Episode 147 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 our quiz champions today

are the New Mill Males. This team all sing together

in the same male-voice choir, based in New Mill, near Holmfirth. Let's meet them.

Hello, I'm Rupert, I'm 66 and I'm a manufacturer's agent.

Hello, I'm John, I'm 62 and I'm a retail management consultant.

Hello, I'm Terry, I'm 72, I'm a retired chartered engineer.

Hello, my name is Tom, I'm 62 years old

and I'm a retired teacher of art and drama.

Hi, I'm John, I'm 65, and I'm a retired project manager.

Rupert and team, welcome to you.

-And Holmfirth is in Yorkshire.

-It is indeed.

-Not any other county.

-Correct.

Earlier, I made the mistake of saying Lancashire. I've not been forgiven yet, have I?

-ALL: No.

-I will be gradually, or...

-Probably not.

-OK, fine.

-You don't quiz together?

-No.

-Have you quizzed at all individually?

-Terry has.

-A bit. But it's mainly music that brings you together.

-Correct.

-I can't let you get on with the game without hearing some of that lovely music.

Would you mind?

# Hello

# Hello

# Hello

# Hello from Yorkshire

# Love and kisses What a jolly caper this is

# We're not very good at quizzes

# But we'll have a go! #

Great! And you may win, you know?

Don't do yourselves down. Every day, there's £1,000 worth of cash up for grabs

for our challengers. If they fail to defeat the Eggheads,

the prize money rolls over to the next show.

New Mill Males, I can tell you the Eggheads have won just the last game

which means that £2,000 says you can't beat them today.

-Would you like to get started?

-Certainly.

-All right.

We'll have another song if you win.

First head-to-head battle is on Film & Television.

Who would like this?

We had a talk about this earlier, didn't we?

That were John Senior.

-Yes, yes.

-John S, OK.

Against which Egghead, John? You've got the classic line-up here.

-Er, Chris, please.

-Right.

John Senior from the New Mill Males. Chris?

-Yep?

-Good one for you?

-Good one.

-Get your round out the way, OK.

Chris from the Eggheads on Film & TV.

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

I will ask each of you three multiple-choice questions

on Film & Television in turn.

Whoever answers the most questions correctly is the winner

and appears in the final. The other person is knocked out.

Would you like the first or second set of questions?

I'll go first, please, Jeremy.

Here we go, good luck. Who played the female lead

opposite Johnny Depp in the 2010 film The Tourist?

I don't think it was Cameron Diaz.

Angelina Jolie, hmm.

I'm going to discount Hilary Swank.

Maybe go back to Cameron Diaz, I'll say.

OK, I'm afraid it was Angelina Jolie.

Angelina was demanding your attention but you fell for Cameron.

OK, Chris, your question.

An iconic image of a young man watching a woman

putting on a stocking is associated with which Oscar-winning 1967 film?

That is Benjamin Braddock in The Graduate.

It is indeed. It's not Benjamin Braddock's leg?

It's supposed to be Anne Bancroft's leg, as Mrs Whatever-her-name-is

-but it was actually a model.

-Chris, you got it right, well done.

John, here's your question. In 2001, which puppet character guest-starred

on An Audience With Kylie Minogue

and performed a version of the duet Especially For You?

Oh...

I think...Orville, I don't think would do it. Er...

I don't know why, I think that was Kermit the Frog.

Great, same shade of green as your jacket, I think.

Kermit is the right answer, well done.

It's going well here. Chris, let's see

if he's got you on the ropes. What was the nickname of the character

played by Michael Starke in the TV series Brookside?

Oh, he was a window-cleaner, wasn't he? He was called Sinbad.

-You don't like Brookside, do you?

-I've never watched it,

-I just know the name Michael Starke and Sinbad.

-Sinbad is right.

John, your third question.

Who played the title role of King Edward VIII

in the 1978 British TV drama Edward And Mrs Simpson?

Not John Hurt.

Er...Jeremy Irons, no...

I'm pretty certain it was Edward Fox.

Edward Fox is the right answer, well done to you, John.

Let's see if Chris takes the round

with his answer now. Which American film director made the films

Glen Or Glenda and Bride Of The Monster?

They were some of the worst films ever made.

There's a good biopic of this character, starring Johnny Depp.

It's Ed Wood.

Ed Wood is right. I've always wondered,

-is that biopic worth seeing?

-It's got a very good performance

by Martin Landau as Bela Lugosi...

-OK.

-..who was found as a derelict, drug-dependent has-been by Ed Wood

and put into these awful films. Rather tragically,

he died halfway through making Plan 9 From Outer Space.

He was replaced by his dentist, going around with a cloak over his face.

JEREMY LAUGHS

You've got the round with Ed Wood and the background information.

Sorry, John, you've been knocked out by our Egghead there.

But you put up a good fight. Do both come back and rejoin your teammates.

The challengers have lost one brain from the final round.

The Eggheads have lost no brains. The next subject is Science.

Who would like this?

-We're pretty settled on that, aren't we?

-Yes.

-Terry, go on.

-Terry on Science?

-Yes, short straw.

-Terry, which Egghead?

Who would you like to put a Bunsen burner under?

-Judith.

-Judith, it's you.

-Lovely.

-On Science.

-Yes.

-Agreeable?

-I like science, actually.

-Judith on Science

versus Terry from the New Mill Males.

Please go to the Question Room now.

Terry, is your hobby really powerlifting?

It was. I'm a little bit old in the tooth now,

-bit long in the tooth, rather.

-That's weightlifting but suddenly?

No, it's lifting heavier weights than weightlifting.

Terry, would you like to go first or second?

I'd like to go first, please.

Here we go with your first question.

Theta rhythms are waves generated in which part of the body?

I'm not aware that there was any rhythms in the liver,

unless you've had too much to drink.

It's a guess,

I would go for brain because there's more rhythms in there.

I don't know...

-Yes, brain, final answer.

-Brain is your answer

and brain is correct, Terry. OK...

Judith, your question.

See if you can get your thetan rhythms onto this one, Judith.

In the periodic table, what is the atomic number of nitrogen?

Nitrogen, well it's definitely not 1, because that's...

That's...well, never mind.

I must think.

I think it's 7.

7 is the right answer.

It's also my lucky number, actually.

The periodic table, Terry.

These quizzers know it, that's what's so scary.

Here is your question, second question.

The American physicist Samuel T Cohen, who died in 2010,

was the inventor of which weapon?

2010's quite recently. The bouncing bomb was Barnes Wallis, wasn't it?

So it's either cluster or the neutron bomb.

I would...I would go for neutron bomb.

Neutron bomb...

is the correct answer.

OK, Judith, your question.

The zonule of Zinn is a ligament found in which part of the body?

I mean, your eye is very movable. It might need a ligament.

I think I'm going to try eye.

The eye is correct.

Terry, see how your zonules

do now. In the 1930s, which city

was the site of a prototype of the Bennie Railplane,

in which passenger carriages were suspended by a single overhead rail?

I'm struggling, I don't really know. I doubt if it's Cardiff.

Liverpool is a large port but so is Glasgow.

-It was in the 1930s, did you say, Jeremy?

-In the 1930s, yes.

Bennie Railplane.

I'll hazard a guess at Glasgow.

Glasgow's the right answer, well done!

Has anyone seen traces of it? Chris.

It was...sort of a long, streamlined pod

with a propeller on each end, suspended from overhead gantries.

They built about half a mile of track for this thing

on top of an old North British Railway branch, up by Milngavie,

in the suburbs of Scotland, er, Glasgow.

-But it never caught on?

-It ran, after a fashion but never caught on.

OK, three points to Terry. That means, Judith,

you've got to get this one right to stay in.

Myrmecology is the scientific study of which creatures?

I don't think it's butterflies, that's lepidoptery or something.

Er...

I'm inclined towards ants.

Generally, or just in the context of this question?

No, just in the context of this question.

Ants is the right answer, so three points each.

We go to Sudden Death, Terry.

It gets a little bit tougher cos I don't give you alternative answers, OK?

-Yep.

-Your first question.

What is the more common name for the atmospheric phenomenon

Aurora Australis?

The Aurora Borealis is the Northern Lights.

I think the Aurora Australis must be the Southern Lights.

Southern Lights is correct.

Nicely done!

Good bit of powerlifting there.

Judith, the pH scale ranges from zero to which number?

If you get this wrong, you're out.

15.

-Let me ask your colleagues.

-EGGHEADS: 14.

-14, you were one out!

-Oh, no. Oh, gosh.

I don't know how that happened.

You've gone. Terry, well done,

you've beaten an Egghead!

You're in the final round. How about that?

Judith knocked out on Science.

If you come back, we'll play the next round.

As it stands, the challengers have lost one brain

from the final round, the Eggheads have lost one brain as well.

Your next subject is Sport.

-Is this a good one?

-No, no, no.

This is the killer.

We've kicked this around a lot, haven't we?

Just of a point of view of a sacrificial lamb,

I'm going to do it because none of us could do it really. I'm going to take this one.

That's a toughie if it's not your subject. Which Egghead

-would you like to go against?

-I'll take CJ...I think?

Are you sure, Rupert?

No, think about it, Rupert, have a think.

I think I'll take CJ.

Rupert from New Mill Males versus CJ from the Eggheads on Sport.

To ensure there's no conferring, please go to the Question Room now.

Three questions on Sport, against CJ. Rupert, you can choose the first or second set.

I'll go second.

Here we go, CJ, your first question. Roger Federer's wife, Mirka,

represented which country at tennis at the 2000 Sydney Olympics?

Er, she played for Switzerland.

She played for Switzerland, you're quite right.

Rupert, your question.

Who won the 2010 UK Snooker title

after coming back from a six-month ban from the game

earlier in the year?

I don't recognise Stephen Lee.

Ronnie O'Sullivan, I think, was a bit before that.

I think it was John Higgins, I'll go for John Higgins.

John Higgins is the right answer, well done.

Involved in quite a scandal, CJ, wasn't he?

Yes, he was accused of taking bribes to lose frames

when he went to the Ukraine, and used the defence he was afraid for his safety

so agreed to anything.

It was an amazing match, he was playing Mark Williams.

He was 9-5 down and came back to win 10-9.

Almost as if he's got something to prove. Here's your question.

What was the name of the horse on which Frankie Dettori

won the Epsom Derby, on his 15th attempt, in 2007?

It was Authorized.

Authorized is the right answer, CJ.

Over to you, Rupert.

The 1910 match, dubbed the "Fight Of The Century",

was between James Jeffries and which other boxer?

Gentleman Jack was Jack Johnson.

I've never heard of Bob Fitzsimmons.

Jack Dempsey...ended up running a bar in New York.

But I think the "Fight Of The Century" was Jack Johnson.

That's what I'll go for.

Jack Johnson is the right answer.

Well done. You've got two points, considering sport

was not your thing, you're doing all right! CJ,

what's going to happen? Here's your third question.

Which golfer was voted Rookie Of The Year

by the US PGA in 2004,

despite being in his late 30s?

Can't be Vijay Singh, I think he'd already won a Major by then.

Er...

I think Todd Hamilton won the Open in 2004.

Er...

I didn't realise he was that old, though.

Todd Hamilton, late 30s in 2004.

I just don't think so. I don't think he was that old.

And Stewart Cink, I think, is the right age.

Er...oh, Lord.

I'm going to guess at Stewart Cink.

Ooh, I feel for you, you took a long and winding road there

and you got to the wrong answer. It was Todd Hamilton, CJ.

Rupert, you can knock CJ out if you get this right.

In which sport was the Vanderbilt Cup first offered as a prize in 1904?

I've heard of...Vanderbilt.

And I know absolutely nothing about basketball

or ice hockey. I really don't know the answer to this

but I suspect because I've heard of it,

I know a little bit about motor racing,

I'm going to go for motor racing.

I'm loving your use of logic, Rupert, you're absolutely right.

It's motor racing so you have beaten CJ, and knocked him out on Sport.

CJ, you won't be in the final round. Please come back and we'll play some more.

-You realise if you win, you're going to have to sing again?

-With great pleasure.

Don't know what we'll sing but we'll sing something!

So, we've got one round now before the final.

What do you want and what don't you want?

ALL: Music.

-Music is the next dreaded one.

-Shall I put you out of your misery?

-Yes, please.

It's History.

Yes, that was your first choice, wasn't it?

-It's either you or me, isn't it?

-Yes, I think you should go for it.

-John...

-Now who are you going to have?

..against which Egghead?

-It's Kevin or Daphne.

-They're both very good.

-I know, all right.

I think Daphne is probably the weaker one if there is any.

-All right, go for Daphne.

-Daphne.

-So John I,

from the New Mill Males, versus Daphne. History, Daphne?

Yeah, quite like it. But I do come unstuck.

We'll see what happens. Please go to the Question Room.

Three questions on History in turn.

-John I, you can choose the first or second set of questions.

-I'll go second, Jeremy.

Daphne. In 1836, Sam Houston became the first president

of which short-lived sovereign nation that is now incorporated into the United States?

Sam Houston was the governor, or whatever,

of the Republic of Texas.

He was indeed. Republic of Texas is right.

Back to you, John I.

What nationality was the pilot Erich Hartmann

who was regarded as the most successful flying ace of World War II?

Don't think he was Russian.

So it's either Belgian or German.

Er, on the basis of it sounds too German,

I'll go for being Belgian.

He was German, John.

Just one of those ones where it is the obvious answer.

Daphne, your question.

What was the venue for the wedding of Queen Victoria and Albert in 1840?

I have a feeling it was quite a small ceremony.

Er...

St James's Palace.

-You don't look very certain of that.

-No, I'm not.

-Just a feeling.

-Yes.

I don't think it was a big splash.

You're spot on, Daphne, it was St James's Palace. Breathe easy.

John...

Popular amongst women in the 16th and 17th centuries,

what were "chopines"?

I don't think they were bustle petticoats.

And I'm pretty sure they're not lace gloves.

So I'll go for platform shoes.

Platform shoes is correct, well done.

You're still in it but if Daphne gets this right,

because of your wrong answer, you'll be knocked out.

Daphne. Which monarch ordered the construction of a series

of so-called device forts in order to defend the southern coast of Britain?

I think, er, yeah...

Yes, it's Henry VIII.

Henry VIII is the right answer. You got three in a row, Daphne.

John, sorry. You've been knocked out

by our own Miss Marple here. She'll be in the final and you won't.

If you rejoin your teams, we will play the final round.

So, this is what we have been playing towards.

It is time for the final round which is General Knowledge.

Those of you who lost your head-to-heads

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

John I and John S from the New Mill Males,

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

Rupert, Terry and Tom, you're playing to win the New Mill Males

£2,000. Kevin, Daphne and Chris, you're playing

for something that money can't buy, the Eggheads' reputation.

As usual, I will ask each team three questions in turn.

The questions are General Knowledge. You are allowed to confer.

New Mill Males, the question is, are your three brains

better than the Eggheads' three?

Would you like to go first or second?

We've had a brief discussion, Jeremy, and we'd like to go first.

I wish you all the best in the final round. Which member

of the Rolling Stones released the 2010 autobiography

entitled Life?

I'm fairly sure it's Keith Richards.

-I think it is, yes.

-And it's not Keith Richards, it's Keith Richard.

Right, OK.

-That's smart, I'm impressed.

-We're going for Keith Richard.

I suspect we're going for Keith Richard.

I think he adds the "S" on and off, actually.

-It's off today!

-It's off for you and on for us.

Keith Richards is the right answer.

OK, Eggheads.

Benigno Aquino became president of which country in 2010?

Indonesia, Vietnam or Philippines?

-Philippines.

-Son of the former president.

-Corazon.

-He's the son of...his mother was also president,

Cory Aquino.

And his father was an assassinated opponent of Marcos, the dictator.

It's the Philippines.

Philippines is the right answer.

Here's your second question. Keep at 'em!

What nickname is given to the book used by trainee London taxi drivers,

which acts as a guide to learning The Knowledge?

See, I thought it was The Knowledge.

-I did.

-Yes, yes.

We don't know.

Tom, have you any idea at all?

No, but the one that jumps out at me is Blue Book.

Why should that be so?

I haven't the faintest idea. This is a pure guess.

-Tom, it's up to you.

-It's your fault.

-It'll be my fault if it's wrong.

We'll go for the Blue Book, please.

It's amazing the way this game works sometimes,

it jumped out at you but you don't know why.

-Absolutely none.

-It is the right answer! Well done. Two points.

You're ahead of the Eggheads in the final round.

Eggheads, the fashion designer Jeff Banks married which singer

in the 1960s?

Sandie Shaw. OK?

Yes, he married Sandie Shaw.

Sandie Shaw is correct.

Two points each. Get this one right,

and let's hope for a hairline crack opening up in the Eggs...

Something horrible. Which poet described Oxford as

"That sweet city with her dreaming spires,"

in his poem, Thyrsis.

-Dreaming spires.

-Dreaming spires is before John Betjeman, isn't it?

It's older than John Betjeman, I'm sure.

I think Arnold, that's my feeling but Tom, you're Arts & Books.

-Were you going for Arnold, Terry?

-I would guess Arnold.

-It's not Betjeman, I don't think.

-Tom, it's up to you again.

I can only go in democracy here and here we go.

We'd like to go for Matthew Arnold, please.

-Matthew Arnold is the right answer.

-Well done, you two!

Three out of three in the final round.

The guys watching you backstage can't ask for more than that.

Eggheads, let's see

if you can hang on in there. In the 1942 Disney cartoon, Donald Gets Drafted,

what was revealed to be the middle name of Donald Duck?

-I think it's Fauntleroy.

-Yep.

-All think it's Fauntleroy?

Er, we believe that's Fauntleroy.

-Did you know that, gentlemen?

-ALL: Yes, yes.

You are right, Eggheads, Fauntleroy is correct.

A total of six points

scored over three questions. We go to Sudden Death,

see if this will separate you. Gets a bit harder,

it's not multiple choice, OK?

Here's your question.

Strigops habroptila is the Latin name for which bird,

also known as the owl parrot, which is critically endangered

to the point that all the existing birds have been given names?

-I'll spell it if you want.

-Yes, please.

It's sort of phonetic as you hear it.

Strigops, S-T-R-I-G-O-P-S,

then habroptila, H-A-B-R-O-P-T-I-L-A. It's the Latin name.

The owl parrot's got to be the clue, but I don't know one parrot from another parrot.

-I don't know many birds at all.

-If there's only about ten left...

The most prolific...I don't know...

The most prolific owl is the "tea-towel".

-It's not an owl, it's a parrot.

-How many parrots do we know?

-Like bird. I don't know any parrots.

-Parakeet.

We can't pass, we're not going to pass.

I'm really floundering, I've no idea. Invent a name and give it to them.

The...red-necked yellow-tailed parakeet of Indonesia.

JEREMY LAUGHS

No, it's not. If it was, it would be amazing. Let me see

-if the Eggheads know this.

-Is this the kakapo?

-Yes, it is.

-What?

-The kakapo, spelt K-A-K-A-P-O.

-I have heard of it.

Flightless bird, doesn't fly

and they keep it on two islands to make sure it cannot be eaten

or killed by a predator.

-Kakapo.

-Lost on me.

-Eggheads, you have the initiative now.

If you get this right, the contest is over. Here's your question.

The two Victorian feminists and educational pioneers

whose names were linked together in a satirical poem

that suggested that they did not feel Cupid's darts

were Miss Buss and Miss who?

-Beale.

-Beale.

-Beale.

Yes, yes. "Miss Buss and Miss Beale, Cupid's darts do not feel."

-"How different from us..."

-ALL: "Miss Beale and Miss Buss."

Eggheads, the answer is Beale, you've won the contest.

Congratulations, Eggheads.

-Do you know the Buss and the Beale?

-We do now.

The kakapo, interesting how you know that one.

-You either know it or you don't.

-I was feeling for you

cos even with all the logic in the world, if you haven't got the word, it's not going to come.

-Thanks for being great sports and singing for us...

-We've enjoyed it.

..which, believe me, most teams do not do.

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

They reign supreme over quiz-land.

You won't be going home with the £2,000

which means 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. £3,000 says they don't.

Until then, goodbye.

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