Countdown - 12 November 1996

A controversial edition - yes even Countdown had controversy if you dont watch the show first read this rest of this afterwards.... During the Conundrum Jackie gave the word Penetrant this was not the word that they were looking for as a result after a short deliberation with producer and Susie Dent it was decided this was an actual word and they decided to refilm the conundrum and told Jackie she had to wait a few seconds and then guess Penetrant and Clive was not allowed to buzz in as this was a crucial conundrum the other contestant Clive was clearly not happy as you could see from his face the word they were looking for was Repentant. Neither contestant seemed to know what was happening and the embarrassment from Richard at the end is clear.

[@paru9237]

for the first numbers game there are at least 3 ways to solve it . this is one of them:
100+4=104
104/8=13
13+1=14
75x4=300
300-14=286

[@rabc2010]

Thanks I love watching old eps

[@MultiVince95]

Brilliant

[@spiderjump]

I got ordainer!

[@Nullifidian]

In the first round, GORGON was another six.
In the second round, I was surprised Susie didn't treat RADIANS as a common word. I've certainly encountered it more than RADIONS. Every calculator I've owned has had RAD on it. Other sevens were SOARING and DRAGONS, to continue the mythological theme.
In the third round, another seven that uses the X is COEXIST. I get sick of seeing those bumper stickers everywhere, but at least it primes me to spot the word on _Countdown_ . Other than that, you can sail close to the wind of teatime acceptability with COSTIVE, a word meaning constipated.
The first numbers round actually _is_ possible. The solution (the only one, as far as I can see) is as follows:
75 x 4 = 300
100 + 4 = 104
104 / 8 = 13
300 - 13 - 1 = 286
In the fifth round, another seven is the old _Countdown_ favorite ANDIRON.
In the sixth round, I was glad to see ELECTRUM come up because anything that reminds me of Classical history is meat and drink to me. Electrum was used for coins in ancient Greece, the earliest ones coming from Lydia and East Greece (modern-day Turkey).
In the second numbers round, the contestants' answer was so obvious that I tried coming up with a "five-small" solution to make it more of a challenge:
5 + 1 = 6
9 x 7 x 6 = 378
378 - 2 = 376
I'm actually familiar with the word PENETRANT because it's an adjective used in genetics - my field is molecular biology - to denote genes or gene clusters that produce characteristic phenotypic effects in individuals with the genes. So were I in Jackie's place, that might have been the first thing that occurred to me too, instead of the intended REPENTANT.

[@invisibleman1734]

I managed to get ROADINGS in the second round. As in highway maintenance. It's in Merriam, not sure about Oxford.

[@only20frickinletters]

In the final letters round, pastebin has become a word since '96, though it might not be accepted

[@remco16041971]

5 + 1 = 6
6 * 7 = 42
42 * 9 = 378
378 - 2 = 376

[@spiderjump]

I got repentant almost immediately

[@michaelnn-]

You can’t knit through countdown

[@paru9237]

6:21 readings