More Richard and Carol. Review on Countdown

As from 24.09.01 Countdown has been extended. This programme on Channel 4 has been running since 1982 presented by Richard Whiteley and now assisted by Carol Vorderman in the same format, and has now got even better in my eyes. It is my favourite game show at present. It is shown five days per week (Mon to Fri at 4.15pm)

GAME OBJECTIVE Two contestants take on each other to gain points from making words from 9 chosen letters, and from trying to work out a computer-selected number from 6 chosen numbers. THE GAME The first four rounds are word rounds. Each contestant in turn chooses 9 letters (from vowels or consonants). They then have 30 seconds in which to make the longest word they can. To make sure the word is correct then ''dictionary corner'' vets the word. The word has to appear in the Concise Oxford Dictionary as quantified by a celebrity and a person from the Oxford Dictionary. Following these letter rounds is the first of the number rounds. One contestant chooses 6 numbers, (Top line is one of: 100.75.50.25. The next 3 lines are randomly placed numbers 1 to 10 inclusive). Carol Vorderman Then presses a button on the computer to select a number from 100 to 999 inclusive. The constestants then have 30 seconds to try and work back to this answer, by all 4 mathematical ways using whole numbers only. If the contestants cannot come up with the number then (''brainbox'') Carol tries to show how it can be achieved. Sometimes she cannot do it. On occasions I can and she can't. A commercial break then comes on. Following this break 4 more letter rounds and 1 more number rounds take place. Another commercial break then appears. Following this break 3 letters an 1 number rounds take place. The final round is known as the Countdown conundrum. This is where 9 letters are jumbled up (usually in a type of quip) and the contestants have 30 seconds to make the proper 9 letter word. The winner is then claimed as champion and goes onto the next days game to meet a challenger. After 8 consecutive wins (if this happens) that person goes into a knock-out competition later in the series, to meet other contestants with high value cumulative points if they have not won 8 games.

POINTS SCORING SYSTEM For letter rounds: Each word is scored by its length (ie: 6 pts for a six-letter word etc). A nine-letter word scores 18pts. For number rounds: Exact number scores 10pts Within 5 scores 7pts Within 10 scores 5 pts. One plus to the new style programme is that at the commercial breaks a conundrum is set for the tv audience. The answer is revealed after the break. Well done to Channel 4.

I do recommend this show to all the family.