Wednesday 1 July 2015

Only Connect Series 1: Match 12 (Quarter-Finals): Lapsed Psychologists vs Country Walkers

So, here we are at the final quarter-final, between the Lapsed Psychologists, Richard McDougall, Jack Waley-Cohen and Matthew Stevens, and the Country Walkers, Dave Roberts, Steve Lamb and Nigel Lewis. Whoever won would take the final place in the semi-finals.

The Psychologists kicked off the first round with Epsilon: 'The Duke', then 'The Parson', then 'The General' and 'Lady Agatha' to finish; they didn't know, nor did their opponents. They are characters played by Sir Alec Guinness in King Hearts and Coronets. The Walkers chose Gamma, and got the picture round: we saw a bust of some ancient figure, then a chemical formula, then a laughing Buddha, and finally the Laughing Cavalier by Franz Hals; they correctly answer 'laughing', the formula being for laughing gas, and the bust being of Democratus. The Psychologists chose Beta, and got the music question: neither side recognised any of the tracks, all of which had September in the title. The Walkers chose Delta: 'Thomas Cook', then 'Pickfords', then 'British Leyland', and finishing with 'National Express'; they tried 'transportation', which was not precise enough. The Psychologists didn't know it either. They are all companies that were nationalised. The Psychologists chose Zeta: 'Istanbul', then 'Kampala', then 'Sheffield', and 'Rome to finish; they suggested they are all cities built on seven hills, which was correct for a point. Left with Alpha, the Walkers saw 'table', then 'trap', then 'exam' and finally 'alarm clock'. Neither side noticed the link: they are all things that can be set. Good question, but no-one spotted it. At the end of a tough first round, the teams were tied 1-1.

Round 2, What Comes Fourth? The Psychologists chose Epsilon first again: 'First Term', then 'Second Form', then 'Third Year'; they thought the link was Billy Bunter, and thus guessed wrong, as did their opponents. It is actually the 'Malory Towers' series, so 'Upper Fourth' is next, apparently. The Walkers chose Alpha: 'Cape St Vincent', then 'Nile', then 'Copenhagen'; they tried 'Trafalgar', as they are battles won by Nelson, which was correct for two points. The Psychologists went for Zeta next: 'Sixteenmo', then 'Octavo', and at this point, they tried 'Duet'; not correct. The Walkers saw 'Quarto', and guessed 'Duo'; wrong too. The link is paper sizes, so 'Folio' would finish the set. The Walkers chose Delta for themselves: 'ZXC', then 'ASD', then 'QWE', and I guessed '123' would be next, as they are the first three keys on keyboard rows going up. The Walkers unluckily got it wrong, but the Psychologists knew it for a bonus. For their final choice, the Psychologists chose Gamma: 'Hypercube', then 'Cube', then 'Square', and they tried 'Line', as they are 4D, 3D, 2D, 1D going down. Correct, for two points. The Walkers were left with Beta, and the pictures: we saw a shoe buckle, then a door being knocked at, and then someone holding a pile of sticks; it was obviously 'One, Two, Buckle my Shoe', and the Walkers offered 'open the gate'. Not what TPTB had in mind ('Lay them straight' was the final clue we saw), but VCM let them have it, as they had the right idea. At the end of the second round, the Walkers led 5-4.

So, on to the Walls. The Walkers went first, and chose the Alpha wall. After some wrong guesses, they isolated 'Golf', 'Sierra', 'Victor' and 'Shogun', which are all makes of car. They spent the rest of the time trying to work the rest of the wall out, but ran out of time, and having the wall resolved for them. 'Echo', 'Explorer', 'Voyager' and 'Sputnik' are all spacecraft, which they got. 'Foxtrot', 'Tango', 'Tap' and 'Morris' are all dances, which they saw. 'Zulu', 'Water', 'Mona Lisa' and 'Ashanti', which they also knew. So, five points there.

The Psychologists were left to have a go at the Beta wall. They identified some links early on, and tried to unravel the links, but had little luck. Eventually, they isolated 'Wedge', 'Pump', 'Mule' and 'Brogue', which are all types of shoe. They were timed out before they could work any of the other links out. 'Wellington', 'Sandwich', 'Plimsoll' and 'Pavlova' are all named after famous people, which they did get. 'Custard', 'Vienna', 'Snowball' and 'Cookie' are all TV cats, which they spotted once resolved. 'Clover', 'Napoleon', 'Major' and 'Boxer' are characters from the excellent 'Animal Farm', which they also got. So, five points for them too. Going into the final round, the Walkers led 10-9.

So, once again, Missing Vowels would decide the outcome. 'PG Wodehouse characters' went to the Psychologists 2-(-1). 'Pilgrimage sites' went to the Psychologists 2-1. 'Cole Porter songs' was a 1-1 draw. 'Terms in calculus' only managed one question, which neither side got. At the end of the show, the Psychologists won 14-11.

Another good effort from both sides. Unlucky Walkers, but well done on a good showing. Well done Psychologists, and we'll see you in the semi-finals!

I'll be back next week with the semi-finals. I also expect we may hear news on the next series of UC soon; I'll report back if I spot anything.

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