Episode 67 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. They've won some of the country's toughest quiz shows. They are the Eggheads.

And taking on the awesome might of our quiz Goliaths today

are The Merrie Men.

Everyone on the team hails from the city of Wakefield.

They've taken their name from the fact

that Wakefield was dubbed the "Merrie City" in the Middle Ages, due to the number of public houses.

-Let's meet them.

-Hi, I'm Ian. I'm 28 and I'm a solicitor.

Hi, I'm Simon. I'm 27 and I'm a teacher.

Hi, I'm Jonnie, I'm 28 and I'm a senior intelligence clerk.

Hi, I'm Richard, I'm 27 and I'm an education consultant.

Hi, I'm Tim, I'm 27 and I'm a maths teacher.

Well, welcome to you, Merrie Men, and Wakefield named because...

What? The Merrie City, because of so many public houses,

and you've done your best to visit most of them.

We've visited most of them, yes.

Apart from tasting some of their wares, do you quiz in any of them?

We do, we do. We regularly quiz on Sundays at our local pub.

-What size are the teams?

-Generally, about six teams participate,

ranging in age.

-We're generally the youngest ones.

-Ah-ha.

But we seem to fair OK against the older guys.

-Well, that's what I wanted to hear.

-I think it's cos the prize is beer.

ALL LAUGH

Slight age difference between the teams today on Eggheads.

Let's see how you do. Best of luck, Merrie Men.

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, Merrie Men, the challengers won the last game,

proving it can be done

and it means £1,000 says you can't beat the Eggheads.

Let's get on with it. Our first head-to-head battle is on the subject of Film & Television.

Do we do it on the basis that we hope music comes up?

-Or do you want to get into...

-I might go for it.

-Yeah.

-Tim'll go forward.

-OK.

-So it's going to be you, Tim?

-Yep.

Who would you like to play from the Eggheads? Anyone you like.

I like the look of Kevin for this one.

-What are we thinking?

-Yeah. I'd like to take on Kevin on this challenge.

You like the look of Kevin?

Is this part of the plan? You know what a strong player he is?

I watch a lot of film and TV so we'll give it a go.

Well, Kevin likes his films as well. Should be a great round.

Tim and Kevin, into the question room, please, so there's no conferring.

OK, then, Tim. Both players, we know, like their films.

Would you like to go first or second?

I'll take the first set, please.

Good stuff and good luck, Tim. Here you go.

Which actor is famous for saying,

"Hasta la vista, baby," in a 1991 film?

Right, well, the film's Terminator 2

and it's Arnold Schwarzenegger.

That's the correct answer.

So, Kevin, a famous scene

that featured Colin Firth dripping wet after swimming in a lake

appeared in a 1995 TV adaptation of which famous novel?

Yes, it seemed to have a rather strange effect on lots of ladies,

including friends of mine.

Anyway, it's Pride and Prejudice.

Pride and Prejudice is the right answer.

OK, Tim, in which TV drama

did Daniela Nardini play the role of a junior lawyer called Anna?

I know they're all about lawyers and solicitors

but I can remember watching it, and it's This Life.

This Life. It's the right answer.

Kevin, Yakety Sax by Boots Randolph and James Rich

is a piece of music regularly used in which long-running comedy show?

That was the music for the speeded-up bits

at the end of The Benny Hill Show.

Always chases and lots of things going on,

so that was the saxophone music that played with those.

Yeah, I can hear it now. It's the right answer. The Benny Hill Show.

OK, third question each.

Tim, which British actor plays Sayid Jarrah,

the former Iraqi Republican Guard officer

in the cult American TV series Lost?

Right, that's not one I've watched, actually.

I know it's not Jimi Mistry.

Deepak Verma seems like a familiar name to me.

Um...

I'm going to go with Deepak Verma, but I'm not very confident.

That's wrong. And it's the one you haven't heard of - Naveen Andrews.

Naveen Andrews plays Sayid Jarrah in Lost.

So, Kevin, a chance to clinch the round.

Who won the Academy Award for Best Actor

for his role in the 1941 film Sergeant York?

Yeah, he was playing a real-life hero of the First World War, Alvin York,

and it was the first of two Best Actor Oscars for Gary Cooper.

He does know his film and I'm sure you would have known it too, Tim,

but it went to Kevin. Gary Cooper is correct.

Tim, you won't be in the final round.

Would you both please come and join your teams?

Merrie Men have lost one of their merry men from the final round. The Eggheads are all still there.

We play our next head-to-head now. This one is Science. Who'd like to play this?

-It'll have to be Richard.

-I'm happy to take Science.

OK, Richard, who are you going to play from the Eggheads? It can't be Kevin.

-I'm... I'll take on CJ.

-OK.

Right, let's have Richard, then, and CJ into the question room, just to make sure you can't confer.

Would you like the first set or the second set of questions, Richard?

I'll take the second set, please.

Means this is for you, CJ.

Which chemical element derives its name

from the Latin for chalk or lime?

I can only imagine that's calcium, Dermot.

It is calcium. Well done, CJ.

Richard, Lunar 2,

the first spacecraft to reach the surface of the moon,

was launched by which country?

Lunar 2, the first spacecraft to reach the surface of the moon

was launched by which country?

I believe China's only been in the space race relatively recently.

Obviously, the USA were the first country

to get a man on the moon,

but I believe that the Soviet Union were the first

to actually get a craft to the moon.

So I'll go with the Soviet Union, please.

OK, yeah, you've avoided the crater. Soviet Union is correct.

Yes, you're right, and good analysis then. It's one all.

And, CJ, second question.

Which creature with the scientific name Sorex minutus

is thought to be Britain's smallest mammal?

Well, the name doesn't help me

but I always thought the pygmy shrew was Britain's smallest.

Don't think it's the field vole, I don't think it's the harvest...

I always thought pygmy shrew was Britain's smallest.

I'll go for pygmy shrew.

And, yes, confirmed, it is pygmy shrew.

Britain's smallest mammal - Sorex minutus.

OK, Richard,

in which part of the body is the quadriceps muscle located?

Right, well, obviously the biceps and the triceps are your upper arm.

That's as far as my knowledge goes, unfortunately.

I don't believe it's in your stomach, cos that's your obliques.

Um, and I don't believe it's in your shoulder either,

so I will go for thigh on that one.

Quadriceps...

..are in the thigh. It's the right answer, Richard. Well done.

-APPLAUSE

-Stays all square.

CJ, so-called transuranic elements

are those with an atomic number greater than what?

Well, I'm not sure but I think uranium's 102.

Um... 90, I think, is thorium,

because they go in order, don't they?

Neptunium, uranium and plutonium. The three are in order.

I'm going to go for 102.

It's incorrect, CJ. It's not 102. Eggheads?

-92.

-It is 92 for a transuranic element.

Well, Richard, what is the name of the unit

much used by eye specialists

for measuring the refractive power of a lens?

Well, none of them I recognise.

It's going to have to purely be a guess. I can't even eliminate any.

Well, the only one which sounds even vaguely...is dioptre.

Cos it's got "opt" in it... RICHARD LAUGHS ..like optician.

I will go for dioptre.

Yeah, you've picked it out and that's the reason.

It's the right answer. Yes, dioptre.

APPLAUSE

Dioptre is correct and a clean sheet there - three ticks, no blemishes -

puts you through into the final round. Well played, Richard.

Would you both come back and join your teams?

The Merrie Men looking a lot merrier after that.

It's all square, they've evened things up. Both teams have lost one brain from the final round.

And our next subject, one I suspect you may enjoy, is sport.

Who'd like to play this? Sport? Ian, Simon or Jonnie?

-Simon. Take it.

-Shall I take it?

-Simon.

Simon, OK. And from the Eggheads, Barry, Chris or Daphne?

-I'd go for Barry.

-I think Barry. Barry.

-Barry, please.

-I like Barry.

-OK.

Well, let's have Barry, then, and Simon into the question room, please.

Simon, do you want to go first or second?

Well, Richard went second and it looked out for him

so I think I'll go second as well, please.

Barry, this is your first question. In which year

did Fatima Whitbread win an Olympic silver medal in the javelin?

Well, Fatima Whitbread's wonderful performance was some time ago

and it certainly wasn't 1996.

I think she won the Olympiad after Tessa Sanderson,

so that would make it 1988.

-So I'm going to go for 1988.

-1988.

And, of course, thinking of Tessa Sanderson -

appeared on a celebrity edition of Eggheads, didn't she?

Fatima Whitbread, '88, you're right.

You worked it out. That is correct.

Now, Simon,

in which sport is one point awarded

for a successful drop goal in open play?

Well, one of my friends, one of my close friends,

used to play this sport.

I don't think he'd ever forgive me if I got this one wrong.

It's rugby league.

I'm just thinking of the drop goal in hockey or polo.

That would be an interesting one.

It is rugby league, of course, yes. Good start for you.

Barry, the former England cricket captain Tony Greig

was born in which country?

He was South African.

No doubt at all.

That's the correct answer.

OK, second question for you, Simon.

Former England manager Steve McClaren

was appointed coach to which continental football club in 2008?

Well, having followed

his unsuccessful reign as England manager quite closely,

I was relieved when he went to FC Twente

-and left our country... our national team.

-LAUGHTER

And McClaren, yes, went to FC Twente. It's the right answer.

OK, Barry,

which tennis player partnered Jamie Murray

to reach the final of the 2008 US Open mixed doubles?

I'm not sure on this so to put CJ out of any further agony,

something is telling me it's Liezel Huber,

and I'll go straight in at Liezel Huber.

-Liezel Huber. CJ?

-Happy with that.

It's the right answer. CJ's happy. It is correct.

Now, Simon, which champion golfer

is said to have invented the modern sand wedge in 1932?

I've got to be honest, I haven't heard of any of them.

My golfing knowledge is dreadful.

Um...

I'm really sorry, I'm gonna have to have a complete guess

and I'm going to go with Gene Sarazen.

Complete guess...

It's the right answer! Gene Sarazen.

Right, we go to sudden death for the first time.

Simon, that means we're taking away those choices. So, here we go.

Barry, which Dutch athlete,

winner of four gold medals at the 1948 Olympic Games,

was nicknamed the Flying Housewife?

Amazingly, I think she'd only given birth a few months earlier before the Olympics,

or some time fairly recent to it

and it was Fanny Blankers-Koen.

Fanny Blankers-Koen or Ko-en is the right answer, Barry. Well done.

Yes, 30 years old, a mother of two,

and discovered later she was actually pregnant

with her third child when she raced.

Right, well, Simon,

which Australian cricket captain

controversially ordered his brother to bowl underarm

in a 1981 one-day international against New Zealand?

No, I'm sorry. No.

No, I'm sorry. I can't think.

OK, well, this is the classic case of sudden death.

I'm sure you would pull this out of a list in front of you

if I gave you three names, but you can't dig it out.

Do you know, Barry?

Was it Ian Chappell who ordered Greg to bowl underarm?

Now, you see, that would have been wrong,

because it's Greg Chappell who ordered his brother Trevor, who was also in the team,

to bowl underarm.

And it was Ian, also a cricketing brother, who then... even he criticised Greg Chappell.

That was so close. You're not playing in the final round.

Barry, you're there. Please come and join your teams.

The Merrie Men have lost two brains from the final round,

the Eggheads, one.

And we play our last subject before the final round. It's History today.

History. And Ian or Jonnie to play it.

-I haven't got a clue on History.

-OK.

-I'll take it. I'll do History.

-You're going to take it, Ian? OK.

-And who are you going to take with you? It is Daphne or Chris.

-LAUGHTER

Look at that winning smile. How can you resist?

In that case, I think I'll take Chris.

LAUGHTER

You did resist it, although he's got a winning smile too.

Let's have Ian and Chris into the question room, please.

Ian, do you want to go first or second?

Well, Richard had the success with second so I'll go second as well.

So, Chris, first question to you.

Who emerged as the leader of the Soviet Union from the power struggle that followed the death of Lenin?

It was 1924, it was Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili,

known as Stalin, the man of steel.

I was just about to say, "That's not on my list."

Stalin, and full name, as well. Stalin, the man of steel.

Good start for Chris, then.

So, Ian, what was the surname of the woman who, in 1966,

became the first female prime minister of India?

OK, well, I don't know the answer to this,

but I recognise the name Gandhi,

which was obviously a bit of an Indian dynasty

and, on that basis, I'm going to go with Gandhi.

Gandhi is correct.

Yes, well done, Ian.

-To be precise, Eggheads?

-EGGHEADS: Indira Gandhi.

One each.

Chris, which English king

was victorious at the Battle of Brunanburh in 937?

Well, this is a tricky one, Dermot.

It wasn't Harold II...

..and Ethelred was Ethelred The Unready, who was later,

so it must be Athelstan, the first King of England.

Athelstan, OK.

It's the right answer. Yes, Chris.

He knew that. He said it was tricky. Athelstan is the correct answer.

So, Ian, who was made a cardinal by Pope Leo X

in 1515?

Right, well, again, I don't know the answer to this.

I don't think it's Wolsey - I don't know why - or Cromwell.

So I'm going to have a guess and guess at Cranmer.

Thomas Cranmer.

Incorrect. I'm sorry, Ian, it's not the right answer.

-Chris, do you know?

-Yeah, Cardinal Wolsey.

Built himself Hampton Court

and gave it to Henry VIII to keep in with him.

It's Wolsey, as you can see, Ian.

So a chance comes to Chris to wrap up the round.

Chris, which monarch granted the town of Tunbridge Wells

the right to add "royal" to its name as a prefix?

Which monarch granted the town of Tunbridge Wells

the right to add "royal" to its name as a prefix?

Well, it's not our present Queen, Elizabeth II,

and I think George VI had better things to do with his time,

particularly after 1939,

but, given that he used to like swanning around the country

indulging in various pleasures, it was probably Edward VII.

Swanning around the country, indulging in various pleasures?

-Going for Edward VII?

-DERMOT LAUGHS

Tunbridge Wells is the place to go for that kind of activity.

-CHRIS LAUGHS

-Not half.

DERMOT CONTINUES CHUCKLING

Edward VII is the right answer, Chris.

You're through to the final round. as I think Ian knew.

Bad luck. Means you won't be in the final round.

Would you please come back and join your teams?

This is what we've been playing towards.

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

I'm afraid those who lost your head-to-heads won't be allowed to take part.

So, Ian, Simon and Tim from The Merrie Men and CJ from the Eggheads,

would you leave the studio, please?

Richard made that victory you had in your head-to-head all the more important.

-Jonnie didn't want to be left there on his own.

-I certainly didn't.

Now he's not.

Jonnie and Richard, you're playing to win The Merrie Men £1,000.

Kevin, Daphne, Chris and Barry, you're playing for something money can't buy, the Eggheads' reputation,

and it needs a bit of buffing up.

As usual, I'll ask each team three questions in turn.

The questions are all general knowledge. You're allowed to confer.

Merrie Men, are your two brains better than the Eggheads' four?

Jonnie and Richard, would you like to go first or second?

Even though Richard did so well on his,

given the failings of our other team mates,

we'll go with the first question, please.

Best of luck, guys.

The Red Arrows flew over Central London in April 2008

to mark how many years since the founding of the RAF?

Have you got any ideas? I wouldn't have said 50.

I wouldn't have said 50. I thought...

-It would have been longer than 50.

-So, really,

it's a toss-up between the two, isn't it?

If we go back 70 years, I don't think they would have founded it in '38.

-I think before that.

-I think 90...

90 rings a bell but it's probably wrong.

Right, I think... We're not totally certain on this one

because we're really not into the RAF or anything along that route,

but I think the general consensus we're going to go with is 90.

90 years of the RAF.

70, what? Takes you to '38?

No, you're right with 90. It is correct.

As the guys there doing the maths are saying, that takes you back to 1918,

which is after the First World War.

Some people don't know this. Of course, lots of aerial activity in the First World War

but the RAF wasn't doing it.

No, it was the Royal Flying Corps, which was part of the Army,

and the Royal Naval Air Service, which came under the Admiralty.

And it was amalgamated into the RAF, which was a whole new service

in, well, April 1918 onwards.

So, Eggheads, which word from the Latin for "let it stand"

is used as an instruction on a printed proof

to indicate that a correction should be ignored?

-Stet.

-Which word from the Latin for "let it stand"

is used as an instruction on a printed proof

to indicate that a correction should be ignored?

That's stet.

Ignore that. It's the right answer. Stet is correct.

So, back to the Merrie Men.

Jonnie, Richard, which black and white coloured bird

is the emblem of the RSPB?

-Any thoughts?

-RICHARD LAUGHS

I'm trying to think of the symbol. I don't think it's the magpie.

Plus, magpies are unlucky. I can't think it would be.

I think for a symbol, a wagtail would look good.

I'm happy to go with...

We used to have a nest of wagtails in the offices where I work.

Wagtails aren't necessarily black and white.

The ones we had... I think it were a yellow wagtail nest.

They're not completely black and white.

So that has led us back to square one.

-Thing is, I don't know what an avocet looks like.

-No.

-I don't think it would be a magpie.

-We'll go for avocet.

On the basis that we've no idea what it looks like.

So we've ruled out the other two, so looks like we've come to avocet.

OK, well, that's a way of doing it, you know?

Whittle down the other two if you don't know the answer outright.

Richard had seen...remembered a nest of wagtails.

You would have gone with that but Richard remembered they weren't black and white.

-It's avocet. The right answer.

-Well done, Rich.

Two, one up. Next question, Eggheads.

Fuggle is a variety of an ingredient

used in the production of which beverage?

Fuggle is a variety of an ingredient

used in the production of which beverage?

They're actually a type of hop that's used in brewing beer.

Fuggle. What a great name.

-Yes.

-Beer is right.

Fuggle is a variety of hop used in the brewing of beer...

..which brings us appropriately back to the Merrie Men,

given your team name.

According to the Dickens character Sam Weller in The Pickwick Papers,

poverty and what always seem to go together?

Poverty and:

-Have you read The Pickwick Papers?

-I've not read The Pickwick Papers.

So I'm not going to be 100% in anything that we say on this one.

Have you got any ideas whatsoever?

Not particularly, no.

The one that sprang out for going with poverty was oysters,

for some reason,

but I've got no...nothing to back that up whatsoever.

-It's just a pure...

-Literature's not my subject

so I'll go with whatever you think.

JONNIE GASPS, RICHARD LAUGHS

We're not convinced about this one whatsoever

but we seem to be bumbling our way

through these questions successfully.

Rather well so far, yeah.

So, based upon the fact that we don't know at all,

we like the sound of oysters with poverty.

-Oysters is correct.

-Get in!

-So bumblers no more, I think.

-Yes.

OK, Eggheads, got to get this or you lose again.

OK.

Eggheads, which band is composed of

Caleb, Nathan, Jared and Matthew Followill?

Which band is composed of Caleb, Nathan, Jared and Matthew Followill?

That would be the Kings Of Leon.

CJ's relieved.

I'd love to say it was incorrect. It's not. It is the right answer.

The Kings of Leon.

So, we go to sudden death, Merrie Men.

Here we go.

Which 2007 film tells the story of Jean-Dominique Bauby

who wrote a best-selling book about his experiences

after suffering a stroke?

-I should know this one.

-It's certainly not one I've watched.

No, I will have read about it, that's...

Nothing's instantly springing to mind.

It's something to do with the sea.

It's something like From The Sea.

I'm pretty sure it's a French or a Spanish film.

Um, I think it's the wrong answer

but all I can conjure up is And From The Sea.

Well, I have absolutely no guesses even, so go for it.

I may sound like an idiot when...

..if the answer's nothing to do with the sea,

but something in me's ringing.

So we're going to go with And From the Sea.

And From The Sea...

It's incorrect, but you're not an idiot because you're on the right lines.

There is a link to the sea in the answer.

Eggheads?

The Diving Bell And The Butterfly.

The Diving Bell And The Butterfly.

It's totally not the one I was thinking of.

I was giving you the benefit of the doubt with the diving bell.

The Diving Bell And The Butterfly.

Le Scaphandre Et Le Papillon, in French.

So nothing there from The Merrie Men,

but it means the Eggheads win the game if they give me a correct answer here.

Eggheads, in 1938, which country

became the first to win the Football World Cup away from home?

In 1938, which country became the first

to win the Football World Cup away from home?

THEY MUTTER INDISTINCTLY

That's Italy.

It is right, Eggheads. You've won.

Thanks very much for trying your luck against the Eggheads, Merrie Men.

It's been great to see you. Have a safe trip back to Wakefield.

The Eggheads have done what comes naturally. They reign supreme over quiz land once again.

I'm afraid you won't be going home with £1,000, which means the money rolls over to our next show.

Eggheads, congratulations. Who will beat you?

Join us to see if a new team of challengers have the brains to defeat the Eggheads.

£2,000 says they don't. Until then, goodbye.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

E-mail [email protected]