WWTBAM Prep, Part 5 (22-Feb-2019 to 27-Feb-2019)

Notes taken while watching the UK edition of WWTBAM, February 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. Specific dates for these notes: 22-Feb-2019 to 27-Feb-2019. [5,987 words in this piece.]

OLD WHO: Sun 3-Feb-2019 on Challenge, 28-3 and 29-3-00

[22/02/2019 23:28] Not sure if I’ve got notes on this anywhere, from less than 3 weeks ago, another recording without subtitles

4k: Celebrated her 40th birthday in 1999: Princess Alexandra / Princess Michael of Kent / Princess Royal / (Duchess of York)

8k: liquid containing lactose: (Milk) water vodka vinegar

16k: Prairie Schooner is a: Boat / Wagon / Bicycle / Combine harvester [I wasn’t sure, he’s sure it’s a WAGON, and it is]

32k: Hopalong Cassidy’s horse: Busby or Topper [He’s used 50/50 / goes for TOPPER and that’s the right answer]

Cheque: Brian Jones, 32k, 28-3-0 and final digit is obscured, but the next time it shows us 28-3-00

64k: Islands formerly known as the Spice Islands: (Moluccas) / Bahamas / Maldives / Seychelles [Ask the Audience and they don’t have a clue: 40% Maldives, smallest percentage is 13% Moluccas / Phone-A-Friend is 75% sure it’s Moluccas /

125k: In Britain, what kind of tree is the sycamore: Mulberry / Mountain ash / Maple / Mango [He plays MAPLE and he’s right]

250k: Calgary is in which Canadian Province: Ontario / Manitoba / British Columbia / Alberta [It’s ALBERTA, which I guessed, from the others / He doesn’t risk it but thinks it’s Alberta too]

Brian Jones leaves with 125k

REVISE: This is a sign that I really should revise my Canadian provinces and capitals; that knowledge has completely gone / Calgary Alberta [27/02/2019 12:57] There has been a “Tenable” question about this too

REVISE: THREE questions out of four that I wasn’t sure about: Prairie Schooner is a WAGON / Hopalong Cassidy’s horse was TOPPER / in Britain the sycamore is a MAPLE tree

8 contestants left

FFF: actors in order they first won an Oscar

BACD gives us: Spencer Tracy / Marlon Brando / Jack Nicholson / Anthony Hopkins

Only 2/8 got it right, Jeff Arundell in 6.95s is fastest

A company director from Bath

Before question 500 he changes into a different shirt, so we’re looking at a show with a different broadcast date from the previous questions

1k: Anaconda is a (snake) [He used 50/50 and was left with snake and musical instrument]

2k: 2000 in Roman Numerals (MM) [Ask the Audience, 83% get it right]

4k: John Major’s 1993 policy of a return to traditional British values: (Back to Basics) / Citizens Charter / Maastricht Treaty / Opportunity 2000 [Oh dear, he’s going for Citizens Charter, quickly]

Jeff Arundell leaves with 1k

10 new contestants

FFF: plays in the order they were written

DACB gives us: A Midsummer Night’s Dream / Private Lives / The Mousetrap / Shirley Valentine

Only 2/10 got it right, Richard Kendall is fastest in 8.16s

An administrator from Kilburn near Derby

1k: At the end of The Magic Roundabout Zebedee says it’s time for (Bed) [That question has come up in another old episode of “Who wants to be a millionaire?”, within a year or two of this one]

2k: (Blighty) means back home to British soldiers serving overseas

4k: “freestyle” for swimmers = (front crawl)

8k: Michael Caine’s real name: Marion Morrison / Stephen Burton / (Maurice Micklewhite) / William Pratt

REVISE: Real names, who was Stephen Burton? BURT LANCASTER – Tarrant has just told us, and William Pratt was Boris Karloff

16k: (Napoleon) described Britain as a nation of shopkeepers

32k: York stands on this river (Ouse) Avon Trent Severn

Cheque for Richard Kendall, 32k on 29-3-00

64k: Which of these animals is not a rodent: Skunk / Rat / Squirrel / Porcupine [Phone-A-Friend isn’t sure, thinks it might be a skunk / 50/50 leaves skunk and porcupine / he goes for Porcupine but it’s a SKUNK]

Richard Kendall leaves with 32k

Revise: Mammals like skunk, stoat, otter, weasel what order are they? Are any of them rodents? And how is a PORCUPINE a rodent? [27/02/2019 12:54] Quick check on Wikipedia, it’s about the constantly growing incisors / 40% of all mammal species are rodents, and they’re on every continent except Antarctica

FFF: Four islands in order from NORTH to SOUTH

ACBD gives us: Iceland / Sri Lanka / Madagascar / Tasmania

Only 1/9 got it right, Dennis Evans in 10.32s, again that’s the kind of fastest finger first question I would like

A business analyst from Croydon

And that’s the end of the show, before the 1k question

OLD WHO: Thu 7-Feb-2019 on Challenge

[23/02/2019 00:13] So, this was just 2 weeks ago but I have seen a LOT of WHO since then.

2k: In which city is the TV sitcom ‘The Royle Family’ set? Manchester / London / Birmingham / Liverpool [I had to think about that, but I’m pretty sure it’s MANCHESTER / he uses Ask the Audience and 72% go Manchester / Ricky Tomlinson and Sue Johnston were both in Brookside, set in Liverpool, so that’s one reason I had to think about this one]

4k: (Beirut) is the capital of Lebanon

8k: Love me for a reason was a 1970s #1 for The Osmonds [He’s gone 50/50 and been left with The Nolans too / he uses Phone-A-Friend, 90% sure of the right answer]

16k: Surname of Lucrezia, daughter of Pope Alexander VI: Giorgioni / Medici / Ponto / (Borgia) [He doesn’t know and doesn’t risk it]

Paul Nolan leaves with 8k

8 contestants left

FFF: The words of a Sherlock Holmes story

ACDB gives us: A study in scarlet

Only 3/8 get it right, Chris Lea is fastest in 4.30s

He’s a musician from up north / I think I’ve seen this, and maybe made notes from here onwards / Let’s see when we get to 1k

1k: Black widow is a (spider)

2k: “The Weatherfield One” while in prison in “Coronation Street” was (Deirdre)

4k: The Jungfrau mountain is in: France / Switzerland / Netherlands / Italy [Must be SWITZERLAND with those options, and it is]

8k: A whiter shade of pale (Procol Harum) #1

16k: Umberto II was last king of: (Italy) France Spain Germany

32k: The family that look after Paddington Bear: Joneses Bakers (Browns) Smiths [Ask the Audience: 95% get it right]

Cheque says Chris Lea 32k 20-1-01 I think

64k: Citius Altius Fortius is the Latin motto for: Royal marines / Olympic Movement / European Union / United Nations [I’m pretty sure it’s the OLYMPICS, probably from flicking through this before  / he uses Phone-A-Friend He’s 100% it’s Olympics, and it is ]

125k: “In Disney’s ‘Snow White’, which dwarf was completely bald?” Bashful / Sleepy / (Dopey) / Happy [50/50 leaves him with Bashful and Dopey / He knows that Dopey can’t grow a beard, but goes for Bashful anyway and loses 32k]

Chris Lea leaves with 32k

10 new contestants, including David Stainer and Andrew Packman, who both get a turn

FFF: Wedding anniversaries in order

DBCA gives us: Cotton Tin Pearl Sapphire

1 / 10 / 30 / 45

3/10 get it right, Andrew Packman is fastest in 5.59s

1k: NOT a type of fabric: Taffeta (Tapioca) Tarlatan Tweed

REVISE: Types of fabric, Taffeta, Tarlatan, Tweed

2k: Trolls are ugly creatures from (Scandinavian) mythology

4k: A RUSSIAN BLUE is this kind of pet: Budgerigar / Rabbit / Cat / Hamster [50/50 leaves Budgerigar and Cat / It’s CAT]

Revise: Russian Blue and other cats

8k: singer nicknamed the Little Sparrow (Edith Piaf)

16k: Winchester was the capital of which Anglo-Saxon kingdom? Mercia / Northumbria / Kent / (Wessex) [He’s very sure it’s Kent, including answering back to Chris Tarrant, who says, “Is Winchester in Kent?” His response: “It was the last time I looked.” Oh dear.]

Andrew Packman leaves with 1k

Tarrant says that it’s been difficult to give money away tonight

FFF: Bands in the order they had UK #1s

CDAB gives us: Monkees / Mud / Madness / Manic Street Preachers

7/9 get it right, David Stainer is fastest in 4.80s

He’s a law student from Guildford, his dad is in the audience / he was in the “University Challenge” final in April 1999 and lost to Open University

1k: Sven Goran Eriksson is (Swedish)

2k: (Berlin) Reichstag parliament building burnt down in 1933

4k: (Martha’s Vineyard) is a Massachusetts island

And that’s the end of that show / There are a few questions missing from this chap, I have the 32k question further back so I’m missing the 8k and 16k

[24/02/2019 22:44] There were 3 episodes last night and ONE of them had the missing 2 questions – it’s the only bit of all these shows that hadn’t come up before:

8k: Which of these artists has spent most weeks in UK singles chart (Elton John) Bowie / Shaking Stevens / Tom Jones [Not straightforward that one, and he used 50/50 to be left with Elton John and Bowie]

16k: “Coronation Street” characters who was run over by a tram: (Alan Bradley) Des Barnes / Samir Rachid / Brian Tilsley [Tarrant went through the other deaths: Des killed by drug dealers / Samir mysteriously died near the canal / Brian stabbed outside a nightclub]

Here’s the exact question: “Which “Coronation Street” character died when he was knocked down by a Black pool tram?” Brian Tilsley / Des Barnes / Samir Rachid / Alan Bradley [Ask the Audience: 90% went for Alan Bradley]

REVISE: soap opera deaths, Des Barnes, Samir, Brian Tilsley / “Eastenders” deaths and names

[23/02/2019 00:54] I have been diligent in the last fortnight working through these episodes from Challenge, the hard drive was down to about 11 hours free and it’s back up to 29 hours now

OLD WHO: Challenge 6-Feb-2019, Steve Devlin from 18-1-2001, Debbie Allen 20-1-2001 [Notes on different PC, a few more things]

Debbie Allen is team leader of a billing department, from Redditch in Worcestershire

Paul Nolan is a facilities manager from Heald Green in Cheshire / he met her when he was working as a taxi driver and she was his fare

And that’s another hour deleted from the New Hard Disk Recorder

OLD WHO: Sun 24-Feb-2019 on Challenge, 11pm

[25/02/2019 12:18]

10 New Contestants

FFF: European capitals in order of distance from London

DBCA gives us: Brussels Berlin Rome Athens

Athens is 1488 miles away, I think he said

7/10 got it right, Mark Townsend in 6.34s is fastest

No chat with the contestant on this show, straight on with the questions

1k: (Railtrack) manages British railway infrastructure

2k: Pearl Harbor is in this US State (Hawaii)

4k: (Backbone) is made up of a series of vertebrae

8k: (Stephen Hawking) the physicist who wrote ‘A brief history of time’

16k: A pugilist participates in (boxing)

32k: In medicine, suffix that denotes “Inflammation”: ectomy / (itis) / ology / opsy

REVISE: Medical Suffixes, what exactly is opsy?

9-9-00

64k: Currently portrayed on £5 note Charles Dickens / Michael Faraday / (George Stephenson) / Florence Nightingale [Ask the Audience: 77% right]

REVISE: Bank notes and people who feature, old and new, and other things like Winchester Cathedral on the Jane Austen tenner

125k: TV detective who lived in a static caravan: (Rockford) Columbo / Kojak / McCloud

REVISE: TV detectives, a few basics like actor who played McCloud, and his name and a few basic plot options / Raymond Burr played Ironside, who played Cannon? That sort of thing

250k: Joseph Smith and Brigham Young were leaders of which religious movement: Christian Scientists / (Mormons) / Jehovah’s Witnesses / Quakers [Phone-A-Friend: Certain that it’s Mormons]

REVISE: Religious movements, founders of Quakers, JW, Christian Scientists / Brigham Young and Joseph Smith I know about

The cheque still says 9-9-00

500k: The mother of Queen Elizabeth I: (Anne Boleyn) [He’s gone 50/50 and been left with Jane Seymour as well, he thinks it’s Anne Boleyn but he’s not going to risk it]

Mark Townsend leaves with 250k

FFF: Animal movies in the order they were first released

CDBA gives us: Lassie come home / Lady and the tramp / Jaws / Babe

7/9 got it right, Mark Swift is fastest in 5.94s

HORRIPILATION is the proper word for a goosebump, we learn that after the 100 quid question

500 quid: Mike Baldwin’s Lingerie company in “Coronation Street”: Undervalue / Underpants / (Underworld) / Understyle [The hardest 500 quid question so far, Ask the Audience works: 88% get it right]

1k: (Maiden) in cricket, an over where no runs are scored

2k: Voice of an angel was the first album by (Charlotte Church), not Rod Stewart, Cliff Richard or Des O’Connor

There was no chat at the start of his round, but a bit after the 2k question

4k: According to Gilbert and Sullivan, whose lot is “Not a happy one”: Teacher’s (Policeman’s) Admiral’s Butcher’s [It’s from Pirates of Penzance]

8k: Range of hills nicknamed The backbone of England: Cotswolds / Cheviots / Snowdonia / (Pennines)

16k: (Diana Ross) played Billie Holliday in Lady sings the blues

32k: Where was the United Nations’ official six billionth person born in 1999? BOSNIA / China / Libya / United States [50/50 left us with Bosnia and China / Phone-A-Friend didn’t know – and who on earth would? It’s Bosnia, really tough question that. No idea on this one, and probably wouldn’t have known in 2000 either]

He leaves with 16k

REVISE: UN figures about population, where the 7 billionth person was born, that sort of thing The 6 billionth person, “officially”, was born in Bosnia, a really tough 32k question

FFF: Start with highest, European mountains in order

ADBC gives us: Mont Blanc / Eiger / Ben Nevis / Snowdon

4087m / 3970 / 1343 / 1085

4/8 got it right, Don Williams is fastest in 6.20s

Again, no chat before question 1

1k: (Digestion) breaks food down into nutrients

2k: Famous Gershwin concert work: Rhapsody in (Blue) not Paris, Rhythm or Wales

4k: Principal thoroughfare in Edinburgh: (Princes Street) / Queens Street / Kings Street / Dukes Street

OLD WHO: Sun/ Mon 24/25 Feb 2019 on Challenge, midnight to 1am

[25/02/2019 12:52] Okay, so pretty good progress on that last one, let’s carry on for another one, the same guy, Don Williams, about to go for his 8k question – looks like it was the same original show, as he’s still wearing the same light-blue / Lilac shirt

8k: What should you do with a Besom in the garden: Prod holes / Water plants / prune shrubs / (Sweep leaves) [I think I’ve learnt through quizzes that a besom is a brush / 50/50 has given him Prod holes as the other answer / He’s using Phone-A-Friend, who doesn’t know the answer / And now he uses Ask the Audience: 65% go wrong with Prod holes, 35% go right with sweep leaves]

Don Williams leaves with 4k

10 new contestants including someone called Ronnie Barker

FFF: African cities from north to south

I tried ACBD and got it wrong: Alexandria / Khartoum / Nairobi / Addis Ababa

The correct answer, ACDB, gives us: Alexandria / Khartoum / Addis Ababa / Nairobi

REVISE: the positions, north to south, of these African cities: Alexandria / Khartoum / Addis Ababa / Nairobi

Only 2/10 got it right, Rod Jordan was fastest in 7.87s

1k: Large gathering of scouts: (Jamboree) Hullabaloo Brouhaha Tickety-boo

REVISE: derivations of Brouhaha, Jamboree, Hullabaloo / Jamboree is a large gathering of scouts / and check the scout names that come from “The Jungle Book”

2k: Jonah Lomu played (Rugby Union)

4k: Two-edged sword traditionally used by Scottish Highlanders: (Claymore) Sporran / Tam-o-shanter / Plaid

8k: Taoiseach is prime minister of (Ireland) [It means Chief]

16k: French physician RENE LAENNEC invented this in 19th C: X-Rays / Stethoscope / Microscope / Telescope [I was pretty sure it’s Stethoscope, by elimination]

32k: Who sang “A message to your heart”, the UK’s entry in the 1991 Eurovision Song Contest? (Samantha Janus) / Sonia / Frances Ruffele / Gina G [By elimination, and the year, I know it’s Samantha Janus, but again my Eurovision knowledge – despite ALL those times I’ve checked out lists of UK contestants – has a long way to go / Ask the Audience: 34% Sam, 45% Sonia / 50/50 leaves Sam and Sonia, surprise surprise / Phone-A-Friend doesn’t know, but does know that they’ve both sung for the UK / he doesn’t risk it]

Rod Jordan goes away with 16k

FFF: Queen’s Grandchildren in the order they were born:

BCAD gives us: Peter Phillips / Zara Phillips / Prince Harry / Princess Eugenie [Harry is older than Eugenie: he’s 1984, she’s 1990]

6/9 got it right, Robert Richland is fastest in 5.08s

Around the 500 quid question we’re into a new show from the original broadcasts, but this show on Challenge has just run on – the contestant is in a new shirt

1k: Ophthalmologist treats (eyes)

2k: Red snapper is a: spider / bird / (Fish) / alligator [Ask the Audience: 87% go right]

4k: Dr Benjamin Spock was an expert on: (Childcare)

8k: Basque country is centred around this mountain range: Alps (Pyrenees) Caucasus Andes [Phone-A-Friend: he knows without hearing the options]

16k: US government official, equivalent to British Foreign Secretary: Attorney General / (Secretary of State) / Defense Secretary / Secretary General [50/50 leaves B and D / he doesn’t know and doesn’t risk it]

Robert Richland leaves with 8k

FFF: Horse races in the order they’re normally run through the year

CBDA gives us: Cheltenham Gold Cup / Grand National / Derby / St Leger

We have another 10 contestants including John Murphy and David Evans but we weren’t introduced to them

6/10 got it right, Nick Hand is fastest in 6.34s

1k: (Douglas) is capital of Isle of Man

2k: Female whale is a (cow)

4k: 3rd Sunday in June in the UK is dedicated to (Fathers) [Ask the Audience: 90% get it right]

8k: English King, victor at Battle of Agincourt (Henry V) [Phone-A-Friend gets it right]

16k: European Union has parliament buildings in Strasburg, Luxembourg and which other city: Maastricth / The Hague / (Brussels) / Antwerp

32k: Stoke City, Blackpool and England player, first European footballer of the year, 1956: (Stanley Matthews) / Tom Finney / Bobby Charlton / Billy Wright [He says that’s a 100 quid question for him]

Cheque says 14-9, year is covered up but it must be 2000

Revise: Stanley Matthews and other 50s players / Matthews 1956, first European footballer of the year – was he also the first footballing knight?

[25/02/2019 13:25] Okay, that’s the end of that show, 2 hours’ worth of “Who wants to be a millionaire?” in 67 minutes, and we’re now into the 3rd show

OLD WHO: Mon 25-Feb-2019 on Challenge, 1am, from 14-9-00

[25/02/2019 13:26] It’s Nick Hand continuing on from the last show

64k: Country with the most time zones: (Russia) [He used 50/50 and was left with China too, which he was sure only has ONE]

Once again the cheque says 14-9 and has the year covered up

125k: Trapezium bone is in: Ear / Back / Shoulder / Wrist [I’m pretty sure it’s shoulder, but could be back / he doesn’t risk it, thinks it’s wrist, and he’s right: it’s the WRIST, I had no idea]

Nick Hand leaves with 64k

REVISE: TRAPEZIUM bone is in the wrist

[25/02/2019 13:29] Okay, that’ll do, 2 hours of quizzing should be enough for now.

[25/02/2019 16:02] And now I’m back, waiting to meet one more child on her return from school

10 new contestants as the show continues

FFF: Start with fewest, in order according to number of legs

CADB gives us: Lord Nelson / Isle of Man emblem / Red Rum / Spider

4/10 got it right, Ken Harrison is fastest in 8.21s

Again, no chat with the contestants

1k: (Vestry) where a clergyman changes his clothes

2k: (Muffin) the Mule on children’s TV from the 1940s

4k: Zucchini is another name for: Aubergine (Courgette) Mangetout Cauliflower [Phone-A-Friend, his wife Chris, and she’s sure]

8k: “The Man Who” was a hit album for (Travis) in 1999 [Ask the Audience: 94% get it right]

16k: Inauguration of US Presidents traditionally held on 20th of (January) not November, December or February

32k: With which country does Denmark share a land border: Sweden / Netherlands / Norway / Germany [I think it’s Germany, because of all the Schleswig-Holstein stuff / He goes Germany and is right]

The cheque says 17-9-00

64k: Species of monkey, shares its name with an order of monks: (Capuchin) not Dominican, Franciscan or Cistercian – really doesn’t feel like a 64k question that

125k: Charles Dickens novel with a headmaster called Wackford Squeers: David Copperfield / Bleak House / Nicholas Nickleby / Hard Times [I thought that I might have had this question already, but there’s no mention of the name anywhere here / he’s going for David Copperfield / but it’s NICHOLAS NICKLEBY]

Ken Harrison leaves with 32k

REVISE: Dickens characters / Wackford Squeers is a headmaster in Nicholas Nickleby

FFF: Artists in order of year of birth

BDAC gives us: Leonardo Da Vinci / John Constable / Pablo Picasso / Graham Sutherland

3/9 get it right, Andy Dalton is fastest in 5.95s

1k: PGA deals with (golf)

2k: Damon Albarn is lead singer in (Blur) [Ask the Audience: 83% get it right]

4k: Sodium Chloride is better known as (salt)

Revise: Baking Powder, Baking soda, Epsom salts, common chemical compounds

8k: Orinoco River is in (South America)

16k: A sultan’s wife is a (Sultana) not Sultessa Sulteen [Sulteen was left with the right answer on 50/50]

32k: (Lexicographer) compiles dictionaries

64k: Hinduism is official state religion in: Thailand / Bangladesh / Nepal / Afghanistan [He’s using Phone-A-Friend, she thinks it might be Nepal / I think I’d go Bangladesh / He goes Nepal and is right: it’s NEPAL]

Revise: State religions of Bangladesh, Thailand, other Asian countries / Hinduism is state religion of NEPAL

125k: prime minister when “Coronation Street” was first broadcast: Eden / (Macmillan) / Wilson / Churchill [If Douglas-Home had been on offer I’d have been torn, but from those 4 it’s definitely Macmillan / He’s going for Wilson, so he loses 32k]

Andy Dalton leaves with 32k

FFF: French leaders in order

ACBD gives us: Louis XIV / Napoleon B / Charles de Gaulle / Francois Mitterand

5/9 get it right, Ange Seymour is fastest in 4.81

Tarrant is all over her – first woman contestant in a while

And that’s the end of the show, before the 1k question

[25/02/2019 16:35] Good, I’m glad that’s done: 3 hours of “Who wants to be a millionaire?” sorted this afternoon.

OLD WHO: Fri 22-Feb-2019 on Challenge, No Money for Michelle Simmonds, repeated Sat 23-Mar-2019 at 11pm

[26/02/2019 08:32] In one sense, there’s nothing to make notes on here, because Michelle Simmonds leaves with nothing, but it’s compelling, and an indication that people can still be caught out in the first 5 questions

100 Quid: A work by JS Bach: (Air on a G String) / Breeze in a Bikini / Waft in the Y-fronts / Gust up a gusset [She didn’t know, and it took her a while to work it out, prompted by Tarrant saying “Eliminate the ones it couldn’t be]

200 quid: Aer Lingus is the national airline of (Ireland) [She knew this one]

300 quid: In which city is Everton Football Club based? Birmingham / Liverpool / Manchester / Newcastle [“Football’s not my good topic” she says / Ask the Audience: 87% go right]

500 quid: “Which character in the TV soap ‘Eastenders’ is played by Todd Carty?” Ian Beale / Phil Mitchell / Mark Fowler / Nick Cotton [She uses 50/50 here and is left with Beale and Fowler, she goes for the right one]

1k: “Which word specifically links a type of mammal with an archbishop or high-ranking bishop?” Carnivore / Rodent / (Primate) / Marsupial [The poor thing, she agonizes over this one, doesn’t use Phone-A-Friend and eventually plumps for MARSUPIAL]

Michelle Simmonds becomes the 3rd player between 1998 and 2000 to leave with nothing

FFF: Words in order in the magpie rhyme

BDCA gives us: Sorrow Joy Girl Boy

Only 1/9 got it right, Joanna Karatas in 5.9s

A student teacher with two kids and a Turkish husband

1k: Eminem is associated with (Rap)

2k: Non-metric system of weights and measures (Imperial)

4k: (Rice) is fermented to make Japanese drink sake [Ask the Audience: 80% go right]

8k: “According to the title of his first diary, which birthday was Adrian Mole about to celebrate?” Eleventh / Twelfth / Thirteenth / (Fourteenth) [She gets the title wrong and thinks he was 11 and 3/4 so she goes for 12th]

Joanna Karatas leaves with 1k

FFF: 5 senses in alphabetical order

DBCA gives us: Sight Smell Taste Touch

Only 3/8 got it right, Andy Barnes is fastest in 5.28s

Chartered accountant from London, was in Canada, his wife is Canadian, they lived in the same street but never met while he was in Canada

1k: (Incubator) where eggs are placed to hatch artificially

2k: In which nursery rhyme does Johnny Green feature? The house that Jack built / Wee Willie Winkie / Ding Dong Bell / Goosey Goosey Gander [Not sure on this one, I’d probably have gone Ding Dong Bell, which is right / ]

REVISE: nursery rhymes, read through the top 100, though I’m not sure that we have a definitive old-fashioned book of them any more / Check the kids’ bookshelves / I DID find the a nursery rhyme book, in a memory box, but all the verses have been rewritten: there isn’t a single traditional rhyme there, they’re all 1960s versions, maaaan

4k: Farrah Fawcett and JACLYN SMITH appeared in which popular TV series: Johnny’s Saints / Tony’s Princesses / Jimmy’s Darlings / (Charlie’s Angels) [That’s more like a 100 quid question]

8k: Cataract is a natural feature: Mountain (Waterfall) Forest Lake [He uses Ask the Audience [78% go right]

16k: Which musical features the song, “I whistle a happy tune?” (The King and I) / Carousel / The Sound of Music / Guys and Dolls [I’m pretty sure it’s The King and I, but it would help to know for sure / Phone-A-Friend, his dad, is sure]

REVISE: Musicals, the big 20 and songs from them – remember, you’re not starting from a blank sheet here

32k: Author of the Discworld series of science fiction novels: Frank Herbert / Douglas Adams / Isaac Asimov / (Terry Pratchett) [He doesn’t know, uses 50/50, is left with Frank Herbert as well, doesn’t risk it]

Andy Barnes leaves with 16k

REVISE: Frank Herbert books, and James Patterson and other HUGE-selling authors / Whenever people like Patterson come up on “Pointless” there are heaps of pointless answers, books I’ve never heard of

10 new contestants, including someone called Will Smith

FFF: Starting from Christmas Day, Zodiac signs in order

DACB gives us: Capricorn Aries Cancer Leo

Only 2/10 got it right, Majella Maher is fastest in 7.40s

A hotel revenue manager from Maidenhead / Majella is patron saint of pregnant women / She’s originally from Waterford

[Subtitles are on and off here from the recording – they’ve just disappeared again]

1k: The Millennium Stadium is in (Cardiff)

2k: Salad made from lettuce, croutons, cheese and anchovies: (Caesar) Claudius Augustus Tiberius

REVISE: Salad ingredients, and where Caesar Salad gets its name from

4k: George W Bush was governor of (Texas) [Ask the Audience: 75% go right]

8k: in the science fiction novel ‘The Day of the Triffid’, what are the ‘triffids’? (Plants) Wolves Dinosaurs Fish [Phone-A-Friend: 100% sure]

And that’s the end of this show

OLD WHO: From 25-Feb-2019 on Challenge, 19-2-01

[26/02/2019 09:06] Majella Maher from Waterford / Maidenhead is still on

16k: European award for beaches based on cleanliness and safety: Green flag / (Blue flag) / White flag / Red flag [She goes 50/50, is left with green and blue and doesn’t risk it]

Majella Maher leaves with 8k

FFF: Starting with the shortest, film actors in order of height

BADC gives us: Danny de Vito / Tom Cruise / Brad Pitt / Clint Eastwood

5/9 get it right, John Sexton is fastest in 5.54s

A racing journalist from Beverley in EAST Yorkshire, met his wife while buying a Pink Floyd LP

1k: Created by Jim Henson: Wombles / Clangers / Woodentops / (Muppets)

REVISE: Creators of Woodentops, Camberwick Green and other kids’ TV shows / And NAMES of them – was it Pogel’s Wood? And check out an episode or two of Mr Benn, Roobarb & Custard, The Herbs and The Clangers / And confirm how many there were – only something like 13 episodes of The Herbs

2k: (Isle of Man) island that is home to a tailless breed of cat

4k: According to the rhyme, who took the kettle off again, after Polly had put it on? Sylvie / Sunny / (Sukey) / Sooty [He gets there eventually]

8k: UK #1 in August 2000 with Music (Madonna) [Ask the Audience, 83% go right]

16k: A traditional English county that no longer exists: Cambridgeshire / Cheshire / Cornwall / (Cumberland)

32k: What kind of insect is a ‘swallowtail’ Butterfly / Grasshopper / Dragonfly / Beetle [This is EXACTLY the kind of question I wouldn’t want to come up on 32k, or any time really, I’ll have to revise all the insects and bugs that have come up in quizzes and hope that only those ones would come up again, NOT the ones I haven’t heard of / He knows it, he says, as butterfly]

REVISE: A swallowtail is a BUTTERFLY

The cheque shows us: 19-2-0 and the final digit is obscured, as so often, but we later learn that it’s 19-2-01

64k: Bodega Bay is the main setting of which Alfred Hitchcock film: (The Birds) / Rebecca / The 39 Steps / Psycho [By elimination for me, that one / But I don’t remember the name from the movie – I haven’t seen it for a long time / he goes 50/50 and is left with Rebecca too]

It’s 19-2-01

125k: Fruit that is the principal ingredient of slivovitz brandy: Cherry / Apricot / Orange / Plum [He uses Phone-A-Friend, his mum / She’s positive it’s PLUM]

REVISE: Brandy and other spirits, ingredients especially FRUIT and grains that are used] / Slivovitz brandy is made from PLUMS

250k: The phrase “History is bunk” is associated with which famous American: Thomas Edison / (Henry Ford) / Theodore Roosevelt / George Custer [That’s an easy 250k question for me, much easier than the 125k

The only other racing journalist they’ve had on the show to date was John Randall, who left with 500k

500k: Who was prime minister when women first got the right to vote in Britain? Lloyd George / Salisbury / Balfour / Bonar Law [I was sure it was David Lloyd George before the answers came up / He’s not sure / He thinks it’s David Lloyd George too but doesn’t risk it / It IS Lloyd George]

John Sexton leaves with 250k

REVISE: Dates of prime ministers, especially first 40 years of 20th C

10 new contestants including John Spencer

FFF: Creams in order of minimum milk fat content

I got this wrong, as CBDA: Single Double Whipping Clotted

It should be CDBA: Single Whipping Double Clotted

4/10 get it right, Jim Whitaker is fastest in 6.75s

A solicitor from Chester, daughter in the audience, wife and 14 year old son at home

500 quid: Star of the 2000 film Cast Away: (Tom Hanks) [He uses Ask the Audience and 90% get it right]

REVISE: Plot of Cast Away, name of the basketball or baseball or whatever it was, and who directed it?

1k: Serengeti National Park is in (Africa)

REVISE: National Parks, states in US, confirm that Yellowstone is in Wyoming, which country is Serengeti, and Maasai, and other safari-kind of places

2k: (Tarzan) is Michael Heseltine’s nickname

4k: Glyndebourne holds (opera) festivals

8k: French word croissant means (crescent)

16k: “Sex and the City” is based in (New York) [He uses Phone-A-Friend: 90% sure it’s New York / 50/50 gives him Chicago as well, he goes for New York]

32k: Popular toy named after a President of the US: (Teddy Bear) [Easier than many of the 32k questions]

Cheque shows us 22-2-01

64k: Which of these elements is a metal? (Lithium) Chlorine / Sulphur / Xenon

REVISE: What, exactly, is sulfur, if it’s not a metal? On my Periodic Table it’s one of 6 light blue elements simply called “Nonmetal”, along with Chlorine, Nitrogen, Oxygen, Phosphorus and Selenium / The darker blue grouping, “Metalloid”, has Boron, Silicon, Germanium, Arsenic, Antimony and Tellurium

[26/02/2019 09:38] And that’s the end of the show, 2 episodes in 69 minutes

OLD WHO: On Challenge, Tue 26-Feb-2019

[27/02/2019 08:48] Continuing on, Jim Whitaker is on 64k

125k: OCHLOPHOBIA is a fear of CROWDS / Snakes / Confined spaces / Punishments [He doesn’t know, and doesn’t risk it]

Jim Whitaker leaves with 64k

REVISE: Another phobia: OCHLOPHOBIA is fear of CROWDS

FFF: Starting with lowest number, UK motorways in order

DACB gives us: London to Leeds / Rugby to Carlisle / Edinburgh to Glasgow / London Orbital

M1 / M6 / M8 / M25

Good question that, had to think about it

Only 1/9 gets it right, Tony Emans in 12.44s

He’s a wishing machine repair man from Reading [I was half-watching this last night when it was recording, also looking up lots of things like Oscar speeches from 1996 – notes on the other PC]

1k: In 2000, who presented the Channel 5 game show ‘Naked Jungle’ in the nude? Noel Edmonds / Mike Smith / Philip Schofield / (Keith Chegwin)

2k: (Japan) launched an attack on Pearl Harbour in 1941

4k: Macadamia is a (nut) [Ask the Audience: 76% are right]

8k: River Tiber flows through (Rome)

16k: “In Edward Lear’s famous verse, the Jumblies went to sea in which container?” Sink / (Sieve) / Saucepan / Saucer

32k: 1996 hit Macarena (Los del Rio) not Los Lobos, Baccara or Renee and Renato

Cheque shows clearly: 22-2-01

64k: (Pangram) A sentence that contains all the letters of the alphabet

125k: Father of the legendary King Arthur (Uther Pendragon)

250k: “The Misfits”, 1961, last film of (Clark Gable) not Humphrey Bogart, Gary Cooper or Errol Flynn

500k: Middle name of artist LS Lowry: Sidney / Stephen / Stanley / Samuel [I looked it up while it was on live, it’s STEPHEN / He uses Phone-A-Friend who says “I’m thinking” and doesn’t give an answer / 50/50 leaves him with Stanley as well / he doesn’t risk it]

REVISE: LS Lowry first names: Laurence Stephen

Tony Emans leaves with 250k

10 new contestants

FFF: Put these words in alphabetical order

ADBC gives us: Four One Three Two

Only 2/10 got it right, Paul Everitt is fastest in 7.10s

1k: Cramp affects (muscles)

2k: Montego Bay is in (Jamaica)

4k: Ludwig van Beethoven was (German) [Ask the Audience: 77% right]

8k: “Mardi Gras” means (Fat Tuesday) [Phone-A-Friend: thinks it’s Middle Wednesday / 50/50 leaves Last Monday and Fat Tuesday / He goes for Last Monday]

Paul Everitt loses 7k and leaves with 1k

FFF: Starting with earliest, creatures in order they evolved:

I went wrong here, with DACB: Reptiles Fish Mammals Man

It should be: ADCB: Fish Reptiles Mammals Man

Sloppy

3/9 get it right Alistair McDowell is fastest in 5.48s

A product manager from Ely

1k: Dylan Thomas play (Under Milk Wood)

[27/02/2019 09:09] And that’s the end of the show, around 20 minutes to get through that