Only Connect with Victoria Coren

[PhilboSE]

Now, I quite enjoy the more intellectual quiz shows and chanced upon this programme last night. Apparently it's been on BBC4 for a while and has been "upgraded" to BBC2 for series 10.

Victoria Coren is usually quite watchable too, but this programme was just...weird. It looked fantastically cheap to produce, patently no studio audience, and Victoria Coren looked pretty bored throughout the whole thing. She did some strange links to camera which were just cringe-inducing, playing to an audience that simply wasn't there. They just died. For something in it's tenth series, it looked like a pilot gone wrong.

Anyone else see this oddity? It's on iPlayer http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b04gqn6c/only... if you want to see...

[PhilboSE]

hidetheelephants said:

This in spades; it's sort of QI for people who find Fry too populist.

Despite the weirdly low production values, I did quite enjoy it so I'll be watching again.

hidetheelephants said:

Whatever the qualifying system is it seems to favour people who have faces made for radio!

I've only seen one show, but I'd definitely go along with this!

[PhilboSE]

OK after my first post this has now become standard Monday night fare for us. An hour of intellectual quizzes; UC then OC.

Last nights was a high scoring match but some of the questions seemed a bit easier than previous weeks. We particularly enjoyed how VC's dress was losing the battle and the leftie was making a bid for freedom!

[PhilboSE]

Since my OP we haven't missed an episode. Last night's episode seemed to have the easiest questions in a long while.

williamp said:

So, anyone fancy making a team for the next series??

...Its William, who has stood at the Urinals next to three different F1 world champions...

I'll probably be good for about 1 point in the first 3 rounds, but I am a bit Rain Man on missing vowels! On balance I think I'd be too much of a passenger.

...It's PhilboSE, and he once spent 2 hours in a room with the entire AC Milan football team without talking to any of them...

[PhilboSE]

snuffy said:

coppernorks said:

She got through all of last night's episode without mentioning her Dad.

She's not done that for ages now.

Apart from the previous week's episode when she told everyone her dad's birthday, and then checked later in the show to make sure everyone had memorised it!

However I can forgive Victoria most things, apart from how scathing and condescending she is about anything "normal" that doesn't happen to be one of her pet hobbies.

[PhilboSE]

lornemalvo said:

This programme is a serious ego killer for anyone, like me, who thought they were moderately intelligent. Some of the players on there are scarily clever and seem to know everything about everything, and their minds can fire off in all sorts of different directions. Very satisfying when I get a few right though. A better watch than Tipping Point, that's for sure.

I’ve watched every episode since stumbling on it 7 years ago as per my OP, it’s right up our street for me and the wife. The thing to realise about the contestants is that quizzing is their hobby and they’ll have memorised a lot of the stuff that forms the basis of many of the questions: US presidents, US states, UK prime ministers, countries and capitals, US presidents, flags, US states, the periodic table and of course US presidents.

[PhilboSE]

PinkTornado said:

I'd consider my old self fairly accepting, but something about that Alex makes me want to punch he/she/them/it/whatever; it's all just so affected, isn't it?

I’m pretty liberal but I have to agree. He’s the kind of person that has to make sure that everyone in the room knows he’s arrived, and has to be the centre of attention.

He also always rephrases the answers when given to him by a teammate, as obviously it has to reflect his contribution. Elia is the star of that team, quietly phenomenally good at the puzzles.

Alex just looks like one of the ugly stepsisters from Shrek.

[PhilboSE]

What a dick. And he was team carried by the other two as well.

Well done Strigiformes, that was very tough.

[PhilboSE]

Deranged Rover said:

I agree. However, I think we can all work out Alex’s gender. It’s not that difficult.

I genuinely can’t.

He might be a male that is a total attention we and has dressed like he does just to be the centre of attention, and is so affected just to cement what an in-duh-vidual he is.

Or she could be identifying as a female who pretends to be a camp male a la John Inman.

Or something else.