I was surprised they didnt get the 80s albums.Zenyatta Mondatta and No parlez are very famous even to a younger generation i would have thought
Only Connect (BBC4) [Part 2]
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Originally Posted by Urban Bassman:
“And had to finish because the Boat for England was leaving. Rather bizzare as it was never going to be truely timeless.”
“And had to finish because the Boat for England was leaving. Rather bizzare as it was never going to be truely timeless.”
In fairness, if 11 days isn't timeless, what is? They'd all be forced to end some time.
Originally Posted by xendesktop:
“I think the main problem with the questions this series (the obscure ones) isn't the difficulty, it's the timeframe in which they are expecting the teams to solve them.
Give people 4mins and they'd probably solve something like the radio frequency one. Under pressure, with revealing clues one at a time, not a hope.”
“I think the main problem with the questions this series (the obscure ones) isn't the difficulty, it's the timeframe in which they are expecting the teams to solve them.
Give people 4mins and they'd probably solve something like the radio frequency one. Under pressure, with revealing clues one at a time, not a hope.”
I suspect that with many clues like that, you either spot it quickly or you don't spot at all however much time is given. Every 'impossible' question will have people who find it easy and they will get more satisfaction if everyone else says it is impossible.
Then there was the Charles V quote where you had to spot the reference, know the quote, and translate Horse into German, all inside 90 seconds (or whatever it is).
I wonder if it would be a good idea if they road tested some of these questions to weed out some of the duds.
I wonder if it would be a good idea if they road tested some of these questions to weed out some of the duds.
Originally Posted by Apple22over7:
“Must say I'm getting a bit fed of Only Connect now. It used to be entertaining, and challenging yet doable. Nowadays it seems to be clever for the sake of being clever, and it's just not as much fun.
I'll still watch it, it's still by far the best quiz show on TV, but just not as good as it has been.”
“Must say I'm getting a bit fed of Only Connect now. It used to be entertaining, and challenging yet doable. Nowadays it seems to be clever for the sake of being clever, and it's just not as much fun.
I'll still watch it, it's still by far the best quiz show on TV, but just not as good as it has been.”
I agree. I think the new question editor is trying too hard to show off.
Originally Posted by Apple22over7:
“Must say I'm getting a bit fed of Only Connect now. It used to be entertaining, and challenging yet doable. Nowadays it seems to be clever for the sake of being clever, and it's just not as much fun.
I'll still watch it, it's still by far the best quiz show on TV, but just not as good as it has been.”
“Must say I'm getting a bit fed of Only Connect now. It used to be entertaining, and challenging yet doable. Nowadays it seems to be clever for the sake of being clever, and it's just not as much fun.
I'll still watch it, it's still by far the best quiz show on TV, but just not as good as it has been.”
Completely agree. It's far too esoteric now
I set pub quizzes. I was always taught that the quiz was a success if 75% of the teams got 75% of the marks.
Lower than that, the setter had failed by making it too hard, and higher, and they had failed by making it too easy.
On Only Connect, the time factor can be brought into that, too.
The flags and the horse were ridiculous questions. It should be more about about the skill of the setter versus the knowledge of the contestants, and not how obscure the setter can be.
Last edited by C Horse : 01-07-2014 at 17:41
Lower than that, the setter had failed by making it too hard, and higher, and they had failed by making it too easy.
On Only Connect, the time factor can be brought into that, too.
The flags and the horse were ridiculous questions. It should be more about about the skill of the setter versus the knowledge of the contestants, and not how obscure the setter can be.
Last edited by C Horse : 01-07-2014 at 17:41
Another little thing that irked me last night was when a team explained an answer as being Pi and Phi and Coren immediately corrected him saying Psi in a sort of disdainful manner acting like she knew it and so they should have know it but we all know she was just reading it off a card.
The show has always made a point of the questions becoming harder as the competition progresses, so goodness only knows what the final will be like.
Maybe just a little fine tuning required (especially as i think this is the last BBC4 series before transfer to BBC2 (?) where it will be expected to get more viewers and attention).
Maybe just a little fine tuning required (especially as i think this is the last BBC4 series before transfer to BBC2 (?) where it will be expected to get more viewers and attention).
Originally Posted by degsyhufc:
“Another little thing that irked me last night was when a team explained an answer as being Pi and Phi and Coren immediately corrected him saying Psi in a sort of disdainful manner acting like she knew it and so they should have know it but we all know she was just reading it off a card.”
“Another little thing that irked me last night was when a team explained an answer as being Pi and Phi and Coren immediately corrected him saying Psi in a sort of disdainful manner acting like she knew it and so they should have know it but we all know she was just reading it off a card.”
Why irked? It was clearly an upper-case letter psi (Ψ), not phi (Φ), and she was just putting them right in passing.
(I knew it, why shouldn't she?)
As you wish. I just re-ran that on iPlayer, and it seemed to me that she knew it.
If you did Greek at school, and looking on Wikipedia at where she went to school, she probably did, the alphabet is something you never forget.
If you did Greek at school, and looking on Wikipedia at where she went to school, she probably did, the alphabet is something you never forget.
Originally Posted by DICKENS99:
“Maybe just a little fine tuning required (especially as i think this is the last BBC4 series before transfer to BBC2 (?) where it will be expected to get more viewers and attention).”
“Maybe just a little fine tuning required (especially as i think this is the last BBC4 series before transfer to BBC2 (?) where it will be expected to get more viewers and attention).”
They might be using up the super-difficult questions they've had in storage for a while before the transfer to BBC2. I don't think half the questions last night would have been broadcast there.
It's strange to be snobbish about BBC2 instead of BBC1. I feel quite traitorous.
Originally Posted by degsyhufc:
“Another little thing that irked me last night was when a team explained an answer as being Pi and Phi and Coren immediately corrected him saying Psi in a sort of disdainful manner acting like she knew it and so they should have know it but we all know she was just reading it off a card.”
“Another little thing that irked me last night was when a team explained an answer as being Pi and Phi and Coren immediately corrected him saying Psi in a sort of disdainful manner acting like she knew it and so they should have know it but we all know she was just reading it off a card.”
Well, Bamber Gascoigne said he always used to do that too, but I suppose he can carry it off with a bit more credibility than she can.
Originally Posted by JeffG1:
“Why irked? It was clearly an upper-case letter psi (Ψ), not phi (Φ), and she was just putting them right in passing.
(I knew it, why shouldn't she?)”
“Why irked? It was clearly an upper-case letter psi (Ψ), not phi (Φ), and she was just putting them right in passing.
(I knew it, why shouldn't she?)”
Frankly, why didn't he/they? And I still can't believe none of them spotted ice cream, but maybe their poor brains were frazzled by that time.
Originally Posted by atg:
“Frankly, why didn't he/they? And I still can't believe none of them spotted ice cream, but maybe their poor brains were frazzled by that time.”
“Frankly, why didn't he/they? And I still can't believe none of them spotted ice cream, but maybe their poor brains were frazzled by that time.”
Ice cream is quite hard to spot without the vowels because it also begins with a vowel.
It seems to me depending on the time left, a team lagging well behind can sprint to the finish on a good Missing Vowels round.
So without changing the format at all, leave The Wall as tricky as it is but make the first two rounds a wee bit less opaque, and hey, maybe even a chance of someone getting the answer after two clues eh, when did that last happen Miss Coren-Mitchell-Campbell-Bannerman-Bonar-Law ?
So without changing the format at all, leave The Wall as tricky as it is but make the first two rounds a wee bit less opaque, and hey, maybe even a chance of someone getting the answer after two clues eh, when did that last happen Miss Coren-Mitchell-Campbell-Bannerman-Bonar-Law ?
Originally Posted by degsyhufc:
“Another little thing that irked me last night was when a team explained an answer as being Pi and Phi and Coren immediately corrected him saying Psi in a sort of disdainful manner acting like she knew it and so they should have know it but we all know she was just reading it off a card.”
“Another little thing that irked me last night was when a team explained an answer as being Pi and Phi and Coren immediately corrected him saying Psi in a sort of disdainful manner acting like she knew it and so they should have know it but we all know she was just reading it off a card.”
If that Coren came round here, going on about her knowledge of the Greek alphabet, flaunting herself and showing off, I'd have to say... "Coren, no! You might look good in your too tight dresses and low cut tops, going on about feminism all the time whilst flaunting your body on TV, and exhibiting your incredible baby feeding equipment to Johnny Public too I might add... but by crikey Coren you better learn a bit humility, you trollop!"
Originally Posted by anotherlongers:
“If that Coren came round here, going on about her knowledge of the Greek alphabet, flaunting herself and showing off, I'd have to say... "Coren, no! You might look good in your too tight dresses and low cut tops, going on about feminism all the time whilst flaunting your body on TV, and exhibiting your incredible baby feeding equipment to Johnny Public too I might add... but by crikey Coren you better learn a bit humility, you trollop!"”
“If that Coren came round here, going on about her knowledge of the Greek alphabet, flaunting herself and showing off, I'd have to say... "Coren, no! You might look good in your too tight dresses and low cut tops, going on about feminism all the time whilst flaunting your body on TV, and exhibiting your incredible baby feeding equipment to Johnny Public too I might add... but by crikey Coren you better learn a bit humility, you trollop!"”
Woman. Know your limits!
Originally Posted by atg:
“I'd be surprised if it was that long ago. I was a fan, but amazed that first line would be that well known.”
“I'd be surprised if it was that long ago. I was a fan, but amazed that first line would be that well known.”
I was waiting for it to appear, as first lines go it's a fairly memorable one.
Originally Posted by Tavis75:
“I was waiting for it to appear, as first lines go it's a fairly memorable one.”
“I was waiting for it to appear, as first lines go it's a fairly memorable one.”
I know it's been on the telly, but still hardly up there with "Call me Ishmael" or "It was the best of times...".
Got to agree. I've been a huge fan of Only Connect since the beginning but the questions this week had the most obscure and tenuous connections ever.
Come back DavidBod!
Come back DavidBod!
Originally Posted by LostFool:
“Got to agree. I've been a huge fan of Only Connect since the beginning but the questions this week had the most obscure and tenuous connections ever.
Come back DavidBod!”
“Got to agree. I've been a huge fan of Only Connect since the beginning but the questions this week had the most obscure and tenuous connections ever.
Come back DavidBod!”
I agree. We could do with the new setters on here justifying the questions as he did. I don't think they are testing knowledge, ability, lateral thinking, whatever. They seem to be for the benefit of the setters. Showing off.
Originally Posted by atg:
“I know it's been on the telly, but still hardly up there with "Call me Ishmael" or "It was the best of times...".”
“I know it's been on the telly, but still hardly up there with "Call me Ishmael" or "It was the best of times...".”
Even as a Banks fan, I would have to agree with you. Nice to see it/him mentioned though.
My beef with the flag question is that 'the final letter of the country name' is an actual connection and a perfectly valid one, but the contestants were effectively told that it wasn't a clever enough answer for OC, and they had to go back and think of a cleverer one.
I still think that it needs to be pitched so that most teams get it by the last clue, feel pleased with themselves if they get it earlier, and groan but feel entertained if they don't get it. Sitting at home, not getting anything and thinking WTF ? whilst watching people on telly do the same has only limited appeal...
I still think that it needs to be pitched so that most teams get it by the last clue, feel pleased with themselves if they get it earlier, and groan but feel entertained if they don't get it. Sitting at home, not getting anything and thinking WTF ? whilst watching people on telly do the same has only limited appeal...
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