Episode 131 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 were 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 country's toughest quiz shows. They are the Eggheads.

And challenging our resident quiz goliaths today

are No Accounting For Taste.

They all work in the finance department of Leeds City Council

and after holding an Eggheads-style quiz at work

they decided the next step was to take on the real thing.

Let's meet them.

Hi, I'm Steve.

I'm 48 and I'm a finance manager.

Hi, I'm Grahame.

I'm 50 and I'm an accountant.

Hi, I'm Adam, 28, and a finance officer.

Hi, I'm Phill.

I'm 44 and a local government officer.

Hi, I'm Grahame.

I'm 53 and I'm a finance manager.

So, No Accounting For Taste, welcome. Welcome, Steve.

-Thank you, Jeremy.

-And, fin-ANCE, FI-nance, just correct me on this.

I prefer FI-nance, some people say fin-ANCE.

It's "ee-ther", "eye-ther", you say "nee-ther", I say "ny-ther".

So neither is banned. And you're all in the same department, all accountants.

-That's correct.

-Do accountants have

different personalities or are you all mostly the same?

Oh, I think varying personalities across the whole team

because it's quite a sizeable team.

This is only a small snapshot of our team here today.

-Do you enjoy your work?

-Oh, yes. It's quite challenging

at times, but very interesting.

Intellectually it's quite, yeah...

Is it? What, because you have to work out how much money is coming in

each year and make projections and keep within a budget?

-That's always the challenge, particularly these days.

-Because it's tight?

It's tight with the credit crunch.

OK, well, have a good game today, won't you, and let's see if you can

make even more money. Every day there's £1,000 worth of cash

up for grabs for our challengers.

If they fail to defeat the Eggheads

the prize money rolls over to the next show,

so, No Accounting For Taste, the Eggheads have won

the last nine games, which means

£10,000 says you can't beat the Eggheads.

Shall we do the first head-to-head?

I sense you know the show.

-Yep.

-You watch it. OK, this is Music first.

So, who's doing music and against which Egghead?

-You fancy Music?

-Grahame, go with Music.

-Go on, then.

-Do you fancy Music, Grahame?

-I'll do Music, yeah.

-Good lad.

-Well done.

-Well done, well done.

-Now, who... Who do you want to...

-Grahame on Music.

-Who do you choose?

-I would like to play Judith, please.

-What was that expression, Judith?

-It's a very faint smile.

-A faint smile.

-It's a kind of rictus.

So, it's Grahame from No Accounting For Taste versus

Judith from the Eggheads and to ensure there's no conferring

would you please take your positions in the question room?

Grahame, three multiple choice questions, as you know, on music

and whoever gets the most right goes through to the final.

Would you like to go first or second, Grahame?

I'd like to go first, please.

Grahame, here's your first question.

Which musical act won an Outstanding Contribution To Music award

at the 2009 Brits?

OK,

I don't think it was Spandau Ballet,

um...

and I don't think it was Erasure.

I'm sure it was the Pet Shop Boys.

Pet Shop Boys is the right answer.

Well done.

-Not an easy question.

-It was for me.

-Judith, the musicians Kurt Cobain,

Jim Morrison, Brian Jones, Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin all died

at what age?

Well, not 47.

I think they were all very young, I think they were 27.

Yes, 27 is the right answer. What a classic quizzers' question that is.

-Is it?

-It's probably the age where,

if you're a rock star, things get a bit dangerous.

You don't last until 37.

You're burnt out by 27, so in three years I'll look forward to that.

Grahame, back to you.

The songwriting team of Bacharach and David are well known for

their frequent collaborations with which singer?

OK, it's certainly not Madonna

and neither do I think it's Annie Lennox.

Burt Bacharach has a strong link with Dionne Warwick,

so Dionne Warwick, Jeremy.

Dionne Warwick is the right answer.

And they were great songs. Anyone name any of those brilliant songs?

Do You Know The Way To San Jose?

-24 Hours From Tulsa.

-Yeah. Trains, Boats, Planes.

-Raindrops Are Falling On My Head.

-One of my favourite composers.

-They were amazing, the two of them.

-Excellent.

Here we go, Judith, your question. Apart from Marvin Hamlisch,

who's the only person to have won

an Oscar, a Grammy, an Emmy, a Tony and a Pulitzer Prize?

I think it could be Leonard Bernstein or Richard Rogers.

I think it's more likely to be

Leonard Bernstein than either of the other two.

Yeah, Leonard Bernstein.

-Leonard Bernstein is the wrong answer.

-Oh, no! Is it?

-Richard Rogers.

-Oh.

-Richard Rogers.

So, that means that Grahame has taken the lead and if you get

this question right, Grahame, you are through to the final.

Which composer left his Symphony No. 9 unfinished at his death?

I don't think it was Beethoven.

I think...

it was Mozart.

-You think it was Mozart?

-Yeah, I'll play Mozart, Jeremy.

Mozart is not the right answer,

and Beethoven's Ninth is famous, but was it...

It's The Choral Symphony, but it was finished. It was Bruckner.

Sorry, Grahame.

So, now, Judith, you have a chance

to draw level.

Theobald Boehm played

a major part in the development of which orchestral instrument?

Theobald Boehm.

-It's spelt B-O-E-H-M.

-I don't...

Why would it have been the flute,

because the flute was already developed, I would have thought?

I'm torn between harp and double bass.

B-O-E-H-M.

I'm going to say harp.

-Harp is your answer.

-I think it isn't,

-actually, come to think of it.

-If you get this wrong then

Grahame goes through to the final and you don't.

You don't go through to the final because you got it wrong,

-it's flute, Judith.

-It's flute? I'm amazed, actually.

Grahame, well done.

You took on an Egghead and emerged triumphant. That's good.

Great news for the challengers.

Grahame will be in the final.

Do both of you come back to us, please.

As it stands the challengers have not lost any brains

from the final round, while the Eggheads have lost one brain.

Oops, sorry, Judith.

The next subject is Science. Which of you wants Science?

-Not me!

-Not me, that's helpful!

-Are you going to do it?

-Yeah.

-And who shall I pick?

-Steve.

-Steve?

-Yeah, Steve do it, yeah.

-I'll play Science.

-Science for Steve.

Against?

-Come on, I'll go...

-And CJ?

-Daphne. I'll go with Daphne, please.

OK, Steve from No Accounting

For Taste against Daphne from the Eggheads on Science, and to ensure

there's no conferring please take your positions in the question room.

Steve, let's do our Science round.

Three questions and you can choose the first or second set.

I'll go first.

Here we go, Steve. Good luck.

What is the name of the opening in the centre of the human eye that

lets light through onto the retina?

Right, I think the iris is the coloured area around the side,

whereas the cornea, I believe

that is the covering of the lens,

so I think it's the pupil because they dilate with light.

Is the right answer, well done.

Pupil it is.

Daphne, what's the equivalent to 100 degrees Celsius

on the Fahrenheit scale?

Oh, the only one that rings a bell is 212, so...

212 is correct.

Back to you, Steve. After whom or what

was the bacterium salmonella named?

Well, Jeremy, that's a toughie, so I think I'm going to have to try to go

through a process of elimination, so

I think it's going to have to be...

And it's very difficult to deduce this because it's obviously going

to be where, probably, the first outbreak occurred.

HMS Salmon sounds...

not right.

I would say I'm going to go, and this would be a guess, so...

I think it's not named after an individual.

I'll go with Salmon, Idaho.

No, it was named after a person, Mr DE Salmon, so...

-I say Mr DE Salmon, I'm guessing it's Mr, it may not be.

-Yes.

-I think so.

-Professor, pathologist.

It's got nothing to do with salmon at all, the fish salmon.

-No.

-No.

-You can get it from it, can't you?

You can, that's what's confusing.

Daphne, your question.

Halophyte

is a term for a plant that's adapted to grow in what type of conditions?

It's saline.

It's from the Greek for salt.

-What is from the Greek for salt, halo?

-Halo, yes.

Well done, saline is the right answer, Daphne.

See, you need to get this right, Steve,

or Daphne will have knocked you out.

The so called oligodynamic effect is

responsible for the self-cleansing properties of which objects, Steve?

The world oligo seems to ring a bell, it may be in relation to ears,

so I'll go with human ears.

No, it's actually brass doorknobs, which is something they're talking

about using in hospitals at the moment, aren't they,

-to stop MRSA?

-Do all brass doorknobs clean themselves?

-They clean themselves.

-Oh, that is good to know.

Well, they don't... I think they clean other things, as well.

They don't allow... Germs can't live on them.

-Oh.

-I think.

Steve, next time you open a door with a brass doorknob you'll think

of this moment, but never mind.

Daphne, you were stronger this time,

you're through to the final. Steve, you were beaten by our Egghead.

As a result you will not be helping your team in the final round.

Do both of you come back and rejoin your teams.

The brass doorknob stumped us all,

they really did and I think probably

-a lot of viewers as well, so...

-A surprise.

No shame in getting that wrong. The challengers have lost

one brain from the final round, the Eggheads have lost one brain as well.

The next subject is Geography,

-so which of you wants this?

-Phill, you're on.

-Away you go, Phill.

-I'll take that one.

-Oh, good man, Phill.

-Phill on geography, against?

And I'm going to take CJ, I think.

CJ, OK. Phill from No Accounting For Taste versus CJ.

Please, if you can, make your way towards the question room.

Phill, I know you travel a lot.

I travel about, yeah, a bet.

-Caravans?

-Caravans, yeah, I like caravanning.

I like being out with the family, out in the fresh air

-and things like that.

-OK, good luck.

Geography is the key, with or without caravans.

Phill, would you like the first set

-of questions or the second set?

-I'd like to go first, please.

Here's your question. The most westerly point

in Wales is located where?

OK, well, I've been to Wales once or twice.

I've never heard of the Gower Peninsula so I'm going to rule that one out.

Colwyn Bay is a bay.

I'm going to go for Pembrokeshire.

You've been to any of them?

I've been down to Pembrokeshire, down to Tenby, places like that.

-Nice?

-Very, very nice part of the world, yeah.

Pembrokeshire is correct, well done.

OK, CJ, Folkestone and Hythe, CJ, are located on which body of water?

They've got to be on the Strait of Dover, haven't they?

The Wash is too far north, the Solent's too far west.

Folkestone has some sort of ferries or something that go out of it.

It must be the Strait of Dover.

Are we sensing that you're on unfamiliar territory here?

British geography, I'm always struggling.

OK, anything outside the studio, but inside the country is a problem.

The Strait of Dover is right, though. Well done.

You've done it, somehow.

Back to you, Phill. You could probably take

him out in this round, he's very, very wobbly on anything British.

Queens and which other borough of New York City are on Long Island?

Is it Brooklyn, the Bronx or Manhattan?

Right, well, I'm going to rule out Manhattan straightaway.

I think that's its own island.

So, again I've got a choice between two, between Brooklyn and the Bronx.

Oh, which want to go for? I'm going to go with the Bronx.

-Now Steve's head has fallen. Is he wrong?

-It's Brooklyn.

It is Brooklyn, not the Bronx.

-Sorry, Phill.

-Never mind.

So, we're all square. CJ, you can go one point ahead with this. Which is

the only capital of the three Baltic states that is not on the coast, CJ?

Tallinn, Vilnius or Riga?

I have, of course, been to Tallinn.

You know, I can't remember if that's on the coast or not.

It's certainly very, very close to it if it isn't on the Gulf of Finland.

I think it is on the coast. I think it's on the Gulf of Finland.

Vilnius I'm not sure about. Riga is on a river.

I'm not at all sure, but I'm going to go for Riga.

-Riga is your answer.

-Yeah.

-Just to get this straight, you've been to Tallinn?

-Yeah...

But you can't remember if you were by the sea?

Well, I was doing a quiz, that's why,

and we tend to block everything else out.

And it was at night, was it?

Well, it's on a... I remember a big harbour

and I know, if it's not on the Gulf of Finland, it's very, very close.

But you could see water, but you weren't sure

-whether it was a pond or the sea?

-Or it was raining.

Well, it wasn't Tallinn, but it wasn't Riga either, it was Vilnius,

the only capital of the three Baltic states not on the coast.

Great question, actually. OK, Phill, you can pull clear with this answer.

Which term describes an enclosed depression

resulting from the melting of buried ice?

Right, OK, then.

If it's a depression, assuming

it's a hole in the ground, something comes up, I'm going to go,

because it sounds like a toaster, purely going for toaster hole.

No, that's wrong, it's kettle hole. It's a tough one. It's back...

We're back with brass doorknobs here! That's a tough question.

Kettle hole is the answer.

CJ, this for the round.

Which part of France is renowned for its flamingos,

wild white horses and black bulls?

Well, I know the Camargue is famous for its horses, so Camargue.

Camargue is the right answer, CJ. Interesting round.

Great questions in that round, actually, and, Egghead, you've won.

You'll be in the final, CJ.

Phill, sorry, you were beaten and you won't be helping in the final.

Please both of you rejoin your teammates.

So, the Challengers have lost two brains from the final round, the Eggheads have lost one brain.

You're still there, you're in there.

-They're in there.

-The last subject before the final is Food & Drink.

So, now, who wants this?

-I think it's you, Adam.

-Adam or Grahame?

-I think it's you, Adam.

-I think we've decided Adam.

-I think I'm a sacrificial lamb.

-OK.

Adam against who? Kevin or Barry?

Go on, why not, I'll take Kevin!

Adam from No Accounting For Taste versus Kevin

and to ensure there's no conferring take your positions.

-So, Adam, you're a finance officer.

-Yes, I am.

And enjoy watching Leeds Football Club play.

-I wouldn't say enjoy! I go watch them.

-They do...

But they... They're still playing.

-Yeah, just about, yeah.

-I don't mean to rub it in.

-No.

You've chosen Kevin on, I think it's fair to say, not your strongest subject, Kevin,

-because last time you played Food & Drink...

-Yeah.

-You got the first two questions wrong.

Yes, I'm afraid so, yes.

-Horseradish and dragon fruit...

-Yeah.

..were the difficultly...

-Difficult areas.

-Yeah.

I think saying not my strongest is putting it mildly, but...

OK, so, three questions now on Food & Drink.

Let's see what happens.

-Adam versus Kevin and Adam you can choose whether you have the first or second set.

-I'll go first, please.

Here we go.

Curly is the name given to some varieties of which vegetable?

This is not my strongest subject either.

Curly, let me think. I'm going to rule out beetroot.

At bit of a guess, I'm going to go for kale.

-Steve, has he got it right?

-He has.

-He has!

-Well done, Kale is right, good for you.

-Well done, Adam.

You've got a bright future ahead of you.

I guess somebody here is Adam's boss, is that right?

-Yes.

-OK, stakes are high!

Kevin, what is the usual term

for a heavy butcher's knife used for cutting up meat?

Right. Well, it would be interesting to see them try it with the others,

but I think we're looking at cleaver here.

Cleaver is the right answer, Kevin, well done.

You got a question right on Food & Drink!

It happens sometimes!

Over to you, Adam. Caraway seed, cumin and fennel

are used to flavour which liqueur?

I should have a chance with this, I do like a drink!

I'm going to rule out ouzo, and absinthe is disgusting

so I'm going to go for kummel.

Either it's something about your guessing

or the Ks but it's inspired.

Kummel is the right answer.

Anyone ever had kummel here? Judith, have you had some kummel?

-Yeah.

-Nice?

-No.

-What size of glass.

-Oh, very small.

I think that's disgusting, too.

-I think all of those disgusting.

-Yeah.

Well, if you put those three in,

-it doesn't sound like is going to help, does it?

-No.

Kevin, your question.

The foodstuff known as vegetable spaghetti is a variety of what?

Not come across that.

So, presumably, it's got to be something that, presumably again,

looks long and stringy.

Well, the one there that I can think of as potentially, anyway,

having a most stringy...

Long and stringy appearance is some variety

of pepper hanging down, so I'll have to go for capsicum.

Capsicum is wrong.

-CJ?

-Squash.

-Well, why is squash obvious?

-Because...

Some of the varieties of squash, when you peel them

they're very stringy with the casing, the shell.

Yeah. So, here we are, Adam, you're about to get a promotion!

If you get this right you've knocked out Kevin and not many people do that.

Mostarda di Cremona is an Italian speciality

containing what in a mustard-flavoured syrup?

Again, it's going to have to come down to a guess.

Let's go down the middle, I'll go fruit.

-You're going to go for fruit?

-Yes.

Were you born lucky? Fruit is right.

Well done!

Remarkable gameplay there.

It's adding to Kevin's complex about the Food & Drink section.

Well done, Adam, you will be in the final.

You took on one of the Eggheads, you emerged triumphant.

Great news for the Challengers and let's have you both back in the studio.

So, this is what we've been playing towards, the final round, which, as always,

is General Knowledge, but those of you who lost your head-to-heads

won't be allowed to take part.

So Steve and Phill from No Accounting For Taste and Judith and Kevin from the Eggheads,

would you please now leave the studio?

So, Grahame, Adam and Grahame, you're playing to win No Accounting For Taste £10,000.

Barry, CJ and Daphne, you're playing for something which money can't buy, the Eggheads' reputation.

As usual I'll ask each team three questions in turn.

This time the questions are all General Knowledge and you are allowed to confer.

No Accounting For Taste, the question is, are you're three brains better than the Eggheads' three?

Do you want the first set of questions?

-Stick with first?

-First.

-We'll stick with first.

Good luck to you.

What name is given to the item in the British crown jewels

that consists of a golden sphere topped by a diamond-encrusted cross?

Orb is the one that comes straight to mind. Will we go for the orb?

I've never heard of the ball or the globe.

I've heard of the orb. Heard of the orb?

Yeah, that was my first impression.

-We'll go with your orb.

-We'll go with the orb.

-The orb is the right answer, well done.

-Well done, Grahame.

Eggheads, which fabric is made from jute or hemp?

Hessian. Hessian is made from hemp.

-Chintz is made from cotton and ticking is cotton.

-Yeah.

-We all agreed?

-Yeah, hessian.

-It's hessian.

Hessian is the right answer. Well done, Eggheads.

Cracking start for you both. Let's see how we go from here.

Your second question. Which European state has no army?

Switzerland does because don't they arm their troops

and they get to take the guns home?

Lichtenstein or Luxembourg?

Lichtenstein's a principality, so it's smaller, isn't it?

And Luxembourg's slightly bigger.

What's that got to do with whether you've got an army

I haven't got a clue.

So, what do you want to do? Lichtenstein or Luxembourg?

-My heart's...

-My vote's for Luxembourg.

Luxembourg because we went middle last time.

-Do you think Luxembourg?

-I'd go for it, yeah.

Divided on either one of them

and since Adam's done so well with his guessing,

I think we'll let Adam... See if we can roll his luck,

so we'll go for Luxembourg?

We'll go for Luxembourg, Jeremy.

Entirely understandable guess, wrong answer though. It is Lichtenstein.

Lots of banks, but no army.

Eggheads, this to take the lead.

The Magnificent Ambersons is a Pulitzer-prize-winning book by which author?

Booth Tarkington.

Booth Tarkington, definitely. It's Booth Tarkington.

How did you get that so fast?

It was a film by...

Orson Welles made, I think one of his two famous films.

Ah, it's coming back to me now. Yes, you're right.

Booth Tarkington is the right answer, Eggheads,

which means you really need to get this one.

£10,000 in play here.

Who played the Victor Meldrew role in the American version,

the American version, of One Foot In The Grave?

-I didn't even know they'd made an American version.

-I didn't.

It's still not shown up on television.

Alan Alda, MASH.

-I don't think it's Cosby.

-You don't think it's Bill Cosby?

I'm not sure whether... Has it ever made it across the Atlantic to one

of our satellite television channels or one of the other stations?

-Shall we go... Just guess?

-Alan Alda, then?

-Alan Alda I was going to go for.

-Which one...

If you get this wrong it is the end of the contest.

-If you get it right you're back in the game.

-No pressure!

-Then Victor Meldrew...

-No pressure.

Who's going to give that character? That character acting best?

Well, it's similar to what Bill Cosby played in the The Cosby Show.

Wasn't he a frustrated father?

He was calm, though. It wasn't... It was calm.

OK, let's discount Cosby, then. We'll go for Cosby.

We're going for Cosby?

No. We're called for Alda then or Jack Lemmon.

Alda, Jack Lemmon.

Is Jack Lemmon is still with us?

-Come on, fire one.

-Let's go for Alan Alda.

-Alan Alda.

-Where we started.

Probably because I read it wrong and my eyesight's bad.

We have decided after much discussion that we don't know the answer!

We're going to... We're going to guess for Alan Alda.

-Eggheads, is Alan Alda right?

-No.

-I think it's Bill Cosby.

It is Bill Cosby.

And I think Jack Lemmon is no longer with us.

No, I thought he passed away.

There is no way back for you from there,

-so, Eggheads, congratulations, you've won!

-Well done.

Well done.

Very sporting, our accountants. Thank you for coming in.

Commiserations to you.

The Eggheads have done what comes naturally. Their winning streak continues.

so you won't be going home with the £10,000.

That 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.

£11,000 says they don't.

Until then, goodbye.

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