University Challenge

[Boilk]

Yes and it's one of the TV 'shows' which just gets on with it and has little extra flummery.

As the outgoing Paxman usually kicks off with: "Well you all know the rules, let's get on with it". Too bad Victoria Coren on the preceding quiz programme Only Connect punctuates each round with a chinwag - perhaps to provide a reprieve for viewers from too much serious concentration.

[smittims]

Yes, there really shouldn't be small-talk on TV; I used to loathe John Humphrys' 'chat' at the start of Round 2 of 'Mastermind' : 'so, you're a fan of Conan Doyle. But, admit it. it's all rubbish, isn't it?' , an irony consdiering the extent of his own artistic tastes

[cloughie]

Yes and it's one of the TV 'shows' which just gets on with it and has little extra flummery. There must be quite a large proportion of the viewing public that just likes that straightforwardness. Even if (like me) they only manage to answer few of the questions.

Here's a thing I've probably suggested before. Do science/maths students chip in to answer arts questions more often than arts students doing likewise with science/maths?

I’d be surprised if that was not the case as most arts students probably dropped maths and science subjects at GCSE level whereas scientists and mathematicians are more likely to have continued leisure interests they may have beyond 16 - and many of the science/maths questions are rather specialist.

[gurnemanz]

many of the science/maths questions are rather specialist.

... such that as a non-specialist you can't even make a random guess, whereas on a which composer question, a guess is always possible. The answer may be hopelessly off beam, but it is better than passing.

[Dave2002]

From a very recent one - mention of quantum computers. Here is an update - https://newsroom.ibm.com/2022-11-09-...tum-System-Two

I didn't know about the commercial viability claimed in the quiz show. See https://research.ibm.com/interactive/system-one/

[alywin]

Surprised nobody's yet commented on the new version with Amol Rajan. I do hope they get his chair sorted out. I don't know if it's just me, but I have trouble with his delivery - it's not as clear as either Paxo's or Bamber's, and thus far feels a bit rushed. I'm seriously considering having to put the subtitles on.

[smittims]

Is this the spread of 'mumblegate'? A quiz show where you can't hear the questions or the answers is a novelty.

[DracoM]

Amol Rajan is BBC's champion gabbler at breakneck speed and ALWAYS has been. This is NOT a revelation.
How the HECK he got to chair a show like this utterly beats me - are BBC selectors DEAF?

[Rolmill]

Have any of the teams noticeably struggled to catch the questions? I've only heard bits of the new series, but my reaction differs from others' - I like his more friendly, relaxed style (closer to Bamber than to Jeremy?) and, apart from a rather gabbled end to the very first programme, even my sub-par hearing has coped.

[gurnemanz]

Have any of the teams noticeably struggled to catch the questions? I've only heard bits of the new series, but my reaction differs from others' - I like his more friendly, relaxed style (closer to Bamber than to Jeremy?) and, apart from a rather gabbled end to the very first programme, even my sub-par hearing has coped.

I sometimes find myself unable to grasp what mumblers are saying on TV - usually in dramas - but I have had no problems with Amol Rajan, either speed, enunciation or general manner. I prefer his pace to Paxman's. He does seem to need a taller chair or booster cushion.

[Serial_Apologist]

I've tried returning to this programme in the wake of Mister Smugness, but what with the new presenter being someone I don't warm to, whether he's commenting on something political on the BBC TV news, or hosting this, or the way the questions have become even obscurer and ostensibly more divorced from the evermore urgent problems facing most people worldwide, all seem indifferent as to who wins or loses.

[ardcarp]

I sometimes find myself unable to grasp what mumblers are saying on TV - usually in dramas - but I have had no problems with Amol Rajan, either speed, enunciation or general manner. I prefer his pace to Paxman's

I'm afraid I find the opposite! I've nothing against Mr Rajan, but he does go at a faster pace than Paxo (look at the numerical value of the scores) and his diction is often indistinct ESPECIALLY when he gives the correct answer to a wrongly answered question. Surely the question-master's job (apart from asking the questions!) is to enunciate very clearly the correct answers for the viewers, and even to repeat correct answers when they've been quickly blurted out in a hurry by a team member?

In fact Only Connect which precedes UC is altogether more intelligible. Victoria what's-her-name, despite her eccentricities, speaks very clearly.

[Serial_Apologist]

I'm afraid I find the opposite! I've nothing against Mr Rajan, but he does go at a faster pace than Paxo (look at the numerical value of the scores) and his diction is often indistinct ESPECIALLY when he gives the correct answer to a wrongly answered question. Surely the question-master's job (apart from asking the questions!) is to enunciate very clearly the correct answers for the viewers, and even to repeat correct answers when they've been quickly blurted out by a team member?

I think he does not even give out the correct answers on occasion.

[gradus]

Mr Rajan crops up everywhere but on UC I think he's rather good if somewhat dwarfed by the desk and chair the set designer has given him. I prefer his faster pace and friendlier manner to the Paxman style latterly and unavoidably much affected by his medication.

[ardcarp]

I'm all in favour of the friendlier manner, but I wish the faster pace (if that's the producers' intention) were accompanied by much clearer diction.
I used to be annoyed by Paxo's often sneering manner. Its very outrageousness probably had some audience appeal, and the students knew what they were in for. Clarity was never an issue though, despite Paxo's obvious onset of a debilitating condition. Please may we have some clarity back?