'University Challenged 2018/19: Volume Seven' (17.09.18)


I barely took part in my usual Monday evening tweet-along-to-University-Challenge-athon this evening for a couple of reasons: (1) because I’ve grown a little bored of the show if I’m honest, and (2) I’m feeling a bit less childish of late.

I read an article a few weeks back, written from the perspective of a few contestants who’ve appeared on the game show and weren’t prepared for the virtual onslaught they received online as a result of this, literally in a virtual sense. The article was mostly written from the point of view of women who felt the way they looked took priority over their actual abilities, which is something I don’t believe I’m guilty of, yet it still made me think.

I’d like to hope what I do is never seen as an attack; I’m not seeking these people out directly and copying them in to my feedback, and the sort of thing I write is meant to be harmless and comedic, but it’s so easy to cross a line so that's no longer the case. This is partly why I’ve been feeling less inclined to take part in such obvious silliness.

That said, I still couldn’t help but be a little cheeky - it’s a tough affliction to unlearn - so I've also included a few tweets I posted whilst watching the new University Challenge side-project, ‘Monkman and Seagull’s Genius Guide to Britain’; they might be of vague interest, but then again, they may not; still: at least no-one was harmed in the process.

Bristol Vs. Queen's - Belfast (17.09.18)

‘University Challenge’ 17.09.18

8:36PM: I once made Breen's face using iron filings and a magnet.

8:38PM: "Does Magna Carta mean nothing to you? Did she die in vain?"

8:44PM: Breen, son of Merryfield.

8:48PM: Breen grew tired of his uncle's stories of what he got up to "during the war".

8:52PM: Questions about women? Surely not.

8:55PM: Iredale's dressed like a trainee Monkman.


‘Monkman & Seagull’s Genius Guide to Britain’ - Episode 1 (17.09.18)

8:15PM: "Don't mow me, please". Brilliant.

8:23PM: ...like a nerdy Bill and Ted.

8:28PM: Jodrell Bank sounds like rhyming slang: "I'm having a Jodrell Bank".

8:28PM: "Cable Guy".

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