Episode 40 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

pit their wits against possibly the greatest quiz team in Britain.

You might recognise them

as they are Goliaths in the world of TV quiz shows.

They are the Eggheads.

And taking on the awesome might of our quiz Goliaths today

are Late At Half Past Eight. The team work together

at West Herts College in Watford

and each week get together at half past eight prompt

for a management meeting, which somehow Russell is always late for.

Let's meet them.

Hi, I'm Rob, I'm 54 and I'm a lecturer in accounts and finance.

Hi, I'm Russell, I'm 49 and a lecturer in marketing.

Hi, I'm Anne, I'm 55 and I'm a student admin coordinator.

Hello, I'm Peter, I'm 63 and I'm a lecturer in maths.

Hi, I'm Geoff, I'm 53 and I'm also a lecturer in finance and accounts.

Good to see you, Late At Half Past Eight.

Russell, at least you turned up for this on time...

I managed it today, yes.

-So this meeting, a daily meeting, is it?

-No, it's a weekly meeting,

every Wednesday morning, Dermot.

Every Wednesday morning, what time does Russell turn up at?

Could be quarter to nine,

could be nine o'clock, could be quarter past nine. Who knows?

So what do the rest of you do? Get on with it

or do you just know Russell will turn up?

We just get on with it. No point waiting round for Russell.

Now, best of luck today in the quizzing.

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.

So, Late At Half Past Eight,

the Eggheads have won the last eight games,

which means £9,000 says you can't beat the Eggheads.

We're going to play the first head-to-head battle.

To start, Music. Who'd like to play this?

-Who do you think?

-Geoff.

-Is it Geoff?

-Then you.

Are you happy with Geoff? Yeah, OK? Best of luck, Geoff.

OK. Best of luck, mate.

All right, Geoff, and any Egghead you like at this point.

-I think we should go for Judith, yeah? Judith, yeah.

-Judith?

-Judith.

-OK, Judith it is, I heard there, is it? Yes.

OK, let's have Geoff and Judith.

Could I ask you both to take your positions in the Question Room

just to make sure you can't confer with your team-mates.

Geoff, it's Music. Do you want to go first or second?

I'll go second, please.

Putting Judith in first.

Judith, the 1990 film, The Krays,

starred two brothers who had previously been part of which group?

I don't know.

Um...ABC.

ABC, OK. Any brothers in ABC, Eggheads?

No. Nor in Duran Duran.

It's Spandau Ballet.

The Kemps, Gary and Martin Kemp.

-Ah. Never heard of them.

-No, well, now you have.

-Sorry, Kemp brothers.

-They played the Kray brothers

in the film, The Krays, and were both in Spandau Ballet before that.

So a good start, Geoff. That's the slip-up you wanted from the Egghead.

Your first question

and a good chance for you to take the lead very quickly.

Swing When You're Winning is a best-selling album by which artist?

Well, here's someone who really likes Frank Sinatra,

and I certainly don't think it's George Michael.

I'm going to pump for Robbie Williams.

Robbie Williams, yes, his homage to the swing era.

It's the right answer, yes. Robbie Williams. Good start. OK.

APPLAUSE FROM HIS TEAM

Judith, who wrote the song Perfect Day,

famously re-recorded for the BBC

by a multitude of stars, including Bono and Courtney Pine?

Absolutely no idea. Um...

Is Leonard Cohen that very gloomy person?

I think, if he's the one I'm thinking of,

he probably wouldn't write something called Perfect Day.

Lou Reed.

-I don't know.

-What's your answer?

-Lou Reed.

Lou Reed ain't exactly a barrel of laughs.

TITTERING

I don't know him either.

But it is Lou Reed, yes. Well done.

OK, Geoff, how many movements does a concerto usually have?

Right, this is going to have to be quite a stab at this.

I wouldn't know anything about classical music.

I'm just really going to stick out here.

Something seems to be telling me three.

OK, three movements usually in a concerto.

Yes, it's the right answer, Geoff, so you're still in the lead.

HIS TEAM APPLAUD

Judith has to get this.

Judith, which city in the north of England is the subject

of the British folk singer Ewan MacColl's song, Dirty Old Town?

Well, it could be any of them, couldn't it? Um...

Newcastle.

Is it, Eggheads? Is it Newcastle?

-No, Salford.

-It's Salford.

You don't get to answer another question in this programme

cos that was incorrect and Geoff's playing well.

All ready got two, don't need to put another one to you, Geoff.

You're through to the final round.

Would you both come back and join your teams?

A flying start by Geoff there.

The Eggheads have lost one brain from the final round.

Late At Half Past Eight are all there at this point.

Our next subject today is Science. Who wants to play this? Science.

-Can't be Geoff.

-Anne, I think you should go, or Peter?

-OK.

-Peter or Anne?

-What do you think?

-Let's keep Peter.

-Let's keep Peter. Right, OK.

Who are you going to play against?

I'll play, um...

-CJ.

-Yeah, I'll play Barry, I think.

-Shall we go for Barry?

-Go for Barry.

-I'll play Barry, yeah.

-We're going to play Barry.

Anne and Barry. OK, into the Question Room both of you, please.

-And do you want to go first or second, Anne?

-I'll go first, please.

OK, going first at Science and this is your first question.

Good luck with it. What type of creature is a gopher?

Right, I'm fairly sure that it's a rodent.

Gopher is a type of rodent? Yes, it's the right answer. Good start.

Barry, antlers are present on most male deer

but only found on the female of which creature?

I'm going to shatter a lot of illusions now

because Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer had antlers,

which proves that he must have been female.

Shock, horror!

They're on reindeer.

You can't say that on television, Barry!

You'll be saying things about Father Christmas next

and I don't want to hear anything there.

OK, reindeer is correct.

Right, second question, Anne.

In the human body, the most common type of goitre, endemic goitre,

is caused by a deficiency of which mineral?

OK, I'm not sure that boron is in the body,

although I suspect as an option it may be, but I've not heard of that.

-Um, I think it's iodine.

-OK.

It is the right answer. Well done.

APPLAUSE FROM HER TEAM

Two to you.

Very, good. OK. Well, Barry, what element is most commonly added

to steel to make stainless steel?

To make stainless steel, chromium is usually added.

Oh, you know your steel.

It's the right answer. Chromium is correct.

Well, back to you, Anne.

A third question now.

Problemata, a work by the Greek philosopher Aristotle,

describes Alexander The Great

using a primitive version of what invention?

Well, I'm going to dismiss bicycle as an option,

probably incorrectly as I've seen so many times,

but I'm going to dismiss that as not being in the pot at all.

So the choice for me is a hang glider or a diving bell.

Um...

And I think the problem surrounding a diving bell would be greater,

so that's what I'm going to go for - a diving bell.

A diving bell.

It's the right answer, Anne. Well done.

APPLAUSE FROM HER TEAM

OK, well, there we are. Well worked out by Anne there.

Put you in the lead and Barry knows he's got to get this right

or he'll be following Judith

into the silence of the Question Room for the final round.

Here you go, Barry.

The Michelson-Morley experiment investigated the movement of what?

It was a very famous experiment was the Michelson-Morley.

It was attempting to investigate the movement of light,

and I believe it was attempting to prove whether there was

a mysterious vapour called the ether that light moved through.

The end result was that there wasn't.

-So just confirm your answer for me.

-The answer is light.

Light. OK, that is correct, Barry. Yes, well done.

Three each, then, and we go to Sudden Death

so we remove those choices that you've been working so well with up to this point.

Just got to hear an answer from you, so an awful lot harder.

Here's your question.

What disease was deliberately introduced to Australia in 1950

to control the rabbit population?

I think we had this disease here as well for a time.

Certainly it's made some re-emergences over odd times.

It was mixematosis.

Mixematosis is the right answer, Anne. Yes, well done.

APPLAUSE FROM HER TEAM

You've got to get this again, Barry, to save yourself.

Which birds from the family Trochilidae

take their commonly used name from

the sound of their rapidly beating wings?

Well, the birds with the most rapidly beating wings

in the world are the hummingbirds.

Their wings can beat at up to 1,000 times per minute.

Er...yes, per minute.

-So I guess the answer is hummingbirds.

-Hummingbirds.

Is that why they can hover?

Indeed and fly backwards as well. The only bird that can.

It's the right answer, hummingbirds.

Correct, Barry. Back to you, Anne.

The astronomical symbol for which planet is the same as that used

in biology for the female sex - a circle with a small cross beneath?

Um...

I feel there should be a logical way of working this out,

that it should mean something for the planet,

but I can't actually think.

So, as the book Women Are From Venus, Men Are From Mars,

Venus is obviously related to the women in that instance,

I'm going to go for Venus.

And that's the right answer, Anne. Yes, Venus.

That was it. Well reasoned.

Barry, formulated in 1662, Boyle's Law states that,

at constant temperature, the pressure of a fixed mass of gas

is inversely proportional to which property?

Oh, dear, this is such an obvious one that I'm getting confused now.

There's a lot of gas laws. There's Boyle's and Henry's and Charles's,

and I'm just trying to sort them out in my mind.

Pressure is inversely...

Can't be volume. It must be temperature.

It must be temperature. That's my answer.

OK, temperature.

Listen to it again. Formulated in 1662, Boyle's Law states that,

at constant temperature, the pressure of a fixed mass of gas

is inversely proportional to which property?

-Is it volume?

-It is volume.

-Oh, I didn't...

As all those physics students out there watching well know.

Which means, Anne, you're through to the final round.

Barry, you'll be sitting it out.

Would you both please come back and join your teams?

Well, Anne, a very good round from you but, it must be said,

profiting from Barry's eagerness there.

Jumped straight in there and gave me an answer

that was all ready in the question.

The Eggheads have lost two brains from the final round

and Late At Half Past Eight haven't lost any.

Our next subject is Film And TV. Who'd like to play this?

And it can't be Anne or Geoff.

-I think that's you, Russell.

-It's gonna be you.

-I'm sitting in the booth.

-Yeah.

-Go on then.

-It's going to be me.

Russell, who would you like to play?

It can be anyone apart from Judith or Barry,

so that leaves CJ, Kevin or Chris. Film And Television.

I think Chris. Do you think Chris?

-Yeah.

-Think Chris?

-Chris.

-OK, yeah.

-I'm going for trainspotter Chris.

-Oh, that'll get him going!

I haven't been a trainspotter since I was 14, matey!

It's a slur on us ferroequinologists!

What are they called?

Ferroequinologists, studiers of the iron horse.

Of the iron horse, ferroequinologist.

Well, that's what we'll know him as for ever more.

OK, could we have Russell, our lecturer,

and our ferroequinologist into the Question Room, please?

OK, now, Russell, would you like to go first or second?

Er, I'm going choose to go second in this instance.

That tactic that worked for Geoff. Got an early slip-up from Judith

and then got into the final round.

Let's see if it happens here. Chris, first question.

Who played FBI agent Fox Mulder in the US TV series The X Files?

Well, I remember Anthony LaPaglia

with the most unconvincing accent you ever heard,

playing Daphne's brother in Frasier,

but Fox Mulder was David Duchovny.

David Duchovny, Fox Mulder? Yes, it is, in The X Files.

Good start. One to Chris.

Russell, first question.

In the TV comedy Blackadder, Baldrick is particularly partial

to which root vegetable?

Like everybody else, I've watched all these series,

and particularly my eldest son, Philip, is a great fan of this.

And, er, I'm going to kick myself if I get this wrong,

but I'm not 100 per cent sure.

I know it's not a carrot, but I'm going to plump for a parsnip.

OK. Baldrick particularly fond of root vegetables,

but particularly the...

-the turnip, Russell.

-Oh, gosh!

Turnip. Yes.

So not anything there.

Chris, then, a chance for a bigger lead.

Which Cambridge-educated actress has starred in the films

Constantine, Chain Reaction and Enemy At The Gates?

Well, I don't think Anna Friel went to Cambridge...

..and I don't think Thandie Newton did either,

so it's got to be Rachel Weisz.

OK, Rachel Weisz it is.

It's the right answer. Two to you.

Right, Russell, you must get this one, then, to keep the round alive.

Who directed the 2007 film, Sleuth,

which starred Jude Law and Michael Caine?

Oh, after being a bit of a turnip last time round,

fingers crossed on this one.

Not quite so sure about Kay and Shyer, but I've a sneaky feeling

it might have been Kenneth Branagh,

-so I'm going with Kenneth Branagh.

-Kenneth Branagh, OK.

Noted actor and, of course, director of late.

It is the right answer. Well done.

Well, a chance for Chris to win here with his third question.

In 2008, which sportsman made a guest appearance

on the children's TV show, Sesame Street,

in which he taught the character Elmo to spell the word persistence?

Well, I think Roger Federer was too busy at the time.

I don't suppose David Beckham can spell persistence

so, given the sort of ethos that Sesame Street operates in,

I would say quite possibly they got Tiger Woods in,

so I'll say Tiger Woods.

Tiger Woods.

Well, hidden depths, David Beckham.

He can spell persistence. It's David Beckham not Tiger Woods.

So, well, Russell, a chance to redeem yourself.

Get this and we go into Sudden Death.

In which film does Cate Blanchett play the teacher Sheba Hart?

Have you seen any of those, any of the choices?

Yes, I thought The Shipping News was that, um...

..the fellow who was director of the Royal Vic

was something to do with that.

Paradise Road, Notes On A Scandal...

Oh, gosh.

And he liked this person...

I'm going to go, with not 100 per cent certainty...

I've heard of all three films and I think The Shipping News

was based in Britain.

For whatever reason, I'm going to go with The Shipping News on a hunch.

A hunch that Cate Blanchett played the teacher,

Sheba Hart, in The Shipping News.

It's the wrong answer, Russell.

-It's not The Shipping News. It is, er...

-Notes On A Scandal.

-Notes On A Scandal.

-Notes On A Scandal.

So an Egghead has got through.

First defeat for Late At Half Past Eight means, Russell, sorry to say

no place for you in the final round. Chris'll be there.

Would you both please come back and join your teams?

They're like wild animals, the Eggheads. Dangerous when wounded.

Bit back there. As it stands now, Late At Half Past Eight

have lost their first brain from the final round.

The Eggheads have still lost two.

And our next subject, last one before the final round,

is Geography. Who'd like to play this?

Who hasn't played? Rob or Peter.

I'll go for that, then, yeah?

-I'll play that one, Dermot.

-OK, Rob, you seem very keen to play

and your choices are from Kevin or CJ.

-I'll take on CJ, yeah?

-OK, might have a chance,

depending where the questions come from.

Let's have Rob and CJ into the Question Room, please.

Now, Rob, do you want to go first or second?

I'd like to go first, Dermot.

OK, first it is and it's Geography

and attempting to knock a third Egghead out.

Here's your question. The Gaza Strip lies along the coast of which sea?

Of course, they're always very easy when you watch them on

the television, but I'm sure it's not the Caspian Sea.

The Gaza Strip...

The Gaza Strip.

I'm going to go for the Mediterranean Sea.

OK, Mediterranean, the Gaza Strip.

It's the right answer, Rob.

CJ, Phuket is the largest island of which country?

That's in Thailand, Dermot.

It is, CJ. Thailand is correct.

Second question, Rob. What name is given to the side of a slope that is

opposite to the direction of flow of ice, wind or water?

I know port is to do with...nautical.

Stem, I've never really heard of, apart from stem cells which have

got nothing to do with this. The lee.

Leeward Ho again is a bit nautical so...

Port nautical.

Leeward Ho...

Stem.

I'll go for Stem, Dermot. I don't know why, but I'll go for Stem.

OK, the Stem...is one of the nautical-sounding ones.

I'm sorry, Rob, that's incorrect. It is Lee. Lee slope.

OK, well, a chance for CJ to take the lead. CJ, the Shambles is

a narrow medieval street in which English city?

Yes, quite a few cities used to have Shambles. It was a street originally

-where butchers were and it's in York.

-Ah, is that where it comes from?

Does the word shambles mean a butcher because they were

-throwing out all the offal...?

-Yes, that's it. Exactly, yeah.

..into the gutter. OK, well, there we are.

York is the right answer.

Well done, CJ. OK, you've got to get this, then, Rob.

In which country are the Laurentian Mountains located?

L-A-U-R-E-N-T-I-A-N.

It's funny, Dermot.

I love spending time looking at maps.

I don't understand them but I love looking at maps.

My wife goes crazy with me. I look at maps and I get lost all the time.

Laurentian Mountains.

Well, I don't think they're Canada.

I don't think Australia. I'm going to go for Russia, Dermot.

Russia. The Laurentian Mountains are located...in Canada.

Oh, Rob, you've been looking at too many maps. You've confused yourself.

Laurentian Mountains, as Rob now well knows, are in Canada.

And, Rob, you won't be playing in the final round.

CJ, you're going to be there.

Would you both please come back and join your teams?

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 of you who lost those head-to-heads won't be allowed

to take part.

Rob and Russell from Late At Half Past Eight, and

Barry and Judith from the Eggheads, would you leave the studio, please?

So, Anne, Peter and Geoff, you're playing to win

Late At Half Past Eight £9000.

Chris, Kevin and CJ, 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 may confer.

Late At Half Past Eight, are your three brains

better than the Eggheads' three?

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

What do we fancy?

-Go first?

-Yeah. We'll go first.

First it is. Final round, then. Here's your first question.

The Devon town of Axminster is particularly associated

with which product?

It's definitely carpet.

-I've owned one. Carpets. Yeah? It sounds...

-Definitely a carpet.

Axminster carpets. Yes, of course. It's the right answer. Well done.

Eggheads, for what does the letter C stand in the name

of the South African political party ANC?

Yeah. It's African National Congress, so congress.

Congress is correct, Eggheads. Back to Late At Half Past Eight.

What does the Statue of Justice,

which stands on top of the Old Bailey, hold in her right hand?

Right hand.

Right hand as we're looking at it.

Scales is one, so it's one of those in the other.

Yeah. Um, it's not a book,

-and a torch is the Statue of Liberty.

-It's a sword.

-It's a sword.

-We'll go for sword?

-Sword.

Sword. You were being very careful there, weren't you?

Saw you holding hands up.

The Statue of Justice is the sword.

It's correct. OK, well, Eggheads, you need this to draw level.

The son of which British rock star stormed the House of Commons chamber

in 2004 during the debate on fox-hunting?

-It's definitely Bryan Ferry.

-Yeah. I think his name is Otis

and he's the son of Bryan Ferry.

-Bryan Ferry?

-Yeah.

-Extra information there. Otis Ferry

is the right answer. Yes, well done, Eggheads.

It's two all, which means, Late At Half Past Eight,

if you get this and Eggheads get theirs wrong, you have got £9,000.

A fascinator is usually worn on which part of the body?

Right, I've just worn one. I've just been to a wedding

-and I wore one, and it's worn on the head.

-Um, Anne knows what it is.

I wore one just recently on my head.

So you wore a fascinator on your head. Well, I can't tease you, then.

It is the right answer. Head is correct.

Well, FASCINATING, Eggheads, wouldn't you say?

If you don't get this, you lose.

What is the name of the inspector is JB Priestley's play,

An Inspector Calls?

I was going for that as well. He is Inspector Goole.

Inspector Goole?

It's the right answer. Goole is correct, Eggheads.

We go to Sudden Death as I rather expected.

Dig in, Late At Half Past Eight, and see how you do on the Sudden Death.

Schipol airport services which major European city?

-It's Amsterdam.

-Amsterdam.

-Amsterdam.

-Been there.

-Yeah, we all have been there.

Got the T-shirt? OK, Amsterdam is correct, Late At Half Past Eight.

Well done. Ooh, Eggheads.

Which word in the lyrics of Bohemain Rhapsody by Queen refers to a stock

character in Italian theatre closely associated with a 17th-century actor

Tiberio Fiorilli?

Scaramouche...

Scaramouche, will you do the fandango?

-It's the way I tell them.

-That's what I wanted you to do for me.

Scaramouche is correct, Eggheads.

So on we go.

No side faltered yet. Late At Half Past Eight,

another Sudden Death question.

The samisen, S-A-M-I-S-E-N, a flat-backed, long-necked lute

with a skin-covered belly and three silk strings is from which country?

Well, silk is a clue.

Yeah, but the other thing is Samara is Russian, isn't it?

I don't know whether there's any tie with the root of the word.

So it's eastern Europe somewhere.

-Or China.

-Um...

-If it's silk.

Er, a bit... It's not one of these

countries nobody ever talks about, is it?

-You know, Turkmenistan or something.

-It could be anything, couldn't it?

Could be anywhere.

I think Russia is a...cos Samara is Russian.

I wonder if there's some connection with the root of the word.

-Go for Russia.

-Shall we?

-OK, we're going for Russia.

-Russia.

The samisen, a flat-backed, long-necked lute with

a skin-covered belly and three silk strings is from which country?

Well, you've gone for Russia. We all know about the balalaika.

Is a samisen from Russia?

No, it's not. It's further east. Eggheads, do you know?

-Japan.

-Japanese.

Japan. And so a chance for the Eggheads to win.

Eggheads, an inhabitant of Monaco

is known either as a Monacan or by which French term?

It's Monegasque.

M-O-N-E-G-A-S-Q-U-E.

Monegasque.

Can't argue with that, with the spelling as well.

It's the right answer, Eggheads.

Monegasque. You've won!

Listen, that was such great quizzing, Late At Half Past Eight.

That really, really was.

What great performances from everyone in the QR,

and really good to have you here on Eggheads.

But the Eggheads have done what comes naturally to them,

and their winning streak continues. I'm afraid you won't be going home

with the £9,000, 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.

£10,000 says they don't.

Until then, goodbye!

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