University Challenge (also featuring Only Connect and other BBC quiz shows)

It's toe-curling in and of itself, but they're so terrible at it.

I can't support high-fiving but awkward high-fiving is great TV imo

After Electric Avenue and Guns Of Brixton, I was shouting BILLY BRAGG'S A NEW ENGLAND! at the telly, because I hadn't thought about Lambeth and had skipped straight on to London for #3. I wonder if it would have been allowed as an alternative answer.

she's never off our telly now, it's like if romesh did quizzing... 8)

a meniscus away from snatching it (and even I knew that one)

I've mentioned before about the delay in the missing vowels round. We had less than a second to answer the last one. I had barely registered the fact a clue had come up when the buzzer sounded for the end of the match.

I haven't actually seen it yet, but there's a story about how we didn't get Aqua either. But I don't know how it played on the telly, so I can't really explain right now.

bad luck - tough questions all round, they did well to get the alphabet keyboard one(*) but got lucky with the alkanes.

(*) especially as it referred to the american version of the song (ending in zee), though i suspect this the universal alphabet song now and the version i grew up with (ending in zed) is all but forgotten.

I blame Sesame Street

Tough luck, Ailsa. I have never seen one of those missing letters things with a single letter before (though I wasn't a regular viewer prior to this series).

It is interesting that they have a third place play off. Like the football World Cup.

We were so disappointed for you, Ailsa. Next year, eh?

fun facts getting very tortured this late in the game...

(i hope we go the entire episode without referencing the ruff, like it's the most normal thing in the world)

none of you have seen the big lebowski?

This Frederick Leo guy is a lot.

his elbow gets higher for every starter question.

Dave and Lindsay had seen the Big Lebowski but didn't know what I was on about with the "watt wood/what would" thing, so didn't make the connection. Also we were knackered and filmed just after being knocked out in the last round, so weren't in the best frame of mind. I, of course, have seen no films ever. I haven't actually seen tonight's show yet, but Olly's ruff was a fucking riot. He actually had the hose as well, but chose to tone it down with a pair of jeans so as not to look ridiculous. VCM didn't mention it once until after the cameras stopped rolling.

My "fun fact" was quite the surprise as it wasn't the one we'd gone over pre-show. Which was more fun than the "here's some shite dull people put as "interests" on their CV" bollocks that they sprung on me.

I did a quiz against Freddy Leo a couple of weeks ago. He's quite intense, but seems lovely. I also got v drunk with the Edinburgh Uni challenge team (well, Matt Booth and Max Fitz-James) and none of us let on how we'd done on our respective shows.

Both the OC and UC teams this week seemed like a lovely bunch of people. The only reason I was glad that Edinburgh won was that it's always nice when an Oxbridge college does not win.

Leo seems like a total nightmare

the rest all fine

lol I'm obsessed with Leo - he says he's from Berlin but has no accent? I want to know his backstory.

He's quite intense, but seems lovely.

This is exactly what I'd expect.

I was happy I knew the pic was Natalie Wood. It's not often I get any right when nobody else does. I'm also extremely sad Olly did not wear the hose.

i would struggle thinking of more than one fun fact. and probably wouldn't need a second, let alone a 4th.

i like the way leo works things out, you can hear him thinking (it also helps his teammates contribute).

got the first 3 answers in only connect final and then nothing else.

can't believe they voice-overed the presentation of the award though.

Oh the fun fact thing..

My guess is that they have a ton of these, and you get to pick one you like or has happened to you, nearly or fully.

Yeah?

No.

Fair enough

The producers ask you a lot of stuff, you go armed with the sort of thing that's usable, they fashion them into obtuse format, they rehearse them with you, then they pass them to VCM and usually that's what is read out on screen. Though for some reason, my excellent fun fact went through the whole process for our last show, then VCM said something entirely different.

The fact that my life contains no fun facts is a big part of why i don't really apply for stuff by myself

I got the Aqua one!

Oh, the Aqua one. The Dicers buzzed in and said QI. There was a pause while producers wondered if having a Danish host made QI an acceptable answer (this was before Sandi Toksvig cropped up in the same set). This put us off, and we basically were all chatting and not concentrating while this was going on, so when it was thrown over to us, we weren't back in the right frame of mind and weren't given any time to actually think about it.

There was also a retake on Franco Baresi, which I buzzed and got but Bob from the Dicers shouted at the same time. We were asked to go again with Bob shutting up, and Dave decided on the retake to look like he'd got it even though it was *my* answer. Bad form to want to throttle one of your team mates on national telly, aye?

Ha, I have "been there"

A TV show, back in the day. They had an "anagrams" round. I know.

Anyway, I noticed, sat on the panel, that the boards for the two questions were in full view of us. So, while they were focus-pulling or whatever, I told my two team mates and we gently scribbled and worked out the two answers. At which point, the team (ahem) decided that the girl on our team should get one of the answers, and the other lad on the team decided he was getting the other one and if he didn't he'd tell the producers. So, the round came and went, and we (well, they) were careful not to buzz in too quickly and make it obvious. (There's a novel "Starter For ten" where something similar happens. Was going to describe more there, but that'd be a spoiler so no. But I did laugh)

Anyway, the series televised, and a couple of episodes later another contestant had clearly done the same thing, kept it to himself, and buzzed in like it was the missing vowels round.

Bob from the Dicers = Bob from the Poptimists, obvz.

UC is back btw!

Always a delight when it suddenly turns up again

The brainiac in the losing team this week was giving off strong "why did i get paired with these losers, i coulda been a contender" vibes in the end credits

I enjoyed the arrival of the volcano bonus questions when he flung a pointing finger at the volcano guy at the other end of the team who thankfully was able to answer them all

calm down, Wang

calm down, hardwick, you can push the button with one finger, you don't need to move your entire arm.

wang? hardwick?? you're killing me. what'll next week's annoying captain be called?

I missed it !!!

look I know this is hugely inappropriate but it's like a row of trophies on a shelf

the two faces of gareth bale here

look I know this is hugely inappropriate but it's like a row of trophies on a shelf

the first one was studying aerodynamics

lol I turned on late and missed that detail

ok i love leeks

studio ghibli effort at an oxbridge student

everybody else is more irish than that Irish lad

no place for gael-shaming on ilx

ive more gael in my clippings than yon souper

Maximum condescending mode from Paxman during the music round

It's true but in his defense it is pretty ridiculous that two teams on this show, especially Oxbridge teams, could not identify the composers of "Ave Maria" or "Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring". Not to mention guessing Robert the Bruce as a fighter against the Romans in the era of Nero.

Well, I guess it was just one team that failed on "Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring" but I did get a nice chuckle out of them guessing Benjamin Britten for that.