Episode 27 Beat the Brain

Hello, it's me, Brain.

Our team of four are poised for a strenuous mental workout.

To get you in the mood, try these two examples.

What's the phrase or saying?

A clock is reflected in a mirror. What's the real time?

I'll give you the answers at the end of the show.

Now, let's see if our four contestants can work

together as they try to beat The Brain.

APPLAUSE

Please welcome a man who can challenge my mind any day,

-it's John Craven.

-Well, thank you very much indeed.

Hello, and welcome to Beat The Brain.

Now, prepare yourself for a mental workout that will

test your little grey cells like no other quiz on television.

Without further hesitation, let's meet our questioning queen.

How are you today, Brain?

Super, John. Hey, here's a question for you -

who's your favourite brain?

-Oh, that's a hard one.

-BRAIN GASPS

-Of course YOU are!

-Ha-ha! Correct, you little tease.

-You're so clever.

-How clever is our team going to be today?

Let's find out by meeting them. Please introduce yourself.

I'm Paul and I'm a teacher and an author.

I'm Naomi and I'm a teaching assistant.

I'm Joe and I'm a project manager.

I'm Olivia, I'm team captain, and I'm a nurture officer.

-APPLAUSE

-Welcome.

You're all from Newport in South Wales and, Olivia,

-as team captain, have you chosen a name for the team?

-Team Cerebrum.

Why is that?

We like to think of ourselves as quite intelligent

-but we're debating the name now.

-Maybe you want to change it later.

-We'll see.

-I hope not.

And what's the connection between the four of you?

There's my fiance, there's my cousin and my father.

Ah, so it's very much a family team effort.

Do you think you're going to beat The Brain? What do you think, Paul?

I think we've got a 50-50 chance of beating The Brain.

Well, we'll see what happens, OK?

This is how it works. The show's brain is divided into six Zones.

Now, The Brain will select four out of the six Zones for you to

play today and, Olivia, as the team captain, it's up to you to decide

which of the members you think will play best in each of the Zones. OK?

You'll face a series of questions in your Zone with each correct answer

adding three seconds to what we call your Brain Bank.

And the more time you build up,

the better chance you have

of beating The Brain

in today's final and walking away with our jackpot of £3,000.

-So, Cerebrum, are you ready to play?

-Yeah.

-Right, OK.

Well, it's time to find out which Zone you'll be facing first.

Brain, the Zone, please.

So, Olivia, Orientation, who do you think will be best at that?

-What are you thinking? Joe?

-Yeah.

-So?

-Joe.

-You're volunteering Joe, are you?

-Thank you.

Well, Joe, come and join me in the Orientation Zone.

APPLAUSE

I hear that you like food challenges.

Now, what on earth does that mean?

It's a bit of a phenomenon at the moment where, you know,

there's large plates of food that you then eat as a challenge

and then if you win you get a prize or like a T-shirt

or something like that.

-And have you made any money from it?

-No, no money.

Just some indigestion and a few T-shirts.

-Here's your chance to win big money.

-Great.

Shall we find out what's going to happen?

You'll play two games in the Zone, both games have three questions

worth three seconds each, so let's play the Orientation Zone.

-Joe.

-Yes, Brain?

-I am the all-powerful Brain. Wiggle your eyebrows.

-OK, Brain.

Wiggle your nostrils.

Levitate.

Only joking. Here's your first game.

-What is the real time, Joe? To help you out, have a trial run.

-OK.

What's the real time?

OK, so just flip it over. The real time would be ten to two.

Ten to two, you're saying. Are you correct?

You are indeed. No trouble with that one.

-No, seems OK.

-That was just a test.

-That's right, yeah, yeah.

-Now we play for real. Are you ready?

-I am.

-The Brain, game, please.

You can have a maximum of 45 seconds to answer three questions, Joe.

Please remember I can only accept your first answer.

Every correct answer will add three seconds to your Brain Bank.

Your game starts now.

-OK, so that one is quarter to 11.

-Quarter to 11.

Yes, that's correct. Next one.

OK, that one is...ten to five.

Ten to five, yes, that's the real time.

OK, and that one is...

..25 to 5.

25 to 5, yes, yes, correct, with 20 seconds still to spare.

-APPLAUSE

-Yeah, that wasn't too bad, yeah.

As we say, different brains for different games.

And that's obviously a game for your brain.

-I wonder if the second game will be.

-Here's hoping.

-Can we have it, please, Brain?

-Very quick there, Joe. That upset me.

Here's your second game.

Match the viewpoint on the left to the numbered position on the right.

To get your eye in, have a trial run.

Which viewpoint, do you reckon? Out of one to eight.

There, I think, with the pyramid on there,

that's position number one,

you can't really see the diamond at the back

and that rules out that whole side there and then with the yellow

hexagon shape on the south there it would lead me to number seven.

Number seven, you would say.

You're absolutely right.

Very clever reasoning there. I think you're going to

have to be a bit quicker.

Brain is not going to let you hang about quite as much

when we play it for real. OK? Right, ready to play?

Yes, remember you only have a maximum of 45 seconds to

answer three questions and I will only accept your first answer.

Your game starts now.

-OK, I think that one's number eight.

-Number eight, you're saying.

Yes, you're correct. Next one, please.

-OK, that's number two.

-Number two, you say.

Yes. One more to come.

25 seconds left.

-OK, that one's number four.

-Number four, you say confidently.

Yeah. A clean sweep.

That is very good indeed, you have 18 seconds in the first Zone.

-Didn't he do well, Brain?

-Yes, I'm distraught.

Joe, you added 18 seconds in that Zone - full house.

Which means in total Cerebrum have 18 seconds in their Brain Bank.

-APPLAUSE

-Very good, Joe.

Your team will be proud of you and you can return to them now.

So, it's time to find out which Zone is coming next

and who is going to take it on. So, Brain, Zone, please.

Observation.

Olivia, who are you going to nominate for the Observation Zone?

Erm... Yeah, I think Dad.

I should have good observation skills. Should, being a teacher.

-I have to observe what's going on around me.

-Yeah.

-Dad's going to do it.

-Yeah.

Paul, come and join me in the Observation Zone.

APPLAUSE

Tell me a little bit about yourself.

I've been a primary-school teacher for about 24 years

-and then in the year 2000 I started to write children's books.

-Oh.

-So I've had five books published as well.

-More than I have.

You have other talents.

What about your talents in the Observation Zone?

Yes, I'll give it my best shot.

OK, well, let's play the Observation Zone.

Brain, please reveal the first game that Paul will be playing today.

-Hello, Paul.

-Hello, Brain.

Imagine you've written a novel called The Brain,

what would the first sentence be?

"The Brain woke up in a particularly good mood, she was

"astonished to see four such gorgeous contestants

"sitting before her."

Yeah, right(!) This is your first game.

What's the difference in value between the two totals?

To give you some practice, Paul, have a trial run.

-What's the difference in the two?

-I can see only one coin is different.

-I think the difference is ten pence.

-Ten pence, you're saying.

-I think.

Is that correct? It is indeed.

So you argued that correctly to yourself.

I realised pretty soon it was a visual thing, maybe in that shot,

rather than count the money.

Yeah, I think it is, you're probably right, it is

-more visual than actual mathematics.

-Yeah.

-You ready to play?

-Yeah, fingers crossed.

-Right, we're ready, Brain.

You have 45 seconds to answer three questions correctly.

Please remember I can only accept your first answer.

Your game starts now.

The difference is four pence, I think.

Four pence, correct.

30 seconds left.

-Having trouble with that one.

-Talk yourself through it.

-40 pence.

40 pence, you think.

-Eight pence. So one to go. 15 seconds left.

-OK.

There's a 50 on that one, there's not a 50 on that one.

-Quick, have a guess, have a guess.

-40 pence.

-40 pence.

45, almost correct.

You made a very good start on that game, didn't you?

The first one was easier.

And then there were just too many coins all jumbled up.

Well, we'll see how you do on game two, shall we?

-What game will Paul be playing?

-Here's your second game, Paul.

Tell me which numberplate you saw.

To get you in the groove, have a trial run.

-Right, which of those six numbers?

-I think it's...

-YE42 THX.

-X, yeah.

-I think.

-So you're saying, what? Number two?

-Sorry, number two.

Number two, you're saying, let's see if you're correct.

Yes, you are indeed.

Quite observant when it comes to registration numbers?

-Not normally so good.

-Well, we'll see how good you are now.

-Ready to play the game?

-Ready to play, yeah.

-Off we go.

I can only accept your first answer. Your game starts now.

-Er, three, I think.

-Number three, you're saying.

Yeah, that's correct, next one.

-A bit quicker, that, wasn't it?

-I think it was five.

You think it was five, you're going for five.

-Yeah, you're correct, well done.

-That was fast.

Please don't let it be any faster.

The other way that time.

-Which one of those six?

-Number five again, I think.

Number five, you're saying. Is that correct?

Yes, it is. Well done.

-Phew!

-I haven't let the side down too badly.

-Well, that was a full house on that game, wasn't it?

-Yeah.

So, Brain, you didn't quite fox him on that, did you?

Not quite, and it'll really help you

later in the final, Paul, because you added 12 seconds in that Zone,

which means Cerebrum have 30 seconds in their Brain Bank.

-Well done, Paul, please go and rejoin the team.

-Thank you.

We're halfway through now, Cerebrum family,

-so, Naomi and Olivia, cousins.

-Yes.

-And just you two to go.

-Yes.

-How are you feeling at the moment?

-Got a bit of girl power going on.

-Yeah, yeah.

Well, you know the four possible options that might face you.

-Yeah.

-Are you ready for it?

-Yeah, let's do it.

Right, let's find out which Zone is next

and who is going to take it on.

Brain, Zone, please.

So, Olivia, what about Logic? Either you or Naomi.

Yeah, I'll take it.

The captain is going to play this Zone.

Well, come and join me, Olivia.

APPLAUSE

Your team are doing very well so far. Are you feeling lucky?

Yeah.

This was my preferred round but I think it should be OK, hopefully.

And when it comes to this Zone, you know,

to Logic, are you a logical sort of person?

I think so, yeah, I'd like to say I am, yeah.

Let's see how you do because, don't forget,

there's another 18 precious seconds on offer in this Zone,

that's three seconds for every correct answer,

so let's play the Logic Zone.

Brain, please reveal the first game that Olivia will be playing.

-Hello, Olivia.

-Hi, Brain.

Your fiance, Joe, is gorgeous. That's logical

but who's your favourite film actor?

-Oh, I like Tom Hardy.

-Oh, me too.

He makes me tingle from my frontal lobe to my cerebellum.

Anyway, phew, here's the first game.

Olivia, identify the phrase or saying

from the cryptic visual puzzle.

You can warm up by having a trial run.

Now. What phrase do you think that is?

Cover working.

Erm...

Shall I tell you what I think it is? Because I've not seen this before.

-Yeah.

-I think that's Working Undercover.

-Oh.

-Is it?

-Yeah. Yeah.

Is it? Yeah. Can I have your points?

That gives you some idea, so are you ready for it?

-Yeah.

-OK, off we go.

You can have as many guesses

as you like, but I will not move on to the next question

until you give me the correct answer or you pass.

You only have 45 seconds to answer three questions. Olivia...

your game starts now.

Six feet under?

Six feet under. Well done, yep. Next one.

-Half-time?

-Half-time?

-A game half...

-Another go? Come on.

A half...

OLIVIA LAUGHS

(Game half.... Game... Hmm...)

Split... Game... Split game?

-Pass.

-You're passing on that one.

-A Game Of Two Halves, OK?

-Oh!

Here is the last one. 14 seconds left.

Times Square?

Times Square. Yes, well done!

-That was a hard one, that one.

-Yeah, the middle one, I thought,

if I could go on to the next and get it, I would still have...

Yeah. It was good logic to pass there, because you were

-really stumbling on that one.

-I really was.

-Everybody would have

-been at home, I'm sure, as well. Ready for game two?

-Yes, OK.

Here is your second game.

You must pick up the sticks in the correct order, from top to bottom.

Here is a trial run.

Yellow,

red,

black,

white, blue, green?

Let's see if you're right.

That's what you said.

-Well done.

-OK. I can do this, I think!

-Have you played this game before?

-I like Pick Up Sticks, yeah!

-Not quite our version before, but...

-No!

-Shall we pick up some sticks?

-Let's do it, yeah!

-Right, off we go.

You have 45 seconds

to answer three questions correctly. I will only accept your first answer.

Your game starts now.

Yellow,

white,

red, blue, green, black.

Is that correct?

-Yes, it is!

-Yay!

-On to the next one.

Yellow, black...

Oh, no. Let's start again.

-No... I'm sorry.

-Oh!

Next one, yeah. That was the order. Next one, now.

Green,

black,

red, white, yellow, blue.

Let's have a look.

Yes, that was correct. Well played.

-I said white and I meant yellow.

-We have to accept the first thing

you say, I'm afraid.

-You did well there.

-Yeah, not bad.

-Two out of three in each game of the Zone.

-Yeah.

So, Brain, what is your verdict on Captain Olivia?

I got you a little flustered in the middle of that one.

You did. It was all the Tom Hardy talk, first of all.

I know! My evil plan worked!

But, Olivia, you added 12 seconds in that Zone.

This means, in total,

Cerebrum have 42 seconds

in their Brain Bank!

That is very well done, Olivia. Hope you enjoyed playing

against The Brain. Please rejoin your team-mates.

-Well, Naomi, you are the final player.

-Yeah.

So, why don't you come and join me and we will find out

which of the final three Zones you will be playing?

APPLAUSE

Now, you, I hear,

lost five stone in one year.

-That's amazing.

-I have, yeah. I have been running with my dog.

I just did the Newport Half Marathon.

-Do you feel a lot better for it?

-Yeah, definitely.

Well, I reckon that we have Language, Multitasking and Memory

-still left to play.

-Yeah.

Which one don't you want?

Language.

-Why?

-I don't know. I think I'll be better at Memory or Multitasking.

Well, let's see what The Brain is going to do.

-Hopefully, she's in her best mood.

-Brain, which Zone are you going

to choose for Naomi?

Oh, ha-ha!

The one you didn't want!

-Oh, OK!

-Oh, dear. How do you feel now about that?

Eh, like I'm not getting those 18 seconds, maybe!

You never know. It might be just up your street.

-Yeah.

-We are not talking about

big tomes or anything like that. We are talking about key words

-and things like that, OK?

-I'll give it a try.

-See how you do.

Let's play the Language Zone.

APPLAUSE

So, Brain, please reveal which game Naomi will be playing first.

-Hello, Naomi.

-Hello.

-You like running?

-I do like running.

-How many driving lessons

-have you had?

-Eh, over 30.

-Have you left the industrial park yet?

No, I have not. I'm not allowed on the roads yet!

Just as well you like running.

-Here is your first game.

-Thanks.

I will give you a word, Naomi. All you need to do is spell it backwards.

-OK.

-Have a trial run.

DRAIN.

N-I-AR-D.

Yes, well done. Yes.

-You seemed very confident on that.

-It might have been a fluke!

Let's find out, shall we, as we play for real.

Naomi, remember, once you have said a letter, you cannot change your mind.

Your game starts now.

VIOLIN.

NI-L-OI-V.

NI-L-OI-V. Yes, well done. Next one, please.

EARRING.

G-N-I-R-R-A-E.

Yes, that's right. And a very difficult one there.

So, one more, please.

KETCHUP.

P-U...

H-CTEK.

Is that correct?

Yes, well done.

Yeah, that was a saucy one.

LAUGHTER

Shouldn't laugh at my own jokes, either. What... I mean, Language

is obviously better than you thought.

-Yeah. That was OK.

-Yeah.

-Do you want to see what happens in the next game?

-Yes, please.

-Can we have the game, then, please?

-Yes, John.

Here is the second game.

Find the word that fits between the other two.

Each dash represents a letter.

Here is a trial run, to help you get a feel of the game.

Eh, couch.

Couch, you are saying. Leather couch. Couch potato.

Is that correct?

No. Jacket. Not enough letters.

-C-O-U-C-H.

-Yeah.

-OK, right.

-OK. Yeah, right.

-One dash for each letter...

-Yeah.

-..in the game.

-I'll look closer.

-OK.

-Ready to play?

-Yes.

-Off we go.

Naomi, you only have 45 seconds to answer three questions.

Your game starts now.

Union.

Rugby Union. Union Jack.

Yes, correct. Next one.

Erm...

30 seconds. You can pass, if you want to.

Date.

Gate?

-Right, let's see...

-No. Oh, pass.

Pass. Yep.

-Sign.

-Oh.

-Next one.

Ten seconds left.

-Three seconds. Guess.

-Pass.

-Out of time, I'm afraid.

-Oh.

-Card.

-Birthday card and card trick.

-Yeah.

-Easy when you see the answer up there on the screen, isn't it?

-Yeah.

-But you did incredibly well.

-Thank you.

-You did.

-Not too bad.

You have left your team in a very good position.

-Hasn't she, Brain?

-I'm afraid she has.

Naomi, you added 12 seconds in that Zone,

which means, Cerebrum, you have finished with a grand total

of 54 seconds

-in your Brain Bank.

-That is a good figure.

So, nice to meet you, Naomi. Please return to the rest

of the family team. We have finished the individual Zones.

It is now time for our team to try to beat The Brain one last time

and take home some serious cash in today's final.

Cerebrum, from Wales, you have put 54 seconds into your Brain Bank

and now is your chance to turn the time you have built up into money.

You need to answer eight questions correctly -

two each - within that time to beat The Brain.

if you manage to do that within the 54 seconds,

you will take home our jackpot of £3,000,

but if you go over your Brain Bank time,

you still have a chance to win a fair amount of cash. The Brain has

given you another two minutes in which to answer, but as the time

counts down, so does the money.

If the time runs out completely, so does the cash.

Olivia, as team captain, you have chosen the order of play.

-Any particular reason for that?

-I panic a bit.

I think Naomi will be good at keeping it cool...under pressure!

How do the rest of you feel about this positioning?

-Joe, are you happy in the middle?

-Yeah, I'd rather be in the middle.

I think these guys cope a lot better under pressure than I would, so...

-So, you are happy to play now?

-Yes.

-Right. It's time to get serious.

Let's play the final!

Brain, over to you.

You will only face questions from the games you have already seen today,

but for every game in the final,

I will only accept your first answer.

Cerebrum, beat me, if you can!

So, that is the challenge. Can you beat The Brain?

As usual, we will be starting with the player on the left.

That is you, Olivia. I need two correct answers from you

before I can pass to the next person and so on. Everybody understand?

-Yep.

-The very best of luck.

Let's start the final!

Which viewpoint?

8.

No. What is the difference?

Five pence.

Yes. What word in the middle?

Pass.

What phrase?

Pass.

OSTRICH.

H-C...

..I-T...

..S-O.

No.

What time is it?

20 to...

nine.

Yes. Paul.

White,

green, yellow,

red, blue, black.

Yes!

-4?

-No.

20 past five.

Yes.

Joe.

Role reversal.

Correct.

-Love.

-Yes.

Naomi.

3.

Yes.

3.

Stop the clock!

APPLAUSE

Well done! Eight correct answers! One minute and four seconds left.

You did it in very good time.

Congratulations.

You have won £1,600!

THEY CHEER

So, congratulations, again. That is a very good score. Pleased, Olivia?

-Yeah, I am pleased, yeah!

-Pleased with your team?

Yeah! Definitely!

You did better than me!

You got off to a bit of a slow start, but there is a bit of money

in the kitty now. Thank you very much for playing.

Brain, what do you think of their performance?

Well, they have taken half the finances out of my Brain Bank,

so I'm very sad indeed. I thought you liked me, Cerebrum!

LAUGHTER

Well, thank you all at home for watching today. Hope you enjoyed

playing along, but for now, it's goodbye from Cerebrum...

How about a Welsh goodbye?

ALL: Da bo chi!

-Goodbye from The Brain.

-Goodbye.

And goodbye from me. See you again, next time we play beat The Brain.

Before you go, it's time to find out how you did with our two

Play at Home questions. Here is a reminder...and the answers.

What is the phrase or saying?

The answer is...

A clock is reflected in a mirror. What is the real time?

The answer is...

If you got those right, well done. If you didn't, you can always improve

your skills by watching more Beat The Brain!