WWTBAM Prep, Part 27 (26-Jun-2019 to 21-Oct-2019)

Notes taken while watching the UK edition of WWTBAM, May 2019. New editions (2018 onwards, broadcast on ITV) are titled “NEW WHO:”, older editions are titled “WHO:” or “OLD WHO:” and were broadcast on Challenge; Celebrity editions, also broadcast on Challenge, are titled “SLEB WHO:”. Specific dates for these notes: 20-Jun-2019 to 25-Jun-2019 . [3,128 words in this piece.]

OLD WHO: Sat/ Sun 22/23-Jun-2019, midnight [repeated Fri 28-Jun-2019, 10pm]

[26/06/2019 08:49] It starts with the same thing as the previous show, the fastest finger first won by Phil Riley

FFF: Start at the head, work downwards, garments in order

BCAD gives us: Panama / Poncho / Pantaloons / Plimsolls

8/10 get it right, Phil Riley is fastest in 3.79s

A mechanical fitter from Telford Shropshire / Friends with Rachel, now partners, an 18 month old daughter called Olivia / He would like to take them back to South America, where he did a hair-raising bike ride for charity

1k: (Full-bodied) can be used to describe a good wine not wide-bodied, able-bodied and so on

2k: (Goose) makes a honking sound

4k: the job ASM describes someone who works in: (Theatre) not department store / School / restaurant [Assistant Stage Manager / Ask the Audience: 56% get it right, 30% think department store / 50/50 leaves School as well]

8k: Exmouth is in (Devon) not Dorset [He’s used Phone-A-Friend for this and takes a while to decide on this]

REVISE: Exmouth and other places in Devon, well, I kind of know them from going there and doing research / I looked up Dorset the other night: there are no cathedrals in actual Dorset, especially since the changes to old areas of it like Portsmouth [I need to check these details]

16k: the land of VULGARIA features in this musical: The Water Babies / Mary Poppins / CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG / “The Wizard of Oz” [I thought it was Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and it is / he doesn’t risk it]

Phil Riley leaves with 8k

REVISE: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, I’ve still never seen it all the way through, it features the land of VULGARIA

FFF: Start in Britain, move east, cheeses in order of country of origin

DCBA gives us: Caerphilly / Edam / Feta / Monterey Jack

4/9 get it right, Chris Davies is fastest in 3.60s

Trainee construction engineer from Glamorgan / lives part-time with his parents and part-time with partner and 2 kids / with a big win he could afford the fancy wedding dress for her, but doesn’t guarantee that he would move in with her

1k: Barbara Cartland is most associated with (Romance) books [Ask the Audience: 94% get it right]

2k: In WW2 (spivs) dealt on the black market, not Trivs, Rivs or Divs [Phone-A-Friend: she knows it]

4k: Head gear traditionally associated with pupils of HARROW School: Felt cap / Beret / Top Hat / STRAW BOATER [I might have jumped in there with Top Hat and left with almost nothing / He uses 50/50: left with Beret and STRAW BOATER, and it’s Straw Boater]

8k: French town of GRASSE is famous for the manufacture of: Carpets / Swords / (Perfume) / Saddles [He doesn’t risk it]

Chris Davies leaves with 4k

REVISE: GRASSE in France is famous for manufacture of PERFURME

10 new contestants: Naveen Mann / Kate Delahay-Jones / Andrew Keech / Debbie Bunnage / David Edgeworth / Mick Colinese / Malcolm Langran / Hayley Bracken / Matt Olsen / Paul Edwards

FFF: Types of bread in alphabetical order

DCAB gives us: Bagel / Baguette / Bap / Bloomer

Only 2/10 get it right, Andrew Keech is fastest in 3.62s

[26/06/2019 09:04] And that’s the end of the show,  before we learn anything about him / quick progress there

OLD WHO: Sun 23-Jun-2019, 1am [repeated Fri 28-Jun-2019, 11pm]

[26/06/2019 09:08] On with the next one

“Welcome to the last in the current series” says Tarrant, same fastest finger first as in the last show:

FFF: Types of bread in alphabetical order

DCAB gives us: Bagel / Baguette / Bap / Bloomer

Only 2/10 get it right, Andrew Keech is fastest in 3.62s

A Business Development Director from Lower Shelton near Bedford / Met his wife at 12 when they were bell-ringing, and met again in their late 20s / twins of 9 / his Arsenal-supporting mate is in the audience

1k: (Fruit) of an olive tree is used to make olive oil

[Chat about why he likes Arsenal: their fantastic new stadium, their way of playing / Chat about bell-ringing / Liverpool’s Angican church has the heaviest set of bells in the world, he says]

2k: Hong Kong Stock Exchange: (Hang Seng)

4k: (Wales) is the home country that is a principality [Ask the Audience: 62% get it right]

8k: Detective with a boss called Chief Inspector Dreyfus: Morse / Maigret / Clouseau / Wexford [I think it’s CLOUSEAU [Phone-A-Friend: doesn’t know, would guess Wexford / 50/50 leaves Clouseau and Wexford, it is Clouseau, as played by Herbert Lom]

REVISE: fictional detectives, Chief Inspector Dreyfus as played by Herbert Lom is Clouseau’s boss

16k: 2005 album “Devils and Dust” released by: George Michael / Debbie Harry / (Bruce Springsteen) / Cher [I’m pretty sure it’s Bruce, especially with those options / He would have gone for George, but doesn’t risk it / It’s Bruce alright]

Andrew Keech leaves with 8k

FFF: Start with lightest, boxing weights in order

ACDB gives us: Featherweight / Lightweight / Light heavyweight / Heavyweight

6/9 get it right, David Edgeworth is fastest in 2.90s

From Enfield, was a market trader for 25 years but aggressive competition from larger companies made him trade in his stall and he’s now a warehouse operative for a major supermarket chain / Wife Joanne, married for 10 years, but have known each other since primary school / 2 kids, and he has 2 from a previous marriage / Would like to move away because the “community spirit” that he grew up with has died

1k: Rose Quartz is a mineral of this colour: Blue / Yellow / (Pink) / White [Ask the Audience: 96% get it right]

[Chat about the rough pub where he and Joanne met up again after all those years / he hates beach holidays / would like to go on a golfing holiday in Scotland]

2k: Song: Won’t you come home (Bill Bailey)

[The couple also met having physiotherapy for injuries “incurred in the pursuit of pleasure” says Tarrant – he had a knee operation after 24 years of playing football, she had fallen off a pool table]

4k: On farm, most like to separate grain from corn: Rotavator / Milker / Bailer / (Thresher)

8k: Mountains that stretch from Quebec in the north to Alabama in the south: Ozarks / Appalachians / Cascades / Rockies [I’m pretty sure it’s the Applachians / Phone-A-Friend: thinks it’s the APPALACHIANS, and it is]

REVISE: The Appalachian mountains stretch from Quebec in the north to Alabama in the south

[As the chat continues I realize that I saw this earlier this year, might even have made notes on it, but probably didn’t / “Too many people” in London so he wants to move out / “I like walking past someone, saying Good Morning”]

16k: Performer who is a regular judge on “American Idol”: Gloria Estefan / Whitney Houston / Diana Ross / (Paula Abdul)

32k: City that shares its name with the river on which it stands: Chicago / New York / Washington DC / Boston [I’d go for Washington, but I’d be wrong / 50/50 leaves Chicago and New York, so I’d guess it’s CHICAGO and it is]

REVISE: RIVER and city called Chicago

LITERALLY no date on the cheque

64k: Comedienne associated with the phrase “She knows, you know”: Beryl Reid / Joyce Grenfell / (Hylda Baker) / Dora Bryan

125k: A condition caused by a deficiency of vitamin B1: Rickets / Scurvy / (Beriberi) / Malaria [He keeps saying it’s not beriberi, thinks 70/30 it’s Scurvy, he doesn’t risk it]

David Edgeworth leaves with 64k

[26/06/2019 09:33] So, that’s the end of the show and the end of the series, and nother 2 hours cleared from the hard drive

[26/06/2019 09:38] A bit more sorting on the har drive and there’s 34 hours free right now, no more “Who wants to be a millionaire?” to see

OLD WHO: Wed 26-Jun-2019, 2 repeats at 10pm and 11pm

The first one was Sun 16-Jun-2019, midnight, questions about Odometers, Beatrix Potter and Niomi (first name of Ms Dynamite), John Gallantry followed by Nick Byrd

And then it’s Sun 16-Jun-2019, 1am, Andy Jones and Michael Steer, questions about Auf Wiedersehen, Pet (Kevin Whately played NEVILLE HOPE) / “Oh to be in England now that April’s there” was written by ROBERT BROWNING

PANTO WHO: Sun 30-Jun-2019, 10pm on Challenge [is a repeat of 8-Mar-2019]

[01/07/2019 06:15] Blimey, I’m astonished to find that this was nearly FOUR months ago, I assumed it was in the last month or two

David Hasslehoff and Denise Welch / Tim Vine and CHERYL FERGUSON (from “Eastenders”) / JOHN PARTRIDGE and Alison Hammond [he’s ex “Eastenders”]

OLD WHO: Sun 30-Jun-2019, 11pm: it’s a repeat of Wed 20-Feb-2011 on Challenge, from 10-2-01

[01/07/2019 06:30] I recorded the first half, and have just stopped to record the day’s weather: “a settled week of weather”, with Wimbledon beginning today / this is the one with Stewart Crawford in a red shirt, and his 16k question [The governing body of British horseracing is the BRITISH HORSERACING BOARD]

SLEB WHO: Mon 1-Jul-2019, 10pm, Jasper Carrot and daughter

[02/07/2019 08:57] Clearly the programmers at Challenge know that I’m winding down the intensity with which I have been “Who wants to be a millionaire?” and the latest show was this repeat, which I have notes on elsewhere.

NEW WHO: Seen as a family 24-Aug-2019, 2 small wins and a junior doctor still there on 64k

[25/08/2019 08:24] I started watching as it began, and everyone else joined me.

I wouldn’t have got the 2nd fastest finger first and there was a 500 quid question I would have needed the audience’s help with, about pets (RAGDOLL is a cat)

NEW WHO: Sun 25-Aug-2019, brief notes

The Junior Doctor from Enfield went out on his 64k question: he (and his Phone-A-Friend, and Clarkson if called upon) didn’t know that Bobby Robson was England manager for longer than Fabio Capello (it was on 50/50)

There was another small win from a female plumber from Devon. The next one is next weekend, and they’re appealing for contestants for the NEXT series

NEW WHO: 24-Aug-2019

[24/09/2019 15:09] It’s a while since I cleared any Trivia from the hard drive, and I keep adding to it. Time to make full notes of the first episode of “Who wants to be a millionaire?” from this new series, and clear it.

Contestants: Esme Rolph-Robinson from Luton / Ara Varatharaj (Enfield) / Janice Talmer (Aylesbury) / Kane Crescent (Thurrock) / Martin Bartlett (Bristol) / Helen Lowe (Fareham)

FFF: Put these names of the Mr Men in alphabetical order: Mr Nosey / Mr Noisy / Mr Nobody / Mr Nonsense

CBDA

5/6 get it right, Kane Crescent is fastest in 5.01s

He’s from Essex, has a mate in the audience

1k: The Menai Strait separates which island from mainland Wales? Isle of Wight / Isle of Man / (Anglesey) / Lindisfarne

He uses Ask the Host for this one, who knows it for sure

2k: Published in 2018, ‘Becoming’ is a memoir by which former US First Lady? Laura Bush / Rosalynn Carter / Hillary Clinton / (Michelle Obama)

He uses 50/50 and is left with Hillary too, then goes for it

4k: If food is prepared in the ‘julienne’ style, which of these does it resemble? Cubes / Coins / Matchsticks / Balls

It’s MATCHSTICKS, not sure if I’d have guessed this right [he uses Ask the Audience: 42% get it right, 21% balls, 20% cubes, 17% coins]

He sets his safety net at 8k

8k: In 2019, which awards ceremony was hosted for the second year running by Jack Whitehall? (Brit Awards) / National Television Awards / BAFTA Television Awards / Olivier Awards [He uses Phone-A-Friend on this one: says No idea, then says Brit Awards]

16k: Evacuated the day after the Chernobyl Incident of 1986, the abandoned city of PRIPYAT is located in which modern-day country? Estonia / Russia / (Ukraine) / Georgia

32k: Which negatively charged paticles are found in shells that surround the nucleus of an atom? Electrons / Neutrons / Positrons / Protons

It’s ELECTRONS, and I still wasn’t 100% / I knew it wasn’t one of those beginning with P

64k: Which of these took place in the same year as Live Aid? Sony Walkman launched / (“Eastenders” first broadcast) / First “Die Hard” film released / Maradona’s “Hand of God” goal

He believes it was 1986 so goes for Maradona and loses 24k / But it was 1985, same year as “EastEnders” began

Kane Crescente leaves with 8k

[24/09/2019 15:27 Blimey, 2 minutes to save this file and then AutoSave kicked in]

FFF: Going from the largest to the smallest, put these birds in order by the extent of their adult wingspan:

Mute Swan / Blue tit / Jackdaw / Osprey [I got this wrong when it was on live, and wouldn’t have gone through on this fastest finger first]

It’s ADCB: Mute Swan / Osprey / Jackdaw / Blue tit

3/5 get it right, Esme Rolph-Robinson is fastest in 3.09s

She’s a photographer, husband in the audience

She needs to use Ask the Audience for the 200 quid question about the Observer, only published on a (Sunday)

1k: In a 2018 auction, how did a painting by Banksy famously “self-destruct” moments after it was sold? It set on fire / it exploded / It dissolved in acid / (It shredded)

2k: What term is applied to someone able to speak a number of languages? Polygon / (Polyglot) / Polygraph / Polygamist

4k: What building was designed by JOSEPH PAXTON to house the Great Exhibition of 1851? Blenheim Palace / Alexandra Palace / (Crystal Palace) / Lambeth Palace

She uses 50/50 and is left with Lambeth as well

8k: Frequently seen on bank cards, the symbol of the Contactless payment system consists of how many curved lines? Two / Three / Four / Five

I still can’t visualize it, despte watching the show and checking my cards while watching / I think it’s 4, and it’s the same for Wi-Fi / It is 4, she’s gone for 3 and she leaves with 1k

FFF: Starting with the back and moving to the front, put these human adult teeth in typical order: Molars  / Incisors / Canines / Premolars

ADCB

3/4 get it right, Ara Varatharaj is fastest in 2.31s (quick)

He’s a junior doctor, his friend James is in the audience

Tough £500 question for me: “Ragdoll, Sphynx and Devon Rex are breeds of which popular pet?” Dog / CAT / Bird / Fish

I’d probably have needed Ask the Audience, just to be sure

1k: “Which of these is the title of a 1978 UK Number 1 single by Kate Bush?” To The Lighthouse / The Mill on the Floss / (“Wuthering Heights”) / Tess of the d’Urbervilles

2k: The UK Secret Intelligence Service is otherwise known as what? GCHQ / NCA / COBRA / (MI6)

4k: Which wedding anniversary did the Queen and Prince Philip celebrate in 2017? 50th / 60th / (70th) / 80th [He works it out]

8k: Who won the 2019 series of the TV show Britain’s Got Talent? Ben Hart / Marc Spelmann / (Colin Thackery) / Kojo Anim

He uses Ask the Audience, 63% get it right

16k: In Albert Einstein’s famous equation E=mc2, what does the letter m represent? (Mass) / Matter / Momentum / Magnetic field

[He’d use his winnings go to the Maldives again, and buy a Triumph Stag]

32k: The films ‘Minority Report’ and ‘Total Recall’ are based on short stories by which science fiction author? Arthur C Clarke / Isaac Asimov / Ray Bradbury / (Philip K Dick)

64k: The region known as the Fertile Crescent is centred around which part of the world? Amazon basin / Southeast Asia / Southern Africa / (Middle East)

[24/09/2019 15:48] And that’s the end of the show, and it took me 39 minutes to transcribe it: a long time, but there were 997 words in that chunk of typing [some of them deleted before being turned into a Blog item]

Ara Varatharaj will return on 64k

NEW WHO: Sun 29-Sep-2019, brief notes

[30/09/2019 09:30] I flicked through it in about 15 min. The biggest win was 125k, 3 contestants including the one from last week who didn’t actually answer a question, and it was one that I would have got wrong: as the crow flies which of these is furthest from London? Vancouver / Beijing / Miami / Cape Town: I’d have gone for Vancouver, but it’s Cape Town.

The “Training Facilitator” had a 250k question which he didn’t risk, but he would have guessed the right answer: the SI Unit for Pressure is named after a man with what first name? It came down to Isaac (Newton) or Blaise (Pascal) and it was the latter.

REVISE: SI Units,  and derivations, unit of pressure is the PASCAL / I’ve just taken a look in Schott’s Miscellany but it’s not there / 1 Pascal = unit of pressure, equal to 1 Newton per square metre / Newton is a measure of FORCE, equal to 1 kg meter per second squared, or “1 Newton of force is the force required to accelerate an object with a mass of 1kg 1 m per second per second”

REVISE: Distances from London: Cape Town is further than Vancouver, Beijing or Miami / I’ve just taken a look at the timeanddate.com website and it doesn’t list Cape Town or Vancouver immediately, but you can search for them

New WHO: Final show of the series (brief notes) Sun 20-Oct-2019

[21/10/2019 15:24] It was on last night straight after “Strictly Come Dancing, the Results Show” and we watched till 9pm as a family. And then there was a 15-minute additional show for the last few questions, which resulted in a 250k win. The contestant’s 500k question was: “Which philosopher was tutor to Alexander the Great?” Options: Thales / Socrates / Plato / Aristotle.

I was pretty sure it was Aristotle but the contestant didn’t know, and nor Clarkson, with his final lifeline.

The main earlier question of note was about Luxembourg, San Marino, Liechtenstein and Andorra: which is smallest? Again I was pretty sure it was San Marino (and I was right) but I had to check. I found a page on Wikipedia about “Microstates” and I think that after San Marino it goes Monaco and then Vatican State in terms of size. I got a little confused about sizes in square kilometres and square miles.

[21/10/2019 15:39] And that’s it for now