Skip to main content

University Challenged: Volume Eighteen (02.01.17)


I was delighted to see the proper series of University Challenge return to our screens tonight, as it’s much more fun to bully its contestants (indirectly on Twitter of course) than those in the Christmas specials.

Siantonas is a case in point, as he's University Challenge Gold; if I were to expect a man with his choice in facial hair to crop up anywhere on the planet, it would be behind a desk with his name on a lightbox, being grilled by Paxman. His is an extraordinary look, the like of which has been seldom seen since the glory days of Prog Rock in the mid-to-late 1970s; chances are he owns a special limited edition version of Mike Oldfield’s Tubular Bells.

He wasn’t the only source of amusement tonight. See below for my related Twitter posts:

 
Bristol Vs. Oriel Oxford (02.01.17)

8:03pm: Siantonas is a pastiche of himself.

8:05pm: Siantonas was played by John Thomson in The Fast Show.

8:06pm: I got the John Lennon 'Beautiful Boy' reference; it played right into my court.

8:07pm: Tobias Thornes wants to be middle-aged. He wants to be middle-aged SO BAD.

8:08pm: Did Bristol's Jackson just say "Chimney sperm"?

8:08pm: Thomsett comes as part of a set.

8:09pm: Thomsett's beard is made of dyed iron fillings. Thomsett is sucking a magnet.

8:10pm: Clarke is sullen, very sullen.

8:11pm: Thornes came in fancy dress as his dad.

8:13pm: Siantonas is what would happen if the Blues Brothers' Steve Cropper and Duck Dunn mated.


8:13pm: Thornes, son of Blair.

8:14pm: Thornes canvassed for a political party between takes.

8:15pm: Siantonas likes folkin' folkin' folk.

8:16pm: I see this series' contestants Siantonas and Monkman as a warning.

8:18pm: After the recording, Paxman sidled up to Clarke in the bar and promised to fund the rest of her education for a date.

8:19pm: Siantonas; I mean, SERIOUSLY.

8:20pm: Thornes and Rolleston: future prime minister and leader of the opposition.

8:21pm: Kim Cattrall, comin' atcha.

8:22pm: Thornes face on a punchbag.

8:24pm: Bristol's Clarke is seriously narked off.

8:25pm: Siantonas owns a variety of pipes.

8:26pm: Clarke could give Paxman's general disinterest a run for its money.

8:28pm: Paxman, in his living room, protesting about a tardy dinner: "Come...ON".
Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

Shakerpuppetmaker.

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

Comedy That's Worth a Letch.

Today, I nipped to Letchworth to meet with illustrator (and one-time - two-time - comedy poet) Mushybees, to discuss an event Mostly Comedy will act as surrogate parents to as part of Letchworth’s Arts Takeover in a couple of weeks. Months ago he got into contact to see if we’d be up for co-organising a comedy stage as part of Letchworth’s weekend of arts-based attractions in July; something I’d provisionally said yes to, before things got hectic in the lead-up to Edinburgh and we didn’t take it any further. Despite not getting down to the nitty-gritty straight away, we managed to pull a line-up together in a back-and-forth of emails yesterday, leading to me getting Glyn’s blessing and us deciding we’d officially go ahead with it (whatever ‘officially’ means in this context). In reality, it’s not complicated: from 12pm until 6pm-ish on the 22 nd July, Glyn, Mushybees and I will host four Edinburgh previews from four acts (including me), before Nor...
Read more