Episode 62 Eggheads

These 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

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

You might recognise them as they are Goliaths in the world of TV quizzes.

They are the Eggheads.

Taking on our quiz Goliaths today

are Oliver's Army from Wakefield. The team are friends

who quiz together at the New Wheel pub in Wrenthorpe. Let's meet them.

Hello. I'm Ollie, I'm 29 and I'm a painter and decorator.

Hi. I'm Michelle. I'm 30 and I'm a children and family worker.

Hi. I'm Nathan. I'm 25 and I'm a recruitment interviewer.

Hi. I'm Paul. I'm 29 years old.

I'm a traffic and transport engineer.

Hi. I'm Adi, I'm 28 and I'm a product manager.

Welcome to you, Oliver's Army. You're Ollie,

but this is homage to Elvis Costello, is it?

It is. I was actually named after the song!

-Were you?

-Mum liked the song.

-A big fan of his.

So it's a natural name for the team.

Have you done quizzing together?

-Now and again.

-At the pub?

-A couple of times a month

we go down and have a go on it, yeah.

Good to see you. Best of luck. See if you can beat the Eggheads.

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

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

Oliver's Army, the Eggheads have won the last seven games.

Which means £8,000 says you can't beat the Eggheads.

See if you can do it. Knocking one out straightaway would be good.

The first subject today is music. Who'd like to play this?

We've just been discussing Elvis Costello.

QUIET CONFERRING

-I'll go for that one.

-OK, Nathan.

Who would you like to play from the Eggheads? Any one at this point.

I think I'm gonna choose Daphne.

Daphne, most certainly. Oh, joy!

Let's have you both into the question room,

so you can't confer with your team-mates.

Right, it's music, Nathan. You decided to play. What type of music do you enjoy?

No one genre. Everything from Beatles to Radiohead.

I like some electronic music as well. So a mixture.

-Do you want to go first or second?

-I'd like to go first.

Best of luck.

Here you go. The distance in pitch between two notes is known by what name?

Um, I think arpeggio has something to do with the rhythm of two notes.

The difference between the rhythm and the pacing.

So I'll eliminate that one.

I think the interval is something to do with time.

I think I'm going to choose interval.

I thought you were going to pass over that in your summary,

but that's the right answer.

Good start.

Daphne, who is the subject of the song beginning with the line

"You better watch out, you better not cry, you'd better not pout, I'm telling you why."

It's Santa Claus!

Santa Claus is correct. Well done, Daphne.

One each. Nathan, second question.

What was the name of the Gibb brother

who was not a member of the Bee Gees but had solo hit singles

in the US and UK with "I Just Want To Be Your Everything"

and "Shadow Dancing"?

I'm fairly familiar with the Bee Gees' music

but other than that, the era's not really one of my times.

So it's going to be a bit of a guess, really.

I think I'm gonna go with Pete Gibb.

As it's Pete and not Peter, I'm just going at that one.

That sounds a bit more like a rock star?

-Yeah, maybe. Yeah.

-OK. Pete Gibb.

The Gibb brother who was not a member of the Bee Gees

was Andy Gibb. Not Pete. Andy Gibb.

OK. Well, Daphne, a chance for the lead.

If a tempo instruction on a piece of sheet music

includes the instruction "Allegro Giacoso"

that piece should be played fast and what?

Just like me - cheerfully!

Happily!

The right answer. Well done, Daphne. You've got two.

Nathan, you've got to concentrate very hard on this one.

In Mozart's opera The Magic Flute,

what is Papageno's occupation?

How are you on opera?

Not great, I have to admit!

It's purely guesswork. I'm gonna go with snake-charmer.

The answer is

bird-catcher.

He was a bird-catcher

so I'm afraid you've caught a couple of questions there

that didn't suit you.

The round's over, I'm afraid. You won't be playing in the final round.

Daphne, you will be. Come back and join your teams.

An unlucky start for Nathan there. Oliver's Army are missing one brain from the final round.

The Eggheads are all still there. Plenty more questions.

Our next round today is politics.

Who'd like to play politics? It can't be Nathan.

I'll have a go.

Who would you like to play from the Eggheads? It can't be Daphne.

- CJ? - Yeah, let's have a go.

-CJ for you, Paul?

-Yes, please.

Could I ask Paul and CJ to take their positions in the question room.

What about politics, Paul? Are you a keen student of politics

or just current affairs, to keep an eye on things?

I do try to keep my eye in with current affairs.

But we'll just have to see how it goes, won't we?

We will, indeed.

Do you want to begin or do you want to let CJ start?

I think I'll take the second set.

OK. Let CJ start. This is your question then, CJ.

By what acronym is the Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills,

the non-ministerial government department of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools

in England commonly known?

The Office of Standards in Education

would be Ofsted.

Thank goodness they shortened it to that!

Imagine having to say that every time. Ofsted is the right answer.

Good start for CJ.

OK, Paul. First question for you.

What term is used to describe a small country with an unstable or despotic government

dependent on outside financial help

or the export of a single product?

Well, I think I know what the answer is

and there is only one of the terms that I've heard of,

so I'll go for banana republic.

Banana republic is the reference to a single source of export income.

Banana republic is correct. Well done. Good start from Paul.

OK. Right, CJ. Second question.

What is the equivalent role to the British Chancellor of the Exchequer in the US administration?

That's the Secretary of the Treasury.

No hesitation today, CJ.

-US politics.

-On sure ground there. Yes, it's the right answer.

Secretary of the Treasury.

Paul, who did Jean-Paul Sartre describe as "not only an intellectual,

"but also the most complete human being of our age."

Well,

I'm trying to place

when Jean-Paul Sartre would have made the quote.

Based on that, I'm going to say Winston Churchill.

Jean-Paul Sartre did not describe Winston Churchill

in those flattering terms.

Other Eggheads?

-ALL: Che Guevara.

-Che Guevara.

It means a chance for CJ

to win the round.

CJ, before becoming editor of The Spectator in 1999,

for which national newspaper was Boris Johnson the assistant editor?

Don't know this one.

One of his colleagues at The Spectator was Dominic Lawson

who's more associated with The Daily Telegraph of those three.

I'm just wondering if they did a little move "en masse" together.

Got nothing to go on here, so I'll try The Daily Telegraph.

It's The Daily Telegraph is the right answer.

CJ worked that one out,

which means bad news for Oliver's Army and Paul.

I don't get to put another question to you. CJ's got those three correct already.

You can't catch him up even if I ask another one.

So you won't be in the final round. CJ will be.

Both please come back and join your teams.

The Eggheads have knocked two of you out so far.

But we've got two more head-to-heads before the final

so you may be able to level it up before the final.

Let's try this next subject. Ah, now, this is sport.

-Who'd like to play this one?

-You have a go if you want.

-I'll have a go. It'll be me,

-please.

-OK, Ollie. Who would you like to play from the Eggheads? Not CJ or Daphne.

It's gonna have to be Chris.

-Gonna have to be Chris.

-Oh, Bulgaria!

Could you both please take your positions in the question room.

Ollie, I know you play a bit of football, don't you?

-Wrenthorpe Rangers. How do they do?

-Division Two of the Wakefield Sunday League.

They do all right. Not too bad.

What's it like on a Sunday morning? What time do you kick off?

There must be a few sore heads around after a Saturday night?

It does us good to run it off, though. Splay it out a bit.

-You like a bit of horse-racing too?

-I go a couple of times a year, if I get the chance.

So what's the nearest course to you?

-Wetherby is the closest.

-Oh, yes. Lovely.

-Do you want to go first or second?

-First, please.

Good luck. It's sport you're kicking off. Here you go.

How do competitors in a luge competition normally position themselves on the luge

when competing?

I think I might know this one.

I don't think they kneel on it, and they don't balance on all fours.

I think they lie on their backs.

Having read that, I think they should balance on all fours!

Yes, they lie on their backs.

It's the right answer. It's hurtling down the Cresta Run on a tin tray!

Unlike a Skeleton Bob. The luge is on your back, feet first.

-Skeleton Bob is on your front, head first.

-Ooh.

Either one of them, utter madness.

OK, Chris, your first question.

Flares and spindles are moves performed on which piece of gymnastic equipment?

-Perhaps you could demonstrate?

-In your dreams!

No, nightmares!

There's not much you can do with a vault, apart from vault over it.

And the pommel horse,

all you can do is support yourself and swing round and do that thing

with your legs.

-MOUTHS

-But you can do

quite a lot when you're up there on those rings things.

So I'll say rings.

It's the wrong answer. It's not rings. Eggheads?

-That thing you do with your legs is the spindles!

-On the pommel horse.

Pommel horse.

So, great start for Oliver's Army and Oliver himself.

Keep it up for the next two questions and gain a place in the final round.

Matthew Le Tissier played over 400 matches for which club

between 1986 and 2002?

Matthew Le Tissier played over 400 matches for which club

between 1986 and 2002?

An absolutely fantastic player,

a bit underrated if I'm being honest, in my opinion.

That would be Southampton, he played for.

Yes, Matt Le Tissier.

Long-serving Southampton player.

OK. You've got to get this, Chris.

Samit Patel and Owais Shah

have represented England in which sport?

Now these sound like

gentlemen with origins in the Indian sub-continent.

I don't think they played rugby union.

They might be cricketers,

but gentlemen of Pakistani origins

have been very good and very prominent in squash. So squash.

OK, squash.

Samit Patel and Owais Shah have represented England

in...cricket!

You're out!

That's it.

A very short round. It's fallen your way, Oliver.

The fight-back begins from Oliver's Army. 2-nil. Great quizzing, Oliver.

You have your place in the final. Both come back and join your teams.

Oliver's Army are fighting back. The Eggheads are missing one brain from the final.

They've lost to Oliver's Army.

So, our last head-to-head before the final. It's Geography.

Michelle or Adi are the two remaining members of Oliver's Army.

-Adi?

-Adi.

Want me to take it? OK.

-Yeah.

-You're going for it?

-Absolutely.

So the remaining Eggheads are Barry and Judith.

-Barry?

-Yeah.

We'll take Barry, please.

Could I ask Adi and Barry to take their positions in the question room.

Adi, you're playing Geography. I know you travel a lot for your work.

Yes, just the other week I came back from Dubai.

I've been out there for eight days.

Doing a little bit of work and a bit of drinking.

That's what I wanted to ask.

Is it off the flight, into the hotel and then work all day

and come back, or do you manage to look around these places?

Yes, you get the odd day or before you start work or afterwards

to enjoy the surroundings.

-Where else have you been?

-I've been to Germany earlier this year.

Dusseldorf. And I was also in Germany for a stag do as well. So a bit different!

Absolutely. Good place for a stag do. OK. Would you like to go first or second, Adi?

I'll go first, if it's OK.

Course it's OK, Adi. That's the rules. You get to choose.

First question. The industrial area known as Silicone Glen,

traditionally a major player in the global technology market, is in which part of the UK?

I'm thinking through...

I'm not too sure straight off the top of my head

but I'm associating the Glen and being forced towards Scotland.

I'll say Scotland.

Scotland for Silicone Glen. Absolutely right, yes.

Good start. Making sure there. Where precisely is Silicone Glen?

Between Edinburgh and Glasgow in the old coalmining areas.

Barry, first question. The coastal resort of Skegness

is in which English county?

The coastal resort of Skegness is in which English county?

Bracing Skegness is in Lincolnshire.

That's right. Second question apiece coming up. You first, Adi.

Which US state lies on the Eastern Seaboard

sandwiched between the larger states of Connecticut and Massachusetts?

Have you been to the United States, Adi?

Only to New York on holiday

but geography is not entirely my strongest subject.

Between Connecticut and Massachusetts.

Looking at those answers, I'm straying towards Rhode Island.

Whether that's the right answer or not remains to be seen.

Yes, Rhode Island.

It is the right answer. Well done. Rhode Island.

Barry, the Oder River rises in which European country?

The Oder River rises in which European country?

This is an interesting question.

It's not the Ukraine.

The Oder and the Neisse used to form the boundary

between Poland and Germany

but does it rise in Germany or does it rise in the Czech Republic?

Hmm. I'm not 100% certain on this.

If it rises in Germany, it's probably rising in the Black Forest.

Or in the Czech Republic it would be possibly the Tatra mountains.

The Oder.

Gosh.

I'm going to say the Czech Republic.

And it then flows into Germany.

Czech Republic.

OK. The Oder rises in the Czech Republic. It's the right answer.

Well done.

Very important for both of you, this next question. Adi,

of which country is Arunachal Pradesh

a north-easterly state?

We do have customers at work in each of those countries, so I should know this!

Speaking to some of the other bases.

Could I have the name of the city again, please?

It's a state. Of which country is Arunachal Pradesh a north-easterly state?

I'll spell it. It's two words.

A-R-U-N-A-C-H-A-L

and the second word, Pradesh, P-R-A-D-E-S-H.

Arunachal Pradesh.

I'm gonna go with Pakistan.

I think. Yeah, I'll go with Pakistan, please.

OK. Arunachal Pradesh is in India.

It's an Indian state.

A high-scoring round. The first incorrect answer gives Barry a chance to wrap up the round.

The Gulf of Gabez and the Gulf of Sidra are on the northern coastline of which continent?

The Gulf of Sidra is on the northern coastline of Libya. So Africa.

Africa is correct, Barry. Yes.

You knew that. It means you're through to the final round.

Bad luck, Adi. Well played. Both please go and join your teams.

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

which, as always, is general knowledge.

I'm afraid those of you who lost your head-to-heads can't take part.

Nathan, Paul and Adi, and Chris from the Eggheads,

would you all leave the studio now, please?

Michelle, let's have a chat with you. You didn't have the ordeal of the question room.

Is that because you were held back by the team

or your subject didn't come up?

The subject I fancied didn't turn up in the end.

-What would you have gone for?

-Food and Drink.

-Because I know you're a keen vegetable grower.

-I am, yes.

I used to have an allotment, a couple of years ago

and that was great fun. It was fantastic.

I grew all kinds of vegetables. It was great.

There must be nothing better than having fresh vegetables that you know you've grown organically.

-From plot to plate in a few minutes.

-Yes. I'm a vegetarian as well, so that helps.

Everyone tended to share things. It was really good.

Best of luck today. Ollie and Michelle, you're playing to win Oliver's Army £8,000.

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

I'll ask each team three questions in turn. The questions are general knowledge

and you are allowed to confer.

Oliver's Army, the question is, are your two brains better than the Eggheads' four?

Ollie and Michelle, will you go first or second?

-Shall we go first?

-Do you think?

-Yeah, we'll go first.

-OK.

-First, please, Dermot.

OK. Good luck. First question, they're all general knowledge.

Anything can occur. Here's the question to kick you off.

Which actor had a voice that was described by Alec Guinness as

"like a silver trumpet muffled in silk?"

-Do you know this one?

-No, I don't.

I don't know this one. I've not heard it.

Never heard anything about any quotes like that.

If I was to go for one, I'd probably pick out David Niven.

I don't know.

I'm afraid it has to be a total guess.

-David?

-Hazard a guess at David.

-David Niven.

-David Niven.

"Like a silver trumpet muffled in silk"

he said of his old mate John Gielgud. John Gielgud.

So nothing there.

Let's see how the Eggheads do with their first one.

What is the title of J. Meade Falkner's 1898 smuggling adventure set in Dorset?

in the 18th century?

Daphne says that is Moonfleet.

-Definitely.

-Definitely Moonfleet.

-Kidnapped is Stevenson and Ivanhoe is Scott.

-OK.

-Moonfleet it is, then.

-They made a very good film of it.

-Stewart Granger.

-I think I've seen that.

I've read this at school, as well, Moonfleet.

Yes.

J. Meade Falkner's smuggling adventure is called Moonfleet.

So, the lead for the Eggheads after the first exchanges.

Let's get you firing, Oliver's Army. Your second question. In England,

the three core subjects in the National Curriculum

are Maths, English and which other?

-Definitely Science.

-You know that one?

-Yeah.

I'd go with Science.

Michelle knows this one she says

and it's Science.

Putting it all on Michelle?

Let her take the blame.

Well, take the glory. It's the right answer.

Good one.

Got you off the mark.

Eggheads, in which American city would you find the City Lights Bookshop?

In which American city would you find The City Lights Bookshop.

I think it's the very liberal one that does all the gay rallies.

-In San Francisco?

-That was my immediate thought.

I'm trying to picture it cos I know San Fran quite well.

I can't picture where it is,

but that was my first thought.

Oh, it might be the one in Haight-Ashbury.

-It might be that one.

-So San Francisco.

That's my instinct but unfortunately I can't picture exactly where it is.

So I'm happy to listen to any other input here.

OK, let's go for that, then.

-Yeah?

-I'm delighted to have found a new bookshop I hadn't heard of!

Apologies in advance!

This is down to CJ. It's in San Francisco.

I like the way that discussion went.

CJ, lots of information there.

"I'm happy for other input", he said. Judith goes, "Let's go for that, then!"

Not really any other input from the Eggheads. CJ,

it is...the correct answer, yes. San Francisco.

You remembered. It means, Ollie and Michelle, you've got to get this.

With whose band did Frank Sinatra make 83 recordings

from 1940 to 1942?

-Any ideas?

-Nope.

-I've not even heard of any of these.

-Nor have I.

Not my kind of music that I like listening to. No idea at all.

What one shall we go with?

Tommy - that's near your granddad's name, Thomas.

I'll go middle for diddle.

-Are you sure?

-Yeah. Artie Shaw.

With whose band did Frank Sinatra make 83 recordings

from 1940 to 1942?

You're not going with Tommy?

I don't know. What do you want?

Your guess is as good as mine. I haven't got a clue.

You're the captain. You decide.

We'll go with the middle one, Artie Shaw.

Artie Shaw. Frank Sinatra, 83 recordings. He was working hard!

Between 1940 and 1942,

with Tommy Dorsey!

I know you were thinking of that. That's your granddad's name?

-It was, yeah. Tommy. Should have gone with it.

-Tommy Dorsey.

Eggheads, wasn't this the fodder for a sub-plot in The Godfather?

The Johnny Fontane thing?

Yes, he did play a Frank Sinatra-like figure.

But Johnny Fontane was in a contract with a band, a big band,

-that he couldn't get out of and that leads to...

-He wanted a movie contract.

Johnny Fontane wanted a part in a big movie

which the producer wouldn't give him. Sinatra wanted to break into movies.

-His first major role was...

-There's a story in The Godfather

about Luca Brasi getting him out of a contract with a band leader.

Ah, of course!

That's where they get the parallels with Fontane and Frank Sinatra.

There we are. Frank Sinatra made 83 recordings from 1940 to 1942

with Tommy Dorsey, not Artie Shaw. Which means, Eggheads, you've won.

-Bad luck, Oliver's Army. Those questions didn't fall your way.

-No.

The head-to-heads could have been very different.

Nathan got a couple of questions not suited to him. Paul ran into the buffers

and Adi, I thought you'd do it until the last question.

Thanks for playing Eggheads, Oliver's Army. Great to see you.

Best of luck with the future.

The Eggheads' winning streak continues.

You won't be going home with £8,000 which means the money rolls over to next show.

Eggheads, congratulations. Who will beat you?

Join us next time to see if new challengers have the brains to defeat the Eggheads.

£9,000 says they don't. Until then, goodbye!

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd