Episode Cats133

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Episode Cats133, billed as 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown Series 21, Episode 4 was a special episode broadcast on 4 February 2021, as part of 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown Series 21. This was also the first episode of the show to be filmed during the COVID-19 pandemic with many changes in place such as the lack of a studio audience, the installation of a plexiglass in Dictionary Corner, all players taking part in Rounds 3 and 4 and social distancing being enforced where each player sat two metres apart from each other. Because of this last point, each player had their own buzzer instead of one per team for the conundrum.

Regulars Sean Lock and Jon Richardson were the contestants, along with Richard Ayoade and Sara Pascoe who were their teammates respectively, while Jimmy Carr reprised his role as the host.

The match saw Jon Richardson, with the assistance of Sara Pascoe, winning by 52 – 42 in a 7-rounder and they won a Countdown breakdancing kit which consisted of retro shirts and pants complimentary with a boombox.

Rachel Riley was, as ever, the arithmetician. The Dictionary Corner guest was Nick Helm, and the lexicographer was Susie Dent.

Interesting and notable moments from the episode are listed below:

1) During the Introduction, in reference to her own dog's cleverness, Sara pretended to dress like it in order to bring good luck and would do so for the entire show. Also, Richard wore a cast which had a mini-calculator attached, but he did not attempt to cheat using that for both Numbers round afterwards.

2) In Round 2, Jon and Sara were not asked to show to Sean they had the same solution as him despite getting the same target.

3) During Round 4, Jon's puppet was lifted upwards towards the ceiling of the studio while the clock was still going; once the time was up, Jon had no idea where it had gone and thought Jimmy had taken it. Also, despite Sara only giving a partially correct solution and being assisted by Rachel, Jimmy decided to give her team ten points since she was on the right track.

4) In Round 5, it was dubbed a Tension Round but with a twist. Every time the booby-trapped letter (which was the vowel E) was picked, a loud popping noise would ensue. This happened thrice in total, but the last E was replaced with the I after Jimmy remarked to Rachel if she wanted to discard it which she did. Even if that had not happened, the maximum would not have been impacted. Apart from this, the usual rules applied. Points were doubled, the clock music was replaced with a techno version of it coupled with sirens, flames and a voice counting down from ten was heard as well. When the time was up, confetti shot out from behind the contestants but did not scare anyone since everyone was frightened by the popping noises earlier on. Thus, the maximum was worth 14 points in this case.

5) Sean buzzed before the conundrum was revealed; Jon challenged Sean that if he got the answer correct, he would concede the game and Sean would win. With Richard's input, he thought the answer was CARETAKER, but it was incorrect. Also, despite Jimmy giving a clue to the answer which was cheating, Sean's team eventually got there and got the points.

NOTE 1: In this version, both players' declarations were allowed, although points were only awarded for the best answer.

NOTE 2: This was the last episode of the show containing Sean Lock which aired before his death in August 2021, although his final appearance was aired posthumously in February 2022.

Rounds

Rnd	Selection	Richard & Sean	Score	Jon & Sara	Others	Max.
1	BSATRELON	LOBSTER STROBE	7 – 7	BLASTER BOLSTER	BARONETS, BLOATERS*, NEOBLAST*, NOTABLES*, RETABLOS*, SORTABLE*, STORABLE	8
2	25 75 3 7 5 9 → 741	741 741 (7 + 3) × 75 − 9 * (7 + 3) × 75 − 9	17 – 17	741 741 (7 + 3) × 75 − 9 * (7 + 3) × 75 − 9 *		18
TTT	NUTSHERO	I'm heading down.			SOUTHERN
3	UIEOWGPST	GUEST SWIPE	17 – 23	SPIGOT —	WIPEOUTS	26
4	75 8 4 1 5 3 → 273	273 273 4 × 8 + 1 + (75 + 5) × 3 4 × 8 + 1 + (75 + 5) × 3 *	27 – 33	273 273 75 × 4 − (8 + 1) × 3 * 75 × 4 − (8 + 1) × 3		36
TTT	ANUSTRIM	It's all on show.			NATURISM
5	DEMREZITA	RATED MEATED	27 – 47	MERITED tazered ☓	DIAMETER*, DIATREME*, MADERIZE*, METRIZED*	52
TTT	ORALBITS	Just go round and round.			ORBITALS
6	OLUHIJARS	HAILS JARS	32 – 52	rousal ☓ SHOAL	HIROLAS*	59
7	BALLSERUM	serumball ☓ UMBRELLAS (25, 28.5 seconds)	42 – 52	bumlasers ☓ (28 seconds)		69