Episode 112 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 quiz pedigree is well known as 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 Young Codgers. This team of old friends are all keen quizzers

and three of them have been testing their knowledge

in the Ormskirk Quiz League for over 20 years. Let's meet them.

Hello, I'm Alan. I'm 60 and I'm a retired recruitment consultant.

Hello, I'm Brian. I'm 71 and I'm a retired teacher.

Hi, I'm Eric. I'm 61, I'm a senior systems analyst.

Hi, I'm Ray. I'm 62 and I'm a retired computer consultant.

Hello, I'm Magnus. I'm 64 and a retired business analyst.

-So, Alan and team, welcome.

-Hello, Jeremy.

-Alan, you are familiar from Are You An Egghead.

-I am.

-Yes.

-You're a keen quizzer and which ones are the Ormskirk Quiz League?

OK, I'm getting the feeling of a serious team here.

As you've probably guessed from our ages, we've known each other for decades, yes.

Someone here was a history teacher for a very long time.

-Me.

-Yes, exactly. That can come in handy. This is exciting, actually.

-They are quizzers, aren't they, Eggheads?

-They certainly are.

There's a different feel in the studio! Let's crack on.

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

However, if you fail to defeat the Eggheads,

the prize money rolls over to the next show.

So, Young Codgers, the Eggheads have won the last 14 games,

which means £15,000 says you can't beat them. How's that?

-That'll do.

-OK, even more expectation in the studio now.

The first head-to-head battle will be on the subject of Film & TV.

Which of you would like this?

-Film & TV - is that you, Eric?

-That's me. That will be me.

-Eric against which Egghead?

-Now then, who do you fancy?

-Take Judith, yeah.

-We'll play Judith please, Jeremy.

-OK, how flattering.

I'm not sure that it is, really.

-JEREMY AND JUDITH LAUGH

-Eric from the Young Codgers against

Judith from the Eggheads on Film & TV.

To ensure there's no conferring,

please take your positions in the Question Room.

So, Eric, good luck here.

Film & TV and you choose, Eric, whether you go first or second.

I will go first.

Here we go.

Mark Gatiss, Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith

were the main cast members of which TV comedy, first seen in 1999?

Men Behaving Badly was about two men sharing...er...

Neil Morrissey was one of the men and Martin Clunes, so it's not those.

Green Wing I'm not too familiar with, but I know that's a bit later

and I think it's The League of Gentlemen.

The League of Gentlemen is absolutely right. Well done.

OK, over to you, Judith.

Peggy Ashcroft, Geraldine James

and Tim Pigott-Smith starred together in which 1980s TV drama?

Oh, I think that... I can see them all in India.

I think it was The Jewel in the Crown.

Jewel in the Crown is the right answer, well done.

Back to you, Eric.

Which French actor, who became internationally known

after starring in the films Can-Can and Gigi,

played the villainous Kamal Khan in the James Bond film Octopussy?

Ah. I stopped watching the Bond films just before Octopussy,

so this is going to be a bit tricky.

Er, I don't think it was Alain Delon.

Er, Jean Gabin I think would probably be a bit old,

cos I remember him making films with Brigitte Bardot.

I think I'll go for Louis Jourdan.

-Yes!

-You definitely are a quizzer. Louis Jourdan is the right answer.

It's the way you guys eliminate things.

That's what sets you apart, I think.

Judith, which comic actor was the star of the 1928 comedy Steamboat Bill Jr?

Oh, dear. Um, I don't really know who Ben Turpin is.

I think it might have been Buster Keaton.

Chris is nodding approvingly. Is that right, Chris?

He does the stunt where the front of the house falls on him.

-Oh, is that right?

-Yeah.

-OK. Buster Keaton is correct.

-Phew.

So two points each and over to you,

Eric, for your third question. What was the only film

for which Steve McQueen was nominated for an Oscar?

HE SIGHS

Steve McQueen nominated.

Oh, dear me.

And I thought I knew about Steve McQueen. Um...

I remember... The Sand Pebbles is a well-regarded film.

I think I'll go for The Sand Pebbles, Jeremy.

You've got it right. The Sand Pebbles it is.

Judith...

to stay in it, who won the BAFTA for Best Actor for his performance

in the 2007 TV drama Boy A?

Oh, dear. I don't know. Um...Boy A? Never saw it.

Um, I think I'm going to go for Stephen Graham.

-Let's see if an Egghead here knows. Stephen Graham?

-No.

-Andrew Garfield.

-His first big role.

Judith, you're knocked out, you're not in the final.

Well done, Eric, first victory

for your team. Both of you, come back and rejoin your teammates.

-So first blood to you. Well done.

-Yeah, good start.

The challengers have lost no brains, the Eggheads lost a brain. Judith's.

Now, we move on to the next round and it is History.

-Who would like this?

-That'll be me.

-That'll be you, then, Brian.

-LAUGHTER

I think the history teacher might want to do this.

Brian, OK, how many years teaching history?

-Oh, 34?

-34! That sounds ideal.

-That was some time ago, though.

-Well, who would you like to take on?

Is it a chance to...? Is it a chance to try and get rid of Kevin?

-Go for it.

-I trust Brian.

-Yeah? Really?

-Yeah!

-That much?

-Go for it.

JEREMY LAUGHS All right.

This might be a bit of a gamble, but we'll have a go at Kevin.

Right, so it is Brian from The Young Codgers versus Kevin from the Eggheads on History.

To ensure there's no conferring,

would you please take your positions in the Question Room?

Well, Brian, this is quite exciting for us,

cos not many people get questions past Kevin in History.

In fact, I think, since Eggheads started,

he's done a total of 28 History rounds, he's lost none.

-Oh, dear.

-And he hasn't even got a question wrong.

-Right.

-So...

-Thank you.

-So you are now bringing your 30-odd years of history teaching

to bear on him. And we can't wait.

-I'll try, yes.

-Three questions,

-multiple choice, you can choose the first or second set.

-First, please.

Here we go, Brian.

Good luck. Vittorio Emanuele Orlando was the Prime Minister

of which country at the end of World War I?

Wasn't France. That was Clemenceau. It wasn't Spain, I don't think.

I'm pretty sure it was Italy, so that's what I'm going for - Italy.

Italy is correct. Well done.

Kevin,

what name was given to the cannon charge widely used

in the 19th century that consisted of small, round iron or lead balls

often held in clusters of three by iron rings

and combined in three tiers by cast-iron plates

and a central connecting rod?

Right. Well, the other two, I'm assuming, didn't exist.

I've never heard of them anyway, so I shall go straight for grapeshot.

Grapeshot is the right answer.

Brian,

the potato blight which led to the Irish famine began in which decade?

1810s is too early

and the 1870s is too late,

so it's got to be then in the middle. It's the 1840s.

1840s is correct.

Kevin,

the 1346 Battle of Neville's Cross, which resulted in

the capture and imprisonment of the Scottish King David II,

took place outside which city?

-HE CLICKS HIS TONGUE

-Neville's Cross.

I know of the battle, but I'm trying to remember exactly where it was,

which I should know, but has escaped me at the moment, unfortunately.

I don't think it's Leeds.

I think I'll go for...

Hmm, I might regret this, I'll go for Durham.

Funny, cos I know the answer, cos I was at Durham University.

There's a Neville's Cross outside Durham, so it's the right answer.

Durham is correct. Nearly got him there, Brian!

-Yeah.

-Your question.

The republic of Ragusa

was a historical city state centred on which city?

Don't think, well, I'm sure it's not Tripoli.

And I don't think it's Vienna. I'll go for Dubrovnik, please.

Dubrovnik is absolutely right.

Three out of three, well done.

Kevin, back to you.

Which Byzantine emperor reigned from 610 to 641 A.D.

and is traditionally believed

to have begun the division of the Eastern Roman Empire

into military provinces known as themes?

Well, it's not Justinian. He was earlier.

I don't think it was Zeno. I think it was Heraclius.

Heraclius is right.

All right, perfect round for you both so far. We go to Sudden Death.

We're on History. And here it gets, obviously, a bit harder, Brian,

because I don't give you alternatives.

You have to give me the answer.

The Trinidad was the flagship of which explorer

on his final voyage in 1519?

And I need the first name and the last name.

1519.

I think it's got to be something to do with...

Magellan?

So my answer, I think, yes, will be Ferdinand Magellan.

Ferdinand Magellan is correct.

Kevin. Alexander I, the King of Yugoslavia,

and Louis Barthou, the French Foreign Minister,

were both fatally shot on the same day in 1934

in which French city?

That was in Marseille.

Marseille is correct.

You're playing brilliantly, both of you, but then we thought you might.

Brian, your question.

The Arrow Cross Party was a national socialist movement

in which European country around the time of the Second World War?

Hmm.

It's going to have to be something of a guess, I think.

I would guess, I'm going to guess Yugoslavia.

No, it was Hungary.

Hungary is the answer, which gives Kevin a chance to take the round.

Which historian and geographer of Greek descent

wrote the 47-book Historical Sketches

at the beginning of the first century?

OK...

I don't know this one.

Or at least,

candidates are wandering about.

I will try Strabo.

Strabo is the right answer.

Kevin, you've taken the round.

And you maintained your record

of never getting a history question wrong

since the beginning of Eggheads.

Quite extraordinary. Brian, well done you, as well.

Do both of you please come back to us. Brilliant round.

As it stands, the challengers have lost a brain from the final round.

The Eggheads have lost a brain too.

The next subject is Arts & Books.

Which of you would like this?

-I think it's...

-I think it might be me.

Ray? OK. Against...

-Go on, go for CJ.

-Try CJ?

-Yeah.

OK. I'll go for CJ.

Ray of the Young Codgers against CJ of the Eggheads on Arts & Books.

Please go to the Question Rooms.

So I'll ask each of you three questions on Arts & Books in turn.

Ray, choose the first or second set.

I think I'll go for the first.

Here we go. Good luck.

The name of which Dickens character

is commonly used to describe a very miserly person?

I think almost everybody knows it. Scrooge.

Scrooge is correct.

CJ, in the theatre, what name is given

to the series of bows by the cast at the end of a performance?

I've done a few myself, but mainly to avoid the rotten tomatoes.

Curtain call.

Curtain call is correct.

Back to you, Ray.

Who won the 2010 Man Booker prize with his novel The Finkler Question?

Oh, dear.

It's going to have to be a total guess.

I'll go for...

Peter Carey.

No, it's not Peter Carey.

It's Howard Jacobson.

CJ, your question to take the lead.

Which 20th-century Poet Laureate

regarded a teddy bear named Archie as one of his lifelong companions?

I may have got this wrong in my head

but I thought John Betjeman was the one with the teddy bear.

I always believed it was John Betjeman,

so Betjeman.

John Betjeman is the right answer.

You've taken the lead, so Ray needs this.

The painting Hunters In The Snow, often seen on Christmas cards,

is by which artist?

I can picture this in my mind.

It certainly doesn't look like a William Holman Hunt,

nor does it look like a Hans Holbein

so I'm going to go for Pieter Brueghel.

Brueghel is the right answer. Well done.

CJ, if you take this one, you've got the round.

Colin Thubron, who was announced

as President of the Royal Society of Literature in 2010,

became known as a writer in which field?

I have vaguely heard the name.

But I'm wondering if that's in relation to books

or just because I happened to read this story.

Would he be elected to such a prestigious post

if he was a travel writer?

My first instinct was crime, although I never read fiction,

so I don't know it. I'll try crime.

No, crime is wrong.

Travel is the answer.

So, Ray, it's Sudden Death,

and it gets a bit harder, because I don't give you alternatives.

Here we go.

Helena Charles and Colonel Redfern

are characters in which play by John Osborne?

I'm afraid my mind has gone a blank

and I can't even think of a John Osborne play at the moment.

No, nothing's coming to me, I'm afraid.

I'm sorry, I'm going to have to pass on that one.

Pass, OK.

Look Back In Anger is the answer.

CJ, for the round,

in which decade did the American writer Ernest Hemingway die?

Is it the end of the '60s, or is it the beginning of the '70s?

Oh. I should just know his date of death straightaway.

Oh, that's annoying.

I'll go for the 1960s.

Well, it wasn't the end of the '60s.

It was actually earlier, '61,

so 1960s is the correct answer, CJ.

Sorry, Ray, you've been knocked out

by our Egghead. Please both of you rejoin your teammates.

Bad luck, Ray. But the fight goes on.

The challengers have lost two brains from the final round.

The Eggheads lost one brain so far.

One more round before the final.

Geography is the subject. Who wants this?

-I guess that'll be me.

-That's Magnus.

Well-travelled Magnus.

-Daphne or Chris?

-Daphne or Chris...

Chris might be a good one to try, possibly. Yeah?

OK, I'll go for Chris.

Magnus from the Young Codgers versus Chris of the Eggheads.

Please go to the Question Room now.

Geography is the subject. Magnus, do you want the first or second set?

I think I'll go first, please, Jeremy.

Here we go. In terms of population, what is the largest city in Wales?

Erm,

I think that's...

Apologies, if I get this wrong, to any Welsh viewers,

but I think that must be Cardiff.

Quite right, it is Cardiff.

Chris, your question. What was the currency of the Netherlands

before the introduction of the euro?

Oh, I spent many a guilder.

It's the guilder, Jeremy.

Guilder is right.

-Do you miss the guilders?

-Yeah.

It was a nice place, Holland.

I've not been back since the euro took over, but I like the guilder.

All right, over to you, Magnus.

The resort of Fuengirola is located on which of the Spanish Costas?

No, I haven't visited any of these Costas, unfortunately.

I think I'll go for...

Costa Blanca.

It's not Costa Blanca. Anyone been there?

I think it's the Costa Del Sol.

-It is the Costa Del Sol. That's the right answer.

-OK.

Chris, your question, to take the lead.

Traditionally, Canada's prairie provinces

are Alberta, Manitoba and which other?

Oh, the third prairie province

is Saskatchewan, eh?

Saskatchewan is the right answer.

OK, so he's in the lead, and you need this one, Magnus, to stay in.

The cities of Palembang in Indonesia,

Udaipur in India,

and Osaka in Japan all share which nickname?

There is something in the back of my mind that associates...

..associates the Indian one with water.

So I think I'm going to go for Venice of the East.

Well done, you got it right. Venice of the East is correct.

So, Chris, if you get this right,

you take the round. The Bell Rock Lighthouse,

considered a feat of engineering

when it was built in the 19th century,

lies in which body of water?

That was off the Northumbrian coast,

in the North Sea.

North Sea is correct, so you got all yours right.

Magnus, sorry, your wrong answer cost you. You won't be in the final.

Chris, you will.

Please both of you come back to us, and we will play that final.

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

which, as always, is General Knowledge.

But I'm afraid those of you who lost your head-to-heads

can't take part in this round.

So Brian, Ray, and Magnus from the Young Codgers,

and also Judith from the Eggheads,

would you please now leave the studio?

Alan and Eric, you're playing to win the Young Codgers £15,000.

Kevin, CJ, Daphne and Chris,

you're playing for something money can't buy,

the Eggheads' very precious reputation.

As usual, I will ask each team three questions.

This time, the questions are all General Knowledge

and of course, you can confer.

So Alan and Eric, the question is,

are your two brains better than the Eggheads' four?

-Would you like to go first or second?

-First, please, Jeremy.

Good luck to you.

It's been a great contest. Here's your first question.

A piece of correspondence from a woman to a man

ending a romantic relationship is known as what sort of letter?

That's Dear John, isn't it?

I would have thought so, yeah.

-Dear John?

-I've had a lot of them in my time.

Why doesn't that surprise me?

But don't tell Jan that.

That's Dear John, Jeremy.

Dear John is the right answer.

Eggheads, the John Peel stage

is a feature of which annual music festival?

Is there a...? I think there's a John Peel one at Glastonbury.

That was my initial thought.

-I thought that.

-Yeah?

-John Peel is Glastonbury.

-Got to be.

Glastonbury.

Glastonbury is your answer. It's correct.

Over to you, Young Codgers.

The businessman Michael O'Leary, born in Ireland in 1961,

is most associated with which industry?

He's the chief exec of Ryanair, isn't he?

I thought he was Ryanair.

We happy with that?

We're happy with aviation.

That's aviation, Jeremy.

Aviation is correct.

Next question is for the Eggheads.

The football team Shakhtar Donetsk,

winners of the UEFA cup in 2009, is based in which country?

-Ukraine.

-Ukraine.

-Donetsk Basin, Ukraine.

-Yeah.

The Ukraine, so I'm told.

I'm sure you knew that. Ukraine is the answer.

Back to you. Question three. All perfect so far.

Keep the pressure on them.

The Geminid meteor shower occurs during which month?

Well, August... Presumably...

Presumably it's at night...

I've got an inkling for December.

Why do I think December?

Because there's the Perseids in...

My only thought about December is that they are longer nights,

whereas August is, August are relatively shorter nights.

-Yes. Shall we try December?

-Yeah.

We're not really sure, Jeremy, but we're going to try December.

December is correct.

OK. Eggheads, if you get this wrong,

they have won £15,000.

Which writer described Britain as "a soggy little island

"huffing and puffing to keep up with Western Europe"?

-It's not Mark Twain, that's for sure.

-No. Oh...

KEVIN: I haven't heard this quote, I have to say.

What do you think?

I'm more Gore Vidal than John Updike.

Daphne, you said you think...

What were you...?

Would Updike have said anything like that?

Don't think so. It does sound more like Gore Vidal to me.

But then again, Vidal, maybe a bit too late.

I've heard it.

If I was on my own,

I would just go for John Updike, and I've got no idea why.

And it's probably wrong, but...

Why?

Do you think you may have heard?

-I have heard it.

-You've heard it,

-but have you heard it in relation to Updike?

-Yes.

Oh, dear.

- Right, shall we go... - Right, let's go for Updike.

Let's go for it, yeah?

John Updike.

I'm trying to work out what happened there. You seemed to have

Gore Vidal as your answer,

and then Daphne, it was just one of your mystical moments, was it?

The answer is John Updike.

-I don't know how you do it, Daphne.

-Well done.

I was certain they were going for Gore Vidal, then Daphne,

suddenly, your little Miss Marple moment.

OK, but it's not over by any means, it's Sudden Death,

and here it gets a bit more difficult

because I need the answer from you, I do not give you alternatives.

So, Young Codgers. "Money makes the world go round,

"the world go round, the world go round" is a line from a song

in the film version of which musical?

-Oh, God!

-I can hear it.

# ..The world go round The world go round... #

I'm not sure why, but the one that comes to mind is Half a Sixpence.

I've just a feeling it's one of those,

-one of those London-based musicals.

-Cockney musicals.

Cockney musicals, rather than an American musical.

We're just trying to get a picture.

But I can't picture who would be singing it.

If it's Half a Sixpence,

-it's somebody like Tommy Steele, isn't it?

-Yeah.

Go with your inkling, might as well.

We're really not sure, but we think it sounds like it's more likely

to be a London-based film and musical than a Stateside one,

so we are going to go for Half a Sixpence.

Half a Sixpence is wrong.

I can see your colleagues behind have slumped in despair,

they knew it.

Cabaret. Cabaret is the answer.

-Good grief.

-OK. What a contest this has been, Eggheads.

It's not over, it's Sudden Death. If you get this wrong, we play on,

if you get this right, the contest is done.

Minamata disease, named after

the Japanese village where it was first identified,

-is a form of poisoning by which chemical element?

-Mercury.

Sorry! Mercury poisoning.

The correct answer is Mercury. Congratulations, Eggheads,

you have won.

-Oh! Gore Vidal.

-So near, yet so far.

-But really great to see such a great team.

-We enjoyed that. Well played.

We can tell you love your quizzing, some great rounds there,

so well done. Commiserations to you.

The Eggheads have done what comes naturally, their winning streak continues.

You won't be going home with £15,000,

so the money rolls over to our 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.

£16,000 says they don't. Until then, goodbye.

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