Episode 66 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 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.

Taking on our champions today

are the Beached Boys.

The team are all members of a Beach Boys tribute band

and all I can say is, Wouldn't It Be Nice if they won?!

Let's meet them.

Hello, I'm Alan. I'm 60. I'm keyboard player and vocal arranger.

Hi, I'm David. I'm 47 and I'm the bass player and vocalist.

Hi, I'm George. I am 48. I'm guitarist and vocalist.

Hi, I'm Kev. I'm 53 and I'm the lead vocalist.

Hi, I'm Paul. I'm 49 and I'm the drummer and vocalist.

So, how did you guys get together? Have you all been, I mean,

in the music business for a long time and played for different bands?

Yeah, we've been together in this line-up for about six years,

but as the whole, it's been about ten years in total.

Yeah. And, I mean, the Beached Boys have been going a long time.

Is there a great demand for a tribute band like yours?

-Umm, very much so.

-Especially In The Summertime!

Yeah, I can understand that, hence the shirts!

But let's not start without... Can you give us a bar or two?

And talking of a bar or two, perhaps some Barbara Ann?

# Ba-Ba-Ba Ba-Barbara Ann

# Ba-Ba-Ba Ba-Barbara Ann

-# Oh, Barbara Ann, take my hand

-# Ba-Ba-Ba Ba-Barbara Ann

-# Barbara Ann

-# Ba-Ba-Ba Ba-Barbara Ann

# You got me rockin' and a rollin'

# Rockin' and a reelin' Barbara Ann, Ba-ba Ba-Barbara Ann. #

Thank you very much, Beached Boys. Now, let's play Eggheads.

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

If they fail,

the prize money rolls over to the next show.

So, Beached Boys, the Eggheads have won just

the last game, which means £2,000 says you can't beat the Eggheads.

And our first head-to-head battle will be on the subject of History.

I bet you're hoping for music, but this one is History.

Who'd like to play this?

-Well, not me!

-No!

This is a process of elimination.

It's either you or myself.

I'm happy for you to go for that, if you want.

No, I don't particularly!

-OK, I'll go for it.

-I think it'll have to be you, Dave.

OK, my turn.

All right then, David.

Any Egghead is available. We're just kicking off, of course.

-Well, what do you think?

-I think we ought to take on CJ on history.

-You think so, Captain?

-Yeah.

Yeah. We would like to play... David would like to play CJ.

Is this on the basis he hasn't been around as long...

-Exactly.

-..as the rest of us here?

Let's have David and CJ into the question room,

just to ensure you can't confer with team mates.

Would you like to go first or second in this History round, Dave?

I think I'll go first.

OK, off you go. Good luck, David.

Which famous Englishman was referred to by his Spanish adversaries

as "The Dragon"?

Um, it would be a calculated guess, here.

I don't believe Richard the Lionheart had much to do with the Spanish

and I think Robert Clive was "Clive of India".

I would suggest, because of his notoriety,

that it was probably Francis Drake.

Promising form there, from that analysis.

That's the right answer, David, for all the right reasons.

OK, CJ, in Ancient Rome what was a sestertii, or sestertius?

I'm not sure I've heard this

but I've heard names for soothsayers and I've heard names for temples

and neither of those ring a bell. There were different coins around,

so I'm going for coin.

Coin. A sestertii.

Other Eggheads?

-Correct.

-It's correct.

Said very definitively by Daphne. You worked it out.

Well, done, CJ. So, one apiece.

David, in which year did the Apache leader, Geronimo,

give his final surrender to the US Army?

Well, I think, 1926, you can safely say, was a little bit too late.

-I think 1886 is the most likely answer.

-OK.

You think Geronimo finally surrendered to the US Army in 1886 -

and you'd be right. Well done again, David.

Two to David

and CJ's second question.

Prince Norodom Sihanouk was installed on the Cambodian throne

in 1941 by a Governor General from which country?

I'm not sure, but, erm...

..I'm not aware of China or Britain having that much influence

in Cambodia, at that time.

France, I think, were involved in the...

earlier part of the 20th century.

Uh, apart from that, I've got nothing to go on, so I'll try France.

France? OK, on the basis that it was

-the dominant colonial power in that region?

-I'm hoping.

You're right, CJ.

Yeah, you've worked it out again. Yes, France is correct.

So, France there makes it 2-2

and the third question each.

David, who was the head of the Soviet delegation at Brest-Litovsk,

where the peace treaty between Russia and Germany

was signed in 1918?

I really don't know the answer to this.

I seem to think that Trotsky might have actually operated

on Lenin's behalf in these sort of things.

Yeah, I think I will go for Trotsky.

Trotsky, OK.

Is the...right answer. Yes, well done!

Right, CJ,

you need to get this, then.

In the early 1870s, the Swiss linguist and explorer,

Werner Munzinger, commanded the forces

of which country in their conquest of Abyssinia?

I think Egypt DID invade Abyssinia.

Italy did it later.

Um, I think there was some link between Egypt and Abyssinia,

so I'll go for Egypt.

Egypt...

is the right answer, CJ.

You two are playing really well.

What a round this is shaping up to be.

We're going to change the character of the round slightly.

After three questions, if it's all-square,

we go to sudden death and we remove the choices you've seen up to now,

that you've been working with so well. So, it's a lot harder.

I've just got to hear an answer and this is your question.

Catherine of Valois was the wife of which king of England?

You know, this is going to have to be a complete shot in the dark.

I'm going to go for George III.

No, it's not George III.

Do you know, CJ, if you'd been put in first by David?

I don't, but I'd guess Richard I.

-No.

-Henry V.

Henry V from Daphne. Henry V.

Catherine of Valois.

So, the first opportunity

to win the round goes to CJ.

CJ, the McMahon Line was marked out in 1914

as the dividing line between Tibet and which country?

Well, this person sounds British,

so, hopefully, it might be a country in which Britain had some influence.

So, I'm not going to go for China, I'm going to go for India.

India...

is correct, CJ! You're in the final round.

Both of you working really well there,

very logically and forensically

working out the answers, but David, I'm sorry to say

you won't be in the final round.

I think you would have been a real help

if you had been there, but it's not to be.

Come back and join your teams.

Well, an extremely tight round.

CJ just edged David out which means the Beached Boys

have lost one brain, so far.

The Eggheads are all there. Our next subject today is Arts & Books.

Beached Boys, apart from David,

any of the other four are available to play this. Arts & Books.

-Probably it should...

-Our Paul?

Do you think? I'm the sacrificial lamb!

Either Paul or George, actually, the sacrificial lambs.

-Go on then, I'll sacrifice myself, shall I?

-Yeah.

Oh, Paul, OK.

Nobody fancies it at all. Who would you like to play from the Eggheads?

I think I'll take on Chris.

Could Paul and Chris take their positions

in the question room?

Now, Paul, let's go to the matter in hand - Arts & Books.

You said you may be the "sacrificial lamb". We'll see.

Would you like to go first or second?

I'll dive over first.

OK, good luck, Paul. In which year did Charles Dickens die?

Oh, my goodness.

OK, well, I think 1770 is too early.

I'm going to plump for a little bit later

than that, so, 1870 is my answer, Dermot.

Yeah, absolutely.

Chronicler of the Victorian years - the right answer. Well done.

Chris, the book The Boy In The Dress,

published in October 2008,

is the first children's novel by which comedian?

That is by David Walliams.

It is, yes. Well done.

David Walliams, The Boy In The Dress.

OK, Paul, good start.

In which Jane Austen novel does Louisa Musgrove have

a nasty accident on the Cob at Lyme Regis?

That's a very good question(!)

I'm being... I'm being drawn towards

Northanger Abbey.

-So, that will be my answer.

-OK.

-Northanger Abbey.

Louisa Musgrove has a nasty accident on the Cob at Lyme Regis in...

..Persuasion.

Persuasion. So, bad luck, Paul.

A chance for Chris for the lead.

Chris, who wrote the 1953 novel, Go Tell It On The Mountain,

featuring John Grimes, the stepson

of a Pentecostal preacher?

I don't think it's Don DeLillo.

And I think James Baldwin

is best known for The Milk Train Doesn't Stop Here Anymore,

but it sounds a bit Faulkner-esque, so I'll say William Faulkner.

It's James Baldwin.

-Is it?

-It is James Baldwin.

So, a let off and, Paul,

you're still in it. All to play for.

Which British artist is famous for her 1992 sculptural installation,

Two Fried Eggs And A Kebab?

It sounds more like my lunch!

I like the name Gillian Wearing, so I'll answer Gillian Wearing.

Gillian Wearing, Two Fried Eggs And A Kebab.

Afraid not. It's Sarah Lucas.

Sarah Lucas there, so a chance

for Chris to take the round.

Which Victorian author wrote the 50-poem sequence, Modern Love,

reflecting the failure of his first marriage?

Well, the only Modern Love I've ever heard of was by Marie Stokes.

No, that was Married Love, wasn't it?

Yes. That was Ernest Dowson, surely?

-No, it's George Meredith.

-Oh.

-George Meredith.

Ooh, Paul!

One of those last two correct would have got you through.

It doesn't matter. It is sudden death,

as you saw David playing, there. This is your question.

Chryselephantine is the word used

to describe statues made of gold and what other material?

OK, well, that's a word that I'm completely unfamiliar with,

but given the fact that part of it is elephantine,

I'd have to have a guess at ivory.

OK. Chryselephantine.

Gold and...

ivory. It's the right answer! You picked up on that.

Chris, "1801. I have just returned from a visit to my landlord,

"the solitary neighbour that I shall be troubled with",

is the opening line from which 1847 novel?

Bronte, isn't it? Erm...

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall?

I can see where you're going...

but it's not the right answer, Chris. It is, other Eggheads?

Wuthering Heights.

Wuthering Heights. Ah, the old moors.

Wuthering Heights, which means,

exceptionally low-scoring round there, but you got

one more than he did, Paul, so you're playing

in the final round. Come back and join your teams.

Both teams have lost one brain from the final round.

It's all square and our next head-to-head today is Sport.

Who'd like to play this?

It's Alan, George or Kev.

Is it me?

Yeah? OK.

-I'm going to play that, Dermot, please.

-OK, George.

Which Egghead would you like to play? Daphne, Kevin or Judith?

-I'd like to play Judith, please.

-George has decided to play Judith.

Take your positions in the question room.

Now, let's get to this Sport category.

Would you like to go first or second, George?

It's not very chivalrous, but I will go first, please.

OK, first question then, George.

Nick Easter, Tom Rees and James Haskell

have all represented England at which sport?

I would have to plump, purely that I'm not that familiar with the names,

for rugby union please, Dermot.

It is, yes! Well done.

Nick Easter, Tom Rees, James Haskell - rugby players.

OK, Judith, your first question.

Tennis player, Mats Wilander, who won seven Grand Slam

singles titles during his career, was born in which country?

Well, I'm sure it wasn't Croatia.

Um, I mean, the trick might be that he was born in Australia,

but I think he was born in Sweden.

The Swede Mats Wilander,

yes, was born in Sweden.

A solid start from both of you.

George, second question.

Which South African fast bowler, who retired from all forms

of the game of cricket in 2004, was nicknamed White Lightning?

Oh, dear, bowling.

I'm more of a batting fan.

Something is telling me that Allan Donald

was prior to that time.

Erm, it's a 50-50. I will go for Shaun Pollock.

Shaun Pollock.

-Other Beached Boys?

-Allan Donald.

It is Allan Donald, so your 50-50 was always going to go wrong there

having ruled him out. So, a chance for the lead, Judith.

Which football team won the 1996 European Championships,

but then failed to win a match in the 2002 and 2004 finals?

I think it might be... Oh, God.

I don't know. France.

OK, France. It is, other Eggheads?

-Germany.

-Germany.

It stays all square. Good news for George.

So, every chance. Here you go.

At which distance did the Italian athlete, Pietro Mennea,

hold the world record, from 1979 to 1996?

'79 to 1996?

I really don't know, so I will have to guess at 800 metres.

OK, 800 metres.

It's 200 metres. 200 metres.

Well, a chance then,

Judith, you might win the round.

Which boxer knocked down Joe Frazier,

the previously undefeated heavyweight champion,

six times before the fight was stopped in the second round

of their 1973 world title bout?

I would think it's Muhammad Ali.

No, it's not.

-It is, other Eggheads?

-Not sure.

I was thinking George Foreman.

It was George Foreman. There we are.

Well, sudden death again

and this is your question, George.

Which hugely successful racing stable

was founded by Sheikh Mohammed in 1992?

I'm going to have to pass, Dermot.

I haven't got a clue.

-Do you know, Judith?

-Godolphin?

Godolphin is the correct answer, there, from Judith.

It doesn't win the round for her, though.

So, this is your question.

Flamingo, Eggbeater and Ballet Leg

are key moves in which Olympic competition?

I bet it's formation swimming, or something.

Yep, synchronised swimming.

-Synchronised swimming.

-Yes.

Is correct, Judith.

-Gosh!

-OK.

Well, it is the right answer and that means

you won't be in the final, George.

Please come back and join your teams.

So, two of the Beached Boys now eliminated from the final round,

one Egghead gone. Our last head-to-head

comes up now before that final round and this one IS Music.

It's music -

Alan or Kev are available.

What do you think, boys? It's got to be me.

That's what you were hoping for, was it, Kev?

The two Kevins, shall we?

OK, let's have Kev and Kevin into the question room, please.

Kev, would you like to go first or second?

I'd actually like to go second.

That means you, Kevin, to kick off. You Spin Me Round Like A Record

was a 1985 UK number one hit single for whom?

That was Dead Or Alive.

It's the right answer. Yes, Dead Or Alive.

I'm sure Kev would have got that,

but we'll put you in for that and this is your question, Kev.

Which group had a fourth UK number one hit single

with The Promise, in October 2008?

I've never heard of Bad Lashes.

I'm going to say Girls Aloud.

It's the right answer, yes, Girls Aloud.

Tricky first one, there.

OK, Kevin, second question. The opera-oratorio Oedipus Rex, based

on Sophocles' tragedy, was written in 1927 by which Russian composer?

One of those was long dead by then,

which is Tchaikovsky, but this was by Stravinsky.

Oedipus Rex by Stravinsky.

That's correct, Kevin.

Two to you.

Your second question, Kev.

The Yeoman Of The Guard is a musical work by which duo?

I've actually done a couple of their musicals,

so I know it's not Rodgers and Hammerstein or Lerner and Lowe.

Gilbert and Sullivan.

Gilbert and Sullivan, that's the right answer. OK.

Kevin, which Oscar-nominated singer and songwriter

was born Walden Robert Cassotto in New York in 1936?

I wonder why he changed it(?)

It wouldn't quite trip off the tongue, would it? It's Bobby Darin.

It's the right answer, Kevin.

Yes, Walden Robert Cassotto.

OK, got to this, then, Kev.

Which rock group entered the Guinness Book of World Records

on 23 October 1995, when they performed three concerts

on three different continents in one day?

Well, I don't think it was Status Quo, because I don't think

they're quite as universal as the other two.

Def Leppard had their, kind of, massive period around about then,

so I'm going to plump for them.

Sudden death again! It's the right answer.

Def Leppard. Well played, Kev.

OK, well, it goes to sudden death,

as I said. This one's Kevin's question.

All I Ask Of You is a song from which stage musical?

I know I have heard of this one, but nothing's coming.

No. Apologies, team, my brain is not in gear.

I'll say Les Miserables. It's not right.

Les Miserables. No, it's not, it's not.

Kev, out of interest?

I'm not sure, but is it possibly Phantom of the Opera?

It is Phantom Of The Opera.

Interesting there that Kev knew it.

Not your question, unfortunately, Kev. This is to kick Kevin out.

Welcome To The Pleasuredome

was a UK number one album for which band in the 1980s?

That was Frankie Goes To Hollywood.

And you go to the final round. Frankie Goes To Hollywood's correct!

A place in the final round, Kev.

You've got to sit it out, Kevin.

Please come back and join your teams.

So, we now reach the point we've been playing towards.

Time for the final round which, as always, is General Knowledge,

but those of you who lost head-to-heads

won't be allowed to take part in this round.

So, David and George from the Beached Boys and

Kevin and Chris from the Eggheads, would you leave the studio, please?

Alan, Kev and Paul, you're playing to win the Beached Boys £2,000.

Judith, 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.

The questions are all General Knowledge

and you are allowed to confer.

Beached Boys, the question is, are your three brains better

than the Eggheads' three?

-Beached Boys, would you like to go first or second?

-We'll go first.

Good luck. First question.

What was the first name of Evelyn Waugh's eldest son,

a renowned writer and journalist, who died in 2001?

I haven't heard of Archibald.

-Or Avery.

-Or Avery.

-So, we'll go for Auberon.

OK. Auberon Waugh.

It's the right answer.

Eggheads...

Night Of The Living Dead is a 1968 zombie film directed by whom?

-Surely, it's...

-Yes. It's George A Romero.

It is the right answer Well done, Eggheads. Good start.

Beached Boys...

..in 1990, who became the presenter

of the Radio Four panel show, The Moral Maze?

I've actually listened to this show.

I think that may have been Michael Buerk.

That's my answer, Michael Buerk.

That's it. So, the rest of you... It's down to you then, Paul.

-We don't listen to Radio Four.

-No.

-OK.

Well, it's stuck, it's the right answer. Michael Buerk,

presenter of The Moral Maze.

Eggheads, in October 2008, it was announced that Sir David Richards

would become the new head of which organisation?

MI5. What's her name, Manningham Buller retired lately.

That's... You know...

Or GCHQ. It's earlier than that, I think.

No, I think it is MI5.

MI5 is what I'm being swayed towards.

Well, I think it is MI5.

Something is just twinkling.

If the two of you think that, I'll go along with you.

OK, Eggheads, got an answer for me?

Sir David Richards would become the new head of which organisation

it was announced in October 2008?

MI5.

MI5.

It's the British Army.

Oh, no!

What a great opportunity!

Are they going to be beached Eggheads?

They don't get another question.

If you get this, you've won the round and you've won the money.

Following his sub-four-minute-mile run,

Roger Bannister carved out a distinguished career

in which branch of medicine?

For £2,000,

one of those three.

Alan thinks he knows this one.

I think I know this one.

I'm just going to take a stab at it.

OK? I'm going to say immunology.

OK, immunology.

No, it's not immunology, it is neurology.

Oh, that is...

I've got no nails left!

This is a tense round. Listen, they still lose if they get this wrong,

so you've still got a chance.

Eggheads, the phrase "belling the cat",

referring to the pointlessness of suggesting impractical solutions

to problems, is inspired by a work of which writer?

Out of those, I'd go for Chaucer.

It's definitely... It's not

a French phrase, I don't think,

-"bell the cat".

-It's...yeah...

If it was translated, it wouldn't have been translated

into "belling the cat".

With Aesop...

Once again, Beached Boys, they're struggling again.

I've never heard of this saying. I've never heard of "belling the cat".

So, we are going to go for Chaucer, aren't we?

-OK. Yes, let's go.

-All in together.

-Yes. Right, one, two, three.

-ALL: Chaucer.

-"Belling the cat".

-CJ: Never heard of it.

-OK.

-It's going to be Aesop.

-I can't look!

We played sudden death in every one of those head-to-heads.

-But not this one.

-But not this one!

That is incorrect. It's Aesop.

-Is it?

-Beached Boys, you've won!

Fantastic performance, Beached Boys. Really, really well played there.

The head-to-heads, there was a master plan

in place there and I suppose the turning point may have been

the Kev-Kevin head-to-head there on music,

but up there with your best performances on stage, I suspect.

It means you've just won £2,000.

You are officially cleverer than

the Eggheads and proved they can be beaten.

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

will be just as successful. Until then, goodbye.

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