Episode 145 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 five quiz challengers

attempt to beat possibly Britain's greatest quiz team.

Their quiz pedigree is well known. They've won some of the country's toughest quiz shows.

They are the Eggheads.

Challenging our resident quiz goliaths today

are the Poker Saints from Hertfordshire.

This team of friends share a passion for poker

and all belong to the Under the Gun Poker Club in St Albans.

Let's meet them.

Hi. I'm Marco, I'm 45 and I'm a solicitor.

Hi. I'm Phil, I'm 46, I'm a nurse.

Hi. I'm Tom, I'm 28 and I'm an investment banker.

Hi. I'm Ashley, I'm 30 and I'm an electrician.

Hi. I'm Nick, I'm 32 and I'm a vet.

-Welcome, Poker Saints. Welcome, Marco.

-Thank you.

-"Under the gun" is a poker term?

-Yes. The first person to act after the blinds have been posted.

After...? Oh, no. I'm out of my depth already.

We'll play afterwards.

As poker players, do you have a deadpan expression that you've been practising?

We haven't practised it. This is as good as it gets.

OK. It may be necessary in this game.

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

If they fail to defeat the Eggheads, the money rolls over to the next show.

So, Poker Saints, the Eggheads have won the last 23 games,

which means £24,000 says you can't beat them.

-Are you ready to try?

-We'll give it a go.

The first head-to-head battle is on the subject of music.

Who wants this?

-Phil?

-Is it going to be me?

-I think so.

-All right. It's me.

-Phil against...?

-Ah, right. Fancy Barry?

-OK.

-We'll take on Barry.

It's always music with Barry for some reason we can't really fathom.

Phil from the Poker Saints against Barry from the Eggheads.

To ensure there's no conferring, please take your positions.

So, Phil, apart from poker, what else do you do?

I like travelling, and I like my motorbikes.

Terrific. So the motorbikes - your days off, up you go around the country?

-Yup, and a bit of poker in between if I can.

-That sounds like that might just be the life.

I'll ask you each three multiple-choice questions in turn.

Whoever answers the most questions correctly wins.

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

I'd like to go first, please.

Here we go.

Under The Boardwalk and Come On Over To My Place

were hit singles in the 1960s for which group?

Oh, dear.

This is difficult for me.

I don't think it's The Hobos...

because I've never heard of them.

I will go for... The Vagabonds.

The Drifters is the right answer, not The Vagabonds.

Your question, Barry.

Strike Up The Band and Girl Crazy are musicals by which composer?

It's certainly not Aaron Copland.

I think it was Irving Berlin.

Let's get the answer from your colleagues.

They always enjoy telling their colleagues that they're wrong.

-It is George Gershwin.

-George Gershwin.

I'm going to find it hard to live with myself soon!

Phil, you've managed to pull level without getting an answer right.

What name is given to the small, round, metal discs in a tambourine?

Small metal discs...

Well, they jingle. It could be that one.

Bangles?

Doesn't sound right.

If in doubt, go for the middle one. Jingles.

Nice one. Jingles is correct.

The middle one served you well this time, unlike the last one.

Barry. "Radio, video, boogie with a suitcase,

"You're living in a disco, forget about the rat race"

are lines from which 1979 UK hit single for M?

Funny, I haven't a clue.

It doesn't sound like punk - or even rock, for that matter.

So I shall say Pop Muzik.

Pop Muzik is right.

You got that right without knowing the song at all.

-It doesn't seem fair.

-Life's like that.

Phil, your question.

Which singer released the album Years Of Refusal in 2009?

Years Of Refusal. Refusal about what?

OK. Damon... Albarn? Never heard of him.

Marc Almond? Soft Cell. Old boy.

Morrissey? I'm not entirely sure who Morrissey is.

OK, I'll go for the first one. Marc Almond.

Marc Almond is actually wrong.

Am I taking it that music maybe isn't your strongest subject?

Definitely not.

Morrissey is the correct answer.

-Former lead singer with The Smiths.

-Sorry, boys.

You're still in it cos Barry could still explode.

Your question. Which Tudor composer's life

is the subject of an opera by Peter Maxwell Davies?

Thank you for giving me all Tudor composers!

I was hoping somebody would be from a different era.

Peter Maxwell Davies. Could be any of them.

I'll go for John Taverner.

Daphne, you're happy with that?

I'm happy, cos that's what I'd have gone for,

so I hope it's right.

John Taverner is the right answer. Barry, you've won the music round.

Phil, sorry. You were beaten by our Egghead,

so you will not be able to help your team in the final round.

Please, both of you, come back and rejoin your team-mates.

The challengers have lost one brain from the final round.

The Eggheads have not lost any.

Keep those deadpan poker faces.

The next subject is sport.

Do we have a sportsman?

-I'll try that one.

-We'll give Ashley a go.

Ashley...

-THEY CONFER

-I'll take on Chris, please.

-Oh, no. He's going to be in such a foul mood.

-OTHERS LAUGH

-You've had three sports in a row.

-Yeah, and I won the last one, so watch it.

Ashley from the Poker Saints versus Chris, a very angry Egghead.

To ensure there's no conferring, please take your positions.

You graduated from Nottingham Trent University a while back?

Yeah, in 2001, with a Business Studies degree.

-And what do you do now?

-I'm an electrician.

-CJ CHUCKLES

Why is there laughter from CJ? That's a top profession now.

I'm wondering, why do Business Studies and then become an electrician?

Presumably it's good business.

The money's not bad. And eventually I'd like to emigrate,

so having a trade under my belt is always a good thing.

If you win, what will your money go on?

I'm trying to talk the team-mates into one of us going to Vegas

-to play in the World Series of Poker, Main Event.

-That'd be good.

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

Ashley, you can choose the first or second set.

I'd like to go first, please.

Here we go.

In January 2009, who was appointed Europe's Ryder Cup captain for 2010?

I was hoping I wouldn't get any golf questions. It's not my strongest subject in sport.

I don't think it was Colin Montgomerie.

So it's between Mark James and Ian Poulter.

I think I'm going to go for Ian Poulter, Jeremy.

When you said it's not Colin, a few heads dropped at this end.

Colin Montgomerie was the answer.

Chris, your question.

What is the maximum permissible length of a pitch in domestic football?

Well, 200 yards is too far. It's an eighth of a mile.

80 yards I think would be a bit cramped. So it's 130 yards.

The maximum is indeed 130.

Ashley, over to you.

What is the only Grand Slam Men's Singles tennis tournament

that Boris Becker failed to win?

I was hoping Wimbledon would be there to narrow it down.

I'm really not sure about this one.

Australian and US are both hard courts,

so I'll go for the odd one out, the clay court, and go French.

The logic's good. French Open is right. Excellent.

Chris.

Matt Prior, born in 1982, has represented England at which sport?

Hmm.

I don't recognise the name at all.

It's not cricket, and I don't think it's rugby union.

I'll go for hockey.

You ruled out cricket but that's the right answer.

-Is it indeed?

-Cricket is the answer.

One point each.

Third question to you, Ashley.

Put the pressure on Chris. He doesn't like sport.

He'll get angrier and angrier and suddenly just burst into flames.

-No, he turns green.

-Incredible Hulk.

-Sulk.

Ashley, over to you.

Which motor sport is governed by the FIM?

I don't think it's Formula 1 cos that's the FIA.

So it's between speedway and rallying.

I think I'll take a punt at speedway, Jeremy.

Speedway...

is right.

It's the Federation Internationale de... Motocyclisme.

The writing on this is so small.

And that was from memory.

Chris, if you get this wrong, you're not in the final.

What does the referee's command "Hajime" mean in a bout of judo?

I don't think there would be a command to break in judo

since you don't hang on to each other

once you've thrown each other about.

And I don't think it's begin. I think it's time out.

If you're wrong, you're not in the final.

And you have got it wrong. It's begin.

Break apart you may be right on.

But time out is wrong, Chris. Your answer was wrong.

So well done, Ashley.

You've just pulled past him, gently and slowly, in the sporting round.

Took on an Egghead and emerged triumphant.

You'll be in the final, Chris won't be.

Please, both of you, come back to your teams.

So the challengers have lost one brain

and the Eggheads have also lost one brain from that final round.

Next subject is geography.

Someone wrote to us and said it's pronounced gee-ography.

So it's gee-ography.

Who wants to play gee-ography?

THEY CONFER

-Tom, Nick or Marco?

-I think it'll be Tom.

-Me? Do I have to?

-Yeah.

-Tom's going to do it.

-Now choose one of them.

-CJ.

-OK, CJ.

We'll have a stab at CJ.

OK, Tom from the Poker Saints against CJ from the Eggheads.

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

-Tom, what do you do?

-I'm an investment banker.

Investment banking? We don't want to sound cynical. How's it going?

It's tough, but the plan at the moment...

We're calling it a Darwinistic environment.

It'll be survival of the fittest and strongest banks,

so we're optimistic where I am.

-You're feeling hopeful about the future?

-I am.

I think it'll be at least another year of downturn and tough times,

but it's always cyclical so we'll always come back.

The investment bankers will be back. We've heard it here.

I'll ask you each three questions on geography. Tom, the first or second set?

We've all agreed we'll go first.

Good luck.

The Great Victoria Desert is a feature of which country?

I've not heard of it myself, and I've been to all three countries,

which is a pity.

For a desert, I'm thinking Australia is probably the driest,

so I'll go Australia.

You're right. Australia is right.

CJ, how are you today?

All the better for seeing you, Jeremy.

-Lovely T-shirt.

-Lovely teeth as well.

Which city would you be visiting

if you landed at Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Airport?

I sincerely hope - as he was born there - Salzburg.

Mozart was born there, and it is Salzburg Airport. You're right.

-They didn't mess about with the naming of that!

-No, sir.

Tom.

In which US city is the fashionable district of Nob Hill located?

I've no idea on fashion, I've no idea on American cities.

Fashionable sounds more West Coast,

so I'm going to completely guess it's San Francisco.

Phil?

You never know where you are with Tom.

-Phil, tell him whether he's right.

-He's right.

-Have you been there?

-Yes.

Is that the one with the curvy, windy road?

It's near there but... yeah, it's quite steep.

Tom, you're right. Nob Hill. Correct.

Poker players having a good time here.

CJ.

Give us your deadpan expression.

-This is it.

-I thought it might be.

The Luas is the name of the tram system

in which European capital city?

-Spell it, please.

-L-U-A-S.

L-U-A-S?

HE WHISPERS Oh, dear.

I've been to Berlin and Tallinn. I haven't been to Dublin.

I'm not going for Berlin - if it is that, I'll be rather annoyed.

I've never heard it in Berlin. I lived there for a year.

I don't know it, but I'll plump for Dublin.

I should ask Chris, because you love your trains.

Yeah. Well, Daphne and Kevin think it's the DART,

but the DART is the rapid transit system on the 5'3" gauge,

the state railway.

The Luas is a new system that's been built in Dublin

on standard gauge, 4'8½", so it is Dublin.

-Did you know all that, CJ?

-Of course!

You just didn't want to tell us.

Dublin is the right answer.

So two points each.

Tom, back to you, our poker-playing investment banker.

Mount Snezka is the highest point of which country?

I was hoping you'd give me just one Eastern European country

so I could go on the sound of it.

Again, I just do not know.

I've even got Polish family, so I really hope it's not that.

I'm going to go with Slovakia,

simply because it's probably got more mountains than Czech.

Good thinking, but Czech Republic is the right answer.

But you won't have annoyed your Polish relatives, don't worry.

CJ, if you get this right, you're in the final round.

Which Sri Lankan city boasts a World Heritage Site

consisting of the Old Town and its Fortifications?

Galle is ringing a bell

for World Heritage,

and the other two aren't.

A small bell is ringing that Galle has to do with World Heritage,

so Galle.

It is the right answer, CJ.

The small bell served you very well there. Well done, CJ.

Tom, you were beaten by our Egghead,

so you won't be in the final round.

Please, both of you, rejoin your teams.

So the challengers have lost two brains from the final round,

the Eggheads only one.

Our last subject is politics.

Do you have a chosen person here?

-Nick or Marco.

-I think it'll have to be me.

OK. Nick, a vet, against...?

Daphne, please.

Nick from the Poker Saints against Daphne from the Eggheads.

Please take your positions.

Three questions. The subject is politics. First or second set?

I'll go first again, please.

What is the name of the seats where an MP or a member of the Lords sits

if he or she is neither a minister nor a spokesperson for their party?

The ministers would sit on the frontbenches.

I don't know if middlebenches is even a term,

but I'm going to go with backbenches.

Backbenches is the right answer.

Daphne, Tzipi Livni,

spelt T-Z-I-P-I and then L-I-V-N-I,

contested a general election in which country in 2009?

She... It was Israel.

I think her party won,

but they couldn't get enough support from the opposition.

Israel is the right answer.

Nick, your question.

For what does the letter S stand in the abbreviation ECSC,

the group established in 1952 by six countries in Western Europe

and the first economic institution of what was later to become the European Union?

This is 50-50 as far as I'm concerned, but...

I'm going to go for Security.

This is a really interesting one. Eggheads?

European Coal and Steel Community.

Steel is the answer.

It started just on a coal and steel ticket.

So, Daphne, your chance to pull clear.

Which prominent Labour Party figure is a former postman?

I think that's Alan Johnson. I think he was one of the...

Yeah, it is Alan Johnson.

He was a union leader for them.

Alan Johnson is the right answer.

He was.

Nick, you need to get this one right.

In 2007, Robert B Zoellick became president of which organisation?

Banks have been in the news a bit recently.

I can't say that I've actually heard his name crop up, though.

I'll be honest, I haven't even heard of NAFTA.

Let's go for World Trade Organisation.

That's the wrong answer. It's actually the World Bank.

So, Daphne, you've taken the round and you're through to the final.

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

Please, both of you, rejoin your teams.

Now, the final round. This is what we've been playing towards.

As always, it's general knowledge.

Those of you who lost your head-to-heads

can't take part in this round.

So, Phil, Tom and Nick from the Poker Saints

and Chris from the Eggheads,

please leave the studio.

So, Marco and Ashley, here we are. Well done. You're in the final.

You're playing to win the Poker Saints £24,000 -

a lot of money on the card table.

Kevin, CJ, Daphne and Barry,

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

I'll ask each team three questions in turn, all general knowledge.

You are allowed to confer.

So, Poker Saints, the question is, are your two brains better than the Eggheads' four?

-Do you want to go first or second?

-We'll go first again.

It is a whopping jackpot we've got now, so good luck.

According to the famous phrase derived from a poem by William Congreve,

"Hell has no fury like a woman..." what?

THEY CONFER

We've all suffered there, so we're going down the middle. Scorn'd.

Oh, shame!

Scorn'd is the right answer.

Eggheads, your question.

Who won the Best Actress Oscar at the Academy Awards ceremony

in February 2009?

I think that might be Kate Winslet.

I think so.

It was Kate Winslet for The Reader.

Kate Winslet is the correct answer.

Was it where she did the embarrassing speech?

That was the Golden Globes, at the previous awards.

At the Oscars, she did a much straighter speech.

That was the one about holding the shampoo bottle, when she was eight.

And before that, she was a quiz question,

on the number of times nominated.

I also think she was the youngest person

to have that number of nominations and never won.

Luckily, they can't score a point for any of that.

Your question, Poker Saints.

Of what is hoplology the study?

Can you spell the first part of it?

H-O-P-L-O-L-O-G-Y.

THEY CONFER

I'd rule out weapons and armour.

Weapons and armour is ruled out, is it? Cos I was leaning that way.

-Of course you would be.

-Let's have a think.

-I would be inclined to go towards weeds.

-Are you going for weeds?

That's what I'd be inclined to go for.

-OK.

-I'm not 100%.

We're going to gamble on weeds.

Gambling? You're not sure?

No.

What led you to weeds?

Ashley.

It's your fault!

-The answer is not weeds.

-Aw!

-It's weapons and armour.

I was leaning towards that.

Hoplology.

-What's the root of that?

-The ancient soldiers, the hoplites.

-Foot soldiers.

-Of course.

Eggheads.

Who would be most likely to wear a gremial?

-G-R-E-M-I-A-L?

-Yeah.

I've got no idea here.

I thought clerical garb.

It sounds like one of those.

-Shall we...?

-I'll abstain, cos I don't know.

A doctor doesn't really wear anything apart from...

-And there are so many words for...

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

And before the options came up,

-I thought it was a clerical garment.

-OK.

We don't really know it,

but it sounds like one of the many ecclesiastical garments there are,

so we're going to go for bishop.

Yes, you're right. Bishop is correct.

So, Poker Saints, you're one point behind.

£24,000 to play for.

If you get this one wrong, it's over.

Which play is based on the true story of George Archer-Shee,

a cadet at the Royal Naval College, Osborne,

who was accused of stealing a postal order from a fellow cadet?

-Any ideas?

-I'll give you the question again if you want.

It might help. Give it a go.

Which play is based on the true story of George Archer-Shee,

a cadet at the Royal Naval College, Osborne,

who was accused of stealing a postal order from a fellow cadet?

-He's a cadet.

-The Winslow Boy is sticking out a bit, isn't it?

-But have they just put that one in to shake us up?

-They might have.

Shall we plump for The Winslow Boy? Can't keep going down the middle.

It would've worked for weapons.

-I won't mention it again.

-OK.

We'll go for The Winslow Boy.

Knowing that if you get this wrong, it's over and the money's gone?

Although, as poker players, you're used to that concept.

The Winslow Boy is the right answer.

I think I was in that at school.

Your question, Eggheads.

Get this right and you've won,

and the £24,000 rolls over and goes away.

Which word, from the Spanish for "branch",

is used in the southwestern United States

to describe a shelter, usually with open sides?

THEY CONFER

Laguna is water.

-A mesa is a flat-topped hill.

-Yes.

A laguna is a body of water.

And a ramada...

I was thinking back to Westerns.

A ramada is something that is used for keeping horses in.

-And there is a Ramada chain of hotels. Shelter.

-Yes.

We're going to go for ramada.

Ramada is your answer?

-Not laguna?

-No.

-No.

-Think they got it right?

-Yeah.

When they all look certain, it's so annoying.

The Italian for "branch" is ramo, so there's going to be a link.

Ramada is correct. Congratulations, Eggheads. You've won.

Is there a poker equivalent to that?

-Well beaten?

-It's just the feeling it was there, and then it's gone.

-Yeah, well.

-Oh, well. Commiserations.

The Eggheads' winning streak continues.

I'm afraid you won't be going home with the £24,000. Sorry, guys.

The money rolls over to the next show.

Eggheads, very well done again. Who will beat you?

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

have the brains to defeat the Eggheads.

£25,000 says they don't.

Till then, goodbye.

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