Topic: Only Connect

[Pie Pie Eater]

She is just very quick yeah. The only thing that gets done in the edit is clarifications to answers if she says something slightly different to what's on the card, or if an answer has to be checked. In one episode our opponents had an answer that had to be checked and in the meantime it was thrown over to us in case their answer turned out to be wrong. If their answer had indeed been right then she would have recorded a pick-up from the point they answered saying it was correct.

[Norton Canes]

Is there a warm-up act?

[Pie Pie Eater]

No! The floor manager is very chatty though, and you do some fun missing vowels categories before starting as a warm-up.

[amateur]

She is just very quick yeah. The only thing that gets done in the edit is clarifications to answers if she says something slightly different to what's on the card, or if an answer has to be checked. In one episode our opponents had an answer that had to be checked and in the meantime it was thrown over to us in case their answer turned out to be wrong. If their answer had indeed been right then she would have recorded a pick-up from the point they answered saying it was correct.

That's tremendous intel, thank you. It's such a joyous programme when you like all the teams involved which THUS FAR has been the case in this series.

[Pie Pie Eater]

Definitely - the worst thing about the series being covid-afflicted was that chances to hang out, go to the pub etc with the other teams were virtually non-existent - it was mostly confined to waiting to go into the studio and an hour or so in the hotel bar.

[C_Larence]

Is it true that the missing vowels are shown to the viewer before the contestants, as otherwise it wouldn’t be fun to watch along at home? It definitely seems like teams take much longer than you’d expect to get some easy clues.

[Pie Pie Eater]

Yes that is true. Prior to being on I thought I was very good at the missing vowels round...

[Registering to lurk]

What are the contestants looking at during the Connection Wall round?

[JesusAndYourBush]

Is it true that instead of the Egyptian hieroglyphs that we see on TV, in the studio you see them written out in words?

[Pie Pie Eater]

Is it true that instead of the Egyptian hieroglyphs that we see on TV, in the studio you see them written out in words?

Yes that's true. I remember when they first switched to hieroglyphs and I wondered how they knew what all of them were (I suppose they could have learned them or whatever).

What are the contestants looking at during the Connection Wall round?

It's basically a slightly low-tech version of the wall you see at home - it starts of with blank blue rectangles and then when the time starts the text appears. The timer running down is basically the same progress bar type thing.

[Andy147]

Is it true that instead of the Egyptian hieroglyphs that we see on TV, in the studio you see them written out in words?

Also the case with the Greek letters they used in the first few series.

[JesusAndYourBush]

Yes that's true. I remember when they first switched to hieroglyphs and I wondered how they knew what all of them were (I suppose they could have learned them or whatever).

So a follow-up question.  Is the pronunciation of 'horned viper'/'whore ned viper' determined by how it's written on the board?

Also the case with the Greek letters they used in the first few series.

Yes I've heard about that, unfortunately I never saw it when it was on BBC4.

[Pie Pie Eater]

So a follow-up question.  Is the pronunciation of 'horned viper'/'whore ned viper' determined by how it's written on the board?

No, that's down to personal preference. I wonder who the first team was to pronounce it that way.

We got a special request from a friend of mine to pronounce it hornèd which we arbitrarily agreed to fulfil

[Andy147]

No, that's down to personal preference. I wonder who the first team was to pronounce it that way.

The Taxonomists in Series 4 Episode 3 were the first to say "hornèd viper"; the Courtiers and the Epicureans in S4E1, and the Wrights (twice) in S4E2 all say "horn'd viper".

[Pie Pie Eater]

The Taxonomists in Series 4 Episode 3 were the first to say "hornèd viper"; the Courtiers and the Epicureans in S4E1, and the Wrights (twice) in S4E2 all say "horn'd viper".

Ah good work. Would be interesting to see a graph of hornèd percentage per series to see if it's a constantly growing phenomenon

[gilbertharding]

There isn't a current Mastermind thread, and I'm not going to start one just for this - but did anyone see Mastermind last night?

Amazing scenes as the bloke who got the most right on his specialist subject was walking up to the chair. John Humphrys told him that the score to beat was 17 (and therefore matey only needed 7) - and he actually did a little skip with his last step, and sneaked a little thumbs up towards the desk.

Suffice to say, he got the first question wrong. And the second. You could see him wilt. I think he was four or five for nought before he got one. Every time there was a 50/50 he jumped wrong.

Scored 16. Delightful.

Amazing stuff. There was nothing about it on twitter, I saw, because one of the other contestants (they call them 'contenders', don't they?) was possibly trans.

[Attila]

We saw the tail end of MM last night, so I didn't see matey in his specialist subject, just the catastrophe that was the general round for him.

His winces every time he missed one reminded me of Rich Fulcher's character in Snuffbox

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WR68ssGWILc

I've told Mr Attila that if he wants to watch Only Connect, it'll have to be with the sound down. I think the quizzes are interesting, and the walls are especially fun, but I cannot stand Victoria Coren. Once she started banging on about Max Bygraves, I had to beg Mr Attila to switch it over or mute it. Fuck's sake.

[Norton Canes]

Bless him, looks like he's on the spectrum. The Mastermind guy I mean, not Mr Attila. I see the other two contestants got 16 too.

I think there is a University Challenge thread lurking somewhere, but to save resurrecting it - has anyone noticed it's suddenly gone post-lockdown? Paxman's hair is a horror show.

[gilbertharding]

Bless him, looks like he's on the spectrum. The Mastermind guy I mean, not Mr Attila. I see the other two contestants got 16 too.

I think there is a University Challenge thread lurking somewhere, but to save resurrecting it - has anyone noticed it's suddenly gone post-lockdown? Paxman's hair is a horror show.

If my wife, a former primary school teacher, has a catchphrase, it's "(S)he's on the spectrum" when watching quiz shows. She means it kindly - with the air of a professional who has to adjust her teaching style to accommodate the challenges involved - rather than mocking.

Paxman looks like a wizened Richard Gere, with that flick/bouff thing going on.

[Rizla]

There isn't a current Mastermind thread, and I'm not going to start one just for this - but did anyone see Mastermind last night?

Amazing scenes as the bloke who got the most right on his specialist subject was walking up to the chair. John Humphrys told him that the score to beat was 17 (and therefore matey only needed 7) - and he actually did a little skip with his last step, and sneaked a little thumbs up towards the desk.

Suffice to say, he got the first question wrong. And the second. You could see him wilt. I think he was four or five for nought before he got one. Every time there was a 50/50 he jumped wrong.

Scored 16. Delightful.

Amazing stuff. There was nothing about it on twitter, I saw, because one of the other contestants (they call them 'contenders', don't they?) was possibly trans.

Just watched it, fucking tremendous. Putting his face in his hands at the end to reveal jet-black fingernail polish, that was awesome.

[gilbertharding]

It's like an illustrated definition of flop sweat as it looks as if he's going to score a duck.

And you can see his hope start to rise as the score starts to creep up slowly... and then the countdown starts for the end of the time.

Poor bloke.

[Cuellar]

I did think his questions seemed a lot harder than the others - but there were plenty he should have got

[kalowski]

The Only Connect - University Challenge duo makes Mastermind look utterly shit. It's no fun to join in with as the specialist rounds are usually crap: either utterly obscure - "The early works of Maria Ouspensky" or utterly banal - "The TV series Early Doors"

[gilbertharding]

Mastermind *is* shit. The General Knowledge round is piss weak. As you say, the Specialist Subjects are either so obscure and impossible there's no pleasure in watching them, or so risibly easy you can get at least six without having revised at all (eg David Bowie last night).

And the questions all tailored so it takes exactly the same amount of time for Humphrys to read them... and you can't interrupt. Why don't they get rid of the time limit, and just ask everyone the same number of questions?

[gilbertharding]

I did think his questions seemed a lot harder than the others - but there were plenty he should have got

I agree, some of them were a bit tricky, but he missed some dead easy ones (I think... I know they're all easy if you know the answers).

[Norton Canes]

the specialist rounds are usually crap: either utterly obscure - "The early works of Maria Ouspensky" or utterly banal - "The TV series Early Doors"

What pisses me off about the specialist rounds about films and TV shows is that the questions only ever seem to be about the storylines, not the production. So you don't even need to read any behind-the-scenes stuff - just watch the things over and over.

[Ray Travez]

Paxman's hair is a horror show.

It really is. Is he going for a sort of Hockney/Warhol look? His glasses look like the ones the optician used to give you to slot lenses into.

[lankyguy95]

It's the Robert Peston midlife crisis look.

[touchingcloth]

Ah good work. Would be interesting to see a graph of hornèd percentage per series to see if it's a constantly growing phenomenon

On a similar note, does anyone else think that the horned viper is rarely chosen explicitly, and is often the last category left so that the final team to go in the round just get given it? It seems that way to me, and I suspect that's because lots of teams don't fancy running the one-or-two-syllable gauntlet.

[Rich Uncle Skeleton]

the Epicureans in S4E1

easily the most irritating team I've ever seen on there