Episode 96 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 pedigree is well-known. They've won some of the country's toughest quiz shows.

They are the Eggheads. Tackling the Eggheads today are

Sozzlehurst and Hiccup from Kent,

borrowing their team name from a Sun headline of the 1980s which

related to an incident involving former pupils from their school.

This team are all friends from - can you guess? -

Chislehurst and Sidcup. Let's meet them.

Hi, my name's Mark.

I'm 23 years old, and I'm a pharmaceutical regulator.

Hi, I'm Kate, I'm 23 and I'm a languages student.

Hi, I'm Matt, I'm 22 and I'm a charity fundraiser.

Hi, I'm Dan, I'm 23 and I'm an assistant business consultant.

Hi, I'm Martin, I'm 23 and I'm an office temp.

Welcome, Mark and team.

-So the school was Chislehurst and Sidcup.

-That's right, yeah.

Something happened and it became Sozzlehurst and Hiccup?

Yes, I think of the school's most famous point in its history,

unfortunately, is when a load of students went to a Christmas party,

got quite drunk and turned up to school the next day.

The headmaster wasn't too happy, so he decided to send everyone home.

-Hence the Sun headline?

-Yes.

-And you were not involved?

-I can confirm, we had nothing to do with it.

-All right. Good luck.

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

If they fail to defeat the Eggheads, the prize money, as you know, rolls over to the next show.

So, Sozzlehurst and Hiccup, the Eggheads have won just the last game,

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

First head-to-head battle is on the subject of history.

History, who wants history?

This has to be you, Mark, I think. Send the captain up straight away.

-I will take history, Jeremy.

-Mark against who? Which Egghead?

-Maybe CJ?

-I'd like to take on CJ, please.

Mark from Sozzlehurst and Hiccup against CJ from the Eggheads.

Please take your positions in the question room.

Mark, good luck in this round.

I'll ask each of you three multiple choice questions in turn,

and Mark, you can choose the first or second set.

I'd like to go first, please.

Good luck to you. What is the name

of the innermost and strongest structure of a medieval castle?

Right...I must admit medieval castle isn't actually my strong point.

However, I think I'll go for keep.

Well done, keep is the right answer.

CJ, which country is known as the cockpit of Europe,

because it has so frequently been the scene of important battles?

That's interesting. I've not heard the term,

but so many important battles took place in Belgium, and I suppose,

going by the shape of the country, you could see that as a sort of

windscreen or cockpit, but...

Um, I can't imagine it's Germany.

Important battles of course took place in France, but purely in terms

of size and the number of battles, I'll have to go for Belgium.

Belgium is the right answer, CJ, well done.

Got it. Over to you, Mark.

The Test Acts was a series of laws in England, Scotland and Ireland

that discriminated on the eligibility for public office on what grounds?

Well...the Test Acts.

I'd say through history, um...

of the three, the one which has come up most

in terms of discrimination is probably religion,

to do with Catholics holding public office.

I'll go with religion, please.

Religion is right.

CJ, your second question - the Conservative Party was split in the mid-19th century,

spending most of the next 30 years out of government over which issue?

I'm trying... Um...

slavery was abolished, I think, in 1807,

and the slave trade in the 1830s.

The first Reform Act was 1832.

I know there was a lot of controversy

with lots of people wanting some of the crops exported to Ireland

to help with a famine, so...I don't know, but I hope it's the Corn Laws.

-Mark, is he right?

-I think he is right, yeah.

You are, CJ, well done. OK, third question

to you, Mark, good luck.

Marshal Ney was a close ally of which historical figure?

I'm afraid I don't know the answer to this question,

so I'm going to try to, logically or otherwise, come up with an answer.

I've never heard of Marshal Ney. Um...

And I know quite a bit about Charles de Gaulle,

so I don't think I'll go with that answer.

I'm torn between Joan of Arc and Napoleon Bonaparte.

I will go for Napoleon Bonaparte.

And you're quite right, well done. Good logic.

Your question, CJ,

to stay in the contest.

Which monarch made it compulsory to have pub signs

in order to identify them as public houses to the official ale taster?

And if you could just give me the year?

I can't. I can't.

Well, I don't know this,

but out of those three options, I can only imagine it's Charles II.

Charles certainly enjoyed a tipple. Um...

I don't know it, but Charles II is the most likely, so I'll try him.

-Why not Richard, out of interest?

-Because I don't know much about him.

Oh, dear. It was Richard II, CJ.

So that means well done, Mark,

you have taken on an Egghead and you've emerged triumphant.

Great news for the challengers, Mark will join them in the final round. Congratulations.

Both of you, come back and rejoin your teams.

As it stands, the challengers have lost no brains for the final round.

The Eggheads have lost a brain. The next subject is science.

Which of you wants this?

I think probably...Dan.

I'll give science a go.

Dan, against anyone but CJ.

Daphne might be a good one.

Shall we go for Daphne?

We'll go for Daphne, please.

So it's Dan from Sozzlehurst and Hiccup versus Daphne.

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

So, science now. Three questions, your choice, first or second?

I'll go first, please.

The first set of questions begins with this.

How many degrees does the angle on a straight line measure?

Well, 90 would be a right angle, so I don't think it's that.

And there's 360 degrees in a full circle and the line would go through

the circle, which would be 180, so I'm gonna say 180.

Absolutely. 180.

Daphne, what term is given to an element or compound that has

a electrical conductivity between that of a conductor and an insulator?

Well, the only one I've heard of is a semiconductor,

so semiconductor it is.

It's a good way to guess. You're right, semiconductor.

Over to you now, Dan.

The Large Hadron Collider at CERN was closed

in under a month of opening, due to a massive leak of what?

Well, I'm not 100% sure of the answer,

but I know that liquid nitrogen is used to cool things,

and I think it needs to be very cold when it operates,

the old LHC, so I'll go for liquid nitrogen.

No. It's helium. Liquid helium is the answer.

Daphne, to take the lead now, in thermodynamics, what is

the measure of the energy that is unavailable for doing useful work?

Well, guess what? I really don't know,

but I have heard of entropy, so that's what I'll go for.

Again, I haven't heard of the other two.

Well, it's serving you well. Entropy is the right answer.

So the pressure's on now, Dan.

You need to get this right, otherwise you're out.

What bird is colloquially known as the wideawake

due to its distinctive and vocal call?

They're all interesting names and I've never heard of any of them.

Um... Wideawake.

The Arctic has a lot of sunlight, so I'm thinking it's probably...

Not many birds possibly, so I'm going to veer away from that one.

Um... So it's going to be a complete guess

between sooty tern and blue-footed booby.

Um...

I'll go for the sooty tern.

Correct. It is sooty tern. So two points each, but, Daphne,

you can win if you get this.

A positron is the anti-particle of which sub-atomic particle?

Barry promised to teach me these and he never did.

I will go for electron.

Electron is correct, Daphne. Well done.

Oh, Dan, that's painful. You were beaten by

our Eggheads on good form - you won't be able to help your team in the final round,

so please, both of you come back and rejoin your teams.

As it stands, the Challengers and the Eggheads have lost one brain each from that final round.

Our next subject is music. Which of you wants music?

-That's down to me, isn't it?

-Yes, your specialism.

-And against?

-Martin will take it.

-Martin?

-Yeah.

-Against who? Can't be CJ, can't be Daphne.

-Chris probably.

Martin will take on Chris.

OK, Martin from Sozzlehurst and Hiccup against Chris from the Eggheads.

To ensure there's no conferring, please take your positions in the Question Room.

OK, I'll ask you three questions on music in turn.

Whoever gets the most correct is in the final round.

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

-I'll go first, please.

Here we go.

The first single released by Alexandra Burke,

the 2008 winner of The X Factor, was a cover of which Leonard Cohen song?

Right, um...

I know a fair amount of Leonard Cohen

and I think Bird On The Wire and Suzanne were much older songs,

so I think they'll be a little more difficult for them

to change for an X Factor contestant,

and I'm pretty sure I remember it being Hallelujah.

Yeah, I'll say Hallelujah.

Hallelujah is correct. Brilliant song. Chris...

which group had a UK hit single in 1995 with Search For the Hero?

# You've got to search for the hero inside yourself... #

That's Heather Small...

M People!

That's the one. OK, Martin...

Which U2 album cover featured the intense stare of a young child?

OK, The Joshua Tree, I think, has a picture of a tree on the cover,

so I don't think it's that.

I think Rattle And Hum was the live album

from the late '80s, early '90s,

so I think that's got a picture of one of them on stage or a speaker.

So I'm pretty sure I've seen on the cover of War, so I'll say War.

-Well done, it's War.

-Well done, Martin.

Chris. Who had a UK Top Three album in 1979 with Breakfast In America?

That was Supertramp.

It was indeed. Well done.

Two points each to you. Tight round.

Back to you, Martin.

Everything Is Borrowed, released in 2008,

is the fourth album by which act?

I don't think that's The Killers

cos I think they're on their third album now.

I don't know a lot about Dizzee Rascal

and, also, he's quite recent, so I'm not sure if he would be on four.

So I'm not really sure, but I would guess The Streets for that.

Well done. The Streets is right.

OK, Chris, this one to keep you in.

Get it wrong, you won't be in the final round.

The score for the ballet Daphnis Et Chloe was written by which composer?

Ah, Daphnis Et Chloe.

Um...

It's not Erik Satie,

cos he composed mostly for the piano. Gymnopedie number one to infinity.

I don't think it was Claude Debussy. I think it was Ravel.

-Ravel is your answer?

-Mm-hm.

It's right.

Three each, so now we go to Sudden Death.

It's not multiple-choice now, Martin,

as you have to give me the answer.

-Are you ready?

-As I'll ever be.

Which rapper had bottles and even a deck chair thrown at him

by the crowd during his performance at the Reading Festival in 2004?

Right, um...

I was at the Reading Festival the year before that,

so I think I know some people that went there.

And if I remember correctly... it was 50 Cent.

I could have accepted Curtis James, but yes, 50 Cent is right.

50 Cent.

Chris. Who was the lead singer of Wah!, also known as The Mighty Wah!,

who had a 1982 top five hit with The Story Of The Blues?

I honestly have not the faintest clue. I can't place them at all,

so I'll just have to pass on that and throw my hands up.

No name, no nothing?

Nothing's coming at all, no. Don't even know if it was male or female.

-It's a fellow called Pete Wylie.

-Ah.

Chris, you're out.

Martin, you're in. Well done.

You took on one of the Eggheads and emerged triumphant,

so you will be in the final. Please both come back to the studio.

So the Challengers have lost one brain from the final round.

The Eggheads have lost two brains.

The last subject is sport.

Where's the sports person?

-Why don't you take it?

-Matt or Kate?

Kate's our sports person.

I think I'll have a stab at it.

You're sporty, OK. Who do you want to stab?

-I'll take Judith, please.

-OK, Kate from Sozzlehurst & Hiccup

versus Judith from the Eggheads on sport.

Please take your positions in the Question Room.

Kate, good luck. I'll ask each of you three questions on sport in turn

-and you can choose the first or second set.

-I'll go first, please.

Here we go, Kate. Which Premiership football club

did Nicolas Anelka join in 2008?

I know Anelka was at Arsenal back in the day.

I imagine he's quite old now.

And I think...

I seem to remember him wearing a Chelsea...

a blue vest.

I'm going to say Chelsea.

Well done. You got it right.

Kate, you've got one point. Judith, over to you.

Which rugby union player captained New Zealand

on their 2008 tour of the British Isles?

Um, the one that sticks out

is my familiar right-hand side, Richie McCaw.

You love your right-hand side!

And you're right. Richie it was.

OK, Kate.

The tennis player Guillermo Vilas,

who won four Grand Slam singles titles during his career,

was born in which country?

I don't think it's Ecuador...

..purely because tennis is such an elite sport

that I don't know what the funding is like,

so I'm going to go for a country which is, I think, richer.

Er, Guillermo Vilas... Brazilian...

I know Vilas is a friend's surname, which is Brazilian.

-I'm going to go for Brazil, an educated guess.

-OK.

I'll take the answer from CJ cos he loves tennis. CJ.

The only one of those countries with a great tennis heritage,

and indeed they were runners-up in the Davis Cup, is Argentina.

And Argentina was right.

Kate. you got it wrong.

Advantage to Judith if she gets this right.

Which golfer won the US Masters in 1994 and 1999?

I think it might be...

..Ian Woosnam.

It's not Woosnam. It's Olazabal.

She's let you back in. You're equal.

Kate. How many wickets did the Australian spinner Jason Krejza

take on his Test match debut in 2008

before being dropped for the next match?

Right, um...

Should have watched a few more matches with my dad.

I should think that even 8 wickets is quite a feat in one match.

This is going to have to be...

an educated guess.

I'll go with 8.

It's not eight. It's 12.

Judith, your chance to win the round.

Which boxer made his professional debut

against David Bailey in July 2005?

Well, that's the year after the Olympics, wasn't it,

when Amir Khan got a medal?

I think it's probably Amir Khan.

Is the right answer. Well done. You've come through on sport.

Kate, sorry, you were beaten by our Egghead.

You will not be able to help your team in the final round.

So, please, both of you come back and rejoin your teams.

It's time for the final round, which as always is general knowledge.

Those of you who lost your head-to-heads

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

So Kate and Dan from Sozzlehurst & Hiccup

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

We have the three M's - Mark, Matt and Martin from Sozzlehurst & Hiccup

playing to win £2,000.

And on the Eggheads side, it's Judith, Kevin and Daphne

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 general knowledge and you are allowed to confer.

So, Sozzlehurst & Hiccup,

are your three brains better than the Eggheads' three?

And would you like, Mark, Matt and Martin, to go first or second?

We'd like to go first, please.

What is the name of the permit issued by the US Government

enabling a foreign national to live and work permanently in the USA?

Well, I'm sure it's not Red.

-No. They have a lottery for it, don't they?

-Yep.

They send all the participants into a lottery

and there's often advertisements on the internet about being entered

-into the Green Card lottery.

-And there's a film called Green Card...

We'll say Green Card.

Very good. Green Card it is. Well done. ..Eggheads.

The classical statue known as the Venus de Milo

is a representation of which Greek goddess?

-Aphrodite.

-She's Venus, yes.

Venus's Greek counterpart, Aphrodite.

Aphrodite is the right answer.

Back to you, Sozzlehurst.

What nickname is collectively given to the group of celebrities

that includes Sienna Miller, Kate Moss, Sadie Frost and Jude Law?

-I am not entirely sure.

-No, neither am I.

Primrose Hill is jogging my memory, perhaps.

-Dulwich is jogging mine.

-I won't say what's jogging mine, then.

-Good.

I'm drawn to Bloomsbury. I don't know why.

-That was the first thing that came up.

-I don't know. I've not...

Shall we go for Bloomsbury, then?

You're the fashionista amongst us.

-Thank you.

-Shall we go Bloomsbury?

OK, we'll say the Bloomsbury Set.

Let's see if the Eggheads know.

-Primrose Hill.

-Primrose Hill. Sorry.

Sozzlehurst & Hiccup, you're wrong.

It gives the Eggheads the chance to come back in.

How many times was Alfred Hitchcock nominated

for a Best Director Academy Award?

Over to you.

He had a long career.

He was in Hollywood from the end of the '30s.

I would be inclined to go for 10.

-All right.

-We don't know, so we'll try 10.

10 is wrong. 5.

Back to you, Sozzlehurst, your third question.

In the TV drama series Twin Peaks, what was the name of the evil entity

that was responsible for the death of Laura Palmer?

-Twin Peaks.

-I don't know.

There was Bob and Mike

and I'm pretty sure that it was Bob because he was...

They didn't have a person to be Bob,

but there was a man on set and they caught him on camera

and they thought he looked really good as an evil entity.

We'll say Bob.

Bob is your answer and it's right.

So, Eggheads, you need to get this question right.

Which London club is colloquially known as the In & Out?

-Naval & Military.

-Yes, the gatepost has got "in" and "out" written.

It's the Naval & Military Club.

It's the right answer.

So you're level after three questions. It gets harder.

We move to Sudden Death.

And, Sozzlehurst & Hiccup, your question comes first.

What is the name of the not-for-profit steam railway line

that crosses the border of East and West Sussex?

I'm sure Chris would know this.

It's the South Downs area, isn't it?

I'm not getting anywhere in my head, so...

Me neither.

We honestly don't know, so it's a pure stab in the dark.

We're going to say the South Downs Railway.

South Downs Railway is wrong.

-Eggheads?

-We need Chris.

-Bluebell Line.

Bluebell Railway. If the Eggheads get this right, they have won.

Which American actor and director, who settled in the UK

when he was blacklisted by the House Un-American Activities Committee,

was instrumental in setting up Shakespeare's Globe Theatre in London?

Sam Wanamaker.

The man who was largely responsible for that was Sam Wanamaker.

Well done, Eggheads. It is Sam Wanamaker. You've won.

So commiserations to you.

The Eggheads still reign supreme over quizland.

I'm afraid you won't be going home with the £2,000,

which means the money rolls over to the next show.

Eggheads, congratulations. Back to your winning ways.

Who will beat you? Join us next time to see

if a new team of Challengers have the brains to defeat the Eggheads.

£3,000 says they don't. Till then, goodbye.