mostly david ephgrave

I sometimes wonder why I live-tweet University Challenge so incessantly. Is it a way of shifting focus from the clear gaps in knowledge when it comes to the subject-matter of most of the show’s questions? I see myself as a reasonably intelligent human being with a fairly wide field of reference until I turn to BBC2 on a Monday evening, when I morph into a gibbering, dribbling cretin. At least with Only Connect (which they now air before University Challenge, which is a mistake: it used to be quiz-show dessert, but now it’s a misplaced first course) I stand a fighting chance; with University Challenge, the only one-upmanship I can muster is I’m marginally less socially awkward than the show’s contestants…though it's probably a close-run thing. See below for tonight’s childish Twitter ramblings: Merton - Oxford Vs. Edinburgh (12.03.18) 8:32PM: Paxman looks so very, very, very, very weary. 8:33PM: Thomas looks like a Nazi a...

Tonight’s University Challenge saw a Cambridge college take on a college in Oxford; is it me, or are the teams always from there? I know there are a number of colleges in both cities, and I know both cities are famed for their top-quality education (you may not be aware of this) but still, can’t some other places have a crack of the whip? I want to see scarily well-read students from different privileged backgrounds, and not just the same two boat-race locations going at it; if not, I’m going to write a strongly-worded letter to Points of View (but only if it’s read out on the air by someone with suitable vocal standing; James Earl Jones, perhaps?) See below for my tweets about tonight's show: Fitzwilliam - Cambridge Vs. Merton - Oxford (05.02.18) 8:33PM: Typical two-out-of-four Theo team average. 8:34PM: Tindall killed five people...and that's just today. 8:35PM: Tindall's hair and Fuzzy Felt have the sam...

The plus side to my show being cancelled tonight, small as it was, was I was able to watch this evening’s University Challenge. I’ve only missed one episode in the whole series thus far, yet this didn’t stop me from receiving a couple of messages from people who know I tend to live-tweet it, expressing disappointment in my lack of commentary; perhaps this means I’m providing a service in some way, albeit a useless, frivolous one. Whatever the case may be, it was good to be able to resume my usual duties. As ever, there was plenty to mock; see below for the mocking I offered up: Oxford Brookes Vs. Merton - Oxford (22.01.18). 8:33PM: Oxford Brookes sounds like a war poet. 8:33PM: I've got an average age of thirty-six too. 8:34PM: Jeremy Paxman has two pet guinea-pigs called Come On and No. 8:37PM: Thomas looks like a child dressed as an adult...and he looks like he loves it. 8:39PM: Thomas, son of Herr F...

Tonight’s University Challenge wasn’t particularly enthralling, if I’m honest. It’s notable that one of my more popular tweets (whatever I mean by ‘popular’) during the broadcast was about my sadness at the lack of a Monkman in this series; despite there having been the odd - ‘odd’ being the operative word - amusing contestant, no one’s come along yet to steal Monkman’s throne; in fact, I’m beginning to wonder if anyone ever will. I guess there’s still time. Until then, I’ll keep watching each week, in the hope someone funny crops up; I’m not entirely sure I’ve grasped what University Challenge is all about. Merton - Oxford Vs. King's - London (23.10.17) 7:32PM: Thomas looks like an android. 7:33PM: "I'm reading for a masters in medieval studies". Useful. 7:33PM: I've got an average age of forty too. 7:34PM: Richard Senior is actually senior. Beautiful. 7:35PM: Oxford's Thomas...