of words a little harder - it just seems something's not what it was. Maybe they've altered the number of certain vowels and consonants in the pack?
The usual shuffler was away for the first day of filming (i.e. the first five episodes.) Today's game, however, was shuffled by me Hopefully you'll notice the improvement.

Normal shuffling is resumed from next week.

Nice, hopefully things will improve a bit. I hope you're fairer minded than me because I'd have been severely tempted to fix the first round to yield something tasty, e.g. MNGCTN, EAOIA gives something nice regardless of what's picked. In fact I'm sure there was a topic the old forums about arranging letters to guarantee 9s in the first few rounds.

I'm sure you're above such shenanigans, but if EXOPHORIC just happens to come out people will be suspicious.

Jason Larsen · Post by **Jason Larsen** » Fri Jan 16, 2009 2:14 pm

Yes, I forgot to mention, it seems like especially on Jeff's first show the contestants picked a lot of vowels and the letter configuration was indeed random. Also, when was the last time a contestant picked a vowel as their first letter?

In regard to Countdown staff, did Greg Scott get a pay cut?

Matt Morrison · Post by **Matt Morrison** » Fri Jan 16, 2009 3:49 pm

Charlie Reams wrote:The usual shuffler was away for the first day of filming (i.e. the first five episodes.) Today's game, however, was shuffled by me Hopefully you'll notice the improvement.

SSDS... with another S at the end! Great job!

Jason Larsen · Post by **Jason Larsen** » Fri Jan 16, 2009 4:49 pm

That's what we mean!

Mike Brailsford · Post by **Mike Brailsford** » Tue Jan 20, 2009 8:07 pm

Jeff is presenting tonight's Manchester United vs Derby County game. No surprise perhaps 'The Final Countdown' is being played over the speakers. I expect this will become the common thing when Jeff does weekend Sky football shows live from grounds.

Jason Larsen · Post by **Jason Larsen** » Wed Jan 21, 2009 3:00 am

Let's kick it... with Jeff Stelling... some night, at 9:00pm.

patrick · Post by **patrick** » Fri Jan 23, 2009 11:44 am

Good to have Countdown again - it's a must for me and 'she who must be obeyed'!
We must be amongst the oldest long term aficionados - now in our 81st year.
Just a couple of moans.....why are hardly any contestants' words displayed by the luscious Rachel, so that those hard of hearing can be sure of their answers?
And Jeff could do the same with the 'teasers' like wot Des used to do!

Charlie Reams · Post by **Charlie Reams** » Fri Jan 23, 2009 11:49 am

patrick wrote: Just a couple of moans.....why are hardly any contestants' words displayed by the luscious Rachel, so that those hard of hearing can be sure of their answers?

Because those shots are awkward to do, so they're now filmed at the end, and it's really boring for everyone else to have to sit there while they're done. Personally I don't think it's particularly useful to see LEOTARD up on the board for 300th time anyway, and Rachel still puts up the interesting words. I'm not sure if you're one of the hard of hearing crowd yourself, but if so you could just turn the subtitles on.

Jason Larsen · Post by **Jason Larsen** » Fri Jan 23, 2009 2:10 pm

I thought she always made the biggest words anyone could find!

Tony Mountifield · Post by **Tony Mountifield** » Sat Jan 31, 2009 4:23 pm

I'm wondering whether they have given up asking the audience if neither contestant gets the conundrum.

Or was that change just for the CofC?

Charlie Reams · Post by **Charlie Reams** » Sat Jan 31, 2009 4:29 pm

Tony Mountifield wrote:I'm wondering whether they have given up asking the audience if neither contestant gets the conundrum.

Yeah, it was a real pain to film so they've stopped doing it now.

Tony Mountifield · Post by **Tony Mountifield** » Sat Jan 31, 2009 4:34 pm

Charlie Reams wrote:
Tony Mountifield wrote:I'm wondering whether they have given up asking the audience if neither contestant gets the conundrum.
Yeah, it was a real pain to film so they've stopped doing it now.

Oh well, they always seemed to manage it before....

Jason Larsen · Post by **Jason Larsen** » Sun Feb 01, 2009 2:47 am

If it wasn't, I'm sure they would have done it.

And yes, I know Steven Briers is the Champion of Champions for 2009, but where was the celebration? Where were Steven's family? Jeff and Rachel have become very good friends, so where was the togetherness that any other series would have?

Ian Fitzpatrick · Post by **Ian Fitzpatrick** » Sun Feb 01, 2009 6:08 pm

........and where was any form of presentation, cash or otherwise?

Jason Larsen · Post by **Jason Larsen** » Sun Feb 01, 2009 10:10 pm

Yes, Ian!

That's got me, too!

John Bradley · Post by **John Bradley** » Sun Feb 01, 2009 11:56 pm

patrick wrote:Good to have Countdown again - it's a must for me and 'she who must be obeyed'!
We must be amongst the oldest long term aficionados - now in our 81st year.
Just a couple of moans.....why are hardly any contestants' words displayed by the luscious Rachel, so that those hard of hearing can be sure of their answers?
And Jeff could do the same with the 'teasers' like wot Des used to do!

Agreed. Complaint of my folks. They don't always hear the word and relied on it being put up. They generally miss out otherwise. They just about know how to use the remote let alone use the subs.