Episode 116 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 challenging our resident quiz champions today

are the Corinium Racketeers.

This team all know one another through the Cirencester Tennis Club.

And, as I'm sure the Eggheads will be able to tell us,

Corinium is the Roman name for Cirencester.

So let's meet them.

Hello, my name is Kevin. I'm 47, and I'm a managing director.

Hello, I'm Carol, I'm 49, I'm a freelance book editor.

Hello, I'm Ken, I'm 59, I'm a painter and decorator.

Hi, my name is Graham, I'm 48, I'm a marketing planner.

Hi, My name's Ro. I'm 49, and I'm a community worker.

-Kevin and team, welcome, great to see you.

-Thank you.

-And you quiz.

Who do you quiz against?

-Teams.

-Club teams really.

-Club teams?

But we have played against Cirencester Cricket Club before.

Ah. The cricket club. Have you beaten them?

Actually, I don't think we did!

THEY ALL CHUCKLE

-I'm in both, so I was on the cricket team.

-Oh, I see.

OK. Good luck to you.

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

If they don't defeat the Eggheads,

the prize-money rolls over to the next show.

So, Corinium Racketeers, the Eggheads have won the last 18 games,

which means £19,000 says you can't beat them today.

-Shall we try?

-Yes, please.

-All the very best. A lot of money to win.

The first head-to-head battle is the subject of Music.

Which one of you would like this?

-I think that's got to be Ken.

-I think it's me.

-Yeah.

-That's got to be Ken.

-It's him we're going to choose.

-OK.

Ken, against which Egghead?

-Entirely up to you, Ken.

-Sport, isn't she?

-OK. So...

-Judith?

-Yeah, why not?

Judith, please.

OK, Ken from the Corinium Racketeers,

versus Judith from the Eggheads.

You're spared sport, Judith.

-Yes. But... dumped into music.

-SHE CHUCKLES

To ensure there's no conferring,

please take your positions in the Question Room.

I'll ask you three multiple-choice questions on music in turn.

Whoever wins the round goes through to the final,

the other person is knocked out. You can choose

the first or the second set of questions.

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

Here we go, good luck.

Philip Oakey of the Human League

and Giorgio Moroder had a UK 1984 hit single called Together In what?

Erm. It wasn't In The Summertime because that's Mungo Jerry, I think.

Paris & London, I'm not too sure who had that.

I'm almost sure it's Electric Dreams.

So that's my answer.

Nice work, Electric Dreams is the right answer. Very good.

Judith, who had a UK number one single in 2010 with Promise This?

I don't think it was Cheryl Cole. Hers was called something different.

Erm, Sarah Harding?

-It was Cheryl Cole.

-Oh.

-As a matter of fact, with Promise This.

-How annoying!

-Oh dear.

-SHE CHUCKLES

All right, so you're in the lead, Ken.

Take Back Your Mink is a song from which musical, Ken?

Not too sure about this one, Jeremy, I must admit.

Um. Take Back Your Mink.

It sounds, it could be gangsters.

Erm.

I'm going to go for Chicago.

That's my answer.

-Chicago is your answer. OK, any Egghead?

-Guys and Dolls?

Guys and Dolls is the answer.

OK, Judith, let's see if you can get off the launch pad.

The tracks, New Kid In Town, and Life In The Fast Lane,

appeared on which classic 1970s album?

I think that was Hotel California.

Hotel California is the right answer, well done.

Ken, your question.

During the 1950s and '60s,

which American record company was home to artists such as

Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon, Chuck Berry,

Howlin' Wolf and Bo Diddly?

There may have been record companies called Backgammon and Domino.

But I've definitely heard of Chess.

I think I'll go with Chess.

Well done, you've got it right,

Chess is the right answer.

You are in the lead. Let's see what Judith does.

Which composer took music by Pergolesi and others,

and arranged and orchestrated it into the ballet, Pulcinella?

Oh dear. I don't know. Let's think.

Borodin?

Borodin, where did that come from? Just going down the right, or?

Um. No, it was a bit of a flash.

OK. Stravinsky is the right answer.

Judith. So you've been knocked out by Ken.

Well done, you're in the final round,

Good round for our challengers.

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

So, as it stands,

the Corinium Racketeers have lost no brains from the final round.

The Eggheads have lost a brain.

The next subject is Science.

Which of you would like this?

-Probably...

-Are you going to do it, Kevin?

-You're happy to?

-OK, I'll take Science, Jeremy.

-Kevin, OK.

Which Egghead? Not Judith.

Whoever you want to play.

OK. I will take Pat.

So Kevin, from Corinium Racketeers, against Pat from the Eggheads.

Please go to the Question Room now.

Three questions on Science, multiple choice.

Kevin, the first or the second set?

I'll go first, please, Jeremy.

And here is your question, Kevin.

How many atoms are there in a molecule of water?

Right. I am not quite sure about this one.

Um. I know that the scientific name for water is H2O.

So, that is pointing me to 3.

Um.

And I think that's going to be my answer, I'm going to go for 3.

3 is the right answer, well done.

Pat, which branch of mathematics takes its name from

the Greek for, to measure land?

Calculus takes its name from the word for pebble.

I'm not sure about statistics.

But geometry comes almost directly from the Greek,

to measure land, so it's geometry.

Geometry is the right answer.

Back to you, Kevin.

What name did Donald Johanson give to the three million year old

female hominid skeleton he found at Hadar in Ethiopia in November 1974?

Right, um. I don't think it's Linda.

And, I don't remember the name Laura coming up.

I'm pretty sure that I have heard of Lucy. So,

yes, I will go with Lucy as my final answer.

Very good, Lucy, it is,

well done, Kevin.

OK, your question.

Pat, what name is given to the technique of

exposing seeds and young plants to low temperatures,

in order to hasten subsequent flowering?

I can't tell you very much about options B or C.

But Vernalization is the process applied to seeds in that manner.

Vernalization is the right answer.

Kevin, your question.

Get this, and put Pat under pressure.

"An expanding universe does not preclude a creator,

"but it does place limits on when he might have carried out his job."

Is a quotation from which scientist?

OK. I really don't know the answer to this.

But it sounds like the sort of thing that Stephen Hawking might have

referred to in A Brief History of Time.

So I'm going to go for Stephen Hawking.

Stephen Hawking is the right answer. Very good.

Very well played in this difficult round.

Pat, get this wrong, you're out.

Which theory holds the view

geological changes have been gradual

and produced by forces still at work,

and not by catastrophic changes?

I read about this some time ago, in a Bill Bryson book.

And I'm fairly sure it's Uniformitarianism.

It sounds like a religious movement. I think it's Uniformitarianism.

Uniformitarianism is the right answer, well done.

You're equal after three tricky questions.

Kevin, it's not been easy to shake him off, but it never is.

So we go to Sudden Death. It's that bit harder.

I'm not going to give you alternatives.

And here's your first one if you're ready.

Tharsis Montes is the name of a volcanic region on which planet?

Tharsis Montes?

I really don't know.

There's no way I can work this out.

So I'm just going to have to take a guess,

and I will go for, um, Mars.

-Mars is right. Well done!

-HE CHUCKLES

Playing like a demon.

Pat, what name is given to the unit of heat energy

that's usually defined as 4.1868 Joules?

I think I'll have to go for calorie.

Calorie is correct.

Kevin. In 1901, which Austrian-born pathologist

discovered three of the major human blood groups?

I don't know the answer to this question.

I'm thinking of the names of the blood groups

to see if that gives me any clues.

A, O. Rhesus negative. Positive.

I don't even think I know of any pathologists.

So I'm just going to have to think of a scientist. Erm.

Was it...

Rhesus?

It was not. Let me ask Pat, do you know, Pat?

I think that's Karl Landsteiner.

Karl Landsteiner is the answer.

Pat, you have the chance

to take the round. You haven't lost on Science.

Which Soviet nuclear physicist

was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace, in 1975?

That should be Andrei Sakharov.

The answer is Andrei Sakharov. Well done, Pat.

Well done to you, Kevin, for playing so forcefully there.

He has knocked you out. Pat will be in the final. Please, come back,

and rejoin your teams.

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

The eggheads have lost one brain. Next subject is Arts & Books.

Which of you would like this?

-Are you going to do that, Carol?

-Carol?

-Yes, OK.

-Should I go for this?

-We are voting for Carol.

-Right, me.

Carol. OK, against which Egghead?

Barry, Chris or Kevin?

Chris. What do you think? Chris. Yes, Chris, please.

Carol, from the Corinium Racketeers, against Chris from the Eggheads,

on Arts & Books. And to ensure there's no conferring,

please take your positions in the Question Room.

Good luck in this round, Arts & Books. Three questions.

And whoever wins goes through to the final.

Carol, do you want the first or second set of questions?

I think I'll go first, please.

Carol, here we go.

In literature, what term is used to refer to a character

that hinders the central character from achieving his or her goals?

Dualist sounds like fencing.

Mentalist doesn't sound right at all.

So I would say Antagonist.

Antagonist is the right answer.

So Chris, over to you.

What name is given to the type of representational painting where

objects or bodies are portrayed as they might appear in nature?

Well, it's not Surrealist Art

because that was Marcel Duchamp and that sort of stuff.

Minimal Art I think is the less is more school of art.

So it's got to be Figurative Art.

Figurative Art is correct.

Carol, your question.

Pat Barker's 1991 novel, Regeneration, centres

on which historical conflict?

I know Pat Barker. I haven't read that book.

I'm quite tempted to say Napoleonic Wars.

But I think, because "Regeneration",

I think perhaps it's about regeneration after World War I.

So I'm going to say World War I.

Glad you changed your mind, you're right. World War I.

Chris. What is the surname of the brothers Hal and Roger,

who feature in Willard Price's adventures series of books?

Well, I've never heard of them, or the books.

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

Let's apply the Judith method.

We'll go for Carr.

Going down the right, the Keppel technique.

Carr is wrong. Judith's technique didn't work for you. It's Hunt.

Carol, good position for you. Get this right,

you're in the final round.

Which artist produced the sculpture Prospero and Ariel

that sits over the entrance to the BBC's Broadcasting House?

That's a tough question because they all produced fantastic sculptures.

I'm...

Eric Gill did stuff... for the BBC I think.

I want to say Eric Gill but something is making me

go towards Jacob Epstein.

But I don't know why

so do I go with my instinct or do I go with my more logical brain?

I'm going to say Jacob Epstein.

Yeah. It's Gill though.

Oh! How annoying!

-You had the facts there!

-I did!

-And they all slotted in.

I see that statue every day.

OK. Over to you, Chris.

You can draw level now.

In Hans Christian Andersen's story The Tinderbox,

the soldier uses the tinderbox to someone which creatures?

Ah.

It's a fairy story, isn't it. You'd whistle for dogs.

Probably much the same for horses,

so a tinderbox would strike fire, which would summon dragons.

It should, shouldn't it, but no, it's dogs.

OK, Carol, well done.

You're in the final. You've knocked out an Egghead.

It's going very well for your team.

Both of you come back and rejoin us here.

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

The Eggheads have lost two brains and the next subject is sport.

Who wants this?

Between us two. What do you think?

I think yourself would be better at it to be fair.

Really? OK!

-Yeah.

-You sure?

-OK.

..For the general knowledge at the end.

OK. I'll give it a go.

Against which Egghead?

I'd like to play against Kevin, please.

So Ro from Corinium Racketeers against Kevin from the Eggheads.

If you can you please go to the question room now.

Three questions, multiple choice.

Ro, the first set or the second?

I'd like to follow the rest of my team and go first, please.

Here we go. Good luck.

James Milner and David Silva joined which football club in 2010?

Right, I can't think who David Silva plays for,

but I should be able to work out James Milner,

and I'm pretty sure he went to Manchester City.

Manchester City is the right answer. Well done.

All right. Your question.

Kevin, the Egghead.

How are the Formula One racing drivers Graham Hill,

who died in 1975, and Damon Hill related?

They were father and son.

Father and son is quite right. Back to you, Ro.

Tomas Berdych is a famous name in which sport?

That would be tennis, Jeremy.

Well done, you Corinium Racketeer!

As you are a tennis club, that's a good answer.

Kevin, the golfer Miguel Angel Jimenez

was born in which country?

Well, he's Spanish so I have to assume that he was born there. Spain.

Spain is the right answer. Two each. Going well. Back to you, Ro.

In which year did WG Grace last play test match cricket for England?

Goodness. Right. I'm not very good

on knowing the years that things happened.

I'm going to have to guess and I'm going to guess the earliest, 1889.

Let's see if Kevin knows.

I think it's 1899. He was actually just over 50 then.

But I think he went on for that long.

Yes, he did. 1899 it was, Ro.

Kevin has a chance to take the round on sport.

Which rugby league team won the 2010 Super League grand final?

Yes, they used to be very, very dominant, extremely dominant,

going back to the late '80s through to the mid-90s

and then they had a more fallow period but they have

really started to come back now. It's Wigan Warriors.

Wigan Warriors is correct.

Always going to be tough taking Kevin on, Ro.

Well done for trying.

Kevin, you'll be in the final. Ro, you've been knocked out.

Please both of you come back and we will play the final round.

So this is what we've been playing towards.

It is time for the final round, which is general knowledge,

but those of you who lost your head to heads

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

so Kevin and Ro from the Corinium Racketeers

and Chris and Judith from the Eggheads,

would you please leave the studio.

Carol, Ken and Graham,

you're playing to win the Corinium Racketeers £19,000.

Barry, Pat and Kevin, you're playing for something money can't buy -

the Eggheads' reputation.

I'll ask each team three questions in turn.

This time the questions are all general knowledge

and you are allowed to confer.

Corinium Racketeers, the question is,

are your three brains better than the Eggheads' three?

Do you want to go first or second?

I think we'd like to go first if we can, please.

All the very best to you. Good luck.

In which year did sweet rationing permanently end in Britain?

Right, I think it was in the '50s.

-Yeah.

-I think it was in the '50s.

And I think...

I don't know why but 1953 came into my head before he said anything.

-Same with me.

-Did it?

-Yeah.

I'm willing to go with you two on that.

-Oh.

-No, no...

Why, do you have a different view?

No, I don't, thinking about it, because I would've been seven

and I can't ever remember being rationed.

Which you would, wouldn't you, if you had been.

I think so as a child.

Yeah! I'm sure my mum had ration books till the '50s.

If we both think '53 and you don't remember '58...

-You do, but you don't remember the being rationed!

-I don't to be honest.

It was definitely quite a long time after the war. Go on then.

I think we'll go for 1953, please.

1953 is the right answer. Well done.

Eggheads, your question.

The screenwriter Richard Curtis, the singer James Blunt

and the horse-racing pundit John McCririck

attended which independent school?

-I don't think it was Gordonstoun.

-No.

One of the other two.

Any inklings or inclinations?

Blunt was the only one... I thought he was an old Etonian.

Really?

But it's a very, very faint... nothing tangible really.

Harrow is perhaps slightly...

You tend to hear a lot about old Etonians.

It's more upfront. Harrow has a slightly lower profile.

Yeah.

So if we haven't heard any of them described as either one,

that might suggest Harrow.

Yeah.

Funnily enough that crossed my mind just now, so...

-But you think you might have..?

-I don't know.

I don't know it,

so for the reasons that you've said, my inkling would be to Harrow.

I must admit, my gut feeling was Harrow.

I was thinking along the same lines.

I'm happy to go for Harrow. Are we all?

We're all just taking a punt.

I'm happy to go with Harrow with no great confidence.

-No, no great confidence.

-OK.

Well, we don't think it's Gordonstoun,

but we're somewhat torn between Eton and Harrow

and we think if they were old Etonians, we might well have heard

more about them in the press, so we're going to go for Harrow.

And you had an inkling for Eton.

Something so faint I wouldn't place any confidence in it.

The answer is Harrow.

Bad luck.

It's not often they shake like that on the first question.

OK.

Never mind. Keep pressing.

What is the official name used for a papal ambassador

to a foreign court or government?

Suffragan is to do with voting.

Right.

Metropolitan is too obvious, isn't it.

I think it's more to do with towns, cities.

And I've heard of a Papal Nuncio.

So have I. Yes.

I think we will go for Nuncio, please, Jeremy.

Your answer is Nuncio

and it's correct. Well done. Two out of two.

Back to you, Eggheads.

In which James Bond film did Rosamund Pike play

the role of Miranda Frost?

It was a Pierce Brosnan. In fact it was the last Pierce Brosnan,

it was Die Another Day.

It was the last of the Pierce Brosnan's - Die Another Day.

We think she appeared in the last of the Pierce Brosnan James Bonds,

which was Die another Day.

Die Another Day is the right answer.

OK. Your third question.

Which actress did the evolutionary biologist

Richard Dawkins marry in 1992?

Definitely not Joanna Lumley.

-Definitely.

-Right.

Lalla Ward was a Doctor Who assistant, wasn't she?

That's what I thought but...

I think she's quite...mature.

When was Lalla Ward in Doctor Who?

I only think she was,

but I think it was back in... She'd be about...

..Maybe back in the '80s possibly.

But that was her name in Doctor Who?

-No.

-Oh, she was in it.

Do you have any instinct?

I don't.

Although...

Evolutionary biologist, Doctor Who, maybe.

It's a bit tenuous.

It is very tenuous.

We're not completely sure she was in Doctor Who.

-No.

-But we've never heard of the other one.

I don't think that's a bad thing.

Oh. What do you mean?

She is an actress.

But... Have you heard of her.

Has she acted since?

My instinct originally was to go for Serena Gordon.

-Was it?

-Yeah.

But no reason, and the same with me.

Oh no!

I haven't got...

I'm veering towards Serena Gordon now.

No!

Because you two were drawn that way.

Given that we don't know,

I think we kind of had a gut feel for Serena Gordon,

I don't know why.

-Let's go for that.

-I think you're right.

Based on gut feel and very little else,

we're going to go for Serena Gordon.

Your answer is Serena Gordon.

You veered. What did you do there?

You had a Lalla Ward thing going on.

Probably the wrong thing!

-You've heard of her.

-Yes.

Lalla Ward was married to Tom Baker.

Oh!

But they broke up and she married Richard Dawkins.

Did she now?

So the answer is Lalla Ward.

-Oh, how annoying.

-Sorry.

OK, Eggheads, your chance to take the contest.

Winston Churchill's 1899 book The River War

is a first-hand account of British involvement in which country?

(Sudan.)

It was the Sudan.

It's the Nile campaign against the Khalifa and Omdurman and all that.

So it's the Sudan.

It's about the Omdurman campaign under Kitchener in the Sudan.

The correct answer is...

Sudan.

Congratulations, Eggheads, you have won.

You played a great game. You really did.

You got three in the final and you clearly know a lot so thank you.

We've enjoyed it.

We won't mention Richard Dawkins again.

-Ever!

-Ever!

Commiserations to you.

The Eggheads have done what comes naturally

and their winning streak continues.

I'm afraid you won't be going home with £19,000

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.

£20,000 says they don't. Until then, goodbye.

Subtitling by Red Bee Media Ltd