Have We Seen All Of This Before?

Just sat down on this post-Coro Bank Holiday Monday to write a bumper sized edition of this blog, only to realise that there wasn't an episode last week. Not a good sign when you're supposed to be one of the (self-proclaimed) pre-eminent University Challenge bloggers. So this will just be a regular old single-ep edition, but that doesn't mean there won't be time to fit in a overcomplicated and very showy introduction.

Speaking of things that were overcomplicated and very showy - did any of you watch the Coronation? A lot of things have changed in the seven decades since Britain last had such an event, one of those being that far more of us didn't watch it. In 1952, 27 million people watched Queen Elizabeth II being crowned (out of a population of 36 million). At the weekend, 19 million out of 67 million tuned in. 28% rather than 75%, which is still pretty high, but quite a massive drop.

This got me thinking about the way in which we view historical events as they happen in the present. In 1952, 75% of people watched live on telly, but I imagine you'd have been hard pressed to avoid talk of it in the weeks leading up to it, and there would have been a street party on nearly every street. Everyone alive then would have experienced it as a shared cultural moment. Or am I just making a gigantic assumption? Will people seventy years from now look back at this coronation and think that we as a nation experienced this one in much the same way we think they did in the fifties? Which makes me question whether or not my assumptions about that one are valid.

There is definitely a difference, I think, because attitudes towards the monarchy have shifted greatly, and media consumption has fractured in a way that would have been unfathomable to people back in the day (plus, there will be a huge number of people who saw clips of the coronation on social media, a number which in all honesty probably breaches the 28%-75% gap), but it is interesting to think about how this weekend's events will be viewed through the lense of history.

Anyway, let's get back to the question of crowning this year's Uni Challenge royalty, with the penultimate quarter final between Durham and UCL.

Both won their first quarter, and then lost the second. A few months ago I tipped Durham for the title, but they faltered against Royal Holloway and their title charge is on the brink.

The first starter goes to L. Collier of UCL who recognises a clue relating to Groundhog Day.

The first starter goes to L Collier of UCL who recognises a clue relating to Groundhog Day. They manage a single bonus on Wales before Scully demonstrates his art credentials with some Turner Prize knowledge for Durham. One bonus from a tough set on board games ties the match.

The first starter goes to L Collier of UCL who recognises a clue relating to Groundhog Day. They manage a single bonus on Wales before Scully demonstrates his art credentials with some Turner Prize knowledge for Durham. One bonus from a tough set on board games ties the match. Another for L. Collier (I feel like I need to mention again how cool it is that I need to specify the initial of the Collier in question. It would be fun enough if two teammates shared a surname, but the fact its his Mum is just magnificent) and the picture starter for Fleetwood-Walker put UCL clear.

The first starter goes to L Collier of UCL who recognises a clue relating to Groundhog Day. They manage a single bonus on Wales before Scully demonstrates his art credentials with some Turner Prize knowledge for Durham. One bonus from a tough set on board games ties the match. Another for L Collier (I feel like I need to mention again how cool it is that I need to specify the initial of the Collier in question. It would be fun enough if two teammates shared a surname, but the fact its his Mum is just magnificent) and no - I think this is where the bit has run its course. You may disagree and say it had run its course several repetitions ago, but you'd be wrong. I reckon I'm in the Goldilocks zone of milking it.

Scully hits back, and then Salmon grabs his first to counter. Going into the music round, UCL are 65 points ahead. No one gets the starter, but Radcliffe wins the bonuses with some brilliant arithmetic/recall, either remembering or calculating on the fly the sum of the numbers from 1 to 100. He gives his answer in digits initially, 5-0-5-0, and then clarifies that he means five thousand and fifty, because it looks for a moment as though Paxman is going to prompt him.

Durham take another starter, but UCL hit back with two more of their own, and now lead by seventy points going into the second picture round. This goes to Durham's Bennett, who sparks a comeback for the Wearsiders. With the gap down to twenty, Fleetwood-Walker buzzes in early on a question about the Rio Grande, only instead of the name of the river, he says 'towns on either side of the US/Mexican border'. He knows what the question is about, but didn't get to hear the part about the river, which is desperately unfortunate. This decreases Durham's deficit to fifteen, and Radcliffe smashes this to five with the steal.

This was the pivotal moment of the match. Durham seized the lead and never gave it up.

The first starter goes to L Collier of UCL who recognises a clue relating to Groundhog Day. Only kidding...

Durham 160 - 145 UCL

A better performance from Durham, but they'll need to up their game even further if they want to have a chance of making the final. Commiserations to UCL, who were a delight to watch, and who featured the only mother-son duo in UC memory.