Episode 151 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, where a team of five quiz challengers

attempt to beat possibly the greatest quiz team in Britain.

Their pedigree is well-known.

They have won some of the country's toughest quiz shows.

They are the Eggheads. And taking on our awesome quiz champions today

are the Five-a-side Failures from London.

This team meets every Thursday to play a game of football together.

However, as their name suggests, their skills, or for that matter,

lack of them, means that the match is more social than competitive.

Let's meet them.

Hi, I'm Mark. I'm 39. I'm a barrister.

Hi, I'm Paul. I'm 43. I'm a lawyer.

Hi, I'm Andy. I'm 45. I'm a chartered surveyor.

Hi, I'm Naresh. I'm 26. I'm a network engineer.

Hello, I'm Jeremy. I'm 50. I run a property management business.

-So, good to see you, Mark and the team.

-Hi, Jeremy.

-Hi.

-Hi.

Maybe slightly over-modest name, with the word "failure" in?

-Self-deprecating.

-Self-deprecating.

OK, so you're lulling them into a sense of false assurance?

-Of course.

-OK. Tell us about the football first.

We're not very good at football, but we enjoy it for the social aspect.

And it's a great way, we've got stressful jobs,

to just get together on a Thursday night and just enjoy

taking some steam off and just enjoying each other's company.

Good. And if any of them cause any trouble in the quiz,

just a nice X-rated sliding tackle.

-Yeah, off the floor.

-Take them out of the game completely.

-Yeah.

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

However, if they fail to defeat the Eggheads,

the prize money rolls over to the next show.

So, Five-a-side Failures,

the Eggheads have won just the last game,

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

-Do you want to try?

-ALL: Yes.

-Here we go.

First head-to-head battle is on the subject of Sport.

Which one of you would like this? Perfect, surely.

-Yes, quite.

-OK, I think, we decided, Mark, you're probably best for it.

-Yeah, Mark can go first.

-Stick with the plan.

-Yeah, lion's den.

-OK. Myself.

-The captain steps forward on Sport, against which Egghead?

Who looks unsporting? Out of condition?

It was Chris. It was Chris.

I think, well, we think, I should say... Sorry. We'll take on Chris.

Mmm-hmm.

-You've gone all quiet.

-I usually do about this stage.

-He's not a fan of sport.

-Oh, isn't he? We didn't know!

You've studied the game. You study the game, well done.

OK, Mark from the Five-a-side Failures against Chris,

on Sport, from the Eggheads. To ensure there's no conferring,

please take your positions in our Question Room.

OK, so I will ask each of you three multiple choice questions

on Sport in turn. As you know, Mark,

whoever answers the most questions correctly is the winner.

They go through to the Final. The other person is knocked out.

That's as complicated as the game gets.

Would you like the first or second set of questions?

I think, Jeremy, I'll go first.

Here we go, and good luck to your team.

Tim Bresnan and Chris Tremlett have represented England at which sport?

Well, it's not hockey. It's not rugby league.

Erm, Tim Bresnan plays for Yorkshire County Cricket Club,

and Chris Tremlett, I think, he was Hampshire,

and I think he actually has moved to Surrey Cricket Club.

So the answer, Jeremy, for one that I know, is cricket.

Wow, you did the second, third and fourth paragraph there.

Brilliant. Cricket is the right answer. Impressive.

Chris is now quaking in his boots, aren't you, Chris?

No, I do not quake.

Here's your first question. "Jumping the slide"

and "hanging at the catch" are technical terms from which sport?

Well, it's not boxing.

Neither is it snooker, but when rowing, you catch a crab...

..don't you, when you do a rubbish stroke?

Er, yeah, I'll go with rowing, Jeremy.

Rowing is the right answer.

Back to you, Mark.

Chris Hughton was sacked as manager of which Premiership club

in December 2010?

Erm, it's not Bolton Wanderers. Not West Bromwich Albion.

But it was, in fact, Newcastle United who, from whom Alan Pardew took over.

Brilliant again. Newcastle United is quite right. Well done.

Chris,

which golfer shared the 2010 European Tour

Golfer of the Year title with Graeme McDowell?

Well, the only one of those I've heard of is Paul Casey.

-Paul Casey's your answer?

-Mmm.

Martin Kaymer is the right answer, Chris.

So you're in the lead now, Mark.

Get this one right and you've won the head-to-head.

In which year did Ayrton Senna

win his first Formula 1 Grand Prix championship?

Erm...Ayrton Senna was Brazilian.

That's about all I honestly know about him as a racing driver.

Erm, I was hoping that the years would be

a bit more spaced apart. Erm...

Gosh, it's going to have to be a bit of pot luck, I think, erm,

because I'm not an F1 specialist at any rate,

and I'm going to plump for...

..for no other reason than the middle one, 1986.

I'm afraid you're wrong. '88 is the right answer.

So, Chris, you have a chance to pull level now.

Your third question.

Which ice hockey team won the NHL's Stanley Cup

on five consecutive occasions from 1956 to 1960?

Ah, well, Boston Bruins and New York Rangers both play in America

and it's a Canadian sport.

Er...it's got to be the Montreal Canadians, or Canadiens.

Montreal Canadians or Canadiens is the right answer, Chris.

Great logic there. So he's pulled back, Mark.

And we go to Sudden Death now. It gets a bit harder.

-I don't give you alternatives. Are you ready to go?

-Yeah, absolutely.

Bing or Binga became the cricketing nickname

of which Australian fast bowler, born in 1976?

1976, so he'll be 34, 35 possibly.

I'm trying to think whether it's, erm...Lee.

Erm...is it Bruce Lee? I'm trying to think, sorry, sorry.

But it's, I'm trying to think of the first name of Lee, beginning with B.

Brian, Bruce, Bert, Bernie.

Erm, the Australian fast bowler, I know it is...

B Lee.

I know I've got it, I know I've got it.

Something Lee, beginning with B. B. Of course, Bing!

Brad? Brad Lee? Brad? Brad Lee.

-Oh, this is brutal. It's Brett.

-Oh!

You know, you didn't even just get the B, you got the B-R, didn't you?

-I could see your brain working there.

-I couldn't get Brett!

-Ohhhh...

-Brett Lee.

-I can see his action! Ohhhh!

OK. Chris, if you get this one right,

you're in the final round.

Which boxer did Mike Tyson defeat in November 1986

to win his first heavyweight world title?

James "Bonecrusher" Smith.

No, it was Trevor Berbick.

Oh, him.

We play on.

Mark, the Rose Bowl, the famous American football stadium,

is located in which Californian city?

Californian city.

How many Californian cities do I know? Erm...San Diego.

No, Pasadena.

Ah, Pasadena Rose Bowl. Yeah. Makes sense.

Chris, in which athletics field event did the German athlete

Astrid Kumbernuss win three consecutive

World Championship gold medals during the 1990s?

-You get this right, you're in the final, Chris.

-Err...

..shot put.

Shot put is the right answer.

Chris, you're in the final round. Mark, you are out, I'm afraid,

-after a doughty performance on Sport.

-Inconsolable.

That's all I can say.

Please, both of you, come back and rejoin your team-mates here.

As it stands, the challengers have lost one brain

from the final round, whilst the Eggheads have lost no brains.

The next subject is History.

So which challenger would like this?

-Guys, what do we think?

-Jeremy.

-Jeremy.

-Jeremy, what do you reckon?

-OK.

-OK?

Jeremy? OK, against whom?

OK, who do we think? Who are we thinking?

-Kevin is quite strong.

-Kevin, let's just...

-You want to try Kevin?

-Yeah.

-Yeah?

-Good with that.

-We think we'll test the skills of Kevin.

OK! We know quite a bit about the skills of Kevin. Good luck, there.

Jeremy from the Five-a-side Failures. Kevin on History.

To ensure there's no conferring,

would you please take your positions in the Question Room?

-So, Jeremy, you're doing History against Kevin?

-That's right.

I'm not a...I don't watch the show as much as the other guys,

so I don't know what I've quite let myself in for...

Funny you say that, cos I had that impression from the way they said,

"Oh, try Kevin and see what he's like today."

He hasn't ever lost a History round.

Well, yeah, there's always a first time, but it may not be this one.

We've done nearly 1,000 Eggheads now,

he hasn't ever got a question wrong on History.

So, I'll thank my team-mates for that!

-Yeah, it's what they call a hospital pass in football.

-Thanks, guys(!)

OK, let's see how we go. Three questions, multiple choice.

Jeremy, you've got the advantage of choosing the first

-or the second set.

-I'll go first, please.

Jeremy, here's your question. From 1559 to 1560,

Mary Queen of Scots was queen consort of which country?

Er, not entirely certain. Erm...

I'm going to go for Spain.

Spain is my answer. There's not any particular logic to it,

but I'm just going to go for Spain.

The answer is France. I'm sorry, Jeremy.

I'd love it to be Spain, actually. Not least cos you're called Jeremy.

OK, Kevin, your question.

What was the relationship between the Norman kings

William I and William II?

Father and son.

Father and son is correct.

Your second question, Jeremy.

"For God's sake, look after our people!" were the last words

written in the 1912 diary of which explorer?

Erm...

Shackleton did an epic voyage to save his people,

or to save the crew that were stranded with him.

So, I'll go with Shackleton.

Let's see if Kevin knows this one. Kevin?

No, it is Scott.

Those, the diary that was found in the tent with the bodies.

And where was Shackleton at this moment?

-At that particular time?

-Yeah.

In 1912, er, he was probably back at home, yes.

His expedition was a couple of years later.

OK, sorry, Jeremy. I was thinking, if I argued with Kevin

-he might change...

-Yeah, I was, that was going nowhere.

Robert Scott is the answer.

So, if Kevin gets this question right,

which isn't very likely, really, cos he's struggled a lot

with history, then you're going to be knocked out.

What was the nickname, Kevin,

of Detective Chief Superintendent Leonard Read,

who secured the conviction of the Kray twins in the 1960s?

Tempting as the other two might be, he was known as Nipper Read.

Nipper Read is the right answer, Kevin. You've got two right.

Sorry, Jeremy. No way back for you there. Bad luck.

He is, I mean, almost unbeatable. As close as you can get

to unbeatability in human form, I think.

Do please come back, both of you. Rejoin your teams and we'll play on.

As it stands, the challengers have lost two brains from the final,

whilst the Eggheads have lost no brains so far.

The next subject is Music.

-Now, who wants Music?

-OK, Music, erm...

-No, seriously.

-Go for Naresh. Go for Naresh.

-Sure? Yeah?

-Yeah.

Naresh on Music. OK, which Egghead, Naresh?

Can't obviously be Kevin or Chris.

-What do we think?

-Pat or Judith.

-Pat? Let's go Pat.

He looks nervous. We'll go for Pat.

Nervous, OK.

-I quite like music.

-So, Naresh from the Five-a-side Failures

versus Pat from the Eggheads,

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

OK, I will ask each of you three questions on Music in turn,

and Naresh, you can choose the first or the second set.

Er, I'll go for the first, please, Jeremy.

Here we go, good luck.

Which pop group who had nine UK Top 40 hit singles

in the 1980s was made up of members Marc Almond and Dave Ball?

Oh, 1980...

I have no idea. I think...

I'll go for Soft Cell. I don't know.

Soft Cell is the right answer.

-Ooh!

-Come on!

OK. Pat,

When We Collide was a UK Number One single for which singer in 2010?

I think it was the chap who won a television music contest.

It's a re-recording of a Biffy Clyro song, and it was Matt Cardle.

You're right. It was Matt Cardle. Well done.

Naresh, back to you.

Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson's song,

Say Say Say,

appears on which of Paul McCartney's albums, released in 1983?

Er, this is really embarrassing.

I'm a big fan of Michael Jackson, but, er...

I can't remember which album, Paul McCartney's one.

I think I'll go for Pipes of Peace.

OK, something mystical is happening. I don't know what it is.

-You got it right.

-Woo-hoo!

-Pipes of Peace is the right answer.

Knowledge would get in the way,

wouldn't it, I think. Guessing's working perfectly well.

Pat, the film Dirty Harry and three of its follow-ups, Magnum Force,

Sudden Impact and The Dead Pool, feature scores by which composer?

I'm trying to remember what they sound like.

They're tense, urban affairs, aren't they? Stressed.

Lalo Schifrin, at first glance, is the man with the kind of,

the urgent, edgy, urban sound.

Erm, so I'll go for Lalo Schifrin.

Lalo Schifrin is the right answer. Very good use of logic there.

No messing with Pat. OK, Naresh.

The aria Che Gelida Manina is from which opera?

I think I'm not the right guy for this music round.

So you get three darts, so let me throw the third one.

I think I'll go for the La Traviata.

On this occasion, and it's a shame, really,

cos whatever you're doing is working so far, but you haven't gone

for the right one, Naresh.

It's La Boheme. So, let's see if Pat can get the third one correct, here.

"Up a lazy river by the old mill run

"That lazy, lazy river in the noon day sun,"

are lines from the song Lazy River,

with music by which composer?

I've no idea.

Erm...Jerome Kern wrote Show Boat, which is possibly a clue, maybe.

Maybe the river and the show boat are linked.

I really, I've no idea,

so I think I'll have to grasp at the Show Boat link,

the just-about-conceivable Show Boat link and go for Jerome Kern.

But you're wrong, it's not Jerome Kern,

it's actually Hoagy Carmichael.

So we go to Sudden Death. Well done, Naresh.

Brilliant play so far, you've held him off.

It gets harder now, Naresh. I don't give you alternatives.

Here's your question. Which soprano dubbed the singing voices

of Deborah Kerr and Natalie Wood in the film versions of The King and I

and West Side Story respectively?

Hmmm...

Sorry, I can't think of anything.

Sorry, team, I think I have to say pass. I can't get anything. Sorry.

It's all right, no problem. Pat, you know?

Is it Marni Nixon?

Marni Nixon is the right answer.

Pat, get this one right, you've taken the round.

Which musician, born Trevor Stanford,

became a professional pianist,

despite losing part of a finger in an accident

and in 1959 topped the UK singles charts twice

with Side Saddle and Roulette?

I've a faint idea that Russ Conway recorded Side Saddle,

so I'll go with Russ Conway.

Russ Conway is the right answer. So, you're in the final, Pat.

Sorry, Naresh. You ran him pretty close there on Music.

No, don't worry, you did fine.

Please, both of you, come back, rejoin your teams.

So, as it stands,

the challengers have now lost three brains from the final round.

-Change of tactic now, Mark?

-Yeah, we might not choose anyone.

The Eggheads have lost no brains. The last subject is Food & Drink.

-Who would like this?

-Food & Drink, erm, who do we think...?

-We said I was going to take this.

-Are you sure?

-Take it, Andy. I'll do it on me own.

-Andy against which Egghead, Andy?

We've got Barry or we've got Judith. Judith?

-She's very good on Food & Drink.

-Very good.

-Judith?

-Barry.

Again looking nervous, we're going to go for Barry.

Barry on Food & Drink. Are you hungry? Is your tummy rumbling?

Apparently, it must be.

OK, so Andy from the Five-a-side Failures

versus Barry from the Eggheads.

Please take your positions in the Question Room now.

I will ask each of you three questions on Food & Drink in turn.

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

OK, I'm going to follow my team and go first.

Good luck to you, here we go.

What name is given to a castrated male chicken fattened for eating?

OK, I've never heard of gigot.

I've heard of scallion, but it doesn't sound the right word.

I have heard of capon, and I believe that's the right answer,

so I'm going with capon.

Capon is the right answer. Well done.

Barry, your question.

The German fast food favourite, pommes rotweiss,

consists of chips served with mayonnaise

and which other foodstuff?

Gosh, it sounds awful.

The Belgians are fond of eating chips with mayonnaise,

but I didn't realise that the Germans were as well.

Horseradish sauce is white, and that could come in

from the weiss, so I shall go for horseradish sauce.

Ha-ha! Well, yes, it is white, but of course,

rotweiss means "red white" and mayonnaise is white,

-so I guess your logic would be looking for something red.

-Ah! Yes.

In which case you would have gone for tomato ketchup.

It's easy for me to say cos I can see the answer.

You're wrong, Barry, it's tomato ketchup.

Right, Andy,

you've got a chance now to get yourself into the final.

Choucroute is a dish of pickled what?

OK, erm, it's a French word. I think I've heard of it before.

I believe it's cabbage, so I'm going with cabbage, please.

-Cabbage is the right answer.

-You are the best!

-Well played.

The team are very excited for you, Andy.

Barry, the Thai ingredient kapi is what type of food?

If you get this wrong, you're out.

Indeed. Could you spell that for me, please?

K-A-P-I.

I've never heard of it.

Kapi. I know a fair few Thai ingredients.

They tend to use things like galangal a lot, and lemongrass.

So, I don't think it's lemongrass, cos I think that has another name.

Shrimp pate or rice noodles? Kapi.

There's a lot of rice noodles in Thai cooking,

so I shall go for that.

Rice noodles is your answer.

You've got a string of zeros. Shrimp paste is the correct answer,

so there's no way back for you, Barry.

So, Andy, you're in the Final!

Well done, you've beaten an Egghead on Food & Drink,

and if you return to us, we will play that final round.

So, this is what we have been playing towards.

It is time for the final round,

which, as always, is General Knowledge.

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

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

So, Mark, Naresh and Jeremy from the Five-a-side Failures,

and Barry from the Eggheads, would you please now leave the studio?

Paul and Andy, you are playing to win the Five-a-side Failures £2,000.

Chris, Pat, Judith and Kevin, you're playing for something

that money can't buy, the Eggheads' very precious reputation.

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

This time, the questions are all General Knowledge.

You are allowed to confer.

So, Five-a-side Failures, the question is,

are your two brains better than the Eggheads' four?

-Do you want to go first or second?

-We'd like to go first, please.

Good luck to you both. See if you can turn it around.

In motoring, for what does the letter S stand

in the government agency abbreviation DSA?

-Must be standards.

-Fairly sure it's standards.

-Yeah?

-Yeah.

Jeremy, we think the answer is standards.

It's short for Driving Standards Agency.

You're quite right. One point to you.

First question now for the Eggheads.

Which singer and actress married Marc Anthony in 2004?

-Jennifer Lopez, I think.

-Hmm?

I think it's Jennifer Lopez. I think he's a former dancer.

Yeah, he's a dancer, yeah. It's not Beyonce.

I don't think it's Beyonce. She's married to Jay-Z,

-and Madonna was with Sean Penn and then...

-Guy Ritchie.

-So yeah, I think it's Jennifer Lopez.

-I'm pretty sure it's Jennifer Lopez.

We think that's Jennifer Lopez.

Jennifer Lopez is the right answer.

Here's your question, challengers.

The TV comedy 30 Rock is named after the address

of the headquarters of which American television network?

OK, I don't know this at all.

-I watch 30 Rock.

-I haven't actually watched the programme.

I have seen it, but I still don't know which one it is, which network.

I don't think it's ABC. I don't think it's a network.

Is it a network, ABC, even?

I think, shall we go for the middle. NBC.

-Yeah, let's go for that.

-CBS is more...

CBS do music, have a music label.

30 Rock is...is that musical?

It's more of a music label, CBS, maybe it is CBS.

-OK...

-What's NBC? Is NBC a music label?

I don't know. I don't know. Let's just go for CBS.

Jeremy, we think the answer is CBS.

OK, you've gone for CBS.

You seemed to be on NBC and then you moved away?

We didn't really know either way, I think, so...

The answer is NBC, I'm afraid. Got it wrong.

30 Rock is an odd address. What does that mean?

-Rockefeller Plaza.

-Oh, Rockefeller Plaza? OK.

Eggheads, your chance to take the lead.

What type of garment is the guayabera,

which was made an official formal dress garment in Cuba in 2010?

What do Cuban... Made an official garment in Cuba?

Did it say official dress garment?

Erm, a jacket's a bit hot in Cuba.

-And Spanish...

-Fidel always managed to wear one.

Spanish, well, do they wear waistcoats?

-There are very fancy shirts from around the world.

-Oh, yeah.

Various countries have long shirts with embroidery

-and with lacework...

-Frills and one thing or another.

-Yeah.

-It could be.

-It is tropical, it's a warm place.

Could technically be any of them.

-We don't know it.

-Well, I mean,

if it was formal wear, and it's a very, very hot climate,

they'd be more comfortable just in shirts, wouldn't they?

-Elaborate shirts.

-Yeah, yeah, I can see the sense in that.

-We don't know.

-We simply don't know, so...

Shall we vote?

Don't think we've got much choice, really, on this one.

-OK, who's for shirt?

-Yeah, OK, then.

-Who's for jacket?

-That's three for shirt. Nobody.

-You're for waistcoat?

-I'm for waistcoat.

So, the shirts have it.

OK, we'll go down, we'll go down with the shirt.

Erm, we've voted on the subject and two of us think it might be a shirt.

But we really don't know.

Did you vote in that, Pat?

I put a hand up at the end.

It's three for the shirt.

-I thought you voted for a jacket.

-You didn't count Pat.

Oh, OK. Three for a shirt and one for waistcoat.

OK, well, you're lucky.

Shirt is correct.

So you've pulled ahead. Sorry, challengers.

At the end of all that they really should have got it wrong.

OK, you have to get this one right, your third question.

Cerussite is a carbonate of which metal?

Cerussite?

-Cerus? Cerus?

-Can you spell that for us, Jeremy?

Of course.

-C-E-R-U-S-S-I-T-E.

-OK, well, potassium isn't a metal.

-Manganese.

-Manganese or lead, then.

I don't think it's lead, but it could be, of course.

I haven't heard of that, so...

I mean, mang... Shall we go for manganese, then?

That's a metal, isn't it?

-Yes, yeah.

-Will we go for manganese?

-OK, let's do it.

Jeremy, we believe the answer may be manganese.

Manganese is your answer.

I'm sorry, the correct answer

isn't manganese. It's lead. So we say

congratulations, Eggheads. You have won.

Well, given that you called yourselves

the Five-a-side Failures, I suppose glorious failure is not a bad thing.

It's not, really. We're just very disappointed.

Lost for words, Jeremy, really.

Where did you go wrong at the end?

We didn't know, so that was just a guess.

Potassium clearly wasn't right,

so it was a guess between the two, 50-50.

-Lead or manganese...

-Not to worry, you won your round, anyway, Andy.

Commiserations, challengers. The Eggheads have done

what comes naturally to them, and they still reign over Quizland.

I'm afraid that means you won't be going home with the £2,000,

so the money rolls over to our next show.

Eggheads, very well done. 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. Till then, goodbye.

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