Episode 150 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 country's

toughest quiz shows. They are the Eggheads.

And challenging our resident quiz goliaths today

are the Owenians from Hertfordshire.

Now this team are all

teachers at Dame Alice Owen's School in Potters Bar

and take their name from their rousing school song,

Strive To The Will, Owenians. Let's meet them.

Hi, I'm Gavin. I'm 35 and I teach business and economics.

Hi, I'm Sophie. I'm 26 and I'm an English teacher.

Hi, I'm Kevin. I'm 49 and I teach languages.

Hi, I'm Kate. I'm 25 and I'm a physics teacher.

Hi, I'm Liam.

-I'm 47 and I teach mathematics.

-Welcome, Owenians and welcome, team.

Just remind us how the school came to be.

Well, it was founded in 1613 by Dame Alice Owen

and the reason was that when she was a young girl,

she was then called Alice Wilkes, and

one day she was milking a cow and an arrow from a passing archer happened

to fly through the air and very narrowly missed hitting her head.

And because she felt so lucky about this she decided

that she would, when she could and had the money to do so,

she would do something good for society and it ended up being

-the foundation of Dame Alice Owen's School.

-How many pupils are there?

-1,400 or thereabout.

-Good luck today.

There's £1,000 worth of cash every day up for grabs for our challengers,

but if they fail to defeat the Eggheads the prize money rolls over to the next show.

So, Owenians, the Eggheads have won the last 28 games,

-which means £29,000 says you can't beat the Eggheads.

-Right.

-Are you ready to try?

-Certainly are.

-Yep!

-We'll do our best.

First head-to-head battle is on Geography.

-Where's the geography teacher?

-We haven't got one.

But that's OK. You're going to go for that, Kevin, aren't you?

-Yeah, I'd like that one.

-Kevin.

-Yes, I'm going to take...

-Against which Egghead?

I've seen of the few of the programmes, I'd like to try Daphne.

OK, Kevin from the Owenians versus Daphne, laughing madly

from the Eggheads. Please take your positions in the question room.

So, three multiple choice questions on geography in turn.

Whoever answers the most correctly is the winner, goes through to the final, the other person doesn't.

Kevin, do you want the first or second set?

I'd like to take the first set, please.

Here's your question. Tabasco is a state in which country?

USA, Canada or Mexico?

It certainly doesn't sound very Canadian. Canadian's a French-based

language and the United States is definitely English-speaking.

Tabasco sounds more Mexican, so I'll say Mexico.

Mexico is the right answer.

Daphne, the city of Ghent, which lies at the meeting point of the Lys

and Scheldt rivers is located in which country?

Is it Austria, Belgium or Germany?

Ghent is in Belgium.

Belgium is the right answer.

Second question to you, Kevin.

In the UK the M20 motorway comes to an end

at which south east coast town?

Is it Rye, Hastings or Folkestone?

I was hoping Dover was going to come up.

Rye and Hastings are too far west.

So, I think it's going to be Folkestone.

Yes, Folkestone's my answer.

Owenians, what do you think?

I think he's right, yeah. We think he's right.

-Yeah, you're right and he's right, well done.

-Yes!

-Folkestone.

Here's your question, Daphne. How many stars feature on the national

flag of New Zealand?

Is it four, seven or 14?

There are four stars.

Four is the right answer.

It's a flag question!

Yeah, flag questions are always dangerous, we know that.

Kevin, your question.

Which gorge that forms part of the Idaho Oregon State boundary

has a maximum depth of about 8, 000 feet,

making it the deepest river gorge in North America?

Is it Hells Canyon, Red Rock Canyon or Black Canyon?

Oh, dear.

Because I've got two colours there I'm going to go for one

that isn't a colour and it sounds

as if it could be something that goes into hell,

-so I think it's going to be Hells Canyon.

-Interesting logic.

So you take... You pair them off and you take the odd one out.

It's the only... the only help I've got.

I hadn't noticed that pattern before,

but Hells Canyon is correct. Three out of three.

Really well played. Daphne, if you get this wrong you are gone.

-Again!

-Porto Novo is the capital of which African country?

Benin, Guinea Bissau or Togo?

Oh, no! I've forgotten.

Porto Novo is the capital of Benin.

Benin is correct.

Well done. You had not forgotten.

That happens a lot.

Three questions each we've had, scores are level,

we go to sudden death. A bit harder now, Kevin.

No alternatives, you have to give me the answer.

The Mardals Falls are a series of cataracts in which country?

Mardals Falls.

It doesn't sound like...

..a West European language.

Mardals, Mardals.

I'm going to say Norway.

Norway is correct.

Well played, well played.

Daphne, which German river flows past Stuttgart and Heidelberg before

joining the Rhine at Mannheim?

Oh, dear.

I think it's bye-bye, Daph.

Think.

The Moselle.

-The river is called the Neckar.

-Oh!

So it is bye-bye, Daph. I'm sorry, you won't be in the final.

Kevin, well done, first blood to our Owenians.

Do both of you come back to the studio.

So, as it stands the Eggheads have lost one brain from the final round,

the challengers have lost no brains

Next subject is Film & Television. Which challenger wants this?

-Who are we going to go for?

-Me.

-Kate.

-It's got to be Kate.

-We'll go for Kate.

Kate against which Egghead?

-CJ, I think.

-CJ. We're going to go for CJ.

Kate from the Owenians versus CJ from the Eggheads,

please take your positions.

Three questions on Film & TV in turn.

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

-I'll go first.

Here's your question. Which actor appeared in the films Risky Business

and the Colour Of Money? Mel Gibson, Bruce Willis or Tom Cruise?

Well, I know it straightaway.

He is one of my least favourite actors, it's Tom Cruise.

Tom Cruise is correct.

CJ, Michelle Ryan, who played the role of Jaime Sommers in an American

TV remake of the Bionic Woman starred as Zoe Slater in which soap?

EastEnders, Coronation Street or Emmerdale?

Thank goodness, I thought you were going to ask me which

-character she played in EastEnders.

-EastEnders is your answer, is it?

-Yes.

-It's the correct answer.

Kate, which comedy duo starred in the title roles of the 1990s

TV series Jeeves And Wooster?

Hale and Pace, Fry and Laurie or Reeves and Mortimer?

I see you've tried to lead me astray there

by putting Reeves and Mortimer, because they starred in,

like, a remake of Randall and Hopkirk,

but I absolutely love Jeeves And Wooster and it was Fry and Laurie.

Well done. Fry and Laurie, you're right.

Second one to you.

CJ, who plays Agent Frank Horrigan

in the 1993 film In The Line Of Fire?

Clint Eastwood, Gene Hackman or Dustin Hoffman?

Yeah, John Malkovich is in it as well, I think. Clint Eastwood.

That's right, Clint is protecting the President,

and Malkovich is trying to...

-Hurt him.

-Hurt him, basically.

Third question to you, Kate.

In which film does Humphrey Bogart famously say

"I stick my neck out for nobody"?

Key Largo, The Big Sleep or Casablanca?

Oh, dear.

I haven't seen any of those. My dad will be absolutely

furious with this because he absolutely loves Humphrey Bogart.

So, where would he be doing something for someone

where he wouldn't want to stick his neck out for them?

I'm going to go with the obvious one, Casablanca.

Good choice, Casablanca is correct.

What was the background, why was he saying that saying that?

He's an expat American who finds

himself in a war situation and as a neutral he's keeping his head down.

Then, of course, Ilsa Lund comes back into his life and,

"In all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world she has to walk into mine".

That's it, that's it. CJ, if you get this wrong

you're not in the final round.

Which actress did Len Wiseman, director of Die Hard IV,

marry in 2004 after meeting her on the set of the film Underworld?

Kate Beckinsale, Cate Blanchett or Kate Hudson?

That question meant nothing to me until the very last word.

The only one of those three that's in Underworld

is Kate Beckinsale, so that's my answer.

Kate Beckinsale is correct, CJ, well done.

So, after three questions, scores were level. We go to sudden death.

Kate, your first question.

Which Carry On film is set in Stodge City and

features Sid James as the Rumpo Kid?

Oh, I absolutely love Carry On films. It's Carry On Cowboy.

It is, well done. Carry On Cowboy.

CJ, which British film production company takes its name from the

industry term for a temporary name for a film project?

Temporary name for a film project?

You get this wrong you're not in the final.

I think that's very likely because I can't think of this. Erm...

Nothing's coming and I can't even think

of any company that fits the bill.

-No, nothing.

-Nothing?

-No.

-You're passing?

-Yeah.

You'll love this.

-Working... Oh, go on, Chris.

-Working Title.

-The answer's Working Title.

He didn't get that right, so well played, Kate.

Storming round, my goodness!

Well done, Kate!

Took on an Egghead, you emerged triumphant.

Good news for the challengers because Kate will be

in the final round and please both of you come back to us.

It's going well for you, Owenians.

Two Eggheads down and that's just two rounds' work.

You've lost nobody from the final round so far.

The next subject is Arts & Books. Who wants this?

-That's me.

-Sophie.

-Yes.

And against whom?

-Chris maybe?

-Chris, please.

-Yeah, Chris.

OK, Sophie from the Owenians versus Chris from the Eggheads.

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

-So, three questions on Arts & Books. Do you want to go first or second?

-I'd like to go first, please.

Which Nobel Prize-winning playwright died on Christmas Eve 2008 aged 78?

Was it Tom Stoppard, Alan Bennett or Harold Pinter?

Ah, well, fortunately I was awake on Christmas Eve, which perhaps means I

wasn't going to get any presents, but I do know that it was Harold Pinter.

Harold Pinter is the right answer. Well done.

Chris, what's the name of the eldest Dashwood daughter

in Jane Austen's novel Sense And Sensibility?

Elinor, Erica or Elspeth?

Ah! Well, it's not Elspeth...

and I don't think it's Erica, which wasn't a very popular name

at the time, so I'll go with Elinor.

Well done, Chris. Elinor's the right answer.

Back to Sophie.

Who topped Art Review magazine's 2008 list

of the 100 most powerful people in the art world

after an auction of his work at Sotheby's raised £111 million?

Is it Damien Hirst, Jeff Koons or Jasper Johns?

Well, before those answers came up Damien Hirst did spring to mind,

because he is probably one of the most famous people

in the art world, the contemporary art world, I would say.

And I must confess

I haven't heard of the others, so I'm going to go with Damien Hirst.

Damien Hirst is the right answer, Sophie, well done.

Very surefooted. Chris, over to you.

From Doon With Death is the first novel

published in 1964 by which British writer?

Pat Barker, Ruth Rendell or Zoe Heller?

That is the first novel of Ruth Rendell.

Yes, it is.

Ruth Rendell is the correct answer. Sophie,

who became artistic director

of the Royal Shakespeare Company in 2003?

Was it Terry Hands, Adrian Noble or Michael Boyd?

Now, if it had been a question on one of Shakespeare's plays,

I might have been slightly more confident about my answer.

I'm going to go with

Michael Boyd.

You sound...

-less than certain.

-I'm a little tentative, I must admit.

Michael Boyd is the right answer. Well done.

Again, three out of three, what a brilliant team you are.

Chris, which painting long attributed to the Spanish artist

Francisco de Goya, that has held pride of place at

Madrid's Prado Museum, was revealed in January 2009 to probably

have been painted by one of his students?

Colossus, The Naked Maja,

or The Third Of May 1808?

That was Colossus.

Colossus is correct. So, after three questions you're level.

We go to sudden death.

Sophie, which American artist was known for his series of portraits of

Elizabeth Taylor, Elvis Presley,

Jacqueline Kennedy and other celebrities?

Well, I'll be honest, art isn't my forte,

so I'd have to be having a guess.

Was it Andy Warhol?

Yes, it was. Andy Warhol is correct.

Chris, by what shortened form of his name was Emmanuel Radnitzky,

the American dada and surrealist artist, more commonly known?

Rudy?

No, not Rudy, Man Ray.

Chris, you're not in the final. Well done, Sophie. Brilliant work.

You took on an Egghead, you emerged triumphant.

You'll be in the final round and Chris won't. Do rejoin us here.

The Eggheads have lost three brains from the final round, the challengers still haven't lost any.

A lot of money we're playing for. The last subject is Sport. Who wants this?

-Gavin, against?

-No doubt about that.

-Who do you want to take on?

Kevin or Judith?

We're going to go Kevin.

-Kevin on Sport, OK. You relieved, Judith?

-No!

I see, you think if Kevin goes out it's just you!

-I'm appalled.

-They're good. They're very, very, very good.

Gavin from the Owenians versus Kevin from the Eggheads.

We see what they're trying to do. Please go to the question room.

Now, this is quite a game with £29,000 to play for.

Three questions on sport. Gavin, the first or second set for you?

I'll go for the first set, please.

Here's your first question. Joe Cole and John Terry represented

which Premiership football team during the 2008 nine season?

Chelsea, Arsenal or Tottenham Hotspur?

Well, that's an easy one to start off with, so

I'm going to go for Chelsea, please.

Chelsea is the correct answer, well done. Over to Kevin.

For what does the letter B stand in the cricketing abbreviation LBW?

Is it bowler, bye or before?

It's Leg Before Wicket.

-So the answer is?

-Before.

Before is the right answer, well done. Back to you, Gavin.

The England World Cup winning rugby union player Mike Tindall plays in which position?

Centre, flanker or hooker?

Well, I know he's a back, so it's got to be centre.

Centre is the right answer. You're playing... I don't think...

You haven't even got a question wrong so far, this team!

This is extraordinary.

Kevin, which female player was accused by the All England Club of

bringing vulgarity and sin into tennis by wearing a short skirt

at Wimbledon in 1949?

Was it Alice Marble, Gussie Moran or Suzanne Lenglen?

I think it's about the only thing she's remembered for now,

as it happens. It's Gussie Moran.

Gussie Moran is right.

Gavin, to you, third question.

Who did the boxer Marvin Hagler defeat in three rounds

in the 1985 World Middleweight Championship bout dubbed The War?

Sugar Ray Leonard, Roberto Duran or Thomas Hearns?

Well, I know that...

..he lost to Leonard in a 15 rounder.

So it's definitely not Leonard.

I'm going to hope it's one of my favourite boxing matches of all time

which is when he took out Thomas Hearns, so I'm going to go for

Thomas The Hitman Hearns.

It was Thomas The Hitman Hearns.

Well done.

Kevin, over which distance did the Moroccan athlete Hicham El Guerrouj

win four consecutive World Championship gold medals

between 1997 and 2003?

Was it 1,500 metres, 5,000 metres or 10,000 metres?

He's a middle distance runner, so 1,500 metres.

Is the right answer.

Three each, again.

Sudden death, again!

Here we go with your question, Gavin.

Which jockey rode Arkle to his three famous victories

in the Cheltenham Gold Cup in the 1960s?

I'm not a big horse racing fan, which isn't very good.

So...

I'm going to go Lester Piggott.

Lester Piggott is your answer. Do you know, Kevin?

No, I'm struggling on this one. I used to know this, but the first

name that popped into my head was Pat Taaffe, but I'm not sure that's right.

-It is Pat Taaffe.

-Is it?

-Yeah.

Pat Taaffe is right.

Gavin, you're not out yet. Kevin, your question.

What was the full name of the Formula One team known as BAR

which competed between 1999 and 2005?

Well, B is British and the R is racing,

I'm pretty sure of that. It's the A.

-Between 1999 and 2005?

-Yeah.

See that recent...

I thought it was going back further and my first thought was "auto",

but I'm not so sure about that now.

I'm sure CJ knows this, but I think the one that was

more recent was perhaps British American Racing,

so I'll say British American Racing.

This is an amazing contest we've got here.

It became Honda Racing in 2005.

Eggheads, you are classy, you're starting to pull back now, British American Racing is correct.

the Eggheads have got that round and that may be very significant.

Gavin, you pushed so hard to knock out Kevin, but you haven't done it.

You've been knocked out yourself. You won't be in the final. Please both of you come back to us.

So, this is what we've been playing towards.

It's time for the final round which, as always, is General Knowledge,

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

aren't allowed to take part in this round, so Gavin from the Owenians and CJ,

Daphne and Chris from the Eggheads, please leave the studio.

Sophie, Kevin, Kate and Liam, you're playing to win the Owenians £29,000.

Judith and Kevin, you are playing for something that money can't buy,

-the Eggheads' reputation. Judith, you're thanking your lucky stars you're not...

-I am.

-..on your own there!

-I am.

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

This time the questions are all general knowledge.

You are allowed to confer, so Owenians the question is,

are your four brains better than the Eggheads' two?

And would you like to go first or second?

We'll go first, shall we?

First has worked for us so far, so we'll go first, please.

Good luck. You have been a cracking team so far.

Can you take the jackpot?

Who is the director of the celebrated 1948 Italian film

Bicycle Thieves?

Is that Roberto Rossellini, Federico Fellini or Vittorio de Sica?

-Right.

-What do you think of that?

-I don't do European films.

-Oh, right.

-They involve too much effort.

-Have you any idea?

I was going to go the first one, although the second one could

quite easily be it, as well.

Fellini?

-Fellini?

-Yeah.

-He's the most famous, isn't he, Fellini?

You think? Let's go with Fellini.

Yeah. Because he's the most famous, we're going with Federico Fellini.

Federico Fellini. I would have done that too.

It's wrong, though.

It's Vittorio de Sica.

That's a tough question.

It's only the second question you've got wrong in the whole contest.

OK, Eggheads, in Greek mythology who

was the son of Priam, brother of Paris and husband of Andromache?

Was at Ajax, Hector

or Achilles?

Erm...that was Hector.

You're right, Hector is correct.

You could have done that on your own, Judith.

I think I might just have done that.

Your question.

Challengers, you're still in it, don't...don't get down.

Day And Age was a UK number one album for which band in 2008?

The Killers, Coldplay or Kings Of Leon?

-It was The Killers.

-Definitely?

-Yeah. It's The Killers.

-You're certain about that?

-Yes.

And it's right. The Killers is correct, well done.

Back to you in this final round, Eggheads.

In the mediaeval period what was a scavenger's daughter?

Agricultural tool, instrument of torture

or two-wheeled carriage?

You heard of that?

-No.

-Yeah, nor have I.

I mean, the obvious one is agricultural, isn't it?

-Do you think?

-Well, yes.

I mean, it might be a kind of reaping tool

-after a harvest.

-Oh, yes, I hadn't thought about that.

I was thinking, well, the sort of...

Because of the Baroque names they had for various torture instruments.

Yes, the other one I thought of was torture.

-Do you think a two-wheeled carriage is very likely?

-Not terribly.

-In the mediaeval period?

-Not terribly.

The scavenger's daughter.

It just sounds to me as though it's more likely to be...

-Torture?

-Yeah, yeah.

-So...

-Shall we go for the...?

-Torture?

-Yeah.

-OK.

-Let's go for a bit of torture.

-Yeah, you've got good instincts.

Well, I don't know.

We don't know.

We're going to guess instrument of torture.

I can see the answer here and I was listening

thinking it was very interesting, because you don't know...

Kevin thinks it's torture and you think it's agriculture

and it's just a battle here of...

-Wrong?

-Of...of...of who gives way.

Well, I always give way!

-Judith, well done, you gave way and he's right.

-He's always right...

An instrument of torture. Instrument of torture is correct.

That may be as close as you ever come to winning, but I don't want

to get you down, but that was a big moment.

Let's see, two more questions. You need to get this one right, OK?

Who was named as the new Metropolitan Police Commissioner

in January 2009?

Was it Paul Stephenson, Hugh Orde or Paul Scott-Lee?

It was Paul Stephenson. It was definitely, yes.

It was Paul Stephenson.

Paul Stephenson is the correct answer.

All right, so now we need to hope

that somewhere in the massive

computerised whatever of these two brains we get a glitch.

To continue your winning streak, Eggheads, you need to get this right.

Janet Reno became the first female

Attorney General of the United States under which President?

Bill Clinton,

George Bush Senior or Ronald Reagan?

-Bill Clinton.

-Bill Clinton.

-Yeah.

-That is Bill Clinton.

-This is not like the instrument of torture question, is it?

-No.

-You actually know?

-We're united.

You're united on Bill Clinton.

If you're right, the game is over.

Are they right?

They're right. Bill Clinton is the answer.

-Sorry.

-Congratulations, Eggheads, you've won.

That is in the nature of it.

You only got two questions wrong in the whole game

and the Fellini one was the stinker.

I can't even remember the right answer, de Sica?

We'll never forget that now.

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

Their winning streak continues although, boy, did you give them a fight today.

I'm afraid you won't be going home with the £29,000,

which means the money rolls over to the 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.

£30,000 says they don't.

Until then, goodbye.

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