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Why I Love...Countdown

Carol Vorderman and Des Lynam
  • Posted at 12:08pm
  • 06 October 2006
  • by SteveHill-RT
  • 2 comments

Admit to someone that you watch Countdown and you're immediately pigeonholed as the kind of feckless slug-a-bed who never grew out of studenthood.

While there is some validity to this criticism, much of it is borne out of jealousy from those forced to leave the comfort of their homes to perform soul-destroying work. After all, would you rather be nestled on the sofa in front of a words-and-numbers quiz, or stuck on the tube attempting a sudoku with your face in a stranger's armpit?

Often lumped in with the mindless morass of daytime television, it is unfair to mention Countdown alongside the atrocity exhibitions of Jeremy Kyle and Trisha, or the inane vacuity of Neighbours and Home & Away. These truly pander to the bewildered; Countdown is a bastion of civility that unofficially marks the watershed after which it is acceptable to watch daytime TV (Sky Sports News notwithstanding).

As the timeless theme tune signals the opening of the televisual day, it is gently ushered in with the minimum of fuss, an oasis of calm amid the multi-channel madness of modern broadcasting.

Following a shaky opening week, Des Lynam has effortlessly replaced the late Richard Whiteley, supplanting the latter's witless punnery and nervous fidgeting with genuine charm and an immediate chemistry with co-host Carol Vorderman, whose rictus grin remains intact as she metronomically reaches for the vowels and consonants.

* In the event of a nine-letter word, the victorious boffin's score is doubled to a whopping 18 points

* The numbers round consists of six randomly drawn numbers, some or all of which must be added, subtracted, multiplied and divided to reach the given target

* That target is selected at random by in-house computer CECIL (Countdown's Electronic Calculator In Leeds), essentially a very lo-fi version of HAL from 2001: a Space Odyssey

* The show reaches its (anti)climax with the Conundrum, as contestants feverishly place their fingers on the buzzers for a nine-letter anagram, yielding ten points for the winner. Often by this stage, one of them will have an unassailable lead. If this is not the case, it is known as a Crucial Countdown Conundrum

The contest is adjudicated by perennially coy lexicographer Susie Dent. Perched in Dictionary Corner, she is assisted by a series of studio guests, generally plucked from the depths of 70s TV and/or the pantomime circuit.

Whereas Whiteley's relentless kowtowing to these microcelebrities was sickening to watch, Lynam is refreshingly flippant with them, showing little enthusiasm for the witless bons mots of Martin Jarvis or the theatrical histrionics of Melvyn Hayes, often treating them with the contempt they deserve.

Despite the sedate pace - and accompanying chairlift adverts - Countdown needn't be the sole preserve of the aged, and essentially provides 45 minutes of much-needed mental gymnastics. You may be home alone, but there's an enormous sense of satisfaction in cracking the numbers round, or barking out the conundrum before the clock has even started. And if you're quick enough, you can turn it off before Edmonds shows his bearded face?

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  • Posted on 31 January 2007
  • at 3:42pm
  • by Bizzibill

Yes, Des Lynam was great - but Des O'Connor is dreadful, cringe-making: you can smell the aftershave in your own living room. Get him off! (and tell me when so that I can start watching again, thanks).

  • Posted on 08 October 2006
  • at 9:25pm
  • by Powder

Myself, and all my student friends are in fact addicted to Countdown. The day is incomplete without it. It's even greater when you have people playing alongside you, and can compare scores at the end!

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