Tuesday 6 September 2016

Only Connect Series 12: Group B Round 1: Match 1: Fire-Eaters vs Eurovisionaries

OK, we now move on to the second group of the OC first round draw. Same rules as the first half: six winners go through, four highest scoring runners-up get a second go in the play-offs. First half worked pretty well, though if either of the two one-time losing teams in this half of the draw score more than 13, they can feel hard done by IMO.

Anyway, the first two teams in this half of the draw were the Fire-Eaters, Andy Davis, Tony Moore and captain Jonathan Elliott, and the Eurovisionaries, Ciara Kennedy, Aaron Boardley and captain Paddy Duffy, a former UC researcher. (Thanks to Ted 'Caius' Loveday for pointing this out on Twitter)

Round 1. The Eurovisionaries went first, chose Eye of Horus, and instantly got the music set: we heard The Angel's Farewell from Elgar's Dream of Gerontious, then Sinatra's Angel Eyes, then Angel From the Realms of Glory (as sung by the King's College Cambridge choir), and finally 'Heaven Must be Missing an Angel' by Tavares. They spotted the link with the final clue, for a point. The Eaters chose Water for their first question: '4-2-8 Shiba-koen, Minato-ku, Tokyo', then '3655 Las Vegas Boulevard South', then 'The Promenade, Blackpool'; at this point, they offered 'locations of towers that look like the Eiffel Tower'. Close enough for two points, though the final clue would've been '5, Avenue Anatole France, Champs De Mars', which is the Eiffel Tower itself! The Eurovisionaries chose Twisted Flax next, and got the picture set: we saw Peter Tosh from the Wailers, then John Bull, then two cobblers, and finally two Dutch flags. They eventually figured it out: they are all synonyms for 'nonsense'. (Double Dutch being the final clue) The Eaters chose Lion next: 'He has 39 social-security numbers', then 'He is a practising Muslim', then 'He faked his birth certificate'; at this point, they offered 'things that have been said of President Obama', which earned them two points. The Eurovisionaries chose Horned Viper next: ''From the roots' (Greek)', then ''We can' (Spanish)', then ''We ourselves' (Gaelic)'; that gave it to them that they are translations of the names of political parties in their respective languages, for two points. Left with Two Reeds, the Eaters saw 'Black Hole (Star Trek 2009)', then 'Wormhole (Donnie Darko)', then 'Flying around the Earth (Superman)'; this was enough for them to offer 'means for achieving time travel', which was correct for two points. At the end of a good first round for both sides, the Eaters led 6-4.

Round 2, What Comes Fourth? The Eurovisionaries kicked the round off with Lion: '100: Johnny Briggs', then '200: Alec Bedsar', and then '300: Fred Trueman'. Neither team knew it. The link is English Test bowling milestones, so '400: James Anderson' would be fourth. The Eaters chose Twisted Flax next: '3: EAT', then '2: CAT', and then '1: CET'; they offered '0: GMT', which was an acceptable answer, the link being time zones and the numbers of hours ahead of us they are. The Eurovisionaries chose Eye of Horus next: 'May-Britt & Edvard Moser (Medicine)', then 'Carl & Gerty Cori (Medicine)', and then 'Frederic Joliot & Irene Joliot-Curie (Chemistry)'. Agonisingly, their answer of 'Marie & Pierre Curie (Chemistry)' was not right. Their opponents changed 'Chemistry' to 'Physics', and picked up a bonus. For their own question, the Eaters chose Water, and got a music question: we heard some disco-sounding music, then Faure's 'Pavane', and then 'America' from West Side Story; they recognised it to be the opening themes for the BBC's coverage of World Cups, but went the wrong way, and thus got it wrong. Their opponents made no mistake, offering 'Nessun Dorma' for a bonus, and triggering a very reluctant and clueless enforced sing-along! (The first piece, from the 2002 World Cup was called 'God is Beckham', apparently) For their own final question, the Eurovisionaries chose Horned Viper: 'The Informer', then 'The Grapes of Wrath', and then 'How Green Was My Valley'. Neither team got this: the sequence is Oscar winners directed by John Ford, so 'The Quiet Man' would complete the set. Left with Two Reeds again, the Eaters got the picture set, and saw Kaa the snake from the Jungle Book, then the horse from War Horse, and then the Three Billy Goats Gruff, with one circled. They spotted it to be the Chinese zodiac, but didn't get it right; their opponents knew the monkey came next, and offered an acceptable answer for a bonus. At the end of the second round, the Eaters led 9-6.

On to the Walls. The Eaters went first this time, and opted for the Lion wall. They saw some links, and, after some wrong answers, isolated 'Belly roll', 'Eastern cut-off', 'Scissors' and 'Western roll', which are high-jump methods. A second group, 'Flop', 'Kicker', 'Under the Gun' and 'Gutshot', which are Poker terms, followed. They looked over what was left, worked out the links, and solved it on their penultimate guess: 'Milkcap', 'Horn of Plenty', 'Giant Puffball' and 'Oyster' are types of mushroom, while 'Apple-pie', 'Camp', 'Bunk' and 'River' can all precede 'bed'. A well worked-out full ten there.

The Eurovisionaries thus had to match that to keep in touch, as they tackled the Water wall. They also spotted some early links, one of which was famous men called Dick, which they eventually isolated with 'Cheney', 'Advocaat', 'Francis' and 'Turpin'. They saw some of the remaining links, but couldn't solve any more in the allotted time, and thus had to pick up bonuses: 'Anniversary', 'Emperor', 'Skaters'' and 'Minute' are waltzes, which they got, 'Macaroni', 'Humboldt', 'Adelie' and 'Chinstrap' are types of penguin, which they also got, and 'French fork', 'Balbo', 'Goatee' and 'Van Dyke' are types of beard, which they also got too. Five there, which meant the Eaters led 19-11 going into the final round.

As we saw last week, still all up for grabs going into Missing Vowels. 'Adjectives involving food', such as 'HAM-FISTED', went to the Eurovisionaries 3-1. 'Similes involving 'black'', or 'As black as...' 'THE ACE OF SPADES', went to the Eaters 2-0. 'Cities of the Mississippi' went to the Eaters 4-0, and that was time. The Eaters won 26-14.

A good match well played by both team. Unlucky Eurovisionaries, but hopefully you'll get a deserved go at the play-offs. Well done Eaters though, and very best of luck in the next round.

Next week's match: Wrestlers vs Clareites

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