University Challenged 2016/17: Volume Nine (26.09.16)


All that needed to be said about tonight’s University Challenge was summed up in my first tweet of the evening: “Well…Regan’s a twat.”
Queen's - Belfast Vs. Birmingham (26.09.16)


Admittedly, it wasn't very subtle, but then neither was Regan’s get-up. He chose to make his début on the show dressed as a gimp. To be fair, he’s not the first; there have been many unfortunately-garbed contestants on the programme before this evening’s episode and there’ll be many to come. He was just in the invidious position of being the most eye-catchingly attired of the night, though he brought this attention on himself and therefore only has himself to blame. Still, what right have I to judge? You should have seen how ridiculous I looked at his age; I went to my drama school's graduation ball as a First Year in a pair of black and grey stripy flares; I didn’t even have the era as an alibi: it was the Nineties, not the Sixties.

Regan-bashing to one side, here are my evening’s University Challenge tweets:
 
8:03pm: Well...Regan's a twat.

8:03pm: Regan looks like Jarvis Cocker doing an impression of Elvis Costello.

8:04pm: Rouse = Murderer.

8:05pm: Sutherland's certainly bringing Birmingham's average age of 29 up.

8:05pm: Regan's hair comes off with his hat.

8:08pm: Jeremy Paxman says the word 'Wikipedia' like a mum says the word 'gig'.

8:11pm: Belfast's Doherty's come dressed as Gyles Brandreth.

8:13pm: All of Regan's style choices are wrong.

8:15pm: "Oh Regan, you're so...'individual'". Said by no-one ever (except for me, just then).

8:19pm: I'd like to stage a Roger Tilling / Alan Dedicoat Enthusiastic Voice-Over Face-off.

8:20pm: Why have Queen's Belfast got a outsized sprig of broccoli as a mascot?

8:22pm: Jan-Smith and Sutherland didn't get the blue jumper memo.

8:24pm: This #UniversityChallenge is all "Monet, Manet, Monet, Manet".

8:26pm: Greenlees and Rouse are the Tweedledum and Tweedledee of Team Birmingham.

8:28pm: ...because Greenlees and Rouse WOULD know the work of Tolkien inside-out.

8:30pm: I don't think Regan spent hours deciding on his outfit at ALL.

Popular posts from this blog

Shakerpuppetmaker.

Image
Have Parker from Thunderbirds and Noel Gallagher ever been seen in the same room? The resemblance is uncanny. So much so, I think something’s afoot. If my suspicions are correct, I've stumbled across a secret that will blow the music and puppet industry wide apart. In the mid-60s / mid-90s at least. It doesn’t take long to see the signposts. There’s the similarity between the name of Oasis’ first single, Supersonic, and Supermarianation, Gerry Anderson’s puppetry technique. The Gallagher brothers would often wear Parkas . Live Forever was clearly a reference to Captain Scarlet and Standing on the Shoulder of Giants to the size difference between Noel and his bandmates. The more you think about it, the more brazen it gets. It’s fishier than Area 51, Paul is Dead and JFK's assassination put together. The only glitch to the theory is scale . According to Wikipedia, Anderson’s marionettes were 1’10” and Gallagher is 5’8”. How does he maintain an illusion of avera...
Read more

Stevenage: A (Tiny) River Runs Through it.

If ever a river was mis-sold, it’s the Roaring Meg in Stevenage. I just walked past it on my way to the retail park that has taken its name. They’re similarly uninspiring. The river is less of a roar and more of a dribble; cystitis sufferers produce greater flow. The retail park is soulless. What was once a thriving enterprise is nearly devoid of atmosphere, save an underlying essence of emptiness and despair. With a Toys R Us. When it was first built I was excited. Back then, the thought of a bowling alley, an ice rink, a Harvester and a Blockbuster Video within a small surface area was enticing. I celebrated many birthdays on site. There was an indoor cricket pitch there for a while where I once had a joint party with a friend. Why someone with an almost pathological fear of sport would agree to such a venture is beyond me, but I did it. Now, there’s very little at the Roaring Meg of note. The river would be a metaphor for the shopping ce...
Read more

Hoo-ray and up She Rises.

So much has happened since my last post in March that this blog risks sounding like an itinerary. The main news is that Hitchin Mostly Comedy will return in the summer at a new venue, the Queen Mother Theatre . The road to this decision was convoluted, though enough fell into place en route to leave me optimistic about this new start. The catalyst was a survey I ran via our mailing list a few months back, in which I asked, "If the club returned in the current climate, with tickets still around £15 (and with similar line-ups), would you still attend?"; the response to which, in simple terms, was a resounding yes. Nearly 250 mailing list subscribers responded in a single week, with around a hundred also taking the option to leave some feedback. And only two people were abusive, which counts as a win when you consider they posted their comments online anonymously. Imagine how many more insults we would have received if the comedy club was a woman. Particularly if she was Diane ...
Read more