University Challenge

[french frank]

Report here.

http://www.standard.co.uk/stayingin/tvfilm/university-challenge-team-fail-to-guess-the-clash-george-michael-and-the-cure-in-awkward-music-round-a3315406.html

Although just to prove that you can't believe everything you read, the Standard also managed to get it wrong, as it wasn't " I fought the Law" by the Clash, it was " Rudie can't Fail".

Looks as if Oriel College beat Manchester 150-95. The sociological point is that the win apparently didn't compensate for not knowing some rather elderly pop songs/bands.

[BBMmk2]

The Final next week! Can you believe it! I managed some of the questions, especially the classical music ones. I mean Gounod for goodness for the Berlioz!!! Ofcourse, just shows you what these students listen to or not, as the case maybe. Classical music hardly ever enters their listening. I hasten to add my son BBM Jnr, and his girlfriend, listen to classical music, albeit on that other station!

[Serial_Apologist]

The Final next week! Can you believe it! I managed some of the questions, especially the classical music ones. I mean Gounod for goodness for the Berlioz!!! Ofcourse, just shows you what these students listen to or not, as the case maybe. Classical music hardly ever enters their listening. I hasten to add my son BBM Jnr, and his girlfriend, listen to classical music, albeit on that other station!

They probably think it's above their station.

[BBMmk2]

They probably think it's above their station.

More intellectually stimulating!

[ardcarp]

Yippee it's back again.
Two equally-matched teams tonight (Edinburgh and Ulster) with Paxo in (for him) a genial mood.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08yx794

[gurnemanz]

Out tonight and just watched a recording. Equally matched indeed (I can't remember a much closer contest) and both teams pretty knowledgeable.

[Richard Tarleton]

Out tonight and just watched a recording. Equally matched indeed (I can't remember a much closer contest) and both teams pretty knowledgeable.

And two decisive captains. The "Yul Brynner" gag was nice. Two attempts at pronouncing "Sonora", one by the team member and one by Paxo, neither of them correct. I've never watched Mr Bean but got the others

I wonder, if Paxo hadn't been quite so relaxed, whether he'd have got UofU's final bonus questions in.....I suppose it cuts both ways.

[Pulcinella]

According to an article in today's Times, the BBC has apologised for an incorrect answer in the show broadcast 27 December last year, about who made Sir Billy Connolly's big banana boots!

[alycidon]

Yippee it's back again.
Two equally-matched teams tonight (Edinburgh and Ulster) with Paxo in (for him) a genial mood.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08yx794

Yes, he's probably mellowing with age!

[Richard Tarleton]

That must have been the easiest ever music starter last night. Thank goodness they got it (and the bonuses).

Dismal performance by Trinity - Paxo struggling to say something nice. In fact a pretty dire contest till half time, then Bristol took off.

[Serial_Apologist]

Having heard what people on here were saying, I watched this for the first time in several years, and found it much more watchable now that Paxo has apparently ditched his condescendingly supercilious know-all air.. I wonder - did someone tell him?

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Having heard what people on here were saying, I watched this for the first time in several years, and found it much more watchable now that Paxo has apparently ditched his condescendingly supercilious know-all air.. I wonder - did someone tell him?

The gentler Paxo seemed to emerge more-or-less when he dropped the Newsnight gig in 2014, S_A.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

In fact a pretty dire contest till half time, then Bristol took off.

Yes - the Music student seemed at first to be a liability (Mahler's 8th = "Titan" , a couple of early interruptions costing the team points) - and then suddenly took off with some mightily impressive knowledge of 18th Century History. (And then a couple of his wrong answers came up as correct answers to later questions - the Mahler #1 in the "Works Featuring Horns" round, and William Pitt in the "Caricatures" round. Must just be ahead of his time!)

Yup, after a dozy start, the Bristol team showed themselves to be a formidable team.

[Bryn]

Yes - the Music student seemed at first to be a liability (Mahler's 8th = "Titan" , a couple of early interruptions costing the team points) - and then suddenly took off with some mightily impressive knowledge of 18th Century History. (And then a couple of his wrong answers came up as correct answers to later questions - the Mahler #1 in the "Works Featuring Horns" round, and William Pitt in the "Caricatures" round. Must just be ahead of his time!)

Yup, after a dozy start, the Bristol team showed themselves to be a formidable team.

I did not watch, but was it asserted that Mahler's Symphony No. 1 was given the soubriquet "Titan" by the composer? If so, they got it wrong. Mahler dumped that title when he re orchestrated four movements of his Symphonic Poem 'Titan' to produce what became Symphony No. 1 (with no title).

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

I did not watch, but was it asserted that Mahler's Symphony No. 1 was given the soubriquet "Titan" by the composer? If so, they got it wrong. Mahler dumped that title when he re orchestrated four movements of his Symphonic Poem 'Titan' to produce what became Symphony No. 1 (with no title).

No, they didn't. The question was (wording wrong here):"What name did [critic] give to Mahler's Eighth Symphony in 1910?" - the Music student pondered, shrugged his shouilders and suggested "Titan".

Later, the team had to identify a composer from an excerpt played - it was Mahler's First, and was identified as such by Paxo (no mention of the subtitle discarded from the earlier Symphonic Poem.