Episode 114 Eggheads

These people are amongst the greatest quiz players in Britain.

They make up the Eggheads,

arguably the most formidable quiz team in the country.

The question is, can they be beaten?

Welcome to Eggheads, 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.

And taking on our awesome quiz champions today are The Cards.

All the gents on this team

are members of the Cartophilic Society of Great Britain,

an organisation devoted to propagating and preserving the hobby

of cigarette card collecting.

Let's meet them.

Hello, I'm John.

I'm 70, and I'm a part time local government press officer.

Hi, I'm Annie. I'm 51, and I'm a part time credit controller.

Hello, I'm Derek. I'm 76, and I'm a retired chartered accountant.

Hello, I'm Martin. I'm 73, and I'm a cigarette card dealer.

Hello, I'm Oliver. I'm 65, and a retired distribution manager.

Well, John and team, welcome.

Cigarette cards, they don't make them anymore, do they, John?

No, they disappeared in 1939 at the start of the War.

They've never really reappeared.

There have been odd efforts since the War, but...

-What did they show on them?

-Everything.

Footballers, cricketers, historical events going back to the Boer War.

There were lots of... I know who all the Boer War generals look like.

These are the David Beckhams of their day?

All that sort of thing, yes. Stanley Matthews is on lots of them...

The most exciting card that you've got, how old would that be?

Probably 1895, something like that.

I've got some very early cards from smaller makers, cos little towns

would have their own tobacconists and cigarette manufacturers.

It's where we get the expression about the fag packet.

Yeah. "Educated off the back of a fag card."

That's what they used to say. Kids would collect these things

and learn from them.

Fascinating. It's great quizzy territory, isn't it, Eggheads?

I used to have cigarette cards of famous chess players.

Back in 1939, there'd only been five world champions,

and that wasn't going to be enough for a set,

so they stretched out and did 19 others.

There was a set of 24,

with all famous chess players from the late 19th, 20th centuries.

-You got any of them, gents?

-No.

They're interested. There we are, a talking point.

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

If they fail to defeat the Eggheads,

the money rolls over to the next show.

So, Cards, the Eggheads have won the last 16 games,

which means £17,000 says you can't beat them today.

-Do you want to go for it?

-We do.

-Yes.

All right, the first head-to-head battle is on Geography.

Who would like this?

Are you going to do that, Martin?

-Do you want to do it?

-Well, yes, I've travelled a bit. Yes.

Martin? OK, and against which Egghead? Who looks untraveled?

-CJ.

-I'm the most travelled of this lot, I think.

But I'm hoping the questions will be on Great Britain.

You have a reputation.

There we are, so Martin from the Cards

against CJ from the Eggheads, and to ensure there's no conferring,

take your positions in the question room.

OK, so we're on Geography. Three multiple choice questions initially.

-Martin, choose the first or second set of questions.

-The first, please.

Here's your first question, Martin.

What is the official monetary unit of Australia?

I'm not sure if it used to be the pound,

but I have been to Australia and it's the dollar.

Dollar is the right answer.

CJ, your first Geography question. Will it be a UK Geography question?

Which desert covers parts of several countries,

including Egypt, Libya and Tunisia?

Erm...

..has to be the Sahara.

Sahara is the right answer.

Martin, Marmolada

is the highest peak in which mountain range?

I have not heard of this mountain,

so I must try and go on the language.

The Pyrenees are between Spain and France.

Er, the Apennines are Italian and the Dolomites are in Eastern Europe.

I don't think it would be the Dolomites.

It sounds to me more like...

..a Spanish language, so I'll go for the Pyrenees.

-It's not the Pyrenees, actually. Eggheads?

-Dolomites.

Dolomites is the answer.

CJ, your second question, to take the lead.

Ashdown Forest, the inspiration for AA Milne's

Winnie-the-Pooh stories, is located in which county?

I've stayed at Ashdown Park Hotel in the forest.

Erm, it's in East Sussex.

East Sussex is correct. How about that?

He's got an English Geography question correct.

Martin, your third question.

You need this one.

What is the approximate population of Mongolia?

Mongolia is known as a desolate country.

I would have said 23 million was much too high.

But, as between 3 and 13, I'm really not certain.

I will go down the middle and say 13.

It is desolate, and it's more desolate than you maybe thought.

It's 3 million, Martin. CJ has taken the first round here.

Martin, you won't be in the final, and he will.

Both of you, rejoin your teammates.

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

The Eggheads have lost no brains so far.

The next subject is Film and TV.

Who wants this?

-Well, I said that I would do it, but...

-Definitely not me.

-Anyone else prefer it?

-No.

-Shall I do it, then?

-Yeah.

-OK, and who shall I take on?

-Annie, against?

-Chris, yes?

-Chris, yes? OK...

-OK, you sound uncertain there.

It's Judith that doesn't watch TV and she's not here, so it's Chris.

OK, Annie from the Cards against Chris from the Eggheads.

Would you please take your positions in the question room?

OK, three questions on Film and TV. Multiple choice.

Whoever wins goes into the final. Annie, the first or second set?

I'd like to go first, please, Jeremy.

Here we go.

Alex Jones, who became a regular presenter on The One Show

in 2010, was born in which part of the UK?

Erm, Alex Jones is not somebody that I know of,

so I will have to be guided and by his name, I would guess at Wales.

Wales is the right answer for HER.

-Oh, sorry! Sorry, Alex Jones.

-Sorry, Alex.

But nicely done.

Chris, The Social Network is a 2010 film about the creation

of which popular website?

That's the American thing, isn't it?

That's about the creation of Facebook.

Facebook is correct.

Your question, Annie.

Which actor has appeared in the films Zoolander, Elf and Old School?

Oh, gosh, again another one that I'm not very... I will go for

Will Ferrell, because he's the only one that I've heard of.

It works for Judith, that technique, and you're right. Will Ferrell.

Chris, which actor played

Lt The Honourable George Colthurst St Barleigh

in Blackadder Goes Forth?

Well, Stephen Fry was the barking mad General Melchett,

Rik Mayall was Lord Flashheart, so it was Hugh Laurie.

Hugh Laurie is the right answer. Well done.

Get this one right, Annie,

to put a bit of pressure on Chris.

See if you can tip him over the edge.

Who won the 2010 series of Big Brother?

Oh, goodness. My daughter's going to kill me.

They're big fans of this, and I'm sorry to say

I'm not a fan of the programme. I'm going to say Josie Gibson.

-Eggheads, why are you laughing?

-She got it right.

-Josie Gibson.

It is Josie Gibson, well done.

There's something...

something instinctive going on there.

Chris, pressure on you, now.

In which 1960 film does Jack Lemmon famously use a tennis racquet

to strain spaghetti?

Well, Days of Wine and Roses is a fairly serious study

of alcoholism, so it's not that.

Sounds quite comedic, and the one of those that's the most comedic,

and had Jack Lemmon in it, and Shirley MacLaine, is The Apartment.

The Apartment is the right answer.

So, you're equal after multiple choice.

Annie, we go to Sudden Death. Gets harder. I don't give alternatives.

In 1995, Ryan Moloney first appeared as the character

Toadfish Rebecchi in which TV series?

Toadfish was in Neighbours.

Neighbours is correct. Well done,

so the pressure on Chris, now.

The 2010 film, The Town, directed by Ben Affleck,

is primarily set in which US city?

Never seen it. Never heard of it. It's going to be a pure guess.

Baltimore.

You got the right first letter.

Boston is the answer. It's... Who's seen it? It's a fantastic film.

It's got the least memorable name of any film ever, that's the trouble.

The Town was in Boston. Annie, you're in the final.

Well done, you've beaten an Egghead.

Please, both of you, rejoin your teammates.

-Annie, well done.

-Thank you very much.

-How about that?

-You seem surprised...

-I do. More by luck than judgement.

You played a good round. They rely on luck as well sometimes.

I wouldn't have known any of Chris's questions, to be fair.

-A nice boost for our card collectors, John, yes?

-Absolutely.

Right, so you've lost a brain,

but the Eggheads have also lost Chris,

a brain as well, and the next subject is Arts and Books. Who would like this?

-Yes, I suppose I'd better do it.

-Thank you, Derek.

Derek, OK.

Now, which Egghead? You see Daphne smile. Don't be lured.

-It's like the Scylla and Charybdis.

-I think I'll challenge Daphne.

OK. Derek from the Cards against Daphne from the Eggheads,

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

I'm going ask you three questions, multiple choice Arts and Books

and Derek, you can choose the first or second set of questions.

I'll have the first, please.

Good luck, Derek.

The first of Beatrix Potter's stories to be published

was The Tale Of...which character?

Well, I've seen the film, Miss Potter.

But I've never read any of her work, so I'm afraid this is a guess.

I think it's Peter Rabbit.

Peter Rabbit is the right answer.

APPLAUSE

Nice start, well done.

Daphne, in the Harry Potter books by JK Rowling,

what term is used to refer to a person without magical powers?

I haven't read any of them, but I do recognise Muggle.

Muggle is correct.

Derek, which 15th century patron of the arts

was known as The Magnificent?

Again, I've got to make a guess here.

I'm going to guess at Lorenzo de Medici.

Let's see what your team thinks. Is he right? They reckon you're right.

It's the right one to go for, Lorenzo de Medici is correct.

APPLAUSE

-CJ?

-He was the great sponsor and patron of Leonardo da Vinci.

-So he used to put up board and lodging for Leonardo?

-Yes.

Daphne, the Italian painters Giacomo Balla and Umberto Boccioni

are most closely associated with which movement in art?

I think that is futurism?

Futurism is the answer, Daphne, well done.

So, two points each and Derek, try and get this one right,

because it might cause Daphne to quiver.

Who won the 2010 Nobel Prize in literature?

I'm afraid, for the third time, it's a guess.

I'm going to go for Octavio Paz.

-Octavio Paz.

-Octavio Paz is wrong. For the first time, mis-guessed.

It's Mr Llosa.

Daphne, this for the round.

"When I do count the clock that tells the time",

is the opening line of which of Shakespeare's sonnets?

Eeny, meeny, miny mo, 24.

24 is wrong. So we go to Sudden Death. It's 12.

Not multiple choice, she let you off the hook there, Derek.

And now it's a bit harder, I don't give you the options. Are you ready?

-Yes.

-In which Bronte novel is the heroine

locked overnight in the red room as punishment

for fighting with her cousin, John?

I think that's The Tenant Of Wildfell Hall.

-It is Jane Eyre.

-Ah!

Daphne, back to you. Sudden Death.

Get this right, you're in the final.

The crime writer Ngaio Marsh was born in which country?

She was born in New Zealand. Ngaio, it's a name for tree in new Zealand.

Ngaio Marsh was born in New Zealand, Daphne. Well done, you've won on Sudden Death.

Derek, sorry.

-She's very good, isn't she?

-I'll say.

-That winning smile and then just the iron fist.

So Daphne will be in the final and Derek, you won't be,

and please, if you can, come back and rejoin your teams.

So we've got one more round to go before the final.

You've lost two brains, they've lost one, and it's Sport.

Who would like this?

Looks like it's got to be me.

-Are you happy with that, Oliver?

-John?

-Oliver.

-Oh, Oliver. Is that your subject?

I'll do that.

-Right. Against?

-I don't think it makes a lot of difference which one.

We'll go for Barry, I think.

OK, so Oliver against Barry, on Sport, please go to the question room now.

All right. Three questions on Sport in turn, multiple choice. Oliver,

you can choose the first or the second set.

I think I'd like to go first, Jeremy, please.

Here we go. Best of luck.

Nani, Javier Fernandez and Federico Macheda

represented which football club during the 2010, 2011 season?

They could actually have represented any of them,

but I believe they all represented Manchester United.

Man United is correct.

Barry.

Which role is most associated with Australian cricketer Ricky Ponting?

Ricky Ponting is a very fine batsmen and he's way up there

at the top of the batting records for the numbers of unscored.

Batsman is correct. Back to you, Oliver.

What was the distance in metres

of the long jump world record set by Mike Powell in Tokyo in 1991?

10.95...

I think that's a little bit too far, so I will go for 9.95.

It's actually 8.95.

Barry, your question.

In which year did Gareth Edwards last play test match rugby union for Wales?

Oh. A fine player from way back.

I don't think it was quite as late as 1978.

I'm going to say 1973.

-No, actually, it was 1978.

-Oh, that's surprising.

So, you're equal.

Let's see what happens now.

The Medina Country Club, which hosted golf's US Open in 1949,

1975 and 1990 is located in which US state?

I'm not 100% certain.

I think Montana is a little bit too remote for something like that,

and I think out of the other two, I would go for Illinois.

Well done, you've got the right answer there. Illinois.

Difficult question. Barry, this is yours now.

If you don't get this right, you're not in the final round.

In which sport is Germany's Sylke Otto a double Winter Olympic champion?

That name rings a bell. I don't think Germany has many ski jumpers.

It tends to be more Scandinavian.

It could be ski skating,

but I've a feeling Otto is prominent in the luge,

so I shall say luge.

Luge is correct, well done. So you are equal after those questions,

and Oliver, we go to Sudden Death.

-It gets a bit harder. Are you ready to roll?

-Yes.

Which Indian cricketer was the first man to score 14,000 test match runs?

Well, I would say...

out of all of them, probably Tendulkar is the one I would go for.

I need the first name and the last name.

-Sachin Tendulkar.

-Correct.

Well done. Great stuff.

OK, Sudden Death, Barry.

Which English athlete won the men's 100 metres gold medal at the 1993 World Championships?

That sounds like Alan Wells.

There's been a reaction of astonishment here!

'93 for Allan Wells?!

'93, you want to tell us who?

Linford Christie.

Linford Christie.

Linford Christie is the answer, Barry, not Alan Wells.

Well done, Oliver, you are in the final.

You can thank Alan Wells for that, and Barry's been knocked out.

Please both of you come back and rejoin your teams.

So, this is what we have been playing towards.

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

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

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

So Derek and Martin from The Cards,

also Chris and Barry from the Eggheads,

would you please now leave the studio.

John, Annie and Oliver, you are playing to win The Cards £17,000.

CJ, Daphne and Pat, you are playing for something money can't buy,

the Eggheads' reputation.

I will ask each team three questions in turn.

The questions are all General Knowledge,

and you are allowed to confer.

So John, Annie and Oliver, the question is,

are your three brains better than the Eggheads' three?

-Would you like to go first or second?

-We'd like to go first.

Here we go, playing for £17,000. All the very best to you.

What phrase was coined in the early 1960s by the Royal Society

to describe the emigration of British scientists to the USA

at the time?

ALL: Brain Drain.

Definitely. The other two certainly don't ring a bell, anyway.

So it's got to be Brain Drain.

We're agreed, it's Brain Drain.

The right answer is a Brain Drain. Good.

Eggheads, famous from the time

of the French Revolution, the term tricoteuse

refers to a woman engaged in which activity or pastime?

Knitting. They were the women... Yes.

They were knitting.

Madame Defarge knitted by the guillotine

in A Tale of Two Cities.

So it's knitting.

Knitting is the right answer.

Second question for you.

Giovedi is the Italian name for which day of the week?

Giovedi is the Italian name for which day of the week?

It's from Latin, I think, so it will be similar to...

What is jeudi in...

Dimanche, lundi, mardi,

vendredi.

That's it, vendredi.

My feeling is towards Thursday.

Mine is towards Thursday.

Yes, but I don't know.

I wouldn't be 100% certain.

I wouldn't bank on it.

But going on the French as well...

My Italian's non-existent. My hairdresser is going to kill me.

We think, going on French and being Latin descent,

we think it's Thursday.

Yes, they're pleased backstage

because you got it right.

Thursday it is, well done. We got to the French for Thursday,

what did we agree was the French?

-Jeudi.

-Jeudi?

-Yes.

-What a relief.

Eggheads,

what was Spandau Ballet's only UK number one single during the 1980s?

True was number one, I think.

Instinction's not right.

Was Gold...?

-What did you think?

-I think it's True.

-I think it's True.

-We'll go that way?

-Yeah.

Jeremy, were going to go for True.

True is the right answer, well done.

OK. Your third question.

Under which British king

did Spencer Perceval serve as Prime Minister?

Spencer Perceval was assassinated...

Perceval.

..in about, I think, 1801, something like that.

1801.

So it's not...

It would be too early for William IV.

It's not William IV.

I think it must be George III, I think,

because George IV was 1820 to 1830.

At that time, I would go for George. What do you think?

I haven't got a clue, sorry. History isn't...

We think he was assassinated

about 1801, something like that,

and we think that George III was then on the throne.

So that's our answer.

Are they right, Eggheads?

-They are, but he was assassinated in 1812.

-OK. You're right.

George III it is.

So the Eggheads are perched here

rather nicely on the precipice where you have left them.

And they now need to see if they can get this one right.

Which model did Orlando Bloom marry in 2010?

I think it's Miranda Kerr.

Well, I've got nothing.

Miranda Kerr is Australian.

Adriana Lima is Brazilian.

Not that that helps us very much.

I mean...

-..that was my instinct.

-You have a feeling she married...

Yes, Miranda Kerr.

If it's wrong, I apologise.

I'm happy to go with that.

So, Miranda Kerr?

We're going to go with Miranda Kerr.

Your answer is Miranda Kerr.

If it's wrong, they've won.

They've won all the money.

Miranda Kerr is the correct answer.

-Where did you get that from, Daphne?

-I've no idea.

I couldn't remember it until the three options came up.

OK, all right. Not disappointed yet.

You're still very much in there. We go to Sudden Death.

It's that bit harder.

I don't give you the options here.

A cricket-like insect

called the giant weta is native to which country?

That is a difficult one.

It'll be somewhere obscure, Madagascar or somewhere.

Do you think? Or is it going to be somewhere like...

-The place that seems to have large things of everything is Australia.

-Yes.

Everything is big in Australia.

-That is true.

-Antipodean.

But the other place would be somewhere like Borneo.

-Or Madagascar.

-Or Madagascar.

I've never heard of it.

It's going to have to be a guess, isn't it?

Which are we going to go for?

-Go for Madagascar.

-Right.

We're going to go for Madagascar,

it is more a guess than anything, I'm afraid.

Your answer is Madagascar.

It's wrong.

You came close with Australia. It's New Zealand.

Is the right sort of idea.

The New Zealand film director, Peter Jackson,

named his special effects company after the creature.

Giant weta

from New Zealand.

So, Eggheads, it's reversed now.

If you get this one right, the contest is over.

In Florence,

a corridor designed by Giorgio Vasari

runs from the Uffizi

above the Ponte Vecchio

to which palace on the other side of the River Arno?

This corridor houses

one of the world's great collections of self portraits.

It's opened to the public very rarely.

But more importantly, I need to figure out what's at the other end.

It'll be Palazzo something. Can we think of a suitable...

The Bargello, I don't think the Bargello is a palace.

The Uffizi Gallery to the Palazzo...

Can you think of the key Florentine families?

Medici, obviously.

Or a palazzo in Florence.

Or just a palace. What do you think, Daphne?

-Anything?

-No.

I'm really sorry.

-The Pitti Palace is in Rome, isn't it?

-Yes.

-Pitti? Yes.

-Definitely in Rome? Pitti Palace.

-I'm not sure it is in Rome, actually.

-Well, it's a palace.

-It's a fairly forlorn effort.

-Yes.

What do you think,

Bargello or Pitti Palace?

-Pitti.

-Yeah, Pitti.

-OK.

We're in confusion here, Jeremy.

We know lots about this corridor except the thing we need to know.

And simply because it's a palace,

we're going to go for the Pitti Palace.

As a matter of fact,

you're bang on with Pitti Palace. It is in Florence.

Watching you work is incredible. I'm sorry,

because the Eggheads have won the contest.

Cards, I'm sorry, commiserations,

you played a brilliant game. You were very close to that money.

The Eggheads did what comes naturally. Their winning streak continues.

I'm afraid you won't be going home with the £17,000,

so the money rolls over to our next show.

Eggheads, many congratulations, that was a great game.

But who will beat you, I wonder?

Join us next time to see if a new team of Challengers

have the brains to defeat the Eggheads.

£18,000 says they don't. Until then, goodbye.

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