c4countdown

Is it me or is Des getting worse at not hearing or mishearing contestants' answers?

I know David O has a Northern Irish accent but he really isn't difficult to understand and, at one point today, I felt like Des was almost morphing into the Grandma on the Catherine Tate Show. I almost expected him to start asking DC 'What did he say?'

Is he not able to have a hearing aid because of the earpiece he has to wear on set? I know that my mum was far happier once she'd admitted that her hearing was starting to go (rather than that we had all started mumbling!) and got herself a hearing aid.

Karen

Given his age I think its fair enough but I do think he is a bit slow at anticipating an accent. Craig Beevers accent is not particularly strong but DesO kept asking him to re-pronounce words that could easily have been understood if he had thought about it. I think Craig go MOANED and Des asked 'Murned?'.

This has happened with a few people recently including David, Michael and Gayle.

Des had some sort of inner ear condition though so that may be the reason. I think someone had said that he had it for about 8 weeks. He was also a little unsteady on his feet so I think he performed admirably given he is operating under trying circumstances.

So, it wasn't my imagination then. Oh well, I hope he gets it cleared up soon.

I don't think it's this recent inner ear thing that David graciously mentions. Ever since Desoc started on Countdown he's been missing lots of fairly clearly pronounced words and it has been the subject of several comments on the old site. The man's deaf!!!

It's almost as annoying as his constant okey-dokey which makes me want to throw up, he says it that often. When he first came on I started posting an okey-dokey count every Thursday but I gave up after a few weeks because it was getting silly. It baffles me why a supposedly accomplished and professional TV presenter has such an annoying verbal diarrhoea reflex without someone making him concentrate a bit more or Mr Eadie editing it out to save the old guy becoming an embarrassment without realising it!

Stuart

Stuart Earl wrote:It's almost as annoying as his constant okey-dokey which makes me want to throw up, he says it that often. When he first came on I started posting an okey-dokey count every Thursday but I gave up after a few weeks because it was getting silly. It baffles me why a supposedly accomplished and professional TV presenter has such an annoying verbal diarrhoea reflex without someone making him concentrate a bit more or Mr Eadie editing it out to save the old guy becoming an embarrassment without realising it!

Meh, I've never noticed it.

Stuart Earl wrote:I don't think it's this recent inner ear thing that David graciously mentions. Ever since Desoc started on Countdown he's been missing lots of fairly clearly pronounced words and it has been the subject of several comments on the old site. The man's deaf!!!

It's almost as annoying as his constant okey-dokey which makes me want to throw up, he says it that often. When he first came on I started posting an okey-dokey count every Thursday but I gave up after a few weeks because it was getting silly. It baffles me why a supposedly accomplished and professional TV presenter has such an annoying verbal diarrhoea reflex without someone making him concentrate a bit more or Mr Eadie editing it out to save the old guy becoming an embarrassment without realising it!

Stuart

And there speaks a man of the cloth. Beautifully put across, in a sort of 'love thy neighbour' kind of way. And now its time to sing hymn number 452 - "oh ye of mass hypocracy"

And there speaks a man of words - how about hypocrisy, Damian

Yes I have to agree with Damian here - that post of yours was a bit intolerant Stuart, even by your standards. I've never noticed such a problem with Des O. I'm not saying he's perfect, but at least make the criticism a bit constructive, eh?

So, are you actually saying that the man hasn't got a hearing problem, Damian? To my astonishment he actually ordered the champion this week to "Speak up!" which seemed rather unkind. I know studio sound isn't as good as TV sound but it is pretty quiet in the studio during filming and he is paid to listen to what the contestants declare...

And are you saying that okeydokey is some sort of deliberate catchphrase? And that he doesn't say it at least three times and often much more, every programme? Or that it is inappropriate for someone to criticise a professional TV presenter because he uses the same expression over and over again without apparently realising it?

Or that "men of the cloth" (window-cleaners?) can't express opinions which are critical without being dubbed "hypocritical"?

Stuart

Or that "men of the cloth" (window-cleaners?) can't express opinions which are critical without being dubbed "hypocritical"?

The window-cleaner analogy is a good one. Spotless on the outside, but what about on the inside?

And there speaks a man of words - how about hypocrisy, Damian

Ouch, bad spelling error there. Must have been brain-deadened by the subject matter. I could go back and edit the original, which would render your riposte insane, but i'm happy to look a fool. Okey-doke. (Note, Y at the end not needed).

Two further posts, Damian - but still no answer to any of my questions. Just further easy-to-deliver but still-not-explained attacks on my integrity. What has my character got to do with this topic? Why not just give us some answers? If you feel you have to defend Des for some reason - fair enough. If you don't want to answer for some mysterious reason - fair enough.

Why don't you just tell us about whether or not Des has a hearing problem?

And what is your take as producer on the okey-doke(y) subject?

Stuart

Stuart Earl wrote:Two further posts, Damian - but still no answer to any of my questions. Just further easy-to-deliver but still-not-explained attacks on my integrity. What has my character got to do with this topic? Why not just give us some answers? If you feel you have to defend Des for some reason - fair enough. If you don't want to answer for some mysterious reason - fair enough.

Why don't you just tell us about whether or not Des has a hearing problem?

And what is your take as producer on the okey-doke(y) subject?

Stuart

Oi, lay off Damian Stuart. You cannot expect him to dis Des or even inform us should he have a medical problem (privacy etc). This is an unscripted show and Des does say "Okey-Doke" a bit too often but many people have little sayings. "At the end of the day..." and "At this moment in time..." are two phrases that two separate acquaintences of mine overused.

Des is 76 now and I think we can forgive him the odd repitition.
Des is 76 now and I think we can forgive him the odd repitition.

I sometimes have problems with contestants' accents as well, I know Richard did from time to time and probably t'other Des as well. It's not a big deal.

Why don't you just tell us about whether or not Des has a hearing problem?

And what is your take as producer on the okey-doke(y) subject?

Stuart, am sure most people recognise that Des has problems hearing sometimes, but to be fair to him, we get a lot of teenage males who often offer up nothing more than a bestial grunt instead of speaking loudly and confidently, so it isn't just Des who struggles, its all of us. I just thought your intial post was pretty acerbic when there was no need.

As for the okey-doke comment, i don't really have a take on it. Many people say okay dozens of times in a tv show, Des prefers okey-doke, and as such i think it gets noticed more. I didn't realise it was causing anyone major problems, but if its irritating you that much we'll see if we can't do something about it.

Thank you, Damian, for your reply - and the graciousness of it. That was all I was seeking really. I agree that my first post was a bit sharp, for which I apologise to anyone offended by it - I thought that style of comment was acceptable after some of the comments we have sometimes had. It is true Des couldn't defend himself on this forum, so it is fair enough for you to do it for him. What upset me was the attack on my integrity which I still can't understand.

Maybe all it needs is for someone to mention to Des that someone has pointed out the okey-dokey thing - then it's up to him whether he does anything about it or not. Thank you for saying you would mention it. Of course there are many more important things in life - but then we talk about some pretty esoteric and irrelevant stuff on here so I think it's OK to raise the issue.

Matter closed as far as I am concerned.

Stuart

Yay! Big hug.

I don't agree with that at all. I think Des can hear just fine, and he does look great for his age, 76 I think.

When I was sitting there waiting for it all to begin I saw a little beige gizmo on Des' desk. I don't know if it was a hearing aid or his earpiece but I do remember thinking that it was so tiny it would be really easy to swallow. Then I spent the next few minutes imagining what kind of drama would transpire if I did. A bit of a waste of time really since I should've been concentrating on how to steal his teapot.

George

On the subject of hearing difficulties - dare I mention Carol?
She often asks a contestant for a repeat.
She will say "A vowel?" or "A consonant", often quite unnecessarily in my opinion.
Is it to extend her airtime? A habit? Just to indicate mateyness?
I sense she doesn`t actually need to have the word repeated, yet she still does it a little too often I think.
I find it a tad irritating.

I understand that Des may have hearing difficulties, but I'm really shocked about Carol.

She may be older than some UK game show personalities, but she certainly doesn't look that old. She had plastic surgery.

Someone here said that they really couldn't get enough of Carol. I'm really shocked that nobody has stood up for that.

Current challenger Tim (from the valleys) is very softly spoken which seemed to be causing a few problems. Although, at one point Tim couldn't hear what Carol said, she couldn't handle the irony, got quite stroppy and started shouting letters.

He's the champion, and I think he might go on to become an octochamp.

Oops, yes, I meant current champion.

You just spoiled these past two days' games for me. I watch Countdown every week offline on my computer.

That's ok.

You're full of crap, Jason, nothing was gave away: why would you try to make a member of this forum feel bad about themselves? Shame on you!

Oops, when I said "current champion" I was referring to swimming, again.

You're kidding, David!

Why would you not respond to my e-mail congratulating you at the time for winning 7 Countdown games? By the way, I saw your last game last week, so that's how I knew you became an octochamp.

Where was the sense in you that you had before when you made me feel welcome at first when I started posting to the mailing list?

You only sent him an e-mail? That's where you went wrong. After he won his last game I sent him a bouquet of flowers and a stripper.

Should I have done something different?

I'm aware that you know of David very well, and you did spoil the results of Countdown for the past two days because you said this Tim guy is still the champion.

Please allow me to shift this back to what I meant to talk about in this thread. As well as the sense that David had when he first became acquainted with me on the mailing list, where are all of the smiles on your faces when I say such things?

For some reason, I think some of you misunderstand me. I try to be as nice and rational as I possibly can be. I hope you all understand that.

Jason Larsen wrote:I'm aware that you know of David very well, and you did spoil the results of Countdown for the past two days because you said this Tim guy is still the champion.

The first person to say Tim is/was the champion was you, Jason, not George. This seemed like an attempt to correct George's "mistake", and I think you'll struggle to find anyone who sees George's post as a spoiler. I'd suggest not making comments such as "He's the champion..." if you don't want people to reply "Yes he is..." in future.

I'm sorry, Dan.

I think you've made me feel a little bit better because I was upset before.

Perhaps I don't have a good idea of what a spoiler is.

Jason Larsen wrote:Why would you not respond to my e-mail congratulating you at the time for winning 7 Countdown games?

Can we get back to this anyway? Why would you not respond to Jason's congratulatory email? I sent you one for winning 7 games and got a lovely reply back, and I know of several others that did as well. Why would you single out Jason like this?

Ha, Corby and his great big spoon.

Thanks for the support, folks, but if it will save a lot of arguing can I just say I'm sorry. I'm sorry if I spoiled the outcome of Tim's susequent games, I didn't do it on purpose just as you didn't spoil the outcome of his first game for anyone on purpose.

As I was there for that 'week' I have known who will win all the games this week and next Monday so have been very carefull not to comment on the 'will Tim become an octochamp' debate so didn't really think much of passing a comment on the games that have actually aired.

George

Of course, if David and I were to meeet face to face, I would hear him with no problem, unlike Des sometimes.

He made me feel so welcome when I joined the mailing list. I know that he is a loyal friend of Countdown. I love listening to brogues like his. Also, I appreciate that you all are alleviating from this because if not I would tell you how I really feel.

So, let's keep the smiles on our faces.

Jason, I am sorry mate but that post I made doesn't even make sense to me. It looks like I came online after drinking all night with a few mates and it probably made sense at the time. I will not post here anymore when I am boozing My 2am posts were somewhat legendary on the mailing list.

David O'Donnell wrote:Jason, I am sorry mate but that post I made doesn't even make sense to me. It looks like I came online after drinking all night with a few mates and it probably made sense at the time. I will not post here anymore when I am boozing My 2am posts were somewhat legendary on the mailing list.

That's all well and good, but again it doesn't explain why you would choose to ignore Jason's congratulatory-email-for-7-wins, while at the same time sending lengthy, personalized responses to myself and many others for the same thing...?

David O'Donnell wrote:I will not post here anymore when I am boozing

Nooooo! Another part of our culture eroded by the censorial capitalist pigs!

Corby wrote:

David O'Donnell wrote:Jason, I am sorry mate but that post I made doesn't even make sense to me. It looks like I came online after drinking all night with a few mates and it probably made sense at the time. I will not post here anymore when I am boozing My 2am posts were somewhat legendary on the mailing list.

That's all well and good, but again it doesn't explain why you would choose to ignore Jason's congratulatory-email-for-7-wins, while at the same time sending lengthy, personalized responses to myself and many others for the same thing...?

Jason's email got lost amongst the flurry of porno probably because it had congratulations in the title and was redirected towards my spam folder. Corby you stirring bitch, I am going to make you pay tonight!

David O'Donnell wrote:Corby you stirring bitch, I am going to make you pay tonight!

Very probably!

Or, maybe, you'll choke like you always do. Choker

Corby wrote:

David O'Donnell wrote:Corby you stirring bitch, I am going to make you pay tonight!

Very probably!

Or, maybe, you'll choke like you always do. Choker

You know me so well.

This is for everyone else.

Everything is fine with me now.

Thank you very much.