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Originally posted by ken:
Can I confess to having been on it?

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Originally posted by Arethosemyfeet:
I was on my university team but we didn't make it to the televised rounds.

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Originally posted by Chorister:
Bamber Gascoigne was such a sweetie. I never thought anyone could replace him - but Paxman has done an excellent job.

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Whoever would have thought that that horrid man could make such a success of University Challenge?

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Originally posted by Schroedinger's cat:
I do like Only Connect too. Gill H - how did you do? Will we see you again on it?

I am always reminded of the Undertones lyrics "He thinks that I'm a cabbage 'Cause I hate University Challenge"

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Originally posted by Albertus:

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Originally posted by Arethosemyfeet:
I was on my university team but we didn't make it to the televised rounds.

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That's a shame. When I did it (1987) I think there were only televised rounds: Granada TV presumably had a rota or something of which universities/ colleges would be invited to be on each year.
Trust ken to have been on twice. It's people like him that are the reason why the OU and Birkbeck traditionally did well.

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I've been on it! IIRC they've now banned people from going on it twice, after the incident where an OU team was comprised entirely of previous winners of UC, Mastermind etc, all enrolled on part time masters courses for the purpose of winning UC.

They didn't have the wheel of brie in the green room either

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Preach Christ, because this old humanity has used up all hopes and expectations, but in Christ hope lives and remains.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer

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Originally posted by Dinghy Sailor:
IIRC they've now banned people from going on it twice, after the incident where an OU team was comprised entirely of previous winners of UC, Mastermind etc, all enrolled on part time masters courses for the purpose of winning UC.

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Originally posted by Schroedinger's cat:
Incidentally, I think UC is the show with the highest rate of questions on the TV. Mastermind is probably a close second. Anyone else want to challenge or confirm that?

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I never countes but I'm pretty sure Mastermind contestants typically face more questions than UC contestants in a game. Typically about forty. Also there is only one of you and you only get five minutes to answer them. Also the level of the questions has typically been harder than born-again-UC I think (though my impression is that UC got a bit stiffer over the last few years, after haveing been a little easier in the early 2000s)

Most TV quizzes are quite sparing with questions. In Only Connect a team will face six questions in the first two rounds, then a "wall" then maybe ten at the most of the missing vowels (much the hardest round unless you are a crossword nerd!)

When I was on Eggheads I didn't play in the elimination rounds at all (because my subjects didn't come up, I might have done either science or history) and we only got five or six questions at the end (did very badly )

There used to be a quiz called "Fifteen to One" that seemed much faster-paced to me than UC. I was never actually on it though so I don't really know!

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Ken

L’amor che move il sole e l’altre stelle.

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Originally posted by moonlitdoor:
Someone who I worked with was on a team that won University Challenge in 1978. ( One of his fellow team members is now a government minister. )

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Originally posted by L'organist:
A mate and I watch every week and endeavour to get a higher score than the eventual winners - but often stymied by the maths/physics questions.

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Originally posted by Chorister:
One of the stars of tonight's programme (Clare, Cambridge v. Loughborough) was a Tom Wright, reading Theology. Any relation, do you think?

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Originally posted by Chorister:
People often aren't that good on the questions for their own subject. They feel the pressure even more hugely if they think they should know the answer! The one exception seems to be the Maths students, particularly the really geeky ones who have an obsession with the subject and not much else.

I remember, a few years ago, the Cardiff University theology student who hardly answered any questions at all - when a religious one finally came up, his one contribution was to mouth 'I should know that one' to his captain!

I have heard that, in some universities, there is not much interest in being on University Challenge, so the competitors - instead of being some of the university's best - are a random assortment of rather lost characters who don't have a better offer on the evening when selection takes place. Anyone with inside knowledge wish to counter that??

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Originally posted by Metapelagius:
A notice in the college lodge "Gather in the hall after dinner on such and such a day if you are interested". General knowledge quiz. Team selected on the basis of this. So it was in one instance in 1969.

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Originally posted by Chorister:



I have heard that, in some universities, there is not much interest in being on University Challenge, so the competitors - instead of being some of the university's best - are a random assortment of rather lost characters who don't have a better offer on the evening when selection takes place. Anyone with inside knowledge wish to counter that??

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It varies hugely from place to place. What you say sounds most likely in small specialist colleges (e.g. Heythrop, RVC, etc). Oxbridge colleges tend to have reasonable interest, as they are, to put it mildly, filled with nerds. The bigger Redbricks and London Universities can easily have hundreds of people trying out for four places. Interestingly, although teams formed in the latter way are more consistently good (as one would expect), some of the best teams have been formed by a few friends in the college bar.

As you may have guessed, I was on UC once. I won't comment on the circumstances other than to say that we did reasonably well, and even gathered a small cult following based on the eccentric appearance and behaviour of one of our members.

It's still probably the most impressive thing I've done in my life, which is a bit sad but I'll take what I can get.