Fans of Countdown will be all too familiar with the iconic jingle that rings out as its clock ticks closer to the 30-second mark.
But writing into behind-the-scenes showbiz podcast The Rest Is Entertainment, a listener wanted to know what would happen if that fateful blue hand lurched outside of its natural, time-mandated boundary.
“Does the countdown clock only do 30 seconds or can it do the full 60-second rotation?” Paul Bateman asked (the thought is strangely horrifying to me).
And?
Co-host Richard Osman, who was on the show lately, asked none other than countdown host Colin Murray what the answer was.
“Right, I’ve had to do a bit of digging,” the Channel 4 host said.
“I talked to Susie Dent, who would know better than anybody” (the Dictionary Corner star has been on the show since 1992).
“She reckons it’s never happened. But that’s not your question ― your question is can it.”
To that, Colin said, “I don’t think it can. I remember when [the Countdown clock] broke down during an episode once and then our technicians went in... it’s a mock-up of a clock.”
He continued, “It’s not a grandfather clock or your wristwatch. So with every second it ticks it lights up... why would they light up the other 30 seconds if it’s not needed? I don’t think it would make sense.”
Though it’s just a theory, he adds, “I’m sure that it hasn’t ticked round a full minute. Can it? I’m less sure, but I’m pretty convinced it can’t.”
However Richard points to the fact that the “current clock... wouldn’t go all the way round” ― but in the show’s “pilot, it goes around to 45 seconds.”
He’s “certain Colin is right” with the version in the studio now ― but if you go to about 5:21 in the clip embedded below, you might gasp as loud as I did at the earlier 45-second reality.
In fact, Colin doesn’t even think it should be called “Countdown”
The conversation seemed to unlock a well of clock-related frustrations in the Countdown host, who said, “Let me leave you with this ― why is countdown called Countdown? That’s the question you should be asking.”
“It goes from nought to 30 seconds. It should be called ‘Countup,’” he continued.
“If it was truly living up to its name the clock would start at the bottom, where it’s 30 seconds and count DOWN to zero.”
Though co-host Marina Hyde said that left her brain “broken,” I’m gonna have to challenge Colin on this one too; sure, mathematically he’s right, but in the current system the hand goes down even if the count doesn’t.
And any true fan knows that the clock is way more important than the facts, right?