Episode 127 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 pedigree is well known as they've won some of the country's toughest quiz shows.

They are the Eggheads.

And taking on the might of our quiz champions today,

are the Eggs Men. Maybe I should say "X-Men"?

The team of friends attend either the London School of Economics

or Imperial College, London.

They're all extremely clever. Let's meet them.

Hi, I'm Chris, I'm 21 and I'm a maths student.

Hi, I'm Kushal, I'm 22 and I study economics.

Hi, I'm Matt, I'm 19 and I'm an engineering student.

Hi, I'm Will, I'm 20 and I'm a philosophy student.

Hi, I'm Matt, I'm 20 and I'm a maths student.

Eggs Men, welcome.

Chris, you meet through football, having said

you're all clever, you actually kick a ball about. Is that right?

Yeah, every Saturday, we've got a five-a-side team.

And we're doing pretty well at the moment, although...

our last few results haven't been the greatest.

We lost to last-minute goals.

Oh, dear.

Is that a fitness issue?

Yeah, I think it probably is. We don't do much exercise other than that.

Good luck, guys.

They're high-powered and they're also young.

-So watch out, Eggheads.

-So young...

Every day there is... So young did you say?

Most of my grandchildren are older than they are.

-They could be your great-grandchildren!

-Yes!

THEY ALL LAUGH

Every day there's £1000 up for grabs for our Challengers.

However, if they fail to defeat the Eggheads the prize money rolls over to the next show. So, Eggs Men,

the Eggheads have won the last five games,

which means £6,000 says you can't beat the Eggheads.

Are you ready to try?

ALL: Yes!

Don't hesitate now, that's not a good idea!

The first head-to-head battle is on Film and Television.

Who will take this,

and against which Egghead?

-Will.

-It's got to be you.

-It's me, then!

-Who do you want?

-Oh, um...

-Anyone but Kevin.

-Um, CJ perhaps?

-Yeah?

-Yeah, let's go with CJ.

Yeah, we'll go with CJ, if that's all right.

Will, from the Eggs Men versus CJ from the Eggheads.

To ensure there's no conferring, please would you take your positions in the Question Room.

Three multiple-choice questions.

-Will, you can choose the first or second set.

-The first set, if I may.

Here we go, good luck.

Who plays the title role in the 1993 film, What's Eating Gilbert Grape?

Oh well, yeah, I've seen this film, I know it pretty well.

It's really good. Johnny Depp, definitely.

He might have won an Academy Award for this, as well.

That's the correct answer.

CJ, did he win an Award?

Johnny Depp's never won an Oscar.

OK. It's the way he, sort of pours water on us that I...

..just cold water, being doused with it.

Will, you've got a point. Don't let him put you off.

CJ, your question.

In 2008, "I'm not doddery, doddery I am not"

became a catchphrase of which TV personality?

I think this came up

with his ongoing hosting of Strictly Come Dancing.

It's Bruce Forsyth.

Bruce Forsyth...

is the correct answer.

Will,

what is the first name of DCI Tennison, played by Helen Mirren,

in the TV series, Prime Suspect?

Right, I have absolutely no idea about any of that.

The only thing I know, is Helen Mirren is an actress...

who played the Queen. Um...

I reckon, let's go for a name that sounds like it might belong to

a policewoman of some sort. So, shall we go for Jane. I think Jane.

Got a good feeling about Jane. Probably wrong, but give it a go.

Jane is right, well done.

-Well, there we go.

-Jane Tennison.

Good use of logic there.

I'm a philosophy student!

Well, I was going to say!

But you did it much quicker than a philosophy student should do, I suppose.

CJ, in the 2001 film, Shallow Hal,

who played a 300lb woman called Rosemary Shanahan?

Um, you'll be amazed to hear I haven't seen this film.

But I know it's got Jack Black in it

who's hypnotised, or somehow persuaded,

to see women for their inner beauty.

And it's played by Gwyneth Paltrow.

It is played by Gwyneth Paltrow, well done.

Will, here's your next question.

Rita Moreno and George Chakiris

won Best Supporting Actress and Actor Oscars

for their roles in which musical film?

Right, OK that's tricky.

I don't really know at all, but it seemed to work last time,

so I reckon West Side Story because it was a really good film,

I can see it being awarded lots of nominees.

So yeah, let's have a go at West Side Story.

See if that works out.

West Side Story is correct.

I don't know how you did that, but it's right.

Your question CJ, if you get this wrong, we'll all laugh...

I mean to say, you won't be in the final. That's what I meant.

In the 1924, silent film, Der Letzte Mann,

or, The Last Laugh, Emil Jannings plays an ageing what?

Ah, this I don't know. It's going to have to be a blind guess.

Emil Jannings won the first ever Best Actor Oscar,

but not this film.

I've got nothing to go on here. I really don't know this.

Emil Jannings plays an ageing doorman who sees life come and go

through the doors of his hotel.

So it's doorman -

he says, blindly putting a pin in the paper.

Ha-ha! Your answer is doorman.

It's right.

Doorman is correct. CJ, well done.

Three out of three for you both. You're playing really well.

It's equal after the multiple-choice section, so we go to Sudden Death.

-Will, OK?

-Yes.

Here it's more difficult. You don't get three alternatives,

you've got to give me the answer.

Which member of The Monkees went on to produce and direct

the British children's TV shows Metal Mickey and Luna?

Either I'm too old, or I'm too young

because I've not seen either of those TV shows before. Um...

Yeah, I can't even tell you any members of The Monkees

to be quite honest with you.

Think up a name of somebody that could potentially be a Monkee...

Um...Boris.

Boris...and then a monkey last name...

er, Bananas?

OK... It would be fantastic if that was the right answer.

The answer is Micky Dolenz.

OK, CJ, you may be about to beat

a philosophy student. Let's see.

The old music business adage that if a Tin Pan Alley doorman could repeat your tune after one hearing,

you had a hit on your hands, gave its name to which TV programme.

I've never heard that, but logically, The Old Grey Whistle Test?

The Old Grey Whistle Test is the correct answer.

CJ's won the round. Will, sorry.

-That was fun, wasn't it?

-Yeah, good stuff.

Never mind, it's early days. You won't be in the final,

CJ will. Please, both of you, rejoin us here.

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

whilst the Eggheads have lost no brains. Our next subject is Sport.

A five-a-side football team...

-who is the key player?

-Got to be Matt.

-It's mine.

-Matthew, against...?

-Who am I taking?

-Chris.

-Yeah.

All right, it's Chris.

OK, Matthew from Eggs Men versus Chris from the Eggheads.

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

I'm going to ask each of you three questions on sport.

Matt, you can choose the first or second set.

OK, I think I'll go first, please.

Here's your first question, Matt. Good luck.

Which sport begins with a jump ball or a tip-off?

Well jump ball, it doesn't sound to me like ice hockey,

so I think I'll rule that one out.

Er...a jump ball or a tip-off.

I wish this question was on football, I really do.

It could be volleyball, it could be basketball

I'm going to have to go with volleyball.

Then sorry, Matt. You're wrong.

It's basketball. But don't worry.

Chris has thrown his toys out the pram on sport before now.

Which team were beaten by ten wickets in the finale of the 2008 Twenty20, Stanford Super Series

which saw the winning team walk away with 20 million?

That must have been England. We're not that good any more.

England.

That's the correct answer. Matthew, on to you.

Which British driver was runner-up in the Formula One Championships

every year between 1955 and 1958.

Oh dear. I wish this was a bit more of a modern question,

because I would definitely know the answer.

I know Jim Clark was World Champion, I think in 1962.

But I'm not entirely sure about that. So it could be him.

Stirling Moss, I know he's always dubbed the greatest driver

never to win the World Championship, and we're talking '50s.

So, I'm going to have to go with Stirling Moss.

Just, as a bit of a blind guess.

I'm going to go with Stirling Moss.

Spot on. Stirling Moss is right. Well done, Matthew.

I know you're relieved.

I am. It would be all over if it wasn't for that one.

Well, not quite, but it could be. Chris,

In which year did Pete Sampras win his last Wimbledon singles tennis title?

He's been off the scene quite a long time, hasn't he?

Don't think he was still around in '04,

but I think it was after 2000. So I'll go down the middle, 2002.

-Wrong. It was 2000, Chris.

-Was it?

Yes.

So you're level now. Matthew, if you get this one right,

you'll put pressure on him, and he doesn't like his sport very much.

Who did Stephen Hendry defeat 18-17 in the final of the 1994 Snooker World Championship.

OK, Jimmy White has been in a lot of finals and never won.

John Parrott won in 1991.

And Steve Davis, six times world champion, but I think maybe,

he was a bit past his best come that time. And we're talking '94.

-'94.

-So I think I'll have to go for Jimmy White.

You're really good on sport, aren't you? I can tell.

Jimmy White is right.

Chris, if you get this question wrong, you've lost the head-to-head.

Which 46-year-old boxer was beaten on points

by the seven-feet-tall Russian, Nikolay Valuev,

in a World Heavyweight Title bout in December 2008?

He's 46, you say?

Which 46-year-old boxer...

Don't think it was Mike Tyson. Don't think he's boxing these days.

I think it was the last throw of the dice by Evander Holyfield.

If you get this right, you're back in it.

If you get it wrong you're not in the final.

Evander Holyfield is correct.

Well done, Eggheads.

Back in there. Interesting round.

Three questions each, the scores are level. We move now to Sudden Death.

Matt, it gets that bit harder.

At Beijing in 2008, Italy's Alex Schwazer

established a new Olympic walking record of 3 hours, 37 minutes and 9 seconds over what distance?

I can...I can only guess. Um, bit of an obscure question.

I would have to say the marathon.

I know to run it, the best guys take about two hours to run it,

so to walk, maybe three and a half hours, sounds like it could maybe, possibly be right?

So I'll go for marathon.

-You need to give me a distance.

-26.2 miles.

26.2 miles is wrong.

It's 50km.

OK. Chris, if you get this one right you are through to the final.

To what was Wimbledon Football Club's name changed in 2004?

Milton Keynes Dons. MK Dons.

Milton Keynes Dons is the correct answer, so...

Chris wins on sport.

Get the bunting out!

Matthew, sorry.

-And you'll be having nightmares about basketball.

-I will, forever!

Never mind. You won't be in the final, Chris will.

Please, both of you come back and rejoin your teams.

So as it stands, the Challengers have lost two brains now from the final round.

The Eggheads have lost no brains.

And the next subject is Arts and Books.

So, students?

-Yep.

-Bite the bullet. Matt W.

Matt W, against?

Um...who do you think?

I think go for Barry.

Go against Barry, please.

OK, so Matt W, from the Eggs Men versus Barry from the Eggheads.

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

Three questions now on Arts and Books.

-Matt, you can choose the first or second set.

-I'll go first, please.

Good luck to you, Matt W. Here we go.

The Deadzone and The Stand are novels by which writer?

Er, I'm not sure. But Deadzone, I guess that could be Stephen King.

That sounds like the kind of thing he'd write.

To be honest I haven't really heard of the other two,

so I'll go with Stephen King.

Well done, Stephen King is absolutely right.

Barry, your question.

Gilderoy Lockhart is a character created by which writer?

He is a Professor Against The Dark Arts in the JK Rowling stories,

wonderfully played by Kenneth Branagh.

You are absolutely right. It is JK Rowling, well done.

Your second question, Matt.

The 1890 canvas entitled Wheat Field With Crows

is thought to be among the last works of which painter?

Wheat fields...if you'd said sunflower fields, I'd say Van Gogh.

I'm not sure, but I think I'll go with Van Gogh, because of the fields.

It's not much, but it's all I've got!

You're right. Van Gogh is right.

He did a field before,

so this field must have been his. I like it.

Barry, your question.

Which author won the 2008 Best of Booker,

a prize given to the author of the book voted by the public as the best of all the Booker winners.

I think the Best of the Bookers was Midnight's Children,

by Salman Rushdie.

Salman Rushdie is the right answer.

-Was it for Midnight's Children? Was it that book?

-Yes.

OK. Your question, Matthew.

Which French artist's style was nicknamed "tubism" by some critics,

referring to his rendering of the human body as a mass of slabs and cylinders?

Ha! Third time lucky, this time with no clue.

Um...

Perhaps, Leger sounds... It sounds slightly familiar.

So I'll go with Fernand Leger. Complete guess again.

Fernand Leger.

Are you a lucky person usually?

Not usually. Actually, this is kind of a first.

Well, it's come at the right time because Leger is correct.

Well done. You've put pressure on Barry.

You might be about to knock out an Egghead. Here's hoping.

Barry, who wrote the poem, Goblin Market?

It's one of my favourite poems and it was by Christina Rossetti.

Christina Rossetti is the correct answer.

Three out of three for you both. Matt, you've taken him

-right up to Sudden Death. It gets harder now.

-I'm in trouble!

The guessing needs to be even better.

I need the answer from you this time.

-You ready?

-Yes.

Which stage direction became the title of a 1982 play by Michael Frayn?

Ah, oh dear. Um...

I'm just going to hazard a completely random guess.

All My Sons.

Not, All My Sons.

Didn't think so.

I guess that's Arthur Miller. Michael Frayn's play was called, Noises Off.

-OK.

-And it's one of these things

where you see the back of the stage, don't you, the back of the set.

Barry, you get this right and you're through.

Which famous publishing house was started by Sir Allen Lane in 1935,

to produce high quality paperback books in Britain?

I have a few examples of his work in my house.

The publishing house was Penguin.

The publishing house was indeed Penguin. Barry, well done. You got that right.

And you've won on Sudden Death. Bad luck, Matt.

You won't be in the final round I'm afraid, and Barry will.

Please come back and rejoin your teams.

As it stands, the Challengers have lost three brains from the final round.

The Eggheads still haven't lost any brains. Our last subject is Politics.

It's got to be Kushal or Christopher.

You'd have thought since Kushal goes to the London School of... What is it?

Economics and Political Science.

..he'd be the one to choose, but unfortunately, that's not the case.

-I'm going to have to sacrifice myself.

-You may come through. Who do you want to play against?

-Um...

-It's Daphne or Kevin.

-Daphne or Kevin.

-Shall I go for Daphne?

-I think so, yeah.

Chris from the Eggs Men versus Daphne from the Eggheads. You can't escape Kevin,

he will be there in the final round.

Please, to ensure there's no conferring, leave the studio and go to the Question Room.

Three questions on politics, in turn. Chris, you can choose the first or second set.

I think I'm probably going to be a bit different. I'll go second and see if that changes my luck.

Here we go, Daphne.

Which road in London is often used as a shorthand for the British Civil Service?

Um, must be Whitehall.

It must be, and it is, Whitehall. Well done.

The Senedd building, home to the Welsh National Assembly, is based in which city?

I haven't actually heard of the building itself...

It seems like Cardiff is the easy answer

But, Swansea...it seems as if it should be Swansea.

No idea why, so I'm going to go for that answer.

-Swansea.

-Swansea is your answer.

-CJ, you're from Wales.

-I am.

-Has he got it right or wrong?

-It's in Cardiff Bay.

The obvious one was the right one, Chris. Cardiff was the answer there.

Apologies to all our Welsh viewers.

Daphne, you're ahead, here's your second question.

Who was Chancellor of the Exchequer on Black Wednesday,

when Britain crashed out of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism.

I think Norman Lamont got all the blame, didn't he?

Norman Lamont is the correct answer.

Over to you, Chris.

In the European policy known as CAP,

for what does the letter "A" stand?

From reading The Economist, they go on about CAP all the time.

They hate it.

It's the Common Agricultural Policy.

So it's Agriculture.

Agriculture is the right answer. well done.

Daphne, if you get this one right,

you will have knocked out Chris.

Leaving them with only one player in the finals.

So the stakes are quite high here.

In 1987, which member of the Monty Python team

recorded a party political broadcast for the SDP Liberal Alliance?

Could be any of them.

Simply because John Cleese comes from Weston-super-Mare,

just like me, John Cleese.

I don't know.

John Cleese is the right answer, Daphne.

The Weston-super-Mare connection worked wonders for you.

That means you've taken the round, well done.

Chris, sorry you were beaten by our Egghead there.

You won't be able to help your team in the final, either.

It's looking a bit lonely, that final round, now.

I knew Daphne's first two questions. If only I chose...

That does happen. Please, both of you come back and rejoin us now.

So this is what we have been playing towards.

It's time for our final round, General Knowledge.

I'm afraid those of you who lost your head-to-heads

won't be allowed to take part in this round.

Chris, Matt W, Will and Matt T from the Eggs Men,

would you please leave the studio.

-So you're at the London School of Economics?

-That's right.

And your colleagues don't often leave you alone like this?

It does feel a bit lonely here. But I'll be all right.

You're playing to win the Eggs Men £6,000.

-They will be very grateful to you if you do it.

-I'm sure they will!

Be interesting to see how you split it!

Kevin, CJ, Daphne, Chris and Barry, you're playing for The Eggheads' reputation.

As usual, I'll ask each team three questions in turn, and this time it's all General Knowledge.

You can confer...

But...well.

Kushal, the question is, is your one brain better than the Eggheads' five?

Don't answer that!

-Do you want to go first or second?

-I'll go first, please.

Good luck to you.

In which craft is moquette most commonly used?

It's a tricky one.

I don't think it's book-binding at all.

I don't think it's lacemaking.

It's a bit of a guess...

but I'll go for upholstery.

Your team just have an ability to guess that is quite amazing.

Upholstery is correct. Well done.

They are very pleased backstage.

Eggheads, your first question.

During training to be a barrister, what term refers to the final stage,

usually spent in a set of chambers, under the supervision of a qualified barrister?

Pupillage.

Pupillage is right, Eggheads.

One each.

Kushal, your question.

Sex on Fire was a UK number one hit single for which band in 2008?

A very popular song.

I could probably sing it to you, but I only sing in the shower.

It's Kings of Leon.

Kings of Leon is correct. Well done.

Back to you, Eggheads. Pressure on.

In Greek mythology, Penelope, the wife of Odysseus,

famously put off her potential suitors by what action?

She used to put them off by the fact

she said she would make a choice about marrying one of them,

when she finished the weaving that she was doing.

But every night she would un-pick it again so she never finished the job.

So undoing her weaving.

Undoing her weaving is the right answer, well done, Eggheads.

Kushal,

if you get this right, then there's always a chance...

It can fall apart, it happens a lot. Here's your question.

Which fruit grows on a tree, scientifically known as Mespilus Germanica,

and is not fit to eat until it has begun to decay.

Mespilus Germanica?

This is going to be a guess again because I honestly have no idea.

I'll go for Mongongo.

I'm afraid you're wrong. Medlar is the right answer, not Mongongo.

So we are in the hands of the fates here.

Eggheads, this for the contest.

Lord King, often dubbed Mrs Thatcher's favourite businessman, was chairman of which company?

He was Lord King of Wartnaby and he was chairman of British Airways.

Chairman of British Airways?

If you get this right, you've taken the contest.

If you get it wrong, we go to Sudden Death.

Lord King was chairman of British Airways.

Congratulations, Eggheads. You've won.

Kushal, thanks for playing. I hope it wasn't too painful seeing all your colleagues ejected?

This could be for team spirit when you next play five-a-side.

I don't know. We'll probably lose again, it's been the trend lately.

Commiserations. The Eggheads have done what comes naturally to them.

Their winning streak continues, they are doing quite well at the moment.

I'm afraid you won't be leaving with £6,000. That money rolls over to our next show.

And, Eggheads, congratulations. Who will ever beat you?

Join us next time to see if a new team of Challengers have the brains to defeat the Eggheads.

£7,000 says they don't. Till then, goodbye.

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