Episode 154 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 Buccaneers.

This team of friends all met when they attended Glasgow University

and now, they all quiz together at The Common Rooms pub.

Let's meet them.

Hi, I'm Mike, I'm 21 and I'm a statistics student.

Hi, I'm Sophie, I'm 22 and I'm an editorial assistant.

Hi, I'm Paul, I'm 26 and I'm a neuroscience student.

Hi, I'm Jamie, I'm 21 and I'm a law student.

Hi, I'm Allan, I'm 21 and I'm studying statistics.

-So, Mike and team, welcome, great to see you.

-Thank you.

And you are quizzers, you are the next generation of quizzers.

-We try our best.

-Why is it so appealing?

-Why do people love to quiz so much?

-For us, it's a money thing.

Ah, OK. Say no more.

Bit of extra beer money for us,

but we just started enjoying it a lot,

gaining a bit of knowledge and stuff

and then, yeah, we've tried a few different quizzes,

but we keep going back to the same place every time.

-Is that cos it's got the biggest prize?

-Possibly.

-Cheapest beer.

The quizmaster there is quite a good friend of ours as well.

So, he's actually appeared on Eggheads as well.

-Soon, everyone in Britain will have appeared on Eggheads.

-At some point.

We're about halfway there, we think. So, quizzing for prize money,

-is that a relatively new development?

-Not as such, no. No.

I mean, there have been quizzes with prizes, cash prizes, for some time.

And, of course, there's the pub quiz machines as well.

So, you did get people who were,

at the time of the heyday of the pub quiz machines,

who were making a living out of those. Just a few.

-Really?

-There were some.

-And you, in your own way, Judith, I suppose did the same.

-Oh, yes.

It wasn't a pub quiz machine. One question earned her a million quid.

-Yes.

-We're not quite at that level yet, but we're trying our best.

OK, well, good luck. Let's see how we do.

Every day, there's £1,000 worth of cash up for grabs

for our challenges. However, if they fail to defeat the Eggheads,

the prize money rolls over to the next show.

So, Buccaneers, I can tell you the Eggheads have won

the last four games,

-which means £5,000 says you can't beat them today.

-Nice.

-Would you like to try?

-We'd love to.

OK, the first head-to-head battle is on the subject of History.

Have you got...? Oh, it's good, you didn't gasp

-in horror. Who's history?

-OK.

-That's Jamie, I think.

-That's me, I think.

Jamie's going to take up history.

OK, Jamie against which Egghead?

Classic line-up, here, CJ in the middle.

-Daphne?

-I think Daphne.

-Daphne?

-Yeah.

-I think we'll take on Daphne.

-Daphne, History, how far back do we go?

-What? Personally?

-No, no, no.

I did it not long ago, didn't I?

-I'm glad you can remember back that far.

-Yes.

Jamie from The Buccaneers against Daphne from the Eggheads.

To ensure there's no conferring,

would you please take your positions in our Question Room?

-Jamie, you positively leapt on History there.

-I did, yes.

-I thought you were studying law?

-I am, it's just a personal interest.

Oh, OK. Well, even better.

That's basis on which you tackle everything,

-Daphne, isn't it?

-Yes. Just things you read and they just stick.

-And you're interested in quite a lot, really.

-Yes.

All right, good luck in this round.

Three multiple-choice questions, whoever gets the most right

goes into The Final, the other person is knocked out.

Jamie, the first or the second set of questions?

I'll take the first, please.

Here we go. Good luck to you.

Who was the second of Henry VIII's wives to be beheaded?

I was doing a quiz recently and Jane Seymour was an answer.

So, that's where I'm going initially.

Erm.

I'm going to go with Jane Seymour on that one, please.

Jane Seymour on the basis that she has been the answer

-to a different question?

-Well, yes, she's leapt out at me

and it was in relation to the same subject matter.

-OK.

-So, yeah.

-Daphne, do you know?

-Catherine Howard.

Catherine Howard is the right answer.

Poor, old Catherine. How many were beheaded?

-Two.

-Just the two. OK.

Daphne.

Which archaeologist famously said "Yes, wonderful things,"

when asked, during an excavation, if he could see anything?

I think that must have been Howard Carter

when he opened the tomb of Tutankhamun.

So, you think he went down a hole in the ground

and said this back to whoever was asking?

Yes. Was it not? Am I wrong?

-Howard Carter's the right answer, Daphne.

-Oh, right.

OK, Jamie. Let's see if you can claw

some territory back, here.

Historically, what was a linstock used to hold?

-A linstock.

-A linstock, L-I-N-S-T-O-C-K.

I don't think it's going to be ink.

You keep your ink in an inkwell, I imagine.

So, I'm going to rule that one out. A lighted match.

Erm.

I don't know why,

-I'm going to go lighted match, please, on that one.

-Lighted match.

It's used for lighting cannons,

you're absolutely right, it is a lighted match.

-Well done, Jamie.

-Excellent.

OK, you're level.

Daphne, you have a question in hand. Here it is.

In which year was the Mines Act passed into law in Britain,

preventing children under ten working underground?

Oh.

Not sure about this one.

Erm.

I'm going to go for...

..1842.

1842 is the right answer, Daphne.

Using your mystical powers again, aren't you?

I thought you only just held them for The Final.

So, Jamie, you've got to get this one right

or it's curtains.

Emma Hamilton, who had a famous liaison with Horatio Nelson,

died in obscurity in 1815 in which French city?

The clue's in the fact that they died in obscurity, I suppose.

Which is the most obscure? But I don't know.

So, this is going to be a guess. Erm...

We'll go for Dijon, please.

-Do you know? What do you think, Daphne?

-Calais.

Calais is the right answer, Jamie, sorry, not Dijon.

Daphne, well done, you've taken that round

without needing your third question.

And, Jamie, sorry, you've been knocked out, but it's early days.

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

As it stands, the challengers have lost one brain

from the Final Round, the Eggheads have lost no brains.

The next subject is Arts & Books.

This is good for you, students, isn't it?

-Hopefully.

-Arts & Books. All day long studying.

-Yeah.

Maybe not the case, but... Who would like it?

-Me, I think.

-I think.

-Sophie studied English language.

-I studied English language.

-OK, Sophie, against which Egghead?

What do you reckon?

-CJ?

-CJ.

-OK.

-I think.

-Yeah. I'll take CJ, please.

-That's your most artistic shirt, CJ, isn't it?

-It is.

I don't particularly like this one, but, apparently, upstairs do,

so we have to obey what they say.

LAUGHTER

OK, so, Sophie from The Buccaneers against CJ from the Eggheads

in the lively shirt. And to ensure there's no conferring,

please take your positions.

Sophie, you're the one team member

who's now left university, is that right?

-Yes, that's right. I'm a graduate now, yes.

-And what are you up to?

I'm an editorial assistant for a Scottish-based lifestyle magazine.

Have you done a piece on CJ at all, ever?

I haven't written about CJ,

but, who knows, I might reflect on my experiences.

Can I recommend a piece on, perhaps, your wardrobe, CJ? Or different hairstyles?

I hardly think you're in a position to comment about shirts,

Mr Flower Power. LAUGHTER

Don't be alarmed, he's not actually that unpleasant, Sophie.

So, I'll ask each of you three questions on Arts & Books,

in turn, and you can choose the first or the second set, Sophie.

Can I have the second set, please?

So, to the man with the shirt.

In Patricia Cornwell's series of crime novels,

what is the occupation of Kay Scarpetta?

Daphne's read all these, hasn't she? Oh, dear.

Erm.

I thought she was more concerned with the examination of crimes,

I didn't think she was just a nurse or a pharmacist.

So, I don't know this, but I'm going to go for medical examiner.

-Daphne.

-Quite right.

It is the right answer, well done.

Sophie, your first question.

LS Lowry's famous painting Going To The Match

shows a crowd of fans on their way

to the ground of which football team?

Oh, no. This feels more like sport.

I'd imagine it was northern.

I'm going go say Bolton Wanderers.

Well done, you're right, Bolton Wanderers, it is.

CJ, your second question.

In Great Expectations by Charles Dickens,

who does Pip's love Estella marry?

I don't know. It's a long, long time since I read this book.

I'm assuming they're all Dickens characters,

Matthew Pocket certainly is, but which book he's from, I'm not sure.

I don't recognise the name John Wemmick at all.

Unfortunately, I can't remember which books Pocket or Drummle are from.

OK, I...

I think Matthew Pocket's from something else. I think it's...

I just don't associate him with Great Expectations,

but I don't know what he's from.

Oh. I don't know, but I'm going to go for Bentley Drummle.

Bentley Drummle is the right answer.

Got an appreciative wink from Daphne, there, CJ,

although you couldn't see it.

Sophie, what is the name of the theatre cat

in TS Eliot's Old Possum's Book Of Practical Cats?

Oh, I really, really don't know.

So, it's going to be a guess, so I'll say Griff.

-Anybody?

-Gus.

-Gus is the answer they all give.

So, you've fallen behind, and, CJ, if you get this right,

you take the round.

In 2010, Habitat,

a sculpture consisting of 57 stainless steel boxes,

depicting a crouching person, was unveiled at the Anchorage Museum

in Alaska to become the first permanent US installation

for which artist?

Well, I haven't heard of it.

I wouldn't have thought that was Emin.

And, to me, it just doesn't sound like Damien Hirst's work.

Gormley's done a lot of work in metal and he's done a lot of work

representing human forms, so I will guess at Antony Gormley.

Anthony Gormley is correct, CJ, well done. Three out of three.

Sorry, Sophie, didn't really give you any leeway there.

So, you've been knocked out and it will be CJ who's in The Final.

Please, both of you, come back to us and we'll play the next round.

So, Mike, you've taken a bit of a hit now.

We have taken a little hit, but we've still got three left.

Any change of strategy?

Hopefully, some better rounds'll come up than the past two, but it's luck of the draw.

And, if not, then we've got our secret weapon.

Don't say any more about it, we mustn't know at this stage.

So, as it stands, the challengers have lost two brains,

the Eggheads still haven't lost a brain.

How is this going to be for you? We've got Sport now.

Is that any good?

-Sport's a lot better than the past two.

-OK.

-And...

-Who wants this? It can be you or Paul or Allan?

-I think, I think I'm going to take sport.

-OK, Mike against...?

Who do you think? Judith?

-Chris.

-I think Chris.

-Do you think Chris?

-Yeah.

Chris? ..OK, I think I'll take on Chris, please.

Chris, you're getting a lot of Sport. Judith's avoided Sport

-for several games now.

-Yeah, I know.

Although, the last time I played sport, a few days back,

it was an absolute marathon and I won it.

-Well done.

-OK.

So, it is Mike from The Buccaneers against Chris

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

please take your positions in the Question Room.

So, Mike, your sports are skiing, squash, football.

Yeah. That's the sports I play, although I'm into a lot more sports,

watching and that.

But those are the three that I like to play quite often.

You been skiing recently, Chris?

If there were some way of getting back uphill.

It's a singularly ridiculous method of locomotion, isn't it?

-You can only go downhill.

-OK.

So, I think we'll probably not take Chris on the next skiing holiday,

-then, Mike?

-I think not.

So, Sport is your subject and you've got three multiple-choice questions

-and do you want to go first or second, Mike?

-I'll go first, please.

Here we go.

Which position is most associated with the footballer Emile Heskey?

It's a good first question for me, I definitely know this one.

England striker, has played for quite a lot of clubs in the Premiership

as well and he's a striker.

Striker is the right answer.

Chris, in which city was the boxer Henry Cooper born in 1934?

He was a London boy from Deptford. London.

London is the right answer. Very good.

OK, your second question, Mike.

Michael Llodra

and Juergen Melzer are famous names in which sport?

Being Scottish and with Andy Murray doing as well as he is just now,

I have taken a bit of an interest in tennis, recently.

Just double-checking, but, yeah, I'm pretty sure it's tennis.

Let's ask our tennis correspondent, CJ.

They are both tennis players, yeah.

They are both tennis players, well done. Chris, over to you.

Which Australian cricketer took a hat-trick on the opening day

of the 2010-11 Ashes Series?

Mmm. I did, actually, pay a bit of attention to this.

And I remember thinking, what a strange name for an Australian.

I think it was Ben Hilfenhaus.

-That's your answer, is it?

-Hmm.

-Ben Hilfenhaus.

He may well be Australian,

but this is not the right answer to this question.

-Daphne, do you know?

-Peter Siddle.

-Peter Siddle is the answer, Chris.

So, Michael, how about this? You've got two, now, he's got one.

If you get this one right, you've knocked him out

and you are in the final. The captain leading the comeback.

In 2010, the 18-year-old Rugby Union player George North

scored two tries against the world champions South Africa

on his test debut for which team?

I'm pretty sure I know this one. I'm a big fan of rugby.

My cousin plays rugby professionally,

so, I've, again, taken a big interest in that recently.

And I'm pretty sure the answer to this one is Wales.

And Wales is the correct answer.

Well done, you're in the Final Round.

You have knocked out Chris,

who goes down again on Sport.

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

OK, so now, the challengers have lost two brains

from the Final Round,

but the Eggheads have also lost a brain.

The next subject is Film & Television.

-Who would like this? You've gone silent on me.

-Yeah.

-It's going to be Allan.

-Allan.

It's not first choice round, but I think Allan's going to do this.

OK, those are serious television-viewing glasses, I think.

Who would you like to play? It can be, let's see, Kevin or Judith.

-Do you want to just take Kevin?

-Yeah, just see.

-It's worth a try.

-OK.

-Try get and lucky.

-Kevin.

-We're going to pick Kevin, please.

-Kevin. OK. On Film & TV, Kevin?

-Hmm.

-Ready?

-Hmm.

-You're all geared up? Revving up?

-Hmm.

It doesn't look like it, does it?

So, Allan from The Buccaneers against Kevin from the Eggheads.

The subject, Film & TV. Please go to the Question Room now.

Film & TV, Allan,

and you can choose the first or the second set.

I'll go first, please.

OK. Good luck getting the Godfather out.

The phrase "phone home" is associated with

which film character?

That's the first film that ever scared me so hard

I fell off my table.

I'm going to go with ET, there. It's pretty straightforward.

ET is the right answer, there. Well done, Allan. DID it scare you?

Well, I suppose it was maybe my dad who walked into the room

and screamed at the top of his lungs.

I suppose there's quite a lot of suspense in it.

You're right. Kevin, your question.

A 1980 episode of which TV show famously featured

a group of Cub Scouts who ate their packed lunches on a roller coaster?

1980.

I can't really see how that would fit in with The Generation Game.

And I think, possibly,

1980 is slightly early fit Game For A Laugh, but I may be wrong there.

It sounds like the sort of thing that they might have asked Jim to fix.

Erm.

I think it is. I'm going to go for Jim'll Fix It.

-Jim'll Fix It is correct. You don't remember this?

-No. I may have...

Famous is always a dangerous word

cos so many things are famous that aren't,

but this one I do remember, I must say.

OK, so you're equal and it's your second question now, Allan.

Who plays the title role in the 2010 film Scott Pilgrim Vs The World?

I just watched that with my girlfriend recently

and my flat mate.

Really good movie, although I'm not entirely sure on his name.

I know it's not Jack Black.

Steve Carell sounds like the guy out of The Office.

I'm going to go with Michael Cera.

And you watched it yourself, recently?

Yeah. Although, I watch films and I never read their names.

Michael Cera is the right answer.

Well done. Glad you got that. Kevin, your question.

What is the name of Baby Jane's sister,

played by Joan Crawford in the 1962 film Whatever Happened To Baby Jane?

Very, very long time since I saw this.

Trouble is, those are all well-known names from other films as well.

I don't think she was Dorothy.

I'm not sure, I'm torn, unfortunately,

I'm torn between Rose and Blanche.

I'm going for Blanche.

Blanche is your answer.

Does it help you if I tell you that the surname is Hudson?

No, it wouldn't have helped, particularly, I don't think,

actually, as, between these two,

I can come up with reasons for both of them.

So, I'll have to stick, well, I've said it now.

It's Blanche Hudson. You're right. Well done.

Allan, sorry, he was on the edge there,

wasn't he? And then, it would have been so simple.

Here's your third question, Allan.

What type of creature was Hartley in the children's TV series Pipkins?

Oh. I've never heard of it.

I'm going to...

I'm just get have to guess and I'm going to go with hare.

Hartley the Hare, it was.

So, you got three out of three, really well played, Allan.

If you get this wrong, Kevin, you'll be knocked out.

Who directed the films Enemy Of The State,

Top Gun and Days Of Thunder?

That was Tony Scott.

Tony Scott is the right answer. So, you are both on three points.

Allan, it means that we go

to Sudden Death, gets a bit harder. I don't give you alternatives here.

In the 1990s, who starred as the TV detective Wycliffe?

1990s.

You've got me beaten on that one, completely.

Erm.

No, I haven't a clue.

I can't even think of anyone to say, just for an answer.

I'll have to just make it up.

Dick Van Dyke.

-No, it wasn't him. Jack Shepherd is the answer.

-All right.

Wycliffe, it was Jack Shepherd.

Kevin, if you get this right,

you're in the Final Round.

Which English actor was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar

for his performance in the film Rob Roy?

Erm.

Well, I'm assuming it must be the...

I'm trying to think of any of the English roles in the film.

Although, then again, he wasn't necessarily playing English. So...

I think, I'm assuming, I have to assume, I think, the English actor.

So...

I'm assuming it has to be one of these over-the-top villain roles,

which would make it, I think, in Rob Roy,

again, it's a long time since I've seen it.

I think it was Tim Roth.

So, I'll try Tim Roth.

He is quite amazing, isn't he? Tim Roth is the right answer, Kevin.

You just came round to it, unerringly, there.

It's quite frightening when you're in that form.

Sorry, Allan, you have been beaten by Kevin

and he will be in the Final and you won't be.

And if you both 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, 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, Sophie, Jamie and Allan from The Buccaneers

and Chris from the Eggheads, would you all, please, leave the studio.

Well, good luck, Mike and Paul,

you are playing to win The Buccaneers £5,000.

Judith, Kevin, CJ and Daphne, you're playing for something

that 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, Buccaneers, the question is,

are your two brains better than the Eggheads' four?

And would you like to go first or second?

-Want to go first?

-Yeah.

-Yeah, we'll go first, please.

All the best. £5,000 on the table to play for.

You're three questions away.

In which year was Prince Andrew the Duke of York born?

-I'm not great on my royals at all.

-Neither am I.

I really don't know.

I think he's the youngest of the kids. I think it's '63.

You happy with...?

-We don't know, but I think, yeah.

-We're taking a rough guess at 1963.

1963 is your answer.

I was born in '65, I'm thinking he's older than me.

Two years older? Five years older?

1960. February 19th.

1960, guys.

So, he's what? He's in his early 50s now.

OK.

Eggheads, your question.

How many dominoes are there in a standard

or double-six set, Eggheads?

-28.

-28.

-28. That's 28.

28 is the right answer.

And there are 55 dominoes in a double-nine set.

We knew that, didn't we?

-Knew the answer to that one.

-There are no extra points for showing off.

They may even get points taken away, if there's too much of it.

OK, so they're a point ahead.

What is the meaning of the word mordacious?

-This is where I really...

-Spell it for us, please?

M-O-R-D-A-C-I-O-U-S. Mordacious.

Bet you, Sophie behind us, will be shouting the answer.

She studied English language. She...knows her words.

-Mordacious.

-I don't know.

I really don't know.

Mordacious.

Sarcastic.

Any... Can you think of any French or any Latin sort of words?

I didn't study Latin.

I'd say, if I was guessing...

-Untruthful.

-It'd be untruthful, but it would be an absolute guess.

That would be the same as me, the one I've got an inkling towards.

-I think.

-Do you want to play on that?

Yeah, I think we'll have to go with that.

-We'll go untruthful.

-Untruthful is your answer. OK.

You may have been thinking of mendacious

which means, I guess, untruthful.

This is sarcastic.

Mordacious.

I was going to say, I hope, you know, you don't want to see

that word again for a while, but one doesn't see it very often.

Eggheads, if you get this question right,

you have won the contest.

They may well not. When there are four them, I've noticed,

they can fall into the most terrible arguments.

Eggheads, in which country does the action in Bizet's opera

The Pearl Fishers take place?

-Ceylon.

-Yeah, Ceylon.

-Fishing for pearls.

It's Ceylon.

The correct answer is Ceylon.

With no way back for the challengers,

we say congratulations, Eggheads, you have won.

Just didn't quite break for you.

-It didn't quite work in the Final Round.

-No.

-But we've had a great day.

-Good. And they are good.

They are extremely good. Extremely good.

I can imagine them playing dominoes every night,

counting the bricks, and you're all going out enjoying yourselves,

they're doing that, so, you're the winners, really.

Commiserations, challengers,

the Eggheads have done what comes naturally to them

and they still reign supreme over quiz-land.

I'm afraid you won't be going home with £5,000.

So, the money now rolls over to our next show.

Eggheads, congratulations again. Who is going to beat you?

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

have the brains to defeat the Eggheads.

£6,000 says they don't. Till then, goodbye.

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