Well it’s been a while since I’ve done this, but as we’re here let’s do it again. The times in the square brackets are roughly the time you can expect the clue to go up (although it might be a bit earlier/later depending on circumstance), you should ignore them when it comes to making your guesses.
Here are four things, what connects them?
- Sharpe
- Spellbound
- Button Moon
- Watchdog
Bonus clues for half a point or something:
- Fame Academy
- Crackerjack
- Bruce Forsyth and the Generation Game
- This Morning
- The Paul Daniels Magic Show
And the answer is… hidden behind a cut.
The connection is they are all TV programmes that prominently feature/d a real life married couple:
- Sharpe – Sean Bean and Abagail Cruttenden (this might not have been a very good clue in retrospect – they met playing husband and wife on the show and married in 1997 where three episodes went out. Divorced a few years later.)
- Spellbound – Yes, not the dance troupe but the Sky One quiz show hosted by Paul Coia and later with his wife Debbie Greenwood.
- Button Moon – theme song by Peter Davison and Sandra Dickinson.
- Watchdog – hosted for years by Lynn Faulds Wood and John Stapleton.
And the bonus clues, easier to figure out:
- Fame Academy – David and Carrie Grant (The Heaven and Earth Show might have been a more accurate clue, I think).
- Crackerjack – Ian and
JimmyJeanette Krankie. I do not know if Stu Francis and Sara Hollamby were ever married but I suspect not. - Bruce Forsyth and The Generation Game – Wording very important here of course, he met Anthea Redfern, they married.
- This Morning – With Richard Madeley and his wife Judy Finnegan.
- The Paul Daniels Magic Show – Paul Daniels and The Lovely Debbie McGee.
So there we are. Mark D was oh so close but really his answer didn’t quite fit the other clues, so that means the winner is Smogo! Well done Smogo.
Join us next time for another round of Questions Too Esoteric For Only Connect. Goodbye!
People whose first names are the names of famous bunnies.
The mother was a prostitute, and clue 2 is “Red Dead Redemption’s John Marston”
For the big 5: Musicians who collaborated with Gary Numan.
People who have never been in my kitchen!
…Sorry, couldn’t resist the reference.
I’ll go for a Clegg connection and bet on a Peter Sallis clue coming up later on.
Stupid guess: They’re all beans as you got Sean Bean in Sharpe and Spellbound always jump up and down like jumping beans.
…Have they all been shown on a bank holiday Monday?
(As in broadcast on television on a)
If nobody gets this, I’ve got some teriffic alternative Clue Fours I’ll put up, but it’s actually quite a hard thing to come up with examples of, I thought.
They all have someone who is in someway related to Doctor Who?
I was thinking this (Sharpe, notably, *didn’t* have someone related to Who, but could have). I can’t figure out the Spellbound link, but I’ve a nagging feeling there is some sort of Doctor Who reference buried in the Magic Knight game of that title.
Well, Sharpe had David Troughton, son of Patrick Troughton.
Is it something to do with married couples?
eg:
Button Moon’s theme music was written by Peter Davison & Sandra Dickinson
Watchdog was presented by John Stapleton & Lynn Faulds Wood.
Fame Academy had David & Carrie Grant
The Generation Game was presented by Bruce Forsyth & Anthea Redfern
This Morning was presented by Richard & Judy
Right, Watchdog is not an absolute gimme but I think one of you might have found the key, even if you haven’t found the lock it goes in.
I have three alternative Clue Fours I’ll be attempting to drip feed throughout the day if nobody has got it yet.
…Have people from these things all played themselves in other works?
Anne Robinson played the Anne-Droid in Doctor Who, the narrator of Button Moon played himself in The Entertainers, etc…
Are they all programmes where the ‘star’ has met their wife on?
Is it something to do with married couples?
eg:
Button Moon’s theme music was written by Peter Davison & Sandra Dickinson
Watchdog was presented by John Stapleton & Lynn Faulds Wood.
Fame Academy had David & Carrie Grant
The Generation Game was presented by Bruce Forsyth & Anthea Redfern
This Morning was presented by Richard & Judy
Paul Daniels & Debbie McGee…
Sean Bean & Abigail Cruttenden…
Interesting line of thinking. Spellbound and Crackerjack?
I can’t link those two into it, unfortunately. Not 100% sure which Spellbound we’re supposed to be thinking of… the Hitchcock film?
Spellbound as in the Sky gameshow hosted by Paul Coia and Debbie Greenwood.
Stu Francis era of Crackerjack had the Krankies on.
Was Stu Francis married to Sara Hollamby? I remember it coming up but I can’t remember whether we’d concluded that he was or not.
Another thing I don’t remember about Stu Francis and Sara Hollamby is… Sara Hollamby.
Sorry guys, just got a free minute, answer going up in a sec.
Just a heads up this weeks Amazing Race Australia has some great tasks, including a Road Block right at the Pit Stop.
I will not say anymore than that just in case you have not seen it yet.
Won’t get to see it until tomorrow (and I’ve already had the eliminees spoiled 🙁 ) but I’m looking forward to it.
So either no-one’s interested in Big Ask or everyone forgot to watch it.
In summary, then:
– Set is a flat with a cityscape backdrop, a bit like Frasier or the old Newsnight set.
– Three guests. Each one picks a topic and comes up with a question on it, which the other two answer by writing it down on a tablet PC thingy. During this time, Alexander riffs some pre-written script on the topic. Then the answers are revealed. 1pt if you flummox someone, or 1pt if you answer someone else’s question correctly (which is usually highly doubtful, given the obscurity of the questions). Dave Lamb is in a basement on a video link checking the accuracy.
– Second round is a bit weak: Xander pops up pictures of various celebs and you have to think of what questions you’d like to ask them. 1pt for each ‘fun’ suggestion.
– Third round is more like the first: this time all three celebs invent a question on the same topic, and 1pt is awarded to the one Armstrong likes best. Then the question is played out in the same way.
– Fourth round is a speed round on the buzzer. Topic is announced, you ring in to give a question and someone else rings in to try to answer it.
Generally, the thing feels well made and quite funny. Where it falls down is that, when the panellists are writing down their answers, the pre-scripted stuff Alexander delivers interrupts the flow somewhat. And given that very few questions are answered successfully, there’s a faintly desperate air about the whole thing. In particular, the point structure is so woolly and loose they’d probably be better off not bothering.
A 6/10 effort, I’d say. It OK, but on the whole I’d rather watch Qi.
Yes, thanks for this, I wanted to watch it but by the time I finished work it was finishing on +1. I hope it’s ‘availiable’ from ‘places’.
Cowell’s strategy for Red or Black starting to become clear:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/may/31/simon-cowell-itv-camelot-red-or-black
The problem he may face is that “traditional” media are pretty wary of anything involving gambling, so while approaching the Lotto and other gaming ventures sounds like a good deal on paper, in reality it’ll be quite hard to get the deal done.