University Challenged at Christmas (1) (19.12.16)


I didn’t expect there to be much to tweet about tonight’s University Challenge, as it was one of the Christmas specials with ‘real’ ‘people’ as contestants, but it turns out I was wrong.

For starters, one of the teams - Manchester - barely scraped their way past the zero mark on the scoreboard, despite being amongst the college’s top-tier alumni; I guess this was just the way the questions fell. I was also surprised that all of St Anne’s Oxford team were women; a rarity on such a middle-class white male-led show. This was great, particularly when they trounced Manchester so perfectly.

See below for tonight’s UC Twitter ramblings. As to whether I'll keep this up for the rest of the Chrimbo series, we’ll have to wait and shall see. I’m sure the nation will be on tenterhooks as to what my decision will be.

Manchester Vs. St. Anne's - Oxford (19.12.16(

8:03pm: "Ivor Nowello".
8:04pm: ...and he don't know it.
8:05pm: Too many women on tonight's #UniversityChallenge; I'm not having it.
8:07pm: Jeremy Paxman speaks like a man whose car is running on a meter.
8:08pm: Don't lie, Paxo; you don't know what the Bake Off is.
8:09pm: Armitage's hair is like a mid-nineties Britpop thatch.
8:11pm: Morelle and Ramirez: that embarrassing moment when you arrive at the #UniversityChallenge studio wearing the same outfit.
8:13pm: Manzoor came straight to the studio after installing his Van der Graaf generator.
8:15pm: ...imagine Paxman sidling up to St Anne's team in the BBC bar post-recording.
8:16pm: Fancy filling Manchester's team with four mutes.
8:17pm: I'm spending the entire episode trying to fathom out Archer's outfit.
8:21pm: Manchester could have saved their money on their train ticket.
8:23pm: Manchester's Armitage is Ian Broudie's dad.
8:26pm: Jeremy Paxman should bring out an aftershave called Resentment.
8:29pm: Still amused that my dad once confused the arena in Cambridge with the pub on Benet St, calling it the Eagle Exchange.

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