h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Just got through heat 1 of this quiz!

Hanging around a Belfast hotel for a couple of hours, not much fun, especially with the production crew getting us to do stupid jumping up and down, Oirish dancing and the like. I was standing next to yer man Nial (who was the team captain on Your Country Needs You) when they were getting us to spell out P-E-O-P etc. He and I giggled and agreed we'd have to yell "Apostrophe!" at the correct point. I'm Q, btw if that bit gets aired.

Into another holding area , and finally in for the solo slot, and an attempt to answer 10 questions in a row. Most people would come out shaking their heads and saying "failed on number 8" or similar.

So off I went, kept being interrupted during my intro, but hey.

Nearly blew it totally at question 5: Which stand up comedian has catch phrases "That's a real cracker!" and "It's the way I tell 'em!"

Oh that's easy I said, he's from Belfast and his name is.......mind went blank!Horror! I'd never live this down if I got it wrong. I said, and calmly went through the alphabet in my head and thankfully got the right answer.

Went on to answer the remaining 5 OK. Yay!

Next stage is a multiple choice phone call, which has a speed element in it too. Wish me luck!

Good luck

Frank Carson

Best of luck

Dying to hear how you get on! Best of luck

Well, as long as I can phone from Egypt! 2 hours ahead, which means I have to stay sober-ish till 10 pm...and find a touch-tone phone...that isn't going to cost me a fortune...

Not sure I actually want to get through to stage 3 - boot camp. Is this a horrible filmed weekend in a house full of quiz geeks?

I can't remember when they did this before in 2000.

Bah! Thought it was nearly "game over" last night, when the phone number on the form turned out to be incorrect, and I couldn't get a connection on either mobile or the hotel room phone.

Ah well, I thought, c'est la vie, and off I went diving with the barracudas in Jackfish Alley.

Back on dry land, phone message saying the lines were open again this afternoon - so I tried again - got through - and answered the 20 multiple choice questions. Now I know I've got at least 3 wrong, but at least if I go out now it's nobody's fault but mine.

So will you be on TV then? Or have these been audition rounds?

Might be! They were certainly recording all the auditions, I imagine to show in a X-factor style build up. If I get to boot camp then yes, for sure. Hmmm, need new clothes...

Fingers crossed!

Will we all get autographs to flog on eBay?

Well, as I suspected, I didn't get through that round .

Here's the questions (well, the 19 I can remember) if you want a go yerselves. I found them either terribly easy, or really hard - very few moderately difficult ones.

1. Cobalt is a variety of what colour?
2. Ceps and morels are types of what?
3. Gambas is Spanish for ….
4. Which team did Alex Ferguson manage before Man U?
5. Bedfordshire Giant is a variety of what vegetable?
6. Deeper Underground was a hit for which British group?
7. Where was Simple Simon going to when he met the pieman?
8. Keeping it Real is the biography of which model?
9. Which boy’s name means “Christmas” in French?
10. Goosegate and Maid Marion Way are in which city?
11. What relationship is Sophie Dahl to Roald?
12. Which movie starred Jamie Foxx as a taxi driver held hostage by Tom Cruise?
13. What would your profession be if you were a member of ABTA?
14. Which of these bones is in the leg – scapula, tibia, sternum, humerus
15. What is Mr D’Arcy’s first name?
16. Who wrote The Cherry Orchard?
17. Chandler Bing appears in which American sit com
18. Simba is Swahili for which animal?
19. What was the name of the newspaper in The New Adventures of Superman?

Ah well, at least you've no boot camp to go through then!

OK, let's see...(no googling or cheating other than guessing!)

1. Blue
2. Mushrooms
3. Hmmm...No idea. Meat?
4. Was it Rangers?
5. Onion
6. The Jam? Nah, that was Going Underground
7. Dammit, what was it...to the fair!
8. Not my strong suit here. Naomi Campbell?
9. Noel
10. Nottingham?
11. Daughter
12. No idea, can't concentrate. The thought of Tom Cruise holding a hostage is making me laugh too much!
13. Travel agent
14. Tibia - of course the humerus isn't a bone. Sue 'em for talking tripe!
15. Terence Trent
16. Chekhov
17. Friends? There's a Chandler in that anyway.
18. Lion
19. Well, traditionally it was The Planet, but by the question I'm guessing they changed it. The Mercury? No idea why, something in my head says so.