'University Challenged 2017/18: Volume Seven (04.09.17)'


The out-and-out winner of tonight’s University Challenge had to be Oxford’s Parr-Reid for me.

His similarities to a young Michael Caine (or Phil Cornwell’s Stella Street impersonation of him at least) were pretty uncanny, and the gift that kept giving (when you weren’t sucked in by the thickness of UCL Raii’s wonderous beard). My eyes kept being drawn back, like a moth to the-guy-in-Zulu-with-the-unconvincing-upper-class-accent flame; all he needed was the trademark angry point for the illusion to be complete.

With each passing episode, I listen to the questions less and less: it's just become an exercise in posting childish observations about the contestants on Twitter; It shouldn’t be allowed.

See below for what was said this week:

Trinity - Oxford Vs. UCL (04.09.17)

8:02PM: Parr-Reid is like a shifty Where's Wally.

8:04PM: When Nicole Rosenfeld wears her hair over her right shoulder, she's Evil Nicole; over the left makes her the Nice one.

8:06PM: Parr-Reid.

8:07PM: Michael Moore Moore Moore, How do you like it? How do you like it?

8:08PM: I'm going to buy a racehorse and call it Raii's Fuzzy Felt Beard.

8:09PM: Parr-Reid has the look of a man who secretly put a poo in your fridge and knows you haven't found it yet.

8:10PM: ...Gray's Desperate Dan beard.

8:12PM: I like how UCL's Dowell has managed to make the roll of his rollneck a feature.

8:14PM: Each of Gunn's answers should be underscored with the Peter Gunn Theme.

8:17PM: "What's it all about, Parr-Reid..."

8:18PM: Dowell's thinking face is a zombie face. 

8:19PM: Raii's beard comes off in one piece.

8:20PM: Allinson suffers from narcolepsy.

8:21PM: Gunn drove his team to the studio and settled into his seat so last-minute, he didn't have time to take his jacket off.

8:23PM: Raii's beard had the same density as Tom Selleck's moustache. Therefore he couldn't be more manly.

8:24PM: Rosenfeld and Gray were the only ones to get the mustard jumper memo.

8:25PM: Gunn is wearing a denim shirt under a suede jacket. 
A DENIM shirt, under a SUEDE jacket. 
DENIM. 
SUEDE. 
Madness.

8:28PM: Parr-Reid also has the slight air of a young Mr Barraclough.

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