Countdown - Wednesday 3rd November 1982 - Episode 2 

My God, the letters board looks like something out a 1950s Western

Richard: And what's your word Michael? Michael: "Felony." Richard: "Felony. Okay, well there's no crime in that..." Classic Whiteley 4:04 😂😂😂

Watching this episode makes me wonder how the show actually survived?! Maureen certainly wouldn't be allowed that much time now to work out what she did for the numbers!

25x2=50, 10+7=17, 50x17=850, 9-3=6, 850-6=844.

Wow! Episode two. Such growing pains. The unintelligible font. The painfully slow pace. The agony of witnessing the duelling mathematicians. The arcane scoring system. The awkward lack of preparation. The unintentional but undeniable misogyny. Shocking that they pulled it together enough to allow it to succeed. And not only to succeed but to become as identifiably British as the Christmas speech. Rachel and Suzie are a world away, the spirits of Countdown future.

Notice the clock shows 28 seconds when the contestant buzzes (22:30), but when the clock is shown again, it shows 29 seconds (23:05). _Eh, the good old days with the old clock..._

These early episodes have the look.of an open University programme thankfully it improved

I cracked 844: 9x7=63, 10+3=13, 63x13=819, 819+25=844

Please keep on going!

Wednesday 3rd November 1982

This show has come a very long way.

Michael Goldman died in around this time of the year in 1997 of cancer

Series 1 episode 2 of countdown there is series 1 episode 25 available as well

I wonder how far in advance these first few programmes were recorded. Perhaps 3 or 4 months?

Anyone realise there are contestant scenes on the conundrum?

Just watching an old episode of The Chase, who was the first Celebrity in Dictionary Corner, & here he is, & not Richard Stilgoe

I wonder when the rules were explained for the last time lol? I suppose everyone has seen enough episodes now :D

3 November 1982 - Series 1 episode 2

Sadly, Linda, Maureen, Michael, Ted and, of course, Richard are no longer with us

To Countdowngoofs: I've tried to get the answer to this, but I get hazy answers. Do all the episodes exist in the archives?

641: 100+7=107 (10x3)/5=6 107x6=642 642-1=641

Terrible font, especially the letters. Very early 80s describing the person who puts up the letters as a "hostess" and not letting her speak, too. Would they have had to pay her extra if it was a speaking role, or something?

Does anyone have the end credits to this episode of Countdown? Please upload if they do. Thanks.

I always thought that, if a contestant gets the conundrum wrong, the other has the rest of the 30 seconds to themselves. I know there wasn't much time left, but it would still happen regardless these days. Not here at 22:28.

Was this the second ever episode then?

Does anyone know where I can find all series of this where you don't have to pay

It was a bit silly to have different women to put up numbers and letters. Anyway the numbers woman (don’t know her name but I know the letters was Cathy something) does she ever speak? Look at when she puts up the numbers and Richard reads it out instead

Did the lady putting up the numbers ever speak?

Looking for a copy of Hayley Mills on this programme please

Is there episode 3

Early Countdown really was awful if that was shown now it would have been axed after series one

Flippin eck this is painful to watch

was coalized a real word back then? I don't think it was, as far as I can tell it isn't now.

5+3=8 8-1=7 100-7=93 93*7=651 651-10=641

22:32

27th October 1982

The ‘statistician’ woman is so nervous. The typeface for the letters game and conundrum is dreadful. Terrible clunky progress throughout the episode. It certainly improved when Carol joined.

Linda wasn't very good at the numbers was she? Asking the contestants what a sum equalled- you don't get this nonsense with Rachel, Carol or Anne-Marie

844=(10+7)×2×25-9+3

641=7×(100-5-3+1)-10