Episode 120 Eggheads

These people are amongst the greatest quiz players in Britain.

Together they make up the Eggheads,

arguably the most formidable quiz team in the country.

The question is, can they be beaten?

Welcome to Eggheads, the show where a team of five quiz challengers

attempt to beat possibly the greatest quiz team in Britain.

Their quiz pedigree is well-known

as they've won some of the toughest quiz shows.

They are the Eggheads.

And tackling the Eggheads today are Hel's Angels from Surrey.

Team captain Helen was a publican for 30 years

and in forming a team to challenge the Eggheads,

she's recruited a combination of her former bar staff and customers.

Let's meet them.

Hi, I'm Helen, I'm 52 and I'm a retired publican.

Hello, I'm Georgie, I'm 40 and I'm a nail technician.

Hi, I'm Peter, I'm 56 and I'm an IT manager.

Hello, I'm Jan, I'm 46 and I'm an office manager.

Hello, I'm Dawn, I'm 47 and I'm also an office manager.

Welcome, Helen, welcome to your team. Good long career, running pubs?

Yes, and this motley crew followed me everywhere!

So, hands up if you were staff?

I see, two staff, two customers.

And any particular tactics

that come from your pub background for quizzing?

Well, we did have a quiz team, but we never won.

OK, good luck to you. See how you do.

Every day there's £1,000 up for grabs for our challengers.

However, if they fail to defeat the Eggheads,

the prize money rolls over to the next show.

Hel's Angels, the Eggheads have won the last four games,

which means £5,000 says you can't beat them.

The first head-to-head battle will be on the subject of Arts and Books.

So challengers, who wants this? And against whom?

OK, Arts and Books, well...

It's gotta be...

Do you want me to do it?

-I think you should, Jan.

-Jan?

-I'll give it a go.

-Jan, OK. Against?

Who do you think I should go against?

-Who are we gonna go against?

-Judith.

Judith. Against Judith, please.

Right, Jan from Hel's Angels versus Judith from the Eggheads

and to ensure there's no conferring, please take your positions in the Question Room.

We're gonna have three multiple choice questions on Arts and Books.

Whoever answers the most questions correctly is the winner.

Jan, would you like the first or second set of questions?

I would like the first set of questions.

Very good, Jan. Best of luck to you. Here we go.

The 1993 novel Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks

is largely set during which conflict?

Is it the Crimean War, World War I or the Vietnam War?

I have read this, so I should know the answer

and I'm pretty sure it's World War I.

Well done. World War I is correct.

Judith, your question.

Death In Holy Orders is a Suffolk-set crime novel written by whom?

PD James, Martina Cole or Patricia Cornwell?

I think that's PD James.

PD James is the right answer, Judith, well done.

Over to you, Jan.

In which poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge

does "Alf, the sacred river" run,

"Through caverns measureless to man Down to a sunless sea?"

Is it Frost At Midnight, The Ancient Mariner or Kubla Khan?

I must say, I don't know this one.

I'm gonna try and work it out.

The "sunless sea"...

I would say, not Kubla Khan.

The Ancient Mariner is...

I would say that's a poem about someone who is out at sea.

It is gonna be a guess, unfortunately,

but I'd like to say it's gonna be Frost At Midnight.

OK, you've ruled out The Ancient Mariner

even though there's a sea theme?

There's a sea theme so my immediate reaction

would be to choose The Ancient Mariner,

-but I feel that's about someone who's out at sea.

-I see.

So I'm for that reason, I'm choosing Frost At Midnight

which is probably totally wrong, but that's my feeling.

-It is totally wrong, I'm afraid. It's Kubla Khan.

-Oh!

Let's go to Judith now.

Judith, which artist born in 1894

is best-known for his many cover illustrations

for the Saturday Evening Post?

Was it Norman Rockwell, Grant Wood or Edward Hopper?

I think that is Norman Rockwell.

Normal Rockwell...

is the right answer.

Nice one!

So, Jan, you need this one to keep Judith at bay.

Wanderer Above The Mists is an 1818 work by which artist?

Is it JMW Turner, Caspar David Friedrich or Eugene Delacroix?

OK, unfortunately I haven't heard of Eugene Delacroix.

Caspar David Friedrich?

JMW Turner is the only artist I really have heard of, unfortunately.

Could you just give me the name of the painting again?

Wanderer Above The Mists.

I would say it doesn't sound like a Turner painting,

so I'm gonna choose between Caspar David Friedrich

and Eugene Delacroix.

And I'm going to go for Caspar David Friedrich.

You've gone for the right one!

Well done, Jan!

Judith, who has won more Pulitzer Prizes for Drama

than any other writer?

Is it Edward Albee, Arthur Miller or Eugene O'Neill?

Of that, I've no idea.

I wouldn't have thought it was Edward Albee.

It could have been either of the other two.

I think it might be Arthur Miller.

Again, that is the obvious answer, because he's the best!

-Not necessarily. Eugene...

-Think of the stuff he's done...

-Yes, I know, but think of Eugene O'Neill, as well.

-Yeah.

But it was Eugene O'Neill.

It was? Well, there you are. It could have been either really.

So, we're level.

-How about that, Jan!

-Great!

-We go to Sudden Death.

To make it that bit harder, it's not multiple choice,

-I give you your first question now. You give me an answer.

-OK.

Which painting technique, which takes its name from the Italian

for "to evaporate like smoke"

was employed extensively by Leonardo da Vinci

and allows colours and tones to blend into one another,

creating softened outlines and shady forms?

OK. My son, Sean, will kill me for this,

because he is doing Art A-Level

and I know he would know the answer to this.

The only painting technique I can think of

that would have that effect maybe would be airbrushing.

It's not airbrushing.

It is a tricky one, this.

-Eggheads?

-Sfumato.

Sfumato. Spelt S-F-U-M-A-T-O.

Difficult to guess that one.

Judith, this for the round.

Which author won the 2004 Mann Booker Prize for Fiction

for his novel, The Line Of Beauty?

Alan Hollinghurst.

Alan Hollinghurst is correct.

Judith, well done. Got the round.

Sorry, Jan, you haven't, you won't be in the final.

Please both come back and rejoin your teams.

As it stands, the Challengers have lost one brain from the final round,

the Eggheads have not lost any brains.

Next subject is Geography. Who is the geographer?

Shall I do it?

You do geography. Go for it, yeah!

-You know your way round.

-Against?

-We'll go for CJ.

OK, so Helen from Hel's Angels versus CJ from the Eggheads

and to ensure there's no conferring...

-I've just understood Hel's Angels! Because you're Helen!

-Yes!

-Yeah!

You see!

Have you got it? To ensure there's no conferring,

take your positions in the Question Room.

I'll ask each of you three questions on Geography in turn.

Helen you can choose the first or second set.

I think I'll go first.

Here's your first question.

Lytham St Annes is a seaside resort on which body of water?

Is it the North Sea, the Irish Sea or the English Channel?

I am so tempted to say the Irish Sea.

I think it's the North Sea, but I'm very tempted to say...

No, I'll go with...

North Sea, Irish Sea or English Channel?

I'm going with the North Sea.

North Sea is your answer.

Ooh, your team know, don't you?

Peter, you know. Have you been there?

I haven't been there but I know it's on the west coast

rather than the east coast, so it's got to be the Irish Sea.

-Irish Sea.

-Yep.

Sorry!

CJ, your first question.

Thessaloniki is a major city in which country?

Is it Greece, Italy or Spain?

In 2008, I landed at Thessaloniki Airport, went along to a hotel,

after two hours got the worst hayfever attack I've ever had

and had to leave, so spent, ooh, a good 16 hours in Greece.

That was fun!

It's in Greece.

Greece is the right answer.

-You were driven from a country by pollen?

-Yeah.

You had to actually leave the country because of small pieces of pollen?

I've had to leave quite a few countries for quite a few reasons!

It's lucky CJ wasn't fighting in the Second World War, isn't it!

Turn back, we can see some pollen up ahead!

Helen, your question.

The Tyrol is a state in which European country?

Is it Austria, Croatia or Slovenia?

I think my immediate reaction before the answers came up was Austria,

so I'll go with Austria.

Austria is right. Well done.

Got your point.

CJ, this to take the lead again.

Barrow-in-Furness is a port in which administrative county of England?

Cumbria, Northumberland or Lincolnshire?

I don't know, Jeremy, because it's British geography again!

-And you have a problem with this, don't you!

-I do!

Oh, dear! But it's up there somewhere.

My instinct was it was on the east coast.

Cumbria's on the west coast, Northumberland is on the east coast.

-You're impressed I even knew that.

-Very. If it's true!

So I'm going to have to go with Northumberland.

Inevitable that you would...

-Get it wrong!

-Get it wrong!

The answer is Cumbria.

Third question, Helen, and you're back in with a bang.

In which country are the Blue Mountains and Arnhem Land?

Are they Australia, in Canada or South Africa?

Blue Mountains and Arnhem Land.

Right...

Blue Mountains...

So I'm thinking they must be cold, so I'm gonna go with Canada!

Canada. I wonder, your team-mates, do you know?

-I think it's Australia.

-Australia.

-You think it's Australia?

It is Australia, Helen, not Canada.

CJ, this for the round.

The Russian seaport of Murmansk is situated on the Kola Bay,

approximately 30 miles from which sea?

Is it the East Siberian Sea, Laptev Sea or Barents Sea?

Well, the Kola Peninsula encloses the White Sea

and I think to the north of it is the Barents Sea,

so I'll try Barents Sea.

Barents Sea is correct. Well done, CJ.

Tough, but he did manage to knock you out, Helen.

Sorry, you won't be in the final round.

Please both of you come back and rejoin your teams.

So the Challengers have now lost two brains from our final round,

the Eggheads have lost no brains thus far.

Next subject is Film and Television.

-Who would like Film and TV?

-Georgie.

-Georgie?

-Yep.

-Against?

-Chris or Daphne?

-Daphne, yeah!

-Daphne.

-Daphne, OK.

So it's Georgie from Hel's Angels versus Daphne from the Eggheads.

To ensure there's no conferring, please go to the Question Room.

Georgie, you can choose the first or second set of questions.

The first, thank you, Jeremy.

Good luck to you.

Oliver Postgate who died in 2008

was responsible for making much-loved TV shows in which genre?

Children's TV, Police Drama or Situation Comedy?

I've got a funny feeling that he...

..may have been responsible for the Bagpuss programmes

in which case I'll go for Children's TV.

Well done, Children's TV is right.

Daphne, here's your first question.

The arch-villain, Keyser Soze, is featured in which 1995 film?

The Usual Suspects,

The Shawshank Redemption or The Last Of The Mohicans?

I think... I think I've heard it in respect of The Usual Suspects.

That's the correct answer.

A point to you each and over to you, Georgie.

Which actress played the role of Dana Barrett

in the 1984 film Ghostbusters?

Was it Kate Capshaw, Demi Moore or Sigourney Weaver?

I think, Jeremy, that was Sigourney Weaver.

Sigourney Weaver is the right answer. Well done, Georgie.

Storming, storming through!

Daphne, Barry Taylor, Oz Osbourne and Neville Hope

were characters in which TV series?

Was it The Likely Lads, Auf Wiedersehen, Pet or Dad's Army?

Well, I remember a Neville in Auf Wiedersehen, Pet.

That's my answer.

Auf Wiedersehen, Pet is correct.

So, Georgie, take this, put the pressure on her.

Who plays the role of Dr Miles Bennell

in the 1956 version of Invasion Of The Bodysnatchers?

Kevin McCarthy, Michael Rennie or Ken Tobey?

I am afraid I have not a clue.

And I'm going to have to go for a complete guess.

And I would guess Michael Rennie.

It's not Michael Rennie, actually.

-Do you Eggheads know?

-Kevin McCarthy.

-Yeah.

The correct answer is Kevin McCarthy.

Daphne, if you get this right, you've taken yet another round.

Who is the writer of the films Being John Malkovich,

Adaptation and Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind?

Is it Wes Anderson, Shane Black or Charlie Kaufman?

I don't know. Truly.

Charlie Kaufman.

Charlie Kaufman is the right answer.

Come on, your guesses! It's amazing!

-How have you not won the Lottery yet?

-Oh, I do try, I promise!

Well done, Daphne, won fair and square.

Georgie, you did well. Didn't quite hold her off.

You were beaten by our Egghead,

so you won't be able to help your team in the final round.

Please both of you come back and rejoin your teams.

The Challengers have lost three brains from the final round

whilst the Eggheads still have not lost any brains.

The last subject is Sport.

Who's the sporty Angel?

It's you, Pete.

-Got to be!

-It's got to be Pete!

-Yeah.

-Pete on Sport, against? Kevin or Chris?

Chris, I'll go with Chris. We'll go with Chris.

Pete from Hel's Angels versus Chris from the Eggheads.

To ensure there's no conferring,

please take your positions in the Question Room.

I'll ask each of you three questions on Sport in turn

and Peter, you can choose the first or the second set.

I think I'll go first.

Good luck, Peter, here we go.

In cricket, what name is given to the close fielders

who stand next to the wicket keeper,

waiting to catch a ball that flies off the edge of the bat?

Is it is Sweepers, Slips or Covers?

OK, cricket's not my favourite sport but sweepers are in football,

and the fielders close into the batsmen are slips.

I'm going with slips.

Slips is the right answer.

-Well done.

-Well done, Pete!

Chris, your question.

Visitors to which major sporting event

traditionally consume strawberries and cream?

Is it the Grand National, Wimbledon or the FA Cup Final?

That is the All-England Tennis Club...

No, Croquet and Tennis Club, at Wimbledon.

Wimbledon is correct.

They do get harder!

Peter, in the sport of rowing,

what name is given to the rower closest to the stern of the boat

often responsibility for the regularity of rate and rhythm?

Is it Blade, Rigger or Stroke?

OK, I don't know much about rowing.

Rigger sounds like it's something to do with sailing,

so it's blade or stroke.

I'm going to go with stroke.

Stroke is your answer.

And it's correct.

-Yes, yes!

-He's playing a cool game here, isn't he!

Chris, the international Rugby Union player Danny Cipriani

is best-known for playing in which position?

Is it Fly Half, Hooker or Flanker?

Ugh!

Hooker.

That's wrong.

The correct answer is Fly Half.

You've got a chance now, Peter.

You take this one and you've knocked him out. Your third question.

Which football club won their seventh consecutive French League title

in 2008?

Is it Lyon, Marseilles or Bordeaux?

OK. I don't know much about the French League...

But seven consecutive titles...

I'm gonna go for Marseilles.

No, I'm sorry.

The answer is Lyon.

So Chris is back in with a chance here.

In which year did Sir Chris Hoy first compete at the Olympic Games?

Was it 2000, 2004 or 2008?

Now he's the cyclist, isn't he?

Did very well in '08.

Cycling at that sort of level is a young man's game,

so I don't think it was as far back as 2000.

I think he would have first competed in '04.

Masses of training, reached the peak in '08. Yeah, I'll say '04.

Do you think he's right?

I think it's 2000.

Yeah, Helen, you're right.

Chris, you're wrong. So, a Hel's Angel has taken a round.

Well done, Pete! You took on an Egghead and emerged triumphant.

That's great news for your team,

there will be two of you in the final round.

Chris, you will be in the sin-bin. Please come back.

This is what we're playing towards.

Time for our final round. Everything hangs on this.

It's General Knowledge,

but those of you who lost your individual head to heads

can't be with us, so that means Helen, Georgie and Jan

from Hel's Angels and Chris from the Eggheads, please leave the studio.

So, Peter and Dawn, you're playing to win Hel's Angels £5,000.

Judith, Kevin, CJ and Daphne,

you're playing for something money can't buy - the Eggheads' reputation.

As usual, I will ask each team three questions in turn.

The questions are all General Knowledge

and you are allowed to confer.

Hel's Angels, the question is,

are your two brains better than the Eggheads' four brains?

Peter and Dawn, would you like to go first or second?

-Shall we go first?

-Go first.

I think we should go first. We'll go first.

Here we go.

Come To Me, Bend To Me and Almost Like Being In Love

are songs from which musical?

Brigadoon, The Sound of Music or My Fair Lady?

Any idea?

Brigadoon?

-Are you happy with that?

-Yeah.

-We'll go for Brigadoon.

And Brigadoon's right.

-Well done, Dawn.

-Well done, Dawn.

Eggheads, your question.

What was the name of the former boxer and ex-convict

played by Dennis Waterman in the TV series Minder?

Is it Terry McCann, George Carter or Gerry Standing?

-Terry McCann?

-Yes, Terry McCann, definitely.

Those are all roles played by Dennis Waterman in various things,

but the one in Minder is Terry McCann.

Terry McCann is the right answer. Next question is for Hel's Angels.

Kelly Smith was awarded an MBE in 2008 for her services to which sport?

Tennis, Cricket or Football?

-Have you got any idea?

-No, she sounds like a runner.

That's Kelly Holmes you're thinking of.

Because it's a lady, it's guiding us to go to cricket or football

if we don't know, which are male-dominated sports.

-Tennis?

-Tennis? Could be a catch.

No, I don't think it's tennis.

So what do you reckon?

My instinct says football, but it's not scientific.

I haven't got a... It's your instinct, so...

-You're better with sport, so we'll go football.

-OK.

-It's my responsibility.

-Yeah!

If it's wrong!

We're gonna go with football, Jeremy.

Well done. It is football!

Eggheads, what is the name of the underwater mountain range

that runs from the Arctic Ocean

to Bouvet Island in the South Atlantic?

Is it the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, the Atlantis Massif or the Benthic Alps?

Isn't that the bit that the Russians tried to claim?

-Yeah.

-For gas.

It's the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.

Mid-Atlantic Ridge is absolutely right.

So third question, Hel's Angels.

Which country is usually considered to be the flattest on Earth,

with no point having a greater altitude

than 2.4 metres above sea level?

Is it Fiji, the Maldives or Tonga?

-Oh, dear!

-I was gonna say Holland before it actually came up!

I think the Maldives is flat,

it might not be the flattest,

because it's one of those that was swamped by the tsunami.

I mean, it doesn't mean it's the flattest, but it's flat

and as we haven't got anywhere else to go...

We don't know, so...

We know the Maldives is flat.

I think it's the Maldives.

-Let's go for the Maldives.

-Are you sure?

-Yeah.

I agree with you. I concur.

OK. We both think it's the Maldives.

We do hear a lot about one of these being possibly

the first to go if the oceans rise and that's the Maldives.

You're right!

Well done! Have you been there?

No, I just remember the news with the tsunami.

If we win, we might go!

OK, Eggheads, you have a point to get now and if you don't,

you will have lost, and they will take the money.

Mangas Coloradas was a chief

of which Native American tribe in the 19th century?

Was it Apache, Cherokee or Navajo?

Kevin's specialist subject.

It's not a specialist subject,

but he was probably the first, really, of the great Apache chiefs

who fought against the American settlers and army in the south west,

round about the 18... I think he was killed in about 1863.

Apache.

Apache is the correct answer.

So, with three questions gone, we go to Sudden Death.

It's that bit harder, it's not multiple choice.

Hel's Angels, your question.

The invented language Nadsat

was first featured in which novel of 1962?

You either know it or you don't.

We don't!

-Um...

-Give me a novel it could be, something.

It's gonna be science fiction, isn't it?

Hm.

What about The Cafe At The End Of The Universe?

The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy, was that '62?

I don't know.

It was on the telly later, wasn't it?

But it may have been written well before,

but the language, it sounds like it's much more...

Nasdat...

Nadsat.

Nadsat?

I'm gonna go with Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy

if you've got nothing else.

OK.

The only one we can think of is The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy,

but we've got no real feeling for it.

OK. That's not right.

It's... Actually, let me ask you.

-A Clockwork Orange.

-Clockwork Orange, Clockwork Orange.

Eggheads, your question.

Which island in the Bristol Channel

was an area of less than two square miles

and a population of just 18 people

was voted the Tenth Natural Wonder of Britain in 2005

by readers of the Radio Times?

Lundy?

-Anything other than Lundy?

-What was the size again, Jeremy?

Two square miles and a population of 18 people.

-It's got to be Lundy.

-Yes, it's got to be.

Lundy. Lundy Island.

Lundy is the right answer, so congratulations, Eggheads.

You've won!

Well, sorry, Challengers, they overpowered you.

They've done what comes naturally, they reign supreme over Quizland.

I'm afraid you won't be going home with £5,000,

which means the money rolls over to our next show.

Eggheads, congratulations, who will beat you?

Join us next time to see if a new team of challengers

have the brains to defeat the Eggheads.

£6,000 says they don't.

Until then, goodbye.

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