University Challenge

[quizzywig]

Jeremy Paxman is so arrogant and rude to the contestants. Bamber would have never have behaved like that! (the voice-over man is still hysterical in the last few minutes)

[Quizmonkey]

Only when they're exceptionally thick - and their ignorance deserves every sneer and raised eyebrow!

[emmie]

ah but he is funnier, well sometimes.

[Kiki-frog]

Agreed. Bamber was a gentleman; Paxperson is a bully.

[andy-hughes]

I think each presents in their own style - as a reflection of the times in which they live and work.

Jeremy can be abrasive if someone is esepcially dense, but given that by definition, these people are all potential or substantive graduates, and represent the intellectual cream of their university (or at least the ones who wanted to be on TV anyway!) an assumed level of knowledge can be taken for granted.

I think you will find that his off-screen banter and interaction to relax everyone will ensure that all who receive a Paxo'ing will know he doesn;t mean it.

[craft1948]

I think a lot of the questions have got easier since Bamber's time..........even I can answer quite a few of them and I left school aged 16.

[boxtops]

I think he's really good - some of the answers the intelligentsia came up last night were amazingly bad and wrong.... just where is Moscow...?

[Prudie]

Totally agree with Andy (I think). The contestants are meant to be particularly bright example of our future intelligentsia and Jeremy has every right to sneer at them at times. I hardly remember Bamber but think Paxman has made the show his own.

[DTCwordfan]

He was in a very abrasive mood last night with Lancaster and Bath - to the point I gave up listening.....it's one of my fav programmes and I resorted back to AB.

[andy-hughes]

I do find it overloaded with science and maths questions these days.

I am all for a little subliminal intelligence floating my way after a hard day at work, but there is no point in giving me an answer, when i didn;t understand the question!

[DTCwordfan]

(ps the Moscow one, instead of St-Petersburg or even Leningrad was pretty dumb and merited a comment from either BG or JP)

[Runnerhasbean]

Very easy to sneer when you've got the answer on a card in front of you. Chances are if you ask a particle physicist a question about 17th century playwrights, they might make a wild guess that sounds stupid if you know about the subject. On the other hand, they might come up with an inspired answer that's correct - which is how a lot of breakthroughs have come about. Paxo should reserve his sneering for politicians who should know their subject and often don't rather than ridiculing and intimidating students.

[bednobs]

you seriously joined just to answer a question about UC??