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

Neil S: the argument that one or the other of the Oxbridge teams would always win is horseshit, but one or other of the Oxbridge teams would win often enough that ppl might still consider it a problem, and not a level playing field.

The bigger issue would be how the Ox or Camb colleges would coordinate choosing a team between them. I've lived in Oxford long enough to know that they struggle to coordinate on anything!

Other universities should be allowed to field as many teams as Oxford and Cambridge field. Call them whatever they like, have an absolutely massive competition with only the final x teams making it to the telly. Although then you're diluting the best brains of the other universities, or are you opening up the competition to even better brains? It would certainly be worth a whack for at least one series to see what happens.

having joint Oxbridge teams could enable gender equality rules to be enforced (two women and two men per team, say) and I should point out it's only those retrograde types in the Fens who still have colleges which aren't mixed (3, becoming 2 next year) as St. Hilda's went mixed over a decade ago.

However, it would make fielding a team tricky for some institutions with a big gender imbalance (e.g. Cranfield) but that's their problem I guess.

Perhaps the most controversial aspect of the selection process is the fact that Oxford and Cambridge enter individual colleges to the contest, while other institutions compete on a university-wide basis. In 1975 the Manchester team (which included the future Times columnist David Aaronovitch) protested against this state of affairs by answering "Trotsky", "Lenin", "Karl Marx" or "Che Guevara" to every question.

independent and competing colleges though. it'd be like telling the "home nations" to send a UK team to the world cup.

but... teamGB at the olympics.

white male they may've been, still didn't know the name of the lead in the star wars reboot though.

very nearly a point in their favour

I bet they all could have named Daisy Ridley though. Probably know her parents too.

they did seem to take a weird pride in not knowing who *those* people were, added to my general dislike

i mean even i know who Boyega is, tho mostly from his brilliant Twitter work

independent and competing colleges though. it'd be like telling the "home nations" to send a UK team to the world cup.

Only far worse as there are only 4 home nations, but 39 Oxford colleges and 31 Cambridge ones!

And you can guarantee that after a while the smaller colleges would start crying foul and complaining that the bigger, richer colleges dominated the teams.

I'm sure they would threaten a boycott at the slightest hint anyway so it's not happening.

they did seem to take a weird pride in not knowing who *those* people were, added to my general dislike

Glad I wasn't the only one who thought this. I only got Boyega (Daniel Kaluuya is excellent in Get Out but that's the only thing I've seen him in and his name has not stuck in my brain at all), but there was something about the way in which they didn't know or even attempt those questions that felt off to me.

The bigger issue would be how the Ox or Camb colleges would coordinate choosing a team between them. I've lived in Oxford long enough to know that they struggle to coordinate on anything!

Not sure how this is UC's problem, and also Durham and York (possibly others too?) are both collegial universities and seem to manage fine

Don't Oxbridge teams win almost every time anyway as it stands?

The opposing team had their equivalent version where they couldn't name Atlanta ("Vinyl?") or Empire (Dynasty?); thankfully third question was about the v white Flight Of The Concords.

Don't Oxbridge teams win almost every time anyway as it stands?

11 out of the last 20 winners

It's great I basically don't give a shit about the teams or who wins

They've been ramping up the vector questions the last series or so. (I notice this as it's one of my Other Half's only specialist subjects). Luckily for today my specialist subject is Jesse Armstrong shows.

Paxman's fuck-up on that "double o" answer...

Overchatty winning team today. Glad the other ones are coming back

Another Rossetti question.

Blanked on a couple of questions last night, Kelmscott bring one of them, must do better.

got the kittiwake one because the same question was on OC 30 minutes earlier

but embarrasingly got my dot product and cross product mixed up even though I supposedly have a degree in maths

Definitely an easier UC, I got my best score ever - and at least one OC 5 pointer (haven't finished watching yet).

Agree with Number None: Paxman accepted 'O' when he needed 'Oo' ?

Yes, I thought I'd heard their answer wrong there

you could see the guy beside their captain was shocked they got away with it

maybe the question was 'which double letter'

hmph, i guess you're right

Got all the bird questions - like Paxman I don't know what puffins sound like.

Kittiwake was the only one I knew through personal observational experience - on the Farne Islands I heard one going "kittiwake! kittiwake! kittiwake!"

We pass those kittiwakes in Newcastle a lot. Or, we used to....

For fuck's sake

Justice served

Someone I know has somehow managed to assemble a *very* interesting team in this forthcoming series of Only Connect

As I was saying... Didn't really work, did it?

They still have another shot :(

(aghast that victoria didn't know what a rebus is. there's been one on the guardian puzzles page for about a thousand years)

Didn't think it was very fair being allowed to have Nostradamus on your team, since clearly you'd know what the questions were in advance.

Yeah, that was odd (the rebus thing). Her ear voice was letting her down there.

I thought it was nice and showed a willingness to learn from the contestants. I think too often presenters have to pretend that they know absolutely everything. Whether she should've known it or not, I liked how happy she was to hear it. It reinforces the idea of OC as a big national club of quizzers, some of whom make it onto the telly occasionally. The Chase can be like this sometimes too, with a bit of learning going both ways.

Fictional Detective JOHN REBUS is also named after a Rebus.

But VCM kinda seemed to misunderstand what a rebus was, was my point. So it wasn't learning or educational. There's tons of that nice chit-chat which goes on and gets edited out when it turns out to be bollocks. I get mildy furious when they leave in Chasers explaining stuff wrongly as well.

I thought that team were great, by the way, which seems to have gone unnoticed by everyone going gaga over the zelebs on the other side.

s/o to casuistry yesterday, which I first came to know as an ILX regular

I was a bit confused by that answer. But did score 20 correct answers overall this time.

Odd young team hearing 'near wild heaven':
'Is it the Beatles?'
'It's *definitely* that time'.
'Oh, how about Velvet Underground?'
'Oh yes, go for it, say Velvet Underground'.

can't blame them for not knowing a deep cut off a 30 year old album with a different singer than usual. (ok it was a uk single, i doubt it's had much airplay since then though.)

Yeah, I think it's fair to say "Near Wild Heaven" is trying to sound like something from the 60's tho since I knew who it was the REMness of it makes it difficult to tell.

Raised an eyebrow at "Don't Fear The Reaper" - sure, not their regular vocalist, but surely the only BOC most people have heard anyway? Tho they didn't get it.

as per usual i'm not in the slighest bit surprised that a few students didn't recognise REM or the Blue Oyster Cult

lockdown really did a number on Paxman

Not sure if I'd even heard that REM one before but it couldn't be anything other than REM

After the show I had a fun evening discovering Blue Öyster Cult songs that weren’t “Don’ t Fear The Reaper”

I never knew that "Don't fear" was by not the lead singer, but I guess the last thirty times I've heard BOC, it's been ".. the reaper"

I had no idea that Blue Oyster Cult had any other songs. And I don't think I've heard Near Wild Heaven in over 20 years. Very much an exercise in "we've thought of a theme and now we need to think of four songs"