Skip to main content

'University Challenged: Week Seventeen' (13.11.17)

Tonight it dawned on me that we’ve now seen all the candidates for this series of University Challenge, so there’s now no chance of any other amusing characters coming along to spice things up.

We now know there’ll be no contender to rival Monkman, or even Bobby Seagull; no-one’s going to steal their throne. In one sense this is annoying and in another, it’s a relief. In a way, I don’t want them ever to be bettered as those are some big shoes to fill; but at the very least it would nice to have someone even gently amusing as, without this, it can get a little tedious.

(I clearly watch the show for the wrong reasons).

See below for my twitter commentary (as exciting as it is).
Strathclyde Vs. Emmanuel Cambridge
8:02PM: Jeremy Paxman is weary with YOU.

8:04PM: Brown had planned that wave for weeks. His worry about this was all-encompassing: would it be a mistake? Should he do it? Shouldn't he? He shouldn't have done it.

8:05PM: Emmanuel's mascot is a knitted penis in a hat

8:06PM: Derby's hair's as big as Derby.

8:07PM: It's a lot less fun writing bitchy #UniversityChallenge tweets with a 280-character limit.

8:10PM: In the bar after the recording, Paxman offered to settle Chevallier's student debt.

8:13PM: Strathclyde's Brown has the dubious honour of being dubbed tonight's murderer.  
8:16PM: File Derby's hair in the dictionary under 'bouffant'. 
8:19PM: The scene at Paxman's wedding: Registrar: "Do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?" Paxman: "NO". 
:21PM: Is Dijkman actually there, or am I hallucinating again?

8:25PM: Paxman seems to think it doesn't matter how rude or disdainful he is while presenting #UniversityChallenge as long as he does that winning little smile at the end.

8:26PM: Paxman has the presenting style of a man who knows the meter's still running.

8:29PM: Logan would have felt a lot more relaxed if he'd undone his top button.
Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

Not The Bayeux One.

The Carole King album Tapestry has been my 'getting-ready-in-the-morning' soundtrack for the past few weeks.  It's been a favourite album ever since I was a student, which makes for a pleasantly gentle way to usher in the start of a day. I've always been a fan of a well-crafted song, which is something of a Carole King hallmark, ever since she started writing with her first husband in the early Sixties. Tapestry may be an unimaginative choice for a favourite LP, as it suggests I haven't delved that far into her career, but it's still an undoubted classic; anything with '(You Make Me Feel Like A) Natural Woman', 'Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?' and 'You've Got A Friend' on it can't really fail; if nothing else, it proves she likes writing songs with long titles.  Next month, she's set to perform the album live in its entirety for the first time at a gig in Hyde Park, which I would have loved to have gone to, if it weren...
Read more

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

Hitchin is Mine.

As of six o’clock tonight, I take over the Hitchin is Yours Twitter account for a week; a stewardship I’m anxious to get right. I’m proud of my hometown. It’s a great place to live, with so much going for it. I've always sold it to my non-Hitchinite friends; so much so, that a lot have gone on to move here. Any town expansion plans are partly my fault. Feel free to picket outside my house. I love its history and architecture. Take St Mary’s Church, for example. The building is beautiful inside and out, and huge for a town of our size. There has been a place of worship on site since the 7 th Century. Much of the present building dates from the 1300s. You wouldn't get that in America. (Don't forget the British Schools Museum too.)  Hitchin is a hive for creative people and a hub for the arts. It boast two theatres, two comedy clubs, a couple of art galleries, a festival for world music and a thriving music scene. This drew...
Read more