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

oh man

A thing I won’t miss about Paxman is his lazy cultural snobbery and the variants on “what a pathetic time wasting saddo” whenever someone correctly answers a basic question about hiphop or Nintendo games or whatever. But in general there is just enough humanity in the sneer to make it bearable and entertaining

I have had Bobby Seagull read a quiz to me and would very much not have him within a million miles of the UC presenter's chair. I expect Rajan to be absolutely dreadful, there is nothing about him which suggests otherwise.

If you don't want sneering at pop culture, then you don't want Sandi Toksvig either, her entire tenure on Fifteen to One was all "gosh why would you ever want to know *that*?" whenever anyone got anything a question on something she felt non-worthy. I think it's a tedious schtick that people who do "worthy" quiz think is endearing but it's really dull and not nearly as endearing as they think it is (I know a ton of these people in real life, and they are boring as can be), though I do feel Paxo does it knowingly and with grudging respect.

Very rarely he shows that he is impressed/ surprised. One time was when the students correctly identified that three or four basic ingredients like flour, sugar, eggs and butter made a Victoria sponge cake, which I found genuinely baffling as it was surely one of the most easy/ easily guessable questions I've ever seen on UC.

"When asked to "identify a recipe taken from the Delia Smith Book of Cakes", Gamble's answer of Victoria Sponge cake, had the usually unflappable quiz host exclaiming: "How did you know that?"."

We all want to impress the stonefaced teacher or exact revenge on them.

I hadn't really thought about this, but it's true. Who cares about impressing Amol Rajan?

lol guy like Jed from I'm Alan Partridge but obsessed with Amol Rajan

I only hope Samira Ahmed didn’t get the gig because they’re keeping her for Any Questions.

Any Questions a v poor quiz show imo, gimmick of audience making up the questions is good but contestants are always tediously long winded and get the answers wrong

The problem I have with Amol Rajan on the radio is that to me he sounds exactly like Gary Bellamy from Down the Line.

Samira Ahmed not getting this is like Colin Murray being overlooked for Countdown and in both cases for patently unsuitable alternatives. Inexplicable.

What was so awful about having Seagull as your quizmaster, Ailsa?
I recently rejoined the Oxfordshire league after a gap of some 13 years and regularly play Darragh "the Menace" Ennis from the Chase!

I'm genuinely surprised about ailsa repping for Colin Murray over Les Dennis!

Les Dennis is a dickhead, and has always been a dickhead. When he moved to Primrose Hill BITD he sent out a round robin to the neighbours asking them to respect him and Amanda Holden’s privacy.

Now, imagine you’re a properly rich and famous person living there and… that lands on the mat in the hall.

Yeah but Colin Murray

i've heard Bobbington Livingstone Seagull do documentary voiceovers on Radio 4, he's a charmless cock

Colin Murray is an actively anti-charm cock but hey what a world we all hear stuff different

is Colin murray the guy in thinking of? 6 music show sometimes, does the non-premier League football?

(yes. it doesn't mention radio 6 but I think he must've stood in for someone along the way. and he's been doing countdown as a stand in. still, can't see it myself, seems too young)

Fighting Talk is so grim I cannot believe anyone can endure that program, yet there is always so much laughter in it. But hey ho at least the usual participants and Colin Murray are enjoying themselves.

Bobby Seagull is bad at reading, his diction and pronunciation are terrible.

Mark, some of my friends are Darragh's team-mates, so I shall mention that I know you next time I see them.

All I mean about Colin Murray is that he clearly loves the show and has actively stood in whenever it has been required, and then shunted out of the way when a replacement has been sought, in exactly the same way Samira Ahmed appears to have been treated by UC.

I was listening to Paul Sinha on a podcast this morning, and thinking what a perfect choice for UC he would be, except he probably wouldn't want to do it.

Lookit, I'm not saying I will keep watching it no matter what, I'm just saying that the mere fact of Amol Rajan is not going to put me off sight unseen. I reserve the right to decide he's dreadful halfway through his first series. Or episode, if necessary.

Murray now presents 5live from 10:30pm into the night. He makes a big deal of the community that his programme fosters.

I basically support Fighting Talk existing, a show with its own culture and mythology built up in an original way, and some people I know find it hilarious. Admittedly wouldn't listen to it myself, but as far as long-running panel shows on BBC Radio go it's probably one of the better ones (low bar as that is) and this reminds me that they finally cancelled both Quote Unquote and Mock The Week this year, so good things do happen occasionally.

Yes, my unpopular opinion here is to agree with poster Camaraderie and say that Fighting Talk is not all bad, though I can also understand why someone, like Calzino, would think it was.

The point about 'its own culture and mythology built up in an original way' seems to relate directly to Murray, ie: that is part of his schtick, to try to create broadcasting niches that will become 'legendary' in the way that the broadcasting he loved (David Coleman or whatever) did.

Paul Sinha absolutely does want to do UC. He also wants to do Countdown.

They should've picked him, then, and you can tell him that some random person on the internet said so.

Please excuse the Metro link, but thought the reporter had actually got a good source here:

https://metro.co.uk/2022/08/18/university-challenge-former-question-writer-hits-out-at-amol-rajan-appointment-17207133

UC and OC start again on Monday

followed by uc documentary and that starter for 10 film

Pass

Only realised today that Paxman is still going for this year!

I have to admit I got a little chuckle out of Newcastle captain guessing Red Hot Chili Peppers for that Outkast question.

It was especially annoying for them because one of them did say Outkast and it was disregarded.

It was good to see erstwhile ilxer Mark C aka Markleby on Only Connect this week. He hasn't aged a bit. And sounded quite wonderful when he described a red dwarf as "a small, dim, red star", which it is. Cheers Ailsa for the heads-up.

Did reasonably well on this week's UC, 20:

Pasteur, Beowulf, apoptosis, Computerised tomograpahy, acacia, Royal Navy, Tate, Switzerland, Yoruba, -int, Celtic, Leeds United, 2, stipend, Cannes, Egypt & Sudan, Aswan, Rameses, Jane Austen, crater.

Didn't know it was Outkast, but could tell it wasn't RHCP!

!

I knew I recognised the Outkast track but couldn't place it. Should have got KC on first burst but again thought it was one of several things i had. Was thinking it might be a turn of the 70s Floyd thing for a moment. became pretty obvious after that though.

Enjoyed
CANNES
NO CANNES
NO NOT THE CANNES
CANNES

I was kinda thinking all through that round, where generally I had no clue (I can recognise an Oscar, BAFTA or Grammy award - that's it) "I hope the Cannes award actually *looks* like a golden palm" and then lo & behold...

And then one of the other ones had the name of the festival written on it.

Did well this week, 24.

Holmes & Watson, Washington Monument, Chrysler Building, Lincoln Cathedral, Persion Gulf, Long Parliament, Chiron, rings, pancreas, Nighthawks, xerophyte, Carabao, orange, Mary Wolstencraft, Benjamin Britten, Diplodocus, Allosaurus, Stegosaurus, Montreux, Charlemagne, Scoop, Gladys Aylward.

Am impressed by this University College Oxford team.

Missed one out. E, the Morse code one.

Congrats to Mark on the Only Connect appearance! Definitely a bucket list wish for me.

scumbag

who?

I got 28, probably my highest ever, despite not getting any of the music questions.

on the other hand I completely failed at the only connect walls.

scumbag

oh wait yes I remember that thing that happened a whole half an hour ago.

that was quite a drubbing on uc

but yes, scumbag is an odd thing to include in a bbc2 quiz programme, i thought

Not so much losing as anti-winning.
Has anybody had minus points at the end of a show?
JUst remembering there was one match last series where one team romped away with all teh points and the other was in double digits and giving away points towards the end too wasn't there?

Felt like one of those lucky teams who get trounced in the next round.

They really did just take aim at their own feet and keep shooting repeatedly, didn't they?

Meanwhile, the episodes of Pointless without Richard have started airing. Xander's going to have to start earning his money again.