Episode 125 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 UK's

toughest quizzes. They are the Eggheads.

And taking on the might of our quiz goliaths today are The 42s.

This team of friends have known one another for 30 years

and they take their name from the Douglas Adams book

The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy. Let's meet them.

Hello, I'm Richard, I'm 64 and I'm a retired accountant.

Hello, I'm Carole, I'm 56 and I'm a ward administrator.

Hello, I'm Colin, I'm 67 and I'm a retired risk manager.

Hello, I'm Graham, I'm 64 and I'm a retired librarian.

Hello, I'm Andy, I'm 56 and I'm a computer analyst.

-Richard and team, welcome to you.

-Thank you.

-Great to see you.

Explain 42, for those few people who don't know the connection.

42 is the answer to life, the universe and everything.

Except that nobody knew what the question was.

But we're hoping that it's going to bring us luck today.

-And you are all big quizzers.

-Little quizzers by comparison!

Without giving you a big build-up, I sense a quizzing team here.

-We enjoy quizzes, yes.

-All right. Good luck to you.

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

However, if they fail to defeat the Eggheads, the money rolls over.

So, The 42s, the challengers actually won the last game,

proving it can be done. So £1,000 says you can't beat the Eggheads.

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

-Who would like this?

-It's got to be me, hasn't it?

-I think it needs to be you, Colin.

-Yes, it's me.

-Colin on Film & TV.

-Against which Egghead?

-Erm, oh, Judith, please.

OK. Colin from The 42s against Judith from the Eggheads

on Film & TV. To ensure there's no conferring,

take your positions in the question room.

OK, Judith and Colin, it's Film & TV

and three multiple choice questions in turn.

Colin, you can choose the first or second set.

I'd like to go first, please.

Good luck. Here you go. "I pity the fool" was a line

often heard in which TV show?

Well, I'm not too sure about this.

Erm, I don't think it's Knight Rider.

It doesn't sound like that.

So it could be The A-Team.

They were a bit jokey.

Charlie's Angels, I'm afraid I didn't see that.

So I think I'll go for The A-Team.

Well done. The A-Team is right. Good.

Judith, in the TV series Doctor Who,

what was the name of the doctor's companion

played by Sophie Aldred?

That was one Doctor Who I missed out on.

I think she might have been called Ace.

-How did you guess that?

-Well, it just sounded the most likely.

Yeah. It's Ace. Well done. Over to you, Colin.

Which film company's logo features a boy

sitting on a crescent moon and fishing?

Yes, I think I know this.

I'll rule out Miramax.

Erm, it's between Lucasfilm and DreamWorks.

I think it's DreamWorks.

You've got it. DreamWorks is right. Playing well, Colin.

Putting Judith under pressure. Judith, Max Boyce and Pam Ayres

both appeared as contestants on which talent show?

I'm trying to think how old Pam Ayres probably is.

I think Opportunity Knocks must be too long ago.

I think it might have been Star For A Night.

Star For A Night? Anyone?

-Opportunity Knocks.

-It is Opportunity Knocks, Judith.

-Really?

-Yeah.

-Oh, well.

-OK, Colin, your question.

If you get this right, you're in the final.

Which music programme was introduced with, "The weekend starts here"?

Right.

These take me back to my youth a little bit.

Erm...

Hm.

I think it's Ready Steady Go!

Ready Steady Go! is the correct answer.

Well done. So you've beaten Judith. No way back for you.

Our Egghead is out and the challengers have their first person

into the final. Please come back and rejoin us.

So as it stands, the challengers have lost no brains from the final.

The Eggheads have now lost a brain.

The next subject is Arts & Books. Which of you would like this?

-This is a tricky one, isn't it?

-Yes.

-What do you think, Andy?

-Do you want me to do it?

-Do you think so? I think that'd be the best.

-OK.

-I'll do that.

-Andy, OK. Against which Egghead?

-Who do you suggest?

-I would suggest CJ myself.

-Yep, OK.

-CJ looks artistic.

-Andy from The 42s.

-He's looking artistic, you think? You are right.

-It's the shirt.

Andy versus CJ from the Eggheads. Please go to the question rooms now.

You are a very erudite team, Andy. What is your degree in?

My degree is in Latin and librarianship.

-I've also got a Masters in Latin historiography.

-OK.

-I think he can outrank you, CJ.

-It's not difficult.

-How is your Latin?

-Non-existent.

All right. And your librarianship? That's not much better.

-I don't even have a library card.

-Mm. OK.

I'll ask you three question on Arts & Books in turn.

Whoever answers the most correctly goes through to the final.

-Andy, first or second set?

-Erm, I think I'll go first, please.

Here we go. Good luck, Andy. AA Milne's 1928 book

The House At Pooh Corner saw the introduction of who?

I'm not really familiar with the Pooh books, I must admit.

I don't really know, but I'm going to guess Piglet.

Not Piglet, actually. Tigger.

Bad luck. CJ, your question.

Bernard Cornwell's Sharpe novels are set during which period of history?

I've not read any of them myself

but I think, from having seen trailers with Sean Bean in it,

that it's the Napoleonic Wars.

Napoleonic Wars is the right answer. Your second question, Andy.

The bestselling book for job-hunters by Richard Nelson Bolles,

first published in 1970, is called What Colour Is Your what?

I've no idea.

It's got to be something like parachute or umbrella, I'd guess.

I'm going to guess parachute.

-Is he right, team?

-No idea.

-It is a difficult question.

Parachute is the answer.

So you're right, well done.

OK, CJ, to take the lead.

What was the name of the woman who inspired the poetry

of the Italian scholar Petrarch?

No idea.

I don't know. This is little more than a blind guess. Leonora.

-Do you know this one, Andy?

-It's Laura.

Laura is the answer, CJ. Should've switched those two questions around.

OK, so you're equal after two questions. Andy, this is yours.

What Latin name is given to paintings which depict Jesus

wearing the crown of thorns or with Pontius Pilate?

Well, Pieta I thought was Italian. I can see the accent on the A,

so it probably is. The other two are Latin.

Erm, Salvator Mundi is saviour of the world.

Ecce Homo is behold the man.

I know Ecce Homo's been used.

But then so has Salvator Mundi. I'm going to guess Ecce Homo.

-Excellent. You're right. Well done!

-HE LAUGHS

I know how much that meant to you. Well done.

OK, CJ, if you get this wrong, you're knocked out.

In the 1860s, which French artist painted several versions

of the execution of Emperor Maximilian of Mexico?

Well, I really don't know this one, either. I mean...

I mean, Delacroix's the one I know least about.

I know some of his paintings.

But I know quite a bit about the other two and I don't recognise this.

But it could just be an episode that I just have passed over.

Hm. No, I don't know this, so I'll just go for Delacroix.

It's not Delacroix, it's Manet.

Manet is the answer, CJ, so you're knocked out by Andy.

Well done to you, Andy! Good work!

The Latin and the librarianship came in nicely there.

So you will be in the final round. Please rejoin your teams.

So, Richard, it's going to plan.

It's not often I say that at this stage, either.

If there was a plan, it would be going to it, yes.

Any pitfalls ahead? Any worries for you?

-Plenty.

-OK. As it stands, you've lost no brains

and the Eggheads have lost two! The next subject is Sport.

-Is that the pitfall?

-It's one of them.

-But I'll do Sport.

-OK, Richard. Against which Egghead?

-Er...

-Kevin, Pat or Daphne?

I'll try Daphne, please.

I was hoping you wouldn't.

So Richard from The 42s against Daphne from the Eggheads.

Please go to the question room.

-So, Richard, you're a big quizzer, as well?

-An occasional quizzer.

But I was told that you got married very recently,

-for which congratulations.

-Thank you.

-And your wife is on the team.

And you had a quiz at the wedding.

That's absolutely right. It was just a pity that all the teams cheated.

-Oh, did they? Were they using their mobiles?

-Yes, absolutely.

OK, Richard, onto the quiz. Sport.

-And you can choose the first or second set.

-I'll go first, please.

And here is your question. Graeme Smith is most associated with

performing which role for the South African cricket team?

I think he's also the captain

and I'm pretty sure he's an opening batsman.

Opening batsman is correct.

Daphne, in June 2010,

Avram Grant became the manager of which football team?

Oh, come on, not football. Anything but. Erm...

West Ham United.

West Ham United is the right answer.

You always get it right when you don't know! I don't understand it!

In 1977, John Lloyd reached the final of which tennis grand slam?

This is clearly going to be a guess,

but he was...known as more of a serve and volleyer,

so I'm going to rule out the French Open.

And I'm going to guess the US Open.

-CJ will tell us.

-I'm afraid he was runner-up to Vitas Gerulaitis

-at the Australian Open.

-Australian Open is the answer.

Daphne, your question. In which sport have Karen Pickering

and Fran Halsall represented Great Britain?

-Swimming.

-Swimming is the right answer. Well done.

She's taken the lead, Richard. You need this one right

or you've been knocked out by Miss Marple over here.

She comes over so unassuming and then solves the crime every time.

Which sporting event was won by Helio Castroneves

in 2001, 2002 and 2009?

Well, I think I'm going to exclude the Indianapolis 500

for no very good reason at all.

I don't know the name as a marathon runner, though he probably is.

So I'm driven to say the Giro d'Italia.

-You have driven in the wrong direction.

-I thought so.

-It actually was the Indianapolis 500.

-Oh!

So, Richard, there we are. The first bit of bad luck for your team.

You've been knocked out. Daphne is in the final, you are not.

Please return to us here in the studio.

So as it stands, the challengers have lost a brain from the final,

the Eggheads have lost two brains, and the last subject is History.

So who takes this?

-Carole or Graham?

-It's got to be you, Carole.

-Yeah.

-Carole, who do you want to play against?

-Erm, Pat.

-Yes, Pat.

-OK. So Carole from The 42s against Pat.

To ensure there's no conferring, please go to the question room.

Carole, many congratulations to you on your recent quizzy marriage

-to Richard.

-Thank you very much.

-Very good.

So it's History and it's three questions, multiple choice.

-You can choose the first or the second set.

-I'll go first, please.

Here we go, Carole. Best of luck.

Who led a trip to the Antarctic in the ship Nimrod?

I don't think it was Francis Drake.

Er... I'm...going to go for Ernest Shackleton.

-Is she right, Richard?

-I think so, yes.

-You're right. Well done.

Pat, the Schola Armaturarum in Pompeii

was used for what purpose?

-Schola Armaturarum.

-S-C-H-O-L-A and then Armaturarum.

Well, schola certainly suggests school

and armaturarum suggests armed men, so...

Grain. Coins. It certainly sounds like gladiator training.

Erm...

Yes, I think it's gladiator training.

Gladiator training is the right answer.

Carole, which country was formerly known as Bechuanaland?

Bechuanaland is spelt B-E-C-H-U-A-N-A-L-A-N-D,

as you'd expect.

I don't think it's Brunei.

And I don't think it's Belize. I think it's Botswana.

Correct! Good.

Pat, which organisation was founded in 1940 in order to

"set Europe ablaze" in the words of Winston Churchill?

Set Europe ablaze?

Hm.

SOE I think is concerned with espionage and sabotage.

I think it sent lots of operatives into deep cover into Europe.

Don't know anything about MI9.

Could possibly be another branch of military intelligence.

I don't think the SAS was solely focused on Europe,

whereas most of the times I've heard references to SOE,

it's involved with spies and saboteurs sent into Europe.

-So I'll go for SOE.

-SOE is the right answer.

OK, so third question. Here it gets crucial, Carole.

Get this right and you put Pat under pressure and he might just pop.

What was the main language spoken in the Inca empire?

Ah.

I am going to have to guess this.

And...

..nothing has sprung out to me at all, like it can do sometimes,

but I'm going to go straight down the middle for Quechua.

Quechua.

"Ketch-wa" Quechua. Doesn't really matter. You're right.

-Well done.

-THEY CLAP

A good quizzing team here. Right, Pat, it's you on the cliff edge.

In which town, now in Tanzania, did Henry Stanley

meet Dr Livingstone in 1871?

I think it's the location for the famous greeting.

-I think it's Ujiji.

-Ujiji is correct.

Three points each, a perfect round for you both.

We go now to sudden death, so it gets a bit harder.

-I don't give you alternatives, OK?

-OK.

-Here we go.

In which country did the 1757 Battle of Plassey take place?

I'm going to say France.

No, it was India. Forces of the British East India Company

led by Robert Clive

defeated the army of the Nawab at Bengal.

That's the full story.

Pat, this for the round.

In which country are the Jelling Stones,

raised in the 10th century by King Gorm the Old

and his son Harald Bluetooth?

I haven't heard of the stones

but old Harald Bluetooth lives on in the name of the wireless technology

and I think he's from the Danish royal family, so it's Denmark.

The correct answer is Denmark, Pat. Well done, you got that round.

Carole, sorry. Knocked out, I'm afraid.

If you both come back to us, we will play the final round.

So, this is what we've been playing towards. It's the final round.

It is General Knowledge but those who lost your head-to-heads

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

Which means Richard and Carole from The 42s

and Judith and CJ from the Eggheads, please now leave the studio.

Colin, Graham and Andy, you are playing to win The 42s £1,000.

Pat, Kevin, Daphne, you're playing for something money can't buy,

the Eggheads' reputation.

I will ask each team three questions in turn.

This time the questions are General Knowledge and you can confer.

So, 42s, the question is, are your three brains

better than the Eggheads' three?

-And would you like to go first or second?

-First please, Jeremy.

So, good luck. First question for The 42s.

In Greek mythology, who was killed when he flew too near the sun

in a pair of wings made from feathers?

Well, it's got to be Icarus.

Icarus is the chap that went up there, yeah.

Daedalos made the wings but Icarus flew and fell.

Icarus is the right answer.

Eggheads, here's your question.

In German-speaking countries, what is a bahnhof?

-Railway station?

-Railway station.

Bahnhof is the railway station.

Railway station is quite right. One each.

Back to you, 42s. Who wrote the music and lyrics

for the musical based on Roald Dahl's Matilda,

first performed by the RSC in 2010?

I think it was Tim Minchin.

I'm reasonably certain it was Tim Minchin, so unless you guys...

-I'll go with Tim Minchin.

-Yep.

We'll go with Tim Minchin please, Jeremy.

Tim Minchin is the right answer, well done.

Very good. Eggheads, where is the Peninsula Hotel,

which was once known as the finest hotel east of Suez?

I thought it was a super-duper hotel in Hong Kong.

I could be wrong. It could be on the Kuala Lumpur Peninsula.

-I've no idea.

-Shall we try Hong Kong?

-Yeah.

Er, we're not sure, Jeremy, but we'll say Hong Kong.

Hong Kong is the right answer.

Third question, 42s.

Sometimes seen in the UK,

the rough-legged is a type of which bird?

I think that this is a buzzard.

-Do you think so?

-I would say it's definitely not a duck.

It's not a skua, I shouldn't think.

No, and I think there is a rough-legged buzzard.

-Shall we go for buzzard?

-Yes, please.

Rough-legged buzzard please, Jeremy.

Rough-legged buzzard is correct.

Very good.

Eggheads, if you get this wrong, you've lost. Again.

Capital letters, underlined, in bold.

Brahms' so-called Double Concerto

was written for an orchestra and which two solo instruments?

-I thought of one of those before the choices came up.

-So did I.

-So, which one? The first one?

-No.

-No? Oh, right.

-I was thinking violin and cello.

-Oh, right.

-But, this is only a tiny...

-Yeah. I don't know.

-How about Pat?

-Pat?

I don't know much about this. I don't like cello and harp.

I really can't choose between the two, the piano and the violin.

If you have a preference for the violin and cello, I'd go with that.

-You go.

-You sure?

-Yeah, I don't know it.

Mine was a guess.

On my head, this one, I think.

It looks as though I'm possibly the only one with an inkling.

I think it might be violin and cello. So violin and cello.

If you're wrong, you've lost again.

But you're right. Violin and cello is correct.

OK. They are hard to shake off.

So we go now to sudden death in the final round.

It gets harder because I don't give you alternatives, as you know.

Here's your first sudden death question.

Which band released the albums Crime Of The Century

and Crisis? What Crisis? in the 1970s?

-Er, Supertramp, wasn't it?

-I'm prepared to believe that.

-I'll believe that.

-We'll believe my friend here and say Supertramp.

Supertramp is the right answer. Well done.

OK, Eggheads, which word, associated with John Foster Dulles,

describes the practice of pushing dangerous events

to the verge of disaster for political gain?

-Brinkmanship.

-We are looking for just one word, aren't we?

-Brinkmanship, isn't it? I can't think of anything else.

-No.

Erm, we'll go straight for brinkmanship, I think.

Brinkmanship is correct. Very good.

Colin, Graham and Andy, here's your question, sudden death.

The French city of Bordeaux is in which department?

I know there's an area called Gironde.

But I don't know if that's the name of a department or not.

-It's the only word I can think of.

-Gironde, yeah. OK.

-Was it Gironde or Girone?

-I'm not really certain.

We'll try the word Gironde.

The correct answer is Gironde.

-Well played!

-Well done!

-Well played! Well played!

You are keeping at them, which is what you have to do.

Eggheads, which order of animals has a name meaning ten legs

and includes lobsters and crabs?

-Decapods.

-Decapods, I think.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

Er, they're decapods.

Decapods is right. Well done.

Back to you, 42s.

What name was given to the mythical monster said to inhabit Loch Morar

in the Highlands of Scotland? Morar. M-O-R-A-R.

-Struggling.

-What is the name that means water horse?

What would water horse be in Gaelic? Anybody know?

I don't know. Erm...

I've got this idea in the back of my head it might begin with M,

but that might be just because it's Loch Morar.

Well, it could be the Moran, or something.

It could be "of the loch", you know?

It might be something like Mona, or Mora.

-It's got to be a guess, hasn't it?

-Yep.

-Shall we go for Mona?

-Mona. Mona, Jeremy?

It's not Mona. Eggheads, do you know?

-It's Morag.

-Morag.

You were so close! I thought if you get to Morag, you'll say it.

So you're wrong. So Eggheads, Morag is the answer.

That means if you get this question right, you take the contest.

What is the surname of Antony,

in the musical group Antony And The Johnsons?

-He's Antony Hegarty.

-Hegarty, isn't he?

-He's from Chichester or somewhere.

-Yeah. Antony Hegarty.

He is Antony Hegarty.

-You say Hegarty. Are they right? Do you know this one?

-Yes, I think so.

You're right, Eggheads. Hegarty. Congratulations, you've won.

What a contest! You ran them very close.

There's an awful lot of learning there, and quiz ability,

which can be different things.

-Brilliantly done, and brilliant to have them, yes?

-Good answering.

Commiserations. The Eggheads have done what comes naturally to them.

They reign supreme over quizland once again.

You won't be going home with the £1,000, so the money rolls over.

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

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