I’m typing this with an immense sense of anger which, I fully realise, is incredidbly tragic. Nonetheless, you can’t reign in your emotions and so, to stop myself punching a brick wall or kicking-in the gas fire, I’m exorcising my rage through the keyboard.
Tonight, you see, was the final of the usually wonderful University Challenge. On this occasion however, I was actually driven to turn the show off before the end. This is my favourite TV show. I often cancel social events to watch this programme. I haven’t missed this programme since 1992, yet tonight I couldn’t cope. God, I need to re-evaluate my outlook on life.
The source of my ire? Not a contestant on the show (not personally at least), nor an offensive question or even offensively ugly audience member. No, what made me seeth with anger this evening was the public’s response to the captain of the team who, in the end, won. I’ve outlined my major issues below:
1) The Guardian and The Daily Mail, among others no doubt, exclaimed Corpus Christi, Oxford captain Gail Trimple a minor deity. Over the top, obviously, but not my main issue. My problem? It pretty much gave away the result. The series is obviously not put out live, and why would you give such attention to a lose?
2 a) The suggestion from that said captain IS in fact a minor deity. She’s not. She’s an above average quiz player with a canny nack for the kind of information covered regularly on University Challenge. If you can learn off by heart the dates of all English Kings, Prime Ministers, US presidents and Romantic poets; the rough outlines of the major works of Dickens, Shakespeare, Hardy, Austen, the periodic table and some GSCE Biology and grab a decent smattering of Greek and Latin then you too can look good in front of Jeremy Paxman. Oh, and it helps if you read the newspaper once in a while and spend 8 years in the stimulating and competitive environment of one of the best Universities on the planet.
2 b) The coverage received by Gail, bless her, polarised opinion causing plenty of hatred to spill through the tubes. Come people, she’s just a student on a quiz show, she didn’t invade Iraq. Note the achievement along with the winners of Masterchef (arguably a tougher competition for what it is) and Tim Vine’s Whittle.
2 c) As a UC viewer of many years I have seen plenty of players far superior to Trimble. But then, George Best was better than Wayne Rooney, it doesn’t mean Rooney isn’t still a great talent. The captain of the Durham team that won a few years ago and a bloke called Moriani(?) who claimed to be from Italy despite a top notch RP spring to mind. Both players who made you sit with your jaw open and shout ‘fuck off’ at your gran as they’d answer questions on literally everything.
3) Yeo, captain of finalists Manchester was just as good as Trimble
4) The whole sorry situation reminds me of the odd esteem in which people with great general knowledge are held. Sure, good general knowledge is nice to have and used well it can make for a fascinating personality and plenty of fun nights on the quiz machine. However, is it right to be awe-struck by it? It’s only recollection of facts after all. Will cancer be cured by recollection of facts? Will the Middle East peace process be eased by recollection of facts? Probably not. But you never know.
That all said, well done to everyone involved – some top quizzing. I particularly liked the question about Milton and Keynes, very clever!
