University Challenge - what do we think of Amol?

[highlandcoo]

I like him much more than Jeremy Paxman whom I found short-tempered and sneery (wish him the best re his Parkinson's obviously).

Amol seems warmer and more sympathetic. More like Bamber Gasgoigne who will always be my favourite I think. Still taking it seriously though. And he seems to get through more questions maybe?

I like him, and also wondering if he gets through more questions. Feel like we've had some much higher scores already.

I like him too. As you said, he has a friendly rapport with the contestants without wasting time.

We were wondering if scoring is higher this series because they seem to whip through far more questions than Paxman could.

I like him.

Personally, I have found the questions easier. More literature, art, music of a not ridiculously high brow nature; more maps and stuff. Fewer obscure physics questions. I think I read something about the maths style questions being revamped.

I’d like them to give the guy an appropriate height chair and a suit that fits. He looks like the smallest kid in the class sat at that desk. No idea why no one adjusted it. I also notice that he has a monitor rather than Jeremy’s cue cards which I suspect assists him with pronunciation or tips to the right answer which Jeremy never had or needed. Jeremy and Bamber were both quite impatient but very clever in their own right and I don’t get that in Amol. I’d have preferred Victoria Coren Mitchell for the gig personally - even if she is quite irritating, she’s really bloody clever.

agree with @Netaporter the chair/height issue is ridiculous.

I think he’s great! Does the job without any of the sneering or unpleasantness you got from Paxman.

I like him a lot. Very different from Paxman, which was a good move, because I also loved him and them being so different feels like you don’t need to compare them.

I don’t like the design of the new desk though, the paint effect looks cheap under the studio lights and that monitor screen cover looks really naff. I can see they were going for retro but they’ve misfired with how it appears under modern lighting and high def cameras.

Amol Rajan went to Cambridge so I'm fairly sure he is also pretty clever!

He was also in one of the alumni seasons. I think the monitor is just their way of upgrading the tech tbh.

What gives you the notion that he's not intelligent? His South London accent?

He's Oxbridge educated from state school, edited the Independent aged 29, has a successful career in media.

What else could be about this man that makes you think he's not a very clever person?

@Piggywaspushed i do know that. I also know plenty of Oxbridge graduates that you necessarily wouldn’t want on your quiz team… and plenty of people who didn’t go to university who you would. Just my opinion!

Why do you think she is very clever? She even has a bit about it, that people expect her to be very high brow and she is distinctly average, she's just posh.

@NeverDropYourMooncup i wouldn’t ever judge anyone because of their accent.

I 100% agree with the chair/height issue! Just give the poor guy a different chair.

He comes across as very likeable, but I do sometimes struggle to make out what he's said - I think other quiz presenters are maybe a bit clearer/better at reading out questions at speed.

He really likes his bling, doesn't he?!

@Calistano she’s a world champion poker player and writes her own quiz show?

Pretty sure VCM is also very happy with her Only Connect gig.

Raise his chair and bring back the cards!

Unfortunately he reminds me of someone I know who isn't very intelligent.

I'd prefer an academic type, like Hannah Fry

@Mooserp ooh yes, good call. Hannah Fry. Or Jim Al-Khalili.

I also notice that he has a monitor rather than Jeremy’s cue cards which I suspect assists him with pronunciation or tips to the right answer which Jeremy never had or needed.

Jeremy's pronunciation was sometimes really off. He was fine with Latin or Greek, but did you ever hear him try to pronounce any Welsh words? I think it's actually a good thing to use the available tech to enable you to pronounce the words correctly, and a bit arrogant to assume that you're too clever to ever need it.

Maybe just me, but I also found it very irritating how Jeremy would pronounce years between 2001 and 2009 - always "twenty-oh-four" rather than "two thousand and four" which almost everybody else says.

I like Amol doing it as well - he makes it into a 'show us how smart you are' quiz rather than seeming to go from a pov of wanting to berate the teams for not knowing something.

Yes, I noticed that. Not sure it's wise wearing it all on tv.

Paxman’s German pronunciation was pretty dire too.

I think he’s great. Comes across as extremely intelligent but wears it lightly and strikes the right balance between encouraging the students and joking with them.

The desk/chair thing is ridiculous.

@FatherJackHackettsUnderpantsHamper I don’t know enough Welsh to comment but will take your word for it. In the same vein, but did you hear Amol’s pronunciation of Larnaca a few months back on the Today prog? It did raise a lot of commentary about his pronunciation, hence my comment as to why the monitor is there. Nothing against Amol (he does a great job on R4) but he does seem to be favoured when there are other equally talented or qualified people to do the job IMO.

Agree! It was the first thing I noticed about him. He needs his mum to get him a booster cushion.